Surgical management of uterine fibroids at Aminu Kano teaching hospital, Kano, Nigeria: a 5 year review

Background: Uterine fibroids are the most common pelvic tumors. They account for a significant number of gynecological consultations. Prevalence, presentation and outcome of treatment vary in different communities.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and clinical presentation of uterine fibroids, and the morbidity associated with surgical management of uterine fibroids at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.Study design: Retrospective study of all the cases of uterine fibroids that were surgically managed in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano between 1st January 2006 and 31st December 2010.Results: The period prevalence of uterine fibroids found in this study was 3.1%, 8.3% of gynecological operations were for fibroids. Main presentations were menstrual irregularities 75.9%, abdominal swelling 51.9%, lower abdominal pain 46.5%, dysmenorrhea 29.1%, infertility 20.3%. The postoperative complication of anemia occurred in 34.1% of patients who had myomectomy and 14.6% of those who had hysterectomy. Anemia was 3 times more likely to occur with myomectomy (OR 3.02, CI 1.69-3.56, P <0.05). Pyrexia occurred in 31.2% of patients who had myomectomy and 12.4% of those who had hysterectomy. It was 3 times more likely to occur following myomectomy than hysterectomy (OR 3.21, CI 1.74-5.93, P <0.05).Woundinfection occurred in 13.8% and 12.4% of patients who had myomectomy and hysterectomy respectively, UTI in 6.5% and 5.6% of patients who had myomectomy and hysterectomy . They both showed no significant statistical difference between myomectomy and hysterectomy (for wound infection OR 1.13, CI 0.56-2.29, P >0.05 and for UTI OR 1.17, CI 0.42-3.23, P >0.05).Conclusion: The prevalence and presentation of uterine fibroids found in this study is similar to the finding of other studies from Northern Nigeria. The most common presentations were menorrhagia and lower abdominal swelling, and not infertility. Myomectomy was associated with higher complication rates compared to hysterectomy.Key words: Uterine fibroids, prevalence, presentation, postoperative morbidity

Surgical management of uterine fibroids at Aminu Kano teaching hospital, Kano, Nigeria: a 5 year review

Background: Uterine fibroids are the most common pelvic tumors. They account for a significant number of gynecological consultations. Prevalence, presentation and outcome of treatment vary in different communities.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and clinical presentation of uterine fibroids, and the morbidity associated with surgical management of uterine fibroids at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.Study design: Retrospective study of all the cases of uterine fibroids that were surgically managed in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano between 1st January 2006 and 31st December 2010.Results: The period prevalence of uterine fibroids found in this study was 3.1%, 8.3% of gynecological operations were for fibroids. Main presentations were menstrual irregularities 75.9%, abdominal swelling 51.9%, lower abdominal pain 46.5%, dysmenorrhea 29.1%, infertility 20.3%. The postoperative complication of anemia occurred in 34.1% of patients who had myomectomy and 14.6% of those who had hysterectomy. Anemia was 3 times more likely to occur with myomectomy (OR 3.02, CI 1.69-3.56, P <0.05). Pyrexia occurred in 31.2% of patients who had myomectomy and 12.4% of those who had hysterectomy. It was 3 times more likely to occur following myomectomy than hysterectomy (OR 3.21, CI 1.74-5.93, P <0.05).Wound infection occurred in 13.8% and 12.4% of patients who had myomectomy and hysterectomy respectively, UTI in 6.5% and 5.6% of patients who had myomectomy and hysterectomy . They both showed no significant statistical difference between myomectomy and hysterectomy (for wound infection OR 1.13, CI 0.56-2.29, P >0.05 and for UTI OR 1.17, CI 0.42-3.23, P >0.05).Conclusion: The prevalence and presentation of uterine fibroids found in this study is similar to the finding of other studies from Northern Nigeria. The most common presentations were menorrhagia and lower abdominal swelling, and not infertility. Myomectomy was associated with higher complication rates compared to hysterectomy.Key words: Uterine fibroids, prevalence, presentation, postoperative morbidity

Comparative Performance Analysis of Flower Pollination Algorithm and Harmony Search based strategies: A Case Study of Applying Interaction Testing in the Real World

The main purpose of software testing is to detect software failures to ensure that that a product functions work as expected. Therefore there is need to test hug possible number of input combinations. T-way testing is a sampling approach to minimize input combinations. Recently, adapting optimization algorithm for T-way testing is very interested. As a consequence, many t-way optimization algorithm based strategies have been designed and implemented. In order to guide software tester to choose the best software testing strategy, there is a need to evaluate and benchmark the performance of each strategy against common case studies. In this paper, we present a comparison between two strategies, Harmony Search (HS) and Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) based strategies. Our experiments have performed on a real-world case study. Experiments results demonstrate that the performance is almost the same for both strategies and there is no one strategy can always be the best; however HS-based strategy performs better than FPA-based in many cases

Characteristics of Flow Over Rectangular Labyrinth Weirs With Round Corners

The hydraulic performance of round-cornered rectangular labyrinth weirs with varying weir heights and effective lengths has not been explored in the existing literature to the authors’ knowledge. The purpose of this experimental study was to see how the height and effective length of round-cornered rectangular labyrinth weirs affect their discharge efficiency. Nine flat-crested rectangular labyrinth weirs made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were tested in a rectangular flume under various discharges to fulfill the goals of this study. The discharge coefficients for the weirs were then calculated. The hydraulic efficiency of weirs with round corners increases as the weir height (P) increases, according to the findings; however, with effective length of the weir to channel width ratios (LC /B) ≤ 1.78, the effect of the weir height diminishes. For the HT /P ranges used in this study, 0.1 ≤ HT /P ≤ 0.65, the round-cornered rectangular labyrinth weirs with higher LC /B ratios (greater M values) showed improved hydraulic efficiency. Furthermore, the effects of the round-cornered rectangular labyrinth weirs’ headwater inflation can be mitigated by increasing the effective length of the weirs;by increasing M values (LC /B ratios). Using multiple linear regression analysis, a satisfactory correlation equation was found between discharge coefficients of round-cornered rectangular labyrinth weirs, CB, and the other parameters, LC, P, and h

Medicinal Plants Traditionally Used in the Management of COVID-19 in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Coronaviruses are infectious respiratory tract illnesses, but they can also affect the digestive tract and infect both humans and animals. The new coronavirus results in complicated health problems all over the world. The most urgent concern of all researchers around the world has been the treatment of the virus. The following study aimed to use quantitative ethnobotany to help scientist in addressing the deadly virus. Expert sampling method was adopted with the aid of an in-depth interview guide. Thirty-nine respondents were interviewed. Eighty-one medicinal plant species from 35 families were documented. Males 25 (64.1%) constitute the greater percentage of the total respondents. Majority of the respondents had formal education. Eighty-one medicinal plant species from 35 families were documented. Leaves are the most utilized 25.8 followed by seed 17.7 and fruits 12.1%, respectively. Relative frequency of citation ranged from 0.5 to 0.9, whereas the FL value ranged from 0.4 to 0.85, revealing how effective the documented plant species are in the management of COVID-19 in the region. A greater amount of research into documented medicinal plants is warranted because of the high likelihood that they contain many active ingredients

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Municipal Solid Waste: Effects of Pyrolysis Parameters

Burning municipal solid waste (MSW) increases CO2, CH4, and SO2 emissions, leading to an increase in global warming, encouraging governments and researchers to search for alternatives. The pyrolysis process converts MSW to oil, gas, and char. This study investigated catalytic and noncatalytic pyrolysis of MSW to produce oil using MgO-based catalysts. The reaction temperature, catalyst loading, and catalyst support were evaluated. Magnesium oxide was supported on active carbon (AC) and Al2O3 to assess the role of support in MgO catalyst activity. The liquid yields varied from 30 to 54 wt% based on the experimental conditions. For the noncatalytic pyrolysis experiment, the highest liquid yield was 54 wt% at 500 °C. The results revealed that adding MgO, MgO/Al2O3, and MgO/AC declines the liquid yield and increases the gas yield. The catalysts exhibited significant deoxygenation activity, which enhances the quality of the pyrolysis oil and increases the heating value of the bio-oil. Of the catalysts that had high deoxygenation activity, MgO/AC had the highest relative yield. The loading of MgO/AC varied from 5 to 30 wt% of feed to the pyrolysis reactor. As the catalyst load increases, the liquid yield declines, while the gas and char yields increase. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Dietary energy level affects adipose depot mass but does not impair in vitro subcutaneous adipose tissue response to short-term insulin and tumor necrosis factor-α challenge in nonlactating, nonpregnant Holstein cows.

We assessed effects of overfeeding energy to nonlactating and nonpregnant Holstein cows during a length of time similar to a typical dry period on body lipid storage and the abundance of genes related to insulin signaling, inflammation, and ubiquitination in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in vitro challenged with insulin and recombinant bovine tumor necrosis factor-α. Fourteen cows were randomly assigned to either a high-energy (OVE; net energy for lactation = 1.60 Mcal/kg of dry matter; n = 7) or control (CON; net energy for lactation = 1.30 Mcal/kg of dry matter; n = 7) diet for 6 wk. Immediately after slaughter, liver, kidneys, and mammary gland were separated and weighed. The adipose tissue mass in the omental, mesenteric, and perirenal depots was dissected and weighed. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was collected from the tail-head region and was used as follows: control, bovine insulin (INS) at 1 µmol/L, tumor necrosis factor-α at 5 ng/mL (TNF), and their combination. Despite a lack of difference in final body condition score, OVE cows had greater energy intake and were heavier than CON cows. Furthermore, overfeeding led to greater mass of mesenteric and perirenal adipose, liver, and mammary gland. Overall, SAT incubated with INS had an upregulation of insulin receptor (INSR), interleukin-10 (IL10), small ubiquitin-like modifier 3 (SUMO3), and ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2I (UBC9), whereas TNF upregulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG), diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2), interleukin-6 (IL6), nuclear factor kappa B subunit 1 (NFKB1), small ubiquitin-like modifier 2 (SUMO2), and UBC9. Regardless of in vitro treatment, feeding OVE upregulated PPARG, fatty acid synthase (FASN), and insulin induced gene 1 (INSIG1). Abundance of PPARG was greater in SAT of OVE cows cultured individually with INS and TNF. The interaction between diet and in vitro treatment revealed that sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) had greater abundance in SAT from the CON group in response to culture with INS, whereas SAT from OVE cows had greater SREBF1 abundance in response to culture with TNF. The mRNA abundance of IL6 and NFKB1 was greater in response to TNF treatment and overall in CON cows. Furthermore, SAT from these cows had greater IL10 abundance when cultured with INS and TNF. Overall, data highlighted that overfeeding energy increases adipose tissue mass in part by stimulating transcription of key genes associated with insulin signaling, adipogenesis, and lipogenesis. Because SAT thickness or mass was not measured, the lack of effect of overfeeding on body condition score limits its use to predict overall body lipid storage. An overt inflammatory response in SAT after a 6-wk period of over-consumption of energy could not be discerned

Reticulo-rumen mass, epithelium gene expression, and systemic biomarkers of metabolism and inflammation in Holstein dairy cows fed a high-energy diet

Feeding a higher-energy diet by increasing cereal grains at the expense of forage during the last 3 to 4 wk prepartum is a traditional approach to help the rumen "adapt" to the traditional diets fed at the onset of lactation. Increasing grain/concentrate in the diet changes ruminal fermentation and in sheep and goats elicits marked changes in mRNA expression of immune-related genes in ruminal epithelium. Whether such changes at the epithelial and systemic levels occur in dairy cows when the dietary energy content increases at a fixed level of concentrate is unknown. Fourteen nonpregnant, nonlactating Holstein cows were fed a control lower-energy (CON, 1.30 Mcal/kg of dry matter) diet to meet 100% of estimated nutrient requirements for 3 wk, after which half of the cows were assigned to a higher-energy diet (OVE, 1.60 Mcal/kg of dry matter) and half of the cows continued on CON for 6 wk. Levels of forage and concentrate for CON and OVE were 80 and 79% and 20 and 21%, respectively. Plasma samples were collected 1 d before slaughter to examine biomarkers of metabolism, liver function, inflammation, and oxidative stress. The reticulo-rumen mass was recorded at slaughter, and samples of epithelium were harvested from all cows. The expression of 29 genes associated with tight junctions, immune function, and nutrient transport (volatile fatty acids, urea, and trace minerals) was examined. Overfeeding energy led to consistently greater dry matter intake over time, and lowered plasma concentrations of haptoglobin, paraoxonase, bilirubin, fatty acids, and myeloperoxidase (secreted by neutrophils). In contrast, OVE resulted in greater hydroxybutyrate and cholesterol concentrations. A greater reticulo-rumen mass in cows fed OVE did not alter genes associated with tight junctions (CDLN1, CDNL4, OCLN, TJP1), immune function (IL1B, IL10, NFKB1, TLR2, TLR4, TNF), oxidative stress (SOD1, SOD2), or most nutrient transporters. However, feeding OVE upregulated the acute-phase protein SAA3 by 3.5-fold and downregulated a volatile fatty acid transporter (SLC16A1) and a Fe and Cu transporter (SLC11A2). The lack of effect on mRNA expression along with lower plasma concentrations of inflammation biomarkers indicates that long-term intake of a higher-energy diet ad libitum was not detrimental to ruminal epithelium integrity. In that context, a protective function of SAA3 could be envisioned with a role in opsonizing gram-negative bacteria that produce endotoxins. The long-term control of volatile fatty acid absorption and trace minerals from the rumen in cows overfed energy does not seem to be controlled at the gene transcription level. The relevance of these findings to the nutritional management of pregnant dry cows merits further research

An overview of wastewater treatment using combined heterogeneous photocatalysis and membrane distillation

Received: 02.02.23. Revised: 14.03.23. Accepted: 15.03.23. Available online: 22.03.23.The authors acknowledge the support of Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Technology-Iraq.The application of photocatalytic membrane reactors is significantly influenced by a wide variety of factors.Integration of distillation membrane with photocatalysis enhances the degradation of pollutant in wastewater.The recovery of membrane fluxes in membrane distillation after UV irradiation could be achieved using silver-based photocatalysts.The need for efficient remediation solutions to wastewater has risen due to the concerning prevalence of toxic organic pollutants. It is possible for the linked photocatalysis-membrane separation system to concurrently achieve the photoreaction of pollutants and their removal from wastewater in order to accomplish the goal of completely purifying the wastewater. This investigation's objective is to provide analytical overview of the photocatalytic and membrane coupling process, photocatalytic membrane reactors, and the potential applications of these technologies in the treatment of wastewater for the persistent organic matter removal. In the review, an examination of photocatalytic and membrane processes to remove organic compounds from wastewater is presented. Based on the literature analysis, it was observed that the application of photocatalytic membrane reactors is significantly influenced by a wide variety of factors. Some of these factors include pollutant concentration, dissolved oxygen, aeration, pH, and hydraulic retention time. Light intensity is another factor that has a significant influence. It was also revealed how distillation membranes work when integrated with photocatalytic process. This brief overview will help researchers understand how successful coupled photocatalytic and membrane distillation are in the treatment of wastewater containing organic pollutants

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF USING RAW LENTIL SEEDS AS A PARTIAL SUBSTITUTE FOR THE FISH MEAL IN DIETS OF THE COMMON CARP CYPRINUS CARPIO L.

 This experiment was carried out at College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sulaimani. Microscopically, no adverse histopathological changes were seen in the kidneys, liver, gills and intestines of Cyprinus carpio for T2(replacing fishmeal with 5% lentil) and T3 (replacing fishmeal with 10% lentil) in comparison with the control (T1). However, various levels of adverse histopathological changes were seen in the T4(replacing fish meal with 15% lentil) and T5 (replacing fishmeal with 20% lentil). In the kidneys, dilation of the Bowman’s spaces was evidently associated with a decrease in the mesangial cellularity of glomerular tuft. In the liver, congestion of the central vein was apparent together with centrilobular infiltration of inflammatory cells. In the gills, hyperplasia of primary and secondary lamellae was evident. In the intestine, vacuolar degeneration of the lining epithelial cells was apparent together with extravasation of RBCs associated with marked infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. In conclusion, the partial replacement of the fishmeal in diets of C. carpio by crude lentil seeds was safe at the 5% and 10% levels as indicated by various levels of adverse histopathological effects on the kidneys, liver, gills, and intestine