Lung cancer: risk factors, management, and prognosis

Lung cancer or lung tumor the most common cause of cancer death in men and second most common in women after breast cancer. Highest rates in North America, Europe, and East Asia, with one third of new cases in China, lower rates in Africa and South Asia. Worldwide in 2012 lung cancer resulted in 1.6 million deaths. Risk factors include smoking, exposure to radon gas, asbestos, second-hand smoke, air pollution, and geneticfactors. Pathogenesis is similar to other cancers, by activation of oncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Two main types of lung cancer are small-cell lung carcinoma(SCLC),and non-small-cell lung carcinoma(NSCLC) Clinical manifestation include coughing, coughing blood, weight loss, weakness, fever or clubbing of the fingernails, hypercalcemia, myasthenia syndrome (muscle weakness), and metastases. Metastatic disease includes weight loss, bone pain and neurological symptoms. Diagnosis mainly by chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans. Lung cancers are classified according to histological type, staging uses TNM (tumor, lymph node and metastases) system. Management depends on cancer specific type, by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the U.S 16.8% survive for at least five years, in England overall five year survival less than 10%.Prevention, cessation of smoking, screening for lung cancer for those long smoking history and between 55 and 80 years. Long term intake of vitamin A,vitamin vitamin D, or vitamin E does not reduce risk of lung cancer. Higher intake of vegetables and fruit tend to lower risk. There is no clear association between diet and lung cancer

Comparison of the effect of some plant powders on the protection of cowpea seeds from the infection of the southern cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculates (Fab.) (Coleoptera:Bruchidae)

     اجريت الدراسة في مختبر الحشرات/ كلية الزراعة/ جامعة بغداد والكلية التقنية/ المسيب، لغرض معرفة تأثير المساحيق النباتية (الزنجبيل Zingiber officinale، الدارسين Cinnamon zeyalanicum  ، الكركمCurcuma longa  وقشور الليمون(Citrus limon  بالاوزان 1، 3 و5 غم في بعض الجوانب الأداء الحياتي لحشرة خنفساء اللوبيا الجنوبية Callsobrucus  maculatus تحت الظروف المختبرية، شملت التجربة على أربع معاملات بالإضافة الى معاملة السيطرة وبواقع ثلاثة مكررات وعشر حشرات لكل مكرر. أظهرت نتائج الدراسة تفوق مسحوق الكركم بالنسبة لهلاك اليرقات إذ أعطى أعلى معدل 17.7% عند وزن 5 غم بالإضافة الى إنه الأفضل من بين المساحيق المستعملة وبجميع الاوزان، كما تفوق مسحوق الزنجبيل على بقية المساحيق بجميع الوحدات الوزنية بالنسبة للإنبات إذ بلغ 96.7% فيما أعطى مسحوق قشور الليمون أقل نسبة للإنبات بلغت 76.7% مقارنة بمعاملة السيطرة التي بلغت 96.7%، فيما أظهر مسحوق الزنجبيل تأثيراً طارداً بنسبة 100% بينما حقق مسحوق قشور الليمون تأثيراً جاذباً بنسبة 60% عند الوزن 5غم.The study was conducted in the insect lab / College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad and Technical College / Musayyib, for the purpose of knowing the effect of plant powders (officinale Zingiber, Cinnamon zeyalanicum, longa Curcuma, and limon Citrus) in the  weights 1, 3 and 5 g in some biological aspects of the cowpea beetle insect Callosobruchus maculates under laboratory conditions. The experiment included four treatments in addition to control treatment with three replicates and ten insects per replicate, The results of the study showed that turmeric powder is superior to larvae, giving the highest rate of 17.7% at the weight unit of 5 g. In addition, it is better than the used powders and all the weight units. Ginger powder also surpasses the rest of the powders in all weight units by germination rate of 96.7% The lemon peel powder gave the lowest percentage of germination at 76.7% compared to the 96.7% control treatment. The ginger powder showed a 100% repellent effect while the lemon peel powder achieved an attractive effect of 60% at the weight unit of 5 g

Determination of Arsenic Content of Available Traditional Medicines in Malaysia using Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Purpose: To determine the content of arsenic (As) in some locally available traditional medicines in the East Coast region of Malaysia.Methods: The determination of As was conducted using hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). Sample preparation entailed mineral acid digestion using hydrochloric acid and nitric acid mixture in a ratio of 1:3. Sixty samples were collected from different locations including shops and open markets in East Coast region of Malaysia, namely, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan states. Most of these preparations were not registered with Malaysian drug authority.Results: Out of sixty traditional medicine samples, twenty six contained As in a concentration range of 0.2150 - 1.3254 ppm. As for the rest, they were below the limit of quantification (LOQ).Conclusion: Traditional medicine samples available in the east coast region of Malaysia contain levels of arsenic that can adversely affect health upon consumption.Keywords: Traditional medicine, Arsenic, Hydride Generation –Atomic Absorption Spectrometer HGAAS

Development and Validation of Reversed Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for Determination of Amlodipine

Purpose: To develop and validate a new sensitive and low-cost method for the analysis of amlodipine in tablet dosage form using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection.Methods: Standards and samples were prepared by dissolving amlodipine besylate standard or amlodipine tablets in mobile phase and sonicated for 5 min. The samples were analysed by RP-HPLC equipped with quaternary pump and auto-injector. Separation was achieved using C18 column, and the mobile phase consisted of ammonium acetate buffer containing 0.02 % triethylamine TEA (pH = 4, adjusted using glacial acetic acid) and acetonitrile in the ratio 60:40 v/v. The flow rate was 1 ml/min and a UV detector was used for the detection of amlodipine at a wavelength of 248 nm. The method was validated according to International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) guidelines.Results: The retention time for amlodipine peak was 3.44 ± 0.41 min with a total run time of 6 min. The method was linear over the range of 0.5 - 40 μg/ml with coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.999. Recovery was 98.09 - 100.19 %, and the method showed high precision and repeatability. All validated parameters were within the range of ICH requirements.Conclusion: A new rapid sensitive and low-cost method has been developed and validated for the analysis of amlodipine in tablet dosage form.Keywords: Amlodipine, Recovery, Repeatability, Precision, Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, Validatio

Joint optimization of Age of Information and Energy Efficiency in IoT Networks

Age of information (AoI) refers to the freshness of data generated by a status-update system. It is a crucial metric in networks such as Internet of things (IoT), specially when the underlying application demands fresh update. In environmental monitoring and smart agriculture, apart from the importance of AoI, energy efficiency (EE) becomes inevitable owing to network longevity. This paper studies an IoT network where the end devices transfer their information to a central gateway residing on a moving platform such as a tractor, which collects information from a large number of sensors in an agri-field. An optimal trajectory of the mobile reader is proposed using a modified nearest neighbor algorithm to gather the information from randomly distributed sensors. A clustering algorithm is also used to cluster the data in such a way that the overall EE of the network is maximized keeping a desired AoI and outage probability

Pattern and severity of childhood unintentional injuries in Ismailia city, Egypt

In 2009, more than 746 000 injury cases were registered in the Ministry of Health hospitals in Egypt, with an injury rate of 1 004/100 000 population. Around 38% of all injuries occur among children and young adults less than 20 years of age. Furthermore, more than 20 000 people lose their lives to injuries every year (27/100 000). However, these data lack information on injury pattern, severity, provided care and outcome of injuries, which are essential data for planning injury control programmes.The aim of this study was to determine the frequency, nature and risk factors of childhood injuries in the Suez Canal University Hospital Emergency Department.The study included a total of 551 children of 12 years of age. The most common causes of injuries among those children were falls (60%), road traffic injuries (15%) and burns (7%). The most commonly sustained injuries were fractures (23%), cuts or open wounds (21%), sprains (20%) and burns (13%). Overall injury severity scores (ISSs) were low across all injury types, except road traffic injuries (RTIs). The majority of patients were treated and discharged without disability (50.5%), while 7.4% had long-term temporary disability that lasted for more than 6 weeks, and 1.9% sustained permanent disability. There were two deaths (0.4% proportionate mortality); both of them were due to falls from a height.In conclusion, the study confirms the feasibility of documenting the burden of childhood injuries on health systems in Egypt. It also confirmed the need for tailored injury-prevention research in Egypt. The resulting data should encourage interventional trials to be conducted, appropriate injury-prevention strategies to be implemented and timely interventions to be planned.Keywords: Childhood unintentional injuries, Egypt, risk factors

IgY antibodies: The promising potential to overcome antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a growing threat to global health security. Whilst the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a natural phenomenon, it is also driven by antibiotic exposure in health care, agriculture, and the environment. Antibiotic pressure and inappropriate use of antibiotics are important factors which drive resistance. Apart from their use to treat bacterial infections in humans, antibiotics also play an important role in animal husbandry. With limited antibiotic options, alternate strategies are required to overcome AMR. Passive immunization through oral, nasal and topical administration of egg yolk-derived IgY antibodies from immunized chickens were recently shown to be effective for treating bacterial infections in animals and humans. Immunization of chickens with specific antigens offers the possibility of creating specific antibodies targeting a wide range of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this review, we describe the growing global problem of antimicrobial resistance and highlight the promising potential of the use of egg yolk IgY antibodies for the treatment of bacterial infections, particularly those listed in the World Health Organization priority list

A microRNA profile of human CD8(+) regulatory T cells and characterization of the effects of microRNAs on Treg cell-associated genes.

Recently, regulatory T (Treg) cells have gained interest in the fields of immunopathology, transplantation and oncoimmunology. Here, we investigated the microRNA expression profile of human natural CD8(+)CD25(+) Treg cells and the impact of microRNAs on molecules associated with immune regulation. We purified human natural CD8(+) Treg cells and assessed the expression of FOXP3 and CTLA-4 by flow cytometry. We have also tested the ex vivo suppressive capacity of these cells in mixed leukocyte reactions. Using TaqMan low-density arrays and microRNA qPCR for validation, we could identify a microRNA 'signature' for CD8(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+)CTLA-4(+) natural Treg cells. We used the 'TargetScan' and 'miRBase' bioinformatics programs to identify potential target sites for these microRNAs in the 3'-UTR of important Treg cell-associated genes. The human CD8(+)CD25(+) natural Treg cell microRNA signature includes 10 differentially expressed microRNAs. We demonstrated an impact of this signature on Treg cell biology by showing specific regulation of FOXP3, CTLA-4 and GARP gene expression by microRNA using site-directed mutagenesis and a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, we used microRNA transduction experiments to demonstrate that these microRNAs impacted their target genes in human primary Treg cells ex vivo. We are examining the biological relevance of this 'signature' by studying its impact on other important Treg cell-associated genes. These efforts could result in a better understanding of the regulation of Treg cell function and might reveal new targets for immunotherapy in immune disorders and cancer