CONSERVATION OF THE MURAL PAINTINGS OF THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH DOM E OF SAINT GEORGE, OLD CAIRO-EGYPT

The church of Mary Girgis (Saint George) was built by Athanasius "who also founded the Church of Saints Cyrus and John". The Church was destroyed, and all the rest of the original edifice is a room which covered by huge dome known as the Wedding Hall, dating to the 14th century. The huge dome of the wedding Hall contains several mural paintings represented Coptic arts. The dome mural paintings was darkened and severely damaged as significant detachments of the painted layer and the underneath support lost their cohesion and separated into many pieces, delamination and flaking of the ceiling painting. The most important causes for the monument state of degradation were the environmental condition such as the effects of the groundwater, the presence of salts, the humidity (active in all its forms as infiltration, capillarity and condensation) and the improper previous interventions at the structural level (fillings in the cracks with gypsum mortars). The aim of this study is to characterize the components of the pictorial surface which consists of pigments, the binding media, the plaster layer and its support and introduce the conservation project of the mural painting which was carried out at the dome "between" 2004-20013. Prior to the conservation intervention, the materials were characterized by optical microscopy, polarizing microscope, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. The chemical analyses have determined the nature and composition of the materials used in the painting process (mortars, pigments, binders), have identified the causes of physical and chemical altering processes of pigment layers and provided knowledge on the execution technique. The interior painting was executed according to the Byzantine technique, on a fresco plaster (intonaco) consisting of lime mortar, pigments were obtained by mixing pigments with water. After the material characterization, the conservation and restoration of the mural painting, which including cleaning, injection grouting, fixation of the paint layer, filling of the support gaps with mortar, consolidation, restoration and completion of lost parts, were carried out

Сравнение показателей соотношений тромбоциты / лимфоциты и нейтрофилы / лимфоциты в качестве предикторов исхода COVID-19

Clinical presentation is an undependable prognostic indicator of COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019). So, a more objective predictor is needed to precisely evaluate and classify the prognosis. Immune dysregulation to lymphocytes, mainly T-lymphocytes, have been noticed between COVID-19 patients. The aim. This study was planned to determine the role of platelet-to-lymphocyte count ratio and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in assessment of COVID-19 prognosis. Methods. 70 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 were included in this study. All included patients underwent a consistent clinical, radiological and blood examination. Laboratory analysis was made by means of a commercially accessible kit. Blood cells ratios were computed by dividing their absolute counts. Results. Non-significant association was found between laboratory data and COVID-19 clinical severity. A significant association between CT classification and platelet-to-lymphocyte count ratio (higher value in L type; p = 0.001) was detected. Platelet-to-lymphocyte count ratio was significantly higher among intubated cases. However, Non-significant association was found between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and need of endotracheal intubation. Conclusion. Routine blood values are abnormal in patients with COVID-19. Platelet-to-lymphocyte count ratio ratios could be used as more meaningful biomarker than other values in predicting the prognosis of COVID-19. LMR helpful in COVID-19 severity.Клиническая картина является ненадежным показателем прогноза исхода новой коронавирусной инфекции (НКИ), поэтому для точной оценки и классификации прогноза необходим более объективный прогнозирующий фактор. У пациентов, перенесших НКИ, отмечается нарушение регуляции иммунного ответа со стороны лимфоцитов, в основном Т-лимфоцитов. Целью исследования явилось определение роли показателей соотношений тромбоциты / лимфоциты и нейтрофилы / лимфоциты при оценке прогноза COVID-19. Материалы и методы. В исследование были включены госпитализированные пациенты (n = 70) с подтвержденным COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019). У всех пациентов проводились последовательное клиническое и рентгенологическое обследование и анализ крови. Лабораторные анализы выполнялись с помощью коммерческого набора. Соотношения показателей клеток крови рассчитывались путем деления их абсолютного количества. Результаты. Обнаружена незначимая связь между лабораторными показателями и степенью тяжести COVID-19. Выявлена значимая связь между степенью поражения легких по данным компьютерной томографии и показателем соотношения тромбоциты / лимфоциты (более высокое значение для L-типа; p = 0,001). У интубированных пациентов соотношение показателя тромбоциты / лимфоциты было значимо выше. Однако обнаружена незначимая связь между показателем соотношения нейтрофилы / лимфоциты и необходимостью интубации трахеи. Заключение. У пациентов с COVID-19 наблюдаются отклонения показателей рутинных анализов крови. Показатель соотношения тромбоциты / лимфоциты может служить биомаркером при прогнозировании течения COVID-19, а показатель соотношения лимфоциты / моноциты полезен при прогнозировании степени тяжести COVID-19

Measuring client satisfaction and the quality of family planning services: A comparative analysis of public and private health facilities in Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana

Public and private family planning providers face different incentive structures, which may affect overall quality and ultimately the acceptability of family planning for their intended clients. This analysis seeks to quantify differences in the quality of family planning (FP) services at public and private providers in three representative sub-Saharan African countries (Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana), to assess how these quality differentials impact upon FP clients' satisfaction, and to suggest how quality improvements can improve contraceptive continuation rates.\ud Indices of technical, structural and process measures of quality are constructed from Service Provision Assessments (SPAs) conducted in Tanzania (2006), Kenya (2004) and Ghana (2002) using direct observation of facility attributes and client-provider interactions. Marginal effects from multivariate regressions controlling for client characteristics and the multi-stage cluster sample design assess the relative importance of different measures of structural and process quality at public and private facilities on client satisfaction. Private health facilities appear to be of higher (interpersonal) process quality than public facilities but not necessarily higher technical quality in the three countries, though these differentials are considerably larger at lower level facilities (clinics, health centers, dispensaries) than at hospitals. Family planning client satisfaction, however, appears considerably higher at private facilities - both hospitals and clinics - most likely attributable to both process and structural factors such as shorter waiting times and fewer stockouts of methods and supplies. Because the public sector represents the major source of family planning services in developing countries, governments and Ministries of Health should continue to implement and to encourage incentives, perhaps performance-based, to improve quality at public sector health facilities, as well as to strengthen regulatory and monitoring structures to ensure quality at both public and private facilities. In the meantime, private providers appear to be fulfilling an important gap in the provision of FP services in these countries

Herbal supplements in the print media: communicating benefits and risks

Background The rise in use of food supplements based on botanical ingredients (herbal supplements) is depicted as part of a trend empowering consumers to manage their day-to-day health needs, which presupposes access to clear and accurate information to make effective choices. Evidence regarding herbal supplement efficacy is extremely variable so recent regulations eliminating unsubstantiated claims about potential effects leave producers able to provide very little information about their products. Medical practitioners are rarely educated about herbal supplements and most users learn about them via word-of-mouth, allowing dangerous misconceptions to thrive, chief among them the assumption that natural products are inherently safe. Print media is prolific among the information channels still able to freely discuss herbal supplements. Method This study thematically analyses how 76 newspaper/magazine articles from the UK, Romania and Italy portray the potential risks and benefits of herbal supplements. Results Most articles referenced both risks and benefits and were factually accurate but often lacked context and impartiality. More telling was how the risks and benefits were framed in service of a chosen narrative, the paucity of authoritative information allowing journalists leeway to recontextualise herbal supplements in ways that serviced the goals and values of their specific publications and readerships. Conclusion Providing sufficient information to empower consumers should not be the responsibility of print media, instead an accessible source of objective information is required.</p

Exploration of pathways related to the decline in female circumcision in Egypt

BACKGROUND: There has been a large decline in female genital circumcision (FGC) in Egypt in recent decades. Understanding how this change has occurred so rapidly has been an area of particular interest to policymakers and public health officials alike who seek to further discourage the practice elsewhere. METHODS: We document the trends in this decline in the newest cohorts of young girls and explore the influences of three pathways—socioeconomic development, social media messages, and women’s empowerment—for explaining the observed trends. Using the 2005 and 2008 Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys, we estimate several logistic regression models to (1) examine individual and household determinants of circumcision, (2) assess the contributions of different pathways through which these changes may have occurred, and (3) assess the robustness of different pathways when unobserved community differences are taken into account. RESULTS: Across all communities, socioeconomic status, social media messages, and women’s empowerment all have significant independent effects on the risk of circumcision. However, after accounting for unobserved differences across communities, only mother’s education and household wealth significantly predict circumcision outcomes. Additional analyses of maternal education suggest that increases in women’s education may be causally related to the reduction in FGC prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Women’s empowerment and social media appear to be more important in explaining differences across communities; within communities, socioeconomic status is a key driver of girls’ circumcision risk. Further investigation of community-level women’s educational attainment for mothers suggests that investments made in female education a generation ago may have had echo effects on girls’ FGC risk a generation later

Effect of neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) on Salmonella Typhimurium, Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Staphylococcus aureus

In this study, Neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) bactericidal efficacy and inactivating capacity as a promising novel antimicrobial agent, green sanitizer and natural alternative to conventional decontamination techniques as chemical disinfectants was evaluated by using NEW with free available chlorine (FAC) at concentrations of 7.5 ppm (NEW 1%), 24 ppm (NEW 12%) and 49 ppm (NEW 25%) against food-borne related microorganisms and their biofilms. Our Results revealed that by 10 min of exposure to the sanitizer (NEW) with different concentrations, changes to the bacterial count, bacterial cell morphology, biofilms were evaluated by plate counting, minimum inhibitory concentration method (MIC), Transmission Electron microscope (TEM) examination for the isolated Salmonella Typhimurium, Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), and S. aureus, respectively. Beside, modulation of bacterial gene expression by real time Polymerase Chain Reaction screening (RT-PCR) for methicillin- resistant gene (mecA) and Enterotoxin gene (seb) of S. aureus. It was shown from the results that Salmonella Typhimurium highest reduction percentage achieved was 99.9% after 10 min exposure to 12% and 25% NEW concentrations, while EPEC and S. aureus highest reduction percentages achieved were 99.8%, and 99.95% after 10 min exposure to 25% NEW concentration, respectively. The lowest reduction was detected by 59.5% for S. aureus treated with NEW 1% for 5 min. While MIC for NEW 25% was 12.25 ppm for EPEC and 24.5 ppm for each of Salmonella Typhimurium and S. aureus. TEM photos revealed that NEW has achieved a broad-spectrum bactericidal activity by causing changes and destruction in cell envelope and cytoplasm of all strains. RT-PCR showed downregulation of enterotoxin (seb) and resistant genes (mecA) of S. aureus. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that NEW as a green sanitizer is significant in reduction and elimination of the most food-borne bacterial contamination