Typhoid glomerulonephritis and intestinal perforation in a Nigerian child

The number of children with renal complications following salmonella infection cannot be precisely defined in the sub-Saharan Africa due to scarcity of reliable data. We report a 3-year-old boy with glomerulonephritis secondary to typhoid infection and later intestinal perforation. He  presented with fever, generalized body swelling, oliguria, coke-coloredurine and hypertension and had been managed 3 weeks earlier for typhoid fever in a private hospital. Laboratory investigations showed proteinuria, hematuria with red cell casturia and azotemia. Abdominal X-ray done was suggestive of typhoid intestinal perforation that was confirmed at   exploratory laparotomy. He was managed aggressively with antibiotics and was discharged on the 25th day of admission. To the best of our   knowledge, this is the first documented case report of acute   glomerulonephritis and intestinal perforation as co.complications of salmonella infection in Nigeria.Key words: Acute glomerulonephritis, intestinal perforation, Nigeria, typhoid feve

The performance of an Histidine rich protein-2 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) against the standard microscopy in the diagnosis of malaria parasitaemia among febrile under-five children at Nnewi

Background: Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, thus there is need for quick, reliable inexpensive diagnostic tool to facilitate its prompt treatment especially in resource poor settings.Objectives: To compare the sensitivity of a locally available Histidinerich protein-2 based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) with the standard microscopy.Methods: This study was carried out to test the performance of an histidine rich protein -2 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) against the standard microscopy in the diagnosis of malaria among febrile under-five children attending Paediatric Clinic of NAUTH Nnewi. A total of 200 children under the age of five years were recruited for the study. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and symptoms were collected through an interviewer administered questionnaire. Blood sample was collected in EDTA bottle after observing universal precautions. All of them were tested with both Giemsa stained blood smear and Histidine rich protein-2 (HRP-2) rapid diagnostic test (RDT).Results: There were 118 males and 82 females, giving a male: female ratio of 1.44:1. Their ages ranged from 3-59 months and the average age was 27+17.49 months. Average number of days the subjects had fever before presentation were 3.78+1.95 days with a range of 1- 14 days. Body temperature ranged from 35.9-40.40C with average of 37.7+0.80C. Forty (20%) were positive by microscopy while 42 (21%) were positive by rapid diagnostic test. Twenty-percent of those positive by microscopy (n=8) were negative by RDT while 23.8% of those positive by RDT (n=10) were negative by microscopy. Using microscopy as a gold standard, the sensitivity of the RDT was 80%, the specificity was 93.8%. The positive and negative predictive values were 76.2% and 94.9% respectively.Conclusion: Based on these findings, the RDT demonstrated reasonable concordance with microscopy and was recommended for use at every level of healthcare in the diagnosis of malaria.Keywords: Malaria, RDT, Microscopy, under- five

Geographical interdependence, international trade and economic dynamics: the Chinese and German solar energy industries

The trajectories of the German and Chinese photovoltaic industries differ significantly yet are strongly interdependent. Germany has seen a rapid growth in market demand and a strong increase in production, especially in the less developed eastern half of the country. Chinese growth has been export driven. These contrasting trajectories reflect the roles of market creation, investment and credit and the drivers of innovation and competitiveness. Consequent differences in competiveness have generated major trade disputes

Awareness regarding eye donation among stakeholders in Srikakulam district in South India

Background There is a huge need for the availability of transplantable donor corneas worldwide to reduce the burden of corneal blindness due to corneal opacity. Voluntary eye donation depends on the awareness levels of various stakeholders in the community. This study aimed to assess the awareness level regarding eye donation among various stakeholders in Srikakulam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Methods 355 subjects were selected from the district using multi stage random sampling. A pre tested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding each individual’s awareness, knowledge, and perception regarding eye donation. Each response was scored individually and a total score was calculated. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with willingness towards eye donation and increased awareness levels. Results Of the 355 subjects interviewed, 192 (54%) were male and 163 (46%) were female. The mean age of the stakeholders was 35.9 years (SD ±16.1) and all the study subjects were literate. Ninety-three percent of subjects were aware of the concept of eye donation. Knowledge levels were similar among the teaching community and persons engaged in social service, but lower among students (p < 0.05). Among the stakeholders, there was considerable ambiguity regarding whether persons currently wearing spectacles or suffering from a chronic illnesses could donate their eyes. Older age group (p < 0.001), female gender (p < 0.001) and education (p < 0.001) were associated with increased knowledge levels. 82% of the subjects were willing to donate their eyes and this was unaffected by gender or geographical location (rural vs urban). Conclusions Awareness levels and willingness to donate eyes are high among the stakeholders in Srikakulam district in India. The services of stakeholders could be utilized, in conjunction with other community based eye donation counselors, to promote awareness regarding eye donation among the general population

Evolution of Near-Sun Solar Wind Turbulence

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the turbulence spectrum of the solar wind in the near-Sun region R < 50 Rs, obtained from interplanetary scintillation measurements with the Ooty Radio Telescope at 327 MHz. The results clearly show that the scintillation is dominated by density irregularities of size about 100 - 500 km. The scintillation at the small-scale side of the spectrum, although significantly less in magnitude, has a flatter spectrum than the larger-scale dominant part. Furthermore, the spectral power contained in the flatter portion rapidly increases closer to the Sun. These results on the turbulence spectrum for R < 50 Rs quantify the evidence for radial evolution of the small-scale fluctuations (</= 50 km) generated by Alfven waves.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, To appear in "Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and the Atmosphere of the Sun", eds. S.S. Hasan and R.J. Rutten, Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin, 200

Combined treatment modality for intracranial germinomas: results of a multicentre SFOP experience

Conventional therapy for intracranial germinomas is craniospinal irradiation. In 1990, the Société Française d'Oncologie Pédiatrique initiated a study combining chemotherapy (alternating courses of etoposide–carboplatin and etoposide–ifosfamide for a recommended total of four courses) with 40 Gy local irradiation for patients with localized germinomas. Metastatic patients were allocated to receive low-dose craniospinal radiotherapy. Fifty-seven patients were enrolled between 1990 and 1996. Forty-seven had biopsy-proven germinoma. Biopsy was not performed in ten patients (four had diagnostic tumour markers and in six the neurosurgeon felt biopsy was contraindicated). Fifty-one patients had localized disease, and six leptomeningeal dissemination. Seven patients had bifocal tumour. All but one patient received at least four courses of chemotherapy. Toxicity was mainly haematological. Patients with diabetus insipidus (n = 25) commonly developed electrolyte disturbances during chemotherapy. No patient developed tumour progression during chemotherapy. Fifty patients received local radiotherapy with a median dose of 40 Gy to the initial tumour volume. Six metastatic patients, and one patient with localized disease who stopped chemotherapy due to severe toxicity, received craniospinal radiotherapy. The median follow-up for the group was 42 months. Four patients relapsed 9, 10, 38 and 57 months after diagnosis. Three achieved second complete remission following salvage treatment with chemotherapy alone or chemo-radiotherapy. The estimated 3-year survival probability is 98% (CI: 86.6–99.7%) and the estimated 3-year event-free survival is 96.4% (CI: 86.2–99.1%). This study shows that excellent survival rates can be achieved by combining chemotherapy and local radiotherapy in patients with non-metastatic intracranial germinomas. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Metatranscriptomics and Pyrosequencing Facilitate Discovery of Potential Viral Natural Enemies of the Invasive Caribbean Crazy Ant, Nylanderia pubens

BACKGROUND: Nylanderia pubens (Forel) is an invasive ant species that in recent years has developed into a serious nuisance problem in the Caribbean and United States. A rapidly expanding range, explosive localized population growth, and control difficulties have elevated this ant to pest status. Professional entomologists and the pest control industry in the United States are urgently trying to understand its biology and develop effective control methods. Currently, no known biological-based control agents are available for use in controlling N. pubens. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Metagenomics and pyrosequencing techniques were employed to examine the transcriptome of field-collected N. pubens colonies in an effort to identify virus infections with potential to serve as control agents against this pest ant. Pyrosequencing (454-platform) of a non-normalized N. pubens expression library generated 1,306,177 raw sequence reads comprising 450 Mbp. Assembly resulted in generation of 59,017 non-redundant sequences, including 27,348 contigs and 31,669 singlets. BLAST analysis of these non-redundant sequences identified 51 of potential viral origin. Additional analyses winnowed this list of potential viruses to three that appear to replicate in N. pubens. CONCLUSIONS: Pyrosequencing the transcriptome of field-collected samples of N. pubens has identified at least three sequences that are likely of viral origin and, in which, N. pubens serves as host. In addition, the N. pubens transcriptome provides a genetic resource for the scientific community which is especially important at this early stage of developing a knowledgebase for this new pest

Reliability of a 1-week recall period for the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-SS) in patients with fibromyalgia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To evaluate the reliability of a one-week versus a four-week recall period of the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-SS) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The MOS-SS was administered by mail to patients with a confirmed diagnosis of FM and a current pain rating of > 2 (0–10 point numerical rating scale) recruited through newspapers, support groups, and the Internet. Reliability of MOS-SS subscale domains was evaluated using test-retest methodology separated by a 1–3 day interval for the 4-week recall period and a 7-day interval for the 1-week recall period. Patient Impression of Change was evaluated for sleep, and for patients with no change, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated for MOS-SS subscales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 129 patients enrolled, 91.3% were female, mean age was 49.4 ± 11.0 years; self-rated FM severity was moderate-to-severe in 88.1% of patients. MOS-SS subscale scores were similar for both recall periods with little variation between test-retest. The 9-item Sleep Problems Index scores ranged from 57.2 ± 14.5 to 61.9 ± 15.8 across all assessments and demonstrated high reliability which was similar for the 1-week (ICC 0.81) and 4-week (ICC 0.89) recall periods. For the other MOS-SS subscales, the 1-week recall period also showed good reliability, which was consistent for the ICC and Pearson correlation coefficients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A 1-week recall period is adequately reliable for use of the MOS-SS in studies evaluating sleep disturbance in patients with FM.</p

Spatio-temporal Models of Lymphangiogenesis in Wound Healing

Several studies suggest that one possible cause of impaired wound healing is failed or insufficient lymphangiogenesis, that is the formation of new lymphatic capillaries. Although many mathematical models have been developed to describe the formation of blood capillaries (angiogenesis), very few have been proposed for the regeneration of the lymphatic network. Lymphangiogenesis is a markedly different process from angiogenesis, occurring at different times and in response to different chemical stimuli. Two main hypotheses have been proposed: 1) lymphatic capillaries sprout from existing interrupted ones at the edge of the wound in analogy to the blood angiogenesis case; 2) lymphatic endothelial cells first pool in the wound region following the lymph flow and then, once sufficiently populated, start to form a network. Here we present two PDE models describing lymphangiogenesis according to these two different hypotheses. Further, we include the effect of advection due to interstitial flow and lymph flow coming from open capillaries. The variables represent different cell densities and growth factor concentrations, and where possible the parameters are estimated from biological data. The models are then solved numerically and the results are compared with the available biological literature.Comment: 29 pages, 9 Figures, 6 Tables (39 figure files in total

Targeted therapy against Bcl-2-related proteins in breast cancer cells

INTRODUCTION: Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL confer resistance to apoptosis, thereby reducing the effectiveness of chemotherapy. We examined the relationship between the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL and chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells, with the aim of developing specific targeted therapy. METHODS: Four human breast cancer cell lines were examined, and the effects of antisense (AS) Bcl-2 and AS Bcl-xL phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) on chemosensitivity were tested in vitro and in vivo. Chemosensitivity was evaluated by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay, and the antitumor effect was assessed in vivo by the success of xenograft transplantation into athymic mice. RESULTS: Treatment with AS Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL ODNs resulted in a sequence-specific decrease in protein expression, compared with controls. Treatment of BT-474, ZR-75-1, and MDA-MB-231 cells with AS Bcl-2 increased chemosensitivity to doxorubicin (DOX), mitomycin C (MMC), paclitaxel (TXL), and docetaxel (TXT). Transfection of the Bcl-2 gene into MDA-MB-453 cells decreased sensitivity to DOX and MMC. Treatment of MDA-MB-231, BT-474, and ZR-75-1 cells with AS Bcl-xL increased chemosensitivity to DOX, MMC and taxanes to a smaller extent than AS Bcl-2. This occurred in the setting of increased Bax and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, as well as decreased Bcl-2 and pAkt. AS Bcl-2 ODNs induced splenomegaly in association with increased serum IL-12, which was attenuated by methylation of the CpG motifs of AS Bcl-2; however, methylated CpG failed to negate the increased antitumor effect of AS Bcl-2. Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, to a smaller extent, are major determinants of chemosensitivity in breast cancer cells. CONCLUSION: Targeted therapy against Bcl-2 protein with the use of AS ODNs might enhance the effects of chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer