Search results for: delivery agents

Authors: Evgenia Papathanasiou, Georgios Kokkotis, Georgios Axiaris, Theodoros Argyropoulos, Nikos Viazis, Olga Giouleme, Konstantinos Gkoumas, Αnthia Gatopoulou, Αggelos Theodoulou, Georgios Theocharis, Αngeliki Theodoropoulou, Μaria Κalogirou, Pantelis Karatzas, Κonstantinos Κatsanos, Theodora Kafetzi, Κonstantinos Κarmiris, Αnastasia Κourikou, Ιoannis E Κoutroubakis, Christos Liatsos, Gerassimos J. Mantzaris, Νicoletta Μathou, Georgia Bellou, George Michalopoulos Αikaterini Μantaka, Penelope Nikolaou, Μichael Oikonomou, Dimitrios Polymeros, George Papatheodoridis, Εvdoxia Stergiou, Κonstantinos Soufleris, Εpameinondas Skouloudis, Μaria Tzouvala, Georgia Tsiolakidou, Εftychia Tsironi, Styliani Tsafaraki, Kalliopi Foteinogiannopoulou, Konstantina Chalakatevaki, Αngeliki Christidou, Dimitrios K. Christodoulou, Giorgos Bamias, Spyridon Michopoulos, Εvanthia Zampeli

Abstract:

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) commonly affects female patients of reproductive age, making the interaction between fertility, pregnancy and IBD an important issue in disease management. The effect of disease activity on the outcome of pregnancy and its impact on neonatal growth is a field of intense research. Close follow-up of pregnant IBD patients by a multidisciplinary team improves maternal and neonatal outcomes. Aim – Methods: Α national retrospective study of pregnancies in women with IBD between 2010-2020 was carried out in 22 IBD reference centers in Greece. Patient characteristics such as disease profile, type of treatment, and disease activity during gestation were analyzed in correlation to the method of delivery, pregnancy outcomes, as well as breastfeeding and offspring health. Results: Two-hundred and twenty-three pregnancies in 175 IBD patients were registered in the study. 122 with Crohn’s disease (CD). Median age during diagnosis was 25.6 years (12-44), with median disease duration of 7.4 years (0-23). One-hundred and twenty-nine patients (58%) were recorded during their first pregnancy. Early pregnancy termination was reported by 48 patients (22%). Pregnancy as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF) occurred in 15 cases (6.7%). At the beginning of gestation, 165 patients (74%) were under treatment: 48 with anti-TNF agents (29%), 43 with azathioprine (26%), 101 with 5-aminosalicylic acid formulations (61%) and 12 with steroids (7%). We recorded 49 cases of IBD flares (22%) during pregnancy. Two-thirds of them (n=30) were in remission at the onset of the pregnancy. Almost half of them (n=22) required corticosteroid treatment. Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were in greater risk of disease flare during pregnancy (p<0.001). All but 3 pregnancies (99.1%) resulted in uncomplicated delivery. In 147 cases (67.1%), cesarean delivery was performed. Two late fetal deaths (0.9%) were reported, both in patients with continuously active disease since the beginning of pregnancy. After delivery, 75 patients (34%) presented with a disease flare, which was associated with active disease at the beginning of pregnancy (p <0.001). Conclusion: The majority of female, Greek IBD patients, had a favorable pregnancy outcome. Active inflammation during gestation and UC diagnosis were associated with a negative impact on pregnancy outcomes. The results of this study are in favor of the continuation of IBD treatment during pregnancy.

Keywords: pregnancy, ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, flare

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Khadse Saurabh, Talele Gokul, Surana Sanjay

Abstract:

In an endeavor to find a new class of anti-inflammatory agents, a series of novel benzamides (ab1-ab16) were synthesized by utilizing some arylideneoxazolones (az1-az4) having 2-acetyloxyphenyl substitution on their second position. Structures of these synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS. Among the tested benzamide compounds 3ab1, 3ab2, 3ab11, and 3ab16 showed promising anti-inflammatory activity with lessened propensity to cause gastro-intestinal hypermotility and ulceration when compared with standard Indomethacin. Virtual screening was performed by docking the designed compounds into the ATP binding site of COX-2 receptor to predict if these compounds have analogous binding mode to the COX-2 inhibitor.

Keywords: benzamides, anti-inflammatory, gastro-intestinal hypermotility, ulcerogenic activity, docking

Procedia PDF Downloads 417

Authors: Regina M. Chiechio, Rémi Leguevél, Helene Solhi, Marie Madeleine Gueguen, Stephanie Dutertre, Xavier, Jean-Pierre Bazureau, Olivier Mignen, Pascale Even-Hernandez, Paolo Musumeci, Maria Jose Lo Faro, Valerie Marchi

Abstract:

Thanks to their ultra-small size, high electron density, and low toxicity, gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) have unique photoelectrochemical and luminescence properties that make them very interesting for diagnosis bio-imaging and theranostics. These applications require control of their delivery and interaction with cells; for this reason, the surface chemistry of Au NCs is essential to determine their interaction with the targeted biological objects. Here we demonstrate their ability as markers of pancreatic tumor cells. By functionalizing the surface of the NCs with a recognition peptite (U11), the nanostructures are able to preferentially bind to pancreatic cancer cells via a receptor (uPAR) overexpressed by these cells. Furthermore, the NCs can mark even the nucleus without the need of fixing the cells. These nanostructures can therefore be used as a non-toxic, multivalent luminescent platform, capable of selectively recognizing tumor cells for bioimaging, drug delivery, and radiosensitization.

Keywords: gold nanoclusters, luminescence, biomarkers, pancreatic cancer, biomedical applications, bioimaging, fluorescent probes, drug delivery

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Fatima Doganc, Hakan Goker

Abstract:

Benzimidazole moiety is an important pharmacophore and privileged structure for the medicinal chemists, since it exhibits various important biological activities. Some clinically used drugs have benzimidazole moiety, such as omeprazole, astemizole, albendazole and domperidone. 2-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)benzimidazole, is a PGC-1α transcriptional regulator shown to have beneficial effects in diabetic mice. We planned to modify the structure of this compound for developing new antidiabetic drug candidates. Hence, a series of guanidino or amidino, benzo/pyrido/pyrimidino-imidazole derivatives were freshly prepared. Mass, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 2D-NMR spectroscopy techniques were used for the new derivatives to clarify their structures and their purity was controlled through the elemental analysis. Antidiabetic activity studies of the synthesized compounds are under the investigation.

Keywords: antidiabetic agents, benzimidazole, imidazopyridine, imidazopyrimidine

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Sophio Kobauri, Temur Kantaria, Nina Kulikova, David Tugushi, Ramaz Katsarava

Abstract:

The elaboration of effective drug delivery vehicles is still topical nowadays since targeted drug delivery is one of the most important challenges of the modern nanomedicine. The last decade has witnessed enormous research focused on synthetic cationic polymers (CPs) due to their flexible properties, in particular as non-viral gene delivery systems, facile synthesis, robustness, not oncogenic and proven gene delivery efficiency. However, the toxicity is still an obstacle to the application in pharmacotherapy. For overcoming the problem, creation of new cationic compounds including the polymeric nano-size particles – nano-containers (NCs) loading with different pharmaceuticals and biologicals is still relevant. In this regard, a variety of NCs-based drug delivery systems have been developed. We have found that amino acid-based biodegradable polymers called as pseudo-proteins (PPs), which can be cleared from the body after the fulfillment of their function are highly suitable for designing pharmaceutical NCs. Among them, one of the most promising are NCs made of biodegradable Cationic PPs (CPPs). For preparing new cationic NCs (CNCs), we used CPPs composed of positively charged amino acid L-arginine (R). The CNCs were fabricated by two approaches using: (1) R-based homo-CPPs; (2) Blends of R-based CPPs with regular (neutral) PPs. According to the first approach NCs we prepared from CPPs 8R3 (composed of R, sebacic acid and 1,3-propanediol) and 8R6 (composed of R, sebacic acid and 1,6-hexanediol). The NCs prepared from these CPPs were 72-101 nm in size with zeta potential within +30 ÷ +35 mV at a concentration 6 mg/mL. According to the second approach, CPPs 8R6 was blended in organic phase with neutral PPs 8L6 (composed of leucine, sebacic acid and 1,6-hexanediol). The NCs prepared from the blends were 130-140 nm in size with zeta potential within +20 ÷ +28 mV depending on 8R6/8L6 ratio. The stability studies of fabricated NCs showed that no substantial change of the particle size and distribution and no big particles’ formation is observed after three months storage. In vitro biocompatibility study of the obtained NPs with four different stable cell lines: A549 (human), U-937 (human), RAW264.7 (murine), Hepa 1-6 (murine) showed both type cathionic NCs are biocompatible. The obtained data allow concluding that the obtained CNCs are promising for the application as biodegradable drug delivery vehicles. This work was supported by the joint grant from the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine and Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia #6298 'New biodegradable cationic polymers composed of arginine and spermine-versatile biomaterials for various biomedical applications'.

Keywords: biodegradable polymers, cationic pseudo-proteins, nano-containers, drug delivery vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Joanna Maj, Awais Hussain, Lyndsey Vu, Catherine Roxas

Abstract:

Background: Bone injuries in babies are common conditions that arise during delivery. Fractures of the clavicle, humerus, femur, and skull are the most common neonatal bone injuries sustained from labor and delivery. During operative deliveries, zealous tractions, ineffective delivery techniques, improper uterine incision, and inadequate relaxation of the uterus can lead to bone fractures in the newborn. Neonatal anatomy is unique. Just as children are not mini-adults, newborns are not mini children. A newborn’s anatomy and physiology are significantly different from a pediatric patient's. In this paper, we describe common orthopedic trauma in newborn babies. We provide a comprehensive overview of the different types of bone injuries in newborns. We hypothesize that the rate of bone fractures sustained at birth is higher in cases of operative deliveries. Methods: Relevant literature was selected by using the PubMed database. Search terms included orthopedic conditions in newborns, neonatal anatomy, and bone fractures in neonates during operative deliveries. Inclusion criteria included age, gender, race, type of bone injury and progression of bone injury. Exclusion criteria were limited in the medical history of cases reviewed and comorbidities. Results: This review finds that a clavicle fracture is the most common type of neonatal orthopedic injury sustained at birth in both operative and non-operative deliveries. We confirm the hypothesis that infants born via operative deliveries have a significantly higher rate of bone fractures than non-cesarean section deliveries. Conclusion: Newborn babies born via operative deliveries have a higher rate of bone fractures of the clavicle, humerus, and femur. A clavicle bone fracture in newborns is most common during emergency operative deliveries in new mothers. We conclude that infants born via an operative delivery sustained more bone injuries than infants born via non-cesarean section deliveries.

Keywords: clavicle fracture, humerus fracture, neonates, newborn orthopedics, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, orthopedic trauma, orthopedic trauma during delivery, cesarean section, obstetrics, neonatal anatomy, neonatal fractures, operative deliveries, labor and delivery, bone injuries in neonates

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Emmanuel Barrantes Chaves, Ernesto Rivera Alvarado

Abstract:

This paper presents a method to enable agents for the Terraria game to evaluate algorithms commonly used in general video game artificial intelligence competitions. The usage of the ‘You Only Look Once’ model in the first layer of the process obtains information from the screen, translating this information into a video game description language known as “Video Game Description Language”; the agents take that as input to make decisions. For this, the state-of-the-art algorithms were tested and compared; Monte Carlo Tree Search and Rolling Horizon Evolutionary; in this case, Rolling Horizon Evolutionary shows a better performance. This approach’s main advantage is that a VGDL beforehand is unnecessary. It will be built on the fly and opens the road for using more games as a framework for AI.

Keywords: AI, MCTS, RHEA, Terraria, VGDL, YOLOv5

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Shilpee Jain, Sachin Latiyan, Kaushik Suneet

Abstract:

Unlike traditional robots, medical microbots are not only smaller in size, but they also possess various unique properties, for example, biocompatibility, stability in the biological fluids, navigation opposite to the bloodstream, wireless control over locomotion, etc. The idea behind their usage in the medical field was to build a minimally invasive method for addressing the post-operative complications, including longer recovery time, infection eruption and pain. Herein, the present study demonstrates the fabrication of dual nature magneto-conducting Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and SU8 derived carbon-based Janus microbots for the efficient intracellular delivery of biomolecules. The low aspect ratio with feature size 2-5 μm microbots were fabricated by using a photolithography technique. These microbots were pyrolyzed at 900°C, which converts SU8 into amorphous carbon. The pyrolyzed microbots have dual properties, i.e., the half part is magneto-conducting and another half is only conducting for sufficing the therapeutic payloads efficiently with the application of external electric/magnetic field stimulations. For the efficient intracellular delivery of the microbots, the size and aspect ratio plays a significant role. However, on a smaller scale, the proper control over movement is difficult to achieve. The dual nature of Janus microbots allowed to control its maneuverability in the complex fluids using external electric as well as the magnetic field. Interestingly, Janus microbots move faster with the application of an external electric field (44 µm/s) as compared to the magnetic field (18 µm/s) application. Furthermore, these Janus microbots exhibit auto-fluorescence behavior that will help to track their pathway during navigation. Typically, the use of MNPs in the microdevices enhances the tendency to agglomerate. However, the incorporation of Fe₃O₄ MNPs in the pyrolyzed carbon reduces the chances of agglomeration of the microbots. The biocompatibility of the medical microbots, which is the essential property of any biosystems, was determined in vitro using HeLa cells. The microbots were found to compatible with HeLa cells. Additionally, the intracellular uptake of microbots was higher in the presence of an external electric field as compared to without electric field stimulation. In summary, the cytocompatible Janus microbots were fabricated successfully. They are stable in the biological fluids, wireless controllable navigation with the help of a few Guess external magnetic fields, their movement can be tracked because of autofluorescence behavior, they are less susceptible to agglomeration and higher cellular uptake could be achieved with the application of the external electric field. Thus, these carriers could offer a versatile platform to suffice the therapeutic payloads under wireless actuation.

Keywords: amorphous carbon, electric/magnetic stimulations, Janus microbots, magnetic nanoparticles, minimally invasive procedures

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: D. Benmoussa, H. Hannache, O. Cherkaoui

Abstract:

In textiles, the major interest in microencapsulation is currently in the application of durable fragrances, skin softeners, phase-change materials, antimicrobial agents and drug delivery systems onto textile materials. In our research “Polyethylene Glycol” was applied as phase change material and it was encapsulated in polymethacrylic acid (PMA) by radical polymerization in suspension of methacrylic acid in presence of N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAM) as crosslinking agent. Thereafter the obtained microcapsule was modified by amidation with ethylenediamine as a spacer molecule. At the end of this spacer trichlorotriazine reactive group was fixed. Microcapsules were grafted onto cotton textile substrate. The surface morphologies of the microencapsulated phase change materials (micro PCMs) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal properties, thermal reliabilities and thermal stabilities of the as-prepared micro PCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravmetric analysis (TGA). The results obtained show the obtaining microcapsules with a mean diameter of 10 µm and the resistance of the microcapsules is demonstrated by thermal analysis.

Keywords: energy storage, microencapsulation, phase-change materials, thermogravmetric analysis (TGA)

Procedia PDF Downloads 652

Authors: Elif Tugce Aksun Tumerkan, Chris Lowe, Hannah Krupa

Abstract:

Fluorescent proteins are self-sufficient in forming chromophores with a visible wavelength from 3 amino acids sequence within their own polypeptide structure. This chromophore – a molecule that absorbs a photon of light and exhibits an energy transition equal to the energy of the absorbed photon. Fluorescent proteins (FPs) consisted of a chain of 238 amino acid residues and composed of 11 beta strands shaped in a cylinder surrounding an alpha helix structure. A better understanding of the system of the chromospheres and the increasing advance in protein engineering in recent years, the properties of FPs offers the potential for new applications. They have used sensors and probes in molecular biology and cell-based research that giving a chance to observe these FPs tagged cell localization, structural variation and movement. For clarifying functional uses of fluorescent proteins, electrophoretic properties of these proteins are one of the most important parameters. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis is used for determining electrophoretic properties commonly. While there are many techniques are used for determining the functionality of protein-based research, SDS-PAGE analysis can only provide a molecular level assessment of the proteolytic fragments. Before SDS-PAGE analysis, fluorescent proteins need to successfully purified. Due to directly purification of the target, FPs is difficult from the animal, gene expression is commonly used which must be done by transformation with the plasmid. Furthermore, used gel within electrophoresis and staining agents properties have a key role. In this review, the different factors that have the impact on the electrophoretic properties of fluorescent proteins explored. Fluorescent protein separation and purification are the essential steps before electrophoresis that should be done very carefully. For protein purification, gene expression process and following steps have a significant function. For successful gene expression, the properties of selected bacteria for expression, used plasmid are essential. Each bacteria has own characteristics which are very sensitive to gene expression, also used procedure is the important factor for fluorescent protein expression. Another important factors are gel formula and used staining agents. Gel formula has an effect on the specific proteins mobilization and staining with correct agents is a key step for visualization of electrophoretic bands of protein. Visuality of proteins can be changed depending on staining reagents. Apparently, this review has emphasized that gene expression and purification have a stronger effect than electrophoresis protocol and staining agents.

Keywords: cell biology, gene expression, staining agents, SDS-page

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: R. Venkatesan, A. Sabari

Abstract:

Developments of social networking internet scenario are recommended for the requirements of scalable, authentic, secure group communication model like multicasting. Multicasting is an inter network service that offers efficient delivery of data from a source to multiple destinations. Even though multicast has been very successful at providing an efficient and best-effort data delivery service for huge groups, it verified complex process to expand other features to multicast in a scalable way. Separately, the requirement for secure electronic information had become gradually more apparent. Since multicast applications are deployed for mainstream purpose the need to secure multicast communications will become significant.

Keywords: multicasting, scalability, security, social network

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Mohammad Hossein Pazandeh, Monir Doudi, Sona Rostampour Yasouri

Abstract:

—Results The prudent administration of antibiotics aims to avoid the side effects and the microbes' resistance to antibiotics. An approach developing methods of local administration of antibiotics is especially required for localized infections caused by bacterial colonization of medical devices or implant materials. Among the wide variety of materials used as drug delivery systems, bioactive glasses (BG) have large utilization in regenerative medicine . firstly, the production of bioactive glass/nickel oxide/tin dioxide nanocomposite using sol-gel method, and then, the controlled release of imipenem from the double metal oxide/bioactive glass nanocomposite, and finally, the investigation of the antibacterial property of the nanocomposite. against a number of implant-related infectious agents. In this study, BG/SnO2 and BG/NiO single systema with different metal oxide present and BG/NiO/SnO2 nanocomposites were synthesized by sol-gel as drug carriers for tetracycline and imepinem. These two antibiotics were widely used for osteomyelitis because of its favorable penetration and bactericidal effect on all the probable osteomyelitis pathogens. The antibacterial activity of synthesized samples were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa as bacteria model using disk diffusion method. The BG modification using metal oxides results to antibacterial property of samples containing metal oxide with highest efficiency for nancomposite. bioactivity of all samples was assessed by determining the surface morphology, structural and composition changes using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, respectively, after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 days. The hydroxyapatite formation was clearly observed as a bioactivity measurement. Then, BG nanocomposite sample was loaded using two antibiotics, separately and their release profiles were studied. The BG nancomposite sample was shown the slow and continuous drug releasing for a period of 72 hours which is desirable for a drug delivery system. The loaded antibiotic nanocomposite sample retaining antibacterial property and showing inactivation effect against bacteria under test. The modified bioactive glass forming hydroxyapatite with controlled release drug and effective against bacterial infections can be introduced as scaffolds for bone implants after clinical trials for biomedical applications . Considering the formation of biofilm by infectious bacteria after sticking on the surfaces of implants, medical devices, etc. Also, considering the complications of traditional methods, solving the problems caused by the above-mentioned microorganisms in technical and biomedical industries was one of the necessities of this research.

Keywords: antibacterial, bioglass, drug delivery system, sol- gel

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Bruno Mazorra Roig

Abstract:

In the realm of cost-sharing mechanisms, the vulnerability to Sybil strategies, where agents can create fake identities to manipulate outcomes, has not yet been studied. In this paper, we delve into the intricacies of different cost-sharing mechanisms proposed in the literature, highlighting its non-Sybil-resistance nature. Furthermore, we prove that under mild conditions, a Sybil-proof cost-sharing mechanism for public excludable goods is at least (n/2 + 1)−approximate. This finding reveals an exponential increase in the worst-case social cost in environments where agents are restricted from using Sybil strategies. We introduce the concept of Sybil Welfare Invariant mechanisms, where a mechanism maintains its worst-case welfare under Sybil strategies for every set of prior beliefs with full support even when the mechanism is not Sybil-proof. Finally, we prove that the Shapley value mechanism for public excludable goods holds this property and so deduce that the worst-case social cost of this mechanism is the nth harmonic number Hn under the equilibrium of the game with Sybil strategies, matching the worst-case social cost bound for cost-sharing mechanisms. This finding carries important implications for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), indicating that they are capable of funding public excludable goods efficiently, even when the total number of agents is unknown.

Keywords: game theory, mechanism design, cost sharing, false-name proofness

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Ola A. Nassr, Ali M. Abd Alridha, Rua A. Naser, Rasha S. Abbas

Abstract:

Background: Excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents among hospitalized patients remains an important patient safety and public health issue worldwide. Not only does this behavior incur unnecessary cost but it is also associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to obtain an insight into the prescribing patterns of antibiotics in surgical and medical wards, to help identify a scope for improvement in service delivery. Method: A simple point prevalence survey included a convenience sample of 200 patients admitted to medical and surgical wards in a government teaching hospital in Baghdad between October 2017 and April 2018. Data were collected by a trained pharmacy intern using a standardized form. Patient’s demographics and details of the prescribed antibiotics, including dose, frequency of dosing and route of administration, were reported. Patients were included if they had been admitted at least 24 hours before the survey. Patients under 18 years of age, having a diagnosis of cancer or shock, or being admitted to the intensive care unit, were excluded. Data were checked and entered by the authors into Excel and were subjected to frequency analysis, which was carried out on anonymized data to protect patient confidentiality. Results: Overall, 88.5% of patients (n=177) received 293 antibiotics during their hospital admission, with a small variation between wards (80%-97%). The average number of antibiotics prescribed per patient was 1.65, ranging from 1.3 for medical patients to 1.95 for surgical patients. Parenteral third-generation cephalosporins were the most commonly prescribed at a rate of 54.3% (n=159) followed by nitroimidazole 29.4% (n=86), quinolones 7.5% (n=22) and macrolides 4.4% (n=13), while carbapenems and aminoglycosides were the least prescribed together accounting for only 4.4% (n=13). The intravenous route was the most common route of administration, used for 96.6% of patients (n=171). Indications were reported in only 63.8% of cases. Culture to identify pathogenic organisms was employed in only 0.5% of cases. Conclusion: Broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed at an alarming rate. This practice may provoke antibiotic resistance and adversely affect the patient outcome. Implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program is warranted to enhance the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of antimicrobial agents.

Keywords: Acute care, Antibiotic misuse, Iraq, Prescribing

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Anh Vo Van Ha, Yun Zhao, Luat Cong Nguyen, Tan Khac Chu, Phung Hoang Nguyen, Minh Ngoc Pham, Colin W. Binns, Andy H. Lee

Abstract:

This study aims to study longitudinal changes in blood pressure (BP) during the 1-year postpartum period and to evaluate the influence of parity, maternal age at delivery, prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, gestational age at delivery and postpartum maternal weight. A prospective longitudinal cohort study of 883 singleton Vietnamese women was conducted in Hanoi, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during 2015-2017. Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus at 24-28 weeks of gestation, pre-eclampsia, and hypoglycemia was excluded from analysis. BP was repeatedly measured at discharge, 6 and 12 months postpartum using automatic blood pressure monitors. Linear mixed model with repeated measures was used to describe changes occurring during pregnancy to 1-year postpartum. Parity, self-reported prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, maternal age and gestational age at delivery will be treated as time-invariant variables and measured maternal weight will be treated as a time-varying variable in models. Women with higher measured postpartum weight had higher mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), 0.20 mmHg, 95% CI [0.12, 0.28]. Similarly, women with higher measured postpartum weight had higher mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP), 0.15 mmHg, 95% CI [0.08, 0.23]. These differences were both statistically significant, P < 0.001. There were no differences in SBP and DBP depending on parity, maternal age at delivery, prepregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain and gestational age at delivery. Compared with discharge measurement, SBP was significantly higher in 6 months postpartum, 6.91 mmHg, 95% CI [6.22, 7.59], and 12 months postpartum, 6.39 mmHg, 95% CI [5.64, 7.15]. Similarly, DBP was also significantly higher in 6 and months postpartum than at discharge, 10.46 mmHg 95% CI [9.75, 11.17], and 11.33 mmHg 95% CI [10.54, 12.12]. In conclusion, BP measured repeatedly during the postpartum period (6 and 12 months postpartum) showed a statistically significant increase, compared with after discharge from the hospital. Maternal weight was a significant predictor of postpartum blood pressure over the 1-year postpartum period.

Keywords: blood pressure, maternal weight, postpartum, Vietnam

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Solanki Ravirajsinh, Kudo Kuniaki, Sharma Ankit, Devi Sherine, Kuboshima Misaki, Tachi Shuntaro

Abstract:

In software development life cycles, the absence of scalable CI/CD significantly impacts organizations, leading to increased overall maintenance costs, prolonged release delivery times, heightened manual efforts, and difficulties in meeting tight deadlines. Implementing CI/CD with standard serverless technologies using cloud services overcomes all the above-mentioned issues and helps organizations improve efficiency and faster delivery without the need to manage server maintenance and capacity. By integrating scalable CI/CD with scalable automation testing, productivity, quality, and agility are enhanced while reducing the need for repetitive work and manual efforts. Implementing scalable CI/CD for development using cloud services like ECS (Container Management Service), AWS Fargate, ECR (to store Docker images with all dependencies), Serverless Computing (serverless virtual machines), Cloud Log (for monitoring errors and logs), Security Groups (for inside/outside access to the application), Docker Containerization (Docker-based images and container techniques), Jenkins (CI/CD build management tool), and code management tools (GitHub, Bitbucket, AWS CodeCommit) can efficiently handle the demands of diverse development environments and are capable of accommodating dynamic workloads, increasing efficiency for faster delivery with good quality. CI/CD pipelines encourage collaboration among development, operations, and quality assurance teams by providing a centralized platform for automated testing, deployment, and monitoring. Scalable CI/CD streamlines the development process by automatically fetching the latest code from the repository every time the process starts, building the application based on the branches, testing the application using a scalable automation testing framework, and deploying the builds. Developers can focus more on writing code and less on managing infrastructure as it scales based on the need. Serverless CI/CD eliminates the need to manage and maintain traditional CI/CD infrastructure, such as servers and build agents, reducing operational overhead and allowing teams to allocate resources more efficiently. Scalable CI/CD adjusts the application's scale according to usage, thereby alleviating concerns about scalability, maintenance costs, and resource needs. Creating scalable automation testing using cloud services (ECR, ECS Fargate, Docker, EFS, Serverless Computing) helps organizations run more than 500 test cases in parallel, aiding in the detection of race conditions, performance issues, and reducing execution time. Scalable CI/CD offers flexibility, dynamically adjusting to varying workloads and demands, allowing teams to scale resources up or down as needed. It optimizes costs by only paying for the resources as they are used and increases reliability. Scalable CI/CD pipelines employ automated testing and validation processes to detect and prevent errors early in the development cycle.

Keywords: achieve parallel execution, cloud services, scalable automation testing, scalable continuous integration and deployment

Procedia PDF Downloads 18

Authors: Mewa Singh

Abstract:

Nanomedicine, a fusion of nanotechnology and medicine, is an emerging technology ideally suited to the targeted therapies. Nanoparticles overcome the low selectivity of anti-cancer drugs toward the tumor as compared to normal tissue and hence result-in less severe side-effects. Our new technology, HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™, uses a new molecule (MR007) in the creation of nanoparticles that not only helps in nanonizing the medicine but also provides synergy to the medicine. The simplified manufacturing process will result in reduced manufacturing costs. Treatment is made more convenient because hybrid nanomedicines can be produced in oral, injectable or transdermal formulations. The manufacturing process uses no protein, oil or detergents. The particle size is below 180 nm with a narrow distribution of size. Importantly, these properties confer great stability of the structure. The formulation does not aggregate in plasma and is stable over a wide range of pH. The final hybrid formulation is stable for at least 18 months as a powder. More than 97 drugs, including paclitaxel, docetaxel, tamoxifen, doxorubicinm prednisone, and artemisinin have been nanonized in water soluble formulations. Preclinical studies on cell cultures of tumors show promising results. Our HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™ platform enables the design and development of hybrid nano-pharmaceuticals that combine efficacy with tolerability, giving patients hope for both extended overall survival and improved quality of life. This study would discuss or present this new discovery of HYBRID-NANOENGINEERING™ which targets drug delivery, synergistic, and potentiating effects, and barriers of drug delivery and advanced drug delivery systems.

Keywords: nano-medicine, nano-particles, drug delivery system, pharmaceuticals

Procedia PDF Downloads 468

Authors: S. T. Kumbhar, M. S. Bhatia, R. C. Khairate

Abstract:

An effective nanodrug delivery system was developed by using chitosan for increased encapsulation efficiency and retarded release of curcumin. Potential ionotropic gelation method was used for the development of chitosan nanoparticles with TPP as cross-linker. The characterization was done for analysis of size, structure, surface morphology, and thermal behavior of synthesized chitosan nanoparticles. The encapsulation efficiency was more than 80%, with improved drug loading capacity. The in-vitro drug release study showed that curcumin release rate was decreased significantly. These chitosan nanoparticles could be a suitable platform for co-delivery of curcumin and anticancer agent for enhanced cytotoxic effect on tumor cells.

Keywords: Curcumin, chitosan, nanoparticles, anticancer activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Ashish Kumar Jain, Deepak Mishra

Abstract:

The objective of the present investigation was to prepare and evaluate a vesicular dual drug delivery system for effective management of mucosal ulcer. Inner encapsulating and Double liposomes were prepared by glass bead and reverse phase evaporation method respectively. The formulation consisted of inner liposomes bearing Ranitidine Bismuth Citrate (RBC) and outer liposomes encapsulating Amoxicillin trihydrate (AMOX). The optimized inner liposomes and double liposomes were extensively characterized for vesicle size, morphology, zeta potential, vesicles count, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release. In vitro, the double liposomes demonstrated a sustained release of AMOX and RBC viz 91.4±1.8% and 77.2±2.1% respectively at the end of 72 hr. Furthermore binding specificity and targeting propensity toward H. pylori (SKP-56) was confirmed by agglutination and in situ adherence assay. Reduction of the absolute alcohol induced ulcerogenic index from 3.01 ± 0.25 to 0.31 ± 0.09 and 100% H. pylori clearance rate was observed. These results suggested that double liposomes are potential vector for the development of dual drug delivery for effective treatment of H. pylori-associated peptic ulcer.

Keywords: double liposomes, H. pylori targeting, PE liposomes, glass-beads method, peptic ulcers

Procedia PDF Downloads 426

Authors: Gyati Shilakari Asthana, Abhay Asthana

Abstract:

Purpose: The therapeutic potential of oligonucleotide (ODN) is primarily dependent upon its safe and efficient delivery to specific cells overcoming degradation and maximizing cellular uptake in vivo. The present study is focused to design low molecular weight chitosan nanoconstructs to meet the requirements of safe and effectual delivery of ODNs. LMW-chitosan is a biodegradable, water soluble, biocompatible polymer and is useful as a non-viral vector for gene delivery due to its better stability in water. Methods: LMW chitosan ODN nanoparticles (CHODN NPs) were formulated by self assembled method using various N/P ratios (moles ratio of amine groups of CH to phosphate moieties of ODNs; 0.5:1, 1:1, 3:1, 5:1 and 7:1) of CH to ODN. The developed CHODN NPs were evaluated with respect to gel retardation assay, particle size, zeta potential and cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency. Results: Complete complexation of CH/ODN was achieved at the charge ratio of 0.5:1 or above and CHODN NPs displayed resistance against DNase I. On increasing the N/P ratio of CH/ODN, particle size of the NPs decreased whereas zeta potential (ZV) value increased. No significant toxicity was observed at all CH concentrations. The transfection efficiency was increased on increasing N/P ratio from 1:1 to 3:1, whereas it was decreased with further increment in N/P ratio upto 7:1. Maximum transfection of CHODN NPs with both the cell lines (Raw 267.4 cells and Hela cells) was achieved at N/P ratio of 3:1. The results suggest that transfection efficiency of CHODN NPs is dependent on N/P ratio. Conclusion: Thus the present study states that LMW chitosan nanoparticulate carriers would be acceptable choice to improve transfection efficiency in vitro as well as in vivo delivery of oligonucleotide.

Keywords: LMW-chitosan, chitosan nanoparticles, biocompatibility, cytotoxicity study, transfection efficiency, oligonucleotide

Procedia PDF Downloads 477

Authors: Abdullahi Bn Umar

Abstract:

Over the years curriculum planners and researchers in education have continued to seek for ways to improve teaching and learning by way of varying approaches to curriculum and instruction in line with dynamic nature of knowledge. In this regards various innovative strategies to teaching and learning have been adopted to match with the technological advancement in education particularly in the aspect of instructional delivery through Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a tools. This paper reviews some innovative strategies and how they impact on learner’s achievement and educational development in Nigeria. The paper concludes by recommending innovative approach appropriate for use in Nigerian context.

Keywords: innovation, instructional delivery, virtual laboratory, educational design

Procedia PDF Downloads 457

Authors: Ainoa Guinart, Maria Korpidou, Daniel Doellerer, Cornelia Palivan, Ben L. Feringa

Abstract:

Stimuli responsive systems arise from the need to meet unsolved needs of current molecular drugs. Our study presents the design of a delivery system with high spatiotemporal control and tuneable release profiles. We study the incorporation of a hydrophobic synthetic molecular motor into PDMS-b-PMOXA block copolymer vesicles to create a self-assembled system. We prove their successful incorporation and selective activation by low powered visible light (λ 430 nm, 6.9 mW). We trigger the release of a fluorescent dye with high release efficiencies over sequential cycles (up to 75%) with the ability to turn on and off the release behaviour on demand by light irradiation. Low concentrations of photo-responsive units are proven to trigger release down to 1 mol% of molecular motor. Finally, we test our system in relevant physiological conditions using a lung cancer cell line and the encapsulation of an approved drug. Similar levels of cell viability are observed compared to the free-given drugshowing the potential of our platform to deliver functional drugs on demand with the same efficiency and lower toxicity.

Keywords: molecular motor, polymer, drug delivery, light-responsive, cancer, selfassembly

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Alesandro Romero, Inaki Maulida Hakim

Abstract:

This research was conducted in an automotive company in Indonesia to overcome the problem of high logistics cost. The problem causes high of additional truck delivery. From the breakdown of the problem, chosen one route, which has the highest gap value, namely for RE-04. Research methodology will be started from calculating the ideal condition, making simulation, calculating the ideal logistic cost, and proposing an improvement. From the calculation of the ideal condition, box arrangement was done on the truck; the average efficiency was 97,4 % with three trucks delivery per day. Route simulation making uses Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software as a visualization for the company about how the system is occurred on route RE-04 in ideal condition. Furthermore, from the calculation of logistics cost of the ideal condition, it brings savings of Rp53.011.800,00 in a month. The last step is proposing improvements on the area of route RE-04. The route arrangement is done by Saving Method and sequence of each supplier with the Nearest Neighbor. The results of the proposed improvements are three new route groups, where was expected to decrease logistics cost Rp3.966.559,40 per day, and increase the average of the truck efficiency 8,78% per day.

Keywords: efficiency, logistic cost, milkrun, saving methode, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 423

Authors: Chia-Ching Tsai

Abstract:

In service delivery, interpersonal interaction is the key to customer satisfaction, and apparently, the factor of human is critical in service delivery. Besides, customers quite care about the consequences of co-recovery. Thus, this research focuses on service failure caused by other customers and uses a 2x2 factorial design to investigate the impact of consequence and level of service co-recovery on post-recovery satisfaction and repurchase intent. 150 undergraduates were recruited as participants, and assigned to one of the four cells randomly. Every participant was requested to read the scenario and then rated the post-recovery satisfaction and repurchase intent. The results show that under the condition of failed co-recovery, level of co-recovery has no effect on post-recovery satisfaction, while under the condition of successful co-recovery, high-level co-recovery causes significantly higher post-recovery satisfaction than low-level co-recovery. Moreover, post-recovery satisfaction has significantly positive impact on repurchase intent. In the system of service delivery, customers interact with other customers frequently. Therefore, comparing with the literature, this research focuses on the service failure caused by other customers. This research also supplies a better understanding of customers’ view on consequences of different levels of co-recovery, which is helpful for the practitioners to make use of co-recovery.

Keywords: service failure, service co-recovery, consequence of co-recovery, level of co-recovery, post-recovery satisfaction, repurchase intent

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: K. Asemave, D. O. Abakpa, T. T. Ligom

Abstract:

The ability of bacteria to develop resistance to many antibiotics cannot be undermined, given the multifaceted health challenges in the present times. For this reason, a lot of attention is on botanicals and their products in search of new antibacterial agents. On the other hand, mango kernel oils (MKO) can be heavily valorized by taking advantage of the myriads bioactive phytochemicals it contains. Herein, we validated the use of MKO as bioactive agent against bacteria. The MKOs for the study were extracted by soxhlet means with ethanol and hexane for 4 h from 3 different mango kernels, namely; 'local' (sample A), 'julie' (sample B), and 'john' (sample C). Prior to the extraction, ground fine particles of the kernels were obtained from the seed kernels dried in oven at 100 °C for 8 h. Hexane gave higher yield of the oils than ethanol. It was also qualitatively confirmed that the mango kernel oils contain some phytochemicals such as phenol, quinone, saponin, and terpenoid. The results of the antibacterial activities of the MKO against both gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) at different concentrations showed that the oils extracted with ethanol gave better antibacterial properties than those of the hexane. More so, the bioactivities were best with the local mango kernel oil. Indeed this work has completely validated the previous claim that MKOs are effective antibacterial agents. Thus, these oils (especially the ethanol-derived ones) can be used as bacteriostatic and antibacterial agents in say food, cosmetics, and allied industries.

Keywords: bacteria, mango, kernel, oil, phytochemicals

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: H. Benmoussa, A. A. El Kalam, A. Ait Ouahman

Abstract:

The design and implementation of intrusion detection systems (IDS) remain an important area of research in the security of information systems. Despite the importance and reputation of the current intrusion detection systems, their efficiency and effectiveness remain limited as they should include active defense approach to allow anticipating and predicting intrusions before their occurrence. Consequently, they must be readapted. For this purpose we suggest a new generation of distributed intrusion detection system based on preventive detection approach and using intelligent and mobile agents. Our architecture benefits from mobile agent features and addresses some of the issues with centralized and hierarchical models. Also, it presents advantages in terms of increasing scalability and flexibility.

Keywords: Intrusion Detection System (IDS), preventive detection, mobile agents, distributed architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 557

Authors: C. Recchia, M. Bourel, B. Recchia

Abstract:

Microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi) are responsible for most communicable diseases, threatening human health. For domestic use, chemical agents are often criticized because of their potential dangerousness, and natural solutions are needed. Application of the “dry microfine steam” (DMS) technology was tested on a selection of common pathogens (SARS-CoV-2, enterovirus EV-71, human coronavirus 229E, E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans), on different innate surfaces, for 5 to 10 seconds. Quantification of the remaining pathogens was performed, and the reduction rates ranged from 99.8% (S. aureus on plastic) to over 99.999%. DMS showed high efficacy in the elimination of common microorganisms and could be seen as a natural alternative to chemical agents to improve domestic hygiene.

Keywords: steam, SARS-CoV-2, bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, sterilization

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Midhun Xavier

Abstract:

This paper introduces a method to verify multi-agent systems in industrial control systems using blockchain technology. The proposed solution enables to record and verify each process that occurs while generating a customized product using Ethereum-based smart contracts. Node-Red software agents are developed with the help of semantic web technologies, and these software agents interact with IEC 61499 function blocks to execute the processes. The agent associated with each mechatronic component and its controller can communicate with the blockchain to record various events that occur during each process, and the latter smart contract helps to verify these process orders of the customized product.

Keywords: blockchain, Ethereum, node-red, IEC 61499, multi-agent system, MQTT

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: M. Umar Hafeez, Furqan Khursheed Hashmi, Nadeem Irfan Bukhari, Shahzad Ali, Muzammil Ali

Abstract:

The trend of self-medication is increasing due to various factors and is associated with a large number of complications. A cross-sectional study was aimed to investigate self-medication trend in an urban community and its correlates such as level of education, gender and behavior of using psychoactive medicines. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from different locations of Lahore, provincial capital of Punjab, Pakistan. The trend of self-medication was noted in reference to difference in educational level and in gender. This study showed that total 110 respondents, all literate,were found to be self-medicating, and their educational status was as 73.13% primary, 63.15% secondary, 61.12% higher secondary and 62.15% university going. In this sample 74.99% were males and 48.00%were females. Twenty nine (26.36%) of the total sample were found to be using psychoactive agents without consulting the physician. The trend of self-medication was 10% higher in individuals having primary level education, whereas there was not much difference of self-medication trend in other levels of education. The main reasons involved in self-medication trend were socio-economic status, medicine accessibility, religious and cultural beliefs, lack of awareness about risks associated with medicine, non-prescription sale of medicines and previous medication experience. The trend of self-medication of psychotropic agents is quite significant.

Keywords: self-medication, educated community, psychotropic drugs, education levels

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: Shyaka Eugene

Abstract:

The efficient and safe demolition of structures is a critical challenge in civil engineering and construction. This study focuses on the development of optimal demolition strategies by investigating the crack propagation behavior in beams induced by soundless cracking agents. It is commonly used in controlled demolition and has gained prominence due to its non-explosive and environmentally friendly nature. This research employs a comprehensive experimental and computational approach to analyze the crack initiation, propagation, and eventual failure in beams subjected to soundless cracking agents. Experimental testing involves the application of various cracking agents under controlled conditions to understand their effects on the structural integrity of beams. High-resolution imaging and strain measurements are used to capture the crack propagation process. In parallel, numerical simulations are conducted using advanced finite element analysis (FEA) techniques to model crack propagation in beams, considering various parameters such as cracking agent composition, loading conditions, and beam properties. The FEA models are validated against experimental results, ensuring their accuracy in predicting crack propagation patterns. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into optimizing demolition strategies, allowing engineers and demolition experts to make informed decisions regarding the selection of cracking agents, their application techniques, and structural reinforcement methods. Ultimately, this research contributes to enhancing the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of demolition practices in the construction industry, reducing environmental impact and ensuring the protection of adjacent structures and the surrounding environment.

Keywords: expansion pressure, energy release rate, soundless chemical demolition agent, crack propagation

Procedia PDF Downloads 42