Are mobile phones of health care workers portals of pathogenic organisms causing hospital acquired infections in intensive care units? A mini systematic review

Background: Health care workers at the bedside of critically ill babies freely carry their mobile phones in between procedures and handling  patients. Concerns are rising as this may contribute to nosocomial infections with pathogenic bacteria. Aim: To determine if mobile phones of health care workers in Intensive care units carry potentially pathogenic bacteria leading to hospital acquired infections. Design: Systematic review.Data sources: Electronic databases (Medline via ovid, CINAHL, Web of science) and hand Searching of references and citations were done to identify studies. Screening and inclusion criteria were used to identify studies with a cross-sectional or cohort design. The search was limited to journal articles published between 2008-2015 and to English language. Quality assessment was done using the National Institute of Health tool for observational studies. Data was extracted on to excel sheets and analysed using SPSS version 22.Results: Six studies with a cohort (1) or cross-sectional design (5) involving 1, 131 health care workers were reviewed. The overall quality of the studies was fair, and a narrative synthesis was done. The colonization rate of the mobile phones ranged between 46.3 % and a 100% with 13-50% carrying potentially pathogenic multidrug resistant microorganisms. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, Vancomycine resistant enterococci, acinobacter and coagulase negative staphylococci were reported across all studies and were recognized as leading causes of morbidity and mortalityin the ICU. Conclusion: Mobile phones Of HCW are portals of potentially pathogenic microorganisms, which could result in morbidity and mortality.Although no causal relationship could be established, strong associations have been reported. Guidelines by hospital infection control committees are needed on restriction, care and routine cleaning of mobile phones as well as further research. Key words: Health care worker, Intensive care unit, Hospital Acquired Infections, mobile phone

Design and Construction of Pilot Scale Process Solvent Extraction Plant for Neem Seed Oil

A pilot Neem oil solvent extraction plant of 9.65kg/day Neem seed kernel capacity was designed and fabricated. Grade 304 stainless steel was used for construction of the extractor, evaporator, condensate receiver and the flat blade turbine impeller. The concept of overall heat transfer coefficient was adopted for calculating the heat transfer areas of the extractor and evaporator and their sizing. The extraction was carried out at 50oC extraction temperature and particle size of 0.425 – 0.710mm at an efficiency level of 81.91%. The percentage yield obtained was 36.86% when flat blade turbine impeller was operated at 84 rpm for 40 minutes contact time. The GCMS result shows the composition of the extracted Neem oil to be oleic acid, 40.41%; stearic acid, 27.65%; palmitic acid, 25.36%; octanal, 3.90%; elaidic acid, 1.23%; lactone, 0.97%; and methyl stearate, 0.48%. This percent composition compares favourably with literature values. The properties of the Neem oil were found to be: specific gravity, 0.9111; pH, 6.5; refractive index, 1.4668; iodine value, 70.21g/g; acid value, 34.33mgKOH/g and Saponification value, 180.95 mgKOH/g

Rejection of divalent ions in commercial tubular membranes: Effect of feed concentration and anion type

Four commercial tubular membranes (AFC80, AFC30, PU608, and ES404) have been investigated in this study for their performance of binary metal ions rejection under different feed conditions. A range of salts (tin chloride, tin sulphate, calcium chloride, calcium sulphate) with divalent cations were chosen to assess the effects of different anions (chloride and sulphate) on performance of the membranes. All membranes were tested by varying the feed concentration (2500, 5000, 10,000 mg L−1) at fixed cross flow velocity of 1.5 LPM and feed pressure 1400 kPa. Observed retention (Robs%) and permeate flux (Jv) were key parameters to evaluate the performance of studied tubular membranes. It was found that increase in concentration adversely affected the both evaluation parameters, i.e., permeate flux and rejection. Nevertheless, nanofiltration type tubular membranes (AFC80 and AFC30) showed higher rejection than their counterparts, i.e., ultrafiltration type tubular membranes (ES404, PU608) for all investigated salts. Maximum observed rejection for all salts was noted for AFC80 for all salts followed by AFC30, ES404 and PU608 tubular membranes. Furthermore, it is reveal that anion types (SO42−, Cl−) of these salts played a vital role in retention of these tubular membranes when the salts with same cations were used as feed solution

Rejection of divalent ions in commercial tubular membranes: Effect of feed concentration and anion type

Four commercial tubular membranes (AFC80, AFC30, PU608, and ES404) have been investigated in this study for their performance of binary metal ions rejection under different feed conditions. A range of salts (tin chloride, tin sulphate, calcium chloride, calcium sulphate) with divalent cations were chosen to assess the effects of different anions (chloride and sulphate) on performance of the membranes. All membranes were tested by varying the feed concentration (2500, 5000, 10,000 mg L−1) at fixed cross flow velocity of 1.5 LPM and feed pressure 1400 kPa. Observed retention (Robs%) and permeate flux (Jv) were key parameters to evaluate the performance of studied tubular membranes. It was found that increase in concentration adversely affected the both evaluation parameters, i.e., permeate flux and rejection. Nevertheless, nanofiltration type tubular membranes (AFC80 and AFC30) showed higher rejection than their counterparts, i.e., ultrafiltration type tubular membranes (ES404, PU608) for all investigated salts. Maximum observed rejection for all salts was noted for AFC80 for all salts followed by AFC30, ES404 and PU608 tubular membranes. Furthermore, it is reveal that anion types (SO42−, Cl−) of these salts played a vital role in retention of these tubular membranes when the salts with same cations were used as feed solution

Cytological screening and Seroincidence of IgM with possible risk factors associated with naturally selected high risk group for Oncogenic Human Papilloma Virus Infection in Daura, Katsina State

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the developing countries and the seventh commonest cancer in the developed countries. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is now known to be the main factor in the aetiology of cervical cancer with over 99.7% of cases being associated with previous high risk HPV infection. The aim of the research is to determine the risk factors and incidence of oncogenic human papilloma virus among women of reproductive age in Daura. This was a cross-sectional prospective study involving a total of 120 women. Questionnaires were administered to collect data such as socio-demographic and possible risk factors. Endocervical swab and serum samples were then collected from the participants. Samples were analyzed by Enzyme Linked immunosorbent Assay and Pap smear respectively. The findings of this research revealed and overall high seroincidence of 36.6% as well as significant difference between seroincidence rate of pregnant and non-pregnant women. The findings also revealed that 10-20 age groups had the higher seroincidence rate of (50.0%) with no statistical significant difference between age groups. None of the sociodermographic factors involved in the research show significant association with HPV infections. The result by type of marriage shows that similar seroincidence rate was obtained in both monogamy and polygamy forms of marriage (36.7%). The study also reveals that risk factors like sexual partners, HIV status and sexual debut are significantly associated with HPV infection (P<0.05). Sixty (60) participants show normal cytole under microscope with prevalence of 50.0% and those with abnormal cytole had prevalence of (16.7%) while lowest prevalence of (3.3%) was obtained from participants with high squamous intraepithelial lesions. These results demonstrate a high seroincidence of HPV infection among women in the study area. We recommend improved education regarding HPV and cervical cancer among the populace and increasing cervical cancer screening particularly to attendees of antenatal care to prevent HPV related morbidity and mortality. Keywords: HPV; Cervical cancer; Endocervical swab; Seroincidenc

Kadar Timbel dalam Darah Siswa Sekolah Dasar di Sekitar Peleburan Aki Bekas di Kabupaten Tangerang dan Lamongan

Logam Timbel (Pb) merupakan salah satu logam berat yang dimanfaatkan secara luas dalam industri aki. Aki timbel yang sudah tidak terpakai masih memiliki nilai ekonomis lewat proses peleburan (smelting), namun logam timbel memiliki efek negatif terhadap kesehatan. Paparan timbel dalam darah (BLL/ Blood Lead Level) khususnya pada anak-anak dapat mengakibatkan penurunan tingkat kecerdasan, masalah kesehatan, bahkan berdampak sosial. Untuk mengetahui tingkat pajanan timbel yang dihasilkan pabrik peleburan aki bekas di Kabupaten Tangerang dan Kabupaten Lamongan, dilakukan pengukuran kadar timbel dalam darah siswa Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI) Baitussa'adah dan SDN Bulu Tengger yang terletak di sekitar pabrik tersebut. Pengukuran konsentrasi timbel dalam darah dilakukan dengan menggunakan Lead Care Portable Analyzer. Telah diperoleh rata-rata konsentrasi timbel dalam darah anak-anak MI Baitussa'adah mencapai 32,0 µg/dL, dengan konsentrasi minimum 15,5 µg/dL, konsentrasi maksimum tidak dapat dipastikan karena melampaui batas maksimum deteksi alat (65 µg/dL). Dari 69 sampel darah anak-anak SDN Bulu Tengger, diketahui rata-rata konsentrasi timbel dalam darah mencapai 11,8 µg/dL, dengan konsentrasi minimum 5 µg/dL, dan konsentrasi maksimum 30,8 µg/dL. Nilai tersebut jauh di atas nilai rujukan WHO tahun 1991 dan The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) tahun 2012. Hal ini menunjukkan pajanan timbel dari pabrik peleburan aki bekas sudah sangat membahayakan dan mengancam kesehatan masyarakat sekitar khususnya anak-anak usia sekolah

A comparative study on the efficacy of artesunate plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine versus artemether-lumefantrine in eastern Sudan

BACKGROUND: A combination of artesunate (AS) plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) as first-line and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) as second-line treatment are currently recommended against uncomplicated P. falciparum infection in Sudan. However, there is limited information on the efficacy of ACTs in the country and only one report of PCR-corrected results for AS/SP only. METHODS: The WHO protocol for the assessment of antimalarial drug efficacy for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria was employed. Artesunate plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (AS/SP) was compared to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in a 28-day follow up. Samples that were classified as early treatment failure (ETF), late treatment failure (LCF) or late parasitological failure (LPF) were genotyped for msp-1 and msp-2 genes to differentiate recrudescence from reinfection. RESULTS: A total of 178 patients were screened and 160 met the enrollment criteria and were recruited to the study of which 157 (98.1%) completed the follow up and had an analysed treatment outcome. On the AS/SP arm, three (0.038%) patients were lost during the follow-up, two on day 1 and one on day 7, and 77 (96.3) completed the study, while all 80 (100%) patients completed the follow up in the AL arm. In the per protocol analysis for AS/SP the treatment outcome for patients who completed the follow-up were as follows: adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR); 84.4% ETF; 1.3%, LCF; 3.9%, (LPF); 10.4%. For the AL arm the out come was as follows, ACPR; 90%, ETF; 0%, LCF; 6.3% and LPF; 3.8%. However, when PCR-corrected, 6.5% (5/77) of patients treated with AS/SP maintained parasites from their primary infection, while (7/80) in the AL group maintained their initial parasite genotype. Therefore, PCR-corrected efficacy was 93.5% in the AS/SP treated group and for AL it was 91.3%. CONCLUSION: Both AS/SP and AL are highly effective for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in eastern Sudan. However, AS/SP appears to have a slightly higher efficacy than AL, this may be due to patient compliance with the repeated dose rather than drug efficacy

Komposisi Jenis Dan Cadangan Karbon Di Hutan Tropis Dataran Rendah, Ulu Gadut, Sumatera Barat [Species Composition and Carbon Stock in Tropical Lowland Forest, Ulu Gadut, West Sumatra]

Tropical lowland forest is one type of forest ecosystem that dominated most of Sumatra areal and retained carbon terrestrial within.Tropical lowland forest has the highest risk of damage than other forest types. The aimed of study is to determine species composition and carbon stock in tropical lowland forest, Ulu Gadut, West Sumatra. This study was conducted on June to October 2012 at 1 ha Pinang-Pinang permanent plot. Tree biomass was measured by using the non destructive sampling method. All trees with stem diameter at breast height (dbh) = 8 cm were measured diameter and were recorded the species of trees.As much as 852 individuals of trees, which were consisting of 45 families and 155 species with DBH = 8 cm were found in Pinang-Pinang permanent plot. Nephelium juglandifolium Blume, Swintonia schwenckii (T. & B.) Kurz,Syzygium sp.,Microcos florida (Miq.) Burret, Palaquium sp.,Cleistanthus glandulosus Jabl., Hopea dryobalanoides Miq., Mastixia trichotoma Blume, Calophyllum soulattri Burm. f. and Shorea maxiwelliana King were dominant based on -1 -1 Importance Value Index(IVI). Trees biomass and carbon stock in the study site are around 482.75 ton ha and 241.38 ton C ha respectively

Confronting the US's Highly Uneven State-by-State Distribution of Diagnostic Radiology Residency Positions

The state-by-state distribution of diagnostic radiology residency positions is important for several reasons. The location in which residents train is positively correlated with their eventual practice location, and states with relatively few residents may have greater difficulty meeting needs for radiology services ( 1 ). The presence of residents can also enrich the educational experiences of other learners such as medical students, but this is less likely to happen when residents are in short supply ( 2 ). Finally, because residency training programs can promote a culture of inquiry, a dearth of residents may undermine intellectual engagement within a professional community ( 3 )