Pulmonary development in the fetal one-humped camel: morphometry.

The structural development of the fetal camel lung is described and quantified morphometrically in this report. During fetal development the lung weight and volume increased polynomially with body length. The correlation coefficient between lung weight and body length is +0.991, and between lung volume and body length is +0.995. Volume density of the future bronchial tree showed a progressive increment with gestational age and is relatively higher in male than female fetuses, and the differences are statistically significant at 340-420 mm CRL. The proportion of lung tissue occupied by saccular airspaces increased enormously during the canalicular and alveolar stage, and the differences between both sexes are statistically significant at the former stage. The number of alveoli per unit area correlates closely with body length (r = +0.928) and the correlation coefficient between alveolar diameter and body length is +0.991. On the other hand, the correlation coefficient between the number of alveolar ducts per unit area and body length is -0.993, and is about +0.977 between the diameter of alveolar ducts and body length.

Prevalence and risk factors for warts among slaughterhouse workers.

This study was conducted in three animal slaughterhouses in Asir Province, southern region, Saudi Arabia. The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence of warts among the workers of slaughterhouses and to identify possible risk factors of developing warts associated with work environment and workers' characteristics. Data were collected through interview questionnaire and clinical examination. The questionnaire included items on socio-demographic, occupational and clinical characteristics of the workers. Descriptive statistics, bivariates statistics and multivariate logistic regression model were used in data analysis. All 71 workers were males with a mean age of 37 +/- 9.7 years. The overall prevalence of warts was 42.2%. Heavily exposed workers had a higher prevalence (54%) (P = 0.02). Workers with other skin lesions were at a higher risk of developing warts (OR = 4.3, 95% C.I. 1.6-11.7). It was found that exposure to meat might be necessary for development of warts. Working environment could facilitate the development and transmission of warts among slaughterers. Regular monitoring of workers with skin lesions other than warts was recommended. Workers with recurrent warts were recommended to be reassigned for jobs with lighter exposure.

Bacteriologic potability of the drinking water in a diarrhea hyperendemic area in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

High prevalence of diarrhea was reported among people living in a semiurban community in Shebaa area in Southwestern Saudi Arabia. This was in comparison to prevalence in a nearby urban community in Abha, the capital city of The Southwestern Region of Saudi Arabia. Contamination of the desalinated water, commonly used for drinking, was one possible hypothesis for occurrence of this diarrhea problem. The objective of the present study was to test bacteriological potability of desalinated water in both Shebaa and Abha areas and to determine whether any contamination occurred during transportation from water distribution stations to houses or during storage in house reservoirs. Water samples were collected and analyzed by the Presumptive Coliform Test from a sample of water tankers transporting water and from tap water originating from house reservoirs in a sample of houses in the two areas. Source of drinking water was recorded for each of such houses. Of 117 water samples from 39 tankers transporting water, only one sample was positive bacteriologically and non-potable (potability = 99%). Whereas among 201 tap water samples from a random sample of houses, 26.4% showed contamination. Bacteriological non-potability was found in a significantly higher proportion of houses in Shebaa area (38.4%) than in Abha city (7.9%), (p<0.001). Also, desalinated water was used for drinking significantly more in Shebaa than in Abha (p<0.001). It is concluded that transportation of the desalinated water by water tankers has not significantly contributed to its contamination. Such contamination rather obviously occurred during storage in house reservoirs, and was possibly implicated, at least partly, in the increased prevalence of diarrhea in Shebaa.

Hyperendemicity of diarrhea in a valley area, Asir Region, southwestern Saudi Arabia.

A random sample of 781 subjects living around a valley in Shebaa area, southwestern Saudi Arabia, and 1284 subjects from the rest of Shebaa, along with a sample of 1095 from a nearby urban community in Abha city have been studied following a notification of a suggestive increase of diarrhea in the valley. This was to determine whether the prevalence of diarrhea was high in the valley and to formulate hypotheses about possible implicated factors. The family head was interviewed about episodes of diarrhea among family members during the 2-week period preceding the interview, about source of drinking water, and about some demographic variables. Observations were made and data were collected on presence and frequency of flies in the house, methods of excreta and refuse disposal, valley and wells water, and the nearby agricultural farms. The 2-week diarrhea episode rate per subject was significantly (p<0.0001) highest in the valley (0.20), was 0.09 in the rest of Shebaa, and was lowest in the urban community area. (0.05). The rate decreased by age (p<0.001) and increased by frequency of flies in the house (p<0.0001), particularly in the valley. Drinking only from the desalinated water was associated with diarrhea episode rate of 0.12 as compared to 0.05 for drinking only from bottled water or from any other combination of sources (p<0.01). The valley and wells water was grossly polluted and was regularly used for irrigating and washing fresh fruits and vegetables from nearby farms. Hypotheses for the factors possibly contributing to this hyperendemicity of diarrhea in the valley include inadequate excreta and refuse disposal, contamination of the valley and wells water, contamination of the desalinated water during transportation or storage and abundance of flies.

Anemia among pregnant women in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia: an epidemiologic study.

A cross sectional study was conducted during August 1992, on a representative sample of 6,539 pregnant women attending 69 primary health care centers in the Asir region, southwestern Saudi Arabia for the assessment of their hemoglobin level. The overall prevalence of anemia (Hb < 11 g/dl) was found to be 31.9%. It was found that the prevalence was affected by age (37.3% among those who were less than 20 years old), parity (34.9% among those who had 7 and more deliveries), inter-pregnancy spacing (35.2% among those whose birth spacing was less than 1 year), gestational age, and education (35.1% among illiterates). Health education programs at primary health care level in the region should be revised to stress the importance of balanced diet, compliance with iron medication and sufficient spacing between subsequent pregnancies.

Circulating growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I, cortisol and free thyroxine in children with schistosomiasis with and without hepatic fibrosis.

Serum insulin, growth hormone (GH), cortisol, free thyroxine (T4) and plasma insulin-like growth factor I(IGF-I) concentrations were measured in 20 children suffering from schistosomiasis as well as 10 healthy age-matched controls. Circulating GH and insulin levels were determined after an intravenous infusion of arginine HCl (10 per cent solution, 0.5 g/kg). Children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis (n = 10) had heights more than 2 SD below the mean for their age and sex. Their circulating IGF-I, free T4, and cortisol levels were significantly reduced. They had markedly elevated serum insulin concentrations with normal response to arginine infusion. Their basal GH levels were normal with significantly reduced GH response to arginine provocation. Compared to controls, they had significantly lower serum albumin concentrations, prolonged prothrombin time and elevated alanine transferase (ALT) levels. Free T4 and IGF-I concentrations, and GH increments after provocation correlated significantly with the percentile heights of these patients (r = 0.90, 0.70, and 0.83, P less than or equal to 0.001, less than or equal to 0.05 and less than or equal to 0.01 respectively). Their IGF-I levels correlated closely with the prothrombin time and ALT concentrations (r = 0.87 and 0.77, P less than or equal to 0.002 and less than or equal to 0.01, respectively). It is suggested that the depressed circulating IGF-I and free T4 levels in addition to deficient GH reserve may be responsible for stunted stature in patients with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis.

A study on beta-adrenergic receptors in children with asthmatic bronchitis.

The function of beta-adrenergic receptors was assessed in 50 children with asthmatic bronchitis and 45 healthy controls by the hyperglycemic, eosinopenic and platelet aggregation responses to epinephrine. The results showed evidence of beta-adrenergic blockade in children with asthmatic bronchitis. It is suggested that this blockade may reflect a functional and/or a structural immaturity of the beta receptors in these children.

Amino acid distribution of cereals in commercial mill products.

The amino acid contents of wheat and rice as well as their final products produced by commercial milling were determined quantitatively by the amino acid analyzer. Less quantities of lysine, glycine, arginine, alanine, and aspartic acid were found in the flour, whereas more levels of these amino acids were found in the wheat grain. Conversely, more proline, phenylalanine and glutamic acid were found in the flour, and less amounts of these amino acids were found in the wheat grain. The proportion of the other amino acids were slightly affected by milling. On the other hand, less amounts of aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, and proline were found in rice bran and germ, whereas more levels of these amino acids were found in brown and milled rice. Conversely, rice bran and germ contained more threonine and cystine than brown and milled rice. The proportions of the other amino acids were slightly affected by milling, however, high content of lysine in germ was notable.

Serum and urinary ribonuclease in children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis.

Serum and urinary RNase activity was determined in 15 normal children and in 52 children in various clinical stages of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis. The activity of serum RNase was compared with that of serum GOT, GPT and AP. The activity of serum and urinary RNase in the different schistosomal groups was significantly higher than in healthy children. The elevated levels of serum and urinary RNase activity were possibly due to malnutrition with tissue catabolism, zinc-deficiency and liver cell injury. Treatment with Astiban and protein-rich diet resulted in a significant decrease in serum and urinary RNase activity and an in significant drop in serum GOT, GPT and AP. Serum and urinary RNase appear to be more sensitive indices for evaluating the early metabolic disturbances in schistosomal patients than GOT, GPT or AP. Our findings also showed that the severity of cases could be graded according to the level of urinary RNase.

Histopathological and histochemical studies on the tonsils in children with rheumatic heart disease.

The tonsils were studied histologically and histochemically in 67 children with rheumatic heart disease, 33 children with chronic tonsillitis and 5 normal children. The tonsils of rheumatic children showed hyperplasia and hyperactivity of lymphocytes and paucity of phagocytes. It was suggested that these peculiar findings might contribute to the pathogenesis of rheumatic fever.