Relation between smoking and cognition in egyptian elderly

In spite of numerous studies published in the past few years on the topic, the effectof smoking on Alzheimer's disease and dementia remains uncertain. Case-control studies havelargely suggested that smoking lowers the risk of AD, whereas prospective studies have shownthat smoking increases this risk or has no effect on the probability of developing AD. The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence of Smoking in elderly withcognitive impairment and elderly with non-cognitive impairment. A Case control 88 participants aged 60 years and above. They wereselected from Ain Shams University Hospital from inpatient wards and outpatient clinics. Thestudied sample was divided into 3 groups: Group A [32 elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease],Group B [32 elderly patients with Mild cognitive impairment] and Group C [24 controls withnormal cognitive function].Comprehensive geriatric assessment, including detailed history, physicalexamination, and also cognitive assessment using Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MOCA] andMini mental status examination [MMSE].As regards smoking there was a highly statistical significant difference between the 3groups as non-smokers were more prevalent in Alzheimer's diseaseand Mild cognitiveimpairment groups in comparison to control group with [p-value= 0.001]. There was a highly significant negative association between smoking and cognitiveimpairment

Post-discharge surveillance of wound infections by telephone calls method in a Sudanese teaching hospital

Surveillance of wound infections has been shown to be a powerful preventive tool, and feedback to the clinical staff reduces wound infection rates. The main objectives of this study were to identify the applicability of telephone calls as a method of post-discharge wound infection surveillance, and to identify patients and procedures characteristics associated with loss for follow-up after hospital discharge. This was a prospective cohort study conducted in Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. Patients, aged >18 years admitted for elective clean and clean-contaminated surgery during March 1[st] to 31[st] October 2010 were recruited. 1-month surveillance of wound infections was conducted with telephone interviews. Overall 3656 patients were operated on. Of them 1769 [48.4%] were eligible [mean age 37.8+14 years; females, n=1472 [83.3%]]. The performed surgical interventions were 1814. Of these 1277 [70.4%] were clean-contaminated and 537 [29.6%] were clean. Patients who successfully completed the follow-up were 1387 [78.4%], while 368 [20.8%] were lost, and 14 [0.8%] died. The percentage of male patients [85.3%] who successfully completed the follow-up was significantly higher than females [77.8%]; [P=0.002]. Wound infection was detected in 15 [0.8%] cases during hospital stay and 110 [6.2%] others after hospital discharge. The majority of wound infections in the current study appeared in post-discharge period; this emphasis the need for establishment of surveillance program in the hospital. Surveillance of wound infections using telephone calls is applicable in this setting and can be used as an alternative method to clinic-based diagnosis of wound infections

Skin color

To prove that the difference in human skin color can be used as a new fingerprint. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine, The National Ribat University, Khartoum, Sudan between January and June 2010. The study consists of 139 subjects, which includes 41 Sudanese identical twins [82 subjects], 50 subjects from the general population, and 7 Chinese. All subjects were free of skin lesions. Based on reflectance spectrophotometry, the skin color has been read for all subjects from the inner upper arm using the Medisun skin check. Visual judgment on color differences was carried out directly with 3 normal observers, and through digital photos. Skin color was found to be different in all subjects under the study depending on visual judgment, digital photos, and skin color readings. Differences in skin color were also found between different parts of the body [color map]. Color intensity reading in the first twin was 4.010 +/- 0.5, and in the second twin was 3.89 +/- 0.44 with a significant difference [p=0.001]. The general population sample showed significant differences in skin color from each other, and from the Chinese group [p=0.002]. In this study, we found that skin color between identical twins is different, as well as in the whole population, and could be a new personal identification method, which needs further international studies

Epidemiology of workplace violence against nursing staff in Ismailia governorate, Egypt

Violence against health care workers [HCW] or workplace violence in general is a major problem affecting health and productivity of HCWs. To determine the prevalence and nature of workplace violence against nurses in Ismailia governorate, Egypt, and to identify its risk factors and how nurses manage it. Cross-sectional study, using a questionnaire for data collection, which includes demographic data, characteristics of workplace violence events, and risk factors contributing to workplace violence. All nursing staff in four hospitals and twelve Primary Health Care [PHC] Centers, randomly selected from Ismailia city were recruited. Out of 1600 distributed questionnaires, a total of completed 970 were returned [a 55% response rate]. 269 [27.7%] of nurses reported abuse of any kind, 187 [69.5%] verbal abuse; and 25 [9.3%] physical abuse. Males were more exposed to violence events during the past 12 months than females [35.3% versus 24.2%, p<0.05; OR=1.71]. Being single posed no higher risk of exposure to violence than being married [34.8% vs 31.2%, p=0.083]. Changing shifts to night time had a higher odds for being assaulted than working a morning shift [p=0.002, OR=1.58]. Working in a place crowded with colleagues was not protective and had a higher odds of being exposed to violence than working with low number of colleagues [p<0.001, OR=2.77]. The patients were the perpetrators in 62.8% of violence events, while their relatives committed 16.7% of events. Only 7.4% of nurses got physical injury because of the violence events. A considerable proportion of exposed nurses [55.8%] thought that the violence events were preventable. Workplace violence against nurses is a significant problem in health care settings all over the world and in Ismailia, Egypt. There is a need to increase awareness of the problem among health care workers as well as the general public. Further large-scale studies should be conducted to more closely examine the problem

Management of TB in the private sector in Khartoum, Sudan: quality and impact on TB control

Sudan has a large and growing private health sector. No survey was done in Sudan to show the extent of the use of private health care services by the population. Also precise data on tuberculosis [TB] diagnosis and treatment in the private sector are not available. A facility-based cross-sectional survey was carried out during February 2007 - June 2007 in Khartoum state, whereby consented private physicians working in the all private clinics [n=110] were interviewed. This study showed that a large private sector exist in the country and deliver care to TB patients and reported the non-adherence of this sector to National Tuberculosis Program [NTP] guidelines. 59.1% of the interviewed physicians correctly mentioned the TB treatment regimens, only 8 [12.3%] physicians that reported management of TB patients actually prescribed these regimens to their patients. Similarly, only 10 [15.4%] physicians required sputum smear examination for TB diagnosis. A considerable proportion of cases is inadequately managed by the private sector and is not notified to NTP. The information delivered by this study can be used to develop a workable Public-private mix [PPM] model with the private sector

Histological study of the role of medical ozone in modulating experimentally induced chronic liver injury in male albino rats

Medical ozone, a mixture gas of ozone and oxygen is used as a therapy for various diseases and has been recently used in viral hepatitis. This study investigated the possibility that ozone treatment may decrease or prevent the development of liver cirrhosis in chronic liver diseases using rats taking carbon tetrachloride. 35 rats were used and were divided into 4 groups. Rats of group I act as control and rats of group II were given medical ozone. Carbon tetrachloride was given to rats of group III while rats of group IV were given both carbon tetrachloride and medical ozone on alternating days. Chronic administration of carbon tetrachloride resulted in degeneration of most hepatocytes together with disorganization of their arrangement. There was a significant increase in the number of smooth muscle actin positive cells/hpf and in the collagen content in the portal tract areas. The fenestrations of the endothelial cells lining the sinusoids were rarely seen and basement membrane material appeared under the sinusoidal wall. Co-administration of medical ozone with carbon tetrachloride to rats preserved the integrity of most hepatocytes and preserved their content of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. However, small vacuoles were still seen in the hepatocytes and there was still disorganization of the hepatocyte arrangement. The collagen content was significantly decreased as compared to group III but still showed highly significant increase as compared to control. Medical ozone can preserve the integrity of many hepatocytes in chronic liver injury and has a moderate effect on the collagen fiber formation. So, it is recommended to do clinical trials to investigate the ability of medical ozone to preserve the liver functions in chronic liver diseases

Design and synthesis of some substituted acridine derivatives of anticipated antitumor activity

Four series of new acridine derivatives of anticipated antitumor activity have been designed and synthesized. The first series belongs to 4-substituted phenylhydrazinocarbonylmethyl 9-oxo-9,10-dihydroacridine-4-carboxylate 10a-h. The second series consists of phenylhydrazinocarbonylmethyl 9-[4-substituted phenyl]aminoacridine-4-carboxylate 12a-k, while the third series comprises 4-substituted phenylcarbonylmethyl 9-[4-substituted phenyl]aminoacridine-4-carboxylate 15a-k. The fourth one belongs to phenylcarbamoylmethyl 9-[4-substituted phenyl]aminoacridine-4- carboxylate 17a-j. The chemical structure of synthesized compounds was elucidated by spectral data and elemental analysis. Seventeen selected compounds [10a, 10g, 10h, 12at 12d, 12g, 12h, 12k, 15a, 15c, 15g, 15h, 15k, 17a, 17f, 17g and 17j] were tested against breast cancer cell line [MCF7] and eight compounds [12g, 12h, 12k, 15g, 15h, 17f, 17g, 17j] were found to exhibit significant antitumor activity

Correlation between timing of wounds and the level of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 [sICAM-1] in traumatized individuals

Cytokines are important in the control of wound healing. Many cytokines could be useful for the determination of wound age. The most important of these cytokines are the growth factors and adhesion molecules. Thirty traumatized individuals of both sexes were subjected to this study and were divided, according to the degree of injury severity score [ISS], into three groups; mild, moderate and severe trauma groups; each group consisted of ten patients. Each group is consisted of ten patients. Each group is further subdivided, according to sampling time, into three subgroups: within the 1[st] 24 hours of admission, on the third day, and on the fifth day of admission. The control group consisted of six persons. The present study was conducted to correlate between the level of the soluble intercellular adhesion molecule type-1 [sICAM-1] and the timing of wounds in traumatized individuals. The level of sICAM-1 was measured in plasma using the ELISA technique and was estimated in relation to the time passed since infliction of injury on the 1[st] day of admission, on the 3[rd] day and on the 5[th] day. A significant increase was noticed in all subgroups when compared with the control group. A characteristic pattern of sICAM-1 variation with the timing of wounds was at its maximum level on the 3[rd] day post-trauma and then decreases towards its normal level. A number of factors were also compared with the sICAM-1 level and these included the nature of injury, the associated severe head injuries, and the combing bone affection with the soft tissue injuries. All the previously mentioned factors in the present work did not affect the characteristics pattern of sICAM-1 variation with the timing of wounds. Furthermore, sICAM-1 level was found to be significantly correlated with the degree of injury severity. It is recommended to use sICAM-1in the estimation of the timing of wounds in traumatized individuals

matigated role of selective Cox.2 inhibitors against the early effects of accumulated doses of gamma-irradiation in mice

Clinical and experimental studies of the early and late effects of radiation on cells have led to optimization of radiotherapy schedules and to more precise modes of radiation delivery, radiation induced-injury on normal tissue can present either during or after the completion of radiotherapy. Early effects of small accumulated doses of gamma-irradiation in mice were studied at the present work. Fifty four mice were classified as the following negative control group I, distilled water subgroup Iia, etodolac subgroup IIb, subgroup IIIa was irradiated by accumulated dose of 0.5 Gy, subgroup IIIb received etodolac half an our pre-0.5 Gy irradiation, subgroup IVa was irradiated y accumulated dose of 1Gy, subgroup Ivb received etodolac pre-1 Gy irradiation, suroup Va was irradicated by accumulated dose of 2 Gy and the last subgroup Vb received etodolac pre-2 Gy irradiation. Analysis of bone marrow and jejunal cell cycle kinetic was carried out using flowcytometery and histochemical studies. The results revealed hat there was significant dose-dependant alternation of cell cycle kinetic of bone marrow and jejunal samples in the form of increase in GI and CVGI and decrease in percent SPE, percent G2 and PI. Mitotic delay, reduction in DNA content and chromatin condensation underneath the nuclear membrane of the cells in both cypts and villi of the jejunal sections could be also observed. Etodolac adminisration to the mice half an hour pre-irradiation could offer a great radioprotective effect. Research opportunities may help future clinical application of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors as chemopreventive drugs

Synthesis, molecular modeling and antitiumor activity of some substituted acridine derivatives

Nine series of new acridine derivatives of anticipated antineoplastic activity were synthesized. The first series consists of N,N'-1, 2-bis [9-[4-substituted sulfamoylphenyl] amino-acridine-4-carboxamide] ethylenediamine. The second comprises of N,N'-1,4-bis [9-[4- substituted sulfamoylphenyl] aminoacridine-4-carboxamide] phenylenediamine. The third and fourth are 1-[4-substituted sulfamoylphenyl] aminoacridine-4-carboxylic acid [4-substituted sulfamoylphenyl] amide. The fifth and sixth are 9-ox-1-[4-substituted amino sulfamoylphenyl]-9-10- dihydroacridine-4-carboxylic acid [4- substituted sulfamoylphenyl] amide. The seventh is 2-substituted phenyl-2,6-dihydropyrazolo [3,4,5-kl] acridine-5-carboxylic acid [4- substituted sulfamoylphenyl] amide. The eighth is 4-[5-[N'- phenylhydrazinocarbonyl-6H-pyrazolo [3,4,5-kl acridine-2-yl]-N- substituted benzene sulfonamide. The last one belongs to 2- substituted phenyl-2,6-dihydropyrazolo [3,4,5-kl] acridine-5-carboxyli acid [4-substituted sulfamoylphenyl] hydrazide

Gasless laparoscopy: one year experience at Ain Shams University

To evaluate one year experience of the gasless laparoscopy technique using the whole abdominal wall-lifting method. Prospective observation study over one year. The Ain Shams University Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital. In a one year period fifteen cases underwent gas-less laparoscopic procedure for different indications: Nine cases for diagnostic infertility purposes and six cases for operative laparoscopy. The operative laparoscopy cases included 2 cases for adhesiolysis, 2 cases for laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy [LAVH], one case for missed intrauterine contraceptive device [IUCD] retrieval and one for ovarian cystectomy during pregnancy. All operations were performed successfully with gasless technique except 2 cases. One of them had laparoconversion to pneumoperitoneum. The other one had her LAVH completed through a laparotomy. There were no recorded surgical complications in the remaining 13 cases who were completed by gasless technique. There were uneventful postoperative recovery periods. The preliminary experience of gasless laparoscopy in the first year of introduction of abdominal wall lifting procedures in our institute seems to be encouraging. Continued modifications and training are mandatory to delineate the full range of benefit of this technique