Search results for: viral infection.

Authors: Khemanand Moheeput, Smita S. D. Goorah, Satish K. Ramchurn

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We report a computational study of the spreading dynamics of a viral infection in a complex (scale-free) network. The final epidemic size distribution (FESD) was found to be unimodal or bimodal depending on the value of the basic reproductive number R0 . The FESDs occurred on time-scales long enough for intermediate-time epidemic size distributions (IESDs) to be important for control measures. The usefulness of R0 for deciding on the timeliness and intensity of control measures was found to be limited by the multimodal nature of the IESDs and by its inability to inform on the speed at which the infection spreads through the population. A reduction of the transmission probability at the hubs of the scale-free network decreased the occurrence of the larger-sized epidemic events of the multimodal distributions. For effective epidemic control, an early reduction in transmission at the index cell and its neighbors was essential.

Keywords: Basic reproductive number, epidemic control, scalefree network, viral infection.

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Authors: Maia Kukhaleishvili, Ekaterine Bulauri, Iveta Megrelishvili, Tamar Shamatava, Tamar Chipashvili

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Plant viruses can cause loss of yield and quality in a lot of important crops. Symptoms of pathogens are variable depending on the cultivars and virus strain. Selection of resistant potato varieties would reduce the risk of virus transmission and significant economic impact. Other way to avoid reduced harvest yields is regular potato seed production sampling and testing for viral infection. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and distribution of viral diseases according potato cultivars for further selection of virus-free material in Georgia. During the summer 2015- 2016, 5 potato cultivars (Sante, Laura, Jelly, Red Sonia, Anushka) at 5 different farms located in Akhalkalaki were tested for 6 different potato viruses: Potato virus A (PVA), Potato virus M (PVM), Potato virus S (PVS), Potato virus X (PVX), Potato virus Y (PVY) and potato leaf roll virus (PLRV). A serological method, Double Antibody Sandwich-Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (DASELISA) was used at the laboratory to analyze the results. The result showed that PVY (21.4%) and PLRV (19.7%) virus presence in collected samples was relatively high compared to others. Researched potato cultivars except Jelly and Laura were infected by PVY with different concentrations. PLRV was found only in three potato cultivars (Sante, Jelly, Red Sonia) and PVM virus (3.12%) was characterized with low prevalence. PVX, PVA and PVS virus infection was not reported. It would be noted that 7.9% of samples were containing PVY/PLRV mix infection. Based on the results it can be concluded that PVY and PLRV infections are dominant in all research cultivars. Therefore significant yield losses are expected. Systematic, long-term control of potato viral infection, especially seed-potatoes, must be regarded as the most important factor to increase seed productivity.

Keywords: Diseases, infection, potato, virus.

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Authors: A. A. Alshabanat, R. B. Albacker, A. A. Basalama, A. A. Bin Salamah, A. S. Alfrayh

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The study was conducted to investigate the profile of hepatitis in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to determine which age group hepatitis viruses most commonly infect. The epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Saudi Arabia has undergone major changes, concurrent with major socioeconomic developments over the last two to three decades. This disease represents a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia resulting in the need for considerable healthcare resources. A retrospective cross sectional analysis of the reported cases of viral hepatitis was conducted based on the reports of The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia about Hepatitis A, B and C infections in all regions from the period of January 2006 to December 2010. The study demonstrated that incidence of viral Hepatitis is decreasing, except for Hepatitis B that showed minimal increase. Of hepatitis A, B, and C, Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was the most predominant type, accounting for (53%) of the cases, followed by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) (30%) and HAV (17%). HAV infection predominates in children (5–14 years) with 60% of viral hepatitis cases, HBV in young adults (15–44 years) with 69% of viral hepatitis cases, and HCV in older adults (>45 years) with 59% of viral hepatitis cases. Despite significant changes in the prevalence of viral hepatitis A, B and C, it remains a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia; however, it showed a significant decline in the last two decades that could be attributed to the vaccination programs and the improved health facilities. Further researches are needed to identify the risk factors making a specific age group or a specific region in Saudi Arabia targeted for a specific type of hepatitis viruses.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Hepatitis, Saudi Arabia.

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Authors: Martin Klepek

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This paper presents results of primary quantitative research on viral advertising with focus on popularity and willingness to share viral video among Czech Internet population. It starts with brief theoretical debate on viral advertising, which is used for the comparison of the results. For purpose of collecting data, online questionnaire survey was given to 384 respondents. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency, percentage, correlation and Pearson’s Chi-square test. Data was evaluated using SPSS software. The research analysis disclosed high popularity of viral advertising video among Czech Internet population but implies lower willingness to share it. Significant relationship between likability of viral video technique and age of the viewer was found.

Keywords: Internet advertising, Internet population, promotion, marketing communication, viral advertising, viral video.

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Authors: S. Amirhassan Monadjemi, Narges Zarrabi, Naser Neamatbakhsh

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As days go by, we hear more and more about HIV, Ebola, Bird Flu and other dreadful viruses which were unknown a few decades ago. In both detecting and fighting viral diseases ordinary methods have come across some basic and important difficulties. Vaccination is by a sense introduction of the virus to the immune system before the occurrence of the real case infection. It is very successful against some viruses (e.g. Poliomyelitis), while totally ineffective against some others (e.g. HIV or Hepatitis-C). On the other hand, Anti-virus drugs are mostly some tools to control and not to cure a viral disease. This could be a good motivation to try alternative treatments. In this study, some key features of possible physical-based alternative treatments for viral diseases are presented. Electrification of body parts or fluids (especially blood) with micro electric signals with adjusted current or frequency is also studied. The main approach of this study is to find a suitable energy field, with appropriate parameters that are able to kill or deactivate viruses. This would be a lengthy, multi-disciplinary research which needs the contribution of virology, physics, and signal processing experts. It should be mentioned that all the claims made by alternative cures researchers must be tested carefully and are not advisable at the time being.

Keywords: Alternative Cure, Viral disease, HIV, signals, energy filed.

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Authors: Shyam S.N. Perera

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An optimal control problem for a mathematical model of efficiency of antiviral therapy in hepatitis B virus infections is considered. The aim of the study is to control the new viral production, block the new infection cells and maintain the number of uninfected cells in the given range. The optimal controls represent the efficiency of antiviral therapy in inhibiting viral production and preventing new infections. Defining the cost functional, the optimal control problem is converted into the constrained optimization problem and the first order optimality system is derived. For the numerical simulation, we propose the steepest descent algorithm based on the adjoint variable method. A computer program in MATLAB is developed for the numerical simulations.

Keywords: Virus infection model, Optimal control, Adjoint system, Steepest descent

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Authors: Yan Ren, Fei Guo, Jun Qiao, Shengwei Hu, Hui Zhang, Yuanzhi Wang, Pengyan Wang, Jinliang Sheng, Xinli Gu, Xiaojun Liu, Chuangfu Chen

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Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) can cause lifelong persistent infection. One reason for the phenomena is attributed to BVDV infection to placenta tissue. However the mechanisms that BVDV invades into placenta tissue remain unclear. To clarify the molecular mechanisms, we investigated the possible means that BVDV entered into bovine trophoblast cells (TPC). Yeast two-hybrid system was used to identify proteins extracted from TPC, which interact with BVDV envelope glycoprotein E2. A PGbkt7-E2 yeast expression vector and TPC cDNA library were constructed. Through two rounds of screening, three positive clones were identified. Sequencing analysis indicated that all the three positive clones encoded the same protein clathrin. Physical interaction between clathrin and BVDV E2 protein was further confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation experiments. This result suggested that the clathrin might play a critical role in the process of BVDV entry into placenta tissue and might be a novel antiviral target for preventing BVDV infection.

Keywords: Bovine viral diarrhea virus, clathrin, glycoprotein E2, yeast two-hybrid system.

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Authors: N. M. Sani, E. D. Jatau, O. S. Olonitola, M. Y. Gwarzo, P. Moodley, N. S. Mujahid

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Hemoglobin (HB) indicates anemia level and by extension may reflect the nutritional level and perhaps the immunity of an individual. Some antiretroviral drugs like Zidovudine are known to cause anemia in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). A cross sectional study using demographic data and blood specimen from 218 female commercial sex workers attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics was conducted between December, 2009 and July, 2011 to assess the effect of zidovudine on hematologic, and RNA viral load of female sex workers receiving antiretroviral treatment in north western Nigeria. Anemia is a common and serious complication of both HIV infection and its treatment. In the setting of HIV infection, anemia has been associated with decreased quality of life, functional status, and survival. Antiretroviral therapy, particularly the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has been associated with a decrease in the incidence and severity of anemia in HIV-infected patients who have received a HAART regimen for at least 1 year. In this study, result has shown that of the 218 patients, 26 with hemoglobin count between 5.1 – 10g/dl were observed to have the highest viral load count of 300,000 – 350,000copies/ml. It was also observed that most patients (190) with HB of 10.1 – 15.0g/dl had viral load count of 200,000 – 250,000 copies /ml. An inverse relationship therefore exists i.e. the lower the hemoglobin level, the higher the viral load count even though the test statistics did not show any significance between the two (P = 0.206). This shows that multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that anemia was associated with a CD4 + cell count below 50/μL, female sex workers with a viral load above 100,000 copies/mL, who use zidovudine. Severe anemia was less prevalent in this study population than in historical comparators; however, mild to moderate anemia rates remain high. The study therefore recommends that hematological and virologic parameters be monitored closely in patients receiving first line ART regimen.

Keywords: Female sex worker, Zidovudine, Hemoglobin, Anemia.

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Authors: Victor A. Naumenko, Yuriy A. Tyulenev, Alla A. Kushch

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The objective of current issue was to develop a model of testicular herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I infection for assessment of viral effect on fertility. 56 male mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with different concentrations of HSV on 8 day post partum. It was revealed that the optimal dose was 100 plaque forming units per mice as it provided testicular infection in 100% of survivors. HSV proteins were detected both in somatic and germ cells (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatides). Although DNA load in testis was descending from 3 to 28 days post infection only 12.5% of infected males had offspring after mating with uninfected females comparing to 87.5% in control (p=0.012). These results are the first direct evidence for HSV impact in male sterility. Prepuberal mice appeared to be a suitable model for investigation of pathogenesis of virus-associated fertility disorders.

Keywords: Herpes simplex virus type I, male fertility, prepuberal mice, spermatogenesis.

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Authors: Fawzi Irshaid, Adnan Jaran, Fatiha Dilmi, Khaled Tarawneh, Raji Hadeth, Ahad Al-Khatib

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The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of EBV infection in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) occurring in Jordanian patients. A total of 55 patients with lymphoma were examined in this study. Of 55 patients, 30 and 25 were diagnosed as HL and NHL, respectively. The four HL subtypes were observed with the majority of the cases exhibited the mixed cellularity (MC) subtype followed by the nodular sclerosis (NS). The high grade was found to be the commonest subtype of NHL in our sample, followed by the low grade. The presence of EBV virus was detected by immunostating for expression of latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1). The frequency of LMP-1 expression occurred more frequent in patients with HL (60.0%) than in patients with NHL (32.0%). The frequency of LMP-1 expression was also higher in patients with MC subtype (61.11%) than those patients with NS (28.57%). No age or gender difference in occurrence of EBV infection was observed among patient with HL. By contrast, the prevalence of EBV infection in NHL patients aged below 50 was lower (16.66%) than in NHL patients aged 50 or above (46.15%). In addition, EBV infection was more frequent in females with NHL (38.46%) than in male with NHL (25%). In NHL cases, the frequency of EBV infection in intermediate grade (60.0%) was high when compared with frequency of low (25%) or high grades (25%). In conclusion, analysis of LMP-1 expression indicates an important role for this viral oncogene in the pathogenesis of EBV-associated malignant lymphomas. These data also support the previous findings that people with EBV may develop lymphoma and that efforts to maintain low lymphoma should be considered for people with EBV infection.

Keywords: Hodgkin lymphoma, Epstein Barr virus, hematoxylin, infection, LMP-1 expression.

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Authors: Duygu Aydın, Aşina Gülerarslan, Süleyman Karaçor, Tarık Doğan

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Sharing motivations of viral advertisements by consumers and the impacts of these advertisements on the perceptions for brand will be questioned in this study. Three fundamental questions are answered in the study. These are advertisement watching and sharing motivations of individuals, criteria of liking viral advertisement and the impact of individual attitudes for viral advertisement on brand perception respectively. This study will be carried out via a viral advertisement which was practiced in Turkey. The data will be collected by survey method and the sample of the study consists of individuals who experienced the practice of sample advertisement. Data will be collected by online survey method and will be analyzed by using SPSS statistical package program. Recently traditional advertisement mind have been changing. New advertising approaches which have significant impacts on consumers have been argued. Viral advertising is a modernist advertisement mind which offers significant advantages to brands apart from traditional advertising channels such as television, radio and magazines. Viral advertising also known as Electronic Word-of- Mouth (eWOM) consists of free spread of convincing messages sent by brands among interpersonal communication. When compared to the traditional advertising, a more provocative thematic approach is argued. The foundation of this approach is to create advertisements that are worth sharing with others by consumers. When that fact is taken into consideration, in a manner of speaking it can also be stated that viral advertising is media engineering. The content worth sharing makes people being a volunteer spokesman of a brand and strengthens the emotional bonds among brand and consumer. Especially for some sectors in countries which are having traditional advertising channel limitations, viral advertising creates vital advantages.

Keywords: Viral advertising, marketing, consumers, brands.

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Authors: Olga V. Lebedinskaya, Irina N. Kabanovskaya, Anna S. Lasareva, Nelly K. Akhmatova, Anatoliy P. Godovalov, Andrey V. Horinko, Mikhail V. Kiselevsky

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The nature, prevalence, cellular composition of leukocyte infiltrates and immunohistochemical characteristics of their constituent cells in the liver of patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C were investigated. It was found that the area of distribution and cellular composition of infiltrates depended on the virus type and process activity. The expediency of immunohistochemical study using leukocyte infiltrates from liver biopsies of patients with viral hepatitis aimed at clarifying diagnosis, making prognosis, and choice of optimal treatment with elements of immune correction is emphasized.

Keywords: Viral hepatitis, leukocyte infiltration, immunohistochemical characteristics, immunosupression.

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Authors: Dimitri Perrin, Heather J. Ruskin, Martin Crane

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This study focuses on examining why the range of experience with respect to HIV infection is so diverse, especially in regard to the latency period. An agent-based approach in modelling the infection is used to extract high-level behaviour which cannot be obtained analytically from the set of interaction rules at the cellular level. A prototype model encompasses local variation in baseline properties, contributing to the individual disease experience, and is included in a network which mimics the chain of lymph nodes. The model also accounts for stochastic events such as viral mutations. The size and complexity of the model require major computational effort and parallelisation methods are used.

Keywords: HIV, Immune modelling, Agent-based system, individual response.

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Authors: Philippe Beaucamps

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Nowadays viruses use polymorphic techniques to mutate their code on each replication, thus evading detection by antiviruses. However detection by emulation can defeat simple polymorphism: thus metamorphic techniques are used which thoroughly change the viral code, even after decryption. We briefly detail this evolution of virus protection techniques against detection and then study the METAPHOR virus, today's most advanced metamorphic virus.

Keywords: Computer virus, Viral mutation, Polymorphism, Meta¬morphism, MetaPHOR, Virus history, Obfuscation, Viral genetic techniques.

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Authors: Haowei Chen, Kaiqi Xiong

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We have developed a better model for understanding the dynamics of malware spread in WMNs in this paper. The suggested model provides an insight into how viral propagation with energy exhaustion and various dispersed node densities might function. Based on a theoretical examination of the suggested model, we conclude that the threshold parameter could be used to identify the dynamics of viral spread globally. When the threshold is less than 1, the virus may be contained, but if it is greater than 1, a pandemic may result. Lastly, we discuss the various viral propagation strategies in relation to the distributed node densities and communication radii in WMNs. The aforementioned numerical simulation findings could serve as a guarantee of the theoretical analyses’ correctness.

Keywords: Bluetooth Security, Malware Propagation, Wireless Mesh Networks, Stability Analysis.

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Authors: Iman I. Salama, Samia M. Sami, Somaia I. Salama, Zeinab N. Said, Thanaa M. Rabah, Aida M. Abdel-Mohsin

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This is a national community based project to evaluate effectiveness of HBV vaccination program in prevention of infection. HBV markers were tested in the sera of 3600 vaccinated children. Infected children were followed up for 1 year. Prevalence of HBV infection was 0.39 % (0.28% positive for anti-HBc, 0.03% positive for HBsAg and 0.08% positive for both). One year later, 50% of positive anti-HBc children turned negative with sustained positivity for positive HBsAg cases. HBV infection was significantly higher at age above 9 years (0.6%) compared to 0.2% at age 3-9 years and 0% at younger age (P<0.05). Logistic analysis revealed that predictors for HBV infection were history of blood transfusion, regular medical injection, and family history of either HBV infection or drug abuse (adjusted odds ratios 6.2, 5.6, 7.6 & 19.1 respectively). HBV vaccination program produced adequate protection. Adherence to infection control measures and safe blood transfusion are recommended.

Keywords: Children, Egypt, HBV Infection, HBV Vaccine.

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

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

Keywords: Zika Virus, polymerase chain reaction, microcephaly, amniotic fluid.

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Authors: Farai Nyabadza

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The functional response of an infective is the relationship between an infected individual-s infection rate and the abundance of the number of susceptibles that one can potentially be infected. In this paper, we consider defensive attitudes for HIV prevention (primary prevention) while at the same time emphasizing on offensive attitudes that reduce infection for those infected (secondary prevention). We look at how defenses can protect an uninfected individual in the case where high risk groups such as commercial sex workers and those who deliberately go out to look for partners. We propose an infection cycle that begins with a search, then an encounter, a proposal and contact. The infection cycle illustrates the various steps an infected individual goes through to successfully infect a susceptible. For heterogeneous transmission of HIV, there will be no infection unless there is contact. The ability to avoid an encounter, detection, proposal and contact constitute defense.

Keywords: Functional response, Infection cycle, Prevention, Defences, SSS equation.

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Authors: Stefan Bauer, Josef Frysak

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According to the scientific information management literature, the improper use of information technology (e.g. personal computers) by employees are one main cause for operational and information security loss events. Therefore, organizations implement information security awareness programs to increase employees’ awareness to further prevention of loss events. However, in many cases these information security awareness programs consist of conventional delivery methods like posters, leaflets, or internal messages to make employees aware of information security policies. We assume that a viral information security awareness video might be more effective medium than conventional methods commonly used by organizations. The purpose of this research is to develop a viral video artifact to improve employee security behavior concerning information technology.

Keywords: Information Security Awareness, Delivery Methods, Viral Videos, Employee Security Behavior.

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Authors: M. Nosik, I. Rymanova, N. Adamovich, S. Sevostyanihin, K. Ryzhov, Y. Kuimova, A. Kravtchenko, N. Sergeeva, A. Sobkin

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HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) infections each speed the other's progress. HIV-infection increases the risk of TB disease. At the same time, TB infection is associated with clinical progression of HIV-infection. HIV+TB co-infected patients are also at higher risk of acquiring new opportunistic infections. An important feature of disease progression and clinical outcome is the innate and acquired immune responses. HIV and TB, however, have a spectrum of dysfunctions of the immune response. As cytokines play a crucial role in the immunopathology of both infections, it is important to study immune interactions in patients with dual infection HIV+TB. Plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ and immunoregulating cytokines IL-4, IL-10 were evaluated in 75 patients with dual infection HIV+TB, 58 patients with HIV monoinfection and 50 patients with TB monoinfection who were previously naïve for HAART. The decreased levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 were observed in patients with dual infection HIV+TB in comparison with patients who had only HIV or TB which means the profound suppression of Th1 and Th2 cytokine secretion. Thus, those cytokines could possibly serve as immunological markers of progression of HIV-infection in patients with TB.

Keywords: HIV, Tuberculosis, TB, HIV associated with TB, Th1/ Th2 cytokine expression.

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Authors: Christian P. Crisostomo, Chrysline Margus N. Piñol

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A zero-field ferromagnetic Ising model is utilized to simulate the propagation of infection in a population that assumes a square lattice structure. The rate of infection increases with temperature. The disease spreads faster among individuals with low J values. Such effect, however, diminishes at higher temperatures.

Keywords: Epidemiology, Ising model, lattice models

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Authors: T. Citarasu, M. Michaelbabu V. N. Vakharia

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The rhizome of Java grass, Cyperus rotundus was extracted different organic polar and non-polar solvents and performed the in vitro antiviral and immunostimulant activities against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Vibrio harveyi respectively. Based on the initial screening the ethyl acetate extract of C. rotundus was strong activities and further it was purified through silica column chromatography and the fractions were screened again for antiviral and immunostimulant activity. Among the different fractions screened against the WSSV and V. harveyi, the fractions, FIII to FV had strong activities. In order to study the in vivo influence of C. rotundus, the fractions (F-III to FV) were pooled and delivered to the F. indicus through artificial feed for 30 days. After the feeding trail the experimental and control diet fed F. indicus were challenged with virulent WSSV and studied the survival, molecular diagnosis, biochemical, haematological, and immunological parameters. Surprisingly, the pooled fractions (F-IV to FVI) incorporated diets helped to significantly (P<0.01) suppressed viral multiplication, showed significant (P<0.01) differences in protein and glucose levels, improved total haemocyte count (THC), coagulase activity, significantly increased (P <= 0.001) prophenol oxidase and intracellular superoxide anion production compared to the control shrimps. Based on the results, C. rotundus extracts effectively suppressed WSSV multiplication and improve the immune system in F. indicus against WSSV infection and this knowledge will helps to develop novel drugs from C. rotundus against WSSV.

Keywords: Antiviral drugs, Cyperus rotundus, Fenneropenaeus indicus, WSSV.

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Authors: A. Taqaddas

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The human body has a complex system of innate and adaptive mechanisms for combating infection. This article discusses the role and relative effectiveness of these mechanisms in relation to small pox and AIDS.

Keywords: AIDS, Immune System, Small Pox, Viral Infections.

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Authors: D. Boecker, R. Breves, F. Herth, Z. Zhang, C. Bulitta

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Pathogen-carrying aerosol particles are recognized as important infection carriers like those in the current Corona pandemic. This infection route is often underestimated yet represents the infection route that has been least systematically countered to date. Particularly, the transmission indoors is of the highest concern but current indoor safety measures (e.g.: distancing, masks, filters) provide only limited protection. Inhalation of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) containing aerosols may become an alternate route to attack the incubating microbes in-situ and so potentially lead to a reduction of symptoms of already infected individuals. We investigated a facility-wide air-disinfection concept utilizing the potential of vaporized HOCl to become a disinfecting agent for populated indoor atmospheres. Aerosolized bacterial microbes were used as surrogates for a viral contamination, particularly the enveloped coronavirus. For the room air purification tests we aerosolized bacterial suspensions into lab chambers preloaded with vaporized HOCl solutions. Concentration of ‘free active chlorine’ in the test chamber atmosphere was determined with a special gas sensor system (Draeger AG, Lübeck, Germany) controlling the amount of vaporized HOCl via an aerosolis® device (oji Europe GmbH, Nauen, Germany). We could confirm the disinfecting power of HOCl in suspensions and determined the high efficacy of vaporized HOCl to disinfect atmospheres of populated indoor places at safe and non-irritant levels.

Keywords: Hypochlorous acid, HOCl, indoor air cleaning, infection control, microbial air burden, protective atmosphere.

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Authors: Yi Yu, Gaoxi Xiao

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Community structures widely exist in almost all real-life networks. Extensive researches have been carried out on detecting community structures in complex networks. However, many aspects of how community structures may affect the dynamics and properties of complex networks still remain unclear. In this work, we examine the impacts of community structures on the epidemic spreading and detection in complex networks. Extensive simulation results show that community structures may not help decrease the infection size at steady state, yet they could indeed help slow down the infection spreading. Also, networks with strong community structures may expect to have a smaller average infection size when equipped with a number of sparsely deployed monitors.

Keywords: Complex network, epidemic spreading, infection size, infection monitoring.

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Authors: Sadek Makhlouf, Hassan M. Nouh

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Bone hydatidosis is an infection in worldwide distribution. Although there is no evidence in literature on Bone Hydatid disease in Libya, we tried to present the first Epidemiological study of this disease in Eastern Libya through retrospective study from 1995 to 2013. Our data were collected from 3 hospitals in Eastern Libya particularly the sheep-raising areas with total number of musculoskeletal infection cases of two thousand one hundred ninety four (2,194). There were five (5) five cases of bone infection, four (4) of it have been diagnosed after more than three (3) months.  Our study is comparable to other international study but this type of bone infection need further studies for effective control strategies for all dogs to avoid serious complications that might happened from the delay in diagnosing this type of disease.

Keywords: Bone infection, Hydatidosis, Eastern Libya, Sheep-raising areas.

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Authors: Sharan Badiger, Prema T. Akkasaligar, Patil LS, Manish Patel, Biradar MS

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Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a global pandemic with cases reporting from virtually every country and continues to be a common infection in developing country like India. Microalbuminuria is a manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy. Therefore, microalbuminuria may be an early marker of human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, and screening for its presence may be beneficial. A strikingly high prevalence of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected patients has been described in various studies. Risk factors for clinically significant proteinuria include African - American race, higher human immunodeficiency virus ribonucleic acid level and lower CD4 lymphocyte count. The cardiovascular risk factors of increased systolic blood pressure and increase fasting blood sugar level are strongly associated with microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. These results suggest that microalbuminuria may be a sign of current endothelial dysfunction and micro-vascular disease and there is substantial risk of future cardiovascular disease events. Positive contributing factors include early kidney disease such as human immunodeficiency virus associated nephropathy, a marker of end organ damage related to co morbidities of diabetes or hypertension, or more diffuse endothelial cells dysfunction. Nevertheless after adjustment for non human immunodeficiency virus factors, human immunodeficiency virus itself is a major risk factor. The presence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is independent risk to develop microalbuminuria in human immunodeficiency virus patient. Cardiovascular risk factors appeared to be stronger predictors of microalbuminuria than markers of human immunodeficiency virus severity person with human immunodeficiency virus infection and microalbuminuria therefore appear to potentially bear the burden of two separate damage related to known vascular end organ damage related to know vascular risk factors, and human immunodeficiency virus specific processes such as the direct viral infection of kidney cells.The higher prevalence of microalbuminuria among the human immunodeficiency virus infected could be harbinger of future increased risks of both kidney and cardiovascular disease. Further study defining the prognostic significance of microalbuminuria among human immunodeficiency virus infected persons will be essential. Microalbuminuria seems to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease in diabetic and non diabetic subjects, hence it can also be used for early detection of micro vascular disease in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, thus can help to diagnose the disease at the earliest.

Keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus, Microalbuminuria.

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Authors: Dhurgham Al-Karawi, Nisreen Polus, Shakir Al-Zaidi, Sabah Jassim

Abstract:

The management of COVID-19 patients based on chest imaging is emerging as an essential tool for evaluating the spread of the pandemic which has gripped the global community. It has already been used to monitor the situation of COVID-19 patients who have issues in respiratory status. There has been increase to use chest imaging for medical triage of patients who are showing moderate-severe clinical COVID-19 features, this is due to the fast dispersal of the pandemic to all continents and communities. This article demonstrates the development of machine learning techniques for the test of COVID-19 patients using Chest X-Ray (CXR) images in nearly real-time, to distinguish the COVID-19 infection with a significantly high level of accuracy. The testing performance has covered a combination of different datasets of CXR images of positive COVID-19 patients, patients with viral and bacterial infections, also, people with a clear chest. The proposed AI scheme successfully distinguishes CXR scans of COVID-19 infected patients from CXR scans of viral and bacterial based pneumonia as well as normal cases with an average accuracy of 94.43%, sensitivity 95%, and specificity 93.86%. Predicted decisions would be supported by visual evidence to help clinicians speed up the initial assessment process of new suspected cases, especially in a resource-constrained environment.

Keywords: COVID-19, chest x-ray scan, artificial intelligence, texture analysis, local binary pattern transform, Gabor filter.

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Authors: Teka Haile, Behailu Hawulte, Solomon Alemayehu

Abstract:

Background: HIV virological failure still remains a problem in HV/AIDS treatment and care. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and identify the factors associated with viral non-suppression among HIV-positive adult patients on antiretroviral therapy in Woliso Town, Oromia, Ethiopia. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 424 HIV-positive patient’s attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Woliso Town during the period from August 25, 2020 to August 30, 2020. Data collected from patient medical records were entered into Epi Info version 2.3.2.1 and exported to SPSS version 21.0 for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with viral load non-suppression, and statistical significance of odds ratios were declared using 95% confidence interval and p-value < 0.05. Results: A total of 424 patients were included in this study. The mean age (± SD) of the study participants was 39.88 (± 9.995) years. The prevalence of HIV viral load non-suppression was 55 (13.0%) with 95% CI (9.9-16.5). Second-line ART treatment regimen (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 8.98, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.64, 30.58) and routine viral load testing (AOR = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.02) were significantly associated with virological non-suppression. Conclusion: Virological non-suppression was high, which hinders the achievement of the third global 95 target. The second-line regimen and routine viral load testing were significantly associated with virological non-suppression. It suggests the need to assess the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs for epidemic control. It also clearly shows the need to decentralize third-line ART treatment for those patients in need.

Keywords: Virological non-suppression, HIV-positive, ART, Woliso Town, Ethiopia.

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Authors: Mazliham Mohd Su'ud, Pierre Loonis, Idris Abu Seman

Abstract:

This paper deals with the extraction of information from the experts to automatically identify and recognize Ganoderma infection in oil palm stem using tomography images. Expert-s knowledge are used as rules in a Fuzzy Inference Systems to classify each individual patterns observed in he tomography image. The classification is done by defining membership functions which assigned a set of three possible hypotheses : Ganoderma infection (G), non Ganoderma infection (N) or intact stem tissue (I) to every abnormalities pattern found in the tomography image. A complete comparison between Mamdani and Sugeno style,triangular, trapezoids and mixed triangular-trapezoids membership functions and different methods of aggregation and defuzzification is also presented and analyzed to select suitable Fuzzy Inference System methods to perform the above mentioned task. The results showed that seven out of 30 initial possible combination of available Fuzzy Inference methods in MATLAB Fuzzy Toolbox were observed giving result close to the experts estimation.

Keywords: Fuzzy Inference Systems, Tomography analysis, Modelizationof expert's information, Ganoderma Infection pattern recognition

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