Microalbuminuria and glycated hemoglobin in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Diabetic nephropathy (DNP) is a microvascular complication that occurs in 20–40% of patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The main modifiable DNP initiation and progression factors in susceptible individuals may be sustained hyperglycemia and hypertension. The aim of the present work was to study glycemic control in children with T1D and the risk of microalbuminuria (MA) expressed as the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR).Subjects and methods: Forty children with T1D attending the diabetes clinic at the Alexandria University Children’s Hospital with a duration of diabetes of 3 years or more were included in the study and twenty apparently normal children were taken as controls. Clinical examination and blood pressure measurements were performed for all cases. Urine samples were collected within a 3–6 month period. The ACR in 2 of 3 specimens should be >30 mg/g before considering a patient to have microalbuminuria. HbA1c was measured and the mean of the last 4 readings was calculated.Results: 77.5% of patients had ACR >30 mg/g in two different samples. 88.8% of patients with poor glycemic control had MA compared to 53.8% with accepted glycemic control. The difference was more statistically significant among the adolescent age group (P = 0.001). MA was found in 77.2% of children with duration of T1D less than 5 years but the highest proportion was found when the disease duration was more than 10 years. There was no significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure among diabetic children with and without MA (P = 0.556 and 0.781).Conclusion: Microalbuminuria in children with T1 DM is not limited to those with diseaseduration of 5 years or more and it may occur earlier. MA is significantly associated with poor glycemic control especially in adolescents. Other factors that may contribute to MA are not yet fully understood, further research is needed to clarify these factors

Antibacterial activity of extracts of marine algae from the Red Sea of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In the present study, marine algae were collected from the southern coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during summer and autumn 2009. The antibacterial activities of petroleum ether, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and  methanol extracts of marine algae belonging to the Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta were studied. Their crude extracts were tested against different types of Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis,  Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus aureu) and Gram-negative bacteria  (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). All marine algae extracts tested  exhibited a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. The maximum inhibition activities were shown for  extracts of Padina pavonica and Turbinaria triquetra. The growth inhibitions of bacteria by Sargassum  portieriatum extracts were higher in samples collected during autumn than that investigated in summer. The  maximum inhibitory effect of Gracilaria multipartita was observed in the petroleum ether extract against B.  subtilis and E. coli. The ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extract of Enteromorpha prolifera and Ulva reticulata  showed strong activity against the tested bacteria. The tested microorganisms that were susceptible to the most effective extracts were further tested for the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).  The MIC of the tested microorganisms was between 0.5 and 1.25 µg/ml. The results of the present study confirmed the potential use of marine algae as a good source of antibacterial agent.Key words: Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, Rhodphyta, gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria,  solvent extract, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)

Inhibition of the development of pathogenic fungi by extracts of some marine algae from the red sea of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In this study, the predominant marine algae were collected from three different sites in the coastal area of Al-Kumrah at south of the Red sea of Jeddah, during summer and autumn 2009. The different marine algae belonged to Chlorophyta (Enteromorpha prolifera and Ulva reticulata), Phaeophyta (Cystoseira myrica, Padina pavonica, Sargassum portieriatum and Turbinaria triquetra) and Rhodophyta (Gracilaria multipartita). Algal extraction was achieved successively by using petroleum ether, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and methanol. The algae extracts were tested in vitro for antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and the yeast Candida albicans, by using agar-well diffusion method. The crude extracts of the tested algae revealed differences in their bioactivities. The maximum growth inhibition for fungi was recorded in ethyl acetate extract of T. triquetra against C. albicans (30 mm), methanol extract of E. prolifera (29 mm) and ethyl acetate extract of Padina pavonica (28 mm) against A. fumigatus. The results clarified that Chlorophyta and Phaeophyta exhibited the highest biological activity against the tested fungi, whereas the lowest was achieved in Rhodophyta. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the crude extracts of the tested algae ranged from 0.5 to 3.0 μg/ml. The results confirmed the potential of seaweed extracts as a natural source of antimicrobial compounds. The antifungal activity of different extracts of marine algae which belongs to Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta were examined against A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger and the yeast C. albicans. The algae belonging to Chlorophyta and Phaeophyta exhibited the highest inhibitory effect against the test pathogenic fungi. The different extracts showed different activities against fungi. The antimicrobial activity depended on both algal species and the efficiency of solvents in the extraction of bioactive substances.Keywords: Green algae, brown algae, red algae, solvent extracts, antifungal activity, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs

Interleukin-1 polymorphisms associated with increased risk of gastric cancer

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with a variety of clinical outcomes including gastric cancer and duodenal ulcer disease. The reasons for this variation are not clear, but the gastric physiological response is influenced by the severity and anatomical distribution of gastritis induced by H. pylori. Thus, individuals with gastritis predominantly localized to the antrum retain normal (or even high) acid secretion, whereas individuals with extensive corpus gastritis develop hypochlorhydria and gastric atrophy, which are presumptive precursors of gastric cancer. Here we report that interleukin-1 gene cluster polymorphisms suspected of enhancing production of interleukin-1-beta are associated with an increased risk of both hypochlorhydria induced by H. pylori and gastric cancer. Two of these polymorphism are in near-complete linkage disequilibrium and one is a TATA-box polymorphism that markedly affects DNA-protein interactions in vitro. The association with disease may be explained by the biological properties of interleukin-1-beta, which is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine and a powerful inhibitor of gastric acid secretion. Host genetic factors that affect interleukin-1-beta may determine why some individuals infected with H. pylori develop gastric cancer while others do no

Climate change impact and adaptation on wheat yield, water use and water use efficiency at North Nile Delta

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer in Frontiers of Earth Science on 29/04/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-019-0806-4 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© 2020, Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Investigation of climate change impacts on food security has become a global hot spot. Even so, efforts to mitigate these issues in arid regions have been insufficient. Thus, in this paper, further research is discussed based on data obtained from various crop and climate models. Two DSSATcrop models (CMs) (CERESWheat and N-Wheat) were calibrated with two wheat cultivars (Gemiza9 and Misr1). A baseline simulation (1981-2010) was compared with different scenarios of simulations using three Global Climate Models (GCMs) for the 2030s, 2050s and 2080s. Probable impacts of climate change were assessed using the GCMs and CMs under the high emission Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5). Results predicted decreased wheat grain yields by a mean of 8.7%, 11.4% and 13.2% in the 2030s, 2050s and 2080s, respectively, relative to the baseline yield. Negative impacts of climatic change are probable, despite some uncertainties within the GCMs (i. e., 2.1%, 5.0% and 8.0%) and CMs (i.e., 2.2%, 6.0% and 9.2%). Changing the planting date with a scenario of plus or minus 5 or 10 days from the common practice was assessed as a potentially effective adaptation option, which may partially offset the negative impacts of climate change. Delaying the sowing date by 10 days (from 20 November to 30 November) proved the optimum scenario and decreased further reduction in wheat yields resulting from climate change to 5.2%, 6.8% and 8.5% in the 2030s, 2050s and 2080s, respectively, compared with the 20 November scenario. The planting 5-days earlier scenario showed a decreased impact on climate change adaptation. However, the 10-days early planting scenario increased yield reduction under projected climate change. The cultivar Misr1 was more resistant to rising temperature than Gemiza9. Despite the negative impacts of projected climate change on wheat production, water use efficiency would slightly increase. The ensemble of multi-model estimated impacts and adaptation uncertainties of climate change can assist decision-makers in planning climate adaptation strategies.Published versio

Diabetes mellitus type 2 and other chronic non-communicable diseases in the central region, Saudi Arabia (riyadh cohort 2): a decade of an epidemic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Follow-up epidemiologic studies are needed to assess trends and patterns of disease spread. No follow-up epidemiologic study has been done in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess the current prevalence of major chronic, noncommunicable diseases, specifically in the urban region, where modifiable risk factors remain rampant. This study aims to fill this gap.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 9,149 adult Saudis ages seven to eighty years (5,357 males (58.6%) and 3,792 females (41.4%)) were randomly selected from the Riyadh Cohort Study for inclusion. Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DMT2) and obesity were based on the World Health Organization definitions. Diagnoses of hypertension and coronary artery disease (CAD) were based on the Seventh Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure and American Heart Association criteria, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall crude prevalence of DMT2 was 23.1% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 20.47 to 22.15). The age-adjusted prevalence of DMT2 was 31.6%. DMT2 prevalence was significantly higher in males, with an overall age-adjusted prevalence of 34.7% (95% CI 32.6 to 35.4), than in females, who had an overall age-adjusted prevalence of 28.6% (95% CI 26.7 to 29.3) (<it>P </it>< 0.001). The overall crude prevalence of obesity was 31.1% (95% CI 30.1 to 32.0). The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 40.0%. The prevalence of obesity was higher in females, with an overall prevalence of 36.5% (95% CI 35.1 to 37.83), than in males (25.1% (95% CI 23.7 to 26.3)) (<it>P </it>< 0.001). The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension and CAD were 32.6% (95% CI 31.7 to 33.6) and 6.9% (95% CI 6.4 to 7.4), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Comparisons of our findings with earlier data show that the prevalence of DMT2, hypertension and CAD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has alarmingly worsened. Aggressive promotion of public awareness, continued screening and early intervention are pivotal to boosting a positive response.</p

<em>Enterococcus faecalis</em> Infection Causes Inflammation, Intracellular Oxphos-Independent ROS Production, and DNA Damage in Human Gastric Cancer Cells

Background: Achlorhydria caused by e.g. atrophic gastritis allows for bacterial overgrowth, which induces chronic inflammation and damage to the mucosal cells of infected individuals driving gastric malignancies and cancer. Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) can colonize achlohydric stomachs and we therefore wanted to study the impact of E. faecalis infection on inflammatory response, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial respiration, and mitochondrial genetic stability in gastric mucosal cells. Methods: To separate the changes induced by bacteria from those of the inflammatory cells we established an in vitro E. faecalis infection model system using the gastric carcinoma cell line MKN74. Total ROS and superoxide was measured by fluorescence microscopy. Cellular oxygen consumption was characterized non-invasively using XF24 microplate based respirometry. Gene expression was examined by microarray, and response pathways were identified by Gene Set Analysis (GSA). Selected gene transcripts were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Mitochondrial mutations were determined by sequencing. Results: Infection of MKN74 cells with E. faecalis induced intracellular ROS production through a pathway independent of oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos). Furthermore, E. faecalis infection induced mitochondrial DNA instability. Following infection, genes coding for inflammatory response proteins were transcriptionally up-regulated while DNA damage repair and cell cycle control genes were down-regulated. Cell growth slowed down when infected with viable E. faecalis and responded in a dose dependent manner to E. faecalis lysate. Conclusions: Infection by E. faecalis induced an oxphos-independent intracellular ROS response and damaged the mitochondrial genome in gastric cell culture. Finally the bacteria induced an NF-kappa B inflammatory response as well as impaired DNA damage response and cell cycle control gene expression

Persistent Helicobacter pylori Specific Th17 Responses in Patients with Past H. pylori Infection Are Associated with Elevated Gastric Mucosal IL-1β

10.1371/journal.pone.0039199PLoS ONE76

Expansion of the Multi-Link Frontier™ Coronary Bifurcation Stent: Micro-Computed Tomographic Assessment in Human Autopsy and Porcine Heart Samples

BACKGROUND: Treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions remains challenging, beyond the introduction of drug eluting stents. Dedicated stent systems are available to improve the technical approach to the treatment of these lesions. However dedicated stent systems have so far not reduced the incidence of stent restenosis. The aim of this study was to assess the expansion of the Multi-Link (ML) Frontier™ stent in human and porcine coronary arteries to provide the cardiologist with useful in-vitro information for stent implantation and selection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Nine ML Frontier™ stents were implanted in seven human autopsy heart samples with known coronary artery disease and five ML Frontier™ stents were implanted in five porcine hearts. Proximal, distal and side branch diameters (PD, DD, SBD, respectively), corresponding opening areas (PA, DA, SBA) and the mean stent length (L) were assessed by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). PD and PA were significantly smaller in human autopsy heart samples than in porcine heart samples (3.54±0.47 mm vs. 4.04±0.22 mm, p = 0.048; 10.00±2.42 mm(2) vs. 12.84±1.38 mm(2), p = 0.034, respectively) and than those given by the manufacturer (3.54±0.47 mm vs. 4.03 mm, p = 0.014). L was smaller in human autopsy heart samples than in porcine heart samples, although data did not reach significance (16.66±1.30 mm vs. 17.30±0.51 mm, p = 0.32), and significantly smaller than that given by the manufacturer (16.66±1.30 mm vs. 18 mm, p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Micro-CT is a feasible tool for exact surveying of dedicated stent systems and could make a contribution to the development of these devices. The proximal diameter and proximal area of the stent system were considerably smaller in human autopsy heart samples than in porcine heart samples and than those given by the manufacturer. Special consideration should be given to the stent deployment procedure (and to the follow-up) of dedicated stent systems, considering final intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography to visualize (and if necessary optimize) stent expansion

Association of the MTHFR A1298C Variant with Unexplained Severe Male Infertility

The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene is one of the main regulatory enzymes involved in folate metabolism, DNA synthesis and remethylation reactions. The influence of MTHFR variants on male infertility is not completely understood. The objective of this study was to analyze the distribution of the MTHFR C677T and A1298C variants using PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) in a case group consisting of 344 men with unexplained reduced sperm counts compared to 617 ancestry-matched fertile or normozoospermic controls. The Chi square test was used to analyze the genotype distributions of MTHFR polymorphisms. Our data indicated a lack of association of the C677T variant with infertility. However, the homozygous (C/C) A1298C polymorphism of the MTHFR gene was present at a statistically high significance in severe oligozoospermia group compared with controls (OR = 3.372, 95% confidence interval CI = 1.27–8.238; p = 0.01431). The genotype distribution of the A1298C variants showed significant deviation from the expected Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, suggesting that purifying selection may be acting on the 1298CC genotype. Further studies are necessary to determine the influence of the environment, especially the consumption of diet folate on sperm counts of men with different MTHFR variants