Usefulness of C-reactive protein in diagnosis of intrapartum and postpartum neonatal sepsis

Objective: To determine effects of intrapartum risk factors for early onset sepsis (EOS) on CRP levels in neonates and to assess the suitability of this test in diagnosing EOS. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Labour and post natal wards in a pediatric and obstetric department at military hospital in Zarka. Subjects: 200 neonates at risk of developing infection. Methods: CRP levels in cord blood and neonatal blood at 24 hrs were estimated using commercial kits. Babies were observed for signs of sepsis for at least 48 hours. Results: Seven (3.5%) neonates had elevated CRP levels in the cord blood. At 24 hours, 82 (41%) babies had elevated levels. Elevated cord CRP levels was significantly associated with rupture of membranes for 24 hours labour more than 12 hours ,and maternal fever. At 24 hours, elevated CRP levels were associated with primiparity, more than three vaginal examinations after membrane rupture, meconium staining of amniotic fluid and amnioinfusion. Ten (4%) babies developed EOS. The negative predictive value for elevated CRP levels at 24 h was 99%. Conclusion: Several intrapartum risk factors for EOS can cause elevation in CRP levels. However, this test may be useful in excluding infection Keywords: C-reactive protein, neonatal sepsis Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (3) 2008: pp. 233-23

Reconciliation or Alienation: The Representation of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in the Jordanian Print Media: Al-Ghad Newspaper as a Case Study

The influx of Syrian refugees to Jordan is considered one of the most serious social events that the country has witnessed in decades. The unprecedented flow of refugees that received extensive coverage by the Jordanian print media played an instrumental role in shaping the representation of both the event and the actors involved in the crisis. This paper departs from the premise that news reports are “elements of social events” and as such employ language to change, maintain or inculcate the knowledge, beliefs and social relations shared by members of a society. To this end, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is adopted to investigate how Al-Ghad Newspaper uses language to represent and frame the Syrian refugee crisis and the Syrian refugees and considers whether this portrayal has contributed to the reconciliation or alienation of the Syrian refugees in the Jordanian society

A commonly misdiagnosed rare pulmonary disease: Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis

Awareness among clinicians about Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is lacking and by the time patients are diagnosed with it, they were seen by multiple physicians and misdiagnosed multiple times. It is a rare condition that is characterized by fibrosis of the pleura and subpleural lung parenchyma, predominantly affecting the upper lobes. Most common cause of fibrosis in other processes is collagen predominant but in PPFE fibrosis is usually caused by elastic fibers. Verhoeff-Van Gieson stain from lung biopsies in patients who presented with fibrosis in the upper pleural and parenchymal areas will help in establishing the diagnosis by demonstrating the elastic fibers. We also need to rule out the possibility of other lung parenchymal conditions like usual interstitial pneumonia, nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis, pulmonary apical cap etc. We have presented a case report on PPFE to bring attention to clinicians so that patients are diagnosed early

Plackett–Burman randomization method for Bacterial Ghosts preparation form E. coli JM109

AbstractPlackett–Burman randomization method is a conventional tool for variables randomization aiming at optimization. Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) preparation has been recently established using methods other than the E lysis gene. The protocol has been based mainly on using critical concentrations from chemical compounds able to convert viable cells to BGs. The Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Growth Concentration (MGC) were the main guide for the BGs preparation. In this study, Escherichia coli JM109 DEC has been used to produce the BGs following the original protocol. The study contained a detail protocol for BGs preparation that could be used as a guide

When Treating Sick Joints Harms Lungs, Ixekizumab induced Pleural Effusion

Immunological therapies have provided a multitude of new and effective treatment strategies for various disease states. While monoclonal antibody therapy benefits many patients, side effects are widely variable. here we present a case of pleural effusion complicating psoriatic arthritis treatment

State-space distribution and dynamical flow for closed and open quantum systems

We present a general formalism for studying the effects of dynamical heterogeneity in open quantum systems. We develop this formalism in the state space of density operators, on which ensembles of quantum states can be conveniently represented by probability distributions. We describe how this representation reduces ambiguity in the definition of quantum ensembles by providing the ability to explicitly separate classical and quantum sources of probabilistic uncertainty. We then derive explicit equations of motion for state space distributions of both open and closed quantum systems and demonstrate that resulting dynamics take a fluid mechanical form analogous to a classical probability fluid on Hamiltonian phase space, thus enabling a straightforward quantum generalization of Liouville's theorem. We illustrate the utility of our formalism by analyzing the dynamics of an open two-level system using the state-space formalism that are shown to be consistent with the derived analytical results

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Association of Inflammatory Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms

The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of TNF-α, TNF-β, and IL-10 genes were examined in Saudi subjects including IBD patients (UC and CD) and matched controls. Venous blood samples were collected from IBD patients and healthy control subjects, and genomic DNA was extracted using commercially available kit (Qiagen, CA, USA). In order to detect TNF-α (-308G/A), TNF-β (+252A/G), IL-10 (-1082G/A), (-819C/T), and (-592C/A) polymorphisms, the TNF-α, TNF-β, and IL-10 genes were amplified using an amplification refractory mutation systems PCR methodology. Analysis of data showed that the frequencies of alleles and genotype of TNF-α (-308G/A), TNF-β (+252A/G), and IL-10 (-1082G/A), (-819C/T), and (-592C/A) polymorphisms differ between IBD patients and control subjects. Our study clearly indicated that the TNF-α (-308G/A), TNF-β (+252A/G), and IL-10 (-1082 G/A) polymorphisms are associated significantly with the risk of IBD susceptibility while other two, IL-10-819C/T and IL-10-592C/A, polymorphisms are not associated with IBD in Saudi population. However, well-designed epidemiological as well as genetic association studies with large sample size among different ethnicities should be performed in order to have better understanding of this relationship

2,5-Thiophene Substituted Spirobisiloles - Synthesis, Characterization, Electrochemical Properties and Performance in Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

International audienceNew spirobisilole molecules containing thienyl (DTSBS) and bis-thienyl (BBTSBS) electron donor groups have been synthesized for use as the donor material in bulk-heterojunction solar cells together with PCBM. The spectroscopic, electrochemical and thermal properties of DTSBS and BBTSBS have been investigated. All these new spirobisiloles exhibit excellent thermal stability. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed reversible and irreversible oxidation and irreversible reduction processes. The highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO/LUMO) energy levels were determined from electrochemical measurements and DFT calculations. The HOMO/LUMO energy levels were estimated to lie in the range -5.2 to -2.3 eV for DTSBS and -4.9 to -2.6 eV for BBTSBS. For both compounds, electropolymerization processes occur at potentials higher than 1.5 V leading to low band gap electrogenerated polymers. Spin-coating-deposited bulk-heterojunction solar cells fabricated with the novel spirobisiloles as donor and PCBM as acceptor displayed open-circuit voltages up to 0.4 V, short-circuit currents around 0.5 mA.cm-2, and power conversion efficiencies approaching 0.1 %