DNA fragmentation damage as a predictive marker for diabetic nephropathy in Type II diabetes mellitus

Background: Increased production of free radicals and oxidative stress in type II diabetic patients could be one of the probable causes for development of complications. The authors hypothesise that such a mechanism also contributes to the development of diabetic nephropathy in those patients.Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of DNA fragmentation damage with diabetic nephropathy in type II diabetes mellitus, so as to use it as a future novel predictive marker.Patients and methods: The study population included 100 patients with diabetic nephropathy, 100 diabetic patients without nephropathy and 100 healthy volunteers as controls. Lipid profile, fasting and post-prandial blood glucose, micro-albuminuria (micro-alb) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were assessed in patients and controls. The technique of capillary electrophoresis was used to detect DNA damage.Results: The frequency of DNA damage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was 71% in diabetic nephropathy compared with 45% in non-nephropathy patients (p < 0.001). None of healthy controls showed such a finding. Oxidative DNA fragmentation in the diabetic nephropathy group was 3.06 times that in the non-nephropathy group. Neither poor glycaemic control nor dyslipidaemia contributed to DNA damage in diabetic patients. Multivariate analysis showed that positive oxidative DNA damage test (OR1.58, p = 0.02) and the duration of ongoing DM (OR 1.48, p = 0.004) were the only independent factors contributing to the occurrence of diabetic nephropathy.Conclusion: Type II diabetic patients have more liability to oxidative DNA damage in general with a significantly higher frequency in diabetic nephropathy. DNA fragmentation analysis can be used as a predictive diagnostic biomarker for diabetic nephropathy.Keywords: complications, diabetes, free radicals, oxidative stres

High-density SNP-based association mapping of seed traits in fenugreek reveals homology with clover

Fenugreek as a self-pollinated plant is ideal for genome-wide association mapping where traits can be marked by their association with natural mutations. However, fenugreek is poorly investigated at the genomic level due to the lack of information regarding its genome. To fill this gap, we genotyped a collection of 112 genotypes with 153,881 SNPs using double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing. We used 38,142 polymorphic SNPs to prove the suitability of the population for association mapping. One significant SNP was associated with both seed length and seed width, and another SNP was associated with seed color. Due to the lack of a comprehensive genetic map, it is neither possible to align the newly developed markers to chromosomes nor to predict the underlying genes. Therefore, systematic targeting of those markers to homologous genomes of other legumes can overcome those problems. A BLAST search using the genomic fenugreek sequence flanking the identified SNPs showed high homology with several members of the Trifolieae tribe indicating the potential of translational approaches to improving our understanding of the fenugreek genome. Using such a comprehensively-genotyped fenugreek population is the first step towards identifying genes underlying complex traits and to underpin fenugreek marker-assisted breeding programs

Fecal occult blood and fecal calprotectin as point-of-care markers of intestinal morbidity in Ugandan children with Schistosoma mansoni infection.

BACKGROUND: Calprotectin is a calcium-binding cytoplasmic protein found in neutrophils and increasingly used as a marker of bowel inflammation. Fecal occult blood (FOB) is also a dependable indicator of bowel morbidity. The objective of our study was to determine the applicability of these tests as surrogate markers of Schistosoma mansoni intestinal morbidity before and after treatment with praziquantel (PZQ). METHODS: 216 children (ages 3-9 years old) from Buliisa District in Lake Albert, Uganda were examined and treated with PZQ at baseline in October 2012 with 211 of them re-examined 24 days later for S. mansoni and other soil transmitted helminths (STH). POC calprotectin and FOB assays were performed at both time points on a subset of children. Associations between the test results and infection were analysed by logistic regression. RESULTS: Fecal calprotectin concentrations of 150-300 µg/g were associated with S. mansoni egg patent infection both at baseline and follow up (OR: 12.5 P = 0.05; OR: 6.8 P = 0.02). FOB had a very strong association with baseline anemia (OR: 9.2 P = 0.03) and medium and high egg intensity schistosomiasis at follow up (OR: 6.6 P = 0.03; OR: 51.3 P = 0.003). Both tests were strongly associated with heavy intensity S. mansoni infections. There was a significant decrease in FOB and calprotectin test positivity after PZQ treatment in those children who had egg patent schistosomiasis at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Both FOB and calprotectin rapid assays were found to correlate positively and strongly with egg patent S. mansoni infection with a positive ameloriation response after PZQ treatment indicative of short term reversion of morbidity. Both tests were appropriate for use in the field with excellent operational performance and reliability. Due to its lower-cost which makes its scale-up of use affordable, FOB could be immediately adopted as a monitoring tool for PC campaigns for efficacy evaluation before and after treatment

Interleukin-4 polymorphism in Egyptian patients with type-2 diabetic nephropathy

Abstract: The effects of environmental and genetic factors on the development of diabetic complications are well-documented. The roles of inflammatory processes on the development of these complications including diabetic nephropathy were established. Cytokines have great roles in the development of diabetic nephropathy. Polymorphism in the 590-region of interleukin-4 gene is associated with the regulation of expression of this gene. During these investigations, peripheral blood was collected from 100 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus with nephropathy and 100 diabetics without nephropathy (control). DNA was extracted and a polymerase chain reaction restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique was performed to examine polymorphisms in the -590 region of the IL-4 gene. Obtained results revealed that the frequency of allele T was higher among patients with diabetic nephropathy than among the control. In addition, most of patients with allele T had overt albuminurea, higher blood pressure, renal dysfunction and dyslipidemia than patients with allele C. In conclusion, these findings suggest that patients with allele T are more liable to develop diabetic nephropathy with most of the micro-and macro-vascular complications

Improving the performance of educational leaders in North Sinai using Organizational conflict management

:   هدفت الدراسة الحالية لتحسين أداء القيادات التربوية بشمال سيناء باستخدام استراتيجيات ادارة الصراع التنظيمي، وقد استخدم الباحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، وتكون مجتمع الدراسة من جميع المشرفين التربويين بشمال سيناء من مختلف التخصصات والإدارات الست للمحافظة ، وتم تطبيق الاستبانة على عينة مكونة من (250) فرد. وقد توصلت الدراسة لمجموعة من النتائج أبرزها : عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا بين متوسطات الذكور والإناث في مجالات الدراسة ، ويلاحظ أنه لا توجد فروق بين استجابات أفراد العينة في مجالات الدراسة ، كما لا توجد فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين متوسطات أفراد العينة عند مستوى 0.05 ، تُعزَى لمتغير القيادات التربوية في جميع محاور الدراسة عدا محور معوقات تحسين أداء القيادات التربوية باستخدام ادارة الصراع التنظيمي.  وأوصت الدراسة بضرورة :  (1) تهيئة المناخ  المناسب لاستخدام استراتيجيات ادارة الصراع التنظيمي. (2) إقامة دورات تدريبية وبرامج تأهيلية للقيادات التربوية بشمال سيناء باستخدام استراتيجيات ادارة الصراع التنظيمي ؛ حتى يتمكن من مساعدة المعاملين.The current study aimed to improve the performance of educational leaders in North Sinai by using organizational conflict management strategies. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach. The study population consisted of all educational supervisors in North Sinai from various specializations and the six departments of the governorate. The questionnaire was applied to a sample of (250) individuals. The study reached a set of results, the most prominent of which are: There are no statistically significant differences between the averages of males and females in the fields of study. It is noted that there are no differences between the responses of the sample members in the fields of study. There are also no statistically significant differences between the averages of the sample members at the 0.05 level, which is attributed to the variable of educational leaders in all axes of the study except the axis of obstacles to improving the performance of educational leaders using organizational conflict management. The study recommended: (1) creating the appropriate climate for organizational conflict management strategies. (2) Hold training courses and rehabilitation programs for educational leaders in the North Sinai using organizational conflict management strategies to help the clients

Optimization of germination, callus induction, and cell suspension culture of African locust beans Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth

The present study was carried out to determine the best pre-sowing treatments that can enhance the germination and seedling growth of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Also, to establish and long-term maintenance of calli and cell suspension cultures . The result of various pre-sowing treatments showed that seeds soaked in concentrated H2SO4 treatment appeared the highest germination percentage, higher value of plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and stem girth. The MS medium containing 1mg/l 2, 4-D was the best for callus induction of stem explants. The addition of 50 mg /l citric acid to the MS medium was effective for reducing browning of callus than other treatments. However, the viability percent recorded the maximum (87.76%) on the 9th day while the concentration of viable cells per ml reached the higher record (137.5 viable cell/ml) at the 12th and cell viability remains (≈ 68.39%) throughout 18 days of culture Keywords: Parkia biglobosa, Seed germination, Callus induction, Cell suspensio

α-Adducin gene promoter DNA methylation and the risk of essential hypertension

This study was conducted to test the association between promoter DNA methylation of α-Adducin (ADD1) gene and the risk of essential hypertension (EH). A total of 150 EH patients and 100 aged- and gender-matched controls were investigated. DNA methylation levels of five cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides on ADD1 promoter were measured employing bisulfite pyrosequencing technology. Our results showed that females have a higher ADD1 DNA methylation than males and a significantly lower CpG1 methylation level is associated with increased risk of EH among them. As for males, a significant association between lower CpG2-5 methylation levels and increased risk of EH was shown. In addition, CpG2-5 methylation was found to be a highly significant predictor for EH among males. In females, CpG1 methylation was considered a predictor of hypertension. No significant correlations were found with biochemical measures, apart from the concentration of aspartate aminotransferase which was inversely correlated with ADD1 CpG2-5 methylation levels among female controls (r = −0.703). These findings highlight that ADD1 methylation may have a contributing role in the pathogenesis of EH with varying implications for both genders

Health-related quality of life and cognitive function in children with Crigler–Najjar syndrome type 1

The aim of the study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and cognitive function in patients with Crigler–Najjar syndrome (CNS) type I and its impact on their lives. Twenty-one patients diagnosed with CNS type I aged 1 month to 18 years in the Paediatric Hepatology Unit of Cairo University Children’s Hospital were enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. The patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality Of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Cognitive function was assessed using the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale: Fifth Edition (SB5). All patients had a history of admission to a neonatal intensive care unit, 17 were managed by phototherapy only and 5 also underwent exchange transfusion. According to the WHOQOL questionnaire, 11 cases (52.4%) had a low QOL score, and 7 of 13 patients had an average score for their total IQ test. Cases with poor compliance to phototherapy had statistically significantly lower QOL scores (p=0.001), while, according to the SF36 survey, cases who received exchange transfusion had statistically significantly higher cognitive function (p=0.03). There was a positive correlation between the neurological effect as a complication of the disease and poor physical QOL. Paediatric patients with CNS have significantly lower HRQOL, especially physically, psychologically and environmentally. It is recommended that assessment of HRQOL should be a routine part of follow-up in CNS patients. Patients whose HRQOL is affected receive regular psychiatric counselling, social support and rehabilitation. Abbreviations: CNS: Crigler–Najjar syndrome; HRQOL: health-related quality of life; IQ: intelligence quotient; NICU: neonatal intensive care unit; QOL: quality of life; SB5: Stanford–Binet intelligence scale: 5th edition; SF–36: Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire; UDGT: uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase; UGT1A1: uridine 5’–diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase; WHOQOL–BREF: World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version.</p