Biomedical subjects
L Shanks
Publications and source records attributed to L Shanks.
Rape in war: the humanitarian response.
Women and children are vulnerable to sexual violence in times of conflict, and the risk persists even after they have escaped the conflict area. The impact of rape goes far beyond the immediate effects of the physical attack and has long-lasting consequences. We describe the humanitarian community's response to sexual violence and rape in times of war and civil unrest by drawing on the experiences of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders and other humanitarian agencies. Health care workers must have a keen awareness of the problem and be prepared to respond appropriately. This requires a comprehensive intervention protocol, including antibiotic prophylaxis, emergency contraception, referral for psychological support, and proper documentation and reporting procedures. Preventing widespread sexual violence requires increasing the security in refugee camps. It also requires speaking out and holding states accountable when violations of international law occur. The challenge is to remain alert to these often hidden, but extremely destructive, crimes in the midst of a chaotic emergency relief setting.
Reversal of fungitoxicity of 8-quinolinols and their copper(II) bischelates. II. Reversal of the action of 8-quinolinol by DL-alpha-lipoic acid.
The effect of amino acids and derivatives, Krebs cycle acids and related compounds, fatty acids, and vitamins and related compounds on the toxicity of 8-quinolinol and bis(8-quinolinolato)copper(II) to Aspergillus oryzae (ATCC 1011) was studied. Only aliphatic thiol-containing compounds (cysteine, glutathione, dithioerythritol, and dithiothreitol) and DL-alpha-lipoic acid protected against 8-quinolinol but not its copper(II) bischelate. It is suggested that 8-quinolinol inhibits lipoic acid biosynthesis, and the mode of fungitoxicity of 8-quinolinol is different from that of bis(8-quinolinolato)copper(II).
Antifungal properties of n-alkanols, alpha, omega-n-alkanediols, and omega-chloro-alpha-alkanols.
Fourteen n-alkanols (C1-C12, C14, and C16), 13 alpha,omega-n-alkanediols (C2-C12, C14, and C16), and 13 omega-chloro-alpha-alkanols (C2-C12, C14, and C16) were tested against Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, and Myrothecium verucaria in Sabouraud dextrose agar at pH 4.0 and 5.6. Toxicity to Candida blbicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Mucor mucedo was determined in the same medium at pH 5.6 and 7.0 in the absence and presence of 10% beef serum. The fungitoxicity of these alcohols was influenced by chain length and insignificantly by the pH of the medium and the presence of beef serum. The C10-member of each series was most active; the order of activity of the three groups was chloroalkanols greater than alkanols greater than alkanediols. Compared to the fatty acids, the order of fungitoxicity on a weight basis was 2-alkynoic acids greater than 2-alkenoic acids greater than omega-chloralkanols greater than alkanoic acids greater than 2-bromoalkanoic acids greater than 2-fluoroalkanoic acids greater than n-alkoxyacetic acids greater than n-alkanols greater than alpha,omega-n-alkanediols.
Triage, treatment and transfer: scope of duty in the delivery of emergency health care.
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Antifungal properties of n-alkoxyacetic acids and their methyl esters.
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Antifungal properties of halofumarate esters.
Alkyl esters (C1--C4) of the four halofumaric acids were tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Mucor mucedo, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes at pH 5.6 and 7.0 in the absence and presence of 10% beef serum in Sabouraud dextrose agar. The most toxic compound to each organism was: C. albicans, ethyl iodofumarate (0.054 mmole/liter); A. niger, methyl bromofumarate (0.090 mmole/liter); M. mucedo, methyl fluorofumarate (0.037 mmole/liter); and T. mentagrophytes, ethyl iodofumarate (0.020 mmole/liter). The order of overall activity of the six most toxic compounds was: ethyl iodofumarate greater than ethyl chlorofumarate greater than methyl iodofumarate = methyl bromofumarate greater than methyl chlorofumarate greater than bromofumarate.
Amino acid analogs IV:4-fluoroisoleucine.
4-Fluoroisoleucine was produced by ammonolysis of 2-bromo-4-fluoro-3-methylpentanoic acid, which resulted from the bromofluorination of 4-methyl-2-pentenoic acid. It did not inhibit Plasmodium berghei in mice at 640 mg/kg and was not toxic to the animals. The fluoroamino acid inhibited Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, Myrothecium verrucaria, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Mucor mucedo in Czapek solution agar at a concentration between 10(4) and 10(3) microgram/ml. Growth of Escherichia coli was inhibited 25% at 900 microgram/ml in a defined medium.
Antifungal properties of 2-alkynoic acids and their methyl esters.
Thirteen 2-alkynoic acids and their methyl esters (C3--C12, C14, C16, and C18) were tested against Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, and Myrothecium verrucaria in Sabouraud dextrose agar at pH 4.0 and 5.6. Toxicity to Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Mucro mucedo was determined in the same medium at pH 5.6 and 7.0 in the absence and presence of 10% beef serum. The fungitoxicity of the acids was influenced by chain length, pH of the medium, and absence or presence of adsorbents. The toxicity of the esters was influenced primarily by chain length and to a lesser extent by the pH of the medium and the presence of beef serum. The order of activity of the 2-alkynoic acids is C10=C11=C12 greater than C14=C16 greater than C9 greater than C8 greater than C7. When compared with other fatty acid analogs, the order of fungitoxicity on a weight basis is 2-alkynoic acids greater than 2-alkenoic acids greater than alkanoic acids greater than 2-bromoalkanoic acids greater than 2-fluoroalkanoic acids. There is an inverse relationship between chain length and pKa of the acids, suggesting that partition behavior is a fundamental determinant of fungitoxicity along with the effect of adsorbents.
Antifungal properties of 2-bromo-3-fluorosuccinic acid esters and related compounds.
Twelve esters (C1-C6) of erythro- and threo-2-bromo-3-fluorosuccinic acid and related compounds were tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Mucor mucedo, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes at pH 5.7 and 7.0 in the absence and presence of 10% beef serum in Sabouraud dextrose agar. At pH 7.0 in the presence of 10% beef serum, no consistent pattern in the fungitoxicity of the erythro- and threo-2-bromo-3-fluorosuccinate esters was seen. Increasing the length of the ester function affects fungitoxicity as follows: C2 greater than C1 greater than C3 greater than C4 greater than C5 greater than C6. The most fungitoxic compound in this study was threo-ethyl 2-bromo-3-fluorosuccinate (C. albicans, 14 mug/ml; A. niger, 30 mug/ml; M. mucedo, 9 mug/ml; T. mentagrophytes, 5 mug/ml). Due to the ease of dehydrohalogenation, the fungitoxicity of 2-bromo-3-fluorosuccinic acid esters may be the result of a mixture composed of the parent compound, the bromo- and fluorofumaric acid esters, and HF and HBr of which part may be formed extracellularly and part within the cell.
Antifungal activity of 4-substituted crotonic acid esters.
Twenty-three 4-substituted crotonic acid esters were tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Mucor mucedo, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. For the analogues of the methyl ester containing substituents in the 4 position, the following order of fungitoxicity was observed: I greater than Br greater than Cl greater than CH3S greater than CH3O greater than F=H. Of the homologues of the esters of the 4-iodo and 4-bromo compounds which included methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, and n-hexyl, ethyl 4-iodocrotonate was most toxic to the four fungi at pH 7.0 in the presence of 10% beef serum (C. albicans, 18mug/ml, A. niger, 40 mug/ml, M. mucedo, 5 mug/ml, T. mentagrophytes, 4 mug/ml). It is believed that the mechanism of fungitoxicity is due, in part, to a nucleophilic reaction involving SH-containing compounds. This is based on the correlation of fungitoxicity with the order of leaving groups in the nucleophilic reaction and the protection against the toxicity of the test compounds to the fungi by cysteine and glutathione.
Antifungal properties of alpha,omega-alkanedicarboxylic acids and their dimethyl esters.
Thirteen alpha, omega-alkanedicarboxylic acids (C2-C12, C14, and C16) and their dimethyl esters were tested against Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, and Myrothecium verrucaria in Sabourauc dextrose agar at pH 4.0 AND 5.6. Toxicity to Canadida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Mucor mucedo was determined in the same medium at pH 5.6 and 7.0 in the absence and presence of 10% beef serum. The dicarboxylic acids possessed very poor to no antifungal activity against all six fungi. The fungitoxicity of the dimethyl esters to A. niger, T. viride, and M. verrucaria was C8 = C9 greater than C7 greater than C6 = C5 greater than C10 greater than C4 greater than C11 and to C. albicans, T. mentagrophytes, and M. mucedo C9 greater than C10 greater than C11 greater than C12 = C8 greater than C7 greater than C6 greater than C5 greater than C4 greater than C3. The fungitoxicity of the esters of fatty acids and alpha-omega-alkanedicarboxylic acids was influenced by chain length and not by the pH of the medium or the absence or presence of beef serum.
Fungitoxicity of 1,4-naphthoquinones to Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Twenty-one substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones and five 8-quinolinols and copper(II) chelates were tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Compounds containing electron-releasing or weak electron-withdrawing groups in the 2 and 3 positions of the 1,4-naphthoquinone ring were the most active against C. albicans at pH 7.0 in the presence of beef serum in the following order: 2-CH3O = 2,3-(CH3O)2 greater than 2-CH3 greater than 2-CH3S greater than 2-NH2 greater than 2,6-(CH3)2. For T. mentagrophytes under the same conditions the inhibitory 1,4-naphthoquinones contained the substituents 2-CH3O greater than 2,3-(CH3O)2 greater than 2-CH2S greater than 2-CH3 greater than 2-CH3(NaHSO3) greater than 2-NH2 greater than 2-C2H5S, 3-CH3 greater than 2,6-(CH3)2 greater than 2,3-CL2 greater than 5,8-(OH)2.
Complex emergencies: expected and unexpected consequences.
Complex emergencies emerged as a new type of disaster following the end of the Cold War, and have become increasingly common in recent years. Human activity including civil strife, war, and political repression often coexist with and contribute to natural phenomena such as famine. They frequently result in high mortality, population displacement, and the disruption of civil society and its infrastructure. This article reviews the context of recent complex emergencies, and their expected health consequences, such as diarrhea, measles, malnutrition and outbreaks of infectious disease, and the disruption of mechanisms of disease control and surveillance. However, the complex nature of these emergencies also may have unexpected consequences, such as hindering understanding of their causes or limiting the attention paid to them by the public. This paper discusses the context and consequences of complex emergencies from the health standpoint, and explores some of their unexpected effects.