Immunohematological reference ranges for adult Ethiopians

A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 485 healthy working adult Ethiopians who are participating in a cohort study on the progression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection to establish hematological reference ranges for adult HIV-negative Ethiopians. In addition, enumeration of absolute numbers and percentages of leukocyte subsets was performed for 142 randomly selected HIV-negative individuals. Immunological results were compared to those of 1,356 healthy HIV-negative Dutch blood donor controls. Immunohematological mean values, medians, and 95th percentile reference ranges were established. Mean values were as follows: leukocyte (WBC) counts, 6.1 x 10(9)/liter (both genders); erythrocyte counts, 5.1 x 10(12)/liter (males) and 4.5 x 10(12)/liter (females); hemoglobin, 16.1 (male) and 14.3 (female) g/dl; hematocrit, 48.3% (male) and 42.0% (female); platelets, 205 x 10(9)/liter (both genders); monocytes, 343/microl; granulocytes, 3, 057/microl; lymphocytes, 1,857/microl; CD4 T cells, 775/microl; CD8 T cells, 747/microl; CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio, 1.2; T cells, 1, 555/microl; B cells, 191/microl; and NK cells, 250/microl. The major conclusions follow. (i) The WBC and platelet values of healthy HIV-negative Ethiopians are lower than the adopted reference values of Ethiopia. (ii) The absolute CD4 T-cell counts of healthy HIV-negative Ethiopians are considerably lower than those of the Dutch controls, while the opposite is true for the absolute CD8 T-cell counts. This results in a significantly reduced CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio for healthy Ethiopians, compared to the ratio for Dutch controls.     

Attitude,Willingness, and Associated Factors in Organ Donation Among Health Professionals in Gondar,Northwest Ethiopia

BackgroundOrgan transplantation is considered one of the greatest advances of modern science, and it has given many patients a renewed lease on life. The demand for organs far exceeds the supply. Health professionals are fundamental in the process of organ procurement.ObjectiveTo assess the attitude, willingness, and associated factors in organ donation among health professionals of Gondar, Ethiopia.MethodsOur cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 randomly selected health professionals in Gondar using a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the data.ResultsAmong health professionals, 79.1% had favorable attitude toward organ donation and 74.6% were willing to donate their organs. After adjusting for covariates, the odds of having a favorable attitude about organ donation were 3.2 and 11.9 times higher in the professions of laboratory technologists and medical doctors, respectively. By keeping all other variables constant, attitude was found to be positively associated with awareness (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 12.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.71-43.8) and being a member of the Red Cross Association (aOR 5.24, 95% CI 1.46-18.96). Willingness was positively associated with awareness (aOR 6.25, 95% CI 2.0-19.53), a member of the Red Cross Association (aOR 5.09, 95% CI 1.5-17.22), a laboratory technologist (aOR 3.57, 95% CI 1.37-9.29), and a medical doctor (aOR 6.52, 95 % CI 1.93-22.01).ConclusionsThe main findings indicated that the majority of health professionals in Gondar had a favorable attitude toward organ donation and were willing to donate their organs in times of need.     

Development and validation of a delayed presenting clubfoot score to predict the response to Ponseti casting for children aged 2–10

The aim of the study was to develop a simple and reliable clinical scoring system for delayed presenting clubfeet and assess how this score predicts the response to Ponseti casting. We measured all elements of the Diméglio and the Pirani scoring systems. To determine which aspects were useful in assessing children with delayed presenting clubfeet, 4 assessors examined 42 feet (28 patients) between the ages of 2–10 years. Selected variables demonstrating good agreement were combined to make a novel score and were assessed prospectively on a separate consecutive cohort of children with clubfeet aged 2–10, comprising 100 clubfeet (64 patients). Inter-observer and intra-observer agreement was found to be greatest using the following clinically measured angles of the deformities. These were plantaris, adductus, varus, equinus of the ankle and rotation around the talar head in the frontal plane (PAVER). Measured angles of 1–20, 21–45 and?>?45 degrees scored 1, 2 and 3 points, respectively. The PAVER score was derived from both the sum of points derived from measured angles and a multiplier according to age. The sum of the points was multiplied with 1, 1.5 or 2 for ages 2–4, 5–7 and 8–10, respectively. This demonstrated a good association with the total number of casts to achieve a full correction (tau?=?0.71). A score greater than 18 out of 30 indicated a cast-resistant clubfoot. The score could be used clinically for prognosis and treatment, and for research purposes to compare the severity of clubfoot deformities.     

Prevalence and correlates of dyslipidemia in HIV positive and negative adults in Western Kenya: A cross-sectional study

There is increasing morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Dyslipidemia is a well-known CVD risk factor which has been associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and its treatment in high-income countries. Studies in SSA that have examined the relationship between HIV and dyslipidemia have reported mixed results. In this study, we sought to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia in HIV positive and negative adults (>=30 years old) and evaluate for association in Western Kenya with a higher prevalence expected among HIV positive individuals.HIV positive adults receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV negative individuals seeking HIV testing and counseling services were recruited into a cross-sectional study. Demographic and behavioral data and fasting blood samples were collected. Dyslipidemia was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. Associations between baseline demographic and clinical variables and dyslipidemia were analyzed using logistic regression.A total of 598 participants, 300 HIV positive and 298 HIV negative adults were enrolled. Dyslipidemia data was available for 564 (94%) participants. In total, 267 (47%) had dyslipidemia. This was not significantly different between HIV positive and HIV negative individuals (46% vs 49%, P = .4). In a multivariate analysis including both HIV positive and negative individuals, adults 50 to 59 years of age had a 2-fold increased risk of dyslipidemia (Odds ratio [OR] 2.1, 95% confidence interval (1.2–3.5) when compared to 30 to 39-years-old participants. Abdominal obesity (OR 2.5), being overweight (OR 1.9), and low fruit and vegetable intake (OR 2.2) were significantly associated with dyslipidemia. Among HIV positive participants, time since HIV diagnosis, ART duration, use of (PI) protease inhibitor-based ART, viral load suppression, current cluster of differentiation (CD4) count and nadir CD4 did not have significant associations with dyslipidemia.The prevalence of dyslipidemia is high in Western Kenya, with nearly half of all participants with lipid abnormalities. Dyslipidemia was not significantly associated with HIV status, or with HIV-specific factors. Older age, being overweight, abdominal obesity, and low fruit and vegetable intake were associated with dyslipidemia and may be targets for public health interventions to lower the prevalence of dyslipidemia and CVD risk in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Osteoporosis in pulmonary clinic patients: does point-of-care screening predict central dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry?

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Patients in a pulmonary clinic have disorders that predispose them to osteoporosis and may use glucocorticoid therapy, which has been associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk. Ideally, all patients at risk for osteoporosis would be screened using the best test available, which is central BMD by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We proposed to stratify the risk for osteoporosis by the use of a simple questionnaire and point-of-care heel ultrasound BMD measurements. DESIGN: Cross-sectional screening study. SETTING: Pulmonary clinic in a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS: Approximately 200 male and female patients who had not had previous BMD testing were eligible for the study, and 107 gave consent. INTERVENTIONS: One hundred seven men (white, 71 men; black, 35 men; and Asian, 1 man) underwent heel BMD testing and filled out a questionnaire. Ninety-eight men underwent a central DXA. RESULTS: Of 98 subjects, 24.5% had a spine, total hip, or femoral neck (FN) T-score of or= 7 days, and race, which accounted for 52 to 57% of the variance. When a heel ultrasound T-score of -1.0 was tested to predict a central DXA T-score of -2.0, the sensitivity was 61% and the specificity 64%. Adding the questionnaire score and body mass index (BMI) to the heel T-score improved sensitivity but not specificity. Moreover, BMI and age predicted central BMD with similar sensitivity and specificity. Importantly, of 24 patients with a central DXA T-score of 相似文献   

Profiling of Silk Sericin from Cocoons of Three Southern African Wild Silk Moths with a Focus on Their Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties

Silk sericin was extracted from the cocoons of three Southern African wild silk moth species, namely Gonometapostica, G. rufobrunnae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), and Argema mimosae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae); these three sericin extracts were analysed to determine the relationship that exists between their chemical structures and their functional properties. The relationship was investigated by utilising several methods that include the determination of the amino acid composition, and characterisation of the secondary structures with Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antibacterial properties of these three sericin extracts were evaluated by an agar well diffusion assay with three Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) as test microorganisms; and, lastly, the antioxidant properties of the three sericin extracts were determined using several scavenging methods that include the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS˙⁺), and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The amino acid composition in the silk sericin extracts from G. postica, G. rufobrunnea, and Argema mimosa in terms of the polar/non-polar ratio (P/NP) was found to be 65:35, 56:44, and 59:41, respectively. The FTIR spectra of these three silk sericin extracts showed distinct major bands such as amide A (3265 cm⁻¹), amide B (3062 cm⁻¹), amide I (1644 cm⁻¹), amide II (1538 cm⁻¹), and amide III (1244 cm⁻¹). The XRD patterns of the silk sericin extracts revealed both amorphous and α-helical structures, with small crystalline regions. All three silk sericin extracts presented potent antibacterial efficacy against the three Gram-positive bacteria and were found to have excellent antioxidant activities against the tested free radicals.     

Homology modeling in drug discovery: Overview,current applications,and future perspectives

Homology modeling is one of the computational structure prediction methods that are used to determine protein 3D structure from its amino acid sequence. It is considered to be the most accurate of the computational structure prediction methods. It consists of multiple steps that are straightforward and easy to apply. There are many tools and servers that are used for homology modeling. There is no single modeling program or server which is superior in every aspect to others. Since the functionality of the model depends on the quality of the generated protein 3D structure, maximizing the quality of homology modeling is crucial. Homology modeling has many applications in the drug discovery process. Since drugs interact with receptors that consist mainly of proteins, protein 3D structure determination, and thus homology modeling is important in drug discovery. Accordingly, there has been the clarification of protein interactions using 3D structures of proteins that are built with homology modeling. This contributes to the identification of novel drug candidates. Homology modeling plays an important role in making drug discovery faster, easier, cheaper, and more practical. As new modeling methods and combinations are introduced, the scope of its applications widens.