The best stain for morphological study of human seminal fluid's smears.

Objectives:There is a high need for proper evaluation of the morphological features of human sperms. The importance of this lies in the field of andrology, male fertility and in vitro fertilization. The wet smears can give rough clue about the shape of the sperms, but it is neither accurate nor reproducible. This study aimed to determine the best stain which can be used for seminal fluid cytology.Methods: This study was conducted in Port Sudan, Red Sea State, Sudan in the period from October 2006 to September 2007. The total number of patients was 50. Samples which were collected from normospermic patients (NSP) were prepared by direct smear technique. Samples which were collected from oligospermic patients (OSP) and azoospermic patients (ASP) were prepared by direct smear technique and also by indirect smear techniques (concentration method). Smear samples were stained by freshly prepared Harris's Haematoxylin, Papanicolaou stain, May-Grunwald Giemsa stains (MGG), supra vital stain, Giemsa stain and leishman's stain.Results: In this study, the best stain was Harris's Haematoxylin (80% excellent for the head of sperm, 70% good for the neck, 59% excellent for the tail, 42% very good for cells in background). Harris's stainwas followed by papanicolaou stain and the third best stain was supra vital stain. MGG was better than Giemsa in staining of semen smears (75% good versus 25% good) in overall performance. The worst stain was Leishman's stain.Conclusion: Stained smears must be used for the morphological study of semen samples. Harris's Haematoxylin is the best stain for semen cytological features. Stains which used for the semen samples should befreshly prepared

Rapid and Efficient Removal of Perfluorooctanoic Acid from Water with Fluorine-Rich Calixarene-Based Porous Polymers

On account of its nonbiodegradable nature and persistence in the environment, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) accumulates in water resources and poses serious environmental issues in many parts of the world. Here, we present the development of two fluorine-rich calix[4]arene-based porous polymers, FCX4-P and FCX4-BP, and demonstrate their utility for the efficient removal of PFOA from water. These materials featured Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of up to 450 m^{2} g^{-1}, which is slightly lower than their nonfluorinated counterparts (up to 596 m^{2} g^{-1}). FCX4-P removes PFOA at environmentally relevant concentrations with a high rate constant of 3.80 g mg^{-1} h^{-1} and reached an exceptional maximum PFOA uptake capacity of 188.7 mg g^{-1}. In addition, it could be regenerated by simple methanol wash and reused without a significant decrease in performance

Prevalence and Correlates of Common Mental Disorders among Mothers of Young Children in Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania.

Although poor maternal mental health is a major public health problem, with detrimental effects on the individual, her children and society, information on its correlates in low-income countries is sparse. This study investigates the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) among at-risk mothers, and explores its associations with sociodemographic factors. This population-based survey of mothers of children aged 0-36 months used the 14-item Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ). Mothers whose response was "yes" to 8 or more items on the scale were defined as "at risk of CMD." Of the 1,922 mothers (15-48 years), 28.8% were at risk of CMD. Risk of CMD was associated with verbal abuse, physical abuse, a partner who did not help with the care of the child, being in a polygamous relationship, a partner with low levels of education, and a partner who smoked cigarettes. Cohabiting appeared to be protective. Taken together, our results indicate the significance of the quality of relations with one's partner in shaping maternal mental health. The high proportion of mothers who are at risk of CMD emphasizes the importance of developing evidence-based mental health programmes as part of the care package aimed at improving maternal well-being in Tanzania and other similar settings

The WHF Roadmap for Reducing CV Morbidity and Mortality Through Prevention and Control of Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a preventable non-communicable condition that disproportionately affects the world's poorest and most vulnerable. The World Heart Federation Roadmap for improved RHD control is a resource designed to help a variety of stakeholders raise the profile of RHD nationally and globally, and provide a framework to guide and support the strengthening of national, regional and global RHD control efforts. The Roadmap identifies the barriers that limit access to and uptake of proven interventions for the prevention and control of RHD. It also highlights a variety of established and promising solutions that may be used to overcome these barriers. As a general guide, the Roadmap is meant to serve as the foundation for the development of tailored plans of action to improve RHD control in specific contexts

Biomimetic electrospun nanofibrous scaffold for tissue engineering: preparation, optimization by design of experiments (DOE), in-vitro and in-vivo characterization

Electrospinning is a versatile method for fabrication of précised nanofibrous materials for various biomedical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery. This research is aimed to fabricate the PVP/PVA nanofiber scaffold by novel electrospinning technique and to investigate the impact of process parameters (flow rate, voltage and distance) and polymer concentration/solvent combinations influence on properties of electrospun nanofibers. The in-vitro and in-vivo degradation studies were performed to evaluate the potential of electrospun PVP/PVA as a tissue engineering scaffold. The solvents used for electrospinning of PVP/PVA nanofibers were ethanol and 90% acetic acid, optimized with central composite design via Design Expert software. NF-2 and NF-35 were selected as optimised nanofiber formulation in acetic acid and ethanol, and their characterization showed diameter of 150–400 nm, tensile strength of 18.3 and 13.1 MPa, respectively. XRD data revealed the amorphous nature, and exhibited hydrophilicity (contact angles: 67.89° and 58.31° for NF-2 and NF-35). Swelling and in-vitro degradability studies displayed extended water retention as well as delayed degradation. FTIR analysis confirmed solvent-independent interactions. Additionally, hemolysis and in-vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed the non-toxic nature of fabricated scaffolds on RBCs and L929 fibroblast cells. Subcutaneous rat implantation assessed tissue response, month-long biodegradation, and biocompatibility through histological analysis of surrounding tissue. Due to its excellent biocompatibility, this porous PVP/PVA nanofiber has great potential for biomedical applications

Effect of arsenic-phosphorus interaction on arsenic-induced oxidative stress in chickpea plants

Arsenic-induced oxidative stress in chickpea was investigated under glasshouse conditions in response to application of arsenic and phosphorus. Three levels of arsenic (0, 30 and 60 mg kg−1) and four levels of P (50, 100, 200, and 400 mg kg−1) were applied to soil-grown plants. Increasing levels of both arsenic and P significantly increased arsenic concentrations in the plants. Shoot growth was reduced with increased arsenic supply regardless of applied P levels. Applied arsenic induced oxidative stress in the plants, and the concentrations of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation were increased. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and concentrations of non-enzymatic antioxidants decreased in these plants, but activities of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were significantly increased under arsenic phytotoxicity. Increased supply of P decreased activities of CAT and APX, and decreased concentrations of non-enzymatic antioxidants, but the high-P plants had lowered lipid peroxidation. It can be concluded that P increased uptake of arsenic from the soil, probably by making it more available, but although plant growth was inhibited by arsenic the P may have partially protected the membranes from arsenic-induced oxidative stress

Effect of amino acid addition on the micelle formation of the surface‐active ionic liquid 1‐tetradecyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bromide in aqueous solution

The effect of 3 amino acids on the self‐assembly properties of the surface‐active ionic liquid: 1‐tetradecyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium bromide, [C14mim][Br], was studied in neutral and basic aqueous solution. The critical micelle concentrations were determined by different techniques, and the thermodynamic parameters of micellization (ΔG0 mic, ΔH0mic, and ΔS0mic) were measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. The critical micelle concentration values decrease in the presence of all the amino acids used in this study. The most substantial effect was observed in the presence of L‐tryptophan at pH 12, due to the electrostatic and π‐π interactions with the imidazolium headgroup of the surfactant. Always entropy‐driven micellization occurred. Both the enthalpy and entropy changes upon association to micelles increased when the pH was enhanced from 7 to 12. 1H NMR measurements demonstrated that among the used amino acids, L‐tryptophan interacts most strongly with the headgroup of the surfactant cation. The knowledge on the surfactant‐amino acid interactions significantly contributes to the deeper understanding of the effect of surfactants on the properties of peptides