Assessment of Nutrition Information System Using Health Metrics Network Framework

Nutrition Information System (NIS) developed by Heath Ministry's Nutritional Development Directorate since 2011 covers data of toddler assessment in integrated health care, malnutrition case, coverages of Fe tablet among pregnant mothers, iodized salt consumption, vitamin A distribution and exclusive breastfeeding. This study aimed to assess NIS performance in South Tangerang City Health Agency using WHO's Health Metrics Network 2008 framework. NIS is national level information system with gradual reporting mechanism starting from 508 districts/cities to 34 provinces ended at national level. Eight districts/cities over Banten Province have conducted NIS. This study had six informants namely nutrition section, health resources and health information system section, two nutrition duties and two integrated health care workers. Data was collected on January - April 2013 using interview, observation and document analysis guidelines. Data analysis used interpretation analysis. The result showed no any policy and training implemented regarding nutrition surveillance. Monitoring activity was already conducted. Facilities were adequate, but the maintenance was deficient. There are six nutritional development indicators according to MDGs. Data grouping and dictionaries were available. Data reporting was conducted every month. Graphics and maps were used for presenting data. The data served was used for monitoring and making a decision on nutritional development programs at integrated health care, primary health care and health agency levels. Generally, NIS implementation in South Tangerang City. Health agency was already adequate

Glycerol monooleate/solvents systems for progesterone transdermal delivery: In vitro permeation and microscopic studies

A liberação transdérmica de muitos fármacos é dificultada pelas características de barreira do estrato córneo. Promotores químicos de absorção cutânea são capazes de interagir com os constituintes do estrato córneo, induzindo aumento temporário e reversível na permeabilidade da pele. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência de sistemas monoleína (monoleato de glicerol)/solventes na absorção percutânea de um fármaco lipofílico (a progesterona), através do estrato córneo de camundongos sem pelo, bem como o efeito da monoleína nas características estruturais do estrato córneo, por meio de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM) e microscopia de varredura confocal a laser (CLSM). As alterações morfológicas observadas no estrato córneo de camundongos sem pelo sugerem efeito da monoleína na barreira da pele. E, ainda, o aumento no fluxo In vitro da progesterona, bem como na penetração in vivo do marcador fluorescente (fluoresceína), apontam a monoleína como potencial promotor de absorção cutânea. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os sistemas monoleína/solventes provocaram alterações na estrutura do estrato córneo, que poderiam causar o aumento da permeação da progesterona através da pele de camundongos sem pelo, otimizando, deste modo, a liberação transdérmica deste fármaco.Transdermal delivery of most drugs is precluded by the barrier characteristics of the stratum corneum (SC). Chemical penetration enhancers are capable of interacting with SC constituents, inducing a temporary reversible increase in the skin permeability. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of glycerol monooleate (GMO)/solvents systems on percutaneous absorption across hairless mouse SC of a lipophilic drug, progesterone (PG), as well as its effect on the SC structural characteristics, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The morphological changes observed in the hairless mouse SC suggest a GMO effect on the skin barrier. In addition, the increase in the In vitro PG flux and in vivo penetration of a fluorescent label point towards GMO as a potential absorption enhancer. The results obtained showed that GMO/solvents systems provoked changes in the SC that could be causing increased permeation of PG across hairless mouse skin, optimising in this way the transdermal delivery of this drug

Solitons in magneto-optic waveguides with Kudryashov’s law nonlinear refractive index for coupled system of generalized nonlinear Schrödinger’s equation using modified extended mapping method

In this work, we investigate the optical solitons and other waves through magneto-optic waveguides with Kudryashov’s law of nonlinear refractive index in the presence of chromatic dispersion and Hamiltonian-type perturbation factors using the modified extended mapping approach. Many classifications of solutions are established like bright solitons, dark solitons, singular solitons, singular periodic wave solutions, exponential wave solutions, rational wave, solutions, Weierstrass elliptic doubly periodic solutions, and Jacobi elliptic function solutions. Some of the extracted solutions are described graphically to provide their physical understanding of the acquired solutions

Chemical Kinetic Insights into the Octane Number and Octane Sensitivity of Gasoline Surrogate Mixtures

Gasoline octane number is a significant empirical parameter for the optimization and development of internal combustion engines capable of resisting knock. Although extensive databases and blending rules to estimate the octane numbers of mixtures have been developed and the effects of molecular structure on autoignition properties are somewhat understood, a comprehensive theoretical chemistry-based foundation for blending effects of fuels on engine operations is still to be developed. In this study, we present models that correlate the research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) with simulated homogeneous gas-phase ignition delay times of stoichiometric fuel/air mixtures. These correlations attempt to bridge the gap between the fundamental autoignition behavior of the fuel (e.g., its chemistry and how reactivity changes with temperature and pressure) and engine properties such as its knocking behavior in a cooperative fuels research (CFR) engine. The study encompasses a total of 79 hydrocarbon gasoline surrogate mixtures including 11 primary reference fuels (PRF), 43 toluene primary reference fuels (TPRF), and 19 multicomponent (MC) surrogate mixtures. In addition to TPRF mixture components of iso-octane/n-heptane/toluene, MC mixtures, including n-heptane, iso-octane, toluene, 1-hexene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, were blended and tested to mimic real gasoline sensitivity. ASTM testing protocols D-2699 and D-2700 were used to measure the RON and MON of the MC mixtures in a CFR engine, while the PRF and TPRF mixtures' octane ratings were obtained from the literature. The mixtures cover a RON range of 0-100, with the majority being in the 70-100 range. A parametric simulation study across a temperature range of 650-950 K and pressure range of 15-50 bar was carried out in a constant-volume homogeneous batch reactor to calculate chemical kinetic ignition delay times. Regression tools were utilized to find the conditions at which RON and MON best correlate with simulated ignition delay times. Furthermore, temperature and pressure dependences were investigated for fuels with varying octane sensitivity. This analysis led to the formulation of correlations useful to the definition of surrogates for modeling purposes and allowed one to identify conditions for a more in-depth understanding of the chemical phenomena controlling the antiknock behavior of the fuels

Serum Islet Cell Autoantibodies During Interferon α Treatment in Patients With HCV-Genotype 4 Chronic Hepatitis

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of end-stage liver disease worldwide and HCV genotype 4 (HCV4) is predominant in African and Middle Eastern countries. It is well established that interferon-α (IFNa) treatment for HCV may trigger serum autoantibodies against pancreatic islet cells (ICA) in a subgroup of patients. Available data on the incidence of ICA during IFNa therapy for chronic HCV4 infection are not conclusive. We investigated the appearance of ICA in 40 naïve Egyptian patients (38 males, 32 ± 6 years) with histologically defined chronic HCV4 infection undergoing IFNa treatment at a dose of 9-million U/week for 24 weeks. Serum samples were collected at baseline and following IFNa therapy and ICA were detected using indirect immunofluorescence. Baseline evaluation indicated that 2/40 (5%) patients had detectable serum ICA. After the completion of the treatment scheme, 12/38 (32%) previously ICA negative patients became ICA positive; however, no patient developed impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or diabetes during follow-up. In conclusion, we submit that IFNa treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) may induce serum ICA in one-third of Egyptian patients with HCV4. These autoantibodies, however, do not lead to alterations in glucose metabolism

Vulnerability of Brazilian municipalities to hantavirus infections based on multi‑criteria decision analysis

Background: Hantavirus infection is an emerging zoonosis transmitted by wild rodents. In Brazil, high case-fatality rates among humans infected with hantavirus are of serious concern to public health authorities. Appropriate preventive measures partly depend on reliable knowledge about the geographical distribution of this disease. Methods: Incidence of hantavirus infections in Brazil (1993–2013) was analyzed. Epidemiological, socioeconomic, and demographic indicators were also used to classify cities’ vulnerability to disease by means of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Results: From 1993 to 2013, 1752 cases of hantavirus were registered in 16 Brazilian states. The highest incidence of hantavirus was observed in the states of Mato Grosso (0.57/100,000) and Santa Catarina (0.13/100,000). Based on MCDA analysis, municipalities in the southern, southeastern, and midwestern regions of Brazil can be classified as highly vulnerable. Most municipalities in northern and northeastern Brazil were classified as having low vulnerability to hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Conclusions: Although most human infections by hantavirus registered in Brazil occurred in the southern region of the country, a greater vulnerability to hantavirus was found in the Brazilian Midwest. This result reflects the need to strengthen surveillance where the disease has thus far gone unreported