Osteotomías distales de los metatarsianos menores realizadas por cirugía abierta vs cirugía percutánea en el tratamiento de las metatarsalgias.

Objetivo. Comparar los resultados clínicos y radiológicos de las osteotomías distales de los metatarsianos menores realizadas por cirugía abierta y por cirugía percutánea en el tratamiento de las metatarsalgias Material y método. Revisión retrospectiva de 44 metatarsalgias: 22 en cada grupo. Recogida de datos epidemiológicos, clínicos y medición de parámetros radiográficos. Resultados. Se consiguieron modificaciones en los parámetros radiográficos con ambas técnicas, con mayor corrección con la cirugía abierta. Las fórmulas metatarsales postoperatorias continuaron siendo no armónicas en ambos grupos. Todos los pacientes mejoraron clínicamente. La cirugía abierta tuvo más complicaciones. Conclusiones. Los resultados clínicos y radiológicos de las osteotomías percutáneas son similares a los obtenidos por cirugía abierta, pero con menos complicaciones. La obtención de una fórmula metatarsal armónica no debería ser el objetivo principal de la cirugía de las metatarsalgias, ya que, según nuestro estudio, no es una condición indispensable para lograr un buen resultado clínicoObjectives. To compare the radiographic and functional outcomes in lesser metatarsal distal osteotomies performed by percutaneous and open surgery for the treatment of metatarsalgia. Methods. A retrospective medical record review of 44 cases of discharge diagnosis of metatarsalgia: 22 patients in each group. Epidemiological data, clinical data and radiological measurements were collected. Results . Improvement of radiological parameters were obtained with both techniques, with better correction with open than with percutaneous surgery. Postoperatively metatarsal parabola continues being nonharmonious in both groups. All patients improved in clinical assessment. Open surgery had more complications than percutaneous surgery. Conclusions . Clinical and radiological outcomes of lesser metatarsal distal osteotomies performed percutaneously are similar to those obtained by open surgery, but with fewer complications. To obtain a harmonic metatarsal parabola should not be the main purpose of surgery of metatarsalgia because it is not an essential condition to achieve a good clinical outcome

Antibiotics: The Most Frequent Misused Medications Items Amongst Children Below Five Years of Age in Samaraa General Hospital

Introduction: Antibiotics are medicines used to treat bacterial infections—however, their overuse or misuse results in resistance to antimicrobial agents. Resistance is defined as antibiotics' failure to treat the microbes at the same dose and interval. Antibiotic resistance is a global phenomenon, especially in children. There were about 200,000 newborns death resulting from an infection that was caused by multi-drug resistance bacteria, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).   Purpose: This study highlights the rationale for the inappropriate usage of unnecessary drugs and antibiotics with their limitation and harmful effects on children under five years.  Materials and Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 children randomly selected in the pediatrics department of Samarra general hospital in Samarra City. They were given a designed, previously validated questionnaire. This study was carried out from 9th March 2020 until 22nd May 2020. Inferential and descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data. Results: One hundred eighty parents participated in the current study (47.2 males and 52.7% female, mean age). During the study time, respondents had taken their children to physicians, and antibiotics were prescribed in about 57.22%. Of these, only 79%reported using over-the-counter medications, with antibiotics being the most prevalent drug in 66% of cases. Seventy-one percent of parents insisted on prescribing antibiotics, with pediatricians being the most in charge (59%) with antibiotics prescriptions. In most cases, antibiotics were used in treating viral infections (62%0), whereas they were used less frequently to treat bacterial infections. The current results revealed a significant gap in knowledge regarding antibiotic use among parents (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The current results revealed poor knowledge of medication use among children, especially antibiotics. These results necessitate educating parents on antibiotic use and applying strict guidelines on prescribing antibiotics. Doctors and licensed health professionals are the sole authority to prescribe antibiotics only if needed to avoid antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics should only be used following WHO guidelines on the safe usage of antimicrobials. Accurate diagnosis, underlying etiology, infection's site and the severity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics of the used drug, adverse effects, and medication cost are crucial elements to consider for a safe antibiotic prescription

Space-borne observation of methane from atmospheric infrared sounder: data analysis and distribution over Iraq

Methane (CH4) Volume Mixing Ratio (VMR) at pressure level 925hPa data extracted from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) with spatial resolution of 1°× 1° covering whole of Iraq and surrounding regions (28.5°–38.5°N, 37.5°–49.5°E) have been examined for the period from January 2003 to December 2013. The results show a considerable increasing of CH4 with maximum values at north and north eastern regions during autumn and the early winter, whereas the minimum values appeared at the pristine desert environment at the west and the south-west region during spring months. For more accuracy validation the trend analysis was applied on the retrieved AIRS data at three different stations are Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah. The mean and standard deviation in Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah was (1.8657 ± 0.0198, 1.8536 ± 0.0196, 1.8448 ± 0.0212) ppmv respectively for monthly long term trend analysis. Monthly trend analyses have positive trends (0.0040, 0.0039 and 0.0042) ppmv.y-1 for Mosul, Baghdad and Basrah Consecutively. These results indicate that Satellite observations efficiently present the temporal and spatial variations of the CH4 for the considered study Area

Biallelic loss of function variants in PPP1R21 cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome with impaired endocytic function

Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has been instrumental in solving the genetic basis of rare inherited diseases, especially neurodevelopmental syndromes. However, functional workup is essential for precise phenotype definition and to understand the underlying disease mechanisms. Using whole exome (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) in four independent families with hypotonia, neurodevelopmental delay, facial dysmorphism, loss of white matter, and thinning of the corpus callosum, we identified four previously unreported homozygous truncating PPP1R21 alleles: c.347delT p.(Ile116Lysfs*25), c.2170_2171insGGTA p.(Ile724Argfs*8), c.1607dupT p.(Leu536Phefs*7), c.2063delA p.(Lys688Serfs*26) and found that PPP1R21 was absent in fibroblasts of an affected individual, supporting the allele's loss of function effect. PPP1R21 function had not been studied except that a large scale affinity proteomics approach suggested an interaction with PIBF1 defective in Joubert syndrome. Our co‐immunoprecipitation studies did not confirm this but in contrast defined the localization of PPP1R21 to the early endosome. Consistent with the subcellular expression pattern and the clinical phenotype exhibiting features of storage diseases, we found patient fibroblasts exhibited a delay in clearance of transferrin‐488 while uptake was normal. In summary, we delineate a novel neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by biallelic PPP1R21 loss of function variants, and suggest a role of PPP1R21 within the endosomal sorting process or endosome maturation pathway

Suppressing scratch-induced brittle fracture in silicon by geometric design modification of the abrasive grits

The overarching goal of this research was to investigate the application of spherically shaped abrasive particles in achieving ductile-mode cutting. Scratching experiments were carried out to assess the differences between arbitrarily and spherically shaped diamond and tungsten carbide (WC) grits in inducing brittle fracture or ductile plasticity in single-crystal silicon. It was observed that the arbitrarily shaped particles produce brittle fracture in contrast to the spherically shaped grits. The sharp edges and corners of grits result in high tensile stress-concentrated regions causing cracking and spalling. Contrary to this, spherically shaped WC particles induce uniform cutting pressure, which suppresses the extent of the brittle fracture and the mode of material removal was completely dominated by ductile-cutting until a threshold load for ductile-to-brittle transition (the first cracks appearance). These observations are expected to provide a suitable pathway in making the Diamond Wire Sawing machining operations more robust by providing a control on brittle damage

SPARC 2017 retrospect & prospects : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2017 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also the 50th anniversary of Salford as a University, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 130 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the research strengths of their works, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to exploit this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas to your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research inevitably requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised by all major research funders. Therefore engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers

PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF FENTANYL TRANSDREMAL PATCHES USING LIDOCAINE AS A MODEL DRUG AND AZELAIC ACID AS A PENETRATION ENHANCER

Transdermal drug delivery offers numerous advantages over the conventional routs of administration; however, poor permeation of most drug across the skin barrier constitutes a major limitation of this rout. Objective: The possibility of utilizing azelaic acid as penetration enhancer was investigated. And then development of a new transdermal controlled-release device using of non-medicated and lidocaine transdermal patches and then testing the feasibility of loading fentanyl patch. Methods: DSC, FTIR, X-ray diffraction analysis and skin permeability measurements were done for both skin sample untreated and treated with azelaic acid to prove the possibility of utilizing it as permeation enhancer. Multilayered lidocaine transdermal patches were prepared by solvent/evaporation casting technique using Eudragit® E100 as transdermal adhesive polymer, and ethyl vinyl acetate as impermeable backing layer. The flexibility of films required for a good compliance and optimum transdermal adhesion of the Eudragit E films was achieved by employing triethyl citrate or dibutylphthalate at concentration of 25% (w/w) of polymer. A physicochemical interaction between azelaic acid and Eudragit E100 (cationic polymer) has been evaluated using FTIR and DSC. Lidocaine as well as fentanyl bilayerd transdermal patches containing triethylcitrate at concentration of 25% (w/w) of Eudragit E100 with and without azelaic acid were selected for further permeation studies Results: The obtained results indicated that fluorescien permeation through epidermal human skin treated with overnight exposure to saturated aqueous solution of azelaic acid was increased by 8.6 folds while, its permeation through rat skin was increased by 10.89 folds. Additional analysis by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, SEM, and DSC showed that azelaic acid disrupted stratum corneum lipid, which supported its action as promising penetration enhancer.Plasticizers as triethyl citrate or dibutylphthalate at concentration of 25% (w/w) of polymer reduced Tg of Eudragit E100 polymer to about 15.50C and 26.20C respectively. A physicochemical interaction between azelaic acid and Eudragit E100 was proven by FTIR study which indicated the present of ionic bonding between them, while DSC showed that azelaic acid may act as non-traditional plasticizer through its reduction in Tg by 7.30 C.The results of permeation studies indicated that the presence of azelaic acid was significantly increased (P < 0.05) the drug flux as the concentration of azelaic acid increased. As well as; fentanyl transdermal permeability studies revealed similar behavior to lidocaine as drug flux increased by 4.82 folds at AZ concentration of 2mg/cm2. Conclusion: the overall obtained data revealed the feasibility of preparing a controlled release fentanyl transdermal patches containing azelaic acid as penetration enhancer

Mutations in mitochondrial enzyme GPT2 cause metabolic dysfunction and neurological disease with developmental and progressive features

Mutations that cause neurological phenotypes are highly informative with regard to mechanisms governing human brain function and disease. We report autosomal recessive mutations in the enzyme glutamate pyruvate transaminase 2 (GPT2) in large kindreds initially ascertained for intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). GPT2 [also known as alanine transaminase 2 (ALT2)] is one of two related transaminases that catalyze the reversible addition of an amino group from glutamate to pyruvate, yielding alanine and α-ketoglutarate. In addition to IDD, all affected individuals show postnatal microcephaly and ∼80% of those followed over time show progressive motor symptoms, a spastic paraplegia. Homozygous nonsense p.Arg404* and missense p.Pro272Leu mutations are shown biochemically to be loss of function. The GPT2 gene demonstrates increasing expression in brain in the early postnatal period, and GPT2 protein localizes to mitochondria. Akin to the human phenotype, Gpt2-null mice exhibit reduced brain growth. Through metabolomics and direct isotope tracing experiments, we find a number of metabolic abnormalities associated with loss of Gpt2. These include defects in amino acid metabolism such as low alanine levels and elevated essential amino acids. Also, we find defects in anaplerosis, the metabolic process involved in replenishing TCA cycle intermediates. Finally, mutant brains demonstrate misregulated metabolites in pathways implicated in neuroprotective mechanisms previously associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Overall, our data reveal an important role for the GPT2 enzyme in mitochondrial metabolism with relevance to developmental as well as potentially to neurodegenerative mechanisms.National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (U.S.) (R01NS035129)United States. National Institutes of Health (R21TW008223)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (R01CA157996