ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Electrochemical Technique for Industrial Wastes Treatment by Anodic Oxidation in a Batch Reactor
Some industrial effluents are toxic, posing a threat not only to human beings of surroundings, but also to the ground and surface water resources. There are three ways to reduce pollution: (1) use of new, less pollution technologies; (2) effective treatment of effluent so that it conforms to specified discharge requirements; and (3) recycling waste several times over before discharge. As a novel advanced oxidation process (AOP), electrochemical oxidation process is powerful for degrading most organic compounds including toxic and non-biodegradable ones, and, so, it has attracted great attention. In this context electro oxidation (E.O.) was tested as an alternative method for oxidation of wastewater containing dyes in a batch electrochemical reactor. Variables studied were: Initial dye concentration, pH, applied current, solution flow rate, type of anode material and time duration of anodic oxidation (A.O.).It was found that the percentage of dye removal increased with increasing the applied current, duration of anodic oxidation, solution flow rate and with decreasing the initial dye concentration at pH 7 and room temperature (25±2Co). The best economic results seemed to be under the following condition: flow rate 25ml/sec. current 1 ampere, lead spheres used as anode and pH 6- 7 at room temp., where 91.9% reduction in colour takes place in 120 min. and 85.3% at 90 min. The mass transfer coefficient was found to increase with increasing reactor current density and decreasing the initial dye concentration. The anode material also was found to play an important part in the anodic oxidation process. Lead spheres anode was more effective than stainless steel.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20844_de725ce5a4c08c52f16f3a04992dbdeb.pdf
2009-07-01
420
431
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20844
electrochemical
industrial
wastes
Anodic oxidation
Treatment
Hoda
Guendy
1
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
In Vitro Antibacterial Activity from Marine Algal Extracts Against Virulent Bacteria
In vitro screening using methanolic extracts of different marine algae and one sea grass showed antibacterial activity against eight virulent strains of fish and human pathogens. 1:1 (V: V) ratios of each methanolic extract were mutually added to give 21 interactions. The interaction between Udotea sp and Codium fragile extracts exhibited higher activities against Edwardsiella tarda (18±0.9mm), Vibrio ordalli (16±0.8mm), Klebsiella pneumonia (20±1mm) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16±0.8mm). The bioactivity of this interaction was found to be more effective than that obtained from some common antibiotics including: Lincolin, Streptomycin and Gentamycin. The chemical constituents of these two algal extracts and their interaction were characterized using thin layer chromatography and gas chromatographic – mass spectral analysis. The bioactivity of the separated compounds was estimated. Palmitic acid was the most active fatty acid.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20845_1a057e5990699f564707cbea3f79a54a.pdf
2009-07-01
432
448
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20845
Algal extract interactions
Pathogenic bacteria
Antibacterial activity
Gas chromatography–Mass spectrum
Khouloud
Barakat
1
Marine Microbiology Lab., Division of Marine Environment, National Institute of Oceanography & Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
Hermine
Tadros
2
Marine Chemistry Lab., Division of Marine Environment, National Institute of Oceanography & Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Monitoring of Fecal Pollution in Fresh Water and Soil of Abbis Area, East of Alexandria, Egypt
Great concern is currently assigned to monitor the environmental conditions at Abbis and its satellite villages, east of Alexandria City, Egypt that suffer severe fecal pollution arising from the lack of sanitary sewerage system. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the bacteriological quality of water and soil at Abbis area (Villages no. 7 and 8) and some physicochemical characteristics of the water bodies. Results revealed that pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, biodegradable organic matter and chemical oxygen demand exceeded their permissible limits. The total viable bacterial count ranged between 1.0 x104 and 6.2 x105 CFU/ml in water samples and from 7.1x106 to 8.0 x109 CFU/g in soil samples. Total coliforms in the water of the less polluted sites recorded <300 cell/100 ml and in the highly polluted sites recorded >1800 cell/100 ml. However, all soil samples were heavily contaminated with total coliforms (>1800 cell/100 g). Fecal coliforms in the water samples ranged from 5 to 350 cell/100 ml. For soil, half of soil samples showed very high density of fecal coliforms (>1800 cell/100 g) and the rest showed fecal coliforms in the range of 35-1600 cell/100 g. Some correlations were detected among the tested water parameters at the study area and most of the sampling sites were similar.According to the European and Egyptian current standards, the bacteriological analyses confirmed the results of the physicochemical characterization where most of the selected sites were highly polluted.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20846_ccee3a9c58fdb90a5945885d8e62f50d.pdf
2009-07-01
449
469
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20846
Abbis-Alexandria
Coliform bacteria
Fecal pollution
Physicochemical characteristics
water
Soil
Hanan
Abd-Elnaby
1
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Microbiology Laboratory, Alexandria, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
Ebtesam
El-Bestawy
2
Department of Environmental Studies, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Egypt
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Childhood Bronchial Asthma and Quality of Life
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, which restricts their physical, emotional, and social aspects of life. In North African countries including Egypt, asthma has a major negative impact on the daily activities of asthmatic children. It is approved that the assessment of quality of life (QOL) of asthmatic children is important for enhancing communication between health care providers and patient and it helps in monitoring of treatment. In developing countries, there are not enough data regarding the issue of quality of life especially among asthmatic children. A case control study design was used to investigate the quality of life among asthmatic children compared to non-asthmatic children at Mansoura city, Dakahlia, Egypt. The study included a total number of 392 children (196 children for each study and control group) who were interviewed at the outpatient clinic of Mansoura Chest Hospital. Socioeconomic level of the children's family was determined based on the scoring system of Fahmy and El- Sherbini. A 5-point likert scale was developed according to the World Health Organization "Measurement of Quality of life in children". The study findings revealed a significant poor level of quality of life in relation to physical domain among the asthmatic children compared to non-asthmatic children. Severity of asthma showed a negative significant correlation with the level of quality of life in relation to the three domains. In conclusion, suffering from bronchial asthma negatively affects the children's quality of life, therefore there is a need special attention to provide information about measures to reduce daily activities restrictions.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20847_8c19c50917f76c392b4264c5153cac75.pdf
2009-07-01
470
483
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20847
quality of life
Asthmatic Children
Socioeconomic
Severity of Asthma
Hala
Elgrawany
1
Department of Child Health, Kindergarten Collage, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
Amel
Ahmed
2
Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Analysis of the Underlying and Multiple Causes of Death for the Kuwaiti Population 40 years or over; Part II: Causes
Background: Death rarely results from a single cause; it can be caused by a variety of factors. Multiple causes of death (MCD) can provide information about the associations between causes of death revealing common combinations of conditions. Moreover, they can rectify inconsistencies in the death certificates (DC). Objective: This paper is meant to highlight the importance of multiple causes of death and point out the contributing and associated disease conditions to the underlying cause of death (UCD). Methods: The study was based on analysis of multiple causes of death for the Kuwaiti population 40 years or over in the period 1993-2001. All multiple causes up to 5 in the death certificate notification (DCN) were coded and analyzed. The data were coded according to ICD9 following the WHO rules. The ratios for the MCD/UCD were computed for the groups of diseases and for individual causes exceeding 50 entries. The relative ratios (Observed/Expected) were computed to show the associations between the groups of causes. Results: A total of 13960 DCNs were analyzed, the ratios were low for neoplasms (1.51), followed by respiratory (2.50), nervous (2.97), and digestive conditions (3.01), Ill-defined conditions had the highest ratio (13.40). Infections and genitourinary diseases had ratios of 4.19 and 4.56. Ranking changed when using MCD; circulatory, endocrinal, nervous and digestive conditions kept their position, with circulatory diseases on the top and nervous conditions occupying position 10. Relative risk (RR) was computed for the different groups; positive RR was found between infections and respiratory, digestive, genitourinary and ill-defined disease conditions. Neoplasms showed positive association was other neoplasms, and endocrine conditions were positively associated with circulatory, respiratory, and genitourinary conditions. A positive association was found between ill-defined conditions with circulatory and other Ill-defined conditions. Conclusions and Recommendations:: UCD is still essential to analyze historical trends, compare countries, and guide prevention of death; MCD offer a new sight into the study of mortality. The combination of the 2 methodologies is more useful than the isolated use of either approach. The Collection of MCD is essential, there has been major development in the area and soft ware was developed to analyze MCD data. MOH should start the development of data bases for MCD, make them available, and include the highlights in the MOH annual reports. Special reports discussing individual disease conditions particularly neoplasms and circulatory and respiratory conditions should be organized.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20848_e7b8aeb9bbadd0daa1b24539712b15df.pdf
2009-07-01
484
503
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20848
Kuwait
UCD
MCD
Causes of death
Kamel
Alsaleh
1
Department of Medical Records, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, State of Kuwait
LEAD_AUTHOR
Mesa
Al-Saleh
2
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, State of Kuwait
AUTHOR
Saadoun
Al-Azmi
3
Department of Medical Records, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, State of Kuwait
AUTHOR
Zahra
Al-Moweel
4
Department of Medical Records, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, State of Kuwait
AUTHOR
Bader
Alnashi
5
Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, State of Kuwait
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Vaginal and Sexually Transmitted Infections: Preventive Intervention among Newly Married Women in Minia University
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a public health problem of major significance in most parts of the world. Vaginal infections-for example- are very common in women of reproductive age and are almost always symptomatic and rarely cause complications. The objective of this study wasto raise awareness as preventive intervention regarding vaginal infections and STIs among newly married women in Minia University employee. Quasi-experimental design was utilized in this research. A total of 300 newly married women (≥ three months period after marriage) from Minia University employee were interviewed at their work sites or their homes. Oral consent was taken from each woman and data were collected between the period of May 2007 to Dec 2007. Individual interview questionnaire was developed by the researcher that included two main parts; part one is the assessment of socio-demographic data, sources of information for sexuality concerns, and assessment of relevant protective aspects. The second part included pre/post tests which consisted of 12 questions to assess level of knowledge regarding vaginal infections and STIs. It also included the provision of mini teaching module that covered the main information needed for raising awareness for prevention of vaginal and ST infections such as; definition, types, causes, symptoms and prevention. Results showed thatages of the studied women ranged from 18 to 21 years old, all of them had moderate level of education (diploma). An 88.3% & 11.7% were rural and urban residents respectively. Moreover, the mean score percentages of the pre/post tests of the knowledge about each of vaginal and ST infections were significantly different (p= 0.001). It was concluded that the level of awareness was raised regarding vaginal and ST infections among the studied women. Public health education campaigns on vaginal and ST infections prevention for vulnerable groups including; adolescents and youth, illiterate clients, women and men are recommended.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20849_94bccce86d03208dfdb20f7feab45e0c.pdf
2009-07-01
504
517
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20849
Vaginal Infections
Yeast Infection
Bacterial Vaginosis
Trichomoniasis, STIs
prevention
Fatma
Ibrahim
1
Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, El Minia University, El Minia, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
Nadia
Mohammed
2
Department of Maternity and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, South Valley University, Egypt
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Evaluation of Food Rationing and Subsidy Program
Egypt’s food rationing and subsidy system has been a mainstay of the government’s long-term policy of promoting social equity and political stability. There is an increasing pressure to reform if not eliminating the subsidy program. Few studies were carried-out to evaluate the current subsidy system. The aim of this study is to assess the consumption of subsidized and unsubsidized bread, identify the factors affecting dispensing rationed foods and to determine consumer’s opinion towards the subsidy program.The subjects of this study were 204 employees from Alexandria University hospitals. Data were collected by direct interview using a predesigned questionnaire. Data were collected on the socioeconomic characteristics of the family, purchase of subsidized balady and unsubsidized shami and fino bread. The fate of the subsidized bread and consumers’ suggestions to improve its quality were assessed. The rate of dispensing foods through ration cards was determined. Consumers’ opinion of the nutritional values of the subsidized foods and the preferred mode of subsidy were recorded.The results show that subsidized balady bread was consumed by all social strata, the percapita share of low socioeconomic groups was more than 3 loafs daily. Shami and Fino bread was consumed mostly by high income bracket. The results show that 14.2% of the balady bread was wasted and 10.8% was refrigerated. The majority (46.7%) recommended no change in the current bread subsidy system and 28.9% recommended improved baking. The quantity of foods dispensed by ration card varied with the type of food. The whole quantity of allocated sugar was dispensed by 78.0% of the sample compared with tea which was least collected (49.5%). Poor quality was the main reason for not dispensing the whole quantity, however, it was reported by some consumers that the rationed quantity of sugar and oil exceeded their needs. The results show that 48.0% of the sample believed that food subsidy improves nutrition while 28.9% reported that it has no effect. The present card system of delivering subsidized food was preferred (52.0%) fearing that cash subsidy will not be enough (54.7%) or will be associated with a sharp increase in food price.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20850_8393c4fbc9d42e405982509e75705688.pdf
2009-07-01
518
536
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20850
food
bread
Subsidy
Ration Cards
Socioeconomic Factors
Sally
Ezzat
1
Fellow of Nutrition, Alexandria University Students’ hospital, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egyptl
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Altered Serum Lipids and Paraoxonase Activity: A Step towards Atherosclerosis among Lead Exposed Egyptian Workers
A vast amount of evidence during the past decade, has confirmed that lead is associated with lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities which play a major role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed: to investigate the relationship between chronic occupational lead exposure, lipid profile, and serum PON1 activity as one of the mechanisms of atherosclerosis. Male workers (n=100) in lead battery manufactory were recruited for this study. They were compared with 100 male age matched non-lead workers. Serum lipid profile and paraoxonase activity were done to their samples. Serum Lead was determined vsing atomic absorption spectroscopy. There was significant differences regarding triglycerides, total cholesterol, and HDL-c (p=0.01, 0.05 and 0.04, respectively) between both groups. A cumulative effect of blood lead on lipid profile was significantly detected. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that blood lead level was the only negative significant predictors to serum paraoxonase activity (p=0.03) in lead workers. lead exposure is associated with increased triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-c and decrease HDL-c. Because of the protective role of PON1 in the development of atherosclerosis, decrease in serum PON1 activity due to lead exposure may render individuals more susceptible to atherosclerosis.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20851_b0932cbc16a23c5f0b859d4f457a9e3c.pdf
2009-07-01
537
550
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20851
Serum Lipids
Paraoxonase Activity
Atherosclerosis
Lead Exposure
Egyptian Workers
Manal
Kamal
1
Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
Mona
Fathy
2
Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
AUTHOR
Eman
Taher
3
Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
AUTHOR
Manal
Hasan
4
Industrial Medicine and Occupational diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Appointment Delay among Patients Attending Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic of Al-Qatif Central Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Patient’s appointment is a fixed mutual agreement between patient and any health care giver to obtain the required medical services that suit his/ her health needs. Appointment delays in outpatient clinics are the most important cause for patients’ dissatisfaction due to the complications that might develop during the wait time and consequently affecting their health status. The present study aimed to measure the appointment time from referral from primary health care centers to get the first appointment for patients cared for the most common diseases in the endocrinology outpatient clinic ofAl-Qatif Central Hospital, and study reasons and effect of delayed appointment on patients. It is a cross- sectional descriptive study. The target population was medical records and database of 200 patients, all the working staff, and patients attended the study clinic during the year 2008. Results revealed that 60.5% of the patients had delayed appointment, while 39.5% had no delayed appointment. The acceptable appointment time delay for diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were (χ-= 55±8.66, 95±5.00 and 19±4.35 days respectively) in comparison to the current appointment time delay (χ-=118.3±81.0, 113.6±70.4 and 87.9±49.7 days respectively). Most of the patients with delayed appointment were dissatisfied (74.4%) compared to only 67% of those with no delayed appointment. Also, 22.3% of the patients with delayed appointment perceived that their health status was affected to a great extent in comparison to only 10.1% of those with no delayed appointment. Among the reasons mentioned by the working staff for delayed appointment were increased number of “no show” patients, population served by the study hospital, and follow up visits (83.3% each). Accordingly, the present study recommended availability of a center for diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus in addition to the outpatient clinic of the study hospital; developing a system for reminding patients with the date of appointment e.g. SMS, telephone call,…etc; and establishing a prioritizing system for appointments based on emergency of the conditions.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20852_ccadf8318599374e90736e677604abd6.pdf
2009-07-01
551
564
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20852
Appointment delay
Endocrinology
Outpatient Clinics
Azza
El-Mahalli
1
Department of Health Administration and Behavioral Sciences Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Life Style of Diabetic Patients Attending Marj Al Hamam Public Medical Center in Jordan
A study in Jordan, Amman, (Marj Al Hamam) government health center was structured to determine the life style practices among group of diabetic patients attending the center monthly. A total of 294 respondents completed the survey questionnaire, 276 were type 2 while 18 were type 1.Results indicated that the prcentage of current smokers was more among type one (44.40%), than type 2(22.50%) while the percentage of physically active respondents didn't differ much among both types of diabetes (38.90% type 2, 38.9% type 1). Those who were physically active were in the age group 40-49, while those who led sedentary life style were in age group <40. The Percentage of male smokers was more than females. Males were physically active more than females 49.00%:26.60%) Regarding educational status, diabetics who had high educational level (university) were current smokers (32.70%) withno statistical significance while those with college level were leading active physical activity mainly walking 45.5 with no statistical significance.
https://jhiphalexu.journals.ekb.eg/article_20853_d8302025dea477572e6a3c9877e57848.pdf
2009-07-01
565
581
10.21608/jhiph.2009.20853
Life Style
Diabetic patients
Jordan
Iyad
Shawareb
1
Department of Developmental Psychology, Amman Arab University, Amman, Jordan
LEAD_AUTHOR
Khulood
Halash
2
JB in Family Medicine, Public Health Center, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan
AUTHOR