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Objective: This preliminary study focused on the description of some dysfunctional perceptions of the body image and eating habits in a sample of young. Methods: The results obtained by 55 amateur and professional volleyball players belonging to volleyball sports clubs located in the province of Reggio Emilia were examined. The age of the sample is in a range between 11 and 44 years. The participants completed the Pisa Survey for Eating Disorders (PSED), a questionnaire aimed at examining eating behavior and the perception of one’s body image. The athletes’ height and body weight were subsequently detected through direct measurement. Conclusion: The data collected through the self-evaluation questionnaire and the measurements carried out by the study made it possible to analyze the perception of the body image and the eating habits of the volleyball players belonging to the sample and to compare them with the data in the literature. The data, albeit preliminary, allow us to confirm the existence of the discrepancy between the real body image and the desired one, in a group of young athletes, who favors the adoption of non-adaptive coping strategies to control one’s own weight and body shapes typical of the vicious circle - strict diet, bingeing episodes, compensatory behaviors - which characterizes eating disorders (ED). It is therefore considered essential that body image assessment is a practice implemented in the assessment routine of these athletes, especially in consideration of the fact that body image disturbance is a very common feature in this category and is one of the main risk factors of EDs.

The lumbar epidural analgesia is commonly used for labour analgesia. The “loss of resistance to air” LORA technique is commonly used for recognition of epidural space. One of the rare complications of this technique is Pneumocephalus (PC). We want to present a case of Pneumocephalus which the mother developed during epidural analgesia in labour. The patient complained of severe headache immediately after attempt at epidural catheter insertion. The symptoms progressively worsened following delivery. A postnatal anaesthetic review was performed and an urgent CT scan of the brain was arranged that showed pneumocephalus. A conservative management pathway was followed with liberal analgesia, oxygen inhalation and keeping the patient mostly in supine position. Her symptoms regressed in severity over the next three days and subsided after one week. We believe that the amount of air used for LORA should be minimized; LORA should not be used after dural puncture and the use of normal saline would alleviate the risk.

Primary umbilical cutaneous endometriosis is a rare umbilical endometrioma that affects women who are within the reproductive age group. It may be associated with infertility and severe dysmenorrhea and can be difficult to diagnosed in an asymptomatic patient. We report a case of a 38-year-old nulliparous with seven years history of infertility and severe dysmenorrhea. Her hormonal profile assay and hysterosalpingogram results were normal while her husband semen analysis was also within normal range. She complained of monthly bleeding from a painful rubbery multilobate cutaneous nodule on the umbilicus of one year duration. She was diagnosed of cutaneous endometriosis. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically and she had surgical excision with good outcome.

Advanced technologies, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are a valuable tool which can enhance and simplify the industrial process monitoring if used correctly. State-of-the-art approaches for screening the cell growth of for example yeast during the brewing process still heavily rely on offline methods such as methylene blue or florescence dye-based staining, and/or the usage of flow cytometric measurements. These methods, while being accurate, are very time consuming and require heavy manual effort. Furthermore, the time span needed to obtain the counting result can lead to a time-delayed response signal and can impact the quality of the final product. In recent studies, applications of low-frequency EIS in the α-regime were used for the determination of cell counts and the metabolic state in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This method has proven to be a reliable tool which has also shown high potential in industrial scale applications. The online biomass monitoring, as well as viable cell count, for feasibility study was performed in-house at Stiegl Brewery in Salzburg/Austria founded in 1492.

Introduction: It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation still remains to be a serious problem for large proportion of women in most sub-Saharan Africa countries including Sudan, with a high prevalence of 88%. Objective: The main objective was to identify the factors associated with FGM among daughters of reproductive aged woman. Materials and methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 mothers, the total sample was collected in ACTH based on the number of reproductive age mothers with at least one daughter older than 5 years. A structured and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data obtained was analyzed by the use of the SPSS software. Results: Out of 200 mothers, 113 (56.5%) had at least one circumcised daughter. Knowledge about genital mutilation (AOR = 4.29, 95% CI: 1.13-15.37), attitude (AOR = 48.53, 95% CI: 14.45-198.69) and mothers circumcision status (AOR = 14.03, 95% CI: 2.81- 95.45) were the most significantly associated with FGM. Furthermore, having good knowledge, positive attitude, high socio-economic status, being literate, being of Christian religion and living in urban area had lower odds of having a circumcised daughter. Conclusion: In this study, more than half of the mothers had at least one circumcised daughter. Mothers’ knowledge, attitude, circumcision status, socio-economic status, age, residence, educational level and religion were significantly associated with female genital mutilation.

When Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) is required in a patient with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), bone deficiency in the acetabular roof often remains a problem. The iliac crest (IC) has long been the preferred source of autograft material, but graft harvest is associated with frequent complications and pain. Autologous bone graft can also be obtained from the femoral head (FH) for reconstruction of the acetabulum in hip arthroplasty. However, in certain challenging clinical scenarios, incorporation of the femoral head autograft appears less successful than the iliac crest autograft. The difference in potential for proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation between the two sites has still not been evaluated; therefore, it is not known how to compensate for this difference when it is present. We designed this study to evaluate the number of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in both the iliac crest and femoral head of the same patient. We also determined the best operating room procedure for loading the femoral head with MSCs to achieve equivalent numbers of MSCs as in the IC. Twenty patients (8 men and 16 women) undergoing THA for DDH were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 55.5 years (range 41–65 years). Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from three depths within the femoral head and the aspirates were quantified relative to matched iliac crest aspirates that were obtained from the same patient at the same time. The cell count, progenitor cell concentration (cells/mL marrow), and progenitor cell prevalence (progenitor cells/million nucleated cells) were calculated. Aspirates of FH marrow demonstrated less concentrations of mononuclear cells compared with matched controls from the iliac crest. Progenitor cell concentrations were consistently lower in FH aspirates compared to matched controls from the iliac crest (p = 0.05). The concentration of osteogenic progenitor cells was, on average, 40% lower in the FH aspirates than in the paired iliac crest samples (p = 0.05). However, with bone marrow aspirated from the iliac crest, we were able to load the femoral head autograft with sufficient MSCs to obtain the same number as present in an iliac crest. With concentrated bone marrow from the IC, supercharging the femoral autograft with MSCs to numbers above that present in the IC was possible in the operating room, and the number of MSCs supercharged in the femoral head was predictable. Based on these findings we suggest that FH graft supercharged with BM-MSCs from the IC is comparable to IC graft for osseous graft supplementation especially in THA for patients with DDH.

Introduction: Congestive heart failure is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the XXI century given the promising to date of ABMDSCs and HFDSCs we investigate the safety and efficacy for the implantation of those stem cells for the treatment of idiopathic cardiomyopathy. This is the first pilot clinical study to assess the safety and feasibility of HFDSC in humans. We totally implanted 13 patients: 3 patients were implanted with ABMDSC by Mini-invasive surgical technique in March 2004 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and 10 patients were implanted with HFDSCs by using 2 different surgical techniques: minimally invasive technique (1 patient) and full sternotomy technique (9 patients) between January and February of 2005 in Guayaquil Ecuador. The HFDSCs were obtained from fetuses of 5 to 12 weeks´ gestation from legally consent, no compensated donors who have undergone terminated ectopic pregnancies, elective abortions, or spontaneous miscarriages. At that gestation´s period, totipotent stem cells´ fetus haven´t develop yet the HLA histocompatibility complex, so there´s no possible antigenicity between donor and recipient. Results: Patients with HFDSCs improved in association with increased contractility in these regions. Compared with baseline assessments, we noted other improvements: The mean (±SD) NYHA class decreased from 3.4±0.5 to 1.33±0.5 (P=.001); the mean EF increased 31%, from 26.6% ± 4.0% to 34.8%±7.2% (P=.005); performance in the ETT increased 291.3%, from 4.25 minutes to 16.63 minutes (128.9% in metabolic equivalents, 2.45 to 5.63) (P<.0001); the mean LVEDD decreased 15%, from 6.85±0.6cm to 5.80±0.58cm (P<.001); mean performance in the 6-minute walk test increased 43.2%, from 251±113.1 seconds to 360±0 seconds (P=.01); the mean distance increased 64.4%, from 284.4±144.9m to 468.2±89.8m (P=.004); and the mean result in the Minnesota congestive HF test decreased from 71±27.3 to 6±5.9 (P<.001) The Kaplan-Maier probability of survival at 48 months was 66%. It is not observed rejection, these patients have not developed malignance nodules or cancer at all in the follow-up. In the AMBCSs. The preoperative average NYHA functional class was 3.4; at. 6 months of follow up the average functional class value was 1.3 (p<0,005);. After 6 months all of them remained in functional class I/II. Baseline values of LVEF were 25,28 and 30%.; at 6 months increased to 38, 40 and 46%. (p<0,05). LVESV went from 50mm to 42mm (p<0.05). After 24 months, 2 of the patients still maintained this improvement, while the 3er patient returned to the earlier values after suffering from pneumonia. At 12 years and 5 months 2 patients are alive both received a Resynchronization Therapy; at 8 years and 3 months and 9 years and 1,6 month the actual average EF are 28 and 30 %. The 3er patient died of sudden death at 10 years after the implantation. We can´t demonstrate the cause of this sudden death. Conclusion: Irrespective of the improvement seen in this study, it is still premature to determine accurately the mechanism of action, indications, doses and type of stem cells. Therefore, is imperative and extremely important that more research is needed.

Varied exogenous chondrogenic factors (CFs) are implicated in promoting differentiation of stem cells along a chondrocyte lineage in the field of regenerative tissue engineering for articular cartilage repair. The effects of dexamethasone, transforming growth factor β3 (TGF-β3), ascorbate, and their combinations, on mRNA expression in micromass-cultured human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) were investigated as a function of time. Indices include chondrogenic, hypertrophic, angiogenic, fibrogenic and osteogenic markers along with mechanical properties, assessed by atomic force microscopy. Early in the culture, i.e., at day three, no significant differences in mRNA expression of SOX9, aggrecan, lubricin, Col XI, Col X, vascular endothelial growth factor, Col I, and alkaline phosphatase were observed among samples treated with different CFs. However, significant differences in mRNA expression levels of pre-mentioned markers among samples treated with each CF exist when samples were supplied with the CFs for more than three days. A new indexing scheme summing expression of chondrogenic and subtracting non-chondrogenic angiogenic, fibrogenic and osteogenic marker levels shows dexamethasone is the overall leading CF among the factors and their combinations. Based on this scheme, we have projected not only the possible signaling pathways which might be affected by addition of CFs but also hypothetical indexes that may occur upon temporal variation of growth factor regimens.

Pine honey represents the major type of honey produced in Greece. In that sense, the aim of the present study was to investigate if specific physicochemical and bioactive properties could serve as markers of its geographical origin. For this purpose, forty pine honey samples were collected during harvesting years 2011 and 2012 from Halkidiki and Thassos, the well-known pine honey producing areas in Greece. Physicochemical parameters taken into account, using conventional and literature cited methods, were: pH, CIE colour parameters L*,a*,b*, and browning index. Furthermore, colour intensity and the in vitro radical scavenging activity were estimated by the application of spectrometric assays. Results showed that, pine honeys exhibited statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in pH, colour intensity, and radical scavenging activity, depending on geographical origin. On the basis of radical scavenging activity results obtained, pine honeys proved to have a high in vitro antioxidant “character’’. Finally, perfect Pearson’s correlations (r=1) at the confidence level p<0.01 were obtained for the sets: pH-browning index, pH-radical scavenging activity, and browning index -radical scavenging activity, with respect to geographical origin.

A series of Schiff bases of diphenylamine derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their antibacterial activity against pathogenic both Gram-positive bacteria B. subtilis and Gram-negative bacteria E. coli using ciprofloxacin as standard drug at conc. of 50 µg/ml and 100 µg/ml. The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of IR and 1H-NMR spectral analysis. The compound (3d) displayed potent antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (17 and 15mm) and Escherichia coli (19 and 17mm) by disc diffusion method.

Regenerative medicine is a modern approach of dermatological treatment, using Epidermal Cells of the interfollicular epidermis (ESCs) for their effect in skin regeneration in chronic ulcers and burns, melanoma, vitiligo, junctional epidermolysis bullosa. Intraepidermal injections of autologous epidermal cell suspension can be a new and very promising treatment for many other cutaneous disorders as non-scarring alopecia (Alopecia Areata, Androgenic Alopecia) or scarring alopecia (Lichern Plano Pilaris alopecia, Discoid Lupus Erithematosus alopecia), anti-aging therapies. The intraepidermal injection of an autologous epidermal cell suspension is a simple, fast and safe surgical procedure: a small, thin portion of the epidermis of the patient undergoes a treatment where a suspension with all the cells collected from the epidermis and cultured for 7 days is injected into the skin. Our preliminary study shows that a suspension contains a significant number of viable cells that survive at day 7 in culture. Our research is ongoing and is focusing on the typing of the different cells in the suspension and evaluation of the presence and the nature of stem cells.

Like many tropical countries, Sudan has ample biomass resources that can be efficiently exploited in a manner that is both profitable and sustainable. Fuel-wood farming offers cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy solutions for Sudan, with the added benefit of providing sustainable livelihoods in rural areas. This article provides an overview of biomass energy activities and highlights future plans concerning optimum technical and economical utilization of biomass energy available in Sudan. Results suggest that biomass energy technologies must be encouraged, promoted, implemented, and fully demonstrated in Sudan.

Stem cell treatments depend not only on the type of cell to be used but also on the different implantation techniques. Intravascular cell injections are known to rapidly separate from the vessels. On the other hand, it is also well known that direct injection into the myocardium provides better coupling within the heart muscle. That were the cases of Embriofetal stem cell (HFDSC) or Autologous stem cells (ABMSC) in our experience focused on direct approaches.

The industrial production and use of chromium have grown considerably during the past five decades. Abundances of the chromium isotopes in terrestrial samples are identical to 0.01%. Among the dominant species of chromium, the trivalent form widely occurs in nature in chromite ores which is extremely immobilized especially in water bodies. Samples were mixtures of separated chromium isotopes and the calibration was made with the same species as those used in the measurements. The method had simplified the conversion of the ores to chromyl fluoride since the element could be readily separated as lead chromate from the leaching of chromite-sodium peroxide fusions. Isotope assay of chromyl fluoride under certain conditions was measured and the measurements of chromium isotopic anomalies ratios and isotope abundance of the chromite ores have been assessed. These provided sufficient quantitative mass spectrometric data, which were analyzed to calculate the abundance and the mean atomic mass of the questioned isotopes. Based on the high mass spectroscopy stability and the correction factors, the results were of good precision (incl. negligible systematic errors normally associated to inter-laboratory discrepancies) and the Cr isotopes availability (52Cr > 53Cr > 50Cr > 54Cr) was in conjunction with other classical tools such as oxygen isotopes. This paper is important for paleoecological, environmental, archeological, forensic, and nuclear researchers.

Between 2003 and 2011, 17 patients with heart failure were treated with stem cells as part of our Foundation’s Regenerative Medicine program. In several centers and countries 4 with ischemic cardiomyopathy of which 3 were surgically implanted with autologous bone marrow stem cells (ABMSC) plus bypass surgery. One patient was treated with hyperbaric medicine plus bypass surgery. Patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy were implanted surgically with 2 different types of stem cells. Ten patients were implanted with stem cells derived from human fetuses (HFDSCs) and three patients with autologous bone marrow stem cells (ABMSC). The ejection fractions of the coronary artery bypass graft off pump OPCAB (control group) versus coronary artery bypass group off pump OPCAB plus stem cell transplantation were as followsin the entire serie: preoperative, 30.7% +/- 2.5% compared to 29.4% +/- 3.6%; 1 month, 36.4% +/- 2.6% versus 42.1% +/- 3.5%; 3 months, 36.5% +/- 3.0% vs. 45.5% +/- 2.2%; And 6 months, 37.2% +/- 3.4% versus 46.1% +/- 1.9% (p <0.001). The first patient performed at our center in Argentina in this series is alive and asymptomatic 15 years after implantation, and the rest of this series we do not have current data. A patient without visible vessels in the anterior wall of the left ventricle was treated with 18 hyperbaric chamber sections from one hour at 1.4 AT. After creating angiogenesis, the patient was operated on receiving 2 grafts (mammary and venous) without extracorporeal circulation in the anterior descending artery and diagonal artery. The preoperative ejection fraction was 33% at 90 months of follow up the ejection fraction was 58%. The patient at 90 months was asymptomatic. Of the idiopathic heart disease group, nine patients underwent median sternotomy, and received human fetal stem cells (HFDSCs from ectopic pregnancy or spontaneous abortion, three patients received autologous bone marrow stem cells ABMSC) and 1HFDSCs for Minimally Invasive Surgery. Patients with HFDSC, compared to baseline, improved: The mean (±SD) NYHA class decreased from 3.4 ± 0.5 to 1.33 ± 0.5 (P = 0.001); Mean EF increased 31%, from 26.6% ± 4.0% to 34.8% ± 7.2% (p = 0.005); the yield in ETT increased 291.3%, from 4.25 minutes to 16.63 minutes (128.9% in metabolic equivalents, 2.45 to 5.63) (P <0.0001); the mean LVEDD decreased 15%, from 6.85 ± 0.6cm to 5.80 ± 0.58cm (P <0.001); the mean performance on the 6-minute walk test increased 43.2%, from 251 ± 113.1 seconds to 360 ± 0 seconds (P = 0.01); the mean distance increased 64.4%, from 284.4 ± 144.9m to 468.2 ± 89.8m (P = 0.004); and the mean score in the Minnesota congestive HF test decreased from 71 ± 27.3 to 6 ± 5.9 (p <0.001). Kaplan-Maier’s probability of survival at 40 months was 66%. No rejection or cancer was observed at follow-up, in this series follow-up was discontinued at 4 years. In idiopathic patients receiving autologous cells by Mininvasive technique preoperative NYHA was 3.6 (+/- 0.70) 6 months after receiving stem cell therapy. The mean value of the functional class was 1.9 (+/- 0.90) (p <0.005). ) showing marked clinical improvement. The preimplantation ejection fraction was 28% (+/- 3.6%) and at 6 months 44% (+/- 4.7%) (p <0.005). There was a similar change in ventricular diameters: After 6 months LVESV went from 50mm (+/- 3.3) to 42mm (+/- 4.5) (p <0.05). Two of the three patients in this group received re-synchronization therapy; one died at 10 years and 4 months, another at age 11 and another one alive at 12 years of the implant. More experience should be performed with different techniques and cells to find the appropriate treatment in this type of patients.

The intention of the present work is to validate an easy, better and reasonable approach for estimation of amoxicillin trihydrate in tablet formulation by opposite segment(reverse phase) HPLC –UV with advanced conditions and parameters for habitual use in Rwanda well known board in pharmaceutical laboratory in order to check if no substandard or counterfeit amoxicillin has entered in our country that can result in antimicrobial resistance, treatment failure which can be a chief difficulty on public health. an easy, selective, precise, speedy, specific, and correct reverse phase HPLC UV-seen technique has been verified for the dedication of amoxicillin, in addition that is a cost-effective technique for the established method, monobasic potassium phosphate (KH2PO4) used as buffer and methanol and had been used as a mobile section in the ratio 95:5 respectively. The elution turned into finished in an isocratic mode at a go with the flow rate of 1.5ml/minute proposed method became demonstrated as according to ICH guiding principle refereeing additionally to USP necessities for amoxicillin capsule. linearity range of amoxicillin and was evaluated inside the variety of 20–160 g/ml. the correlation coefficient r2 changed into 0.9998 and the relative well known deviation between six replicates injection was always much less than 2%. The retention time was found 3.5±0.02. the high percentage of healing of amoxicillin is 100.6±4% indicates that the proposed method is exceptionally correct and precise trueness of with the trueness of 100.06±1.2% .the statistical evaluation proved that the demonstrated method is appropriate for analysis of amoxicillin as the majority drug and pharmaceutical formula with none interference from excipients .with the aid of considering the efficiency of the drug samples, all analyzed pattern were within the variety of 90-120 % of percentage of labeled amount, but the efficiency had been distinctive amongst samples. The have a look at located that no counterfeit, no substandard product turned into amongst all batches of amoxicillin samples throughout the c programming language of the look at.

Fluorescein was conjugated with 1-methyl-o-carborane and the resulting bioconjugate was biologically evaluated through microscopic and flow cytometric studies in pancreatic cancer and squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. The uniform distribution of this bioconjugate, as well as its moderate cytotoxicity and higher boron content relative to present boronated delivery agents sodium borocaptate (BSH) and boronophenylalanine (BPA), provide justification for its further evaluation as a potential delivery agent for BNCT.

This article refers to calculations involved with determination of ethanol, analyzed according to redox back titration principle. A quantitative reasoning, based on logical sequence of statements, is presented for derivation of the formulas required to calculate the results of chemical analyses according to stoichiometric principles. The titrations are considered as two-step analytical procedures. This way, one can gain an insight into a classical redox titration and get a knowledge on the advantages of back titrations. 

To repair articular cartilage (AC) defects in osteoarthritic patients, one approach is to engineer three-dimensional grafts with physicochemical properties similar to endogenous AC. Such grafts can be grown in bioreactors that provide environmental conditions favoring chondrogenesis. Studies show mechanical stimulation during the culturing process greatly enhances development of functional engineered grafts. A review of literature on bioreactor options reveals a lack of capacity to simultaneously stimulate cells with a combination of shear stress and oscillating hydrostatic pressure, both of which are important parts of the in vivo AC environment. It is hypothesized that combining both forces in a new bioreactor design will contribute to better AC tissue growth. In this paper, we provide a brief review of bioreactors and describe a new computer-controlled perfusion and pressurized bioreactor system, and the novelty of its control programming features for service in a host of applications. We briefly summarize results on synergistic effects in employing perfusion, oscillating hydrostatic pressure in a scaffold free environment and with the addition of encapsulation for inducing chondrogenesis. We further describe efforts to modify the newly developed system to include a continuous flow and pressurized centrifugal mode to enhance further the capabilities for inclusion of very high shear stresses. Applications for several other cell and tissue engineering approaches are discussed. 

One of the factors of assisted reproduction technology (ART) success is an adequate growth and development of endometrium. At the end of follicular phase of menstrual cycle endometrium reaches its greatest thickness. It is believed that there is a critical limit of endometrial thickness beyond which the implantation of embryo is unlikely or impossible [1-5]. In practice of ART programs ultrasound measurement of endometrial thickness is used to evaluate uterine lining growth. Scientific literature is debatable as to what thickness of endometrium should be considered optimal, some researchers emphasize the negative impact of “thin endometrium” on the success of ART programs [1-12], while others do not agree [6,7,9]. Nevertheless, when endometrial thickness in ART program does not exceed 6 mm the chance of pregnancy occurring is very low (Kumbak B, et al. 2009).