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Introduction: Acute Respiratory Infections, (ARI), and diarrhea represent major leading cause to under five morbidity and mortality all over the world. Majority of these cases occur in the poorest communities. This study aimed to assess different home management practices of pneumonia and diarrhea in Sana’a. Methods: This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study with direct interview of Mothers recruited from major hospitals in Sana’a between January and May 2020. Results Two hundred and six mothers were enrolled in this study. Hundred and sixty-six (80.6%) of mothers in this study used over-the-counter anti-cough preparations. The study reported 58.7% of mothers did not give their children Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), during diarrhea. We found 45.1% and 35% gave antibiotics without prescription during ARI and acute diarrhea respectively. Majority of mothers continued breastfeeding. No association was detected between practices and demographic features or educational level of mothers. Conclusion: Inappropriate self-medication practices regarding the management of acute diarrhea and ARI and under use of ORS for acute diarrhea were common home practices. There is a great need to increase awareness of mothers about home management through health education programs.

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent female cancer, especially in 'developed' countries. 30-85% of metastatic breast cancer patients will develop bone metastases during the course of the disease. The study was aimed to evaluate the pattern of skeletal metastasis in breast cancer patients with whole body bone scan using 99mTechnetium methyl diphosphonate (99m'Tc-MDP). Methods: This single center based retrospective observational study was conducted among the histopathologically proven breast cancer patients referred to INMAS, Rangpur for 99m'Tc-MDP bone scintigraphy between March 2015 and March 2019. Bone scan was done with SPECT digital dual head gamma camera (Siemens S series) 3 hours after intravenous bolus injection of 20 mci99mI'c-MDP. Results: Out of total 300 patients, 120 (40%) patients were found secondaries in bones. Among them 80(66.7%) had only axial skeletal metastases and 15 (12.5%) had appendicular skeletal metastases. Both axial and appendicle skeletal metastases were found in 25 (20.8%) patients. Conclusion: Thoraco-lumbar spine was the most common site of involvement in our study.

Objective Amenorrhea is a rare reproductive medical condition defined by the absence of menstruation during puberty or later life. This study aims to establish the frequency and pattern of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) in both primary amenorrhea (PA) and secondary amenorrhea (SA), and further to detect the genetic changes in exon 10 at nucleotide positions 919 and 2039 of the genotypes Thr307Ala, and Asn680Ser, respectively. Design, settings and patients This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of seventy amenorrhoeic women according to the Helsinki declaration rules of medical ethics, as divided into 40 (57.14%) with PA and 30 (42.86%) with SA, and 30 healthy women with normal menstruation as the control. The chromosomal karyotyping was performed according to the ISCN, 2020. PCR products were submitted to RFLP and Sanger sequencing for women with normal karyotype and high FSH serum levels. Results The classical Turner Syndrome was the most common CA in PA, followed by isochromosome X [46, Xi(X)(q10)], mosaicism of Turner and isochromosome X [45, X /46, Xi(X)(q10)], sex reversal (46, XY) and (46, XX,-3,+der3,-19,del 19 p). Abnormal SA cases were characterized by mosaicism Turner syndrome (45,X/46,XX) and (46,XX,-3,+der3,X,+derX). The homozygous genotypes AA and GG of Ala307Thr (rs6165) in the FSHR gene are most common in PA, while the homozygous genotype AA is more common in SA. GG and AG genotypes of Ser680Asn (rs6166) are more frequent in Iraqi patients with PA and SA compared to the healthy control women. Both PCR-RFLP and Sanger sequencing indicated a marked matching between genotypes. Conclusions The study emphasizes the need for cytogenetic analysis to determine the genetic basis of PA and SA. Further, genotyping for women with normal karyotype and high FSH serum concentrations via PCR-RFLP should be considered for the precise diagnosis and development of appropriate management of and counselling for these patients.

Background: Coccidiosis is a costly and wide-spread infectious disease in mammals that causes huge losses in the poultry industry worldwide. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potency of intact poultry gallbladder on the sporulation of Eimeria papillata oocysts of mice and to determine the best concentration for the activity of poultry bile on the inhibition of sporulation in oocysts. Methods: In this test, we used potassium dichromate solution (2.5%) as control group. Unpopulated oocysts were exposed (1 x 103/3 ml) to four concentrations of poultry bile (w/v; 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100%). It was incubated in petri dishes for 48, 72 and 96 hours at 25-29°C, with 60-80% humidity. The sporulation was examined under an inverted microscope at 40 x to confirm oocyst sporulation. Result: Showed through infrared spectroscopy of poultry bile that there are many expected active classes of chemical compounds. At a 100% concentration of poultry bile, it was able to inhibit the Eimeria papillata oocysts by about 98% in potassium dichromate solution. Also, it observed its ability to inhibit sporulation of oocysts in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 50%, 25%, and 10% of bile, the rate of inhibition was (71.7%, 33.11% and 19.88%), respectively. We found a direct relationship between inhibition and sporulation related to the increasing time period.

This study aimed to identify the quality of vermicompost produced from different types of livestock manures at the same environmental condition. For this purpose nine concrete pits, locally called as ‘chari’ was used to prepare vermicompost. Three treatments (T1: cow dung, T2: horse manure and T3: goat manure) were replicated three times each and the total of nine vermicomposting pits were used in this experiment. The parameters studied were DM, OM, ash, TN, CF and pH at different day intervals. The results showed that the manure type has a significant influence on the quality of the final vermicompost. This study found that DM content increased gradually up to 45th day and differed significantly (p 0.05) between treatments and day intervals. Finally, it may be concluded that organic matter degradation rate is faster in vermicomposting of goat manure than cattle and horse manure.

Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a diagnostic test that is commonly used to measure the concept of knowledge based on force and motion. This study examines the validity and reliability of FCI using a new item analysis method. Rasch Measurement Model(RMM) enables the construction of linear scales for individuals (person) and items from raw test scores. This model can provide valuable insights into the structure and function of the test regarding the difficulty distribution of the test item. It can also predict to what extent it fits the model, and the items also can determine its basic structure. The data for Rasch’s analysis were obtained from a pilot study involving 78 high school students (16 to 17 years old) who took physics subject. The reliability of FCI items is high, and it is proven that it can measure conceptual understanding. Thus, this test can determine the level of conceptual understanding of force and motion.

This study aimed to understand the degradation pattern of cattle manure with different types of bulking materials during composting. For this purpose, a composting experiment was conducted with three bulking materials e.g., T1 (composting with dry chopped straw), T2 (composting with dry tree leaves) and T3 (composting with saw dust) with 3 replications. Parameters studied were dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ash, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), crude fiber (CF), carbon nitrogen ratio (C/N) and pH at different days of intervals. Results showed that the bulking materials have a significant influence on the quality of the final compost. The highest DM content was observed in T3 (48.17%) and the lowest DM content was observed in T2 (38.36%) after 45 days of composting. There were significant (p

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of protein supplement (soybean meal and wheat bran) on the growth performance and blood parameters of native lamb. A total number of twelve indigenous lambs aged 10 months were randomly distributed into four dietary groups having 3 replications. First group (T1) was fed control diet, second group (T2) was provided 50 g protein supplement + green grass, third group (T3) was provided 75 g protein supplement + green grass and fourth group (T4) was fed 100 g protein supplement + green grass. The results showed that body weight gain was similarly significantly higher (P

A global concern claims that activities and functions that once filled traditional public spaces are privatized being less and less oriented to the public. In Cairo’s new settlements, public spaces don’t seem to contribute to its public life. Each community’s most valuable assets are the ones they already have; thus, urbanisms advocate the role of retaining traditional street patterns, vistas, and landscape of a community’s distinct character. The research aim is to identify design attributes to be added to the literature in terms of designing public spaces for the specific cultural context of Cairo, Egypt, and its new suburban settlements. The methodology then follows a comparative analysis study to reach the desired objectives of buildings a community character approach. In an exploratory method, two case studies of public spaces in Cairo are chosen following a purposive selection most relevant to the study. The target is to choose two cases in proximity for users to be familiar with the two of them and enable a reliable comparison. It then conducts a survey that involves the user’s evaluation of their public spaces in correlation to their needs. Jan Gehl’s twelve criteria are adopted by this paper’s field investigation for the assessment of public spaces’ quality. Findings of the study include an elaboration on Jan Gehl’s twelve criteria either by highlighting the importance of existing aspects or the addition of further criteria that showed value to public space quality and their users. The findings provide guidelines that help in designing quality public spaces in Cairo’s new settlements. The added value from this study is in identifying a set of factors or attributes that consider users’ needs for a given cultural context.

We report the sequencing of three severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from Bangladesh. We have identified a unique mutation (NSP2_V480I) in one of the sequenced genomes (isolate hCoV-19/Bangladesh/BCSIR-NILMRC-006/2020) compared to the sequences available in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database. The data from this analysis will contribute to advancing our understanding of the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Bangladesh as well as worldwide at the molecular level and will identify potential new targets for interventions.

Craniofacial development is a delicate process that involves complex interactions among cells of multiple developmental origins, their migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Tissue morphogenesis of the craniofacial skeleton depends on genetic and environmental factors, and on specific signaling pathways, which are still not well understood. Developmental defects of the midface caused by the absence, delays, or premature fusion of nasal and maxillary prominences vary in severity; leading to clefts, hypoplasias, and midline expansion. In the current review, we focus on the importance of the chondrocranium in craniofacial growth and how its impaired development leads to midface hypoplasia. More importantly, we reported how Matrix Gla protein (MGP), a potent inhibitor of extracellular matrix mineralization, facilitates midface development by preventing ectopic calcification of the nasal septum. In fact, MGP may act as a common link in multiple developmental pathologies all showing midface hypoplasia caused by abnormal cartilage calcification. This brief review discusses the gap in knowledge in the field, raises pertinent questions, which remain unanswered, and sheds light on the future research directions.

The coast of Bangladesh is funnel shaped. The narrowing of the Meghna estuary along with its peculiar topography creates a funneling effect that has a large impact on surge response. In order to have an accurate estimation of surge levels, the impacts of the estuary should be treated with due importance. To represent in detail the real complexities of the estuary, a very high resolution is required, which in turn necessitates more computational cost. Considering the facts into account, a location specific vertically integrated shallow water model in cylindrical polar coordinates is developed in this study to foresee water levels associated with a storm. A one-way nested grid technique is used to incorporate coastal complicities with minimum cost. In specific, a fine mesh scheme (FMS) capable of incorporating coastal complexities with acceptable accuracy is nested into a coarse mesh scheme (CMS) covering up to 15∘N latitude in the Bay of Bengal. The coastal and island boundaries are approximated through appropriate stair step representation and the model equations are solved by a conditionally stable semi-implicit finite difference technique using a structured C-grid. Numerical experiments are performed using the model to estimate water levels due to surge associated with the April 1991 and AILA, 2009 cyclones, which struck the coast of Bangladesh. Time series of tidal level is generated from an available tide table through a cubic spline interpolation method. The computed surge response is superimposed linearly with the generated time series of tidal oscillation to obtain the time series of total water levels. The model results exhibit a good agreement with observation and reported data.

This study was conducted in order to investigate the dietary inclusion effects of a commercially available probiotic mixture and an antibiotic on the growth performance, cecal microbiota and small intestinal morphology in broiler chickens. A total of 100 broiler chickens (Cobb 500) were subjected to 35-days of study period. The broiler chickens were randomly divided into four groups named T1 (control group), T2 (antibiotic fed group, amoxicillin 200 gm/ton of feed), T3 (probiotic fed group, Pro.Biƒ’ 250 g/ton of feed) and T4 (probiotic fed group, Pro.Biƒ’ 500 g/ton of feed), respectively. Body weight gain and carcass yield were measured by electrical balance at seven-days-interval. The role of the used probiotic and antibiotic on intestinal microflora were evaluated by the total E. coli count (TEC), total Salmonella count (TSC), total Lactobacillus count (TLC) and total Bacillus count (TBC) whereas the intestinal morphology was determined by histological examination. The results of this study revealed that the obtained live weight gains were significantly (p 0.01) in the control group as compared to both probiotic fed groups. On the other hand, the TLC and TBC were significantly higher (p>0.01) in both probiotic fed groups as compared to the control and antibiotic fed groups. Both probiotic fed groups showed strong evidence in increasing the length of jejunal villi compared to the control and antibiotic fed groups. Among the probiotic fed groups, T4 group showed a better response in every evaluated parameter included in this study. The results of this study thus revealed that the probiotic supplementation used on the T4 group promoted the most significant and beneficial influence on the growth performance, carcass yield, bacterial antagonism and intestinal morphology. Key words: Broilers, probiotics, antibiotic, growth performance, intestinal morphology.

The design of a 6-bit, 100 MHz successive approximation register (SAR) analog to digital converter (ADC) is presented in this paper. The implemented SAR ADC is realized by using SAR logic, a 6-bit DAC, a sample and hold circuit and a comparator circuit. The fully realized system is measured under different input frequencies with a sampling rate of 100 MHz and it consumes 36.7 µW from a 1.8 V power supply. The ADC implemented in 130 nm CMOS technology exhibits signal-to-noise plus distortion ration SNDR of 64.2 dB and occupies a die area of 0.14 mm2.

The design of a 10-bit, 200MS/s Pipelined Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) is presented in this paper. The implemented pipelined ADC employs techniques such as pipeline stage scaling algorithm, to lower power, capacitor ratio independent conversion scheme, a nested gain boosting technique and thin oxide transistors with clock bootstrapping. The fully realized is measured under different input frequencies with a sampling rate of 200MS/s and it consumes 46.8mW from a 1.8V power supply. The pipelined ADC implemented in 130nm CMOS technology exhibits signal-to-noise plus distortion ration SNDR of 54.7dB and occupies a die area of 0.31mm2.

The present study aimed to find out the efficacy of a commercial probiotics supplementation to the diet on the growth performance, histological changes of the jejunal tissue and humoral immune response of broiler chickens. One hundred day old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups as group A (Vaccinated probiotics fed group), B (Non-vaccinated probiotics fed group), C (Vaccinated conventional fed group) and D (Non- vaccinated conventional fed group). Groups A and B were taken as experimental birds fed with commercially available feed with the addition of probiotics as per schedule whereas groups C and D were taken as control birds fed with commercial ration. At 30 days of age the birds were immunized with 0.5% of sheep RBC to determine the level of antibody production. The result revealed that the live weight gains obtained were significantly (p

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcus (GAS) and non-GAS infections among children with acute pharyngotonsillitis in Aden, Yemen, to evaluate the value of a rapid diagnostic test and the McIsaac score for patient management in this setting and to determine the occurrence of emm genotypes among a subset of GAS isolated from children with acute pharyngotonsillitis and a history of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) or rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Methods Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcus infections in school-aged children with acute pharyngotonsillitis in Aden, Yemen, were diagnosed by a rapid GAS antigen detection test (RADT) and/or GAS culture from a throat swab. The RADT value and the McIsaac screening score for patient management were evaluated. The emm genotype of a subset of GAS isolates was determined. Results Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcus pharyngotonsillitis was diagnosed in 287/691 (41.5%; 95% CI 37.8–45.3) children. Group B, Group C and Group G beta-haemolytic streptococci were isolated from 4.3% children. The RADT had a sensitivity of 238/258 (92.2%) and specificity of 404/423 (95.5%) against GAS culture. A McIsaac score of ≥4 had a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 82% for confirmed GAS infection. The emm genotypes in 21 GAS isolates from children with pharyngitis and a history of ARF and confirmed RHD were emm87 (11), emm12 (6), emm28 (3) and emm5 (1). Conclusion This study demonstrates a very high prevalence of GAS infections in Yemeni children and the value of the RADT and the McIsaac score in this setting. More extensive emm genotyping is necessary to understand the local epidemiology of circulating strains.

Medicine Today 2009 Volume 21 Number 02 Page 77-81 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v21i2.12553

Fault detection and isolation of critical equipments as well as process operation is an important part of automation. Failure to detect fault can contribute to process safety incident, violation of environmental regulation and, as a result, reduce profit from the unit affected by the fault. Even though there has been a lot of work done on the modeling and control of the solid oxide fuel cell, little attention has been paid to its monitoring methodology. The need of reliable SOFC operations and current effort toward commercialization call for advanced monitoring technology, which constitutes one of the most important directions for SOFC research and development. In this article, as an attempt toward monitoring of SOFC systems a hybrid monitoring approach is developed which formulates the fault detection problem as a linear matrix inequality (LMI). The formulation is then illustrated through its application to the solid oxide fuel cell and its system to handle constraints and detect faults early. Copyright © 2011 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Optimal operation of solid oxide fuel cells require different components built around them. The physical structure of the fuel cell and associated components impose certain restrictions on the operation of the system. Thus control of a fuel cell system is performed by nonlinear model predictive control which is able to handle multivariate objective and constraints. This work describes the application of nonlinear model predictive control applied on the fuel cell system by utilizing estimated states from the unscented Kalman filter. A brief description of the orthogonal collocation method as a means to discretize the nonlinear continuous model has also been provided in this work.

Clear evidence for the formation of mixed clathrate hydrates of air and hydrochlorofluorocarbon densifier (known as HCFC-141b, sometimes also called R-141b) is found by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy on a sample recovered from the bottom of the EPICA Dronning Maud Land deep borehole in Antarctica. Subglacial water (SGW) appears to have reacted with the drilling liquid to build a large lump of clathrate hydrate. The hydrate growth may well have been accelerated by the stirring of the SGW–densifier mixture during drilling. Moreover, dissolved air in the SGW appears to have participated in the formation of mixed hydrates of air and HCFC-141b as evidenced by the concomitant appearance of Raman signals from both constituents. Our findings elucidate to some extent the meaning of earlier accounts of the formation of ‘heavy chips’ that may sink to the bottom of the borehole, possibly affecting or even impeding the drilling advance. These observations raise concerns with respect to the use of HCFC-141b densifiers in ice-core drilling liquids under warm ice conditions.

This paper provides two types of control relevant models of planer solid oxide fuel cell system with different details. Dynamic models of system components which include heat exchanger, reformer and after-burner are also provided along with the necessary formulation of a fuel cell connected in parallel with a capacitor. Steady-state and dynamic simulations of fuel cell system for both types of models are performed. The results indicate that both models are comparable in predicting stack voltage at lower current load. But, the discrepancy in the stack voltage, power and temperature of different components become more prominent at higher current load.

Risk is a concept used to describe future potential outcomes of certain actions or events. Within the project "CEDIM – Risk Map Germany – Man-made Hazards" it is intended to develop methods for assessing and mapping the risk due to different human-induced hazards. This is a task that has not been successfully performed for Germany so far. Concepts of catastrophe modelling are employed including the spatial modelling of hazard, the compilation of different kinds of exposed elements, the estimation of their vulnerability and the direct loss potential in terms of human life and health. The paper is divided in two sections: First, an analytic framework for assessing the broad spectrum of human-induced risks is introduced. This approach is then applied for three important types of human-induced hazards that are representative for a whole class of hazards: Accidents due to nuclear power plants (NPP) or air traffic, and terrorism. For the analysis of accidents, risk is measured with respect to getting injured or dying when living in certain buffer zones around hazard locations. NPP hazard expert knowledge is used and supplemented with observations on aging effects leading to a proprietary index value for the risk. Air traffic risk is modelled as an area related phenomenon based on available accident statistics leading to an expected value of risk. Terrorism risk is assessed by the attraction certain elements (like embassies in the case of conventional threats) display in the eye of potential aggressors. For non-conventional targets like football games, a detailed approach measuring their susceptibility to different kinds of attacks within predefined scenarios was developed; this also allows a ranking of attack modes.

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