The prevalence of HBV infection in the cohort of IDPs of war against terrorism in Malakand Division of Northern Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis B is an important public health problem in the Pakistani population and is the major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. High prevalence of HBV infections has been observed especially in areas of low economic status. In spite of effective immunization programs, no significant change has been observed in the epidemiology of HBV in the rural areas of Pakistan (~67.5% of the total population) mainly due to lack of interest from government authorities and poor hygienic measures. The current study was aimed at estimating the prevalence and risk factors associated with HBV infection within internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to war against terrorism in the Malakand Division of Northern Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Blood samples from 950 IDPs suspected with HBV infection (including both males and females) were collected and processed with commercial ELISA kits for HBsAg, Anti HBs, HBeAg, Anti HBe antibodies. The samples positive by ELISA were confirmed for HBV DNA by real-time PCR analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of HBV observed was 21.05% of which 78.5% were males and 21.5% were females. Most confirmed HBV patients belong to the Malakand and Dir (lower) district. High-risk of infection was found in the older subjects 29.13% (46-60 years), while a lower incidence (11.97%) was observed in children aged <15 years. Lack of awareness, socioecomic conditions, sexual activities and sharing of razor blades, syringes and tattooing needles were the most common risk factors of HBV infection observed during the cohort of patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study, revealed for the first time a high degree of prevalence of HBV infection in rural areas of Northern Pakistan. The noticed prevalence is gender- and age-dependent that might be due to their high exposures to the common risk factors. To avoid the transmission of HBV infection proper awareness about the possible risk factors and extension of immunization to the rural areas are recommended.</p

The global, regional, and national burden of stomach cancer in 195 countries, 1990-2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2017

Background: Stomach cancer is a major health problem in many countries. Understanding the current burden of stomach cancer and the differential trends across various locations is essential for formulating effective preventive strategies. We report on the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to stomach cancer in 195 countries and territories from 21 regions between 1990 and 2017. Methods: Estimates from GBD 2017 were used to analyse the incidence, mortality, and DALYs due to stomach cancer at the global, regional, and national levels. The rates were standardised to the GBD world population and reported per 100 000 population as age-standardised incidence rates, age-standardised death rates, and age-standardised DALY rates. All estimates were generated with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Findings: In 2017, more than 1·22 million (95% UI 1·19–1·25) incident cases of stomach cancer occurred worldwide, and nearly 865 000 people (848 000–885 000) died of stomach cancer, contributing to 19·1 million (18·7–19·6) DALYs. The highest age-standardised incidence rates in 2017 were seen in the high-income Asia Pacific (29·5, 28·2–31·0 per 100 000 population) and east Asia (28·6, 27·3–30·0 per 100 000 population) regions, with nearly half of the global incident cases occurring in China. Compared with 1990, in 2017 more than 356 000 more incident cases of stomach cancer were estimated, leading to nearly 96 000 more deaths. Despite the increase in absolute numbers, the worldwide age-standardised rates of stomach cancer (incidence, deaths, and DALYs) have declined since 1990. The drop in the disease burden was associated with improved Socio-demographic Index. Globally, 38·2% (21·1–57·8) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to high-sodium diet in both sexes combined, and 24·5% (20·0–28·9) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to smoking in males. Interpretation: Our findings provide insight into the changing burden of stomach cancer, which is useful in planning local strategies and monitoring their progress. To this end, specific local strategies should be tailored to each country's risk factor profile. Beyond the current decline in age-standardised incidence and death rates, a decrease in the absolute number of cases and deaths will be possible if the burden in east Asia, where currently almost half of the incident cases and deaths occur, is further reduced. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Throughput and Channel Aware MAC scheduling for SmartBAN standard

Abstract In this paper, a throughput- and channel-aware (TCA) medium access control (MAC) scheduling scheme is presented and evaluated for smart body area network (SmartBAN) standard, developed by the European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI). The presented algorithm utilizes the radio link signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to select the candidate nodes for a given time slot in the first phase, while, in the second phase, the slot is assigned to one of the chosen nodes based on their priority level and data packet availability. The algorithm uses an m-periodic scheduling technique, in which the nodes are considered for slot assignment according to their data packet generation rates during the second phase. Subsequently, a comprehensive explanation of the TCA algorithm execution through the slot reassignment method in SmartBAN is provided. For performance comparison, we use four key performance indicators (KPIs), which include packet reception rate (PRR), latency, energy consumption per successful transmission, and throughput. The simulation results indicate a significant performance gain of the SmartBAN-complaint TCA algorithm in terms of PRR and energy efficiency over the reference SmartBAN MAC scheduling with and without repetition. The average improvement in the PRR results is approximately 40%, whereas a maximum enhancement of 66% is observed in terms of energy efficiency while satisfying the throughput and latency requirements of the use case considered during simulations. Furthermore, we introduce some enhancements in the primary TCA to decrease the frequency of TCA execution via slot re-assignment frames transmission for reducing energy consumption, which results in a slight improvement of energy efficiency

Numerical Simulations through PCM for the Dynamics of Thermal Enhancement in Ternary MHD Hybrid Nanofluid Flow over Plane Sheet, Cone, and Wedge

The Darcy ternary hybrid nanofluid flow comprising titanium dioxide (TiO2), cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles (NPs) through wedge, cone, and plate surfaces is reported in the present study. TiO2, CoFe2O4, and MgO NPs were dispersed in water to synthesize a trihybrid nanofluid. For this purpose, a mathematical model was calculated to augment the energy transport rate and efficiency for variety of commercial and medical functions. The consequences of heat source/sink, activation energy, and the magnetic field are also analyzed. Such problems mostly occur in symmetrical phenomena and are applicable to engineering, physics, and applied mathematics. The phenomena were formulated in the form of a nonlinear system of PDEs, which are simplified to the system of dimensionless ODEs through similarity replacement (obtained from symmetry analysis). The obtained set of differential equations is resolved through a parametric continuation approach (PCM). Graphical depictions are used to evaluate and address the impact of significant factors on energy, mass, and flow exchange rates. The velocity and energy propagation rates over a cone surface were greater than those of a wedge and plate versus the variation of Grashof number, porosity effect, and heat source, while the mass transfer ratio under the impact of a chemical reaction and activation energy over a wedge surface was higher than that of a plate

Numerical Simulations through PCM for the Dynamics of Thermal Enhancement in Ternary MHD Hybrid Nanofluid Flow over Plane Sheet, Cone, and Wedge

The Darcy ternary hybrid nanofluid flow comprising titanium dioxide (TiO2), cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles (NPs) through wedge, cone, and plate surfaces is reported in the present study. TiO2, CoFe2O4, and MgO NPs were dispersed in water to synthesize a trihybrid nanofluid. For this purpose, a mathematical model was calculated to augment the energy transport rate and efficiency for variety of commercial and medical functions. The consequences of heat source/sink, activation energy, and the magnetic field are also analyzed. Such problems mostly occur in symmetrical phenomena and are applicable to engineering, physics, and applied mathematics. The phenomena were formulated in the form of a nonlinear system of PDEs, which are simplified to the system of dimensionless ODEs through similarity replacement (obtained from symmetry analysis). The obtained set of differential equations is resolved through a parametric continuation approach (PCM). Graphical depictions are used to evaluate and address the impact of significant factors on energy, mass, and flow exchange rates. The velocity and energy propagation rates over a cone surface were greater than those of a wedge and plate versus the variation of Grashof number, porosity effect, and heat source, while the mass transfer ratio under the impact of a chemical reaction and activation energy over a wedge surface was higher than that of a plate

Machine learning meets communication networks:current trends and future challenges

Abstract The growing network density and unprecedented increase in network traffic, caused by the massively expanding number of connected devices and online services, require intelligent network operations. Machine Learning (ML) has been applied in this regard in different types of networks and networking technologies to meet the requirements of future communicating devices and services. In this article, we provide a detailed account of current research on the application of ML in communication networks and shed light on future research challenges. Research on the application of ML in communication networks is described in: i) the three layers, i.e., physical, access, and network layers; and ii) novel computing and networking concepts such as Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), and a brief overview of ML-based network security. Important future research challenges are identified and presented to help stir further research in key areas in this direction

Additional file 1 of Biological quality and phytochemical profiling of olive fruits using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis

Additional file 1. Supplementary file for the GCMS profile of 42-olive samples

The global, regional, and national burden of stomach cancer in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2017

Etemadi A, Safiri S, Sepanlou SG, et al. The global, regional, and national burden of stomach cancer in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2017. LANCET GASTROENTEROLOGY &amp; HEPATOLOGY. 2020;5(1):42-54.Background Stomach cancer is a major health problem in many countries. Understanding the current burden of stomach cancer and the differential trends across various locations is essential for formulating effective preventive strategies. We report on the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to stomach cancer in 195 countries and territories from 21 regions between 1990 and 2017. Methods Estimates from GBD 2017 were used to analyse the incidence, mortality, and DALYs due to stomach cancer at the global, regional, and national levels. The rates were standardised to the GBD world population and reported per 100 000 population as age-standardised incidence rates, age-standardised death rates, and age-standardised DALY rates. All estimates were generated with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Findings In 2017, more than 1.22 million (95% UI 1.19-1.25) incident cases of stomach cancer occurred worldwide, and nearly 865 000 people (848 000-885 000) died of stomach cancer, contributing to 19.1 million (18.7-19.6) DALYs. The highest age-standardised incidence rates in 2017 were seen in the high-income Asia Pacific (29.5, 28.2-31.0 per 100 000 population) and east Asia (28.6, 27.3-30.0 per 100 000 population) regions, with nearly half of the global incident cases occurring in China. Compared with 1990, in 2017 more than 356 000 more incident cases of stomach cancer were estimated, leading to nearly 96 000 more deaths. Despite the increase in absolute numbers, the worldwide age-standardised rates of stomach cancer (incidence, deaths, and DALYs) have declined since 1990. The drop in the disease burden was associated with improved Socio-demographic Index. Globally, 38.2% (21.1-57.8) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to high-sodium diet in both sexes combined, and 24.5% (20.0-28.9) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to smoking in males. Interpretation Our findings provide insight into the changing burden of stomach cancer, which is useful in planning local strategies and monitoring their progress. To this end, specific local strategies should be tailored to each country's risk factor profile. Beyond the current decline in age-standardised incidence and death rates, a decrease in the absolute number of cases and deaths will be possible if the burden in east Asia, where currently almost half of the incident cases and deaths occur, is further reduced. Copyright (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license