Allergenic Dermatophagoides mites causing asthma among schoolchildren at Ain-Shams District, Cairo, Egypt.

The present study was performed on house dust samples collected from ten homes of schoolchildren suffering from asthma at Ain-Shams district, over a period of two years (2008 & 2009). The data revealed that the total annual density of the two allergenic mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trouessart) & Dermatophagoides farinae (Hughes) was 202 individual mites with 22 asthmatic children in the first year, and individual mites increased to 268 with 36 asthmatic children in the second year. The two house dust mites were more abundant in bedrooms than in living ones (292 & 187 mites, respectively).

Resistance to first-line tuberculosis drugs in three cities of Nigeria.

Objectives: To determine the levels of resistance to first-line tuberculosis drugs in three cities in three geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

Methods: A total of 527 smear-positive sputum samples from Abuja, Ibadan and Nnewi were cultured on BACTEC- MGIT 960. Drug susceptibility tests (DST) for streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol were performed on 428 culture-positive samples on BACTEC-MGIT960.

Obstetric vesico-vaginal fistula repair: should we trim the fistula edges? A randomized prospective study.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that not trimming the edges of the vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) during its surgical repair has an advantage in the outcome as compared to the classical teaching of trimming the fistula.

Methodology: Sixty-four females with obstetric VVF were randomized into two groups. Both groups were treated with vaginal anatomical closure in three layers with Martius flap inter-positioning.

Fatal Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-infection in a patient with multiple myeloma.

Strongyloides stercoralis (S.S.) is a human intestinal parasite, which may lead to complicated strongyloidiasis.

Clinico-pathological profile of acute promyelocytic leukaemia at Al-Amal Oncology-Haematology Centre, Qatar.

This cases series describes the profile of adult patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APt) at a referral hospital in Qatar. Of 34 acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cases diagnosed, 11(32%) were classified as APt. Disseminated intravascular coagulation was common at presentation (91%).

Acquired pure megakaryocytic aplasia successfully treated with cyclosporine.

Acquired pure megakaryocytic aplasia is a rare hematological disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia with absent or markedly reduced megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. We report a case of a 25-year-old male diagnosed as acquired pure megakaryocytic aplasia. Treatment with prednisone and intravenous immunoglobulin failed, but he was successfully treated with cyclosporine, with complete remission after 90 days and normal platelet count maintained thereafter.

Randomized controlled trial of zinc and vitamin A as co-adjuvants for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of weekly zinc or zinc plus retinol as adjuncts for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Methods:   Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 350 patients >15 years old with smear-positive tuberculosis in Nigeria (ISRCTN36636609). In addition to antituberculous treatment, patients were randomly allocated to weekly supplements of zinc (90 mg), zinc plus retinol (5000 IU) or placebos for 6 months.

Two Ocular Infections during Conventional Chemotherapy in a Patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case Report.

Viral retinitis due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is rare in patients with acute leukemia who did not receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We report a case of CMV retinitis that developed in a 49-year-old patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patient was treated with salvage chemotherapy using a hyper-CVAD regimen and did not receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Stochastic analysis of concentration field in a wake region.

Introduction: Identifying geographic locations in urban areas from which air pollutants enter the atmosphere is one of the most important information needed to develop effective mitigation strategies for pollution control.

Materials And Methods: Stochastic analysis is a powerful tool that can be used for estimating concentration fluctuation in plume dispersion in a wake region around buildings. Only few studies have been devoted to evaluate applications of stochastic analysis to pollutant dispersion in an urban area.

Factors associated with poor tuberculosis treatment outcome in the Southern Region of Ethiopia.

Setting: Tuberculosis (TB) treatment centres in southern Ethiopia.

Objectives: To describe the outcomes of patients registered for anti-tuberculosis treatment and to identify factors associated with poor treatment outcome.

Design: Retrospective audit of patients registered from 2002 to 2007.

First morphomolecular identification of Penicillium griseofulvum and Penicillium aurantiogriseum toxicogenic isolates associated with blue mold on apple.

Postharvest blue mold decay caused by Penicillium spp. is the most important disease of fresh apple fruit in the world, which extend from the field to the store. Two new Penicillium spp.

Direct patient costs associated with tuberculosis diagnosis in Yemen and Nepal.

Background: The diagnosis of TB requires multiple visits. Reducing the number of visits for diagnosis could make the process more accessible, with significant savings to the patients.

Objective: To describe direct costs incurred by patients consulting TB diagnostic centres.

Yield of smear microscopy and radiological findings of male and female patients with tuberculosis in abuja, Nigeria.

Objective. To describe the yield of smear-microscopy and radiological findings by male and female patients with symptoms of tuberculosis in Abuja, Nigeria. Methods.

Treatment outcome in children with tuberculosis in southern Ethiopia.

Our study took place at 8 tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment centres in Sidama Zone, southern Ethiopia. Our objectives were to assess the status of TB treatment in children and risk factors associated with unfavourable outcome. A retrospective study was based on information retained in TB registers of the centres.

Streptococcus anginosus (Streptococcus milleri Group) Pyomyositis in a 50-Year-Old Man with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: Case Report and Review of Literature.

We describe the first reported case of bacterial pyomyositis of the right thigh caused by Streptococcus anginosus (S. milleri group) in an HIV-infected patient. The clinical presentation was complicated by multiple ring-enhancing lesions detected on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.

Progressive Multifocal Leucoencephalopathy: Report of two diverse cases.

Progressive Multifocal Leucoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare neurological disorder. The clinical suspicion about this disease in the setting of an immunosuppressive patient even in presence of vague neurological symptoms has to be very high. We describe here two cases of PML a post renal transplant patient and second elderly patient with no underlying immunosuppression.

Multiple sampling in one day to optimize smear microscopy in children with tuberculosis in Yemen.

Background And Aim: The diagnosis of pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) in children is difficult and often requires hospitalization. We explored whether the yield of specimens collected for smear microscopy from different anatomical sites in one visit is comparable to the yield of specimens collected from a single anatomical site over several days.

Methodology And Principal Findings: Children with signs/symptoms of pulmonary TB attending a reference hospital in Sana'a Yemen underwent one nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) the first day of consultation and three gastric aspirates (GA) plus three expectorated/induced sputa over 3 consecutive days.

Imported malaria in Qatar: a one year hospital-based study in 2005.

A study was conducted to describe the clinical presentation, epidemiology and outcome of imported malaria in patients admitted to Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, between 1st January and 31st December 2005. During a one-year study, 81 patients [64 (79%) males and 17 (21%) females] were studied. The median age was 26 years.

Front-loading sputum microscopy services: an opportunity to optimise smear-based case detection of tuberculosis in high prevalence countries.

Setting. Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, and Yemen. Objective.

Validation of bleach-treated smears for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Setting: Health centres in Awassa, southern Ethiopia.

Design: Consecutive patients visiting health centre laboratories for the evaluation of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) between June and September 2006 were investigated. On-the-spot, morning and second on-the-spot sputum samples were pooled for each patient.

Lactose hydrolysis by beta-galactosidase covalently immobilized to thermally stable biopolymers.

Lactose has been hydrolyzed using covalently immobilized beta-galactosidase on thermally stable carrageenan coated with chitosan (hydrogel). The hydrogel's mode of interaction was proven by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Schiff's base formation. The DSC thermogram proved the formation of a strong polyelectrolyte complex between carrageenan and chitosan followed by glutaraldehyde as they formed one single peak.

Interferon gamma, interferon-gamma-induced-protein 10, and tuberculin responses of children at high risk of tuberculosis infection.

Background: Children in contact with adults with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) are at risk for infection and disease progression, and chemoprophylaxis may reduce this risk. The identification of infection is based on the tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma (INF-gamma) release assays. Other biomarkers such as interferon-gamma-induced-protein 10 (IP-10) may have potential for the diagnosis of latent TB infections.

Rhino-orbital zygomycosis secondary to Rhizopus oryzae in a renal transplant recipient successfully treated with liposomal amphotericin B.

Rhino-orbital zygomycosis is usually an aggressive, fulminant and, at times, fatal disease that requires urgent medical and surgical treatment. We report a case of rhino-orbital zygomycosis caused by Rhizopus oryzae that developed in a 41-year-old male renal transplant recipient. He was diagnosed in the early post transplant period after anti-rejection therapy.

Numerical simulation on pollutant dispersion from vehicle exhaust in street configurations.

The impact of the street configurations on pollutants dispersion from vehicles exhausts within urban canyons was numerically investigated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Three-dimensional flow and dispersion of gaseous pollutants were modeled using standard kappa - epsilon turbulence model, which was numerically solved based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations by the commercial CFD code FLUENT. The concentration fields in the urban canyons were examined in three cases of street configurations: (1) a regular-shaped intersection, (2) a T-shaped intersection and (3) a Skew-shaped crossing intersection.