Assessment of psychological barriers to cervical cancer screening among women in Kumasi, Ghana using a mixed methods approach

Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in Ghana, West Africa. The cervical cancer mortality rate in Ghana is more than three times the global cervical cancer mortality rate. Pap tests and visual inspection with acetic acid wash are widely available throughout Ghana, yet less that 3% of Ghanaian women get a cervical cancer screening at regular intervals.Objective: This exploratory study was to identify psychological barriers to cervical cancer screening among Ghanaian women with and without cancer using a mixed methods approach.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 49 Ghanaian women with cancer and 171 Ghanaian women who did not have cancer.Results: The results of the quantitative analysis indicated that cancer patients where not more likely to have greater knowledge of cancer signs and symptoms than women without cancer. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed several psychological barriers to cervical cancer screening including, common myths about cervical cancer, misconceptions about cervical cancer screening, the lack of spousal support for screening, cultural taboos regarding the gender of healthcare providers, and the stigmatization of women with cervical cancer.Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to inform the development of culturally relevant cervical cancer education interventions aimed at addressing the psychological barriers to cervical cancer screening perceived by Ghanaian women.Keywords: Cancer, developing countries, disease prevention, knowledge, qualitative methodsbr>African Health Sciences 2013; 13(4): 1054 - 106

Papillary thyroid cancer recurrence 43 Years following Total Thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation: A case report

Background: Recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) beyond the first two decades of definitive treatment (i.e. total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation) is a rare occurrence. Case presentation: We present a case of a 71-year old Caucasian female with a distant history of PTC treated with total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation who experienced recurrence of her disease 43 years following initial diagnosis and definitive treatment. She presented with palpable left-sided neck mass and subsequently underwent a level II, III, neck dissection and adjuvant iodine ablation. This case presents the latest recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer documented to date in the literature. Conclusion: This case exemplifies the need for the head and neck surgeon, radiation oncologist, general practitioner and radiologist to consider new lateral neck mass as late-presenting recurrence of PTC until proven otherwise regardless of low recurrence rates beyond two decades from treatment and low prognostic risk scores

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination and Distribution in Surface Soils and Plants along the West Coast of Ghana

Onshore oil drilling activity is ongoing at Jubilee oil fields, Ghana. This activity could lead to heavy metal exposure with consequential adverse effects on public health in nearby coastal communities. Therefore, we assessed heavy metal levels and spatial distribution in soils and plants from the west coast of Ghana to obtain baseline values for monitoring heavy metal exposure. Surface soils were collected from six coastal communities, and analyzed for arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, selenium and zinc using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Mean heavy metal concentrations in soil samples were 2.06, 6.55, 0.016, 21.59, 0.18 and 39.49mg/kg for arsenic, copper, mercury, lead, selenium and zinc, respectively. Mean heavy metal concentrations in plants were 2.70, 17.47, 3.17, 91.74, 1.51 and 9.88mg/kg for arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, selenium and zinc, respectively. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead in plants exceeded WHO/FAO permissible limits. Enrichment factor for arsenic was significant and extremely high for selenium, while geoaccumulation index showed moderate pollution for selenium. Soil contamination factors for arsenic, lead, and selenium indicated considerable contamination. In view of these findings remediation methods must be adopted to safeguard the communities. The data will be useful for future monitoring of heavy metal exposure in the communities and to assess the impact of the ongoing crude oil drilling activity on the environment

Transmission of a novel sonotubometry acoustic click stimulus in healthy and patulous eustachian tube subjects: a retrospective case -control study

Abstract Background Eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction can be very difficult to diagnose accurately. Our aim is to determine whether a newly developed sonotubometric test using clicks can reliably detect ET opening during swallowing in normal ET subjects, and patulous ET (PET) in subjects with ET dysfunction. Methods Sixteen subjects (19 normal ET ears and 6 PET ears) were individually placed in a sound-isolated audiometry booth and subjected to a 1000Hz click train stimulus, played through the nose. PET subjects were identified through the ET clinic at our institution, while healthy subjects were recruited. Transmission through the ET was recorded by a microphone in the ear ipsilateral to the presenting nostril, during no swallow and swallow states, and this was used to compute a power ratio (power in the frequency range of interest to the whole frequency range). The power transmission ratio both before and after the swallow was averaged, and represented the baseline (BaseR). The power transmission ratio during swallow represented the peak (PeakR). The same process was repeated in the absence of a stimulus to account for swallowing noise. Wilcoxon rank rum tests were performed to determine statistical significance. Results It was found that for healthy ET patients, the median difference between the PeakR and BaseR was 0.51 (p = 0.004). For the PET patients in this study, the median difference between the PeakR and the BaseR was 3.30 (p = 0.041). Comparing the baseline between groups revealed that PET patients had a median BaseR 1.05 higher than healthy ET patients. PET patients had a median PeakR of 3.84 higher than healthy ET patients. Both were deemed to be statistically significant (p = 0.003, p = 0.003 respectively). A significant difference was found between median PeakR for the stimulus and no-stimulus condition for the healthy ET group (0.59, p < 0.001) and for the PET group (4.39, p = 0.031), indicating that it was unlikely that swallowing noise caused false positive results. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that a novel click stimulus is capable of detecting ET opening during swallowing in healthy patients as well as highlighting PET in diseased subjects

Papillary thyroid cancer recurrence 43 Years following Total Thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation: a case report

Abstract Background Recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) beyond the first two decades of definitive treatment (i.e. total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation) is a rare occurrence. Case presentation We present a case of a 71-year old Caucasian female with a distant history of PTC treated with total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation who experienced recurrence of her disease 43 years following initial diagnosis and definitive treatment. She presented with palpable left-sided neck mass and subsequently underwent a level II, III, neck dissection and adjuvant iodine ablation. This case presents the latest recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer documented to date in the literature. Conclusion This case exemplifies the need for the head and neck surgeon, radiation oncologist, general practitioner and radiologist to consider new lateral neck mass as late-presenting recurrence of PTC until proven otherwise regardless of low recurrence rates beyond two decades from treatment and low prognostic risk scores

Effects of pre-buckling on the bending of organic electronic structures

This paper explores the extent to which pre-buckling of layers (in thin film multilayered structures) can be used to increase the flexibility of organic electronic devices. The deformation of wavy/buckle profiles, with a range of nano- and micro-scale wavelengths, is modeled using finite element simulations. The predictions from the models are then validated using experiments that involve the bending of layered structures that are relevant to flexible organic electronics. The introduction of pre-buckled profiles is shown to increase the range of deformation that is applied to model structures, prior to onset of significant stresses and strains. The implications of the work are discussed for the design of robust flexible organic solar cells

Cold welding of organic light emitting diode: Interfacial and contact models

This paper presents the results of an analytical and computational study of the contacts and interfacial fracture associated with the cold welding of Organic Light Emitting diodes (OLEDs). The effects of impurities (within the possible interfaces) are explored for contacts and interfacial fracture between layers that are relevant to model OLEDs. The models are used to study the effects of adhesion, pressure, thin film layer thickness and dust particle modulus (between the contacting surfaces) on contact profiles around impurities between cold-welded thin films. The lift-off stage of thin films (during cold welding) is then modeled as an interfacial fracture process. A combination of adhesion and interfacial fracture theories is used to provide new insights for the design of improved contact and interfacial separation during cold welding. The implications of the results are discussed for the design and fabrication of cold welded OLED structures

Pressure effects on interfacial surface contacts and performance of organic solar cells

This paper explores the effects of pressure on the interfacial surface contacts and the performance of organic solar cells. A combination of experimental techniques and analytical/computational models is used to study the evolving surface contacts profiles that occur when compliant, semi-rigid and rigid particles are interlocked between adjacent layers in model solar cell structures. The effects of layer surface roughness and interlocked (trapped) particles are also considered along with the effects of surface energy, adhesion energy, and pressure. The results show that increased interfacial contact lengths and decreased void lengths are associated with the application of increased pressure. Increased pressure also results in significant improvements in power conversion efficiency. These improvements in power conversion efficiency are associated with the closure up of micro- and nano-voids due to the application of pressure to layers produced via spin coating and thermal evaporation. The results suggest that pressure-induced contacts can be used to enhance the performance of organic solar cells