Rajesh Varma
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Estimation of enteric methane emission factor in cattle species in Ethiopia using IPCC tier 2 methodology
No full textAims: The livestock production system contributes to global climate change directly through the production of methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation, CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) from manure management. Enteric CH4 emission from livestock is the major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from livestock in Ethiopia. National inventory and reporting of enteric CH4 emission in cattle species in Ethiopia are based on default emission factor (tier 1 methodology) developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These enteric CH4 emissions are influenced by different factors such as livestock feed characteristics, livestock management, and livestock production and productivity. Hence, its estimation requires accurate data specific to the condition of the livestock production system in the country. The objective of this study was to estimate enteric CH4 emission from cattle species in Ethiopia. Methodology: Enteric CH4 emission was estimated using IPCC tier 2 methods using input data collected through survey and literature data on livestock and feed characteristics in Ethiopia. Results: Results indicated that enteric CH4 emission factors among indigenous cattle were 30.27, 18.52, 31.55, 29.82, 32.48, and 12.60 kg per head per year for matured females >2 years old, females 1-2 years, bullocks/oxen, breeding bulls >2 years old, males 1-2 years and calves <1 year’s old, respectively. Among crossbred dairy cattle, enteric CH4 emission factors were found to be 36.21, 19.98, 27.90, 25.51, 5.45 kg per head per year for matured females >2 years, females 1-2 years, matured males >2 years, males 1-2 years and calves <1 year’s age, respectively. The weighted average CH4 emission factor for indigenous cattle and crossbred dairy cattle were 26 and 30.71kg/head/year, respectively. Conclusion: Enteric CH4 emission factors for nondairy indigenous and crossbred cattle using IPCC tier 2 methodology were lower when compared to IPCC tier 1 estimate. Our study recommends IPCC tier 2 methodology, for national enteric CH4 emission inventory and reporting for cattle species in Ethiopia. The present study was based on limited survey and published data, uncertainties may have presented with, some of production and performance data. Further research is required to estimate enteric CH4 emission using more detailed cattle production and feed characterization data.</p
Codeine induced hematological, hepatic alterations, lung and brain damage in mice
No full textCodeine, an opiate derivate, which induces pleasure and euphoria in users, is contained in many OTC cough syrups as dextromethorphan. In 2011, its abuse has been reported in Nigeria from consumption of codeine-based cough syrup such as Benylin containing codeine syrup (BCS). Thereafter, the neurobehavioural alteration was reported with BCS in mice. 45 Swiss male mice (20 g -25 g) were grouped into control, low dose-(10.95 ml/kg BCS) and High dose-(21.90 ml/kg of BCS). BCS was given orally above the therapeutic dose for 4weeks. Blood samples were collected after 7 and 28days under mild ether anesthesia into plain and heparinized bottles to assess hematological indices, serum creatinine level, and activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Thereafter, the brain, lung, and liver were excised and processed for brain protein level and histopathological observation. Data were analyzed using Two-way ANOVA at P < 0.05. At both doses, BCS reduced hemoglobin concentration (10.56; 21.69%), lymphocyte count (10.54; 29.22%) and brain protein level (4.86±0.81; 4.86 ± 0.80 vs 9.20 ± 0.61 g/l) while white blood cell count (20.47; 46.08%), serum creatinine level (5.36; 18.75%), AST (26.31; 32.77%) and ALT (22.90; 36.70%) activities were increased compared to control. Histology shows marked necrosis and chronic infiltration by inflammatory cells in the brain, liver, and lung. Acute and chronic treatment of mice with Benylin with codeine resulted in significant alterations in blood and vital body organs such as kidney, liver, lung, and brain in a dose-dependent manner.</p
Medical social workers’ and clinical psychologists’ understanding of autism spectrum disorders: A Nigerian Study
No full textIntroduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by difficulties in social communication and interaction, repetitive patterns of behaviour and focused interests and activities. Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists play vital roles in identifying and supporting autistic children with their families. They may help with therapy, rehabilitation, crisis interventions and outreach services. Adequate knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists may enhance early recognition, diagnosis, appropriate referral and interventions that are known to improve prognosis in autistic children. This study determined Medical social workers’ and Clinical psychologists’ understanding of ASD.Materials and methods: Socio-demographic and Knowledge About Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaires were administered to consenting 63 Medical social workers and 35 Clinical psychologists. Results: Sixty-three Medical Social workers and 35 Clinical psychologists participated in the study. The mean age of Medical social workers was 42.1 ± 8.6 years and 41.0 ± 8.9 years for Clinical psychologists (P = 0.525). Clinical psychologists who were males were 42.9% and 41.3% were male Medical social workers (P = 0.879). Medical social workers who have ever managed a child with autism in the course of their career were 42.9% while Clinical psychologists were 40.0% (P = 0.784). The mean knowledge score for variables in domain 1 for Clinical psychologists was 6.34 ± 1.78 while Medical social workers scored 5.40 ± 2.30 (P = 0.038). The score in domain 2 for Clinical psychologists was 0.91 ± 0.28 while Medical social workers scored 0.71 ± 0.46 (P = 0.009). The mean total score for Clinical psychologists was13.00 ± 2.86 whereas Medical social workers scored 11.51 ± 3.43 (P = 0.031).Conclusion: Clinical psychologists significantly scored higher than Medical social workers in knowledge mean scores in domains 1 and 2 and total mean scores. The scores of Clinical Psychologists though higher than scores by Medical social workers are still considered inadequate. It is recommended that the training curriculum of Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists should involve more tutorials, teachings and clinical rotations that would expose them to different aspects of ASD.</p
Is asthma over-diagnosed in Cyprus? A clinical study at the outpatient’s primary care level
No full textBackground: Although asthma is a common disease accurate diagnosis is missing and it has been reported that often it is over or under-diagnosed.Aim: To investigate if a physician’s diagnosis of asthma in Cyprus is correct by using a structured algorithm at the outpatient primary care level.Subjects and Methods: Sixty adults with a self-reported physician diagnosis of asthma, mean age of 47,8 years (29 males and 31 females) were included in the study. Medical history and physical examination, pre-post bronchodilation spirometry and methacholine bronchial challenge test was used to confirm or rule out the diagnosis as well as a three months follow-up. In addition, the cost of treatment was estimated.Results: Sixteen subjects (27%) had a positive pre-post bronchodilation spirometric test and were considered asthmatics. In 9 out of the 44 remaining subjects a positive Methacholine provocation test confirmed the diagnosis of asthma. The rest of the subjects (n = 35) went into a 3 months observational period during which only 2 showed asthmatic symptoms and were considered asthmatics by a second methacholine test that confirmed the diagnosis. Therefore, a correct asthma diagnosis was established in only 27(45%) of subjects. The annual average cost of medication for asthma confirmed the group was 313 euro/patient (171-454, 95% CI) and the average 2-year unnecessary (asthma ruled-out group) cost of treatment was approximately 297 euro/patient. (179-415, 95% CI).Conclusions: Physician-diagnosed asthma overestimates the actual prevalence of disease in adults in Cyprus since it was shown that more than half of the participants did not have Asthma. These individuals consume unneeded medications at a significant cost. Thus, the correct diagnosis of Asthma should be made by using more specific tests starting at the primary care level.</p
Benzofuran and Naphthofuran based chemosensors for metal ion detection using fluoroscence spectroscopy
No full textWith the advancement in the field of agriculture and industrial regime, numerous metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, zinc, copper, arsenic, etc. are released into the environment as effluent. These metal ions enter water bodies and generate many health issues. Considering their harmful impact on human lives, numerous fluorescent probes have been developed in recent years to detect the presence of these metal ions. The fluorescent probes are used owing to their ease of operation, good selectivity, and high sensitivity. The interaction between functional groups present in the structural framework of the probe and the empty orbitals of metal ions is responsible for the chemo selectivity of the probe. This report summarizes the organic probes which possess benzofuran and naphthofuran moieties and act as fluorescent chemosensors toward metal ions. The selectivity and sensitivity of these chemosensors along with the limit of detection have also been discussed. </p
The phenological stages of forestry species under the impact of climate change• Early data
No full textUrban areas have a dual role in climate change· they are major contributors to climate change as they produce more than 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and they also accept the impact of it. Urban trees have great value in urban ecosystems because of their role as carbon sinks, so they contribute to climate change mitigation. The aim of this paper is to collect data about the impact of climate change on forestry species in urban areas via the science of phenology. In recent years, via phenology, the observation and study of the effects of climate change are possible, as there appears to be a shift in the start of biological events, and also a change in their duration. These changes in the seasonal activity of plants, from time to time, are a sensitive but perfectly visible indicator of changes in the functioning of ecosystems. Phenology refers to the recording of dates in which different phases of the plant’s life cycle such as budburst, flowering, dormancy, and hibernation have been observed both in species and in plant communities. Temperature, solar radiation, and water availability are the three factors that affect plant phenology. To appreciate the impact of climate change on the phenological stages of forestry species, three Phenological Monitoring Areas (PMA) were created in three urban spaces in Thessaloniki, in December 2020, within the framework of the project LIFE CliVut (Climate Value of Urban Trees) LIFE18 GIC/IT/001217. Each PMA contains 20 species (10 species of trees and 10 species of shrubs), and 100 individuals (5 individuals per species). The monitoring of the phenological stages of the forestry species was carried out throughout a year on a weekly basis according to the protocol that was created in the frame of the project taking into consideration the BBCH scale. </p
Research status and development trend of altruism in the biological field - knowledge graph analysis based on <em>CiteSpace</em>
No full textBased on the visualization analysis of foreign literature on altruistic behavior in recent ten years (2012-2022) by CiteSpace, it is found that the research on altruistic behavior in the field of biology abroad has experienced the initial exploratory stage, the outbreak stage, and now enters the stable and deepening stage. The discipline distribution is mainly behavioral ecology, supplemented by evolutionary biology, biomathematics, and genetics. The author has three main cooperative groups, and a relatively tight cooperative network has been formed locally in related fields. From the perspective of cooperation degree, the cooperation density of major research institutions is high, and relevant research has been relatively mature. Judging from the period calculated in the software, altruism, cooperation, kin Selection, reciprocity, and inclusive fitness emerged earlier. In recent years, constitutive theory, density dependence, and Habitat construction have emerged, which may become a new direction for future research. Therefore, future research can expand the scope of disciplines, strengthen the cooperation between authors and units, and explore other research hotspots.</p
Evaluating the potential of a new low-profile urinary catheter in preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial
No full textBackground: Catheter-induced urothelial injury is a key component in the development of urinary tract infections in catheterized patients. This trial compares the association of Foley catheters vs. low-profile urinary catheters with Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI). Methods: In this prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, eligible patients requiring indwelling urinary catheterization were randomized to either a Foley catheter or a low-profile catheter. The primary outcome was the incidence of CAUTI. The secondary outcomes were analysis of specific microorganism isolates and serum leukocytosis. Data were collected at baseline and on days 3 and 5 after catheterization and examined using an analysis of covariance by SPSS-20 software at a 95% confidence level. Results: 80 patients completed the trial. Despite a trend towards a reduction in CAUTI in low-profile catheter patients as compared with Foley catheter patients (2.5% vs. 12.5%), there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in CAUTI incidences after controlling for antibiotic doses and fluid intake (p = 0.235). Patients in the low-profile catheter group had a statistically significant reduction in serum leukocytosis in comparison to the Foley-catheter group. Conclusion: A newly designed low-profile urinary catheter has demonstrated some potential for reducing the incidences of CAUTI in patients with indwelling urinary catheters. Additional trials with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the benefits.Trial registration: (IRCT20100816004578N7), Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, https://en.irct.ir/trial/37227. </p
To study the indications of cholecystectomy, types of surgery and complications of surgery in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal
No full textBackground: Cholelithiasis is a chronic recurrent disease of the hepatobiliary system and cholecystectomy is one of the commonly performed surgeries. This study intends to evaluate the demographic of patients with cholelithiasis, its various mode of presentation, surgical intervention, and its outcome.Methods: This was a quantitative retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in the College of Medical Sciences- a Superspeciality Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Bharatpur, Chitwan in central Nepal. All patients undergoing laparoscopic or open cholecystectomy in the department of GI and General Surgery at the College of Medical Sciences from 1st May 2017 to April 30, 2021were included in the study. Study tools were records of the patients retrieved from the medical record section.Results: A total of 355 patients data were analyzed. The mean age of the study samples was 46.43 +/- 16.47 years. Female predominance was seen at 76.18% with M: F ratio of 1:3.18. The most common presenting symptoms were pain abdomen (70.4%), bloating of the abdomen (63.9%), and fatty dyspepsia (46.8%). Acute cholecystitis was seen in 14.36%, biliary pancreatitis in 6.2%, and gallbladder perforation in 2.25% cases. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was done in 269(83.94%), open cholecystectomy in 57(16.05%), and laparoscopic converted into open cholecystectomy 29 in (9.73%). Intra-operative complications like gallbladder perforation and controlled bleeding were seen in 10.14% and 4.23% of cases. Post-operative complications like bile leak and major bile duct injury were seen in 6.19% and 1.40% of cases. Regarding management of bile leak, conservative management was successfully done in 54.54% of cases while they were managed with ERCP in 27.27%, hepaticojejunostomy in 13.63%, and with T-tube repair in 4.5% cases. The overall mortality was 0.8%.</p
Assessment of depression among elderly living in old age homes and within family set up in Bareilly city: A cross-sectional study
No full textIntroduction: Aging is a natural process but at the same time, the aging population has substantially increased. Socially this stage is considered the total of one lived experience. Materials and methods: The sample size has been 200 which is 100 in each group. Individuals beyond 60 years of age and who will be able to cooperate with the study were included in the study. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to record depression among the same subject. The data were entered into an excel sheet and transferred to SPSS V. 21. for statistical analysis and Chi-square and ANOVA tests were done. Results: The prevalence of depression in elderly individuals living in family settings was 22% mild, 14% moderate, and 10% severe, whereas, in old age homes, the prevalence was 36% mild, 26% moderate, and 8% severe. On comparison of depression according to marital status among the elderly within the family set up and old age home reported a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: We found from this study that the overall prevalence of depression was higher in elderly people residing in old age homes. It is more common in older women than in men.</p