Search results for: disease outbreak
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3921

Search results for: disease outbreak

2241 Global Analysis of HIV Virus Models with Cell-to-Cell

Authors: Hossein Pourbashash

Abstract:

Recent experimental studies have shown that HIV can be transmitted directly from cell to cell when structures called virological synapses form during interactions between T cells. In this article, we describe a new within-host model of HIV infection that incorporates two mechanisms: infection by free virions and the direct cell-to-cell transmission. We conduct the local and global stability analysis of the model. We show that if the basic reproduction number R0 1, the virus is cleared and the disease dies out; if R0 > 1, the virus persists in the host. We also prove that the unique positive equilibrium attracts all positive solutions under additional assumptions on the parameters.

Keywords: HIV virus model, cell-to-cell transmission, global stability, Lyapunov function, second compound matrices

Procedia PDF Downloads 510
2240 Exploring the Dose-Response Association of Lifestyle Behaviors and Mental Health among High School Students in the US: A Secondary Analysis of 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey Data

Authors: Layla Haidar, Shari Esquenazi-Karonika

Abstract:

Introduction: Mental health includes one’s emotional, psychological, and interpersonal well-being; it ranges from “good” to “poor” on a continuum. At the individual-level, it affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts. Moreover, it determines how they cope with stress, relate to others, and interface with their surroundings. Research has yielded that mental health is directly related with short- and long-term physical health (including chronic disease), health risk behaviors, education-level, employment, and social relationships. As is the case with physical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, mitigating the behavioral and genetic risks of debilitating mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can nurture a healthier quality of mental health throughout one’s life. In order to maximize the benefits of prevention, it is important to identify modifiable risks and develop protective habits earlier in life. Methods: The Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) dataset was used for this study. The ABES survey was administered to high school students (9th-12th grade) during January 2021- June 2021 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data was analyzed to identify any associations between feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or increased suicidality among high school students with relation to their participation on one or more sports teams and their average daily consumed screen time. Data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariable analytic techniques. A multinomial logistic regression of each variable was conducted to examine if there was an association, while controlling for grade-level, sex, and race. Results: The findings from this study are insightful for administrators and policymakers who wish to address mounting concerns related to student mental health. The study revealed that compared to a student who participated on zero sports teams, students who participated in 1 or more sports teams showed a significantly increased risk of depression (p<0.05). Conversely, the rate of depression in students was significantly less in those who consumed 5 or more hours of screen time per day, compared to those who consumed less than 1 hour per day of screen time (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings are informative and highlight the importance of understanding the nuances of student participation on sports teams (e.g., physical exertion, social dynamics of team, and the level of competitiveness within the sport). Likewise, the context of an individual’s screen time (e.g., social media, engaging in team-based video games, or watching television) can inform parental or school-based policies about screen time activity. Although physical activity has been proven to be important for emotional and physical well-being of youth, playing on multiple teams could have negative consequences on the emotional state of high school students potentially due to fatigue, overtraining, and injuries. Existing literature has highlighted the negative effects of screen time; however, further research needs to consider the type of screen-based consumption to better understand its effects on mental health.

Keywords: behavioral science, mental health, adolescents, prevention

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2239 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Swimming Pool Hygiene and Assessment of Microbial Contamination in Educational Institution in Selangor

Authors: Zarini Ismail, Mas Ayu Arina Mohd Anuwar, Ling Chai Ying, Tengku Zetty Maztura Tengku Jamaluddin, Nurul Azmawati Mohamed, Nadeeya Ayn Umaisara Mohamad Nor

Abstract:

The transmission of infectious diseases can occur anywhere, including in the swimming pools. A large number of swimmers turnover and poor hygienic behaviours will increase the occurrence of direct and indirect water contamination. A wide variety of infections such as the gastrointestinal illnesses, skin rash, eye infections, ear infections and respiratory illnesses had been reported following the exposure to the contaminated water. Understanding the importance of pool hygiene with a healthy practice will reduce the risk of infection. The aims of the study are to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practices on pool hygiene among swimming pool users and to determine the microbial contaminants in swimming pools. A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered questionnaires to 600 swimming pool users from four swimming pools belong to the three educational institutions in Selangor. Data was analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 22.0 for Windows. The knowledge, attitude and practice of the study participants were analyzed using the sum score based on Bloom’s cut-off point (80%). Having a score above the cut-off point was classified as having high levels of knowledge, positive attitude and good practice. The association between socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude with practice on pool hygiene was determined by Chi-Square test. The physicochemical parameters and the microbial contamination were determined using a standard method for examination of waste and wastewater. Of the 600 respondents, 465 (77.5%) were females with the mean age of 21 years old. Most of the respondents are the students (98.8%) which belong to the three educational institutions in Selangor. Overall, the majority of the respondents (89.2%) had low knowledge on pool hygiene, but had positive attitudes (91.3%). Whereas only half of the respondents (50%) practice good hygiene while using the swimming pools. There was a significant association between practice level on pool hygiene with knowledge (p < 0.001) and also the attitude (p < 0.001). The measurements of the physicochemical parameters showed that all 4 swimming pools had low levels of pH and two had low levels of free chlorine. However, all the water samples tested were negative for Escherichia coli. The findings of this study suggested that high knowledge and positive attitude towards pool hygiene ensure a good practice among swimming pool users. Thus, it is recommended that educational interventions should be given to the swimming pool users to increase their knowledge regarding the pool hygiene and this will prevent the unnecessary outbreak of infectious diseases related to swimming pool.

Keywords: attitude, knowledge, pool hygiene, practice

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2238 Review of the Safety of Discharge on the First Postoperative Day Following Carotid Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis

Authors: John Yahng, Hansraj Riteesh Bookun

Abstract:

Objective: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study evaluating the safety of discharge on the first postoperative day following carotid surgery - principally carotid endarterectomy. Methods: Between January 2010 to October 2017, 252 patients with mean age of 72 years, underwent carotid surgery by seven surgeons. Their medical records were consulted and their operative as well as complication timelines were databased. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse pooled responses and our indicator variables. The statistical package used was STATA 13. Results: There were 183 males (73%) and the comorbid burden was as follows: ischaemic heart disease (54%), diabetes (38%), hypertension (92%), stage 4 kidney impairment (5%) and current or ex-smoking (77%). The main indications were transient ischaemic attacks (42%), stroke (31%), asymptomatic carotid disease (16%) and amaurosis fugax (8%). 247 carotid endarterectomies (109 with patch arterioplasty, 88 with eversion and transection technique, 50 with endarterectomy only) were performed. 2 carotid bypasses, 1 embolectomy, 1 thrombectomy with patch arterioplasty and 1 excision of a carotid body tumour were also performed. 92% of the cases were performed under general anaesthesia. A shunt was used in 29% of cases. The mean length of stay was 5.1 ± 3.7days with the range of 2 to 22 days. No patient was discharged on day 1. The mean time from admission to surgery was 1.4 ± 2.8 days, ranging from 0 to 19 days. The mean time from surgery to discharge was 2.7 ± 2.0 days with the of range 0 to 14 days. 36 complications were encountered over this period, with 12 failed repairs (5 major strokes, 2 minor strokes, 3 transient ischaemic attacks, 1 cerebral bleed, 1 occluded graft), 11 bleeding episodes requiring a return to the operating theatre, 5 adverse cardiac events, 3 cranial nerve injuries, 2 respiratory complications, 2 wound complications and 1 acute kidney injury. There were no deaths. 17 complications occurred on postoperative day 0, 11 on postoperative day 1, 6 on postoperative day 2 and 2 on postoperative day 3. 78% of all complications happened before the second postoperative day. Out of the complications which occurred on the second or third postoperative day, 4 (1.6%) were bleeding episodes, 1 (0.4%) failed repair , 1 respiratory complication (0.4%) and 1 wound complication (0.4%). Conclusion: Although it has been common practice to discharge patients on the second postoperative day following carotid endarterectomy, we find here that discharge on the first operative day is safe. The overall complication rate is low and most complications are captured before the second postoperative day. We suggest that patients having an uneventful first 24 hours post surgery be discharged on the first day. This should reduce hospital length of stay and the health economic burden.

Keywords: carotid, complication, discharge, surgery

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2237 Anthropometric Indices of Obesity and Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis: An Autopsy Study in South Indian population

Authors: Francis Nanda Prakash Monteiro, Shyna Quadras, Tanush Shetty

Abstract:

The association between human physique and morbidity and mortality resulting from coronary artery disease has been studied extensively over several decades. Multiple studies have also been done on the correlation between grade of atherosclerosis, coronary artery diseases and anthropometrical measurements. However, the number of autopsy-based studies drastically reduces this number. It has been suggested that while in living subjects, it would be expensive, difficult, and even harmful to subject them to imaging modalities like CT scans and procedures involving contrast media to study mild atherosclerosis, no such harm is encountered in study of autopsy cases. This autopsy-based study was aimed to correlate the anthropometric measurements and indices of obesity, such as waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), body mass index (BMI) and waist hip ratio (WHR) with the degree of atherosclerosis in the right coronary artery (RCA), main branch of the left coronary artery (LCA) and the left anterior descending artery (LADA) in 95 South Indian origin victims of both the genders between the age of 18 years and 75 years. The grading of atherosclerosis was done according to criteria suggested by the American Heart Association. The study also analysed the correlation of the anthropometric measurements and indices of obesity with the number of coronaries affected with atherosclerosis in an individual. All the anthropometric measurements and the derived indices were found to be significantly correlated to each other in both the genders except for the age, which is found to have a significant correlation only with the WHR. In both the genders severe degree of atherosclerosis was commonly observed in LADA, followed by LCA and RCA. Grade of atherosclerosis in RCA is significantly related to the WHR in males. Grade of atherosclerosis in LCA and LADA is significantly related to the WHR in females. Significant relation was observed between grade of atherosclerosis in RCA and WC, and WHR, and between grade of atherosclerosis in LADA and HC in males. Significant relation was observed between grade of atherosclerosis in RCA and WC, and WHR, and between grade of atherosclerosis in LADA and HC in females. Anthropometric measurements/indices of obesity can be an effective means to identify high risk cases of atherosclerosis at an early stage that can be effective in reducing the associated cardiac morbidity and mortality. A person with anthropometric measurements suggestive of mild atherosclerosis can be advised to modify his lifestyle, along with decreasing his exposure to the other risk factors. Those with measurements suggestive of higher degree of atherosclerosis can be subjected to confirmatory procedures to start effective treatment.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, indices, obesity

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2236 Imputation Technique for Feature Selection in Microarray Data Set

Authors: Younies Saeed Hassan Mahmoud, Mai Mabrouk, Elsayed Sallam

Abstract:

Analysing DNA microarray data sets is a great challenge, which faces the bioinformaticians due to the complication of using statistical and machine learning techniques. The challenge will be doubled if the microarray data sets contain missing data, which happens regularly because these techniques cannot deal with missing data. One of the most important data analysis process on the microarray data set is feature selection. This process finds the most important genes that affect certain disease. In this paper, we introduce a technique for imputing the missing data in microarray data sets while performing feature selection.

Keywords: DNA microarray, feature selection, missing data, bioinformatics

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2235 Genotyping of Rotaviruses in Pediatric Patients with Gastroenteritis by Using Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction

Authors: Recep Kesli, Cengiz Demir, Riza Durmaz, Zekiye Bakkaloglu, Aysegul Bukulmez

Abstract:

Objective: Acute diarrhea disease in children is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and is a leading cause of mortality, and it is the most common agent responsible for acute gastroenteritis in developing countries. With hospitalized children suffering from acute enteric disease up to 50% of the analyzed specimen were positive for rotavirus. Further molecular surveillance could provide a sound basis for improving the response to epidemic gastroenteritis and could provide data needed for the introduction of vaccination programmes in the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of viral etiology of the gastroenteritis in children aged 0-6 years with acute gastroenteritis and to determine predominant genotypes of rotaviruses in the province of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Methods: An epidemiological study on rotavirus was carried out during 2016. Fecal samples obtained from the 144 rotavirus positive children with 0-6 years of ages and applied to the Pediatric Diseases Outpatient of ANS Research and Practice Hospital, Afyon Kocatepe University with the complaint of diarrhea. Bacterial agents causing gastroenteritis were excluded by using bacteriological culture methods and finally, no growth observed. Rotavirus antigen was examined by both the immunochromatographic (One Step Rotavirus and Adenovirus Combo Test, China) and ELISA (Premier Rotaclone, USA) methods in stool samples. Rotavirus RNA was detected by using one step real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). G and P genotypes were determined using RT-PCR with consensus primers of VP7 and VP4 genes, followed by semi nested type-specific multiplex PCR. Results: Of the total 144 rotavirus antigen-positive samples with RT-PCR, 4 (2,8%) were rejected, 95 (66%) were examined, and 45 (31,2%) have not been examined for PCR yet. Ninety-one (95,8%) of the 95 examined samples were found to be rotavirus positive with RT-PCR. Rotavirus subgenotyping distributions in G, P and G/P genotype groups were determined as; G1:45%, G2:27%, G3:13%, G9:13%, G4:1% and G12:1% for G genotype, and P[4]:33%, P[8]:66%, P[10]:1% for P genotype, and G1P[8]:%37, G2P[4]:%21, G3P[8]:%10, G4P[8]:%1, G9P[8]:%8, G2P[8]:%3 for G/P genotype . Not common genotype combination were %20 in G/P genotype. Conclusions: This study subscribes to the global agreement of the molecular epidemiology of rotavirus which will be useful in guiding the alternative and application of rotavirus vaccines or effective control and interception. Determining the diversity and rates of rotavirus genotypes will definitely provide guidelines for developing the most suitable vaccine.

Keywords: gastroenteritis, genotyping, rotavirus, RT-PCR

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2234 A Mixed Method Systematic Review of the Experience of Communication in the Care of Children with Palliative Care Needs

Authors: Maha Atout, Pippa Hemingway, Jane Seymour

Abstract:

Background: A mixed method systematic review was undertaken in order to explore issues related to the experiences of health care providers and parents in the care of children with palliative care needs. The aims of this systematic review were to identify existing evidence about the experiences of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, to appraise the research conducted in this area and to identify gaps in the literature in order to recommend for future related studies. Method: A mixed method systematic review of research on the experience of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, conducted with parents and health professionals was undertaken. The electronic databases of CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, OVID, Social Care Online, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched for the period of 2000-2016. Inclusion was limited to studies of communication experience in the care of children with palliative care needs. Result: Thirty-eight studies were found. The studies were conducted in a variety of countries: Uganda, Jordan, USA, UK, Taiwan, Turkey, Ireland, Poland, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherland, Lebanon, Spain, Greece, and China. The current review shows that parents tend to protect their children when they are discussing their illnesses with them, particularly where they have a life-threatening or life-limiting condition. The approach of parents towards the discussion of sensitive issues concerning death with their children is significantly affected by the cultural background of the families. Conservative cultures encourage collusion behaviours which tend to keep children unaware of the incurable nature of the disease. The major communication challenges reported by health professionals are facing difficulties in judging how much information should be given to parents, responding to difficult questions, conflicts with families and inadequate skills to support grieving families. Conclusion: It is probably significant for the future studies to consider the change of parent-child communication experience over time in order to understand how the parents could change their interaction styles with their children according to the different stages of their children’s disease. Moreover, further studies are required to investigate the experience of communication of parents of children with non-malignant life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.

Keywords: children with life-threatening or life- limiting illnesses, end of life, experience of communication, healthcare care providers, paediatric palliative care

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2233 Online Think–Pair–Share in a Third-Age Information and Communication Technology Course

Authors: Daniele Traversaro

Abstract:

Problem: Senior citizens have been facing a challenging reality as a result of strict public health measures designed to protect people from the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the risk of social isolation due to the inability of the elderly to integrate with technology. Never before have information and communication technology (ICT) skills become essential for their everyday life. Although third-age ICT education and lifelong learning are widely supported by universities and governments, there is a lack of literature on which teaching strategy/methodology to adopt in an entirely online ICT course aimed at third-age learners. This contribution aims to present an application of the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) learning method in an ICT third-age virtual classroom with an intergenerational approach to conducting online group labs and review activities. This collaborative strategy can help increase student engagement, promote active learning and online social interaction. Research Question: Is collaborative learning applicable and effective, in terms of student engagement and learning outcomes, for an entirely online third-age ICT introductory course? Methods: In the TPS strategy, a problem is posed by the teacher, students have time to think about it individually, and then they work in pairs (or small groups) to solve the problem and share their ideas with the entire class. We performed four experiments in the ICT course of the University of the Third Age of Genova (University of Genova, Italy) on the Microsoft Teams platform. The study cohort consisted of 26 students over the age of 45. Data were collected through online questionnaires. Two have been proposed, one at the end of the first activity and another at the end of the course. They consisted of five and three close-ended questions, respectively. The answers were on a Likert scale (from 1 to 4) except two questions (which asked the number of correct answers given individually and in groups) and the field for free comments/suggestions. Results: Results show that groups perform better than individual students (with scores greater than one order of magnitude) and that most students found it helpful to work in groups and interact with their peers. Insights: From these early results, it appears that TPS is applicable to an online third-age ICT classroom and useful for promoting discussion and active learning. Despite this, our experimentation has a number of limitations. First of all, the results highlight the need for more data to be able to perform a statistical analysis in order to determine the effectiveness of this methodology in terms of student engagement and learning outcomes as a future direction.

Keywords: collaborative learning, information technology education, lifelong learning, older adult education, think-pair-share

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2232 Theoretical Study of Carbonic Anhydrase-Ii Inhibitors for Treatment of Glaucoma

Authors: F. Boukli Hacene, W. Soufi, S. Ghalem

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Glaucoma disease is a progressive degenerative optic neuropathy, with irreversible visual field deficits and high eye pressure being one of the risk factors. Sulfonamides are carbonic anhydrase-II inhibitors that aim to decrease the secretion of aqueous humor by direct inhibition of this enzyme at the level of the ciliary processes. These drugs present undesirable effects that are difficult to accept by the patient. In our study, we are interested in the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase-II by different natural ligands (curcumin analogues) using molecular modeling methods using molecular operating environment (MOE) software to predict their interaction with this enzyme.

Keywords: carbonic anhydrase-II, curcumin analogues, drug research, molecular modeling

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2231 3D Interactions in Under Water Acoustic Simulationseffect of Green Synthesized Metal Nanoparticles on Gene Expression in an In-Vitro Model of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Authors: Nendouvhada Livhuwani Portia, Nicole Sibuyi, Kwazikwakhe Gabuza, Adewale Fadaka

Abstract:

Metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic condition characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, distinct from conditions caused by alcohol, viral hepatitis, or medications. MASLD is often linked with metabolic syndrome, including obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. This disease can progress to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), marked by liver inflammation and scarring, potentially leading to cirrhosis. However, only 43-44% of patients with steatosis develop MASH, and 7-30% of those with MASH progress to cirrhosis. The exact mechanisms underlying MASLD and its progression remain unclear, and there are currently no specific therapeutic strategies for MASLD/MASH. While anti-obesity and anti-diabetic medications can reduce progression, they do not fully treat or reverse the disease. As an alternative, green-synthesized metal nanoparticles (MNPs) are emerging as potential treatments for liver diseases due to their anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity properties with minimal side effects. MNPs like gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been shown to improve metabolic processes by lowering blood glucose, body fat, and inflammation. The study aimed to explore the effects of green-synthesized MNPs on gene expression in an in vitro model of MASH using C3A/HepG2 liver cells. The MASH model was created by exposing these cells to free fatty acids (FFAs) followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation. Cell viability was assessed with the Water-Soluble Tetrazolium (WST)-1 assay, and lipid accumulation was measured using the Oil Red O (ORO) assay. Additionally, mitochondrial membrane potential was assessed by the tetramethyl rhodamine, methyl ester (TMRE) assay, and inflammation was measured with an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The study synthesized AuNPs from Carpobrotus edulis fruit (CeF) and avocado seed (AvoSE) and AgNPs from Salvia africana-lutea (SAL) using optimized conditions. The MNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The nanoparticles were tested at various concentrations for their impact on the C3A/HepG2-induced MASH model. Among the MNPs tested, AvoSE-AuNPs showed the most promise. They reduced cell proliferation and intracellular lipid content more effectively than CeFE-AuNPs and SAL-AgNPs. Molecular analysis using real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that AvoSE-AuNPs could potentially reverse MASH effects by reducing the expression of key pro-inflammatory and metabolic genes, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Fas cell surface death receptor (FAS), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α, PPAR-γ, and Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBPF)-1. Further research is needed to confirm the molecular mechanisms behind the effects of these MNPs and to identify the specific phytochemicals responsible for their synthesis and bioactivities.

Keywords: gold nanoparticles, green nanotechnology, metal nanoparticles, obesity

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2230 Single Valued Neutrosophic Hesitant Fuzzy Rough Set and Its Application

Authors: K. M. Alsager, N. O. Alshehri

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In this paper, we proposed the notion of single valued neutrosophic hesitant fuzzy rough set, by combining single valued neutrosophic hesitant fuzzy set and rough set. The combination of single valued neutrosophic hesitant fuzzy set and rough set is a powerful tool for dealing with uncertainty, granularity and incompleteness of knowledge in information systems. We presented both definition and some basic properties of the proposed model. Finally, we gave a general approach which is applied to a decision making problem in disease diagnoses, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach by a numerical example.

Keywords: single valued neutrosophic fuzzy set, single valued neutrosophic fuzzy hesitant set, rough set, single valued neutrosophic hesitant fuzzy rough set

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2229 Effects of the Treatment by Polypill Combinations vs Identical Monopill Therapies in Patients with Cardiovascular Comorbid Diseases

Authors: Denys Sebov, Viktoriia Korotaieva, Kateryna Markina

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The clinical advantage of the multipill combination drugs administration (polypill-strategy) over single-component drugs (monopill-strategy) has been established in patients with comorbid arterial hypertension, heart failure, chronic coronary syndrome, diabetes. It was found that polypill-strategy provides better treatment adherence in 33.4% of the patients. It was proven a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as a decrease in dispersion index due to the stability of the blood pressure profile in patients with the polypill-strategy treatment.

Keywords: polypill, artetial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, compliance

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2228 Anaplasmosis among Camels in Iran and Observation of Abnormalities in Infected Blood Films

Authors: Khosro Ghazvinian, Touba Khodaiean

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Anaplasma organisms are obligatory intracellular bacteria belonging to the order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae. This disease is distributed around the globe and infected ticks are the most important vectors in anaplasmosis transmission. There is a little information about anaplasmosis in camels. This research investigated the blood films of 35 (20 male, 15 female) camels randomly selected from a flock of 150 camels. Samples were stained with Giemsa and Anaplasma sp. organisms were observed in six out of 35 (17.14 %) blood films. There were also some changes in Diff-Quick and morphology of leukocytes. No significant difference between male and female camels was observed (P>0.05). According to the results anaplasmosis is presented among camels in Iran.

Keywords: anaplasma, anaplasmosis, camel, Iran

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2227 Clustering-Based Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Using Brain MR Images

Authors: Sofia Matoug, Amr Abdel-Dayem

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This paper presents a comprehensive survey of recent research studies to segment and classify brain MR (magnetic resonance) images in order to detect significant changes to brain ventricles. The paper also presents a general framework for detecting regions that atrophy, which can help neurologists in detecting and staging Alzheimer. Furthermore, a prototype was implemented to segment brain MR images in order to extract the region of interest (ROI) and then, a classifier was employed to differentiate between normal and abnormal brain tissues. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can provide a reliable second opinion that neurologists can benefit from.

Keywords: Alzheimer, brain images, classification techniques, Magnetic Resonance Images MRI

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2226 Design and Evaluation of a Prototype for Non-Invasive Screening of Diabetes – Skin Impedance Technique

Authors: Pavana Basavakumar, Devadas Bhat

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Diabetes is a disease which often goes undiagnosed until its secondary effects are noticed. Early detection of the disease is necessary to avoid serious consequences which could lead to the death of the patient. Conventional invasive tests for screening of diabetes are mostly painful, time consuming and expensive. There’s also a risk of infection involved, therefore it is very essential to develop non-invasive methods to screen and estimate the level of blood glucose. Extensive research is going on with this perspective, involving various techniques that explore optical, electrical, chemical and thermal properties of the human body that directly or indirectly depend on the blood glucose concentration. Thus, non-invasive blood glucose monitoring has grown into a vast field of research. In this project, an attempt was made to device a prototype for screening of diabetes by measuring electrical impedance of the skin and building a model to predict a patient’s condition based on the measured impedance. The prototype developed, passes a negligible amount of constant current (0.5mA) across a subject’s index finger through tetra polar silver electrodes and measures output voltage across a wide range of frequencies (10 KHz – 4 MHz). The measured voltage is proportional to the impedance of the skin. The impedance was acquired in real-time for further analysis. Study was conducted on over 75 subjects with permission from the institutional ethics committee, along with impedance, subject’s blood glucose values were also noted, using conventional method. Nonlinear regression analysis was performed on the features extracted from the impedance data to obtain a model that predicts blood glucose values for a given set of features. When the predicted data was depicted on Clarke’s Error Grid, only 58% of the values predicted were clinically acceptable. Since the objective of the project was to screen diabetes and not actual estimation of blood glucose, the data was classified into three classes ‘NORMAL FASTING’,’NORMAL POSTPRANDIAL’ and ‘HIGH’ using linear Support Vector Machine (SVM). Classification accuracy obtained was 91.4%. The developed prototype was economical, fast and pain free. Thus, it can be used for mass screening of diabetes.

Keywords: Clarke’s error grid, electrical impedance of skin, linear SVM, nonlinear regression, non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, screening device for diabetes

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2225 Adaptation to the Current Health Situation as a Determinant of Adherence in Pre - and Senior Age People

Authors: Mariola Głowacka

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The aim of the study was to determine the level of adaptation to the current health situation and its impact on the adherence state of people in the pre- and senior age. The work covers the results of the first of the fourteen parts of the study conducted in a group of 2,000 people aged 55 plus. This part of the project was carried out with the use of two standardized tools: the HLC adaptation scale (the health locus of control scale and The Adherence in Chronic DiseasesScale (ACDS). The obtained results showed the range of influence of particular areas of self-acceptance of the health state (health and disease) on their adherence, taking into account specific clinical conditions.

Keywords: adaptation to the current health situation, adherence, senior, badania

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2224 A Graph SEIR Cellular Automata Based Model to Study the Spreading of a Transmittable Disease

Authors: Natasha Sharma, Kulbhushan Agnihotri

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Cellular Automata are discrete dynamical systems which are based on local character and spatial disparateness of the spreading process. These factors are generally neglected by traditional models based on differential equations for epidemic spread. The aim of this work is to introduce an SEIR model based on cellular automata on graphs to imitate epidemic spreading. Distinctively, it is an SEIR-type model where the population is divided into susceptible, exposed, infected and recovered individuals. The results obtained from simulations are in accordance with the spreading behavior of a real time epidemics.

Keywords: cellular automata, epidemic spread, graph, susceptible

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2223 Burden of Dengue in Northern India

Authors: Ashutosh Biswas, Poonam Coushic, Kalpana Baruah, Paras Singla, A. C. Dhariwal, Pawana Murthy

Abstract:

Burden of Dengue in Northern India Ashutosh Biswas, Poonam Coushic, Kalpana Baruah, Paras Singla, AC Dhariwal, Pawana Murthy. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, NVBDCP,WHO New Delhi, India Aim: This study was conducted to estimate the burden of dengue in capital region of India. Methodology:Seropositivity of Dengue for IgM Ab, NS1 Ag and IgG Ab were performed among the blood donors’ samples from blood bank, those who were coming to donate blood for the requirement of blood for the admitted patients in hospital. Blood samplles were collected through out the year to estimate seroprevalance of dengue with or without outbreak season. All the subjects were asymptomatic at the time of blood donation. Results: A total of 1558 donors were screened for the study. On the basis of inclusion/ exclusion criteria, we enrolled 1531subjects for the study.Twenty seven donors were excluded from the study, out of which 6 were detected HIV +ve, 11 were positive for HBsAg and 10 were found positive for HCV.Mean age was 30.51 ± 7.75 years.Of 1531subjects, 18 (1.18%) had a past history of typhoid fever, 28 (1.83%) had chikungunya fever, 9 (0.59%) had malaria and 43 subjects (2.81%) had a past history of symptomatic dengue infection.About 2.22% (34) of subjects were found to have sero-positive for NS1 Ag with a peak point prevalence of 7.14% in the month of October and sero-positive of IgM Ab was observed about 5.49% (84)with a peak point prevalence of 14.29% in the month of October. Sero-prevalnce of IgGwas detected in about 64.21% (983) of subjects. Conclusion: Acute asymptomatic dengue (NS1 Ag+ve) was observed in 7.14%, as the subjects were having no symptoms at the time of sampling. This group of subjects poses a potential public health threat for transmitting dengue infection through blood transfusion (TTI) in the community as evident by presence of active viral infection due to NS1Ag +VE. Therefore a policy may be implemented in the blood bank for testing NS1 Ag to look for active dengue infection for preventing dengue transmission through blood transfusion (TTI). Acute or Subacute dengue infection ( IgM Ab+ve) was observed from 5.49% to 14.29% which is a peak point prevalence in the month of October. About 64.21% of the population were immunized by natural dengue infection ( IgG Ab+ve) in theNorthern province of India. This might be helpful for implementing the dengue vaccine in a region. Blood samples in blood banks should be tested for dengue before transfusion to any other person to prevent transfusion transmitted dengue infection as we estimated upto 7.14% positivity of NS1 Ag in our study which indicates presence of dengue virus in blood donors’ samples.

Keywords: Dengue Burden, Seroprevalance, Asymptomatic dengue, Dengue transmission through blood transfusion

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2222 Phytochemical Screening and Assessment of Hepatoprotective Activity of Geigeria alata Leaves Ethanolic Extract on Wistar Rats

Authors: Girgis Younan, Ikram Eltayeb

Abstract:

Geigeria alata belongs to the family Asteraceae, is an effective plant traditionally used in Sudan as a therapy for hepatic disease and as an antiepileptic, antispasmodic and to treat cough and intestinal complaints.The liver is responsible for many critical functions within the body and any liver disease or injury will result in the loss of those functions leading to significant damage in the body. Liver diseases cause increase in liver enzymes (AST, ALP ALT) and total bilirubin and a decrease in total blood protein level. The objective of this study is to investigate the hepato-protective activity of Geigeria alata leaves ethanolic extract. The plant leaves were extracted using 96% ethanol using Soxhlet apparatus. The hepatoprotective effect was determined using 25 wistar rats, the rats was divided to 5 groups, each group contain 5 rats: [Normal control group] receiving purified water, liver damage was induced in wistar rats by administering a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of CCl4 (1.25 ml/kg) and olive oil once at day four of the experiment [negative control group]. Two doses of extract [400mg/kg and 200mg/kg] was applied daily for 7 days, and standard drug Silymarin (200 mg/kg) were administered daily for 7 days to CCl4-treated rats. The degree of hepato-protective activity was evaluated by determining the hepatic marker enzymes AST, ALP, ALT, total Bilirubin and total proteins (TP). Results have shown that, the extract of G.alata leaves reduced the level of liver enzymes ALT, AST, ALP, total bilirubin and increased the level of total proteins. Since the levels of liver enzymes; bilirubin and total protein are considered as markers of liver function, the extract has proven to reduce the detrimental effects of liver toxicity induced using CCl4. The hepato-protective effect of extract on liver was found to be dose dependent, where the 400mg/kg dose of the extract exhibited higher activity than 200mg/kg dose. In addition, the effect of the higher dose (400mg/kg) of the extract was found to be higher than Silymarin standard drug. The result concludes that, G.alata leaves extract was found to exhibit profound hepato-protective activity, which justifies the traditional use of the plant for the treatment of hepatic diseases.

Keywords: alata, extract, geigeria, hepatoprotective

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2221 Regional Anesthesia in Carotid Surgery: A Single Center Experience

Authors: Daniel Thompson, Muhammad Peerbux, Sophie Cerutti, Hansraj Riteesh Bookun

Abstract:

Patients with carotid stenosis, which may be asymptomatic or symptomatic in the form of transient ischaemic attack (TIA), amaurosis fugax, or stroke, often require an endarterectomy to reduce stroke risk. Risks of this procedure include stroke, death, myocardial infarction, and cranial nerve damage. Carotid endarterectomy is most commonly performed under general anaesthetic, however, it can also be undertaken with a regional anaesthetic approach. Our tertiary centre generally performs carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthetic. Our major tertiary hospital mostly utilises regional anaesthesia for carotid endarterectomy. We completed a cross-sectional analysis of all cases of carotid endarterectomy performed under regional anaesthesia across a 10-year period between January 2010 to March 2020 at our institution. 350 patients were included in this descriptive analysis, and demographic details for patients, indications for surgery, procedural details, length of surgery, and complications were collected. Data was cross tabulated and presented in frequency tables to describe these categorical variables. 263 of the 350 patients in the analysis were male, with a mean age of 71 ± 9. 172 patients had a history of ischaemic heart disease, 104 had diabetes mellitus, 318 had hypertension, and 17 patients had chronic kidney disease greater than Stage 3. 13.1% (46 patients) were current smokers, and the majority (63%) were ex-smokers. Most commonly, carotid endarterectomy was performed conventionally with patch arterioplasty 96% of the time (337 patients). The most common indication was TIA and stroke in 64% of patients, 18.9% were classified as asymptomatic, and 13.7% had amaurosis fugax. There were few general complications, with 9 wound complications/infections, 7 postoperative haematomas requiring return to theatre, 3 myocardial infarctions, 3 arrhythmias, 1 exacerbation of congestive heart failure, 1 chest infection, and 1 urinary tract infection. Specific complications to carotid endarterectomy included 3 strokes, 1 postoperative TIA, and 1 cerebral bleed. There were no deaths in our cohort. This analysis of a large cohort of patients from a major tertiary centre who underwent carotid endarterectomy under regional anaesthesia indicates the safety of such an approach for these patients. Regional anaesthesia holds the promise of less general respiratory and cardiac events compared to general anaesthesia, and in this vulnerable patient group, calls for comparative research between local and general anaesthesia in carotid surgery.

Keywords: anaesthesia, carotid endarterectomy, stroke, carotid stenosis

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2220 Resons for Seeking Dental Care, Caries Profile and Treatment Need of Children in Tabuk, KSA

Authors: Syed Ameer Haider Jafri, Mariam Amri

Abstract:

Dental caries is the most prevalent dental disease of childhood. The aims and objectives of this study were to identify the most common reason for seeking dental treatment and to determine caries profile and there is a treatment need in children visiting the hospital. A total of 170 Saudi children of age 1-5 years studied. Results show the most common reason for visiting hospital was decay followed by pain. These children show mean DMFT/DMFS of 9.8/22.4 and most commonly needed treatment was one-surface restoration followed by pulp treatment.

Keywords: dental caries, DMFT/DMFS index, prevalence, dental treatment need

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2219 Maximum Entropy Based Image Segmentation of Human Skin Lesion

Authors: Sheema Shuja Khattak, Gule Saman, Imran Khan, Abdus Salam

Abstract:

Image segmentation plays an important role in medical imaging applications. Therefore, accurate methods are needed for the successful segmentation of medical images for diagnosis and detection of various diseases. In this paper, we have used maximum entropy to achieve image segmentation. Maximum entropy has been calculated using Shannon, Renyi, and Tsallis entropies. This work has novelty based on the detection of skin lesion caused by the bite of a parasite called Sand Fly causing the disease is called Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Keywords: shannon, maximum entropy, Renyi, Tsallis entropy

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2218 Peptide-Based Platform for Differentiation of Antigenic Variations within Influenza Virus Subtypes (Flutype)

Authors: Henry Memczak, Marc Hovestaedt, Bernhard Ay, Sandra Saenger, Thorsten Wolff, Frank F. Bier

Abstract:

The influenza viruses cause flu epidemics every year and serious pandemics in larger time intervals. The only cost-effective protection against influenza is vaccination. Due to rapid mutation continuously new subtypes appear, what requires annual reimmunization. For a correct vaccination recommendation, the circulating influenza strains had to be detected promptly and exactly and characterized due to their antigenic properties. During the flu season 2016/17, a wrong vaccination recommendation has been given because of the great time interval between identification of the relevant influenza vaccine strains and outbreak of the flu epidemic during the following winter. Due to such recurring incidents of vaccine mismatches, there is a great need to speed up the process chain from identifying the right vaccine strains to their administration. The monitoring of subtypes as part of this process chain is carried out by national reference laboratories within the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). To this end, thousands of viruses from patient samples (e.g., throat smears) are isolated and analyzed each year. Currently, this analysis involves complex and time-intensive (several weeks) animal experiments to produce specific hyperimmune sera in ferrets, which are necessary for the determination of the antigen profiles of circulating virus strains. These tests also bear difficulties in standardization and reproducibility, which restricts the significance of the results. To replace this test a peptide-based assay for influenza virus subtyping from corresponding virus samples was developed. The differentiation of the viruses takes place by a set of specifically designed peptidic recognition molecules which interact differently with the different influenza virus subtypes. The differentiation of influenza subtypes is performed by pattern recognition guided by machine learning algorithms, without any animal experiments. Synthetic peptides are immobilized in multiplex format on various platforms (e.g., 96-well microtiter plate, microarray). Afterwards, the viruses are incubated and analyzed comparing different signaling mechanisms and a variety of assay conditions. Differentiation of a range of influenza subtypes, including H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, as well as fine differentiation of single strains within these subtypes is possible using the peptide-based subtyping platform. Thereby, the platform could be capable of replacing the current antigenic characterization of influenza strains using ferret hyperimmune sera.

Keywords: antigenic characterization, influenza-binding peptides, influenza subtyping, influenza surveillance

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2217 Early Metastatic Cancer: A Review of Its Management and Outcomes

Authors: Diwei Lin, Amanda Jia Hui Tan

Abstract:

In 2012, testicular cancer was estimated to account for 940 disability adjusted life years in Australia; of these, 450 were years lost due to premature death and 500 were years of healthy life lost due to disease, disability or injury. Testicular choriocarcinoma is one of the rarest variants of testicular germ cell tumours, accounting for less than 1% of testicular germ cell tumours and only about 0.19% of all testicular tumours. Management involves radical orchiectomy followed by chemotherapy. Even then, the prognosis is extremely poor. This case report describes a 20-year-old male with pure testicular choriocarcinoma with pulmonary metastases.

Keywords: testicular cancer, choriocarcinoma, cryptorchidism, chemotherapy, metastatic testicular cancer

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2216 Radio Frequency Heating of Iron-Filled Carbon Nanotubes for Cancer Treatment

Authors: L. Szymanski, S. Wiak, Z. Kolacinski, G. Raniszewski, L. Pietrzak, Z. Staniszewska

Abstract:

There exist more than one hundred different types of cancer, and therefore no particular treatment is offered to people struggling with this disease. The character of treatment proposed to a patient will depend on a variety of factors such as type of the cancer diagnosed, advancement of the disease, its location in the body, as well as personal preferences of a patient. None of the commonly known methods of cancer-fighting is recognised as a perfect cure, however great advances in this field have been made over last few decades. Once a patient is diagnosed with cancer, he is in need of medical care and professional treatment for upcoming months, and in most cases even for years. Among the principal modes of treatment offered by medical centres, one can find radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. All of them can be applied separately or in combination, and the relative contribution of each is usually determined by medical specialist in agreement with a patient. In addition to the conventional treatment option, every day more complementary and alternative therapies are integrated into mainstream care. There is one promising cancer modality - hyperthermia therapy which is based on exposing body tissues to high temperatures. This treatment is still being investigated and is not widely available in hospitals and oncological centres. There are two kinds of hyperthermia therapies with direct and indirect heating. The first is not commonly used due to low efficiency and invasiveness, while the second is deeply investigated and a variety of methods have been developed, including ultrasounds, infrared sauna, induction heating and magnetic hyperthermia. The aim of this work was to examine possibilities of heating magnetic nanoparticles under the influence of electromagnetic field for cancer treatment. For this purpose, multiwalled carbon nanotubes used as nanocarriers for iron particles were investigated for its heating properties. The samples were subjected to an alternating electromagnetic field with frequency range between 110-619 kHz. Moreover, samples with various concentrations of carbon nanotubes were examined. The lowest frequency of 110 kHz and sample containing 10 wt% of carbon nanotubes occurred to influence the most effective heating process. Description of hyperthermia therapy aiming at enhancing currently available cancer treatment was also presented in this paper. Most widely applied conventional cancer modalities such as radiation or chemotherapy were also described. Methods for overcoming the most common obstacles in conventional cancer modalities, such as invasiveness and lack of selectivity, has been presented in magnetic hyperthermia characteristics, which explained the increasing interest of the treatment.

Keywords: hyperthermia, carbon nanotubes, cancer colon cells, ligands

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2215 Leukocyte Transcriptome Analysis of Patients with Obesity-Related High Output Heart Failure

Authors: Samantha A. Cintron, Janet Pierce, Mihaela E. Sardiu, Diane Mahoney, Jill Peltzer, Bhanu Gupta, Qiuhua Shen

Abstract:

High output heart failure (HOHF) is characterized a high output state resulting from an underlying disease process and is commonly caused by obesity. As obesity levels increase, more individuals will be at risk for obesity-related HOHF. However, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms of obesity-related HOHF are not well understood and need further research. The aim of the study was to describe the differences in leukocyte transcriptomes of morbidly obese patients with HOHF and those with non-HOHF. In this cross-sectional study, the study team collected blood samples, demographics, and clinical data of six patients with morbid obesity and HOHF and six patients with morbid obesity and non-HOHF. The study team isolated the peripheral blood leukocyte RNA and applied stranded total RNA sequencing. Differential gene expression was calculated, and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software was used to interpret the canonical pathways, functional changes, upstream regulators, and mechanistic and causal networks that were associated with the significantly different leukocyte transcriptomes. The study team identified 116 differentially expressed genes; 114 were upregulated, and 2 were downregulated in the HOHF group (Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p-value ≤ 0.05 and log2(fold-change) of ±1). The differentially expressed genes were involved with cell proliferation, mitochondrial function, erythropoiesis, erythrocyte stability, and apoptosis. The top upregulated canonical pathways associated with differentially expressed genes were autophagy, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase signaling, and senescence pathways. Upstream regulator GATA Binding Protein 1 (GATA1) and a network associated with nuclear factor kappa-light chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) were also identified based on the different leukocyte transcriptomes of morbidly obese patients with HOHF and non-HOHF. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first study that reported the differential gene expression in patients with obesity-related HOHF and demonstrated the unique pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the disease. Further research is needed to determine the role of cellular function and maintenance, inflammation, and iron homeostasis in obesity-related HOHF.

Keywords: cardiac output, heart failure, obesity, transcriptomics

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2214 Effects of Inadequate Domestic Water Supply on Human Health in Selected Neighbourhoods of Lokoja, Kogi State

Authors: Folorunsho J. O., Umar M. A.

Abstract:

Access to potable water supply in both the rural and urban regions of the world has been neglected, and this has severely affected man and the aesthetics of the natural environment of man. This has further worsened the issue of diseases prevalence. This study considered the effects of inadequate domestic water supply on human health in selected neighbourhoods of Lokoja. The study used descriptive statistics such as relative frequencies, percentages and inferential statistics to analyse the data obtained through the use of structured questionnaire. The results revealed that the females and male constituted 56% and 44% of the respondents respectively; 62% of the respondents married and 32% are unmarried; respondents between ages 31 and 40 years constitute majority of the study population, while respondents with tertiary education constituted 35%, and those with secondary education were 32% of the total respondents. Furthermore, civil servants constituted 40% and unemployed 16% of the total respondents. In terms of monthly income, 40% of the respondents was found to earn between ₦31,000 - 40,000 monthly. On the perception of households on the availability and adequacy of domestic water supply, the study revealed that 64.7% of the respondents have pipe-borne water as their main source of water supply, with only 28.5% out of the 64.7% have pipe-borne water supply daily. On the relationship between water supply characteristics and health status among households, the result shows that 76% of the respondents perceived a strong relationship between water supply and health status. Cumulatively, 67% of the respondents confirm that both the quality and quantity of water supplied play a critical role in determining health status of residents of the study area. The respondents also reported skin diseases (96%), diarrhoea (96%), malaria (91%), cholera (67%), dysentery (67%), and respiratory diseases (67%) as the most perceived and experienced in the area, the disease rate in the prevalence order of malaria (81%), diarrhoea (61%), skin diseases (58%), cholera (34%), dysentery (31%) and respiratory disease (14%) respectively. Finally, the results further showed how households cope with inadequate water supply with 52% of the respondents confirm that they regularly treat their water before it was deployed for domestic uses, while 35%, 26%, 25%, 10% and 4% of the 52% respectively, adopted boiling, addition of alums, filtering with fabrics, chlorination and bleaching as the preferred treatment methods. The study thus recommended policy options that will aggressively launch adequate potable water supply infrastructure in the study area.Keywords: Potable Water, Supply, Human Health, Perception, Chlorination

Keywords: potable water, human health, perception, chlorination

Procedia PDF Downloads 59
2213 Patterns of Eosinophilia in Cardiac Patients and its Association with Endomyocardial Disease Presenting to Tertiary Care Hospital in Peshawar

Authors: Rashid Azeem

Abstract:

Introduction: Eosinophilia, which can be categorized as mild, moderate, and severe form on the basis of increasing eosinophil counts, might be responsible for a wide range of cardiac manifestations, varying from a simple myocarditis to a severe state like endomyocardial fibrosis. Eosinophils are involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of cardiovascular disorder like Loffler endocarditis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangitis (EGPH), and hyper eosinophilic (HES). Among them HES carries and incidence rate b/w 48% and 75% and is the main causes of cardiac motility and mobility due to eosinophilia involvement. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of eosinophilia in cardiac patients and to ascertain the evidence of endomyocardial diseases in eosinophilic patients in a cardiology institution Material and Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was conducted in hematology Department of Peshawar institute of Cardiology after approval from hospital ethical and research committee. All 70 patients were subjected to detailed history and clinical examination. Investigation like CBC, Chest X-ray, ECG, Echo, Angiography findings were used to monitor patient’s clinical status. Data is analyzed using SPSS version 25 and MS Excel. Results: Out of 70 patients in our study, a total of 66 patients(94 %) shows evidence of cardiac manifestations. In our study, we have observed a number of abnormal ECG patterns in cardiac patients presenting with eosinophilia, like T wave changes, loss of R wave, sinus bradycardia with LVH strain, and ST wave abnormality. abnormal echocardiographic findings were observed in our patients, like valvular abnormalities (in 45.7%), RWMA abnormalities (in 2.8%), isolated ventricular dysfunction (in 21.4%), and in 10% patients, normal echocardiography. We further noted abnormal coronary angiography findings in cardiac patients with eosinophilia ranging from single vessel to multi vessel occlusions. Conclusions: Eosinophils are involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of cardiovascular disorders which can be detected by various diagnostic means, and the severity of the disease increases with time and with increasing eosinophil count ranging from simple myocarditis to a fatal condition like endomyocardial fibrosis. Thus, increased eosinophilic count as a laboratory parameter in cardiac patients may be a sign of endomyocardial damage which will further help cardiologist to intervene more aggressively then routine approach to a cardiac patient.

Keywords: eosinophilia, endomyocardial fibrosis, cardiac, hypereosinophilic syndrome

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2212 Computational Approach to Identify Novel Chemotherapeutic Agents against Multiple Sclerosis

Authors: Syed Asif Hassan, Tabrej Khan

Abstract:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating autoimmune disorder, of the central nervous system (CNS). In the present scenario, the current therapies either do not halt the progression of the disease or have side effects which limit the usage of current Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs) for a longer period of time. Therefore, keeping the current treatment failure schema, we are focusing on screening novel analogues of the available DMTs that specifically bind and inhibit the Sphingosine1-phosphate receptor1 (S1PR1) thereby hindering the lymphocyte propagation toward CNS. The novel drug-like analogs molecule will decrease the frequency of relapses (recurrence of the symptoms associated with MS) with higher efficacy and lower toxicity to human system. In this study, an integrated approach involving ligand-based virtual screening protocol (Ultrafast Shape Recognition with CREDO Atom Types (USRCAT)) to identify the non-toxic drug like analogs of the approved DMTs were employed. The potency of the drug-like analog molecules to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) was estimated. Besides, molecular docking and simulation using Auto Dock Vina 1.1.2 and GOLD 3.01 were performed using the X-ray crystal structure of Mtb LprG protein to calculate the affinity and specificity of the analogs with the given LprG protein. The docking results were further confirmed by DSX (DrugScore eXtented), a robust program to evaluate the binding energy of ligands bound to the ligand binding domain of the Mtb LprG lipoprotein. The ligand, which has a higher hypothetical affinity, also has greater negative value. Further, the non-specific ligands were screened out using the structural filter proposed by Baell and Holloway. Based on the USRCAT, Lipinski’s values, toxicity and BBB analysis, the drug-like analogs of fingolimod and BG-12 showed that RTL and CHEMBL1771640, respectively are non-toxic and permeable to BBB. The successful docking and DSX analysis showed that RTL and CHEMBL1771640 could bind to the binding pocket of S1PR1 receptor protein of human with greater affinity than as compared to their parent compound (Fingolimod). In this study, we also found that all the drug-like analogs of the standard MS drugs passed the Bell and Holloway filter.

Keywords: antagonist, binding affinity, chemotherapeutics, drug-like, multiple sclerosis, S1PR1 receptor protein

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