Environmental Health Monitoring Program (EHMP) of LARC

Routine environmental monitoring is the prime necessity to maintain a Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) facility. Monitoring the animals & its environment is important to control the contamination and outbreak of disease. Appropriate documentation, labeling, handling, time, source, collection, transport, processing & storage of samples are important to keep the sample integrity. The sampling process needs to be well coordinated with both the vivarium and lab team. Proper disposal should be maintained throughout the sampling process. The animal holding rooms are monitored for both the microbial contamination and keep the husbandry, washing area of the facility free from contamination

Animal Health Monitoring Program (AHMP) of LARC

Animal health monitoring is important to maintain the health of the animals used for research purpose. Maintaining healthy research animals is the prime requisite for best research outcomes. Health monitoring is performed as per the recommendation issued by the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA)

Quality of Drinking water in Qatar University Rodent vivarium

Edstrom watering system was newly installed and all the accessories were used for limited run, but gradually the system runs continuously and this improved the water quality . Moreover our microbial count of water samples are within the specific range and has negligible effect on health of research animals. The results shows that the water meets the international standards and safe for animal us

Perspectives of University Students and Faculty on remote education experiences during COVID-19- a qualitative study

Owing to COVID-19 the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates mandated educational institutions to shift to remote learning. In this study the perspectives on remote learning, of both students and faculty, from the Science major, in a public university in Dubai have been explored. A qualitative research was conducted through focus group discussions using a semi-structured interview guide. All discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was carried out following coding and analyzing content using NVivo 12. Recurrent, emerging and diverging views were identified and represented under themes. Participants believed that altered human interaction was a major consideration in remote learning. Assessments were modified to reduce cheating however increasing students’ accountability and prudent use of questions was suggested as a more effective strategy. Challenges associated with technology, changes to the learning environment, wellbeing and institutional policies were highlighted. Advantages of remote learning included more inclusivity, flexibility, availability of recorded sessions and time efficiency. Also, remote learning had compelled faculty to enhance their technological skills. Including class participation as a graded component of courses, clear institutional guidelines on assessments, use of recordings and methods of communication were recommended. It was evident that students’ stances for learning were based on courses and disciplines, with a preference for synchronous lessons. Culture influenced interaction, assessments, acceptability, and accessibility of remote education. The views from this research will contribute to improving the adoption and outcomes of digital education in higher education in the field of science, while considering the sociocultural influences of the region

DETECTOR RESPONSE FROM THERMAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION OF CONCEALED EXPLOSIVES

Explosives concealed in small quatitites (~100 g), buried in landmines or in baggage, can be detected by characteristic gamma rays produced by neutron activation. However, the detection response can be reduced by attenuation of the signal in the background medium. This paper carries out a Monte Carlo simulation, using MCNP-V, to estimate the gamma signal spectrum and intesity degradation at a sodium iodide (NaI) detector from a small sample of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive buried in limestone. It is found that the transmission across 25 cm of limestone is ~6% of the 2.2233 MeV hydrogen signal and ~20% of the nitrogen signal. An empirical formula, obtained from MCNP re-runs, is used to estimate the signal strength from TNT, buried at 5-25 cm in limestone, for a californium source (252Cf) emitting 2.31 x 107 n/s. It is found that for TNT mass in the range 0.1-3 kg, the signatures are in the range 20-2000 s-1 from nitrogen and 24-2400 s-1 from hydrogen. These estimates can be used to determine the scanning time for an explosives detection system

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of mobile health to improve the uptake of hydroxyurea in patients with sickle cell disease: Mixed methods study

BACKGROUND: Hydroxyurea therapy is effective for reducing complications related to sickle cell disease (SCD) and is recommended by National Health Lung and Blood Institute care guidelines. However, hydroxyurea is underutilized, and adherence is suboptimal. We wanted to test a multilevel mobile health (mHealth) intervention to increase hydroxyurea adherence among patients and improve prescribing among providers in a multicenter clinical trial. In the first 2 study sites, participants were exposed to the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included disruption to their regular SCD care. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of an mHealth behavioral intervention for improving hydroxyurea adherence among patients with SCD. METHODS: The first 2 sites initiated enrollment 3 months prior to the start of the pandemic (November 2019 to March 2020). During implementation, site A clinics shut down for 2 months and site B clinics shut down for 9 months. We used the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the intervention. mHealth implementation was assessed based on patients\u27 daily app use. Adherence to hydroxyurea was calculated as the proportion of days covered (PDC) from prescription records over the first 12 and 24 weeks after implementation. A linear model examined the relationship between app usage and PDC change, adjusting for baseline PDC, lockdown duration, and site. We conducted semistructured interviews with patients, health care providers, administrators, and research staff to identify factors associated with mHealth implementation and effectiveness. We used a mixed methods approach to investigate the convergence of qualitative and quantitative findings. RESULTS: The percentage of patients accessing the app decreased after March 15, 2020 from 86% (n=55) to 70% (n=45). The overall mean PDC increase from baseline to week 12 was 4.5% (P=.32) and to week 24 was 1.5% (P=.70). The mean PDC change was greater at site A (12 weeks: 20.9%; P=.003; 24 weeks: 16.7%; P=.01) than site B (12 weeks: -8.2%; P=.14; 24 weeks: -10.3%; P=.02). After adjustment, PDC change was 13.8% greater in those with increased app use after March 15, 2020. Interview findings indicated that site B\u27s closure during COVID-19 had a greater impact, but almost all patients reported that the InCharge Health app helped support more consistent medication use. CONCLUSIONS: We found significant impacts of the early clinic lockdowns, which reduced implementation of the mHealth intervention and led to reduced patient adherence to hydroxyurea. However, disruptions were lower among participants who experienced shorter clinic lockdowns and were associated with higher hydroxyurea adherence. Investigation of added strategies to mitigate the effects of care interruptions during major emergencies (eg, patient coaching and health navigation) may insulate the implementation of interventions to increase medication adherence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04080167; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04080167. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/16319

Intentional and unintentional nonadherence to hydroxyurea among people with sickle cell disease: A qualitative study

Hydroxyurea is an efficacious treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD), but adoption is low among individuals with SCD. The objective of this study was to examine barriers to patients' adherence to hydroxyurea use regimens by using the intentional and unintentional medication nonadherence framework. We interviewed individuals with SCD age 15 to 49.9 years who were participants in the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC) Needs Assessment. The intentional and unintentional medication nonadherence framework explains barriers to using hydroxyurea and adds granularity to the understanding of medication adherence barriers unique to the SCD population. In total, 90 semi-structured interviews were completed across 5 of the 8 SCDIC sites. Among interviewed participants, 57.8% (n = 52) were currently taking hydroxyurea, 28.9% (n = 26) were former hydroxyurea users at the time of the interview, and 13.3% (n = 12) had never used hydroxyurea but were familiar with the medication. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we discovered important themes that contributed to nonadherence to hydroxyurea, which were categorized under unintentional (eg, Forgetfulness, External Influencers) and intentional (Negative Perceptions of Hydroxyurea, Aversion to Taking Any Medications) nonadherence types. Participants more frequently endorsed adherence barriers that fell into the unintentional nonadherence type (70%) vs intentional nonadherence type (30%). Results from this study will help SCD health care providers understand patient choices and decisions as being either unintentional or intentional, guide tailored clinical discussions regarding hydroxyurea therapy, and develop specific, more nuanced interventions to address nonadherence factors