Histological changes in male accessory reproductive organs in rats exposed to cigarette smoke and the protective effect of honey supplementation

The effect of cigarette smoke (CS) on histology of male accessory  reproductive organs and the possible protective effect of honey  supplementation in rats were investigated in this study. Rats received distilled water, honey, CS exposure or honey plus CS exposure. Honey (1.2 g/kg body weight/day) was administered by gavage and CS exposure (3 times per day) was done in a chamber for 13 weeks. CS exposure significantly increased relative weight of epididymis and ventral prostate. There were also  significantly increased number of clear cells and epithelial height of cauda epididymis as well as severe interstitial oedema and decreased epithelial height of prostate gland. However, with the supplementation of honey, these histological changes were significantly reversed suggesting the protective effect of honey against the toxic effect of CS on male accessory reproductiveorgans in rats

Initial Experience with Awake Craniotomy In Sudan

Resection of brain tumours carries a great risk of functional impairment, especially if the tumour is located in the anterior temporal or frontal lobes, near motor, language, or memory areas of the brain. Awake craniotomy has been proposed aiming for maximum resection with minimum impairment of neurological function. The technique should provide adequate sedation, analgesia, respiratory and haemodynamic stability with an awake and cooperative patient for neurological testing. Airway management during a wake craniotomy is a crucial part of the anaesthetic technique, but it remains the subject of debate. In this case, who was the first patient operated upon as awake craniotomy in Sudan; awake craniotomy has been adopted as his cardiac function made surgery under general anaethesia a potential risk. The patient\'s tolerance to the procedure, haemodynamic stability, the incidence of airway obstruction and intraoperative and postoperative neurological status were assessed. The candidate well tolerated the procedure, with haemodynamic stability and a patent airway throughout the procedure. Convenient resection of the tumor was achieved and uneventful post-operative recovery with no neurological deficits was reported. Keywords: awake craniotomy, propofol, fentanyl.Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2008: pp. 171-17

Knowledge and Attitudes of Population Towards HIV/Aids in Four States, Sudan

Back ground: HIV/AIDS is a public health problem in the Sudan. The country is the most severely affected in North Africa and the Middle East with an estimated 500,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. The objectives of the study were to determine knowledge and attitude of the localpopulation in selected states about HIV/ AIDS and to determine the relation between knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS and associated social factors.Methodology: Design was descriptive, cross-sectional, community- based study conducted in Gezira, Sinnar, River Nile and Northern states. The population was those found in their settings during the visits in April 2009. Both sexes were enrolled and children below the age of 15 years ofboth sexes were excluded from the study. Data were collected by a pre- coded and pre -tested questionnaire and were analyzed by the computer using SPSS, version 13, soft ware.Results: Knowledge of the population in the selected four states about HIV/AIDS was favorable (73%). Tolerant attitude towards HIV-infected people was low (40%). Results showed that males acquired better knowledge than females (76.2% versus 71.8%) but females were more tolerant towards HIV/AIDS than males (42% versus 37.4%). Results showed that HIV/AIDS Knowledge increased as the educational level increased. Level of knowledge was higher among university graduates (92.6%) followed by basic and secondary (76.7%). Illiterates acquired the least level of knowledge (42.4%). The study showed that tolerance of population towards PLWHA increased according to the level of education. The university graduated was more tolerant (55.1%) than thebasic/secondary (40.5%) and the illiterates (21.9%). It was shown that the single population was more tolerant towards PLWHA, followed by the married, the divorced and the widowed constituting 41.6%, 40.4%, 31.4% and 25% respectively.Conclusion: The study concluded that, level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS of the population in the selected states was good. Level of knowledge among males, the working force and the single population was higher than the females, those without jobs and the married. Level of HIV/AIDSknowledge increased according to the level of education, was higher among university graduates followed by basic / secondary and Illiterates. Attitude of the population in the selected states towards people living with HIV/AIDS “PLWHA” was low, only 40% had more tolerant attitude.Females, the highly educated and the working population were more tolerant towards HIV/AIDS than males, the less educated, and the nonworking population

Synthesis and evaluation of designed PKC modulators for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.

Bryostatin 1 is a marine natural product under investigation for HIV/AIDS eradication, the treatment of neurological disorders, and enhanced CAR T/NK cell immunotherapy. Despite its promising activity, bryostatin 1 is neither evolved nor optimized for the treatment of human disease. Here we report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of several close-in analogs of bryostatin 1. Using a function-oriented synthesis approach, we synthesize a series of bryostatin analogs designed to maintain affinity for bryostatin's target protein kinase C (PKC) while enabling exploration of their divergent biological functions. Our late-stage diversification strategy provides efficient access to a library of bryostatin analogs, which per our design retain affinity for PKC but exhibit variable PKC translocation kinetics. We further demonstrate that select analogs potently increase cell surface expression of CD22, a promising CAR T cell target for the treatment of leukemias, highlighting the clinical potential of bryostatin analogs for enhancing targeted immunotherapies

Mechanical characteristics for different composite materials based on commercial epoxy resins and different fillers

In this research, different compositions of composite materials based on epoxy resin and four different fillers were prepared and all mechanical characteristics were investigated to reach a composite material having high resistance to impact by high kinetics energy projectiles which is required in the production of bulletproof jackets and also in cassette shields of explosive reactive armors to protect tanks. This composite material is usually applied as layers with other polymeric fibers such as carbon fibers and Kevlar (polyamide) sheets. The used epoxy consists of Epon as linear epoxy and tertiary amine as hardener. The used fillers are carbon black, magnesium carbonate, wood flour and sand. The pure thermoset epoxy (without filler) which gives the highest different mechanical properties is based on 10:5 by weight (linear Epon/Hardener). The composition which gave the highest resistance to impact by high kinetics energy projectiles was epoxy resin containing 15% by weight wood floor where the resistance to impact was increased by 32% when compared with the pure epoxy

Novel selenium and/or copper substituted hydroxyapatite-gelatin-chitosan-eggshell membrane nanocomposite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

Limitations with the majority of bone therapeutic treatments include low availability, ethical constraints and low biological compatibility. Although a number of choice materials have been exploited successfully, there has always been scope for improvement as well as development of the next-generation of materials. Herein, scaffolds - developed from gelatin, chitosan and eggshell membranes - were crosslinked using tannic acid, and further infused with selenium and/or copper substituted hydroxyapatite nanoparticles to generate a novel nanocomposite substrate. FESEM images of the nanocomposite scaffolds revealed the presence of interconnected pores, mostly spread over the whole surface of the scaffold, alongside XRD and FTIR profiling that detailed the formation of hydroxyapatite as a sole phase. Moreover, physical characterisation of the nanocomposite confirmed that the hydroxyapatite particulates and the eggshell membrane fibres were uniformly distributed and contributed to the surface roughness of the scaffold. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of the novel constructs were assessed using the mouse-derived osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3-E1, and standard cell culture assays. Metabolic activity assessment (i.e. MTS assay), LDH-release profiles and Live/Dead staining demonstrated good cell adhesion, viability, and proliferation rates. Accordingly, this work summarises the successful development of a novel construct which may be exploited as a clinical/therapeutic treatment for bone repair as well as a possible translational application as a novel biomaterial for the drug development pipeline

Prevalence of intestinal parasites among the population of the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Intestinal parasitic diseases in Gaza Strip are a significant health problem. The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of parasitic infection among patients in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. A crosssectional parasitological survey was conducted on 600 patients. Stool specimens were examined microscopically for the presence of parasite eggs or larvae/cysts per wet amount by the saline iodine and formol-ether concentration method. Of 600 subjects examined, 245 (40.8%) were infected with one or more intestinal parasites. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Giardia lamblia were the most prevalent parasites amongst the population (28.8%),(9.5%). Female patients demonstrated a higher prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections (42.7%) than males (39.0%). However, this difference was not significant (p> 0.05). According to occupation, the rate of infection was highest among farmers (56.0%), followed by employers (44.2%) with laborers showing the lowest rate (30.17%). These differences in occupational prevalence were found to be statistically significant (p< 0.05). The present study demonstrates that intestinal protozoan infections are still a public health problem in the Gaza strip, with Entamoeba and Giardia infections being most common. Therefore, it is necessary to develop effective prevention and control strategies, including health education and environmental sanitation improvement

Targeting BTK for the treatment of FLT3-ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia

Approximately 20% of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) have a mutation in FMS-like-tyrosine-kinase-3 (FLT3). FLT3 is a trans-membrane receptor with a tyrosine kinase domain which, when activated, initiates a cascade of phosphorylated proteins including the SRC family of kinases. Recently our group and others have shown that pharmacologic inhibition and genetic knockdown of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) blocks AML blast proliferation, leukaemic cell adhesion to bone marrow stromal cells as well as migration of AML blasts. The anti-proliferative effects of BTK inhibition in human AML are mediated via inhibition of downstream NF-κB pro-survival signalling however the upstream drivers of BTK activation in human AML have yet to be fully characterised. Here we place the FLT3-ITD upstream of BTK in AML and show that the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib inhibits the survival and proliferation of FLT3-ITD primary AML blasts and AML cell lines. Furthermore ibrutinib inhibits the activation of downstream kinases including MAPK, AKT and STAT5. In addition we show that BTK RNAi inhibits proliferation of FLT3-ITD AML cells. Finally we report that ibrutinib reverses the cyto-protective role of BMSC on FLT3-ITD AML survival. These results argue for the evaluation of ibrutinib in patients with FLT3-ITD mutated AML

Maternal and early life nutrition and physical activity: setting the research and intervention agenda for addressing the double burden of malnutrition in South African children.

Early life is important for later health outcomes, yet there are few studies which adequately address all of the potential early life insults that may affect later life health and growth trajectories. This is particularly evident in low- to middle-income countries such as South Africa, where women of childbearing age are particularly vulnerable to high levels of physical inactivity, malnutrition, and obesity. Pregnancy may therefore be an opportune time to change behaviours and improve maternal and offspring health outcomes, and decrease the inter-generational transfer of risk. We show clear evidence that physical activity and nutrition are important target areas for intervention during pregnancy and in the early years of life, yet that current literature in Africa, and specifically South Africa, is limited. We have outlined the available literature concerning the impact of maternal and early life nutrition and physical activity on the health status of South African children, and have provided some recommendations for future research and policy