Pattern of irritable bowel syndrome and its impact on quality of life in primary health care center attendees, Suez governorate, Egypt

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common disorders diagnosed by gastroenterologists and a common cause of general practice visits. Although this disease is not life threatening, patients with IBS seem to be seriously affected in their everyday life. The study was designed to explore the pattern of IBS in clinical practice and the impact on the quality of life. Methods: This is a case control descriptive study. 117 individuals were included in this study. Rome II criteria were used for the diagnosis of IBS. Impact of IBS on patient's quality of life was determined by irritable bowel syndrome quality of life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire. Results: Prevalence of IBS among the study sample was 34.2%. 10% were IBS-Diarrhea, 37.5% were IBS-Constipation and 52.5% were alternators. There is statistical insignificant relationship between IBS (+) and age while it was a significant relation regarding gender (more common among women 80%). There is statistical significance relationship between IBS (+) on one hand and marital status and occupational status on the other hand. Patients with IBS had statistically significant lower scores for all IBS- QOL domains compared with the control group. Conclusion: IBS is a prevalent disorder that affects females more than males and it has significant impacts on work, lifestyle and social well-being.Key words: Irritable bowel syndrome, quality of life, Roma I

Proximate composition of traditional local sorghum beer “dolo” manufactured in Ouagadougou

Dolo is a local beer manufactured from malted sorghum grains. It is the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverage in Burkina Faso (60% of population). Thirty (30) samples of dolo were collected from local markets in Ouagadougou and analyzed with respect to their proximate compositions and pH values using biochemical standard method. The average values of pH, dry matter and insoluble matter among samples were respectively 3.50±0.07, 5.90±1.24% (w/v) and 0.85±0.32% (w/v). Alcohol content in dolo samples was on average 2.30±0.25% (v/v). The total proteins, total carbohydrates and reducing sugars were 26±14.8, 38±20.4 and 10±3.8 μg/ml, respectively. The lipids were detected as traces in all dolo samples. The energetic value of dolo was on average 21.8±1.6 Kcal/100 ml of which these parameters characterize the quality of dolo.Keywords: Sorghum bicolor, local beer, dolo, alcohol content, composition, Burkina FasoAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(13), pp. 1517-152

Similarities and Differences of the Soleus and Gastrocnemius H-reflexes during Varied Body Postures, Foot Positions, and Muscle Function: Multifactor Designs for Repeated Measures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the soleus (Sol), medial gastrocnemius (MG), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscles differ in function, composition, and innervations, it is a common practice is to investigate them as single H-reflex recording. The purpose of this study was to compare H-reflex recordings between these three sections of the triceps surae muscle group of healthy participants while lying and standing during three different ankle positions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Sol, MG and LG muscles' H-reflexes were recorded from ten participants during prone lying and standing with the ankle in neutral, maximum dorsiflexion, and maximum plantarflexion positions. Four traces were averaged for each combination of conditions. Three-way ANOVAs (posture X ankle position X muscle) with planned comparisons were used for statistical comparisons.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although the H-reflex in the three muscle sections differed in latency and amplitude, its dependency on posture and ankle position was similar. The H-reflex amplitudes and maximum H-reflex to M-response (H/M) ratios were significantly 1) lower during standing compared to lying with the ankle in neutral, 2) greater during standing with the ankle in plantarflexion compared to neutral, and 3) less with the ankle in dorsiflexion compared to neutral during lying and standing for all muscles (<it>p </it>≤ .05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Varying demands are required for muscles activated during distinctly different postures and ankle movement tasks.</p

Spectrophotometric determination of tizanidine and orphenadrine via ion pair complex formation using eosin Y

A simple, sensitive and rapid spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for the determination of two skeletal muscle relaxants namely, tizanidine hydrochloride (I) and orphenadrine citrate (II) in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed method is based on the formation of a binary complex between the studied drugs and eosin Y in aqueous buffered medium (pH 3.5). Under the optimum conditions, the binary complex showed absorption maxima at 545 nm for tizanidine and 542 nm for orphenadrine. The calibration plots were rectilinear over concentration range of 0.5-8 μg/mL and 1-12 μg/mL with limits of detection of 0.1 μg/mL and 0.3 μg/mL for tizanidine and orphenadrine respectively. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the complex were studied and optimized. The method was successfully applied for determination of the studied drugs in their dosage forms; and to the content uniformity test of tizanidine in tablets

Anticancer activity of a sub-fraction of dichloromethane extract of Strobilanthes crispus on human breast and prostate cancer cells in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The leaves of <it>Strobilanthes crispus </it>(<it>S. crispus</it>) which is native to the regions of Madagascar to the Malay Archipelago, are used in folk medicine for their antidiabetic, diuretic, anticancer and blood pressure lowering properties. Crude extracts of this plant have been found to be cytotoxic to human cancer cell lines and protective against chemically-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. In this study, the cytotoxicity of various sub-fractions of dichloromethane extract isolated from the leaves of <it>S. crispus </it>was determined and the anticancer activity of one of the bioactive sub-fractions, SC/D-F9, was further analysed in breast and prostate cancer cell lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The dichloromethane extract of <it>S. crispus </it>was chromatographed on silica gel by flash column chromatography. The ability of the various sub-fractions obtained to induce cell death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines was determined using the LDH assay. The dose-response effect and the EC₅₀values of the active sub-fraction, SC/D-F9, were determined. Apoptosis was detected using Annexin V antibody and propidium iodide staining and analysed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, while caspase 3/7 activity was detected using FLICA caspase inhibitor and analysed by fluorescence microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Selected sub-fractions of the dichloromethane extract induced death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cells. The sub-fraction SC/D-F9, consistently killed breast and prostate cancer cell lines with low EC₅₀values but is non-cytotoxic to the normal breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10A. SC/D-F9 displayed relatively higher cytotoxicity compared to tamoxifen, paclitaxel, docetaxel and doxorubicin. Cell death induced by SC/D-F9 occurred via apoptosis with the involvement of caspase 3 and/or 7.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A dichloromethane sub-fraction of <it>S. crispus </it>displayed potent anticancer activities <it>in vitro </it>that can be further exploited for the development of a potential therapeutic anticancer agent.</p

Prediction of 3D grinding temperature field based on meshless method considering infinite element

© 2018, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature. A three-dimensional numerical model to calculate the grinding temperature field distribution is presented. The finite block method, which is developed from meshless method, is used to deal with the stationary and the transient heat conduction problems in this paper. The influences of workpiece feed velocity, cooling coefficient, and the depth of cut on temperature distribution are considered. The model with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and specific heat is presented. The Lagrange partial differential matrix from the heat transfer governing equation is obtained by using Lagrange series and mapping technique. The grinding wheel-workpiece contact area is assumed as a moving distributed square heat source. The Laplace transformation method and Durbin’s inverse technique are employed in the transient heat conduction analysis. The results of the developed model are compared with others’ finite element method solutions and analytical solutions where a good agreement is demonstrated. And the finite block method was proved a better convergence and accuracy than finite element method by comparing the ABAQUS results. In addition, the three-dimensional infinite element is introduced to perform the thermal analysis, and there is a great of advantages in the simulation of large boundary problems.The work was funded by China Scholarship Council, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (N160306006), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51275084), and Science and technology project of Shenyang (18006001)

Contribution of type 2 diabetes associated loci in the Arabic population from Tunisia: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies have both reproducibly identified several common Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that confer type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in European populations. Our aim was to evaluate the contribution to T2D of five of these established T2D-associated loci in the Arabic population from Tunisia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case-control design comprising 884 type 2 diabetic patients and 513 control subjects living in the East-Center of Tunisia was used to analyze the contribution to T2D of the following SNPs: E23K in <it>KCNJ11/Kir6.2</it>, K121Q in <it>ENPP1</it>, the -30G/A variant in the pancreatic β-cell specific promoter of Glucokinase, rs7903146 in <it>TCF7L2 </it>encoding transcription factor 7-like2, and rs7923837 in <it>HHEX </it>encoding the homeobox, hematopoietically expressed transcription factor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>TCF7L2</it>-rs7903146 T allele increased susceptibility to T2D (OR = 1.25 [1.06–1.47], <it>P </it>= 0.006) in our study population. This risk was 56% higher among subjects carrying the TT genotype in comparison to those carrying the CC genotype (OR = 1.56 [1.13–2.16], <it>P </it>= 0.002). No allelic or genotypic association with T2D was detected for the other studied polymorphisms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the Tunisian population, <it>TCF7L2</it>-rs7903146 T allele confers an increased risk of developing T2D as previously reported in the European population and many other ethnic groups. In contrast, none of the other tested SNPs that influence T2D risk in the European population was associated with T2D in the Tunisian Arabic population. An insufficient power to detect minor allelic contributions or genetic heterogeneity of T2D between different ethnic groups can explain these findings.</p

The Tumor Suppressor Gene, RASSF1A, Is Essential for Protection against Inflammation -Induced Injury

10.1371/journal.pone.0075483PLoS ONE810-POLN

Cytotoxic activity induced by crude extracts of Ganoderma lucidum (W. Curt.: Fr.) P. Karst. on mouse myeloma cancer cell-line

Ganoderma lucidum powder using hot water and methanol extraction methods indicated a twofold more active cytotoxic activity with IC50 of 44 ± 3.8 μg/ml in the latter method. The representative dose-response curves of the G. lucidum crude extracts on J558 cell-lines revealed that there were great similarities between the curves which reflected rapid killing activities. The percentage viability of the J558 cell exposed to these crude extracts was dose dependent only up to 150 μg/ml. After which, there was no significant reduction when the dose was increased to 200 or 400 μg/ml. The morphological alterations induced by the crude extract were examined under the phase contrast, fluorescent and electron microscopy. When J558 cells were treated with doses higher than 50 μg/ml of the crude extract, obvious morphological changes and apoptosis occurred after 72 h. At 400 μg/ml, most of the cells showed necrosis characterized as small fragments with uniformly stained red nuclei. The apoptotic and necrotic cells increased by 16.5 and 29.1%, respectively whereas the viable cells decreased by as much as 45.6. The mode of cell death via apoptosis was 3.6% higher than necrosis. However, these morphological changes were not observed in the case of 3T3 cells. Results obtained from scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy further confirmed the occurrence of various apoptotic and necrotic features