Assessment of adaptation measures against flooding in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka is one of the world’s largest megacities with a high rate of urbanization. Due to the setting of greater Dhaka in a deltaic plain, it is extremely prone to detrimental flooding. Risks associated with flood are expected to increase in the coming years because of the global climate change impacts as well as the high rate of urbanization the city is facing. The low lying part of Dhaka (Dhaka East) faces most severe risk of flooding. Traditionally, this part has been efficiently storing the excess water caused by excessive rainfall and the canals connected to the rivers gradually drained the water to the rivers. But the alarmingly increasing population of Dhaka is leading towards the encroachment of these water retention areas because of the land scarcity. The natural drainage for the city is not performing well and the area is still unprotected from flooding, which causes major threats to its inhabitants. This situation increases the urgency to effectively adapt to current floods caused by climate variability and to the impacts of future climate changes. The government is planning several adaptive measures to protect the area whereas a systematic framework to analyze and assess them is lacking. The objective of the paper is to develop an integrated framework for the assessment of various (current and potential) adaptation measures aimed at protecting vulnerable areas from flooding. The study firstly assesses current and future risks from flooding in the most sensitive region of the city. Subsequently, the study identifies, analyses and assesses adaptive initiatives and measures to address flood risks in the Eastern fringe area. Adaptation assessment is conducted within the framework of Multi Criteria Analysis methodology which allows both normative judgment and technical expertise in the assessment process. Based on the assessment and analysis, adaptive measures are prioritized to enable more effective action. Such a participatory integrated assessment of adaptation options is a new approach in flood management in least developed countries and in Bangladesh in particular. A framework for prioritization of adaptation measures is lacking in the decision making process in Bangladesh which could immensely assist in informed and structured decisions while developing adaptation strategies

The spread of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Victorian school children in 2009:iImplications for revised pandemic planning

Background Victoria was the first state in Australia to experience community transmission of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. We undertook a descriptive epidemiological analysis of the first 1,000 notified cases to describe the epidemic associated with school children and explore implications for school closure and antiviral distribution policy in revised pandemic plans. Methods Records of the first 1,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 notified to the Victorian Government Department of Health between 20 May and 5 June 2009 were extracted from the state’s notifiable infectious diseases database. Descriptive analyses were conducted on case demographics, symptoms, case treatment, prophylaxis of contacts and distribution of cases in schools. Results Two-thirds of the first 1,000 cases were school-aged (5–17 years) with cases in 203 schools, particularly along the north and western peripheries of the metropolitan area. Cases in one school accounted for nearly 8% of all cases but the school was not closed until nine days after symptom onset of the first identified case. Amongst all cases, cough (85%) was the most commonly reported symptom followed by fever (68%) although this was significantly higher in primary school children (76%). The risk of hospitalisation was 2%. The median time between illness onset and notification of laboratory confirmation was four days, with only 10% of cases notified within two days of onset and thus eligible for oseltamivir treatment. Nearly 6,000 contacts were followed up for prophylaxis. Conclusions With a generally mild clinical course and widespread transmission before its detection, limited and short-term school closures appeared to have minimal impact on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 transmission. Antiviral treatment could rarely be delivered to cases within 48 hours of symptom onset. These scenarios and lessons learned from them need to be incorporated into revisions of pandemic plans

Impaired expression of sex hormone receptors in male reproductive organs of diabetic rat in response to oral antidiabetic drugs

Introduction. Few oral antidiabetic drugs have been evaluated for their reproductive complication. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of metformin, pioglitazone and sitagliptin on the structure of male reproductive system through an immunohistopathological study. Material and methods. Sprague-Dawley male rats were injected with streptozotocin. The diabetic rats were divided into four groups (n = 8/each group); diabetic control, metformin-, pioglitazone- and sitagliptin-treated groups in addition to a normal control group (n = 8). At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for biochemical assessment. Testis, epididymis and seminal vesicle were dissected and processed for histopathological examination using routine and immune-staining. Results. All drugs significantly (p < 0.05) decreased fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglycerides and malondialdehyde compared to the diabetic control group. Metformin has induced the least pathologic changes on the structure of the testis, epididymis and seminal vesicle among the studied drugs. Metformin succeeded to restore weights of testis, epididymis and seminal vesicle as well as testosterone hormone level back to values of the NC group while the pioglitazone and sitagliptin failed to do that. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in testicular ERa and ERb immunoexpression of pioglitazone-treated group as well as suppression of ERb and AR immunoreactivity in in epididymus and seminal vesicles of pioglitazone- and sitagliptin-treated rats were observed compared to the control animals. Conclusions. Histological structure as well ER and AR expression in the system organs were negatively and significantly affected with all studied drugs. Metformin has the least effect on the structure of the studied male reproductive organs. Thus, pioglitazone and sitagliptin treatment should be avoided in young male diabetic patients

Medicine as a career choice: a cross-sectional study on undergraduate medical students at King Abdulaziz University

Background: During the last 15 years large number medical schools have been launched in Saudi Arabia in order to compensate for the shortage of Saudi physicians. Till now the reasons for choosing the medical profession by Saudi students were not thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to investigate the reasons for study medicine at King Abdulaziz University (KAU); and if there is any difference in these reasons between the junior and senior medical student.  Factors helping in profession selection as well as the future specialty selection were also investigated.Methods: This comparative cross section study was conducted at KAU during the year 2014-2015 using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to all the 2nd and 6th year medical students.Results: Like to help patients, interest in medical field and being prestigious career were the commonest causes of choosing the medical profession among the 2nd year students and they were significantly rated higher ( 0.031, 0.001, 0.028) in 2nd year students compared to the 6th year. Getting a high GPA was rated significantly higher (p=0.01) by the 6th year students than the 2nd year students. Publications and internet sources was the significant (p=0.001) helpful factors rated by the 2nd year students. Surgery, Pediatric and Internal medicine were the commonest future specialties that had been chosen by both 2nd and 6th year students.Conclusions: Comprehensive and structured programs directed to the secondary school and preparatory university year students to guide them to the proper career with the highlight of Medicine as one of the profession strongly needed in Saudi Arabia.

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Effects of maternal age on the expression of mesenchymal stem cell markers in the components of human umbilical cord

Introduction. Although the human umbilical cord (UC) has been previously considered a medical waste, its use as a main source of fetal stem cells for regenerative medicine applications has increased over the past few years. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the maternal age on the expression of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) markers CD105 and CD29 in the different areas of human UC. Material and methods. In this comparative cross sectional study, one hundred term UCs from five maternal age groups (20–45 years) were collected after delivery from healthy mothers and were processed to assess both immuno- and gene expression of CD105 and CD29 surface antigen markers using immunohistochemical and RT-PCR techniques. Results. The immunoexpression of CD105 and CD29 in the amniotic membrane (AM) and Wharton’s jelly (WJ), the umbilical artery (UA) and the umbilical vein (UV) showed significant negative correlation with the maternal age (p < 0.001). Reduced amount of cells as well as the studied MSC markers and their gene expression levels were documented in older age mothers. CD105-positive MSCs were more abundant in the UA, whereas CD29-positive MSCs were more abundant in the AM and WJ. Conclusion. The decreased expression of CD105 and CD29 MSCs markers with age suggests that selective isolation of MSCs from Wharton’s jelly, umbilical artery or umbilical vein of younger mothers should be recommended

Specialty selection satisfaction and regret among medical school postgraduates and faculty at King Abdulaziz University

Background: In the field of medicine, specialty selection is a life-altering decision that plays a crucial role in career satisfaction, and in turn patient-care. This study explores the significant factors affecting specialty selection satisfaction and regret from the perspective of medical postgraduates and faculty in King Abdulaziz University (KAU).  Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out on a sample of 172 medical school postgraduates and faculty working at KAU using self-administered questionnaire.Results: The majority of the participants were residents (51.7%), The analysis showed that 11% of the participants regret their choice of specialty. The results showed that the level of satisfaction increases as the academic degree of the participants increase. Among the significant factors affected specialty selection satisfaction and regret were; income (P = 0.003), long length of training (P = 0.027), vast options of sub-specialties (P = 0.001) and interesting and exciting field.Conclusion: These results identify the essential factors that have a potential impact on specialty satisfaction and regret among medical school postgraduates and faculty. This highlights the importance of career counseling for the proper specialty selection