Conservative approach in the management o fisolated penetrating liver trauma

No Abstract

CHANGES IN SOME BIOPHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN BLOOD AND URINE OF WORKERS CHRONICALLY EXPOSED TO BENZENE

Objective: Benzene may occur naturally as a component of petroleum, or may be manufactured synthetically. It is found in the environment as a contaminant from both human activities and natural processes, posing serious bio-hazards from chronic exposure.Methods: A total of 330 individual were enrolled to study possible health hazards of benzene contamination; 265 males occupationally chronically exposed to low levels of benzene in their daily activity were compared to 65 healthy individuals of the same socio-economic standard. Benzene workers were divided between 45 workers in printing shops, 70 subjects dealing with benzene containing paints (painters), 75 subjects working in professions related to automotive work (autoworkers) and 75 car drivers.Results: benzene itself was not detected in blood or urine of all participants, but the levels of its metabolites; phenol and t,t-muconic acid, were higher in the blood and urine samples in the group of benzene-exposed workers. The results also indicate that individuals in this group are under oxidative stress. However, neither the determined liver function nor the kidney function tests showed significant deviation from controls. However, the results of the biophysical hematological parameters, including the degree of hemolysis, blood viscosity, RBCs aggregation and form factor were significantly deviated from normal.Conclusion: The deviation of the determined biochemical and biophysical parameters from normal may predispose such workers to a variety of health problems. Early correction of the oxidative stress and the hematological parameters and improvement of working conditions are necessary to prevent their progress to more serious health conditions, especially in children and young adolescents working under similar conditions.Running Title : Chronic exposure to benzene in work plac

Identification of the first surrogate agonists for the G protein-coupled receptor GPR132

We report the first pharmacological tool agonist for in vitro characterization of the orphan receptor GPR132, preliminary structure–activity relationships based on 32 analogs and a suggested binding mode from docking.M.A.S. was supported by a research scholarship from the Drug Research Academy and Novo Nordisk A/S. D.E.G. and H.B.-O. gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Carlsberg Foundation. D.E.G. and D.S.P. gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Lundbeck Foundation. Nils Nyberg is acknowledged for help with NMR spectroscopy. NMR equipment used in this work was purchased via a grant from The Lundbeck Foundation (R77-A6742).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/RA/c5ra04804d#!divAbstract

Population-based study of acquired cerebellar ataxia in Al-Kharga district, New Valley, Egypt

Wafaa MA Farghaly1, Hamdy N El-Tallawy1, Ghaydaa A Shehata1, Tarek A Rageh1, Nabil Abdel Hakeem2, Noha M Abo-Elfetoh11Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; 2Al Azhar University, Assiut Branch, EgyptBackground: The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence and etiology of acquired ataxia in Al-Kharga district, New Valley, Egypt.Methods: A population-based study of acquired ataxia was conducted in a defined geographical region with a total population of 62,583. A door-to-door survey was used to identify cases of acquired cerebellar ataxia. Patients with acquired cerebellar ataxia at any age and of both genders were included. Cases of known inherited cerebellar ataxia, acquired neurological disorders with ataxia as a minor feature, or pure acquired sensory ataxia, were excluded.Results: We identified 17 cases of acquired ataxia, of which eight were vascular, six were an ataxic cerebral palsy subtype, and three involved postencephalitic ataxia. The crude prevalence rate for acquired ataxia was 27.16/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.3–40.1). The mean age of the patients at interview was 31.8 (range 4–72) years, with a male to female ratio of 2.1:1. The most frequent presenting complaint was disturbance of gait (90.7%). The majority (92%) were ambulatory, but only 9.3% were independently self-caring.Conclusion: This population-based study provides an insight into acquired cerebellar ataxia within a defined region, and may inform decisions about the rational use of health care resources for patients with acquired cerebellar ataxia. The most common causes of acquired cerebellar ataxia in this region were cerebrovascular injury and cerebral palsy.Keywords: acquired cerebellar ataxia, prevalence, subtypes, Egyp

Small bowel perforation by a piece of china with a synchronous asymptomatic sigmoid carcinoma: A case report

A 75 year old gentleman who presented with an incarcerated paraumibilical hernia was found intraoperatively to have small bowel perforation due to a piece of china with a synchronous asymptomatic sigmoid carcinoma

The orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR139 is activated by the peptides: adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), α-, and β-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH, and β-MSH), and the conserved core motif HFRW

GPR139 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor that is expressed primarily in the brain. Not much is known regarding the function of GPR139. Recently we have shown that GPR139 is activated by the amino acids L-tryptophan and L-phenylalanine (EC50 values of 220 μM and 320 μM, respectively), as well as di-peptides comprised of aromatic amino acids. This led us to hypothesize that GPR139 may be activated by peptides. Sequence alignment of the binding cavities of all class A GPCRs, revealed that the binding pocket of the melanocortin 4 receptor is similar to that of GPR139. Based on the chemogenomics principle "similar targets bind similar ligands”, we tested three known endogenous melanocortin 4 receptor agonists; adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and α- and β-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH and β-MSH) on CHO-k1 cells stably expressing the human GPR139 in a Fluo-4 Ca2+-assay. All three peptides, as well as their conserved core motif HFRW, were found to activate GPR139 in the low μM range. Moreover, we found that peptides consisting of nine or ten N-terminal residues of α-MSH activate GPR139 in the submicromolar range. α-MSH1-9 was found to correspond to the product of a predicted cleavage site in the prepro-protein pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). Our results demonstrate that GPR139 is a peptide receptor, activated by ACTH, α-MSH, β-MSH, the conserved core motif HFRW as well as a potential endogenous peptide α-MSH1-9. Further studies are needed to determine the functional relevance of GPR139 mediated signaling by these peptides.This work was supported by the Lundbeck Foundation (separate grants to H.B.-O., D.S.P and D.E.G. [R169-2013-16327]), the A. P. Møller Foundation for the Advancement of Science (H.B.-O.), the European Research Council (DE-ORPHAN 639125; DEG), the Carlsberg Foundation (D.S.P.) and The Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF – 1331-00180) and the Wellcome Trust (098497/Z/12/Z), NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, MRC, Bernard Wolfe Endowment and ERC (282374) (I.S.F.

The changing pattern of human brucellosis: clinical manifestations, epidemiology, and treatment outcomes over three decades in Georgia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brucellosis is an endemic infection in Georgia. We conducted a review of patient records with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of brucellosis over three decades at the central referral hospital for brucellosis cases, the Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (IPTM) in Tbilisi. The purpose was to describe the demographic profile and clinical characteristics as well as diagnostic and treatment strategies in patients with brucellosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were abstracted from randomly selected patient records at the IPTM. In total, 300 records were reviewed from three time periods: 1970-73, 1988-89, and 2004-2008.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The age distribution of patients shifted from a median age of 40 years in the first time period to 20 years in the third time period. Azeri ethnicity was an increasing proportion of the total number of cases. The frequency of relapsed infection was 14.7% (44 cases). A total of 50 patients received vaccine therapy, and although the vaccine produced immune responses, demonstrated by an increase in agglutination titers, it was not associated with improved outcome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The demographics of brucellosis in Georgia fit a profile of persons that tend sheep. Osteoarticular complications were commonly detected, especially in children. The changing pattern of brucellosis in Georgia suggests clinicians should be updated about different trends in brucellosis in their country.</p

A simple clinical model for planning transfusion quantities in heart surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients undergoing heart surgery continue to be the largest demand on blood transfusions. The need for transfusion is based on the risk of complications due to poor cell oxygenation, however large transfusions are associated with increased morbidity and risk of mortality in heart surgery patients. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for transfusion and create a reliable model for planning transfusion quantities in heart surgery procedures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed an observational study on 3315 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery between January 2000 and December 2007. To estimate the number of packs of red blood cells (PRBC) transfused during heart surgery, we developed a multivariate regression model with discrete coefficients by selecting dummy variables as regressors in a stepwise manner. Model performance was assessed statistically by splitting cases into training and testing sets of the same size, and clinically by investigating the clinical course details of about one quarter of the patients in whom the difference between model estimates and actual number of PRBC transfused was higher than the root mean squared error.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ten preoperative and intraoperative dichotomous variables were entered in the model. Approximating the regression coefficients to the nearest half unit, each dummy regressor equal to one gave a number of half PRBC. The model assigned 4 units for kidney failure requiring preoperative dialysis, 2.5 units for cardiogenic shock, 2 units for minimum hematocrit at cardiopulmonary bypass less than or equal to 20%, 1.5 units for emergency operation, 1 unit for preoperative hematocrit less than or equal to 40%, cardiopulmonary bypass time greater than 130 minutes and type of surgery different from isolated artery bypass grafting, and 0.5 units for urgent operation, age over 70 years and systemic arterial hypertension.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The regression model proved reliable for quantitative planning of number of PRBC in patients undergoing heart surgery. Besides enabling more rational resource allocation of costly blood-conservation strategies and blood bank resources, the results indicated a strong association between some essential postoperative variables and differences between the model estimate and the actual number of packs transfused.</p