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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate biological dose in single-field optimization (SFO) and multi-field optimization (MFO) intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans for brain tumor patients that used a fixed relative biological effectiveness (FRBE) and those that used a variable RBE (VRBE). Materials and methods: SFO and MFO IMPT plans were planned by the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system for three brain tumor patients. Dose and linear energy transfer (LET) distributions for each plan were recomputed using an in-house fast Monte Carlo dose calculator system, and then biological dose distributions were calculated with a FRBE of 1.1 or with a previously published VRBE model. We then compared biological dose distributions obtained by the VRBE with those obtained by the FRBE. Results: Doses obtained by the VRBE for the gross tumor volume and clinical target volume in all plans were 1%-2% larger than those obtained by the FRBE. The minimum dose obtained by the VRBE for the brainstem in the SFO IMPT of one patient was 140% larger than that obtained by the FRBE, but the difference was only 5.3 cGy (RBE). The difference in maximum dose for the optic chiasm in the MFO IMPT of another patient was less than 3.2%, but the dose difference was 149.2 cGy (RBE). We also found that no major differences were seen between the biological dose differences in the SFO IMPT plans and those in the MFO IMPT plans. Conclusion: We could observe biological dose differences between the FRBE and the VRBE in the SFO and the MFO IMPT plans for brain tumor patients.

This study was aimed at producing a high nutritious food that will meet the nutritional requirements of consumers. Blends of malted red sorghum and defatted soybeans flour were processed and the resulting flours were formulated at ratios of 100:00; 95:5; 90:10 and 80:20 (malted red sorghum: defatted soybeans flour). The resulting products were subjected to antinutrients and minerals properties determination. The results obtained showed that the antinutrients decreased linearly with increase in the mineral elements. Antinutrients in the blends decreased from 2.25-1.80mg/g (oxalate); 2.45-2.16mg/g (phytate); 14.16-9.26g/100g (Alkaloids); 2.12-1.69/100g (saponin) and 0.18-0.13mg/g (Tannin). A percentage increase of 12.6% (sodium); 10.8% (calcium); 9.5% (potassium); 3.7% (magnesium) and 14.1% (Iron) was recorded as the quantity of defatted soybeans flour increased in the blends. The low levels of antinutrients in the blends produced make them safe and suitable for human consumption. Substitution of malted red sorghum with 20% defatted soybean flour showed a remarkable improvement in the mineral contents of the diets

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of pretreatments and drying methods on the chemical quality and microbial density of wild edible oyster mushroom. The mushroom samples were pretreated by steeping in 0.5% citric and sodium metabisulphite at room temperature for 10 minutes before being subjected to sun and cabinet drying until a constant weight was reached. The dried samples including the control samples (Samples not pretreated with chemicals) were evaluated for proximate, mineral composition and microbial density. The proximate analysis (protein, ash, fat, moisture and fibre) showed that untreated mushroom samples (both sun and cabinet dried) had the overall best results followed by samples pretreated with 0.5% sodium metabisulphite while samples pretreated with 0.5% citric acid had the lowest values. The mineral analysis (calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium) of the mushroom samples followed the same trend as the proximate analysis. The microbial density of the samples showed that samples pretreated with 0.5% citric acid had the lowest count followed by samples pretreated with 0.5% sodium metabisulphite while the untreated samples had the highest microbial density. This implies that pretreatment with citric acid and sodium metabisulphite reduced the microbial density which may invariably extend the storage life of the edible oyster mushroom.

Noodles are strips or strands cut from a sheet of dough made from flour, water and either common salt or a mixture of alkaline salt. Noodles consumption represents about 40% of the total wheat flour which are mainly consumed by school children. The use of composite flour has been encouraged since it reduces the importation of wheat. Utilization of locally available, inexpensive materials like cocoyam that can substitute a part of wheat flour without adversely affecting the acceptability of the product will be a product development. This study therefore studied the chemical composition and organoleptic properties of instant noodles from the blend of wheat and cocoyam starch. Cocoyam starch was substituted into wheat flour at 20, 40, 60 & 80%. Analysis revealed higher carbohydrate (63.50-70.05)%, moisture (4.54-5.07)% and vitamin A (10.01-30.47) mg/100g, B1 (11.43-32.15) mg/100g but lower protein (4.56-8.79)%, phosphorus (0.34-0.52)%, calcium (1.83-0.98)%, iron (0.15-0.32) % and ash (1.19-3.20)%. The composite noodles revealed higher carbohydrate and mineral but lower protein than the commercial noodles. The sensory analysis revealed that 20% cocoyam compared favourably with the commercial noodles in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated. This shows the possibility of producing noodles from cocoyam tubers which serves as novel food. This will further help to promote and improve utilization of cocoyam tuber.

Tea (Black tea and Green tea) are one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. However, with the increasing interest in the health properties of tea and a significant rise in scientific investigation, this review covers some of the recent findings on the health benefits of both green and black tea. The mechanisms of action of various black and green tea components have been presented. Green tea contains a unique set of catechins that responsible for its biological activity potentially relevant to the prevention of diseases. Although there has been much focus on the biological property of the major tea catechins, black tea offers major health benefits either due to the presence of the catechins in epimerized form or some other active components of both varieties of tea. Characteristics unrelated to the antioxidant properties of green and black tea might also be responsible for their therapeutic potential in preventing diseases. Synergistic effect of the tea constituents is increasingly recognized as being potentially important to the medicinal benefits of black and green tea. The studies indicate that tea has the potential of being a part of diet for healthy living.

Earlier in our laboratory, the role of various individual sperm impairing microorganisms on sperm parameters and female infertility has been elucidated at higher doses. As, multiple bacterial species tend to exert more pathogenic effect in comparison to single organism hence, present study was carried out to evaluate that if consortia of these sperm impairing organisms can lead to infertility in female mice at sub fertility dose. For this, impact of individual bacterial strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and consortia of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae was examined on the motility, viability of mouse spermatozoa and fertility outcome. The results showed that the individual bacterial strains of E. coli, S. marcescens and K. pneumoniae could led to immobilization of spermatozoa by agglutination and P. aeruginosa led to immobilization of spermatozoa without agglutination. Also, all of them led to 100% sperm death in 45 min of incubation. In case of consortia of bacterial strains, the results showed sperm agglutination in all the cases and they were able to induce 100% sperm death at 30 min of incubation time. Further, in vivo studies were carried out to evaluate the impact of individual bacterial strains and consortia of bacterial strains on the fertility outcome in female Balb/c mice. For this, female mice were administered intravaginally with 101 cfu/20µl of individual bacterial strains or consortia of strains for 10 consecutive days or PBS. The results showed that both individual bacterial strains and consortia of bacterial strains were able to efficiently colonize the mouse vagina. Further, control group receiving phosphate buffer saline and groups receiving individual bacterial strains showed all the pregnancy related changes viz. abdominal distension, string of pearls on palpation as well as delivery of pups on completion of gestation period and delivery of pups. The histological examination of reproductive organs viz. uterus and ovary, of the female mice receiving PBS or individual bacterial strains showed the formation of corpus luteum in the ovary and the formation of decidua’s in the uterus, indicative of pregnancy. However, mice receiving consortia of bacterial strains did not show any pregnancy related changes throughout the experiment. Thus, these results indicate that the presence of consortia of sperm impairing microorganisms in vaginal milieu is efficient in provoking infertility even at subfertility doses.

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.

Background: Obstetric fistula is a condition that results from obstructed labour, which occurs when the baby cannot pass through the mother’s birth canal because it either does not come head first or is too large for her pelvis. Prompt medical intervention, often including Caesarean section, permits a safe delivery for both mother and child. Despite this possibility, yearly, thousands of women across the country receive no such aid and their labour is a futile agony lasting between three and five days, with uterine contractions constantly forcing the baby, usually head first, against the organs of the pelvic and unyielding pelvic bone resulting in Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF). The main thrust of this study was to examine how health system factors affect health seeking behaviour of women with obstetric fistula in Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi States, Nigeria. Methods: Qualitative and descriptive research approaches were adopted for the study and a total sample of two hundred and sixteen (216) respondents comprising of one hundred and fifty (150) post fistula repair operative patients and sixty six (66) health workers were purposively selected using simple random techniques. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and tables of frequency. Results: The respondents views showed that availability of treatment centre and quality of health care services influenced health seeking behaviour of women with obstetric fistula in Nigeria. Conclusion: The study indicated that health seeking behaviour of women with obstetric fistula is a major challenge in Nigeria. Establishment and proper equipment of obstetric fistula treatment centres as well as subsidization of the cost of treatment to allow women with this health problem to access health care services are strongly recommended. Therefore, government at all level and non-governmental organizations need to educate the women and create awareness on the causes and dangers of VVF.

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.

Objectives: We analyzed the indications of cesarean section (CS) using Robson Ten-Group. Classification Systems (RTGCS) and comparison between private and public health facilities in Addis Abeba hospitals, Ethiopia, 2017. Methods: Facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2017, including 2411 mothers who delivered by CS were classified using the RTGCS. Data were entered into SPSS version 20 for cleaning and analyzing. Binary logistic regression and AOR with 95% CI were used to assess the determinants of the CS. Results: The overall CS rate was 41% (34.8% and 66.8% in public & private respectively, p < .0001). The leading contributors for CS rate in the private were Robson groups 5,1,2,3 whereas in the public 5,1,3,2 on descending order. Robson group 1 (nulliparous, cephalic, term, spontaneous labor) and group 3 [Multiparous (excluding previous cesarean section), singleton, cephalic, ≥ 37 weeks’ gestation& spontaneous labor], the CS rate was over two-fold higher in the private than the public sector. Women in Robson groups 1, 2, 5 & 9 are two and more times higher for the absolute contribution of CS in private than public. The top medical indications of CS were non-reassuring fetal status (NRFS, 39.1%) and repeat CS for previous CS scars (39.4%) in public and private respectively. Mothers who delivered by CS in private with history of previous CS scar (AOR 2.9, 95% CI 1.4-6.2), clinical indications of maternal request (AOR 7.7, 95% CI 2.1-27.98) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (AOR 4.2, 95% CI 1.6-10.7), induced labor (AOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.4-4.6) and pre-labored (AOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6-3.0) were more likely to undergo CS than in public hospital. Conclusion: The prevalence of CS was found to be high, and was significantly higher in private hospitals than in a public hospital. Having CS scar [having previous CS scar, Robson group 5(Previous CS, singleton, cephalic, ≥ 37 weeks’ gestation) and an indication of repeat CS for previous CS scar] is the likely factor that increased the CS rate in private when compared within the public hospital. Recommendation: It is important that efforts to reduce the overall CS rate should focus on reducing the primary CS, encouraging vaginal birth after CS (VBAC). Policies should be directed at the private sector where CS indication seems not to be driven by medical reasons solely. 

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) considered as one of the major viral diseases threatening the poultry industry worldwide. The causative agent of the IBD is Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) which replicates in developing B lymphocytes in the bursa of Fabricius leading to its destruction and bursal inflammation. In this study, we investigated a technology to produce therapeutic recombinant antibodies against IBDV in bacteria by constructing a bacterial displayed recombinant scFv library from immunized chickens, followed by screening the scFv library by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) with FITC-labeled VP2. Twelve VP2-binding scFv clones with unique sequences were obtained, with overall amino acid homology of 81.53%. The complementarity determining region (CDR) 3 in the heavy chain displayed the lowest homology, while the amino acid sequences in framework regions and CDR2 of both chains and CDR1 of the heavy chain are relatively conserved. Twelve VP2-binding scFv clones were expressed in E.coli and purified through denaturation and denaturation of inclusion bodies. Our ELISA results showed that all scFvs exhibited binding ability and specificity to VP2 and various IBDV strains. In addition, two scFvs showed significant neutralizing activity to IBDV (B-87 strain) as these scFvs inhibited cytopathic effect of chicken embryo fibroblast (DF1) caused by IBDV. In conclusion, our study provides a lead candidate for further development of therapeutic antibodies for IBDV infection.

Mesoporous graphitic carbon nitrides (mpg-CN) were synthesized by a templating method using Ludox (SiO2) as hard template and guanidine hydrochloride (GndCl) as precursor, and were used as metal-free photocatalysts for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) degradation in aqueous solution. By tuning the mass ratio of SiO2 to GndCl, mpg-CN with varied surface areas and condensation degrees were obtained. Catalytic results showed that sample prepared at mass ratio equals 0.4, i.e., mpg-CN(0.4), exhibits the best activity, with above 98% MC-LR conversion obtained at 120 min. Mechanism studies suggested that the reaction obeys the pseudo first-order equation and the produced superoxide anion radicals (•O2−) is the major reactive intermediates contributing to the reaction. Stability tests showed that no appreciable loss of activity is observed even the catalyst is recycled for five times, indicating that the material is stable in the reaction.

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.

In the current study, combinatorial therapeutic approaches to DNA/RNA of human cancer cells and Benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G), Fluoxetine Hydrochloride (Prozac and Sarafem), Propofol (Diprivan), Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA) (Aspirin), Naproxen Sodium (Aleve and Naprosyn) and Dextromethamphetamine nanocapsules with surface conjugated DNA/RNA of human cancer cells to targeted Nano drugs for enhanced anti-cancer efficacy and targeted cancer therapy using Nano drugs delivery systems were investigated.

Red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunization can be a life-threatening complication for patients with thalassemia major and sickle cell disease (SCD) who must receive chronic therapeutic transfusions. Chronic transfusions can lead to erythrocyte alloimmunization, patients continue to develop alloantibodies due to the transference of the immunogenic antigens on the donor RBCs. Many complications are possible. Difficulty in finding compatible match units for the patients can cause transfusion delays delayed, or present alternative risks to the patients from delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions. This review discusses the possible mechanisms, risk factors associated with alloimmunization formation and the hemolytic transfusion reactions and also describe the guideline for transfusion management of these patients, including opportunities and emerging approaches for minimizing this life-threatening complication.

Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and tau protein deposits in the human brain are the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Tau is a class of proteins that are abundant in nerve cells and perform the function of stabilizing microtubules. However, in certain pathological situations, Tau proteins become defective and fail to adequately stabilize microtubules, which can result in the generation of abnormal masses that are toxic to neurons. This process occurs in a number of neurological disorders collectively known as Tauopathies. Tau protein is the major factor of the intracellular filamentous deposits that relate to a number of neurodegenerative diseases which includes the progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Pick’s disease, and Parkinsonism. The identification of mutations in Tau established that dysfunction or misregulation of tau protein is sufficient to cause dementia and neurodegeneration. In this review article, we discussed the etiology of the tau formation and role in AD and subsequently therapeutic approach for disassembling and Tau inhibition.

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.

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.

Primary sources document Dr. Saul Hertz (1905 - 1950) as conceiving and developing radioiodine (RAI) as a diagnostic tool and as a therapy for thyroid diseases. Dr. Hertz was the first and foremost person to develop the experimental data on RAI and apply it to the clinical setting. Saul Hertz was born on April 20,1905 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. He received his A.B. from the University of Michigan in 1925 with Phi Beta Kappa honors. After graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1929, at a time of quotas for outsiders, he fulfilled his internship and residency at Cleveland’s Mt. Sinai Hospital. In 1931, he came back to Boston to join the newly formed Thyroid Unit at The Massachusetts General Hospital serving as the Chief from 1931 - 1943.