Effect of rifampicin on the kidney of albino rats

The study was designed to investigate the effect of rifampicin on the kidney biomarkers and histopathology of kidney of albino rats. 42 albino rats were used and rifampicin was administered at 1.10mg/120gBW and 0.55mg/120gBW for intervals of 20, 40 and 60days.Animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last day of administration and blood samples were collected for the estimation of urea and creatinine levels sodium , potassium, chloride and bicarbonate ion concentrations. Result from this study indicates that urea and creatinine levels in a dose and time dependent manner, significantly increased (p<0.05) all through the duration of the study when compared with the control value. Significant decrease (p<0.05) was observed for sodium ion concentration in a dose and time dependent manner also while potassium, chloride and bicarbonate ions were non significantly changed (p>0.05). Histological examination of the kidney revealed an inflammation of the glomeruli for 1.10mg/120gBW treated group in 60days. In conclusion, prolonged treatment of tuberculosis patients with rifampicin could result to nephrotoxicity.KEY WORDS: Rifampicin Tuberculosis, Urea, creatinine, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Bicarbonat

Self-reported occupational visual and hearing impairment among dental professionals in Nigeria

Objective: To determine the prevalence of occupational visual and hearing impairment among dental professionals in Edo State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional survey of dental surgeons, dental surgery assistants (DSA), dental therapists and dental technologists was conducted in four government owned dental centers in Edo state which included: University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Specialist Hospital, Benin City, Irrua specialist hospital and General hospital, Fugar. Results: The response rate was 78.1%. Majority (77.3%) of the respondents were dentists, others were dental nurses (10.7%), dental technologists (9.3%) and dental therapists (2.7%). The prevalence of hearing impairment was 4.0% while visual impairment was 12.0%. The prevalence of hearing impairment was higher among dental technologists, however this was not statistically significant (P>0.05).The regular use of safety practices among the dental professionals was low ranging from12.0% to 50.7%. Conclusion: Visual impairment was more common than hearing impairment among dental professionals. Noise level and hazards to the eyes in dental clinic should be evaluated by occupational health and safety advisors with a view of making useful recommendation to reduce their adverse impact on dental professionals. Further investigations using objective auditory and visual assessment tools are also recommended.Keywords: Occupational health, visual impairment, hearing impairment, dental professionals, health hazard

Policy Coherence in US Tobacco Control: Beyond FDA Regulation

Joshua Yang and Thomas Novotny explore whether the US government can develop and implement a coherent policy agenda to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality

Poverty and fever vulnerability in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria remains a major public health problem in Sub Saharan Africa, where widespread poverty also contribute to the burden of the disease. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of childhood fever and socioeconomic factors including poverty in Nigeria, and to examine these effects at the regional levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Determinants of fever in the last two weeks among children under five years were examined from the 25004 children records extracted from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2008 data set. A two-level random effects logistic model was fitted. </p> <p>Results</p> <p>About 16% of children reported having fever in the two weeks preceding the survey. The prevalence of fever was highest among children from the poorest households (17%), compared to 15.8% among the middle households and lowest among the wealthiest (13%) (p<0.0001). Of the 3,110 respondents who had bed nets in their households, 506(16.3%) children had fever, while 2,604(83.7%) did not. (p=0.082). In a multilevel model adjusting for demographic variables, fever was associated with rural place of residence (OR=1.27, p<0.0001, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.41), sex of child: female (OR=0.92, p=0.022, 95% CI: 0.859, 0.988) and all age categories (>6months), whereas the effect of wealth no longer reached statistical significance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While, overall bednet possession was low, less fever was reported in households that possessed bednets. Malaria control strategies and interventions should be designed that will target the poor and make an impact on poverty. The mechanism through which wealth may affect malaria occurrence needs further investigation. </p

Abnormal ECG Findings in Athletes: Clinical Evaluation and Considerations.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation with electrocardiography is normal practice for most sporting bodies. Awareness about sudden cardiac death in athletes and recognizing how screening can help identify vulnerable athletes have empowered different sporting disciplines to invest in the wellbeing of their athletes. RECENT FINDINGS: Discerning physiological electrical alterations due to athletic training from those representing cardiac pathology may be challenging. The mode of investigation of affected athletes is dependent on the electrical anomaly and the disease(s) in question. This review will highlight specific pathological ECG patterns that warrant assessment and surveillance, together with an in-depth review of the recommended algorithm for evaluation

A Method for Analyzing the Ubiquitination and Degradation of Aurora-A

The cell cycle machinery consists of regulatory proteins that control the progression through the cell cycle ensuring that DNA replication alternates with DNA segregation in mitosis to maintain cell integrity. Some of these key regulators have to be degraded at each cell cycle to prevent cellular dysfunction. Mitotic exit requires the inactivation of cyclin dependent kinase1 (cdk1) and it is the degradation of the cyclin subunit that inactivates the kinase. Cyclin degradation has been well characterized and it was shown that it is ubiquitin proteasome pathway that leads to the elimination of cyclins. By now, many other regulatory proteins were shown to be degraded by the same pathway, among them members of the aurora kinase family, degraded many other regulatory proteins. Aurora kinases are involved in mitotic spindle formation as well as in cytokinesis. The abundance and activity of the kinase is precisely regulated during the cell cycle. To understand how proteolysis regulates transitions through the cell cycle we describe two assays for ubiquitination and degradation of xenopus aurora kinase A using extracts from xenopus eggs or somatic cell lines

Novel Regulation of CCL2 Gene Expression by Murine LITAF and STAT6B

Inflammation is a multifaceted process: beneficial as a defense mechanism but also detrimental depending on its severity and duration. At the site of injury, inflammatory cells are activated by a cascade of mediators, one of which is LITAF, a transcription regulator known to upregulate TNF-α. We previously showed that human LITAF forms a complex with human STAT6B, which translocates into the nucleus to upregulate cytokine transcription. To dissect the molecular implications of this complex, a murine model was developed and interactions between mouse STAT6B (mSTAT6B) and mouse LITAF (mLITAF) were analyzed. Both mLITAF and mSTAT6B expression were MyD88- and TLR ligand-dependent. Furthermore, mLITAF was found to mediate LPS-induced CCL2 gene transcription with the cooperation of mSTAT6B leading to CCL2 protein expression. In LITAF-deficient mice, mLITAF-mediated CCL2 production in macrophages was significantly reduced compared to the wild-type control animals. Mice knockdown for mSTAT6B by 6BsiRNA1 tail vein injection resulted in a decrease in serum TNF-α and CCL2 production. mLITAF/mSTAT6B complex is proposed to play a role in LPS-induced CCL2 expression and possibly other cytokines