Biomedical subjects

Ahmed Mohammed

Publications and source records attributed to Ahmed Mohammed.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Robotic assistant for laparoscopy.

BACKGROUND: With the advent of technologies allowing for wider application of minimally invasive surgeries, the integration of telerobotics for mentoring by a surgeon at a remote site will make it possible to include a wider audience in surgical consultations and collaboration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two surgery research fellows performed 8 laparoscopic cholecystectomies each in a swine model, as the animate portion of the study. Using the Zeus robotic system, a senior surgeon participated as a robotic assistant and consulted remotely. Teleconsultation was achieved using Hermes voice-activated software to display an on-screen pointer highlighting significant anatomic structures. To clarify the workspace space constraints on the robotic arms, an inanimate study was conducted to carry out retrieval, delivery, and complex object movement. RESULTS: All the laparoscopic cholecystectomies were completed successfully, with minimal blood loss and no complications. The robotic assistant surgeon participated in all surgeries and instructed on anatomical landmarks. The robotic tools were at a disadvantage due to the radius of movement. The simpler tasks were easier to complete than the complex movement, which required bimanual coordination. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the feasibility of integrating robotics as a surgical assistant and to consult distant audiences by a single senior surgeon. Incorporating remote access assistance and education capacities extends the limits of physical restrictions in completing surgical procedures safely.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Promoter and piggyBac activities within embryos of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella, Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae).

Potato production in tropical and subtropical countries suffers from damage caused by the potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella. The aim of this research was the development of the components required for a germline transformation system for the PTM. We tested three components that are critical to genetic transformation systems for insects: promoter activity, marker gene expression, and transposable element function. We compared the transcriptional activities of five different promoters, hsp70, hsp82, actin5C, polyubiquitin and immediate early 1 gene (ie1), within PTM embryos. The ie1 promoter, flanked by the hr5 enhancer element, showed a very high level of transcriptional activity compared to the other promoters. The fluorescence activity of EGFP was also determined and transient expression of EGFP was detected in 57% of injected embryos. The transpositional activity of the piggyBac transposable element was tested in an interplasmid transposition assay. The piggyBac element was shown to be mobile within the embryonic soma of the PTM with a transposition frequency of 4.2 x 10(-5) transpositions/donor plasmid. Incorporating a transactivator plasmid expressing the immediate early protein (IE1) from the Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus enhanced the efficiency of piggyBac mobility.

Actins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antimicrobial resistance pattern of Salmonella serotypes isolated from apparently healthy slaughtered camels (Camelus dromedarius) in eastern Ethiopia.

A total of 714 samples consisting of faeces, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, abdominal and diaphragmatic muscles (each 119) were collected from November 2001 to April 2002 from apparently healthy slaughtered camels (Camelus dromedarius) in eastern Ethiopia. One hundred sixteen (16.2%) Salmonella strains belonging to 16 different serovars were isolated. All Salmonella strains isolated were examined for antimicrobial resistance to 17 selected antimicrobials. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined by the microdilution broth test. Fifty-two (44.8%) of the Salmonella isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. Thirty-nine of the 52 (75%) resistant Salmonella serovars exhibited multiple resistance to up to eight different antimicrobials. Among the serovars tested, S. Typhimurium, S. Heidelberg, S. Braenderup and S. Hadar displayed multiple resistance mainly to streptomycin (35.3%), spectinomycin (28.4%), sulfamethoxazole (25.0%), ampicillin (24.1%), trimethoprim (22.4%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (18.9%), tetracycline (12.9%) and colistin (11.2%). All Salmonella strains tested were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, kanamycin and neomycin. The present study showed the importance of camels as a potential source of single and multiple resistant Salmonella strains to different antimicrobials that are also used in the public health sector for the treatment of different bacterial diseases in Ethiopia.

Animals↗