Integrating Environmental Impact Assessment within Kuwait Master Plans as a Tool for Human and Ecological Risk Control

Although it was claimed that the Kuwait Master Plans have helped guide the development in Kuwait from a small mud brick town of 150,000 inhabitants to today's modern metropolis of about 3 million inhabitants, this article argues that the implementation of the first plan in 1952 planted the seeds of human and ecological risk problems in Kuwait, which were intensified later in the 1960s and 1970s. As the latest 2007 Master Plan comprises major development projects, which could certainly have adverse ecological impacts on the environment and human well-being, this article highlights the importance of integrating environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the development projects within the Master Plan as a tool for sustainable development and as an assessment of human and ecological risks before the implementation of such projects. According to the current status, the level of collaboration among the concerned organizations responsible for preparing the Master Plans and conducting the EIA is behind the ambition. This article recommends setting out documented environmental criteria for land use planning and major development projects implementation, so as to control pollution and prevent any environmental change that might impair the public's health or influence future ecological stability.     

Priapisme veineux: traitement et pronostic fonctionnel. A propos de 26 cas

Introduction

Priapism is a prolonged, painful and persistent erection, unrelated to sexual stimulation. The management of priapism is complex and requires various medical or surgical treatments. The authors review the aetiology, treatment and outcome of priapism.

Material and methods

26 cases of low-flow priapism were collected over a period of 23 years (1985–2007), corresponding to 22 adults and 4 children (average age: 32 years) with various types of priapism. The time to appropriate management after onset of priapism varied according to the aetiology and the time to consultation (range: 16 hours to 15 days).

Results

Complete and persistent detumescence for the first 24 hours was obtained in 84% of cases, sometimes with multiple successive procedures. No case of early recurrence was observed. 21 patients were regularly followed for a period of 3 months to 10 years (mean follow-up: 2 years). There were 9 (42.9%) successes (recovery of normal erectile function), 4 partial results (19%) and 9 (30.1%) failures (complete erectile dysfunction).

Conclusion

Low-flow priapism must be considered to be a serious andrological emergency. Medical treatment can be effective in early forms, but surgery must not be delayed to prevent permanent erectile dysfunction secondary to extensive corpora cavernosa fibrosis.     

Tumor necrosis factor and interferon: cytokines in harmony

Individually, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and the various interferons frequently display strong antiviral activities. Certain combinations of these cytokines, however, induce a synergistic antiviral state which is distinct from that induced by either one alone. This novel synergistic antiviral state likely occurs through several possible mechanisms, involves multiple signaling pathways, and inhibits a wider range of viruses than the individual cytokines alone. While underappreciated when first discovered, this synergistic phenomenon is proving to be of a much broader scope than initially thought. More work is needed to refine our understanding of this observation and its physiological implications for anti-pathogen responses.     

Molecular characterization of larval anisakid nematodes from marine fishes off the Moroccan and Mauritanian coasts

A total of 242 larval forms of Anisakis collected from marine fishes at different sites off the Moroccan and Mauritanian coasts, recognised as belonging to Type I and Type II larvae, were identified by PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms) of the ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacers) region (ITS-1, 5.8 subunit rRNA gene and ITS-2), using a previously established molecular key. The Type I larvae were found with a frequency of 98.34% and were identified as belonging to the following species: A. simplex s.str., A. pegreffii, A. simplex s.str/A. pegreffii heterozygote genotypes, A. typica, A. ziphidarum and Anisakis sp. A. The Type II larvae were found to belong to A. physeteris, with the frequency of 1.65%. The results reported in the present study provide further epizootiological and biological data on the Anisakis spp. in marine fishes off the Moroccan and Mauritanian coasts, improving the picture of the occurrence of these species in the central Atlantic coasts.     

Human monocytes augment invasiveness and proteolytic activity of inflammatory breast cancer

Abstract Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of breast cancer, and here, we examined in vitro the interactions between the human IBC cell line SUM149 and U937 human naive monocytes. We found an altered morphology, enhanced invasiveness and proteolytic activity of SUM149 cells when cultured with U937 cells or in U937-conditioned media (U937-CM). Increases in expression and activity of the cysteine protease cathepsin B and expression of caveolin-1 were also detected in SUM149 cells grown in U937-CM, thus suggesting a contribution of these proteins to the augmented invasion through and proteolysis of the extracellular matrix by the IBC cells.     

The role of beta2 integrins and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein in the phagocytosis of dead Neisseria meningitidis

Phagocytosis of microbial pathogens is essential for the host immune response to infection. Our previous work has shown that lipooligosaccharide (LOS) expression on the surface of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is essential for phagocytosis, but the receptor involved remained unclear. In this study, we show that human CR3 (CD11b/CD18) and CR4 (CD11c/CD18) are phagocytic receptors for Nm as illustrated by the capacity of CR3- and CR4-transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to facilitate Nm uptake. A CR3-signalling mutant failed to internalize Nm, showing that the ability of CR3 to signal is essential for phagocytosis. Internalization of Nm by CR3-transfected CHO cells could be inhibited by the presence of CR3-specific antibodies. Furthermore, dendritic cells from leukocyte adhesion deficiency-1 patients, who have diminished expression of β2 integrins, showed markedly reduced phagocytosis of Nm. The CR3-mediated phagocytosis required the presence of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP). Furthermore, the expression of LOS by Nm was essential for LBP binding and phagocytosis via CR3. These results reveal a critical role of CR3 and LBP in the phagocytosis of Nm and provide important insights into the initial interaction meningococci have with the immune system.     

Large-scale identification of polymorphic microsatellites using an <Emphasis Type="Italic">in silico</Emphasis> approach

Background  

Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) or microsatellite markers are valuable for genetic research. Experimental methods to develop SSR markers are laborious, time consuming and expensive. In silico approaches have become a practicable and relatively inexpensive alternative during the last decade, although testing putative SSR markers still is time consuming and expensive. In many species only a relatively small percentage of SSR markers turn out to be polymorphic. This is particularly true for markers derived from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). In EST databases a large redundancy of sequences is present, which may contain information on length-polymorphisms in the SSR they contain, and whether they have been derived from heterozygotes or from different genotypes. Up to now, although a number of programs have been developed to identify SSRs in EST sequences, no software can detect putatively polymorphic SSRs.     

Mental practice-based rehabilitation training to improve arm function and daily activity performance in stroke patients: a randomized clinical trial

Background  

Over 50% of patients with upper limb paresis resulting from stroke face long-term impaired arm function and ensuing disability in daily life. Unfortunately, the number of effective treatments aimed at improving arm function due to stroke is still low. This study aims to evaluate a new therapy for improving arm function in sub-acute stroke patients based on mental practice theories and functional task-oriented training, and to study the predictors for a positive treatment result. It is hypothesized that a six-week, mental practice-based training program (additional to regular therapy) targeting the specific upper extremity skills important to the individual patient will significantly improve both arm function and daily activity performance, as well as being cost effective.     

Effect of Thiolated Polymers to Textural and Mucoadhesive Properties of Vaginal Gel Formulations Prepared with Polycarbophil and Chitosan

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate of mucoadhesive gel formulations for the vaginal application of clomiphene citrate (CLM) for local treatment of human papilloma virus (HPV) infections. Chitosan (CHI) and polycarbophil (PC) were covalently modified using the thioglycolic acid and L-cysteine, respectively. The formation of thiol conjugates of chitosan (CHI-TG) and polycarbophil (PC-CYS) were confirmed by FT-IR analysis and PC-CYS and CHI-TG were found to have 148.42 ± 4.16 and 41.17 ± 2.34 μmol of thiol groups per gram of polymer, respectively. One percent CLM gels were prepared by combination of various concentrations of PC and CHI with thiolated conjugates of these polymers. Hardness, compressibility, elasticity, adhesiveness and cohesiveness of the gels were measured by Texture profile analysis and the vaginal mucoadhesion was investigated by mucoadhesion test. The increasing in the amount of the thiol conjugates was found to enhance the elasticity, cohesiveness, adhesiveness and mucoadhesion of the gel formulations but not their hardness and compressibility when compared to gels prepared using their respective parent formulations. Slower release rate of CLM from gels was achieved when the polymer concentrations were increased in the gel formulations. PC and its thiol conjugate were found to prolong the release of CLM longer than 70 h unlike gel formulations prepared using CHI and its thiol conjugate which were able to release CLM up to 12 h. Stability of CLM was preserved during the 3 month stability analysis under controlled room temperature and accelerated conditions.