AIDS: Awareness and blood handling practices of health care workers in Lagos,Nigeria

A questionnaire survey of 260 health care workers from 13 randomly selected health care facilities was undertaken. Their knowledge, attitude, belief and blood handling practices regarding HIV/AIDS were enquired about. Virtually all (99.0%) respondents had heard about AIDS but only 57.0% had seen an AIDS patient before. Although 83.0% knew that AIDS is caused by a virus, a high proportion still confuses mode of transmission with causative agent. Deficient knowledge was exhibited when asked about groups of people who were at a higher risk of contracting HIV and AIDS: Only 54.6% and 51.5% identified homosexuals and IV drug users as being at a higher risk. Almost all (97.0%) of our respondents claimed to have been more careful in their blood handling practices since the emergence of AIDS, 68.5% wore gloves for all procedures involving handling of blood and 28.5% sometimes although as many as 30.4%, 40.4% and 18.1% do not wear gloves for cleaning up blood stained materials, nursing procedures and taking obstetric delivery respectively. It was evident from their responses that not all the health workers knew the correct method for disposing of used bloodstained instruments and left-over blood samples and neither were they all adhering to the safety guidelines recommended for handling these materials. Education of all health care workers in Nigeria on the Universal Precautions Guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1987 regarding blood, body fluids and contaminated instruments' handling precautions is urgently recommended.     

Mutational analysis of the SOX9 gene in campomelic dysplasia and autosomal sex reversal: lack of genotype/phenotype correlations

It has previously been shown that, in the heterozygous state, mutations in the SOX9 gene cause campomelic dysplasia (CD) and the often associated autosomal XY sex reversal. In 12 CD patients, 10 novel mutations and one recurrent mutation were characterized in one SOX9 allele each, and in one case, no mutation was found. Four missense mutations are all located within the high mobility group (HMG) domain. They either reduce or abolish the DNA-binding ability of the mutant SOX9 proteins. Among the five nonsense and three frameshift mutations identified, two leave the C-terminal transactivation (TA) domain encompassing residues 402-509 of SOX9 partly or almost completely intact. When tested in cell transfection experiments, the recurrent nonsense mutation Y440X, found in two patients who survived for four and more than 9 years, respectively, exhibits some residual transactivation ability. In contrast, a frameshift mutation extending the protein by 70 residues at codon 507, found in a patient who died shortly after birth, showed no transactivation. This is apparently due to instability of the mutant SOX9 protein as demonstrated by Western blotting. Amino acid substitutions and nonsense mutations are found in patients with and without XY sex reversal, indicating that sex reversal in CD is subject to variable penetrance. Finally, none of 18 female patients with XY gonadal dysgenesis (Swyer syndrome) showed an altered SOX9 banding pattern in SSCP assays, providing evidence that SOX9 mutations do not usually result in XY sex reversal without skeletal malformations.      

Pap Smear and Mammogram Screening Rates in a Refugee and General OB/GYN Clinic: A Retrospective Review

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health - Although multiple studies have shown that resettled refugee women are less likely to receive preventative cancer screenings like pap smears and...     

Antireproductive effect of calcium channel blockers on male rats

Introduction  Drugs have been shown to adversely affect male fertility and recently anti-hypertensive drugs were added to the list. The anti-fertility effects of nifedipine and similar calcium channel blockers are well-illustrated in in vitro experiments but not in vivo. Purpose  The present study was designed to experimentally elucidate the sub-chronic effect of nifedipine, verapamil and diltiazem on sperm functions and reproductive hormone levels in vivo. Methods  Male rats (150–200 g) were divided into four groups of ten rats each. Group 1 (control) received distilled water; Group 2 received nifedipine 0.57 mg/kg BW; Group 3 were given verapamil 3.40 mg/kg BW and Group 4 were given diltiazem 2.57 mg/kg BW. Each drug-treated group had its own recovery group from which treatment was discontinued for 30 days before the animals were sacrificed. Blood samples were collected for hormonal assay of FSH, LH and testosterone. Semen evaluation was done and the testes, seminal vesicle, epididymis and prostate were removed, and weighed immediately. Results  Nifedipine, verapamil and diltiazem significantly decreased (P < 0.05) sperm count and motility in drug treated groups. The weight of the epididymis was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in the drug treated rats. Semen parameters and other associated changes were restored after 30 days of drug withdrawal. Conclusion  Calcium channel blockers appear to have a reversible anti-fertility effect on male rats which does not occur through inhibition of the pituitary-gonadal axis.     

Characterization of rat100, a 300-kilodalton ubiquitin-protein ligase induced in germ cells of the rat testis and similar to the Drosophila hyperplastic discs gene

Conjugation of ubiquitin to proteins is activated during spermatogenesis. Ubiquitination is mediated by ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (UBCs or E2s), and ubiquitin protein ligases (E3s). Since we previously showed that the activated ubiquitination is UBC4 dependent, we characterized Rat100, a UBC4-dependent E3 expressed in the testis. Analysis of expressed sequence tag sequences and immunoblotting showed that Rat100 is actually a 300-kDa protein expressed mainly in the brain and testis and is similar to the human E3 identified by differential display (EDD) protein and the Drosophila hyperplastic discs gene, mutants of which cause a defect in spermatogenesis. Rat100 is induced during postnatal development of the rat testis, peaking at d 25. It is localized only in germ cells and is highly expressed in spermatocytes, moderately in round and slightly in elongating spermatids. In contrast to UBC4 whose removal from a testis extract abrogates much of the conjugation activity, immmunodepletion of Rat100 from the extracts had little effect. Rat100 therefore has a limited subset of substrates, some of which appear associated with the E3 as the immunoprecipitate containing Rat100 supported incorporation of (125)I-ubiquitin into high molecular weight proteins. Thus, Rat100 is the homolog of human EDD and likely of Drosophila hyperplastic discs. This homology, together with our results, suggests that induction of this E3 results in ubiquitination of specific substrates, some of which are important in male germ cell development.