Stem cell research: a religious and ethical perspective

Stem cell research is among the most promising and controversial technological breakthroughs of our time. Stem cells are the cells from which all 210 different kinds of tissue in the human body originate. There are great potential to relieve human disease and suffering. The first studies on stem cells began in the 60s. Scientists have isolated the first human embryonic stem cell lines specifically tailored to match the nuclear DNA of patients, both male and female of various ages, suffering from disease or spinal cord injury. Because many diseases result from the death or dysfunction of a single cell type, scientists believe that the introduction of healthy cells of this type into a patient may restore lost or compromised function. Stem cells are able to divide, while maintaining their totipotent or pluripotent characteristics. Early in mammalian development, stem cells (embryonic stem cells); have the ability to differentiate into every cell of the human body (totipotent), potentially forming an entire fetus. Stem cells derived from later stages of mammalian development have the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types, but not into an entire organism. Adult stem cells are generally limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin Most cells in the human body are differentiated and have the ability to form only cells similar to them. If one can manipulate the conditions controlling cellular differentiation, it may be possible to create replacement cells and organs, potentially curing illnesses such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other potentially serious illnesses.. Embryonic Stem cells for research are obtained from the surplus fertilized embryos in infertility management with IVF, from aborted fetuses, umbilical cord and cloning whether therapeutic or reproductive. The overwhelming objection to stem cell research is that it involves the destruction of an embryo or foetus. For many, this constitutes destruction of a potential human, and conflicts with religious and moral views held in our society. For others, the potential for this research to provide treatments and possibly cures for debilitating illnesses that have no cure and significantly impact on our way of life overrides this concern. Central to any argument on this is what actually constitutes the beginning of life for a human. Opinions on this vary from the moment of conception to a 14 day embryo and a living baby at birth. The other major ethical issue associated with stem cell research ties in with the combination of embryonic stem cell and cloning technologies. This newly emerging technology has caused a great deal of ethical, legal, and theological discussion and debate. Is IVF permitted to begin with? Are pre-embryos included in the prohibition of abortion? May a very early embryo be sacrificed for stem cells that could save lives or at least cure disease? May we fertilize ova specifically to create an embryo to be sacrificed for stem cells? With 'surplus' embryos cryopreserved in IVF clinics, is there a need to create additional embryos solely for purposes of stem cells basic research? Need we make "fences" in the form of protective laws to protect fetuses from wanton destruction? May tissue from aborted fetuses be used for research or medical treatment?. This paper discusses stem cell research in an ethical and religious perspective showing the Islamic, Catholic, Judaism and secular ethical views. it also projects possible compromises that could be utilized and urges local authorities to develop regulations for all clinical and research work that involves the human embryo

Obturator with soft liner in the management of hard palate defect: A case report

Maxillary defects are created following surgical treatment of patients with congenital defects, trauma, or neoplasm. Oral cancer is one of the more common malignanciesif detected lately massive tissues will be excised surgically and correction will be challenging. One of the treatment strategies is obturator, the retention of which is a major problem. 70 years old female presented with complaint of difficulty in chewing, speech and unlike her appearance. Hemimaxillectomy (or transectomy) was done 6 months ago as surgical treatment of squamous cell carcinoma resulted in a huge hole on the right side of the remaining maxilla.The size of the defect was about 3.0X1.5 cm. Acrylic obturator was made. Soft liner (Mucopren, Germany) was added to the fitting surface of the obturator. The patient’s speech, swallowing, mastication and facial appearance were improved. The use of hard acrylic base obturator with soft linear rendered the obturator more retentive and comfortable to the patient. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case to be reported in Sudan in a method different from those used by others worldwide.Keywords: Obturator, soft linear, maxillary defect, Sudan

Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus in pregnant Sudanese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The epidemiology of viral hepatitis during pregnancy is essential for health planners and programme managers. While much data exist concerning viral hepatitis during pregnancy in many African countries, no proper published data are available in Sudan.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The study aimed to investigate the sero-prevalance and the possible risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among antenatal care attendants in central Sudan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During 3 months from March–June 2006, sera were collected from pregnant women at Umdurman Maternity Hospital in Sudan, and they were tested for markers of hepatitis B virus (HBVsAg) and HCV.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HBVsAg was detected in 41 (5.6%) out 728 women, Anti-HCV was detected in 3 (0.6%) out of 423 women, all of them were not aware of their condition. Age, parity, gestational age, residence, history of blood transfusion, dental manipulations, tattooing and circumcision did not contribute significantly to increased HBVsAg sero-positivity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Thus 5.6% of pregnant women were positive for HBVsAg irrespective of their age, parity and socio-demographic characteristics. There was low prevalence of Anti-HCV.</p

A Packet Scheduling Scheme for Improving Real-time Applications Performance in Downlink LTE–advanced

Quality of Service based packet scheduling is a key-feature of LTE-A mandating selection and transmission of individual user packets based on their priority. HARQ Aware Scheduling, Retransmission Aware Proportional Fair, Chase Combining Based Max C/I Scheduling and Maximum- Largest Weighted First (M-LWDF) are popular Packet Scheduling Algorithms (PSAs) developed to meet QoS requirements. In highly erroneous LTE-A cannel, M-LWDF is considered to be one of best PSA. To validate the performance of M-LWDF for the LTE-A channel, Mean User Throughout, and Fairness performance measures were evaluated for 3 different PSAs designed based on M-LWDF algorithm in this paper. A C++ based simulation results indicate the superiority of the PSA3 algorithm within the threshold of the performance measures against benchmarks. It has shown more efficiency and the performance of RTA traffic was enhanced. Results show that PSA3 is superior to its benchmark PSA2 by 12% in Mean User Throughput and 11% in Fairness. PSA2 performed the worst because it prioritizes new users and it allocated all available RBs to the scheduled user leaving the rest to wait in the buffer. PSA3 maintians good Mean User Throughput and fairnessdue to scheduling each user on its RB which leads to multi-user diversity

Maximum-largest weighted delay first algorithm for heterogeneous traffic in 4G networks

Real time applications with strict QoS like delay sensitive applications require an advanced technology to adopt them. This is where Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) fulfills this requirement. With this ever evolving technology the need for improvements is required. Packet scheduling is one of the important key features of LTE-A, where it dictates user selection and transmission of those user’s packets based on the priority of the users to reach the receiver correctly. Packet scheduling is one mean to achieve those QoS requirements that real-time applications require. Such algorithms are HARQ Aware Scheduling Algorithm (HAS), Retransmission Aware Proportional Fair Algorithm (RAPF), Chase Combining Based Max C/I Scheduling and Maximum- Largest WeightedDealy First algorithm (M-LWDF). In this paper, M-LWDF is one of the best algorithms in LTE-A which was chosen for further investigated to support QoS in high mobility environment. Packet Loss Ratio (PLR), and Mean User Throughput performance measures were used to validate the performance of M-LWDF algorithm against other algorithms using similar mobile environment. Simulation results indicate the capability of M-LWDF algorithm within the threshold of the performance measures against other benchmarks where it has demonstrated more efficiency to support and improve the performance of real-time multimedia traffic

Clinical and radiological outcomes of arthroscopic subcoracoid decompression for idiopathic coracoid impingement, a stepped approach

Background: Idiopathic subcoracoid impingement is considered now as a well-established cause of anterior shoulder pain. There are multiple techniques reported for management of subcoracoid impingement. Open decompression and reattachment of conjoint tendon as well as arthroscopic resection of coracoid tip. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of arthroscopic stepwise approach for management of idiopathic coracoid impingment.Methods: This prospective therapeutic case series study included 26 consecutive patients suffering from anterior shoulder pain and were diagnosed as subcoracoid impingement. All cases were evaluated preoperatively and followed up for 12 months after surgery both clinically and radiologically. Arthroscopic subcoracoid decompression, coracoplasty and arthroscopic repair of partial subscapularis tear if present were done for all cases.Results: The mean age at the time of surgery was 45.3±5.4years. At the final follow up, the mean VAS score improved significantly to 0.8±0.8points postoperatively (p&lt;0.01). The mean Constant score improved significantly to 87.8±7.8 at the final follow-up (p&lt;0.001). The mean UCLA score improved significantly to 32.1±2.4 at the end of follow-up (P&lt;0.001)Conclusions: Coracoid impingement should be in mind when evaluating any patient with anterior shoulder pain. The arthroscopic management in form of bone, bursal and tendon procedures (triple attack) is a good treatment to relieve clinical symptoms with excellent patient reported outcomes.

Maximum-Largest Weighted Delay First Algorithm for Heterogeneous Traffic in 4G Networks

Real time applications with strict QoS like delay sensitive applications require an advanced technology to adopt them. This is where Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) fulfills this requirement. With this ever evolving technology the need for improvements is required. Packet scheduling is one of the important key features of LTE-A, where it dictates user selection and transmission of those user’s packets based on the priority of the users to reach the receiver correctly. Packet scheduling is one mean to achieve those QoS requirements that real-time applications require. Such algorithms are HARQ Aware Scheduling Algorithm (HAS), Retransmission Aware Proportional Fair Algorithm (RAPF), Chase Combining Based Max C/I Scheduling and Maximum- Largest WeightedDealy First algorithm (M-LWDF). In this paper, M-LWDF is one of the best algorithms in LTE-A which was chosen for further investigated to support QoS in high mobility environment. Packet Loss Ratio (PLR), and Mean User Throughput performance measures were used to validate the performance of M-LWDF algorithm against other algorithms using similar mobile environment. Simulation results indicate the capability of M-LWDF algorithm within the threshold of the performance measures against other benchmarks where it has demonstrated more efficiency to support and improve the performance of real-time multimedia traffic

Effect of Phenobarbitone Treatment Against Signal Grass (Brachiaria decumbens) Toxicity in Sheep

The effect of phenobarbitone against signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens) toxicity was studied in 26 male crossbred sheep. Grazing on signal grass significantly decreased the concentration of cytochrome P-450 and the activity of drug metabolizing enzymes, viz. aminopyrine-N-demethylase, aniline-4-hydroxylase, UDP- glucuronyltransferase and glutathione-S-transferase in liver and kidneys of affected sheep. Oral administration of phenobarbitone (30 mg/kg body weight) for five consecutive days before grazing on B. decumbens pasture, and thereafter, for three consecutive days every two weeks, resulted in significant increases in hepatic and renal activities of drug-metabolizing enzymes. The induction of drug metabolizing activity in sheep grazing on signal grass group was found to be lower than in animals given phenobarbitone alone. Induction by phenobarbitone provided a degree of protection against the toxic effects of B. decumbens as indicated by the delay in the appearance of signs of toxicity. Furthermore, these were much milder compared to those in the sheep not treated with phenobarbitone. The present study suggests that phenobarbitone-type cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme-induction may increase resistance against signal grass (B. decumbens) toxicity in sheep

Seismic Imaging of Mantle Transition Zone Discontinuities beneath the Northern Red Sea and Adjacent Areas

The dramatic asymmetry in terms of surface elevation, Cenozoic volcanisms and earthquake activity across the Red Sea is an enigmatic issue in global tectonics, partially due to the unavailability of broad-band seismic data on the African Plate adjacent to the Red Sea. Here, we report the first comprehensive image of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) discontinuities using data from the Egyptian National Seismic Network, and compare the resulting depths of the 410 and 660-km discontinuities with those observed on the Arabian side. Our results show that when a standard earth model is used for time-to-depth conversion, the resulting depth of the discontinuities increases systematically towards the axis of the Afro-Arabian Dome (AAD) from both the west and east. Relative to the westernmost area, the maximum depression of the 410-km discontinuity is about 30 km, and that of the 660-km discontinuity is about 45 km. The observed systematic variations can best be explained by a model involving a hydrated MTZ and an upper-mantle low-velocity zone beneath the AAD. Models invoking one or more mantle plumes originated from the MTZ or the lower-mantle beneath the study area are not consistent with the observations

An agricultural investment map based on geographic information system and multi-criteria method.

The study aimed to produce an investment classification map, which shows the potential areas of investment in agriculture in Sinnar, Sudan. The spatial multi-criteria analysis was used to rank and display potential locations, while the analytical hierarchy process method was used to compute the priority weights of each criterion. The study attempted to explore the utilization of Geographic Information System (GIS) to map the potential investment areas, therefore, it did not cover a comprehensive analysis of all factors that influence investment in agriculture. In addition, the analysis was limited to criteria that had spatial reference. The investment criteria for spatial analysis were defined from the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Investment, Sudan. Even with the shortcomings of the data, it was found that the results obtained were very encouraging and provided clear indicative areas for agricultural investment in Sinnar. Government agencies can use GIS to access information regarding the potential areas of investment, and minimize investment risks. On the other hand, the economic development organizations will now have the ability to benefit from the Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions by leveraging on this technology to attract and retain business from worldwide sources. Thus, the model will serve as a decision support tool for investors and decision makers at various levels