Interleukin-17 and matrix metalloprotease-9 expression in the mycetoma granuloma

Mycetoma is a persistent, progressive granulomatous inflammatory disease caused either by fungi or by bacteria. Characteristic of this disease is that the causative agents organise themselves in macroscopic structures called grains. These grains are surrounded by a massive inflammatory reaction. The processes leading to this host tissue reaction and the immunophenotypic characteristics of the mycetoma granuloma are not known. Due to the massive immune reaction and the tissue remodeling involved, we hypothesised that the expression levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) in the mycetoma granuloma formation were correlated to the severity of the disease and that this correlation was independent of the causative agent responsible for the granuloma reaction. To determine the expression of IL-17 and MMP-9 in mycetoma lesions, the present study was conducted at the Mycetoma Research Centre, Sudan. Surgical biopsies from 100 patients with confirmed mycetoma were obtained, and IL-17 and MMP-9 expression in the mycetoma granuloma were evaluated immunohistochemically. IL-17 was mainly expressed in Zones I and II, and far less in Zone III. MMP-9 was detected mainly in Zones II and III, and the least expression was in Zone I. MMP-9 was more highly expressed in Actinomadura pelletierii and Streptomyces somaliensis biopsies compared to Madurella mycetomatis biopsies. MMP-9 levels were directly proportional to the levels of IL-17 (p = 0.001). The only significant association between MMP9 and the patients' characteristics was the disease duration (

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

إحياءُ واستثمارُ الأراضي الْمَوات في ماليزيا من خلال التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي: REVITALIZING AND INVESTING ABANDONED LAND IN MALAYSIA THROUGH ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE

This study aims to identify the revitalization and investment of abandoned land through Islamic microfinance in Malaysia, with a specific emphasis on the state of Negeri Sembilan. It discusses the concept of abandoned lands, examining methods for their revitalization and investment in accordance with the principles of Islamic law. In this regard, revitalizing and investing in abandoned land is posited as a solution to the financing problems faced by small and medium enterprises as well as enhance opportunities to increase the income of poor people in the Malaysian society. The study employed the descriptive analysis approach in demonstrating the importance of revitalizing and investing the abandoned land through Islamic microfinance approach which will boost the efforts of microfinance institutions in reducing poverty and overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key finding is that investing in abandoned land, in line with Shariah principles, offers an innovative approach to utilizing these lands for productive projects and reflects the importance of Islamic microfinance and its response to the requirements of revitalizing the abandoned land efficiently and effectively.   ملخص البحث تهدّفُ هذه الدَراسة إلى التعريف بإحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها من خلال التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي في ماليزيا؛ وعلى وجه الخصوص في ولاية نجري سمبيلان، وتحاول مناقشة مفهوم الأرض الموات في الفقه وطرق إحيائها واستثمارها وفقاً للضوابط الشرعية في الفقه الإسلامي، وبهذا الاعتبار فإنَّ إحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها سيوفر حلاً لمشكلات التمويل التي تواجهها المشروعات الصغيرة والمتوسطة، ويعزز من فرص زيادة دخل الفئات الفقيرة في المجتمع الماليزي، تعتمد الدّراسة على منهج التحليل الوصفي في بيان أهمية إحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها ، والدور الذي يمكن أن تقوم به صيغ وأساليب التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي في إحياء الأرض الموات وتهيئتها للاستخدام الإنتاجي الذي سيعزز من جهود مؤسسات الإقراض الصغيرة أو صناديق دعم الفقراء الأهلية والرسمية في التقليل من الفقر، وتجاوز تداعيات ما بعد جائحة كوفيد-19 على محدودي الدخل. ومن النتائج التي توصلت إليها الدِّراسة أن استثمار الأراضي الموات وفقاً لمبادئ الشريعة الإسلامية يمثل مدخلاً بديلاً لتوظيف الأراضي واستغلالها في مشروعات إنتاجية، ويعكس أهمية التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي وتلبيته لمتطلبات إحياء الأرض الموات واستغلالها بكفاءة وفاعلية.This study aims to identify the revitalization and investment of abandoned land through Islamic microfinance in Malaysia, with a specific emphasis on the state of Negeri Sembilan. It discusses the concept of abandoned lands, examining methods for their revitalization and investment in accordance with the principles of Islamic law. In this regard, revitalizing and investing in abandoned land is posited as a solution to the financing problems faced by small and medium enterprises as well as enhance opportunities to increase the income of poor people in the Malaysian society. The study employed the descriptive analysis approach in demonstrating the importance of revitalizing and investing the abandoned land through Islamic microfinance approach which will boost the efforts of microfinance institutions in reducing poverty and overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key finding is that investing in abandoned land, in line with Shariah principles, offers an innovative approach to utilizing these lands for productive projects and reflects the importance of Islamic microfinance and its response to the requirements of revitalizing the abandoned land efficiently and effectively.   ملخص البحث تهدّفُ هذه الدَراسة إلى التعريف بإحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها من خلال التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي في ماليزيا؛ وعلى وجه الخصوص في ولاية نجري سمبيلان، وتحاول مناقشة مفهوم الأرض الموات في الفقه وطرق إحيائها واستثمارها وفقاً للضوابط الشرعية في الفقه الإسلامي، وبهذا الاعتبار فإنَّ إحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها سيوفر حلاً لمشكلات التمويل التي تواجهها المشروعات الصغيرة والمتوسطة، ويعزز من فرص زيادة دخل الفئات الفقيرة في المجتمع الماليزي، تعتمد الدّراسة على منهج التحليل الوصفي في بيان أهمية إحياء الأرض الموات واستثمارها ، والدور الذي يمكن أن تقوم به صيغ وأساليب التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي في إحياء الأرض الموات وتهيئتها للاستخدام الإنتاجي الذي سيعزز من جهود مؤسسات الإقراض الصغيرة أو صناديق دعم الفقراء الأهلية والرسمية في التقليل من الفقر، وتجاوز تداعيات ما بعد جائحة كوفيد-19 على محدودي الدخل. ومن النتائج التي توصلت إليها الدِّراسة أن استثمار الأراضي الموات وفقاً لمبادئ الشريعة الإسلامية يمثل مدخلاً بديلاً لتوظيف الأراضي واستغلالها في مشروعات إنتاجية، ويعكس أهمية التمويل الأصغر الإسلامي وتلبيته لمتطلبات إحياء الأرض الموات واستغلالها بكفاءة وفاعلية

Obstacles faced by healthcare providers during COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan

The impacts of COVID -19 pandemic have been quite significant on healthcare providers. I was particularly challenging for those in Low and Middle-Income Countries including Sudan. Unfortunately, the pandemic has hit Sudan on extremely difficult time for the country and its people. The country was coming out of long-brutal and devastating dictatorship and transitioning to new democracy with civilian leadership. In addition to the pandemic related issues, trying to rebuild the health system during socioeconomic crisis, healthcare providers in the country were challenged personally and professionally. These challenges include the stress of working in under-resourced settings with limited access to personal-protection equipment and testing kits raised the fear of contracting the virus and spreading it to their families. The professional, social, and personal life of healthcare providers have been dramatically changed by the ongoing pandemic, however, they are heroically accepting this change in a hope that, this will save the life of many more people. Nevertheless, their fights and sacrifices should at least be rewarded by governments and communities altogether strictly enforce the implementation of other preventive measures including vaccination, face masking, and social distancing and get all protected. We should all understand that, unless we are all protected no one is protected, so all must adapt to the new norm of life and collaborate not only on ending this pandemic but to prevent similar ones in the future

Enteroparasitosis infections among renal transplant recipients in Khartoum state, Sudan 2012–2013

Abstract Objectives Renal transplantation procedure markedly increased over the past few decades. The risk of harboring parasitic diseases may affect transplant recipients during life expectancy. We aimed in this study to determine the enteroparasitosis frequency among renal transplant recipients in Khartoum state, Sudan. A case–control hospital-based study performed between November 2012 and May 2013, on 300 renal transplant recipients attending Sudanese Kidney Association hospital in Khartoum state, Sudan, along with 300 normal healthy individuals matching the case in age and sex. Stool samples were collected for parasitological studies. Results Out of the 300 renal transplant recipients: 242 (80.7%) were males mean age 43 ± 11.28 and 58 (19.3%) were females mean age 41 ± 13.41. Intestinal parasitic infection was observed in 118 participants and the overall frequency was 19.7%; of which 64 were cases (21.3%) and 54 (18.0%) were controls. Eight different species of intestinal parasites were identified; Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (7.5%), Entamoeba coli (6.5%), Giardia lambelia (3.2%), Cryptosporidium parvum (1.2%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.6%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.3%), (0.2%) for each of Strongyloides stercoralis and Hymenolepis nana

Molecular detection of Epstein-Barr virus among Sudanese patients diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

Abstract Objectives Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. The exact mechanism initiating the development of HT is not yet clear. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between HT and the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a Sudanese population. Results EBV-LMP1 was detected in 11.1% of HT cases, which is consistent with previous studies. Studies have reported a wide range of frequencies indicating the presence of EBV in HT, and patients with autoimmune thyroiditis have increased titers of anti-EBV antibodies in their sera compared to healthy subjects. Intrathyroidal EBV-infected B cells may be responsible for the increased risk of development of B-cell lymphoma in the thyroid gland in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Our study suggests that regular follow-up is necessary for patients diagnosed with HT and are positive for EBV, as antiviral therapy is not applicable due to the risk of thyroid dysfunction. The study suggests an association between EBV and HT, but causation cannot be determined. The study also highlights the need for further research to determine the viral role and correlate it with the severity and progression of HT

Aromatic Plants: use and nutraceutical properties

In the last years it has progressively been observed a substantial increase in the use of aromatic herbs and essential oils. Mediterranean area represents a particular environment in which many constraint factors (high light, temperature, drought, salinity, air pollution, etc.) induce a wide range of secondary metabolites in plants. These compounds can be useful utilized by humans for different applications: antibiotics, antimycotic, animal nutrition, cosmetics, food additives, biorepellents, etc. This paper reviews the literature on recent agro-industrial applications of Mediterranean plant species and medicinal plants used for the treatment of infectious diseases. The review includes accounts of extracts, essential oils and other active principles isolated from plants that have been used by folk medicine as antimicrobial agents. The name and part of the studied plants, spectrum of activity, type of active compounds and methods used are discussed and their mechanisms of action as well