Thirty-six species belonging to 15 genera of keratinophilic fungi were collected from 50 soil samples gathered from different places of Yemen by using hair fragments as baits at 28°C. Six species of true dermatophytes were collected: Arthroderma Lenticulare (= Trichophyton terrestre), Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. equinum, T. rubrum, T. soudanense and Microsporum gypseum. Numerous Keratinophilic fungi were isolated namely: Aphanoascus terreus (= Chrysosporium indicum), Aphanoascus species (= C. tropicum), A. fulvescens (= C. Keratinophilum), Chrysosporium pannicola, C. pruinosum, C. carmichaelii, C. lucknowense, C. xerophilum, C. asperatum, Arthroderma cuniculi, (= C. anamorph of Arthroderma cuniculi), A. curreyi (=C. anamorph of Arthroderma curreyi) and Prectinotrichum llanense (= C. anamorph of Prectinotrichum llanense). The commonest saprophytes in order of frequency were member of the genera Aspergillus, Alternaria, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Cunninghamella, Fusarium, Ulocladium and Macrophomina.

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Tuberculosis (TB), caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a major health problem. It has been found in Neolithic remains, and is still the largest cause of death from a single infectious disease. There are about 20 million new active cases of TB each year and there are between 3-8 million deaths per year from this infection. This represents greater than 25% of all avoidable deaths worldwide.
The importance of mycobacterial secreted proteins in infection has been suggested by many investigators. Three important antigens, the 38 kDa, 30/31 kDa and SOD molecules, have been found to be secreted by M. tuberculosis. The importance of the 38 kDa in TB has been shown by many investigators. We have developed different tests for the detection of these antigens in the TB patients sera. The performance of both a Direct and Sandwich ELISA using FF11 (anti-38 kDa m-Ab) for the detection of the 38 kDa M. tuberculosis antigen has been evaluated in our study.
This test been found to have a specificity of 84-88% with positive predictive values of 80 84% which, although not ideal, is quite helpful in developing some new specific diagnostic test. Our test has the advantage that antigens may be detected in the early stages of infection and we have shown that it can be used for monitoring effective chemotherapy by detecting the decline in the 38 kDa antigen in previously positive patients. However, a detailed study is needed on larger numbers of confirmed TB cases and normals.

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Urinary lactose, creatinine and lactose/creatinine ratios were measured in 9 lactating mothers (at 1, 2, and 3 months postpartum) and 13 non-lactating women. Urinary lactose and creatinine were measured using commercially available kits. Mean urinary lactose content was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in lactating mothers than in non-lactating women (2.5 ± 1.8 vs 0.07 ± 0.05 nmol/L). Similarly, mean lactose/creatinine ratios were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in lactating mothers than in non-lactating women (0.31 ± 0.17 vs. 0.01 ± 0.01). The creatinine contents of lactating and non-lactating women were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Increased breastfeeding frequency (7.4 ± 1.7 times/day) resulted in increased lactose/creatinine ratios in lactating women. It is concluded that lactose creatinine ratios can be used for the estimation of lactation performance in lactating mothers.

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The prospects of stabilizing typical Jordanian soils from three regions were investigated. Cement, lime, and alkali sodium chemical additives were used to find the optimum combination that produce the best unconfined compressive strength and C.B.R. results. It was found that clayey silt from Zeizia region requires 9% cement by weight of dry soil or 7% cement + 2% lime to be stabilized. The amount of stabilizing agent could be reduced if sodium hydroxide or carbonate of 0.5 N is added to the mixture. The silty clay from Irbid area requires 12% cement or 8% cement + 4% lime to meet the soil cement strength criterion. The sodium alkalis could reduce the total cementing agent. The marly clay from Na'ur area was found to show poor response to cement. It requires 18% sulphate resisting cement. It shows negative response to the alkali sodium chemicals used.
Concerning the amount of stabilizer for each soil, the choice depends on the availability, the cost, and the economical conditions of the concerned area and time of construction.

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The backfire principle is an effective technique for improving the performance of an antenna, without adding much to its physical dimensions or weight. In this paper a backfire antenna with multiple flat reflectors is suggested. The performance of this backfire antenna is compared with those of a single and double back reflector backfire antennas operating at the same design frequency of 9.35 GHz. The measurements indicate a remarkable improvement in the gain and mainlobe to sidelobe-level and a significant increment in the bandwidth of the antenna. The dimensions of the antenna are optimized to give maximum directive gain.

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Alumina powder is impregnated with samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd) and erbium (Er) metals and is characterized by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. It is observed that these metals on impregnation do not contribute any extra surface to alumina. The values of surface area and pore volume determined from nitrogen adsorption follows the sequence: Alumina > Sm-alumina > Gd-alumina > Er-alumina, and their behaviour is discussed in term of ionic radii of metal ions. It is also observed that meso and macropores contribute significantly to the total pore volume.

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Osteoporosis is a process, throughout which the mineral and matrix content of bone steadily decreases in equal ratios below the normal ranges and chance for spontaneous fractures gradually increases. There is sizeable amount of clinical trials indicating the use of calcitonin or bisphosphanates in the treatment of osteoporosis. Bisphosphanates, with avid adherence to the hydroxyapatite crystals of bone, inhibit osteoclastic bone resorption. On the other hand, calcitonin prevents further bone loss by suppressing the activity of osteoclasts. In the present study, we compared the efficacy of the two treatments in the rectification of bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporosis. Our results revealed that either of the drugs are equally effective in the restoration of bone resorption with regard to dual-photon absorptiometry test, but on the basis of hemochemical laboratory data, calcitonin provides greater increments in alkaline phosphatase, calcium, ionized calcium than those of etidronate.

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This study concerns the evaluation of -thalassemia alleles in 20 individuals with homozygous -thalassemia major, using gene amplification and dot-blot hybridization with synthetic oligonucleotide probes.
In addition to the genetic and molecular screening, erythropoietic cells in the peripheral blood samples of the same patients (12 non-splenectomized and 8 splenectomized) were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The molecular lesions causing -thalassemia major have been delineated in Antalya (a Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast) by using polymerase chain reaction technique, which preferentially amplifies -globin DNA sequences containing the most frequent -thalassemia mutations in this region.
The Mediterranean population in Antalya carries six different -globin mutations; four of these had been cumulated into IVS-I domain of -globin gene, which account for nearly 95% of all abnormalities.
On the other hand, most of the erythroblastic cells showed many intracytoplasmic alterations corresponding to that of mutations of -thalassemia.

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It is recently reported that Beta 2-microglobulin ( 2M) is a serologic marker for celllular immune activation in inflammatory heart diseases. This study was designed to assess the plasma levels of 2M in 21 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. 10 men and 11 women, aged 54.8 ± 13.9 years were subjected to these studies. The control group consisted of 25 healthy donors (11 men and 14 women, aged 46.4 ± 12.7 years. The patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were in New York Heart functional class II to IV and had an ejection fraction of < 40% assessed by echocardiography at the time of evaluation. They had no evidence of active infection, inflammatory disease, cancer, hypertension or renal failure. They received a standardized therapeutic regimen consisting of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, long-acting nitrates, digitalis and furosemide (40 to 160 mg/day). Endomyocardial biopsy and cardiac catheterization were not performed. Native serum and ethylene diaminetetraacetate plasma were stored at -20°C until use. The plasma values of 2M were determined by radioimmunoassay kits. The plasma levels of 2M were significantly elevated in patients group compared with control subjects (2153.73 ± 22.79 vs 880.99 ± 228.97 microgram/liter, respectively, p < 0.001).
In conclusion, plasma 2M was associated with the T cellular hyperresponsiveness and may serve as useful marker of disease activitiy reflecting different aspects in the multifactorial pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy. Future studies are neccesary to detect prognostic or predicitive roles of 2M in heart failure.

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