Health facility-based prevalence of typhoid fever, typhus and malaria among individuals suspected of acute febrile illnesses in Southwest Region, Ethiopia.

Background: Acute febrile illnesses such as typhoid fever, typhus, and malaria are still major causes of hospital admission in many parts of Ethiopia. However, there are substantial gaps in the monitoring systems, which result in a lack of knowledge about the geographic distribution and role of common pathogens, particularly in rural areas. Thus, this study was aimed at assessing the seroprevalence of typhoid fever, typhus, and malaria among suspected acute febrile patients at the MTU Teaching Hospital and Mizan-Aman Health Center, Southwest region of Ethiopia.

Isolation and Phenotypic Characterization of Virulent Bacteriophages Against Multidrug-Resistant and Its Phage-Resistant Variant from Sewage Sources.

Purpose: The use of lytic bacteriophages for the control or elimination of pathogenic multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is the promising alternative. However, the emergence of resistant bacterial variants after phage application may challenge its therapeutic benefit. In this study, we aimed to isolate candidate phages from sewage samples against two MDR as well as their phage-resistant variant.

Objectively Quantifying Pediatric Psychiatric Severity Using Artificial Intelligence, Voice Recognition Technology, and Universal Emotions: Pilot Study for Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Innovation to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis.

Background: Providing Psychotherapy, particularly for youth, is a pressing challenge in the health care system. Traditional methods are resource-intensive, and there is a need for objective benchmarks to guide therapeutic interventions. Automated emotion detection from speech, using artificial intelligence, presents an emerging approach to address these challenges.

Bacterial contamination of single and multiple-dose parenteral injection vials after opening and antibiotic susceptibility of isolates at Jimma Medical Center, Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia.

Background: Single- or multiple-dose vials are prone to bacterial contamination after improper handling and can be potential reservoirs of microorganisms that could be transmitted to the patient through the parenteral route. The present study aims to assess the magnitude of the problem and associated factors at Jimma Medical Center (JMC), Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted at JMC from July 2021 to October 2021.

Neisseria meningitidis carriage rate, antibiotic susceptibility profile, and associated factors among prisoners at Jimma zonal correction facility in Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Neisseria meningitidis causes severe life-threatening meningococcal disease with a case fatality rate of 10-15% even with proper treatment. In Ethiopia, particularly in our study area, inadequate information is found on meningococcal disease. So, this study aimed to assess N.

Does cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in HIV patients increase the drug resistance of pneumococci? A comparative cross-sectional study in southern Ethiopia.

Background: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria results in high rates of morbidity and mortality. Although the prolonged cotrimoxazole (CTX) prophylaxis is arguably associated with the risk of increasing drug resistance in the common pathogens, information regarding its impact on Streptococci pneumoniae / pneumococcus is very limited.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis on nasopharyngeal colonization rate and antimicrobial resistance using Streptococci pneumoniae (pneumococcus) as an indicator organism among HIV patients in Arba Minch, Ethiopia.

Enhanced identification of Group B streptococcus in infants with suspected meningitis in Ethiopia.

Meningitis is one of the top ten causes of death among Ethiopian infants. Group B streptococcus (GBS) has emerged as a leading cause of meningitis in neonates and young infants, resulting in high mortality. Despite this, there is no report on GBS associated meningitis in Ethiopia where infant meningitis is common.

Biofilm Formation and Antibiotic Susceptibility Patterns of Bacteria from Suspected External Eye Infected Patients Attending Ophthalmology Clinic, Southwest Ethiopia.

Background: Ocular disease with its complications is a major public health problem which has significant impacts on the quality of life particularly in developing countries. An eye infection due to bacterial agents can lead to reduced vision and blindness. This study was aimed to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and biofilm-forming potential of bacteria isolated from suspected external eye infected patients in Jimma.

Methicillin-resistant carriage among medical students of Jimma University, Southwest Ethiopia.

Objectives: Infections caused by methicillin-resistant (MRSA) are often difficult to manage due to its resistance to multiple antibiotics. This study aimed to determine the nasal carriage of MRSA and its antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among medical students at the Jimma University medical center (JUMC), Southwest Ethiopia.

Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at the JUMC from May to August; 2016.

Ventricular Assist Device Implantation Configurations Impact Overall Mechanical Circulatory Support System Thrombogenic Potential.

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) became in recent years the standard of care therapy for advanced heart failure with hemodynamic compromise. With the steadily growing population of device recipients, various postimplant complications have been reported, mostly associated with the hypershear generated by VADs that enhance their thrombogenicity by activating platelets. Although VAD design optimization can significantly improve its thromboresistance, the implanted VAD need to be evaluated as part of a system.

Progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm towards rupture: refining clinical risk assessment using a fully coupled fluid-structure interaction method.

Rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is associated with high mortality rates. Risk of rupture is multi-factorial involving AAA geometric configuration, vessel tortuosity, and the presence of intraluminal pathology. Fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations were conducted in patient based computed tomography scans reconstructed geometries in order to monitor aneurysmal disease progression from normal aortas to non-ruptured and contained ruptured AAA (rAAA), and the AAA risk of rupture was assessed.

Thromboresistance comparison of the HeartMate II ventricular assist device with the device thrombogenicity emulation- optimized HeartAssist 5 VAD.

Approximately 7.5 × 106 patients in the US currently suffer from end-stage heart failure. The FDA has recently approved the designations of the Thoratec HeartMate II ventricular assist device (VAD) for both bridge-to-transplant and destination therapy (DT) due to its mechanical durability and improved hemodynamics.

Simulation of platelets suspension flowing through a stenosis model using a dissipative particle dynamics approach.

Stresses on blood cellular constituents induced by blood flow can be represented by a continuum approach down to the μm level; however, the molecular mechanisms of thrombosis and platelet activation and aggregation are on the order of nm. The coupling of the disparate length and time scales between molecular and macroscopic transport phenomena represents a major computational challenge. In order to bridge the gap between macroscopic flow scales and the cellular scales with the goal of depicting and predicting flow induced thrombogenicity, multi-scale approaches based on particle methods are better suited.

Toward optimization of a novel trileaflet polymeric prosthetic heart valve via device thrombogenicity emulation.

Aortic stenosis is the most prevalent and life-threatening form of valvular heart disease. It is primarily treated via open-heart surgical valve replacement with either a tissue or a mechanical prosthetic heart valve (PHV), each prone to degradation and thrombosis, respectively. Polymeric PHVs may be optimized to eliminate these complications, and they may be more suitable for the new transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure and in devices like the total artificial heart.

Biomechanical factors in coronary vulnerable plaque risk of rupture: intravascular ultrasound-based patient-specific fluid-structure interaction studies.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms and underlying biomechanical factors that may play a role in the risk of rupture of vulnerable plaques (VPs) by studying patient-based geometries of coronary arteries reconstructed from intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging utilizing fluid-structure interaction (FSI) numerical simulations.

Background: According to recent estimates, coronary artery disease is responsible for one in six deaths in the USA, and causes about one million heart attacks each year. Among these, the rupture of coronary VPs followed by luminal blockage is widely recognized as a major cause of sudden heart attacks; most importantly, the patients may appear as asymptomatic under routine screening before the occurrence of the index event.

The Syncardia(™) total artificial heart: in vivo, in vitro, and computational modeling studies.

The SynCardia(™) total artificial heart (TAH) is the only FDA-approved TAH in the world. The SynCardia(™) TAH is a pneumatically driven, pulsatile system capable of flows of >9L/min. The TAH is indicated for use as a bridge to transplantation (BTT) in patients at imminent risk of death from non-reversible bi-ventricular failure.

Fluid structure interaction with contact surface methodology for evaluation of endovascular carotid implants for drug-resistant hypertension treatment.

Drug-resistant hypertensive patients may be treated by mechanical stimulation of stretch-sensitive baroreceptors located in the sinus of carotid arteries. To evaluate the efficacy of endovascular devices to stretch the carotid sinus such that the induced strain might trigger baroreceptors to increase action potential firing rate and thereby reduce systemic blood pressure, numerical simulations were conducted of devices deployed in subject-specific carotid models. Two models were chosen--a typical physiologic carotid and a diminutive atypical physiologic model representing a clinically worst case scenario--to evaluate the effects of device deployment in normal and extreme cases, respectively.

Device thrombogenicity emulation: a novel method for optimizing mechanical circulatory support device thromboresistance.

Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices provide both short and long term hemodynamic support for advanced heart failure patients. Unfortunately these devices remain plagued by thromboembolic complications associated with chronic platelet activation--mandating complex, lifelong anticoagulation therapy. To address the unmet need for enhancing the thromboresistance of these devices to extend their long term use, we developed a universal predictive methodology entitled Device Thrombogenicity Emulation (DTE) that facilitates optimizing the thrombogenic performance of any MCS device--ideally to a level that may obviate the need for mandatory anticoagulation.

Patient based abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture risk prediction combining clinical visualizing modalities with fluid structure interaction numerical simulations.

Fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations of patient-specific fusiform non-ruptured and contained ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) geometries were conducted. The goals were: (1) to test the ability of our FSI methodology to predict the location of rupture, by correlating the high wall stress regions with the rupture location, (2) estimate the state of the pathological condition by calculating the ruptured potential index (RPI) of the AAA and (3) predict the disease progression by comparing healthy and pathological aortas.

The effect of angulation in abdominal aortic aneurysms: fluid-structure interaction simulations of idealized geometries.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) represents a degenerative disease process of the abdominal aorta that results in dilation and permanent remodeling of the arterial wall. A fluid structure interaction (FSI) parametric study was conducted to evaluate the progression of aneurysmal disease and its possible implications on risk of rupture. Two parametric studies were conducted using (i) the iliac bifurcation angle and (ii) the AAA neck angulation.

Design optimization of a mechanical heart valve for reducing valve thrombogenicity-A case study with ATS valve.

Patients implanted with mechanical heart valves (MHV) or with ventricular assist devices that use MHV require mandatory lifelong anticoagulation for secondary stroke prevention. We recently developed a novel Device Thrombogenicity Emulator (DTE) methodology that interfaces numerical and experimental approaches to optimize the thrombogenic performance of the device and reduce the bleeding risk associated with anticoagulation therapy. Device Thrombogenicity Emulator uses stress-loading waveforms in pertinent platelet flow trajectories that are extracted from highly resolved numerical simulations and emulates these flow conditions in a programmable hemodynamic shearing device (HSD) by which platelet activity is measured.

Patient-based abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture risk prediction with fluid structure interaction modeling.

Elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is warranted when the risk of rupture exceeds that of surgery, and is mostly based on the AAA size as a crude rupture predictor. A methodology based on biomechanical considerations for a reliable patient-specific prediction of AAA risk of rupture is presented. Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations conducted in models reconstructed from CT scans of patients who had contained ruptured AAA (rAAA) predicted the rupture location based on mapping of the stresses developing within the aneurysmal wall, additionally showing that a smaller rAAA presented a higher rupture risk.

Device Thrombogenicity Emulator (DTE)--design optimization methodology for cardiovascular devices: a study in two bileaflet MHV designs.

Patients who receive prosthetic heart valve (PHV) implants require mandatory anticoagulation medication after implantation due to the thrombogenic potential of the valve. Optimization of PHV designs may facilitate reduction of flow-induced thrombogenicity and reduce or eliminate the need for post-implant anticoagulants. We present a methodology entitled Device Thrombogenicty Emulator (DTE) for optimizing the thrombo-resistance performance of PHV by combining numerical and experimental approaches.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm risk of rupture: patient-specific FSI simulations using anisotropic model.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture represents a major cardiovascular risk, combining complex vascular mechanisms weakening the abdominal artery wall coupled with hemodynamic forces exerted on the arterial wall. At present, a reliable method to predict AAA rupture is not available. Recent studies have introduced fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations using isotropic wall properties to map regions of stress concentrations developing in the aneurismal wall as a much better alternative to the current clinical criterion, which is based on the AAA diameter alone.