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Quality of Croatian inland bathing areas: Reference to the region and European Union
Get PDFIntroduction: The Republic of Croatia (HR) has significantly invested in monitoring the quality of inland bathing areas during the past 10 years. The aim of this paper was to analyze the results obtained during the 2014-2019 period and to compare them with the Region (non-European Union [EU] countries neighboring Croatia) and EU. Moreover, bathing water quality data at two bathing areas of Zagreb (lakes Jarun and Bundek) were processed in more detail.Methods: The quality of inland bathing areas in the HR is monitored in five rivers and five lakes in nine Croatian counties; 19 of the 35 monitored sites are located in Zagreb County. Escherichia coli (EC) was determined by EN ISO 9308-3: 1998, while intestinal enterococci (ENT) were defined by EN ISO 7899-2: 2000. Statistical processing of the results was performed using the Microsoft Excel Statistical Package (Redmond, USA) and Statistica 13.5. (Stat.Sof.Inc., Tulsa, USA); the significance level was set to p < 0.05.Results: During the study period, the worst Croatian inland water quality was recorded in 2019 (excellent quality for only 25.9% of the bathing areas), while the best quality was recorded in 2015 (excellent quality in 57.1%). On average (2014-2019), the share of bathing areas with excellent quality in Croatia was 46.3% (i.e., under the EU average of 85.3%); with no poor locations (EU average was nearly 2%). A significant positive correlation was found between fecal indicators (EC&ENT) and the amount of precipitation, while a negative correlation with water and air temperature in lakes.Conclusions: The quality of Croatian inland bathing areas is significantly lower than the European average, while EU water quality is improving. Regarding the countries bordering Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and Hungary have achieved better results, while Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are still in the process of developing the monitoring of the bathing water quality
N-Acetylcysteine for COVID-19: A Potential Adjuvant Therapy
No full textSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection or known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease that has been declared as a world pandemic by WHO. Although the majority of patients only experience mild symptoms, older patients and those with comorbidities are in the risk of falling into critically ill and even death. This is thought to correlate with systemic inflammatory response and oxidative stress imbalance. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is recognized as a potent mucolytic, yet its lesser-known function as an antioxidant is a precursor of glutathione. Basic aspects and either in vivo or in vitro studies showed various mechanisms of NAC acting as a counterbalance in viral infections and its role in decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress. High-dose NAC is reported to be effective as an antioxidant in pneumonia, influenza, sepsis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Early evidence in COVID-19 patients showed that NAC could be beneficial. This review gives the scientific background in considering NAC as an adjuvant treatment for COVID-19
A comparison of erect weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing radiography of the cervical spine in non-trauma patients
Get PDFIntroduction: Various positioning techniques are utilized to enhance the visualization of lower cervical vertebrae on lateral radiographs. However, the effectiveness of these techniques still remains unclear. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the weight-bearing (WB) technique in visualizing lower cervical vertebrae and cervicothoracic junction (C7-T1) on standing lateral cervical radiographs of adult non-trauma patients. The study was conducted using both computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) systems.Methods: Forty-four CR (29 WB and 15 non-WB – NWB) and 61 DR (26 WB and 35 NWB) lateral C-spine radiographs were prospectively evaluated to assess the visible number of cervical vertebral bodies and C7-T1 junction. The instructions given by the radiographer to the patient for the imaging procedure were also assessed on the Likert scale (very good, good, fair, poor, very poor).Results: There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the visualization of the number of vertebral bodies between the two techniques of WB and NWB for CR or DR. Further, no significant relationship (p > 0.05) was observed between the WB technique and the visualization of C7-T1 junction in DR systems. However, a significant difference was identified for CR (p = 0.012). The instruction given to the patient significantly correlated with the visibility of the lower C-spine region within each group of WB and NWB in both imaging systems.Conclusions: The visibility of the number of vertebral bodies in the lower C-spine region in either CR or DR systems did not demonstrate any enhancement with the WB technique. Regardless of the imaging system or techniques used, adequate instructions given to the patient before and during the imaging procedure of C-spine lateral radiography demonstrated a significant improvement in visualizing the lower C-spine region. In this preliminary study, the application of erect WB radiography technique in evaluating the lower cervical region of adult non-trauma patients gives limited advantage
The level of health literacy of secondary school students in Slovenia
Get PDFIntroduction: Health literacy of secondary school students is particularly important as they are exposed to higher health risk. Therefore, the aim of the study is to determine the level of basic health literacy, critical and mental health literacy, and numeracy of Slovenian secondary school nursing students using a cross-sectional comparative method.Methods: The questionnaire measuring the level of basic numerical, critical, and mental health literacy was completed by 249 secondary school students, divided into a group of secondary school students attending a nursing program and students of others similar secondary schools such as economic technician, chemical technician and preschool education.Results: Secondary nursing students were found to have statistically significantly higher levels of basic and mental health literacy than their peers, rather than numerical and critical health literacy. In addition, the results show that there is no statistically significant difference in the level of health literacy between the groups of secondary school students in relation to the environment (rural/urban area).Conclusion: Numerical and critical health literacy should be systematically developed in nursing schools, and at least the basic aspects of health literacy should be introduced in all secondary school curricula
Quality of life of mothers who have children with developmental disabilities
Get PDFIntroduction: The primary source of strength and support is the child’s family. A special role in caring for a child with developmental disabilities is played by his mother. The objective of this research is to find out the assessment of the quality of life (QOL) of disabled children mothers as well as to research the relation of sociodemographic variables of the respondents, as specified in this study and estimate the quality of their life and health.Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed by the use of the descriptive-analytical method. In a targeted association of families which have children and persons with difficulties was conducted this research on a sample of 100 registered mothers. The research instrument was the standardized questionnaire for QOL, the World Health Organization QOL-BREF and the users’ records of the mothers in the association.Results: The average age of the respondents was M = 48. 01 ± 11. 68. About 62% of the respondents are married, 54% have a high school diploma, 67% are not employed, 68% of the respondents did not declare to have health problems, and among those who declared to have health problems, the most common disease was diabetes mellitus. The average number of household members was M = 3. 44 members. The number of the household members was significantly and positively related to the domain of social interaction (rs = 0. 219; p < 0. 05), the domain of the environment (rs = 0. 220; p < 0. 05) and to the general QOL (rs = 0. 227; p < 0. 05). The age of the respondents was significantly and positivelyrelated only to the environmental domain (rs = 0. 205; p < 0. 05). The respondents who drive a car showed a significantly higher level of QOL in the field of mental health (p = 0. 042) and the environment (p = 0. 005). Concerning mothers with higher incomes rate, their QOL was better in the following domains: Physical health (p = 0. 030), mental health (p = 0. 002), environment (p = 0. 000001), and general QOL (p = 0. 0002).Conclusion: The respondents with a larger number of household members, those who have the support of family members, who were without health problems, and who independently use own car for transportation, consider their QOL as being better. Therefore, a promotional – preventive program for improving the life quality of mothers of children and persons with disabilities should include accessible life in the community and the ability to recognize the unique needs of the entire family of children and persons with disabilities
COVID-19 Pandemic: A Challenge for Healthcare Professionals and Assessment of Anxiety Symptoms
Get PDFIntroduction: Worldwide, COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of infected people and thousands of deaths. Due to enormous pressure on health-care systems and its inadequate preparedness, utter collapse is expected. In the current epidemic response, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge and practice are crucial, while the impact on their mental health is still unknown.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs redeployed to COVID points in the Public Institution Health Centre of Sarajevo Canton. According to guidelines and information provided by the World Health Organization and Ministries of Health, a questionnaire was developed. In addition, General Anxiety Disorder-7 as a screening tool for anxiety disorders was used.Results: Of 180 respondents, 26 (14.4%) were in direct contact with the sick patient. In total, 79 (43.9%) respondents consider their personal protective equipment is in accordance with the guidelines of the world health authorities. A total of 72 (39.7%) of respondents used the same mask for several days. In general, the danger from new coronavirus was considered minimal by 59 (32,6%) HCWs. Based on the achieved score for assessing the anxiety disorder, in 63 (35%) subjects, the presence of severe symptoms was detected.Conclusion: This study found that most HCWs do not have enough knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified that there are differences in the sources of information and gap in perceptions of the native origin of the virus. Considering the frequency of anxiety symptoms among HCWs, interventions are necessary in order to preserve their mental health
Assessment of Lumbar Spine Disc Degeneration in Coherence to Pfirrman Grades and Oswestry Disability Index
Get PDFIntroduction: Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IDD) is one of the main causes of low back pain (LBP). Standardized diagnostic algorithms for adequate estimation and classification of changes of lumbar discs are mandatory before starting with therapy.Methods: One hundred patients who were indicated for lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in the study. Pfirrmann grading system was used for the determination of IDD, while the visual analog scale (VAS) is used for evaluation of the intensity of LBP. To quantification of disability for LBP, we used the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).Result: Results showed higher Pfirrmann grades II and III for L2/L3 and L3/L4 lumbar levels and lower scores at L4/L5 and L5/S1. The analysis also showed low scores at the L2/3 and L3/4 lumbar level for Pfirrmann grades IV and V, and there was an increased at more inferior lumbosacral levels L4/5 and L5/S1. There was a significant correlation between Pfirrmann grades and ODI (p = 0.24) as well as VAS (p = 0.16).Conclusion: Higher Pfirrmann grades correlated with increased ODI and VAS. Therefore, MRI can be used as a strong indicator of clinical appearance, but it is important to take into consideration that LBP should be correlated with clinical features. By summing Pfirrmann grades of all lumbar intervertebral levels in each patient, we can get more accurate insight for the status of the lumbar spine
Non-antimicrobial effect of Alocasia denudata Engler against selected Gram-positive oral pathogen
Get PDFIntroduction: Alocasia denudata is a herbal plant used by traditional healers as a wound healing agent and its potential as a healer has been proven scientifically. Normally, wounded tissue offers the opportunity for microflora to adhere, colonize, invade, and infect the surrounding healthy tissue. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the antimicrobial effect of A. denudata on selective oral pathogen as well as to analyze its phytochemical compound.
Methods: The stem of A. denudata was extracted with 80% ethanol solution, freeze-dried, and sent to poison center to analyze its phytochemical constituents. The bioassay applied for determining the antimicrobial effect employs the well agar diffusion method to the selected Gram-positive oral bacteria; Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and non-oral pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. These bacteria were incubated and the inhibition zone was recorded.
Results: Our results showed that the mean yield of extraction was 12.8% and that the different concentrations of A. denudata show no antimicrobial effects toward the selected Gram-positive oral pathogen including non-oral pathogen bacteria. However, the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry result showed that antimicrobial compound is present along with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds but showed no effect on the oral pathogen.
Conclusion: A. denudata extract has antimicrobial compound but did not show antimicrobial activity toward the selected Gram-positive oral pathogen
A Novel Cellular Automata Classifier for COVID-19 Prediction
No full textIntroduction: China has witnessed a new virus Corona,which is named COVID-19. It has become the world’s most concern as this virus has spread over the worldat a higher speed; the world has witnessed more than one lakh cases and one thousand deaths in a span of few days.
Methods: We have developed a preliminary classifier with non-linear hybrid cellular automata, which is trained and tested to predict the effect of COVID-19 in terms of deaths, the number of people affected, the number of people being could be recovered, etc. This indirectly predicts the trend of this epidemic in India. We have collected the datasets from Kaggle and other standard websites.
Results: The proposed classifier, hybrid non-linear cellular automata (HNLCA), was trained with 23,078 datasets and tested with 6785 datasets. HNLCA is compared with conventional methods of long short-term memory, AdaBoost, support vector machine, regression, and SVR and has reported an accuracy of 78.8%, which is better compared with the cited literature. This classifier can also predict the rate at which this virus spreads, transmission within the boundary, and of the boundary, etc
Handgrip strength and body mass index among adolescents in Northern Nigeria
Get PDFIntroduction: Normative data on handgrip strength (HGS) and body mass index (BMI) are scarce among adolescents in the Nigerian context. The aims of this study were to evaluate patterns of HGS in relation to gender and age in Nigerian adolescents and its correlation with BMI.Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1966 participants (1275 males) and (691 females) aged 12–20 years in Northern Nigeria. Body mass and height were measured. HGS was assessed using a dynamometer.Results: The right HGS (RHGS) was significantly higher than the left HGS (LHGS) (t = 21.337, p < 0.05). There were significant age differences in the RHGS and the LHGS (p < 0.05); however, no significant difference occurs at 12–14 years. Males participants aged 16–20 years had significantly higher RHGS values than females of the same age (p < 0.0038). Conversely, males aged 15–20 years had significantly higher LHGS values than females of the same age (p < 0.0038). There was a significant interaction between gender and age for the RHGS (F = 72.2, p < 0.05) and the LHGS (F = 92.1, p < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the BMI and RHGS (r = 0.480, p < 0.01) and the LHGS (r = 0.465, p < 0.01).Conclusion: There are gender and age difference in the HGS of Nigerian adolescents, with the dominance of the RHGS in both genders. HGS correlated with BMI. This normative data on HGS may serve as baseline data for future comparative studies assessing HGS among the adolescent population in Nigeria