Department of Environmental Health Sciences

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    24-epibrasinolide modulates the vase life of lisianthus cut flowers by modulating acc oxidase enzyme activity and physiological responses
    (MDPI AG, 2021-05) Darvish, Mohammad ; Shirzad, Habib ; Asghari, Mohammadreza ; Noruzi, Parviz ; Alirezalu, Abolfazl ; Pateiro, Mirian ; Takshe, Aseel A. ; Lorenzo, José Manuel
    Ethylene is the most important factor playing roles in senescence and deterioration of harvested crops including cut flowers. Brassinosteroids (BRs), as natural phytohormones, have been reported to differently modulate ethylene production and related senescence processes in different crops. This study was carried out to determine the effects of different levels of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) on ACC oxidase enzyme activity, the final enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis pathway, vase life, and senescence rate in lisianthus cut flowers. Harvested flowers were treated with EBL (at 0, 3, 6, and 9 µmol/L) and kept at 25◦C for 15 days. The ACC oxidase activity, water absorption, malondialdehyde (MDA) production and vase solution absorption rates, chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, and the vase life of the flowers were evaluated during and at the end of storage. EBL at 3 µmol/L significantly (p ≤ 0.01) enhanced the flower vase life by decreasing the ACC oxidase activity, MDA production and senescence rates, and enhancing chlorophyll and anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation, relative water content, and vase solution absorption rates. By increasing the concentration, EBL negatively affected the flower vase life and postharvest quality probably via enhancing the ACC oxidase enzyme activity and subsequent ethylene production. EBL at 6 and 9 µmol/L and in a concentration dependent manner, enhanced the ACC oxidase activity and MDA production rate and decreased chlorophyll and anthocyanin accumulation and water absorption rate. The results indicate that the effects of brassinosteroids on ethylene production and physiology of lisianthus cut flowers is highly dose dependent. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    A review of the environmental implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022-08) Alalawi, Shaikha ; Issa, Sahar T. ; Takshe, Aseel A. ; ElBarazi, Iffat
    This paper reviews the environmental implications associated with the COVID-19 pandemic at the individual and community levels in the UAE. The positive effects emanating from the pandemic include improved air quality and reduced contamination of public spaces with pollutants. On the other hand, far-reaching negative effects include poor disposal of medical plastic waste and facemasks and the rise in unhygienic health practices amongst residents of UAE. The long-term ecological implications of the pandemic are still not well understood. The findings shed the light on the importance of addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through preventative policies and strategies for better environmental health and readiness for future crises. Future research could assess the long-term environmental conse-quences of the pandemic on the UAE. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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    Antifungal activity of some indigenous lactic acid bacteria isolated from soft wheat
    (Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, 2018) Djaaboub, Serra ; Abdallah, Moussaoui ; Meddah, Boumedien ; Makhloufi, Souad ; Gouri, Saif ; El Khatib, Rami
    The objective of this study was to find an alternative to chemical control of pathogenic fungi in wheat, using microorganisms that are safe and that can be isolated from the same biotopes of the pathogens. Lactic acid bacteria isolated from soft wheat grains were screened for their antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum Schwab, Aspergillus flavus Link and Aspergillus parasiticus Speare, using two techniques (overlay and co-culture) on De Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar. The overlay method showed that out of forty-six lactic acid bacteria, five isolates showed an inhibition of radial growth range from 1% to 73.89%. According to the co-culture method, the most efficient biological agent for wheat mold growth isolate was LAB001 with an average rate of inhibition of 31.18% against A. flavus, 42.26% against A. parasiticus and 55.53% against F. graminearum. Lactic acid bacteria LAB001 was identified as Enterococcus faecium with 99.6% of similarity. E. faecium LAB001 can be considered as promising isolate for the biocontrol of pathogenic molds in small grain cereals. © 2018 Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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    Application of machine learning risk prediction mathematical model in the diagnosis of Escherichia coli infection in patients with septic shock by cardiovascular color doppler ultrasound
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Shen, Hualiang ; Hu, Yinfeng ; Liu, Xiatian ; Jiang, Zhenzhen ; Ye, Hongwei ; Takshe, Aseel A. ; Al Dulaimi, Saeed Hameed Kurdi
    this study was to explore the diagnosis of septic shock patients with Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection based on cardiovascular color Doppler ultrasound (CCDUS) images under the machine learning risk prediction mathematical model (risk prediction model). 120 septic shock patients with Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection, admitted to xxx hospital were selected as research subjects, and they were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, including 76 males and 44 females, with an average age of (45.47 ± 11.35) years old. The prediction model, random forest mathematical model (RF model), and feature combination were trained and applied in the CCDUS. The error rate, F1-score, and area under the curve (AUC) were compared. It was found that the prediction effect of the risk prediction model was better (P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn based on the risk prediction model, and it was found that the AUC was 0.924, and the best cutoff value was 0.247. The consistency test between the predicted death result and the actual result showed that Kappa = 0.824, which was higher than 0.75. The pathogenic microorganisms of the patients were mainly Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) in 32 cases (53.33%). There were 19 cases whose pathogenic bacteria was E. coli, and 11 cases (57.9%) of which were acquired in the intensive care unit (ICU). The patient mortality rate was 41.67%. Finally, the acute physiology and chronic health II (APACH II) score and D-dimer of the patients were substituted into the Logistic regression model. The effect of the risk prediction model was better than the RF model and feature combination; the measurement results based on the risk prediction model had good consistency; the D-dimer and APACH II score were independent factors for death of the septic shock. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Application of PET/CT image under convolutional neural network model in postoperative pneumonia virus infection monitoring of patients with non-small cell lung cancer
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Wei, Jing ; Zhu, Ronghua ; Zhang, Huai ; Li, Pingwei ; Okasha, Ahmad ; Muttar, Ahmed K.H.
    It was to study the adoption of positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT) based on the convolutional neural networks (CNN) model in the monitoring of postoperative pneumonia virus infection in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 120 patients with NSCLC were set as the research object. CNN model was constructed and applied to PET-CT images to identify lesions and screen tumor markers for detection. Then, the patients were randomly divided into group A (CT), group B (PET-CT), group C (PET-CT based on artificial neural network model), and group D (PET-CT diagnosis based on CNN model), 30 cases in each group, and infection surveillance was conducted. The result showed that the accuracy (Acc), sensitivity (Sen), and specificity (Spe) of PET-CT image recognition based on the CNN model were 99.31%, 100%, and 98.31%, respectively. The proportion of serum neutrophils, white blood cell count, and PCT content in group D three days after operation were significantly lower than those in groups B, C, and A (P < 0.05). The proportions of patients with surgical wound infection and lung infection in group D were 6.54% and 15.38% respectively, which were significantly lower than those in groups B, C, and A (P < 0.05). The complication rates of patients in groups A, B, C, and D were 32.4%, 30.2%, 28.75, and 8.7%, respectively. The complication rate of patients in group D was significantly lower than that of the other three groups (P < 0.05). In short, PET-CT images based on the CNN model had high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in monitoring postoperative pneumonia virus infection in NSCLC patients. Applying it to the patient's virus infection monitoring can effectively prevent the patient's lung and surgical wound infection and improve the patient's postoperative recovery effect. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Assessing climate change indicators in the United Arab Emirates
    (Inderscience Publishers, 2022) Kamkar, Fatma ; Khawatmi, Layla ; Arif, Aysha ; Hamed, Hamed ; Issa, Sahar T. ; El Khatib, Rami ; Takshe, Aseel A. ; Karkain, Rashed M.
    Anthropogenic and natural activities have led to a global phenomenon known as climate change, which evidence shows, is worsening. Climatic changes can sometimes be observed at a regional level by assessing certain indicators such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity. This study aims to explore climate indicators in the United Arab Emirates that play a possible role in climate change. To gain insight into the longer-term changes, we looked at regional changes by analysing trends of mean monthly temperature, maximum monthly temperature, minimum monthly temperature, mean monthly humidity, and rainfall quantities per year over the period of 2003 to 2019. The trend analysis showed an increasing trend in the maximum monthly temperature, minimum monthly temperature, mean monthly temperature, and mean monthly humidity, but a decreasing trend in rainfall quantities, which may suggest climate change at a regional level. © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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    Critical care nurses' reasons for working or not working overtime
    (American Association of Critical Care Nurses, 2018) Lobo, Vanessa M. ; Ploeg, Jenny ; Fisher, Anita L. ; Peachey, Gladys ; Akhtar-Danesh, Noori
    BACKGROUND Around the world, registered nurses are working increasing amounts of overtime. This is particularly true in critical care environments, which experience unpredictable fluctuations in patient volume and acuity, combined with a need for more specialized nurses. OBJECTIVE To explore critical care nurses' reasons for working or not working overtime. METHODS A semistructured interview guide was used to interview 28 frontline nurses from 11 critical care units in Ontario, Canada. Analysis was guided by Thorne's interpretive description methodology. RESULTS Participants' reasons for working overtime included (1) financial gain (96% of participants); (2) helping and being with colleagues (68%); (3) continuity for nurses and patients (39%); and (4) accelerated career development (39%). Their reasons for not working overtime were (1) feeling tired and tired of being at work (50%); (2) having established plans (71%); and (3) not receiving enough notice (61%). CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study provide important variations and extension of existing literature on the topic, and appear to be the first reported in Canadian critical care units. Additional research is required to understand administrative decision-making processes that lead to the use of overtime. © 2018 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
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    Data mining in the time of COVID-19
    (PalArch Foundation, 2020-12-11) Okasha, Ahmad ; Kamalov, Firuz ; Hamidi, Samer ; Roberts, Claire ; Abdulnasir, Safa
    Healthcare organizations, like other organizations, are facing a major global challenge. In a recent Mckinsey survey (From “wartime” to “peacetime”: Five stages for healthcare institutions in the battle against COVID-19, 2020), many consumers indicated that the COVID 19 pandemic has the most significant challenge on their economic and social lives in the last 100 years. Being patient centric rather than reactive is one of the ways to succeed in this uncertain environment. Being patient centric means to identify the needs of patients and design specific programs to address their needs whether they are financial, personal, or clinical. COVID-19 accelerated utilizing data and online applications. Many healthcare organizations have access to consumer related data. Data mining capabilities provide health care organizations with the ability to extract hidden predictive information from large databases. The paper surveyed hospital Chief Information Officers (CIO), health information managers, and healthcare managers to find out measure awareness of data mining applications in healthcare and to determine the use and reason for data mining applications in healthcare. The results indicate that many healthcare organizations are aware of descriptive and simple data mining tools. For more sophisticated data mining tools, most healthcare organization managers in the Middle East as expected are not aware of them. When it comes to using data mining as an application for disease diagnoses, marketing, and education simulation, many healthcare managers indicate that they are already using data mining in these areas. © 2020 Ahmad Okash, Firuz Kamalov, Samer Hamidi, Claire Roberts, Safa Abdulnasir
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    Effects of radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma under continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model and comparison on the fungal and pathogen infection indexes before and after nutritional supplementation
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Li, Yi ; Li, Xuan ; Issa, Sahar ; Omar, Khairi Mohamed
    The study aimed to explore the effects of radiotherapy on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients before and after nutritional supplementation, and the correlation between nutritional supplementation and infections, using continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model. Specifically, 398 NPC patients were selected based on information and health data. They all accepted radiation therapy, and enteral nutrition was provided through nasal feeding during the radiotherapy. Then, nutritional indicators, and infections were compared before and after nutritional supplementation. The results showed that, the radio-sensitivity coefficient and the age of tumor cells affected radiotherapy effects. After nutritional supplementation, the patient's Hemoglobin (Hb) was 139.26 ± 12.87 g/L, the serum albumin (ALB) was 45.65 ± 3.84 g/ L, the Lymphocyte (LYM) was 1.96 ± 0.68 (×109/L), and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.12 ± 2.63 (kg/m2). Among them, Hb, LYM, and BMI were notably different from those before treatment (P < 0.05). After nutritional supplementation, the infection rates of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida, and actinomycetes were reduced to 26.09%, 17.39%, 9.78%, 5.43%, and 1.09%, respectively, showing notable differences (P < 0.05); the infection rates of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, pyogenic chain Coccus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus viridans were reduced to 15.27%, 12.21%, 3.82%, 6.11%, 0.76%, and 0.76%, respectively, showing notable differences (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model can simulate the effects of radiotherapy on NPC patients. Nutritional supplementation during radiotherapy can reduce the infection rates, thus improving the prognosis of NPC patients. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Establishment of differential model of recovery treatment for children with minor brain injury and mental disorder syndrome
    (American Institute of Mathematical Sciences, 2021) Zhang, Wei ; Ma, Ai ; Takshe, Aseel ; Muwafak, Bishr Muhamed
    The paper established a differential equation model for 194 children with ADHD in outpatient clinics from September 2019 to August 2020 and compiled a children's clinical diagnostic interview scale based on the fourth edition of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The CDIS standard divides it into three phenotypes: attention deficit predominant (ADHD-I), hyperactivity-impulsive predominance (ADHD-HI) and mixed (ADHD-C). The results of the study showed that the distribution of subtypes in the study cases: ADHD-I accounted for 45.9% (89 cases), ADHD-HI accounted for 7.7% (15 cases), ADHD-C accounted for 46.4% (90 cases); ADHD-C: ADHD-I is 1:1. CDIS scale total score: 194 cases of attention deficit symptoms were (7.2 ± 1.4) points, and hyperactivity-impulsive symptoms were (5.4 ± 2.2) points. The frequency of attention deficit symptoms in 194 cases was (79.5 ± 2.9) %, and the frequency of hyperactivity-impulsive symptoms was (59.8 ± 3.5) %. Therefore, it can be concluded that DSM-IV defines three phenotypes in this sample. The proportion of ADHD-HI is low, and the proportion of ADHD-I and ADHD-C is similar; age influences the phenotype distribution. ©2021 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.
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    Helicobacter pylori infection in adult obesity-related nephropathy patients under the partial differential network mathematical model-based artificial intelligence health data monitoring
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Xu, Pengjie ; Chen, Bo ; Takshe, Aseel A. ; Omar, Khairi Mohamed
    This study aimed to explore the relationship between obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG) and Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection in adults. Therefore, an artificial intelligence health data monitoring system was established based on the partial differential network mathematical model. The 13C breath test method was applied to detect HP infection in the research objects. A total of 130 patients were included in this study, and rolled into an experimental group (test results were negative) and a control group (test results were positive) according to the results of the 13C breath test. The results showed that there were 83 patients (63.85%) with HP-positive infection and 47 patients (36.15%) with HP-negative infection. The serum creatinine (SCr), 24-hour urine protein level, and the proportions of patients with damaged renal tubules, abnormal retinol-binding protein (RBP), and abnormal N-aceltyl-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) of the patients in the experimental group were markedly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05); the proportions of patients with global sclerosis, segmental sclerosis, severe fibrosis, and moderate fibrosis in the experimental group were substantially higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05); and the proportions of patients with hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia (HUA), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the experimental group were greatly higher than the proportions of the control group (P < 0.05). In short, the partial differential network mathematical model-based artificial intelligence health data monitoring system under E-health can obtain the basic information of the patients in real time, and the HP-positive infection was highly expressed in the ORG patients. The renal function damage of patients with HP-positive infection in ORG was more serious than that of patients with HP-negative infection. Thus, HP infection might be related to the process of ORG. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Impact of education on interdental cleaning behaviour based on the transtheoretical model
    (Quintessence Publishing Co., Ltd., 2012) Hashemian, Masomeh ; Fallahi, Arezoo ; Tavakoli, Golaleh ; Zarezadeh, Yadolah ; Babaki, B. Nemat Shahr ; Rahaei, Zohreh
    Purpose: To determine the impact of education on stages of change of behaviour in Iranian senior high school students for interdental cleaning based on the transtheoretical model. Materials and Methods: This experimental study took place from April to November 2010. 306 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and placed into two groups: control (153 students) and intervention (153 students). Appropriate instruments and the intervention programme were designed with the purpose of improving stages of interdental cleaning behaviour, perceived benefits and self-efficacy, as well as reducing perceived barriers and gingival index (GI). The impact of the intervention programme was assessed after 24 weeks and the GI of each student was recorded for both groups before and after intervention. The data were analysed using SPSS software and the chi-square, t test, ANOVA, paired t test, Mann-Whitney U-test and sign test. Results: The intervention had a significant, positive impact on improvement of the stages of interdental cleaning behaviour, increase in self-efficacy, perceived benefits, decrease in perceived barriers and improvement of GI (P < 0.001). After the intervention, the average grades of self-efficacy, perceived barriers and perceived benefits in the control group vs the intervention group were significantly different (P < 0.001 to 0.01). Conclusion: The programme was found to positively influence the stages of change and potential indicators of interdental cleaning behaviour and GI. It is suggested that this model be used for interventions in the other population groups.
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    An Initial Reading into the UAE’s Food Security Response During COVID-19
    (PalArch Foundation, 2021) Takshe, Aseel A. ; Lyra, Dionysia Angeliki ; Alkhani, Faisal ; Mendoza, Nicholas ; Talli, Maha
    The following report is a desk study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security within the United Arab Emirates. It focuses on highlighting the status of food security, and its 4 pillars, within the UAE, before COVID-19. Furthermore, it talks about the impacts and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food security pillars of access, availability, utilization, and stability. The study has shown that despite local and international movement restrictions, major job losses, trade restrictions, and travel bans, that the UAE is still able to provide ample, nutritious food for its community to access. Additionally, they have invested in local food security by way of new Agri-tech solutions such as smart greenhouses, AI-controlled food-growing environments, and vertical farming. Moreover, by increasing focus on local food and water production to further bolster their food sources and prepare them for any future food security related issues and challenges. This study also compares the UAE and its response to COVID-19 towards similar countries such as Singapore and other GCC countries. The report concludes that increasing local food production, investment in the Agri-tech sector, increasing local food storage capacity, optimizing coastal and inland farming practices, diversification and strengthening of international partners, and acquisition of international agricultural land, will help the UAE bolster its strength, in terms of food security and stabilizing food resources, for the community in the future to come.
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    Management of risks substances and sustainable development
    (Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022-04) Ostad-Ali-Askari, Kaveh
    Sustainable improvement is related to several key variables that count as solid and secure positions. Currently, the group of hazardous substances and inappropriate soils has created one of the most important issues of insecurity against masculinity. Consequently, unsafe substances and hazardous products have been unusually monitored by various countries. Although the safe evacuation of hazardous wastes has consistently remained an issue, the increase in collections and overall estimates of the oppressive situation created in inapplicable periods and the progress of our data and thinking about the contrasting effects of dangerously bad backgrounds on anthropological well-being and conditions has predetermined that the unsafe overflow group will continue during the period of the highest protection programs at the present time. In order to conduct this research, the management of hazardous substances and unsafe goods that are considered as wasteful waste will be properly portrayed in this research. © 2022, The Author(s).
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    Mathematical model under E-health context for diagnosis of head and neck space Gram infection through CT imaging
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Li, Lei ; Shi, Shuguang ; Miao, Zhongchang ; Xu, Jian ; Duan, Xinxiu ; Okasha, Ahmad ; Qeshta, Mohammed Halmi
    The study aimed to investigate the head and neck space infection by Gram bacteria using mathematical model-based CT (computer tomography) under e-health (electronic health). Specifically, a total of 180 clinical patients with head and neck space infection were collected as the research subjects. CT/MRI examination was adopted to diagnose the disease. A mathematical model was then established to be applied in CT imaging. The cause and treatment effect were analyzed by summarizing the data, including basic information, bacterial culture, source and extent of infection, serious complications, and other factors. The results showed that the CT/MRI imaging based on the mathematical model can effectively diagnose the disease and assess the disease progress. There were more male patients than female patients with head and neck space infection, and more elderly patients than younger patients. A total of 42 patients had serious complications, accounting for 23.3% of the total patients. The most common one was descending mediastinitis, followed by respiratory obstruction, pneumonia, pericarditis, orbital infection, and multiple organ failure. There were many sources of infection in the head and neck space. The main cause was dental infection, and there were 137 cases, accounting for 76.1% of the total. Among them, odontogenic infections included tooth apical periodontitis, wisdom tooth pericoronitis, and periodontal disease. Other sources of infection included glandular infections, iatrogenic infections, and traumatic foreign bodies. The most common part affected by head and neck space infection was the submandibular space, and other parts included the masseter space, the cheek space, and the sublingual space. Severe complications of head and neck space infection were mainly inferior mediastinitis and respiratory obstruction. In the bacterial culture experiment, a total of 75 bacterial cultures of 180 patients were positive, and 62 strains of bacteria were cultured, including 11 kinds of gram-positive bacteria and 4 kinds of gram-negative bacteria. The main pathogens cultivated were Streptococcus viridans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In laboratory tests, the values of WBC and hs-CRP in patients with severe complications were significantly higher than those in patients with common head and neck space infection. Imipenem and ornidazole were the most commonly used antibiotics in the clinical treatment of patients with severe complications. In conclusion, head and neck space infection is a serious infectious disease that may be life-threatening and requires timely and effective treatment. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Modeling of Surface Flow and Infiltration During Surface Irrigation Advance Based on Numerical Solution of Saint–Venant Equations Using Preissmann's Scheme
    (Birkhauser, 2022-03) Shayannejad, Mohammad ; Ghobadi, Mahboobe ; Ostad-Ali-Askari, Kaveh
    In this research, a full hydrodynamic model based on the numerical solution of Saint–Venant equations is described to simulate the advance phase of surface irrigation. The full hydrodynamic model is the complete form of Saint–Venant equations. This model is the most complex and accurate among all models and can be applied for analyzing the flow hydraulics and managing surface irrigation. The Preissmann finite difference scheme was used for implicit discretizing terms of the equations. The model presented herein is able to give cumulative infiltration and hydraulic properties including discharge, velocity and depth of flow for any time and distance which can be introduced as an upper boundary condition in water transport models in soil. The model was used to evaluate different situations and soil textures, and the results were compared with results of SIRMOD software, which indicated that relative error was less than 4%. The accuracy of the model was also evaluated in comparison with observed data, and the result showed that the model is able to estimate advance time with normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE) of less than 8%. Conventional relationships of surface and subsurface shape factor overestimate them by as much as 4.7 and 17.2%, respectively, based on the inflow rate. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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    The phylogenetic range of bacterial and viral pathogens of vertebrates
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2020) Shaw, Liam P. ; Wang, Alethea D. ; Dylus, David ; Meier, Magda ; Pogacnik, Grega ; Dessimoz, Christophe ; Balloux, François
    Many major human pathogens are multihost pathogens, able to infect other vertebrate species. Describing the general patterns of host–pathogen associations across pathogen taxa is therefore important to understand risk factors for human disease emergence. However, there is a lack of comprehensive curated databases for this purpose, with most previous efforts focusing on viruses. Here, we report the largest manually compiled host–pathogen association database, covering 2,595 bacteria and viruses infecting 2,656 vertebrate hosts. We also build a tree for host species using nine mitochondrial genes, giving a quantitative measure of the phylogenetic similarity of hosts. We find that the majority of bacteria and viruses are specialists infecting only a single host species, with bacteria having a significantly higher proportion of specialists compared to viruses. Conversely, multihost viruses have a more restricted host range than multihost bacteria. We perform multiple analyses of factors associated with pathogen richness per host species and the pathogen traits associated with greater host range and zoonotic potential. We show that factors previously identified as important for zoonotic potential in viruses—such as phylogenetic range, research effort, and being vector-borne—are also predictive in bacteria. We find that the fraction of pathogens shared between two hosts decreases with the phylogenetic distance between them. Our results suggest that host phylogenetic similarity is the primary factor for host-switching in pathogens. © 2020 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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    Postoperative drug-resistant bacteria infection in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection under two-fluid numerical simulation model
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Zang, Sheng ; Zhang, Yu ; Xu, Jiarui ; Du, Yaming ; Issa, Sahar ; Al Dulaimi, Saeed Hameed Kurdi
    Objective: This study was to investigate the characteristics and related factors of postoperative drug-resistant bacteria infection (DRBI) in patients with acute Stanford A aortic dissection (AD) (AAAD) based on a two-fluid numerical simulation model (TFNS model). Methods: 50 patients with AAAD admitted to our hospital from July 2018 to October 2020 were selected as the research objects. The patients were rolled into an infection group and a non-infection group according to whether DRBI occurred after surgery. There were 21 patients in the infected group and 29 patients in the non-infected group. The clinical data of the patients were collected, including preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative conditions. A TFNS model was constructed. The construction of vascular physical model could be completed by the construction of fluid area and solid area. The blood flows through the fluid area and the blood vessel wall was located in the solid area. The model was adopted to study the characteristics of DRBI. The data of the patients were analyzed to explore the relationship of the multi-DRBI to intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, intensive care unit (ICU) stay time, invasive procedures, and use of antibiotics. In addition, the multi-factor postoperative multi-DRBI was performed with the regression analysis. Results: There was no significant difference between the infected group and the non-infected group in antibiotics used such as cephalosporin, penicillin, glycopeptide, and quinolones (P > 0.05). The time spent on antibiotics was greatly lower in the infected group than in the non-infected group (P < 0.05). The ICU stay time in the infected group was 17.78 ± 11.55, and that in the non-infected group was 6.67 ± 4.36, without notable difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the time to transfer to the ICU, while there was one case infected with Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter cloacae. The excessive plasma loss (odds ratio (OR) = 3.823, 95% confidential interval (CI) = 1.643–8.897), renal insufficiency (OR = 1.855, 95% CI = 1.076–3.199), ICU stay time (OR = 5.089, 95% CI = 1.507–17.187), indwelling time of nasal feeding tube (NFT) (OR = 3.225, 95% CI = 1.332–7.807), assisted ventilation (OR = 3.077, 95% CI = 1.640–5.773), tracheal intubation (OR = 5.078, 95% CI = 1.415–18.227), tracheotomy (OR = 0.073, 95% CI = 0.013–0.382), continuous renal replacement (CRR) therapy (OR = 0.111, 95% CI = 0.023–0.476), use time of antibiotics (OR = 1.089, 95% CI = 1.038–1.143) were independent risk factors for postoperative multi-DRBI. Conclusion: postoperative multi-DRBI was characterized by Acinetobacter baumannii infection with the largest proportion, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae; excessive plasma loss, renal insufficiency, ICU stay time, indwelling time of NFT, assisted ventilation, tracheal intubation, tracheotomy, CRR therapy, and use time of antibiotics were all independent risk factors of postoperative multi-DRBI. In the postoperative care of AAAD patients, the inducing factors had to be informed to the patient, and relative measures should be taken to prevention and treatment, which was conductive to reducing the incidence of infection and promote the recovery of AAAD. © 2021 The Author(s)
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    Potential dangers of nursing overtime in critical care
    (NLM (Medline), 2018-09-01) D'Sa, Vanessa M. ; Ploeg, Jenny ; Fisher, Anita L. ; Akhtar-Danesh, Noori ; Peachey, Gladys
    Around the world, registered nurses are working increasing amounts of overtime. This is particularly true in critical care environments, which experience unpredictable fluctuations in patient volume and acuity combined with a need for greater numbers of specialized nurses. Although it is commonplace, little consensus exists surrounding the effects of overtime on nursing sick time and patient outcomes. Using data from 11 different critical care units nestled within three major academic health science centres in Southern Ontario, a multilevel-model Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between nursing overtime and nursing sick time, patient mortality and patient infection incidents. Most significantly, for every 10 hours of nursing overtime worked, study findings revealed an associated 3.3-hour increase in nursing sick time. Because of the potential cost and patient care ramifications, hospitals and nurse managers are encouraged to track collective and individual paid and unpaid hours to impose appropriate limits and ensure accountability. Further qualitative research should be commissioned to explore the underlying reasons for these findings and diversify the settings and, in turn, wider application. Copyright © 2018 Longwoods Publishing.
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    Prediction of epidemiological characteristics of vascular cognitive impairment using SIR mathematical model and effect of brain rehabilitation and health measurement system on cognitive function of patients
    (Elsevier B.V., 2021-06) Hu, Yanqun ; Zhong, Wei ; Cen, Yunguang ; Han, Shuyan ; Feng, Zhiyun ; Zhang, Xuri ; Li, Wei ; Wang, Lanhua ; Li, Bin ; Issa, Sahar ; Ismail, Ragab Ibrahim
    The purpose is to explore the prediction of epidemiological characteristics of vascular cognitive impairment based on susceptible infectious recovered and immune hosts (SIR) mathematical model and the effect of brain rehabilitation health measurement system on cognitive function of patients. SIR mathematical model was used to predict the epidemiological characteristics of vascular cognitive impairment (VCIND). Then, 60 patients with non dementia vascular cognitive impairment were randomly divided into training group and control group. Both groups were given conventional drug therapy and traditional rehabilitation training. The training group increased brain rehabilitation on this basis. Health measurement system cognitive training, 40 min/time, once a day, 5 times a week for a total of 4 weeks. A simple intelligent mental scale (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), Barthel Index (BI), and myoelectric evoked potentiometer were used for cognitive function, daily life activity (ADL) ability, and P300 of two groups of patients. assessment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of brain rehabilitation health care measurement system-assisted cognitive training on cognitive function and event-related potential (ERP) P300 in patients with VCIND. The study found that the brain rehabilitation health care measurement system assisted cognitive training can effectively improve the cognitive function of patients with VCIND and their daily activities. © 2021 The Authors