The burden of chronic kidney disease and associated risk of kidney failure are increasing in Africa. The management of people with chronic kidney disease is fraught with numerous challenges because ...of limitations in health systems and infrastructures for care delivery. From the third iteration of the International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas, we describe the status of kidney care in the ISN Africa region using the World Health Organization building blocks for health systems. We identified limited government health spending, which in turn led to increased out-of-pocket costs for people with kidney disease at the point of service delivery. The health care workforce across Africa was suboptimal and further challenged by the exodus of trained health care workers out of the continent. Medical products, technologies, and services for the management of people with nondialysis chronic kidney disease and for kidney replacement therapy were scarce due to limitations in health infrastructure, which was inequitably distributed. There were few kidney registries and advocacy groups championing kidney disease management in Africa compared with the rest of the world. Strategies for ensuring improved kidney care in Africa include focusing on chronic kidney disease prevention and early detection, improving the effectiveness of the available health care workforce (e.g., multidisciplinary teams, task substitution, and telemedicine), augmenting kidney care financing, providing quality, up-to-date health information data, and improving the accessibility, affordability, and delivery of quality treatment (kidney replacement therapy or conservative kidney management) for all people living with kidney failure.
In this paper, by using density functional theory (DFT), the structural, electronic, and optical properties of cubic and orthorhombic perovskites BaZrS3−xSex are explored. The lattice parameters ...increase when the substitution of S/Se atoms is applied, whereas the bulk moduli decrease. The density of states curves showed a strong hybridization between Zr-d and S-p/Se-p orbitals. Furthermore, the obtained bandgaps of the orthorhombic phases are direct (Γ–Γ), whereas they are indirect (R–Γ) for the cubic phase. When substituting sulfur with selenium, the bandgap decreases from 0.963 to 0.705 eV for the orthorhombic phase and from 0.655 to 0.288 eV for the cubic phase. The dielectric function showed that the optical bandgaps are between 0.7 and 0.5 eV for orthorhombic BaZrS3–xSex, which is in the infra-red spectrum, and it was between 0.7 and 0.25 eV for the cubic phase. The reflectivity was in the range of 26%–31% at low energies, which can be considered quite reflective. The refractive index for the orthorhombic phase increased from 3.0 to 3.5 at low energies and from 3.6 to 3.9 for the cubic phase, which indicates high absorption at those values of energy. The result obtained indicates that chalcogenide perovskites BaZrS3−xSex are good candidates for future photovoltaic applications such as tandem solar cells.
More than 63,000 Iraqi refugees were resettled in the United States from 1994 to 2010. We analyzed data for all US-bound Iraqi refugees screened in International Organization for Migration clinics in ...Jordan during June 2007–September 2009 (n = 18,990), to describe their health profile before arrival in the United States. Of 14,077 US-bound Iraqi refugees C15 years of age, one had active TB, 251 had latent TB infection, and 14 had syphilis. No HIV infections were reported. Chronic diseases comorbidities accounted for a large burden of disease in this population: 35% (n = 4,105) of screened Iraqi refugees had at least one of three chronic medical conditions; hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or obesity. State health departments and clinicians who screen refugees need to be aware of the high prevalence of chronic diseases among Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States. These results will help public health specialists develop policies to reduce morbidity and mortality among US-bound Iraqi refugees.
Background:
Lockdown was a unique experience that affected many aspects of life, particularly during the challenge of Ramadan fasting (RF). Studying this can increase understanding of the effects of ...lifestyle changes on quality of life (QoL) for children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) during RF.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study that assessed the effect of lockdown on lifestyle and QoL on fasting children living with T1D during Ramadan in the Middle East and North Africa region (2020-2021). We compared the child (self) and parent (proxy) reports using PEDQoL v3.0 disease specific questionnaire during lockdown and non-lockdown periods, and assessed correlations with lifestyle changes using regression and gap analyses.
Results:
A total of 998 reports from 499 children with T1D aged 8 to 18 years (study = 276, control = 223), and their parents during RF in lockdown and non-lockdown periods. Fathers were more involved in their children’s care during lockdown (P = .019). Patients had better compliance with treatment (P = .002), a reversed sleep pattern (P = .033), increased food intake (P ⩽ .001), and less exercise (P < .001). Children and parents perceived better QoL during lockdown (P ⩽.001) with no differences between their reports in “Diabetes Symptoms”, “Treatment Adherence,” and “Communication” domains. Self and proxy reports were different in all domains during non-lockdown (P = <.001-.009). In gap analysis, although not statistically significant, the gap was approximated between children’s and parents’ perceptions in all domains during lockdown.
Conclusion:
COVID-19 lockdown had a positive impact on QoL of children living with T1D during RF, possibly due to lifestyle changes and superior psychosocial family dynamics.
Myositis ossificans of the chest wall is extremely unusual with fewer than a dozen reported cases. In addition, the occurrence in children younger than 10 years is extremely rare. We report a case of ...an 8-year-old male who presented with painful and progressively enlarging left-sided chest wall mass. The tumor showed close histo-morphological mimicry with osteosarcoma. Moreover, the characteristic radiographic findings of myositis ossificans were absent. The age of the patient and the absence of attachment to the rib helped exclude extra-skeletal and parosteal osteosarcomas, respectively. The patient was doing well 4 months after surgery.
Myositis ossificans of the chest wall is extremely unusual with fewer than a dozen reported cases. In addition, the occurrence in children younger than 10 years is extremely rare. We report a case of ...an 8-year-old male who presented with painful and progressively enlarging left-sided chest wall mass. The tumor showed close histo-morphological mimicry with osteosarcoma. Moreover, the characteristic radiographic findings of myositis ossificans were absent. The age of the patient and the absence of attachment to the rib helped exclude extra-skeletal and parosteal osteosarcomas, respectively. The patient was doing well 4 months after surgery.
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