Identifying Rheumatoid Arthritis Cases within the Quebec Health Administrative Database

Objective. Our objective was to calculate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) point prevalence estimates in the CARTaGENE cohort, as well as to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of our ascertainment approach, using physician billing data. We investigated the effects of using varying observation windows in the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) health services administrative databases, alone or in combination with self-reported diagnoses and drugs. Methods. We studied subjects enrolled in the CARTaGENE cohort, which recruited 19,995 participants from 4 metropolitan regions in Québec from August 2009 to October 2010. A series of Bayesian latent class models were developed to assess the effects of 3 factors: the number of years of billing data, the addition of self-reported information on RA diagnoses and drugs, and the adjustment for misclassification error. Results. The 3-year 2010 point prevalence estimate among cohort members aged 40–69 years, using physician billing plus self-report, adjusting for misclassification error in each source, was 0.9% [95% credible interval (CrI) 0.7–1.2] with RAMQ sensitivity of 84.0% (95% CrI 74.0–93.7) and a specificity of 99.8% (95% CrI 99.6–100.0). Our results show variations in the prevalence point estimates related to all 3 factors investigated. Conclusion. Our study illustrates that multiple data sources identify more RA cases and thus a higher prevalence estimate. RA point prevalence estimates using billing data are lower if fewer years of data are used.

Po-groups and hypergroups in a topos

Vitamin C Administration Attenuated Artemether Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

This research was designed to investigate the potential protective effect of vitamin C supplementation against hepatocyte ultrastructural alterations induced by artemether (antimalarial drug) administration. Twenty-four adult male albino rats were used in this study and were divided into four groups (n=6). Group I served as a control and rats in group II administrated arte mether (4 mg/kg B.W) orally for three consecutive days. Group III administered artemether plus a low dose of vitamin C (2.86 mg/kg/l wate r) while group IV received artemether plusa high dose of vitamin C (8.56 mg/kg). At the end of the experimental period (14 days), the harvested liver tissues were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and blood samples were assayed for biomarkers of liver injury and oxidative stress. Artemether significantly (p<0.05) augmented biomarkers of liver injury such as alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and oxidative stress such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX), and caused degeneration and damage of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and disrupted mitochondria. The blood sinusoids were also dam aged with distortion of their canaliculi. Administration of vitamin C showed improvement of liver biomarkers, and liver parenchyma, especially in a high dose of vitamin C.We concludes that vitamin C is a partial protective agent against artemether-induced liver injury.

Investigation into breast cancer and partial breast reconstruction: A review

Growing increasingly in South America, Africa and Asia, breast cancer is known as the dominant type of cancer in women. Different treatments are available for breast cancer, among which surgery is the most widely used, but researchers are trying to develop new strategies. One of the most prominent surgical methods is referred to as oncoplastic surgery, that helps to remove segments of malignant breast tissue. This type of surgery aims to obtain vast surgical margins, while the remaining tissue is rearranged so that the better cosmetic outcome is obtained. This review will investigate the breast cancer and then discuss partial breast reconstruction. Before outlining the procedures, the different types of partial breast reconstruction will be discussed. Finally, advantages and disadvantages will be outlined. MEDLINE database was used to conduct the search. The main terms used were 'Conservation Breast Surgery Reconstruction' AND 'Oncoplastic Surgery', 'Partial Mastectomy Reconstruction' AND 'Conservative Breast Surgery Reconstruction', 'oncoplastic' [All Fields], 'breast' AND 'surgery' OR 'surgery' operative', 'oncoplastic' ('breast')'. The bibliographies of relevant papers were manually searched up to October 2018, but more recent voices are also included.

THE WORLD BANK INSPECTION PANEL: ACCOUNTABILITY AND LEARNING

L’Inspection Panel della Banca Mondiale è stato il primo meccanismo indipendente (IAM) finalizzato a ricevere denunce da parte di persone che lamentavano un danno derivante dalla potenziale mancanza di sostegno alle politiche e alle procedure delle istituzioni finanziarie internazionali. Dal 1993 il Panel ha trattato denunce riguardanti i progetti della Banca Mondiale su richiesta delle comunità interessate e ha contribuito a porre rimedio ai relativi danni. L’articolo descrive dettagliatamente questi risultati, con particolare riguardo all’ “apprendimento istituzionale”, soffermandosi inoltre sulla collana Emerging Lessons Series del Panel stesso, una serie di pubblicazioni recenti che riassumono le esperienze derivanti da casi relativi a: reinsediamento involontario, popolazioni indigene, valutazione ambientale, consultazione e divulgazione. L’articolo si conclude con una discussione dei recenti miglioramenti apportati all’attività del Panel, sottolineando il suo ruolo nel promuovere comportamenti responsabili attraverso le procedure operative adottate e il successivo “apprendimento istituzionale”.

Synthesis of some novel dibromo-2-arylquinazolinone derivatives as cytotoxic agents

Recently the quinazoline derivatives have attracted much attention for their anticancer properties. In this study a series of new brominated quinazoline derivatives ( 1a-1g ) were synthesized in two steps. In the first step we used N-bromosuccinimide to brominate the anthranilamid. Then in the second step we closed the quinazoline ring by different aromatic aldehydes. Our aldehydes contain different electron donating or electron withdrawing groups at different positions of the aromatic ring. The chemical structures of products were confirmed by spectroscopic methods such as IR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, and mass spectroscopy. The cytotoxic activities of the compounds were assessed on three cancerous cell lines including MCF-7, A549, and SKOV3 using colorimetric MTT cytotoxic assay in comparison with cisplatin as a standard drug. Our results collectively indicated tha 1f and 1g , exhibited the best anti-proliferative activities on three investigated cancerous cell lines.

Nano-SnCl4.SiO2, an efficient catalyst for synthesis of benzimidazole drivatives as antifungal and cytotoxic agents

The concept of green chemistry has made significant impact on many frontages including the use of green solvents or sustainable catalyst materials. Benzimidazole ring is an important nitrogen-containing heterocyclic, which exhibits a broad spectrum of bioactivities and are widely utilized by the medicinal chemists for drug discovery. A simple and efficient method was developed for the synthesis of some benzimidazole derivatives via reaction of o -phenylenediamine and substituted aldehydes in the presence of nano-SnCl 4 /SiO 2 as a mild catalyst. Ten 2-substituted benzimidazole compounds ( J 1 -J 10 ) were synthesized. All compounds were evaluated against different species of yeasts and filament fungi using broth micro dilution method as recommended by clinical and laboratory standard institute. Among these compounds, the active ones were chosen for their cytotoxic activities evaluation against MCF-7 and A549 cell lines using MTT method. Compound J 2 showed the best antifungal activity against all tested species. Compounds J 5 -J 7 had also desirable antifungal activities. Our cytotoxic results were also similar to the antifungal activities except for J 7 which had no cytotoxic activity.

Synthesis, molecular docking, and antiepileptic activity of novel phthalimide derivatives bearing amino acid conjugated anilines

A series of N-aryl-2-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)-3-phenylpropanamides derivatives were synthesized in two steps. Phthalic anhydride and phenylalanine are first reacted under microwave radiation to form 2-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)-3-phenylpropanoic acid, which finally took part in an amidation reaction with different anilines. The final products were characterized by infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) and mass spectroscopy techniques. The antiepileptic activity of the synthesized compounds at a fixed dose of 10 mg/kg was evaluated by pentylenetetrazole at 70 mg/kg induced seizure threshold method in male mice (n = 5) and compared with aqueous DMSO (10 %, v/v; as negative control) and thalidomide (70 mg/kg; as positive control). The results indicated that compounds 5c, 5e , and 5f as well as thalidomide significantly have higher latency time than what observed with aqueous DMSO ( P < 0.05). The seizure latency threshold for 5e and 5f were statistically similar to the results of thalidomide but compound 5c showed significantly higher latency time than thalidomide. While, the electron-deficient benzene ring ( 5a and 5b ) has demonstrated the lowest activity but compound 5e , which is the most electron rich product among tested compounds, showed good antiepileptic activity. Molecular docking was performed in order to understand how the synthetized compounds, interact with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor. Docking results were in good harmony with experimental data and indicated that lowest binding energy belongs to compound 5c , which has strongest interactions with the active site of GABAA receptor. Compound 5c could be used for further investigation.

Development of new lateral-flow immunochromatographic strip using colloidal gold and mesoporous silica nanoparticles for rapid diagnosis of active schistosomiasis

Objective: To develop a new sandwich based lateral flow immunochromatographic strip for rapid detection of circulating Schistosoma mansoni antigen in serum and urine samples of patients with active schistosomiasis. Methods: This lateral flow immunochromatographic strip was prepared by using anti-Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg antigen monoclonal antibody conjugated gold nanoparticles (MAb-AuNPs) as antigen-detecting antibody, while crystalline material (MCM)-41-MAb bioconjugate was immobilized at the test line as antigen-capturing antibody. Both antigen capturing and detecting antibodies formed sandwich complexes with circulating Schistosoma mansoni antigen in the positive samples. Sandwich complexes immobilized at the test line gave distinct red color. The assay reliability was examined by using urine and serum samples of 60 Schistosoma mansoni infected patients, 20 patients infected with parasites other than Schistosoma, and 20 healthy individuals as negative controls. Results were compared with those obtained via sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The detection limit of circulating Schistosoma mansoni antigen by lateral flow immunochromatographic strip was lower (3 ng/mL) than the detection limit by ELISA (30 ng/mL). The sensitivity and specificity of lateral flow immunochromatographic strip in urine samples were 98.3% and 97.5%, respectively compared to 93.5% and 90.0% by ELISA. In serum samples, they were 100.0% and 97.5%, respectively compared to 97.0% and 95.0% by ELISA. The strip test took approximately 10 min to complete. Conclusions: This new lateral flow immunochromatographic strip offers a sensitive, rapid, and field applicable technique for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis.

Acute pancreatitis with cytomegalovirus infection in a kidney transplant recipient: A case report