Epidemiological transition of some diseases in Oman: a situational analysis

During the past 35 years Oman has undergone a rapid socioeconomic and epidemiological transition leading to a steep reduction in child and adult mortality and morbidity due to the decline of various communicable diseases, including vaccine-preventable diseases. Good governance and planning, together with leadership and commitment by the government, has been a critical factor in this reduction. However, with increasing prosperity, lifestyle-related noncommunicable diseases have emerged as new health challenges to the country, with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity in the lead among other chronic conditions. Appropriate prevention strategies for reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases are discussed

Dengue in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi (India): Epidemiological and entomological profile for the period 2003 to 2008.

Dengue is endemic in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. During the period 2003 to 2008,9737 confirmed cases of dengue fever (DF)/dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 115 deaths were recorded compared with 1341 cases and 6 deaths that happened during 1997 to 2002, representingan increase of 626%. During this period two outbreak peaks were also recorded. In addition, the satellite town of Gurgaon (Haryana) bordering Delhi also suffered a severe outbreak of DF/DHF during 2008.Aedes aegypti, the responsible vector, is fully entrenched in both urban and rural areas. DF/DHF transmission in years of extended winter rains occurs both during the summer and rainy seasons.Evaporation coolers during summer maintain low temperature and high humidity to ensure dengue transmission in some highly congested localities.

Analysis of the photodecomposition products of Ru(bpy)3(2+) in various buffers and upon zeolite encapsulation

The photodecomposition products of Ru(bpy)3(2+) in water, in aqueous buffered solutions and encapsulated in zeolite-Y have been analyzed by chromatography and UV-visible spectroscopy. The chromatographic method is found to be capable of separating species with the same charge but slightly different ligands as well as geometrical isomers. In all the systems investigated, photodecomposition proceeded via photoaquation resulting in the formation of cis- and trans-Ru(bpy)2(OH2)2(2+). In the case of acetate and phthalate buffers, a third species, Ru(bpy)2(L)(OH2)+, where L is the buffer anion, was found to be the dominant product. For a given pH, the extent of decomposition was found to be dependent on both the buffer anion, following the trend, phosphate < acetate << phthalate and buffer concentration. The presence of the electron-transfer quenching agent, N,N'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium ion in the medium led to a decrease of the photodecomposition and closely followed the quenching efficiency as measured by intensity and lifetime quenching studies. Encapsulation of Ru(bpy)3(2+) in the supercages of zeolite-Y did not lead to a substantial decrease in photodecomposition as compared to an aqueous solution, suggesting that the expected enhanced stability of Ru(bpy)3(2+*) due to the destabilization of 3dd orbitals and the cage effect was being negated by the close proximity and intrazeolite packing of H2O molecules around the Ru center.