Are liver and renal lesions in East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) associated with high mercury levels?

BACKGROUND: In the Arctic, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) bio-accumulate mercury as they prey on polluted ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus). Studies have shown that polar bears from East Greenland are among the most mercury polluted species in the Arctic. It is unknown whether these levels are toxic to liver and kidney tissue. METHODS: We investigated the histopathological impact from anthropogenic long-range transported mercury on East Greenland polar bear liver (n = 59) and kidney (n = 57) tissues. RESULTS: Liver mercury levels ranged from 1.1–35.6 μg/g wet weight and renal levels ranged from 1–50 μg/g wet weight, of which 2 liver values and 9 kidney values were above known toxic threshold level of 30 μg/g wet weight in terrestrial mammals. Evaluated from age-correcting ANCOVA analyses, liver mercury levels were significantly higher in individuals with visible Ito cells (p < 0.02) and a similar trend was found for lipid granulomas (p = 0.07). Liver mercury levels were significantly lower in individuals with portal bile duct proliferation/fibrosis (p = 0.007) and a similar trend was found for proximal convoluted tubular hyalinisation in renal tissue (p = 0.07). CONCLUSION: Based on these relationships and the nature of the chronic inflammation we conclude that the lesions were likely a result of recurrent infections and ageing but that long-term exposure to mercury could not be excluded as a co-factor. The information is important as it is likely that tropospheric mercury depletion events will continue to increase the concentrations of this toxic heavy metal in the Sub Arctic and Arctic marine food webs

Anti Coagulation And Antithrombotic Effects Of Triclisia Dictyophylla

Triclisia Dictyophylla (moonseed) root was investigated for the anticoagulation and antithrombotic properties. The median lethal dose (LD50) based on Lorke\'s methods was 550mg/kg. The aqueous root extract of T. dictyophylla prolonged the in-vitro whole human blood clotting time at concentrations of 50mg/2ml and 100mg/2ml of whole blood and at a concentration of 200mg/2ml of whole blood, complete anticoagulation effect was achieved. The prothrombin time of the different concentrations was unattainable even after 48hours. At a concentration of 200mg/2ml of semi clotted whole blood (invitro), the clot was dislodged. The roots extract of T. dictyophylla has in-vitro anticoagulation and antithrombotic properties, perhaps justifying its use in the treatment of edematous pain. Keywords: Triclisia Dictyophylla, Menispermaceae, human blood, coagulation, Fibrinolysis, antithrombosisNigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine Vol. 11 2007 pp. 29-3

Knowledge and practice of COVID-19 Preventive strategies among nurses

Background: Knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures, in addition to appropriate practices of such measures, remains a necessity for the prevention of contracting COVID-19 by nurses. This study assessed nurses' knowledge and practice of COVID-19 preventive strategies. It also determined the influence of sociodemographic variables on the knowledge of preventive measures for COVID-19 among nurses. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design using multi-stage sampling to recruit 344 nurses. Results: The results showed that 92% of the nurses had adequate knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures. The practice of COVID-19 preventive measures among nurses showed that 98.80% had sufficient knowledge of the infection preventive measures. Nurses with Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife (RN/RM-AOR 12.30; CI 4.79–31.63; p = 0.001) and Bachelor of science in nursing (BScN-AOR 37.60; CI 7.644-184.95; p = 0.001) were more knowledgeable about the COVID-19 preventive compared to other nurses with higher degree qualifications. Conclusions: The nurses in the study had good knowledge of the preventive measures for COVID-19 despite not being trained as frontline staff. It is essential to transform theory into practice by ensuring that the preventive measures they know are implemented to halt the spread of the disease in the face of minimal vaccine coverage

Quantifying and valuing community health worker time in improving access to malaria diagnosis and treatment

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are members of a community who are chosen by their communities as first-line, volunteer health workers. The time they spend providing healthcare and the value of this time are often not evaluated. Our aim was to quantify the time CHWs spent on providing healthcare before and during the implementation of an integrated programme of diagnosis and treatment of febrile illness in three African countries. Methods: In Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Uganda, CHWs were trained to assess and manage febrile patients in keeping with Integrated Management of Childhood Illness recommendations to use rapid diagnostic tests, artemisinin-based combination therapy and rectal artesunate for malaria treatment. All CHWs provided healthcare only to young children usually under 5 years old, and hence daily time allocation of their time to child healthcare was documented for one day (in the high malaria season) before the intervention and at several time points following the implementation of the intervention. Time spent in providing child healthcare was valued in earnings of persons with similar experience. Results: During the high malaria season of the intervention, CHWs spent nearly 50 minutes more in daily healthcare provision (average daily time 30.2 minutes before the intervention versus 79.5 minutes during the intervention; test for difference in means p&lt; 0.01). On average, the daily time spent providing healthcare during the intervention was 55.8 minutes (Burkina Faso), 77.4 minutes (Nigeria) and 72.2 minutes (Uganda). Using the country minimum monthly salary, CHWs time allocated to child healthcare for one year was valued at USD 52 in Burkina Faso, USD 295 in Nigeria and USD 141 in Uganda. Conclusion: CHWs spend up to an hour and a half daily on child healthcare in their communities. These data are informative in designing reward systems to motivate CHWs to continue providing good quality services

Quantifying and Valuing Community Health Worker Time in Improving Access to Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment

This work was supported by the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO/Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (project ID number A80553 [Burkina Faso]; A80550 [Nigeria]; and A80556 [Uganda]) through funds made available by the European Commission (FP7) for research to improve community access to health interventions in Africa