An Innovative 3D-Printed Insert Designed to Enable Straightforward 2D and 3D Cell Cultures.

The classical analyses of indirect communication between different cell types necessitate the use of conditioned media. Moreover, the production of conditioned media remains time-consuming and far from physiological and pathological conditions. Although a few models of co-culture are commercially available, they remain restricted to specific assays and are mostly for two types of cells.

Regulation of stem cell fate by HSPGs: implication in hair follicle cycling.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are part of proteoglycan family. They are composed of heparan sulfate (HS)-type glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains covalently linked to a core protein. By interacting with growth factors and/or receptors, they regulate numerous pathways including Wnt, hedgehog (Hh), bone morphogenic protein (BMP) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathways.

Perceived barriers to seeking cancer care in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Several factors might contribute to the delay to get cancer care including poor cancer awareness and having barriers to seeking help. This study described these barriers in Gaza and their association with recalling and recognizing cancer symptoms and risk factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gaza.

Knowledge level of cancer symptoms and risk factors in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In low-income settings, cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages due to late presentation. Good public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms has a positive impact on the time patients take before they present to healthcare professionals. Therefore, this study examined public knowledge of cancer signs and symptoms as well as risk factors in Gaza.

Influence of time and different tooth widths on masticatory efficiency and muscular activity in bilateral free-end saddles.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of time on masticatory efficiency and muscular activity during mastication of different types of test foods in participants fitted with a lower bilateral free-end saddle removable partial denture (RPD) with wide or narrow teeth.

Methods: Thirty-six participants consented to undergo evaluation of their masticatory efficiency and recording of their muscular activity, while they wore an RPD with a unified bilateral design, during mastication of different types of test foods. The width of the artificial teeth was changed as follows.

Effect of clasp design on retention at different intervals using different abutment materials and in a simulated oral condition.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the retention of circlet (E) clasps and back-action clasps against three abutment surface materials during long-term simulation of attachment and detachment.

Material And Methods: Forty-eight test models were constructed by placing premolars (natural abutments or metal dies) inside metal blocks to test different abutment retention surface materials (sound enamel, composite resin, and glass-ceramic; 16 each). The models were duplicated into investment models for construction of circlet (E) and back-action clasps.

Effects of long-term simulated RPD clasp attachment/detachment on retention loss and wear for two clasp types and three abutment material surfaces.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the loss of retention and wear of two clasp types (E-circlet, back action) against three abutment materials (enamel, composite, CAD/CAM ceramic) after 16,000 simulated cycles of attachment-detachment.

Materials And Methods: Forty-eight models were constructed by placing either an upper first premolar or a metal die inside a metal rectangular block. Models were divided according to the abutment teeth into three groups.

Addison's disease due to Histoplasma duboisii infection of the adrenal glands.

Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum. In the normal individual, both disseminated histoplasmosis and symptomatic adrenal histoplasmosis are rare. Herein, we describe the case of a 50-year-old gentleman residing in western Sudan who presented with a 7-month history of generalized body weakness, easy fatigue, and frequent attacks of vomiting and diarrhea.

A randomized open-label trial of artesunate- sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine with or without primaquine for elimination of sub-microscopic P. falciparum parasitaemia and gametocyte carriage in eastern Sudan.

Background: In areas of seasonal malaria transmission, treatment of asymptomatic carriers of malaria parasites, whose parasitaemia persists at low densities throughout the dry season, could be a useful strategy for malaria control. We carried out a randomized trial to compare two drug regimens for clearance of parasitaemia in order to identify the optimum regimen for use in mass drug administration in the dry season.

Methodology And Principal Findings: A two-arm open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted during the dry season in an area of distinct seasonal malaria in two villages in Gedarif State in eastern Sudan.

Schistosomal colitis without granuloma formation in a kidney transplant recipient.

Background: A 40-year-old male from the White Nile region in Sudan, who had received a kidney transplant 6 years previously, presented with fever, lower abdominal pain and diarrhea stained with blood of 5 months duration. He was on immunosuppressive maintenance therapy, consisting of ciclosporin 75 mg twice daily, prednisolone 10 mg once daily, and azathioprine 75 mg once daily.

Investigations: Laboratory investigations, liver function tests, renal function tests, stool microscopy, stool culture, abdominal ultrasound, and colonoscopy.

Changing antibiotics prescribing practices in health centers of Khartoum State, Sudan.

Objective: A major problem with inappropriate use of antibiotics is the emergence of resistance. Thus, cost-effective interventional strategies are required to improve their use. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of multifaceted interventions on prescribing practices of antibiotics in health centers of Khartoum State, Sudan.

Clinical pattern of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Sudan in an area characterized by seasonal and unstable malaria transmission.

A hospital-based study was carried out in Gedarif town, eastern Sudan, an area of markedly unstable malaria transmission. Among the 2488 diagnosed malaria patients, 4.4% fulfilled the WHO criteria for severe malaria, and seven died of cerebral malaria.

Pharmacokinetics of artesunate following oral and rectal administration in healthy Sudanese volunteers.

The aims of this study were to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of a single dose of 200 mg oral and rectal artesunate in healthy volunteers, and to suggest a rational dosage regimen for rectal administration. The study design was a randomized open cross-over study of 12 healthy volunteers; the analytical method used was a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with post column derivatization and subsequent ultraviolet detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from the main metabolite alpha-dihydroartemisinin data due to the rapid disappearance of artesunate from the plasma.

Symptoms in patients attending services for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in Sudan.

Objective: To describe the variation in clinical features of individuals presenting to a health facility with chest symptoms according to their ultimate diagnosis.

Methods: Of 16735 patients (52.6% males and 47.

The effect of decentralisation on tuberculosis services in three states of Sudan.

Setting: Referral hospitals and primary health care (PHC) facilities in Khartoum, Red Sea and Gadaref States.

Objectives: To measure the effect of the decentralisation of the tuberculosis (TB) services on the clinical profile and treatment outcome of tuberculosis.

Design: A cohort study of case detection and treatment outcome using information routinely collected comparing patients attending PHC facilities and referral hospitals in selected locations in Sudan.

Descriptive study on the efficacy and safety of artesunate suppository in combination with other antimalarials in the treatment of severe malaria in Sudan.

Documentation on the efficacy of artesunate in Africa is limited, and no experience of artesunate use in Sudan is documented. Severe malaria in rural areas of Sudan, where facilities for the safe and effective use of parenteral quinine are lacking, is a frequent problem. Early treatment with artesunate suppositories would provide a simple method for use by unskilled staff and would be an alternative approach to treat malaria in settings with poor resources.

Immune responses directed against microfilariae correlate with severity of clinical onchodermatitis and treatment history.

The induction of pathological changes in Onchocerca volvulus infections is directly related to the presence of the microfilarial stage of this filarial nematode. Patients with either of the 2 major forms of the clinical disease (i.e.

Treatment results of DOTS in 1797 Sudanese tuberculosis patients with or without HIV co-infection.

Setting: Consecutive new tuberculosis (TB) patients, from eight states in Sudan, who had never been previously treated for as much as 1 month between 1998 and 2000.

Objective: To determine the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection on tuberculosis treatment outcome.

Design: All patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis underwent sputum microscopy for acid-fast bacilli (AFB).

Immunocompetence may be important in the effectiveness of Mectizan (ivermectin) in the treatment of human onchocerciasis.

Mectizan (Ivermectin) has been proved to be central to the control of onchoceriasis through self-sustainable community-based treatment. The possibility of parasitological unresponsiveness to this treatment or selection for drug resistance has emerged recently in many occasions. The reason for the reduced ability of Mectizan to maintain low levels of dermal microfilariae and early recurrent pruritus can only be speculated upon.

Effects of single-dose praziquantel on morbidity and mortality resulting from intestinal schistosomiasis.

The long-term effect of single-dose praziquantel on morbidity and mortality from Schistosoma mansoni was investigated in surveys in 1987 and 1994 in central Sudan. Prevalence of infection dropped from 53% to 34%, and intensity of infection (> or = 400 eggs/g of faeces) from 31% to 18%. There was a reduction in hepatomegaly and hepatosplenomegaly, although splenomegaly alone was unchanged.

Relation of grading of sputum smears with clinical features of tuberculosis patients in routine practice in Sudan.

Setting: Health services in Khartoum, Red Sea, Gadarif, Kassala, Bahr el Jebel, Gezira and North Kordofan States of Sudan.

Objective: To investigate the association of presenting symptoms and clinical history with grade of sputum smear positivity in tuberculosis patients.

Methods: The 5338 tuberculosis suspects aged 15 to 49 years who consulted between March 1998 and March 1999 underwent sputum smear microscopy, with smears graded by a standardised method.

Onchocerca volvulus: genetic diversity of parasite isolates from Sudan.

Onchocerciasis in Sudan exists in three distinct foci which exhibit differing clinical presentations. Previous studies have demonstrated that a tandemly repeated Onchocerca sequence family with a unit repeat length of 150 bp (the O-150 family) is a useful marker for deducing relationships among different O. volvulus populations.

Cytotaxonomic and molecular analysis of Simulium (Edwardsellum) damnosum sensu lato (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Abu Hamed, Sudan.

The northernmost focus for Onchocerca volvulus Leuckhart (Nematoda: Onchocercidae), the causative agent of human onchocerciasis, is found along the Nile near the town of Abu Hamed in Sudan. The vector for O. volvulus at this focus is a single monomorphic population of Simulium (Edwardsellum) damnosum Theobald.

Tuberculosis control in Sudan against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Setting: Sudan, Africa's largest and one of its poorest countries, in which civil disturbance, resource limitation and communications difficulties are substantial impediments to delivery of health services.

Objectives: To 1) illustrate the burden of tuberculosis; 2) review measures taken to control the disease; 3) outline the introduction of the DOTS strategy; and 4) demonstrate the trend in the output of the DOTS strategy.

Methods: Published information on general health, tuberculosis and health structure provide the setting.

A study of the urban malaria transmission problem in Khartoum.

A study of malaria prevalence and transmission was carried out in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The sentinel sites were El manshia, an urban area on the Blue Nile and Ed dekheinat, a lower-income peri-urban area bordering the White Nile. Anopheles arabiensis, the only malaria vector encountered, was present throughout the year although vector density varied seasonally.