Background: Although geriatric depression is widespread in primary health care (PHC), local studies on the prevalence of depression in elderly PHC patients appear to be scarce. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and some of the associated risk factors among elderly PHC patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting elderly people (60 years or older) from five PHC centers in Port Said Governorate was conducted. All participants had a structured interview. The long version of the geriatric depression Scale (cut-off point ≥10) was used in elders with a Mini-Mental State Examination ≥24. Results: About two-thirds of the total sample (65.7%) was female. The total prevalence of depressive symptoms was 49.4% of all subjects, more commonly in women (58.1% vs. 32.8%). Multiple regression analysis shows that female gender, high education, unemployment, low income, lonely life, loss of a close person, chronic diseases, tumor, iatrogenic medications, and depression history were the significant associated risk factors of depression in the studied elders after adjusting all previous variables in addition to age and marital status. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms constitute a significant health problem among older PHC patients in the Port Said governorate. Routine screening for depression of every elderly PHC patient is recommended for early detection.

Karishma

Gingivitis, a reversible inflammation of the gums leads to an advancement to periodontitis, a more severe and often irreversible stage characterized by the destruction of connective tissue and bone, potentially leading to tooth loss. This study was designed to develop and evaluate muco-adhesive buccal films containing metronidazole for localized treatment of periodontal disease, aiming to reduce systemic side effects and improve therapeutic efficacy. Thin films were prepared using chitosan as the primary polymer, combined with various copolymers (HPMC, MC, EC, PVP, HPC, and Carbopol) via the solvent casting technique. Thirteen formulations (F1-F13) were investigated for their ability to control the in vitro drug release, surface pH, folding endurance, drug content uniformity, and muco-adhesion, in addition to studying drug release kinetics. Formulations F12 (60.0% HPMC, 20.0% chitosan) and F13 (20.0% HPMC, 60.0% chitosan) showed optimal surface pH (≈6.7-7.0) with high muco-adhesion characteristics (49-51 Mn/m). Sustaining or expediting the drug release rate was manipulated by tailoring the polymer composition within the studied formulations. Examining drug release data has shown that the release kinetics followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, indicating diffusion and polymer relaxation mechanisms. The study demonstrates that polymer selection, in addition to the chosen ratio allows customization of release kinetics, Formulation F9 (20.0% HPC, 60.0% Chitosan) was proven to have the ability to provide the most sustained release characteristics. These findings support the potential of chitosan-based muco-adhesive films as effective localized delivery systems for metronidazole in periodontal therapy.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Social bots are computer programs created for automating general human activities like the generation of messages. The rise of bots in social network platforms has led to malicious activities such as content pollution like spammers or malware dissemination of misinformation. Most of the researchers focused on detecting bot accounts in social media platforms to avoid the damages done to the opinions of users. In this work, n-gram based approach is proposed for a bot or human detection. The content-based features of character n-grams and word n-grams are used. The character and word n-grams are successfully proved in various authorship analysis tasks to improve accuracy. A huge number of n-grams is identified after applying different pre-processing techniques. The high dimensionality of features is reduced by using a feature selection technique of the Relevant Discrimination Criterion. The text is represented as vectors by using a reduced set of features. Different term weight measures are used in the experiment to compute the weight of n-grams features in the document vector representation. Two classification algorithms, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest are used to train the model using document vectors. The proposed approach was applied to the dataset provided in PAN 2019 competition bot detection task. The Random Forest classifier obtained the best accuracy of 0.9456 for bot/human detection.

Chandra sekhar sanaboina

Background: Lichen planus (LP) is a papulosquamous cutaneous disorder that manifests as intensely itchy violaceous flat-topped polygonal papules and plaques. To compare the efficacy of topical clobetasol propionate 0.05% versus topical tacrolimus 0.1% in the treatment of LP. Methods: This prospective Comparative Study was conducted at the Dermatology Department, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS)/Services Hospital, Lahore, from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board at the Department of Dermatology, SIMS/Services Hospital, Lahore. A total of 80 patients were selected after fulfilling the selection criteria. The study participants were placed into two groups, A and B. In group A, the patients were advised to use the topical application of clobetasol propionate (0.05%) ointment twice daily. In group B, tacrolimus ointment (0.1%) was used twice daily. Treatment response was assessed at 3 weeks, and then finally efficacy was evaluated at 6 weeks. Results: Treatment efficacy was observed in 34 patients (42.5%). Group A (Clobetasol) demonstrated a significantly higher efficacy of 55% compared to 30% in Group B (Tacrolimus; p = 0.024). Conclusions: The 0.05% clobetasol propionate topical formulation demonstrated superior efficacy in treating LP compared to 0.1% topical tacrolimus. Further validation of these findings through large-scale clinical trials is warranted.

Karishma

Stroke and its associated disabilities are a growing public health challenge in many developing countries where a combination of poor awareness and poor medical care is driving up mortality rates. The rising cases are attributed to the rising prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension, obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and diabetes mellitus within the population. The prevention of stroke through awareness, knowledge, and lifestyle modification is a common approach used in public health intervention programs. Awareness and knowledge of stroke vary widely between communities partly because of access to relevant health information. This study assessed awareness, knowledge of stroke risk factors, and attitude toward stroke prevention. This study was a community-based survey among adults ≥40 years old in semi-urban communities of two local government area councils of Benue State, North Central Nigeria. The sixteen-item questionnaire used in this study is subdivided into socio-demographic information, knowledge of risk factors, symptoms of stroke, current morbidity, and attitude toward stroke prevention. The survey was done using two adults per household selected using simple random method and completed questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. The Chi-square test was used to determine the association between demographic variables and knowledge of stroke. The result showed poor levels of stroke awareness (47.3%), knowledge (44.6%), symptoms (44.6%), risk factors (20.6%), and symptoms (44.6%). Awareness of stroke and its risk factors is significantly association with age, gender, marital status, educational status, occupation, and income. Many respondents had poor knowledge of stroke and its risk factors. There is a need for improvement in stroke awareness in underserved communities, particularly those with limited access to mass media.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

This article explores how telemedicine, especially with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming healthcare. It covers its applications in monitoring patients, managing chronic diseases like diabetes, and improving cardiovascular care. The importance of wearable devices and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring is highlighted. The article emphasizes how AI-driven remote patient monitoring can enhance healthcare by providing early intervention, reducing hospitalizations, and offering personalized care.

Dhruvitkumar talati

The leaves of khat (Catha edulis) are chewed as a social habit for the central stimulant action of their cathinone content. There is growing concern about the health hazards of chronic khat chewing. Many authors have addressed the adverse effects of khat chewing on the cardiovascular and other systems. Based on a limited number of case reports and few prospective controlled studies, associations between khat chewing and the occurrence of myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, and vascular diseases such as hypertension and cerebrovascular ischemia have been proposed. This review outlines the current knowledge on the adverse health effects of khat chewing on the cardiovascular system, assesses the strength and the limitations of the studies, and identifies the questions that the future studies should address.

Karishma

Background In 2016, the Tanzanian government shifted the vaccine supply chain responsibilities from the Medical Store Department (MSD) to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to reduce costs. However, cost estimates that informed the decision were based on invoice value of vaccines and related supplies, rather than a proper economic evaluation study. Therefore, this study aims to compare the actual storage and distribution costs of vaccines and related supplies between MSD to EPI. Method Micro-costing approach was used to estimate resource use at MSD and EPI for the year 2018. Data were collected through a review of documents, warehouse databases, and interviews with key staff at MSD and EPI. We included both capital and recurrent costs. Microsoft Excel® was used for analysis with input data from the UNICEF forecasting tool, WHOs vaccine volume and capacity estimation tool, diesel generator calculator, and supply chain service fee estimator version 1.02. Results The total vaccine storage and distribution costs were estimated to be USD 1,996,286 at MSD and USD 543,648 at EPI. Distribution and program management costs represented 41% (USD 819,288) and 38% (USD 762,968) of the total costs at MSD, while storage and distribution costs represented 43% (USD 234,423) and 34% (USD 184,620) of the total costs at EPI, respectively. The cost drivers at MSD were fuel and transport (21%), receiving and dispatch (19%) and, program management personnel cost (14%), while at EPI were storage space (20%), program management personnel cost (18%) and fuel and transport (15%). Conclusion The storage and distribution of vaccines in Tanzania via the EPI reduced the vaccine supply chain cost to about 27% of the program costs at MSD.

Dr. omary swallehe

Urolithiasis, the process of urinary stone formation, entails the presence of compact masses like whewellite, brushite, and urate within the urinary system. Gout, characterized by inflammatory arthritis, emerges from the accumulation of urate (MSUM) crystals. In vitro, examinations focusing on the growth of whewellite (COM), brushite (CHPD), and urate (MSUM) crystals on glass slides present a cost-effective approach for gaining valuable insights into urolithiasis and gout. These studies not only delve into crystal growth patterns but also investigate the potential inhibition of crystal growth through the application of plant infusions, thereby laying the foundation for further extensive research in these domains.

Dr. salman ahmed

Objective: Improving quality work by infusing a “sense of belongingness” in lowest-level workers. The present work focuses on the management of human resources in an enterprise where contract workers are involved in carrying out quality work related to the parent organisation. In today’s world, where the number of supervisors has reduced significantly, it is a challenge to maintain the quality of work at a satisfactory level. The paper proposes to enhance the quality of work by infusing a “sense of belongingness” into lowest-level workers. Methodologies adopted: Case studies. The first case study was conducted between 2007-2011 during a project related to Rural Electrification Work in the Bokaro district under the scheme RGGVY. The author was deputed to supervise the rural electrification work of 300 villages with thousands of kilometres of 11kv and 415V distribution lines, along with over 400 distribution transformers in four blocks of the Bokaro district in Jharkhand. Contractors engaged local workers for erection of all infrastructure. The author explained the process of erection to local communities and brought about a sense of belongingness in them towards the infrastructure being developed. The second case review was conducted between 2013-16 at Chandrapura, Bokaro, during the operation and maintenance work of the 220KV switchyard. Six workers were involved in the maintenance work of the switchyard. They rectified faults during emergencies and took care of housekeeping. However, they only followed orders and never worked proactively. The author divided the workplace into eighteen parts, each maintaining three parts. During monthly walk-in inspections, one worker was awarded as the best contractor’s employee of the month of that section, which introduced a sense of competition among them. Analysis: During the first case study, after pointing out the benefits of the infrastructure being developed and how the quality of work will help in its sustainability for an extended period, villagers realised its importance in their well-being. As a result, they kept vigil over the contractor’s work during the erection process. In second case study, the repetitive external motivation (awards and appreciation) infused a “sense of belongingness” in them. Thus, all employees started functioning proactively. As a result, the occurrence of electrical faults was reduced drastically, and housekeeping improved. Findings: These two case studies lead the author to coin the term “sense of belongingness”, which can lead to improve the quality of work by the lowest-level workers in a company. There are five ways to develop a “Sense of Belongingness” (SOB) among workers- external motivation, which can lead to internal motivation; mutual respect; a sense of duty (every person has their own responsibility); brainstorming sessions (to make them feel as an integral part of the department); encouraging them to do more than expected. Conclusion: All these steps help to develop a “sense of belongingness” among the lowest-level workers in an organisation. Without these principles, it will be a challenge to achieve quality work. The paper addresses all the processes in detail to improve the work culture in a department and, ultimately, an organisation.

Rajiv ranjan sinha

The study of molluscan animals is called Malacology and the study of molluscan shell is called as conchology. The scaling of metabolic rates with body mass is one of the best known and most studied characteristics of aquatic animals. We studied here how body size is related to rate of oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and O: N ratio in Freshwater Bivalve Mollusc Lamellidens marginalis species in an attempt to know how body size specific changes affect their metabolism. The freshwater bivalve molluscs with specific body size i.e. small (76-79 mm in shell-length) and large (90-94 mm in shell-length) were chosen for experimental work from Bhima River at Siddhatek on April and May during summer. The adult bivalve molluscs with small body size reported high value in rate of oxygen consumption and O: N ratio but rate of ammonia excretion was low value in small body sized bivalves compared to large ones. The results are discussed in the flush of metabolic processes in fresh-water bivalve molluscs.

Dr. pritesh ramanlal gugale

This mathematical model forms machine cells, optimises the costs of unassigned machines and components, and designs the shop floor cell layout to have minimal movement of materials. The complete similarity measure algorithm forms machine cells and part families in a refined form. Later, exceptional elements are eliminated in the optimisation model by using machine duplication and sub-contracting of parts. Then the shop floor layout is designed to have optimised material movements between and within cells. An evaluation of the cell formation algorithm’ performance is done on the benchmark problems of various batch sizes to reveal the process’s capability compared with other similar methods. The data of machining times are acquired and tabulated in a part incidence matrix, which is used as input for the algorithm. The results from the linear programming optimisation model are that costs are saved, machines are duplicated, parts are sub-contracted, and there are inter- and intra-cellular movements. Finally, the output of the inbound facility design is the floor layout, which has machine cell clusters within the optimised floor area.

S ramesh

Prescribing drugs for elderly patients is not an easy task since elderly patients are frequently with comorbid conditions. In Libya, there are no guidelines for the management of medications used in elderly patients and no specialized geriatric health institutions. The aim of this study is to assess the pattern of medication use among hospitalized elderly patients in Sebha Medical Centre and the drug-related problems associated with these patterns. This report is descriptive and retrospective cross-sectional study that is conducted at Sebha Medical Center during 2021. Potential drug-related problems were assessed based on the classification of Hepler and Strand. In this study, out of 195 participants, most of the patients have been given antibiotics (92%). The majority of patients have been prescribed anti-gastric agents, vitamins and anti-thrombotic agents which accounted for 75%, 62% and 55%, respectively. To less extent, anti-hypertensive agents, analgesics and anti-hyperlipidemics were reported by 45%, 43% and 38%, correspondently. Almost all the patients have at least one event of drug-related problem and more than three-quarters of the patients had more than one event of drug-related problems. The highest rate was untreated indications which were reported for 77% then followed by drug use without indication nearly a half of the events 48%. To fewer extent rates were reported: “in improper drug selection”, “drug interaction” and “adverse effects” which were reported for 25%, 23% and 18% of the total events, respectively. Almost all elderly patients have been prescribed antibiotics, analgesics and vitamins. Drug-related problems are predominant prevalent in the clinical practice at the center. This study highlights the importance of activation of clinical pharmacist interventions at hospitals which can contribute to reducing the chance of risk of drug-related problems events among hospitalized elderly patients and ensuring rational drug prescribing in the geriatric clinical settings.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Lakes are characterized by dynamic responses to ecological and limnologic disturbances that occur within a constrained timeframe. Some endorheic lakes in the Kenyan Rift valley are presently regarded as environmental hotspots because of complex changes that are revealed through multiple proxies; changing lake levels and surface area, turbidity and sedimentation, and the proliferation of macrophytes, and loss of aquatic biodiversity. Lake Baringo is characterized by widespread catchment degradation accompanied by high levels of turbidity during erratic and decline of the native fishery based on Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis. A careful analysis implicates potential natural factors such as catchment topography and increasing anthropogenic pressure as the main causes of lake ecosystem degradation. This paper recommends several strategies for restoration of Lake Baringo based on an integrated multi-faceted approach that combines catchment rehabilitation, pollution control, and provision of alternative livelihoods such as agriculture to the riparian communities

Omweno job

Inclusive education (IE) is a new approach towards educating the children with disability and learning difficulties with that of normal ones within the same classroom. It seeks to address the learning needs of all children with a specific focus on those who are vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion. It implies all learners – with or without disabilities being able to learn together through access to common schools and community educational setting with an appropriate network of support services. This is possible only in flexible education system that includes the needs of different types of learners and adapts itself to meet their needs. Inclusive Education addresses the diverse needs of all learners by reducing barriers inside schools. It is a process of strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all learners. This educational approach provides all students greater opportunities for academic and social achievement. This includes opportunities to participate in the full range of social, recreational, arts, sports, music, day care and afterschool care, extra-curricular, faith based, and all other activities. Inclusive education argues that all children irrespective of the nature and degree of disability should be educated in general schools with non-disabled children. The schools and classrooms operate on the idea that, with right amount of support, students with disabilities can be as competent as students without disabilities.

Kamal singh

Adolescence is considered as a crucial stage for emotional development. It is also seen as a time of hyper-emotionality, emotional conflict, and volatile mood states. Given that adolescents lack skills for emotional management, emotional distress during these years can hamper their immediate growth and adversely affect their transition to the next stage of life. Interventions that promote positive emotional development during adolescence are the need of the hour. Keeping this in focus, the present study investigated the Effect of Life Skills Training on Adolescent boys and girls with high Emotional Distress. The study used pre- and post-test experimental design with a control group to examine the stated objectives. 160 adolescent boys and girls (n=80), with a mean age of 16.44 years, were selected for the study using Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Of these, 80 in the experimental group (boys=40, girls=40) were trained in life skills. Descriptive statistics, independent sample ttest and repeated measures of ANOVA were used to analyze obtained results. Major findings of the study indicate that Life Skills training has significant effect in reducing emotional distress and improving emotional health in adolescents. And the significance of it was found to be higher in girls compared to boys.

Hita claudia rao

Worldwide, the threat created by antibiotic resistance to public health calls for immediate action. Antibiotic resistance is one of the main causes of the emergence and spread of dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription. This study aims to investigate the dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription and the reason behind that in the community pharmacy in Libya. The study was randomized analytical conducted between March and April 2023 among pharmacists and assistant pharmacists employed by community pharmacies in various Libyan areas Tripoli, Zawia, and Sabratha. The data were analyzed by Fisher's exact and Chi-square tests to predict the determinations of dispensing antibiotics without prescriptions. In this study, a total of 293 participants were included, 63 had been excluded because they did not meet the inclusion of the study. The remaining 230 were enrolled for final analysis, most of them were female subjects (70.7%). Findings showed that 78.7% of the participants consulted with patients about the reason for requesting a specific type of antibiotic, while 68.7% dispensed antibiotics with probiotics. Study participants with 2 - 4 years' work experience were 76.6% higher toward dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription (P=0.683). The major reason for dispensing antibiotics without prescriptions were pharmacists knowledgeable enough to give a patient antibiotics without a prescription (68.3%). In Libya, misuse of antibiotics by the public is widespread. People can purchase antibiotics without prescription. Thus, dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription in community pharmacies is an alarming issue in Libya which can increase antibiotics resistance. Pharmacists' knowledgeable is high in dispensing patients antibiotics without a prescription, but patient pressure and financial issues are the major reasons behind dispensing antibiotics without a prescription. It can be recommended that the importance of antimicrobial stewardship and the need for ongoing education support for community pharmacy professionals is of importance.

Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

This paper investigated the variation in the multidimensional competencies and professional development needs of kindergarten teachers using a cross-sectional research design. It involved 54 purposively selected kindergarten teachers and collected the data using the self-assessment tool adopted by the Department of Education from the National Research Center for Teacher Quality in the Philippines. These data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. As found, kindergarten teachers have a high level of competencies across dimensions. Also, they have a very high extent of professional development needs in content knowledge and pedagogy and the learning environment and diversity of learners. Moreover, they have a high extent of professional needs in two dimensions. The reported high priorities for training imply more emphasis on providing them professional development activities. Results found no significant difference in the competencies of kindergarten teachers in terms of age, position, civil status, degree, and years of teaching. On the contrary, significant differences revealed in their competencies in content knowledge and pedagogy, learning environment and learners’ diversity, and curriculum and planning between those with masters and without a master’s degree. Lastly, results show no significant difference in their professional development needs. These results have implications for future research and planning for a more responsive and cost-effective professional development initiatives in the locale.

Manuel caingcoy

A major hallmark of Parkinson's disease is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The pathophysiological mechanisms causing this relatively selective neurodegeneration are poorly understood, and thus experimental systems allowing to study dopaminergic neuron dysfunction are needed. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiated toward a dopaminergic neuronal phenotype offer a valuable source to generate human dopaminergic neurons. However, currently available protocols result in a highly variable yield of dopaminergic neurons depending on the source of hiPSCs. We have now developed a protocol based on HBA promoter-driven transient expression of transcription factors by means of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, that allowed to generate very consistent numbers of dopaminergic neurons from four different human iPSC lines. We also demonstrate that AAV vectors expressing reporter genes from a neuron-specific hSyn1 promoter can serve as surrogate markers for maturation of hiPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons. Dopaminergic neurons differentiated by transcription factor expression showed aggravated neurodegeneration through α-synuclein overexpression, but were not sensitive to γ-synuclein overexpression, suggesting that these neurons are well suited to study neurodegeneration in the context of Parkinson’s disease.

Sameehan mahajani

In this paper, investigations are made to analyze the human body temperature during wound healing process due to surgery. Wound is considered after the skin graft. Skin graft is a technique used in plastic surgery. Skin is the first line of defense between the human and environment, it is very susceptible to damage. Internal body or core temperature (Tb) is one of the clinical vital signs along with pulse and respiratory rates. Any disturbance in body temperature will drive complexities in wound healing process. These studies are important in the mechanism of establishing the limits of thermal regulation of human body during the healing process in different situations and conditions. The Finite element method is used to analyze tissues temperature for normal tissues (donor site) and abnormal tissues (tissues after surgery). Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed. Numerical results are obtained using Crank Nicolson Method.

Manisha jain