Search results for: airborne viral transmission

Authors: Mahdieh Farzin Asanjan, Erkan Unal Mumcuoglu

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Mitochondria are cytoplasmic organelles of the cell, which have a significant role in the variety of cellular metabolic functions. Mitochondria act as the power plants of the cell and are surrounded by two membranes. Significant morphological alterations are often due to changes in mitochondrial functions. A powerful technique in order to study the three-dimensional (3D) structure of mitochondria and its alterations in disease states is Electron microscope tomography. Detection of mitochondria in electron microscopy images due to the presence of various subcellular structures and imaging artifacts is a challenging problem. Another challenge is that each image typically contains more than one mitochondrion. Hand segmentation of mitochondria is tedious and time-consuming and also special knowledge about the mitochondria is needed. Fully automatic segmentation methods lead to over-segmentation and mitochondria are not segmented properly. Therefore, semi-automatic segmentation methods with minimum manual effort are required to edit the results of fully automatic segmentation methods. Here two editing tools were implemented by applying spline surface dragging and interactive live-wire segmentation tools. These editing tools were applied separately to the results of fully automatic segmentation. 3D extension of these tools was also studied and tested. Dice coefficients of 2D and 3D for surface dragging using splines were 0.93 and 0.92. This metric for 2D and 3D for live-wire method were 0.94 and 0.91 respectively. The root mean square symmetric surface distance values of 2D and 3D for surface dragging was measured as 0.69, 0.93. The same metrics for live-wire tool were 0.60 and 2.11. Comparing the results of these editing tools with the results of automatic segmentation method, it shows that these editing tools, led to better results and these results were more similar to ground truth image but the required time was higher than hand-segmentation time

Keywords: medical image segmentation, semi-automatic methods, transmission electron microscopy, surface dragging using splines, live-wire

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Authors: Amine Alaoui Sanae, Tagjdid Reda, Loutfi Chafiqa, Melloul Merouane, Laloui Aziz, Touil Nadia, El Fahim, E. Mostafa

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Background: Rotavirus group A (RVA) strains with G8P[14] specificities are usually detected in calves and goats. However, these strains have been reported globally in humans and have often been characterized as originating from zoonotic transmissions, particularly in area where ruminants and humans live side-by-side. Whether human P[14] genotypes are two-way and can be transmitted to animal species remains to be established. Here we describe VP4 deduced amino-acid relationships of three Moroccan P[14] genotypes originating from different species and the receptiveness of an alpine goat to a human G8P[14] through an experimental infection. Material/methods: the human MA31 RVA strain was originally identified in a four years old girl presenting an acute gastroenteritis hospitalized at the pediatric care unit in Rabat Hospital in 2011. The virus was isolated and propagated in MA104 cells in the presence of trypsin. Ch_10S and 8045_S animal RVA strains were identified in fecal samples of a 2-week-old native goat and 3-week-old calf with diarrhea in 2011 in Bouaarfa and My Bousselham respectively. Genomic RNAs of all strains were subjected to a two-step RT-PCR and sequenced using the consensus primers VP4. The phylogenetic tree for MA31, Ch_10S and 8045_S VP4 and a set of published P[14] genotypes was constructed using MEGA6 software. The receptivity of MA31 strain by an eight month-old alpine goat was assayed. The animal was orally and intraperitonally inoculated with a dose of 8.5 TCID50 of virus stock at passage level 3. The shedding of the virus was tested by a real time RT-PCR assay. Results: The phylogenetic tree showed that the three Moroccan strains MA31, Ch_10S and 8045_S VP4 were highly related to each other (100% similar at the nucleotide level). They were clustered together with the B10925, Sp813, PA77 and P169 strains isolated in Belgium, Spain and Italy respectively. The Belgian strain B10925 was the most closely related to the Moroccan strains. In contrast, the 8045_S and Ch_10S strains were clustered distantly from the Tunisian calf strain B137 and the goat strain cap455 isolated in South Africa respectively. The human MA31 RVA strain was able to induce bloody diarrhea at 2 days post infection (dpi) in the alpine goat kid. RVA virus shedding started by 2 dpi (Ct value of 28) and continued until 5 dpi (Ct value of 25) with a concomitant elevation in the body temperature. Conclusions: Our study while limited to one animal, is the first study proving experimentally that a human P[14] genotype causes diarrhea and virus shedding in the goat. This result reinforce the potential role of inter- species transmission in generating novel and rare rotavirus strains such G8P[14] which infect humans.

Keywords: interspecies transmission, rotavirus, goat, human

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Authors: Akim Borbuev, Francisco de León

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Economic and population growth in densely-populated urban areas introduce major challenges to distribution system operators, planers, and designers. To supply added loads, utilities are frequently forced to invest in new distribution feeders. However, this is becoming increasingly more challenging due to space limitations and rising installation costs in urban settings. This paper proposes the conversion of critical alternating current (ac) distribution feeders into direct current (dc) feeders to increase the power transfer capacity by a factor as high as four. Current trends suggest that the return of dc transmission, distribution, and utilization are inevitable. Since a total system-level transformation to dc operation is not possible in a short period of time due to the needed huge investments and utility unreadiness, this paper recommends that feeders that are expected to exceed their limits in near future are converted to dc. The increase in power transfer capacity is achieved through several key differences between ac and dc power transmission systems. First, it is shown that underground cables can be operated at higher dc voltage than the ac voltage for the same dielectric stress in the insulation. Second, cable sheath losses, due to induced voltages yielding circulation currents, that can be as high as phase conductor losses under ac operation, are not present under dc. Finally, skin and proximity effects in conductors and sheaths do not exist in dc cables. The paper demonstrates that in addition to the increased power transfer capacity utilities substituting ac feeders by dc feeders could benefit from significant lower costs and reduced losses. Installing dc feeders is less expensive than installing new ac feeders even when new trenches are not needed. Case studies using the IEEE 342-Node Low Voltage Networked Test System quantify the technical and economic benefits of dc feeders.

Keywords: DC power systems, distribution feeders, distribution networks, power transfer capacity

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Authors: Panadda Rojpibulstit, Suthathip Kittisenachai, Songchan Puthong, Sirikul Manochantr, Pornpen Gamnarai, Sasichai Kangsadalampai, Sittiruk Roytrakul

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most primary hepatic cancer worldwide. Nowadays a targeted therapy via monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to tumor-associated antigen is continually developed in HCC treatment. In this regard, after establishing and consequently exploring Hep88 mAb’s tumoricidal effect on hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2 cell line), the Hep88 mAb’s specific Ag from both membrane and cytoplasmic fractions of HepG2 cell line was identified by 2-D gel electrophoresis and western blot analysis. After in-gel digestion and subsequent analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), mortalin (HSPA9) and alpha-enolase were identified. The recombinant proteins specific to Hep88 mAb were cloned and expressed in E.coli BL21 (DE3). Moreover, alteration of HepG2 and Chang liver cell line after being induced by Hep88 mAb for 1-3 days was investigated using a transmission electron microscope. The result demonstrated that Hep88 mAb can bind to the recombinant mortalin (HSPA9) andalpha-enolase. In addition, gradual appearance of mitochondria vacuolization and endoplasmic reticulum dilatation were observed. Taken together, paraptosis-like programmed cell death (PCD) of HepG2 is induced by binding of mortalin (HSPA9) and alpha-enolase to Hep88 mAb. Mortalin depletion by formation of Hep88 mAb-mortalin (HSPA9) complex might initiate transcription-independent of p53-mediated apoptosis. Additionally, Hep88 mAb-alpha-enolase complex might initiate HepG2 cells energy exhaustion by glycolysis pathway obstruction. These results imply that Hep88 mAb might be a promising tool for development of an effective treatment of HCC in the next decade.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Monoclonal antibody, Paraptosis-like program cell death, Transmission electron microscopy, mortalin (HSPA9), alpha-enolase

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Authors: Abeer N. Alshukairi, Abdulrahman A. Alrajhi, Abdulfattah W. Alamri, Adel F. Alothman

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We described the nosocomial transmission of a pre-XDR or an MDR case of pulmonary tuberculosis in a HIV negative health care worker in an area endemic for MDR & XDR tuberculosis. With inadequate therapy and non-compliance, his strain developed acquired resistance and he presented with extra-pulmonary XDR tuberculosis in the form of multi-focal osteomyelitis and encysted pleural effusion. He was cured after 2 years of therapy with various anti-tuberculous drugs in addition to interferon gamma.

Keywords: osteomyelitis, treatment, XDR tuberculosis, successful treatment

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Authors: Humaira Athar, Brajeshwar Singh

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Generally, the brightness of the indoor environment of buildings is entirely maintained by the artificial lighting which has consumed a large amount of resources. It is reported that lighting consumes about 19% of the total generated electricity which accounts for about 30-40% of total energy consumption. One possible way is to reduce the lighting energy by exploiting sunlight either through the use of suitable devices or energy efficient materials like translucent concrete. Translucent concrete is one such architectural concrete which allows the passage of natural light as well as artificial light through it. Several attempts have been made on different aspects of translucent concrete such as light guiding materials (glass fibers, plastic fibers, cylinder etc.), concrete mix design and manufacturing methods for use as building elements. Concerns are, however, raised on various related issues such as poor compatibility between the optical fibers and cement paste, unaesthetic appearance due to disturbance occurred in the arrangement of fibers during vibration and high shrinkage in flowable concrete due to its high water/cement ratio. Need is felt to develop translucent concrete to meet the requirement of structural safety as OPC concrete with the maximized saving in energy towards the power of illumination and thermal load in buildings. Translucent concrete was produced using pre-treated plastic optical fibers (POF, 2mm dia.) and high slump white concrete. The concrete mix was proportioned in the ratio of 1:1.9:2.1 with a w/c ratio of 0.40. The POF was varied from 0.8-9 vol.%. The mechanical properties and light transmission of this concrete were determined. Thermal conductivity of samples was measured by a transient plate source technique. Daylight illumination was measured by a lux grid method as per BIS:SP-41. It was found that the compressive strength of translucent concrete increased with decreasing optical fiber content. An increase of ~28% in the compressive strength of concrete was noticed when fiber was pre-treated. FE-SEM images showed little-debonded zone between the fibers and cement paste which was well supported with pull-out bond strength test results (~187% improvement over untreated). The light transmission of concrete was in the range of 3-7% depending on fiber spacing (5-20 mm). The average daylight illuminance (~75 lux) was nearly equivalent to the criteria specified for illumination for circulation (80 lux). The thermal conductivity of translucent concrete was reduced by 28-40% with respect to plain concrete. The thermal load calculated by heat conduction equation was ~16% more than the plain concrete. Based on Design-Builder software, the total annual illumination energy load of a room using one side translucent concrete was 162.36 kW compared with the energy load of 249.75 kW for a room without concrete. The calculated energy saving on an account of the power of illumination was ~25%. A marginal improvement towards thermal comfort was also noticed. It is concluded that the translucent concrete has the advantages of the existing concrete (load bearing) with translucency and insulation characteristics. It saves a significant amount of energy by providing natural daylight instead of artificial power consumption of illumination.

Keywords: energy saving, light transmission, microstructure, plastic optical fibers, translucent concrete

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Authors: Ho-Hsin Lee, Yue-Min Jiang, Shu-Hui Tsai, Jian-Ren Chen, Mei-Yu XU, Wen-Tien Wu

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This project presents an AI-based method and system for wound status analysis. The system uses a three-in-one sensor device to analyze wound status, including color, temperature, and a 3D sensor to provide wound information up to 2mm below the surface, such as redness, heat, and blood circulation information. The system has a 90% accuracy rate, requiring only one manual correction in 70% of cases, with a one-second delay. The system also provides an offline application that allows for manual correction of the wound bed range using color-based guidance to estimate wound bed size with 96% accuracy and a maximum of one manual correction in 96% of cases, with a one-second delay. Additionally, AI-assisted wound bed range selection achieves 100% of cases without manual intervention, with an accuracy rate of 76%, while AI-based wound tissue type classification achieves an 85.3% accuracy rate for five categories. The AI system also includes similar case search and expert recommendation capabilities. For AI-assisted wound range selection, the system uses WIFI6 technology, increasing data transmission speeds by 22 times. The project aims to save up to 64% of the time required for human wound record keeping and reduce the estimated time to assess wound status by 96%, with an 80% accuracy rate. Overall, the proposed AI method and system integrate multiple sensors to provide accurate wound information and offer offline and online AI-assisted wound bed size estimation and wound tissue type classification. The system decreases delay time to one second, reduces the number of manual corrections required, saves time on wound record keeping, and increases data transmission speed, all of which have the potential to significantly improve wound care and management efficiency and accuracy.

Keywords: wound status analysis, AI-based system, multi-sensor integration, color-based guidance

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Authors: Ian Jones, Jonathan Griffiths

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Laser welding offers the potential for making very precise joints in plastics products, both in terms of the joint location and the amount of heating applied. These methods have allowed the production of complex products such as microfluidic devices where channels and structure resolution below 100 µm is regularly used. However, to date, the dimension of welds made using lasers has been limited by the focus spot size that is achievable from the laser source. Theoretically, the minimum spot size possible from a laser is comparable to the wavelength of the radiation emitted. Practically, with reasonable focal length optics the spot size achievable is a few factors larger than this, and the melt zone in a plastics weld is larger again than this. The narrowest welds feasible to date have therefore been 10-20 µm wide using a near-infrared laser source. The aim of this work was to prepare laser absorber tracks and channels less than 10 µm wide in PMMA thermoplastic using EB lithography followed by sealing of channels using laser welding to carry out welds with widths of the order of 1 µm, below the resolution limit of the near-infrared laser used. Welded joints with a width of 1 µm have been achieved as well as channels with a width of 5 µm. The procedure was based on the principle of transmission laser welding using a thin coating of infrared absorbent material at the joint interface. The coating was patterned using electron-beam lithography to obtain the required resolution in a reproducible manner and that resolution was retained after the transmission laser welding process. The joint strength was ratified using larger scale samples. The results demonstrate that plastics products could be made with a high density of structure with resolution below 1 um, and that welding can be applied without excessively heating regions beyond the weld lines. This may be applied to smaller scale sensor and analysis chips, micro-bio and chemical reactors and to microelectronic packaging.

Keywords: microchannels, polymer, EB lithography, laser welding

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Authors: Asim Abbasi, Muhammad Sufyan, Iqra, Hafiza Javaria Ashraf

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The share of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in the global burden of infectious diseases is almost 17%. The advent of new drugs and latest research in medical science helped mankind to compete with these lethal diseases but still diseases transmitted by different mosquito species, including filariasis, malaria, viral encephalitis and dengue are serious threats for people living in disease endemic areas. Injudicious and repeated use of pesticides posed selection pressure on mosquitoes leading to development of resistance. Hence biological control agents are under serious consideration of scientific community to be used in vector control programmes. Fish have a history of predating immature stages of different aquatic insects including mosquitoes. The noteworthy examples in Africa and Asia includes, Aphanius discolour and a fish in the Panchax group. Moreover, common mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis predates mostly on temporary water mosquitoes like anopheline as compared to permanent water breeders like culicines. Mosquitoes belonging to genus Toxorhynchites have a worldwide distribution and are mostly associated with the predation of other mosquito larvae habituating with them in natural and artificial water containers. These species are harmless to humans as their adults do not suck human blood but feeds on floral nectar. However, their activity is mostly temperature dependent as Toxorhynchites brevipalpis consume 359 Aedes aegypti larvae at 30-32 ºC in contrast to 154 larvae at 20-26 ºC. Although many bacterial species were isolated from mosquito cadavers but those belonging to genus Bacillus are found highly pathogenic against them. The successful species of this genus include Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus. The prime targets of B. thuringiensis are mostly the immatures of genus Aedes, Culex, Anopheles and Psorophora while B. sphaericus is specifically toxic against species of Culex, Psorophora and Culiseta. The entomopathogenic nematodes belonging to family, mermithidae are also pathogenic to different mosquito species. Eighty different species of mosquitoes including Anopheles, Aedes and Culex proved to be highly vulnerable to the attack of two mermithid species, Romanomermis culicivorax and R. iyengari. Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus was the first described pathogenic virus, isolated from the cadavers of mosquito specie, Culex tarsalis. Other viruses which are pathogenic to culicine includes, iridoviruses, cytopolyhedrosis viruses, entomopoxviruses and parvoviruses. Protozoa species belonging to division microsporidia are the common pathogenic protozoans in mosquito populations which kill their host by the chronic effects of parasitism. Moreover, due to their wide prevalence in anopheline mosquitoes and transversal and horizontal transmission from infected to healthy host, microsporidia of the genera Nosema and Amblyospora have received much attention in various mosquito control programmes. Fungal based mycopesticides are used in biological control of insect pests with 47 species reported virulent against different stages of mosquitoes. These include both aquatic fungi i.e. species of Coelomomyces, Lagenidium giganteum and Culicinomyces clavosporus, and the terrestrial fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana. Hence, it was concluded that the integrated use of all these biological control agents can be a healthy contribution in mosquito control programmes and become a dire need of the time to avoid repeated use of pesticides.

Keywords: entomopathogenic nematodes, protozoa, Toxorhynchites, vector-borne

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Authors: Anierudh Vishwanathan

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This paper suggests a new design of the crankshaft system that would help to use a low revving engine for applications requiring the use of a high revving engine operating at the same power by converting the extra or unnecessary torque obtained from a low revving engine into angular velocity of the crankshaft of the engine hence, improve the fuel economy of the vehicle because of the fact that low revving engines run more effectively on lean air fuel mixtures accompanied with less wear and tear of the engine due to lesser rubbing of the piston rings with the cylinder walls. If the crankshaft with the proposed design is used in a low revving engine, then it will give the same torque and speed as that given by a high revving engine operating at the same power but the new engine will give better fuel economy. Hence the new engine will give the benefits of a low revving engine as well as a high revving engine. The proposed crankshaft design will be achieved by changing the design of the crankweb in such a way that it functions both as a counterweight as well as a helical gear that can transfer power to the secondary gear shaft which will be incorporated in the crankshaft system. The crankshaft and the secondary gear shaft will be operating at an overdrive ratio. The crankshaft will now be a two shaft system instead of a single shaft system. The newly designed crankshaft will be mounted on the bearings instead of being connected to the flywheel of the engine. This newly designed crankshaft will transmit power to the secondary shaft which will rotate the flywheel and then the rotary motion will be transmitted to the transmission system as usual. In this design, the concept of power transmission will be incorporated in the crankshaft system. In the paper, the crankshaft and the secondary shafts have been designed in such a way that at any instant of time only half the number of crankwebs will be meshed with the secondary shaft. For example, during one revolution of the crankshaft, if for the first half of revolution; first, second, seventh and eighth crankwebs are meshing with the secondary shaft then for the next half revolution, third, fourth, fifth and sixth crankwebs will mesh with the secondary shaft. This paper also analyses the proposed crankshaft design for safety against fatigue failure. Finite element analysis of the crankshaft has been done and the resultant stresses have been calculated.

Keywords: low revving, high revving, secondary shaft, partial meshing

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Authors: Ibrahim Obeidat

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Reaching a fully-connected network of mobile nodes in rural areas got a great attention between network researchers. This attention rose due to the complexity and high costs while setting up the needed infrastructures for these networks, in addition to the low transmission range these nodes has. Terranet technology, as an example, employs ad-hoc mesh network where each node has a transmission range not exceed one kilometer, this means that every two nodes are able to communicate with each other if they are just one kilometer far from each other, otherwise a third-party will play the role of the “relay”. In Terranet, and as an idea to reduce network setup cost, every node in the network will be considered as a router that is responsible of forwarding data between other nodes which result in a decentralized collaborative environment. Most researches on Terranet presents the idea of how to encourage mobile nodes to become more cooperative by letting their devices in “ON” state as long as possible while accepting to play the role of relay (router). This research presents the issue of finding the percentage of nodes in ad-hoc mesh network within rural areas that should play the role of relay at every time slot, relating to what is the actual area coverage of nodes in order to have the network reach the fully-connectivity. Far from our knowledge, till now there is no current researches discussed this issue. The research is done by making an implementation that depends on building adjacency matrix as an indicator to the connectivity between network members. This matrix is continually updated until each value in it refers to the number of hubs that should be followed to reach from one node to another. After repeating the algorithm on different area sizes, different coverage percentages for each size, and different relay percentages for several times, results extracted shows that for area coverage less than 5% we need to have 40% of the nodes to be relays, where 10% percentage is enough for areas with node coverage greater than 5%.

Keywords: ad-hoc mesh networks, network connectivity, mobile ad-hoc networks, Terranet, adjacency matrix, simulator, wireless sensor networks, peer to peer networks, vehicular Ad hoc networks, relay

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Authors: Kanokkan Titipornpun, Tripob Bhongsuwan, Jan Gimsa

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The Ko Samui district of Surat Thani province is located in the high amounts of equivalent uranium in the ground surface that is the source of radon. Our research in the Ko Samui district aimed at comparing the indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces. Measurements of indoor radon concentrations were carried out in 46 dwellings and 127 workplaces, using CR-39 alpha-track detectors in closed-cup. A total of 173 detectors were distributed in 7 sub-districts. The detectors were placed in bedrooms of dwellings and workrooms of workplaces. All detectors were exposed to airborne radon for 90 days. After exposure, the alpha tracks were made visible by chemical etching before they were manually counted under an optical microscope. The track densities were assumed to be correlated with the radon concentration levels. We found that the radon concentrations could be well described by a log-normal distribution. Most concentrations (37%) were found in the range between 16 and 30 Bq.m^-3. The radon concentrations in dwellings and workplaces varied from a minimum of 11 Bq.m^-3 to a maximum of 305 Bq.m^-3. The minimum (11 Bq.m^-3) and maximum (305 Bq.m^-3) values of indoor radon concentrations were found in a workplace and a dwelling, respectively. Only for four samples (3%), the indoor radon concentrations were found to be higher than the reference level recommended by the WHO (100 Bq.m^-3). The overall geometric mean in the surveyed area was 32.6±1.65 Bq.m^-3, which was lower than the worldwide average (39 Bq.m^-3). The statistic comparison of the geometric mean indoor radon concentrations between dwellings and workplaces showed that the geometric mean in dwellings (46.0±1.55 Bq.m^-3) was significantly higher than in workplaces (28.8±1.58 Bq.m^-3) at the 0.05 level. Moreover, our study found that the majority of the bedrooms in dwellings had a closed atmosphere, resulting in poorer ventilation than in most of the workplaces that had access to air flow through open doors and windows at daytime. We consider this to be the main reason for the higher geometric mean indoor radon concentration in dwellings compared to workplaces.

Keywords: CR-39 detector, indoor radon, radon in dwelling, radon in workplace

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Authors: Ann Ying-An Chen, Yi-Lun Tsai, Hso-Chi Chaung

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An understanding of pathogens and the immune system has played an utmost important role in agricultural research for the development of vaccinations. The immunological synapse, cell to cell interaction play a crucial role in triggering the body's immune system, such as activation between antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and different subsets of T-cell. If these interactions are regulated appropriately, the host has the ability to defend itself against a wide spectrum of infectious pathogens. The aim of this study is to establish and to characterize a porcine immune synapse system by co-culturing T cell/APC. In this study, blood samples were collected from specific-pathogen-free piglets, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were separated by using Ficoll-Pague. The PBMC were then stained with CD4 (FITC) and CD25 (PE) antibodies. Different subsets of T cells sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorting flow cytometer were co-cultured for 24 hrs with alveolar macrophages, and the profiles of cytokine secretion and mRNA transcription levels of Toll-like receptors were examined after. Results showed that the three stages of immune synapse were clearly visible and identified under both transmission and scanning electron microscope (TEM and SEM). The significant interaction differences in toll-like receptor expressions within the co-cultured cell system were observed. The TLR7 mRNA expressions in CD4+CD25- cells were lower than those in CD4+CD25+ and CD4 -CD25+. Interestingly, the IL-10 production levels in CD4+CD25- cells (7.732 pg/mL) were significantly higher than those of CD4+CD25+ (2.636 pg/mL) and CD4 -CD25+ (2.48 pg/mL). These findings demonstrated that a clear understanding of the porcine immune synapse system can contribute greatly for further investigations on the mechanism of T-cell activation, which can benefit in the discovery of potential adjuvant candidate or effective antigen epitopes in the development of vaccinations with high efficacy.

Keywords: antigen-presenting cells, immune synapse, pig, T subsets, toll-like receptor

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Authors: Igor Vishnevskyi

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Introduction: The urinary bladder undergoes repeated strain during its working cycle, suggesting the presence of an efficient support system, force transmission, and mechanical amplification. The concept of a "hydrostatic skeleton" (HS) could contribute to our understanding of the functional relationships among bladder constituents. Methods: A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted to identify key features of the HS and to gather evidence supporting its applicability in urinary bladder biomechanics. The collected evidence was synthesized to propose a framework for understanding the potential hydrostatic properties of the urinary bladder based on existing knowledge and HS principles. Results: Our analysis revealed similarities in biomechanical features between living fluid-filled structures and the urinary bladder. These similarities include the geodesic arrangement of fibres, the role of enclosed fluid (urine) in force transmission, prestress as a determinant of stiffness, and the ability to maintain shape integrity during various activities. From a biomechanical perspective, urine may be considered an essential component of the bladder. The hydrostatic skeleton, with its autonomy and flexibility, may provide insights for researchers involved in bladder engineering. Discussion: The concept of a hydrostatic skeleton offers a holistic perspective for understanding bladder function by considering multiple mechanical factors as a single structure with emergent properties. Incorporating viewpoints from various fields on HS can help identify how this concept applies to live fluid-filled structures or organs and reveal its broader relevance to biological systems, both natural and artificial. Conclusion: The hydrostatic skeleton (HS) design principle can be applied to the urinary bladder. Understanding the bladder as a structure with HS can be instrumental in biomechanical modelling and engineering. Further research is required to fully elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying HS in the bladder.

Keywords: hydrostatic skeleton, urinary bladder morphology, shape integrity, prestress, biomechanical modelling

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Authors: Vallejo Michael, Acuña Edgar, Roa Juan David, Peñuela Rosa, Parra Alejandra, Casallas Daniela, Rodriguez Sheyla

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Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome is an entity composed by a variety of birth defects presented in newborns that have been exposed to the Zika Virus during pregnancy. The syndrome characteristic features are severe microcephaly, cerebral tissue abnormalities, ophthalmological abnormalities such as uveitis and chorioretinitis, arthrogryposis, clubfoot deformity and muscular tone abnormalities. The confirmatory test is the Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) associated to the physical findings. Here we present the case of a newborn with microcephaly whose mother presented a confirmed Zika Virus infection during the third trimester of pregnancy, despite of the evident findings and the history of Zika infection the RT-PCR in amniotic and cerebrospinal fluid of the newborn was negative. RT-PCR has demonstrated a low sensibility in samples with low viral loads, reason why, we propose a clinical diagnosis in patients with clinical history of Zika Virus infection during pregnancy accompanied by evident clinical manifestations of the child.

Keywords: congenital, Zika virus, microcephaly, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction

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Authors: Michael K. O. Ayomoh, Oyindamola A. Omotuyi

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Autonomous mobile robots deployed to explore or operate in a never explored or an abandoned sub-surface mine requires extreme effectiveness in coordination and communication. In a bid to transmit information from the depth of the mine to the external surface in real-time and amidst diverse physical, chemical and virtual impediments, the concept of unified cooperative robots is seen to be a proficient approach. This paper presents an effective [human → robot → task] coordination framework for effective exploration of an abandoned underground mine. The problem addressed in this research is basically the development of a globalized optimization model premised on time series differentiation and geometrical configurations for effective positioning of the two classes of robots in the cooperation namely the outermost stationary master (OSM) robots and the innermost dynamic task (IDT) robots for effective bi-directional signal transmission. In addition, the synchronization of a vision system and wireless communication system for both categories of robots, fiber optics system for the OSM robots in cases of highly sloppy or vertical mine channels and an autonomous battery recharging capability for the IDT robots further enhanced the proposed concept. The OSM robots are the master robots which are positioned at strategic locations starting from the mine open surface down to its base using a fiber-optic cable or a wireless communication medium all subject to the identified mine geometrical configuration. The OSM robots are usually stationary and function by coordinating the transmission of signals from the IDT robots at the base of the mine to the surface and in a reverse order based on human decisions at the surface control station. The proposed scheme also presents an optimized number of robots required to form the cooperation in a bid to reduce overall operational cost and system complexity.

Keywords: sub-surface mine, wireless communication, outermost stationary master robots, inner-most dynamic robots, fiber optic

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Authors: Viveka Jackson, Erouscilla Joseph, Denise Beckles, Thomas Christopher

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Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) has been defined as a non-flammable, non-explosive, colourless gas, having a pungent, irritating odour, and is one of the main gases emitted from volcanoes. Sulphur dioxide has been recorded in concentrations hazardous to humans (0.25 – 0.5 ppm (~650 – 1300 μg/m3), downwind of many volcanoes and hence warrants constant air-quality monitoring around these sites. It has been linked to an increase in chronic respiratory disease attributed to long-term exposures and alteration in lung and other physiological functions attributed to short-term exposures. Sulphur Springs in Saint Lucia is a highly active geothermal area, located within the Soufrière Volcanic Centre, and is a park widely visited by tourists and locals. It is also a current source of continuous volcanic emissions via its many fumaroles and bubbling pools, warranting concern by residents and visitors to the park regarding the effects of exposure to these gases. In this study, we introduce a novel SO2 measurement system for the monitoring and quantification of ambient levels of airborne volcanic SO2 using low-cost technology. This work involves the extensive production of low-cost SO2 monitors/samplers, as well as field examination in tandem with standard commercial samplers (SO2 diffusion tubes). It also incorporates community involvement in the volcanic monitoring process as non-professional users of the instrument. We intend to present the preliminary monitoring results obtained from the low-cost samplers, to identify the areas in the Park exposed to high concentrations of ambient SO2, and to assess the feasibility of the instrument for non-professional use and application in volcanic settings

Keywords: ambient SO2, community-based monitoring, risk-reduction, sulphur springs, low-cost

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Authors: Krenare Shabani, Kreshnike Dedushi Hoti, Serbeze Kabashi, Jeton Shatri, Arben Rroji, Mrikë Bunjaku, Leotrim Berisha, Jona Kosova, Edmond Puca, Bleriana Shabani

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Introduction: Workers in Kosovo's mining industry are subjected to hazardous working conditions and airborne particles, such as silica dust, which can cause silicosis and other severe respiratory illnesses. The purpose of this research is to assess the health impacts of such exposures, as well as the importance of imaging and functional testing in detecting pathological changes early on. Methodology: The study is prospective and cross-sectional and was carried out during the year 2024. 626 people (446 miners and 180 non-miners) were enrolled in the study. Subjects underwent spirometry and chest radiography. Data were analysed with SPSS24. Results: The average age of the participants is 48 years. Demographics and Smoking: Smoking was common among young miners. Radiological Changes: Radiographic abnormalities in the lungs were seen in 23.1% of miners and 10.6% of non-miners, including small irregular opacities and emphysematous changes. Lung Function: The FEV1/FVC ratio decreased with increased exposure time, indicating a decline in pulmonary function.Impact of Exposure Duration: Longer exposure duration was associated with a higher number of miners experiencing coughs and requiring medical consultations such as CT scans and biopsies. Conclusions: Medical imaging and functional testing are critical for early diagnosis of lung abnormalities in miners.Findings demonstrate a strong correlation between extended exposure to mine dust and the development of respiratory disorders, emphasising the importance of preventative measures and routine health monitoring.

Keywords: silicosis, miners, imaging, spirometry

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Authors: Baylasan Al-Amoudi, Hala Abdulmajeed, Amjad Jilani

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This project explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing user engagement on TikTok by examining the app’s AI-driven features. Through a structured survey of 4 main questions and experimental analysis, we tried to examine how TikTok’s recommendations, algorithms, search engine, and filter tools influence user interactions and satisfaction. A diverse cohort of 20 participants, including casual users and content creators, were involved to provide a broad perspective on user experiences. The examination highlights the recommendation algorithm’s ability to deliver highly personalized content, creating a seamless and engaging experience. TikTok’s search engine is shown to simplify content discovery by enabling users to find specific topics or trends related to their preferences. Meanwhile, the filter tools are found to encourage creativity, particularly for content creators, by offering versatile options to enhance video quality and visual appeal. By evaluating the unique roles of these AI features, the project underscores their significance in maintaining TikTok’s appeal and driving consistent user engagement.

Keywords: TikTok, hashtags, filters, viral sounds, for you page

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Authors: Godwin Ojochogu Adejo, Evelyn UnekwuOjo Adejo, Sunday UnenwOjo Adejo

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The mainstream contemporary approach to controlling the impact of diseases among poultry birds rely largely on curative measures through the administration of drugs to infected birds. Most times as observed in the deep liter poultry farming system, entire flocks including uninfected birds receive the treatment they do not need. As such, unguarded use of chemical drugs and antibiotics has led to wastage and accumulation of chemical residues in poultry products with associated health hazards to humans. However, wanton and frequent drug usage in poultry is avoidable if feeding and drinking equipment are designed to curb infection transmission among birds. Using toxicological assays as guide and with efficiency and simplicity in view, two newly field-tested and recently patented equipments called 'healthy liquid drinking trough (HDT)' and 'healthy feeding trough (HFT)' that systematically eliminate contamination of the feeding and drinking channels, thereby, curbing wide-spread infection and transmission of diseases in the (intensive) deep litter poultry farming system were designed. Upon combined usage, they automatically and drastically reduced both the amount and frequency of antibiotics use in poultry by over > 50%. Additionally, they conferred optimization of feed and water utilization/elimination of wastage by > 80%, reduced labour by > 70%, reduced production cost by about 15%, and reduced chemical residues in poultry meat or eggs by > 85%. These new and cheap technologies which require no energy input are likely to elevate safety of poultry products for consumers' health, increase marketability locally and for export, and increase output and profit especially among poultry farmers and poor people who keep poultry or inevitably utilize poultry products in developing countries.

Keywords: healthy, trough, toxicological, assay-guided, poultry

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Authors: Nariman Shahhosseini, Sadegh Chinikar

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Introduction: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) causes severe disease with fatality rates of 30%. The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick, direct contact with the products of infected livestock and nosocomially. The disease occurs sporadically throughout many of African, Asian, and European countries. Different species of ticks serve either as vector or reservoir for CCHFV. Materials and Methods: A molecular survey was conducted on hard ticks (Ixodidae) in Golestan province, north of Iran during 2014-2015. Samples were sent to National Reference Laboratory of Arboviruses (Pasteur Institute of Iran) and viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results: Result revealed the presence of CCHFV in 5.3% of the selected ticks. The infected ticks belonged to Hy. dromedarii, Hy. anatolicum, Hy. marginatum, and Rh. sanguineus. Conclusions: These data demonstrates that Hyalomma ticks are the main vectors of CCHFV in Golestan province. Thus, preventive strategies such as using acaricides and repellents in order to avoid contact with Hyalomma ticks are proposed. Also, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be utilized at abattoirs.

Keywords: tick, CCHFV, surveillance, vector diversity

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Authors: Ho-Ting Wu, Kai-Wei Ke, Bo-Yu Huang, Liang-Lin Yan, Chun-Ting Lin

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With the advances in advanced technology, wireless sensor network (WSN) has become one of the most promising candidates to implement the wireless industrial internet of things (IIOT) architecture. However, the legacy IEEE 802.15.4 based WSN technology such as Zigbee system cannot meet the stringent QoS requirement of low powered, real-time, and highly reliable transmission imposed by the IIOT environment. Recently, the IEEE society developed IEEE 802.15.4e Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) access mode to serve this purpose. Furthermore, the IETF 6TiSCH working group has proposed standards to integrate IEEE 802.15.4e with IPv6 protocol smoothly to form a complete protocol stack for IIOT. In this work, we develop key network technologies for IEEE 802.15.4e based wireless IIoT architecture, focusing on practical design and system implementation. We realize the OpenWSN-based wireless IIOT system. The system architecture is divided into three main parts: web server, network manager, and sensor nodes. The web server provides user interface, allowing the user to view the status of sensor nodes and instruct sensor nodes to follow commands via user-friendly browser. The network manager is responsible for the establishment, maintenance, and management of scheduling and topology information. It executes centralized scheduling algorithm, sends the scheduling table to each node, as well as manages the sensing tasks of each device. Sensor nodes complete the assigned tasks and sends the sensed data. Furthermore, to prevent scheduling error due to packet loss, a schedule inspection mechanism is implemented to verify the correctness of the schedule table. In addition, when network topology changes, the system will act to generate a new schedule table based on the changed topology for ensuring the proper operation of the system. To enhance the system performance of such system, we further propose dynamic bandwidth allocation and distributed scheduling mechanisms. The developed distributed scheduling mechanism enables each individual sensor node to build, maintain and manage the dedicated link bandwidth with its parent and children nodes based on locally observed information by exchanging the Add/Delete commands via two processes. The first process, termed as the schedule initialization process, allows each sensor node pair to identify the available idle slots to allocate the basic dedicated transmission bandwidth. The second process, termed as the schedule adjustment process, enables each sensor node pair to adjust their allocated bandwidth dynamically according to the measured traffic loading. Such technology can sufficiently satisfy the dynamic bandwidth requirement in the frequently changing environments. Last but not least, we propose a packet retransmission scheme to enhance the system performance of the centralized scheduling algorithm when the packet delivery rate (PDR) is low. We propose a multi-frame retransmission mechanism to allow every single network node to resend each packet for at least the predefined number of times. The multi frame architecture is built according to the number of layers of the network topology. Performance results via simulation reveal that such retransmission scheme is able to provide sufficient high transmission reliability while maintaining low packet transmission latency. Therefore, the QoS requirement of IIoT can be achieved.

Keywords: IEEE 802.15.4e, industrial internet of things (IIOT), scheduling mechanisms, wireless sensor networks (WSN)

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Authors: C. Bolakis, I. S. Karanasiou, D. Grbovic, G. Karunasiri, N. Uzunoglu

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A new approach for efficient detection of THz radiation in biomedical imaging applications is proposed. A double-layered absorber consisting of a 32 nm thick aluminum (Al) metallic layer, located on a glass medium (SiO2) of 1 mm thickness, was fabricated and used to design a fine-tuned absorber through a theoretical and finite element modeling process. The results indicate that the proposed low-cost, double-layered absorber can be tuned based on the metal layer sheet resistance and the thickness of various glass media taking advantage of the diversity of the absorption of the metal films in the desired THz domain (6 to 10 THz). It was found that the composite absorber could absorb up to 86% (a percentage exceeding the 50%, previously shown to be the highest achievable when using single thin metal layer) and reflect less than 1% of the incident THz power. This approach will enable monitoring of the transmission coefficient (THz transmission ‘’fingerprint’’) of the biosample with high accuracy, while also making the proposed double-layered absorber a good candidate for a microbolometer pixel’s active element. Based on the aforementioned promising results, a more sophisticated and effective double-layered absorber is under development. The glass medium has been substituted by diluted poly-si and the results were twofold: An absorption factor of 96% was reached and high TCR properties acquired. In addition, a generalization of these results and properties over the active frequency spectrum was achieved. Specifically, through the development of a theoretical equation having as input any arbitrary frequency in the IR spectrum (0.3 to 405.4 THz) and as output the appropriate thickness of the poly-si medium, the double-layered absorber retains the ability to absorb the 96% and reflects less than 1% of the incident power. As a result, through that post-optimization process and the spread spectrum frequency adjustment, the microbolometer detector efficiency could be further improved.

Keywords: bio-imaging, fine-tuned absorber, fingerprint, microbolometer

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Authors: Windy Rakhmawati, Suryani Suryani, Sri Hendrawati, Nenden Nur Asriyani Maryam

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Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Fear of COVID-19 has made people reluctant to visit health facilities, leading to disruptions to childhood TB control programs, which may increase household transmission and delay diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to describe parents' knowledge, attitudes, and health-seeking behaviour towards childhood TB during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed on 392 parents with TB children in three provinces with the highest proportion of TB cases in Indonesia. This study was conducted from February to December 2022. The inclusion criteria of respondents were parents with a child aged 0-14 years old with TB diagnosis who live with their parents. Data were collected using the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) survey guidelines from the World Health Organization and analyzed descriptively, as well as Spearman’s correlation. Overall, 392 parents of children with TB had poor knowledge (51.8%) including about causes, risk factors, transmission, symptoms, treatment, and prevention, which about 52.3%, 55.1%, 61.2%, 69.6%, 100%, 59.2%, respectively. Parents' health service-seeking behaviour towards Child TB was not normally distributed (P < 0.05) with knowledge test results (.000) and Seeking Health Services (.000). Health-seeking behaviour of parents in pediatric TB care was self-medication or self-treatment (86.2%), Traditional health seeking behaviour (4.8%), and modern health seeking behaviour (8.9%). The correlation between knowledge and seeking health services (Sig= .609) means there is no correlation between knowledge about TB and parents' health-seeking behaviour. Furthermore, 60.2% of the respondents would be shocked if their child had TB. More than half of the families in this study have poor knowledge and did self-medication or self-treatment regarding health-seeking behaviour for TB disease. Therefore, health workers, especially nurses, must provide TB-related education and health promotion and emphasize the importance of early detection. Health workers can also optimize their role in caring for and providing care to patients by increasing their trust in health workers, which will impact health-seeking behaviour in the future.

Keywords: attitude, child, health seeking behaviour, knowledge, tuberculosis

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Authors: H. El-Messiry, M. El-Zainy, D. Ghazy

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Diabetes is a metabolic disease that results in a variety of oral health complications. Green tea is a natural antioxidant proved to have powerful effects against diabetes. The aim of this study was to compare between the effect of insulin and green tea on the Parotid gland of streptozotocin induced diabetic Albino rats by using light and transmission electron microscopy. Forty male Albino rats were divided into control group and diabetic groups. The diabetic group received a single injection of 40 mg/kg of streptozotocin intra-peritoneal under anesthesia and was further subdivided into three subgroups: The diabetic untreated subgroup which was untreated for two weeks, the insulin treated subgroup which has received insulin subcutaneously in a daily dose of 5 IU/kg body weight/day for two weeks and a green tea treated subgroup received a daily dose of 1 ml/ 100 gm body weight intragastrically for two weeks. Rats were terminated and parotid glands were dissected and processed for light and transmission electron microscopic examination. Histological examination of the diabetic untreated subgroup revealed acinar cells with pyknotic and hyperchromatic nuclei with cytoplasmic vacuolations. Ultrastructurally, acinar cells showed nuclear pleomorphism, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and swollen mitochondria with damaged cristae. Inflammatory cell infiltration was detected both histologically and ultrastructurally. Ducts showed signs of degeneration with loss of their normal outline and stagnated secretion within the lumen. However, insulin and green tea treated subgroups showed minimal degenerative damage and were almost similar to the control with minimal changes. Treatment of the parotid gland of the streptozotocin induced diabetic rats with GT was closely comparable to the traditional insulin therapy in reducing signs of histological and ultrastructural damage.

Keywords: diabetes, green tea, insulin, parotid

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Attapon Kamlangdee, Brock Kingstad-Bakke, Tavis K. Anderson, Tony L. Goldberg, Jorge E. Osorio

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A critical failure in our preparedness for an influenza pandemic is the lack of a universal vaccine. Influenza virus strains diverge by 1 to 2% per year, and commercially available vaccines often do not elicit protection from one year to the next, necessitating frequent formulation changes. This represents a major challenge to the development of a cross-protective vaccine that can protect against circulating viral antigenic diversity. We have constructed a recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) that expresses an H5N1 mosaic hemagglutinin (H5M) (MVA-H5M). This mosaic was generated in silico using 2,145 field-sourced H5N1 isolates. A single dose of MVA-H5M provided 100% protection in mice against clade 0, 1, and 2 avian influenza viruses and also protected against seasonal H1N1 virus (A/Puerto Rico/8/34). It also provided short-term (10 days) and long-term (6 months) protection post vaccination. Both neutralizing antibodies and antigen-specific CD4+and CD8+ T cells were still detected at 5 months post vaccination, suggesting that MVA-H5M provides long-lasting immunity.

Keywords: modified vaccinia Ankara, MVA, H5N1, hemagglutinin, influenza vaccine

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Thanthrige Thiunuwan Priyathilaka, Don Anushka Sandaruwan Elvitigala, Bong-Soo Lim, Hyung-Bok Jeong, Jehee Lee

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Toll like receptors (TLRs) are a phylogeneticaly conserved family of pattern recognition receptors, which participates in the host immune responses against various pathogens and pathogen derived mitogen. TLR21, a non-mammalian type, is almost restricted to the fish species even though those can be identified rarely in avians and amphibians. Herein, this study was carried out to identify and characterize TLR21 from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) designated as RbTLR21, at transcriptional and genomic level. In this study, the full length cDNA and genomic sequence of RbTLR21 was identified using previously constructed cDNA sequence database and BAC library, respectively. Identified RbTLR21 sequence was characterized using several bioinformatics tools. The quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) experiment was conducted to determine tissue specific expressional distribution of RbTLR21. Further, transcriptional modulation of RbTLR21 upon the stimulation with Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae), rock bream iridovirus (RBIV) and Edwardsiella tarda (E. tarda) was analyzed in spleen tissues. The complete coding sequence of RbTLR21 was 2919 bp in length which can encode a protein consisting of 973 amino acid residues with molecular mass of 112 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 8.6. The anticipated protein sequence resembled a typical TLR domain architecture including C-terminal ectodomain with 16 leucine rich repeats, a transmembrane domain, cytoplasmic TIR domain and signal peptide with 23 amino acid residues. Moreover, protein folding pattern prediction of RbTLR21 exhibited well-structured and folded ectodomain, transmembrane domain and cytoplasmc TIR domain. According to the pair wise sequence analysis data, RbTLR21 showed closest homology with orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) TLR21with 76.9% amino acid identity. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that RbTLR21 shows a close evolutionary relationship with its ortholog from Danio rerio. Genomic structure of RbTLR21 consisted of single exon similar to its ortholog of zebra fish. Sevaral putative transcription factor binding sites were also identified in 5ʹ flanking region of RbTLR21. The RBTLR 21 was ubiquitously expressed in all the tissues we tested. Relatively, high expression levels were found in spleen, liver and blood tissues. Upon induction with rock bream iridovirus, RbTLR21 expression was upregulated at the early phase of post induction period even though RbTLR21 expression level was fluctuated at the latter phase of post induction period. Post Edwardsiella tarda injection, RbTLR transcripts were upregulated throughout the experiment. Similarly, Streptococcus iniae induction exhibited significant upregulations of RbTLR21 mRNA expression in the spleen tissues. Collectively, our findings suggest that RbTLR21 is indeed a homolog of TLR21 family members and RbTLR21 may be involved in host immune responses against bacterial and DNA viral infections.

Keywords: rock bream, toll like receptor 21 (TLR21), pattern recognition receptor, genomic characterization

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Authors: Sara Qandil, Harriet Bothwell, Lowri Evans, Kevin Jones, Simon Collin

Abstract:

Background: Uganda suffers from high rates of HIV. Misconceptions around HIV are known to be prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Two of the most common misconceptions in Uganda are that HIV can be transmitted by mosquito bites or from sharing food. The aim of this project was to establish the local misconceptions around HIV in a Central Ugandan population, and identify if there is a role for patient education leaflets. This project was undertaken as a student selected component (SSC) offered by Swindon Academy, based at the Great Western Hospital, to medical students in their fourth year of the undergraduate programme. Methods: The study was conducted at Villa Maria Hospital; a private, rural hospital in Kalungu District, Central Uganda. 36 patients, 23 from the hospital clinic and 13 from the community were interviewed regarding their understanding of HIV and by what channels they had obtained this understanding. Interviews were conducted using local student nurses as translators. Verbal responses were translated and then transcribed by the researcher. The same 36 patients then undertook a 'misconception' test consisting of 35 questions. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and results were scored based on three components of 'transmission knowledge', 'prevention knowledge' and 'misconception rejection'. Each correct response to a question was scored one point, otherwise zero e.g. correctly rejecting a misconception scored one point, but answering ‘yes’ or ‘don’t know’ scored zero. Scores ≤ 27 (the average score) were classified as having ‘poor understanding’. Mean scores were compared between participants seen at the HIV clinic and in the community, and p-values (including Fisher’s exact test) were calculated using Stata 2015. Level of significance was set at 0.05. Interviews with 7 members of staff working in the HIV clinic were undertaken to establish what methods of communication are used to educate patients. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis undertaken. Results: The commonest misconceptions which failed to be rejected included transmission of HIV by kissing (78%), mosquitoes (69%) and touching (36%). 33% believed HIV may be prevented by praying. The overall mean scores for transmission knowledge (87.5%) and prevention knowledge (81.1%) were better than misconception rejection scores (69.3%). HIV clinic respondents did tend to have higher scores, i.e. fewer misconceptions, although there was statistical evidence of a significant difference only for prevention knowledge (p=0.03). Analysis of the qualitative data is ongoing but several patients expressed concerns about not being able to read and therefore leaflets not having a helpful role. Conclusions: Results from this paper identified that a high proportion of the population studied held misconceptions about HIV. Qualitative data suggests that there may be a role for patient education leaflets, if pictorial-based and suitable for those with low literacy skill.

Keywords: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, misconceptions, patient education, Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda

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Authors: Sarinra Thongmee, Adithep Mingsuan, Chanyapak Polkhet, Supattra Wongsuk, Krittaphon Prakobsaeng

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The purposes of this research and development was to develop and evaluation of clinical nursing practice guideline (CNPG) for the prevention of infection during intubation in patient withsuspected or confirmedCOVID-19 patient. This study was developed by using the evidence based practice model of Soukup (2000) as a conceptual framework. The study consisted of 4 steps: 1) situational analysis of intubation service in patients with confirmed COVID-19, 2) development the CNPG, 3) apply the NPG to trial, and 4) evaluation of the NPG. Thesample consisted of 52 nurse anesthetists and 25 infected or suspected COVID-19 patients. The research instrument consisted of 1) CNPG, 2) the nurses anesthetist opinion questionnaire to the guideline, 3) the evaluation practice form, and 4) the nurse anesthetist knowledge test on nursing care of patients infected with COVID-19. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test. The results found that this developed NPG consists of 4 sections: 1) NPG for Preventing Airborne Infection Prevention2) preparation of anesthetic and intubation equipments 3) roles and duties of the intubation team 4) guidelines for intubation in suspected or confirmed COVID-19patients. The result found that 1) provider: using NPG in providers revealed that nurse anesthetist had higher mean of knowledge scores than before using NPG statistically significant at the 0.05 level (p<0.01) and able to follow the NPG 100% in all activities. The anesthetic team was not infected with COVID-19from intubation outside operating room.2) Client: the patient was safe, no complications from intubation. Summary CNPG to prevent infection in intubation of suspected or confirmedCOVID-19 patient was appropriate and applicable to practice.

Keywords: nursing practice guideline, prevention of infection, endotracheal intubation, COVID-19

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Authors: Mini P. Singh, Manasi Majumdar, Kapil Goyal, Pvm Lakshmi, Deepak Bhatia, Radha Kanta Ratho

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India is endemic for Hepatitis E virus and frequent water borne outbreaks are reported. The conventional diagnosis rests on the detection of serum anti-HEV IgM antibodies which may take 7-10 days to develop. Early diagnosis in such a situation is desirable for the initiation of prompt control measures. The present study compared three diagnostic methods in 60 samples collected during two suspected HEV outbreaks in the vicinity of Chandigarh, India. The anti-HEV IgM, HEV antigen and HEV-RNA could be detected in serum samples of 52 (86.66%), 16 (26.66%) and 18 (30%) patients respectively. The suitability of saliva samples for antibody detection was also evaluated in 21 paired serum- saliva samples. A total of 15 serum samples showed the presence of anti HEV IgM antibodies, out of which 10 (10/15; 66.6%) were also positive for these antibodies in saliva samples (χ2 = 7.636, p < 0.0057), thus showing a concordance of 76.91%. The positivity of reverse transcriptase PCR and HEV antigen detection was 100% within one week of illness which declined to 5-10% thereafter. The outbreak was attributed to HEV Genotype 1, Subtype 1a and the clinical and environmental strains clustered together. HEV antigen and RNA were found to be an early diagnostic marker with 96.66% concordance. The results indicate that the saliva samples can be used as an alternative to serum samples in an outbreak situation.

Keywords: HEV-antigen, outbreak, phylogenetic analysis, saliva

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