Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) post-processing implementation : numerical approach

The accepted dosimetric measure of electromagnetic (EM) exposure is the specific absorption rate (SAR), which is defined as the power absorbed per unit mass of tissue. International standards for compliance testing of hand-held mobile communication devices define various cubical averaging schemes to obtain the spatial peak averaged specific absorption rate. In this paper, a numerical approach to illustrate the validation and uncertainty contributions of a SAR post-processing algorithm is described. Simplified interpolation and extrapolation techniques to calculate the 1g SAR for a 2.5 mm mesh grid are evaluated. Furthermore, using linear, nearest, and spline interpolation in MATLAB, the effects of the extrapolation order on the assessment of the resultant error are examined

Age at Sexual Assault and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Females Residents of Virginia

Background Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric debilitating condition that can occur in individuals who experience extremely stressful or traumatic life events. Sexual assault is considered as one of the most traumatic stressor in life. Although few studies investigated the association between history of sexual assault and PTSD, no studies have examined the impact of age at sexual assault on PTSD.Method A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted among adult female residents of Virginia from November 2002 to February 2003. A total of 1,769 women aged 18 and older were interviewed using a random digit dialing method. Detailed screening questionnaire was utilized to ascertain the occurrence of sexual assault, age at sexual assault and PTSD. The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were used to define PTSD.Result The prevalence of PTSD among women with no history of sexual assault, those victimized before the age of 18 and 18 and above was 8.1%, 35.3%, and 30.2% respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model showed an increase risk of PTSD among women assaulted at a younger age. Compared to women with no history of sexual assault, women who were victimized before their 18th birthday were 2.8 times more likely to suffer from PTSD [OR=2.78 (95% C1=1.87- 4.23)]. The risk of PTSD among women victimized as adults was 2.6 times higher compared to women with no history of sexual assault [OR=2.59 (95%CI =1.43-4.70)].Conclusion This study provided important information on the association between PTSD and age at sexual assault. The risk of PTSD is relatively higher among those assaulted before the age of 18. The adverse effect of sexual assault as a risk for PTSD in addition to other negative health problems is a major public health concern. Primary prevention strategies should be in place to detect sexual assault victims and prevent the occurrence of PTSD

RECYCLING OF SPENT SOLUTIONS OF TANNERY LIQUID WASTE

Over the years, treatment of tannery waste-Water put a considerable burden on the total cost of production, be it pickled, in wet-blue, crust or finished leather. After 1980 a very stringent regulation has been imposed on the quality and purity of the waste waters that go to the drain. The high amount of money charged for effluent tannery waste-water, lead most of the tanneries to close down with increasingly stringent environmental requirements, it has become necessary to reduce the pollution load in waste-water to a minimum. This has been done by treating tannery waste-water biologically with expensive undertaking as no income or revenue is obtained at the end. For these reasons, recycling of spent solutions from soaking through retannage has been applied in this work with a considerable saving of 40% and 75%, chemicals and water, as well as protection of the environment from these polluting chemicals as compared with the standard process without recycling. The treatment of tannery waste-water is done through addition of the required materials to each process and recycling of the spent solution. After the process is completed the pelts are unloaded, the once-used solution is topped up with the required make-up and reused. The process of recycling is repeated seven times from one batch to another. By this method of recycling there will be saving in water, chemicals and protection of the environment. The leather processed using recycled solution adjusted with a make-up showed comparatively good physical and chemical properties. The tensile strength obtained is acceptable, and the elongation at grain crack is very good, the load at grain burst is also 200kg/cm2. The elongation at grain crack is equal to the tensile strength. In conclusion it is recommended to apply recycling of tannery used solutions from soaking through retanning processes. The total cost will be reduced, then there will be saving in chemicals and clean environmen

Genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium parasite IS NOT associated with severity of disease in an endemic area in Sudan

BACKGROUND: Over 650 million people globally are at risk of schistosomiasis infection, while more than 200 million people are infected of which the higher disease rates occur in children. Eighty three students between 6-20 years (mean 12.45 ± 3.2) from Quran School for boys in Radwan village, Gezira state were recruited to investigate for the relationship between the genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium strains and the severity of the disease. METHOD: Schistosoma haematobium infection was detected by filtration of urine. Ultrasonography was done on each study subject, while PCR technique was used for genotyping via random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with A01, A02, A12, Y20 and A13 primers. A01 primer gave three different genotypes (A01-1, A01-2 and A01-3). RESULTS: About 54.2% (45/83) were S. haematobium egg positive by urine filtration. On assessment of the upper and lower urinary tract by ultrasound technique, 61.4% (51/83) were positiveand73.3% (60/83) samples were PCR positive. No significant difference was found when comparing the three different genotypes with severity of the disease. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that no association was found between the different genotypes of S.haemtobium and the severity of the disease. Examination of more samples from different areas to identify any possible differences between the parasites genes and disease severity was recommended. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2334-14-469) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Prevalence of Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C viruses among HIV infected subjects attending Wad Medani VCT/ART centre, Gezira State, Sudan

Objectives: This is a descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional, hospital based study to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus among Human Immunity deficiency Virus infected subjects in the Gezira State of central Sudan. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on HIV infected subjects attending Wad Medani VCT/ART centre from Dec. 2010 to March 2011. Epidemiological and demographic characteristics were recorded and participants were interviewed for risk factors of viral hepatitis infection. Blood samples were then collected and tested for HBsAg and HCV antibodies. Results: A total of 50 subjects were screened with a mean age of 36.39±13.57, 52% were males, HBsAg and HCV antibodies were reactive in 8% and 0% (none) of the studied group, respectively. Conclusion: This study shows that the prevalence of HBV/HIV co-infection is consistent with both regional and global rates, while HCV/HIV co-infection is low in the studied group. ملخص: الأهداف: تحديد شيوع الإصابة بالتهاب الكبد الحموى ب (HBV) و ج (HCV) وسط المرضى المصابين بحمى عوز المناعة المكتسب (HIV  ) بولاية الجزيرة وسط السودان. المرضى و الوسائل: هذه دراسة وصفية توقعية مقطعية مبنية على المستشفى. أجريت الدراسة في المرضى المصابين بحمى عوز المناعة المكتسب المترددين على مستشفى ودمدني مركز ART/VCT في الفترة بين ديسمبر 2010م و حتى مارس 2011م الميزات الوبائية والملامح السكانية رصدت و تمت معاينة المشاركين لمعرفة عوامل الخطورة للإصابة بحمى الكبد. جمعت عينات الدم و تم فحصها للمضاد المناعي HBsAg و مضاد حمى ج HCV . النتائج:  مجموع 50 حالة تم مسحها بمتوسط عمر 36.39 ± 13.57  . نسبة ذكور كانت 52% من الحالات. مضادات HBsAg  وHCV   كانت متفاعلة في 8% و 0% (لا يوجد) على التوالي. الخلاصة: أوضحت الدراسة شيوع الاصابة بالتهاب الكبد الحموى ب HBV وسط المصابين HIV تتماشى مع معدلات شيوع الإصابة الإقليمية و العالمية . بينما الاصابه الحمى الكبدي ج (HCV) كان ضعيف فى المجموعه المدروسة

Quality Assessment of Afrotan Tannery Drinking Water Wells

Afrotan tannery was established in 1983, in Albageer Industrial Area- Algazeera State - Sudan. It tans about 20000 skins per day. It uses different harmful amounts of chemicals in tanning processes and it discharges these harmful effluents in land near three drinking water wells. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of these wells and to investigate the contamination of the tannery effluents in the drinking water. Three liters of the tannery tap water was collected from a water reservoir which is fed by the above three wells. 24 parameters of Sudanese Standard Specifications for drinking waters and all the tannery effluents which are expected to contaminate the drinking water wells were measured. The results showed that there is no contamination of tannery effluents to the tannery drinking water wells, and all measured parameters were within the permissible levels of Sudanese Standard Specifications for drinking water. The study recommended periodic conduction of such studies in the future and to take the samples directly from each well to investigate any contaminatio

Pattern of thyroid diseases in central Sudan: Nuclear medicine perspective

Thyroid scintigraphy using Tc-99m pertechnetate is a frequently performed procedure in routine nuclear medicine practice in addition to thyroid hormonal assay by radioimmunoassay (RIA). There is no clear description of thyroid diseases pattern in Sudan using nuclear medicine as a diagnostic tool. The aim of this retrospective study is to determine the pattern of thyroid diseases using the nuclear medicine facilities in our institute during a period (2001-2003). Methods: All patients referred to the department of nuclear medicine for thyroid scan from January 2001 to December 2003 were included in this study and the thyroid function test when available. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: A total of 2070 patients were referred to the department and only 1605 (77.5%) have thyroid function test results available for scan reporting. Female to male ratio is 9:1. The mean age is 34 ±13.36 (1-86 years old). The most common pattern is simple multinodular goiter 784 (37.8%) and the second is solitary thyroid nodule 506 (24.4%), followed by simple diffuse goiter 415 (20%). From a total of 1605 thyroid function test results, 1377 patients (85.8%) were euthyroid, 168 (10.5%) were having hyperthyroidism while only 60 (3.7%) were having hypothyroidism. Conclusion: The vast majority of patients in this study were young females with simple goiter and normal radionuclide uptake. No more information gained particularly when the patient is known clinically and biochemically to have a simple goiter. A solitary cold nodule is also common.Keywords: Thyroid scan, goiter, cold nodule, iodine deficiency, thyroid disease