Folate supplementation in pregnancy

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of low, normal and high folate levels in Omani population. Folate supplement given routinely during pregnancy. Folate added into multi-vitamins supplement as well as into food products. This leads to decrease the prevalence of low folate or increase prevalence of people with excess folate. Low and high folate level leads to adverse side effects. Methods: 3706 folate samples analyzed in Cobas e 601 chemical analyzer. The results separated into three main groups (low, normal and high). Results: Only 0.3% of the study sample shows low folate level. Five (0.2%) out of 2335 female samples show low folate level. Three (0.2%) out of 1371 male samples shows low folate level. Conclusion: Routine folate intake during pregnancy, supplement to the general population for wellbeing and food fortification might lead to excess folate status. Folate testing before supplementation help in avoiding high folate adverse effects.

FREQUENCY OF HYPERURICEMIA IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH AGE OF PATIENT

Objective: To determine the frequency of hyperuricemia in hypertensive patients and its association with the age of patients. Study Design: Cross sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital Abbottabad, from Sep 2016 to Feb 2017. Methodology: All patients of 18-70 years of age with either gender presenting in and out patient departmentswith hypertension were enrolled. Serum uric acid was measured. Analysis of serum uric was done with SelectraXL chemical analyzer having normal references range of 2.52-6.97 mg/dl for males and 1.51-6.0 mg/dl forfemales. Reports were verified by Pathologist. Results: A total of 137 patients were selected for the study. Mean age of the patients was 56.09 ± 09.36 years.There were 76 (55.50%) patients with >55 years of age while 61 (44.50%) patients were presented with ≤55 years of the patients. Male preponderance was higher 83 (61%) as compared to females 54 (39%). Mean weight, height and Body Mass Index of the patients was 67.99 ± 6.91 kilograms, 1.63 ± 0.08 meters and 25.32 ± 2.15 kg/m2 respectively. Mean systolic blood pressure of the patients was 166.71 ± 13.67 mmHg. Mean Diastolic blood pressure was 100.15 ± 8.84 mmHg. Mean serum uric acid level was 6.96 ± 0.82 mg/dl. Frequency of hyperuricemia was found in 102 (74.45%) while normouricemia in 35 (25.55%) patients. Conclusion: Frequency of hyperuricemia was found higher in hypertensive patients and it was not associatedwith the age of patients.

Computational Studies of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine Metabolites as Possible Candidates for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Treatment

The coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic is claiming many lives, impacting the health and livelihoods of billions of people worldwide and causing global economic havoc. As a novel disease with protean manifestations, it has pushed the scientific community into a frenzy to find a cure. The chloroquine class of compounds, used for decades for their antimalarial activity, have been well characterized. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a less toxic metabolite of chloroquine, is used to treat rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and Sjögren’s syndrome. Preliminary studies in non-randomized clinical trials point to the possible use of chloroquine and its derivatives in the treatment of coronavirus. However, more robust clinical studies carried out in the United States, Italy, Australia, and China have shown mixed and inconclusive results and indicate the need for additional research. Cardiac, neurological, and retinal toxicity as well as increasing parasite resistance to these drugs is a major hindrance for their use in a world that is already dealing with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this context, we chose to study the monoquinoline analogs of 4-aminoquinoline as well as their metabolites which have the same mechanism of action albeit with lower toxicity. All the compounds were extensively studied computationally using docking, cheminformatics, and toxicity prediction tools. Based on the docking scores against ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) receptors and the toxicity data computed by employing the chemical analyzer module by ViridisChem™ Inc., the work reveals significant findings that can help in the process of use of these metabolites against coronavirus.

Comparison of 2 portable human glucometers for the measurement of blood glucose concentration in White New Zealand rabbits

We compared measurements of blood glucose concentrations in 30 healthy adult White New Zealand rabbits using 2 commercial portable glucometers (PGM1 and PGM2) and a laboratory chemical analyzer. Results were analyzed with Pearson correlation, Passing–Bablok regression analysis, Bland–Altman analysis, and a modified error grid. Measurements with PGM1 were significantly correlated ( r = 0.37) with those obtained from the laboratory reference method (RM); Bland–Altman and Passing–Bablok analyses indicated no significant systematic or proportional differences (mean difference of −0.26, 95% CI of mean difference of −0.54 to 0.01, and LOA of −1.70 to 1.17); and error grid resulted in 100% of measurements in zone A. No significant correlation ( r = −0.05) was detected between PGM2 and RM; Bland–Altman and Passing–Bablok analyses results indicated a mean difference of 2.14, 95% CI of mean difference of 1.67–2.60, and limit of agreement of −0.32 to 4.59, which overestimated blood glucose concentration, with 53% of glucose measurements in error grid zone A and 47% in zone B. PGM1 was considered accurate in normoglycemic rabbits, whereas the use of PGM2 could result in overestimations of glycemia.

Double false-negative traps in urine routine test: a case report

BackgroundUrinalysis is one of the most commonly performed tests in clinical practice and supplies important information for a series of clinical conditions, including renal and urinary tract diseases. The clinical laboratory often completes urinalysis through the combined use of urinary dry-chemistry and formed-element analyzers. Urine red blood cell (RBC) morphology test is often used to discriminate the source of hematuria by manual microscopy.Case presentationIn this case report, we describe a 39-year-old woman with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) who underwent both urine routine test and RBC morphology test. Her RBC count was in the normal range and the occult blood test was negative in routine test, while the RBC morphology test indicated the presence of non-homogeneous hematuria.ConclusionsTherefore, we analyzed the causes of false-negative result on the urine chemical analyzer and the automatic microscope system, respectively.

Estimation of Prolactin and HbA1c among Type 2 Diabetic Male with Retinopathy in Khartoum State

Background: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the long-term complications of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and constitutes the leading cause of blindness in working-age individuals. Prolactin (PRL) is a peptide hormone that is linked with lactation but many studies have demonstrated that PRL could have protective value against DR. Aim: To evaluate the role of prolactin in pathophysiology of DR. Methods: This study is designed to find an association between PRL level and DR. In this case-control study, a total of 300 subjects were recruited to participate in the study, 150 subjects apparently healthy as control group and other 150 patients were diagnosed with type 2 DM who were classified into diabetic patients with DR (75) and diabetic patients without DR (75). Serum PRL was measured by autoanalyzer (TOSOH AIA system), HbA1c was measured by another automated chemical analyzer (Cobas c system). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 21 using an independent samples T-test and Pearson's correlation. Results: Independent samples of T-test analysis show a significant decrease in PRL level in the diabetic patients with DR in comparison to the diabetic patients without DR (p˂0.05). Person's correlation revealed that there was an insignificant correlation between PRL level with duration of DM and patients age. Conclusion: These findings suggest that low PRL level might be associated with DR.

Performance assessment of synthesized conductive additive on lead acid battery formation

The present study mainly focuses on the plate preparation and the usage of the synthesized conductive additive (Barium MetaPlumbate BaPbO3). Formation efficiency and cycle life of the plates with different additives were evaluated. The formation efficiency of the pasted positive plates of the lead-acid battery was greatly enhanced by BaPbO3 addition during the paste preparation. The effects of loading level of the additives on formation efficiency and plate performance were examined in detail by SEM, XRD, and Gravimetric, Electro Chemical Analyzer techniques.