The effect of placenta previa on fetal weight and feto-maternal blood flow: a prospective cohort study

Background: The current study aims to evaluate the effect of placenta previa on the fetal weight and to explore its effect on the uterine and umbilical arteries blood flow.Methods: The current study was a prospective cohort study conducted at Assiut Women’s Health Hospital, Egypt from 1st of October 2016 to 30th of September 2017 including placenta previa and non-placenta previa women. They were followed up by two-dimensional ultrasound and Doppler blood flow in the uterine and umbilical arteries. The main study outcome was the number of low birth weight (LBW) babies delivered at or beyond 37 weeks and blood flow changes in uterine and umbilical arteries.Results: Two hundred twelve women were divided into two groups; group I included 106 placenta previa women (PP group) and 106 non-placenta previa women (NPP group). The number of LBW babies were comparable in both groups without statistically significant difference (P value= 0.555). Neither; uterine artery nor umbilical artery blood flow had any significant differences between the groups.  Preterm delivery was significantly higher in the PP group (p value=0.000).Conclusions: Although there is no agreement, in the literature, on the association between placenta previa and LBW, authors suggest that placenta previa is not a reason for LBW babies. In addition, placenta previa shows no effect on uterine artery or umbilical artery blood flow

Malaria Parasitemia during delivery

Objectives:  The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of plasmodium falciparum infection in parturient women in Central Sudan where malaria transmission is mesoendemic. The purpose of this paper is to find out the prevalenceof malaria parasitemia and the risk of anemia among parturient women and to suggest appropriate strategies to lower their prevalence rates. Methods:  This prospective study was conducted at Medani Teaching Hospital, Sudan a tertiary regional referral center, during the period January 1997 through to December 1997. All cases were admitted during labor to the delivery room and were clinically suspected to have malaria. History, examination and investigations were carried out on all patients. Results: The total number of patients enrolled in this study was 550, amounting to 14.9% of all women (N=3,687) who delivered during the study period. The prevalence of malaria parasitemia was 58.9% (N=550) while prevalence of anemia (defined as hemoglobulin   ….9.0 g/dl) was 24.1% the mean hemoglobuin levels in patients with positive and negative malaria parasitemia was 9.72+ 1.62 and 9.85+ 1.60 g/dl. Statistically the difference in the mean hemoglobulin level was not significant, t=0.879, A significant negative correlation between parasite count in maternal blood and hemoglobulin level of the mother, was observed, where r=0.121 (P=0.032). out of 17 (3.3%) patients who had used chloroquine tablets for prophylaxis, 11patients still had positive parasitemia. Although there was a higher parasite count in those 11 patients, statistically the difference was not significance where P< 0.0

Study of lipid profiles high and normal body mass index in polycystic ovary syndrome women in Aljouf, Saudi Arabia

Background: For women of reproductive age, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most prevalent endocrinological condition. Hyperandrogenism, persistent ovulatory dysfunction, obesity, and insulin resistance have all been associated with PCOS. However, recently PCOS is detected in high-body weight and normal-body-weight women. No information was available to evaluate specific lipid profiles. The goal of this study is to analyze the lipid profiles of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who have high or normal body weight. Methods: This polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) retrospective study was carried out between January 2021 and January 2022 at Sakaka’s Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH), Aljouf, Saudi Arabia. A total of 68 PCOS women were included in the study; we divided them into high (n=34) and normal body weight (n=34) according to the calculation of BMI. We obtain the test results of lipid profiles and demographic data from hospital record files. Results: We noticed changes but no significance in our research of lipid profiles in high and normal PCOS participants. The CHOL, TG, HDL, and LDL, 159.30±4.193, 97.89±7.140, 60.91±9.564, and 99.47±9.22 shown in the high BMI PCOS women respectively. While, 129.28±3.702, 83.69±4.49, 46.84±1.68 and86.53±4.36 were detected in normal BMI PCOS women respectively. There were none that were statistically significant, with the exception of cholesterol p=0.001. Conclusions: Our results show that POCS women with normal body weight and PCOS women with high BMI have different changes in their lipid profiles, but no significance has been found other than higher cholesterol levels. Therefore, losing weight can stop lipid profiles from altering, which may reduce difficulties in the future

Clinical Utility of Melatonin in Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

       Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disease with an unknown etiology, which is characterized by reduced pain threshold (hyperallgesia) & pain with normally innocuous stimuli (allodynia).This diffuse pain is often disease associated  with wide range of  other symptoms including fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness& more.FMS often occur concomitantly  with other rheumatologic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis(RA), systemic lupus erthymatosus(SLE).       The pineal hormone melatonin (MT) exerts a variety of effects on the immune system. MT activates immune cells and enhances inflammatory cytokine and nitric oxide production.Methods: We were studied 75 subjects, 55 of subjects were FMS patients defined by the American Colleague of Rheumatology (ACR 2010) criteria. Patients' mean age was 32.5 ± 13.9 years. They were classified into two groups: Group I of 25  primary FMS patients . Group II of 30 secondary FMS patients with other rheumatologic disease such as RA, SLE. Twenty age and sex matched healthy individuals were included in the study as a control group.Results:Mean Melatonin titers were significantly reduced (p<0.0001) in primary FMs patients compared to the controls (21.32vs. 30.9 pg/ml), but they were significantly elevated (p<0.0001) in secondary FMS compared to controls (138.1vs.30.9 pg/ml). Our data imposed that, in 1ry FMS there were negative correlations of MT titers with tender points (r=-0.848**,p<0.0001), sleep disturbance(r=-0.963**, p< 0.0001**), Fatigue (r= -0.972**, p<0.001**), WPI (r= -0,953 **, p<0.0001) and SS (r=-0.901**, p< 0.0001). Conclusions:In primary FMS patients melatonin level is lower than melatonin level in control, but MT level is high in secondary FMS patients. There was a negative correlation between MT with tender points, sleep disturbance, fatigue, SS & WPI. But there was a positive correlation between MT & cognitive symptoms

Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons on a Kinked Au Surface: Revealing the Frontier Valence Band at the Brillouin Zone Center

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) can be synthesized with atomic precision through on-surface chemistry of self-assembled organic precursors on metal surfaces. Here, we examine the growth of seven-armchair GNRs (7-AGNRs) on the Au(16 14 15) vicinal surface, namely, a surface vicinal to Au(111) that features kinked steps. During the thermal activation of the polymerization and cyclodehydrogenation processes that produce the GNRs, the kinked substrate undergoes a strong step-edge reshaping, accompanied by a massive missing-row reconstruction within (111) terraces that aligns GNRs preferentially along two equivalent [11¯ 0] directions. Using angle-resolved photoemission, we are able to detect the occupied frontier band of the 7-AGNR at the center of the first Brillouin zone, as predicted by theoretical calculations. This allows to unambiguously determine the relevant 7-AGNR band properties, namely, energy and effective mass. Copyrigh

Causes of elective cesarean delivery on maternal request in Aljouf, Saudi Arabia

Background: Recently observed there is a steadily higher rate of cesarean delivery worldwide mostly due to the increasing number of women requesting an elective cesarean section on maternal request without valid indication. The aim of the study was to determine the causes of elective cesarean delivery on maternal requests in Aljouf Saudi Arabia.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study and data was evaluated by completing seven questionnaires and interviews with laboratory reports who were admitted for cesarean delivery at the Obstetrics department of Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH) Aljouf, Saudi Arabia from January 2020 to December 2020. A total of 141 Saudi women of age between 18 and over 35 years were enrolled, including those who have singleton pregnancy, no complications during pregnancy, and no medical indication for cesarean delivery.Results: 141 women reported willingness to request cesarean delivery. The mean systolic 120±6.23, diastolic 75±2.45 blood pressure mm of Hg, and fasting blood sugar level 4.1±1.1 mmol/l have been found within the normal limit. The ultrasound (US) confirmed singleton pregnancy without any abnormalities.  Data reveals that common causes of elective cesarean section on maternal request to avoid the episiotomy 77.3%, fear of labor pain 69.5%, trauma to the vagina 79.4%, uncertainty about timing 61.7%, losing a baby during vaginal delivery 54.6%, experience other members 41.8%, the risk for baby 39%, prolapse or incontinence24.1%, unsatisfactory sexual intercourse 17.7% and the undesirable experience of the previous vaginal delivery 12%.Conclusions: Maternal request for cesarean delivery is considered one of the reasons for increasing the rate of cesarean delivery in Saudi Arabia. To avoid the episiotomy and fear of labor pain may strong causes for choosing cesarean delivery

The Effect of Statin Therapy on the Incidence of Infections: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Statins have been postulated to prevent infection through immunomodulatory effects

Appraisal on the Wound Healing Potential of Deverra tortuosa DC. and Deverra triradiata Hochst Essential Oil Nanoemulsion Topical Preparation

Deverra tortuosa (Desf.) DC. and Deverra. triradiata Hochst. ex Bioss are perennial desert shrubs widely used traditionally for many purposes and they are characteristic for their essential oil. The objective of the present study was to investigate the in vivo wound healing activity of the essential oil (EO) of D. tortuosa and D. triradiata through their encapsulation into nanoemulsion. EO nanoemulsion was prepared using an aqueous phase titration method, and nanoemulsion zones were identified through the construction of phase diagrams. The EO was prepared by hydrodistillation (HD), microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD), and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and analyzed using GC/MS. D. tortuosa oil is rich in the non-oxygenated compound, representing 74.54, 73.02, and 41.19% in HD, MADH, and SFE, respectively, and sabinene represents the major monoterpene hydrocarbons. Moreover, D. triradiata is rich in oxygenated compounds being 69.77, 52.87, and 61.69% in HD, MADH, and SFE, respectively, with elemicin and myristicin as major phenylpropanoids. Topical application of the nanoemulsion of D. tortuosa and D. triradiata (1% or 2%) exhibited nearly 100% wound contraction and complete healing at day 16. Moreover, they exhibit significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and a significant increase in growth factors and hydroxyproline levels. Histopathological examination exhibited complete re-epithelialization accompanied by activated hair follicles and abundant collagen fibers, especially at a concentration of 2%. Therefore, the incorporation of the two Deverra species into nanoemulsion could professionally endorse different stages of wound healing

Promising applicable heterometallic Al2O3/PbO2 nanoparticles in shielding properties

Hetrometal oxides of (1 - x)Al2O3/xPbO2(NPs) nanoparticles with different PbO2content(x = 0, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7) have been prepared by irradiation method. The NPs powder hasbeen checked by X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD measurements affirmed the presence of bothpure NPs and nanocomposites of (1 - x)Al2O3/xPbO2NPs with different PbO2contents. Thecalculated structural parameters which using the experimental result of XRD charts to givea complete image of these measurements. Moreover, the results using FLUKA code showedthat the values attenuation coefficient (_m), high effective atomic number (Zeff) and neu-tron shielding parameters increase as the lead dioxide increase in the Al2O3/PbO2samples.While the values of half-value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) decrease with increas-ing PbO2content. The investigated shielding features of the chosen Al2O3/PbO2would beadvantageous for exposure control. © 2020 The Authors.The authors extended their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through the research group program under grant number R.G.P.2/33/41