Evaluation of Trace Metal Levels in Tissues of Two Commercial Fish Species in Kapar and Mersing Coastal Waters, Peninsular Malaysia

This study is focused on evaluating the trace metal levels in water and tissues of two commercial fish species Arius thalassinus and Pennahia anea that were collected from Kapar and Mersing coastal waters. The concentrations of Fe, Zn, Al, As, Cd and Pb in these coastal waters and muscle, liver and gills tissues of the fishes were quantified. The relationship among the metal concentrations and the height and weight of the two species were also examined. Generally, the iron has the highest concentrations in both water and the fish species. However, Cd in both coastal waters showed high levels exceeding the international standards. The metal level concentration in the sample fishes are in the descending order livers > gills > muscles. A positive association between the trace metal concentrations and weight and length of the sample fishes was investigated. Fortunately the level of these metal concentrations in fish has not exceeded the permitted level of Malaysian and international standards

The Effect of Teaching Art Education Based on Multiliteracies Theory Strategies in Self-Esteem among Fourth Grade Students in Iraq أثر تدريس التربية الفنية باستراتيجيات نظرية المعارف المتعددة في تقدير الذات لدى طلبة الصف الرابع الابتدائي في العراق

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching art education based on multiliteracies theory strategies in self-esteem among fourth grade students in Iraq. The study sample selected intentionally from a school belongs to the general directorate of private education in Baghdad consisted of (40) students from fourth grade students, the study sample assigned randomly into two groups: experimental group of (20) students who studied through multiliteracies theory strategies, and the control group of (20) students, who studied through using conventional method. In order to provide answers to the study question, the researchers used self-esteem scale; the validity and reliability of the instrument were verified. The findings of the study showed statistical significant differences in the self-esteem attributed to the group, in favor of the experimental group. And there were no statistical significant differences in the self-esteem attributed to the interaction between gender and studying strategy. ملخص: هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى استقصاء أثر تدريس التربية الفنية باستراتيجيات نظرية المعارف المتعددة في تقدير الذات لدى طلبة الصف الرابع الابتدائي في العراق, ولتحقيق هذا الهدف اختيرت عينة الدراسة قصديًا من مدرسة تابعة للمديرية العامة للتعليم الأهلي في بغداد تكونت من (40) طالباً وطالبة من طلبة الصف الرابع الابتدائي, إذ وزعت الشعب عشوائياً إلى مجموعتين: إحداهما تجريبية (20) طالباً وطالبة درست باستخدام استراتيجيات نظرية المعارف المتعددة, والأخرى ضابطة (20) طالباً وطالبة درست بالطريقة الاعتيادية. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة أعد الباحثان مقياسًا لتقدير الذات, تم التحقق من صدقه وثباته. وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة وجود فرق ذي دلالة إحصائية في تقدير الذات تعزى لاستراتيجية التدريس, ولصالح المجموعة التجريبية, وعدم وجود فرق ذي دلالة إحصائية في تقدير الذات تعزى للتفاعل بين الجنس واستراتيجية التدريس

Intravital imaging of real-time endogenous actin dysregulation in proximal and distal tubules at the onset of severe ischemia-reperfusion injury

Severe renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) can lead to acute and chronic kidney dysfunction. Cytoskeletal modifications are among the main effects of this condition. The majority of studies that have contributed to the current understanding of IRI have relied on histological analyses using exogenous probes after the fact. Here we report the successful real-time visualization of actin cytoskeletal alterations in live proximal and distal tubules that arise at the onset of severe IRI. To achieve this, we induced fluorescent actin expression in these segments in rats with hydrodynamic gene delivery (HGD). Using intravital two-photon microscopy we then tracked and quantified endogenous actin dysregulation that occurred by subjecting these animals to 60 min of bilateral renal ischemia. Rapid (by 1-h post-reperfusion) and significant (up to 50%) declines in actin content were observed. The decline in fluorescence within proximal tubules was significantly greater than that observed in distal tubules. Actin-based fluorescence was not recovered during the measurement period extending 24 h post-reperfusion. Such injury decimated the renal architecture, in particular, actin brush borders, and hampered the reabsorptive and filtrative capacities of these tubular compartments. Thus, for the first time, we show that the combination of HGD and intravital microscopy can serve as an experimental tool to better understand how IRI modifies the cytoskeleton in vivo and provide an extension to current histopathological techniques

Biallelic mutations in neurofascin cause neurodevelopmental impairment and peripheral demyelination.

Axon pathfinding and synapse formation are essential processes for nervous system development and function. The assembly of myelinated fibres and nodes of Ranvier is mediated by a number of cell adhesion molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily including neurofascin, encoded by the NFASC gene, and its alternative isoforms Nfasc186 and Nfasc140 (located in the axonal membrane at the node of Ranvier) and Nfasc155 (a glial component of the paranodal axoglial junction). We identified 10 individuals from six unrelated families, exhibiting a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized with a spectrum of central (intellectual disability, developmental delay, motor impairment, speech difficulties) and peripheral (early onset demyelinating neuropathy) neurological involvement, who were found by exome or genome sequencing to carry one frameshift and four different homozygous non-synonymous variants in NFASC. Expression studies using immunostaining-based techniques identified absent expression of the Nfasc155 isoform as a consequence of the frameshift variant and a significant reduction of expression was also observed in association with two non-synonymous variants affecting the fibronectin type III domain. Cell aggregation studies revealed a severely impaired Nfasc155-CNTN1/CASPR1 complex interaction as a result of the identified variants. Immunofluorescence staining of myelinated fibres from two affected individuals showed a severe loss of myelinated fibres and abnormalities in the paranodal junction morphology. Our results establish that recessive variants affecting the Nfasc155 isoform can affect the formation of paranodal axoglial junctions at the nodes of Ranvier. The genetic disease caused by biallelic NFASC variants includes neurodevelopmental impairment and a spectrum of central and peripheral demyelination as part of its core clinical phenotype. Our findings support possible overlapping molecular mechanisms of paranodal damage at peripheral nerves in both the immune-mediated and the genetic disease, but the observation of prominent central neurological involvement in NFASC biallelic variant carriers highlights the importance of this gene in human brain development and function

Does the aldosterone: renin ratio predict the efficacy of spironolactone over bendroflumethiazide in hypertension? A clinical trial protocol for RENALDO (RENin-ALDOsterone) study

<p>Background: High blood pressure is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease risk. Treated hypertensives do not attain a risk level equivalent to normotensives. This may be a consequence of suboptimal blood pressure control to which indiscriminate use of antihypertensive drugs may contribute. Indeed the recent ALLHAT[1]study suggests that thiazides should be given first to virtually all hypertensives. Whether this is correct or whether different antihypertensive therapies should be targeted towards different patients is a major unresolved issue, which we address in this study.</p> <p>The measurement of the ratio of aldosterone: renin is used to identify hypertensive subjects who may respond well to treatment with the aldosterone antagonist spironolactone. It is not known if subjects with a high ratio have aldosteronism or aldosterone-sensitive hypertension is debated but it is important to know whether spironolactone is superior to other diuretics such as bendroflumethiazide in this setting.</p> <p>Methods/design: The study is a double-blind, randomised, crossover, controlled trial that will randomise 120 hypertensive subjects to 12 weeks treatment with spironolactone 50 mg once daily and 12 weeks treatment with bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg once daily. The 2 treatment periods are separated by a 2-week washout period. Randomisation is stratified by aldosterone: renin ratio to include equal numbers of subjects with high and low aldosterone: renin ratios.</p> <p>Primary Objective – To test the hypothesis that the aldosterone: renin ratio predicts the antihypertensive response to spironolactone, specifically that the effect of spironolactone 50 mg is greater than that of bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg in hypertensive subjects with high aldosterone: renin ratios.</p> <p>Secondary Objectives – To determine whether bendroflumethiazide induces adverse metabolic abnormalities, especially in subjects with high aldosterone: renin ratios and if baseline renin measurement predicts the antihypertensive response to spironolactone and/or bendrofluazide.</p> <p>Discussion: The numerous deleterious effects of hypertension dictate the need for a systematic approach for its treatment. In spite of various therapies, resistant hypertension is widely prevalent. Among various factors, primary aldosteronism is an important cause of resistant hypertension and is now more commonly recognised. More significantly, hypertensives with primary aldosteronism are also exposed to various other deleterious effects of excess aldosterone. Hence treating hypertension with specific aldosterone antagonists may be a better approach in this group of patients. It may lead on to better blood pressures with fewer medications.</p&gt

Expanding the genetic heterogeneity of intellectual disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a common morbid condition with a wide range of etiologies. The list of monogenic forms of ID has increased rapidly in recent years thanks to the implementation of genomic sequencing techniques. In this study, we describe the phenotypic and genetic findings of 68 families (105 patients) all with novel ID-related variants. In addition to established ID genes, including ones for which we describe unusual mutational mechanism, some of these variants represent the first confirmatory disease-gene links following previous reports (TRAK1, GTF3C3, SPTBN4 and NKX6-2), some of which were based on single families. Furthermore, we describe novel variants in 14 genes that we propose as novel candidates (ANKHD1, ASTN2, ATP13A1, FMO4, MADD, MFSD11, NCKAP1, NFASC, PCDHGA10, PPP1R21, SLC12A2, SLK, STK32C and ZFAT). We highlight MADD and PCDHGA10 as particularly compelling candidates in which we identified biallelic likely deleterious variants in two independent ID families each. We also highlight NCKAP1 as another compelling candidate in a large family with autosomal dominant mild intellectual disability that fully segregates with a heterozygous truncating variant. The candidacy of NCKAP1 is further supported by its biological function, and our demonstration of relevant expression in human brain. Our study expands the locus and allelic heterogeneity of ID and demonstrates the power of positional mapping to reveal unusual mutational mechanisms

Islamic pedagogy: Potential and perspective

Religious traditions embody inherent pedagogical perspectives—a way of teaching religion. Among Muslim scholarship, conceptual aspects of a philosophy of education rooted in Islam have been articulated but often piecemeal, making it inaccessible to Islamic schools today. The challenge has been in synthesising philosophies of Islamic education, or better termed Islamic pedagogy, in a way that is relevant and applicable to contemporary schools. This chapter aims to establish some semblance of an Islamic pedagogical framework. The concepts and perspectives identified may serve as a rubric for Islamic schools to renew their conceptions of Islamic education for a deeper connection between religious education as a subject and pedagogy rooted in a religious tradition