Is the development of desalination compatible with sustainable development of the Arabian Gulf?

The development of desalination has been essential to the rapid economic development of the countries bordering the Arabian Gulf. The current production capacity of sea water desalination plants drawing water from Gulf is over 20 million m3 day-1, which may rise to 80 million m3 day-1 by 2050. Whilst supporting aspects of sustainable development related to water and sanitation, desalination impacts the marine environment through impingement and entrainment of organisms in intakes, and through thermal, brine and chemical discharges. This may compromise other objectives for sustainable development related to sustainable use of the oceans. Under business as usual scenarios, by 2050, the impact of individual desalination plants will combine causing a regional scale impact. Without mitigating actions to avoid the business as usual scenario, by 2050, desalination in combination with climate change, will elevate coastal water temperatures across more than 50% of the Gulf by at least 3 °C, and a volume of water equivalent to more than a third of the total volume of water between 0 and 10 m deep will pass through desalination plants each year. This will adversely impact the coastal ecosystem of the Gulf, with impacts on biodiversity, fisheries and coastal communities and may cause potential loss of species and habitats from the Gulf. Given the significant implications of these preliminary findings, and in light of the precautionary approach to management, it is recommended that mitigating options addressing behavioural, regulatory and technological change are rapidly evaluated and implemented to avoid the development of desalination in the region along a business as usual pathway, and multidisciplinary research studies should be conducted to reduce uncertainty in predictions of future impacts.

Prevalence and factors associated with maternal postpartum haemorrhage in Khyber Agency, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the main causes of maternal mortality globally. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of PPH and identify factors associated with PPH in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: A quantitative, cross-sectional study design was selected to estimate the prevalence and associated factors for PPH among married women aged 15-49 years, residing in the Khyber Agency, FATA, Pakistan. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was adapted with some modifications to interview 1,000 women. RESULTS: Prevalence of PPH was 21.3% in the study population. Factors associated with PPH were age, number of pregnancies, duration of labour, avoidance of milk, insertion of homemade remedies in vagina. retained placenta, and rest during postpartum period. CONCLUSION: Poor infrastructure, lack of appropriate training for healthcare providers, economic conditions, and negative cultural practices are some amongst the multiple factors that have a perilous impact on women's health, particularly women of reproductive age. The morbidities were the result of malpractices ingrained in the community.

Prevalence of and reasons for domestic violence among women from low socioeconomic communities of Karachi.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence and identify the reasons for it among 400 married women aged 15-45 years in low socioeconomic areas in urban Karachi. Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. The prevalence of verbal abuse was 97.5% by the husband and 97.0% by the in-laws; the prevalence of physical abuse was 80.0% and 57.5% by the husband and in-laws respectively. Financial issues were the commonest reason for domestic violence followed by infertility and not having a son. The prevalence of domestic violence in our sample of women is high. There is a need to address this problem with efforts from health workers, policy-makers, nongovernmental organizations and others.

Prevalence of and reasons for domestic violence among women from low socioeconomic communities of Karachi

We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence and identify the reasons for it among 400 married women aged 15-45 years in low socioeconomic areas in urban Karachi. Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. The prevalence of verbal abuse was 97.5% by the husband and 97.0% by the in-laws; the prevalence of physical abuse was 80.0% and 57.5% by the husband and in-laws respectively. Financial issues were the commonest reason for domestic violence followed by infertility and not having a son. The prevalence of domestic violence in our sample of women is high. There is a need to address this problem with efforts from health workers, policy-makers, nongovernmental organizations and others

Rheumatoid arthritis of the temporomandibular joint with herniation into the external auditory canal.

Previous authors have shown that soft tissue can present in the external auditory canal via a patent foramen of Huschke. One case represented a patient with psoriatic arthritis and a polyp in the external auditory canal. Typically, neoplastic, inflammatory, or degenerative lesions of the temporomandibular joint do not present in the external auditory canal. We present a patient with rheumatoid arthritis of the temporomandibular joint and soft tissue herniation into the external auditory canal. The case, and a discussion of possible causes, are presented.