Assessment of Nutritional Status in Children from Eastern Sudan

Background: Malnutrition is a very important risk factor leading illness and death in children worldwide.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and relevant haematological and biochemical parameters in school children.Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study, was conducted in 120 (70 boys and 50 girls) school going children of 6-7 years of age, for the assessment of their nutritional status. The haemogloblin concentration (Hb%) was measured by equation method, packed cell volume (PCV) was estimated by scale of microhameatocrit reader, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was calculated. Serum total protein, albumin, iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin were measured by colorimetric methods. Weight (kg) and height (cm) were measured and body mass index was calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version13.0.Results: The mean values for hematological, biochemical and  anthropometrical measurements were much below the normal ranges. The anthropometric percentile measured in the children showed malnutrition cases in 32 (26.7%) and malnutrition and underweight in 73 (60.8%) while the body mass index showed underweight in males in 23 (19.2%) and in females 11 (9.2%).Conclusions: Malnutrition is common in our study population and was seen in 48.3 of children. It was accompanied by anaemia in 60.8 % of children.Key words: Biochemical parameters, Hematological parameters,  Anthropometric measurements, Nutritional status, Anemia

Statistical spectrum occupancy prediction for dynamic spectrum access: a classification

Spectrum scarcity due to inefficient utilisation has ignited a plethora of dynamic spectrum access solutions to accommodate the expanding demand for future wireless networks. Dynamic spectrum access systems allow secondary users to utilise spectrum bands owned by primary users if the resulting interference is kept below a pre-designated threshold. Primary and secondary user spectrum occupancy patterns determine if minimum interference and seamless communications can be guaranteed. Thus, spectrum occupancy prediction is a key component of an optimised dynamic spectrum access system. Spectrum occupancy prediction recently received significant attention in the wireless communications literature. Nevertheless, a single consolidated literature source on statistical spectrum occupancy prediction is not yet available in the open literature. Our main contribution in this paper is to provide a statistical prediction classification framework to categorise and assess current spectrum occupancy models. An overview of statistical sequential prediction is presented first. This statistical background is used to analyse current techniques for spectrum occupancy prediction. This review also extends spectrum occupancy prediction to include cooperative prediction. Finally, theoretical and implementation challenges are discussed

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology

Diagnostic Accuracy of the Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography for Diagnosis of Leishmaniasis in Sudan

The leishmaniases are a group of vector-borne diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. The parasites are transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies and can cause, depending on the infecting species, three clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis: visceral leishmaniasis (VL), post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) including the mucocutaneous form. VL, PKDL as well as CL are endemic in several parts of Sudan, and VL especially represents a major health problem in this country. Molecular tests such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or nucleic acid sequence based assay (NASBA) are powerful techniques for accurate detection of the parasite in clinical specimens, but broad use is hampered by their complexity and lack of standardisation. Recently, the Leishmania OligoC-TesT and NASBA-Oligochromatography were developed as simplified and standardised PCR and NASBA formats. In this study, both tests were phase II evaluated for diagnosis of VL, PKDL and CL in Sudan

Antibiotic use and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a population-based case–control study

Antibiotic use in 759 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients and 589 controls was compared. Neither total antibiotic use (odds ratio=0.7, 95% confidence interval=0.5–1.2), nor antibiotic use by site, was associated with total NHL, or NHL subtypes. There were no trends with frequency or age at first use (P trend=0.23 and 0.26, respectively)

Mutation analysis of aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene in colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers

Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene were recently identified in individuals with pituitary adenoma predisposition (PAP). These patients have prolactin (PRL) or growth hormone (GH) oversecreting pituitary adenomas, the latter exhibiting acromegaly or gigantism. Loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) analysis revealed that AIP is lost in PAP tumours, suggesting that it acts as a tumour-suppressor gene. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein is involved in several pathways, but it is best characterised as a cytoplasmic partner of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). To examine the possible role of AIP in the genesis of common cancers, we performed somatic mutation screening in a series of 373 colorectal cancers (CRCs), 82 breast cancers, and 44 prostate tumour samples. A missense R16H (47G>A) change was identified in two CRC samples, as well as in the respective normal tissues, but was absent in 209 healthy controls. The remaining findings were silent, previously unreported, changes of the coding, non-coding, or untranslated regions of AIP. These results suggest that somatic AIP mutations are not common in CRC, breast, and prostate cancers