Fused Multi-Domains and Adaptive Variational Mode Decomposition ECG Feature Extraction for Lightweight Bio-Inspired Key Generation and Encryption.

Security is one of the increasingly significant issues given advancements in technology that harness data from multiple devices such as the internet of medical devices. While protecting data from unauthorized user access, several techniques are used including fingerprints, passwords, and others. One of the techniques that has attracted much attention is the use of human features, which has proven to be most effective because of the difficulties in impersonating human-related features.

Potential Interactions Between Soil-Transmitted Helminths and Herpes Simplex Virus Type II: Implications for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Sub-Saharan African.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) bears a disproportionate and overlapping burden of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and sexually transmitted viral infections. An estimated 232 million pre-school and school-aged children in SSA are vulnerable to STH infections. Together with this, SSA has a high prevalence of herpes simplex virus type II (HSV-2), the primary cause of genital herpes.

Gender differentials in access to medical services during COVID-19 lockdown: Insights from Nigeria.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria, like many other countries, implemented a lockdown policy that restricted all movement except for essential services. Access to medical services is a critical component of an effective healthcare system, and without equitable access across genders, improving the overall health outcomes of the population is unlikely to be achieved. This study analyses gender differential in access to medical services and sexual reproductive health services namely, family planning, child health, adult health, pharmacy, emergency care, vaccination, and other medical services during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, using both descriptive and inferential analytical techniques.

TiO-ZnO functionalized low-cost ceramic membranes from coal fly ash for the removal of tetracycline from water under visible light.

Hybrid wastewater treatment systems offer viable solutions to enhance the removal of complicated contaminants from aqueous system. This innovation has opened new avenues for advanced wastewater treatment processes. Herein, a novel TiO-ZnO functionalized coal fly ash-based ceramic membrane was fabricated by utilizing a combined pressing and sintering method.

Rhizosphere microbial community structure and PICRUSt2 predicted metagenomes function in heavy metal contaminated sites: A case study of the Blesbokspruit wetland.

This study investigated the microbial diversity inhabiting the roots (rhizosphere) of macrophytes thriving along the Blesbokspruit wetland, South Africa's least conserved Ramsar site. The wetland suffers from decades of pollution from mining wastewater, agriculture, and sewage. The current study focused on three macrophytes: Phragmites australis (common reed), Typha capensis (bulrush), and Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth).

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Tick Species Infesting Cattle in South Africa.

Ticks are a significant threat to livestock globally, with certain species displaying distinct host preferences at various developmental stages. Accurate species-level identification is essential for studying tick populations, implementing control strategies, and understanding disease dynamics. This study evaluated ticks infesting cattle across six provinces in South Africa using morphological and molecular methods.

Advanced Low-Cost Natural Materials for High-Performance Oil-Water Filtration Membranes: Achievements, Challenges, and Future Directions.

The development of affordable ceramic membranes is essential for reducing expenses and optimizing the treatment of oily wastewater. There is an urgent demand for membranes that are not only affordable and easy to operate but also stable and capable of managing high fluxes to address the increasing volumes of oily wastewater. The significant production demands associated with many commercially available ceramic membranes, primarily due to the use of specialised raw materials and intricate processing methods, limiting their suitability for many wastewater treatment applications.

A Systematic Review: Assessment of the Metabolomic Profile and Anti-Nutritional Factors of as a Feed Additive for Ruminants.

is a high-value crop that can be cultivated for ruminant's feed and medicinal purposes. The demand for Cannabis and Cannabis products has increased since the beginning of 21st century. The increase in the production cost of high-protein feeds such as lucerne has led to an urgent need to investigate alternative high-protein sources.

ZnO-Polyaniline Nanocomposite Functionalised with Laccase Enzymes for Electrochemical Detection of Cetyltrimethylammonuium Bromide (CTAB).

The direct discharge of cationic surfactants into environmental matrices has exponentially increased due to their wide application in many products. These compounds and their degraded products disrupt microbial dynamics, hinder plant survival, and affect human health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop electroanalytical assessment techniques for their identification, determination, and monitoring.

Modeling repeated measurements data using the multilevel Bayesian network: A case of child morbidity.

Background And Objective: In epidemiological research, studying the long-term dependencies between multiple diseases is important. This study extends the multilevel Bayesian network (MBN) for repeated measures data that can estimate the rate of change in outcomes over time while quantifying the variabilities of these rates across higher-level units through various variance-covariance structures.

Method: The performance and reliability of a model are examined through a simulation study, and its practical application is demonstrated using child morbidity data.

Efficiency of potato peel extract in the preservation of cow butter.

This study investigates that the phenolic compound extracted from the potato peels using ethanol by maceration as a natural preservation agent for cow butter, yielding 10.42 ± 0.03 % phenolic compound.

Enhancing maize drought and heat tolerance: single vs combined plant growth promoting rhizobacterial inoculation.

Maize ( L.), a key staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, is particularly vulnerable to concurrent drought and heat stress, which threatens crop yield and food security. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have shown potential as biofertilizers to enhance plant resilience under such abiotic stresses.

Structural multiplicity in a solvated hydrate of the anti-retroviral protease inhibitor Lopinavir.

Lopinavir is a potent protease inhibitor that is used as a first-line pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of HIV. The multi-component solvated Lopinavir crystal, systematic name (2)--[(2,4,5)-5-[2-(2,6-di-methyl-phen-oxy)acetamido]-4-hy-droxy-1,6-di-phenyl-hexan-2-yl]-3-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1,3-diazinan-1-yl)butanamide-ethane-1,2-diol-water (8/3/7) 8CHNO·3CHO·7HO, was prepared using evaporative methods. The crystalline material obtained from this experimental synthesis was characterized and elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD).

Unlocking the adsorptive effectiveness of naturally occurring heulandite zeolite for the removal of PO and NO anions from wastewater.

The mitigation of high levels of phosphate (PO) and nitrate (NO) ions in water bodies, particularly in agricultural wastewater, holds paramount importance in curbing eutrophication within aquatic ecosystems. Herein, using experimental and computational techniques, the study explored the potential of naturally occurring South Africa heulandite (HEU) zeolite for the removal of PO and NO ions from synthetic wastewater in batch mode. The percentage removal of PO and NO was 59.

Tourist perceptions, motivations and expectations when interacting with African lion () cubs.

Tourism wildlife interactions are controversial, the debate hinging largely on the compromised welfare of the animals used. Despite this, lion cub () interactions are popular, and there is a need to understand what motivates interactors to participate in the activity, their perceptions and expectations. We surveyed the attitudes of 300 visitors to three lion cub interaction facilities in South Africa.

Antibiotic resistance genes profile of selected drinking water treatment plants in South Africa as impacted by different treatment stages.

Water treatment plants treat raw water making it suitable for consumption. Treatment stages are linked to the quality status of the treatment. The classes of antibiotic resistance genes as impacted by treatment stages remain under explored.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential impact of helminth immune modulation.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and helminth infections are among the most widespread infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Helminths are known to modulate host immune responses and consequently impact the severity and outcomes of unrelated diseases, including allergies, autoimmune conditions, and infectious diseases. In this way, helminths may modulate essential immune responses against HSV-2 during co-infection and may alter susceptibility to and pathology of HSV-2.

The development of multifunctional biochar with NiFeO for the adsorption of Cd (II) from water systems: The kinetics, thermodynamics, and regeneration.

High concentrations of Cd (II) in wastewater have been reported several times which attracted top research attention to mitigate the pollution impacts of the contaminant. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a Zn-doped NiFeO pinecone biochar composite (ZNiF@PB) for the adsorption of Cd (II) from wastewater. FTIR confirmed immobilization of PB on the surface of ZNiF by the presence of C = O at 1638 cm, COOH at 1385 cm, C-O at 1009 cm and Fe-O at 756 cm.

Review of the Integrated Approaches for Monitoring and Treating Parabens in Water Matrices.

Due to their antibacterial and antifungal properties, parabens are commonly used as biocides and preservatives in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Parabens have been reported to exist in various water matrices at low concentrations, which renders the need for sample preparation before their quantification using analytical techniques. Thus, sample preparation methods such as solid-phase extraction (SPE), rotating-disk sorptive extraction (RDSE), and vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid extraction (VA-DLLE) that are commonly used for parabens extraction and preconcentration have been discussed.

Barriers impeding research data sharing on chronic disease prevention among the older adults in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Introduction: Chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases, are a growing public health concern in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) among the older population. The current review aimed to identify the main barriers that impede researchers from sharing research data on the prevention of chronic diseases in older adults living in LMICs). The review included both older women and men from these countries.

Exploring children's preferences for graphic symbols to represent pain-related words.

Children who are hospitalized may sometimes not be able to communicate verbally to self-report their pain or other symptoms due to medical conditions, medical interventions, or communication difficulties. As such, these children may need other means, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies, in this case, graphic symbols, to express their pain-related experiences and receive applicable treatment. Choosing suitable graphic symbols to represent pain-related words contributes to the effective use and implementation of visual support.

Co-infection mathematical model for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis with optimal control in Ethiopia.

The co-epidemics of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) outbreak is one of a serious disease in Ethiopia that demands integrative approaches to combat its transmission. In contrast, epidemiological co-infection models often considered a single latent case and recovered individuals with TB. To bridge this gap, we presented a new optimal HIV-TB co-infection model that considers both high risk and low risk latent TB cases with taking into account preventive efforts of both HIV and TB diseases, case finding for TB and HIV/AIDS treatment.

: an exploration of the consequences of rape victimization for men.

Background And Purpose: Rape is one of the most common human violations, with devastating consequences for the victims and their families. Although this scourge affects everyone, regardless of gender, studies on rape victimization have largely focused on women and children as the victims. Studies on rape victimization of men are therefore limited and little is known about the consequences of rape victimization for men.