Early outcome of Mainz Pouch2 urinary diversion

This was both a retrospective and prospective study of 19 patients who were managed at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) with Mainz pouch 2 reconstruction after cystectomy for bladder cancer. Complications encountered included wound infection (4 patients), and wound dehiscence (2 patients). No case of urinary fistula was recorded. There was one death. Generally, the early results of Mainz pouch 2 were excellent; all the patients were continent and there were no cases of pyelonephritis or metabolic derangement. The upper tracts were preserved or improved in the 18 patients that survived. In conclusion, Mainz pouch, like ureterosigmoidostomy has been well accepted in our society. Our results compare favourably with those reported from elsewhere

Elective abdominal ultrasonography by surgeons at MNH, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Ultrasound scanning (USS) is an important diagnostic tool in most specialties of surgery. The abdomen is the most commonly scanned region and learning and practicing abdominal USS is the most rewarding. This study was aimed at sharing our experience of elective abdominal ultrasound scanning (USS) done by surgeons at the Department of Surgery, Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). Methods: This is a retrospective audit of indications and sonographic findings in 1782 elective scannings done over a 42-month period. All scanning was done by surgeons using Aloka SSD 500 scanner with a 3.5 MHz probe. Average patient scanning time was 5-10 minutes. Results: The most frequent indications for abdominal ultrasound scanning were abdominal pain (27%), urinary tract symptoms (25%) and abdominal swelling / mass (13%). Overall 47 % of all scanned patients and 58% of those with abdominal pain had normal findings. Of all the patients with abnormal USS findings 42% had abdominal mass. Stone disease was infrequent, seen in 49 (2.7% of all scanned) patients. Conclusion: Pain is the most frequent reason for requesting abdominal ultrasound scanning but it has a low yield of sonographic findings. Scanning for abdominal swelling/mass gave the highest proportion of abnormal findings. USS of a surgical patient done by surgeons expedites diagnostic workup, shortens hospitalization, facilitates biopsy and may help to avoid diagnostic laparotomy

Policies in support of pastoralism and biodiversity in the heterogeneous drylands of East Africa

Research and practice are increasingly demonstrating the environmental benefits of pastoralism and the opportunity for sustainable development of pastoral communities through a combination of livestock and biodiversity-related business. To take full advantage of the potential biodiversity-pastoral synergies, it will be crucial to put in place supporting policies. They need to be embedded in the context of overall pastoral development. However, rangelands and pastoral societies in drylands are heterogeneous and development options cannot be assumed to be uniform. Factors such as aridity, access to markets and population pressure influence the constraints and the opportunities for both pastoral and non-pastoral communities. We describe the differential challenges to development along these gradients and identify investment priorities if the policy objectives were to support the complementarities between pastoralism and biodiversity conservation

G protein-coupled receptor P2Y5 and its ligand LPA are involved in maintenance of human hair growth

Hypotrichosis simplex is a group of nonsyndromic human alopecias. We mapped an autosomal recessive form of this disorder to chromosome 13q14.11-13q21.33, and identified homozygous truncating mutations in P2RY5, which encodes an orphan G protein-coupled receptor. Furthermore, we identified oleoyl-L-alpha-lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a bioactive lipid, as a ligand for P2Y5 in reporter gene and radioligand binding experiments. Homology and studies of signaling transduction pathways suggest that P2Y5 is a member of a subgroup of LPA receptors, which also includes LPA4 and LPA5. Our study is the first to implicate a G protein-coupled receptor as essential for and specific to the maintenance of human hair growth. This finding may provide opportunities for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of hair loss in humans