A Killing Disease Epidemic Among Displaced Sudanese Population Identified as Visceral Leishmaniasis.

A fatal disease epidemic affected the Bentiu area in southern Sudan and led to a mass migration of the Nuer tribe searching for treatment. The initially available information revealed a high mortality rate due to a possible occurrence of tuberculosis, malaria, enteric fever or visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Serological screening of 53 of the most severely affected patients in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or an improved direct agglutination test (DAT) revealed positivity for VL. In 39 of those patients, diagnosis was confirmed by identification of Leishmania donovani amastigotes in lymph node or bone-marrow aspirates. In a total of 2714 patients observed, 1195 (44.0%) had clinical symptoms suggesting VL: DAT positive titers (1:3200-greater than or equal to 1:12800) were obtained in 654 (24.1%), of whom 325 were confirmed parasitologically. Forty-two VL cases died before or during treatment, giving a mortality rate of 6.4%. Among the intercurrent infections diagnosed in the VL population (654), respiratory involvements (31.7%) and malaria (10.7%) were most prevalent. With the exception of four (0.6%), all other VL patients (509) responded readily to sodium stibogluconate. The factors initiating the outbreak are discussed. Malnutrition and nomadic movements to potential VL endemic areas appeared to be the most important. HIV infection as a possible predisposition seemed remote considering the clinical and epidemiological similarity to VL occurring in East Africa, adequate humoral response in DAT, and immediate positive response to specific anti-Leishmania chemotherapy

Study the effect of acid immersion on the hardness of (Epoxy – Granite) composite

This work has been done with using of epoxy resin mixed with Granite powder were weighted by percent volume (5,10,15, and 20)%and then mixed with epoxy polymer to compose polymer composite. Hand lay-up technique is used in fabrication of the composite samples. Hardness test was carried out for the proper samples in both normal condition and after immersion in HCL (1 M and 2 M) solutions for periods ranging up to 10 weeks. After comparing the results between the polymer and their composite, the hardness increased with increasing Granite weight percent, it was found that Hardness were greater for the composites before immersion compared with their values after immersion

Rectification of Sabah Stilt House Using Shear Wall Subjected to Earthquake

A moderate earthquake with 6.0-magnitude hit Sabah in 2015 especially in Ranau, Sabah has been labelled as one of the most powerful earthquakes ever in Malaysia. Numerous buildings in Sabah have become defective with the severity level of damages as absolute (non-repairable) in the RC beam-column joints and soft-storey structures. Seismic design and construction requirements were not considered in most buildings in Sabah. Hence, this research is to investigate how to mitigate the effect of earthquake on the low-rise building using a more practical and economical method. A stilt house model is developed using ABAQUS software to determine the behaviour of the stilt, low-rise building subjected to earthquake by constructing shear wall at the short columns support. There are 4 models constructed namely, frame model without shear wall (W1), with shear wall of 100mm (W2), 300mm (W3) and 500mm (W4). The results of seismic response are evaluated and compared. Different length of shear wall affects the displacement and stress of the frame model. As shear wall length increases, the displacement, stress at columns and stress at walls decreases. Thus, adding a shear wall can be used to retrofit stilt houses and a credible way to mitigate damage due to earthquake load for new houses along hill slope

Rectification of Sabah Stilt House Using Shear Wall Subjected to Earthquake

A moderate earthquake with 6.0-magnitude hit Sabah in 2015 especially in Ranau, Sabah has been labelled as one of the most powerful earthquakes ever in Malaysia. Numerous buildings in Sabah have become defective with the severity level of damages as absolute (non-repairable) in the RC beam-column joints and soft-storey structures. Seismic design and construction requirements were not considered in most buildings in Sabah. Hence, this research is to investigate how to mitigate the effect of earthquake on the low-rise building using a more practical and economical method. A stilt house model is developed using ABAQUS software to determine the behaviour of the stilt, low-rise building subjected to earthquake by constructing shear wall at the short columns support. There are 4 models constructed namely, frame model without shear wall (W1), with shear wall of 100mm (W2), 300mm (W3) and 500mm (W4). The results of seismic response are evaluated and compared. Different length of shear wall affects the displacement and stress of the frame model. As shear wall length increases, the displacement, stress at columns and stress at walls decreases. Thus, adding a shear wall can be used to retrofit stilt houses and a credible way to mitigate damage due to earthquake load for new houses along hill slope

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy in Africa

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), known also as laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS), is a well-known spectrochemical elemental analysis technique. The field of LIBS has been rapidly matured as a consequence of growing interest in real-time analysis across a broad spectrum of applied sciences and recent development of commercial LIBS analytical systems. In this brief review, we introduce the contributions of the research groups in the African continent in the field of the fundamentals and applications of LIBS. As it will be shown, the fast development of LIBS in Africa during the last decade was mainly due to the broad environmental, industrial, archaeological, and biomedical applications of this technique

Huge biloma after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy

AbstractBackgroundBiliary leak can occur as a complication of biliary surgery, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography manipulations and endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy. Consequently, bile may collect in the abdominal cavity, a condition called biloma. Rarely, it may reach a massive size.Case presentationA 72-year-old man presented with gastric upset with gradual abdominal distension reaching a large size due to intra-abdominal bile collection (biloma) after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography plus endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy and stenting for post laparoscopic cholecystectomy common bile duct stricture. This huge biloma was treated by percutaneous insertion of a tube drain for a few days, evacuating the collection successfully without recurrence.DiscussionThis patient might sustain injury to the common bile duct either by the guide wire or stent, or the injury occurred at the angle between the common bile duct and duodenum during sphincterotomy of the ampulla. Although any of these rents may lead to a bile leak, causing a huge biloma, they could be successfully treated by percutaneous drainage.Conclusions(1) Following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, a patient’s complaints should not be ignored. (2) A massive biloma can occur due to such procedures. (3) Conservative treatment with minimal invasive technique can prove to be effective

Classification of sedimentary and igneous rocks by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy and nanoparticle-enhanced laser induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis and graph theory

In this work, results are presented on the application of standard LIBS and Nanoparticle-Enhanced LIBS (NELIBS) to the classification of rocks (igneous and sedimentary). The classification of the spectra obtained with the two methods was performed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Graph Theory method. The results obtained confirmed the advantages of the LIBS technique in geological applications, showing that excellent classification of the rocks analyzed (more than 99% of the spectra correctly classified) can be obtained using standard LIBS coupled to Graph Theory analysis, while NELIBS spectra, analyzed with the same technique, provide acceptable results, but with 10% of the spectra not classified. These findings are particularly interesting given the application of the LIBS technique in investigating natural samples having porous and/or rough surfaces

Insulin promotes vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and apoptosis via differential regulation of tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand

Background: Insulin regulates glucose homeostasis but can also promote vascular smooth muscle (VSMC) proliferation, important in atherogenesis. Recently, we showed that tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) stimulates intimal thickening via accelerated growth of VSMCs. The aim of the present study was to determine whether insulin‐induced effects on VSMCs occur via TRAIL. Methods: Expression of TRAIL and TRAIL receptor in response to insulin and glucose was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Transcriptional activity was assessed using wild‐type and site‐specific mutations of the TRAIL promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation studies were performed. VSMC proliferation and apoptosis was measured. Results: Insulin and glucose exposure to VSMC for 24 h stimulated TRAIL mRNA expression. This was also evident at the transcriptional level. Both insulin‐ and glucose‐inducible TRAIL transcriptional activity was blocked by dominant‐negative specificity protein‐1 (Sp1) overexpression. There are five functional Sp1‐binding elements (Sp1‐1, Sp1‐2, Sp‐5/6 and Sp1‐7) on the TRAIL promoter. Insulin required the Sp1‐1 and Sp1‐2 sites, but glucose needed all Sp1‐binding sites to induce transcription. Furthermore, insulin (but not glucose) was able to promote VSMC proliferation over time, associated with increased decoy receptor‐2 (DcR2) expression. In contrast, chronic 5‐day exposure of VSMC to 1 µg/mL insulin repressed TRAIL and DcR2 expression, and reduced Sp1 enrichment on the TRAIL promoter. This was associated with increased cell death. Conclusions: The findings of the present study provide a new mechanistic insight into how TRAIL is regulated by insulin. This may have significant implications at different stages of diabetes‐associated cardiovascular disease. Thus, TRAIL may offer a novel therapeutic solution to combat insulin‐induced vascular pathologies

3D Numerical modelling on the thermal performance of reinforced concrete encased wide-flanged steel column

This paper presents the development and verification of a three-dimensional (3D) numerical modelling to predict the thermal performance of reinforced concrete encased wideflanged steel (RCEWFS) column. The numerical model was developed using finite element software, ABAQUS. Then, the verified model was used to determine the suitable value for heat transfer conductance, time step and mesh size that provide the most reliable prediction against the experimental results. The parametric studies were also conducted to study the effect of rising time of fire exposure, section size, and flange width of I-section on the thermal performance of the RCEWFS column. From this study, it can be concluded that the predictions by the 3D numerical model are reliable and accurate. The study on the contour of the model shows that the thermal behaviour of concrete is non-linear

Rectification of Sabah stilt house using shear wall subjected to earthquake

A moderate earthquake with 6.0-magnitude hit Sabah in 2015 especially in Ranau, Sabah has been labelled as one of the most powerful earthquakes ever in Malaysia. Numerous buildings in Sabah have become defective with the severity level of damages as absolute (non-repairable) in the RC beam-column joints and softstorey structures. Seismic design and construction requirements were not considered in most buildings in Sabah. Hence, this research is to investigate how to mitigate the effect of earthquake on the low-rise building using a more practical and economical method. A stilt house model is developed using ABAQUS software to determine the behaviour of the stilt, low-rise building subjected to earthquake by constructing shear wall at the short columns support. There are 4 models constructed namely, frame model without shear wall (W1), with shear wall of 100mm (W2), 300mm (W3) and 500mm (W4). The results of seismic response are evaluated and compared. Different length of shear wall affects the displacement and stress of the frame model. As shear wall length increases, the displacement, stress at columns and stress at walls decreases. Thus, adding a shear wall can be used to retrofit stilt houses and a credible way to mitigate damage due to earthquake load for new houses along hill slopes