Search results for: sex worker disease

Authors: Kitoholi V. Zhimo

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Unlike the cases of cases of homosexuals, haemophilic and or drug users in USA, France, Africa and other countries, in India the first case of HIV/AIDS was detected in heterosexual female sex workers (FSW) in Chennai in 1986. This image played an important role in understanding HIV/AIDS scenario in the country. Similar to popular and dominant metaphors on HIV/AIDS such as ‘gay plague’, ‘new cancer’, ‘lethal disease’, ‘slim disease’, ‘foreign disease’, ‘junkie disease’, etc. around the world, the social construction of the virus was largely attributed to women in India. It was established that women particularly sex workers are ‘carrier’ and ‘transmitter’ of virus and were categorised as High Risk Groups (HRG’s) alongside homosexuals, transgenders and injecting drug users. Recent literature reveals growing rate of HIV infection among housewives since 1997 which revolutionised public health scenario in India. This means shift from high risk group to general public through ‘bridge population’ encompassing long distance truckers and migrant labours who at the expense of their nature of work and mobility comes in contact with HRG’s and transmit the virus to the general public especially women who are confined to the domestic space. As HIV epidemic expands, married women in monogamous relationship/marriage stand highly susceptible to infection with limited control, right and access over their sexual and reproductive health and planning. In context of Nagaland, a small state in North-eastern part of India HIV/AIDS transmission through injecting drug use dominated the early scene of the epidemic. However, paradigm shift occurred with declining trend of HIV prevalence among injecting drug users (IDU’s) over the past years with the introduction of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) and easy access/availability of syringes and injecting needles. Reflection on statistical data reveals that out of 36 states and union territories in India, the position of Nagaland in HIV prevalence among IDU’s has significantly dropped down from 6th position in 2003 to 16th position in 2017. The present face of virus in Nagaland is defined by (hetero) sexual mode of transmission which accounts for about 91% of as reported by Nagaland state AIDS control society (NSACS) in 2016 wherein young and married woman were found to be most affected leading to feminization of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the state. Thus, not only is HIV epidemic feminised but emerged victim to domestic violence which is more often accepted as normal part of heterosexual relationship. In the backdrop of these understanding, the present paper based on ethnographic fieldwork explores the plight, lived experiences and images of HIV+ve women with regard to sexual and reproductive rights against the backdrop of patriarchal system in Nagaland.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, monogamy, Nagaland, sex worker disease, women

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Authors: Ilse Kreme

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To the best of this author’s knowledge, no studies have been identified on the connection between a refusal to engage in health-protective behaviors and a basic understanding of viral biology among community college students, faculty, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of scientific knowledge could prevent understanding of why these behaviors are important to prevent the community spread of COVID-19, even when they are not shown to offer much individual protection. In this study, a possible correlation was examined between a basic knowledge level of viral disease that comes from having taken a college biology course and disease perceptions of COVID-19. In particular, disease risk perception, disease severity percept and mask-wearing behaviors were examined as they correlated with having taken an undergraduate biology course. The effect of covariates of age, gender, and education level were investigated along with the main dependent variables. A representative sample of the population included students, faculty, and staff at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants were recruited by an email sent to all students, faculty, and staff at PVCC using an all-college email distribution. Disease risk and severity perception were assessed with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire 5 (BIP-Q5), which was modified to include questions measuring participant age, education level, and whether they took or ever took a college biology course. Two additional questions measured compliance of willingness to wear a face mask. The results showed an effect of gender on mask-wearing behavior and a correlation between having taken a biology course and disease severity perception. No differences were seen in mask-wearing behavior and disease risk perception as a result of having taken a biology course. These findings suggest that taking an undergraduate biology course leads to a greater awareness of COVID-19 disease severity through an understanding of the basic biological principles of viral disease transmission. The results can be used to modify existing health education strategies. Further research is needed on how to best reach target audiences in all education brackets.

Keywords: COVID-19, education, gender, mask wearing, disease risk perception, disease severity perception

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Authors: Renae McNair

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Subjective well-being levels were assessed in individuals diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. The current exploratory analysis sought to examine two factors that impact subjective well-being in individuals diagnosed with a chronic health condition. The two factors, resilience, and rumination, were assessed as possible moderators in self-reported levels of subjective well-being were measured. The importance of understanding the psychological state of perceived well-being in an individual diagnosed with an autoimmune disease is important given the impact of the level of subjective well-being on life longevity. In previous research, higher levels of subjective well-being are correlated with longer life longevity, including those individuals who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Conversely, individuals who report higher levels of negative affect have a shorter length of life longevity. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and a report from the National Health Council, currently, 8-10% of individuals in the United States have been diagnosed with at least one autoimmune disease. Although treatment plans are in place to help manage the physical effects of disease, the psychological state of the person impacts life longevity. Resilience and rumination impact subjective well-being as an outcome in individuals diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Resilience is the ability to adjust or adapt effectively and positively to unfavorable life conditions or events. Resilience acts as a protective factor in life, allowing those who face adversity to successfully adapt, regardless of the health diagnosis. Rumination is the worry or dwelling on the negative aspects of a given situation. Rumination interrupts the adaptive response, leading to a decrease in well-being. The relationship between resilience and subjective well-being were examined correlated with higher levels of resilience and higher levels of self-reported subjective well-being.

Keywords: subjective well-being, rumination, resilience, autoimmune disease

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Authors: Mohammad Imani, JabraeilNasl Seraji, Abolfazl Zakerian

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Background: Reaction time is the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus. In fact The time that passes between the introduction of a stimulus and the reaction by the subject to that stimulus. The aim of this interventional study is evaluation of bright light effects on concentration and diffuse attention reaction time, tension, angry, fatigue and alertness among shift workers. There are several incentives that can reduce the reaction time or added. Bright light as one of the environmental factors can reduce reaction time. Material &Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 1391, in 88 subjects (44 Fixed morning worker and 44 shift worker ) In a 24 h time (13-16-19-22-1-4-7-10) in an ordinary light situation after a randomly selected sample size calculation, concentration and diffuse attention test (reaction time) has been done. After intervention and using of bright light (4500lux), again reaction time test was done. After analyzing by ElISA method obtained data were analyzed by statistical software SPSS 19 and using T-test and ANOVA statistical analysis. Results: Between average of reaction time tests in ordinary light exposed to fixed morning workers and bright light exposed to shift worker, with 95% CI, (P>%5) there was no significant relationship. After the intervention and the use of bright light (4500 lux),between average of concentration and diffused attention reaction time tests in ordinary light exposure on the fixed morning workers and bright light exposure shift workers with 95% CI, (P<5%) there was significant relationship. Conclusion: In sometimes of 24 h during ordinary light exposure concentration and diffused attention reaction time has changed in shift workers. After intervention, during bright light (4500lux) exposure as a light shower, focused and diffuse attention reaction time, tension ,angry and fatigue decreased.

Keywords: bright light, reaction time, tension, angry, fatigue, alertness

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Authors: Magdalena Barbara Kaziuk, Ilona Hubner, Jacek Hubner, Slawomir Kroczka

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Background: The motor neuron disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease causing malfunction. Irrespective of the form of the disease and its onset always leads to the worsening of the quality of life, with patients usually depending on the family. Materials and methods: The study included 20 persons (5 females, 15 males, aged 65,5 ± 20 years) with clinically certain or probable diagnosis of the motor neuron disease. Patients were examined three times in the period of six months. The diagnosis was established based on the criteria of El Escorial. Manual dexterity was assessed using the test of the card Rene Zazzo and the test of shading in with lines Mira Stambak. Results: All patients achieved unsatisfactory results in Rene Zazzo’s test of the card and most of the patients (60%) in Mira Stambak’s test of shading with lines. Significantly higher test results were achieved for Rene Zazzo’s test and lower test results for Mira Stambak’s test in consecutive measurements. Conclusions: Impairment of manual dexterity is present already at the moment of diagnosing the disease and is growing significantly during its course. The quality of life for MND patients undergoes gradual deterioration as a result of the malfunction.

Keywords: manual dexterity, motor neuron disease, quality of life, malfunction

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Authors: Purnima Pandit

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Malaria remains one of the world’s most deadly infectious disease and arguably, the greatest menace to modern society in terms of morbidity and mortality. To choose the right treatment and to ensure a quality of life suitable for a specific patient condition, early and accurate diagnosis of malaria is essential. It reduces transmission of disease and prevents deaths. Our work focuses on designing an efficient, accurate fuzzy inference system for malaria diagnosis.

Keywords: fuzzy inference system, fuzzy logic, malaria disease, triangular fuzzy number

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Authors: M. J. Pourvaghar, M. E. Bahram, Sh. Khoshemehry

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Hyperlipidemia or an increase in blood lipids is a condition that has been rising, especially during the last decade, with the advancement of the life-span of the car, as an important disease. In fact, it is one of the complications of industrial life and semi-industrial. Hyperlipidemia alone is not a disease, but it is recognized as an important risk factor for coronary artery disease. The methodology of this review article is the use of research to provide the best solution for physical activity and exercise in relation to lowering blood lipids and lowering blood pressure. Also, factors that contribute to improving the health status of humans should be introduced. Research findings in this article show that physical activity with a specific duration and severity can keep a person away from the cardiovascular disease. The result shows that regular physical activity with low intensity and long periods of time is essential for human health. Physical mobility reduces blood pressure, reduces the harmful fats and does not cause cardiovascular disease. More than half of the patients suffering from cardiovascular problems are afflicted with blood lipids. On the other hand, high blood pressure is one of the serious health hazards in the world today, which causes a large number of cardiovascular problems and mortality in the world. Undoubtedly, the second most common risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure after cigarette smoking.

Keywords: blood pressure, cardiovascular, hyperlipidemia, risk factor

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Authors: Yuet Wah Echo Yeung

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Working with people from minority ethnic groups, refugees and asylum seeking communities who have limited proficiency in the language of the host country often presents a major challenge for social workers. Because of language differences, social workers need to work with interpreters to ensure accurate information is collected for their assessment and intervention. Drawing from social learning theory, this paper discusses how role play was used as an experiential learning exercise in a training session to help social work students develop skills when working with interpreters. Social learning theory posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context when people observe, imitate and model others’ behaviours. The roleplay also helped students understand the role of the interpreter and the challenges they may face when they rely on interpreters to communicate with service users and their family. The first part of the session involved role play. A tutor played the role of social worker and deliberately behaved in an unprofessional manner and used inappropriate body language when working alongside the interpreter during a home visit. The purpose of the roleplay is not to provide a positive role model for students to ‘imitate’ social worker’s behaviours. Rather it aims to active and provoke internal thinking process and encourages students to critically consider the impacts of poor practice on relationship building and the intervention process. Having critically reflected on the implications for poor practice, students were then asked to play the role of social worker and demonstrate what good practice should look like. At the end of the session, students remarked that they learnt a lot by observing the good and bad example; it showed them what not to do. The exercise served to remind students how practitioners can easily slip into bad habits and of the importance of respect for the cultural difference when working with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Keywords: role play, social learning theory, social work practice, working with interpreters

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Authors: Ghoul Rachid Brahim

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Introduction: Degenerative disc disease is a process of premature and accelerated deterioration of the intervertebral disc; it is of multifactorial origin and is responsible for chronic low back pain. Objectives: Determine an epidemiological profile of patients with painful lumbar degenerative disc disease. Patients and methods: We performed a prospective study of 104 patients operated on for degenerative painful lumbar disc disease over a period of 25 months. The parameters analyzed were: age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), comorbidities, family history of low back pain, and difficulty with professional activity. Results: The average age was 43.3 years, with a clear predominance of men: 72 men for 32 women, the average BMI was 26.80Kg / m2, and 63.5% of the patients were overweight. The occurrence of disc degeneration in pathological conditions was noted in 14.4% of cases. The notion of familial low back pain was found in 49% of cases. The majority of patients perform more or less arduous work (51%) in the cases. Conclusion: In our series, degenerative painful lumbar disc disease predominates in the male subject, active obese who performs more or less painful work, in whom we find a family history of low back pain.

Keywords: degenerative disc disease, low back pain, body mass index, disque intervertebrale

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Authors: C. Gallottini, W. Di Mari, A. Amaddeo, K. Barbaro, A. Dolci, G. Dolci, L. Gallottini, G. Barraco, S. Eramo

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A group of 10 dogs (group A) with Periodontal Disease in the third stage, were subjected to regenerative therapy of periodontal tissues, by use of nano hydroxy apatite (NHA). These animals induced by general anesthesia, where treated by ultrasonic scaling, root planning, and at the end by a mucogingival flap in which it was applied NHA. The flap was closed and sutured with simple steps. Another group of 10 dogs (group B), control group, was treated only by scaling and root planning. No patient was subjected to antibiotic therapy. After three months, a check was made by inspection of the oral cavity, radiography and bone biopsy at the alveolar level. Group A showed a total restitutio ad integrum of the periodontal structures, and in group B still mild gingivitis in 70% of cases and 30% of the state remains unchanged. Numerous experimental studies both in animals and humans have documented that the grafts of porous hydroxyapatite are rapidly invaded by fibrovascular tissue which is subsequently converted into mature lamellar bone tissue by activating osteoblast. Since we acted on the removal of necrotic cementum and rehabilitating the root tissue by polishing without intervention in the ligament but only on anatomical functional interface of cement-blasts, we can connect the positive evolution of the clinical-only component of the cement that could represent this perspective, the only reason that Periodontal Disease become a Cement Disease, while all other clinical elements as nothing more than a clinical pathological accompanying.

Keywords: nanoidroxiaphatite, parodontal disease, cement disease, regenerative therapy

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Authors: Chia-Ying Yen, Chin-Yuan Hsu

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The lifespans of queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) are much longer than those of worker bees. The expression, concentration, and activity of mitochondrial energy-utilized molecules decreased with age in the trophocytes and oenocytes of worker bees, but they are unknown in queen bees. In this study, the expression, concentration, and activity of mitochondrial energy-utilized molecules were evaluated in the trophocytes and oenocytes of young and old queen bees by biochemical techniques. The results showed that mitochondrial density and mitochondrial membrane potential; nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced form (NADH), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels; the NAD+/NADH ratio; and relative expression of NADH dehydrogenase 1 and ATP synthase normalized against mitochondrial density were not significantly different between young and old queen bees. These findings reveal that mitochondrial energy utilization maintains a young status in the trophocytes and oenocytes of old queen bees and that trophocytes and oenocytes have aging-delaying mechanisms and can be used to study cellular longevity.

Keywords: aging, longevity, mitochondrial energy, queen bees

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Authors: Petra Balla, Gabor Manhertz, Akos Antal

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Nowadays spinal deformities are very frequent problems among teenagers. Scheuermann disease is a one dimensional deformity of the spine, but it has prevalence over 11% of the children. A traditional technology, the moiré method was used by us for screening and diagnosing this type of spinal deformity. A LabVIEW program has been developed to evaluate the moiré pictures of patients with Scheuermann disease. Two different solutions were tested in this computer program, the extreme and the inflexion point calculation methods. Effects using these methods were compared and according to the results both solutions seemed to be appropriate. Statistical results showed better efficiency in case of the extreme search method where the average difference was only 6,09⁰.

Keywords: spinal deformity, picture evaluation, Moiré method, Scheuermann disease, curve detection, Moiré topography

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Authors: Shao-Hsuan Chien, Ju-Hui Fu

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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and motor impairment. Aggregation of α-synuclein in neuronal cells plays a key role in this disease. At present, therapeutics for PD provides moderate symptomatic benefit but is not able to delay the development of this disease. Current efforts for the treatment of PD are to identify new drugs that show slow or arrest progressive course of PD by interfering with a disease-specific pathogenetic process in PD patients. Maackiain is a bioactive compound isolated from the roots of the Chinese herb Sophora flavescens. The purpose of the present study was to assess the potential for maackiain to ameliorate PD in Caenorhabditis elegans models. Our data reveal that maackiain prevents α-synuclein accumulation in the transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans model and also improves dopaminergic neuron degeneration, food-sensing behavior, and life-span in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced Caenorhabditis elegans model, thus indicating its potential as a candidate antiparkinsonian drug.

Keywords: maackiain, Parkinson’s disease, dopaminergic neurons, α-Synuclein

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Authors: Kai-Fen Tu, Jenn-Wen Huang, Yao-Tung Lin

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Cucumber is a major economic crop in the world. The global production of cucumber in 2017 was more than 71 million tonnes. Nonetheless, downy mildew, caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is a devastating and common disease on cucumber in around 80 countries and causes severe economic losses. The long-term usage of fungicide also leads to the occurrence of fungicide resistance and decreases host resistance. In this study, six types of oil (neem oil, moringa oil, soybean oil, cinnamon oil, clove oil, and camellia oil) were selected to synthesize micro/nano-sized emulsions, and the disease control efficacy of micro/nano-sized emulsions were evaluated. Moreover, oil concentrations (0.125% - 1%) and droplet size of emulsion were studied. Results showed cinnamon-type emulsion had the best efficacy among these oils. The disease control efficacy of these emulsions increased as the oil concentration increased. Both disease incidence and disease severity were measured by detached leaf and pot experiment, respectively. For the droplet size effect, results showed that the 114 nm of droplet size synthesized by 0.25% cinnamon oil emulsion had the lowest disease incidence (6.67%) and lowest disease severity (33.33%). The release of zoospore was inhibited (5.33%), and the sporangia germination was damaged. These results suggest that cinnamon oil emulsion will be a valuable and environmentally friendly alternative to control cucumber downy mildew. The economic loss caused by plant disease could also be reduced.

Keywords: downy mildew, emulsion, oil droplet size, plant protectant

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Authors: Dana Gabriková, Martin Mistrík, Jarmila Bernasovská, Iveta Tóthová, Jana Kisková

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The Roma (Gypsies) is a transnational minority with a high degree of consanguineous marriages. Similar to other genetically isolated founder populations, the Roma harbor a number of unique or rare genetic disorders. This paper discusses about a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease – type 4G (CMT4G), also called Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathy type Russe, an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutation private to Roma characterized by abnormally increased density of non-myelinated axons. CMT4G was originally found in Bulgarian Roma and in 2009 two putative causative mutations in the HK1 gene were identified. Since then, several cases were reported in Roma families mainly from Bulgaria and Spain. Here we present a Slovak Roma family in which CMT4G was diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination and genetic testing. This case is a further proof of the role of the HK1 gene in pathogenesis of the disease. It confirms that mutation in the HK1 gene is a common cause of autosomal recessive CMT disease in Roma and should be considered as a common part of a diagnostic procedure.

Keywords: gypsies, HK1, HSMN-Russe, rare disease

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Authors: Keerthie Dissanayake, Chandrika Jayasinghe, Priyani Wanigasekara, Jayampathy Dissanayake, Ajith Sominanda

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The routine use of Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28) to assess the disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is limited due to its dependency on laboratory investigations and the complex calculations involved. In contrast, the clinical disease activity index (CDAI) is simple to calculate, which makes the "treat to target" strategy for the management of RA more practical. We aimed to assess the validity of CDAI compared to DAS28 in RA patients in Sri Lanka. A total of 103 newly diagnosed RA patients were recruited, and their disease activity was calculated using DAS 28 and CDAI during the first visit to the clinic (0 months) and re-assessed at 4 and 9 months of the follow-up visits. The validity of the CDAI, compared to DAS 28, was evaluated. Patients had a female preponderance (6:1) and a short symptom duration (mean = 6.33 months). The construct validity of CDAI, as assessed by Cronbach's α test, was 0.868. Convergent validity was assessed by correlation and Kappa statistics. Strong positive correlations were observed between CDAI and DAS 28 at the baseline (0 months), 4, and 9 months of evaluation (Spearman's r = 0.9357, 0.9354, 0.9106, respectively). Moderate-good inter-rater agreements between the DAS-28 and CDAI were observed (Weighted kappa of 0.660, 0.519, and 0.741 at 0, 4, and 9 months respectively). Discriminant validity, as assessed by ROC curves at 0, 4th, and 9th months of the evaluation, showed the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.958, 0.985, and 0.914, respectively. The suggested cut-off points for different CDAI disease activity categories according to ROC curves were ≤ 2 (Remission), >2 to ≤ 5 (low), >5 to ≤ 18 (moderate), > 18 (high). These findings indicate that the CDAI has good concordance with DAS 28 in assessing the disease activity in RA patients in this study sample.

Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, CDAI, disease activity, Sri Lanka, validation

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Authors: Muhammad Asif Rasheed

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Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an avian orthoavulavirus, is a causative agent of Newcastle disease named (NDV) and can cause even the epidemics when the disease is not treated. Previously several vaccines based on attenuated and inactivated viruses have been reported, which are rendered useless with the passage of time due to versatile changes in viral genome. Therefore, we aimed to develop an effective multi-epitope vaccine against the haemagglutinin neuraminidase (HN) protein of 26 NDV strains from Pakistan through a modern immunoinformatic approaches. As a result, a vaccine chimaera was constructed by combining T-cell and B-cell epitopes with the appropriate linkers and adjuvant. The designed vaccine was highly immunogenic, non-allergen, and antigenic; therefore, the potential 3D-structureof multi epitope vaccine was constructed, refined, and validated. A molecular docking study of a multiepitope vaccine candidate with the chicken Toll-like receptor-4 indicated successful binding. An In silico immunological simulation was used to evaluate the candidate vaccine's ability to elicit an effective immune response. According to the computational studies, the proposed multiepitope vaccine is physically stable and may induce immune responses, whichsuggested it a strong candidate against 26 Newcastle disease virus strains from Pakistan. A wet lab study is under process to confirm the results.

Keywords: epitopes, newcastle disease virus, paramyxovirus virus, vaccine

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Authors: Ashit Syngle, Inderjit Verma, Pawan Krishan

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Aim: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are unique populations which have reparative potential in overcoming the endothelial damage and reducing cardiovascular risk. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the endothelial progenitor cell population in AS patients and its potential relationships with disease variables. Methods: Endothelial progenitor cells were measured in peripheral blood samples from 20 AS and 20 healthy controls by flow cytometry on the basis of CD34 and CD133 expression. Disease activity was evaluated by using Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). Functional ability was monitored by using Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). Results: EPCs were depleted in AS patients as compared to the healthy controls (CD34+/CD133+: 0.027 ± 0.010 % vs. 0.044 ± 0.011 %, p<0.001). EPCs depletion were significantly associated with disease duration (r=-0.52, p=0.01) and BASDAI (r=-0.45, p=0.04). Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate endothelial progenitor cells depletion in AS patients. EPCs depletion inversely correlates with disease duration and disease activity, suggesting the pivotal role of inflammation in depletion of EPCs. EPC would possibly also serve as a therapeutic target for preventing cardiovascular disease in AS.

Keywords: ankylosing spondylitis, endothelial progenitor cells, inflammation, vascular damage

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Authors: Keng H. Kong, Louis C. Tan, Wing L. Aw, Kay Y. Tay

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Background: Fatigue is a common problem in patients with Parkinson's disease, with reported prevalence of up to 70%. Fatigue can be disabling and has adverse effects on patients' quality of life. There is currently no satisfactory treatment of fatigue. Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of fatigue, especially that related to cancer. Its role in Parkinson's disease-related fatigue is uncertain. Aims: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment in Parkinson's disease-related fatigue. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that acupuncture is effective in alleviating Parkinson's disease-related fatigue. Design: A single center, randomized, controlled study with two parallel arms. Participants: Forty participants with idiopathic Parkinson's disease will be enrolled. Interventions: Participants will be randomized to receive verum (real) acupuncture or placebo acupuncture. The retractable non-invasive sham needle will be used in the placebo group. The intervention will be administered twice a week for five weeks. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome will be the change in general fatigue score of the multidimensional fatigue inventory at week 5. Secondary outcome measures include other subscales of the multidimensional fatigue inventory, movement disorders society-unified Parkinson's disease rating scale, Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39 and geriatric depression scale. All outcome measures will be assessed at baseline (week 0), completion of intervention (week 5) and 4 weeks after completion of intervention (week 9). Results: To date, 23 participants have been recruited and nine have completed the study. The mean age is 63.5±14.2 years, mean duration of Parkinson’s disease is 6.4±1.8 years and mean MDS-UPDRS score is 8.3±2.8. The mean general fatigue score of the multidimensional fatigue inventory is 13.5±4.6. No significant adverse event related to acupuncture is noted. Potential significance: If the results are as expected, this study will provide preliminary scientific evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in Parkinson's Disease-related fatigue, and opens the door for a larger multicentre trial to be performed. In the longer term, it may lead to the integration of acupuncture in the care of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Keywords: acupuncture, fatigue, Parkinson's disease, trial

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Authors: Meriche Hacene

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Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated enteropathy triggered by gluten found in wheat or oats or rye. Celiac disease is associated with the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 susceptibility alleles. This association with the HLA DQ2/DQ8 molecules confirmed the responsibility of genetic factors that intervene in the triggering of the autoimmune process of this condition. Objective: To evaluate the results of HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8 typing of 40 patients suspected of having CD by PCR-SSP (Polymerase Chain Reaction Sequence Specific Primers). Material and method : 40 patients suspected of celiac disease with IgA transglutaminase serology (-) and duodenal biopsy (+). HLADR/DQ PCR-SSP (fluogen-innotrain) typing was carried out. Results : The average age of adults was 40 years, children: 4 years, the sex ratio was 1M/3F. In our patients the HLA DQ2 allele is found with a frequency of 75%, the DQ8 with a frequency of 25%, 17.5% were HLA-DQ2 homozygous and 15% were HLADQ2/HLADQ8. In our series, HLADQ2, DQ8 are found in almost all patients with a frequency of 95%. 30% of patients in our study had associated positivity of HLA-DRB3, DRB4 or DRB5 alleles. Conclusion : A high prevalence of positivity of HLADQ2 alleles at the expense of HLA DQ8 was found, which is consistent with literature data. These molecules constitute an additional marker for screening and diagnosis of CD.

Keywords: HLA typing, coeliac disease, HLA DQ 2, HLA DQ8

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Authors: Felipe A. Guth, Shane Ward, Kevin McDonnell

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The assessment of disease levels in crop fields is an important and time-consuming task that generally relies on expert knowledge of trained individuals. Image classification in agriculture problems historically has been based on classical machine learning strategies that make use of hand-engineered features in the top of a classification algorithm. This approach tends to not produce results with high accuracy and generalization to the classes classified by the system when the nature of the elements has a significant variability. The advent of deep convolutional neural networks has revolutionized the field of machine learning, especially in computer vision tasks. These networks have great resourcefulness of learning and have been applied successfully to image classification and object detection tasks in the last years. The objective of this work was to propose a new method based on deep learning convolutional neural networks towards the task of disease level monitoring. Common RGB images of winter wheat were obtained during a growing season. Five categories of disease levels presence were produced, in collaboration with agronomists, for the algorithm classification. Disease level tasks performed by experts provided ground truth data for the disease score of the same winter wheat plots were RGB images were acquired. The system had an overall accuracy of 84% on the discrimination of the disease level classes.

Keywords: crop disease assessment, deep learning, precision agriculture, residual neural networks

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Authors: Karolina Siejka, Monika Piekarska, Monika Zbroja, Weronika Cyranka, Maryla Kuczynska, Magdalena Grzegorczyk, Malgorzata Nowakowska, Agnieszka Brodzisz, Magdalena Maria Wozniak

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Crohn’s disease is one of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. It is increasing in prevalence worldwide, especially with young people. The disease usually occurs in the second to the fourth decade of life. Traditionally is diagnosed by clinical indicates, endoscopic, and histological findings. Magnetic Resonance Enterography (MRE) can demonstrate mural and extramural inflammatory signs and complications, which make it a valuable diagnostic modality. The study included 76 adults and 36 children diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Each patient underwent MRE with intravenous administration of a contrast agent. All the studies were performed using Siemens Aera 1.5T scanner according to a local study protocol. Whenever applicable, MR Enterography findings were verified with endoscopy. Forty adults and all 36 children had an active phase of Crohn’s disease; five adults had a chronic phase of the disease; one adult had both chronic and active inflammatory features. Thirty adults have no sings of pathology. In both adult and pediatric groups the most commonly observed manifestation of active disease was thickened edematous ileum wall (26 adults and 36 children). Adults had Bauhin’s valve edema in 58% cases (n=23) and mesenteric changes in 34% cases (n=9). To compare, 32 children had Bauhin’s valve edema (89%) and, in 23 cases, was found inflammatory infiltration of the peri-intestinal fat (64%). The involvement of the large intestine was more common among children (100%). Complications of Crohn’s disease were found commonly in adults (40% of adults, 22% of children). There were observed 18 fistulas (14 adults, four children) and six abscesses (2 adults, four children). MRE is a reliable method in the evaluation of Crohn’s disease activity, especially of its complications. The lack of radiations makes MRE well-tolerated modality, which can be often repeated, particularly in young patients. The disease had different medical sings depending on age – children often had a more active inflammatory process, but there were more complications in the adult group.

Keywords: Crohn's disease, diagnostics, inflammatory bowel disease, magnetic resonance enterography, MRE

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Authors: Nurudeen Oluwasola Lasisi

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Newcastle disease is a highly contagious disease of birds caused by a para-myxo virus. In this paper, we presented Novel quarantine-adjusted incident and linear incident of Newcastle disease model equations. We considered the dynamics of transmission and control of Newcastle disease. The existence and uniqueness of the solutions were obtained. The existence of disease-free points was shown, and the model threshold parameter was examined using the next-generation operator method. The sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to identify the most sensitive parameters of the disease transmission. This revealed that as parameters β,ω, and ᴧ increase while keeping other parameters constant, the effective reproduction number R_ev increases. This implies that the parameters increase the endemicity of the infection of individuals. More so, when the parameters μ,ε,γ,δ_1, and α increase, while keeping other parameters constant, the effective reproduction number R_ev decreases. This implies the parameters decrease the endemicity of the infection as they have negative indices. Analytical results were numerically verified by the Differential Transformation Method (DTM) and quantitative views of the model equations were showcased. We established that as contact rate (β) increases, the effective reproduction number R_ev increases, as the effectiveness of drug usage increases, the R_ev decreases and as the quarantined individual decreases, the R_ev decreases. The results of the simulations showed that the infected individual increases when the susceptible person approaches zero, also the vaccination individual increases when the infected individual decreases and simultaneously increases the recovery individual.

Keywords: disease-free equilibrium, effective reproduction number, endemicity, Newcastle disease model, numerical, Sensitivity analysis

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Authors: P. Shrivastava, A. Shukla, K. Verma, S. Rungta

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Parkinson's disease is a chronic neurological disorder that directly affects human gait. It leads to slowness of movement, causes muscle rigidity and tremors. Gait serve as a primary outcome measure for studies aiming at early recognition of disease. Using gait techniques, this paper implements efficient binary bat algorithm for an early detection of Parkinson's disease by selecting optimal features required for classification of affected patients from others. The data of 166 people, both fit and affected is collected and optimal feature selection is done using PSO and Bat algorithm. The reduced dataset is then classified using neural network. The experiments indicate that binary bat algorithm outperforms traditional PSO and genetic algorithm and gives a fairly good recognition rate even with the reduced dataset.

Keywords: parkinson, gait, feature selection, bat algorithm

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Authors: Eltayeb Hamad Elneel Yousif

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This paper describes occupational radiation doses of workers in non-destructive testing (NDT) and some medical practices during the year 2007. The annual doses received by the workers of a public hospital are presented in this report. The Department is facilitated with HARSHAW Reader model 6600 and assigned the rule of personal monitoring to contribute in controlling and reducing the doses received by radiation workers. TLD cards with two TLD chips type LiF: Mg, Ti (TLD-100) were calibrated to measure the personal dose equivalent Hp(10). Around 150 medical radiation workers were monitored throughout the year. Each worker received a single TLD card worn on the chest above lead apron and returned for laboratory reading every two months. The average annual doses received by the workers of radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology were evaluated. The annual doses for individual radiation workers ranged between 0.55-4.42 mSv, 0.48-1.86 mSv, and 0.48-0.91 mSv for the workers of radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology, respectively. The mean dose per worker was 1.29±1, 1.03±0.4, and 0.69±0.2 mSv, respectively. The results showed compliance with international dose limits. Our results reconfirm the importance of personal dosimetry service in assuring the radiation protection of medical staff in developing countries.

Keywords: radiation medicine, non-destructive testing, TLD, public hospital

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Authors: Zakari Mustapha, Clinton Aigbavboa, Wellington Didi Thwala

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Majority of the incidents and accidents in complex high-risk systems that exist in the construction industry and other sectors have been attributed to unsafe acts of workers. The purpose of this paper was to asses Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) in construction accident prevention. The study was conducted through the use of secondary data from journals, books and internet to achieve the objective of the study. The review of literature looked into details of different views from different scholars about HFACS framework in accidents investigations. It further highlighted on various sections or disciplines of accident occurrences in human performance within the construction. The findings from literature review showed that unsafe acts of a worker and unsafe working conditions are the two major causes of accident in the construction industry.Most significant factor in the cause of site accident in the construction industry is unsafe acts of a worker. The findings also show how the application of HFACS framework in the investigation of accident will lead to the identification of common trends. Further findings show that provision for the prevention of accident will be made based on past accident records to identify and prioritize where intervention is needed within the construction industry.

Keywords: accident, construction, HFACS, unsafe acts

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Authors: Rasha M. Hussein, Reem M. Hashem, Laila A. Rashed

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Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia disease in the elderly. It is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid β (Aβ) peptides and intracellular hyper-phosphorylated tau protein. In addition, recent evidence indicates that accumulation of intracellular amyloid β peptides may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. This suggests that intracellular Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) that maintain the protein quality control in the cell might be potential candidates for disease amelioration. DNAJB6, a member of DNAJ family of HSP, effectively prevented the aggregation of poly glutamines stretches associated with Huntington’s disease both in vitro and in cells. In addition, DNAJB6 was found recently to delay the aggregation of Aβ42 peptides in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the ability of DNAJB6 to prevent the aggregation of both intracellular and extracellular Aβ peptides using transfection of HEK293 cells with Aβ-GFP and recombinant Aβ42 peptides respectively. We performed western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. We found that DNAJB6 can prevent Aβ-GFP aggregation, but not the seeded aggregation initiated by extracellular Aβ peptides. Moreover, DNAJB6 required interaction with HSP70 to prevent the aggregation of Aβ-GFP protein and its J-domain was essential for this anti-aggregation activity. Interestingly, overexpression of other DNAJ proteins as well as HSPB1 suppressed Aβ-GFP aggregation efficiently. Our findings suggest that DNAJB6 is a promising candidate for the inhibition of Aβ-GFP mediated aggregation through a canonical HSP70 dependent mechanism.

Keywords: Aβ, Alzheimer’s disease, chaperone, DNAJB6, aggregation

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Authors: Maciej Kozlowski, Agnieszka Piotrowska-Piatek

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Purpose: This article analyses the most important financial participation programmes (FPP) in Poland to show the relationship between the programmes applied and the socio-economic results of enterprises and assesses the impact of participation on these results and the impact of selected factors on the introduction of FPP. Methodology: The research has been based on a questionnaire answered by senior management of listed Polish companies that had at least one out of three major FPPs in operation, namely share ownership, profit-sharing, or a stock option scheme. Findings: The results of the empirical study conducted indicate the existence of some peculiar relationships. The vast majority of schemes in Polish public companies are aimed at the participation of the management personnel; these programmes are narrow-based (only for management) and rather hermetic, with a high concentration of stocks or shares in the hands of the management. Conclusion: FPPs generally have a positive influence on enterprise functioning. However, the effects are more social than economic (no significant economic improvement after programme implementation). The paper contributes to the debate about financial participation and suggests actions to popularize these programmes on a wider scale.

Keywords: financial participation, profit sharing, stock options, worker attitude, worker ownership

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Authors: P. S. Jagadeesh Kumar, Tracy Lin Huan, S. Meenakshi Sundaram

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Alzheimer’s disease is one of the prevalent kind of ailment, expected for impudent reconciliation or an effectual therapy is to be accredited hitherto. Probable detonation of patients in the upcoming years, and consequently an enormous deal of apprehension in early discovery of the disorder, this will conceivably chaperon to enhanced healing outcomes. Complex impetuosity of the brain is an observant symbolic of the disease and a unique recognition of genetic sign of the disease. Machine learning alongside deep learning and decision tree reinforces the aptitude to absorb characteristics from multi-dimensional data’s and thus simplifies automatic classification of Alzheimer’s disease. Susceptible testing was prophesied and realized in training the prospect of Alzheimer’s disease classification built on machine learning advances. It was shrewd that the decision trees trained with deep neural network fashioned the excellent results parallel to related pattern classification.

Keywords: Alzheimer's diagnosis, decision trees, deep neural network, machine learning, pattern classification

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Authors: Shahin Marjan Nanaje

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The present century is the time that social worker faced complicated issues in the area of their work. All the focus are on bringing change in the life of those that they live in margin or live in poverty became the cause that we have forgotten to look at ourselves and start to bring change in the way we address issues. It seems that there is new area of needs that social worker should response to that. In need of dialogue and collaboration, to address the issues and needs of community both individually and as a group we need to have new method of dialogue as tools to reach to collaboration. The social worker as link between community, organization and government play multiple roles. They need to focus in the area of communication with new ability, to transfer all the narration of the community to those organization and government and vice versa. It is not relate only in language but it is about changing dialogue. Migration for survival by job seeker to the big cities created its own issues and difficulty and therefore created new need. Collaboration is not only requiring between government sector and non-government sectors but also it could be in new way between government, non-government and communities. To reach to this collaboration we need healthy, productive and meaningful dialogue. In this new collaboration there will not be any hierarchy between members. The methodology that selected by researcher were focusing on observation at the first place, and used questionnaire in the second place. Duration of the research was three months and included home visits, group discussion and using communal narrations which helped to bring enough evidence to understand real need of community. The sample selected randomly was included 70 immigrant families which work as sweepers in the slum community in Bangalore, Karnataka. The result reveals that there is a gap between what a community is and what organizations, government and members of society apart from this community think about them. Consequently, it is learnt that to supply any service or bring any change to slum community, we need to apply new skill to have dialogue and understand each other before providing any services. Also to bring change in the life of those marginal groups at large we need to have collaboration as their challenges are collective and need to address by different group and collaboration will be necessary. The outcome of research helped researcher to see the area of need for new method of dialogue and collaboration as well as a framework for collaboration and dialogue that were main focus of the paper. The researcher used observation experience out of ten NGO’s and their activities to create framework for dialogue and collaboration.

Keywords: collaboration, dialogue, community development, empowerment

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