Tissue and blood superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde level in leprosy

Background Oxidative stress (OS) results from an imbalance between free radical generating and scavenging systems. The end product of lipid peroxidation, malondialdehyde (MDA) serves as a marker of cellular damage. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) traps free radicals and acts as a free radical scavenging system. Objective To study OS indices in paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy in tissues and blood. Materials and methods The study group comprised untreated PB patients (n = 14), untreated MB patients (n = 18) and normal human volunteers (n = 20). SOD activity, MDA level and MDA/SOD ratio were estimated in both blood and tissue. Results Compared with controls, SOD activity in tissues decreased significantly in both PB and MB patients, while SOD activity in erythrocytes decreased significantly only in MB. In addition, MDA levels increased significantly in tissues of both PB and MB patients. Moreover, the mean level of MDA in plasma of MB patients was significantly higher, whereas there was no significant difference in that of PB patients. This study showed significant increase in OS index (MDA/SOD ratio) in tissue of PB and MB patients and in blood of MB patients only, whereas there was no significant difference in OS index in blood of PB patients compared with that in the controls. Conclusion Oxidative stress was observed in both tissues and blood of MB patients and in tissues of PB patients, denoting its crucial involvement in the pathogenesis of leprosy. This can constitute an important tool in prognosis, treatment and control of leprosy.     

Effectiveness of a brief condom promotion program in reducing risky sexual behaviours among African American men

Rationale The prevention of human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted diseases remains a significant global public health issue, especially among vulnerable populations. Aims and objectives To promote condom use skills among young urban African American men. Methods As a pilot study, a randomized controlled trial was conducted among 136 African American men aged 18–24 years recruited from urban communities in Chicago. Participants assigned to the intervention received 45–60 minutes of a one‐on‐one single‐session condom promotion program delivered by trained facilitators while those assigned to the attention‐matched comparison condition received a general health program. Longitudinally, 115 (85%) and 120 (88%) participants completed the 3‐month and 6‐month follow‐up surveys, respectively. Results Overall, the study results indicate that positive effects were observed from baseline to 6‐month follow‐up for intervention participants relative to comparison condition participants for prior condom use (1.23–1.82 versus 1.34–0.97); condom use intention (2.51–3.19 versus 2.69–2.21); perceived condom availability (3.44–3.72 versus 3.42–3.38); positive reasons to use condoms (2.82–3.08 versus 2.95–1.99); favourable condom use attitude (2.41–2.69 versus 2.49–1.95); barriers to condom use (1.33–0.79 versus 1.25–1.85); and negative condom use attitude (1.45–0.66 versus 1.33–1.39), respectively. Conclusions We conclude that a brief single‐session condom promotion program is effective in preventing high‐risk sexual behaviours among urban young adult African American men.     

男科实验室质量保证和质量控制

质量保证（QA）和质量控制（QC）是所有实验室进行检测分析的基础。与其他医学学科相比，研究者最近才认识到男科实验室需要有QA和QC。此外，有证据表明，一些医生并不完全赞成尚需进行QA和QC的努力。然而，由于QA和QC是质量管理实施过程的中心环节，评审机构和监管部门越来越需要实验室制定有效的QA和QC措施。随着《世界卫生组织人类精液分析实验室技术手册》第5版的出版，该手册推荐的实验方法学已有相应的修改，现行的QA和QC体系也需作出一定程度的更新，以适应新的变化和要求。主要讨论该手册在3方面的变化，即：①建议根据精液质量推测体积。②精子活力等级由原来的4级改为3级。③将精子形态的参考值下限定为4％（95％CI为3％。4％）。还讨论了QC及QA在所有男科实验室检测中的重要性，包括即将开展的评估精子DNA完整性的实验。同时，阐述对从事男科学检验工作人员开展充分的初级培训与专业继续教育的必要性。     

Hematological profile of pregnant women in southwest of Nigeria

ObjectiveTo evaluate the values of some major hematological parameters at different trimesters of pregnancy.MethodsThe research involved 33 healthy pregnant women as the study group and 11 non-pregnant women as control. The age range of these women was 20-40 years. Ethical approval was obtained from Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu. Three milliliters of venous blood collected from the median cubital vein with minimum stasis were put into K⁺EDTA bottle. The blood was properly mixed and analyzed for packed cell volume (PCV), total white cell count, differential counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Hematology was done according to standard methods.ResultsThe result showed that study group exhibited statistically significant lower values of PCV, monocyte and lymphocyte while WBC, eosinophil and ESR were not significantly changed. There was no significant difference in all hematological parameters among the three trimesters.ConclusionsHealthy pregnancy may have effect on hematological parameters. Therefore, there is a need to monitor these parameters during pregnancy. We also find that stages of pregnancy have no influence on hematological parameters.     

A dosimetric comparison between 3D-Conformal radiation therapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy plans in the treatment of posterior fossa boost in children with high risk medulloblastom

Objective： The work is a comparative study between two modalities of radiation therapy, the aim of which is to compare 3D conformal radiation therapy （3D-CRT） and intensity modulated radiation therapy （IMRT） in treating posterior fossa boost in children with high risk medulloblastorna; dosimetrically evaluating and comparing both techniques as regard target coverage and doses to organs at risk （OAR）. Methods： Twenty patients with high risk medulloblastoma were treated by 3D-CRT technique. A dosimetric comparison was done by performing two plans for the posterior fossa boost, 3D-CRT and IMRT plans, for the same patient using Eclipse planning system （version 8.6）. Results： IMRT had a better conformity index compared to 3D-CRT plans （P value of 0.000）. As for the dose homogeneity it was also better in the IMRT plans, yet it hasn＇t reached the statistical significant value. Also, doses received by the cochleae, brainstem and spinal cord were significantly less in the IMRT plans than those of 3D-CRT （P value 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： IMRT technique was clearly able to improve conformity and homogeneity index, spare the cochleae, reduce dose to the brainstem and spinal cord in comparison to 3D- CRT technique.     

A comparison of genotyping arrays

Array technology to genotype single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) is widely used in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), clinical diagnostics, and linkage studies. Arrays have undergone a tremendous growth in both number and content over recent years making a comprehensive comparison all the more important. We have compared 28 genotyping arrays on their overall content, genome-wide coverage, imputation quality, presence of known GWAS loci, mtDNA variants and clinically relevant genes (i.e., American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) actionable genes, pharmacogenetic genes, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes and SNV density). Our comparison shows that genome-wide coverage is highly correlated with the number of SNVs on the array but does not correlate with imputation quality, which is the main determinant of GWAS usability. Average imputation quality for all tested arrays was similar for European and African populations, indicating that this is not a good criterion for choosing a genotyping array. Rather, the additional content on the array, such as pharmacogenetics or HLA variants, should be the deciding factor. As the research question of a study will in large part determine which class of genes are of interest, there is not just one perfect array for all different research questions. This study can thus help as a guideline to determine which array best suits a study’s requirements.Subject terms: Genome-wide association studies, Genome-wide association studies, Clinical genetics, Genetics research, Genetic testing