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Bayesian Estimation of Spatiotemporal Immune-Viral Dynamics in COVID-19 Using Partial Differential Equations
Full text linkThis study proposes a Bayesian framework for estimating parameters in partial differential equation (PDE) models of viral dynamics. We develop a computational methodology combining Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling with B-spline basis expansions to address inverse problems in COVID-19 immunology. Applied to clinical data from 30 patients, the model quantifies lymphocyte recruitment kinetics and infection rates during SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Key results demonstrate: (1) mean daily lymphocyte recruitment rate λ̂ = 11.87/day (range: 6.55–14.66), and (2) mean infection rate of pulmonary/lymphoid cells β̂ = 3,556 cells/mL (range: 2,290–5,699). The Bayesian estimator achieved 93.2% posterior coverage probability, confirming its efficacy in characterizing immune response dynamics. These findings provide clinically actionable parameters for optimizing antiviral therapies through precise quantification of host-pathogen interactions.
Notably, λ reflects the immune system's capacity to mobilize lymphocytes, with elevated values predicting rapid viral clearance and recovery. In contrast, β serves as a biomarker of viral infectivity severity, where higher values signal increased tissue-level viral load and a greater risk of adverse clinical outcomes
Structural, Magnetic, and Optical Properties of Iron-Doped Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Films for Electromagnetic Shielding and Sensor Applications
Full text linkPure PVA and Fe-doped composite films were synthesized using the solution casting method in the present work. Doping with iron (Fe) microparticles at weight percentages of 2% and 6%. The morphological, structural, magnetic, and optical properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. XRD analysis revealed that the crystallite size of the iron microparticles, calculated using the Scherrer equation, was approximately 65.5 nm. Magnetic measurements showed a significant enhancement in saturation magnetization (Ms) from 1.6 x10-2 emu/g (2 wt% Fe) to 8.1x 10-2 emu/g (6 wt% Fe), along with increases in coercivity magnetization. The findings indicate that incorporating iron (Fe) particles into the PVA matrix created a new composite material with typical magnetic behavior. The observations demonstrate the material's potentiality towards sophisticated functional uses, such as sensors, electromagnetic shielding, and specialized electronic devices
Exploring the use of Assistive Digital Resources in Enhancing Learning for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, Nigeria
Full text linkAim: Understanding how these digital resources are being utilized in special education contexts is essential to improving learning outcomes and bridging the digital divide for students with intellectual disabilities. The study examined the use of assistive digital resources to enhance learning for students with intellectual disabilities in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, Nigeria. Five study objectives were stated to guide the research. Five research questions were formulated, and three hypotheses were stated. A literature review was conducted in line with the study variables.
Method: This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The area of the study is Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. The population of this study comprises all six special education and inclusive schools in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States—709 teachers, school heads, and education officers were directly involved in teaching or supporting students with intellectual disabilities—3,020 Students with intellectual disabilities (where possible, for observational data). A multi-stage sampling technique was used. A purposive sampling was used to select 4 LGAs, stratified sampling was used, and a simple random sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection is a questionnaire, which was validated by experts in Measurement and Evaluation at the University of Uyo. The instrument was subjected to test reliability using the Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The test result revealed a reliability index of 0.81. Data from the questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, percentage) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation, independent t-test) to test the hypotheses.
Results: The results revealed a significant relationship between the availability of assistive digital resources and their utilization level in teaching students with intellectual disabilities. There is also a significant relationship between the use of assistive digital resources and the learning outcomes of students with intellectual disabilities. There is a significant difference between urban and rural schools in the availability of assistive digital learning tools for students with intellectual disabilities.
Conclusion: Based on the study's results, it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between the availability of assistive digital resources and their level of utilization in teaching students with intellectual disabilities. There is also a significant relationship between the use of assistive digital resources and the learning outcomes of students with intellectual disabilities. There is a significant difference between urban and rural schools in the availability of assistive digital learning tools for students with intellectual disabilities.
Recommendation: Schools and disability support centers should implement peer-mentoring programs and anti-drug clubs that empower students to resist negative peer pressure
Blockchain Forensics - Unmasking Anonymity in Dark Web Transactions
Full text linkThis paper analyzes the impact of blockchain forensic techniques on combating cybercrime in the dark web. Although cryptocurrencies were originally celebrated for their decentralized and anonymous characteristics, advancements in blockchain analytics have allowed law enforcement agencies to track unlawful transactions with greater precision. This paper investigates forensic techniques including clustering, heuristic analysis, and address tagging to identify offenders involved in money laundering, drug trafficking, and ransomware transactions. This paper examines real-world case studies, including as the dismantling of Silk Road and Chainalysis's involvement in tracing illicit wallets, to illustrate the dynamic adversarial relationship between cybercriminals and law enforcement agencies. It also addresses the legal and ethical dilemmas associated with blockchain surveillance. The findings indicate that although blockchain forensics has markedly advanced cybercrime investigations, the emergence of privacy-enhancing technologies presents new challenges necessitating policy adjustments
Understanding Thrombocytopenia in the Obstetric Population: A Study from a Tertiary Care Center
Full text linkBackground: Thrombocytopenia in pregnancy is a common condition with diverse etiologies, ranging from benign causes such as gestational thrombocytopenia (GT) to more serious conditions like preeclampsia and immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The clinical implications of thrombocytopenia during pregnancy include potential maternal and fetal complications, highlighting the importance of early detection and appropriate management.
Objective: To evaluate the incidence, causes, clinical outcomes, and complications of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy at a tertiary care hospital.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 130 pregnant women who were diagnosed with thrombocytopenia during their antenatal care between 2020 and 2021. Data on demographics, etiology, severity of thrombocytopenia, and maternal and fetal outcomes were collected and analyzed.
Results: The incidence of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy was found to be 3.85%. The most common causes were gestational thrombocytopenia (48.48%), preeclampsia (18.18%), and anemia (27.27%). Mild thrombocytopenia (<100,000/µL) was the most frequent severity (68.18%), with severe thrombocytopenia (<50,000/µL) observed in 6.06% of cases. Maternal complications included postpartum hemorrhage (10.60%) and incision site oozing (7.57%). Fetal outcomes included intrauterine growth restriction (12.12%) and birth asphyxia (7.57%). Most cases were diagnosed in the second trimester, and a significant proportion (56.06%) were in primigravida women.
Conclusion: Thrombocytopenia in pregnancy is predominantly mild, with gestational thrombocytopenia being the most common cause. Although the condition generally carries a good prognosis, associated complications such as postpartum hemorrhage and adverse fetal outcomes underscore the need for careful monitoring. Early diagnosis and individualized management are essential to minimize risks for both mother and child
Optimizing Sample Size for Accelerated Failure Time Model in Progressive Type-II Censoring through Rank Set Sampling
Full text linkSurvival data is a type of data that measures the time from a defined starting point until the occurrence of a particular event, such as time to death from small cell lung cancer after diagnosis, Length of time in remission for leukemia patients, Length of stay (i.e., time until discharge) in hospital after surgery. The accelerated failure time (AFT) models are popular linear models for analyzing survival data. It provides a linear relationship between the log of the failure time and covariates that affect the expected failure time by contracting or expanding the time scale. This paper examines the performance of the Rank Set Sampling (RSS) on the AFT models for Progressive Type-II censoring-survival data. The Ranked Set Sampling (RSS) is a sampling scheme that selects a sample based on a baseline auxiliary variable for assessing survival time. Simulation studies show that this approach provides a more robust testing procedure, and a more efficient hazard ratio estimate than simple random sampling (SRS). The lung cancer survival data are used to demonstrate the method
Evaluating the Effectiveness of STRONGkids in Identifying Nutritional Risk in Outpatients of Child Health Care Clinics
Full text linkAim: To investigate the value of the STRONGkids tool for screening malnutrition risk among pediatric outpatients in China.
Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study included pediatric outpatients at the Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital in Changzhou, China, from March 2021 to March 2022. More specifically, we performed anthropometric assessments and screened pediatric patients under 2 years of age for nutritional risk using the STRONGkids tool.
Results: The total number of samples assessed for malnutrition risk was 1,062, of which 81.4% (n = 865) were low risk, 16.4% (n = 174) were medium risk, and 2.2% (n = 23) were high risk. In terms of sex, 81.2% (n = 448) of all males included in the present study were classified as low risk, while 16.5% (n = 91) and 2.3% (n = 13) were medium and high risk, respectively. Furthermore, the sensitivity and specificity of STRONGkids were 0.906 and 0.837, respectively, and the AUC was 0.872 (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Although our findings failed to reveal any significant association between malnutrition risk and sex, malnutrition risk was significantly associated with age category and was more likely to occur within the first year of life. The STRONGkids tool demonstrated diagnostic efficacy in screening outpatient children for nutritional risk and could accurately identify children at risk of malnutrition. It promotes children's growth and development, reduces the risk of disease, and is beneficial to long-term health
Bridging the Gap: Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices on Vitamin D Deficiency among Adolescent and Young Adults – A Cross-Sectional Study
Full text linkBackground: Vitamin D deficiency is a significant public health issue, impacting bone health, immune function, and overall well-being. Despite abundant sunlight in Saudi Arabia, deficiency rates remain high, potentially due to limited sun exposure, cultural practices, and low dietary intake of vitamin D. University students are a key demographic for assessing public health awareness and behaviors related to vitamin D. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to vitamin D deficiency among Jazan University students, and to identify demographic factors influencing these aspects.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 429 students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, from March to June 2024. Data on KAP regarding vitamin D deficiency were collected via a validated bilingual online questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26, employing descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression to evaluate demographic predictors of KAP scores.
Results: Among the participants, 47.3% exhibited high knowledge, 55% demonstrated high awareness, and 45.6% had high practice levels concerning vitamin D deficiency. Female students had significantly higher KAP scores than males (p < 0.01), and health college students showed greater knowledge and awareness than their non-health peers (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed that gender was a significant predictor, with females displaying higher odds of better outcomes across all domains (Knowledge: AOR 2.66, 95% CI 1.73–4.07; Awareness: AOR 3.0, 95% CI 1.94–4.62; Practices: AOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.10–2.49).
Conclusions: The findings highlight a need for targeted educational programs and routine screening initiatives to address vitamin D deficiency among young adults. Public health strategies should prioritize awareness campaigns across all academic disciplines to improve vitamin D literacy and mitigate deficiency-related health risks
Prevalence of Depression among Women Using Hormonal Contraceptive Use: Insights from a Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Full text linkBackground: Hormonal contraceptives (HC) serve as a key component in managing premenopausal symptoms and controlling birth rates. However, mood-related side effects, ranging from minor disturbances to severe clinical depression, are the primary reasons for discontinuation.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression among women who use hormonal contraceptive methods. Additionally, the study aims to explore the association between specific types of contraceptives—such as oral pills, implants, injectables—and the prevalence of depression.
Methods: From October 2023 to October 2024, a total of 1500 women between the ages of 21 and 45 who currently take hormonal contraception participated in this hospital-based cross-sectional study, which was carried out at the tertiary care hospital at King Fahd Central Hospital's outpatient gynecology clinic.
Results: The most frequent age categories were from 26 to 40 years (85.7%). The majority of the studied cases were non-lean (82.6%). Most of the cases had parity from 1 to 4 (97.1%). Women were mainly of a low social class (77.1%). Social problems were found in (21.8%). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were in 4.9% and 3.2% respectively. The most frequent contraceptive method were OCPs (40.3%), followed by POPs (31.2%), then subdermal implants (16.3%), injectable (8.6%), hormonal IUD (2.2%) and patches (1.4%). Most of the studied women used such method from 3 to 6 years (88.2%). Prevalence of depression among the studied cases was (8.7%; CI: 7.3%–10.2%). Obese individuals demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence of depression (11.5%) compared to overweight (8.5%) and lean individuals (5.0%), with a statistically significant association (p=0.015). Additionally, obese participants were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (27.1%), face social issues (21.8%), and belong to a low socioeconomic class (77.1%). Regarding contraceptive types, depression was notably less common among women using combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and progesterone-only pills (POPs), with rates of 4.6% and 4.5%, respectively. In contrast, higher rates of depression were observed in users of subdermal implants (19.2%), injectables (18.6%), hormonal IUDs (18.2%), and hormonal patches (19.0%) (p<0.001). The duration of contraceptive use also played a significant role, with depression rates increasing progressively from 2.8% for women using contraceptives for 1–2 years to 3.7% for 3–4 years and 12.7% for 5–6 years. The highest rate of depression, 37.7%, was observed among women using hormonal contraceptives for seven or more years (p<0.001)
Conclusion: Given the observed associations between certain hormonal contraceptives, prolonged use, and elevated depression rates, clinicians should adopt a proactive approach in assessing patients’ mental well-being, especially for women with additional risk factors like high BMI, socioeconomic challenges, or chronic conditions such as diabetes. Screening tools like the PHQ-9 should be routinely used during consultations to monitor for early signs of depression, allowing for timely intervention if needed
Risk Factors of Physical Condition of House and Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS) to Tuberculosis in Kaluku Bodoa Health Center Area, Makassar City
Full text linkBackground: Tuberculosis remains the 10th leading cause of death globally, accounting for approximately 1.3 million fatalities. The physical conditions of a house, including ventilation, humidity, temperature, occupancy density, lighting, and Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS), are crucial factors that should be considered in relation to TB incidence.
Objective: This study aims to analyze the relationship between house physical conditions and PHBS with the incidence of TB in the working area of the Kaluku Bodoa Public Health Center, Makassar City.
Methods: This study employed an observational analytic design with a cross-sectional approach. The sample size for the study comprised 150 respondents. Data were processed using univariate analysis, presented in tables, and further analyzed descriptively and bivariately using the Chi-square test to determine the relationship between house physical conditions and CHLB with TB incidence in the working area of the Kaluku Bodoa Public Health Center, Makassar City.
Results: There was a significant relationship between ventilation, lighting, occupancy density, and PHBS with TB incidence in the Kaluku Bodoa Public Health Center, Makassar City. At the same time, temperature and humidity were found to have an insignificant effect on TB incidence.
Conclusion: The findings of this study can be used to guide government policies aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals with TB. Environmental health officers can implement intensive programs emphasizing the importance of handwashing, maintaining cleanliness, and ensuring proper ventilation to reduce the risk of TB transmission