Prevalence Of High Levels Research Articles

Parasite Prevalence in The Palajunoj Valley: Water System Case Study in Candelaria, Guatemala

Background: Due to poor sanitation and lack of infrastructure in rural Guatemala, diarrheal disease is prevalent. The goal of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in children in the Palajunoj Valley and to conduct a case study in Candelaria – a rural Guatemalan community in the Palajunoj Valley – regarding the current state of their water system and household water practices. Methods: The Primeros Pasos Clinic, a primary care medical and dental clinic in the Palajunoj Valley, collected over 1,000 fecal samples in 2015 from children in the Palajunoj Valley and tested them for parasites presence. Interviews and water tests were conducted in January 2019 in Candelaria with community leaders and women in the community. Data was analyzed in February 2019. Results: 60.11% of children in the Palajunoj Valley and 50.47% of children in Candelaria presented with at least one type of gastrointestinal parasite. 37 out of 95 houses in Candelaria do not have access to tap water. Unfiltered tap water was highly contaminated with hydrogen peroxide producing bacteria. Boiled water and filtered water presented lower levels of contamination. Conclusions The high level of parasite prevalence is at least partially due to lack of access to clean water. The three major issues in Candelaria are lack of infrastructure, financial barriers, and lack of sufficient education.

Assessment of the knowledge of the modes of transmission and prevention of malaria among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the Nkwen Health Center Bamenda, Cameroon.

IntroductionMalaria is a life threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite, transmitted through the bites of infected female anopheles' mosquitoes. According to the latest WHO data published in 2017, malaria deaths in Cameroon reached 9.161 deaths accounting for 4.14% of total deaths. The age adjusted death rate is 29.11 per 100,000 and Cameroon is ranked the 30th in the world with a high prevalence of malaria. The aim of this study was therefore, to access the knowledge of the modes of transmission and prevention of malaria among pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinic (ANC) at the Nkwen Health Center, Bamenda.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional hospital based survey study. The researchers recruited 51 eligible women in the Nkwen Health Centre and used a validated and pre-tested questionnaires to collect data. Collected data were entered into Excel and analysed using descriptive statistics and the results presented in tables and figures.ResultsSixty four percent of the women have basic knowledge about the mode of malaria transmission. Thirty six percent of the women had little knowledge about malaria transmission modes and the possible dangers of the disease.ConclusionSlightly above 50% of pregnant women have basic knowledge on the modes of malaria transmission. Lack of knowledge regarding the modes of malaria transmission can be one of the reasons why there is still quite a high level of malaria prevalence among pregnant women attending ANC at the Nkwen Health Center, Bamenda. There is therefore, a need to educate women on malaria transmission modes.

Mapping tweets to a known disease epidemiology; a case study of Lyme disease in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland

BackgroundAnalysis of social media is an emerging method with potential as a tool for disease surveillance. Twitter may offer a route for surveillance by using tweeting habits as a proxy for disease incidence. Previous work has focused on temporal patterns and have proven to be successful. However, the identification of geographical patterns has been limited by a combination of Twitter’s data collection policies and by exploring diseases that have a high prevalence and high levels of awareness with the public. We propose that, by performing a restricted geographical search strategy on a disease with a relatively low incidence, one may be able to explore spatial patterns. Here, Lyme disease in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is used as a case example. ObjectiveTo explore whether the tweeting habits of British and Irish Twitter users matched the known spatio-temporal epidemiology of Lyme disease in these respective countries. MethodsAll Tweets containing the word ‘Lyme’ were collected between the 1st of July 2017 and the 30th June 2018, restricted by geography (a 375-mile radius around the geographical centre of Great Britain) and by language (English-only tweets). Tweets were removed which referred to locations that included ‘Lyme’ within their name (e.g. Lyme Regis). Only original tweets were analysed. Daily and monthly time series were created and compared to national Lyme disease surveillance figures. A map of the number of Twitter users tweeting about Lyme disease per 100,000 population per local authority was created. This was formerly compared to national surveillance data for England and Wales using an exploratory spatial data analysis approach. ResultsDuring the study period, 13,757 original tweets containing the word ‘Lyme’, and excluding place names relating to Lyme, were collected. The mean number of daily tweets was 38 (range: 12–276). There was strong seasonality with the highest number of tweets in the summer, this matched the known epidemiology of Lyme disease. Of the 5212 of users who tweeted about Lyme disease, 51.8% had a user profile location that could be matched to a local authority in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. The mean number of Twitter users tweeting about Lyme disease per 100,000 population per local authority was 3.7. The areas with the highest incidence were south-west England and the Highlands of Scotland. When comparing these figures to English and Welsh Lyme disease surveillance figures they showed a significant positive spatial correlation (p = 0.002). ConclusionsThe tempo-spatial pattern of Twitter users tweeting about Lyme disease matches the known disease epidemiology. The degree of geographical concordance between Twitter users’ locations and national surveillance reports, indicate that Twitter has the potential to be used in to identify potential disease hotspots based on the levels of social media ‘noise’. There is scope for further work to test the robustness of Twitter as an adjunct ‘measure of concern’ disease surveillance tool. However, caution must be taken as national media stories can skew data and Twitter users may not provide reliable facts in the data that they share on the platform.

Eyeing computer vision syndrome: Awareness, knowledge, and its impact on sleep quality among medical students.

Background:Computer vision syndrome (CVS) encompasses a constellation of ocular and extraocular symptoms in computer users who either habitually or compulsively use computers for long periods of time. Electronic devices such as computers, smart phones, and tablets emit blue light (400–490 nm) from their light-emitting diodes and produce electromagnetic fields, both of which interfere with the circadian rhythm.Aim:This study aims to assess the awareness, knowledge, and impact on sleep quality of CVS among medical students.Materials and Methods:This study included 500 medical students. All participants anonymously filled up a pro forma including sociodemographic details and three questionnaires that (a) tested for awareness and knowledge about CVS, (b) tested for CVS, and (c) the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), respectively. Data from 463 complete questionnaires were analyzed.Results:The mean (±standard deviation) age of the 463 individuals was 19.55 (±1.04) years. The prevalence of CVS was 77.5%. The prevalence was higher in boys (80.23%) compared to girls (75.87%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Only 34.1% of the medical students were aware of CVS. Good knowledge regarding various aspects of CVS was observed in 22.46% individuals, while 53.99% and 23.56% had average and poor knowledge, respectively. Poor sleep quality was present in 75.49% of individuals with CVS compared to 50.96% of students without CVS; the difference was statistically significant (odd's ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.338 [0.214–0.531]). All the components of PSQI score, except components 1 and 6, had statistically significantly (P < 0.05) higher values in individuals with CVS as compared to individuals without CVS.Conclusions:There is high prevalence but low level of awareness and knowledge about CVS among medical students. CVS is significantly associated with poor sleep quality in medical students.

The first record of symbiosis between a palaeonemertean (Nemertea) and echinoderms (Echinodermata)

The associations between Cephalotrichella echinicola Chernyshev et al., 2019, and the heart urchin Metallia spp. described here represent the first report on the symbiotic relationship between palaeonemerteans and echinoderms. In addition, it is the first report of a symbiotic relationship between nemerteans and heart urchins, and the third known association between nemerteans and echinoderms. Numerous specimens of C. echinicola were found associated with heart urchins Metallia spatagus and M. sternalis in four localities of the Bay of Nhatrang, Vietnam, South China Sea, at 6–10 m water depth buried in the coarse sand to a sediment depth of 10–20 cm. The infestation prevalence and mean intensity were higher in M. spatagus, than in M. sternalis, 77% and 68%, and 10 and 3 nemertean individuals per heart urchin host, respectively. Each infested host harbored from 1 to 49 nemertean individuals, and multiple infestations with three or more individuals per host were very common. Based on the high level of prevalence, absence of the nemertean on the other sand-dwelling heart urchins in the area, the complete absence of the nemerteans in the sandy bottom of the bay and in the sediment surrounded infested host individuals, and no reaction by the host to the nemertean’s movement on the host’s surface we consider this a symbiotic association.

Модифицируемые факторы риска ишемического инсульта

Strokes, being a heterogeneous syndrome, are the result of multifactorial accumulative disorders of the body. The urgency of the problem of cerebral stroke is due to the high level of occurrence and prevalence on a global scale, as well as the consequences. Thus, vascular diseases of the brain vessels occupy the second place in the structure of mortality from diseases of the circulatory system and total mortality of the population. The expected aging of the population, coupled with a decrease in mortality from stroke, creates a predisposition to an increase in the burden of strokes in the form of an increase in the number of victims. In Kazakhstan, as in most countries of the world, ischemic strokes prevail, which are the main cause of disability of the working-age population. Despite certain advances in the treatment of brain catastrophes caused by the introduction of protocols for early diagnosis and the development of algorithms for urgent actions, as well as the development of innovative pharmaceutical approaches, prevention of stroke development remains the most effective approach in all respects - medical, economic, social. Risk factors for stroke can be classified as changeable (modifiable) and not subject to change (non-modifiable, or risk markers). Age, gender and race, ethnicity, genetic predisposition are unchangeable risk factors for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, while hypertension, smoking, diet and physical inactivity are among the most common modifiable risk factors. Stroke prevention mainly focuses on managing variable risk factors. Lifestyles and behavior modification, such as changes in diet or smoking cessation, not only reduce stroke risk, but also reduce the risk of other cardiovascular diseases. Other preventive areas include the identification and treatment of diseases that increase the risk of stroke, such as hypertension, diabetes and atrial fibrillation.

Association of dyslalias and dentomaxillary anomalies in children. Review of the literature.

It is common to find children with problems to communicate and this can be the product of a speech disorder, which corresponds to an alteration that involves the pronunciation or production of sounds. The most frequent speech disorder among school children is dislalias, with a prevalence of 70%. The malocclusions occupy the third place of prevalence within oral health problems, after dental caries and periodontal disease. Latin America has a worrying situation in this regard, with high levels of incidence and prevalence of malocclusions that exceed 85% of the population. The aim of this study is to review the existing association between dentomaxillary anomalies and dyslalias in children described in the literature for children and adolescents. In general terms, there are few studies that have evaluated this association. There is a positive association between the presence of dentomaxillary anomalies and the presence of dyslalias. Despite the above, there are few studies that have evaluated this association, so it is necessary to conduct more studies in this area.

Burnout Syndrome in Medical Students in the Kingdom of Bahrain

OBJECTIVES: To assess stress and burnout, and identify common stressors, among medical students in the Kingdom of Bahrain. &#x0D; &#x0D; STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study with students being evaluated from March to September 2017 at two medical colleges in the Kingdom of Bahrain.&#x0D; &#x0D; METHODOLOGY: Survey conducted on a total sample of 533 clerkship-training students with a total of 347 respondents. The instruments used were Cohen&amp;rsquo;s Perceived Stress Scale; the Maslach Burnout Inventory; and a common stressors questionnaire.&#x0D; &#x0D; RESULTS: 65% (347/533) of the students from the two medical colleges responded to the questionnaire. It was found that the mean (SD) of Cohen stress score in this study was 21.76 (5.60), with a stress and burnout prevalence of 47% and 43.43% respectively. A high percentage of respondent students (68%) also exhibited high emotional exhaustion scores &amp;gt; 14. More than half of the respondents (53.3%) exhibited high cynicism score &amp;gt; 6. Statistically significant differences were observed across gender categories with Cohen mean score, emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Multiple linear regressions revealed gender to be the only statistically significant predictor of the Cohen score (p. value 0.042).&#x0D; &#x0D; CONCLUSION: Clerkship medical students displayed high levels of both stress and burnout prevalence. Medical educators must be aware of the early signs, causes and consequences of student stress. They should also be able to encourage students to improve their mental and physical health, promote mental well-being and teach stress management.

Towards elimination of lymphatic filariasis in southeastern Madagascar: Successes and challenges for interrupting transmission.

IntroductionA global strategy of mass drug administration (MDA) has greatly reduced the burden of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in endemic countries. In Madagascar, the National Programme to eliminate LF has scaled-up annual MDA of albendazole and diethylcarbamazine across the country in the last decade, but its impact on LF transmission has never been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate progress towards LF elimination in southeastern Madagascar.MethodsThree different surveys were carried out in parallel in four health districts of the Vatovavy Fitovinany region in 2016: i) a school-based transmission assessment survey (TAS) in the districts of Manakara Atsimo, Mananjary, and Vohipeno (following a successful pre-TAS in 2013); ii) a district-representative community prevalence survey in Ifanadiana district; and iii) a community prevalence survey in sentinel and spot-check sites of these four districts. LF infection was assessed using the Alere Filariasis Test Strips, which detect circulating filarial antigens (CFA) of adult worms. A brief knowledge, attitudes and practices questionnaire was included in the community surveys.Principal findingsNone of the 1,825 children sampled in the TAS, and only one in 1,306 children from sentinel and spot-check sites, tested positive to CFA. However, CFA prevalence rate in individuals older than 15 years was still high in two of these three districts, at 3.5 and 9.7% in Mananjary and Vohipeno, respectively. Overall CFA prevalence in sentinel and spot-check sites of these three districts was 2.80% (N = 2,707), but only two individuals had detectable levels of microfilaraemia (0.06%). Prevalence rate estimates for Ifanadiana were substantially higher in the district-representative survey (15.8%; N = 545) than in sentinel and spot-check sites (0.8%; N = 618). Only 51.2% of individuals surveyed in these four districts reported taking MDA in the last year, and 42.2% reported knowing about LF.ConclusionsAlthough TAS results suggest that MDA can be stopped in three districts of southeastern Madagascar, the adult population still presents high CFA prevalence levels. This discordance raises important questions about the TAS procedures and the interpretation of their results.

Molecular assessment of Bartonella in Gerbillus nanus from Saudi Arabia reveals high levels of prevalence, diversity and co-infection

Bartonellae bacteria are associated with several re-emerging human diseases. These vector-borne pathogens have a global distribution, yet data on Bartonella prevalence and diversity in the Arabian Peninsula are limited. In this study we assessed the Bartonella infection status of the Baluchistan gerbil (Gerbillus nanus), a species associated with pastoral communities throughout the Middle East region, using a multi-gene PCR screening approach. The results demonstrated that 94 (68.1%) of the 138 gerbils trapped on a monthly basis, over a period of one year, were PCR-positive. Sequencing of the gltA gene region confirmed the presence of four discrete Bartonella lineages (I–IV) and high levels of co-infection (33.0%). Each of the four lineages, varied in overall abundance (7.5%–47.9%) and had discernible seasonal peaks. Bartonella status was significantly correlated with ectoparasite presence, but not with sex, nor with season. Statistical analyses further revealed that co-infected individuals had a significantly higher relative body condition. Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) performed with a concatenated dataset of three genetic loci (gltA, nuoG, and rpoB), 1452 nucleotides (nt) in length confirmed that lineage IV, which occurred in 24 PCR-positive animals (25.5%), is most closely related to zoonotic B. elizabethae. The remaining three lineages (I-III) formed a monophyletic clade which, on the basis of gltA was shown to contain bartonellae from diverse Gerbillinae species from the Middle East, suggestive of a gerbil-associated species complex in this region. Lineage I was identical to a Candidatus B. sanaae strain identified previously in Bushy-tailed jirds (Sekeetamys calurus) from Egypt, wherease MLSA indicate that lineages II and III are novel. The high levels of infection and co-infection, together with the presence of multiple Bartonella lineages indicate that Gerbillus nanus is likely a natural reservoir of Bartonella in the Arabian Peninsula.

Home-based exergaming among children with overweight and obesity: a randomized clinical trial.

Given children's low levels of physical activity and high prevalence of obesity, there is an urgent need to identify innovative physical activity options. This study aims to test the effectiveness of exergaming (video gaming that involves physical activity) to reduce children's adiposity and improve cardiometabolic health. This randomized controlled trial assigned 46 children with overweight/obesity to a 24-week exergaming or control condition. Intervention participants were provided a gaming console with exergames, a gameplay curriculum (1h per session, three times a week) and video chat sessions with a fitness coach (telehealth coaching). Control participants were provided the exergames following final clinic visit. The primary outcome was body mass index (BMI) z-score. Secondary outcomes were fat mass by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and cardiometabolic health metrics. Half of the participants were girls, and 57% were African-American. Intervention adherence was 94.4%, and children's ratings of acceptability and enjoyment were high. The intervention group significantly reduced BMI z-score excluding one control outlier (intervention [standard error] vs. control [standard error]: -0.06 [0.03] vs. 0.03 [0.03], p=0.016) with a marginal difference in intent-to-treat analysis (-0.06 [0.03] vs. 0.02 [0.03], p=0.065). Compared with control, the intervention group improved systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (all p values <0.05). Exergaming at home elicited high adherence and improved children's BMI z-score, cardiometabolic health and physical activity levels. Exergaming with social support may be promoted as an exercise option for children.

Increasing prevalence of epizootic shell disease in American lobster from the nearshore Gulf of Maine

Epizootic shell disease (ESD) is a significant concern to the southern New England lobster fishery. Although ESD has been reported in the southern Gulf of Maine off Massachusetts, there are few reports from Maine waters. We report on the occurrence and distribution of ESD in American lobsters from nearshore Gulf of Maine from the Maine Commercial Lobster Sea Sampling Program. Overall, average prevalence levels of ESD by trip were very low ( 127 mm CL) lobsters, regardless of sex and reproductive state, with much higher prevalence levels (up to 22%). Spatially, prevalence levels of ESD were significantly higher in western regions of the Gulf of Maine than off eastern Maine. Using histology and microbiome analyses, the etiology of the disease was investigated and common signs of lobsters with ESD were described. Aquimarina homari, a bacterium associated with ESD, was significantly more prevalent on lobsters with lesions and abundance was correlated with severity of ESD. Our report indicates that ESD is present on lobsters throughout the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Maine. Given the effect of the disease on lobsters from southern New England and its increasing prevalence over time, further monitoring of ESD in the Gulf of Maine is warranted.

Evaluating the impact of transmission mode, calibration level and farmer compliance in simulation models of paratuberculosis in dairy herds

Simulation models can predict the outcome of different strategies for the control and eradication of paratuberculosis (PTB) in dairy herds. Two main transmission modes have previously been used to simulate the spread of PTB: direct (contact between animals) and indirect (through the environment). In addition, previous models were calibrated to either low or high within-herd prevalence levels, which we refer to as normal and low hygiene levels, respectively. We simulated both direct and indirect transmission with the same model in both normal and low hygiene level scenarios. The effectiveness of a test-and-cull strategy was dependent on the calibration level of the simulation model, and eradication occurred less frequently with the more biologically plausible indirect transmission mode. The results were compared to within-herd prevalence records from 314 dairy herds. The prevalence in 50% of the herds varied less than 0.9% per year on average, and less than 4% in 90% of the herds. We therefore conclude that the normal-hygiene scenario best describes most dairy herds in Denmark. Finally, we simulated different levels of farmer compliance with a test-and-cull strategy and found that a 60% compliance level was not sufficient to reach eradication within 10 years.

High Shedding Potential and Significant Individual Heterogeneity in Naturally-Infected Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) With Brucella melitensis.

Wildlife reservoirs of infectious diseases raise major management issues. In Europe, brucellosis has been eradicated in domestic ruminants from most countries and wild ruminants have not been considered important reservoirs so far. However, a high prevalence of Brucella melitensis infection has been recently identified in a French population of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), after the emergence of brucellosis was confirmed in a dairy cattle farm and two human cases. This situation raised the need to identify the factors driving the persistence of Brucella infection at high prevalence levels in this ibex population. In the present paper, we studied the shedding pattern of B. melitensis in ibex from Bargy Massif, French Alps. Bacteriological examinations (1–15 tissues/samples per individual) were performed on 88 seropositive, supposedly infected and euthanized individuals. Among them, 51 (58%) showed at least one positive culture, including 45 ibex with at least one Brucella isolation from a urogenital sample or a lymph node in the pelvic area (active infection in organs in the pelvic area). Among these 45 ibex, 26 (30% of the total number of necropsied animals) showed at least one positive culture for a urogenital organ and were considered as being at risk of shedding the bacteria at the time of capture. We observed significant heterogeneity between sex-and-age classes: seropositive females were most at risk to excrete Brucella before the age of 5 years, possibly corresponding to abortion during the first pregnancy following infection such as reported in the domestic ruminants. The high shedding potential observed in young females may have contributed to the self-sustained maintenance of infection in this population, whereas males are supposed to play a role of transmission between spatial units through venereal transmission during mating. This heterogeneity in the shedding potential of seropositive individuals should be considered in the future to better evaluate management scenarios in this system as well as in others.

Overview On The Epidemiological Situation And The Brucellosis’ Control, Between 1974 -2014, In West Bank, Palestine

Brucellosis in Palestine is a problem of huge concern due to the human health impact, as consequence of the high prevalence level of the infection in livestock. The purpose of the research was to give an insight of the current epidemiological peculiarities of the brucellosis in livestock versus human population. This paper processed all data of the brucellosis’ control program and the epidemio-surveillance results. The seroprevalence of brucellosis in 1999, was 18% in sheep and goat and 80% in flocks, and more than 800 human cases. As result of mass vaccination, with 80% coverage vaccination rate, the decrease of brucellosis was registered: 4.8% in animals and 40% in flock; human infection less than 200 cases. The main conclusion of our study is that the vaccination must be in force up to the level of prevalence, below 2% in animals, allowing the next step, the “test-and-slaughter” strategy, toward the eradication goal.

Identification and characterization of Edwardsiella ictaluri from diseased Pangasius pangasius, cultured in Cirata Lake, Indonesia

Mawardi M, Jaelani, Zainun Z, Mundayana Y, Chilora BS, Hardi EH. 2018. Identification and characterization of Edwardsiella ictaluri from diseased Pangasius pangasius, cultured in Cirata Lake, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 766-772. In January 2016, there were reported extensive mortalities of Pangasius pangasius cultured on cage, in Cirata Lake. Edwardsiella ictaluri is primarily recognized as a disease-causing pathogen in catfish species, causing an economically important bacterial infection hence affecting productivity of aquaculture enterprises in many regions across the E. ictaluri. The samples were 17 fishes collected from organs containing spleen, kidney, and liver. The total samples were 51 organs of fishes. The high bacteria infection prevalence level was found in kidney (29.41%). The gross pathological signs of sample of organs were abnormal sizes and abnormal color including white nodules. Bacteria were identified by conventional biochemical test, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and nucleotide sequencing. The results showed that P. pangasius cultured in cages in Cirata Lake is positively infected by E. ictaluri strain (accession number KF9071291). Other infection cases by Aeromonas sp. and Plesiomonas shigelloides as co-infection bacteria in P. pangasius were also found.

Immunological aspects of cytomegalovirus infection in community-acquired pneumonia among young adults.

The problem of comorbidities and mutual influence due to progressive immunological suppression occupies an important place in the morbidity structure among young population. This fact is usually considered to be a result of existent immunodeficiency in the process of studying respiratory comorbidities with subsequent chances of immunological reactivities. The purpose of our research is to investigate the features of immunological reactivity changes among young patients with community-acquired pneumonia and cytomegaloviral persistence. Received data showed a high level of cytomegaloviral persistence prevalence which increases the levels of cellular and humor immunodeficiency in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Such influence on the immunity state is associated with the worse clinical course of CAP according to PORT-scale.

The use of entropy analysis to evaluate the development of characteristics in dairy cattle of Holstein breed

The article presents the results of research on the evaluation of the development of dairy cattle characteristics in Holstein breed of different selection using entropy-information analysis (EIA). According to the studied indicators of dairy productivity their determinism is low, because there are many factors which influence the development of the signs. The degree of organization and informative content for Holstein breed cows of German and Ukrainian selection in adjacent generations has been established according to the basis characteristics of productivity, reproductive and adaptive ability of animals. The highest level of prevalence was characterized by signs of fat and protein content in milk as in the firstborn Holstein cows of German and Ukrainian breeding. Comparing to mothers, daughters have not only the highest level of informative content, but also have a bigger number of determinism. The probable influence of the «generation» factor was established only on the content of fat in milk. The smallest values of absolute organization the system were characterized by signs, the development of which is largely due to factors of environment. Signs which characterize reproductive and adaptive abilities of cows generally have lower entropy evaluations. This indicates their higher determinism and, consequently, biological importance. Especially it is true for the duration of the dry period in cows of the Holstein breed of German breeding. It is known that it causes physiological processes in the transitional period between two lactations and, accordingly to this, it influences the milk productivity of cows, especially, in the next lactation. Typically, according to the two signs (the duration of the first lactation and the duration of the given-birth period), we determined the probable effect of background (breeding) on the degree of their determinism (in both cases: P &lt; 0.05). At the same time, according to these features in animals of German breeding the level of organization was higher than for Ukrainian selection of cows, regardless of generation. Thus, the use of EIA allows determining the effect of selection on the development of signs in dairy cattle.

Isolation &amp; Identification of Shigella species from food and water samples of Quetta, Pakistan

Shigella species are frequently associated with food and water borne infections leading to acute invasive enteric infections. Annually there are 165 million cases of shigellosis, of which 163 million are in developing countries and the incidence is highest among children. The study was aimed to isolate and identify Shigella species from food and water samples. The isolates were identified by using conventional biochemical tests. Total of 100 samples (50 ready-to-eat salad + 50 household water) were randomly collected aseptically. Out of 100 samples analyzed, 27 (27%) were found positive for Shigella species. Out of these 27 positive samples, 16 (32%) were from ready-to-eat salad samples and 11 (22%) were from water. Incidence of Shigella species in Quetta city water (28%) is higher as compared to water collected from outside the city which is (16%). Shigella flexneri was the most frequent isolate (70%) observed in this study. The high level of Shigella species prevalence was observed during the month of April-June. This study revealed that the use of raw animal manure as fertilizer, irrigation of vegetables with fecal contaminated water, a poor sanitary system and improper treatment of water supplies can increase potential risks to the consumer. Adaptation and application of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) can decrease the possibility of contamination and eliminate pathogenic microorganisms. Awareness regarding communicable diseases also helps control shigellosis and other diarrheal disease. Keywords: Biochemical tests; Quetta; Salad; Shigella; Water http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2018.70027

The Traumatogenic Factors of Life-Style of Rural Population

The article substantiates actuality of problem, presents study methodology and classification of leading traumatogenic factors of life-style of rural population. The results of medical social monitoring were used as a basis for ranking degree of evidence of traumatogenic factors impacting on population health in rural district. The study established a high level of prevalence of traumatogenic factors in population of rural district. The following groups were marked out according degree of traumatogenicity: very high impact, high impact, average impact, low impact, very low impact and no impact established. In adult population of rural district, a high prevalence of industrial traumatic factors was established as well as traumatogenic agricultural labor, significant distancing of place of residence from work place, community uncomfortableness, bad highways, polluted basins, availability of ramshackle household buildings, availability of domestic and agricultural animals, motor transport means, high rate of alcohol consumption. The differences are established between prevalence of traumatogenic factors in various settlements of rural district. As far as distancing from district center increases in direction of rural settlements decreasing of quality of accomplishment of roads is noted as well as community uncomfortableness of accommodation at the expense of increasing of private sector, increasing of number of owners of lawn-and-garden and homestead lands with extremely low level of material welfare, increasing of individuals consuming alcohol beverage. The following principles of system of monitoring og traumatogenic factors are substantiated: complex character, intersectoral integration, maintenance of strict ethic rues, feedback.