Roll back malaria - an African success story in Eritrea

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Assessment of Some Physicochemical Parameters and Heavy Metals in Hand-Dug Well Water Samples of Kafta Humera Woreda, Tigray, Ethiopia

Groundwater is one of the most important sources of drinking water in Kafta Humera Woreda; hence, it is important to assess the quality of these water sources. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some physicochemical parameters and heavy metals in hand-dug well water sources of Kafta Humera Woreda. The results showed that the physicochemical concentrations of the hand-dug well water samples were given as follows: temperature, 27.67 ± 0.15 to 28.30 ± 0.25°C; pH, 6.90 ± 0.33 to 8.20 ± 0.36; dissolved oxygen, 5.60 ± 0.06 to 6.2 ± 0.04 mg/L; turbidity, 1.67 ± 0.02 to 1.89 ± 0.03 NTU; EC, 148.50 ± 0.89 to 932.00 ± 0.98 μS/cm; TDS, 105.80 ± 0.62 to 664.28 ± 0.70 mg/L; total hardness, 71.80 ± 3.05 to 295.30 ± 2.38 mg/L; total alkalinity, 75 ± 5.0 to 215 ± 5.0 mg/L; calcium, 12.02 ± 0.82 to 75.88 ± 0.93 mg/L; magnesium, 9.80 ± 0.80 to 25.70 ± 0.17 mg/L; potassium, 0.130 ± 0.003 to 0.86 ± 0.04 mg/L; sodium, 2.20 ± 0.16 to 12.75 ± 0.87 mg/L; chloride, 12.86 ± 0.02 to 42.72 ± 0.20 mg/L; sulfate, 17.24 ± 0.96 to 118.67 ± 0.46 mg/L; phosphate, 0.018 ± 0.005 to 0.020 ± 0.002 mg/L; and nitrate, 1.86 ± 0.03 to 5.43 ± 0.06 mg/L. Generally, the concentrations of most physicochemical parameters of the hand-dug well water samples of Kafta Humera Woreda were within the permissible limit of World Health Organization and Ethiopian Standard Agency guideline for drinking water. The statistical Pearson’s correlation analysis on the water quality parameters revealed that all parameters are more or less correlated with each other. Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids of the water samples were found to be significantly correlated with total hardness (r = 0.989), total alkalinity (r = 0.827), calcium (r = 0.988), magnesium (r = 0.881), sodium (r = 0.995), potassium(r = 0.996), chloride (r = 0.998), sulfate (r = 1), and nitrate ions (r = 0.972). Out of the selected seven heavy metals, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Cd, and Pb, only iron was detected in all water samples and its concentration was above the permissible limit of WHO and ESA for drinking water. Therefore, the government should adopt some treatment technologies such as sedimentation and aeration to minimize the concentration of iron for safe drinking the water to the community of Kafta Humera Woreda

Correlation of the ultrasound thyroid imaging reporting and data system with cytology findings among patients in Uganda

Abstract Background Ultrasonography is a noninvasive modality for the initial assessment of thyroid nodules. The American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS) has demonstrated good performance in differentiating malignant thyroid nodules. However, the combination of ACR TI-RADS categories and cytology has not been studied extensively, in Uganda. The study aims to correlate ACR TI-RADS with cytology among patients referred for US-guided fine-needle aspiration at Mulago National Referral Hospital. Methods This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study that recruited 132 patients with thyroid nodules. Spearman’s correlation was used to establish a relationship between TI-RADS and cytology findings. The diagnostic accuracy of TI-RADS was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios. Results Of 132 study participants, 90% (n = 117) were females, and the mean age was 41 ± 13 years. One hundred sixty-one thyroid nodules were analyzed. More than half of the thyroid nodules (54.7%, n = 87) were solid or almost solid, 96.9% (n = 154) were shaped wider than tall, 57.2% (n = 91) had smooth margins, 83.7% (n = 133) were hyperechoic or isoechoic, and 88.7% (n = 141) had no echogenic foci. TI-RADS 3 was the most common at 42.9% (n = 69). The proportions of malignancy for TI-RADS 4 and TI-RADS 5 were 73.3% and 85.7%, respectively. The correlation between ACR TI-RADS and the Bethesda system of thyroid classification scores was r = 0.577. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios of ACR TI-RADS were 90.9%, 98.5%, 90%, 99.3%, 62.3, and 0.1, respectively. Conclusion We found that ACR TI-RADS classification is an appropriate and noninvasive method for assessing thyroid nodules in routine practice. It can safely reduce the number of unnecessary fine-needle aspiration in a significant proportion of benign thyroid lesions. Thyroid nodules classified as TI-RADS 3 should be followed routinely. ACR TI-RADS should be standardized as the screening tool in resource-limited areas

Track Reconstruction with Cosmic Ray Data at the Tracker Integration Facility

The subsystems of the CMS silicon strip tracker were integrated and commissioned at the Tracker Integration Facility (TIF) in the period from November 2006 to July 2007. As part of the commissioning, large samples of cosmic ray data were recorded under various running conditions in the absence of a magnetic field. Cosmic rays detected by scintillation counters were used to trigger the readout of up to 15\,\% of the final silicon strip detector, and over 4.7~million events were recorded. This document describes the cosmic track reconstruction and presents results on the performance of track and hit reconstruction as from dedicated analyses