Reasoning Abilities and Potential Correlates Among Jordanian School Children

Objectives To investigate factors related to reasoning skills in 434 school children aged 5–9 years. Methods The Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised was used to assess reasoning skills. Demographic, work and family income data, information on child’s daily behavior and school academic achievement were provided by the participating children’s parents. Results Reasoning scores increased by 4.56 points with increasing subject’s age, 1.71 points with increasing level of father’s occupation, 1.86 points with each increase in the subject’s GPA, 1.13 points with consumption of breakfast at home and 1.81 points when child slept more hours. Having a father who smoked and living in a rural area decreased scores in reasoning. Conclusions for Practice Screening of reasoning and associated factors is essential for a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the child’s abilities and limitations. Understanding the child’s reasoning abilities is critical for establishing intervention goals and planning therapeutic activities.     

Prevalence of medical conditions among patients attending dental teaching clinics in northern Jordan

AIM: This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of self reported medical conditions among dental patients attending dental teaching clinics in north Jordan. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 1,509 patients were included, of which 46.1% were males and 53.9% were females. All age groups were included and ranged between 14 and 78 years. The findings were analyzed in relation to age and gender. RESULTS: Overall, gastrointestinal disease was most prevalent (11.9%), followed by bleeding tendencies (9.3%), renal disorders (8.7%), respiratory disease (8.3%), and hypertension (6.4%). Only 3.2% of the participants reported having antibiotics prescribed for them prior to a dental procedure for prophylactic purposes. CONCLUSION: Due to the high frequency of medical conditions, thorough evaluation of patients' medical and dental care histories should be a mandatory first step in their management.     

Arthroscopic management of intra- and juxta-articular osteoid osteoma of the upper extremity: a systematic review of the literature

European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology - Intra- and juxta-articular osteoid osteoma (OO) is rare and can result in irreversible joint damage. Recently, arthroscopic surgery is...     

Presence of phthalate derivatives in the essential oils of a medicinal plant Achillea tenuifolia

Background

Phthalate, esters of phthalic acid, are mainly applied as plasticizers and cause several human health and environment hazards. The essential oils of Achillea species have attracted a great concern, since several biological activities have been reported from varieties of these medicinal species. On the other side, due to the problems regarding the waste disposal in developing countries, phthalate derivatives can easily release from waste disposal to the water and soil resulting in probable absorption and accumulation by medicinal and dietary plants. As a matter of fact, although the toxicity of phthalate derivatives in human is well-known, food crops and medicinal plants have been exposing to phthalates that can be detected in their extracts and essential oils. Achillea tenuifolia (Compositea) is one of these herbaceous plants with traditional applications which widely growing in Iran.

Finding

The plant root was subjected to hydro-distillation for 4 h using Clevenger type apparatus to obtain its essential oil before and after acid treatment. Both of the hydro-distilled essential oils were analysed by GC-MS method resulted in recognition of their constituent. Phthalate contamination as (1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-methylpropyl) ester (5.4%) and phthalic acid (4.5%), were identified in the first and second extracted oils, respectively.

Conclusion

As a warning, due to the potential role of phthalates to cause reproductive toxicity, disturb of endocrine system and causing cancers, medicinal plants have to be considered through quality control for detection of these compounds.     

Comparison between short- and long-acting erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in hemodialysis patients: target hemoglobin,variability, and outcome

Purpose

Maintaining target hemoglobin (Hb) with minimal variability is a challenge in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study is to compare the long- and short-acting erythropoietin-stimulating agents such as Aranesp and Eprex in achieving these targets.

Methods

Randomized, prospective, open-labeled study of 24 weeks includes stable patients on HD >3 months, age >18 years, and on Eprex for >3 months. Patients were randomized into two groups: A-(Aranesp group):HD patients on Eprex Q TIW or BIW were converted to Aranesp Q weekly, by using the conversion factor of 200:1 and those on Eprex Q weekly to Aranesp Q 2 weeks; B-(Eprex group):patients continued on Eprex treatment. Hemoglobin target was set at (105–125 g/l). Primary end points were percentage of patients achieving target Hb, hemoglobin variability, and number of dose changes in each group.

Results

This study consisted of 139 HD patients: 72 in the Aranesp and 67 in the Eprex—mean (SD) age 54 (16.2) years, 77 (55 %) males. About 46 % were diabetic. Target Hb achieved in 64.8 % of the Aranesp and 59.7 % in the Eprex (p = 0.006). Hb variability was less frequent in the Aranesp group (p = 0.2). Mean number of dose changes was 1.3 (0.87) in the Aranesp and 1.9 (1.2) in the Eprex (p < 0.001). There was 1 vascular access thrombosis in the Aranesp and 8 in the Eprex (p < 0.001). There was no difference in hospitalization and death number between the 2 groups.

Conclusions

Aranesp Q weekly or every 2 weeks is more efficient in achieving target Hb, with less dose changes and minor vascular access complications.     

Synthesis and Evaluation of [67Ga]-AMD3100: A Novel Imaging Agent for Targeting the Chemokine Receptor CXCR4

In order to develop a possible C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) imaging agent for oncological scintigraphy, [⁶⁷Ga]-labeled 1,1′-[1,4-Phenylene-bis(methylene)]bis(1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) ([⁶⁷Ga]-AMD3100) was prepared by using [⁶⁷Ga]GaCl₃ and AMD-3100 for 2 h at 50 °C (radiochemical purity: >95% ITLC, >99% HPLC, specific activity: 1800–2000 TBq/mmol) in acetate buffer. The stability of the complex was checked in the presence of human serum (37 °C) and in the final formulation for four days. The biodistribution of the labeled compound in the vital organs of wild type Sprague-Dawley rats was determined and compared with that of the free Ga³⁺ cation up to 48 h. Considering the spleen as the target organ, the best target:non target ratios were obtained 48 h post-injection (spleen:blood ratio; 14.5 and spleen:muscle ratio; 88.4). Initial SPECT images and biodistribution results in the wild type rats matched each other and demonstrated rapid washout of the tracer from the urinary tract. SPECT images in human breast carcinoma-bearing mice demonstrated a detectable tumor uptake in 48 h post-injection.     

Comparison of in vitro activities of meropenem productions on Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from hospitalized patients

Purpose: Antimicrobial activities of meropenem products on Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were determined. Methods: 212 non-duplicated Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were examined for in vitro meropenem susceptibility test by using the following disks, which were made from Meronem (AstraZeneca, UK), Exipenem (Exir, Iran) and Meroxan (DAANA, Iran) powders. MIC₅₀ and MIC₉₀ for meropenem antibiotics were determined.Results: Meronem had good activities against most isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and only a few strains had a rather high MIC. Exipenem and Meroxan showed a similar activity with Meronem. Conclusion: Regarding the comparison of two internal generic meropenem products with the external Meronem product have shown that they are equivalents in terms of microbiological activity, as measured using the disk diffusion and MIC. In developing countries, we suggested preparing disks with antibiotic powders that can be an equivalent function in microbiological activity with standard disks. In addition, since it demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against the Klebsiella pneumoniae. For use of Exipenem and Meroxan in vivo, it would be better to perform additional testing (activity against different species, stability etc.).     

Effects of cashew nut consumption on body composition and glycemic indices: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Background and aimsPresent meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted to synthesis a definitive conclusion from previous randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs).MethodsA comprehensive search was done up to July 2020, in order to extract RCTs which investigated the effect of cashew nut on weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate effect size. Meta regression analysis was done to identify probable sources of heterogeneity.ResultsSix clinical trials with 521 participants were included. Combined effect sizes demonstrated no effect of cashew consumption on weight (WMD): 0.02, 95% CI: ?1.04, 1.09, P > 0.05), BMI (WMD: 0.1, 95% CI: ?0.72, 0.74, P > 0.05), and WC (WMD: ?0.13, 95% CI: ?1.97, 1.70, P > 0.05). Results were also not significant for FBS (WMD: 3.58, 95% CI: ?3.92, 11.08, P > 0.05), insulin (WMD: ?0.19, 95% CI: ?1.63, 1.25, P > 0.05), and HOMA-IR (WMD: 0.25, 95% CI: ?0.55, 1.06, P > 0.05).ConclusionThe sum up, incorporating cashew into the diet has no significant effect on body composition or modifying glycemic indices.     

Endothelin-mediated remodeling in aortas of diabetic rats

BACKGROUND: Smooth muscle cells proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) protein deposition are key features of diabetic macroangiopathy. In the present study, we have studied the role of endothelin(A) (ET(A)) receptor, the predominant receptor on smooth muscle cells, in diabetes-induced vascular hypertrophy and remodeling. METHODS: Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were administrated a selective ET(A) receptor antagonist, TBC3214, for 26 weeks. Following treatment, aortas were harvested and subjected to gene expression and morphometric analyses. We quantified fibronectin (FN) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression as indicators of increased ECM protein synthesis. ET-1, ET-3, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and angiotensinogen mRNA levels were measured to elucidate genes involved in FN expression. We have investigated an embryonic splice variant of FN, oncofetal FN, and nonmuscle myosin heavy chain (SMemb) as vascular remodeling indicators. RESULTS: Our results show that diabetes leads to upregulation of FN, PAI-1, ET-1, ET-3, TGF-beta1 and angiotensinogen mRNA levels in association with increased medial thickness. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed concurrent protein level changes. Diabetes also upregulated oncofetal FN and SMemb mRNA levels. Treatment with TBC3214 attenuated the mRNA levels of several genes and prevented increased medial thickness. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that diabetes-induced vascular hypertrophy and remodeling is associated with reexpression of embryonic forms of FN and myosin heavy chain. Such changes are ET-dependent and may be mediated via TGF-beta1 and angiotensin.