The impact of partial termination of food subsidy programme on food consumption pattern.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the public opinion towards the possible replacement of ration cards by cash payment and to investigate the effect of partial termination of food price subsidy programme on food consumption by families from different income brackets. A purposive sample of 300 families from Alexandria Governorates were interviewed to assess the attitude of the consumer towards the possible termination of current food subsidy programme. After one year, during which the subsidy programme was reduced, a follow up sample of 240 were interviewed. The results show that a large proportion of the families prefer the continuation of the current programme (80-81.2%), meanwhile, around 90% of them believed that subsidized foods do not reach the target group. The data show that subsidized meat and poultry are consumed by high income families while frozen subsidized fish was mostly consumed by poor families. The partial termination of the subsidy programme forced the families to reduce their consumption from sugar, tea, oil, and rice. During the second phase of the study. However the results show that high income families were least affected by the partial termination of the subsidy programme.     

L'atteinte du pied au cours du rhumatisme psoriasique. À propos de 26 cas

Objective. – To describe the clinical and radiological features of foot involvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis.Methods. – We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients admitted between 1972 and 1999 for psoriatic arthritis with involvement of the foot. We included all patients who had peripheral and/or axial, asymmetric, chronic inflammatory joint disease meeting or not Avila's radiological criteria for psoriatic arthritis, with or without other imaging findings suggestive of psoriatic arthritis and with or without psoriasis.Results. – Twenty-six patients were included. Inflammatory heel pain was reported by 14 patients, whereas forefoot involvement was found in only seven patients. Sausage toe was present in two patients. None of the patients had Bauer's toe (combining arthritis and psoriatic skin and/or nail changes) or psoriatic onychopachydermoperiostitis of the great toe. Radiological abnormalities were found in 20 patients. Half the patients had calcaneal changes. Osteoperiostitis of the great toe was noted in two patients and mushrooming in five.Discussion. – The features of psoriatic arthritis in Morocco seem similar to those in other countries. Hindfoot involvement was present in 53% of patients. Involvement of the forefoot was rarely recorded in the charts, suggesting missed cases because of insufficient attention to the forefoot during the physical examination and availability of anteroposterior radiographs only. Oblique views (Hirtz and Chaumet) should be obtained because they give a clearer image of the distal part of the toes, which is often difficult to analyze on anteroposterior films.     

Analysis of the four heart sounds statistical study and spectro-temporal characteristics

Abstract

Heart auscultation has been recognised for a long time as an important tool for the diagnosis of heart disease; it is the most common and widely recommended method to screen for structural abnormalities of the cardiovascular system. Detecting relevant characteristics and forming a diagnosis based on the sounds heard through a stethoscope, however, is a skill that can take years to be acquired and refine. The efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis based on heart sound auscultation can be improved considerably by using digital signal processing techniques to analyse phonocardiographic (PCG) signals. The study of the functioning of the heart is very important for the diagnosis of different cardiac pathologies. The phonocardiogram signal (PCG) is the signal generated after conversion of the sound noises coming from the heart into an electrical signal, it groups together a set of four cardiac noises (S1, S2, S3, S4) which are in direct correlation with cardiac activity. The short-term Fourier Transform (STFT) is an analytical technique that describes the evolution of the time and frequency behaviour of these four heart sounds. A statistical study has been carried out in this direction in order to better highlight the characteristics of the PCG signal. A fairly high number of cycles (twenty) was used to further refine the expected results. The objective of this paper is to use a statistical analysis based on the results obtained by the use of The STFT technic this in order to find statistical parameters (mean, standard deviation, etc.) which can give us a clear vision of the electrophysiological behaviour of the phonocardiogram signal. This aspect has not been done so far and which however can give appreciable practical results.     

Role of family susceptibility, occupational and family histories and individuals' blood groups in the development of silicosis

A previous investigation has shown that family susceptibility and occupational and family histories have a decisive role in the development of byssinosis among workers exposed to flax dust. Results of investigation of silicosis in 814 male workers exposed to silica-bearing dust showed that family susceptibility has an important role in the development of silicosis among examined workers, and workers whose fathers had an occupational history of exposure to silica-bearing dust were more resistant to the development of the disease than those with non-exposed fathers. The degree of consanguinity of parents and individuals' blood groups, also, have a role. Workers with cousin parents were relatively highly susceptible to the development of silicosis as well as workers with blood groups "O" or "AB". It has been concluded that the investigated factors might have a role in the development of other occupational diseases and further investigations are indicated.     

Osseointegration of porous titanium and tantalum implants in ovariectomized rabbits: A biomechanical study

BACKGROUNDToday, biological fixation of uncemented press-fit acetabular components plays an important role in total hip arthroplasty. Long-term stable fixation of these implants depends on the osseointegration of the acetabular cup bone tissue into the acetabular cup implant, and their ability to withstand functional loads.AIMTo compare the strength of bone-implant osseointegration of four types of porous metal implants in normal and osteoporotic bone in rabbits.METHODSThe study was performed in 50 female California rabbits divided into non-ovariectomized (non-OVX) and ovariectomized groups (OVX) at 6 mo of age. Rabbits were sacrificed 8 wk after the implantation of four biomaterials [TTM, CONCELOC, Zimmer Biomet''s Trabecular Metal (TANTALUM), and ATLANT] in a 5-mm diameter defect created in the left femur. A biomechanical evaluation of the femur was carried out by testing implant breakout force. The force was gradually increased until complete detachment of the implant from the bone occurred.RESULTSThe breakout force needed for implant detachment was significantly higher in the non-OVX group, compared with the OVX group for all implants (TANTALUM, 194.7 ± 6.1 N vs 181.3 ± 2.8 N; P = 0.005; CONCELOC, 190.8 ± 3.6 N vs 180.9 ± 6.6 N; P = 0.019; TTM, 186.3 ± 1.8 N vs 172.0 N ± 11.0 N; P = 0.043; and ATLANT, 104.9 ± 7.0 N vs 78.9 N ± 4.5 N; P = 0.001). In the OVX group, The breakout forces in TANTALUM, TTM, and CONCELOC did not differ significantly (P = 0.066). The breakout force for ATLANT in the OVX group was lower by a factor of 2.3 compared with TANTALUM and CONCELOC, and by 2.2 compared with TTM (P = 0.001). In the non-OVX group, the breakout force for ATLANT was significantly different from all other implants, with a reduction in fixation strength by a factor of 1.9 (P = 0.001).CONCLUSIONTANTALUM, TTM, and CONCELOC had equal bone-implant osseointegration in healthy and in osteoporotic bone. ATLANT had significantly decreased osseointegration (P = 0.001) in healthy and in osteoporotic bone.