Search results for: cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Authors: Khursheed Ahmad, Shaikh M. Mobin

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In this work, we have developed a highly stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a architecture (ITO/GO/PEDOT:PSS/MAPbI3/PCBM/Carbon tape). The PSCs was fabricated under air using GO/PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer while the carbon tape used as a back contact to complete the device. The fabricated PSCs device exhibited good stability and performance in terms of power conversion efficiency of 5.2%. The PSCs devices were exposed to ambient condition for 4 days which shows excellent stability confirmed by XRD analysis. We believed that the stability of the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cell may be due the presence of GO which inhibits the direct contact between PEDOT:PSS and MAPbI3.

Keywords: graphene oxide, perovskite solar cells, hole transport layer, PEDOT:PSS

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: M. Ezzat, Y. Zaghloul, T. Sorour, A. Hefny, M. Eid

Abstract:

Ultimate capacity of large diameter bored piles is usually determined from pile loading tests as recommended by several international codes and foundation design standards. However, loading of this type of piles till achieving apparent failure is practically seldom. In this paper, numerical analyses are carried out to simulate load test of a large diameter bored pile performed at the location of Alzey highway bridge project (Germany). Test results of pile load settlement relationship till failure as well as results of the base and shaft resistances are available. Apparent failure was indicated in this test by the significant increase of the induced settlement during the last load increment applied on the pile head. Measurements of this pile load test are used to assess the quality of the numerical models investigated. Three different material soil models are implemented in the analyses: Mohr coulomb (MC), Soft soil (SS), and Modified Mohr coulomb (MMC). Very good agreement is obtained between the field measured settlement and the calculated settlement using the MMC model. Results of analysis showed also that the MMC constitutive model is superior to MC, and SS models in predicting the ultimate base and shaft resistances of the large diameter bored pile. After calibrating the numerical model, behavior of large diameter bored piles under axial loads is discussed and the formation of the plastic zone around the pile is explored. Results obtained showed that the plastic zone below the base of the pile at failure extended laterally to about four times the pile diameter and vertically to about three times the pile diameter.

Keywords: ultimate capacity, large diameter bored piles, plastic zone, failure, pile load test

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Ghazala Hcini, Imen Jdey, Hela Ltifi

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Malaria disease should be considered and handled as a potential restorative catastrophe. One of the most challenging tasks in the field of microscopy image processing is due to differences in test design and vulnerability of cell classifications. In this article, we focused on applying deep learning to classify patients by identifying images of infected and uninfected cells. We performed multiple forms, counting a classification approach using the Hue, Saturation, Value (HSV) color space. HSV is used since of its superior ability to speak to image brightness; at long last, for classification, a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is created. Clusters of focus were used to deliver the classification. The highlights got to be forbidden, and a few more clamor sorts are included in the information. The suggested method has a precision of 99.79%, a recall value of 99.55%, and provides 99.96% accuracy.

Keywords: deep learning, convolutional neural network, image classification, color transformation, HSV color, malaria diagnosis, malaria cells images

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Authors: Imen Aribi Ben Amor

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The aim of the present study is to analyze the performance of requests in emails among a group of Tunisian postgraduate students. It also seeks to determine the influence of the social factors on the participants’ requests performance. For this purpose, the data were collected using a discourse completion test (DCT). Accordingly, 42 Tunisian postgraduate students were asked to respond in English to eight different situations in which they carried out the speech act of request in emails. The data were analyzed based on the degree of directness. A detailed analysis of the head acts found in the DCT revealed that Tunisian Postgraduate students use a varied repertoire of request strategies (direct, conventionally indirect and non-conventionally indirect) but at the same time rely heavily on direct request strategies. They tended to address their requestees directly except for distant superiors. DCT results suggest that the participants are to some extent aware of the influence of the ranking of imposition and social distance but fail to acknowledge the weight of social power when performing requests in emails. The preference of the participants to use direct strategies may be the result of the effect of Tunisian culture and the negative transfer of Tunisian communicative strategies. Accordingly, this study suggests some pedagogical implications and suggestions for Tunisian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instructors. They are required to pay closer attention to the pragmalinguistic nuances of the ways in which requests in emails are realized. Teachers can also help students understand academic email etiquettes by explicitly explaining what they expect in the student email. Thus, EFL teachers and syllabus designers should devote more attention to developing EFL learners’ pragmatic competence through teaching L2 pragmatics.

Keywords: directness, ranking of imposition, request strategies, social distance, social power

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: Bourfaa Fouzia, Meryem Lamri Zeggar, Adjimi Amel, Mohammed Salah Aida, Nadir Attaf

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Semiconductor photocatalysts such as ZnO has attracted much attention in recent years due to their various applications for the degradation of organic pollutants in water, air and in dye sensitized photovoltaic solar cell. In the present work, ZnO thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis by using different precursors namely: Acetate, chloride and zinc nitrate in order to investigate their influence on ZnO photocatalytic activity. The films crystalline structure was studied by mean of X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD) and the films surface morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The films optical properties were studied by mean of UV–visible spectroscopy. The prepared films were tested for the degradation of the red reactive dye largely used in textile industry. As a result, we found that the zinc nitrate is the best precursor to prepare ZnO thin films suitable for a good photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: precursor, thins films, spray pyrolysis, zinc oxide

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Authors: Mariyappan Shanmugam, Bin Yu

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Schottky-barrier solar cells are demonstrated employing 2D-layered MoS2 and WS2 semiconductor nanofilms as photo-active material candidates synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method. Large area MoS2 and WS2 nanofilms are stacked by layer transfer process to achieve thicker photo-active material studied by atomic force microscopy showing a thickness in the range of ~200 nm. Two major vibrational active modes associated with 2D-layered MoS2 and WS2 are studied by Raman spectroscopic technique to estimate the quality of the nanofilms. Schottky-barrier solar cells employed MoS2 and WS2 active materials exhibited photoconversion efficiency of 1.8 % and 1.7 % respectively. Fermi-level pinning at metal/semiconductor interface, electronic transport and possible recombination mechanisms are studied in the Schottky-barrier solar cells.

Keywords: two-dimensional nanosheet, graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, solar cell, Schottky barrier

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: Min-Ah Woo, Min-Cheol Lim, Hyun-Joo Chang, Sung-Wook Choi

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We developed a paper-based colorimetric sensor utilizing magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with aptamers (MNP-Apts) against E. coli O157:H7. The MNP-Apts were applied to a test sample solution containing the target cells, and the solution was simply dropped onto PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) membrane. The membrane moves the sample radially to form the sample spots of different compounds as concentric rings, thus the MNP-Apts on the membrane enabled specific recognition of the target cells through a color ring generation by MNP-promoted colorimetric reaction of TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) and H₂O₂. This method could be applied to rapidly and visually detect various bacterial pathogens in less than 1 h without cell culturing.

Keywords: aptamer, colorimetric sensor, E. coli O157:H7, magnetic nanoparticle, polyvinylidene difluoride

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Shohel Ahmed, Md. Abdul Alim, Sumaiya Rahman

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Optimal control can be helpful to test and compare different vaccination strategies of a certain disease. The mathematical model of HIV we consider here is a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) describing the interactions of CD4+T cells of the immune system with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As an early treatment setting, we investigate an optimal chemotherapy strategy where control represents the percentage of effect the chemotherapy has on the system. The aim is to obtain a new optimal chemotherapeutic strategy where an isoperimetric constraint on the chemotherapy supply plays a crucial role. We outline the steps in formulating an optimal control problem, derive optimality conditions and demonstrate numerical results of an optimal control for the model. Numerical results illustrate how such a constraint alters the optimal vaccination schedule and its effect on cell-virus interactions.

Keywords: chemotherapy of HIV, optimal control involving ODEs, optimality conditions, Pontryagin’s maximum principle

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Marta Kwiatkowska, Paweł Jarosiewicz, Bożena Bukowska

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Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) is a non-selected broad spectrum ingredient in the herbicide (Roundup) used for over 35 years for the protection of agricultural and horticultural crops. Glyphosate was believed to be environmentally friendly but recently, a large body of evidence has revealed that glyphosate can negatively affect on environment and humans. It has been found that glyphosate is present in the soil and groundwater. It can also enter human body which results in its occurrence in blood in low concentrations of 73.6 ± 28.2 ng/ml. Research conducted for potential genotoxicity and cytotoxicity can be an important element in determining the toxic effect of glyphosate. Due to regulation of European Parliament 1107/2009 it is important to assess genotoxicity and cytotoxicity not only for the parent substance but also its impurities, which are formed at different stages of production of major substance – glyphosate. Moreover verifying, which of these compounds are more toxic is required. Understanding of the molecular pathways of action is extremely important in the context of the environmental risk assessment. In 2002, the European Union has decided that glyphosate is not genotoxic. Unfortunately, recently performed studies around the world achieved results which contest decision taken by the committee of the European Union. World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2015 has decided to change the classification of glyphosate to category 2A, which means that the compound is considered to "probably carcinogenic to humans". This category relates to compounds for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity to humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity on experimental animals. That is why we have investigated genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects of the most commonly used pesticide: glyphosate and its impurities: N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (PMIDA) and bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), mostly lymphocytes. DNA damage (analysis of DNA strand-breaks) using the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) and ATP level were assessed. Cells were incubated with glyphosate and its impurities: PMIDA and bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine at concentrations from 0.01 to 10 mM for 24 hours. Evaluating genotoxicity using the comet assay showed a concentration-dependent increase in DNA damage for all compounds studied. ATP level was decreased to zero as a result of using the highest concentration of two investigated impurities, like bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine and PMIDA. Changes were observed using the highest concentration at which a person can be exposed as a result of acute intoxication. Our survey leads to a conclusion that the investigated compounds exhibited genotoxic and cytotoxic potential but only in high concentrations, to which people are not exposed environmentally. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre (Contract-2013/11/N/NZ7/00371), MSc Marta Kwiatkowska, project manager.

Keywords: cell viability, DNA damage, glyphosate, impurities, peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Procedia PDF Downloads 478

Authors: Asanka U. K. Godamunne

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Road traffic accidents (RTA) are a leading cause of death globally as well as in Sri Lanka and results in a large proportion of disability especially among young people. Ninety-percent of world’s road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The gross disparities in injury outcomes relate to immediate post-crash and hospital management. Emergency management, methods of patient transportation following road traffic accidents and safety measures are important factors to reduce mortality and morbidity. Studies in this area are limited in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this research was to assess the emergency management and proper method of transportation of road traffic accident victims. This offers the best way to explore the ways to reduce the mortality and morbidity and raise the public awareness. This study was conducted as a descriptive cross-sectional study. All the consecutive road traffic accident victims admitted to surgical wards at District General Hospital, Matale, Sri Lanka, over a period of three months were included in the study. Data from 387 victims were analyzed. The majority were in the 20-30 year age group. Seventy six percent of the patients were males. Motorcycles and trishaws were most affected. First-aid was given to only 2% of patients and it was given by non-medical persons. A significant proportion of patients (75%) were transported to the hospital by trishaws and only 1% transported by ambulance. About 86% of the patients were seated while transport and 14% were flat. Limbs and head were the most affected areas of the body. As per this study, immediate post-crash management and patient transportation were not satisfactory. There is a need to strengthen certain road safety laws and make sure people follow them.

Keywords: emergency management, patient transportation, road traffic accident victims, Sri Lanka

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Undiyaundeye Florence Atube, Ugar Innocent A.

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Young children are active learners who use all their senses to build concepts and ideas from their experiences. The process of learning, the content and the outcomes, is vital for young children. They need time to explore whether they are satisfied with what is learnt. Of all levels of education, early childhood education is considered to be most critical for the social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. For this reason, the teachers for early years need to play a significant role in the teaching and learning process through the provision of a friendly environment in the school. A case study approach was used in this study. The information was gathered through various methods like class observation, field notes, documents analysis, group processes, and semi structured interviews. The group processes participants and interviewees were taken from some stakeholders such as parents, students, teachers, and head teachers from public schools, to have a broad and comprehensive analysis, informal interaction with different stakeholders and self-reflection was used to clarify aspects of varying issues and findings. The teachers’ roles in developing a child friendly environment in personal capacity to learning were found to improve a pupils learning ability. Prior to early child development education, learning experiences and pedagogical content knowledge played a vital role in engaging teachers in developing their thinking and teaching practice. Children can be helped to develop independent self-control and self-reliance with careful planning and development of the child’s experience with sensitive and appropriate interaction by the educator to propel eagerness to learn through the provision of a friendly environment.

Keywords: child friendly environment, early childhood, education and development, teaching, learning and the curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Zhao Yu, Zhi-Nan Zhang

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More and more interactive devices are used in the transportation service system. Our mobile phones, on-board computers, and Head-Up Displays (HUDs) can all be used as the tools of the in-car service system. People can access smart systems with different terminals such as mobile phones, computers, pads and even their cars and watches. Different forms of terminals bring the different quality of interaction by the various human-computer Interaction modes. The new interactive devices require good ergonomics design at each stage of the whole design process. According to the theory of human factors and ergonomics, this paper compared three types of interactive devices by four driving tasks. Forty-eight drivers were chosen to experience these three interactive devices (mobile phones, on-board computers, and HUDs) by a simulate driving process. The subjects evaluated ergonomics performance and subjective workload after the process. And subjects were encouraged to support suggestions for improving the interactive device. The result shows that different interactive devices have different advantages in driving tasks, especially in non-driving tasks such as information and entertainment fields. Compared with mobile phones and onboard groups, the HUD groups had shorter response times in most tasks. The tasks of slow-up and the emergency braking are less accurate than the performance of a control group, which may because the haptic feedback of these two tasks is harder to distinguish than the visual information. Simulated driving is also helpful in improving the design of in-vehicle interactive devices. The paper summarizes the ergonomics characteristics of three in-vehicle interactive devices. And the research provides a reference for the future design of in-vehicle interactive devices through an ergonomic approach to ensure a good interaction relationship between the driver and the in-vehicle service system.

Keywords: human factors, industrial ergonomics, transportation system, usability, vehicle user interface

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Fahad Alamoudi, Yaser Miaji, Fawzy Jalalah

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The growing popularity of swimming pools and other activities in the water for sport, fitness, therapy or just enjoyable relaxation have led to the increased use of swimming pools and the establishment of a variety of specific-use pools such as spa pools, Waterslides and more recently, hydrotherapy and wave pools. In this research a few simple equipments are used for test, Detect and alert for detection of water cleanness and pollution. YSI Photometer Systems, TDSTestr High model, rio 12HF, and Electrode A1. The researchers used electrolysis as a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them. The results which use 41 experiments show the higher the salt concentration, the more efficient the electrode and the smaller the gap between the plates and The lower the electrode voltage. Furthermore, it is proved that the larger the surface area, the lower the cell voltage and the higher current used the more chlorine produced.

Keywords: photometer, electrode, electrolysis, swimming pool chlorination

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Camelia Porey, Binaya Kumar Jaiswal

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BACKGROUND: Antiphospholipid antibody (APLA) syndrome is an autoimmune disorder predisposing to thrombotic complications affecting CNS either by arterial vasooclusion or venous thrombosis. Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) secondarily causes raised intracranial pressure (ICP). However, intracranial hypertension without evidence of CVST is a rare entity. Here we present two cases of elevated ICP with absence of identifiable CVST. CASE SUMMARY: Case 1, 28-year female had a 2 months history of holocranial headache followed by bilateral painless vision loss reaching lack of light perception over 20 days. CSF opening pressure was elevated. Fundoscopy showed bilateral grade 4 papilledema. MRI revealed a partially empty sella with bilateral optic nerve tortuosity. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) was diagnosed. With acetazolamide, there was complete resolution of the clinical and radiological abnormalities. 5 months later she presented with acute onset right-sided hemiparesis. MRI was suggestive of acute left MCA infarct.MR venogram was normal. APLA came positive with high titres of Anticardiolipin and Beta 2 glycoprotein both IgG and IgM. Case 2, 23-year female, presented with headache and diplopia of 2 months duration. CSF pressure was elevated and Grade 3 papilledema was seen. MRI showed bilateral optic nerve hyperintensities with nerve head protrusion with normal MRV. APLA profile showed elevated beta 2 glycoprotein IgG and IgA. CONCLUSION: This is an important non thrombotic complication of APLA syndrome and requires further large-scale study for insight into the pathogenesis and early recognition to avoid future complications.

Keywords: APLA syndrome, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, MR venogram, papilledema

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: T. Angeline Priyanka, R. Ganesan

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Recent trends in microelectronics technology have gradually changed the strategies used in very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits. Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology has been the industry standard for implementing VLSI device for the past two decades, but due to scale-down issues of ultra-low dimension achievement is not achieved so far. Hence it paved a way for Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA). It is only one of the many alternative technologies proposed as a replacement solution to the fundamental limit problem that CMOS technology will impose in the years to come. In this brief, presented a new adder that possesses high speed of operation occupying less area is proposed. This adder is designed especially for error tolerant application. Hence in the proposed adder, the overall area (cell count) and simulation time are reduced by 88 and 73 percent respectively. Various results of the proposed adder are shown and described.

Keywords: quantum cellular automata, carry look ahead adder, ripple carry adder, lossy application, majority gate, crossover

Procedia PDF Downloads 550

Authors: Eun Jung Sohn, Hwan Tae Park

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Autophagy is a cellular response to stress or environment on cell survival. Here, we investigated the role of ectopic expression of miR 200c-3p in autophagy. Ectopic expression of miR 200c-3p increased the expression of IRE1alpha, ATF6 and CHOP by western blot and RT-qPCR. Furthermore, the level of microRNA 200c-3p was enhanced by treatment of TG or overexpression of GRP 78. Also, ectopic expression of miR200c-3p increased the LC3 II expression by western blot and RT-qPCR. Also, we found that western blot assay showed that miR200c-3p inhibitor was blocked the starvation–induced LC3II levels. Furthermore, starvation stress increased the level of miR200c-3p in different kinetics. Ectopic expression of miR200c-3p attenuated LC3II expression in IRE1 siRNA transfected PC3 cells. Here, we first demonstrate that miR200c-3p regulates autophagy via ER stress pathway.

Keywords: Autophagy, ER stress, LC3II, miR200c-3p

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Christopher Battle

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The pursuit of a sustainable future is dependent on the ability of governments from the national to municipal level. The politics of energy and the development of state-sponsored photovoltaic cell expansion can nebulize in several ways based on a state or nation's physical and human geography. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the energy and solar program of Turkey, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia. The study aims to assess the city of Philadelphia's solar policies in contrast with both its political history and the photovoltaic programs of Turkey, a world leader in solar system development, and Pennsylvania's history of energy regulation. This comparative study found that after hundreds of bills and regulations over decades, sustainable energy development in affordable housing and new construction is the next phase of State-Sponsored Green energy for the city of Philadelphia.

Keywords: Turkey, solar power, Philadelphia, affordable energy development

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: N. Ghatwary, A. Ahmed, H. Jalab

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In this paper, an approach for the liver tumor detection in computed tomography (CT) images is represented. The detection process is based on classifying the features of target liver cell to either tumor or non-tumor. Fractional differential (FD) is applied for enhancement of Liver CT images, with the aim of enhancing texture and edge features. Later on, a fusion method is applied to merge between the various enhanced images and produce a variety of feature improvement, which will increase the accuracy of classification. Each image is divided into NxN non-overlapping blocks, to extract the desired features. Support vector machines (SVM) classifier is trained later on a supplied dataset different from the tested one. Finally, the block cells are identified whether they are classified as tumor or not. Our approach is validated on a group of patients’ CT liver tumor datasets. The experiment results demonstrated the efficiency of detection in the proposed technique.

Keywords: fractional differential (FD), computed tomography (CT), fusion, aplha, texture features.

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: K. M. S. Weerasinghe, A. H. K. Balasooriya, S. L. Ransingha, G. D. Krishantha, R. S. Brhakamanagae, L. C. Wijethilke

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Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is a major horticultural crop with an estimated global production of over 120 million metric tons and ranks first as a processing crop. The average tomato productivity in Sri Lanka (11 metric tons/ha) is much lower than the world average (24 metric tons/ha).To meet the tomato demand for the increasing population the productivity has to be intensified through the agronomic-techniques. Nutrition is one of the main factors which govern the growth and yield of tomato and the main nutrient source soil affect the plant growth and quality of the produce. Continuous cropping, improper fertilizer usage etc., cause widespread nutrient deficiencies. Therefore synthetic fertilizers and organic manures were introduced to enhance plant growth and maximize the crop yields. In this study, effects of macro and micronutrient supplementations on improvement of growth and yield of tomato were investigated. Selected tomato variety is Maheshi and plants were grown in Regional Agricultural and Research Centre Makadura under the Department of Agriculture recommended (DOA) macro nutrients and various combination of Ontario recommended dosages of secondary and micro fertilizer supplementations. There were six treatments in this experiment and each treatment was replicated in three times and each replicate consisted of six plants. Other than the DOA recommendation, five combinations of Ontario recommended dosage of secondary and micronutrients for tomato were also used as treatments. The treatments were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design. All cultural practices were carried out according to the DOA recommendations. The mean data was subjected to the statistical analysis using SAS package and mean separation (Duncan’s Multiple Range test at 5% probability level) procedures. Secondary and micronutrients containing treatments significantly increased most of the growth parameters. Plant height, plant girth, number of leaves, leaf area index etc. Fruits harvested from pots amended with macro, secondary and micronutrients performed best in terms of total yield; yield quality; to pots amended with DOA recommended dosage of fertilizer for tomato. It could be due to the application of all essential macro and micro nutrients that rise in photosynthetic activity, efficient translocation and utilization of photosynthates causing rapid cell elongation and cell division in actively growing region of the plant leading to stimulation of growth and yield were caused. The experiment revealed and highlighted the requirements of essential macro, secondary and micro nutrient fertilizer supplementations for tomato farming. The study indicated that, macro and micro nutrient supplementation practices can influence growth and yield performances of tomato fruits and it is a promising approach to get potential tomato yields.

Keywords: macro and micronutrients, tomato, SAS package, photosynthates

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Authors: Yakup Ulusu, Faruk Ozel, Numan Eczacioglu, Abdurrahman Ozen, Sabriye Acikgoz

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GFP discovered in the mid-1970s, has been used as a marker after replicated genetic study by scientists. In biotechnology, cell, molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of expression. In modified forms, it has been used to make biosensors. Many animals have been created that express GFP as an evidence that a gene can be expressed throughout a given organism. Proteins labeled with GFP identified locations are determined. And so, cell connections can be monitored, gene expression can be reported, protein-protein interactions can be observed and signals that create events can be detected. Additionally, monitoring GFP is noninvasive; it can be detected by under UV-light because of simply generating fluorescence. Moreover, GFP is a relatively small and inert molecule, that does not seem to treat any biological processes of interest. The synthesis of GFP has some steps like, to construct the plasmid system, transformation in E. coli, production and purification of protein. GFP carrying plasmid vector pBAD–GFPuv was digested using two different restriction endonuclease enzymes (NheI and Eco RI) and DNA fragment of GFP was gel purified before cloning. The GFP-encoding DNA fragment was ligated into pET28a plasmid using NheI and Eco RI restriction sites. The final plasmid was named pETGFP and DNA sequencing of this plasmid indicated that the hexa histidine-tagged GFP was correctly inserted. Histidine-tagged GFP was expressed in an Escherichia coli BL21 DE3 (pLysE) strain. The strain was transformed with pETGFP plasmid and grown on LuiraBertoni (LB) plates with kanamycin and chloramphenicol selection. E. coli cells were grown up to an optical density (OD 600) of 0.8 and induced by the addition of a final concentration of 1mM isopropyl-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and then grown for additional 4 h. The amino-terminal hexa-histidine-tag facilitated purification of the GFP by using a His Bind affinity chromatography resin (Novagen). Purity of GFP protein was analyzed by a 12 % sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The concentration of protein was determined by UV absorption at 280 nm (Varian Cary 50 Scan UV/VIS spectrophotometer). Synthesis of GFP-Polymer composite nanofibers was produced by using GFP solution (10mg/mL) and polymer precursor Polyvinylpyrrolidone, (PVP, Mw=1300000) as starting materials and template, respectively. For the fabrication of nanofibers with the different fiber diameter; a sol–gel solution comprising of 0.40, 0.60 and 0.80 g PVP (depending upon the desired fiber diameter) and 100 mg GFP in 10 mL water: ethanol (3:2) mixtures were prepared and then the solution was covered on collecting plate via electro spinning at 10 kV with a feed-rate of 0.25 mL h-1 using Spellman electro spinning system. Results show that GFP-based nano-fiber can be used plenty of biomedical applications such as bio-imaging, bio-mechanic, bio-material and tissue engineering.

Keywords: biomaterial, GFP, nano-fibers, protein expression

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Authors: Faris Alkhalil, Rana Bitar, Amer Azaz, Hisham Natour, Noora Almeraikhi, Mohamad Miqdady

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Background: Children with liver transplantation are achieving very good survival and so there is now a need to concentrate on achieving good health in these patients and preventing disease. Immunosuppressive medications have side effects that need to be monitored and if possible avoided. Glucocorticoids and calcineurin inhibitors are detrimental to bone and mineral homeostasis in addition steroids can also affect linear growth. Steroid sparing regimes in renal transplant children has shown to improve children’s height. Aim: We aim to review the growth and bone health of children post liver transplant by measuring bone mineral density (BMD) using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan and assessing if there is a clear link between poor growth and impaired bone health and use of long term steroids. Subjects and Methods: This is a single centre retrospective Cohort study, we reviewed the medical notes of children (0-16 years) who underwent a liver transplantation between November 2000 to November 2016 and currently being followed at our centre. Results: 39 patients were identified (25 males and 14 females), the median transplant age was 2 years (range 9 months - 16 years), and the median follow up was 6 years. Four patients received a combined transplant, 2 kidney and liver transplant and 2 received a liver and small bowel transplant. The indications for transplant included, Biliary Atresia (31%), Acute Liver failure (18%), Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (15%), transplantable metabolic disease (10%), TPN related liver disease (8%), Primary Hyperoxaluria (5%), Hepatocellular carcinoma (3%) and other causes (10%). 36 patients (95%) were on a calcineurin inhibitor (34 patients were on Tacrolimus and 2 on Cyclosporin). The other three patients were on Sirolimus. Low dose long-term steroids was used in 21% of the patients. A considerable proportion of the patients had poor growth. 15% were below the 3rd centile for weight for age and 21% were below the 3rd centile for height for age. Most of our patients with poor growth were not on long term steroids. 49% of patients had a DEXA scan post transplantation. 21% of these children had low bone mineral density, one patient had met osteoporosis criteria with a vertebral fracture. Most of our patients with impaired bone health were not on long term steroids. 20% of the patients who did not undergo a DEXA scan developed long bone fractures and 50% of them were on long term steroid use which may suggest impaired bone health in these patients. Summary and Conclusion: The incidence of impaired bone health, although studied in limited number of patients; was high. Early recognition and treatment should be instituted to avoid fractures and improve bone health. Many of the patients were below the 3rd centile for weight and height however there was no clear relationship between steroid use and impaired bone health, reduced weight and reduced linear height.

Keywords: bone, growth, pediatric, liver, transplantation

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Authors: Shahan Waheed, Muhammad Waqas, Asher Feroz

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Objectives: To determine the utility of base deficit in traumatic brain injury in assessing the severity and to correlate with the conventional computed tomography scales in grading the severity of head injury. Methodology: Observational cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care facility from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2012. All patients with isolated traumatic brain injury presenting within 24 hours of the injury to the emergency department were included in the study. Initial Glasgow Coma Scale and base deficit values were taken at presentation, the patients were followed during their hospital stay and CT scan brain findings were recorded and graded as per the Rotterdam scale, the findings were cross-checked by a radiologist, Glasgow Outcome Scale was taken on last follow up. Outcomes were dichotomized into favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Continuous variables with normal and non-normal distributions are reported as mean ± SD. Categorical variables are presented as frequencies and percentages. Relationship of the base deficit with GCS, GOS, CT scan brain and length of stay was calculated using Spearman`s correlation. Results: 154 patients were enrolled in the study. Mean age of the patients were 30 years and 137 were males. The severity of brain injuries as per the GCS was 34 moderate and 109 severe respectively. 34 percent of the total has an unfavorable outcome with a mean of 18±14. The correlation was significant at the 0.01 level with GCS on presentation and the base deficit 0.004. The correlation was not significant between the Rotterdam CT scan brain findings, length of stay and the base deficit. Conclusion: The base deficit was found to be a good predictor of severity of brain injury. There was no association of the severity of injuries on the CT scan brain as per the Rotterdam scale and the base deficit. Further studies with large sample size are needed to further evaluate the associations.

Keywords: base deficit, traumatic brain injury, Rotterdam, GCS

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Authors: Gaurav Prabhudesai, Shaurya Kaushal, Pulkit Dubey, B. D. Pant

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The current race of miniaturization of circuits, systems, modules and networks has resulted in portable and mobile wireless systems having tremendous capabilities with small volume and weight. The power drivers or the power pack, electrically driving these modules have also reduced in proportion. Normally, the power packs in these mobile or fixed systems are batteries, rechargeable or non-rechargeable, which need regular replacement or recharging. Another approach to power these modules is to utilize the ambient energy available for electrical driving to make the system self-sustained. The current paper presents an overview of the different MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) based techniques used for the harvesting of vibration energy to electrically drive a WSN (wireless sensor network) or a mobile module. This kind of system would have enormous applications, the most significant one, may be in cell phones.

Keywords: energy harvesting, WSN, MEMS, piezoelectrics

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Authors: Thauane Silva, Gabrielle do Vale, Andre Ferreira, Marilda Siqueira, Thiago Moreno L. Souza, Milene D. Miranda

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The exposure of A(H1N1)pdm09-infected epithelial cells (HeLa) to HIV-1 viral particles, or its gp120, enhanced interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM3) content, a viral restriction factor (RF), resulting in a decrease in influenza replication. The gp120 binds to CCR5 (R5) or CXCR4 (X4) cell receptors during HIV-1 infection. Then, it is possible that the endogenous ligands of these receptors also modulate the expression of IFITM3 and other cellular factors that restrict influenza virus replication. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the role of cellular receptors R5 and X4 in modulating RFs in order to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus. A549 cells were treated with 2x effective dose (ED50) of endogenous R5 or X4 receptor agonists, CCL3 (20 ng/ml), CCL4 (10 ng/ml), CCL5 (10 ng/ml) and CXCL12 (100 ng/mL) or exogenous agonists, gp120 Bal-R5, gp120 IIIB-X4 and its mutants (5 µg/mL). The interferon α (10 ng/mL) and oseltamivir (60 nM) were used as a control. After 24 h post agonists exposure, the cells were infected with virus influenza A(H3N2) at 2 MOI (multiplicity of infection) for 1 h. Then, 24 h post infection, the supernatant was harvested and, the viral titre was evaluated by qRT-PCR. To evaluate IFITM3 and SAM and HD domain containing deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase 1 (SAMHD1) protein levels, A549 were exposed to agonists for 24 h, and the monolayer was lysed with Laemmli buffer for western blot (WB) assay or fixed for indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) assay. In addition to this, we analyzed other RFs modulation in A549, after 24 h post agonists exposure by customized RT² Profiler Polymerase Chain Reaction Array. We also performed a functional assay in which SAMHD1-knocked-down, by single-stranded RNA (siRNA), A549 cells were infected with A(H3N2). In addition, the cells were treated with guanosine to assess the regulatory role of dNTPs by SAMHD1. We found that R5 and X4 agonists inhibited influenza replication in 54 ± 9%. We observed a four-fold increase in SAMHD1 transcripts by RFs mRNA quantification panel. After 24 h post agonists exposure, we did not observe an increase in IFITM3 protein levels through WB or IFI assays, but we observed an upregulation up to three-fold in the protein content of SAMHD1, in A549 exposed to agonists. Besides this, influenza replication enhanced in 20% in cell cultures that SAMDH1 was knockdown. Guanosine treatment in cells exposed to R5 ligands further inhibited influenza virus replication, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism may involve the activation of the SAMHD1 deoxynucleotide triphosphohydrolase activity. Thus, our data show for the first time a direct relationship of SAMHD1 and inhibition of influenza replication, and provides perspectives for new studies on the signaling modulation, through cellular receptors, to induce proteins of great importance in the control of relevant infections for public health.

Keywords: chemokine receptors, gp120, influenza, virus restriction factors

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Authors: Lotfi Hedi Khezami, Mohamed Ben Rabha, N. Sboui, Mounir Gaidi, B. Bessais

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Metal-nano particle-assisted Chemical Etching is an extraordinary developed wet etching method of producing uniform semiconductor nano structure (nano wires) from patterned metallic film on crystalline silicon surface. The metal films facilitate the etching in HF and H2O2 solution and produce silicon nanowires (SiNWs). Creation of different SiNWs morphologies by changing the etching time and its effects on optical and opto electronic properties was investigated. Combination effect of formed SiNWs and stain etching treatment in acid (HF/HNO3/H2O) solution on the surface morphology of Si wafers as well as on the optical and opto electronic properties are presented in this paper.

Keywords: stain etching, porous silicon, silicon nanowires, reflectivity, lifetime, solar cells

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Authors: Patrice L. Weiss, Barbara Mazer, Tal Krasovsky, Naomi Gefen

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Knowledge translation (KT) involves the process of applying the most promising research findings to practical settings, ensuring that new technological discoveries enhance healthcare accessibility, effectiveness, and accountability. This perspective paper aims to discuss and provide examples of how the KT process can be implemented during a time of rapid advancement in rehabilitation technologies, which have the potential to greatly influence pediatric healthcare. The analysis is grounded in a comprehensive systematic review of literature, where key studies from the past 34 years were carefully interpreted by four expert researchers in scientific and clinical fields. This review revealed both theoretical and practical insights into the factors that either facilitate or impede the successful implementation of new rehabilitation technologies. By utilizing the Knowledge-to-Action cycle, which encompasses the knowledge creation funnel and the action cycle, we demonstrated its application in integrating advanced technologies into clinical practice and guiding healthcare policy adjustments. We highlighted three successful technology applications: powered mobility, head support systems, and telerehabilitation. Moreover, we investigated emerging technologies, such as brain-computer interfaces and robotic assistive devices, which face challenges related to cost, durability, and usability. Recommendations include prioritizing early and ongoing design collaborations, transitioning from research to practical implementation, and determining the optimal timing for clinical adoption of new technologies. In conclusion, this paper informs, justifies, and strengthens the knowledge translation process, ensuring it remains relevant, rigorous, and significantly contributes to pediatric rehabilitation and other clinical fields.

Keywords: knowledge translation, rehabilitation technology, pediatrics, barriers, facilitators, stakeholders

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Authors: Emily Moore, Dora Amos, Tracy Ellimah, Natasha Parrott

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Postoperative haematoma is a well-recognised complication of thyroid surgery with an incidence of 1-5%. Haematoma formation causes progressive airway obstruction, necessitating emergency bedside haematoma evacuation in up to ¼ of patients. ENT UK, BAETS and DAS have developed consensus guidelines to improve perioperative care, recommending that all healthcare staff interacting with patients undergoing thyroid surgery should be trained in managing post-thyroidectomy haematoma. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of a hybrid simulation model in improving clinician’s confidence in dealing with this surgical emergency. A hybrid simulation was designed, consisting of a standardised patient wearing a part-task trainer to mimic a post-thyroidectomy haematoma in a real patient. The part-task trainer was an adapted C-spine collar with layers of silicone representing the skin and strap muscles and thickened jelly representing the haematoma. Both the skin and strap muscle layers had to be opened in order to evacuate the haematoma. Boxes have been implemented into the appropriate post operative areas (recovery and surgical wards), which contain a printed algorithm designed to assist in remembering a sequence of steps for haematoma evacuation using the ‘SCOOP’ method (skin exposure, cut sutures, open skin, open muscles, pack wound) along with all the necessary equipment to open the front of the neck. Small-group teaching sessions were delivered by ENT and anaesthetic trainees to members of the multidisciplinary team normally involved in perioperative patient care, which included ENT surgeons, anaesthetists, recovery nurses, HCAs and ODPs. The DESATS acronym of signs and symptoms to recognise (difficulty swallowing, EWS score, swelling, anxiety, tachycardia, stridor) was highlighted. Then participants took part in the hybrid simulation in order to practice this ‘SCOOP’ method of haematoma evacuation. Participants were surveyed using a Likert scale to assess their level of confidence pre- and post teaching session. 30 clinicians took part. Confidence (agreed/strongly agreed) in recognition of post thyroidectomy haematoma improved from 58.6% to 96.5%. Confidence in management improved from 27.5% to 89.7%. All participants successfully decompressed the haematoma. All participants agreed/strongly agreed, that the sessions were useful for their learning. Multidisciplinary team simulation teaching is effective at significantly improving confidence in both the recognition and management of postoperative haematoma. Hybrid simulation sessions are useful and should be incorporated into training for clinicians.

Keywords: thyroid surgery, haematoma, teaching, hybrid simulation

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Authors: Claudia Norambuena, Myissa Weiss, Maria Ruiz Maya, Matthew Straley, Elijah Hammond, Benjamin Chesebrough, David Grow

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The purpose of this project is to develop a low-cost, portable sensor device that can be used at home for long-term analysis of gait and balance abnormalities. One area of particular concern involves the asymmetries in movement and balance that can accompany certain types of injuries and/or the associated devices used in the repair and rehabilitation process (e.g. the use of splints and casts) which can often increase chances of falls and additional injuries. This device has the capacity to monitor a patient during the rehabilitation process after injury or operation, increasing the patient’s access to healthcare while decreasing the number of visits to the patient’s clinician. The sensor device may thereby improve the quality of the patient’s care, particularly in rural areas where access to the clinician could be limited, while simultaneously decreasing the overall cost associated with the patient’s care. The device consists of nine interconnected accelerometer/ gyroscope/compass chips (9-DOF IMU, Adafruit, New York, NY). The sensors attach to and are used to determine the orientation and acceleration of the patient’s lower abdomen, C7 vertebra (lower neck), L1 vertebra (middle back), anterior side of each thigh and tibia, and dorsal side of each foot. In addition, pressure sensors are embedded in shoe inserts with one sensor (ESS301, Tekscan, Boston, MA) beneath the heel and three sensors (Interlink 402, Interlink Electronics, Westlake Village, CA) beneath the metatarsal bones of each foot. These sensors measure the distribution of the weight applied to each foot as well as stride duration. A small microntroller (Arduino Mega, Arduino, Ivrea, Italy) is used to collect data from these sensors in a CSV file. MATLAB is then used to analyze the data and output the hip, knee, ankle, and trunk angles projected on the sagittal plane. An open-source program Processing is then used to generate an animation of the patient’s gait. The accuracy of the sensors was validated through comparison to goniometric measurements (±2° error). The sensor device was also shown to have sufficient sensitivity to observe various gait abnormalities. Several patients used the sensor device, and the data collected from each represented the patient’s movements. Further, the sensors were found to have the ability to observe gait abnormalities caused by the addition of a small amount of weight (4.5 - 9.1 kg) to one side of the patient. The user-friendly interface and portability of the sensor device will help to construct a bridge between patients and their clinicians with fewer necessary inpatient visits.

Keywords: biomedical sensing, gait analysis, outpatient, rehabilitation

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Authors: J. L. Liu, L. Wang, B. Zhu, J. Zhou, W. D. Gao

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Fabric textures are very common in our daily life. However, we never explore the representation of fabric textures from neuroscience view. Theoretical studies suggest that primary visual cortex (V1) uses a sparse code to efficiently represent natural images. However, how the simple cells in V1 encode the artificial textures is still a mystery. So, here we will take fabric texture as stimulus to study the response of independent component analysis that is established to model the receptive field of simple cells in V1. Experimental results based on 140 classical fabric images indicate that the receptive fields of simple cells have obvious selectivity in orientation, frequency, and phase when drifting gratings are used to determine their tuning properties. Additionally, the distribution of optimal orientation and frequency shows that the patch size selected from each original fabric image has a significant effect on the frequency selectivity.

Keywords: fabric texture, receptive filed, simple cell, spare coding

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Authors: Serap Pektas

Abstract:

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a serine-threonine kinase, which is the major regulator of the DNA damage response. ATM is activated upon the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the cells. ATM phosphorylates the proteins involved in apoptotic responses, cell cycle checkpoint control, DNA repair, etc. Tumor protein p53, known as p53 is one of these proteins that phosphorylated by ATM. Phosphorylation of p53 at Ser15 residue leads to p53 stabilization in the cells. Often enzymes activity is affected by hydrogen ion concentration (pH). In order to find the optimal pH range for ATM activity, steady-state kinetic assays were performed at acidic and basic pH ranges. Ser15 phosphorylation of p53 is determined by using ELISA. The results indicated that the phosphorylation rate was better at basic pH range compared with the acidic pH range. This could be due to enzyme stability, or enzyme-substrate interaction is pH dependent.

Keywords: ataxia telangiectasia mutated, DNA double strand breaks, DNA repair, tumor protein p53

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