Recent Articles

There is a proliferation of particulate matter in the atmosphere within and around the cities because of increased industrial activities. It is thus hypothesized that increase in human activities lead to increase in pollutants concentration inside (n=80 houses sampled) and outside residential areas. Thus, to investigate the air quality at different residential areas within indoor and outdoor environment air samples were collected using Particle Counter (Model: HHPC MET), and Gas Monitor (Aeroqual series 500) to determine particulate matters (i.e., PM10, and PM2,5), volatile organic carbon (VOC) and total solid particle (TSP).

A 56-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis presented to our emergency department with right flank pain, fever (38.6°) and dysuria. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed the right kidney hydronephrosis secondary to ureteral stone, therefore a percutaneous nephrostomy was placed. The next day the patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly; a new CT showed the presence of gas in the right kidney suspicious for emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPB) that needed an emergency nephrectomy. Thirtyfive days later the patient was discharged in good general condition.

Artificial light at night has been reported to have significant effects on the physiology and behaviour of animals by its impact on their circadian rhythm. This study investigated the effect of artificial light spectra at night on neurotransmitter activities and neurobehavioural changes in the albino rat. Blue (470 nm) and red (665 nm) lights were used; with ambient light and darkness serving as positive and negative controls, respectively. The rats were exposed to daylight from 6 am to 6 pm and 12 hours of artificial light (6 pm - 6 am) daily (light sources were 13 Watt compact florescent electric bulbs). Neurobehavioural outcomes were measured using the Open Field Test (OFT) and Morris Water Maze (MWM).

Garbage classification has always been an important issue in environmental protection, resource recycling and social life. In order to improve the management level and recycling efficiency of hazardous household waste reducing its environmental and social risks, this paper designed targeted questionnaires and a total of 954 valid questionnaires were collected. Through the analysis of 954 effective online questionnaires, the results indicate that there are obvious deficiencies in the cognition of hazardous domestic waste, Classification and collection techniques, and identification of hazardous domestic waste. Some measures were put forward, such as establishing scientific channels for the collection, recycling and disposal of hazardous domestic waste, perfecting the management system and catalogue of hazardous domestic waste. The results provide a reference for scientific and standardized management of hazardous domestic waste.

Based on the linear three-dimensional elastic theory, shear horizontal (SH) wave propagation along the normal direction to the piezoelectric semiconductor plate (PSC) was obtained in the presence of initial horizontal and vertical stresses. The purpose behind obtaining the numerical solutions was to evaluate the effect of stress on dimensionless frequency and phase velocity.

The aim of this review is to highlight the Islamic teachings that go beyond the spiritual and religious life of the Muslim, as it provides a healthy outline for daily life.

The collection and disposal of waste is ancient, but has become a crucial issue in a relatively recent time, as far as quantity to recuperate, recovery of resources to deal with, novelty and variety of materials to destroy and disposal techniques at hand. It is known that a consumer society produces an extraordinary quantity of scrap and it is now clear there is urgency of change in disposal management.

The research is comparative descriptive type. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 167 people, including 82 hemodialysis patients and 85 healthy individuals who applied to the Family Health Center. The data of the study were obtained using the questionnaire and organ donation attitude scale. SPSS 25 was used in the analysis of the data.

The aim of this study was to measure the treatment efficiency of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) patients by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), as a novel method with an output minimizing model. Urinary stone disease is a frequent problem with increasing prevalence in recent years. Depending on the location and size, the treatment of renal stone 2 cm or more is surgical and PNL. In this context, a retrospective study in which 154 patients with kidney stones over 2 cm was conducted.

Home water treatment is considered an effective intervention in reducing the burden of waterborne diseases in developing countries. This study aims to study the factors associated with the appropriate treatment of water in the semi-urban area of Dakar in Senegal.

Urinary tract infection is defined as the presence of microorganism in the urine that cannot be accounted by contamination. First line treatments for UTI are antibiotics. Antibiotic stewardship is the coordinated intervention designed to improve and measure the appropriate use of antibiotic agents, by promoting the selection of optimal antibiotic drug regimen including dosing, duration of therapy and route of administration.

Biofilms are complex sessile microbial community extremely resistant to antibiotics. They typically form on both biotic and abiotic surfaces and are usually associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity in patients in hospital settings. Nosocomial infections are the major cause of infections seen worldwide. Bacterial Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) represent the most common type of nosocomial infection that affect different parts of the urinary tract in both males and females.

Snoring is a concomitant of sleeping. This phenomenon is not only considered annoying, but also often taboo because it affects the privacy of those affected. In addition, however, snoring can be the cause of sometimes life-threatening diseases, such as hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction.

The present study aimed at the dietary supplementation of zinc oxide nanoparticles on growth, haematological and biochemical parameters of Koi carp. The zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using UV-VIS, SEM, EDAX, and FTIR. Six feeds were prepared with different quantities of synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (F1 - Control, F2 -20 mg, F3 – 40mg, F4 – 60mg, F5-80mg and F6 – 100mg) and feed ingredients are fish meal, groundnut oilcake, wheat flour, and tapioca flour.

Malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery territory is a serious clinical form with a mortality rate of approximately 80%. Several large studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of decompressive hemicraniectomy in reducing mortality and functional impairment following malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery. The aim of this work was to assess the mortality and functional prognosis of patients who underwent decompressive hemicraniectomy surgery for malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery from 2009 to May 2016 at the Regional University Hospital of Besançon.

The ability to measure structural and functional alterations in cellular and tissue lipids with small footprint, accessible instrumentation has sparked interest in their role in disease pathology. However, various lipidomic analytical tools tend to be cumbersome and time-consuming. A rapid, accurate, and straight forward peak alignment software routine would greatly facilitate the analysis of large datasets, such as those produced by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Herein, we describe a novel Rapid Peak Alignment Method (RPAM) which allows untargeted analysis of lipids expressed in brain white matter following chronic ethanol exposure in an established experimental model. The RPAM outputs data comparable to manual peak alignments but the processing time requires only 90 minutes instead of 8-10 hours. This method is readily adapted to a broad range of models, tissue types, and human diseases.

Dietary treatment for patients with gout/hyperuricemia places emphasis on avoidance of excess intake of certain types of food. However, foods that help to reduce serum uric acid levels and gout risk have recently been recognized: thus should be considered for their positive influence. In the present study, food factors known to decrease serum uric acid level and gout flare risk were reviewed.

This investigation studies the potential use of infrared (IR) sensing technology to answer key questions of scalding. In particular, scalding incidents are frequently plagued by conflicting recollections, uncertain details, and litigation. Questions often relate to how a scalding spill occurred, how hot the liquid was, the direction of liquid flow, and the connection between burn patterns and spill patterns. Flow patterns, among others are sometimes, challenging to determine after a spill incident. Nevertheless, IR technology can be used for event reconstruction and can help identify the typical burn patterns that result from spills. Here, IR imaging is applied to common scald situations. The IR imaging provides temperature information that is continuous in both space and time and can be used with currently available burn models to predict burn depths and patterns. The IR images are used to generate a burn-depth map superimposed on the patient’s body. This study shows that IR imaging leads to reproducible results that can be used to predict burn-depth patterns based on situation specific spills.

Self-assessment (SA) of English speaking ability by patients has been an important reference for the health workforce, and in the past 10 years, research examining health literacy in the USA has continued to emphasize the patient. In the current study, 338 Health Care Workers (HCWs) (82% female and 63% nurses) reported on their current communications with patients (one year into the COVID-19 pandemic) and recalled what communication was like at the onset of the pandemic. Through SA as a way for HCWs to analyze communication, this study investigated information available from community and healthcare facilities, oral communication with patients, and the training of healthcare professionals.

African region is thought to contribute to >50% of deadly cases of pertussis worldwide, however surveillance and available data on Bordetella pertussis circulation are limited. Currently, pertussis vaccination schedule in most African countries is restricted to a primary immunization consisting of three doses during the first year of life using whole pertussis vaccines for which effectiveness is not known.