Anemia and associated factors among Kuwaiti preschool children and their mothers

Background: Anemia is a major nutritional health problem throughout the world.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and the factors associated with anemia among Kuwaiti children aged 4–5 years.Design: A sample of 578 Kuwaiti preschool children (4–5 years of age) and their mothers were selected from ongoing Kuwait Nutrition Surveillance System from September 2003 to June 2004. Mothers participated in an interview where demographic; health and nutrition information was collected. Anthropometrical data and blood sample were also collected for children and mothers; anemia was defined as hemoglobin <11 g/dl for children and <12 g/dl for mothers.Results: The risk of having anemia was 1.8 times more in children aged 5 years than in children aged 4 years; a moderately/severely stunted child was 2.3 times prone to be anemic than a normal child; a moderately/severely overweight child was less likely to be anemic; a child who was breastfed for less than one month was 2.8 times more at risk of being anemic than a child who was breastfed for more than 6 months; a child who was given cereals as a weaning food was 3.5 times of becoming anemic than a child given meat and egg as a weaning food. Children of mothers whose age was <30 years, and children of anemic mothers were more likely to become anemic.Conclusions: Anemia remains a common health problem for Kuwaiti preschool children and further studies are needed to focus on etiologies and interventions

On supra R-open sets and some applications on topological spaces

In the present paper a new class of generalized supra open sets called supra R-open set is introduced. The relationships between some generalized supra open sets and this class are investigated and illustrated with enough examples. Also, new types of supra continuous maps, supra open maps, supra closed maps, and supra homeomorphism maps are studied depending on the concept of supra R-open sets. Finally, new separation axioms are dened and their several properties are studied

Awareness, practices and perceptions of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship in Libya: a cross-sectional study

Background: Community pharmacists play a vital role in promoting appropriate use of antibiotics in the community. This study evaluated the practices and perceptions of community pharmacists towards antibiotic use, antibiotic resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship in Libya. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Libya using a 47-item validated, pre-tested online questionnaire. Data was collected from December 2021 to February 2022 and was analysed using descriptive and inferential analyses. Results: Of the 114 questionnaires included in the analysis, 54.4% were females, 78.1% had < 10 year working experience (78.1%), and 81.6% had a Bachelor of Pharmacy. Most (78.1%) strongly agreed/agreed that community pharmacists have an important role to play to reduce antibiotic resistance. Overall, the participants had a moderate perception towards antimicrobial resistance (median score: 21.5; IQR [16-28] out of 35.0). More than 40% supply antibiotics when patients requested them specifically, because if they do not supply them, patients will just go to another pharmacy. About 47% strongly agreed/agreed that if a patient cannot afford a full course of antibiotics all in one go, they will give them a smaller amount that they are able to afford at that time, even when a longer duration of treatment is required. Most (66.7%) had no previous involvement in antibiotics awareness campaign due to 'I have never heard about the campaign' (48.7%) and 'I do not have enough time to participate' (22.4%). Overall, the perception towards antimicrobial stewardship was good (20 [13-25] out of 25.0). Raising awareness of rational antibiotic use, including antimicrobial resistance, among pharmacy students (83.4%) and patient education by pharmacists in community pharmacies at the time medicines are supplied to patients (81.6%) were the most common strategies to improve rational use of antibiotics in community pharmacy. Conclusions: Community pharmacists in Libya recognise their role in reducing antimicrobial resistance. They had a moderate perception towards antimicrobial resistance and a good perception towards antimicrobial stewardship. However, inappropriate antibiotic practices were common. The most common strategies to improve rational use of antibiotics in community pharmacy were raising awareness about the rational antibiotic use among pharmacy students and patient education by community pharmacists at the time antibiotics are dispensed to patients. Regulations are needed to restrict dispensing antibiotics without prescription among community pharmacists. 2023, The Author(s).Scopu

Identification of iron-manganese oxidising bacteria from urban wetland water in Kigali, Rwanda

This work was supported by SIDA grant to University of Rwanda, 2016

UPPER CRETACEOUS PEAY BENTONITES (NORTH-CENTRAL WYOMING): PROVENANCE AND TECTONICS INTERPRETATION FROM ASH COMPOSITION

The Peay bentonites belong to the basal Frontier Formation (Bighorn Basin, north-central Wyoming), primarily outcrop in the Bighorn Basin, rest on an extensively bioturbated sandstone unit, the Peay Sandstone, and are generally the thinner bentonitic unit. Beds of very light gray to greenish gray bentonite are also abundant in the lower Frontier units between Kaycee and Mayoworth (Powder River Basin) and are very rarely as much as 3 m thick. Bentonite occurs within the interstratified shale, sandstone, and siltstone sequences of the lower Frontier unit throughout much of the southwestern Powder River Basin. The purpose of this study is to use field, geochemical, petrological, and zircon morphology data to establish a chemical fingerprint of the original ash composition and to provide a tectonic and provenance interpretation. Peay units show distinct mineralogy consisting of quartz, kaolinite, illite, smectite, mixed-layer clays, K-feldspar, plagioclase, chlorite, calcite, and dolomite. Fairly uniform concentrations of SiO2, Na2O, CaO, MgO, Al2O3, Zr, Ti, Nb, and Ni have been noted in the Peay bentonites, such consistent concentrations of these elements in Peay bentonite samples imply that they have not been strongly modified by secondary processes. Peay bentonite samples show a consistent geochemical trend towards the alkali basalt field. On the basis of the similarity in gross stratigraphic development, feldspar compositions and trace element geochemistry, the source for the Peay bentonites is most likely located in the same general area. This is further supported by the presence of Ti-rich augite and the distinctive zircon morphology. The uniformity of composition and similarity in stratigraphic development of Peay bentonites over the region studied argues strongly against the contemporaneous involvement of several extrabasinal volcanoes. Evidence for active Cretaceous volcanism in the Idaho and in south-central Montana has been documented by Gill and Cobban, 1973. The Peay bentonites broadly correlate to the emplacement of batholiths in this region. Igneous rocks in northern Idaho and north-central Montana have yielded isotopic dates similar to those of the Peay bentonites (ca 90 Ma; Obradovich, 1993; Obradovich and Cobban 1975)

A comparative analysis reveals weak relationships between ecological factors and beta diversity of stream insect metacommunities at two spatial levels

published_or_final_versio

Safety of two-dose COVID-19 vaccination (BNT162b2 and CoronaVac) in adults with cancer: a territory-wide cohort study

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization has defined a list of adverse events of special interest (AESI) for safety surveillance of vaccines. AESI have not been adequately assessed following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cancer contributing to vaccine hesitancy in this population. We aimed to evaluate the association between BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccines and the risk of AESI in adults with active cancer or a history of cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a territory-wide cohort study using electronic health records managed by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and vaccination records provided by the Department of Health. Patients with a cancer diagnosis between January 1, 2018, and September 30, 2021, were included and stratified into two cohorts: active cancer and history of cancer. Within each cohort, patients who received two doses of BNT162b2 or CoronaVac were 1:1 matched to unvaccinated patients using the propensity score. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for AESI 28 days after the second vaccine dose. RESULTS: A total of 74,878 patients with cancer were included (vaccinated: 25,789 [34%]; unvaccinated: 49,089 [66%]). Among patients with active cancer, the incidence of AESI was 0.31 and 1.02 per 10,000 person-days with BNT162b2 versus unvaccinated patients and 0.13 and 0.88 per 10,000 person-days with CoronaVac versus unvaccinated patients. Among patients with history of cancer, the incidence was 0.55 and 0.89 per 10,000 person-days with BNT162b2 versus unvaccinated patients and 0.42 and 0.93 per 10,000 person-days with CoronaVac versus unvaccinated patients. Neither vaccine was associated with a higher risk of AESI for patients with active cancer (BNT162b2: HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.08-1.09; CoronaVac: 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-1.18) or patients with history of cancer (BNT162b2: 0.62, 95% CI 0.30-1.28; CoronaVac: 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: In this territory-wide cohort study of patients with cancer, the incidence of AESI following vaccination with two doses of either BNT162b2 or CoronaVac vaccines was low. The findings of this study can reassure clinicians and patients with cancer about the overall safety of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac in patients with cancer, which could increase the COVID-19 vaccination rate in this vulnerable group of patients

VAST: An ASKAP Survey for Variables and Slow Transients

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST will exploit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar scintillation, radio supernovae and orphan afterglows of gamma ray bursts. In addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of five seconds and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. Submitted for publication in Pub. Astron. Soc. Australi