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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can affect the neurological system, and neuropathy is one of these manifestations. Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) type II, and diabetic patients are at higher risk of acquiring HCV infection. Sweat function has been proposed to assess early autonomic neuropathy. This study aimed to evaluate small fiber neuropathy in asymptomatic HCV-related cirrhotic patients with or without DM through sweat function assessment by Sudoscan test. Three groups were involved: 47 healthy controls, 48 HCV-related cirrhotic patients without DM (group 1), and 49 HCV-related cirrhotic patients with DM type II (group 2). All participants were subjected to liver panel tests, renal function tests, cell blood counts, HbA1c, and abdominal ultrasound. Sweat function was assessed in all patients and controls by measuring hand and feet electrochemical skin conductance (ESC, microSiemens [µS]) using Sudoscan. Peripheral neuropathy was detected in none of the controls, 39% of group 1 patients, and 62% of group 2 patients (P < 0.0001). The mean feet ESC (FESC) was 88.3 ± 6.8 µS in controls, 67.2 ± 19.2 µS in group 1, and 57.9 ± 19.4 µS in group 2 (P < 0.0001). A significant correlation was observed between FESC and bilirubin, albumin, creatinine, international normalized ratio, transaminases, and splenic size. Electrochemical skin conductance measurement is a valuable, noninvasive method for early detection of small fiber neuropathy in asymptomatic HCV-related cirrhosis, with or without DM.

Background: The objectives were to describe the frequency of clinical presentation at the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and to estimate the prevalence of T1DM among children and adolescents in the AL-Baha region, Saudi Arabia, aiming for early diagnosis of T1DM. Methods: The clinical and laboratory data of 471 children and adolescents who presented with T1DM and received medical care at an AL-Baha diabetic center during the period from 2007 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed based on the records. Results: The prevalence of T1DM in the AL-Baha region was 355 per 100,000 population in participants aged from 0 to 19 years. T1DM was more common among girls than boys (57.5% vs. 42.5%, respectively; p=0.3), and the female/male ratio was 1.36 in favor of girls. Hyperglycemic symptoms were the most frequent symptoms at presentation [59.2% vs. 40.8% with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)], and 37% of them presented with loss of weight. Most of the ketoacidosis was mild to moderate (80.2%), while only 19.8% of children had the severe type and DKA was more common (55.2%) among females. The mean age at diagnosis of T1DM was 8.2±3.5 years for all patients, and 8.3±3.9 and 8.9±3.6 years for boys and girls, respectively (p=0.06). Hyperglycemic symptoms were more common in spring (15.9%). Conclusions: The prevalence of type 1 diabetes in the AL-Baha region was 355 per 100,000 population, which is one of the highest reported prevalences in this age group. Hyperglycemic symptoms were the most encountered symptoms at the onset of the presentation of T1DM and this may help in early detection of diabetic symptoms by patients and physicians to avoid the more severe types of presentation.

Background Malaria is one of the main causes of death in Sudan with high prevalence among males, children under five-year and pregnant women. In 2016 near 13% of hospital admissions in Sudan were due to malaria. Community pharmacist dispensing of antimalarial drugs without prescription and malaria self-treatment may lead to the development of drugs resistance and delay disease control. Objective To assess the knowledge and practice of community pharmacists regarding malaria and its treatment. Setting Community pharmacies in Khartoum State, Sudan. Method A cross-sectional survey was carried using a structured pre-tested self-administered questionnaire for the pharmacists in charge of 320 randomly selected community pharmacies. Main outcome measures The community pharmacists’knowledge and practices regarding malaria and antimalarials dispensing. Results A total of 293 pharmacists participated in the study giving a response rate of 91.5%. About 92.2% of the respondents were from the age of 20–39 years and 63.8% had less than 5 years of experience. Community pharmacists showed inadequate knowledge regarding malaria and its treatment. In addition to that, they were dispensing antimalarials without prescriptions. The community pharmacists reported many barriers to their effective contribution in malaria prevention and treatment such as lack of knowledge, lack of time and lack of training. Conclusion Inadequate knowledge and irrational antimalarials dispensing practices were reported among the community pharmacists in Khartoum State. Although training was a significant predictor of pharmacists’ knowledge regarding malaria and its treatment, health authorities were not providing regular training for the practicing pharmacists.

Nano ZnO with an average size of 8 nm was prepared by thermal decomposition of zinc oxalate at . A series of based composite polymer electrolyte PEO- and nano ZnO as a filler have been synthesized using solution cast technique, with varying the filler ratio systematically. XRD, DSC and FTIR studies have been conducted to investigate the structure and interaction of different groups in the composite polymer electrolyte. Effect of nano ZnO ceramic filler concentration on the structure of composites and their electrical properties (DC-conductivity, AC-conductivity, dielectric constant, dielectric loss and impedance) at different frequencies and temperatures was studied. Melting temperature () of PEO decreased with the addition of both salt and nano ZnO filler due to increasing the amorphous state of polymer. All composite samples showed an ionic conductivity. The maximum room temperature ionic conductivity is found for composite sample. All the results are correlated and discussed.