“Worm within worm”: acute appendicitis containing an adult Ascaris lumbricoïdes

Appendicitis is the first aetiology for abdominal surgical emergency. Ascariasis is the most common helminth infection in tropical countries where it is endemic. The ability of intestinal helminths to wander through the digestive system means that it can end up in the appendix lumen and lead to appendicitis by luminal obstruction. However, this presentation is still rarely described in the literature. In fact, most of the diagnoses of roundworm associated with appendicitis are made retrospectively by the discovery of its eggs on the pathological examination of an appendectomy specimen. We report the case of a 7-year-old patient living in a tropical area who consulted for acute right lower quadrant pain. The ultrasound suspected the diagnosis of appendicitis and also revealed multiple intestinal worms including one in contact with the inflamed appendix. Surgical exploration confirmed appendicitis associated with roundworm partly in the appendicular lumen through a perforation.

Phosphorus Dynamics in the Soil–Plant–Environment Relationship in Cropping Systems: A Review

This work performs a review of the relevant aspects of agronomic dynamics of phosphorus (P) in the soil–plant relationship as a community (crop ecophysiology), the effect of environmental conditions and global warming on the redistribution and translocation of P concentrations in some commercial crops, and the use of good agricultural practices with an aim to improve the efficiency of the element. The research focuses on Northern Europe, North-Eastern Asia, Oceania, North America, and the tropical area of Latin America. This review covers general research and specific works on P found in the literature, 70% of which date from the last 10 years, as well as some older studies that have been of great relevance as references and starting points for more recent investigations. The dynamics of P in a system implies taking into account genetic aspects of the plant, component of the soil–plant–fertilizer–environment relationship, and use of technologies at the molecular level. In addition, in a climate change scenario, the availability of this element can significantly change depending on whether it is labile or non-labile.

Locality values in thermal comfort embodied in traditional Indonesian houses: a literature review

This study aims to explore how traditional buildings of Indonesia adapted and responded to the current climate. Scientific publications regarding traditional houses from various regions in Indonesia were gathered to be examined the locality values in thermal comfort. The examination of the scientific publications highlighted some housing elements and arrangements that influence the thermal comfort of the houses. The building elements that affect the thermal comfort encompass lifted house on stilts; appropriate size and amount of windows; ventilated roof; selected natural material; divider arrangement; and the existence of veranda. Furthermore, as exemplified in Bali, the proper spatial arrangement between house buildings and open space influences traditional Indonesian houses’ thermal comfort. In conclusion, dealing with climate in a tropical area with high humidity can be demonstrated in those locality values without consuming excess energy for a cooling system. The significance of this study is beneficial for the development of tropical houses, which is expectedly to consider those locality values.

Effects of environmental factors and soil properties on soil organic carbon stock in a natural dry tropical area of Cameroon

Research carried out on soil organic carbon stock (SOCS) in the Sudano-Sahelian region of Cameroon is very rare. The few existing studies are mostly available in reports and concern in most cases carbon stocks in plant biomass. In order to contribute to the documentation on soils in this part of the country, the present work was designed to evaluate the SOCS in the main soil types and the influence of environmental factors and soil properties on these stocks under the natural dry tropical area of the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. The study was undertaken in four sites, including three natural forest reserves (Laf, Zamai, Kosohon) and one national park (Mozogo), located at different latitudes. Three replicates were collected at each site, giving rise to three sampling points chosen per site, from 0 to 75 cm depth, for the determination of SOCS. At each sampling point, soils were sampled using depth increments of 25 cm from the surface. The studied area is covered by Haplic Vertisols, Dystric Arenosols, Dystric Leptosols and Dystric Planosols. Total SOCS (T-SOCS) content, which refers to a depth of 75 cm, decreases with increasing latitude, with 249±26.26 Mg ha−1 in Vertisols at Laf forest reserve most southerly located, 199±8.00 Mg ha−1 in Arenosols at Zamai forest reserve, 166±16.63 Mg ha−1 in Leptosols at Kosohon forest reserve and 161±8.88 Mg ha−1 in Planosols at Mozogo national park most northerly located, regardless of the altitude. No significant correlation was noted between T-SOCS and the altitude. A good correlation was noted between precipitation which decreases with increasing latitude and T-SOCS, indicating the importance of climate in the distribution of T-SOCS in the study area, which directly influences the productivity of the vegetation. More than 60 % of the SOCS was stored below the first 25 cm from the soil surface, a peculiarity of SOCS in drylands. The SOCS in the Sudano-Sahelian area of Cameroon is mainly influenced by climate and vegetation.

Impact of climate change on the ecosystem of the central Himalayas, Nepal

The threats of climate change are found in both developed and developing countries. Since the impacts of climate change are global, irreversible, and pervasive, it is gaining worldwide attention. High mountains are the first indicators of climate change. However, the idea of what causes climate change effects on multiple ecosystem services remains scattered. This article is meant for information regarding the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem of Nepal. The result shows that climate change causes tree line shifting, change in land cover, extinction of species due to loss of habitat, imbalance in carbon sequestration on the terrestrial ecosystem while eutrophication of water bodies and extinction of endemic fish species was reported from the aquatic ecosystem. Tropical area is considered to be more affected by climate change in terms of Natural disasters and Health impacts. Moreover, different types of ecological modeling can be simulated in the context of Nepal for the prediction and future analysis of the impacts of climate change in the Ecosystem. Therefore, the impact of climate change is crucial and challenging.

Vitamin D status in exclusively breastfed infants and their mothers

Background: The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in exclusively breastfed infants was found to be 82%, 52% and 20 % from UAE, Pakistan and China respectively but there is a paucity of data from India regarding the same.Methods: Prevalence of subclinical Hypovitaminosis D in exclusive breastfed babies and their mothers. This study was a descriptive study conducted among breastfed infants and their mothers to reconnoitre the vitamin D level status. All exclusively breast fed healthy term babies with birth weight >2.5 kg who are less than 6 months of age and its mothers. The existence of correlation in the mean vitamin D level between the exclusively breastfed mothers and its infants.Results: The infants status of vitamin D deficiency and insufficient was 91.9% and 8.1% respectively. The mothers status of vitamin D deficiency and insufficient was 78.3% and 21.7% respectively.Conclusions: Hypovitaminosis D was highly prevalent among mothers living in tropical area irrespective of diet habits or socioeconomic group. There was a significant positive correlation in the mean Vitamin D level of the mothers and their exclusively breastfed infants.

Drop Size Distribution and Lightning Manifestations in AMMA-CATH Area

This paper analyses for the first time in tropical area, the relationship between lightning and DSD (Drop Size Distribution) parameters on rainy events that occurred during the monsoon period. The Lightning data used are collected by the LINET (Lightning Detection Network) while the DSD data were recorded by a distrometer. The correlation was computed within five circles of radius varying between to with a step of . These consecutive areas are centered on the position of the disdrometer. By taking into account only the convective spectra and remove out of the data the cases where there is rain without any lightning and vice versa, all data was computed with a time scale of one minute during each of the rainy events .The results showed that the exponential and polynomial laws fit better our data than the power and linear laws. The highest correlation coefficients are obtained within a radius of about 20 km around the distrometer location. The correlation between the parameter and is the most stable with a correlation coefficient equal to .

Learning-by-Teaching Approach Improves Dengue Knowledge in Children and Parents

There is narrow evidence on which strategies are most effective for disseminating information on dengue prevention. This is particularly relevant because social habits have a great prevention capacity for dengue. We investigated how effective are children as health educators, and how much they learn as they teach. We recruited 142 children and 97 parents in Argentina’s tropical area for two cluster randomized parallel trials. In Study 1, we compared the dynamics of dengue knowledge of 10-year-old children who—after receiving a dengue talk—1) listened to an unrelated topic; 2) read a booklet with information about dengue, 3) taught their parents about dengue, or 4) taught their parents about dengue, using the booklet. In Study 2, we assessed whether the parents’ dengue knowledge changed after interacting with their children, in comparison with parents learning about dengue from an expert or about an unrelated topic. Children that taught their parents what they learned, using a booklet, showed 2.53 more correct responses (95% CI [0.20, 4.85]; P = 0.027) than children who listened to an unrelated topic. This style of teaching also serves to effectively propagate knowledge: parents learned from their children the same as from an expert; and significantly more than parents who learned about an unrelated topic. Parents learned from their children even if they were taught with booklets (1.49, 95% CI [0.01, 2.96]; P = 0.048) or without (1.94, 95% CI [0.44, 3.44]; P = 0.006). Specifically, after being taught by their children, parents showed on average 1.49 (if they were taught with a booklet) and 1.94 (without booklet) more correct responses than parents that learned about an unrelated topic. The simple action of prompting children to teach consolidated their own knowledge and broadcasted it effectively to their parents. This strategy is a potential low to no-cost method for sharing information about dengue prevention.