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Knowledge on the impact of the exposure to indoor ultrafine particles (UFPs) on the human brain is restricted. Twelve non-atopic, non-smoking, and healthy adults (10 female and 7 male, in average 22 years old) were monitored for brain physiological responses via electroencephalographs (EEGs) during cooking. Frying ground beef meat in sunflower oil using electric stove without ventilation was conducted. UFPs, particulate matter (PM) (PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 4 , PM 10), CO 2 , indoor temperature, RH, oil and meat temperatures were monitored continuously throughout the experiments. The UFP peak concentration was recorded to be approximately 2.0 × 10 5 particles/ cm 3. EEGs were recorded before exposure, at end of cooking when PM peak concentrations were observed, and 30 min after the end of the cooking session (post-exposure). Brain electrical activity statistically significantly changed during post-exposure compared to the before exposure, suggesting the translocation of UFPs to the brain, occurring solely in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Study participants older than 25 were more susceptible to UFPs compared to those younger than 25. Also, the brain abnormality was mainly driven by male rather than female study participants. The brain slow-wave band (delta) decreased while the fast-wave band (Beta3) increased similar to the pattern found in the literature for the exposure to smoking fumes and diesel exhaust.

Social marketing and community mobilization approaches were applied in a pilot program to introduce weekly iron-folic acid supplementation to prevent anemia in Cambodian women of reproductive age. The program was implemented in three very different environments: secondary school girls, women working in garment factories in the vicinity of Phnom Penh, and women in rural villages. Each population provided its own challenges and obstacles. However, all three groups of women showed substantial improvements in knowledge about the causes, consequences, and prevention of anemia, and the large majority reported interest in continuing to take the supplements.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether introduction of a needle exchange program would be associated with increased crime rates. METHODS: Trends in arrests were compared in program and nonprogram areas before and after introduction of a needle exchange program in Baltimore. Trends were modeled and compared via Poisson regression. RESULTS: No significant differences in arrest trends emerged. Over the study period, increases in category-specific arrests in program and nonprogram areas, respectively, were as follows: drug possession, 17.7% and 13.4%; economically motivated offenses, 0.0% and 20.7%; resistance to police authority, 0.0% and 5.3%; and violent offenses, 7.2% and 8.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of association of overall and type-specific arrest data with program implementation argues against the role of needle exchange programs in increasing crime rates.

BackgroundHospital Associated infections (HAI) are very common in Intensive Care Units (ICU) and are usually associated with use of invasive devices in the patients. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and etiological agents of HAI in a Surgical ICU in Kazakhstan, and to assess the impact of these infections on ICU stay and mortality.ObjectiveTo assess the rate of device-associated infections and causative HAI etiological agents in an ICU at the National Research Center for Oncology and Transplantation (NRCOT) in Astana, Kazakhstan.MethodsThis retrospective, observational study was conducted in a 12-bed ICU at the NRCOT, Astana, Kazakhstan. We enrolled all patients who were admitted to the ICU from January, 2014 through November 2015, aged 18 to 90 years of age who developed an HAI.ResultsThe most common type of HAI was surgical site infection (SSI), followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-related blood stream infection (BSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (UTI). The most common HAI was SSI with Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the most common etiological agent. The second most common HAI was VAP also with P. aeruginosa followed by BSI which was also associated with P. aeruginosa (in 2014) and Enterococcus faecalis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae (in 2015) as the most common etiological agents causing these infections.ConclusionWe found that HAI among our study population were predominantly caused by gram-negative pathogens, including P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and E. coli. To our knowledge, this is the only study that describes ICU-related HAI situation from a country within the Central Asian region. Many developing countries such as Kazakhstan lack surveillance systems which could effectively decrease incidence of HAIs and healthcare costs for their treatment. The epidemiological data on HAI in Kazakhstan currently is underrepresented and poorly reported in the literature. Based on this and previous studies, we propose that the most important interventions to prevent HAI at the NRCOT and similar Healthcare Institutions in Kazakhstan are active surveillance, regular infection control audits, rational and effective antibacterial therapy, and general hygiene measures.