Evaluation of the quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease: using two measuring assessment tools

Background: Coronary heart diseases (CHD) are considered to be as a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) test and assessment is considered as a major an important measuring tool of the disease effects results and other variables related to the patient’s life.Objectives: The purpose of this observational study is to assess and compare the quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at Al-shaab Teaching Hospital, where 100 patients with definite diagnosis of CHD were responded. The data was collected using two quality of life assessment tools: the Seattle angina questionnaire (SAQ) (disease specific measuring tool) and the SF-36 questionnaire (generic measuring tool).Results: Based on the 1) SAQ, out of the 50 patients who were recruited, the patients physical functioning in terms of activities performed 58% said “not limited” and 42% said “limited” in case of chest pain 26% noted “much more often” while 10% “much less often” Based on the 2) SF-36, out of the 50 patients who were recruited, the patients physical functioning in terms of activates performed 26% said “no, not limited” and 74% said “limited”. 34% had felt full of life “all the time” while 10% “none of the time”.Conclusion: HRQL measurement gives health care providers an additional tool for the assessment of the impact of specific clinical decisions on the health status of patients. Of the SAQ and SF-36, the SAQ offers more reliable assessment of quality of life.Keywords: Coronary heart Disease, measuring assessment tool

The Roman baths at Karnak, between river and temple. Architectural study and urban context

International audienc

Bishop score versus transvaginal ultrasonographic measurement of cervical length in predicting successful labor induction in post-term pregnancy: prospective cohort study

Background: The current study aims to compare the efficacy of Bishop score assessment and transvaginal ultrasonographic measurement of the cervical length in prediction of the outcome of labor induction in post-term pregnancy.Methods: A comparative Prospective observational study conducted in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kom Ombo central hospital from January 2017 to October 2017. Pregnant women were classified into two groups of Bishop Score Group (1): ladies with (Bishop Score 5) = favorable cervix. Also, they were classified into two groups of cervical lengths: Group (1): women with (cervical length <25mm, shorter cervix) and Group (2): those with (cervical length ≥25 mm, longer cervix). The Primary outcome was Bishop score by digital examination and Cervical length by TVS.Results: The study group was 100 women. Regarding sonographic assessment, 44 patients had cervical length <25 mm and the mean cervical length for the whole study group was 25.19±8.16 mm. Successful induction was achieved in 78 patients (78%), while CS was done in 22 patients due to failed induction.  No difference between both groups regarding the parity (p=0.063). When comparing women with successful VD versus those delivered by CS, we found significantly higher Bishop score in the first group 5.12 ± 1.93  vs 3.89 ± 1.71 in the second group (p=0.002). Additionally, VD group had significantly shorter cervix than CS group (22.31 ±7.14 vs. 35.37± 5.80 mm, p=0.007). The Bishop score showed significant moderate negative correlation with the cervical length (r=-0.589, p=0.001).Conclusions: Success of labor induction in women undergoing induction due to prolonged pregnancy can be highly predicted by cervical length as it is more objective and accurate than Bishop Score. The 25 mm cut-off point for cervical length was the best predictor of vaginal delivery

Towards a better understanding of human iNKT cell subpopulations for improved clinical outcomes

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique T lymphocyte population expressing semi-invariant T cell receptors (TCRs) that recognise lipid antigens presented by CD1d. iNKT cells exhibit potent anti-tumour activity through direct killing mechanisms and indirectly through triggering the activation of other anti-tumour immune cells. Because of their ability to induce potent anti-tumour responses, particularly when activated by the strong iNKT agonist αGalCer, they have been the subject of intense research to harness iNKT cell-targeted immunotherapies for cancer treatment. However, despite potent anti-tumour efficacy in pre-clinical models, the translation of iNKT cell immunotherapy into human cancer patients has been less successful. This review provides an overview of iNKT cell biology and why they are of interest within the context of cancer immunology. We focus on the iNKT anti-tumour response, the seminal studies that first reported iNKT cytotoxicity, their anti-tumour mechanisms, and the various described subsets within the iNKT cell repertoire. Finally, we discuss several barriers to the successful utilisation of iNKT cells in human cancer immunotherapy, what is required for a better understanding of human iNKT cells, and the future perspectives facilitating their exploitation for improved clinical outcomes

Effect of intraoperative wound irrigation with topical phenytoin on postoperative seroma formation after modified radical mastectomy

Background: Modified radical mastectomy (MRM), as a surgical treatment in breast cancer patients, may lead to important complications with significant morbidities including seroma formation. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of wound irrigation with topical phenytoin on postoperative seroma formation after modified radical mastectomy.Patients and methods: This is a double-blinded randomized clinical trial study, which was carried out in Zagazig University Hospital during a period of 6 months. It included 60 patients who were candidates for modified radical mastectomy (MRM). All patients were subjected to demographic data taking, clinical and chemical examination, clinical evaluation, radiological evaluation, Lab. Investigations.Results: Average daily breast drainage (in milliliters) of drains according to their location and day of evaluation: Group A (Phenytoin) in day 5 drained a mean of 24.62 with SD of 32.79, in day 7 mean of drainage was 28.89 and SD was 18.33, in days 8 to 10 mean of drainage was 32 and SD was 10.95, and in days 11 to 13 mean of drainage was 15 and SD was 7.07. Group B (Control): day 5 group drained a mean of 35.88 with SD of 12.93, in day 7 mean of drainage was 28.18 and SD was 12.68, in days 8 to 10 mean of drainage was 21.43 and SD was 11.07, in days 11 to 13 only one patient in control group had breast drain after 11th postoperative day drainage was 50 and in days 14 to 16 drainage was 20. Conclusion: Topical irrigation of the surgery site with phenytoin was effective in reducing axillary surgical wound drainage

First phylogenetic characterization of Pseudocowpox virus from cattle in Al-Qadisiyah province/ Iraq

This study was initiated for the first time for identification, using sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, of pseudocowpox PCPV that inhabit dairy cows in Al-Qadisiyah province, Iraq. Scab sampling was performed to obtain specimens from udder and teats of 18 affected cows. Initially, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was followed to target a 408-bp piece of the GM_CSF/IL-2 inhibition factor gene (GIF) that belongs to PCPV. Then, the PCR products were sent out to partial sequencing of the GIF gene. The results of the PCR have indicated the presence of the virus in only 3 out of 18 samples. When the sequences were studied using phylogeny, the results have revealed that one of our PCPV strains has a close matching with some of the world strains such as from New Zealand. While two of the current study strains have clustered together with a strain from Finland. The results of our study confirm the presence of the PCPV in dairy cows that induces milker’s nodules

(5,10,15,20-Tetra­phenyl­porphyrinato-κ4 N)cobalt(II)–18-crown-6 (1/1)

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Co(C44H28N4)]·C12H24O6, contains one half of a CoII(TPP) (TPP is tetra­phenyl­porphyrin) complex and one half of an 18-crown-6 mol­ecule of crystallization, both lying on inversion centers. The CoII(TPP) complex exhibits a nearly planar conformation of the porphyrinate core [maximum deviation = 0.069 (2) Å] with an average Co—N distance of 1.971 (4) Å. The distance between the Co atom and the closest O atom of the 18-crown-6 mol­ecule is 2.533 (2) Å, indicating a short non-bonded contact between the Co atom and the crown ether mol­ecule. An ethyl­ene group of the 18-crown-6 mol­ecule is disordered over two sites with occupancies of 0.565 (7) and 0.435 (7)

A comparative study on the efficacy of artesunate plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine versus artemether-lumefantrine in eastern Sudan

BACKGROUND: A combination of artesunate (AS) plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) as first-line and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) as second-line treatment are currently recommended against uncomplicated P. falciparum infection in Sudan. However, there is limited information on the efficacy of ACTs in the country and only one report of PCR-corrected results for AS/SP only. METHODS: The WHO protocol for the assessment of antimalarial drug efficacy for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria was employed. Artesunate plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (AS/SP) was compared to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in a 28-day follow up. Samples that were classified as early treatment failure (ETF), late treatment failure (LCF) or late parasitological failure (LPF) were genotyped for msp-1 and msp-2 genes to differentiate recrudescence from reinfection. RESULTS: A total of 178 patients were screened and 160 met the enrollment criteria and were recruited to the study of which 157 (98.1%) completed the follow up and had an analysed treatment outcome. On the AS/SP arm, three (0.038%) patients were lost during the follow-up, two on day 1 and one on day 7, and 77 (96.3) completed the study, while all 80 (100%) patients completed the follow up in the AL arm. In the per protocol analysis for AS/SP the treatment outcome for patients who completed the follow-up were as follows: adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR); 84.4% ETF; 1.3%, LCF; 3.9%, (LPF); 10.4%. For the AL arm the out come was as follows, ACPR; 90%, ETF; 0%, LCF; 6.3% and LPF; 3.8%. However, when PCR-corrected, 6.5% (5/77) of patients treated with AS/SP maintained parasites from their primary infection, while (7/80) in the AL group maintained their initial parasite genotype. Therefore, PCR-corrected efficacy was 93.5% in the AS/SP treated group and for AL it was 91.3%. CONCLUSION: Both AS/SP and AL are highly effective for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in eastern Sudan. However, AS/SP appears to have a slightly higher efficacy than AL, this may be due to patient compliance with the repeated dose rather than drug efficacy

Ethyl 6-amino-5-cyano-4-isopropyl-2-methyl-4H-pyran-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C13H18N2O3, the two H atoms of the NH2 group are engaged in hydrogen bonding with the N atom of the cyano group and with one O atom of the ethoxy­carbonyl group, building a chain parallel to the [100] direction. The N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds assemble the mol­ecules around inversion centres, forming dimers with an R 2 2(12) graph-set motif