Percentage Occurrence Research Articles

Assessment of mycotoxin producing fungi isolated from dried tomatoes chips sold in Keffi, Nigeria

Mycotoxins are low-molecular-weight natural products. That is produced as secondary metabolites by filamentous fungi. Assessment of mycotoxin producing fungi isolated from dried tomatoes chips sold in Keffi, Nigeria. Fungi species were isolated using standard microbiological methods. Sixty (60) dry tomatoes were purchased from 5 different shops in Keffi market. The percentage occurrence of fungi was 73.3 %. The highest fungi were isolated from new market 13(86.6%) and the lowest was from Angwan Waje 9(60.0 %). The fungi species isolated were A. niger, A. melleus, F. culmorum, Penicillium sp and Cladosporium cladosporioides. The highest percentage of fungi isolated from Angwan Lambu was A. niger and A. flavus (20.0 %). From Angwan Waje the highest was A. fumigates and A. flavus (20.0%) and least were F. culmorum and C. cladosporioides (6.6 %). The highest recorded in new market were Penicillium sp and A. melleus (20.0%) and the lowest was Penicillium Citrinum (6.6%).Out of 6 Fusarium culmorum screened for mycotoxin production 4 produce fumonisins toxin. Of 3 Penicillium screened for mycotoxin production 1 produced patulin and 2 produced cyclopiazonic acid. Out of 5 Aspergillus fumigatus screened for toxin production only 1 cyclopiazonic acid. Different mycotoxin were produced by different fungi species isolated from the study area.

Bacteriological Assessment of Beef and Surfaces of Equipment and Apparel Worn in the Kotokuraba Slaughterhouse

This study was conducted to determine the bacteriological quality of beef and contact surfaces of equipment and apparel worn in the Kotokuraba slaughterhouse in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Because of the high demand for the product among residents of the Cape Coast Metropolis, as well as economic crises in developing countries, including Ghana, beef producers enter the industry with little knowledge of hygienic and sanitation practices, resulting in bacteriological contamination from cow slaughter to beef handling and storage. Some of these pollutants have the potential to harm humans by creating diseases. This study, therefore, aids in the isolation and identification of harmful bacteria found in beef as well as other surfaces of equipment and apparel that come into contact with beef. Results revealed that, Staphylococcus spp. recorded the highest means in all the samples and the number of bacteria identified expressed in percentages had Staphylococcus spp. being the highest identified species in the samples taken. Bacillus subtilis had the least number with a percentage of about 21.05 %. The percentage occurrences of the various bacteria species were 31.58 %, 21.05 %, 23.68 %, and 23.68 % for Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Escherichia spp. respectively. This shows that Staphylococcus spp. was the most frequently occurring species with Bacillus spp. being the least. That is, the dominant species isolated was Staphylococcus spp. followed closely by Micrococcus spp. and Escherichia spp. The presence of these bacteria in the beef and other contact surfaces is a clear indication of contamination of the beef and regular consumption of the beef is harmful to the health of the consumers.

Ionospheric scintillation characteristics over Indian region from latitudinally-aligned geodetic GPS observations

Ionospheric scintillations pose one of the biggest threats to Satellite-Earth communication links in the communication and navigation systems services whose occurrence characteristics could be explained through the strength of fading (amplitude scintillation index; S4) and the rapidity of the fades (decorrelation time; \U0001d70f0). In the present work, we analyzed the S4 index from a latitudinal array of three geodetic global positioning system (GPS) stations along the Indian longitude sector during the descending phase of the 24th solar cycle. The results show predominant occurrences of scintillations during the post-sunset and nighttime periods indicating the level of scintillations close to equatorial, beyond anomaly crest, and near mid-latitude locations. The strong amplitude scintillations during 2014 and 2015 and their lowest magnitudes during 2016 and 2017 reflect the solar activity dependence of the scintillation occurrences. The directional distribution and 2-dimensional surface sky plots of the S4 index substantiate the occurrence of intense scintillation being more prevalent towards the equatorial location, whereas the weak and moderate scintillations are perceived towards the higher low latitude stations. The occurrences of intense scintillations are confirmed in high solar active years and equinox season at all stations, while the equatorial station presents relatively higher occurrences in winter followed by summer. The summer season witnessed intense occurrences even under moderate to low solar activity years (2016–2017), reflecting the post-midnight occurrences due to meridional thermospheric winds. Moreover, maximum percentage occurrences of weak scintillations in all seasons are evident towards the poleward side, far away from the anomaly crest. The amplitude scintillation frequency during the period is further compared with the solar and geomagnetic indices to substantiate the analysis drawn from the variations. The correlation coefficients between the scintillation index occurrence rate with the solar and geomagnetic in-dices at three GNSS stations provide valuable insights into the relationship between solar activity and scintillation. The results show that the strength and direction of the correlation can vary significantly depending on the specific solar index and location. Thus, emphasize further studies on scintillation occurrences for developing effective forecasting and mitigation models over the Indian low-latitude region.

Classification and clinical significance of the posterior group of renal calyces.

To study the anatomical orientation of the posterior group of calyces based on reconstructed images of computerized tomography urography (CTU) and provide a novel classification with its clinical significance. Clinical data of a total of 1321 patients, who underwent CTU examination in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Among these, a total of 2642 3-dimensional reconstructed images of CTU scans were considered in this study. Based on the morphology of the renal calyces and the influence on the establishment of surgical access, the posterior group renal calyces are classified into 3 major types including pot-belly type, classically branched and elongated branched. The classically branched type is further classified into 3 sub-types: a, b and c, based on the association of minor calyces of the posterior group to the major calyces. Type a is derived from 1 group of major calyces only, type b is derived from 2 groups of major calyces simultaneously, and type c is derived from 3 groups of major calyces simultaneously. Statistical findings revealed that all kidneys possess posterior group calyces. The percentage of occurrence of pot-belly type, classically branched and elongated branched is 8.06%, 73.13%, and 18.81%, respectively. The anatomical typing of the classical branching type occurred in 19.36%, 68.17%, and 12.47% for types a, b, and c, respectively. In this study, the posterior group calyces were found to be present across all patients. The posterior group calyces were highest in the classical branching type, of which anatomical typing was highest in type b. The typing of the posterior group of calyces could provide an anatomical basis for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) puncture from the posterior group.

High-resolution feature based central venous catheter tip detection network in X-ray images.

Hospital patients can have catheters and lines inserted during the course of their admission to give medicines for the treatment of medical issues, especially the central venous catheter (CVC). However, malposition of CVC will lead to many complications, even death. Clinicians always detect the malposition based on position detection of CVC tip via X-ray images. To reduce the workload of the clinicians and the percentage of malposition occurrence, we propose an automatic catheter tip detection framework based on a convolutional neural network (CNN). The proposed framework contains three essential components which are modified HRNet, segmentation supervision module, and deconvolution module. The modified HRNet can retain high-resolution features from start to end, ensuring the maintenance of precise information from the X-ray images. The segmentation supervision module can alleviate the presence of other line-like structures such as the skeleton as well as other tubes and catheters used for treatment. In addition, the deconvolution module can further increase the feature resolution on the top of the highest-resolution feature maps in the modified HRNet to get a higher-resolution heatmap of the catheter tip. A public CVC Dataset is utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework. The results show that the proposed algorithm offering a mean Pixel Error of 4.11 outperforms three comparative methods (Ma's method, SRPE method, and LCM method). It is demonstrated to be a promising solution to precisely detect the tip position of the catheter in X-ray images.

Molecular Characterization of Multi-Drug Resistant Fungal Isolates Obtained from Raw Cow Milk in Bowen University, Nigeria

Cow milk is a highly nutritious food but many factors predispose it to microbial contamination. There is paucity of information on antifungal-resistant pathogens. Hence the study investigated the fungi from fresh cow milk samples and their resistance to some antifungals. Twenty-seven (27) fungi were isolated from forty-three (n=43) milk samples on PDA (Potato dextrose agar) media, re-cultured in glucose yeast extract broth, and incubated for 24 hours at 25°C. Taxonomic characterization on the isolates was done using photomicrography. Percentage occurrence of the isolates was determined. Molecular characterization was carried out on some isolates which were 100% resistant to antifungals; ketoconazole, amphotericin B, and clotrimazole using ITS1 and ITS4 primers. Isolate sequences were subjected to BLAST analysis and compared with representatives in GenBank. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney Tests were used to analyze the data. Phylogenetic analysis and morphological characterization identified isolates as Rhodotorula paludigena, Candida sp and Candida tropicalis which had occurrence of 31.8%, 31.8% and 36.6% respectively. Level of resistance to ketoconazole (100%) and amphotericin B (92%) was significantly higher than clotrimazole (59%) (p< 0.05), while between ketoconazole and amphotericin B, there was no significant (p> 0.05) difference. Unprocessed raw milk is a potential source of drug-resistant pathogenic fungi. Pasteurization of raw milk is highly encouraged before consumption.

Assessment of Bacterial Contaminants in Some Sliced Fruits Sold in Kaduna, Nigeria

Food borne illnesses have been attributed to the increase in consumption of contaminated sliced fruit. This study was aimed at evaluating the bacteriological quality of sliced fruits sold in Kaduna, Nigeria. Sixty samples were purchased from ten different markets and analysed using standard microbiological methods. Mesophilic bacteria were enumerated as markers of food- borne microbial contamination. Using proximate analysis based on the manufacturer’s instruction, result in this study shows that Orange had the highest protein content of (16.51 %), fat content (2.78%) and carbohydrate content (10.30%) while Pineapple had highest moisture contents (83.03%). From the mesophilic count, Pawpaw was found to be the most heavily contaminated followed by watermelon, pineapple and then orange. Percentage occurrence of bacterial isolates of the fruits analysed indicates that, Pawpaw had the highest Escherichia coli contaminants (20.45%), indicating faecal contamination likely be from contaminated water used in washing and processing. Also, Pseudomonas species (11.36%), Staphylococcus species (18.8%), and Shigella species (22.73%) all had highest isolation from Pawpaw samples. Pineapple had the highest Lactobacillus species (13.88%). This could be because it thrives well in an acid medium. Watermelon had the highest Salmonella species (25.64%). In conclusion, all the fruits analysed contained protein, fat, ash, carbohydrate and moisture and as such can be taken as supplements. As a result of heavy contamination observed in the samples analysed, sliced fruits sold by vendors in Kaduna metropolis are said to be unsafe for human consumption, hence the need for proper microbiological safety analysis of fruits for human consumption.

A retrospective study on bacteriological profile and antibiotics prescription practice in a tertiary level intensive care unit

BACKGROUND Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed medicines in intensive care units (ICU). The irrational use of antibiotics leads to the development of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDR). The aim of the study is to determine the bacteriological profile of infections in our ICU and antibiotic prescription practice, before and after the culture results. METHODOLOGY This is a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary-level, 33-bedded ICU in Nepal to evaluate the bacteriological profile and antibiotic prescription practice. The patients who were admitted between a period of 3 months (January 2023 to March 2023) were enrolled. The data variables collected were; patients' details, culture samples sent (blood, urine, endotracheal (ET) aspirate, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), wound swab, pleural fluid, ascitic fluid, tissue culture, and peritoneal fluid), gram stain results, culture sensitivity results, empirical antibiotics used, and change in antibiotics following culture results. RESULTS A total of 378 culture samples were obtained from 230 patients. A positive culture report was obtained for 165 (43.65%) of the 378 samples sent. Urine was the most common sample sent for microbiology (28%), followed by blood (25.3%) and sputum (22.75%). The percentage occurrence of gram-negative bacteria was 84%, while that of gram-positive bacteria was 16%. Methicillin- resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcus (MRCONS) was the most common gram-positive organism isolated (46.15%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common gram-negative organism (38.84%). Cephalosporin was the commonest group of empirical antibiotics used in our ICU, followed by carbapenem. Empirical antibiotic treatment was continued in 108 patients (47%), changed following the culture results in 92 patients (40%), and discontinued in 30 patients (13%). Escalation of antibiotics was done in 78 patients (85%) and de-escalation in 14 patients (15%). CONCLUSION Antimicrobial resistance and the irrational prescription of antibiotics can lead to a global economic burden. Hence, antibiotic stewardship programs are required to reduce the irrational prescribing patterns of antibiotics.

Prevalence of bacterial isolates from cell phone surfaces in Madonna University Elele Campus

Cell phones is a major revolution in the communication industry. In recent times, cell phone is carried by almost everybody, however, in some areas where not everyone has a cell phone, people patronize paid phone booths to communicate with loved ones. Madonna University, Elele Campus, is in Rivers State Nigeria and accommodates the University where all the students and staff are living on campus, The Madonna University Teaching Hospital, the pilgrimage center where pilgrims from all over the world visit regularly. There are phone booths at strategic locations where individuals pay and use their phone. Since different people use the same phone with their hands and mouth to make calls, this research was aimed at accessing the prevalence of bacteria isolates from cell phone surfaces in Madonna University, Elele campus, and the susceptibility of these organisms to commonly used antibiotics. Fifty swab samples were collected from the surface of cell phones at various locations in Madonna University, Elele Campus, and were microbiologically analyzed for the aerobic bacteria count and susceptibility to different antibiotics using the pour-plate method. Madonna University Teaching Hospital phone booth recorded the highest total aerobic bacterial count and number of bacteria isolates compared to other centers. Staphylococcus species was significantly (p&lt;0.05) the most prevalent bacteria species isolated on the cell phones, and the percentage occurrence of various isolates were: Staphylococcus species (59.5%), Salmonella species (19.1%), Streptococcus specie (9.5%) Psuedomonas species (3.1%) and Escherichia coli (2.1%). Among the gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli had 100% susceptibility against all the antibiotics, Salmonella species recorded 100% susceptibility against ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, gentamycin, chloramphenicol and ampicillin while Proteus species had 100% against streptomycin and chloramphenicol. For the gram-positive, Streptococcus species and Staphylococcus species recorded a significant percentage of susceptibility ranging from 62.5% to 100% against some of the antibiotics used. This study conclude that cell phone surfaces could be a reservoir for different disease causing micro-organism and users should take precaution against bacterial infection while using cell phone.

Isolation and Identification of Fungi Associated with Dried Meat Sold at Sokoto Metropolis

Thin sheets of high-quality, lean beef are partially dried in the sun to create dried meat made from animals. The duration of the solar drying phases and the infusion period of the ingredients rely on the ambient conditions, which are the primary sources of microbial contamination, notably fungi. This study's objective was to recognize and collect fungi connected to the dried meat offered for sale in Sokoto city. During the course of the research, dried meat samples were gathered from four different Sokoto metropolis locations, including Kusha Shagalinku on Atiku Road, Gidan Man Ada, Abdullahi Fodio Road, and Sasakawa. The samples were examined for microorganisms using serial dilution, and fungi were identified based on the morphology of the colony, conidia, and conidiogenous cells. The research's findings showed that four species of fungi were isolated, with Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus terreus having the highest and lowest percentages of occurrence, respectively, among the isolated species. According to the location, the dried meat retrieved from Atiku road has the lowest frequency occurrence (1.94) and the fungi isolated from it has the highest frequency occurrence (30.56%). These results suggest that eating dry meat may increase the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in humans. The preparation and storing of the dried meat should be done with the utmost safety and cleanliness.&#x0D;

Diversity of fungi isolated from carapace and gut of the marine crab Portunus sanguinolentus in northern waters of Taiwan

Abstract The fungal community associated with marine crabs is poorly known, except for the fungi causing diseases of marine animals of economic value. In this study we examined the diversity of fungi cultured from carapace and gut of the marine crab Portunus sanguinolentus, and the identification was based on nucleotide BLAST search results of the internal transcribed spacers of rDNA (ITS). A total of 256 fungal isolates representing 23 species were cultured from seven individuals of P. sanguinolentus including two unidentified species. The majority of the species belong to the Ascomycota, while three species of the Basidiomycota were isolated from the gut. Overall, Candida tropicalis (45.70 %, percentage occurrence), Apiotrichum lignicola (8.98 %) and Rhodotorula sp. (8.20 %) were the dominant fungi on the crab. The most dominant fungi on the carapace were C. tropicalis (66.95 %), Emericellopsis maritima (8.47 %), A. lignicola and Purpureocillium lilacinum (both 4.24 %). In the gut, C. tropicalis (27.54 %), A. lignicola (16.67 %), Rhodotorula sp. (15.22 %) and Fusarium solani (14.49 %) were dominant. The fungal diversity in the gut of P. sanguinolentus was higher than on the carapace according to the diversity indices. Although some of the isolated fungi were reported to be pathogenic, none were reported as pathogens of crabs, and no disease symptoms were noticed from the crab samples.

Comparative Study of Metagenomic Profile of Bacteria Strains Present in an Abandoned Artisanal Refinery Site, in Obi-Ayagha Community, Delta State, Nigeria

Aim: The aim of the study is to identify and compare the bacteria strains present in the control and Hydrocarbon impacted soil samples in the abandoned artisanal refinery site located in Obi-Ayagha community, Delta State, using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.&#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: The Hydrocarbon impacted soil was collected from the abandoned artisanal refinery site located in Obi-Ayagha community and analysed in the advanced research laboratory of the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun between 2022 and 2023.&#x0D; Methodology: In the present study, soil samples were collected from five points to cover the expanse of the site, from depths of 0–15 cm of the abandoned artisanal site and composited. The bacterial community profile was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and the bacteria species were identified from Kingdom to species level.&#x0D; Results: Taxonomical classification of bacteria, revealed the most abundant organisms present in each kingdom, phyla, class, in the contaminated and uncontaminated (control) samples. The dominant species at phylum-level microbial diversity identified in the petroleum-contaminated and uncontaminated site, is depicted by the dominant groups and were found to be the Actinobacteriota (21.94%) for the control in comparison the Firmicutes dominated the phylum with percentage occurrence of (99.86%) for the test samples. At the class level, the dominant group was Alphaproteobacteria (16.48%) for the control, while Bacilli dominated the class showing (99.76%) for the test samples.&#x0D; Conclusion: Metagenomic profiling helps to predict the presence and relative abundances of microbes in a sample, which is a critical step in microbiome analysis.

Screening of potato breedung lines for the potato virus Y resistance genes Rychc and Ryadg

Goal. Molecular identification of carriers of the potato virus Y (PVY) resistance genes Rychc and Ryadg among potato lines of the Polissia Research Station of the Institute of Potato Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.&#x0D; Methods. Seventy potato lines produced by the Polissia Research Station of the Institute of Potato Growing were studied. We used molecular markers indicating the presence of specific Ry genes in the genome of the potato lines. Those genes are responsible for the plant’s response to the pathogen by the extreme resistance (ER) type: the Ryo186 marker for the identification of the Rychc gene, and RYSC-3 for the determination of the Ryadg resistance gene. The gene Ry chc, derives from Solanum chacoense, and the Ryadg gene from S. tuberosum ssp. andigena. For determining the PVY resistance genes, PCR analysis was used, and PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis in an agarose gel supplemented with ethidium bromide to visualize amplicons.&#x0D; Results. Screening of carriers of resistance alleles with the molecular marker Ruo186 showed that 53 lines (75.72%) carried the resistance gene Rychc. The Ryadg resistance allele was identified in 7 lines (10%) using the RYSC-3 marker. Among the analyzed sample, there were three lines (4.2%) which simultaneously carried both PVY resistance genes: P.17.36-8, P.16.21-8, and P.17.21/36. When compared with the studies of other authors, in our sample of potato breeding lines we have mostly a similar percentage of occurrence of the Ryadg gene and a much higher frequency of the Rychc gene.&#x0D; Conclusions. Thus, the potato lines of the Polissia Research Station of the Institute of Potato Growing with the identified resistance genes have the potential for extreme resistance to most PVY strains, including the PVYNTN strain.

Pediatric age-related distribution of calcium oxalate monohydrate and calcium oxalate dihydrate in urinary tract stones: metabolic, gender and ethnic correlates.

Previous studies of pediatric urolithiasis have suggested possible associations between the relative proportions of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) and calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) stones with age, gender, and ethnicity. This study aimed to investigate the composition and distribution of calcium oxalate stones according to these clinical factors and the metabolic correlates of the different subtypes in pediatric stone formers. We retrospectively reviewed the database of all first-time stone formers between 2014 and 2019. Infrared spectrometry was used to determine stone composition. Stones were categorized by their highest relative component and reported as a percentage of occurrences in the cohort as a whole and by patient gender, age (divided into three age groups: 1-5, 6-12, 13-18 years), and ethnicity. Clinical and metabolic correlates were analyzed. Of 2,479 consecutive stones submitted to our chemical stone lab, 220 first-time pediatric stone formers were identified. COD stones were the predominant subtype in the youngest group, and COM stones in the oldest group (OR 0.39, 95% CI:0.18-0.86, p=0.036). In the intermediate-age group (6-12 years), COM stones were more prevalent in Arab boys and COD stones in girls of either ethnicity. COD stones were associated with hypercalciuria (p< 0.0001), and COM stones with hyperoxaluria (p=0.0024). Hypercalciuria and hypocitraturia were the most prevalent abnormalities at ages 1-5 and 13-18, respectively. Analysis of calcium oxalate stone subtypes and their metabolic correlates in stone formers has significant clinical relevance, specifically in children. In the present study, COD stones and hypercalciuria were more common in younger children, and COM stones and hypocitraturia in adolescents. These findings suggest unique, complex interactions driving stone formations in children that may guide a more practical, limited, and cost-effective approach to metabolic evaluations, choice of treatment, and preventive measures, particularly in first-time calcium oxalate pediatric stone-formers.

A new deep learning method for meteorological drought estimation based-on standard precipitation evapotranspiration index

In this study, we studied drought parameter estimation based on the standard precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), for four stations located at different places in Türkiye. We proposed a new hybrid deep structure of convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) methods and compared it with several other existing methods. Our extensive experimental results obtained in different cases of the station, time scale, and estimator show that better estimation results are often obtained with 12-month time scale for all methods. For instance using SPEI-9 values for Şanlıurfa station, the CNN method achieves 0.57 RMSE, 0.24 MADE, 0.11 MAE, and 99.38% R2, whereas the proposed adaptive CNN-LSTM obtains values of 0.42, 0.18, 0.04, and 99.69% for the same metrics, respectively. Also, using SPEI-6 values for Mardin station, the bidirectional-LSTM method achieves 0.72 RMSE, 0.35 MADE, 0.22 MAE, and 98.94% R2, while the proposed adaptive CNN-LSTM obtains values of 0.32, 0.12, 0.02, and 99.53%, respectively In this means, the proposed method is superior to existing methods in all cases in terms of almost all performance metrics. It is also robust to changes in given input time series data coming from different stations. We also investigated the percentage occurrence of drought categories at different time scales. The results of this analysis also show that the highest percentages are seen in the wet category for all stations. The percentages occurrence of drought wet category are 48.3, 50.07, 50.14, and 50.79 at SPEI-3, SPEI-6, SPEI-9, and SPEI-12 time scales, respectively.

Validation of urinary reproductive hormone measurements using a novel smartphone connected reader

Home use tests to monitor hormone trends during the menstrual cycle have been available over-the-counter for a long time. However, these tests often depend upon manual readouts and hence may lead to false analysis. Furthermore, a lot of these tests are also not quantitative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the quantitative home-based fertility monitor, Inito Fertility Monitor (IFM) and to use it to identify novel hormone trends in natural menstrual cycles. There were two aspects to our analysis: (i) Evaluating the efficacy of Inito Fertility Monitor in the measurement of urinary Estrone-3-glucuronide (E3G), Pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG) and Luteinizing hormone (LH), and (ii) A retrospective study of patients' hormone profiles using IFM. To evaluate the efficacy, the recovery percentage of the three hormones from IFM was evaluated using standard spiked solutions, the accuracy of measurement was calculated and the correlation between reproducible values from IFM and ELISA was established. During the validation of IFM, novel hormone trends were also observed. In order to reinforce the observations, a second group of 52 women was recruited. Assessment of the accuracy of IFM and evaluation of the volunteer urine samples was performed in a laboratory. Home assessment of hormone analysis was carried out using IFM. For the validation study, 100 women aged 21–45 years with cycle lengths ranging from 21 to 42 days were recruited. The participants had no previously diagnosed infertility conditions and their cycle lengths did not vary for more than 3 days from the expected cycle length. Daily first morning urine samples were collected from these 100 women. For the second group, 52 women were selected meeting the same criteria set for the validation study and IFM was provided to these women for testing at home. Coefficient of variation and recovery percentage of IFM with respect to laboratory based ELISA. Percentage occurrence of novel hormone trends and AUC analysis of a novel criteria identified for confirming ovulation. We observed that with all three hormones, IFM had an accurate recovery percentage. We found that the assay has an average CV of 5.05% in PdG measurement, 4.95% in E3G measurement and 5.57% in LH measurement. Furthermore, in predicting the concentration of E3G, PdG and LH in urine samples, we show that IFM has a high correlation with ELISA. In this study, we could also reproduce hormones trends across the menstrual cycle that have been observed by previous studies. We also identified a novel criterion for earlier confirmation of ovulation which could accurately distinguish ovulatory from anovulatory cycles with 100% specificity and had an area under the ROC curve of 0.98. In addition, we identified a new hormone trend which could be observed in 94.5% of the ovulatory cycles. The Inito Fertility Monitor is an effective tool for calculating the urinary concentrations of E3G, PdG and LH and can also be used to provide accurate fertility scores and confirm ovulation. We show that certain hormone trends associated with urinary E3G, PdG and LH could be accurately captured using IFM. In addition, we report a novel criterion for earlier confirmation of ovulation compared to existing criteria. Finally, we present a novel hormone pattern associated with most of the menstrual cycles by examining hormone profiles from the volunteers recruited for the clinical trial.Trial registration: The trial is registered at the current controlled trials ISRCTN registry #ISRCTN15534557.

Assessment of self-injurious behavior and oral injuries among adolescents in shelter care: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Self-injurious behavior has been defined as an act directed at oneself that results in tissue damage. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of self-injurious behavior and the presence of oral lesions among adolescents in foster care. This is a cross-sectional study that was carried out in the shelters of the city of Recife (Brazil), with adolescents between 10 and 17 years of age, of both genders, by census survey. Data were collected through document analysis, application of the questionnaire (FASM), and physical examination, in the second half of 2021. The data were systematized by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 81 adolescents participated of the research. The average age of the patients evaluated was 13.65 years and the majority were male. As for clinical characteristics, 75.3% had one or more self-injurious behavior. Of these, the most frequent were: poking wounds 53.1%, biting oneself 40.7%, and cutting the skin 34.6%. The most observed oral lesion was linea alba 14.8%. In the association between self-injurious behavior and oral lesions, trauma and dental wear, age group, gender, shelter care situation and violence no association was recorded (p > 0.05). Self-injurious behavior may have a high occurrence percentage among adolescents in shelter/foster care. However, the adolescents had a low prevalence of changes in the oral cavity that could suggest self-injurious behavior. No association was recorded between the variables studied.

Microbiological Assessment and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Bacterial Isolates from Exposed Toothpicks in Selected Eateries

Toothpick is mainly used to remove food particles, fishbone and meat stuck between the teeth after a meal. Poor handling and exposure of toothpicks on dinner tables in many eateries could pose a public health risk. In this study, a total of one hundred (100) wooden toothpicks were randomly sampled from twenty (20) eateries in five (5) locations in Benin City. A packet of toothpick purchased from a shop served as control. Microbiological analysis and antibiotic sensitivity tests involved the use of standard methods and disc agar diffusion method, respectively. The percentage occurrence of bacterial isolates from the samples include Bacillus sp. (25 %), Staphylococcus sp. (20 %), Streptococcus sp. (20 %), Proteus sp. (15 %), Salmonella sp. (10 %), Escherichia coli (5 %) and Klebsiella sp. (5 %) while the fungal isolates include Saccharomyces cerevisiae (80 %), Penicillium sp. (10 %) and Mucor sp. (10 %). The bacterial isolates were resistant to many antibiotics used in the study with the exception of gentamicin and ofloxacin. In order to prevent microbial contamination of toothpicks in the eateries which could lead to disease transmission, toothpicks should be rinsed with potable water before using it. Toothpicks should not be exposed on dinner tables. Instead, automatic toothpick dispenser should be provided in eateries.

Occurrence and Evolution of Switchbacks in the Inner Heliosphere: Parker Solar Probe Observations

Since its launch in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission revealed the presence of numerous fascinating phenomena occurring closer to the Sun, such as the presence of ubiquitous switchbacks (SBs). The SBs are large magnetic field deflections of the local magnetic field relative to a background field. We investigated the statistical properties of the SBs during the first 10 encounters between 13.28 and 58 solar radii (R ⊙) using data from the SWEAP and FIELDS suites on board PSP. We find that the occurrence percentage of small deflections with respect to the Parker spiral decreases with radial distance (R). In contrast, the occurrence percentage of the large deflections (SBs) increases with R, as does the SB patches. We also find that the occurrence of SBs correlates with the bulk velocity of the solar wind, i.e., the higher the solar wind velocity, the higher the SB occurrence. For V sw ≤ 400 km s−1, the SB occurrence percentage shows a constantly increasing trend between 13 and 58 R ⊙. However, for V sw > 400 km s−1, the occurrence percentage saturates beyond 35 R ⊙. The occurrence percentage of mini SB patches (<60 s) shows a decreasing trend with R, while the occurrence percentage of long-duration SB patches (>200 s) increases with R. Sub-Alfvénic regions that we analyzed during Encounters 8–10 have not shown any SBs. This analysis of the PSP data hints that some of the SBs are decaying and some are being created in situ.

Effectiveness of a Staphylococcus aureus mupirocin decolonization protocol in a neonatal intensive care unit

Background:Staphylococcus aureus infections are a significant cause of morbidity in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), and they are typically preceded by nasal colonization. Mupirocin decolonization protocols as an infection prevention tool can halt S. aureus outbreaks and prevent infections. We examined the effect of a mupirocin treatment protocol on S. aureus incidence, prevalence, decolonization, and infections in a level IV NICU. Methods: We conducted a retrospective before-and-after observational study from June 1, 2018, to May 31, 2020. Beginning June 1, 2019, patients identified with either methicillin-sensitive or -resistant S. aureus (MSSA or MRSA) received mupirocin ointment to bilateral nares 3 times daily for 5 days. Patients with central lines or surgical incisions were treated every 30 days. All NICU patients were screened weekly unless positive for MRSA. We defined MSSA decolonization as 3 consecutive negative screens following mupirocin treatment. We calculated monthly S. aureus incidence as any new positive per 1,000 patient days and monthly prevalence as a percentage of the average daily number of patients with S. aureus per the average monthly census. Total number of infections were compared. Statistical significance was determined using a 2 sample proportions test and P &lt; .05. Decolonization was calculated as percentage of occurrences among treated patients. Results: Overall, 190 patients received mupirocin; 142 patients received 1 course and 48 received 2 or more courses. There was no difference in incidence of MSSA (P = .09), but prevalence decreased from 18.8% to 14.4% (P &lt; .05) (Fig. 1). Of 66 patients with MSSA, 35% were decolonized. An additional mupirocin treatment for 16 of these patients had a 50% decolonization rate. For MRSA, incidence decreased from 0.24 to 0.20 (P = .36) and prevalence decreased from 21.9% to 18.6% (P &lt; .05) (Fig. 1). There was no statistical difference in the number of total S. aureus infections (P = .91) or when stratified by MSSA (P = .72) or MRSA (P = .82). In the postmupirocin population, there were 5 MRSA and 7 MSSA infections. Of the MSSA-infected patients, 6 remained colonized at the time of infection. Conclusions: Implementing a single mupirocin treatment course for S. aureus decolonization in NICU was only effective in one-third of patients and had no effect on infection occurrence. Changes in incidence and prevalence could be confounded by other infection prevention practices. Further study is needed to determine whether continued screening and additional mupirocin treatment could improve effectiveness of S. aureus decolonization programs.Disclosure: None