Prevalence and associated factors of Schistosomiasis among children in Yemen: implications for an effective control programme

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis, one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, is a life-threatening public health problem in Yemen especially in rural communities. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of schistosomiasis among children in rural Yemen. METHODS/FINDINGS Urine and faecal samples were collected from 400 children. Urine samples were examined using filtration technique for the presence of Schistosoma haematobium eggs while faecal samples were examined using formalin-ether concentration and Kato Katz techniques for the presence of S. mansoni. Demographic, socioeconomic and environmental information were collected via a validated questionnaire. Overall, 31.8% of the participants were found to be positive for schistosomiasis; 23.8% were infected with S. haematobium and 9.3% were infected with S. mansoni. Moreover, 39.5% of the participants were anaemic whereas 9.5% had hepatosplenomegaly. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was significantly higher among children aged >10 years compared to those aged ≤ 10 years (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed that presence of other infected family member (P<0.001), low household monthly income (P = 0.003), using unsafe sources for drinking water (P = 0.003), living nearby stream/spring (P = 0.006) and living nearby pool/pond (P = 0.002) were the key factors significantly associated with schistosomiasis among these children. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This study reveals that schistosomiasis is still highly prevalent in Yemen. These findings support an urgent need to start an integrated, targeted and effective schistosomiasis control programme with a mission to move towards the elimination phase. Besides periodic drug distribution, health education and community mobilisation, provision of clean and safe drinking water, introduction of proper sanitation are imperative among these communities in order to curtail the transmission and morbidity caused by schistosomiasis. Screening and treating other infected family members should also be adopted by the public health authorities in combating this infection in these communities

Genome-wide association mapping in a diverse spring barley collection reveals the presence of QTL hotspots and candidate genes for root and shoot architecture traits at seedling stage

Figure S1. Examples of scanned root images from individual plants. Figure S2. Concatenated split network tree for the collection of 233 accessions based on 6019 SNP markers. Figure S3. LD pattern along the individual chromosomes of barley. Figure S4. Schematic representation of the eight re-sequenced candidate genes models. (DOCX 3427 kb

Anti-Contraction Effects of Euscaphic Acid Isolated from Crataegus azarolus var. aronia L on Rat’s Aortic Smooth Muscle

The current study represents the first attempt to investigate the effect of the Euscaphic acid (EA) on Rats isolated  thoracic aortic smooth muscle cells. Isolated aorta was used to test the anti-contraction effects and the possible mode of action(s) of the EA (1*10-7 M) and (3*10-7 M) isolated from Crataegus azarolus var. aronia L. Euscaphic acid showed high anti-contraction effects on norepinephrin (NE), (1*10-9-10-4 M) induced contraction in aortic smooth muscle cells in endothelium-intact, endothelium-denuded, and aortic rings pre-incubated with potassium (K+)-channels blocker (tetraethylammonium, TEA), prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) inhibitor (indomethacin) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) inhibitor ( methylene blue). On the other hand, other K+ channels subtype blockers glibenclamide (GLIB); barium chloride (BaCl2) and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) demonstrated that adenosine triphosphate sensitive K+ (KATP), inwardly rectifying K+ (Kir) and voltage-dependent K+ (KV) channels played no role in anti-contraction induced by EA. Furthermore, the role of L-types calcium (Ca++) channels in EA anti-contractile effects on aortic smooth muscle cells was proved, by using the Ca++-channel blocker verapamil, as indicated by the production of a potent anti-contraction effect . The results of the current study indicate that the anti-contraction effects of EA may be due to the activation of calcium dependent, K+ (KCa) channels and blocking of L-type Ca++ channels. Thus, from these results it can be concluded that both K+ and Ca++ channels play an important role in anti-contraction effects of EA, which are mediated possibly through opening of KCa channels and blockade of voltage-dependent calcium channels, which may justify the use of medicinal plant C. azarolus in cardiovascular disease. Keywords: Crataegus azarolus var. aronia, Euscaphic acid, smooth muscle cells, K+-channels blockers, Ca++-channels blocker

Effects of temperature-dependent viscosity variation on entropy generation, heat and fluid flow through a porous-saturated duct of rectangular cross-section

Effect of temperature-dependent viscosity on fully developed forced convection in a duct of rectangular cross-section occupied by a fluid-saturated porous medium is investigated analytically. The Darcy flow model is applied and the viscosity-temperature relation is assumed to be an inverse-linear one. The case of uniform heat flux on the walls, i.e. the H boundary condition in the terminology of Kays and Crawford, is treated. For the case of a fluid whose viscosity decreases with temperature, it is found that the effect of the variation is to increase the Nusselt number for heated walls. Having found the velocity and the temperature distribution, the second law of thermodynamics is invoked to find the local and average entropy generation rate. Expressions for the entropy generation rate, the Bejan number, the heat transfer irreversibility, and the fluid flow irreversibility are presented in terms of the Brinkman number, the Péclet number, the viscosity variation number, the dimensionless wall heat flux, and the aspect ratio (width to height ratio). These expressions let a parametric study of the problem based on which it is observed that the entropy generated due to flow in a duct of square cross-section is more than those of rectangular counterparts while increasing the aspect ratio decreases the entropy generation rate similar to what previously reported for the clear flow case

Effect of Loading Duration on the Parameters Obtained from Consolidation Test

Consolidation properties of clay soils are evaluated in the laboratory using the one-dimensional consolidation test. The one-dimensional consolidation testing procedure was first suggested by Terzaghi (1925). In this procedure, the load on the specimen is applied and usually kept for 24 hours. After that, the load is doubled. Therefore, the duration of this test may continue at least 1 week and this duration is unpreferable for traditional purposes if the work is huge.In this paper, decreasing of applied loading test time has been studied through a new proposed time for applied loading. The results of a new time procedure have been compared with standard (conventional) Oedometer tests that they have been carried out on remolded samples of clay to investigate the difference percentage if quick tests are adopted instead of long tests. The comparison shows that the compression index increases with the increase test time, therefore, the compression index must be modified (use 1.1 Cc) when employed to calculate the settlement of soil. Also, the elapsed time of test is significant to the determination of swelling index. So, the test time of applied load should be not less than 2hrs.The results show that two hours are enough to reach 90 % consolidation (t90). The values of pre-consolidation pressure predicted depending on the results of quick test are always smaller than those predicted depending on the results of conventional test results. Finally, two hours LID is enough for calculating the coefficient of permeability depending on the parameters obtained from consolidation test

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Navigating collateral sensitivity: insights into the mechanisms and applications of antibiotic resistance trade-offs

The swift rise of antibiotic resistance, coupled with limited new antibiotic discovery, presents a significant hurdle to global public health, demanding innovative therapeutic solutions. Recently, collateral sensitivity (CS), the phenomenon in which resistance to one antibiotic increases vulnerability to another, has come to light as a potential path forward in this attempt. Targeting either unidirectional or reciprocal CS holds promise for constraining the emergence of drug resistance and notably enhancing treatment outcomes. Typically, the alteration of bacterial physiology, such as bacterial membrane potential, expression of efflux pumps, cell wall structures, and endogenous enzymatic actions, are involved in evolved collateral sensitivity. In this review, we present a thorough overview of CS in antibiotic therapy, including its definition, importance, and underlying mechanisms. We describe how CS can be exploited to prevent the emergence of resistance and enhance the results of treatment, but we also discuss the challenges and restrictions that come with implementing this practice. Our review underscores the importance of continued exploration of CS mechanisms in the broad spectrum and clinical validation of therapeutic approaches, offering insights into its role as a valuable tool in combating antibiotic resistance

Pelatihan Public Speaking dalam Pengembangan Jiwa Enterpeneur

Public Speaking is a communication skill that must be possessed by every entrepreneur in order to be able to compete in the world of work. Of course, the importance of public speaking must be taught from an early age, so that one day they can be confident in public. The importance of imparting public speaking skills from an early age gave the idea to create community service activities with the theme of public speaking training in developing an entrepreneurial spirit. This activity aims to make students from an early age understand the importance of public speaking in the world of Entrepreneurs. It is hoped that from this activity the students at the Tahfidz Izzatul Qur'an As-adiyah Islamic boarding school will have public speaking skills that support the future in becoming entrepreneurs &nbsp

Image Reconstruction Using Multi-activation Wavelet Network

Abstract: Wavelet networks (WNs) are introduced recently as a combination of artificial neural networks (RPROP) and wavelet decomposition. These are found very useful for time scale representation and widely used in signal processing and computer vision. In this paper an algorithm is proposed for images reconstruction with lost blocks or uncompleted parts or missing segments. The proposed algorithm of image reconstruction is based on wavelet and resilient back propagation neural network in different segmentation types. It is applied for missing segment of texture images through the combination of the missing parts. The results of reconstruction outperform the existing conventional method