Search results for: highly active antiretroviral treatment

Authors: A. Mech

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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has proven to be a valuable treatment option for patients who have failed to respond to multiple courses of antidepressant medication. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association recommends TMS after one failed treatment course of antidepressant medication. Genetic testing has proven valuable for pharmacokinetic variables, which, if understood, could lead to more efficient dosing of psychotropic medications to improve outcomes. Pharmacodynamic testing can identify biomarkers, which, if addressed, can improve patients' outcomes in antidepressant therapy. Monotherapy treatment of major depressive disorder with methylated B vitamin treatment has been shown to be safe and effective in patients with MTHFR polymorphisms without waiting for multiple trials of failed medication treatment for depression. Such treatment has demonstrated remission rates similar to antidepressant clinical trials. Combining pharmacodynamics testing with repetitive TMS treatment with NeuroStar has shown promising potential for enhancing remission rates and durability of treatment. In this study, a retrospective chart review (ongoing) of patients who obtained repetitive TMS treatment enhanced by dietary supplementation guided by Pharmacodynamic testing, displayed a greater remission rate (90%) than patients treated with only NeuroStar TMS (62%).

Keywords: improved remission rate, major depressive disorder, pharmacodynamic testing, rTMS outcomes

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Authors: Shafiullah Soomro

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Active contour is one of the image segmentation techniques and its goal is to capture required object boundaries within an image. In this paper, we propose a novel image segmentation method by using an active contour method based on anisotropic diffusion feature enhancement technique. The traditional active contour methods use only pixel information to perform segmentation, which produces inaccurate results when an image has some noise or complex background. We use Perona and Malik diffusion scheme for feature enhancement, which sharpens the object boundaries and blurs the background variations. Our main contribution is the formulation of a new SPF (signed pressure force) function, which uses global intensity information across the regions. By minimizing an energy function using partial differential framework the proposed method captures semantically meaningful boundaries instead of catching uninterested regions. Finally, we use a Gaussian kernel which eliminates the problem of reinitialization in level set function. We use several synthetic and real images from different modalities to validate the performance of the proposed method. In the experimental section, we have found the proposed method performance is better qualitatively and quantitatively and yield results with higher accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: active contours, anisotropic diffusion, level-set, partial differential equations

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Authors: Domingos Vita, Patrick Brady

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Background: There is a tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in Angola that has been getting worse for more than a decade despite the active implementation of the DOTS strategy. The aim of this study was to directly interrogate healthcare workers involved in TB control on what they consider to be the drivers of the TB epidemic in Angola. Methods: Twenty four in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with medical staff working in this field in the provinces of Luanda and Benguela. Results: The healthcare professionals see the migrant working poor as a particular problem for the control of TB. These migrants are constructed as ‘Rural People’ and are seen as non-compliant and late-presenting. This is a stigmatized and marginal group contending with the additional stigma associated with TB infection. The healthcare professionals interviewed also see the interruption of treatment and self medication generally as a better explanation for the TB epidemic than urbanization or lack of medication. Conclusions: The local narrative is in contrast to previous explanations used elsewhere in the developing world. To be effective policy must recognize the local issues of the migrant workforce, interruption of treatment and the stigma associated with TB in Angola.

Keywords: Africa, Angola, migrants, qualitative, research, tuberculosis

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Authors: Sara Grazhdani, Alma Cili, Arben Ivanaj

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Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura is an autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of platelets by immune mediators, their deficient production in the red bone marrow and increased splenic sequestration, leading to the appearance of thrombocytopenia and increased risk of hemorrhage. Treatment is indicated in patients with low platelet counts (<30 x 10 9 /L) who present clinically with hemorrhagic events or are at increased risk for hemorrhage. The goal of the treatment remains (I) prevention of hemorrhagic events and deaths resulting from them, (II) reaching an adequate level of the number of platelets, (III) treatment of patients with as few toxic effects as possible. Corticosteroid therapy remains the first choice in the treatment of patients with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura. Rituximab (Mabthera) remains the first choice in the second line in the treatment of patients with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, refractory to the use of cortisones.

Keywords: ITP, rituximab, prednisolone, relapse

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Authors: Jamileh Vasheghani Farahani

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The main purpose of this research is to show the current active faults and active tectonic of the area by three seismic networks in Tehran region: 1-Tehran Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization (TDMMO), 2-Broadband Iranian National Seismic Network Center (BIN), 3-Iranian Seismological Center (IRSC). In this study, we analyzed microearthquakes happened in Tehran city and its surroundings using the Tehran networks from 1996 to 2015. We found some active faults and trends in the region. There is a 200-year history of historical earthquakes in Tehran. Historical and instrumental seismicity show that the east of Tehran is more active than the west. The Mosha fault in the North of Tehran is one of the active faults of the central Alborz. Moreover, other major faults in the region are Kahrizak, Eyvanakey, Parchin and North Tehran faults. An important seismicity region is an intersection of the Mosha and North Tehran fault systems (Kalan village in Lavasan). This region shows a cluster of microearthquakes. According to the historical and microseismic events analyzed in this research, there is a seismic gap in SE of Tehran. The empirical relationship is used to assess the Mmax based on the rupture length. There is a probability of occurrence of a strong motion of 7.0 to 7.5 magnitudes in the region (based on the assessed capability of the major faults such as Parchin and Eyvanekey faults and historical earthquakes).

Keywords: Iran, major faults, microseismicity, Tehran

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Authors: Hwasuk Jung, Seoi Lee, Dongchoon Ryou, Pyungjong Yoo, Seokmo Lee

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The Nakdong River being used as drinking water sources for Pusan metropolitan city has the vulnerability of water management due to the fact that industrial areas are located in the upper Nakdong River. Most citizens of Busan think that the water quality of Nakdong River is not good, so they boil or use home filter to drink tap water, which causes unnecessary individual costs to Busan citizens. We need to diversify water intake to reduce the cost and to change the weak water source. Under this background, this study was carried out for the environmental accounting of Namgang dam water treatment system compared to Nakdong River water treatment system by using emergy analysis method to help making reasonable decision. Emergy analysis method evaluates quantitatively both natural environment and human economic activities as an equal unit of measure. The emergy transformity of Namgang dam’s water was 1.16 times larger than that of Nakdong River’s water. Namgang Dam’s water shows larger emergy transformity than that of Nakdong River’s water due to its good water quality. The emergy used in making 1 m3 tap water from Namgang dam water treatment system was 1.26 times larger than that of Nakdong River water treatment system. Namgang dam water treatment system shows larger emergy input than that of Nakdong river water treatment system due to its construction cost of new pipeline for intaking Namgang daw water. If the Won used in making 1 m3 tap water from Nakdong river water treatment system is 1, Namgang dam water treatment system used 1.66. If the Em-won used in making 1 m3 tap water from Nakdong river water treatment system is 1, Namgang dam water treatment system used 1.26. The cost-benefit ratio of Em-won was smaller than that of Won. When we use emergy analysis, which considers the benefit of a natural environment such as good water quality of Namgang dam, Namgang dam water treatment system could be a good alternative for diversifying intake source.

Keywords: emergy, emergy transformity, Em-won, water treatment system

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Authors: Zizouni Khaled, Fali Leyla, Sadek Younes, Bousserhane Ismail Khalil

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In structural vibration caused principally by an earthquake excitation, the most vibration’s attenuation system used recently is the semi active control with a Magneto Rheological Damper device. This control was a subject of many researches and works in the last years. The big challenges of searchers in this case is to propose an adequate controller with a robust algorithm of current or tension adjustment. In this present paper, a linear controller is proposed to control the MR damper using to reduce a vibrations of three story structure exposed to El Centro’s 1940 and Boumerdès 2003 earthquakes. In this example, the MR damper is installed in the first floor of the structure. The numerical simulations results of the proposed linear control with a feedback law based on clipped optimal algorithm showed the feasibility of the semi active control to protecting civil structures. The comparison of the controlled structure and uncontrolled structures responses illustrate clearly the performance and the effectiveness of the simple proposed approach.

Keywords: MR damper, seismic vibration, semi-active control

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Authors: A. Y. Tsidulko, T. M. Pankova, E. V. Grigorieva

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High-grade gliomas are the most frequent and most aggressive brain tumors which are characterized by active invasion of tumor cells into the surrounding brain tissue, where the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a crucial role. Disruption of ECM can be involved in anticancer drugs effectiveness, side-effects and also in tumor relapses. The anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone is a common drug used during high-grade glioma treatment for alleviating cerebral edema. Although dexamethasone is widely used in the clinic, its effects on normal brain tissue ECM remain poorly investigated. It is known that proteoglycans (PGs) are a major component of the extracellular matrix in the central nervous system. In our work, we studied the effects of dexamethasone on the ECM proteoglycans (syndecan-1, glypican-1, perlecan, versican, brevican, NG2, decorin, biglican, lumican) using RT-PCR in the experimental animal model. It was shown that proteoglycans in rat brain have age-specific expression patterns. In early post-natal rat brain (8 days old rat pups) overall PGs expression was quite high and mainly expressed PGs were biglycan, decorin, and syndecan-1. The overall transcriptional activity of PGs in adult rat brain is 1.5-fold decreased compared to post-natal brain. The expression pattern was changed as well with biglycan, decorin, syndecan-1, glypican-1 and brevican becoming almost equally expressed. PGs expression patterns create a specific tissue microenvironment that differs in developing and adult brain. Dexamethasone regimen close to the one used in the clinic during high-grade glioma treatment significantly affects proteoglycans expression. It was shown that overall PGs transcription activity is 1.5-2-folds increased after dexamethasone treatment. The most up-regulated PGs were biglycan, decorin, and lumican. The PGs expression pattern in adult brain changed after treatment becoming quite close to the expression pattern in developing brain. It is known that microenvironment in developing tissues promotes cells proliferation while in adult tissues proliferation is usually suppressed. The changes occurring in the adult brain after dexamethasone treatment may lead to re-activation of cell proliferation due to signals from changed microenvironment. Taken together obtained data show that dexamethasone treatment significantly affects the normal brain ECM, creating the appropriate microenvironment for tumor cells proliferation and thus can reduce the effectiveness of anticancer treatment and promote tumor relapses. This work has been supported by a Russian Science Foundation (RSF Grant 16-15-10243)

Keywords: dexamthasone, extracellular matrix, glioma, proteoglycan

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Authors: Rafik Balti, Mohamed Ben Mansour, Abdellah Arhaliass, Anthony Masse

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Unfortunately, shrimps are highly perishable and they start deteriorating immediately after death owing to their high water content and nutritional components. Currently, there has been an increasing interest in bioactive edible films and coatings to preserve the freshness and quality of foods. In this study, active edible coatings from microalgal exopolysaccharides (EPS) enriched with different concentrations of Red Seaweed Extract (RSE) (0.5, 1 and 1.5 % (w/v)) were developed and their effects on the quality changes of white shrimp during refrigerated storage (4 ± 1 °C) were examined over a period of 8 days. The control and the coated shrimp samples were analyzed periodically for microbiological (total viable bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, and enterobacteriaceae counts), chemical (pH, TVB-N, TMA-N, PV, TBARS), textural and sensory characteristics. The results indicated that the coating with a mixture of EPS and RSE could significantly decrease the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine (TMA) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (p < 0.05). With storage, EPS coatings containing RSE at both levels (1 and 1.5 %) were more effective in inhibiting the microbial species studied, specially psychrotrophic bacteria. Also, EPS + RSE coated samples had lower polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and lipid oxidation (p < 0.05) toward the end of storage. Textural and color properties of coated shrimp were generally more acceptable. Sensory scores indicated no significant changes in all samples during storage. The obtained results indicate that the edible EPS coating solutions enriched with RSE have noticeable effects on the quality and shelf life of shrimps when compared to control group. Finally, the present work demonstrates the effectiveness of EPS enriched coatings, offering a promising alternative to preserve more better the quality characteristics and to extend the shelf life of shrimp during the refrigerated storage

Keywords: active coating, exopolysaccharides, red seaweed, refrigerated storage, white shrimp

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Authors: Satam Alotibi, Muhammad J. Al-Zahrani, Fahd K. Al-Naqidan, Turki S. Hussein, Moteb Alotaibi, Mohammed Alyami, Mahdy M. Elmahdy, Abdellah Kaiba, Fatehia S. Alhakami, Talal F. Qahtan

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Water pollution is a critical global challenge that demands scalable and effective solutions for water decontamination. In this captivating research, we unveil a groundbreaking strategy for harnessing solar energy to synthesize silver (Ag) clusters on stable titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles dispersed in water, without the need for traditional stabilization agents. These Ag-loaded TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit exceptional photocatalytic activity, surpassing that of pristine TiO₂ nanoparticles, offering a promising solution for highly efficient water decontamination under sunlight irradiation. To the best knowledge, we have developed a unique method to stabilize TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles in water without the use of stabilization agents. This breakthrough allows us to create an ideal platform for the solar-driven synthesis of Ag clusters. Under sunlight irradiation, the stable dispersion of TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles acts as a highly efficient photocatalyst, generating electron-hole pairs. The photogenerated electrons effectively reduce silver ions derived from a silver precursor, resulting in the formation of Ag clusters. The Ag clusters loaded on TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles exhibit remarkable photocatalytic activity for water decontamination under sunlight irradiation. Acting as active sites, these Ag clusters facilitate the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon exposure to sunlight. These ROS play a pivotal role in rapidly degrading organic pollutants, enabling efficient water decontamination. To confirm the success of our approach, we characterized the synthesized Ag-loaded TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles using cutting-edge analytical techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and spectroscopic methods. These characterizations unequivocally confirm the successful synthesis of Ag clusters on stable TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles without traditional stabilization agents. Comparative studies were conducted to evaluate the superior photocatalytic performance of Ag-loaded TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles compared to pristine TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles. The Ag clusters loaded on TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles exhibit significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity, benefiting from the synergistic effect between the Ag clusters and TiO₂ nanoparticles, which promotes ROS generation for efficient water decontamination. Our scalable strategy for synthesizing Ag clusters on stable TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles without stabilization agents presents a game-changing solution for highly efficient water decontamination under sunlight irradiation. The use of commercially available TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles streamlines the synthesis process and enables practical scalability. The outstanding photocatalytic performance of Ag-loaded TiO₂ P25 nanoparticles opens up new avenues for their application in large-scale water treatment and remediation processes, addressing the urgent need for sustainable water decontamination solutions.

Keywords: water pollution, solar energy, silver clusters, TiO₂ nanoparticles, photocatalytic activity

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Authors: S. Kudlacik-Kramarczyk, M. Kedzierska, B. Tyliszczak

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Recently, the continuous development of medicine and related sciences has been observed. Particular emphasis is directed on the development of biomaterials, i.e., non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable materials that may improve the effectiveness of treatment as well as the comfort of patients. This is particularly important in the case of cancer treatment. Currently, there are many methods of cancer treatment based primarily on chemotherapy and the surgical removal of the tumor, but it is worth noting that these therapies also cause many side effects. Among women, the most common cancer is breast cancer. It may be completely cured, but the consequence of treatment is partial or complete breast mastectomy and radiation therapy, which results in severe skin burns. The skin of the patient after radiation therapy is very burned, and therefore requires intensive care and high frequency of dressing changes. The traditional dressing adheres to the burn wounds and does not absorb adequate amount of exudate from injuries and the patient is forced to change the dressing every 2 hours. Therefore, the main purpose was to develop an innovative combination of dressing material with drug carriers that may be used in anti-cancer therapy. The innovation of this solution is the combination of these two products into one system, i.e., a transdermal system with the possibility of a controlled release of the drug- cytostatic. Besides, the possibility of modifying the hydrogel matrix with aloe vera juice provides this material with new features favorable from the point of view of healing processes of burn wounds resulting from the radiation therapy. In this study, hydrogel materials containing protein spheres with the active substance have been obtained as a result of photopolymerization process. The reaction mixture consisting of the protein (albumin) spheres incorporated with cytostatic, chitosan, adequate crosslinking agent and photoinitiator has been subjected to the UV radiation for 2 minutes. Prepared materials have been subjected to the numerous studies including the analysis of cytotoxicity using murine fibroblasts L929. Analysis was conducted based on the mitochondrial activity test (MTT reduction assay) which involves the determining the number of cells characterized by proper metabolism. Hydrogel materials obtained using different amount of crosslinking agents have been subjected to the cytotoxicity analysis. According to the standards, tested material is defined as cytotoxic when the viability of cells after 24 h incubation with this material is lower than 70%. In the research, hydrogel polymer materials containing protein spheres incorporated with the active substance, i.e. a cytostatic, have been developed. Such a dressing may support the treatment of cancer due to the content of the anti-cancer drug - cytostatic, and may also provide a soothing effect on the healing of the burn wounds resulted from the radiation therapy due to the content of aloe vera juice in the hydrogel matrix. Based on the conducted cytotoxicity studies, it may be concluded that the obtained materials do not adversely affect the tested cell lines, therefore they can be subjected to more advanced analyzes.

Keywords: hydrogel polymers, cytostatics, drug carriers, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Mohammad Moridzadeh, Gholamreza Mesri

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The effectiveness of lime treatment of soils has been commonly evaluated in terms of improved workability and increased undrained unconfined compressive strength in connection to road and airfield construction. The most common method of strength measurement has been the unconfined compression test. However, if the objective of lime treatment is to improve long-term stability of first-time or reactivated landslides in stiff clays and shales, permanent changes in the size and shape of clay particles must be realized to increase drained frictional resistance. Lime-soil interactions that may produce less platy and larger soil particles begin and continue with time under the highly alkaline pH environment. In this research, pH measurements are used to monitor chemical environment and progress of reactions. Atterberg limits are measured to identify changes in particle size and shape indirectly. Also, fully softened and residual strength measurements are used to examine an improvement in frictional resistance due to lime-soil interactions. The main variables are soil plasticity and mineralogy, lime content, water content, and curing period. Lime effect on frictional resistance is examined using samples of clays with different mineralogy and characteristics which may react with lime to various extents. Drained direct shear tests on reconstituted lime-treated clay specimens with various properties have been performed to measure fully softened shear strength. To measure residual shear strength, drained multiple reversal direct shear tests on precut specimens were conducted. This way, soil particles are oriented along the direction of shearing to the maximum possible extent and provide minimum frictional resistance. This is applicable to reactivated and part of first-time landslides. The Brenna clay, which is the highly plastic lacustrine clay of Lake Agassiz causing slope instability along the banks of the Red River, is one of the soil samples used in this study. The Brenna Formation characterized as a uniform, soft to firm, dark grey, glaciolacustrine clay with little or no visible stratification, is full of slickensided surfaces. The major source of sediment for the Brenna Formation was the highly plastic montmorillonitic Pierre Shale bedrock. The other soil used in this study is one of the main sources of slope instability in Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), i.e. the Beaumont clay. The shear strengths of untreated and treated clays were obtained under various normal pressures to evaluate the shear envelope nonlinearity.

Keywords: Brenna clay, friction resistance, lime treatment, residual

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Authors: Temesgen Geremew

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The excessive emission of heavy metal ions from industrial processes poses a serious threat to both the environment and human health. This study presents a distinct approach utilizing (PTh-MnS/CoS NPs) for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg²⁺ ions in water. Such detection is crucial for safeguarding human health, protecting the environment, and accurately assessing toxicity. The fabrication method employs a simple and efficient chemical precipitation technique, harmoniously combining polythiophene, MnS, and CoS NPs to create highly active substrates for SERS. The MnS@Hg²⁺ exhibits a distinct Raman shift at 1666 cm⁻¹, enabling specific identification and demonstrating the highest responsiveness among the studied semiconductor substrates with a detection limit of only 1 nM. This investigation demonstrates reliable and practical SERS detection for Hg²⁺ ions. Relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 0.49% to 9.8%, and recovery rates varied from 96% to 102%, indicating selective adsorption of Hg²⁺ ions on the synthesized substrate. Furthermore, this research led to the development of a remarkable set of substrates, including (MnS, CoS, MnS/CoS, and PTh-MnS/CoS) nanoparticles were created right there on SiO₂/Si substrate, all exhibiting sensitive, robust, and selective SERS for Hg²⁺ ion detection. These platforms effectively monitor Hg²⁺ concentrations in real environmental samples.

Keywords: surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS), sensor, mercury ions, nanoparticles, and polythiophene.

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Authors: Amir Mahdavi

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In this paper a highly linear CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications is proposed. The proposed LNA uses a linearization technique to improve second and third-order intercept points (IIP3). The linearity is cured by repealing the common-mode section of all intermodulation components from the cascade topology current with optimization of biasing current use symmetrical and asymmetrical circuits for biasing. Simulation results show that maximum gain and noise figure are 6.9dB and 3.03-4.1dB over a 3.1–10.6 GHz, respectively. Power consumption of the LNA core and IIP3 are 2.64 mW and +4.9dBm respectively. The wideband input impedance matching of LNA is obtained by employing a degenerating inductor (|S11|<-9.1 dB). The circuit proposed UWB LNA is implemented using 0.18 μm based CMOS technology.

Keywords: highly linear LNA, low-power LNA, optimal bias techniques

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Authors: Nyimas Annissa Mutiara Andini

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There are 325,000 children younger than age 15 in the U.S. have epilepsy. In Indonesia, 40% of 3,5 millions cases of epilepsy happens in children. The most common type of epilepsy, which affects 6 out of 10 people with the disorder, is called idiopathic epilepsy and which has no identifiable cause. One of the most commonly used medications in the treatment of this childhood epilepsy is sodium valproate. Administration of sodium valproat in children has a problem to fail. Nearly 60% of pediatric patients known were mildly, moderately, or severely non-adherent with therapy during the first six months of treatment. Many parents or caregiver took far less medication than prescribed, and the treatment-adherence pattern for the majority of patients was established during the first month of treatment. 42% of the patients were almost always given their medications as prescribed but 13% had very poor adherence even in the early weeks and months of treatment. About 7% of patients initially gave the medication correctly 90% of the time, but adherence dropped to around 20% within six months of starting treatment. Over the six months of observation, the total missing of administration is about four out of 14 doses in any given week. This fail can cause the epilepsy to relapse. Whereas, current reported epilepsy disorder were significantly more likely than those never diagnosed to experience depression (8% vs 2%), anxiety (17% vs 3%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (23% vs 6%), developmental delay (51% vs 3%), autism/autism spectrum disorder (16% vs 1%), and headaches (14% vs 5%) (all P< 0.05). They had a greater risk of limitation in the ability to do things (relative risk: 9.22; 95% CI: 7.56–11.24), repeating a school grade (relative risk: 2.59; CI: 1.52–4.40), and potentially having unmet medical and mental health needs. In the other side, technology can help to make our life easier. One of the technology, that we can use is a mobile application. A mobile app is a software program we can download and access directly using our phone. Indonesians are highly mobile centric. They use, on average, 6.7 applications over a 30 day period. This paper is aimed to describe an application that could help to control a sodium valproat administration in children; we call it as D-Epi app. D-Epi app is a downloadable application that can help parents or caregiver alert by a timer-related application to warn whether it is the time to administer the sodium valproat. It works not only as a standard alarm, but also inform important information about the drug and emergency stuffs to do to children with epilepsy. This application could help parents and caregiver to take care a child with epilepsy in Indonesia.

Keywords: application, children, D-Epi, epilepsy

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Authors: Anne R. Fernandez, Mohammad Akmal Adnan, Tanes Prasat, Indu Bala Jaganath, Brian Kirby, Kamalan Jeevaratnam

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Introduction: Plants from the Phyllantus genus have been used indigenously for the treatment of a variety of ailments for generations. A cocktail of phytonutrients prepared from a plant of the genus Phyllanthus has demonstrated the potential to alleviate ailments which include cardiovascular disorders. In this study, we investigated the cholesterol modulating properties of a highly purified proprietary extract of a Phyllanthus species in hypercholesteraemic mice. Methods: Hypercholesteraemia was induced in ICR mice by ad-libitum feeding of high fat diet daily for six weeks. The mice were then divided into 3 groups and force fed with 10mg/kg of atorvastatin, 200mg/kg of the proprietary Phyllanthus extract and water respectively. Blood samples were taken at the end of fourth week of treatment by a tail prick. At the end of the eighth week of treatment, mice were sacrificed and serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides were measured. Results: The mean cholesterol levels in the mice fed with high fat diet were 44% (p < 0.05) higher than the mice on normal diet thus validating the model developed. The plasma HDL was significantly elevated in mice treated with the formulation (p ˂ 0.05) in comparison to the statin-treated and control mice. The total cholesterol levels in the mice treated with the proprietary extract were reduced significantly (p < 0.05) at the end of 4 weeks of treatment in comparison to the mice treated with atorvastatin. By the end of 8 weeks of treatment, there was no significant difference in the cholesterol levels of the mice in all groups. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that this proprietary extract from Phyllanthus species has the beneficial effect of reducing total cholesterol level more rapidly than atorvastatin and increasing HDL levels. Since an increase in the HDL cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart disease, this proprietary extract is a useful and safe therapeutic option compared to atorvastatin.

Keywords: high-density lipoprotein, hypercholesteraemic mice model, ICR mice, Phyllanthus spp.

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Authors: Yeong-Gyeong Choi, Kyoung-Seok Kim

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This study, literature review research, intends to deal with the problem of conceptual ambiguity among research on emotional labor, and to look into the evolutionary trends and changing aspects of defining the concept of emotional labor. In addition, in existing studies, deep acting and surface acting are highly related to a positive outcome variable and a negative outcome variable, respectively. It was confirmed that for employees performing emotional labor, deep acting and surface acting are highly related to OCB and CWB, respectively. While positive emotion that employees come to experience during job performance process can easily trigger a positive non-task behavior such as OCB, negative emotion that employees experience through excessive workload or unfair treatment can easily induce a negative behavior like CWB. The two management behaviors of emotional labor, surface acting and deep acting, can have either a positive or negative effect on non-task behavior of employees, depending on which one they would choose. Thus, the purpose of this review paper is to clarify the relationship between emotional labor and non-task behavior more specifically.

Keywords: emotion labor, non-task behavior, OCB, CWB

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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

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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

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Authors: Benjamin Bobbia, Matthias Picard

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In recent years active learning methodologies based on the representativity of the data seems more promising to limit overfitting. The presented query methodology for regression using the Wasserstein distance measuring the representativity of our labelled dataset compared to the global distribution. In this work a crucial use of GroupSort Neural Networks is made therewith to draw a double advantage. The Wasserstein distance can be exactly expressed in terms of such neural networks. Moreover, one can provide explicit bounds for their size and depth together with rates of convergence. However, heterogeneity of the dataset is also considered by weighting the Wasserstein distance with the error of approximation at the previous step of active learning. Such an approach leads to a reduction of overfitting and high prediction performance after few steps of query. After having detailed the methodology and algorithm, an empirical study is presented in order to investigate the range of our hyperparameters. The performances of this method are compared, in terms of numbers of query needed, with other classical and recent query methods on several UCI datasets.

Keywords: active learning, Lipschitz regularization, neural networks, optimal transport, regression

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Authors: Asmaa M. El-Bandrawy, Afaf M. Botla, Ghada E. El-Refaye, Hassan O. Ghareeb

Abstract:

Background: Urinary incontinence is a common problem among adults. Its incidence increases with age and it is more frequent in women. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the first-line therapy in the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) either alone or combined with biofeedback-assisted PFMT. The aim of the work: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted PFMT in postoperative stress urinary incontinence. Settings and Design: A single blind controlled trial design was. Methods and Material: This study was carried out in 30 volunteer patients diagnosed as severe degree of stress urinary incontinence and they were admitted to surgical treatment. They were divided randomly into two equal groups: (Group A) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with post-operative biofeedback-assisted PFMT and home exercise program (Group B) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with home exercise program only. Assessment of all patients in both groups (A) and (B) was carried out before and after the treatment program by measuring intra-vaginal pressure in addition to the visual analog scale. Results: At the end of the treatment program, there was a highly statistically significant difference between group (A) and group (B) in the intra-vaginal pressure and the visual analog scale favoring the group (A). Conclusion: biofeedback-assisted PFMT is an effective method for the symptomatic relief of post-operative female stress urinary incontinence.

Keywords: stress urinary incontinence, pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor exercises, biofeedback

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Authors: Desta Gebretekle Shiferaw, Balakrishna Kalluraya

Abstract:

Oxadiazoles and their derivatives with thioether functionalities represent a new and exciting class of physiologically active heterocyclic compounds. Several molecules with these moieties play a vital role in pharmaceuticals because of their diverse biological activities. This paper describes a new class of 1,3,4- oxadiazole-2-thioethers with acetophenone, coumarin, and N-phenyl acetamide residues (S-alkylation), with the hope that the addition of various biologically active molecules will have a synergistic effect on anticancer activity. The structure of the synthesized title compounds was determined by the combined methods of IR, proton-NMR, carbon-13-NMR, and mass spectrometry. Further, all the newly prepared molecules were assessed against their antioxidant activity. Furthermore, four compounds were assessed for their molecular docking interactions and cytotoxicity activity. The synthesized derivatives have shown moderate antioxidant activity compared to the standard BHA. The IC50 of the tilted molecules (11b, 11c, 13b, and 14b) observed for in vitro anti-cancer activities were 11.20, 15.73, 59.61, and 27.66 g/ml at 72-hour treatment time against the A549 cell lines, respectively. The tested compounds' biological evaluation showed that 11b is the most effective molecule in the series.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity activity, molecular docking, 1, 3, 4-Oxadiazole-2 thioether derivatives

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Authors: D. Shakirah Shukor, A. Aminudin, Hashim U. A., Waziralilah N. Fathiah, T. Vikneshvaran

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The interior noise control is essential to be explored due to the interior acoustic analysis is significant in the systems such as automobiles, aircraft, air-handling system and diesel engine exhausts system. In this research, experimental work was undertaken for canceling an active noise in the rectangular enclosure. The rectangular enclosure was fabricated with multiple speakers and microphones inside the enclosure. A software program using digital signal processing is implemented to evaluate the proposed method. Experimental work was conducted to obtain the acoustic behavior and characteristics of the rectangular enclosure and noise cancellation based on active noise control in low-frequency range. Noise is generated by using multispeaker inside the enclosure and microphones are used for noise measurements. The technique for noise cancellation relies on the principle of destructive interference between two sound fields in the rectangular enclosure. One field is generated by the original or primary sound source, the other by a secondary sound source set up to interfere with, and cancel, that unwanted primary sound. At the end of this research, the result of output noise before and after cancellation are presented and discussed. On the basis of the findings presented in this research, an active noise cancellation in the rectangular enclosure is worth exploring in order to improve the noise control technologies.

Keywords: active noise control, digital signal processing, noise cancellation, rectangular enclosure

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Authors: Areej A. Alzarqaa, Shahira S. Roushdy, Ali A. Alderfasi, Fahad A. AL-Yahya, Ahmed A. Dawaba

Abstract:

The resistance of mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczeck) and its physiological responses to drought stress was studied in a greenhouse pot experiment. A randomized complete block Design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement having three replications of each treatment was used. Treatments included three water deficit samples (80%, 40% and 20% of field capacity), two mungbean genotypes (Kawmay-1 and VC2010) and two root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) infection levels (infected and non-infected). Results showed that water deficit stress significantly hampered most of the studied parameters, except for the shoot water content, whereas genotypes showed highly significant differences for stomatal conductance, shoot dry weight and leaf area. Shoot water content was found to be non-significant in relation to chlorophyll b, shoot dry weight and leaf area, whereas highly significant but negatively correlated with chlorophyll a and stomatal conductance. However, all other possible correlations among studied parameters were found to be highly and positively significant. Results also showed that VC 2010 surpassed Kawmay-1 in most of studied characteristics. In the present study, genotypic variation was observed for these parameters and can be used as a basis for selection of the most promising variety under drought conditions.

Keywords: drought stress, Meloidogyne javanica, mungbean, stomatal conductivity, leaf area, root-knot nematode, shoot water content

Procedia PDF Downloads 350

Authors: Chan Park, Sang-Won Park, Kwi-Dug Yun, Hyun-Pil Lim

Abstract:

Purpose: Plasma treatment under various conditions has been studied to increase the bonding strength and surface sterilization of dental ceramic materials. We assessed the evolution of the shear bond strength (SBS) and antimicrobial effect of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP) treatment over time. Methods: Presintered zirconia specimens were manufactured as discs (diameter: 15 mm, height: 2 mm) after final sintering. The specimens then received a 30-min treatment with argon gas (Ar², 99.999%; 10 L/min) using an NTAPP device. Five post-treatment intervals were evaluated: control (no treatment), P0 (within 1 h), P1 (24 h), P2 (48 h), and P3 (72 h). This study investigated the surface characteristics, SBS of two different resin cement (RelyXTM U200 self-adhesive resin cement, Panavia F2.0 methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP)-based resin cement), and Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation. Results: The SBS of RelyXTM U200 increased significantly (p < 0.05) within 2 days following plasma treatment (P0, P1, P2). For Panavia F 2.0, a significant decrease (p < 0.05) was detected only in the group that had undergone cementation immediately after plasma treatment (P0). S. mutans adhesion decreased significantly (p < 0.05) within 2 days of plasma treatment (P0, P1, P2) compared to the control group. The P0 group displayed a lower biofilm thickness than the P1 and P2 groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: After NTAPP treatment of zirconia, the effects on bonding strength and antimicrobial growth persist for a limited duration. The effect of NTAPP treatment on bonding strength depends on the resin cement.

Keywords: NTAPP, SBS, antimicrobial effect, zirconia

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Authors: Yann Jean Tan, Hui Meng Er, Choy Sin Lee, Shew Fung Wong, Wen Huei Lim

Abstract:

Griseofulvin is a long standing fungistatic agent against dermatophytosis. Nevertheless, it has several drawbacks such as poor and highly variable bio availability, long duration of treatment, systemic side effects and drug interactions. Targeted treatment for the superficial skin infection, dermatophytosis via topical route could be beneficial. Nevertheless, griseofulvin is only available in the form of oral preparation. Hence, it generates interest in developing a topical formulation for griseofulvin, by using lipid nano particle as the vehicle. Lipid nanoparticle is a submicron colloidal carrier with a core that is solid in nature (lipid). It has combined advantages of various traditional carriers and is a promising vehicle for topical delivery. The griseofulvin loaded lipid nano particles produced using high pressure homogenization method were characterized and investigated for its skin targeting effect in vitro. It has a mean particle size of 179.8±4.9 nm with polydispersity index of 0.306±0.011. Besides, it showed higher skin permeation and better skin targeting effect compared to the griseofulvin suspension.

Keywords: lipid nanoparticles, griseofulvin, topical, dermatophytosis

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Authors: Pattaramon Pongjetpong

Abstract:

In recent years, infectious diseases have increased considerably, and they are amongst the most common leading causes of death all over the world. Several medicinal plants are well known to contain active constituents such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds, which are plausible candidates for therapeutic purposes. This study aimed to examine the antimicrobial activities of M. cochinchinensis and P. kesiya extracts using the agar disk diffusion method and broth microdilution to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value. In this study, Momordica cochinchinensis and Pinus kesiya extracts are investigated for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that S. aureus was susceptible to P. kesiya extracts with an MIC value of 62.5 µg/ml, while M. cochinchinensis showed MIC against S. aureus was greater than 2000 µg/ml. In summary, P. kesiya extract showed potent antibacterial activity against S. aureus, which could greatly value developing as adjuvant therapy for infectious diseases. However, further investigation regarding purification of the active constituents as well as a determination of the mechanism of antimicrobial action of P. kesiya active compound should be performed to identify the molecular target of the active compounds.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, Momordica cochinchinensis, Pinus kesiya, Staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Aparna Datta, Mahabub Alam

Abstract:

Animal welfare is comparatively new area of research in Bangladesh and welfare concern for animal is increasing day by day. The study was conducted to investigate the animal welfare violations during treatment at different level of hospitals in Bangladesh and India. This study was conducted between January and May, 2017. The recorded data (N=180) were categorized into eight major types of violation like - delay in starting treatment, non-specific treatment, surgery without anesthesia, use of unsterilized needle, rough and painful handling, fearful approach, multiple pricking during injection and use of blunt needle. Categorized groups were analyzed according to different hospitals like Upazila Veterinary Hospitals, Bangladesh (UVHs), SAQ-Teaching Veterinary Hospital, Bangladesh (SAQTVH) and Veterinary College and Research Institute, India (VCRI). Among all hospitals, violation during treatment more frequently occurred in UVH. Among all violations, surgery without anesthesia was only found in UVH (80%) and it was belong to considerable number of cases (80%). In the view of other major violations like - non-specific treatment was 69% in UVHs, 13% in SAQTVH and 5% in VCRI. Use of unsterilized instruments during treatment was also higher in UVHs (65%) than SAQTVH (5%) and VCRI (1%). But delay in starting treatment varied insignificantly and it was 26-42% across the different levels of hospitals. Although multiple pricking during injection was found 30% cases in UVH, but statistical variations with other level of hospitals were unnoticed (p>0.05). The findings of this study will help to take necessary steps to control violation against animal welfare during treatment. A comprehensive study considering all levels of hospitals including field treatment is also recommended to find out the welfare violations during treatment.

Keywords: animal welfare, treatment, veterinary hospitals, violations

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Authors: M. Derraz, M.Farhaoui

Abstract:

In the water treatment processes, the determination of the optimal dose of the coagulant is an issue of particular concern. Coagulant dosing is correlated to raw water quality which depends on some parameters (turbidity, ph, temperature, conductivity…). The objective of this study is to provide water treatment operators with a tool that enables to predict and replace, sometimes, the manual method (jar testing) used in this plant to predict the optimum coagulant dose. The model is constructed using actual process data for a water treatment plant located in the middle of Morocco (Meknes).

Keywords: coagulation process, aluminum sulfate, model, coagulant dose

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Authors: C. Busuioc, S. Jinga, E. Pavel

Abstract:

Optical lithography is a key technique in the development of sub-5 nm patterns for the semiconductor industry. We have already reported that the best results obtained with respect to direct laser writing process on active media, such as glass-ceramics, are achieved only when the energy of the laser radiation is absorbed in discrete quantities. Further, we need to clarify the role of active centers concentration in silver nanocrystals natural generation, as well as in fluorescent rare-earth nanostructures formation. As a consequence, samples with different compositions were prepared. SEM, AFM, TEM and STEM investigations were employed in order to demonstrate that few nm width lines can be written on fluorescent photosensitive glass-ceramics, these being efficient absorbers. Moreover, we believe that the experimental data will lead to the best choice in terms of active centers amount, laser power and glass-ceramic matrix.

Keywords: glass-ceramics, 3D laser writing, optical disks, data storage

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Authors: Ismail Aksoy, Haci Bodur, Nihan Altintaş

Abstract:

This paper introduces a boost converter with a new active snubber cell. In this circuit, all of the semiconductor components in the converter softly turns on and turns off with the help of the active snubber cell. Compared to the other converters, the proposed converter has advantages of size, number of components and cost. The main feature of proposed converter is that the extra voltage stresses do not occur on the main switches and main diodes. Also, the current stress on the main switch is acceptable level. Moreover, the proposed converter can operates under light load conditions and wide input line voltage. In this study, the operating principle of the proposed converter is presented and its operation is verified with the Proteus simulation software for a 1 kW and 100 kHz model.

Keywords: active snubber cell, boost converter, zero current switching, zero voltage switching

Procedia PDF Downloads 1008