Does sickle cell disease protect against diabetes mellitus? Cross-sectional study

The co-existence of diabetes mellitus [DM] and sickle cell disease [SCD] is rare. This study aimed to explore whether SCD patients have the same DM prevalence as the general population in a country with a high prevalence of DM. This cross-sectional study included all SCD adult patients admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, between 2003 and 2010 [n = 2,204]. A random sample [n = 520] was taken to establish the prevalence of DM. Laboratory records were examined to determine the presence of DM. There were 376 SCD patients with complete records; of these, 24 [6.4%] had DM. The age- and sex-standardised prevalence of DM was 8.3%. While the prevalence of DM in SCD patients in Bahrain was high, it was lower than expected in this population. SCD may have a protective effect towards DM development. However, the impact of these two conditions on vascular diseases suggest a need for screening and aggressive treatment in this population

Studies on nest construction and nest microclimate of the Baya weaver, Ploceus philippinus (Linn.).

The nest construction pattern at different stages of nest and variations in the nest microclimate, i.e., temperature and light intensity were assessed in different nests of Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) between November 2002 and March 2003 in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur District of Tamil Nadu, India. The Baya weaver constructed nests in palm (Borassus flabellifer), coconut (Cocos nucifera) and date palm trees (Phoneix psuilla) and majority of the nests were found in the solitary palm. The male bird only involved in the construction and took 18 days to construct a single nest. The birds spent different amount of working hours (in terms of days) for completing various stages of nests viz., wad, ring and helmet stage and in which the 'helmet stage took a maximum of eight days. Furthermore, totally eight active nests were selected and once in a week the variations in the nest microclimate was investigated with reference to atmospheric temperature and light intensity (two active nests) across day throughout the study period. The mean temperature of the nests ranged from 25 degrees C to 29 degrees C and light intensity varied between 25 Lux and 625 Lux. The analysis of variance (ANOVA and ANCOVA) indicated that the nest microclimate varied among the nests in different hr of a day

Screening tools detection of children at risk for lead exposure

Elevated blood lead levels are known to cause a wide range of health problems in infants and children. Recent studies suggest that blood lead levels previously considered safe may have deleterious effects on several neurobehavioural parameters. American center for disease control [CDC] [1991] considered that lead level at 10 micro g/dl or above is toxic. The CDC put guidline-quationair to outline risk groups, so that the selective screening for these groups only will be cost-effective than mass screening. To test CDC quationair sensitivity and its possible application in our community, 2000 children from schools and nurseries from Abu Hammad Sharkia governorate, aged 2-14 years old, 400 of them fulfilled the criteria of CDC quationair. [living in or visiting in a job with lead exposure, living near active lead smelter, traffics or battery recycling, the child or one of his family treated before from lead poisoning]. All children were subjected to full history, through clinical examination for signs of lead poisoning and blood lead determinations by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with Delves sampling techniques. The mean blood lead level for all children was 31.16 micro g/dl. 48.5% of children had blood lead level between 25-40 micro g/dI. There was highly significant increase of the mean blood level in the high risk groups, outlined by CDC control. The result showed the sensitivity of CDC quationair and its possible applications in our community to out-line the risk groups to be screened