Evaluation of serum visfatin in children and adolescent with Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic illness characterized by the body’s inability to produce insulin due to the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas. Visfatin is a ubiquitous intracellular enzyme, known as nicotine amide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) and pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF-1).Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum visfatin level in children and adolescent with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).Patients and methods: The present study was a case-control study observation that was conducted in Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Pediatric Ward, Zagazig University Hospitals. The study included 46 children; 23 with T1DM and 23 healthy age- and sex- matched children.Results: In this study, we found that serum visfatin level in diabetic group is statistically highly significant lower than healthy group. The mean serum level of visfatin in healthy group was 19.53 ± 10.5 ng/ml, while in T1DM patients was 2.85 ± 2.09 ng/ml. The best cutoff of serum visfatin level in excluding T1DM was ≥ 3.6 ng/ml with area under curve 0.968 with sensitivity 91.3%, specificity 82.6%, positive predictive value 84%, negative predictive value 90.5%, positive likelihood ratio 5.25, negative likelihood ratio 0.11 and accuracy 87% (p < 0.001). The result showed that serum visfatin could be helpful in prediction of T1DM among children and adolescents with an accuracy 87%.Conclusion: Serum visfatin level is lower in T1DM patients compared to healthy control. Visfatin play a role in early prediction and understanding the mechanism of its action in T1DM could lead to new therapeutic targets

Human heart-type fatty acid-binding protein as an early diagnostic marker of doxorubicin cardiac toxicity

Progressive cardiotoxicity following treatment with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) may lead to late onset cardiomyopathy. So, early prediction of toxicity can lead to prevention of heart failure in these patients. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of H-FABP as an early diagnostic marker of anthracycline-induced cardiac toxicity together with brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as an indication of ventricular dysfunction in such patients. Our study was conducted on 40 NHL patients who received 6 cycles of a doxorubicin containing chemotherapy protocol (CHOP), not exceeding the total allowed dose of doxorubicin (500 mg/m2). Ten healthy controls were included in our study. Human heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) was assessed 24 hours after the first cycle of CHOP. Plasma levels of BNP were estimated both before starting chemotherapy and after the last cycle of CHOP. Resting echocardiography was also performed before and at the end of chemotherapy cycles. The ejection fraction (EF) of 8 of our patients decreased below 50% at the end of the sixth cycle. Elevated levels of both H-FABP and BNP were found in all patients wth EF below 50% and both markers showed a positive correlation with each other. We concluded that H-FABP may serve as a reliable early marker for prediction of cardiomyopathy induced by doxorubicin. Thus, in patients with elevated H-FABP, alternative treatment modalities with no cardiac toxicity may be considered in order to prevent subsequent heart failure in these patients

A case study of Rahad Agricultural Scheme

تعتمد التنمية في السودان على القطاع الزراعي، ويتركز الإنتاج الزراعي بصورة رئيسة في المناطق الريفية بالإضافة إلى ولاية الخرطوم التي تمثل العاصمة القومية للسودان. ويمثل مشروع الرهد الزراعي أيضا احد المشاريع الهامة التي تنتج القطن بصورة رئيسية إضافة إلى بعض المحصولات الأخرى (حقلية، بستانية، ومحاصيل اعلاف....الخ). الهدف الرئيس من هذه الدراسة هو معرفة إلى أي مدى اثر المشروع (ايجابيا أو/ وسلبيا)على المنطقة. إضافة إلى دراسة بعض الاوضاع الاقتصادية الاجتماعية، وبعض العوامل التي تؤثر على انتاج بعض المحاصيل الحقلية كالقطن والذرة والفول السوداني. اعتمدت الدراسة على مسح ميداني تم اجراؤه بمنطقة مشروع الرهد الزراعي (الفاو) في يوليو 2005م، وتم تصميم استبانة لجمع المعلومات من عينة مختارة من المزارعين في منطقة الدراسة باستعمال وسيلة العينة الطبقية العشوائية، ودعمت بمعلومات ثانوية من مصادر ذات صلة، وأخضعت المعلومات لتحليل احصائي وصفي وتحليل ارتدادي للتعرف على العوامل التي تؤثر على انتاج تلك المحاصيل الحقلية سابقة الذكر. اظهرت نتائج التحليل الوصفي نوعين من التأثيرات: 1. تأثيرات ايجابية مثل تحسين الاوضاع الاقتصادية والخدمات الاجتماعية كالتعليم، الصحة، مياه الشرب، الخدمات البيطرية وصحة الحيوان....الخ. 2. تأثيرات سلبية كتدهور كثير من الموارد الطبيعية الموجودة اصلا في المنطقة مثل الغابات الطبيعية والمراعي الطبيعية والحياة البرية. إضافة إلى تدهور البيئة الطبيعية مما أدى إلى تلوث الهواء الجوي والمياه واضر بصحة الإنسان والحيوان في المنطقة. تدهورت أيضا البيئة الصحية وظهرت الكثير من الأمراض التي لم تكن معروفة في المنطقة قبل قيام المشروع كاالملاريا الخبيثة، التيفويد، الحساسيات المختلفة، البلهارسيا، ومرض السرطان.....الخ. كما اظهرت نتائج التحليل الارتدادي أن عائدات القطن والذرة والفول السوداني، إضافة إلى تكاليف انتاج القطن، المساحة المزروعة من القطن، وتكاليف عمالة القطن هي اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج القطن، اظهر التحليل الارتدادي أيضا لإنتاج محصول الذرة أن تكاليف انتاج القطن والذرة وتكاليف عمالة الذرة هي اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج الذرة في المشروع، في حين أن اهم العوامل المؤثرة على انتاج الفول السوداني في المشروع هي تكاليف انتاج القطن والفول السوداني، عائدات الفول السوداني وتكاليف عمالته. وللحصول على التنمية المستدامة في المشروعات التنموية بصورة عامة والزراعية بصورة خاصة فقد توصلت الدراسة إلى عدة توصيات من اهمها: • الاهتمام بدراسات الجدوى البيئية قبل البدء في اقامة أي مشروع تنموي. • دعم وتشجيع البحوث العلمية في المجالات المختلفة للتنمية المستدامة والمحافظة على البيئة لا سيما في المشاريع الزراعية

Detection of Extended-Spectrum β-lactamases' (ESBLs) Resistance among Wound Infection Pathogens in Khartoum State

Abstract The presence of extended-spectrum-β lactamases (ESBLs) in a clinical infection can result in treatment failure if one of the third-generation cephalosporins is used. ESBLs detection has both clinical as well as epidemiological relevance. The present study was conducted to detect the frequency of ESBL producing pathogens that causes wound infections. Hundred wound samples were collected from Khartoum state Hospitals were investigated for isolation and identification (colonial characteristics, Gram reaction, biochemical reactions, and antibiotic susceptibility). The frequency of isolates from all cases was 95 (95%) with 5 (5%) yielding no growth. The isolates were E.coli, Klebsiella species, staph aureus, Proteus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which isolated from 27(28.4%), 13(13.68%), 23(24.21%), 20(21.05%) and 12(12.63%) respectively. The isolates were subjected to show their susceptibility against the third generation cephalosporins (Cefotaxime, Ceftazidime and Ceftriaxone) using disk diffusion method. The results were observed that 60(63.1%) out of 95 isolates shown resistance to third generation cephalosporins, while35 isolates were sensitive to these antibiotics. The sixty resistant isolates were subjected to show their ability to produce ESBL using Kirby _Bauer Method (Calvulanic acid + Third generation cephalosporins). Among 18 E.coli, 4 Klebsiella species, 16 Staph aureus, 12 Proteus species, 10 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolates which were tested, 6(33.33%), 1(25%), 9(56.2%), 3(30%) and 3(30%) were found to be ESBL producer respectively. We conclude that the ESBL producers were found in large proportions which may refers to misusing of antibiotics or inadequate treatment

A Predictive Model for Student Performance in Classrooms using Student Interactions with an eTextbook

With the rise of online eTextbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), a huge amount of data has been collected related to students’ learning. With the careful analysis of this data, educators can gain useful insights into their students’ performance and their behavior in learning a particular topic. This paper proposes a new model for predicting student performance based on an analysis of how students interact with an interactive online eTextbook. By being able to predict students’ performance early in the course, educators can easily identify students at risk and provide a suitable intervention. We considered two main issues: the prediction of good/bad performance and the prediction of the final exam grade. To build the proposed model, we evaluated the most popular classification and regression algorithms. Random Forest Regression and Multiple Linear Regression have been applied in Regression. While Logistic Regression, decision tree, Random Forest Classifier, K Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machine have been applied in classification. Based on the findings of the experiments, the algorithm with the best result overall in classification was Random Forest Classifier with an accuracy equal to 91.7%, while in the regression it was Random Forest Regression with an R2 equal to 0.977

Biochemical Evaluation of some Natural Feed Additives against Dexamethasone-induced Metabolic Alterations in Rabbits

Glucocorticoid therapy is limited by numerous metabolic adverse effects associated with long term exposure to excess doses. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the possible protective effects of date palm and/or Saccharomyces cerevisiae probiotics on dexamethasone-induced metabolic changes in rabbits. 25 healthy male white New Zealand rabbits were grouped into group 1 (control), group 2 (2 mg/kg bw/day dexamethasone I/M), group 3 (0.5 g/kg/day date palm flesh+2 mg/kg bw/day dexamethasone I/M), group 4 (1g/kg/day S. cerevisiae probiotic + 2 mg/kg bw/day dexamethasone I/M), group 5 (date palm flesh + S. cerevisiae probiotic + dexamethasone at the aforementioned doses). Dexamethasone injection resulted in marked increases (p≤0.05) in hepatic MDA concentration and catalase activity, as well as significant decreases in hepatic GSH concentration and body weight gain. The serum levels of glucose, lipid profile (TG, cholesterol, VLDL, LDL/HDL risk ratio), and liver function biomarkers (serum total proteins, albumin, ALT, ALP) showed significant variations (P≤0.05) between control and dexamethasone treated group. The ameliorative effect of date palm fruit and/or probiotics (S. cerevisiae) was markedly indicated by restoration of these tested parameters to near normalcy. Therefore, the co-treatment with date or S. cerevisiae could be considered of great interest as potential feed additives for reduction of the adverse metabolic effects induced by dexamethasone in rabbits

Identifying Difficult exercises in an eTextbook Using Item Response Theory and Logged Data Analysis

The growing dependence on eTextbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has led to an increase in the amount of students' learning data. By carefully analyzing this data, educators can identify difficult exercises, and evaluate the quality of the exercises when teaching a particular topic. In this study, an analysis of log data from the semester usage of the OpenDSA eTextbook was offered to identify the most difficult data structure course exercises and to evaluate the quality of the course exercises. Our study is based on analyzing students' responses to the course exercises. We applied item response theory (IRT) analysis and a latent trait mode (LTM) to identify the most difficult exercises .To evaluate the quality of the course exercises we applied IRT theory. Our findings showed that the exercises that related to algorithm analysis topics represented the most difficult exercises, and there existing six exercises were classified as poor exercises which could be improved or need some attention.Comment: 6 pages,5 figure

Screening for psychological distress among High School Graduates Accepted for Enrollment at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine: Academic year 2016/2017

Background: Mental and psychological health of adolescents in general and prospective medical students in particular is a priority area to investigate as it affects wellbeing of the future doctors.Objectives: The current research was conducted to screen first year medical students accepted for enrollment at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine to identify those with a high probability of having psychological distress before the start of academic courses as well as explore the sources of stress among them.Methods: A cross sectional survey of 779 high school graduates accepted for admission to Alexandria Faculty of medicine was conducted. Participants were approached on the days of obligatory pre-enrollment medical examination. The translated Arabic version of DASS 21 questionnaire was used to screen students for three negative emotional symptoms namely depression, anxiety and stress. Inquiry about age, sex, residency and type of high school was added.Results: More than a tenth of studied medical students (12.6%) suffered from severe or profound stress and 29.1% of them had mild to moderate stress. Moreover, one fifth (20%) of studied students were severely anxious and less than one third (29.3%) had mild to moderate anxiety. Severe and profound depression was diagnosed among 14.3% of students whereas, 18.7% them were moderately depressed. No association was found between any of studied negative emotional symptoms and the students’ educational background or their residency.Conclusion: Nearly half of the prospective medical students might have some sort of psychological distress before starting their study in the Faculty of Medicine. They should be investigated to verify diagnosis and start intervention to minimize its adverse effects on academic performance and advancement at the faculty. Stress management courses should be considered for all medical students.Keywords: Psychological distress, Prospective medical students, Adolescents’ psychological health, Depression, Anxiety, Stres

Hepatobiliary manifestations following two-stages elective laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy for patients with ulcerative colitis: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUNDHepatobiliary manifestations occur in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The effect of laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy (LRP) with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) on hepatobiliary manifestations is debated.AIMTo evaluate hepatobiliary changes after two-stages elective laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy for patients with UC.METHODSBetween June 2013 and June 2018, 167 patients with hepatobiliary symptoms underwent two-stage elective LRP for UC in a prospective observational study. Patients with UC and having at least one hepatobiliary manifestation who underwent LRP with IPAA were included in the study. The patients were followed up for four years to assess the outcomes of hepatobiliary manifestations.RESULTSThe patients' mean age was 36 +/- 8 years, and males predominated (67.1%). The most common hepatobiliary diagnostic method was liver biopsy (85.6%), followed by Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (63.5%), Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (62.5%), abdominal ultrasonography (35.9%), and Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (6%). The most common hepatobiliary symptom was Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (62.3%), followed by fatty liver (16.8%) and gallbladder stone (10.2%). 66.4% of patients showed a stable course after surgery. Progressive or regressive courses occurred in 16.8% of each. Mortality was 6%, and recurrence or progression of symptoms required surgery for 15%. Most PSC patients (87.5%) had a stable course, and only 12.5% became worse. Two-thirds (64.3%) of fatty liver patients showed a regressive course, while one-third (35.7%) showed a stable course. Survival rates were 98.8%, 97%, 95.8%, and 94% at 12 mo, 24 mo, 36 mo, and at the end of the follow-up.CONCLUSIONIn patients with UC who had LRP, there is a positive impact on hepatobiliary disease. It caused an improvement in PSC and fatty liver disease. The most prevalent unchanged course was PSC, while the most common improvement was fatty liver disease