Perceptions of eye health in schools in Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Research exploring children's and their teachers' perceptions of eye health is lacking. This paper reports for the first time on perceptions of primary schoolchildren and their teachers of healthy and diseased eyes, things that keep eyes healthy and damage them, and what actions to be taken in case of an eye injury. METHODS: Using draw and write technique, 160 boys and girls (9–12 years old) attending four primary schools in Abbottabad district, northern Pakistan, were invited to draw pictures in response to a set of semi-structured questions and then label them. Sixteen teachers who were currently teaching the selected students were interviewed one-on-one. RESULTS: Analysis of text accompanying 800 drawings and of the interview scripts revealed that most children and teachers perceived healthy eyes to be those which could see well, and diseased eyes to be those which have redness, watering, dirty discharge, pain, and itching; or those which have "weak eyesight" and blindness. Among things that students and teachers thought damage the eyes included sun, television, and sharp pointed objects, particularly pencils. Teachers noted that children with eye problems "have difficulty seeing the blackboard well", "screw up their eyes", and "hold their books too close". CONCLUSION: We conclude that schoolchildren and their teachers had a good knowledge of eye health, but many of them had serious misconceptions e.g., use of kohl, medicines and eye drops keeps eyes healthy. Kohl is an important source of lead and can reduce children's intelligence even at low blood levels. Health education in schools must take into account children's existing knowledge of and misconceptions about various aspects of eye health. Such steps if taken could improve the relevance of eye health education to schoolchildren

Transcriptomics and adaptive genomics of the asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli strain 83972

Escherichia coli strains are the major cause of urinary tract infections in humans. Such strains can be divided into virulent, UPEC strains causing symptomatic infections, and asymptomatic, commensal-like strains causing asymptomatic bacteriuria, ABU. The best-characterized ABU strain is strain 83972. Global gene expression profiling of strain 83972 has been carried out under seven different sets of environmental conditions ranging from laboratory minimal medium to human bladders. The data reveal highly specific gene expression responses to different conditions. A number of potential fitness factors for the human urinary tract could be identified. Also, presence/absence data of the gene expression was used as an adaptive genomics tool to model the gene pool of 83972 using primarily UPEC strain CFT073 as a scaffold. In our analysis, 96% of the transcripts filtered present in strain 83972 can be found in CFT073, and genes on six of the seven pathogenicity islands were expressed in 83972. Despite the very different patient symptom profiles, the two strains seem to be very similar. Genes expressed in CFT073 but not in 83972 were identified and can be considered as virulence factor candidates. Strain 83972 is a deconstructed pathogen rather than a commensal strain that has acquired fitness properties

Characterization of ERK Docking Domain Inhibitors that Induce Apoptosis by Targeting Rsk-1 and Caspase-9

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and 2 (ERK1/2) proteins play an important role in cancer cell proliferation and survival. ERK1/2 proteins also are important for normal cell functions. Thus, anti-cancer therapies that block all ERK1/2 signaling may result in undesirable toxicity to normal cells. As an alternative, we have used computational and biological approaches to identify low-molecular weight compounds that have the potential to interact with unique ERK1/2 docking sites and selectively inhibit interactions with substrates involved in promoting cell proliferation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Colony formation and water soluble tetrazolium salt (WST) assays were used to determine the effects of test compounds on cell proliferation. Changes in phosphorylation and protein expression in response to test compound treatment were examined by immunoblotting and <it>in vitro </it>kinase assays. Apoptosis was determined with immunoblotting and caspase activity assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>In silico </it>modeling was used to identify compounds that were structurally similar to a previously identified parent compound, called <b>76</b>. From this screen, several compounds, termed <b>76.2</b>, <b>76.3</b>, and <b>76.4 </b>sharing a common thiazolidinedione core with an aminoethyl side group, inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of HeLa cells. However, the active compounds were less effective in inhibiting proliferation or inducing apoptosis in non-transformed epithelial cells. Induction of HeLa cell apoptosis appeared to be through intrinsic mechanisms involving caspase-9 activation and decreased phosphorylation of the pro-apoptotic Bad protein. Cell-based and <it>in vitro </it>kinase assays indicated that compounds <b>76.3 </b>and <b>76.4 </b>directly inhibited ERK-mediated phosphorylation of caspase-9 and the p90Rsk-1 kinase, which phosphorylates and inhibits Bad, more effectively than the parent compound <b>76</b>. Further examination of the test compound's mechanism of action showed little effects on related MAP kinases or other cell survival proteins.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings support the identification of a class of ERK-targeted molecules that can induce apoptosis in transformed cells by inhibiting ERK-mediated phosphorylation and inactivation of pro-apoptotic proteins.</p

The association between parity, infant gender, higher level of paternal education and preterm birth in Pakistan: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High rates of antenatal depression and preterm birth have been reported in Pakistan. Self reported maternal stress and depression have been associated with preterm birth; however findings are inconsistent. Cortisol is a biological marker of stress and depression, and its measurement may assist in understanding the influence of self reported maternal stress and depression on preterm birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective cohort study pregnant women between 28 to 30 weeks of gestation from the Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children completed the A-Z Stress Scale and the Centre for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale to assess stress and depression respectively, and had a blood cortisol level drawn. Women were followed up after delivery to determine birth outcomes. Correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess relationship between preterm birth, stress, depression and cortisol. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the key factors predictive of preterm birth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>132 pregnant women participated of whom 125 pregnant women had both questionnaire and cortisol level data and an additional seven had questionnaire data only. Almost 20% of pregnant women (19·7%, 95% CI 13·3-27·5) experienced a high level of stress and nearly twice as many (40·9%, 95% CI 32·4-49·8%) experienced depressive symptoms. The median of cortisol level was 27·40 ug/dl (IQR 22·5-34·2). The preterm birth rate was 11·4% (95% CI 6·5-18). There was no relationship between cortisol values and stress scale or depression. There was a significant positive relationship between maternal depression and stress. Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. Insufficient numbers of preterm births were available to warrant the development of a multivariable logistic regression model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preterm birth was associated with higher parity, past delivery of a male infant, and higher levels of paternal education. There was no relationship between stress, and depression, cortisol and preterm birth. There were high rates of stress and depression among this sample suggesting that there are missed opportunities to address mental health needs in the prenatal period. Improved methods of measurement are required to better understand the psychobiological basis of preterm birth.</p

The genome sequence of E. coli W (ATCC 9637): comparative genome analysis and an improved genome-scale reconstruction of E. coli

Background: Escherichia coli is a model prokaryote, an important pathogen, and a key organism for industrial biotechnology. E. coli W (ATCC 9637), one of four strains designated as safe for laboratory purposes, has not been sequenced. E. coli W is a fast-growing strain and is the only safe strain that can utilize sucrose as a carbon source. Lifecycle analysis has demonstrated that sucrose from sugarcane is a preferred carbon source for industrial bioprocesses

Mapping the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™) Generic Core Scales onto the Child Health Utility Index–9 Dimension (CHU-9D) Score for Economic Evaluation in Children

Background: The Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™) questionnaire is a widely used, generic instrument designed for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL); however, it is not preference-based and therefore not suitable for cost–utility analysis. The Child Health Utility Index–9 Dimension (CHU-9D), however, is a preference-based instrument that has been primarily developed to support cost–utility analysis. Objective: This paper presents a method for estimating CHU-9D index scores from responses to the PedsQL™ using data from a randomised controlled trial of prednisolone therapy for treatment of childhood corticosteroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome. Methods: HRQoL data were collected from children at randomisation, week 16, and months 12, 18, 24, 36 and 48. Observations on children aged 5 years and older were pooled across all data collection timepoints and were then randomised into an estimation (n = 279) and validation (n = 284) sample. A number of models were developed using the estimation data before internal validation. The best model was chosen using multi-stage selection criteria. Results: Most of the models developed accurately predicted the CHU-9D mean index score. The best performing model was a generalised linear model (mean absolute error = 0.0408; mean square error = 0.0035). The proportion of index scores deviating from the observed scores by 13 years) or patient groups with particularly poor quality of life. ISRCTN Registry No: 1664524

What can whiskers tell us about mammalian evolution, behaviour, and ecology?

Most mammals have whiskers; however, nearly everything we know about whiskers derives from just a handful of species, including laboratory rats Rattus norvegicus and mice Mus musculus, as well as some species of pinniped and marsupial. We explore the extent to which the knowledge of the whisker system from a handful of species applies to mammals generally. This will help us understand whisker evolution and function, in order to gain more insights into mammalian behaviour and ecology. This review is structured around Tinbergen’s four questions, since this method is an established, comprehensive, and logical approach to studying behaviour. We ask: how do whiskers work, develop, and evolve? And what are they for? While whiskers are all slender, curved, tapered, keratinised hairs that transmit vibrotactile information, we show that there are marked differences between species with respect to whisker arrangement, numbers, length, musculature, development, and growth cycles. The conservation of form and a common muscle architecture in mammals suggests that early mammals had whiskers. Whiskers may have been functional even in therapsids. However, certain extant mammalian species are equipped with especially long and sensitive whiskers, in particular nocturnal, arboreal species, and aquatic species, which live in complex environments and hunt moving prey. Knowledge of whiskers and whisker use can guide us in developing conservation protocols and designing enriched enclosures for captive mammals. We suggest that further comparative studies, embracing a wider variety of mammalian species, are required before one can make large-scale predictions relating to evolution and function of whiskers. More research is needed to develop robust techniques to enhance the welfare and conservation of mammals