Assessment of Certain Biochemical Parameters among Petrol Station Workers in Sana’a City, Yemen

Objective: To assess hepatic and renal functions among petrol stations workers in Sana’a city, Yemen. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in Sana’a city, in the period from November 2017 to April 2018. Cases included 109 eligible petrol station workers exposed to petrol for at least six hours daily over a period of six months or more, while 109 apparently healthy office workers were recruited from the University of Science and Technology as controls. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire through face-to-face interview. Then, blood samples were collected from cases and controls and tested for albumin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea and creatinine in the Laboratory Department of the University of Science and Technology Hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 23.0. Results: The mean concentration of serum albumin among petrol station workers was significantly lower than the controls. In contrast, the mean level of serum ALP was significantly higher among the petrol station workers than the controls. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences in the mean levels of serum ALT and AST between the two groups. Although the mean concentrations of creatinine and urea were higher among the controls than the petrol station workers, the difference was only significantly higher for creatinine among office workers. Conclusions: Although no specific biochemical abnormalities exist in the hepatic and renal functions of petrol station workers in Sana’a city, these parameters may show evident effects with prolonged exposure to petrol components. Further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes, longer durations of exposure and regular follow-up are recommended to assess the impact of long-term exposure to petrol on hepatic and renal functions

Anticancer 4: Anticancer and DNA cleavage studies of some new Schiff base titanium (IV) complexes

Two metal complexes of Ti(IV) were synthesized with newly prepared biologically active ligands. These ligands and their functional groups were carefully designed and selected from well known anticancer drugs. The ligands were prepared by the condensation of a mixture of sulfamethoxazole and the appropriate aldehyde namely, 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde. The structure of the ligands and their complexes were confirmed by spectroscopic data i.e. IR, 1H NMR,electronic and elemental analysis. All compounds were screened for their in vitro anticancer potential using HELA and PC3 cells. All compounds showed limited cytotoxicity and complete cleavage of calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (CT-DNA)

EVALUATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO POLIO VACCINE IN MALNOURISHED CHILDREN IN SANA'A CITY

Objective: This study was made to evaluate the immune response to polio virus vaccine among PEM children by measuring the level of circulating Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against polio virus (IgG-PV) after immunization with the primary series of POV, and determining the coverage rate of universal childhood vaccine for polio virus. A cross-sectional laboratory study was conducted in Department of Medical Microbiology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Al-Sabeen University Hospital, Sana’a University. Methods: A total of 279 PEM children were selected and investigated for universal childhood vaccination coverage rate for polio vaccine. Blood samples were collected from all, then tested for levels of IgG-PV by ELISA method. For assessment IgG-PV levels more than 10 units/ml were considered protected against polio virus infection. Results: The coverage rate of polio virus vaccine for first year vaccine was 96.8%; and 91.1% of vaccinated PEM children responded to the vaccine with mean level of 46.2 U/ml. A statistically significant difference was observed with respect to sero-protective IgG-PV between males and females (85.7% and 94.1% respectively, p=0.002); and older children (>37 months) (97.7%). Conclusion: We conclude that a small proportion of malnourished vaccinated children with a normal immune status were not serologically immune to polio virus infection, and remain to be reconsidered for either revaccination or booster doses due to lack of or inadequate response. PEM group gave slightly reduced response to OPV hence there is need to give this group IPV (injectable polio vaccine) along with OPV and different micro-nutrition deficiencies like Zinc and iron. Peer Review History: Received 29 March 2018;   Revised 20 April; Accepted 7 May, Available online 15 May 2018 UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:        Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 4.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. O.J Owolabi, University of Benin, Nigeria, [email protected] Dr. Sameh Abdelmoneem Mohammed Ali, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Egypt, [email protected] Similar Articles: COCCIDIAN INTESTINAL PARASITES AMONG CHILDREN IN AL-TORBAH CITY IN YEMEN: IN COUNTRY WITH HIGH INCIDENCE OF MALNUTRITION PREVALENCE AND POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS IN A SAMPLE OF CHILDREN IN TWO SELECTED AREAS IN YEME

Underlying Primary Causes of Chronic Renal Failure: A Three-Year Study in Al-Thawra General Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen

Objective: To estimate the underlying primary diseases of chronic renal failure (CRF) among patients attending Al-Thawra General Hospital, Sana'a, and Yemen.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, hospital-based study of 566 patients diagnosed with chronic kidney diseases (CKD). It studied the cases attending Al-Thawra General Hospital over a three‐year period from January 2013 to December 2015.Results: Out of 566 patients, 339 (59.9%) were males. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis of CKD was 39.51 years, most of whom (36.6%) were of the age group of 21–35 years. Hypertension was the most frequent cause (43.2%) of CRF, followed by different infectious diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis and bacterial infections (19%) and obstructive nephropathy (17.9%). On the other hand, CRF of unknown etiology represented 15.2% of cases. Other causes of CRF diabetic nephropathy (9.7%), effect of antibiotics and analgesics (7.0%), ischemic heart disease (4.8%, polycystic kidney disease (3.5%) and congenital anomalies (3.4%). The least common causes were autoimmune diseases, bleeding, traumatic accidents and chronic diarrhea, being responsible for 2.2%, 1.8%, 0.9% and 0.4% of CRF cases, respectively.Conclusions: The majority of CKD cases in our study were males aged between 21 and 35 years old. In addition, most cases of CKD are due to hypertension, followed by infections and obstructive nephropathy. Application of future prevention and control measures are highly recommended to reduce the burden of CRF in Yemen for early detection and proper management of its underlying primary conditions/diseases

The Association between Human Leukocyte Antigens and Hypertensive End-Stage Renal Failure among Yemeni Patients

Objectives: Many studies have attempted to locate a connection between various genetic factors and the pathogenesis of certain diseases. A number of these have found human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) to be the most significant genetic factors affecting the susceptibility of an individual to a certain disease. The present casecontrol study aimed to determine the connection between class I and class II HLAs and cases of hypertensive end-stage renal failure (HESRF), as contrasted with healthy controls, in Yemen. Methods: The study was carried out between March 2013 and March 2014 and included 50 HESRF patients attending the Urology & Nephrology Center at Al-Thawra University Hospital in Sana’a, Yemen, and 50 healthy controls visiting the same centre for kidney donation. Among both patients and controls, HLA class I (A, B and C) and class II (DRB1) genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reactions. Results: There was an association (odds ratio: 4.0) with HLA-A9(24) and HESRF, although this was not statistically significant. A significant protective function was found for the HLACW3 and DRB1-8 genes against the development of HESRF. Although HLA-B14 was present in some patients (0.06) and not in the controls, this difference was not statistically significant enough to conclude that HLA-B14 plays a role in the genetic predisposition for end-stage renal disease development. There was a high frequency of HLA-A2, B5, CW6, DRB1-3, DRB1-4 and DRB1-13 in both patients and controls. Conclusion: Although no HLAs were found to play a highly significant role in genetic predisposition to HESRF, certain HLA genes could be considered as protective genes against HESRF development