Energy Loss and Drag in a Steady Flow through Emergent Vegetation

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

Quality of life of Bahraini women with breast cancer: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer can impact survivors in many aspects of their life. Scarce information is currently available on the quality of life of cancer survivors in Bahrain. The objective of this study is to describe the quality of life of Bahraini women with breast cancer and its association with their sociodemographic and clinical data. METHODS: This is a cross sectional study in which the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Cancer Specific version translated into Arabic was administered to a random sample of 337 Bahraini women with breast cancer. Relevant descriptive statistics were computed for all items. The equality of means across the categories of each categorical independent variable was tested using parametric tests (ANOVA and independent t-test) or non-parametric tests (Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney tests) of association where appropriate. RESULTS: Of the total sample, 239 consented to participation. The mean and median age of participants were 50.2 (SD ± 11.1) and 48.0 respectively. Participants had a mean score for global health of 63.9 (95% CI 61.21-66.66). Among functional scales, social functioning scored the highest (Mean 77.5 [95% CI 73.65-81.38]) whereas emotional functioning scored the lowest (63.4 [95% CI 59.12-67.71]). The most distressing symptom on the symptom scales was fatigability (Mean 35.2 [95% CI 31.38-39.18]). Using the disease specific tool it was found that sexual functioning scored the lowest (Mean 25.9 [95% CI 70.23-77.90]). On the symptom scale, upset due to hair loss scored the highest (Mean 46.3 [95% CI 37.82-54.84]). Significant mean differences were noted for many functional and symptom scales. CONCLUSION: Bahraini breast cancer survivors reported favorable overall global quality of life. Factors associated with a major reduction in all domains of quality of life included the presence of metastases, having had a mastectomy as opposed to a lumpectomy and a shorter time elapsed since diagnosis. Poorest functioning was noted in the emotional and sexual domains. The most bothersome symptoms were fatigability, upset due to hair loss and arm symptoms. This study identifies the categories of women at risk of poorer quality of life after breast cancer and the issues that most need to be addressed in this Middle East society

Quality of life of Bahraini women with breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide as well as in Bahrain. This thesis investigates the quality o f life o f Bahraini women with breast cancer using both a quantitative and a qualitative approach. I also investigated the effect of psychological intervention in women with non metastatic breast cancer in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Twenty three trials were included and four meta-analyses were generated. The intervention proved to be effective in reducing anxiety, mood disturbance and depression (in group sessions). The improvement in survival is less promising and warrant more research before a solid conclusion can be made. The results should be interpreted cautiously considering the remarkable heterogeneity and shortcomings of included trials. I have presented data from a randomly recruited sample of 239 Bahraini women with breast cancer in a cross-sectional study. Results showed that women had a comparable quality o f life to western women with a mean score for global health o f 63.9 (95% Cl 61.2-66.6). The presence o f metastases, having had a mastectomy as opposed to lumpectomy and the shorter time elapsed since diagnosis had a major effect across all the domains of quality of life o f breast cancer survivors. I used a qualitative method to gain deeper understanding o f the quality o f life of Bahraini women with breast cancer. I undertook 12 semi-structured interviews to explore the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of Bahraini women who have survived breast cancer towards their quality of life. Theme analysis revealed both similarities and differences between Bahraini Arab women and women in previous studies in their beliefs and perceptions towards breast cancer. This qualitative method has captured elements related to quality o f life of breast cancer survivors, particularly those with a more cultural and religious basis. This is important to healthcare professionals in ensuring an individualised approach to women with breast cancer. This report explored another dimension o f quality of life of women with breast cancer in this region and set the platform for further comparative and longitudinal studies. Furthermore, the tentative effectiveness o f psychological interventions on psychological outcomes and survival in non-metastatic breast cancer warrants vigilant approaches and possibly targeting the population that need it the most. In this thesis I have managed to describe the quality o f life of breast cancer survivors in an Arab culture from both a quantitative and qualitative approach. The Cochrane review highlights the inadequacy o f knowledge concerning the most appropriate methods o f supporting breast cancer survivors. The results of this thesis raise issues for delivery of healthcare to this vulnerable population, for the role of women in this society and for future research into more effective support mechanisms

Evaluation of self-medication among Iraqi pharmacy students

Background: Practicing self-medication is common and a worrisome issue because of irrational drug use. This study aimed to evaluate self-medication knowledge and views among the final year pharmacy students in Iraq.  Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from December 2018 to January 2019. A pre-validated and self-administered questionnaire was recruited to survey pharmacy students at the University of Baghdad and Al-Rafedain University College. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 (SPSS v. 20) software used to save and analyze the data. Results expressed as numbers and percentages. Results:  A total of 344 students (response rate: 94.24%) with a mean age of 22.10 years included in this study. Most of them were female (61.60%). Self-medication was high in the past year (84.88%), and most of them (86.04%) got their medications from pharmacies. About (62.79%) of students used antibiotics as self-medication for a few days, although a significant number were aware of bacterial resistance. The main reasons to self-medicate were quick relief desired, convenience, and avoiding waiting at clinics. The reasons against it were a misdiagnosis, adverse effects' risk, and wrong medication use. Doctor visits sought necessary in cases of worsening symptoms, severe pain, and serious problems. Headache, cough, and diarrhea were the most frequent indications. Conclusion: The self-medication prevalence is high; the knowledge is moderate, and the views about the self-medication concept are generally appropriate

Experimental Investigation of Flood Energy Dissipation through Embankment Followed by Emergent Vegetation

The combination of hard (artificial) and soft (natural) solutions i.e., composite defense systems against flooding and tsunami opens a new window for engineering innovation for researchers nowadays. In this study, the experimental investigation of flood energy dissipation phenomena through composite defense systems comprising of embankment and rigid vegetation models in an open channel flume, is conducted. The flow regime through the composite defense system is classified in two main types, which are further subdivided in two sub-categories. Various combinations of embankment and vegetation and spacing between embankment and vegetation are analyzed. Against the selected range of initial Froude numbers, three different sizes of embankment models, three spacings between the embankment and vegetation (Ldv) and vegetated corridors of two different porosities (PR), are tested to examine the effect of these three parameters on the characteristics of the generated hydraulic jumps and flood energy dissipation within the defense system. It is found that embankment size and vegetation porosity have a greater impact on flood energy dissipation while the selected range of Ldv is less effective. Amongst the assessed composite flood defense systems, the maximum energy dissipation (55%) is observed for the combination of maximum embankment height and vegetation porosity (93%). For fixed combinations of embankment size and Ldv, the maximum increase of energy dissipation (18%) is found for decreasing vegetation porosity from 97% to 93%

Investigation of Flow Dynamics Around a Combination of Different Head Shapes of Spur Dikes

Spur dikes are widely used as river training structures throughout the globe to improve navigation, strengthen flood protection, and save erodible banks. This study investigates the flow behaviour of multiple spurs using similar and different head shapes instead of adding an extra structure. The novelty of the study lies in finding out the best combination of head shapes among circular (C), rectangular (R), and triangular (T) that can reduce the responsible factors of scouring and erosion. The responsible factors for scour and erosion include high magnitude velocity, pressure, turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), Reynold stresses, and wall shear stresses. Nine combinations (3 same, i.e., CCC, RRR, and TTT and six different, i.e., CRC, CTC, RCR, RTR, TCT, TRT) of spurs were investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. Firstly, in the analysis of similar head shapes, more reduction in the values of scour and erosion responsible factors were observed in CCC combination (20% in velocity, 45% in pressure, 41% in TKE, and 43% in normal Reynold stresses). Finally, the reduction was further improved in analysing different head shapes. The CTC combination showed the most effective results in reducing the prescribed factors (43% in velocity, 57% in pressure, 51% in TKE, and 54% in normal Reynold stresses) compared to both combinations of head shapes. Therefore, to protect riverbank and spur head failure due to severe turbulent flow, the combination of spurs (CTC) could be preferred

Reorganising for COVID-19 pandemic: A review of structural modifications by the department of internal medicine in low to middle-income countries

Scientists classified the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a novel coronavirus on January 7, 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged the SARS-CoV-2 outburst a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020. Since its origin, this virus has disrupted the best healthcare systems, economies, and strained financial resources; and for underdeveloped countries\u27 healthcare systems, the virus has become a crisis. To tackle the potential hazards from this virus, our Department restructured the services that not only helped us to cope with the pandemic, but also provided an example to copy for other contemporary institutes. This article aims to describe the measures and structural changes undertaken by the Internal Medicine Department, Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, Pakistan. Key Words: COVID-19, Internal medicine, Structural modifications, Pandemic

Investigating Role of Vegetation in Protection of Houses during Floods

Flood flows have the potential to cause substantial damage to infrastructure, mankind, livestock and agricultural land which all stacks up to greatly affect the financial condition of the region. During 2010 Pakistan floods, more than two million houses were damaged partly or totally [1]. To minimize these types of destructions, inland vegetation can be considered a natural barrier to dissipate the energy of flood flow and limits widespread inundation. This study involves volume of fluid (VOF) modelling approach to figure out the role of vegetation of finite width in energy reduction of flood flow, in front of houses, against: vegetation of varying Aspect Ratio (A/R width-length ratio) and distance between vegetation & houses (Lr). Channel domain was built in ANSYS workbench toolkit and meshing was done in meshing building toolkit. For the postprocessing and simulation, FLUENT was used. Various contour plots & profiles of cross stream-wise velocities and water level measurements are presented in this paper. The simulation results of cross stream-wise velocities and water level measurements were identical with experimental data. At vegetation upstream and downstream, velocity reduction observed in higher A/R (2.40) compared to vegetation of A/R-1. Whereas, outside the vegetation and near the walls of channel domain flow velocities were high. The water level was raised on the upstream side of the vegetation due to resistance offered by vegetation. On the upstream side of vegetation, the rise in backwater depth increased by increasing A/R. Contrarily, on the downstream side of vegetation, an undular hydraulic jump was observed in between vegetation and a house. By increasing A/R, the energy loss increases under constant vegetation conditions (G/d = 0.24, Fro = 0.70; G = spacing of each cylinder in cross-stream direction and d= diameter of cylinder and Fro = initial Froude number) and increase in house distance from 1W to 2W, the energy reduction increased from 2.40% to 3.15% which was further increased to 5.04% for another 5W increase in house distance, where W is the vegetation width. Simulation results also shown that with increasing Froude no from 0.60 to 0.70 water level depth has also an incremental pattern which ultimately results in increase in energy dissipation along the varying building distance (1W, 2W & 5W).  Thus, to minimize the structural damage, a structure must be located at a safe distance away from the vegetation where flow becomes sub-critical

Isolated tuberculous thyroiditis as solitary thyroid nodule

Isolated involvement of the thyroid by tuberculosis is very rare as reported in literature. We are presenting a case of isolated tuberculous thyroiditis presented as a solitary thyroid nodule. The patient was treated with anti-tuberculous regimen and he responded well with disappearance of the nodule and normalization of the thyroid scan