Diagnosis of COPD in the face of multimorbidity, patients\u27 perspectives

Abstract presented at the 18th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, 11-14 November 2013, Yokohama, Japan

Impact of COPD diagnosis in the face of multi-morbidity: Primary care patients\u27 perspectives

Poster presented at the 2014 Primary Health Care Research Conference, 23-25 July 2014, Canberra, Australi

Impact of Cognitive and Decision Making Style on Resilience: An Exploratory Study

Resilience refers to successful adaptation of an individual despite risk, acute stressors, and chronic adversities. Resilient students are more determined and they can enhance their efforts especially under difficult situations. Students need to be more resilient so that they can bounce back from the loads of pressures and adversities they encounter in studies. In this context there is a need to understand the resilient quality of students against his/her cognitive styles and thinking pattern. With this assumption, a research is designed to examine the relationship of cognitive and decision making styles with resilience of students of different departments. A sample of 152 students was selected randomly between the age group of 20 - 25 years from different departments of university of Gujrat, Pakistan. Correlation and Regression analysis were conducted to examine the relationship and impact of cognitive and decision making styles on Resilience. Results showed that resilience has a positive association with cognitive style whereas; there exists no relationship with decision making style. Furthermore, the systematic and intuitive cognitive styles have shown positive correlation with resilience. Finally, the cognitive styles have shown significant influence on resilience. The study concludes with the implication of resilience in the academics and approaches to enhance resilience in students. Keywords: Cognitive Styles, Decision Making, Resilience and Student

Tolerance of Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa L.) Genotypes to Drought Stress at Vegetative Stage

Background: Hibiscus sabdariffa L. is an important medicinal and fiber plant in Sudan. Among other stresses, drought extremely limits the growth, quality and net yield of the crop. The drought effects the crop plants by imposing certain morphological, physiological and biochemical changes at different periods of growth.Methods: Current study was carried out in greenhouse settings at Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) to investigate the effects of drought stress. Five (5) different genotypes of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L., namely Baladimostadir (H1), Um shiak (H2), Abu shankal (H3), Rahad mix (H4) and Abu Najma (H5) were studied. Thirty (30) days old Roselle seedlings were drought stressed for 10 days and its implications on plant growth, gas exchange, water relation, chlorophyll content and proline accumulation were estimated. Substantial genotypic differences in their adaptive response to drought were observed.Results: Drought stress significantly affected the plant height; lowered the relative gas exchange efficiency and altered the physiological and biochemical responses.  In comparison with others, H2 and H4 genotypes tolerated the osmotic stress well with lower osmotic potential and higher osmotic adjustment, better water content, higher stomatal conductance, photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll content. Accumulation of osmoprotectant and gas exchange indicators clearly distinguished the responses of different genotypes towards water stress.Conclusion: Our results can be used for evaluation, screening, and manipulations of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. genotypes for improvement of drought tolerance through conventional breeding or drought responsive gene isolation

Biosynthesis of lovastatin using agro-industrial wastes as carrier substrates

Purpose: To compare fungal strains including Aspergillus flavipes GCBL-72, Aspergillus flavus GCBL-60, and Aspergillus niger GCBL-45 and determine whether solid- or liquid-state fermentation (SSF or LSF) is more appropriate for lovastatin production using various inexpensive raw materials.Methods: LSF and SSF techniques were used to produce the drug lovastatin.  High-performance liquid chromatography was performed out to quantify lovastatin production. A kinetic growth model was applied to estimate product formation at the expense of substrate utilization.Results: Aspergillus flavus GCBL-60 was a superior lovastatin-producing strain consuming wheat bran as the raw material in SSF. The optimum lovastatin production was 28.36 ± 0.76 mg/100mL at 35 °C, pH 5.5, inoculum size 2 mL, 96 h incubation time, and 60 % moisture content. Evaluation of the kinetic growth parameters for lovastatin production confirmed that product formation was improved after fermentation parameter optimization.Conclusion: Our results indicate that Aspergillus flavus GCBL-60 was best  lovastatin-producing strain and that SSF was superior to LSF for maximum  production. Careful optimization can enhance product formation.Keywords: Hypercholesterolemia, Kinetics, Optimization, Lovastatin, Solid-State Fermentation, Raw material

PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH VULVOVAGINAL CANDIDIASIS DURING PREGNANCY IN SANA'A, YEMEN

Background and objective: Women at pregnancy are further susceptible to vaginal colonization and yeast infection. The responsibility of Candida colonization in the incidence of preterm birth is correctly established. Knowing regional epidemiology and identifying risk factors of preterm birth are important for management and preventive strategies. The aim of the study was to reveal the prevalence of Candida species in vaginal swabs of pregnant women and determine odds ratio of risks for vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Methods:   Pregnant women attendance routine antenatal visits in Al-Olify –family Center in Sana'a city were registered into a cross-sectional study carried out from June 2018 to March 2019. The laboratory works were carried out in the National Center of Public Laboratories (NCPHL). Samples of vaginal swabs were taken from contributors after obtaining oral consent. The classification of the Candida species was done by culture on HiCrome Candida Differential Agar at 35 °C for 48 h for making of species-specific colors. Data of demographic, clinical and risk factors were collected in a pre-designed questionnaire. Results: A total of 190 pregnant women are included. The rate of VVC was 51.6%. Candida albicans accounted for 39.5% and non-Candida albicans accounted for 12.1% of isolates, mainly C. glabrata (4.7%), C. lipolytica (3.2%), and C. famata (2.1%). When VVC risk factors were considered, there were significant risk factors with the age group 20-24 years (61%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.8), first trimester of pregnancy (61.1%, OR = 1.7), Multipara of  parity (61.8%, OR = 1.9), low socioeconomic level (60.1%, OR =2.4), and illiteracy (68%, OR = 2.2). When clinical symptoms were considered, only 86.2% of affected females had clinical signs of VVC. Conclusions: There is a high probable rate of VVC is found among pregnant women in Yemen, undiagnosed and unnoticed; and this highlights the need for health authorities to develop strategies for diagnosing VVC, including vaginal swabs for candidiasis as a routine procedure for all pregnant women. This study also revealed a steady increase in time with a non-C. albicans species  prevalence rate. VVC syndrome management guidelines in Yemen should be revised to include a special protocol for pregnant women.                                       Peer Review History: Received 14 May 2020; Revised 15 June; Accepted 1 July, Available online 15 July 2020 Academic Editor: Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, AIMST University, Malaysia, [email protected] Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Michael Otakhor Erhunmwunse, BTU – Cottbus, Germany, [email protected]  Dr. Mohamed Awad Mousnad,  Faculty of Pharmacy, International University of Africa (IUA), Khartoum, Sudan, [email protected]  Similar Articles: TETANUS IMMUNIZATION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN: COVERAGE RATE AND RATE OF PROTECTION AT TIME OF DELIVERY AN EXHAUSTIVE STATISTIC ON CURRENT MUCOADHESIVE INTRAVAGINAL DRUG DELIVERY METHODOLOGIE

Numerical investigations on the influencing factors of rapid fire spread of flammable cladding in a high-rise building

This paper investigates aluminium composite panels (ACPs) to understand the fire behaviour of combustible cladding systems under different fire scenarios. A fire dynamics simulator (FDS) is used to develop the numerical model of full-scale fire tests of combustible cladding systems using the procedures of the British BS 8414.1 standards. The results obtained from the FDS models are verified with test data. Seven test scenarios are investigated with four distinct parameters, i.e., cavity barrier, air-cavity gap, panel mounting (with and without joining gaps between the panels), and material combustibility qualities. A critical air-cavity gap (50–100 mm) is established at which maximum fire spread is noticed. Furthermore, variations in the cavity barrier, panel mounting, and material combustibility significantly impact the rapid fire spread of ACP cladding systems and the internal failure criterion. The results from the present study can serve as a basis for future research on the full-scale fire-test development of combustible ACPs

Fire behaviour of insulation panels commonly used in high-rise buildings

The energy efficiency of buildings drives the replacement of traditional construction materials with lightweight insulating materials. However, energy-efficient but combustible insulation might contribute to the building’s fire load. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse the reaction-to-fire properties of various insulating materials to provide a better understanding of designing a fire-safe structure. In this study, reaction-to-fire tests were carried out to assess the fire behaviour of lightweight polystyrene insulating panels commonly employed in high-rise buildings. The flammability characteristics of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) were determined using a cone calorimeter under two distinct external irradiance regimes, 35 kW/m2 and 50 kW/m2, to approximate small to medium fire exposure situations. To investigate the effect of a fire-rated (FR) foil layer on a sandwich panel, three distinct test configurations were used: (i) sample without FR layer (standard sample), (ii) sample with FR layer (FR foil), and (iii) damaged layer (foil and vent) for EPS. Except for the smoke toxicity index (STI), the overall fire performance of EPS is superior to that of XPS. The findings of this study are useful in analysing fire performance and fire safety design for lightweight insulation panels

Improvement of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants with the Application of Nanoparticles

Plants are under the threat of climatic changes and there is a reduction in productivity and deterioration in quality. The application of nanoparticles is one of the recent approaches to improve plant yield and quality traits. A number of nanoparticles, such as zinc nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), iron nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs), silicon nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), cerium nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs), silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), and carbon nanoparticles (C NPs), have been reported in different plant species to play a role to improve the plant physiology and metabolic pathways under environmental stresses. Crop plants readily absorb the nanoparticles through the cellular machinery of different tissues and organs to take part in metabolic and growth processes. Nanoparticles promote the activity of a range of antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), in plant species, which in turn improve the growth and development under stressful conditions. The present review focuses on the mode of action and signaling of nanoparticles to the plant systems and their positive impact on growth, development, and ROS scavenging potential. The appropriate elucidation on mechanisms of nanoparticles in plants leads to better growth and yields under stress conditions, which will ultimately lead to increased agricultural production

Fire incidents, trends, and risk mitigation framework of electrical vehicle cars in Australia

Electric Vehicles (EVs) offer a promising solution to reduce the environmental impact compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. However, EV adoption in Australia has been hindered by concerns over fire safety. This study aims to comprehensively analyse EV fire risks and trends in Australia, including those related to charging stations and lithium-ion batteries. The research utilises secondary data from various reputable sources to develop statistical forecasting models, which estimate that Australia will have approximately 1.73 million EVs by 2030 and 15.8 million by 2050. The study reveals an average EV fire frequency of six fires per million EVs in Australia, aligning with the global average. Consequently, Australia is expected to experience 9 to 10 EV fire incidents annually in 2030, 37 to 42 EV fire incidents annually in 2040, and 84 to 95 EV fire incidents annually in 2050. To address these risks, an EV fire risk control framework is considered to identify and recommend appropriate measures for life safety, lithium-ion batteries, charging, EV handling, and EV locations. This research provides vital evidence for regulators, policymakers, and the fire industry to effectively manage EV fire risks and enhance preparedness for the growing EV market in Australia