Scintigraphic findings in peroneal tendonitis: a case report

A case report of radionuclide bone scan findings in a patient with peroneus brevis tendonitis is presented. Peroneal tendonopathy is a common cause of lateral ankle pain. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings have been described in the literature, we know of no other detailed report of three-phase bone scan findings, which we believe can provide an alternate means to diagnose this condition. The positive findings consist of a curvilinear band of increased activity that corresponded to the anatomic position of the peroneus brevis tendon and was detected only on the first two phases of the study.     

Sustaining better diabetes care in remote indigenous Australian communities*

Problem: Inhabitants of Torres Strait Islands have the highest prevalence of diabetes in Australia and many preventable complications. In 1999, a one year randomised cluster trial showed improved diabetes care processes and reduced admissions to hospital when local indigenous health workers used registers, recall and reminder systems, and basic diabetes care plans, supported by a specialist outreach service. This study looked at whether those improvements were sustained two years after the end of the trial.

Design: Three year follow up clinical audit of 21 primary healthcare centres, and review of admissions to hospital in the previous 12 months.

Background and Setting: Remote indigenous communities in far north east Australia, population about 9600, including 921 people with diabetes.

Key Measures for Improvement: Number of people on registers, care processes (regular measures of weight, blood pressure, haemoglobin A1c, urinary protein concentration, and concentrations of serum lipids and creatinine), appropriate clinical interventions (drug treatment and vaccinations), and intermediate patient outcome measures (weight, blood pressure, and glycaemic control). Admissions to hospital.

Strategies for Change: Audit and feedback to clinicians and managers; provision of clinical guidelines and a clear management structure; workshops and training.

Effects of Change: The number of people on registers increased from 555 in 1999 to 921 in 2002. Most care processes and clinical interventions improved. The proportion of people with good glycaemic control (haemoglobin A1c 7%) increased from 18% to 25% in line with increased use of insulin (from 7% to 16%). The proportion of those with well controlled hypertension (< 140/90) increased from 40% to 64%. The proportion admitted to hospital with a diabetes related condition fell from 25% to 20%. Mean weight increased from 87 kg to 91 kg.

Lessons Learnt: In remote settings, appropriate management structures and clinical support for people with diabetes can lead to improvements in care processes, control of blood pressure, and preventable complications that result in admission to hospital. Control of weight and glycaemia are more difficult and requires more active community engagement. Priorities now include increasing the availability and affordability of good food, achieving weight loss, and increasing appropriate use of hypoglycaemic agents, including insulin.

     

No effect of meat,meat cooking preferences,meat mutagens or heme iron on lung cancer risk in the prostate,lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening trial

Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that red and processed meat may increase the risk of lung cancer. Possible underlying mechanisms include mutagens produced during high‐temperature cooking or preservation, or formed endogenously from heme iron in meat. We used data from 99,579 participants of both screened and nonscreened arms of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, aged 55–74 years, to investigate whether meat type, cooking method, doneness level, intake of specific meat mutagens 2‐amino‐3,8‐dimethylimidazo[4,5‐f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), 2‐amino‐3,4,8‐trimethylimidazo[4,5‐f]quinoxaline] (DiMeIQx), 2‐amino‐1‐methyl‐6‐phenylimidazo[4,5‐b]pyridine (PhIP) and benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P)] and heme iron are associated with lung cancer. Participants' diet was assessed prospectively using a 124‐item food frequency questionnaire and an additional meat‐cooking module. Dietary data were used in conjunction with a database to estimate intake of MeIQx, DiMeIQx, PhIP, B(a)P and heme iron. After up to 8 years of follow‐up, 782 incident lung cancer cases were ascertained. Lung cancer risk was not associated with the consumption of either red (men: HR_{Q5 vs. Q1} = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.79–1.56, P_trend = 0.42; women: HR_{Q5 vs. Q1} = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.87–1.95, P_trend = 0.65) or processed meat (men: HR_{Q5 vs. Q1} = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.83–1.53, P_trend = 0.22; women: HR_{Q5 vs. Q1} = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.68–1.41, P_trend = 0.32) in multivariable models. High‐temperature cooking methods, level of meat doneness, meat mutagens and heme iron had no effect on lung cancer risk. In this population, we found no association between meat type, cooking method, doneness level or intake of specific meat mutagens or heme iron and lung cancer risk.     

Preparation of Copper-Decorated Activated Carbon Derived from Platamus occidentalis Tree Fiber for Antimicrobial Applications

This study focuses on a greener approach to synthesizing activated carbon by carbonizing Platamus occidentalis tree fibers (TFSA) with 98% H₂SO₄ at 100 °C. The resulted TFSA was employed as an effective adsorbent for copper ions in aqueous media, yielding copper decorated TFSA (Cu@TFSA). The successful adsorption of copper onto the TFSA was proven through extensive characterization techniques. Herein, the TEM and XPS showed that copper nanoparticles were formed in situ on the TFSA surface, without the use of additional reducing and stabilizing agents nor thermal treatment. The surface areas of TFSA and Cu@TFSA were 0.0150 m²/g and 0.3109 m²/g, respectively. Applying the Cu@TFSA as an antimicrobial agent against Escherica coli ( E. coli) and Salmonella resulted in the potential mitigation of complex secondary pollutants from water and wastewater. The Cu@TFSA exhibited outstanding antimicrobial activity against E. coli and Salmonella in both synthetic and raw water samples. This demonstrated a complete growth inhibition observed within 120 min of exposure. The bacteria inactivation took place through the destruction of the bacteria cell wall and was confirmed by the AFM analysis technique. Cu@TFSA has the potential to be used in the water and wastewater treatment sector as antimicrobial agents.     

A novel N-hydroxy-N′-aminoguanidine derivative inhibits ribonucleotide reductase activity: Effects in human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells and synergism with arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C)

Ribonucleotide reductase (RR; EC 1.17.4.1) is responsible for the de novo conversion of ribonucleoside diphosphates into deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates, which are essential for DNA replication. RR is upregulated in tumor cells and therefore considered to be an excellent target for cancer chemotherapy.ABNM-13 (N-hydroxy-2-(anthracene-2-yl-methylene)-hydrazinecarboximidamide), a novel N-hydroxy-N′-aminoguanidine has been designed to inhibit RR activity using 3D molecular space modeling techniques. In this study, we evaluated its effect on human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. ABNM-13 proved to be a potent inhibitor of RR which was displayed by significant alterations of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pool balance and a highly significant decrease of incorporation of radiolabeled cytidine into DNA of HL-60 cells. Diminished RR activity caused replication stress which was consistent with activation of Chk1 and Chk2, resulting in downregulation/degradation of Cdc25A. In contrast, Cdc25B was upregulated, leading to dephosphorylation and activation of Cdk1. The combined disregulation of Cdc25A and Cdc25B was the most likely cause for ABNM-13 induced S-phase arrest. Finally, we combined ABNM-13 with the first-line antileukemic agent arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) and found that ABNM-13 synergistically potentiated the antineoplastic effects of Ara-C.Due to these promising results, ABNM-13 deserves further preclinical and in vivo testing.