Showing papers by "University of Jordan published in 2007"

A Homozygous Mutation in a Novel Zinc-Finger Protein, ERIS, Is Responsible for Wolfram Syndrome 2

Abstract: A single missense mutation was identified in a novel, highly conserved zinc-finger gene, ZCD2, in three consanguineous families of Jordanian descent with Wolfram syndrome (WFS). It had been shown that these families did not have mutations in the WFS1 gene (WFS1) but were mapped to the WFS2 locus at 4q22-25. A G→C transversion at nucleotide 109 predicts an amino acid change from glutamic acid to glutamine (E37Q). Although the amino acid is conserved and the mutation is nonsynonymous, the pathogenesis for the disorder is because the mutation also causes aberrant splicing. The mutation was found to disrupt messenger RNA splicing by eliminating exon 2, and it results in the introduction of a premature stop codon. Mutations in WFS1 have also been found to cause low-frequency nonsyndromic hearing loss, progressive hearing loss, and isolated optic atrophy associated with hearing loss. Screening of 377 probands with hearing loss did not identify mutations in the WFS2 gene. The WFS1-encoded protein, Wolframin, is known to localize to the endoplasmic reticulum and plays a role in calcium homeostasis. The ZCD2-encoded protein, ERIS (endoplasmic reticulum intermembrane small protein), is also shown to localize to the endoplasmic reticulum but does not interact directly with Wolframin. Lymphoblastoid cells from affected individuals show a significantly greater rise in intracellular calcium when stimulated with thapsigargin, compared with controls, although no difference was observed in resting concentrations of intracellular calcium.

Self-medication patterns in Amman, Jordan.

Abstract: The classification of medicine as Prescription-Only-Medicine (POM) and Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs in Jordan is present but not yet enforced on community pharmacies, the fact that allows access of the public to a wider range of medications that otherwise are provided only on prescription. This, of course, has its implications on safety and effectiveness of the pharmacotherapy in question. This research aims to establish a baseline data concerning the extent of self-medication among Jordanians, and to assess possible factors associated with self-medication, so that future interventions can be documented and planned. A total of 155 out of Amman's 900 community pharmacies. A cross-sectional observational study using a pre-piloted questionnaire was conducted. Over 800 customers who visited the pharmacies over a period of 4 months were interviewed and their non-prescription drug requests patterns were recorded to assess the prevalence of self-medication and offered justification. Self-medication was a common practice among Jordanians (42.5%). The variable that was associated with extent of self-medication was respondents' age, where patients younger than 16 years and those older than 60 years were less likely to self-treat. The most common reasons for self-medication were that the ailments were too minor to see a doctor (46.4%), the long waiting time to be seen by doctors (37.7%) and avoiding the cost of doctors' visits (31.4%). People tended to select medication based on advice received from pharmacy staff (14.2%), friends/neighbors (17.6%) or informal advice from other health professionals like dentists and nurses (21.9%). Alternatively, patients selected products based on their previous experiences with similar symptoms (27%) or similar diseases (33.5%). Self-medication is a common health care practice in Jordan, where people are becoming increasingly familiar with drugs and their brand names. Self-medication behavior varied significantly with a number of socio-economic factors. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of patients engaged pharmacy personnel in therapeutic consultations beyond briefly mentioning a symptom.

The Arabidopsis homologs of trithorax (ATX1) and enhancer of zeste (CLF) establish ‘bivalent chromatin marks’ at the silent AGAMOUS locus

Abstract: Tightly balanced antagonism between the Polycomb group (PcG) and the Trithorax group (TrxG) complexes maintain Hox expression patterns in Drosophila and murine model systems. Factors belonging to the PcG/TrxG complexes control various processes in plants as well but whether they participate in mechanisms that antagonize, balance or maintain each other’s effects at a particular gene locus is unknown. CURLY LEAF (CLF), an Arabidopsis homolog of enhancer of zeste (EZ) and the ARABIDOPSIS HOMOLOG OF TRITHORAX (ATX1) control the expression of the flower homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG). Disrupted ATX1 or CLF function results in misexpression of AG, recognizable phenotypes and loss of H3K4me3 or H3K27me3 histone H3-tail marks, respectively. A novel idea suggested by our results here, is that PcG and TrxG complexes function as a specific pair generating bivalent chromatin marks at the silent AG locus. Simultaneous loss of ATX1 and CLF restored AG repression and normalized leaf phenotypes. At the molecular level, disrupted ATX1 and CLF functions did not lead to erasure of the CLFand ATX1-generated epigenetic marks, as expected: instead, in the double mutants, H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 tags were partially restored. We demonstrate that ATX1 and CLF physically interact linking mechanistically the observed effects.

Predictors of morbidity and mortality in the surgical management of hydatid cyst of the liver.

Abstract: Surgery for hydatid cyst of the liver is widely practiced worldwide; this type of management is still associated with high mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study is to find out possible predictors for this high mortality and morbidity. The medical records of 169 patients who underwent surgery for hydatid cyst of the liver were retrospectively reviewed. The mortality and the morbidity rates were assessed as well as the following eight potential predictors of mortality and morbidity: age of the patients, size of the cyst, number of cysts, other organs involved by the disease, the presence of preoperative complications, the type of surgery performed (radical or conservative), whether the disease was new or recurrent, and when surgery was performed in the first period (1973–1986) or in the second period (1987–1999). Cross-tabulation and logistic regression between mortality and morbidity (dependent variable) and the above-mentioned eight potential predictors (independent variables) were carried out. Of the 169 patients, 112 were female subjects and 57 male subjects, the age range was from 5 to 85 years (mean=39.2 years), the mortality rate was 6.5% (n=11), and the overall morbidity rate was 53.8% (n=91), while specific complications of liver hydatid cyst surgery were seen in 32% (n=54). Patients of age >40 years, with a cyst diameter of >10 cm, who presented with pre-operative complications, who had conservative surgery, and who had surgery before 1987 were having a significantly higher mortality and morbidity rate. Age, size of the cyst, the presence of pre-operative complications particularly cyst-biliary communication, and type of surgical procedure performed (conservative or radical) represent as significant predictors of mortality and morbidity of surgery for liver hydatid cyst.

The Geochemistry of the Arabian Lithospheric Mantle—a Source for Intraplate Volcanism?

Abstract: DANISH LITHOSPHERE CENTRE, STER VOLDGADE 10, COPENHAGEN, 1350K, DENMARK DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY, ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, EGHAM TW20 0EX, UK SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON, PO BOX 600, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY, CORVALLIS, OR97331-5506, USA DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, HASHEMITE UNIVERSITY OF JORDAN, ZARQA, JORDAN

Comparison of Priestley-Taylor and FAO-56 Penman-Monteith for Daily Reference Evapotranspiration Estimation in Georgia

Abstract: The climate in Georgia and other southeastern states of the United States is considered to be humid and the annual precipitation is usually greater than the annual potential evapotranspiration (ET). However, during several months of the year, supplemental irrigation is needed to prevent yield reducing water stress due to the temporal rainfall variability and sometimes due to long-term droughts. The Priestley-Taylor (PT) equation has been used operationally in Georgia to compute ET for irrigation scheduling because of its simplicity, its general acceptable performance in humid regions, and its limited input requirements. A recent study for a site in the humid southeastern United States found that PT overestimated ET and was less accurate than the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (PM) among some of the approaches that were evaluated. The objective of this study was to assess the potential improvement that can be achieved by replacing PT with FAO-56 PM in Georgia and other southeastern states in a humid climate. More than 70 weather stations across Georgia are available as part of the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network. Nine representative sites, including Blairsville in a mountainous area and Savannah in a coastal area, were selected to assess the potential improvements that may be achieved by replacing PT with FAO-56 PM. Each site had at least 10 years of daily records that included minimum and maximum air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, and vapor pressure deficit. PT underestimated the daily and monthly ET during the winter months in the central and southwestern areas and overestimated the daily and monthly ET during the summer months in the coastal and mountainous areas. For the warm season, i.e., April through September, PT slightly overestimated the cumulative ET in the central and southwestern areas, moderately for the mountainous area and severely for the coastal area. Based on these results, it is anticipated that the use of FAO-56 PM for estimating ET will standardize the ET calculations and improve irrigation efficiency in Georgia, especially for the mountainous and coastal areas.

High relative frequency of oral squamous cell carcinoma in Yemen: Qat and tobacco chewing as its aetiological background

Abstract: To study the association of qat chewing with the occurrence of oral cancer, the frequency of oral cancer among whole body cancers and the patients' histories of tobacco consumption and qat chewing were examined in Yemen where qat chewing has been most popular. All primary malignant tumors listed in the surgical pathology files at Al-Thawra Hospital, University of Sana'a, in the year 2004 were analyzed, and the patients' histories of tobacco consumption and qat chewing were examined. A total of 649 cases of primary malignant tumors (348, 53.6% males and 301, 46.4% females) were extracted. Oral cancer was the most frequent body cancer in both males (17.2%) and females (19.6%). Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most frequent oral cancer (84%), and the tongue (42%), gingiva (23%) and buccal mucosa (20%) were the most common sites. Among the 119 patients with oral cancer, information on chewing habits and smoking was obtained in 92 patients (77.3%). There were 70 tobacco chewers (76.1%), 55 qat chewers (59.8%), and 22 smokers (23.9%). Simultaneous chewing of tobacco and qat was found in 48 cases (52.2%). The present survey has disclosed for the first time that oral SCC is the most frequent cancer in this study area in Yemen, and that the high relative frequency of oral SCC may be related to the habits of chewing tobacco and qat.

Discovery of new potent human protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors via pharmacophore and QSAR analysis followed by in silico screening

Abstract: A pharmacophoric model was developed for human protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (h-PTP 1B) inhibitors utilizing the HipHop-REFINE module of CATALYST software. Subsequently, genetic algorithm and multiple linear regression analysis were employed to select an optimal combination of physicochemical descriptors and pharmacophore hypothesis that yield consistent QSAR equation of good predictive potential (r = 0.87,F-statistic = 69.13,r(BS)2 = 0.76,r(LOO)2 = 0.68). The validity of the QSAR equation and the associated pharmacophoric hypothesis was experimentally established by the identification of five new h-PTP 1B inhibitors retrieved from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database.

Consanguinity and genetic disorders. Profile from Jordan.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES With 20-30% of all marriages occurring between first cousins, increasing attention in Jordan is now given to role of consanguinity in the occurrence of genetic diseases. The objective of this study is to define the specific categories of genetic disorders associated with consanguineous marriages. METHODS Etiological categories and consanguinity rates were studied among 623 families with genetic syndromes, congenital anomalies or mental retardation, or both, seen at the National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics for the period August 2002 to August 2006. Comparisons were made for first cousin marriage rates in the study group and that for the general population. RESULTS First cousin marriages constituted 69%, 22% and 41.7% of marriages among families with autosomal recessive conditions (group 1), dominant, X-linked and chromosomal conditions (group 2) and sporadic undiagnosed conditions (group 3) respectively. The differences in rates of first cousin matings versus non-consanguineous matings were highly significant when comparing known figures in the general population with group 1 and 3, but not significant with group 2. CONCLUSIONS Two messages to the public and health care personnel regarding consanguinity can be derived from this study. The first message is that among genetic disorders, only autosomal recessive disorders are strongly associated with consanguinity. The second message is that approximately 30% of sporadic undiagnosed cases of mental retardation, congenital anomalies and dysmorphism may have an autosomal recessive etiology with risks of recurrence in future pregnancies.

Detection of a second mesiobuccal canal in the mesiobuccal roots of maxillary first molar teeth

Abstract: Objective The aim of the present study was to determine whether the MB2 canal in the mesiobuccal root (MBR) of maxillary first molars could be identified through a clinical access cavity preparation, with and without magnification. Study design One hundred extracted maxillary first molar teeth were collected. After a clinical access cavity preparation with careful use of bur to locate any additional canal (dentine troughing), the MB2 canals were located in 2 stages. Stage I was located with unaided vision and stage II was located under moderate magnification with ×3.5 magnifying dental loupes. All specimens were stained, rendered transparent, and then classified. The number of canals detected by stage was analyzed statistically by a chi-square test. Statistical significance was considered to be P ≤ .05. Results Under magnification, the number of detected MB2 canals was increased from 55 (56.7%) to 61 (62.9%) teeth. Cleared teeth showed 77.32% of MB2 canals. The effectiveness of MB2 location was 73.3% and 82.7% in stage I and stage II, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 methods of detecting the MB2 canal ( P = .3). Conclusions The use of magnification enhanced the ability to detect the MB2 canals, although the difference was not statistically significant. The MB2 canals could not be detected in 16.5% of the teeth, mainly because of pulpal calcification.

Stability of the crude extracts of Ranunculus asiaticus anthocyanins and their use as food colourants

Abstract: Summary Crude extracts of Ranunculus asiaticus anthocyanin pigment were obtained using several solvents, and their stability to light and heat with varying pH and water activity (aw) levels was studied. Yield of the crude pigments was approximately 48 mg g−1 petals as cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents in HCl: methanol (1:99, v:v). The pigment was moderately stable to heating at 50 °C and 80 °C, with its degradation curve showing two linear stages with heating time. The heat stability of the pigment extract in a buffer system was reduced by increasing the pH and water activity of the heating medium, and by inclusion of sugar. Light had a highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) negative effect on the pigment stability during storage especially in the presence of sugar. The pigment used in the colouring of a carbonated beverage was more stable during long time storage at 4 °C than at room temperature. The ethanolic pigment extract could be used successfully in the colouring of gelatine desserts and carbonated beverages, as well as yogurt.

Seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

Abstract: Seawater samples were collected biweekly from the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, for Phytoplankton analysis during the period May 1998 to October 1999. Microscopic counts and HPLC methods were employed. Procaryotic and eucaryotic ultraplankton dominated throughout most of the year, with larger nano- and microplankton making up only 5% of the photosynthetic biomass. Moderate seasonal variations in the 0–125 m integrated Chl a contrasted with a pronounced seasonal succession of the major taxonomic groups, reflecting the changes in the density stratification of the water column: Prochlorococcus dominated during the stratified summer period and were almost absent in winter. Chlorophyceae and Cryptophyceae were dominant during winter mixing but scarce or absent during summer. Diatoms and Synechococcus showed sharp and moderate biomass peaks in late winter and spring respectively, but remained at only low Chl a levels for the rest of the year. Chrysophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae and the scarce Dinophyceae showed no clear seasonal distribution pattern. The implications of alternating procaryotic and eucaryote dominated algal communities for the Red Sea pelagic food web are discussed.

Volatile components of Thymus vulgaris L. from wild-growing and cultivated plants in Jordan

Abstract: The composition of the essential oil hydrodistilled from the aerial parts of Thymus vulgaris L. grown in Jordan has been determined by GC and GC–MS. Variations in oil composition and yield between cultivated and wild-growing plants collected from different localities, at different altitudes, have been also evaluated. Higher oil yields were observed in plants growing wild (3.7–5.6% of dried material) than in cultivated plants (1.1–2.0%), and those collected from the Mshaqar region, in the middle of Jordan and at the highest altitude, were the richest in oil (∼5.4%). Generally, the oil was characterized by marked levels of phenolic monoterpenoids (mainly thymol and carvacrol) in the range 70.8–89.0%. High levels of the monoterpenoid hydrocarbons p-cymene (3.4–8.2%) and γ-terpinene (1.6–7.7%) were also observed. Other major components were 1,8-cineole (up to 2.1%), α-thujone (up to 1.2%), camphor (up to 1.1%) and β-caryophyllene (0.2–2.8%). With the exception of plants growing wild in the Ramtha region, in the far north of Jordan, carvacrol was found as the principal phenol of all other oils (50.6–86.1%) and was dominant (>85%) in wild plant oils. The oil from Ramtha was characterized by the highest level of thymol (∼63.8%) as the dominant phenol and was most abundant in p-cymene (8.2%), 1,8-cineole (2.1%) and γ-terpinene (7.7%). In addition to assigning carvacrol or thymol chemotypes to the plant, the high content of active monoterpenoid phenols strongly suggests a potential use of Jordanian thyme oil in cough products and antimicrobial–herbal drug combinations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Patients' preferences for nurses' gender in Jordan

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine patients' preferences for nurses' gender in Jordan. The public, private and university hospitals are represented by selecting one major hospital from each health sector. The sample size was 919 participants. Data were collected by a questionnaire through standardized individual interviews with patients. The findings of the study indicate that gender preferences are stronger among female patients than among male patients. Furthermore, two-thirds of female patients preferred female nurses, whereas only 3.4% preferred male nurses to care for them. In contrast, one-third of male patients' preferred male nurses, and only 10% preferred female nurses. The authors recommend that the high percentage of male nursing students need to be reconsidered by health policy-makers in Jordan.