Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction at Prince Rashed Hospital, Irbid,

Objectives: To estimate the frequency of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO) and to assess the results of its management. Material and Methods: A prospective study of 80 consecutive patients with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction, conducted from January 2005 to December 2005 at Prince Rashed Hospital. Only patients below the age of twelve months were included in the study. Diagnosis was made by history of epiphora beginning early in life with obstruction clinically confirmed on examination. Antibiotic drops and massage of the lacrimal sac was advised. Probing was carried out for the nonresolving cases at the age of one year, and balloon dilatation for the failed case. Results: A total of 80 patients with CNLDO were included in the study. Thirty six (45%) of these infants had presented within the first two months of life. Out of these 80 patients 8 patients were lost to follow up. Out of remaining 72 patients, 66 (82.5%) recovered with conservative treatment with topical antibiotics within one year. Only 6 (7.5%) of the patients required probing; success was achieved in five (83.3%) patients and the one who failed was referred for intubation and balloon dilatation at King Hussein Medical Center, Amman. Conclusion: Spontaneous improvement of CNLDO is the natural course in most patients and probing for unresponsive cases is recommended at one year of age. Keywords: Congenital, Nasolacrimal, Probing Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (3) 2008: pp. 219-22

Time Dependent Capacity Increase for Driven Pile in Cohesionless Soil

The increase in driven pile capacity with time is termed set-up. The mechanism contributing to this phenomenon is not yet fully understood. Moreover, a rational approach to account for the increase in driven pile capacity with time in design has not yet been developed. In this study, a database comprising of 55 pile load tests (static and dynamic tests) were collected from the current engineering literature. The piles were driven in cohesionless soils with sand relative density varying from loose to dense. The measured capacities of the database piles with time were correlated to pile characteristics and soil properties. Pile set-up was found to be a phenomenon related to an increase in pile shaft friction with time and increases with decreasing pile diameter. On the other hand, pile setup was found to increase with increasing pile penetration depth and thus with pile slenderness ratio. A new approach for the estimation of pile set-up in cohesionless soils is presented in this study. The new approach considers the effects of pile characteristics and soil properties. Comparison of predicted and measured pile set-up using the developed method in this study indicates reasonable agreement. Also, comparison of prediction using the new approach with those made using previously published methods indicates that the developed method in this study yields better results

Determination of Saline Soils Specific Gravity

The existence of salts as part of the solid phase of the soil or dissolved within the pore fluid may cause significant errors in the values of specific gravity of such soils by using conventional determination methods. Errors may arise from effects of wrong measurements of weights or volumes that take place due to dissolution of the salt during testing, precipitation during drying or dehydration of the crystals of certain salts such as gypsum. To overcome this confusion, the standard procedure for specific gravity determination is reconsidered and the calculation methods are reanalyzed. Suggestions for a more adequate procedure for gypseous or other types of saline soils are presented and corrections required for computations are derived

Seismicity of Jordan and Conterminous Countries

An up-to-date seismic hazard maps for Jordan and conterminous areas have been developed based on probabilistic approach. Such maps are intended to show the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) with 90% probability of not being exceeded in a life time of 50, 100, and 200 years, respectively. The computer program FRISK was used for estimating the PGA. A suitable attenuation equation reported in the literature, along with up-to-date earthquake catalogue including all the earthquake events that occurred in Jordan and neighboring countries, were considered in this study. Altogether, ten seismic zones as potential of earthquake activities are identified in the assessment of the seismic hazard maps. These are Aqaba Gulf fault, Wadi Araba fault, Dead Sea fault, Northern fault, SE-Mediterranean fault, Farah and Carmel faults, Wadi Sirhan fault, Karak-Fayha fault, Suez Gulf fault, and Cyprus zone fault

Antioxidant vitamins and hyperbilirubinemia in neonates

Objective: Low antioxidant system may contribute to the severity of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. The aim of this research was to explore the relationship between plasma vitamin E and C levels and the severity of hyperbilirubinemia in full-term neonates with normal glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activities

Deaggregation of Probabilistic Ground Motions for Selected Jordanian Cities

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) approach was adopted to investigate seismic hazard distribution across Jordan. Potential sources of seismic activities in the region were identified, and their earthquake recurrence relationships were developed from instrumental and historical data. Maps of peak ground acceleration and spectral accelerations (T=0.2 and T=1.0 sec.) of 2% and 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years were developed. This study deaggregated the PSHA results of 2% and 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years results of twelve Jordanian cities to help understand the relative control of these sources in terms of distances and magnitudes. Results indicated that seismic hazard across these cities is mainly controlled by area sources located along the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. Cities located at short distances from the DST tend to show close deaggregation behavior. Some discrepancies may exist due to the proximity or remoteness of these cities relative to the DST seismic sources and local seismicity. The modal or most probable distance distribution indicated that the distance to the earthquake which contributes most to the hazard at each city is mainly controlled by shaking along faults associated with near seismic area sources. The influence of adjacent seismic sources to the seismic hazard of each city is more evident for the long period spectral acceleration. Distant sources, such as the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, Suez and the southern region of the Gulf of Aqaba are relatively low, but can not be neglected due to the intrinsic uncertainties and incomplete seismic data

Serological screening for celiac disease in schoolchildren in Jordan. Is height and weight affected when seropositive?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Celiac disease (CD) emerged as a public health problem, and the disease prevalence varies among different races. The present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of CD using serological markers in apparently healthy schoolchildren in Irbid City, Jordan. Additionally, the effect of positive serology on height, weight and body mass index (BMI) was evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population consisted of 1985 children (1117 girls and 868 boys), age range was 5.5 to 9.5 years. Height and weight were measured and blood samples were collected from each individual. Serum samples were analyzed for IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). tTG positive samples were further analyzed for IgA anti-endomysium antibodies (EmA) with a commercial ELISA. Samples confirmed positive with EmA were considered seropositive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixteen children were CD positive. The serological prevalence was estimated to be 1:124 (0.8%; 95% CI, 0.5% to 1.3%). Significant impact on growth (height) was found in seropositive children. When both sexes were individually analyzed, only boys showed height reduction. Furthermore, seropositive boys also had a significant weight reduction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrated that CD is prevalent among schoolchildren in Jordan. The seropositive children tend to have lower height, weight, and BMI than the seronegative group. These differences were significant only for boys. None of the participants is known to have CD prior to the study.</p

Target gene analyses of 39 amelogenesis imperfecta kindreds

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90297/1/EOS_857_sm_FigsS1-S3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90297/2/j.1600-0722.2011.00857.x.pd

Mutations in the Beta Propeller WDR72 Cause Autosomal-Recessive Hypomaturation Amelogenesis Imperfecta

Healthy dental enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized human tissue. Though acellular, nonvital, and without capacity for turnover or repair, it can nevertheless last a lifetime. Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a collective term for failure of normal enamel development, covering diverse clinical phenotypes that typically show Mendelian inheritance patterns. One subset, known as hypomaturation AI, is characterised by near-normal volumes of organic enamel matrix but with weak, creamy-brown opaque enamel that fails prematurely after tooth eruption. Mutations in genes critical to enamel matrix formation have been documented, but current understanding of other key events in enamel biomineralization is limited. We investigated autosomal-recessive hypomaturation AI in a consanguineous Pakistani family. A whole-genome SNP autozygosity screen identified a locus on chromosome 15q21.3. Sequencing candidate genes revealed a point mutation in the poorly characterized WDR72 gene. Screening of WDR72 in a panel of nine additional hypomaturation AI families revealed the same mutation in a second, apparently unrelated, Pakistani family and two further nonsense mutations in Omani families. Immunohistochemistry confirmed intracellular localization in maturation-stage ameloblasts. WDR72 function is unknown, but as a putative β propeller is expected to be a scaffold for protein-protein interactions. The nearest homolog, WDR7, is involved in vesicle mobilization and Ca2+-dependent exocytosis at synapses. Vesicle trafficking is important in maturation-stage ameloblasts with respect to secretion into immature enamel and removal of cleaved enamel matrix proteins via endocytosis. This raises the intriguing possibility that WDR72 is critical to ameloblast vesicle turnover during enamel maturation