Risk Factors for Geo-Helminthiasis in Children Aged 6 - 36 Months in a Rural Health District in Cameroon

Introduction and Objectives: Soil-Transmitted-Helminthiasis (STH) is a public health problem in Cameroon. The control strategies currently in place, particularly chemoprevention, has shortcomings linked to the target population, which are school-age children. The objective was to determine the prevalence and the risk factors associated with geo-helminthiasis in children aged 0 to 3 years in a rural health district. Method: From December 2020 to May 2021, a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of 376 children between 6 and 36 months was carried out in the Akonolinga health district. This was a cluster sampling in 4 health areas. Stool samples were collected and analysed using the mini-FLOTAC method. The results expressed as the number of eggs per gram of stool. A questionnaire on socio-demographic and lifestyle data was administered to the parents. The Chi-squared test was used to measure the association between geo-helminth infection and the data collected. A multivariate analysis using logistic regression was performed (p 0.05). Results: The prevalence of STH was 19.4% (Ascaris lumbricoides: 16% and Trichuris trichiura: 8%). Risk factors were: consumption of contaminated water (AOR = 1.93 [1.03 - 3.6];p = 0.040), early contact of the child with the ground (before age of 4 months) (AOR = 4.9 [2.1 - 11.37];p .001), habit of walking barefoot (AOR = 2.91 [1.1 - 7.97];p = 0.038), and living in a habitat with unpaved ground (AOR = 7.4 [1.55 - 35.7];p = 0.012). Conclusion: The prevalence of STHs in infants was high. Preventive chemotherapy should be extended to this age-group, and other measures intensified.

United States Healthcare Data Breaches: Insights for NIST SP 800-66 Revision 2 from a Review of the NIST SP 800-66 Revision 1

Healthcare security and privacy breaches are occurring in the United States (US), and increased substantially during the pandemic. This paper reviews the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publication base as an effective solution. The NIST Special Publication 800-66 Revision 1 was an essential standard in US healthcare, which was withdrawn in February 2024 and superseded by SP 800-66 Revision 2. This review investigates the academic papers concerning the application of the NIST SP 800-66 Revision 1 standard in the US healthcare literature. A systematic review method was used in this study to determine current knowledge gaps of the SP 800-66 Revision 1. Some limitations were employed in the search to enforce validity. A total of eleven articles were found eligible for the study. Consequently, this study suggests the necessity for additional academic papers pertaining to SP 800-66 Revision 2 in the US healthcare literature. In turn, it will enhance awareness of safeguarding electronic protected health information (ePHI), help to mitigate potential future risks, and eventually reduce breaches.

Non-use value assessment for wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve in northeast China

By the contingent value method, we studied the non-use value of wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve （HNNR） in Heilongjiang Pro- vince, northeast China. The proportion of respondents willing to pay （WTP） for protection of HNNR was 63 %. The WTP ratio was affected by geographical area, contact nature, personal preferences, and familiar degree of the respondents. The WTP value was affected by age, education level and career of the respondents. The mainly reasons for people rejecting to pay for protecting HNNR were ＂I am not familiar to HNNR＂ and ＂I had no capacity for additional spending because of low income＂. Weighted average individual WTP value was CNY 59.26 Yuan ind.^-1 year^-1 for all the respondents with WTP. The total non-use ecosystem service value of HNNR was CNY 1430 million Yuan in 2013. The heritage value was highest followed by existence value and option value. From the high ecosystem service value in HNNR, it is very important to construct nature reserve for protecting natural ecosystems and human sustainable use of natural resources.

A Compact Difference Scheme for Multi-point Boundary Value Problems of Heat Equations

In this paper,a compact difference scheme is established for the heat equations with multi-point boundary value conditions.The truncation error of the difference scheme is O(τ2+h^4),where t and h are the temporal step size and the spatial step size.A prior estimate of the difference solution in a weighted norm is obtained.The unique solvability,stability and convergence of the difference scheme are proved by the energy method.The theoretical statements for the solution of the difference scheme are supported by numerical examples.

Jacobi-Sobolev Orthogonal Polynomialsand Spectral Methods for Elliptic Boundary Value Problems

Generalized Jacobi polynomials with indexes α,β∈ R are introduced and some basic properties are established. As examples of applications,the second- and fourth-order elliptic boundary value problems with Dirichlet or Robin boundary conditions are considered,and the generalized Jacobi spectral schemes are proposed. For the diagonalization of discrete systems,the Jacobi-Sobolev orthogonal basis functions are constructed,which allow the exact solutions and the approximate solutions to be represented in the forms of infinite and truncated Jacobi series. Error estimates are obtained and numerical results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and the spectral accuracy.

Reflection of Liberal Values in the Georgian Press in 1918-1921

This study deals with the values and orientation of Georgian social and political publications in the times of the Georgian Democratic Republic （1918-1921）. It also shows how the press of that time reflected the idea of ＂Georgian Europeanism＂ based on liberal values that took shape as an anti-colonial concept in the journalism of the late 19th century. The opposed dominant ideological projects of that era comprised on the one hand, National Democratic and Socialist Federalist parties that aspired to preserve national identity and carry out changes and on the other hand, ruling Social Democrats （who initially neglected national identity, but later shared the idea）. This opposition was clearly reflected in the media discourse of that time, which implied the following rights based on the principles of classical liberalism： freedom of conscience and expression, rule of law, personal independence, and individual rights. Other elements were added to this list later. The issue of religious tolerance also became topical. Journalist texts of the period reflected and rationalised the values recognised in today＇s democratic and liberal communities. The research was carried out in the archives of the periodicals of the aforementioned period （newspapers Sakhalkho Sakme, Sakartvelo, Ertoba, and Sakartvelos Respublika） by means of systematising and classifying retrieved materials and making a substantive and varietal analysis of individual media texts.

Risk measurement of international oil and gas projects based on the Value at Risk method

International oil and gas projects feature high capital-intensity, high risks and contract diversity. Therefore, in order to help decision makers make more reasonable decisions under uncertainty, it is necessary to measure the risks of international oil and gas projects. For this purpose, this paper constructs a probabilistic model that is based on the traditional economic evaluation model, and introduces value at risk(VaR) which is a valuable risk measure tool in finance, and applies Va R to measure the risks of royalty contracts, production share contracts and service contracts of an international oil and gas project. Besides, this paper compares the influences of different risk factors on the net present value(NPV) of the project by using the simulation results. The results indicate:(1) risks have great impacts on the project's NPV, therefore, if risks are overlooked, the decision may be wrong.(2) A simulation method is applied to simulate the stochastic distribution of risk factors in the probabilistic model. Therefore, the probability is related to the project's NPV, overcoming the inherent limitation of the traditional economic evaluation method.(3) VaR is a straightforward risk measure tool, and can be applied to evaluate the risks of international oil and gas projects. It is helpful for decision making.

Activity of the Fungicide JS399-19 Against Fusarium Head Blight of Wheat and the Risk of Resistance

This report reviews the characteristics of JS399-19, a novel cyanoacrylate fungicide. JS399-19 strongly inhibits the mycelial growth of the fungal plant pathogens of the genus Fusarium and exhibits great potential in controlling Fusarium head blight （FHB） on wheat and other cereals. The mode of action of JS399-19 is evidently different from that of benzimidazole （for example, carbendazim） and other sort of fungicides, making it a possible replacement for carbendazim in China to manage carbendazim-resistant subpopulations of Fusarium graminearum and F. asiaticum. JS399-t9 has excellent protective and curative activity against these pathogens. Incorrect use of this fungicide, however, is likely to select for resistance. Among JS399-19-resistant mutants of F. asiaticum induced in the laboratory, the resistant level of mutants was high and the phenotype of resistance against JS399-19 was conferred by a major gene by genetic analysis. The fitness of laboratory-induced JS399-19-resistant mutants of F. asiaticum was nearly equal to that of their parents. JS399-19 lacks cross resistance with other sort fungicides. To control FHB with JS399-19 and to delay the development of the fungicide-resistance, farmers should use tank mixtures containing JS399-19 and carbendazim, metconazole, tebuconazole, or prothioconazole.

Risk Assessment M ode of Sale-Leaseback——Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

Sale-leaseback is paid special focus on for its great application in China in recent years.By giving a detailed analysis,an analysis of the features of sale-leaseback and a study of the risks of it are given in this paper.Then a quantitative analysis of commercial real estate sale-leaseback is carried out.The scientific theoretical analysis is provided in this paper for risk assessment in commercial real estate sale-leaseback mode in China.An effective approach is put forward for sale-leaseback project evaluation and prevention of risk.A useful means is given to supervise commerciai real estate sale-leaseback mode for relevant departments and a certain contribution is made to a further sound development of commercial real estate sale-leaseback mode.

A Comparative Analysis of the New -3(-n) - 1 Remer Conjecture and a Proof of the 3n + 1 Collatz Conjecture

This scientific paper is a comparative analysis of two mathematical conjectures. The newly proposed -3(-n) - 1 Remer conjecture and how it is related to and a proof of the more well known 3n + 1 Collatz conjecture. An overview of both conjectures and their respective iterative processes will be presented. Showcasing their unique properties and behavior to each other. Through a detailed comparison, we highlight the similarities and differences between these two conjectures and discuss their significance in the field of mathematics. And how they prove each other to be true.

BAX G(-248)A Gene Polymorphism and Its Association with Risk of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer—A Case Control Study

Pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein BAX is an important member of mitochondrial dependent apoptosis regulation and ultimately plays a pivotal role in malignancies. A promoter G(-248)A polymorphism in the TP53 binding region of BAX results in differential binding capacity of TP53 protein there by regulating its expression, which has been found to be associated with different clinical outcomes in various malignancies. Presently we aimed to analyze the possible impact of the BAX G(-248)A polymorphism on the risk and other clinical features of non-small cell lung cancer in Indian population. The BAX promoter polymorphism was analyzed in blood samples of 320 subjects with 1:1 case/control ratio by primer-introduced restriction analysis PCR and survival curves were plotted using Kaplan-Meier analysis. It was observed that more than 3-fold increased risk of developing non-small cell lung cancer was associated with homozygous AA genotype of BAX G(-248)A promoter polymorphism in Indian population, with more predominant in smokers with pack-year > 45 (heavy) and using cigarette or huka as their smoking source than homozygous GG genotype. Significant associations was observed between TNM stage (p = 0.037) and histological type (0.02), of non-small cell lung cancer patients with the polymorphism. Patients homozygous for A allele exhibited a significant poor overall survival compared with patients displaying GA + AA or GA or GG genotype [median survival 6.0 vs 9.0, 11.0, and 30.0 months, respectively (p < 0.0001)]. Adenocarcinoma and advanced stage patients with AA genotype showed lower median survival time than squamous cell carcinoma and early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients (median 3.0 and 5.0 vs 8.0 and 9.0 months, respectively). We conclude that the genetic polymorphism G(-248)A in the TP53 binding promoter region of pro-apoptotic genes BAX may contribute to the risk of developing non-small cell lung cancer in Indian population and also may be an important factor for adverse clinical outcome for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging in surgery for pancreatic cancer

AIM： To evaluate the role of positron emission tomography using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose （FDG-PET） in the surgical management of patients with pancreatic cancer, including the diagnosis, staging, and selection of patients for the subsequent surgical treatment. METHODS： This study involved 53 patients with proven primary pancreatic cancer. The sensitivity of diagnosing the primary cancer was examined for FDG-PET CT, cytological examination of the bile or pancreatic juice, and the serum levels of carcinoembrionic antigens （CEA） and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 （CA29-9）. Next, the accuracy of staging was compared between FDG-PET and CT. Finally, FDG-PET was analyzed semiquantitatively using the standard uptake value （SUV）. The impact of the SUV on patient management was evaluated by examining the correlations between the SUV and the histological findings of cancer. RESULTS： The sensitivity of FDG-PET, CT, cytological examination of the bile or pancreatic juice, and the serum levels of CEA and CA19-9 were 92.5%, 88.7%, 46.4%, 37.7% and 69.8%, respectively. In staging, FDG-PET was superior to CT only in diagnosing distant disease （bone metastasis）. For local staging, the sensitivity of CT was better than that of FDG-PEr. The SUV did not correlate with the pTNM stage, grades, invasions to the vessels and nerve, or with the size of the tumor. However, there was a statistically significant difference （4.6 ± 2.9 vs 7.8 ± 4.5, P = 0.024） in the SUV between patients with respectable and unresectable disease. CONCLUSION： FDG-PET is thus considered to be useful in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. However, regarding the staging of the disease, FDG-PET is not considered to be a sufficiently accurate diagnostic modality. Although the SUV does not correlate with the patho-histological prognostic factors, it may be useful in selecting patients who should undergo subsequent surgical treatment.

Relationship between serum calcium and CA 19-9 levels in colorectal cancer

AIM:To examine the calcium metabolism of colorectal cancer (CRC)in patients with colorectal cancer and control patients. METHODS:Seventy newly diagnosed CRC patients were included.The healthy control group was age and gender matched(n=32).Particular attention was devoted to the relationship between serum calcium of patients,and levels of AFP,CEA,carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA 19-9)(that could be considered as prognostic factors).Furthermore,the Ca-sensing receptor(CaSR)gene A986S polymorphism was investigated in these patients,as well as the relationship between different CaSR genotypes and the data stated above. RESULTS:A lower level of ionized calcium(also corrected for albumin)was found in the serum of CRC patients with normal 25(OH)vitamin D levels.The ionized calcium concentration was inversely correlated with the serum level of CA.19-9.There was no difference in the distribution of CaSR genotypes,between CRC patients and general population.The genotypes did not correlate with other data examined. CONCLUSION:Based on these results,lower levels of serum calcium might be a pathogenic and prognostic factor in colorectal cancer.

Prognostic significance of SUVmax and serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in pancreatic cancer

AIM: To investigate the prognostic significance of pretreatment standardized maximum uptake value (SUVmax) and serum carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 in pancreatic cancer.

On the feasibility of re-stimulation of shale wells

As a result of advances in horizontal comple- tions and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, the U.S. has been able to economically develop several decades of worth of natural gas. However, a considerable concern has risen on the economic viability of shale gas development for reasons associated with the fast production declines as well as recent down-turns of natural gas prices besides rises in the costs of new technologies. Therefore, an economic analysis is required to investigate the profitability of the re- fracturing treatment of unconventional gas resources. Net present value of cash flows and internal rate of return are calculated for a range of gas prices considering 20 years of natural gas production from a typical unconventional shale gas reservoir. A systematic comparison is then accom- plished for three scenarios： （1） re-fracturing versus no re- fracturing, （2） combination of re-fracturing and drilling new wells, and （3） time-dependent re-fracturing treatment. Further, this paper incorporates the cost of re-fracturing treatment, the cost of drilling a new horizontal well, the water treatment cost, as well as the current and future price of natural gas in the model. The findings of this work would help the future re-stimulation development plans of the emerging unconventional shale gas plays.

Association of UCP3,APN,and TNF-α Gene Polymorphisms with Type 2 Diabetes in a Population of Northern Chinese Han Patients

We observed the polymorphism distribution and coaction of uncoupling protein 3（UCP3）-55C/T,adiponectin（APN）＋45T/G and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α-308G/A on the onset and development of T2DM in a Northern Chinese Han population of 213[100 type 2 diabete（T2DM） patients and 113 health control subjects] by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisum（PCR-RFLP） method.Results demonstrate the polymorphism of UCP3-55C/T,APN＋45T/G,and TNF-α-308G/A related to T2DM onset and developement.And the individuals carrying UCP3-55T,APN＋45G and TNF-α-308A allele had higher T2DM risk.Those results are the first report to evaluate the association of the coaction of UCP3,APN,TNF-α genes polymorphism on T2DM risk and the susceptibility of T2DM in the Northern Chinese Han population.

Study on Ba_(6-3x)Sm_(8+2x)Ti_(18)O_(54) Microwave Dielectric Ceramics

The effects of different x values on the dielectric properties in the Ba6-3xSm8+2xTi18O54 microwave dielectric ceramics(0.3≤x≤0.7) were studied. The results showed that the major crystal phase was BaSm2Ti4O12 and the sintering temperature of the ceramics was 1340 ℃ when the x value was 0.67. The dielectric properties were better: εr≈79, tanδ≈1×10-4(1 MHz); εr≈80, Q·f=9230 GHz(3.97 GHz), τf=-17 ppm·℃-1.

A REGULAR VALUE OF COMPACT DEFORMATION

Sufficient conditions were given to assert that between any two Banach spaces over K, Fredholm mappings share at least one .value in a specific open ball. The proof of the result is constructive and based upon continuation methods.

EXACT SOLUTION FOR RECTANGULAR SLAB WITH THREE EDGES SIMPLY-SUPPORTED AND OTHER FREE

In this paper,we give all-sided pastic analysis of the rectangular slab with three edges simply-supported and other free.Here we discuss the following four cases:(1)The uniformly distributedload over the area a slab.(2).A concentrated load act at midpoint of free edges slab.(3)A concen-trated load act at the center a slab.(4)The line load act along free edge of slab.

The Role of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Staging Breast Carcinoma in Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Vietnam

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT scans in staging breast carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study on 46 patients who were diagnosed with breast carcinoma in Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Vietnam from June 2019 to June 2021. Those patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT scans for pre-treatment staging. Results: There was a positive correlation between the size of primary tumors and their SUV (p < 0.0001, r = 0.759). The mean SUV was reported to be 2.5 for tumors under 2 cm, 5.89 for tumors from 2 - 5 cm, 13.6 for tumors above 5 cm, and 8.23 for skin invasive lesions. In terms of regional lymph node metastasis detection, the sensitivity and specificity of 18F-FDG PET/CT were 75% and 100%, respectively. The rate of distant metastasis detection was 15.2% (7/46 patients). Metastatic lesions were found in bone, lungs, liver, and lymph nodes. There was a significant difference in SUV among organs (p < 0.001), with the highest SUV found in bone metastasis. The rates of stage I, II, III and IV diagnosed after PET/CT are 8.7%;45.7%;30.4% and 15.2% respectively, compared to 10.9%;54.3%;32.6%;2.2% before taking 18F-FDG PET/CT. After PET/CT, 17.4% patients (8/46) had their treatment plan changed. Conclusions: 18F-FDG PET/CT plays an important role in staging breast carcinoma. Determining accurately the breast carcinoma stage by 18F-FDG PET/CT could help alter treatment strategy to best suit with patients, and avoid unnecessary surgery.