Morphological study of the uncommon rectus sterni muscle in German cadavers

Objective: The present investigation has been designed to study the incidence of the rectus stern muscle in German human cadavers dissected in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, trying to find a postulation for the development of such muscle when present. Design: Gross dissection of 130 cadavers, of both sexes, was performed throughout a period of 10 years. Setting: Department of Anatomy College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Intervention: Investigation of the origin and insertion of the rectus sterni and measurements of its length and width. Results: Two adult cadavers, one of each sex, had shown well-developed bilateral rectus stern muscles. All muscles identified were parasternal in position, being superficial to the medial portion of the pectoralis major muscle. Minor morphological differences were observed among the four muscle masses concerning their length, breadth, origin and insertion. Conclusion: The current study has determined the incidence of the rectus sterni muscle, in German cadavers to be 1.54% per bodies examined compared to 4% in cadavers from Saudis. Such a frequency is compared to that reported in different geographic populations. The rectus sterni muscle is innervated by the anterior cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves. The description of the rectus sterni muscle and its incidence determined in the present study, might be of a great help for clinicians radiographing or tackling the pectoral region. East African Medical Journal Vol. 81 No. 3 March 2004: 130-13

Synthesis and Biophysical Insights into the Binding of a Potent Anti-Proliferative Non-symmetric Bis-isatin Derivative with Bovine Serum Albumin: Spectroscopic and Molecular Docking Approaches

As part of the research endeavors to combat cancer, a non-symmetric bis-isatin derivative (compound 3) was synthesized and showed a significant anti-proliferative potency. The current study provides a comprehensive characterization of the interaction of compound 3 with the drug-transporting protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) via the use of spectroscopic tools along with molecular docking studies. Fluorescence spectral measurements showed that the BSA intrinsic fluorescence can be significantly quenched by the addition of compound 3 and the formation of a non-fluorescent complex. Further measurements revealed a static type of quenching with Stern–Volmer and Linweaver–Burk constants of 105. The thermodynamic parameters of the binding were calculated to be ΔS° 105.09 ± 5.32 with ΔH° of −0.72 ± 0.71 and negative ΔG° values. In addition, synchronous fluorescence and 3D fluorescence spectroscopy suggested that compound 3 did not induce conformational changes in BSA. Site competition experiments revealed that compound 3 competes with warfarin within the BSA binding domain (Sudlow site I). This was further confirmed by the molecular docking results showing a binding energy of −25.93 kJ/mol for compound 3-BSA. Hence, the observed results in the present study assumed that the compound 3-BSA binding is spontaneous, involving electrostatic forces and hydrogen bonding

Design, synthesis, and carbonic anhydrase inhibition activities of Schiff bases incorporating benzenesulfonamide scaffold: Molecular docking application

In this study, The inhibitory actions of human carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) (hCA) isoforms I, II, IX, and XII are being examined using recently synthesized substituted hydroxyl Schiff derivatives based on the quinazoline scaffold 4–22. Quinazolines 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 18 reduce the activity of hCA I isoform effectively to a Ki of 87.6–692.3 nM, which is nearly equivalent to or more potent than that of the standard drug AAZ (Ki, 250.0 nM). Similarly, quinazolines 2, 3, and 5 and quinazoline 14 effectively decrease the inhibitory activity of the hCA II isoform to a KI of 16.9–29.7 nM, comparable to that of AAZ (Ki, 12.0 nM). The hCA IX isoform activity is substantially diminished by quinazolines 2–12 and 14–21 (Ki, 8.9–88.3 nM against AAZ (Ki, 25.0 nM). Further, the activity of the hCA XII isoform is markedly inhibited by the quinazolines 3, 5, 7, 14, and 16 (Ki, 5.4–19.5 nM). Significant selectivity levels are demonstrated for inhibiting tumour-associated isoforms hCA IX over hCAI, for sulfonamide derivatives 6–15 (SI; 10.68–186.29), and 17–22 (SI; 12.52–57.65) compared to AAZ (SI; 10.0). Sulfonamide derivatives 4–22 (SI; 0.50–20.77) demonstrated a unique selectivity in the concurrent inhibition of hCA IX over hCA II compared to AAZ (SI; 0.48). Simultaneously, benzenesulfonamide derivative 14 revealed excellent selectivity for inhibiting hCA XII over hCA I (SI; 60.35), whereas compounds 5–8, 12–14, 16, and 18–22 demonstrated remarkable selectivity for hCA XII inhibitory activity over hCA II (SI; 2.09–7.27) compared to AAZ (SI; 43.86 and 2.10, respectively). Molecular docking studies additionally support 8 to hCA IX and XII binding, thus indicating its potential as a lead compound for inhibitor development

A retrospective study to assess resource utilization and costs in patients with post-stroke spasticity in the United Kingdom

<p><b>Objective:</b> Post-stroke spasticity (PSS) is a common complication following stroke. This study describes the differences in healthcare resource utilization between patients who do and do not develop PSS in the UK.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Adults registered in The Health Improvement Network database with a recorded stroke between 2007 and 2011 were included. PSS was identified through Read codes; machine learning was used to retrospectively identify unrecorded PSS events. Patients with diagnosed or predicted PSS in the 12 months after stroke were matched to those with no PSS on age, sex, number of strokes, socioeconomic status, and comorbidities using the nearest neighbor algorithm. Utilization and costs associated with general practitioner visits, nurse visits, hospitalizations, referrals to specialists, laboratory tests, and medications in the 12 months after stroke were compared.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Overall, 2,951 PSS cases were matched to 37,753 controls. During the first year, more PSS cases visited a physiotherapist (19% vs 7%) and occupational therapist (12% vs 5%) compared to controls. A greater proportion of cases were also referred to specialists (76% vs 64%) and hospitalized (33% vs 9%) compared to controls. Medication for spasticity was, on average, 14.68 prescriptions for cases and 5.64 for controls. Total mean costs per patient were £1,270 (standard deviation [SD] = 772) and £635 (SD = 273) for cases and controls, respectively.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Costs after stroke for patients developing PSS are twice as high compared to patients who do not develop it, with the major driver being the number of hospital admissions. This highlights the need for better recording and closer management of PSS.</p

Soudan : identités en tension

In Sudan, the various modalities of participation in Islam and Arab identity affect relations between populations and segments of society according to variable gradients between recognition and denial. From the micro-local to the international scale, the positions between Arabity and Islam intersect the debates on national identity, according to changing and multiple configurations. Regional borders and other institutional arrangements inherited from colonial constructions have given rise to numerous conflicts and reshuffles while forming a referential base. The independence of Southern Sudan in 2011, ending decades of war and ethnic polarization, was a testimony to the failure of national construction. This stage did not end the reconfigurations of identities and power relations in the country, as evidenced by the inclusive slogans dealing with identity issues carried by the revolutionary movement that led in April 2019 to the fall of the Islamic regime in place since 1989. Focused on an interdisciplinary approach, attentive to long-term phenomena and the empirical anchoring of situated fieldworks, this issue is devoted to identity reconfigurations in Sudan. The historical arrangements and the declinations around three notions of ethnicity, religion and nationalism are questioned beyond the specificity of the Sudanese case. Au Soudan, les diverses modalités de participation à l’islam et à l’identité arabe agissent sur les relations entre les populations et les segments de la société selon des gradients variables entre reconnaissance et dénégation. De l’échelle micro-locale à l’échelle internationale, les positionnements entre arabité et islamité entrecroisent les débats sur l’identité nationale, selon des configurations mouvantes et plurivoques. Les frontières régionales et d’autres dispositifs institutionnels hérités des constructions coloniales ont suscité de nombreux conflits et remaniements tout en formant un socle référentiel. L’indépendance du Soudan du Sud en 2011 mettant fin à des décennies de guerre et de polarisation ethnique témoignait cependant de l’échec de la construction nationale. Cette étape n’a par ailleurs pas clos les reconfigurations des identités et des relations de pouvoir comme en attestent les slogans inclusifs portés par le mouvement révolutionnaire qui a mené en avril 2019 à la chute du régime islamique en place depuis 1989. Centré sur une démarche interdisciplinaire, attentive aux phénomènes de la longue durée et à l’ancrage empirique d’enquêtes situées, ce numéro est consacré aux reconfigurations identitaires au Soudan. Les agencements historiques et les déclinaisons autour de trois notions d’ethnicité, de religion et de nationalisme, y sont interrogés au-delà du cas soudanais