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Detection of Acanthamoeba spp. in two major water reservoirs in the Philippines
No full textWater reservoirs are important manmade structures providing water security to deliver clean and safe water for drinking and other purposes to the community. Eighty water samples were collected from Magat and Ipo water reservoirs using purposive sampling between November 2018 and January 2019. Water samples were collected in sterile containers for testing. The samples were cultured in nonnutrient agar and lawned with Escherichia coli and incubated at 33 °C. Twelve out of the 80 (15%) water samples were positive for amoebic growth. Light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed double-walled cystic stages and were initially identified as Acanthamoeba spp. based on morphological characteristic in reference to Page’s established criteria. Their extracted DNAs were used in polymerase chain reaction using JDP1 and JDP2 primers and confirmed the presence of Acanthamoeba DNA in agarose gel electrophoresis. Aligned sequences from PCR products were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers MK886460, MK909919, MK905437, MK910997, MK911021 and MK886514. The presence of potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba spp. in water reservoirs is considered a potential risk for public health, requiring appropriate processing of water in treatment plants
Intestinal protozoan and helminthic infections among hemodialysis and cancer patients
Get PDFIntestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) can be a severe threat to immunocompromised patients. This is particularly true for those undergoing chemotherapy and hemodialysis. The present research is aimed at identifying intestinal parasites that might be present
in immunocompromised patients. In this cross-sectional study 1040 stool samples were collected (279 samples from hemodialysis patients, 362 samples from chemotherapy patients and 399 samples from the control group) from March to September 2017. The samples were tested by direct, formalin-ether methods for protozoa and ova of intestinal parasites and Ziehl-Neelsen staining methods for coccidian parasites such as Cryptosporidium species. The overall parasitic infection rate was higher (15%) in hemodialysis patients and 11.3% in chemotherapy patients
whereas the lowest rate was observed (7.3%) in the control group. The infectivity rates were statistically significant (P = 0.008) when compared with the control group. The most prevalent parasites present were Blastocystis hominis (8.9% of the cases), Entamoeba coli (1.6%), Iodamoeba butschlii (0.8%), Endolimax nana (0.6%), Chilomastix mesnili (0.5%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.5%) and Taenia species (0.15%), whereas Giardia lamblia was found present only in the control group. Statistical analyses revealed a significant correlation between gastrointestinal symptoms (such as some abdominal pain, diarrhea) and the ratio of chemotherapy frequency to scheduled frequency and parasitic infections (P = 0.001). There was not a correlation between prevalence of parasites with age or education levels of the infected individuals. Results of the present study suggest that a periodic stool examinations in special parasitological laboratories should be included as part of routine and general medical care
Chinese adult higher education as a heterotopia
Get PDFCertain environments are ‘outside of all places, even though it may be possible to indicate their location in reality’ (Foucault 1986, p.24). Foucault calls such places ‘heterotopias’ and offers six principles to help define them. Here we propose that Chinese adult higher education is a heterotopic space. Chinese adult higher education exists alongside regular higher education and has been used by the Chinese government to fulfil various social and political roles during different historical phases but different policy problematisation over time has shaped AHE into a crisis heterotopia. Thus, as a Foucauldian heterotopia, Chinese adult higher education exists as a space in the interstices of power relations and dominant social structures – a position that, in the Chinese credential society, leaves those who enter this space feeling marginalised. Further, we propose that as nations expand their higher education systems, this diversification needs purposeful follow-up otherwise certain branches of higher education will fall to the whim of socio-cultural change
Barriers and enablers to implementation of pressure injury prevention in hospitalized adults: a mixed methods systematic review protocol
Get PDFObjective:
The objective of the proposed systematic review is to determine the barriers and enablers (or facilitators) to the implementation of pressure injury prevention among adults receiving care in the hospital setting.
Introduction:
Hospital-acquired pressure injuries are preventable; however, they remain an ongoing safety and quality health care concern in many countries. There are various evidence-based preventative interventions for pressure injuries, but their implementation in clinical practice is limited. An understanding of the different factors that support (enablers or facilitators) and inhibit (barriers) the implementation of these interventions from different perspectives is important, so that targeted strategies can be incorporated into implementation plans.
Inclusion criteria:
This review will include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies that investigate barriers and/or enablers in relation to hospital-acquired pressure injury prevention in hospitalized adults. Only English publications will be considered, with no publication date restrictions.
Methods:
The systematic review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for mixed methods systematic review. Published studies will be searched in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and Scopus. Gray literature will also be considered. Critical appraisal and data extraction will be performed using standardized tools, followed by data transformation. Data synthesis will follow the convergent integrated approach
Embedding graduate employability skills into health and social care course - a scoping review
Get PDFThis scoping review aimed to explore the graduates' employability skills required for employment in health and social care settings. Electronic literature searches were conducted to identify literature published from 1993 to 2018. The literature reviewed were research papers, educational reports and scholarly papers on graduate employability skills. The literature searches and the review were performed independently by the authors. Out of 121 articles only 42 met the inclusion criteria. The review found the perceptions of graduates, employers and academics who could contribute in developing graduates' employability skills. Service users’ involvement was not evident in the literature reviewed so inclusion of their views was recommended as essential in identifying desirable graduates' employability skills
Cell-type-specific whole-brain direct inputs to the anterior and posterior piriform cortex
Get PDFThe piriform cortex (PC) is a key region in the brain that is involved in both processing and coding of olfactory information. It is implicated in various brain disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and autism. The PC consists of anterior (APC) and posterior (PPC) parts, which are largely different both in their anatomy and functions. However, the monosynaptic input networks to specific neural populations within APC and PPC remain poorly understood. Here, we mapped the whole-brain monosynaptic inputs to the two major neural populations, the excitatory glutamatergic principal neurons and the inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic interneurons within the APC and PPC using the rabies virus-mediated retrograde trans-synaptic tracing system. We found that for both types of neurons, APC and PPC share some similarities in input networks, with dominant inputs originating from the olfactory areas (OLF), followed by the isocortex, hippocampal formation (HPF), cortical subplate (CTXsp), cerebral nuclei (CNU) and interbrain (IB), whereas the midbrain (MB) and hindbrain (HB) were either blank or sporadically labeled. However, APC and PPC also showed distinct features in their input distribution patterns. For both types of neurons, the APC was innervated more heavily by bilateral OLF and cortical areas compared to the PPC; whereas the input proportions from the HPF to the PPC were higher than to the APC. Overall, our results revealed that monosynaptic input networks to both excitatory and inhibitory neural populations of different PC subdivisions, may provide the structural architecture for revealing the diverse functions of the PC
Tree monitoring using ground penetrating radar: two case studies using reverse-time migration
Get PDFNon-destructive testing (NDT) for health monitoring of trees is a suitable candidate for detecting signs of early decay [1]. Recent developments [2,3,4] have highlighted that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has the potential to provide with a robust and accurate detection tool with minimum computational and operational requirements in the field. In particular, a processing framework is suggested in [2] that can effectively remove ringing noise and unwanted clutter. Subsequently, an arc length parameterisation is employed in order to utilise a wheel-measurement device to accurately position the measured traces. Lastly, two migration schemes; Kirchhoff and reversetime migration, are successfully applied on numerical and laboratory data in [3]. In the current paper, the detection scheme described in [2,3] using reverse-time migration is tested in two case studies that involve diseased urban trees within the greater London area, UK (Kensington and Gunnersbury park). Both of the trees were cut down after the completion of the measurements and furthermore cut into several slices to get direct information with regards to their internal structure. The processing scheme described in [3,4] managed to adequately detect the internal decay present in both trees. The aforementioned case studies provide coherent evidences to support the premise that GPR is capable of detecting decay in diseased trunks and therefore has the potential to become an accurate and efficient diagnostic tool against emerging infectious diseases of trees
Moisture-associated skin damage: an overview of its diagnosis and management
Get PDFThis educational article introduces an explores moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) and the four forms it manifests as, namely, incontinence-associated dermatitis; intertriginous dermatitis; peristomal moisture-associated dermatitis; and peri-wound moisture-associated dermatitis. The aetiology and predisposing factors of each form are critically discussed, in addition to the treatments and interventions that can be used by nurses to support patient recovery. Nurses and other health professionals working with patients who are at risk of skin damage or who already require wound care, must be knowledgeable about all aspects of MASD. Fortunately, a plethora of evidence-based literature exists to support health professionals in their practice, although validated assessment and recording tools for incontinence-associated dermatitis are limited
Barriers to access and ways to improve dementia services for a minority ethnic group in England
Get PDFRationale, aims and objectives: Much emphasis has been placed on the lack of awareness and understanding of dementia that exist within the ethnic minority groups in the UK. There has been a continual dearth of research, however, among the ethnic minority carers about reducing barriers to accessing services and optimising engagements with religiously tailored interventions. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study that examined the barriers to healthcare service use in Bangladeshi ethnic minority population.
Method: This analysis piece draws on findings from a doctoral level research study of understanding dementia among the Bangladeshi community in England. The doctoral research which informed this paper was gathered in two distinct phases: 1) focus group discussions and 2) semi-structured qualitative interviews. All data were audio-recorded and analysed using thematic analysis. The NVivo qualitative software was utilised to simplify the thematic analysis, including transcribing, coding, and interpreting the emergent themes.
Results: Some barriers arose out of their religious and cultural beliefs and practices, other barriers related to the complexity of the healthcare system. Gender based caregiving interferes with their religious ideologies while religiously appropriate services are of precise importance when investigating access to services.
Conclusion: The findings provide understanding into the development of seeking healthcare services within the mainstream services and it may serve to give a useful direction to future enquiry