Gene polymorphisms of TNF-α and IL-10 related to rheumatic heart disease

Background: Rheumatic fever (RF) is inherited as a single recessive gene. Several genes are Likely to predispose an individual to develop rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Polymorphisms of TNF-α gene were associated with susceptibility to develop RF.T cells from all rheumatic fever patients produce significant amounts of TNF-α in response to steptococcal peptides with the highest production attained by the chronic rheumatic heart disease patients,and IL-10 expression was characterized in heart tissue of RHD patients by immuno-histochemistry. Objectives: To test the relation of RHD and gene polymorphisms of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α gene at position -308 and anti–inflammatory IL-10 gene at position -1082. Subjects and Methods: This study included 20 children with chronic rheumatic heart disease (group A) and 10 healthy children as a control group (Group B). Patients group was classified into patients with single and multiple valvular lesions, both of them were classified according to the severity by Echocardiography into: Group I: mild valvular lesion (n=7) Group II: Moderate lesion (n=4) Group III: severe lesion (n=9) Real time PCR was done for both TNF-α at-308 and IL-10 at position – 1082.Results: All cases showed significant higher frequency of TNF-α homozygous genotype G/G compared to control group (

Phototherapy and DNA changes in full term neonates with hyperbilirubinemia

Background: Phototherapy has remained the standard therapeutic approach for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Oxidative effects of phototherapy on cell membranes and cell components may have a wide range of potential adverse effects, including enhanced lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. Apoptosis is an indispensable mechanism for maintaining many cellular functions, including cell replication, and removal of damaged cells with high burden of genetic mutations. Many genes function as apoptosis regulatory genes. Examples of these genes include the BCL2 gene which is an anti-apoptotic oncogene, and the BAX gene which acts as a promoter of apoptosis.Objectives: Assess the effect(s) of phototherapy on DNA and on the rate of apoptosis in full term neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. It comprised 35 neonates with indirect hyperbilirubinemia who received phototherapy for 48h, and 20 apparently healthy full term neonates with normal serum bilirubin level, as a control group. DNA damage was assessed by DNA fragmentation and micronucleus assay. Determination of the anti-apoptotic effect(s) of BCL2 gene was achieved by quantitative assay of its product, (BCL2) protein, by ELISA and BAX gene expression status was assessed by PCR.Results: The frequency of micronuclei in circulating lymphocytes of neonates who received phototherapy has significantly increased before and after phototherapy compared to controls, (p< 0.001; p< 0 0.00001), respectively. DNA fragmentation in circulating lymphocytes, was significantly higher among cases before and after phototherapy compared to controls (p< 0.0001; p< 0 0.00001). The plasma BCL2 protein was significantly lower in the cases before and after phototherapy compared to controls (p< 0.01; p <0.01), respectively, and BAX gene expression was significantly high among cases before and after phototherapy compared to controls.Conclusions: Geno toxic effects of bilirubin and phototherapy, induce more DNA damage and enhances apoptosis of exposed cells, probably through down regulation of BCL2 expression and upregulation of BAX gene expression in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. Keywords: Hyperbilirubinemia; Phototherapy; DNA damage; Apoptosis; BCL2 gene; BAX gen

Enhanced Case Detection and Improved Diagnosis of PKDL in a Kala-azar-Endemic Area of Bangladesh

PKDL is a skin disorder which usually develops in 10–20% and about 60% of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) after treatment respectively in the Indian subcontinent and Sudan. However, cases among people without prior VL have also been reported. Except skin lesion, PKDL patients are healthy and usually do not feel sick. However, persistence of a few PKDL cases is sufficient to initiate a new epidemic of anthroponotic VL. Thus, identifying and treating people with PKDL is a key strategy for the elimination of kala-azar. Diagnosis of PKDL relies upon clinical criteria and a serological test which is not specific for PKDL. The use of the existing laboratory diagnostic tools for confirmation of PKDL among PKDL suspects is unknown. In the Indian subcontinent, PKDL is not self-limited and needs to be treated with sodium stibogluconate injections for 4–6 months. No data are available relating to treatment compliance by patients, particularly in Bangladesh. The results of the present study showed that trained village volunteers were useful for identifying PKDL suspects, and diagnostic confirmation improved with the use of PCR. However, patients' adherence to prescribed treatment was poor

Felix Alexandrovich Berezin and his work

This is a survey of Berezin's work focused on three topics: representation theory, general concept of quantization, and supermathematics.Comment: LaTeX, 27 page

Bioavailability of Iron, Zinc, Phytate and Phytase Activity during Soaking and Germination of White Sorghum Varieties

The changes in phytate, phytase activity and in vitro bioavailability of iron and zinc during soaking and germination of three white sorghum varieties (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), named Dorado, Shandweel-6, and Giza-15 were investigated. Sorghum varieties were soaked for 20 h and germinated for 72 h after soaking for 20 h to reduce phytate content and increase iron and zinc in vitro bioavailability. The results revealed that iron and zinc content was significantly reduced from 28.16 to 32.16% and 13.78 to 26.69% for soaking treatment and 38.43 to 39.18% and 21.80 to 31.27% for germination treatments, respectively. Phytate content was significantly reduced from 23.59 to 32.40% for soaking treatment and 24.92 to 35.27% for germination treatments, respectively. Phytase enzymes will be activated during drying in equal form in all varieties. The results proved that the main distinct point is the change of phytase activity as well as specific activity during different treatment which showed no significant differences between the varieties used. The in vitro bioavailability of iron and zinc were significantly improved as a result of soaking and germination treatments

A System Dynamics Approach for Hospital Waste Management in a City in a Developing Country: The Case of Nablus, Palestine

Hospitals and health centers provide a variety of healthcare services and normally generate hazardous waste as well as general waste. General waste has a similar nature to that of municipal solid waste and therefore could be disposed of in municipal landfills. However, hazardous waste poses risks to public health, unless it is properly managed. The hospital waste management system encompasses many factors, i.e., number of beds, number of employees, level of service, population, birth rate, fertility rate, and not in my back yard (NIMBY) syndrome. Therefore, this management system requires a comprehensive analysis to determine the role of each factor and its influence on the whole system. In this research, a hospital waste management simulation model is presented based on the system dynamics technique to determine the interaction among these factors in the system using a software package, ithink. This model is used to estimate waste segregation as this is important in the hospital waste management system to minimize risk to public health. Real data has been obtained from a case study of the city of Nablus, Palestine to validate the model. The model exhibits wastes generated from three types of hospitals (private, charitable, and government) by considering the number of both inpatients and outpatients depending on the population of the city under study. The model also offers the facility to compare the total waste generated among these different types of hospitals and anticipate and predict the future generated waste both infectious and non-infectious and the treatment cost incurred

Measurement of W Polarisation at LEP

The three different helicity states of W bosons produced in the reaction e+ e- -> W+ W- -> l nu q q~ at LEP are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays. Data at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt s = 183-209 GeV are used to measure the polarisation of W bosons, and its dependence on the W boson production angle. The fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.218 \pm 0.027 \pm 0.016 where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation

Search for Anomalous Couplings in the Higgs Sector at LEP

Anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson are searched for through the processes e^+ e^- -> H gamma, e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- H and e^+ e^- -> HZ. The mass range 70 GeV < m_H < 190 GeV is explored using 602 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies sqrt(s)=189-209 GeV. The Higgs decay channels H -> ffbar, H -> gamma gamma, H -> Z\gamma and H -> WW^(*) are considered and no evidence is found for anomalous Higgs production or decay. Limits on the anomalous couplings d, db, Delta(g1z), Delta(kappa_gamma) and xi^2 are derived as well as limits on the H -> gamma gamma and H -> Z gamma decay rates