Antimicrobial Compliance with CPAP in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: sleeping times with and without apparatus: A pilot study

Background: It has long been understood that Continuous Positive Airway Presssure CPAP adherence is not perfect in most patients, which may impact the long-term therapeutic benefits of treatment. This study aimed to investigate the sleep patterns and compliance with treatment of adults with obstructive sleep apnoea who are using CPAP and how these may affect the disease-modifying effects of CPAP.Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of CPAP compliance in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA. The data of patients visiting regional general practice were collected by a survey.Results: More than half (66%) of the participants recorded partial compliance with CPAP, removing the apparatus and returning to sleep without CPAP once per week or more. Most (83%) participants claimed that they were receiving four or more hours of CPAP therapy per night. For the sub-group with reduced CPAP compliance, the most significant factors which influenced use are mask discomfort (50%) and relief of daytime symptoms (63%).Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CPAP users who met the criteria for adequate adherence to treatment may still have periods of sleep when they were exposed to disease triggering apnoeic episodes. The research in future should compare the long-term benefits of CPAP on morbidity and mortality between groups with perfect and partial compliance with treatment.Keywords: CPAP; Sleep apnoea; Compliance

DEVSIS Africa : a Pan-African documentation and information system for social and economic development; report of a team of experts

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: DEVSIS Afrique : un système panafricain de documentation et d'information pour le développement social et économique; rapportArabic version available in IDRC Digital Librar

Guide to retrieving medical / health literature on international health.

IDRC personnel. Bibliographic guide to information retrieval in international medicine and health - includes information on bibliographic and abstracting services

Factors Influencing Career Routes of Female Librarianship: A Literature Review

This research paper aims to understand elements that act as counter-productive to the achievements of females working as professional librarians. The paper uses current literature to explore inhibitive factors for the career development of female librarians. The methodology employed in the paper is epistemological realism and deductive reasoning. This methodology adds to existing knowledge while being linked with realism. The research investigates main factors like cultural stereotyping, discrimination against women, marriage, children, career breaks, mentoring, family support, and organizational structure and policies to ascertain their role in enhancing or diminishing female librarians’ career progression. The nature of research is deductive as the conclusions are drawn from available literature as applied to professional females in the field of librarianship. The findings of the research are expected to validate these important factors as integral stimulants for female librarians’ career development

Reactions of Nicotiana species to inoculation with monopartite and bipartite begomoviruses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some <it>Nicotiana </it>species are widely used as experimental hosts for plant viruses. <it>Nicotiana </it>species differ in ploidy levels, chromosome numbers and have diverse geographical origins. Thus, these species are useful model systems to investigate virus-host interactions, co-evolution of pathogens and hosts and the effects of ploidy level on virus resistance/susceptibility.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we have studied the responses of seven <it>Nicotiana </it>species to inoculation with <it>Cotton leaf curl Multan virus </it>(CLCuMV), a monopartite begomovirus, and <it>Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus </it>(ToLCNDV), a bipartite begomovirus, both from the Indian subcontinent. All <it>Nicotiana </it>species supported the replication of both begomoviruses in inoculated leaves. However, only three <it>Nicotiana </it>species, namely <it>N. benthamiana</it>, <it>N. tabacum </it>and <it>N. sylvestris </it>showed symptoms when inoculated with ToLCNDV, while <it>N. benthamiana </it>was the only species that developed leaf curl symptoms when inoculated with CLCuMV. CLCuMV accumulated to detectable levels in <it>N. tabacum</it>, but plants remained asymptomatic. A previously identified mutation of RNA dependent RNA polymerase 1 was shown to be present only in <it>N. benthamiana</it>. The finding is in line with earlier results showing that the susceptibility of this species to a diverse range of plant viruses correlates with a defective RNA silencing-mediated host defense.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results presented show that individual <it>Nicotiana </it>species respond differently to inoculation with begomoviruses. The inability of begomoviruses to systemically infect several <it>Nicotiana </it>species is likely due to inhibition of virus movement, rather than replication, and thus provides a novel model to study virus-host interactions in resistant/susceptible hosts.</p

3-Methyl­thio­benzamide

In the title compound, C8H9NS, the dihedral angle between the aromatic ring and the thio­amide fragment is 36.0 (2)°. There are π-stacking inter­actions between coplanar aryl fragments, with a centroid–centroid separation of 3.658 (2) Å. In addition, there are inter­molecular hydrogen bonds between the amino group and the S atoms

Electromagnetically Modified Filtration of Aluminum Melts—Part I: Electromagnetic Theory and 30PPI Ceramic Foam Filter Experimental Results

In the present work, laboratory-scale continuous filtration tests of liquid A356 aluminum alloy have been performed. The tests were conducted using standard 30 PPI (pores per inch) ceramic foam filters combined with magnetic flux densities (~0.1 and 0.2T), produced using two different induction coils operated at 50Hz AC. A reference filtration test was also carried out under gravity conditions, i.e., without an applied magnetic field. The obtained results clearly prove that the magnetic field has a significant affect on the distribution of SiC particles. The influence of the electromagnetic Lorentz forces and induced bulk metal flow on the obtained filtration efficiencies and on the wetting behavior of the filter media by liquid aluminum is discussed. The magnitudes of the Lorentz forces produced by the induction coils are quantified based on analytical and COMSOL 4.2® finite element modelin

The Interactions Between Oxide Film Inclusions and Inoculation Particles TiB2 in Aluminum Melt

In this work, a systematic study on the interactions between aluminum oxide films and TiB2 grain refiner particles and their effect on grain refinement behavior have been conducted. Oxide f ilms were introduced into a commercial purity aluminum melt by adding AA 6061 alloy chips while the grain refiner particles were introduced by adding Al-3T-1B master alloy. Strong sedimentation of TiB2 grain refiner particles was observed in aluminum melt without chip addition during long-time settling. Most of the TiB2 particles were settled and accumulated at the bottom of crucible. In contrast, the sedimentation of TiB2 particles is much less in the melt with the addition of oxide films. A large fraction of TiB2 particles were found to be adhered to the oxide films located at the top part of the crucible, which inhibited the sedimentation of grain refiner particles. TP-1 type tests were also done to study the grain refinement efficiency of Al-3Ti-1B master alloy under different melt cleanliness and settling time. It is found that sedimentation of TiB2 particles greatly reduces the grain refinement efficiency. The introduction of oxide films seems to slightly alleviate the fading effect. This is owing to the strong adherence between the oxide films and TiB2 particles, which leads to a retardation of particle sedimentation.publishedVersio

Assessment of Pesticide Residues in Sediments Collected from River Ravi and its Tributaries between its stretches from Shahdara to Balloki Headworks, Pakistan

Contaminated bed sediments of fresh water bodies have a potentiality of polluting and rendering the water unfit for aquatic life. Though Pakistan has banned on the use of Organochlorine and Nitrogen containing pesticides, but no proper attention is being paid on the continuous monitoring and assessment of these banned pesticides to make sure that these banned pesticides are not in practice. Levels of selected organochlorine and nitrogen containing pesticides residues were assessed in sediments collected from eighteen sampling sites of River Ravi and its tributaries by GC-ECD method. All sediments samples were found contaminated with varying concentrations of pesticides residues, however levels of pesticides were below the tolerance limits suggested in national and international standards. Endosulfan was the predominant organochlorine pesticide residue in all sediment samples, while Carbofuran was found in least amounts as compared with other pesticides. After Degh fall and After Hudiara nulla fall river sampling sites were found severely contaminated while, among tributaries Degh fall and Hudiara drain were found highly severely contaminated with DDT, DDE, Endosulfan and Carbofuran. Constant monitoring programs are needed to be initiated to reform the present situation. Key words: Sediments, Organochlorine, Endosulfan, Carbofuran, GC-EC

CpG methylation of the FHIT, FANCF, cyclin-D2, BRCA2 and RUNX3 genes in Granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) of ovarian origin

BACKGROUND: Granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) are relatively rare and are subtypes of the sex-cord stromal neoplasms. Methylation induced silencing in the promoters of genes such as tumor suppressor genes, DNA repair genes and pro-apoptotic genes is recognised as a critical factor in cancer development. METHODS: We examined the role of promoter hypermethylation, an epigenetic alteration that is associated with the silencing tumor suppressor genes in human cancer, by studying 5 gene promoters in 25 GCTs cases by methylation specific PCR and RT-PCR. In addition, the compatible tissues (normal tissues distant from lesion) from three non-astrocytoma patients were also included as the control. RESULTS: Frequencies of methylation in GCTs were 7/25 (28 % for FHIT), 6/25 (24% for FNACF), 3/25 (12% for Cyclin D2), 1/25 (4% for BRCA2) and 14/25 (56%) in RUNX3 genes. Correlation of promoter methylation with clinical characteristics and other genetic changes revealed that overall promoter methylation was higher in more advanced stage of the disease. Promoter methylation was associated with gene silencing in GCT cell lines. Treatment with methylation or histone deacetylation-inhibiting agents resulted in profound reactivation of gene expression. CONCLUSIONS: These results may have implications in better understanding the underlying epigenetic mechanisms in GCT development, provide prognostic indicators, and identify important gene targets for treatment