C-Reactive Protein (CRP) as an Inflammatory Marker: A Case Control Study on HCV Infected HIV and Non-Infected Healthy Individuals

( Suresh Jaiswal ),( Abhishek Lamichhane ),( Dipa Kusi ),( Man Bahadur Khatri ),( Prakash Khanal ) 대한간학회 2020 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2020 No.1

Aims: HIV is the chronic viral infection documented worldwide and HCV infection in HIV is a major infection. C-reactive protein is one of the acute-phase protein used as biomarker of inflammation. CRP is hepatic in origin which increases their concentrations during certain inflammatory disorders. CRP levels in human serum are normally quite low (around 1μl/mL), but it increases several hundred folds during the acute-phase inflammation. Methods: A Case control study was carried out in 244 participants including 122 HCV infected HIV and 122 non-infected (healthy) individuals for the comparison of CRP concentration using Nephelometry method by MISPA i2. The blood samples for case were taken from ART center of Western regional hospital and for control samples were taken from Pokhara valley through counseling and Questionnaires and ethical permission was obtained from IRC. Results: Among the 122 HCV infected participants 16(13.11%) individuals had CRP concentration >6mg/L and healthy 122 participants only 2(1.63%) participants had CRP concentration >6mg/L bearing of positive prevalence rate. This showed the significance level of P=0.001 and OR=9.057 with nine fold higher prevalence in the case and control. Male participant were found to have higher level of CRP (>6mg/L) in case, among 16 CRP positive, 9(7.4%) were male and 7(5.7%) were female. In control equal prevalence of positive CRP concentration (>6mg/L) was sheen between male and female 1(.8%). The sex wise distribution showed no significance with the CRP level. The mean CRP concentration in HIV infected participants was 2.07mg/L and in non-infected (healthy) participants was 1.40mg/L. Conclusions: Highest prevalence of the positive CRP concentration was among the case in our study which might be due to the defect in immune system of HCV-HIV infected individuals than of healthy individuals.

Damage detection technique in existing structures using vibration-based model updating

Devesh K. Jaiswal,Goutam Mondal,Suresh R. Dash,Mayank Mishra Techno-Press 2023 Structural monitoring and maintenance Vol.10 No.1

Structural health monitoring and damage detection are essential for assessing, maintaining, and rehabilitating structures. Most of the existing damage detection approaches compare the current state structural response with the undamaged vibrational structural response, which is unsuitable for old and existing structures where undamaged vibrational responses are absent. One of the approaches for existing structures, numerical model updating/inverse modelling, available in the literature, is limited to numerical studies with high-end software. In this study, an attempt is made to study the effectiveness of the model updating technique, simplify modelling complexity, and economize its usability. The optimization-based detection problem is addressed by using programmable open-sourced code, OpenSees^® and a derivative-free optimization code, NOMAD^®. Modal analysis is used for damage identification of beam-like structures with several damage scenarios. The performance of the proposed methodology is validated both numerically and experimentally. The proposed method performs satisfactorily in identifying both locations and intensity of damage in structures.

Knowledge of Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Health Science Students of Pokhara Univ., Gandaki Province, Nepal

( Bishnu Raj Tiwari ),( Suresh Jaiswal ),( Sanju Bastola ),( Bimala Sharma ) 대한간학회 2020 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2020 No.1

Aims: Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) is public health problem in Nepal. The prevalence of HBV was found to be below 1% (0.9%), however some subgroup of population showed high prevalence by various studies. The study aimed to determine the knowledge of Hepatitis B virus infection among health science students of Pokhara University, Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done among 200 students of health and allied science of Pokhara University using a structured self-administered questionnaire method. The questionnaire was prepared based on the previous studies. Students from public health, laboratory science, pharmacy and nursing disciplines were enrolled in the study. The information was collected from January to February, 2020. Mean knowledge score of HBV was measured based on 28 related questions as it was done in previous study, in which each correct answer was coded 1 and incorrect answer as 0, resulting the maximum score of 28 for all right answers. Descriptive statistics, and chisquare test, independent sample t test and one -way ANOVA test were applied. Results: Of the total, 74.5% of the respondents were females; and mean age of the respondents was 20.6 (SD ±1.48) years. Mean knowledge score of HBV was 19.48 (SD±2.72) out of 28. The mean knowledge score was 19.90 (SD± 2.67) among females and 18.33 (SD±2.53) among males; there was significant difference in the mean knowledge score between males and females (p value <0.05). Similarly, there was also significant difference in the mean knowledge score among the students of different disciplines of health science (p value <0.05); the highest mean was observed among nursing students which was 21.22 (SD+2.64). Regarding the individual questions, 98% respondents agreed that hepatitis B infection is caused by a virus. Among all, 16.5% respondents agreed that hepatitis B infection can be spread by mosquitoes; the statement was significantly different by sex (P<0.05). Of the total, 41.9% agreed that hepatitis B can be spread through close personal contact such as kissing or talking, 29.5% agreed that sharing dishes with HBV positive patients can cause the spread of virus; 97% reported that hepatitis B is spread through blood-to-blood contact; and 86.5% respondents mentioned that sexual transmission is a common way hepatitis B is spread. Of total, 91% students agreed that there is a vaccine for HBV. Among all, 84% students agreed that HBV is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer and 87.5% mentioned that HBV can lead to liver cirrhosis. Of the total, 58.5% agreed that having a medical and/or dental procedure increases a person’s chances of contracting HBV; 69.5% students believed that symptoms appear soon after the entrance of HBV into the body; 55.8% agreed that symptoms always appear after the entrance of HBV to the body; 38.5% students agreed that people with HBV should be restricted from working in the food industry; and 64.5% students reported that there is a pharmaceutical treatment available for hepatitis B; and the agreement with all the above statements had statistically significant association with sex (p value <0.05). Conclusions: The mean knowledge score of HBV infection was found satisfactory among health science students of Pokhara University, Gandaki province, Nepal. Significant differences were observed in the mean knowledge score of HBV by sex and different disciplines of health science. The curriculum of all health science disciplines should be comprehensive to cover all aspect of HBV infection

Public Health

( Bimala Sharma ),( Nirmala Shrestha ),( Nisha Gurung ),( Suresh Jaiswal ),( Bishnu Raj Tiwari ) 대한간학회 2020 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2020 No.1

Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a public health problem in Nepal. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge of hepatitis C virus infection among health science students of Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among health science students of Pokhara University in Pokhara, Nepal. A self-administered structured questionnaire was prepared and administered among students to collect information on socio-demographic and HCV infection. Two hundred students from Laboratory science, Pharmacy, Public health and Nursing disciplines were enrolled in the study. The data was collected from January to February, 2020. Mean knowledge score of HCV was measured from 29 questions related to it, in which each correct answer was coded 1 and incorrect answer as 0, resulting the maximum of 29, as it was measured in previous studies. Frequency, mean, chi-square test, and independent sample t test, one- way ANOVA were computed. Level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Of the total 200 students, 25.5% respondents were males; and median age of the participants was 21 years ranging from 17 to 26 years; 95% respondents were unmarried. Of them, 12.5% had ever made tattoo piercing and 25.5% had ever donated blood in their lives. Mean knowledge score of HCV was 19.28 (SD±3.00) out of 29 maximum, as measured from 29 questions. The mean knowledge score of HCV was 19.34 (SD ± 2.95) among females and 19.10 (SD ±3.18) among males; there was no significant difference in the mean knowledge score between males and females (p value >0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference in the mean knowledge score among the students of different programs of health science (p value >0.05). Regarding the individual questions, 93.5% respondents reported that hepatitis C is caused by a virus. Among all, 16.0% respondents agreed that HCV can be spread by mosquitoes; 37.5% believed that it can be spread through close personal contact such as kissing or talking; 89% respondents agreed that hepatitis C can be spread through sharing injecting equipment, such as needles and operation tools; and 74% respondents mentioned that sexual transmission is a common way of HCV transmission. Of the total, 53.5% agreed that having a medical and/or dental procedure increases a person’s chances of contracting hepatitis C; 41.7% students believed that symptoms appear soon after the entrance of HCV into the body; 55.5% agreed that symptoms always appear after the entrance of HCV to the body. Of total, 82% agreed that hepatitis C virus is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer; 83% mentioned hepatitis C can lead to liver cirrhosis; and 62.5% agreed that HCV is a mutant virus. Among total, 35.5% agreed that people with HCV infection should be restricted from working in the food industry; 65.5% agreed that special diet is recommended for patients with HCV; and 63% respondents mentioned that there is a vaccine for the prevention of HCV infection. Conclusions: The overall mean knowledge score of HCV infection was found satisfactory; however knowledge on some specific items/questions, especially on prevention and treatment related questions seemed impaired. Comprehensive information about all aspects of HCV infection should be provided to all students of health science.