A record of morbidity and medical request profiles in international humanitarian aid, taking the earthquake in Bam in Iran in 2003 as an example

Objective: With the humanitarian work of the International Red Cross after the earthquake in Bam, Iran, it should be noted that international and national cooperation is possible according to recognised standards and concepts, and therefore morbidity records can be included uniformly in the context of day-to-day work even in post-disaster situations. The data ascertained show changes in the disease spectrum. Basic health provision according to the primary health care concept has priority in the post-disaster response (> 6 days) to the earthquake compared to more surgically oriented medical acute aid from abroad. Material and methodology: In the international consensus conference at the beginning of January 2004, uniform morbidity recording was fixed to simple standardised disaster case definitions. The recording of traumatic, infectious and non-infectious diseases was carried out during the routine work in the outpatient facilities of the emergency response units of 3–31 January 2004. Examination was according to the following indicators: proportional morbidities and sum of the proportional morbidities. Results and discussion: The complete examination time period included 16,677 new cases. The health facility rate only gradually increased. Temporal fluctuations in the numbers treated may be caused by secondary care of the injured, by a possible lack of accessibility (transport problems) or an increased acceptance of facilities. A written specification of the case definitions was not carried out in Bam, and so a comparison is not possible for recorded morbidities at the same time, and consistency cannot be reached for some of the data. Nine diagnoses/categories cover 98.68% of the consultations in the complete time period. Non-traumatic health problems predominate for the whole of the month. The category "others" is too high with 57.94%. Therefore, it may be assumed that certain diagnoses were overestimated, underestimated or not recognised. Vulnerable groups (children, women, the old) were not completely included. Conclusion: Standards and guidelines for health care in humanitarian aid exist and are of help during planning, decision finding, execution and communication. Data acquisition instruments (registering books and patient files) should be developed and standardised by national and international humanitarian groups. The recording of morbidity is a simple instrument in the context of outpatient facilities and provides valuable information for further work during disasters

Effective writing strategies for primary grades

Writing instruction has undergone changes throughout history to become what it is today; an integral part of a balanced literacy program. This project examines appropriate and effective writing strategies for primary grades. Four current writing strategies are examined in three professional development sessions for primary teachers, including: shared writing, interactive writing, writing workshop and journaling. Appropriate means of writing assessment are also examined. These professional development sessions are presented in a series of three Power Point presentations including implementation activities for teachers

Serum Concentrations of F2-Isoprostanes and 4-Hydroxynonenal in Hemodialysis Patients in Relation to Inflammation and Renal Anemia

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are apparently exposed to enhanced oxidative stress and to inflammation. It was the aim of this study to characterize the state of systemic oxidative stress of ESRD patients before and following HD using highly specific biomarkers, F2-isoprostanes and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). Furthermore the question should be answered, if there are associations between inflammation and systemic oxidative stress and/or between systemic oxidative stress and renal anemia, which is more or less typical for HD patients.Patients and methods: Concentrations of F2-isoprostanes, 4- HNE, CRP as marker of inflammation, and hemoglobin were measured in serum samples of patients with ESRD before and after HD and of healthy control persons for comparison. Total (esterified plus free) F2-isoprostanes were quantified by highly sensitive gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique, HNE by thin layer chromatography and HPLC/UV detection, CRP by immunoturbidimetry and hemoglobin by clinico-chemical routine assay.Results: 1. HD patients showed significantly higher serum concentrations of F2-isoprostanes and HNE than healthy human control subjects. 2. Total (esterified plus free) F2-isoprostane levels before HD were not significantly different from those after HD, whereas HNE levels were significantly decreased in patients after HD. 3. F2-isoprostane concentrations in HD patients correlated with the levels of CRP, whereas HNE concentrations inversely correlated with the content of hemoglobin.Conclusion: Both, F2-isoprostanes and HNE serum concentrations are useful oxidative stress parameters in ESRD patients undergoing HD. Whereas HNE strongly correlates with the severity of renal anemia, leading to left heart insufficiency, F2-isoprostanes (sum of free plus esterified) highly correlate with the degree of inflammation

System Simulation and Analysis of an LNG-Fueled SOFC System Using Additively Manufactured High Temperature Heat Exchangers

A laboratory-scale solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel is designed to be used as an energy converter on seagoing vessels (MultiSchIBZ project). The presented system design phase is supported by thermodynamic system simulation. As heat integration plays a crucial role with regard to fuel recirculation and endothermic pre-reforming, the heat exchanger and pre-reforming component models need to exhibit a high degree of accuracy throughout the entire operating range. Compact additively manufactured tube-bundle and plate-fin heat exchangers are designed to achieve high heat exchange efficiencies at low pressure losses. Their heat transfer correlations are derived from experimental component tests under operating conditions. A simulation study utilizing these heat exchanger characteristics is carried out for four configuration variants of pre-reforming and heat integration. Their system behaviour is analyzed with regard to the degree of pre-reforming and the outlet temperature of the fuel processing module. The combination of allothermal pre-reforming with additively manufactured plate-fin heat exchangers exhibits the best heat integration performance at nominal full load and yields a partial load capability to up to 60% electrical load at net electrical efficiencies of 58 to 60% (LHV). © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Role of Central Nervous System Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptors in Enteric Glucose Sensing

OBJECTIVE—Ingested glucose is detected by specialized sensors in the enteric/hepatoportal vein, which send neural signals to the brain, which in turn regulates key peripheral tissues. Hence, impairment in the control of enteric-neural glucose sensing could contribute to disordered glucose homeostasis. The aim of this study was to determine the cells in the brain targeted by the activation of the enteric glucose-sensing system