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Biomedical subjects

A Ali

Publications and source records attributed to A Ali.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Self-esteem as a predictor of attitudes toward wife abuse among Muslim women and men in Canada.

This study was designed (a) to assess attitudes toward wife abuse in a sample of Muslim women and men in Canada and (b) to assess whether those attitudes were influenced by self-esteem. Results suggested that, as in general North American samples, the Muslim women and men did not differ from each other on levels of self-esteem. Also consistent with general North American samples, the Muslim women's and men's attitudes toward wife abuse were related to their self-esteem, with higher self-esteem scores predicting stronger attitudes against wife abuse, independent of gender. However, the results also revealed that the Muslim men had significantly more lenient attitudes toward wife abuse compared with the Muslim women and with North American norms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Characterization and fat migration of palm kernel stearin as affected by addition of desiccated coconut used as base filling centre in dark chocolate.

The characterization and fat migration of palm kernel stearin (PKS) and desiccated coconut, used as base filling centre in dark chocolate were studied. C36 and C38 triglycerides of PKS decreased by 11% and 9.6% respectively, whereas C32 and C34 increased by 97% and 48% respectively. The change in the triglycerides composition of PKS shift the melting point of PKS from 33.2 to 31.4 degrees C. Solid fat content (SFC) of PK reduced by 40% at 30 degrees C. The rate of fat migration was very slow at 18 degrees C storage compared to 30 degrees C. The rate of change of C36 in the chocolate layer was 0.1% week-1 and 1.2% week-1 at 18 and 30 degrees C respectively. Chocolate stored at 18 degrees C showed post hardening during storage period and withstood bloom during the storage period, whereas that stored at 30 degrees C became soft and bloomed faster after 3 weeks of storage.

Cacao↗
PubMed2001

Laparoscopic cryoablation of a metastatic carcinoid tumor.

Carcinoid tumors are rare, slow-growing neuroendocrine neoplasms that can cause a carcinoid syndrome. The majority of carcinoid syndromes are the result of multiple hepatic metastases and are usually unresectable. Medical therapy has not proven effective and often causes intolerable side effects. Cryoablation has emerged as a promising treatment for various hepatic lesions when resection is not an option and medical therapy has been exhausted. With the addition of laparoscopy, surgeons now possess a new technique to treat primary and various secondary liver lesions. We report for the first time laparoscopic cryoablation for the treatment of a carcinoid metastatic to the liver.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Pelvic metastases from pancreatic carcinoma: a pattern observed on bone scan.

Metastases to the bony pelvis is an unusual pattern of the spread of primary pancreatic tumors. The authors report the presence of metastatic disease in the bony pelvis observed on bone scans in several patients who had been treated recently for pancreatic carcinoma. When bone scans that show metastatic disease in the pelvis are evaluated in patients with unknown primaries, the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma should be considered.

Bone Neoplasms↗
PubMed2001

Radiological impact on the workers, members of the public, and environment from the partial decommissioning of Pakistan Research Reactor-I and its associated radioactive residues.

The Pakistan Research Reactor-I (PARR-I) is a swimming pool type research reactor originally designed and built for a thermal power of 5 MW using High Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel. In 1990-1991 the reactor was redesigned, partially decommissioned and recommissioned to operate with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel at a thermal power of 10 MW. An essential requirement, construction and commissioning of a wet spent fuel storage bay and fabrication of an irradiated fuel transfer cask were completed before actual dismantling of the reactor core. During the partial decommissioning operations, radioactive waste generated included 600 m3 low-level liquid radioactive waste and 14 m3 of solid radioactive waste with an average specific activity of 4.52 Bq ml(-1) and 2.22 kBq g(-1), respectively. External radiation doses of the workers were determined using TLD (NG 6,7) and direct reading dosimeters. The maximum individual external radiation dose received by any worker during this practice was 5 mSv, which was 25% of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv. Detection and measurement of internal contamination was carried out using bioassay techniques. During the whole operation, not a single case of internal contamination was detected. The ambient radiation levels around waste seepage pits are periodically monitored using TLD (G-2 cards) and G. M. radiation survey meters. Underground migration of radioactivity is checked by analyzing seepage water samples taken from boreholes that have been dug at different locations in the vicinity of the radioactive residues. The monitoring around disposal sites containing radioactive residues has been continued during the last 9 y and will be continued in the future. So far, no rise in the environmental gamma radiation dose level and migration of underground radionuclides has been found in the vicinity of these disposal sites. Working personal during the decommissioning of PARR-I have been found to be radiologically safe. Adherence to the ALARA principle, sound decommissioning and proper radioactive waste disposal procedures helped to protect the working personnel, members of the public, and the environment from the harmful effects of the ionizing radiations present due to the partial decommissioning of the research reactor and its radioactive residues. Experience gained during this work, along with the current international procedures, will be helpful for full restoration of the environment from radioactive residues likely to be generated in the future from any other practices in Pakistan.

Body Burden↗
PubMed2001

Indirect allorecognition in acquired thymic tolerance: induction of donor-specific permanent acceptance of rat islets by adoptive transfer of allopeptide-pulsed host myeloid and thymic dendritic cells.

Pancreatic islet transplantation remains a promising approach to the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Unfortunately, graft failure continues to occur because of immunologic rejection, despite the use of potent immunosuppressive agents. It is therefore reasoned that induction of peripheral tolerance by the use of self-dendritic cells (DCs) as a vehicle to deliver specific target antigens to self-T-cells without ex vivo manipulation of the recipient is an attractive strategy in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The finding that intrathymic inoculation of an immunodominant WF major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I (RT1.A(u)) peptide five (P5) or P5-pulsed host myeloid DCs induces acquired thymic tolerance raises the possibility that adoptive transfer of allopeptide-primed host myeloid or lymphoid DCs might induce transplant tolerance. To address this hypothesis, we studied the effects of intravenous transfer of in vitro P5-pulsed syngeneic myeloid DCs or in vivo P5-primed syngeneic lymphoid (thymic) DCs on islet survival in the WF-to-ACI rat combination. In vivo primed thymic DCs isolated from ACI rats given intrathymic inoculation of P5 for 2 days were capable of in vitro restimulation of in vivo P5-primed T-cells (memory cells). In the first series of studies, we showed that intravenous-like intrathymic-inoculation of in vitro P5-pulsed host myeloid DCs induced donor-specific permanent acceptance of islets in recipients transiently immunosuppressed with antilymphocyte serum (ALS). We next examined whether thymic DCs isolated from animals that had been previously intrathymically inoculated with P5 could induce T-cell tolerance. The results showed that intravenous adoptive transfer of in vivo P5-primed thymic DCs led to donor-specific permanent acceptance of islets in recipients transiently immunosuppressed with ALS. This finding suggested that the thymic DCs take up and present P5 to developing T-cells to induce T-cell tolerance, thus providing evidence of a direct link between indirect allorecognition and acquired thymic tolerance. The second series of studies examined the mechanisms involved in this model by exploring whether in vivo generation of peptide-specific alloreactive peripheral T-cells by intravenous inoculation of P5-pulsed self-DCs was responsible for the induction of T-cell tolerance. Intrathymic inoculation of splenic T-cells obtained from syngeneic ACI rats primed with intravenous injection of P5-pulsed DCs with a high in vitro proliferative response to P5 in the context of self-MHC induced donor-specific permanent acceptance of islets from WF donors. In addition, the clinically relevant model of intravenous injection of P5-activated T-cells combined with transient ALS immunosuppression similarly induced transplant tolerance, which was then abrogated by thymectomy of the recipient before intravenous injection of the activated T-cells. These data raise the possibility that circulation of peptide-activated T-cells to the host thymus plays a role in the induction and possibly the maintenance of T-cell tolerance in this model. Our findings suggest that intravenous administration of genetically engineered host DCs expressing alloMHC peptides might have therapeutic potential in clinical islet transplantation for the treatment of autoimmune diabetes.

Adoptive Transfer↗
PubMed2001

Electrocardiographic findings in Ethiopians on pentavalent antimony therapy for visceral leishmaniasis.

BACKGROUND: The old short course regimens of pentavalent antimonial (sb(v)) therapy of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have largely been abandoned worldwide as they are associated with increasing problems of relapse and unresponsiveness. In Ethiopia, some hospitals still use the old interrupted and short course regimen partly because of fear of drug toxicity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of the WHO recommended uninterrupted therapy at a dose of 20 mg sb(v)/kg for up to thirty days. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Patients were recruited from Addis Ababa hospitals and from Konso VL endemic area in southern Ethiopia. SUBJECTS: Forty nine patients who included, ten HIV-positive and 39 HIV-negative, were enrolled for the study. RESULTS: Twenty three HIV-negative patients got treatment for 20 days and the rest, 16 HIV-negative and 10 HIV-positive, were treated for 28 to 30 days. Among HIV-seronegatives, the mean QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc) at the end of therapy in patients treated for 20 days and 28-30 days was comparable (0.419 +/- 0.031 seconds versus 0.424 +/- 0.027 seconds, respectively). Among patients treated for 28-30 days, the mean QTc in HIV co-infected patients was comparable to that of HIV-negatives (0.416 +/- 0.018 seconds versus 0.424 +/- 0.027). Comparable rates of new ECG changes involving the T waves were observed in two HIV-positive (20%) and two HIV-negative (12.5%) patients treated for 28-30 days, and in seven (30.4%) HIV-negative patients treated for 20 days. Overall, only two (4.1%) patients (all HIV-negative males) had QTc interval > or = 0.50 seconds at the end of therapy. In one patient, the prolonged QTc was noted on the twentieth day with bradycardia of 44/minute. CONCLUSIONS: In Ethiopian VL patients with normal renal function, sb(v) therapy at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg for up to 30 days is safe and only rarely associated with clinically significant bradycardia which resolves after temporary cessation of therapy. Furthermore, in areas with limited facilities, monitoring the pulse rate during antimonial therapy may help detect impending cardiotoxicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Laparoscopic myotomy: technique and efficacy in treating achalasia.

Esophageal Heller myotomy and a partial antireflux procedure for achalasia are the ideal procedures to benefit from the advances in minimally invasive surgery. The magnified view of the operative field provided by the laparoscope allows precise division of the esophageal muscle fibers with excellent results. Laparoscopic Heller myotomy results in reduced postoperative pain, less morbidity, shorter hospitalization, better resolution of dysphagia, and less postoperative heartburn when compared with the open abdominal and even the thoracoscopic approach. A longer myotomy especially at the distal end, and a loose, well-formed partial fundoplication are the keys to a successful outcome. Superior long-term results after surgical myotomy when compared with nonsurgical interventions argue strongly in favor of surgery in any patient who is fit enough to undergo general anesthesia.

Deglutition Disorders↗
PubMed2001

Solitary plasmacytoma of the mesentery with nodular amyloid deposits: a case report with immunohistochemical evaluation.

The mesentery is unusual site for plasmacytoma. We have observed a solitary primary mesenteric plasmacytoma with marked nodular deposits of Congophilic amyloid in a 38 year-old man. We believe the present case represents the first case of primary extraosseous mesenteric plasmacytoma in the English literature. The clinical picture, pathologic findings and immuno-histochemical studies are discussed. Autopsy and long-term follow up are needed to determine whether this patient is at risk of developing multiple myeloma, local recurrence, metastatic foci or probable complications related to amyloidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Reliability and validity of a structured interview guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (SIGH-A).

The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, a widely used clinical interview assessment tool, lacks instructions for administration and clear anchor points for the assignment of severity ratings. We developed a Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (SIGH-A) and report on a study comparing this version to the traditional form of this scale. Experienced interviewers from three Anxiety Disorders research sites conducted videotaped interviews using both traditional and structured instruments in 89 participants. A subset of the tapes was co-rated by all raters. Participants completed self-report symptom questionnaires. We observed high inter-rater and test-retest reliability using both formats. The structured format produced similar but consistently higher (+ 4.2) scores. Correlation with a self-report measure of overall anxiety was also high and virtually identical for the two versions. We conclude that in settings where extensive training is not practical, the structured scale is an acceptable alternative to the traditional Hamilton Anxiety instrument.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed2001

Test-retest reliability of the soleus H-reflex in three different positions.

PURPOSE: H-reflex has been clinically useful in the diagnosis of radiculopathies, developmental disorders, and measurement of motoneuron excitability. However, variability of the H-reflex precluded its routine application. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the test-retest and within-subject reliability of the soleus H-reflex tested in three different positions. SUBJECTS: Seven men and eight women healthy volunteered (20-50 y) with no history of significant low back pain or radiculopathy consented to the study. METHODS: The soleus H-reflexes for both lower extremities were elicited and recorded using Cadwell 5200-A EMG unit and surface recording. The tibial nerve was electrically stimulated at the popliteal fossa using 0-5 ms., 0.2 pps pulses at intensity equivalent to H-max. Each subject was tested randomly in three different positions: pronelying, free standing, and standing while lifting 20% of his/her body weight. Signal were amplified (1-5 K) using surface electrodes applied on the soleus muscle at midline and 3 cm below the gastrocnemius musculotendinous junction. The peak-to-peak amplitude and onset latencies of four separate traces were averaged for each trial. Subjects were re-tested within 10 days by the same tester following the same protocol. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability of the H-reflex amplitude ranged from r = .29 in prone position to r = .56 in the loading position. Within day reliability of the H-amplitude was high between the three different positions and ranged from r = .56 to r = .97. The test-retest reliability of the H-latency were extremely high and robust, with the coefficients ranged from r = .92 to r = .94. Also the within day reliability of the H-latency ranged from r = .96 to r = .99. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated that, when the H-amplitude is the measure of choice, testing the H-reflex in standing and loading positions is more reliable than testing in pronelying. Also testing the subject during various procedures in the same session is more reliable than testing subject in different days/sessions. The H-latency is highly reliable in all three testing positions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Variations of the hepatic and cystic arteries among Ethiopians.

The anatomy of the hepatic and cystic arteries were investigated in 110 postmortem and cadaveric subjects. The right hepatic artery took origin from the proper hepatic artery (66.3%), the common hepatic artery (18.2%), the superior mesenteric artery (8.2%) or the celiac trunk (7.3%). Ten cases of accessory right hepatic artery originating from the superior mesenteric artery (7 cases), gastroduodenal artery (2 cases) or the left hepatic artery (1 case) were observed. The origin of the left hepatic artery included the proper hepatic artery (71.8%), the common hepatic artery (16.4%), the celiac trunk (10.9%) and the splenic artery (0.9%). The 14 cases of accessory left hepatic arteries originated from the common hepatic artery (5 cases), right hepatic artery (3 cases), gastroduodenal artery (2 cases) or the celiac trunk (4 cases). An extrahepatic branch to the quadrate lobe of the liver, also known as the middle hepatic artery, was observed in 47.3% arising mainly from the right or left hepatic arteries (20% each), the superior mesenteric artery (2.7%) and from the gastroduodenal artery (4.6%). The cystic artery mainly arose from the right hepatic artery (75.5%) but also took origin from the middle hepatic artery (12.7%), gastroduodenal artery (7.3%) or the left hepatic artery (4.5%). When the cystic artery is to the left of the common hepatic artery at its origin (39.1%), it crossed from left to right anterior to the common hepatic duct (28.2%) or posterior to the duct (10.9%). Irrespective of its relationship with the common hepatic duct, the cystic artery passed in the triangle of Calot in 89 cases. There were 11 accessory cystic arteries arising from the right hepatic (6 cases), the middle hepatic (3 cases) or the left hepatic arteries (2 cases). Arterial variations seen in the present study were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that reported in the literature. This was mainly due to the variations seen in origin of the right hepatic artery in the female subjects which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the male subjects. The significance of this finding needs further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

A concomitant occurrence of esophageal and cervical carcinoma in a sixty year old female patient from Bale Zone of Oromia Regional State, a case report with literature review.

Oesophageal carcinoma usually presents with difficulty of swallowing initially for solid food materials later even for liquid diets. Cervical carcinoma presents with pain and bleeding per vaginum during intercourse (sexual contact). We report a concomitant occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus and cervix in a 60 years old female patient from Bale Zone of Oromia Regional State, who initially presented with vaginal bleeding of 2 years duration and later with difficulty of swallowing of 9 months duration. To our knowledge this is the first report of a concomitant occurrence of esophageal and cervical carcinoma in Ethiopia.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed2001

Planar imaging versus gated blood-pool SPECT for the assessment of ventricular performance: a multicenter study.

UNLABELLED: Gated blood-pool SPECT (GBPS), inherently 3-dimensional (3D), has the potential to replace planar equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA) for computation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), analysis of regional wall motion (RWM), and analysis of right heart function. The purpose of this study was to compare GBPS and ERNA for the assessment of ventricular function in a large, multicenter cohort of patients. METHODS: One hundred seventy-eight patients referred in the usual manner for nuclear medicine studies underwent ERNA followed by GBPS. Each clinical site followed a GBPS acquisition protocol that included 180 degrees rotation, a 64 by 64 matrix, and 64 or 32 views using single- or double-head cameras. Transverse GBPS images were reconstructed with a Butterworth filter (cutoff frequency, 0.45-0.55 Nyquist; order, 7), and short-axis images were created. All GBPS studies were processed with a new GBPS program, and LVEF was computed from the isolated left ventricular chamber and compared with standard ERNA LVEF. Reproducibility of GBPS LVEF was evaluated, and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was computed in a subset of patients (n = 33). Using GBPS, RWM and image quality from 3D surface-shaded and volume-rendered cine displays were evaluated qualitatively in a subset of patients (n = 30). RESULTS: The correlation between GBPS LVEF and planar LVEF was excellent (r = 0.92). Mean LVEF was 62.2% for GBPS and 54.1% for ERNA. The line of linear regression was GBPS LVEF = (1.04 x ERNA LVEF) + 6.1. Bland-Altman plotting revealed an increasing bias in GBPS LVEF with increasing LVEF (Y = 0.13x + 0.61; r = 0.30; mean difference = 8.1% +/- 7.0%). Interoperator reproducibility of GBPS LVEF was good (r = 0.92). RVEF values averaged 59.8%. RWM assessment using 3D cine display was enhanced in 27% of the studies, equivalent in 67%, and inferior in 7%. CONCLUSION: GBPS LVEF was reproducible and correlated well with planar ERNA. GBPS LVEF values were somewhat higher than planar ERNA, likely because of the exclusion of the left atrium.

Gated Blood-Pool Imaging↗
PubMed2001

Induction of transplant tolerance with immunodominant allopeptide-pulsed host lymphoid and myeloid dendritic cells.

We have studied the effects of adoptive transfer of host thymic dendritic cells pulsed with immunodominant WF Class I peptide 5 (residues 93-109) on cardiac allograft survival in the WF-to-ACI rat combination. Our results showed that, whereas intrathymic inoculation of WF peptide 5-pulsed ACI thymic dendritic cells alone on day -7 did not prolong graft survival, similar treatment combined with 0.5 mL antilymphocyte serum (ALS) led to 100% permanent acceptance (> 200d) of donor-specific cardiac allografts. Extension of our study to systemic administration of peptide 5-pulsed host thymic dendritic cells confirmed that intravenous injection of peptide 5-pulsed self thymic dendritic cells combined with ALS transient immunosuppression resulted in 100% permanent donor-specific graft survival (> 200d). These results were reproducible in a clinically relevant model using intravenous injection of peptide-pulsed host myeloid dendritic cells. In contrast, thymectomy prior to adoptive transfer of peptide-pulsed host dendritic cells resulted in acute graft rejection at times equivalent to rejection in thymectomized controls. The long-term unresponsive recipients challenged with second-set grafts accepted permanently (> 100d) donor-type (WF) but not third party (Lewis) cardiac allografts. This study suggests that intravenous administration of genetically engineered dendritic cells expressing donor MHC molecules has the potential of inducing transplant tolerance.

Adoptive Transfer↗