Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (C677T and A1298C) polymorphisms and hyperhomocysteinemia as risk factors for Myocardial Infarction

Conflicting data concerning the association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene MTHFR (C677T and A1298C) polymorphisms with or without hyperhomocysteinemia and myocardial infarction exists and data from developing countries is limited thus, a current study initiated to study whether any association exist between the above polymorphisms and myocardial infarction among Kurdish patients from Duhok province/Iraq. A case-control study was performed in Azadi teaching hospital/Duhok/Iraq and included 75 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 75 age and sex-matched normal controls. All the patients and controls had their methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene analyzed for C677T and A1298C polymorphism using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism technique as well as their homocysteine level

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (C677T and A1298C) polymorphisms and hyperhomocysteinemia as risk factors for Myocardial Infarction

321-324Conflicting data concerning the association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene MTHFR (C677T and A1298C) polymorphisms with or without hyperhomocysteinemia and myocardial infarction exists and data from developing countries is limited thus, a current study initiated to study whether any association exist between the above polymorphisms and myocardial infarction among Kurdish patients from Duhok province/Iraq. A case-control study was performed in Azadi teaching hospital/Duhok/Iraq and included 75 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 75 age and sex-matched normal controls. All the patients and controls had their methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene analyzed for C677T and A1298C polymorphism using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism technique as well as their homocysteine level

Design and Implementation of a Wearable Health Device

Many situations arise every day where humans have to worry about their health and fitness. Further monitoring critical human body parameters in reliable and regular manner helps clinical practitioners and common person to take critical decisions and improve life quality. With advancements in microelectronics and sensor technology, it has become possible to design and develop small size wearable devices for clinical and home usage that give and record regular health related data.   The current work presents design and development of a small wearable device that measures pulse rate, oxygen saturation, skin and body temperature using high-accuracy pulse Oximeter sensor and temperature sensors. The Pulse/Oxygen saturation and skin/body temperature data from sensors is fed to Analog Front End (AFE) devices AFE 4490 and LMP 90100 by Texas Instruments respectively. The data is further processed at an ultra low-power Mixed Signal Micro-Controller, MSP430F5338 of Texas Instruments and fed to Bluetooth transceiver. The processed data giving the requisite health parameters is further displayed on the hand held device and can be periodically send to PDAs or to a central server through Bluetooth transceiver

DEVELOPMENT, FABRICATION, AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF INDIRECT MULTI-PORTIONED TYPE SOLAR DRYER FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to minimize post-harvest damages and improve the handling of agricultural commodities. The secondary objective was to assess the performance of the dryer by varying inlet velocity of air on temperature, final moisture of the product, drying period, and drying rate METHODS: The present research was carried out for the development, fabrication, and testing of a multi-portioned type solar dryer. The multi-portioned dryer consisted of a collector unit, air storage chamber, drying cabins, and a chimney. A fan assembly was also attached at the inlet of the collector and at the outlet of the drying compartment to control the air velocity and to remove the moist air. RESULTS: The data obtained from the experiments revealed that the maximum temperature elevation of 36.5oC was attained during a no-load test. The results obtained after carrying out load tests revealed that the maximum drying rate of 47 g/hr was achieved at the air inlet velocity of 3.2 m/s. The initial moisture content of 80.50% was brought down to 3.31% in five sunshine hours of 150 gram sliced potatoes. Each portion received air at varying speeds, and it was observed that the portion receiving air at the lowest speed had the maximum temperature. CONCLUSION: The lowest temperature elevation was recorded for the portion receiving air at the highest speed. The dryer was also found to be suitable for the on-field practical application for the drying of perishable commodities

Knowledge attitude and practices among urban women of Karachi, Pakistan, regarding breast cancer

Objective: To determine the knowledge,attitudes and practices of urban women regarding breast cancer and its available screening modalities.Methods: The cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, descriptive study was conducted in the urban population of Karachi in November 2010. Female attendants (n=373) visiting a tertiary care centre and four of its urban outreach centres during the study period were administered a questionnaire. The answers were then scored with regard to their knowledge. Frequencies and percentages were computed through SPSS 17, and analysis of variance was used to confirm significance.Results: Of the 373 participants with a mean age of 32.4+/-10.9 years, 293 (78.6%) were married, and 257 (69%) were housewives. The education level was considerably high; with 214 (57.4%) graduates. The mean score for knowledge of risk factors was 2.84 out of a total of 13; which was significantly associated with marital status and income. Age \u3e 40 years, education level, income and employment status were also significantly associated with higher mean screening awareness scores. Nearly 182 (48.8%) had heard about Breast Self Examination and 142 (38%) knew how to perform one. However, only 97 (25.9%) regularly performed such an exam. Almost all 3621 (97%) women wanted more media awareness campaigns regarding the issue.CONCLUSION: There is a real need for comprehensive health education programmes focusing on breast cancer awareness in Pakistan

Shell Model Investigation of Some p and sd-Shell Nuclei with Harmonic Oscillator and Skyrme Interactions

In this study, the longitudinal charge and form factors for the nuclei 9Be and 28Si lying in the p and sd shells are studied by employing the Harmonic Oscillator potential (HO) and Skyrme effective interaction (Sk35−Skzs∗). The C0 and C2 from factors calculated for the ground state 3/2-, the 5/2- (2.429 MeV) and 7/2- (6.380 MeV) for 9Be, while the ground state 0+ and 2+ (1.779 MeV) state for 28Si nucleus. Calculations of microscopic perturbations that involve intermediate one-particle, one-hole excitation from the core and MS orbits into all upper orbits with excitations are utilized to generate the effective charges necessary to account for the “core polarization effect”. The shell model calculations are utilized on the extended model space to include all 1s, 1p, 2s–1d, 2p‑1f orbits with  truncation. Bohr-Mottelson collective model and Tassie model with properly estimated effective neutron and proton charges are taken into account to consider the effect of the core contribution. The estimated form factors were compared with the measured available data and they were in good agreement for most of the studied states. A conclusion can be drawn that  truncation is very good choice to study the longitudinal form factors. The choice of Harmonic Oscillator potential (HO) and Skyrme effective interaction (Sk35−Skzs∗) is adequate for form estimation of longitudinal form factors. The estimation of the effective charges based on microscopic perturbations that involve intermediate one-particle, one-hole excitation from the core and MS orbits into all upper orbits with excitations is adequate. The truncation proves to be very successful to perform the study

Treatment of Forty Adult Patients with Hodgkin Disease; Baghdad Teaching Hospital Experience

Background: Hodgkin disease was the first cancer in which the curative potential of combination chemotherapy was demonstrated. The affected patients are often young and there is a great potential for adding years of productive life by giving curative therapy even when the disease is advanced. Objective: to describe the experience of the hematology unit,Baghdad Teaching Hospital, in the management of 40 adult patients with Hodgkin disease. Patients and Methods: a retrospective cohort study of forty adult Iraqi patients with Hodgkin disease between 2005 and 2013 in the hematology unit. Patients were treated initially with 6-8 cycles of ABVD chemotherapy protocol (doxorubicine+ bleomycin+ vinblastin+ dacarbazine) , nine patients received additional involved field radiotherapy for residual masses or bulky disease. Overall survival and progression free survivals were estimated using Kaplan Meier survival plot. Results: The mean age was 28.6±12.88 years with females forming 61.5% of patients, mean duration of follow up was 27.9± 20.6 months. Staging showed that 55% and 27.5% had stage II and III respectively. B symptoms were found in 72.5% patients , bulky disease in 42.5% patients. Complete Response+ Complete Response undetermined was seen in 85% of cases. First Relapse occurred in 14%, and death in 7.5% of the patients. The 8 year overall survival and progression free survival were 82% and 50% respectively while the mean overall survival and progression free survival times were 84.7 and 59.9 months respectively. Conclusion: The results of the treatment of adult patients with Hodgkin disease in our unit is rather comparable to the results from other studies

Molecular characterization of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient variants in Baghdad city - Iraq

Background: Although G6PD deficiency is the most common genetically determined blood disorder among Iraqis, its molecular basis has only recently been studied among the Kurds in North Iraq, while studies focusing on Arabs in other parts of Iraq are still absent. Methods: A total of 1810 apparently healthy adult male blood donors were randomly recruited from the national blood transfusion center in Baghdad. They were classified into G6PD deficient and non-deficient individuals based on the results of methemoglobin reduction test (MHRT), with confirmation of deficiency by subsequent enzyme assays. DNA from deficient individuals was studied using a polymerase chain reaction-Restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for four deficient molecular variants, namely G6PD Mediterranean (563 C®T), Chatham (1003 G®A), A- (202 G®A) and Aures (143 T®C). A subset of those with the Mediterranean variant, were further investigated for the 1311 (C®T) silent mutation. Results: G6PD deficiency was detected in 109 of the 1810 screened male individuals (6.0%). Among 101 G6PD deficient males molecularly studied, the Mediterranean mutation was detected in 75 cases (74.3%), G6PD Chatham in 5 cases (5.0%), G6PD A- in two cases (2.0%), and G6PD Aures in none. The 1311 silent mutation was detected in 48 out of the 51 G6PD deficient males with the Mediterranean variant studied (94.1%). Conclusions: Three polymorphic variants namely: the Mediterranean, Chatham and A-, constituted more than 80% of G6PD deficient variants among males in Baghdad. Iraq. This observation is to some extent comparable to othe

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020