Porphyrins profile by high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the diagnosis of porphyria

Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway. Most porphyria symptoms are nonspecific and occur intermittently; resulting frequently in missed diagnosis since the disease itself is a rare one. The aim of the study is toestablish a new reliable and accurate laboratory method for separation, identification and quantitation of urinary porphyrins by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and thereby the diagnosis of different porphyria types for the first time in Egypt. Screening by plasma fluorescence and quantitative determination of urinary porphyrins by high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI/MS/MS) of 50 clinically suspected patients revealed one case of variegate porphyria and five cases of porphyria cutanea tarda. Plasma fluorescence scanning is a simple procedure that can be used as screening test to detect porphyria patients that require quantitation of urinary porphyrins as a second step. Quantitative determination of urinary porphyrins using HPLC/ESI/MS/MS and ion mapping techniques are applicable for the differential diagnosis of porphyria types, since each type has a characteristic porphyrins excretion profile. Quantitative determination of urinary porphyrins by HPLC/ESI/MS/MS used in this study is a modification for the method Stoev et al. while ion mapping technique is a new technique invented by the research team at the Biochemical Genetics Department

Interleukin 6 (IL6) as a predictor outcome in patients with compensated cirrhosis and symptomatic gall stones after cholecystectomy

Compensated cirrhosis means that the liver is heavily scarred but can still perform many important functions; many peoples with compensated cirrhosis have gall bladder stones. The advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for most patients have been extensively published. However its benefits and successful use in patients with cirrhosis are less documented. The study compromised 50 patients with symptomatic gallstone in compensated liver disease and undergone either open cholecystectomy (OC) or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. These patients were randomized into two groups: Group I included 24 patients who underwent OC, and group II included 26 patients who underwent LC. Patient’s age, sex, clinical presentation and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class were documented. No patients in this study had CTP class c cirrhosis. IL-6 was measured by ELISA, postoperative pain (measured by Visual analog scale), hospital stay, blood loss, recovery time (return to work), and liver function tests were documented. IL-6 was significantly lowered at 6th hour and 12th hour post operative in LC group. Mean surgical time was significantly longer in OC than LC group, (mean ±SD, 96.6 ±32 vs 58.7 ± 23.8 min, P = 0.037). No patients in group II required any blood replacement in contrast to 9 patients (37.5%) in group I. Intraoperative bleeding remained significantly higher in group I (P = 0.043). No patients in group II had wound complications compared with 5 patients (29.14%) in group I. Group I had significantly longer hospital stay than group II, mean 9.0+ 1.3 days (median 7) vs 2.3 days + 1.9 (median 2.5); P = 0.001. Our results were demonstrated that laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed safely in patients with CTP class A and B cirrhosis. IL-6 was more significantly, increased post operatively in open cholecystectomy than laparoscopic one and it correlated well with intensity of operative trauma. Keywords: Interleukin 6; Liver cirrhosis; Cholecystectom

An approach for simulating regional migration patterns

In this paper, GERTS III is presented as a possible approach for simulating regional migration patterns. Fourteen years of aggregate Canadian census data were compiled and a mathematical model was constructed to describe the patterns of inter-regional migration viewed as a discrete time Markov process. A GERTS III network was developed to analyze and describe this process. Measures of population mobility, degree of mobility and retention were derived. The implications for policy makers are highlighted.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24487/1/0000763.pd

Wheat Fertilization with Special Reference to Soil Properties and Groundwater Composition in Heavy Clay Soil from Egypt

Egypt is considered to be a heavy user of chemical fertilizers, especially NPK fertilizers. Thus, sustainable NPK-fertilizer management should be considered to minimize nutrient losses to the environment via volatilization or leaching. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of different levels of NPK fertilization on some soil chemical properties, the chemical composition of groundwater and the yield and yield components of wheat plant under different treatments of NPK. Field experiments were carried out to study the effect of NPK application on soil properties and groundwater quality as well as wheat yield. Groundwater and soil samples were collected after the first, the third irrigation as well as after harvesting from each treatment for chemical analysis. The highest value of soil salinity was 1.64 dS m-1 after wheat harvesting compared to it before planting (1.13 dS m-1). Values of pH after wheat harvesting ranged from 7.39 to 8.01 (7.67 before planting). Concentration of soluble cations in the ground water after harvesting was higher than it before planting. Concerning soluble salts, Na+ and Cl- was the dominate ions in the soil solution and cation concentration had the descending order: Na+ > Ca++ > Mg++ > K+ and anions had the following order: Cl- > SO4-- > HCO3-. The mean values of available N after wheat harvesting ranged from 8 to 19 mg N kg-1 (38 – 42 mg N kg-1 before planting). The highest value of available phosphorus after wheat harvesting was 11 mg P kg-1 (19.4 mg P kg-1 before planting). Available K ranged from 97 to 204 mg K kg-1 compared to it before planting (160 – 210 mg K kg-1). The balance fertilization of NPK (N80P22K50) gave the highest yield of wheat, improving soil fertility and decrease nutrient leaching to ground water. The grain yield of wheat was highly significant increased with increasing N levels up to 120 kg N acre-1. The highest mean value of grain yield over the two seasons was 3.5 Mg acre-1

Investigation and Statistical Analysis for Optimizing Surface Roughness, Cutting Forces, Temperature, and Productivity in Turning Grey Cast Iron

This paper investigated the influence of cutting parameters, including feed rate, cutting speed, tool nose radius, and wet or dry cutting conditions, on the resultant force, cutting edge/workpiece temperature, and surface roughness when turning grey cast iron. Results showed that increasing the feed rate increased the resultant force, cutting temperature, and surface roughness. At the same time, increasing the cutting speed and nose radius increased the cutting temperature, which in turn reduced the resultant force. For practical applications, basic mathematical calculations based on the sole effect of each parameter on the output of the experiments were used to estimate the extent of percentage increase in cutting temperature due to increasing feed rate, cutting speed, and nose radius. Similarly, the same approach was used to estimate the effect of increasing feed rate, cutting speed, and nose radius on average surface roughness. Results showed that increasing the feed rate increases the cutting temperature by 5 to 11% depending on the nose radius and cutting speed. On the other hand, increasing the cutting speed was found to have limited effect on cutting temperature with small nose radius whereas this effect increases with increasing the nose radius reaching about 11%. Increasing the nose radius also increases the cutting temperature, depending mainly on cutting speed, reaching a maximum of 21% at higher cutting speeds. Results also showed that increasing the feed rate increased the average surface roughness considerably to about 120% at high cutting speeds and a large nose radius. On the other hand, increasing the cutting speed and nose radius reduced the surface roughness (i.e., improved surface quality) by a maximum of 29 and 23%, respectively. In order to study the combined effects of the cutting parameters on the three responses, namely, the resultant cutting force, cutting temperature, and surface roughness, full factorial design and ANOVA were used, where it was found to be in good agreement with mathematical calculations. Additionally, the desirability function optimization tool was used to minimize the measured responses whilst maximizing the material removal rate