Analysis of Metal Content of Samples of Gloriosa Superba L (Colchicaceae) Collected from Two Different Locations in Pakistan

Purpose: To determine the metallic content of different parts of Gloriosa superba collected from two different locations in Pakistan, and also to assess their nutritious values and toxic levels.Methods: The plant material and soil were collected from two different locations - polluted and unpolluted. Wet digestion method was used for the preparation of samples (whole plant and soil) followed by analysis using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (for micronutrients) and flame photometry (for macronutrients).Results: Of the detected micronutrients, high concentrations of Zn, Fe and Mn were noted for samples collected from both areas. These values were within permissible limits. Samples collected from the polluted area contained Cu (7.5 – 13.0 ppm), Cr (1.4 − 1.9 ppm) and Ni (0.3 − 2.0 ppm), all of which exceeded acceptable limits; the same nutrients were mostly within acceptable limits for samples collected from the unpolluted area. Significant presence of macronutrients - Ca, Na and K - were observed in samples obtained from both areas.Conclusion: Proper validation of medicinal plants used for therapeutic purposes should be mandatory on safety grounds to protect consumers from contaminants.Keywords: Gloriosa superba, Micronutrients, Macronutrients, Toxicity, Metal ions, Medicinal plant

Hospital-based preventative interventions for people experiencing homelessness in high-income countries: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: People experiencing homelessness have significant unmet needs and high rates of unplanned care. We aimed to describe preventative interventions, defined in their broadest sense, for people experiencing homelessness in a hospital context. Secondary aims included mapping outcomes and assessing intervention effectiveness. METHODS: We searched online databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, HMIC, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library) from 1999–2019 and conducted backward and forward citation searches to 31 December 2020 (PROSPERO CRD42019154036). We included quantitative studies in emergency and inpatient settings measuring health or social outcomes for adults experiencing homelessness in high income countries. We assessed rigour using the “Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies” and summarised findings using descriptive quantitative methods, a binomial test, a Harvest Plot, and narrative synthesis. We used PRISMA and SWiM reporting guidelines. FINDINGS: Twenty-eight studies identified eight intervention types: care coordination (n=18); advocacy, support, and outreach (n=13); social welfare assistance (n=13); discharge planning (n=12); homelessness identification (n=6); psychological therapy and treatment (n=6); infectious disease prevention (n=5); and screening, treatment, and referrals (n=5). The evidence strength was weak (n=16) to moderate (n=10), with two high quality randomised controlled trials. We identified six outcome categories with potential benefits observed for psychosocial outcomes, including housing (11/13 studies, 95%CI=54.6–98.1%, p=0.023), healthcare use (14/17, 56.6–96.2%, p=0.013), and healthcare costs (8/8, 63.1–100%, p=0.008). Benefits were less likely for health outcomes (4/5, 28.3–99.5%, p=0.375), integration with onward care (2/4, 6.8–93.2%, p=1.000), and feasibility/acceptability (5/6, 35.9–99.6%, p=0.219), but confidence intervals were very wide. We observed no harms. Most studies showing potential benefits were multi-component interventions. INTERPRETATION: Hospital-based preventative interventions for people experiencing homelessness are potentially beneficial, but more rigorous research is needed. In the context of high needs and extreme inequities, policymakers and healthcare providers may consider implementing multi-component preventative interventions. FUNDING: SL is supported by an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship (ICA-CDRF-2016-02-042). JD is supported by an NIHR School of Public Health Research Pre-doctoral Fellowship (NU-004252). RWA is supported by a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship (206602)

A Deep Learning-Based Privacy-Preserving Model for Smart Healthcare in Internet of Medical Things Using Fog Computing

With the emergence of COVID-19, smart healthcare, the Internet of Medical Things, and big data-driven medical applications have become even more important. The biomedical data produced is highly confidential and private. Unfortunately, conventional health systems cannot support such a colossal amount of biomedical data. Hence, data is typically stored and shared through the cloud. The shared data is then used for different purposes, such as research and discovery of unprecedented facts. Typically, biomedical data appear in textual form (e.g., test reports, prescriptions, and diagnosis). Unfortunately, such data is prone to several security threats and attacks, for example, privacy and confidentiality breach. Although significant progress has been made on securing biomedical data, most existing approaches yield long delays and cannot accommodate real-time responses. This paper proposes a novel fog-enabled privacy-preserving model called [Formula: see text] sanitizer, which uses deep learning to improve the healthcare system. The proposed model is based on a Convolutional Neural Network with Bidirectional-LSTM and effectively performs Medical Entity Recognition. The experimental results show that [Formula: see text] sanitizer outperforms the state-of-the-art models with 91.14% recall, 92.63% in precision, and 92% F1-score. The sanitization model shows 28.77% improved utility preservation as compared to the state-of-the-art

Iron Deficiency Anaemia In Reproductive Age Women Attending Obstetrics And Gynecology Outpatient Of University Health Centre In Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

Background: Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. The aim of this questionnaire based survey study was to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in reproductive age women, and their relation to variables such as age, marital status, education with those attending obstetrics and gynecology outpatient of King Faisal University Health Centre in Al-Ahsa in eastern region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted for the period of 6 month staring from September 2012 to February 2013. The questionnaire had three sections on personal information: their educational indicators, gynecological clinical history, and hematological indices.Results: The average age was 25.97±7.17 years. According to the  gynecological clinical history of the respondents, 15 (48.4%) respondents were pregnant while 16 (51.6%) were not pregnant. There was significant effect of pregnancy status on Hb level. Majority of the anemic respondents 15/17 were married. Moreover 14/17 anemic women were experiencing severe menstrual bleeding, 11/17 respondents were pregnant. 54.8% of respondents were hemoglobin deficient while 77.4% were found to have low Hct. In 87.1 % of the respondents, transferrin saturation was found to be abnormal.Conclusion: In this study iron deficiency anemia is quite prevalent in the university community especially among pregnant women. The fetus’s and newborn infant’s iron status depends on the iron status of the pregnant woman and therefore, iron deficiency in the mother-to-be means that growing fetus probably will be iron deficient as well. Thus iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy in well-educated set up needs more attention by the concerned authorities.Keywords: Iron deficiency Anemia (IDA), Hemoglobin, Female, Reproductive Age

White light induced covalent modification of graphene using phenazine dye

Herein, we report a novel strategy for a covalent modification of graphene nanoplatelets with photoactive dyes. Functionalization of the graphene surface was carried out using white light to photochemically generate phenazine radicals and the reaction progress was followed up spectrophotometrically. Characterization of the modified material was carried out by FTIR, XRD, UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy and SEM imaging. This hybrid material has improved solubility, shows an optical band gap of 1.95 eV and is highly emissive in the visible wavelength region

A freely accessible, evidence based, objective system of analysis of posterior capsular opacification ; Evidence for its validity and reliability

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to develop a system of computerised analysis of digital images of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) that is evidence based, objective and freely available. The paper will present evidence for the reliability and validity of the developed system. METHODS: The system of PCO analysis was developed considering current published evidence on visual significance of PCO and additional investigative analysis of PCO images. Details of the image processing and analysis steps are discussed and a final system that measures an entropy score weighted toward proximity to central areas is described. In order to assess validity, the systems ability to measure PCO progression is assessed along with the visual significance of its final computerised scores. Reliability of the system is also assessed. RESULTS: The final system runs successfully and is simple to use. Analyses of PCO by the system show an ability to detect early progression of PCO as well as detection of visually significant PCO. Images with no clinical PCO produce very low scores in the analysis. Reliability of the system of analysis is shown to be satisfactory. CONCLUSION: This paper presents a system of PCO analysis that is evidence based, objective and clinically useful. Substantial evidence is provided for its validity and reliability

OSCA: a comprehensive open-access system of analysis of posterior capsular opacification

BACKGROUND: This paper presents and tests a comprehensive computerised system of analysis of digital images of posterior capsule opacification (PCO). It updates and expands significantly on a previous presentation to include facilities for selecting user defined central areas and for registering and subsequent merging of images for artefact removal. Also, the program is compiled and thus eliminates the need for specialised additional software. The system is referred to in this paper as the open-access systematic capsule assessment (OSCA). The system is designed to be evidence based, objective and openly available, improving on current systems of analysis. METHODS: Principal features of the OSCA system of analysis are discussed. Flash artefacts are automatically located in two PCO images and the images merged to produce a composite free from these artefacts. For this to be possible the second image has to be manipulated with a registration technique to bring it into alignment with the first. Further image processing and analysis steps use a location-sensitive entropy based texture analysis of PCO. Validity of measuring PCO progression of the whole new system is assessed along with visual significance of scores. Reliability of the system is assessed. RESULTS: Analysis of PCO by the system shows ability to detect early progression of PCO, as well as detection of more visually significant PCO. Images with no clinical PCO produce very low scores in the analysis. Reliability of the system of analysis is demonstrated. CONCLUSION: This system of PCO analysis is evidence-based, objective and clinically useful. It incorporates flash detection and removal as well as location sensitive texture analysis. It provides features and benefits not previously available to most researchers or clinicians. Substantial evidence is provided for this system's validity and reliability

Landmine injuries at the Emergency Management Center in Erbil, Iraq

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Landmines can cause death, injury and disability in addition to many indirect public health consequences. This study aimed at understanding the trends, demography and other epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized landmine injured patients in Erbil governorate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The case records of landmine injured patients who had been admitted to the Emergency Management Centre in Erbil city from July 1998 to July 2007 were reviewed and descriptively analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred eighty five landmine injured patients were admitted to the center, their mean ± SD age was 26.5 ± 13.2 years (range 6-71 years), 95.1% were males, nearly 50% were between 19 to 35 years of age and 96.8% were civilians. Around 72% of victims sustained limb amputations; 58.6% lower limb and 13.3% upper limb out of the total. The hospital mortality rate was 2.1%. The number of admissions for landmine injury was steadily decreasing between July 1998 and July 2001, followed by prominent increase between July 2002 and July 2003. The highest proportion of admissions occurred in summer (35.4%) and majority of incidents occurred along the borders with Iran and Turkey (61.8%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Civilian male adolescents and young adults constituted the majority of hospitalized landmine victims in Erbil governorate. While a high proportion of victims sustained lower limb amputations, upper limb amputations particularly among children and injury to head and face were relatively common which might be attributed to handling explosives. This emphasizes the need to examine the reasons behind handling explosives.</p

Association of Blood Lead (Pb) and Plasma Homocysteine: A Cross Sectional Survey in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: High blood lead (Pb) and hyperhomocysteinemia have been found to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mean blood Pb and mean plasma homocysteine levels have been reported to be high in Pakistani population. The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship of blood Pb to the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia in a low income urban population of Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology/Principal Findings: In a cross sectional survey, 872 healthy adults (355 males, 517 females, age 18-60 years) were recruited from a low income urban population of Karachi. Fasting venous blood was obtained and assessed for blood Pb and plasma/serum homocysteine, folate, pyridoxal phosphate (PLP, a coenzymic form of vitamin B6) and vitamin B12. The study population had median (IQR) blood Pb of 10.82 microg/dL (8.29-13.60). Prevalence of high blood Pb (levels\u3e10 microg/dL) was higher in males compared to females (62.5% males vs 56% females, p value=0.05). Mean+/-SD/median (IQR) value of plasma homocysteine was significantly higher in the highest quartile of blood Pb compared to the lowest quartile 16.13+/-11.2 micromol/L vs 13.28+/-9.7micromol/L/13.15 (10.33-17.81) micromol/L vs 11.09 (8.65 14.31) micromol/L (p valu