Reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is used worldwide to test and trace the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2). “Extraction-less” or “direct” real time–reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a transparent and accessible qualitative method for SARS-CoV-2 detection from nasopharyngeal or oral pharyngeal samples with the potential to generate actionable data more quickly, at a lower cost, and with fewer experimental resources than full RT-qPCR. This study engaged 10 global testing sites, including laboratories currently experiencing testing limitations due to reagent or equipment shortages, in an international interlaboratory ring trial. Participating laboratories were provided a common protocol, common reagents, aliquots of identical pooled clinical samples, and purified nucleic acids and used their existing in-house equipment. We observed 100% concordance across laboratories in the correct identification of all positive and negative samples, with highly similar cycle threshold values. The test also performed well when applied to locally collected patient nasopharyngeal samples, provided the viral transport media did not contain charcoal or guanidine, both of which appeared to potently inhibit the RT-PCR reaction. Our results suggest that direct RT-PCR assay methods can be clearly translated across sites utilizing readily available equipment and expertise and are thus a feasible option for more efficient COVID-19 coronavirus disease testing as demanded by the continuing pandemic.
Online interviews can be powerful tools in global health research. In this article, we review the literature on the use of and challenges associated with online interviews in health research in Africa and make recommendations for future online qualitative studies. The scoping review methodology was used. We searched on Medline and Embase in March 2022 for qualitative articles that used internet-based interviews as a data collection method. Following full-text reviews, we included nine articles. We found that online interviews were typically conducted via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messaging and E-mail chats. Online interviews were used in Africa because of the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the need to sample participants across multiple countries or communities. Recruitment for online interviews occurred online, interviews were characterised by inaudible sounds, the inability to use video options and the challenges of including people with low income and education. We recommend that researchers critically evaluate the feasibility of online interviews within a particular African locality before fully implementing this data collection approach. Researchers may also collaborate with community-based organisations to help recruit a more socioeconomically diverse sample because of the potential of excluding participants with limited internet access.
Rationale: Trisomy 18, often known as Edwards syndrome. It is a common chromosomal disorder characterized by the presence of an extra chromosome 18. Unfortunately, survival past the first year is quite rare, and there are only a few reports of individuals living long-term without needing corrective surgery. This case sheds light on an unusual situation where a patient survived for an extended period despite having severe congenital heart defects. Patient concerns: A 5-year-old girl, already diagnosed with trisomy 18, was admitted to the hospital after experiencing a cough and diarrhea that started after she began taking a nutritional powder supplement. The patient had a history of admission to neonatal intensive care for 1 month due to transient tachypnea of the newborn, mild retractions, and grunting. Additionally, she had intrauterine growth restrictions, dysmorphic features, and hypotonia. Diagnoses: Clinical examination revealed dysmorphic features, hypoxia, and a cardiac murmur. Chest radiography reveals central infiltration with cardiothoracic ratio 60%. Genetic testing confirmed the presence of trisomy 18, and an echocardiogram showed multiple congenital defects with significant right ventricular hypertrophy. Interventions: Initial management began with administering oxygen, performing metabolic tests, and a chest x-ray. However, because of ongoing low oxygen levels linked to her heart defects and pulmonary hypertension, long-term home oxygen therapy was initiated. A comprehensive supportive care with multidisciplinary team support was the main management. Outcomes: Throughout her treatment, oxygen saturation did not exceed 85%, and the patient’s development has remained severely delayed, with no significant motor or cognitive milestones. The patient had a long life expectancy for her complex heart defects, but eventually died of cardiac arrest. Lessons: This case shows the possibility of prolonged survival in trisomy 18, even with severe congenital heart defects, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary management and family-centered counseling. Documenting such cases expands understanding of this syndrome and guides long-term care strategies.
This case is designed to highlight the marketing strategies adopted by a new entrant in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The importance of brand architecture in building brand relevance in this competitive environment and enhancing customer loyalty has been put forth as illustrated by the experts. The synchronization of branding strategies and marketing communications in terms of establishing a customer connect purely on the basis of nationalism, price, and natural preparations have been highlighted from the perspective of Patanjali’s growth strategy. The brand has been envied by all the big players of the sector for proving itself as the major disruptor being portrayed in terms of its voluminous sales and ever-rising revenues. This case on Patanjali offers an insight into the strategies followed by a new company to position the brand at the right time and acquire a substantial market share. It also highlights the facts that exceptional competitiveness in distribution strategies may not be the only determinant for effective management of distribution strategies, and the road ahead needs to be rightly sorted out. This case also tries to unlock the path that determines the success the brand Patanjali has achieved which otherwise took decades for Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, ITC, or Unilever to achieve.
During COVID-19 pandemic health professional need to develop good communication skills. Good communication skills will lead to professionalism. The information that are given to patients, their families and the community has to be transparent, true and scientifically relevant. The awareness one creates about the pandemic includes mode of infection, transmission, symptoms, vaccines, vaccination, viral heterogeneity and mutations. Such transmission of true information requires proper training of health personnel including the social media in developing good communication skills
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Self-medication of antibiotics is an irrational use of drugs, contributing to microbial resistance, increasing health care cost and higher mortality and morbidity. This study was aimed to assess self-medication with antibiotics without a medical prescription in the community of Libya. This is a cross-sectional study conducted from June to December, 2022 and the total number of participants was 200. The design of the study and sample size were modified according to the proficiency of pharmacists and the medical and non-medical population of Libya. The questionnaire was developed in English and Arabic language and was distributed through social media platforms. The questions were used after a thorough literature search and assessing the validity and reliability. The significant signs regarding reasons for the treatment by self-medication drugs of antibiotics, because of its various drugs of antibiotic by pharmacist (n = 80, 40.0%) and family (n = 90, 45.0%) compare with experience and physicians by used prescription was 13 (06.50%) and significant sings regarding by nasal congestion self-medication of various antibiotics (n = 100, 50.0%). This sign must be practiced based on a previous physician’s prescription. The antibiotics are often self-administered as patient feel that they will save money and time but this can lead to substantial adverse drug reaction, antibiotic resistance, treatment failure and drug-related toxicity. This study respondent's medical and non-medical public of Libya who should be relatively informed and educated about the risk of treatment by self-medication of antibiotics with the development of resistance.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Objective: Pyrazolopyrimidines are heterocyclic molecules containing nitrogen as the main composition, and hence, they exhibit pharmacological efficacy. They are analogs of purines so that possessing wide applications in the field of medicinal chemistry. The main objective of this study is to synthesize different derivatives of pyrazole-pyrimidine classes by adopting simple methodology as well as by employing green chemistry. The purpose of the synthesis of these molecules is to study the antitumor activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell lines. Methods: After literature studies, it makes us to involve in the research of synthetic organic chemistry, especially to synthesize new compounds of pyrazolopyrimidines. We are reported solvent-free synthesis of pyrazolo [3,4-d]-pyrimidine-thiones through ethyl acetoacetate, hydrazine hydrate, thiourea, and different benzaldehydes. An ionic liquid 2-methyl-imidazolium-oxalate catalyzed the reactions under ultrasonication bath. Both conventional and ultrasonic methods were employed and comparison studies have been made. It was found that ultrasonic method completed the reaction quicker than the conventional method. All the synthesized compounds were confirmed their structures by 1 HNMR, Fourier transform infrared, 13C-NMR, and elemental analysis spectra. The compounds were tested for in vitro anticancer activity against EAC cell lines. Most compounds revealed significant anticancer activity relative to doxorubicin as a positive control with inhibitory concentration (IC50) values. Results: Ultrasonication method is a simple method under which all the reactions were completed at faster time (<7 min) compared to the convention method. Among eight molecules, 8a and 8d completed the reactions at a faster rate. We reported IC50 values of all the molecules, in which 8e and 8g were exhibited excellent potency against EAC cell lines at different concentrations .
This study aims to examine and compare the levels and patterns of aggressive behavior among higher secondary students in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas. Aggression among adolescents is a significant concern, and understanding its variations across different settings can provide valuable insights for intervention and prevention strategies. The study employs a review-based research design, using articles published between 1993 and 2023 to collect data on aggressive behavior of higher secondary students. For this purpose, a review of the literature was performed by using the search words “aggressive behavior”, “higher secondary students”, “rural”, “semi-urban”, “urban” in the databases like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Academia, Shodhganga, PubMed, JSTOR and Elsevier for articles. The results will shed light on the prevalence, types, and potential factors influencing aggression in these areas, informing the development of targeted interventions and policy recommendations and statistical analyses will be employed to examine the relationships between variables. Importance and Scope of the Topic: Aggressive behavior is a topic that affects us all. From playground bullies to road rage enthusiasts, aggressive behavior has a significant impact on our daily lives. Understanding the causes and consequences of aggression is crucial in finding ways to prevent and manage such behavior. After all, the world would be a much better place if we all knew how to calm down and express our frustrations in healthy ways.
Effective communication between patients and doctors is fundamental to high-quality healthcare, patient safety, and overall satisfaction. However, the onset of COVID-19 has prompted significant shifts in communication from in-room and face-to-face interactions to virtual consults. The impact of this pandemic related change on patient-doctor communication goals, processes, attributes, and environment remains unclear. We undertook a scoping review involving the systematic search of seven academic databases for relevant articles published up to and including June 2021. In total, 47 articles were identified that met the inclusion criteria. We applied the patient-doctor communication framework to guide our deductive thematic analysis of articles included, sorting results from reported studies and position papers into themes and sub-themes. The theme of communication goals highlighted sub-themes related to patient safety, convenience, affordability, and satisfaction; preparation included sub-themes on technology interventions, workforce training, and digital literacy; participant attributes included compassion for doctors and rebuilding trust among patients; and communication process included issues related to telemedicine or video conferencing, challenges with diminished patient privacy, and distractions in the patient's home setting. Finally, the environment theme included insights into doctors' workload, isolation, and anxiety and how changes requiring increases in virtual consults iteratively altered confidence in care provision and communication with patients. Results of the scoping review provide important insights for strengthening virtual patient-doctor interactions, including target areas for training and professional development during and beyond the current pandemic.
Multiple choice questions (MCQs) and short essay questions (SEQs) are common methods of the assessment of medical students in courses of pharmacology. Poorly constructed test items (questions) are a widespread problem resulting in failure to assess learning objectives. It has been reported that there are 36.0% to 65.0% flawed test items in medical education assessment tools. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate MCQs by determining the item writing flaws (IWFs) and to evaluate the SEQs by determining the cognitive level of each item. Four pharmacology tests were administered to third-year pharmacy students at Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Bayda, Libya. These were evaluated by determining the IWFs and the level of the cognitive domains. Based on Buckwalter’s modification of Bloom’s taxonomy cognitive level, for the SEQs, 30.0% of the questions were attempted to check recall of information, 26.0% were attempted to evaluate understanding and interpretation of data and 43.0% of the questions were attempted to check the application of knowledge for solving a particular problem. For the MCQs, 94.6% of the questions were attempted to evaluate the understanding and interpretation of data. For the IWFs, there were more than 40.0% of flawed questions. The most common writing flaws were the negative stem (47.4%), unfocused item (16.0%), non-homogenous in grammar and contents (10.0%), all the above (10.0%) and clang association (05.0%). In a short essay, the SEQs were of excellent quality because they were equally distributed among the three levels of cognitive (level I, II and III). On the other hand, the most common mistakes IWFs of the MCQs were the negative stem (47.0%) and the idea was not clearly and concisely stated in the stem (16.0%). This study concludes that questions in SEQs are valid to measure the learning objective but MCQs were not in pharmacology courses in Libya.
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Background: Prescribing patterns in systemic hypertension vary from place to place. Studies have shown that cost could be one of the factors responsible for non-adherence to treatment among hypertensive patients. Nigerian pharmacoeconomics studies have not provided a general guide on cost-effective prescribing for hypertensive patients in the country. The aim of the study was to examine the prescribing patterns, do cost effectiveness and cost minimisation analyses of the commonly prescribed antihypertensives, and determine if cost is a major reason many of the hypertensive patients of the District Hospital are usually lost to follow up. Methods: 5267 adult (≥18 years) non-antenatal patients’ cards of 2016 were reviewed for hypertension. Examination of the prescriptions, cost-effectiveness and cost-minimisation analyses of the commonly prescribed antihypertensives were done. Results: 12.6% of the patients were hypertensive. 73% of these hypertensive patients were treated pharmacologically. 40.8% adhered to treatment. 73% of the adherent ones responded to treatment. Amlodipine was the most expensive prescribed antihypertensive (N22). Amiloride-hydrochlorothiazide with the largest cost effectiveness ratio (CER) (9) was the most cost effective of all the combinations. Lisinopril- hydrochlorothiazide (N17) was preferable to the triple combination of lisinopril-amlodipine-hydrochlorothiazide (N39), and amlodipine-hydrochlorothiazide (N32) in cost minimisation. Conclusions: Cost of drugs probably had played a significant role in non-adherence to treatment among hypertensive patients in the District Hospital in 2016, since moduretic with the largest CER (9) and nifedipine with the greatest BP reduction when combined with hydrochlorothiazide (56/22 mm Hg) were rarely prescribed.
Animals like plants are also medicinal agents for preventing and curing different health problems worldwide, practically in all human cultures. Zootherapy is ancient and has strong evidence of the medicinal use of animal resources. Different animal body parts and preparations are used in folk medicines. Zootherapy reveals that medical practitioners have always considered animals a source of surprising and numerous therapeutic effects. A high diversity of animals, their parts, and derivative products are used, and this is a heritage that could constitute a fundamental step in the discovery and isolation of natural extracts and new and low-cost alternative drugs from animals. About 12% of people worldwide are affected by different types of urolithiasis; the recurrence rate in females is 47-60%, and in males is 70-80%. According to WHO, 75% of the population relies on traditional medicines to prevent and cure diseases. Hence, there is a need to concentrate on all folk natural products effective in urolithiasis for their pharmacological evaluation and isolation of single drug molecules responsible for anti-urolithiasis activity to develop suitable formulations against urolithiasis.
Three commonly used legumes, Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc., Phaseolus lunatus Linn., and Phaseolus vulgaris Linn. were subjected to determine their minerals and phytic acid contents to correlate their nutritional and medicinal properties. The atomic absorption spectroscopic method was used to quantify essential minerals, while the spectrophotometric method was used for phytic acid estimation. Fe, Mg, Mn, P and Zn were recorded in reasonable quantities, Ca and Cu in moderate, and K in small amounts in the seed flours of all the three tested legumes. Maximum Fe and Zn content (0.38 and 0.40 mg/g) were recorded in P. vulgaris, while M. uniflorum delivered high content of Mg, Mn, P and Ca (0.21, 0.20, 77.94 and 0.04 mg/g) and 0.04 mg/g Cu was recorded in P. lunatus. The highest level of phytic acid (37.00 mg/g) was recorded in M. uniflorum at 519 nm. The estimated quantities of minerals and phytic acid provide an excellent opportunity to conclude that all three tested legumes could be used as food to achieve nutritional and health-related functional benefits.
Mosquitoes conveying Plasmodium store parasites into the skin of the mammalian host. Parasites make a trip through the circulation system to the liver, where they cross a few hepatocytes prior to building up a disease. Inside the last hepatocyte the parasite goes through morphogenesis and afterward abiogenetically partitions to become more than 20,000 blood-infective parasites, called merozoites. On account of P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. cynomolgi, the parasites can stay lethargic in the liver in structures called hypnozoites. The merozoites are delivered once again into the circulation system, where they start the repetitive blood stage. Inside erythrocytes, a little division of parasites separate into male or female gametocytes. These gametocytes are ingested by the mosquito during blood taking care of, where they will duplicate explicitly, in the long run prompting the arrangement of sporozoites
Production process in the manufacturing industries has proven wasteful of the resources in the production process over time. integrating of lean principles in the manufacturing activities has brought notable success in a complex and slow production process in an industry. This study aims at integrating of lean principles to a product development process to eliminate break down cases as it makes the process easy as well as speeding up the product development in an automotive industry. Three major phases are applied in product development namely; the early concept phase, middle core design and the launch phase. An exceptional definition of products development of lean principles are applied to come up with an analysis framework. Through interviews, observations, documentation and experience barriers that causes large number of wastes can be established. Lean principles will then be applied to eliminate such causes in the product development and then derive conclusion that shows the industry the process of lean in product development in the entire process
Introduction: Study was conducted with an objective of investigating the inhibitory effect of Phaseolus lunatus seeds extract on three enzymes (α-amylase, maltase and glucoamylase) involved in diabetes. The disadvantages related to the use of synthetic drugs make it necessary to search for alternative medicines from medicinal plants. One therapeutic approach for treating postprandial hyperglycaemia is to decrease the plasma glucose level, which can be attained by lowering the starch hydrolysis by digestive enzymes such as α-amylase, maltase and glucoamylase. The use of synthetic antidiabetic agents caused gastrointestinal side effects. Methods: Hence, the research was aimed to evaluate the potential of Phaseolus lunatus seeds extract to inhibit α-amylase, maltase and glucoamylase as a possible mechanism of hypoglycemia caused by this plant with fewer side effects. Phaseolus lunatus, also known as Lima bean, is native to Tropical America and grown worldwide. Lima bean has been prescribed traditionally to treat different diseases, including diabetes. Result: The results of the present study showed that Phaseolus lunatus seeds extract has exerted both time and concentration-dependent Significant inhibitory effects on these digestive enzymes might be due to the cumulative impact of phytoconstituents in the plant extract. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be said that the part mechanisms by which Phaseolus lunatus exhibited its antidiabetic activity might be through inhibiting this digestive enzyme.
This study aims to determine the effect of communication, competence and work discipline on job satisfaction at PT. Tribahtera Srikandi. This research was conducted at PT. Tribahtera Srikandi lasted for 6 months, starting from January 2020 to June 2020. Sampling was taken in research using proportional random sampling method. The population in this study are all employees of factory workers in PT. Tribahtera Srikandi 155 people. The number of respondents in this study was established by using the statistics of the population, amounting to 112 people. The instruments used to collect data are questionnaires from communication, competence, work discipline and job satisfaction. The data analysis tool in this study is a multiple linear regression by carrying out a classic assumption test that is continued by testing the partial hypothesis or t test, the simultaneous hypothesis test or the F test, and the calculation of the coefficient of determination. The contribution of communication, competence and work discipline variables explained the variable of job satisfaction as big as 0.765 or 76.5%. The remaining 0.235 or 23.5% was influenced by other independent variables not examined in this study.
The current COVID-19 is now endemic on everycontinent and becomes the most challenging outbreaks over centuries, thus millions of people have been infected with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and have contributed to the deaths of more than two millionpeople. Researchers are working continuously to develop safe and effective vaccines that people have started receiving since December 2020. Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the most important countermeasure to the COVID-19 pandemic taking into considerationthat vaccines induce a robust immune response
Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
In the last decade, we have observed the usage of artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning models in industry, education, healthcare, entertainment, and several other areas. In this paper, we focus on using machine learning algorithms in the loan approval process of financial institutions. First, we briefly review some prior research papers that dealt with loan approval predictions using machine learning models. Next, we analyze the loan approval prediction dataset we downloaded from Kaggle, which was used in this paper to compare several machine learning classification models. During this analysis, we observed that credit scores and loan terms are the attributes that probably most affect the result. Next, we divided the dataset into a training set (80%) and a test set (20%). We trained 27 various machine learning models in MATLAB. Three models were optimized with Bayesian optimization to find the best hyperparameters with minimum error. We used 5-fold cross-validation for the validations to prevent overfitting during the training. In the following step, we used the test set on trained models to measure the models’ accuracy on unseen data. The result showed that the best accuracy both on validation and test data, more than 98%, was reached with neural networks and ensemble classification models.
Green computing is focusing on reducing the energy consumption, resource usage, carbon dioxide emission. It was found that Last year, Google used about 12.4 terawatt-hours of electricity. Energy consumption in data centers is reduced by decreasing the resource utilization that is by switching off or shifting the computing nodes to sleep mode. But when the servers are being used the energy consumption is minimized by using energy efficient scheduling and optimization techniques.In WNS the sensor nodes are deployed in remote areas, these sensors are powered by battery that decreases the lifetime, therefore by using energy efficient techniques can increase the uptime of the battery-operated devices in WNS. This work studied various energy efficient techniques that minimize energy consumption usage in Data Centers (DC) and the algorithms that increase the uptime of the battery-operated device in (WNS) Wireless Network Sensors.
Augustine University Ilara Epe, Lagos, Nigeria
Jntua, Aicte
Banasthali Vidyapith