Impact of oral vitamin D supplementation on first tooth eruption of Jordanian premature infants

Objective: to elucidate the impact of oral vitamin D supplementation on the time [early versus late chronological age] of first tooth eruption in premature infants

Method: a total number of 110 Jordanian preterm infants [gestational age < 37 weeks, and birth weight < 2500 g] who were born and attended the neonatal follow up clinics at Prince Hashim Ben AI-Hussein and Queen Alia Military Hospital / Jordan from April 2012 till March 2014, were included and randomized into three main groups:- A-preterm infants who were fed exclusively breast milk without extra Vitamin D supplementation, B-preterm infants who were fed exclusively special preterm formula containing 400 IU vitamin D/100mg, but not supplemented with extra oral vitamin D. C-preterm infants who were fed exclusively special preterm formula containing 400 IU vitamin D/100mg and additionally supplemented with 400 IU of oral vitamin D. A first tooth eruption record was completed by the principal neonatologist and the parents of the enrolled infants during the annual clinic visits

Results: a total of 110 premature infants [50 males, 60 females,] were included in this study. 44 preterm infants were of gestational age < 32 weeks at birth, and 66 were> 32 weeks gestation at birth. 61 premature babies had a birth weight < 1.5 kg, and 49 had a birth weight> 1.5 kg. Early tooth eruption occurred in 83 of the total 110 studied preterm infants [32, 24, and 27 infants from groups A, B, and C respectively], and 27 [8, 11, and 8 infants from groups A, B, and C respectively] have had late first tooth eruption. The mean number of breast fed infants with early tooth eruption [ who had the least content of vitamin D in milk ] is significantly more than the means of the other two groups [P - value = 0.036 ]. The mean number of infants in the three groups with late tooth eruption is not significantly different [P- value = 0.269]. Comparing the breast fed infants with different gestational ages, and different birth weights with the infants in the other two groups in respect to early versus late first tooth eruption, no statistically significant effect of increased vitamin D content more than the breast milk content could be found

Conclusion: there is clear evidence that extra supplementation with oral vitamin D has no effect on the time of first tooth eruption of premature infants

Some microbial and parasitic investigations in oreochromis species in Elzwaida effluent at Kalubia governorate

Naturally infected Oreochromis species as well as water samples were collected from Elzwaida effluent at Kalubia governorate and examined. The study revealed presence of mixed infection by parasites, bacteria and fungi. 80% of examined fish were suffered from Trichodiniasis. The involved pathogenic bacterial spp. from examined fish were identified as Aeromonas hydrophula, Flavobacteria spp. and Vibrio species. Also Ichthyophonus hoferi was identified in 40% of examined fish. The clinical signs among examined fish varied according to the severity of infection which was summarized as detached scales, black coloration, superficial ulcers, fin and tail rot and or hemorrhagic signs on body surface. Post-mortem findings varied according to type and severity of infection summarized as hemorrhagic signs in internal organs with congested blood vessels of intestine and mesentery

Valvular morphologic changes of double versus inoue balloon mitral valvotomy

This study aimed to compare the echocardiographic valvular morphologic changes produced by double balloon [DB] versus Inoue balloon [IB] mitral valvotomy. Pre and immediate post echocardiographic studies from 59 patients with low score mitral stenosis who underwent balloon dilatation were analyzed for mitral valve area [MVA], cusp separation [CS], anterior leaflet excursion [AML], posterior leaflet excursion [PML], splitting of commissures [both = SC-2] and subvalvular splitting [SVS]. Patients were divided into two groups: Group I [n = 39] underwent DE and group II [n = 20] underwent IB dilatation. Despite similar hemodynamic results of both techniques, the underlying morphologic mechanisms were different

In-vitro interaction of l-histidinol and cisplatin on [3H] thymidine incorporation into DNA and the viability of cultures EAC cells

The cytotoxic activity of cisplatin and/or L-histidinol was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma [EAC] cell line. Cisplatin in concentration ranged from 1-20 microM reduced cell survival of cultured EAC cells in a concentration-related manner. The concentration of cisplatin that inhibited the survival of 50% of cells [IC50] was 16 micro M. L-Histidionl [0.5-4 mM] per se did not affect the survival tumor cells, however, it significantly potentiated the cytotoxicity of cisplatin. An important observation is that with the use of L-histidinol [4 mM] in combination with cisplatin, the IC50 of cisplatin was shifted to be 4 micro M only. By means of tritiated thymidine incorporation into the cellular acid-insolube material, cisplatin [8 and 16 micro M] inhibited DNA synthesis [41% and 51% respectively] in cultured tumor cells. Also, a marked inhibition of DNA synthesis [31% and 42%] was observed with L-histidinol [2 and 4 mM respectively]. In conclusion, L-histidinol, a structural analog of the essential amino acid L-histidine, enhances cisplatin cytotoxic activity against EAC cells. These findings may reflect a potential of L-histidinol to improve the therapeutic index of cisplatin. Further studies should thoroughly investigate the mechanism[s] of enhancement of therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin by L-histidinol