Quality of life among visually impaired elderly at assiut university hospital

Vision impairment is common among older adults and increases with age. About 314 million people are visually impaired worldwide; 45 million of them are blind. Most people with visual impairment are older, and females are more at risk at every age. About 82% of all people who are visually impaired are age 50 years and older [although they represent only 19% of the world's population]. About 87% of visually impaired live in developing countries, [World Health Organization [WHO], 2009]. This study aimed to assess the quality of life among visually impaired elderly patient attending ophthalmic clinic at Assiut University Hospital. Methods: Descriptive, Cross Sectional research design was used in this study. The total number of the study subjects were 275 elders aged 60+ years, Alert, able to communicate and agreed to participate in the study two tools were used to collect the data needed for the study. The first tool was structured interview sheet, it consisted of three parts, and the first one was concerned with personal and socio-demographic characteristics of the study sample. The second part covered the elderly medical history [history of eye disease, onset of visual impairment, first time of eye examination, changes in vision acuity during the last years, onset of changes in vision acuity, measures taken on onset of the disease]. Part Three: it included the other health problems as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, or other diseases. The second tool was Quality of Life Scale: it include information related to the original scale constructed by Lehman [1986] and from WHO [1997]. It consists of [50] items divided into six domains or subscales, the quality of life domains are physical health, self-dependence, psychological status, social relationships, environment, and spiritual/ religion/ personal beliefs. Data was collected during the period from the first of June2009 to the end of May2010. The present study showed that the mean age of the studied sample was 65.95 +/- 6.23 years with directed relation between quality of life scores of the studied sample and their age. Vision impairment was more common in female than male the result of the current study revealed that more than three-fifths of studied sample was female. Regarding to the cause of visually impaired, it noticed that cataract was a relatively frequent cause of visual impairment, more than three-quarter of the studied sample had cataract, visual impairment is associated with a significant decrease in QOL among the studied sample, [14.9%] of the studied sample had low score while three-fifths of them had moderate score. Visual impairment affected QOL domains, such as physical domains, self dependence psychological status, social domains, and environment domains. The results of the present study offer general awareness of the impact of visual impairment on the QOL of elderly patient. This suggests a greater need for eye care services in older populations. Increasing elderly awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to detect early health deviation to make early detection, treatment, and prevent complications. Screening for all elderly population who suffer from diabetes for early detection of diabetic retinopathy this should be part of the health examination

Multi-biomarker responses to bioaccumulation of diclofop-methyl in freshwater fish [Oreochromis niloticus]

The present study was undertaken to assess the environmental hazards presented to wildlife by new pesticides or new uses of established pesticides, biochemical changes, residual behavior and accumulation of diclofop-methyl [Iloxan 36 % EC]. A laboratory trials of diclofop-methyl were carried out on tilapia fish, Oreochromis niloticus as indicator species to . Acute toxicity of diclofop-methyl [Iloxan 36 % EC] was carried out and the median lethal concentration for 96 hours [96 h - LC50] value was 1.89 mg / l. In the present study, two groups of fish were exposed to two sub lethal concentrations selected on the basis of 1 / 10 [0.19 mg / l, low concentration] and 1 / 3 [0.63 mg / l, high concentration] of diclofop-methyl LC50 value for 28 days under the laboratory conditions compared to the control group. The treatments indicated that a gradual bioaccumulation of herbicide with time in whole fish was more pronounced than in muscle. Several criteria for estimating pesticide accumulation effect were studied on different biochemical parameters in plasma of fish after treatments. The results indicated that alanine aminotransferases [ALT], alkaline phosphatase [ALP] and acetylcholinesterase [AChE] activities as well as albumin and glucose levels increased significantly after treatment with both concentrations comparing to control group. However, significant increase in aspartate aminotransferases [AST] and total protein levels with was recorded low concentration [0.19 mg / l] only. On the other hand, high concentration [0.63mg / l] caused significant increase in urea levels. However, ceriatinine level was decreased in both exposed concentrations. Noticeable changes in antioxidants biomarkers were recorded, a reduction in SH-protein level accompanied with an elevation in lipid peroxidation biomarker [MDA] were recorded in plasma after treatment with two concentrations. The previous results were accompanied with noticeable alterations in plasma and muscle protein patterns in both treated groups

Environmental assessment of groundwater in Qaret Um El-Saghir, north western desert, Egypt and its health effects

Qaret Um El-Saghir is a small oasis lies at the southwestern corner of El-Qattara depression. The area has been surveyed geologically and geomorphologically using landsat [TM] image and varified in the field. The surface geology is represented by Maghra Formation [Miocene] forming the bottom of the depression and partly the walls specially at the eastern side of the depression. Marmarica Formation [Miocene] from the walls of the depression as well as the northen plateau. Minqar El-Talh Formation [post Micene] and Quaternary deposits are represented by sabkhas, playas and sand dunes forming the cultivated lands