Waterpipe tobacco smoking legislation and policy enactment: a global analysis

Objective (1) To review how current global tobacco control policies address regulation of waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS). (2) To identify features associated with enactment and enforcement of WTS legislation. Data Sources (1) Legislations compiled by Tobacco Control Laws (www.tobaccocontrollaws.org). (2) Weekly news articles by ‘Google Alerts’ (www.google.com/alerts) from July 2013 to August 2014. Study Selection (1) Countries containing legislative reviews, written by legal experts, were included. Countries prohibiting tobacco sales were excluded. (2) News articles discussing aspects of the WHO FCTC were included. News articles related to electronic-waterpipe, crime, smuggling, opinion pieces or brief mentions of WTS were excluded. Data Abstraction (1) Two reviewers independently abstracted the definition of “tobacco product” and/or “smoking”. Four tobacco control domains (smokefree law, misleading descriptors, health warning labels and advertising/promotion/sponsorship) were assigned one of four categories based on the degree to which WTS had specific legislation. (2) Two investigators independently assigned at least one theme and associated subtheme to each news article. Data Synthesis (1) Reviewed legislations of 62 countries showed that most do not address WTS regulation but instead rely on generic tobacco/smoking definitions to cover all tobacco products. Where WTS was specifically addressed, no additional legislative guidance accounted for the unique way it is smoked, except for in one country specifying health warnings on waterpipe apparatuses (2) News articles mainly reported on noncompliance with public smoking bans, especially in India, Pakistan and the UK. Conclusions A regulatory framework evaluated for effectiveness and tailored for the specificities of WTS needs to be developed

Camel Milk Modulates the Expression of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-Regulated Genes, Cyp1a1, Nqo1, and Gsta1, in Murine hepatoma Hepa 1c1c7 Cells

There is a traditional belief in the Middle East that camel milk may aid in prevention and treatment of numerous cases of cancer yet, the exact mechanism was not investigated. Therefore, we examined the ability of camel milk to modulate the expression of a well-known cancer-activating gene, Cytochrome P450 1a1 (Cyp1a1), and cancer-protective genes, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) and glutathione S-transferase a1 (Gsta1), in murine hepatoma Hepa 1c1c7 cell line. Our results showed that camel milk significantly inhibited the induction of Cyp1a1 gene expression by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most potent Cyp1a1 inducer and known carcinogenic chemical, at mRNA, protein, and activity levels in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, camel milk significantly decreased the xenobiotic responsive element (XRE)-dependent luciferase activity, suggesting a transcriptional mechanism is involved. Furthermore, this inhibitory effect of camel milk was associated with a proportional increase in heme oxygenase 1. On the other hand, camel milk significantly induced Nqo1 and Gsta1 mRNA expression level in a concentration-dependent fashion. The RNA synthesis inhibitor, actinomycin D, completely blocked the induction of Nqo1 mRNA by camel milk suggesting the requirement of de novo RNA synthesis through a transcriptional mechanism. In conclusion, camel milk modulates the expression of Cyp1a1, Nqo1, and Gsta1 at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels

Mouse cytoplasmic dynein intermediate chains: identification of new isoforms, alternative splicing and tissue distribution of transcripts

BACKGROUND: Intracellular transport of cargoes including organelles, vesicles, signalling molecules, protein complexes, and RNAs, is essential for normal function of eukaryotic cells. The cytoplasmic dynein complex is an important motor that moves cargos along microtubule tracks within the cell. In mammals this multiprotein complex includes dynein intermediate chains 1 and 2 which are encoded by two genes, Dync1i1 and Dync1i2. These proteins are involved in dynein cargo binding and dynein complexes with different intermediate chains bind to specific cargoes, although the mechanisms to achieve this are not known. The DYNC1I1 and DYNC1I2 proteins are translated from different splice isoforms, and specific forms of each protein are essential for the function of different dynein complexes in neurons. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we have undertaken a systematic survey of the dynein intermediate chain splice isoforms in mouse, basing our study on mRNA expression patterns in a range of tissues, and on bioinformatics analysis of mouse, rat and human genomic and cDNA sequences. We found a complex pattern of alternative splicing of both dynein intermediate chain genes, with maximum complexity in the embryonic and adult nervous system. We have found novel transcripts, including some with orthologues in human and rat, and a new promoter and alternative non-coding exon 1 for Dync1i2. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data, including the cloned isoforms will be essential for understanding the role of intermediate chains in the cytoplasmic dynein complex, particularly their role in cargo binding within individual tissues including different brain regions

N′-(Adamantan-2-yl­idene)thio­phene-2-carbohydrazide

In the title mol­ecule, C15H18N2OS, a small twist is noted, with the dihedral angle between the central carbohydrazone residue (r.m.s. deviation = 0.029 Å) and the thio­phene ring being 12.47 (10)°. The syn arrangement of the amide H and carbonyl O atoms allows for the formation of centrosymmetric dimers via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. These are linked in the three-dimensional structure by C—H⋯π inter­actions. The thio­phene ring is disordered over two co-planar orientations, the major component having a site-occupancy factor of 0.833 (2)

Breastfeeding and growth of healthy infants followed from birth to 18 months

Optimal nutrition and regular growth assessment are essential components of healthcare for all children in order to detect early  problems related to their nutritional status before they are seriously compromised. The objective of our study was to describe the feeding and growth of healthy breastfeeding infants (0-18 months) in North East of Algeria. A prospective and descriptive study of the observational type was conducted, in the service of maternal and child protection at the public health establishment of Skikda (Algeria).The population constituted mothers and their infants (1-3 months) who presented for the first or second immunization visit and were followed up to 18 months. Data were collected by interviewing mothers using an adapted WHO (2004) questionnaire according to visits of the Algerian vaccination calendar (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th and 18th months). Children were monitored for breastfeeding,  complementary feeding and growth. Monitoring growth from birth (1, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 18 months) was done by taking anthropometric measurements (weight, height and head circumference), the evaluation of motor development and the calculation of anthropometric growth indices according to WHO standards (2006, 2007): weight/age (W/A), height/age (H/A), weight/height (W/H), body mass index/age (BMI/A) and head circumference/age (HC/A). A total of 159 infants were enrolled, including 83 (52.2%) girls, giving a sex ratio of 0.92. From 1 to 5 months, exclusive and predominant breastfeeding did not differ by sex (p>0.05). Exclusive breastfeeding was observed in 15.7% of infants at the first month versus 7.5% at 5 months. Predominant breastfeeding increased from 84.3% in the first month to 92.5% at 5 months, while complementary feeding started from four months. All mothers continued partial breastfeeding for up to one year. All children had normal motor development. Weight status (4-18 months) did not differ by sex (p>0.05). At the end ofthe study, 5.8% of the infants showed body wasting, lean (4.8%), stunted (2.7%) while 83.8% were within the normal weight range. To improve the nutritional status of Algerian infants, the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and management of their diet is necessary by provision of a diversified complementary diet, which includes all macro and micronutrients, meets all energy and nutritional needs and teaches them good eating habits and behaviors. Key words: Infants, breastfeeding, weight, height, BMI, monitoring, growth, complementary feeding, Algeri

Isolated radial volar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint :A rare injury

Isolated palmar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint is an uncommon injury and classified as radio-palmar or ulno-palmar according to the direction of displacement of the fifth metacarpal base . This very rare injury is often  difficult to recognize. A careful neurologic assessment of the patient is a  necessity, as well as obtaining proper radiographs of the hand. The purpose of this report is to present a patient with a pure isolated volar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint that was satisfactorily treated with closed  reduction and casting. A review of the literature is presente

NUMERICAL INVESTAGATION OF GAS-SOLID SUSPENSION FLOW IN 180 o CURVED DUCT

ABSTRACT In this paper, a two-way coupling EulerianLagrangian approach is presented for the simulation of gassolid two-phase flow in 180 o curved duct. In the present study, Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) and two turbulence models namely; standard k-ε model and RNG (Renormalization Group) based k-ε model are adopted. The effects of particle rotation and lift forces are included in the particle tracking model while the effect of inter-particle collisions is neglected. The present predictions are compared with published experimental data for single-phase flow and published particles trajectories. The comparisons show that the RNG based k-ε model predicts the flow behaviour better than the standard k-ε model. Furthermore, the particles trajectories are compared very well with published data. The effects of inlet gas velocity, bend geometry, loading ratio and solid properties on the flow behaviour are also discussed. The results show that the flow behaviour is greatly affected by the above parameters

N′-[(1E)-(2,6-Difluoro­phen­yl)methyl­idene]thio­phene-2-carbohydrazide

In the title compound, C12H8F2N2OS, the thienyl ring is disordered over two positions, with the S atom of the major component [occupancy = 75.03 (18)%] oriented away from an ortho-F atom of the benzene ring. The mol­ecule is nearly planar, the dihedral angle between the thio­phene and benzene rings being 6.19 (18) (in the major component) or 3.5 (6)° (in the minor component). The azomethine C=N double-bond in the mol­ecule is of an E configuration. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating inversion dimers

Traitement chirurgical par plaque à compression des fractures de Galeazzi chez l’adulte: À propos de 28 cas

La fracture de Galeazzi associe une fracture diaphysaire du radius ou des deux os de l'avant bras à une luxation de l'articulation radio ulnairedistale. Décrite en 1934, sa fréquence varie chez l'adulte entre 2,7% et 6,8% de l'ensemble des fractures de l'avant bras. Le traitement admis defaçon consensuel chez l'adulte est chirurgical reposant sur une ostéosynthèse stable par une plaque vissée de compression dynamique associée ou non à un embrochage de la radio ulnaire distale. Nous rapportons dans notre étude les résultats cliniques de 28 patients colligés au service de traumatologie et orthopédie A du CHU Hassan II de Fès sur une période de 06 ans. L'âge moyen de nos patients était de 30 ans avecprédominance masculine de 90%; tous nos patients ont présenté un traumatisme de poignet lors d'un accident de sport. Le côté droit était atteint dans 75 % des cas. Le bilan radiologique objectiva une fracture diaphysaire du raduis associée à une luxation radio ulnaire distale; nous avons adopté la classification de de Mansat. Le traitement a consisté en une synthèse par une plaque vissée dynamique associée à un   embrochage transversal chez six patients qui ont présenté une instabilité de la radio ulnaire distale. L'immobilisation par attelle plâtrée postérieure BABP était de mise. Après un recul de 36 mois, nos résultats ont été très satisfaisants suivant le score de Mestdagh, avec bonne récupération de la mobilité du poignet et reprise de toute activité sportive