Search results for: Sarah Majid Ansari

Authors: Sarah Crawford, Gerry Lesley

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This research is a pre-clinical assessment of anti-cancer effects of novel non-steroidal diethyl stilbestrol-like estrogen analogs in estrogen-receptor positive/ progesterone-receptor positive human breast cancer microtumors of MCF 7 cell line. Tamoxifen analog formulation (Tam A1) was used as a single agent or in combination with therapeutic concentrations of 4-hydroxytamoxifen, currently used as a long-term treatment for the prevention of breast cancer recurrence in women with estrogen receptor positive/ progesterone receptor positive malignancies. At concentrations ranging from 30-50 microM, Tam A1 induced microtumor disaggregation and cell death. Incremental cytotoxic effects correlated with increasing concentrations of Tam A1. Live tumor microscopy showed that microtumos displayed diffuse borders and substrate-attached cells were rounded-up and poorly adherent. A complete cytotoxic effect was observed using 40-50 microM Tam A1 with time course kinetics similar to 4-hydroxytamoxifen. Combined treatment with TamA1 (30-50 microM) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (10-15 microM) induced a highly cytotoxic, synergistic combined treatment response that was more rapid and complete than using 4-hydroxytamoxifen as a single agent therapeutic. Microtumors completely dispersed or formed necrotic foci indicating a highly cytotoxic combined treatment response. Moreover, breast cancer microtumors treated with both 4-hydroxytamoxifen and Tam A1 displayed lower levels of long-term post-treatment regrowth, a critical parameter of primary drug resistance, than observed for 4-hydroxytamoxifen when used as a single agent therapeutic. Tumor regrowth at 6 weeks post-treatment with either single agent 4-hydroxy tamoxifen, Tam A1 or a combined treatment was assessed for the development of drug resistance. Breast cancer cells treated with both 4-hydroxytamoxifen and Tam A1 displayed significantly lower levels of post-treatment regrowth, indicative of decreased drug resistance, than observed for either single treatment modality. The preclinical data suggest that combined treatment involving the use of tamoxifen analogs may be a novel clinical approach for long-term maintenance therapy in patients with estrogen-receptor positive/progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer receiving hormonal therapy to prevent disease recurrence. Detailed data on time-course, IC50 and tumor regrowth assays post- treatment as well as a proposed mechanism of action to account for observed synergistic drug effects will be presented.

Keywords: 4-hydroxytamoxifen, tamoxifen analog, drug-resistance, microtumors

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Authors: Majid Hejazian, Nam-Trung Nguyen

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Over the past few years, microfluidic devices have generated significant attention from industry and academia due to advantages such as small sample volume, low cost and high efficiency. Microfluidic devices have applications in chemical, biological and industry analysis and can facilitate assay of bio-materials and chemical reactions, separation, and sensing. Micromixers are one of the important microfluidic concepts. Micromixers can work as stand-alone devices or be integrated in a more complex microfluidic system such as a lab on a chip (LOC). Micromixers are categorized as passive and active types. Passive micromixers rely only on the arrangement of the phases to be mixed and contain no moving parts and require no energy. Active micromixers require external fields such as pressure, temperature, electric and acoustic fields. Rapid and efficient mixing is important for many applications such as biological, chemical and biochemical analysis. Achieving fast and homogenous mixing of multiple samples in the microfluidic devices has been studied and discussed in the literature recently. Improvement in mixing rely on effective mass transport in microscale, but are currently limited to molecular diffusion due to the predominant laminar flow in this size scale. Using magnetic field to elevate mass transport is an effective solution for mixing enhancement in microfluidics. The use of a non-uniform magnetic field to improve mass transfer performance in a microfluidic device is demonstrated in this work. The phenomenon of mixing ferrofluid and DI-water streams has been reported before, but mass transfer enhancement for other non-magnetic species through magnetic field have not been studied and evaluated extensively. In the present work, permanent magnets were used in a simple microfluidic device to create a non-uniform magnetic field. Two streams are introduced into the microchannel: one contains fluorescent dye mixed with diluted ferrofluid to induce enhanced mass transport of the dye, and the other one is a non-magnetic DI-water stream. Mass transport enhancement of fluorescent dye is evaluated using fluorescent measurement techniques. The concentration field is measured for different flow rates. Due to effect of magnetic field, a body force is exerted on the paramagnetic stream and expands the ferrofluid stream into non-magnetic DI-water flow. The experimental results demonstrate that without a magnetic field, both magnetic nanoparticles of the ferrofluid and the fluorescent dye solely rely on molecular diffusion to spread. The non-uniform magnetic field, created by the permanent magnets around the microchannel, and diluted ferrofluid can improve mass transport of non-magnetic solutes in a microfluidic device. The susceptibility mismatch between the fluids results in a magnetoconvective secondary flow towards the magnets and subsequently the mass transport of the non-magnetic fluorescent dye. A significant enhancement in mass transport of the fluorescent dye was observed. The platform presented here could be used as a microfluidics-based micromixer for chemical and biological applications.

Keywords: ferrofluid, mass transfer, micromixer, microfluidics, magnetic

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Authors: Morteza Ahmadifar, Sarah Bahari Derakhshan

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Leakage is one of the most important problems that water distribution networks face which first reason is high-pressure existence. There are many approaches to control this excess pressure, which using pressure reducing valves (PRVs) or reducing pipe diameter are ones. On the other hand, Pumps are using electricity or fossil fuels to supply needed pressure in distribution networks but excess pressure are made in some branches due to topology problems and water networks’ variables, therefore using pressure valves will be inevitable. Although using PRVs is inevitable but it leads to waste electricity or fuels used by pumps because PRVs just waste excess hydraulic pressure to lower it. Pumps working in reverse or Pumps as Turbine (called PAT in this article) are easily available and also effective sources of reducing the equipment cost in small hydropower plants. Urban areas of developing countries are facing increasing in area and maybe water scarcity in near future. These cities need wider water networks which make it hard to predict, control and have a better operation in the urban water cycle. Using more energy and therefore more pollution, slower repairing services, more user dissatisfaction and more leakage are these networks’ serious problems. Therefore, more effective systems are needed to monitor and act in these complicated networks than what is used now. In this article a new approach is proposed and evaluated: Using PAT to produce enough energy for remote valves and sensors in the water network. These sensors can be used to determine the discharge, pressure, water quality and other important network characteristics. With the help of remote valves pipeline discharge can be controlled so Instead of wasting excess hydraulic pressure which may be destructive in some cases, obtaining extra pressure from pipeline and producing clean electricity used by remote instruments is this articles’ goal. Furthermore, due to increasing the area of network there is unwanted high pressure in some critical points which is not destructive but lowering the pressure results to longer lifetime for pipeline networks without users’ dissatisfaction. This strategy proposed in this article, leads to use PAT widely for pressure containment and producing energy needed for remote valves and sensors like what happens in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems which make it easy for us to monitor, receive data from urban water cycle and make any needed changes in discharge and pressure of pipelines easily and remotely. This is a clean project of energy production without significant environmental impacts and can be used in urban drinking water networks, without any problem for consumers which leads to a stable and dynamic network which lowers leakage and pollution.

Keywords: clean energies, pump as turbine, remote control, urban water distribution network

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Authors: Jo Parsons, Cath Grimley, Debra Bick, Sarah Hillman, Louise Clarke, Helen Atherton

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The problem: Vaccinations are routinely offered to pregnant women in the UK for influenza (flu), pertussis (whooping cough), and COVID-19, yet the uptake of these vaccinations in pregnancy remains low. Pregnant women are at increased risk of hospitalisation, morbidity, and mortality from these preventable illnesses, which can also expose their unborn babies to an increased risk of serious complications, including in utero death. This research aims to explore how pregnant women feel about vaccinations offered during pregnancy (flu, whooping cough, and COVID-19), particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to examine factors influencing women’s decisions about vaccinations during pregnancy and how they feel about their health and vulnerabilities to illness arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach: This is a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with pregnant women and midwives in the UK. Interviews with pregnant women explored their views since the COVID-19 pandemic about vaccinations offered during pregnancy and whether the pandemic has influenced perceptions of vulnerability to illness in pregnant women. Interviews with midwives explored vaccination discussions they routinely have with pregnant women and identified some of the barriers to vaccination that pregnant women discuss with them. Pregnant women were recruited via participating hospitals and community groups. Midwives were recruited via participating hospitals and midwife-specific social media groups. All interviews were conducted remotely (using telephone or Microsoft Teams) and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: 43 pregnant women and 16 midwives were recruited and interviewed. The findings presented will focus on data from pregnant women. Pregnant women reported a wide range of views and vaccination behaviour, and identified several factors influencing their decision whether to accept vaccinations or not. These included internal factors (comprised of beliefs about susceptibility to illness, perceptions of immunity, fear, and feelings of responsibility), other influences (including visibility of illness and external influences such as healthcare professional recommendations), vaccination-related factors (comprised of beliefs about effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, availability and accessibility of vaccinations and preferences for alternative forms of protection to vaccination) and COVID-19 specific factors (including COVID-19 vaccinations and COVID-19 specific influences). Implications: Findings identified some of the factors that affect pregnant women’s decisions when deciding to have a vaccination or not and how these decisions have been influenced by COVID-19. Findings highlight areas where healthcare professional advice needs to focus, such as the provision of information about the increased vulnerability to illnesses during pregnancy and consideration of opportunistic vaccination at hospital appointments to maximise uptake of vaccinations during pregnancy. Findings of this study will inform the development of an intervention to increase vaccination uptake amongst pregnant women.

Keywords: vaccination, pregnancy, qualitative, interviews, COVID-19

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Authors: Sibghat Mansoor Rana, Muhammad Islam, Hamid Saeed, Hummera Rafique, Muhammad Majid, Muhammad Tahir Aqeel, Fariha Imtiaz, Zaman Ashraf

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The 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives Ox-6a-f have been synthesized by incorporating flur- biprofen moiety with the aim to explore the potential of target molecules to decrease the oxidative stress. The title compounds Ox-6a-f were prepared by simple reactions in which a flurbiprofen –COOH group was esterified with methanol in an acid-catalyzed medium, which was then reacted with hydrazine to afford the corresponding hydrazide. The acid hydrazide was then cyclized into 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol by reacting with CS2 in the presence of KOH. The title compounds Ox-6a-f were synthesized by the reaction of an –SH group with various alkyl/aryl chlorides, which involves an S-alkylation reaction. The structures of the synthesized Ox-6a-f derivatives were ascer- tained by spectroscopic data. The in silico molecular docking was performed against target proteins cyclooxygenase-2 COX-2 (PDBID 5KIR) and cyclooxygenase-1 COX-1 (PDBID 6Y3C) to determine the binding affinity of the synthesized compounds with these structures. It has been inferred that most of the synthesized compounds bind well with an active binding site of 5KIR compared to 6Y3C, and especially compound Ox-6f showed excellent binding affinity (7.70 kcal/mol) among all synthesized compounds Ox-6a-f. The molecular dynamic (MD) simulation has also been performed to check the stability of docking complexes of ligands with COX-2 by determining their root mean square deviation and root mean square fluctuation. Little fluctuation was observed in case of Ox-6f, which forms the most stable complex with COX-2. The comprehensive antioxidant potential of the synthesized compounds has been evaluated by determining their free radical scavenging activity, including DPPH, OH, nitric oxide (NO), and iron chelation assay. The derivative Ox-6f showed promising results with 80.23% radical scavenging potential at a dose of 100 μg/mL while ascorbic acid exhibited 87.72% inhibition at the same dose. The anti-inflammatory activity of the final products has also been performed, and inflammatory markers were assayed, such as a thiobarbituric acid-reducing substance, nitric oxide, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and COX-2. The derivatives Ox-6d and Ox-6f displayed higher anti-inflammatory activity, exhibiting 70.56% and 74.16% activity, respectively. The results were compared with standard ibuprofen, which showed 84.31% activity at the same dose, 200 μg/mL. The anti-inflammatory potential has been performed by following the carrageen-induced hind paw edema model, and results showed that derivative Ox-6f exhibited 79.83% reduction in edema volume compared to standard ibuprofen, which reduced 84.31% edema volume. As dry lab and wet lab results confirm each other, it has been deduced that derivative Ox-6f may serve as the lead structure to design potent compounds to address oxidative stress.

Keywords: synthetic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, oxadiazole derivatives, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer compounds

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Authors: Sarah F. M. Pilati, Carolina S. Flausino, Guilherme F. Hoffmeister, Davi R. Tames, Telmo J. Mezadri

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The effects that may be related to narghile smoking in the tissues of the oral cavity, trachea and lung and associated inflammation has been the question raised lately. The objective of this study was to identify histopathological changes and the presence of inflammation through the exposure of mice to narghile smoking through a whole-body study. The animals were divided in 4 groups with 5 animals in each group, being: one control group, one with 7 days of exposure, 15 days and the last one with 30 days. The animals were exposed to the conventional hookah smoke from Mizo brand with 0.5% percentage of unwashed tobacco and the EcOco brand coconut fiber having a dimension of 2cm × 2cm. The duration of the session was 30 minutes / day per 7, 15 and 30 days. The tobacco smoke concentration at which test animals were exposed was 35 ml every two seconds while the remaining 58 seconds were pure air. Afterward, the mice were sacrificed and submitted to histological evaluation through slices. It was found in the tongue of the 7-day group the presence in epithelium areas with acanthosis, hyperkeratosis and epithelial projections. In-depth, more intense inflammation was observed. All alteration processes increased significantly as the days of exposure increased. In trachea, with the 7-day group, there was a decrease in thickening of the pseudostratified epithelium and a slight decrease in lashes, giving rise to the metaplasia process, a process that was established in the 31-day sampling when the epithelium became stratified. In the conjunctive tissue, it was observed the presence of defense cells and formation of new vessels, evidencing the chronic inflammatory process, which decreased in the course of the samples due to the deposition of collagen fibers as seen in the 15 and 31 days groups. Among the structures of the lung, the study focused on the bronchioles and alveoli. From the 7-day group, intra-alveolar septum thickness increased, alveolar space decreased, inflammatory infiltrate with mononuclear and defense cells and new vessels formation were observed, increasing the number of red blood cells in the region. The results showed that with the passing of the days a progressive increase of the signs of changes in the region was observed, a factor that shows that narghile smoking stimulates alterations mainly in the alveoli (place where gas exchanges occur that should not present alterations) calling attention to the harmful and aggressive effect of narghile smoking. These data also highlighted the harmful effect of smoking, since the presence of acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, epithelial projections and inflammation evidences the cellular alteration process for the tongue tissue protection. Also, the narghile smoking stimulates both epithelial and inflammatory changes in the trachea, in addition to a process of metaplasia, a factor that reinforces the harmful effect and the carcinogenic potential of the narghile smoking.

Keywords: metaplasia, inflammation, pathological constriction, hyperkeratosis

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Authors: Sarah J. C. Slabbert

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The uptake of research as part of the diffusion or adoption of innovation by practitioners, whether individuals or organisations, has been a popular topic in agricultural development studies for many decades. In the classical, linear model of innovation theory, the innovation originates from an expert source such as a state-supported research organisation or academic institution. The changing context of agriculture led to the development of the agricultural innovation systems model, which recognizes innovation as a complex interaction between individuals and organisations, which include private industry and collective action organisations. In terms of this model, an innovation can be developed and adopted without any input or intervention from a state or parastatal research organisation. This evolution in the diffusion of agricultural innovation has put forward new challenges for state or parastatal research organisations, which have to demonstrate the impact of their research to the legislature or a regulatory authority: Unless the organisation and the research it produces cross the knowledge paths of the intended audience, there will be no awareness, no uptake and certainly no impact. It is therefore critical for such a research organisation to base its communication strategy on a thorough understanding of the knowledge needs, information sources and knowledge networks of the intended target audience. In 2016, the South African Water Research Commission (WRC) commissioned a study to investigate the knowledge needs, information sources and knowledge networks of Water User Associations and commercial irrigators with the aim of improving uptake of its research on efficient water use in irrigation. The first phase of the study comprised face-to-face interviews with the CEOs and Board Chairs of four Water User Associations along the Orange River in South Africa, and 36 commercial irrigation farmers from the same four irrigation schemes. Intermediaries who act as knowledge conduits to the Water User Associations and the irrigators were identified and 20 of them were subsequently interviewed telephonically. The study found that irrigators interact regularly with grower organisations such as SATI (South African Table Grape Industry) and SAPPA (South African Pecan Nut Association) and that they perceive these organisations as credible, trustworthy and reliable, within their limitations. State and parastatal research institutions, on the other hand, are associated with a range of negative attributes. As a result, the awareness of, and interest in, the WRC and its research on water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture are low. The findings suggest that a communication strategy that involves collaboration with these grower organisations would empower the WRC to participate much more efficiently and with greater impact in agricultural innovation networks. The paper will elaborate on the findings and discuss partnering frameworks and opportunities to manage perceptions and uptake.

Keywords: agricultural innovation systems, communication strategy, diffusion of innovation, irrigated agriculture, knowledge paths, research organisations, target audiences, water use efficiency

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Authors: Laurence Weinberg, Dominic Walpole, Dong-Kyu Lee, Michael D’Silva, Jian W. Chan, Lachlan F. Miles, Bradley Carp, Adam Wells, Tuck S. Ngun, Siven Seevanayagam, George Matalanis, Ziauddin Ansari, Rinaldo Bellomo, Michael Yii

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Background: There have been multiple recent advancements in the selection, optimization and management of cardiac surgical patients. However, there is limited data regarding the outcomes of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery, despite this vulnerable cohort increasingly receiving these interventions. This study describes the patient characteristics, management and outcomes of a group of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery in the context of contemporary peri-operative care. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted of patients 90 to 99 years of age (i.e., nonagenarians) who had undergone cardiac surgery requiring a classic median sternotomy (i.e., open-heart surgery). All operative indications were included. Patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery, transcatheter aortic valve implantation and thoracic aorta surgery were excluded. Data were collected from four hospitals in Victoria, Australia, over an 8-year period (January 2012 – December 2019). The primary objective was to assess six-month mortality in nonagenarians undergoing open-heart surgery and to evaluate the incidence and severity of postoperative complications using the Clavien-Dindo classification system. The secondary objective was to provide a detailed description of the characteristics and peri-operative management of this group. Results: A total of 12,358 adult patients underwent cardiac surgery at the study centers during the observation period, of whom 18 nonagenarians (0.15%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The median (IQR) [min-max] age was 91 years (90.0:91.8) [90-94] and 14 patients (78%) were men. Cardiovascular comorbidities, polypharmacy and frailty, were common. The median (IQR) predicted in-hospital mortality by EuroSCORE II was 6.1% (4.1-14.5). All patients were optimized preoperatively by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, cardiologists, geriatricians and anesthetists. All index surgeries were performed on cardiopulmonary bypass. Isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and CABG with aortic valve replacement were the most common surgeries being performed in four and five patients, respectively. Half the study group underwent surgery involving two or more major procedures (e.g. CABG and valve replacement). Surgery was undertaken emergently in 44% of patients. All patients except one experienced at least one postoperative complication. The most common complications were acute kidney injury (72%), new atrial fibrillation (44%) and delirium (39%). The highest Clavien-Dindo complication grade was IIIb occurring once each in three patients. Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa complications occurred in only one patient. The median (IQR) postoperative length of stay was 11.6 days (9.8:17.6). One patient was discharged home and all others to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Three patients had an unplanned readmission within 30 days of discharge. All patients had follow-up to at least six months after surgery and mortality over this period was zero. The median (IQR) duration of follow-up was 11.3 months (6.0:26.4) and there were no cases of mortality observed within the available follow-up records. Conclusion: In this group of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery, postoperative six-month mortality was zero. Complications were common but generally of low severity. These findings support carefully selected nonagenarian patients being offered cardiac surgery in the context of contemporary, multidisciplinary perioperative care. Further, studies are needed to assess longer-term mortality and functional and quality of life outcomes in this vulnerable surgical cohort.

Keywords: cardiac surgery, mortality, nonagenarians, postoperative complications

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Authors: Sarah Maiter

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Heightened globalization, migration, displacement of citizens, and refugee needs is putting increasing demand for approaches to social services for diverse populations that responds to families to ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable members while providing supports and services. Along with this social works re-focus on socially just approaches to practice increasingly asks social workers to consider the challenging circumstances of families when providing services rather than a focus on individual shortcomings alone. Child protection workers then struggle to ensure safety of children while assessing the needs of families. This assessment can prove to be difficult when providing services to immigrant, refugee, and racially diverse families as understanding of and familiarity with these families is often limited. Furthermore, child protection intervention in western countries is state mandated having legal authority when intervening in the lives of families where child protection concerns have been identified. Within this context, racialized immigrant and refugee families are at risk of misunderstandings that can result in interventions that are overly intrusive, unhelpful, and harsh. Research shows disproportionality and overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities, and immigrant families in the child protection system. Reasons noted include: a) possibilities of racial bias in reporting and substantiating abuse, b) struggles on the part of workers when working with families from diverse ethno-racial backgrounds and who are immigrants and may have limited proficiency in the national language of the country, c) interventions during crisis and differential ongoing services for these families, d) diverse contexts of these families that poses additional challenges for families and children, and e) possible differential definitions of child maltreatment. While cultural and ethnic diversity in child rearing approaches have been cited as contributors to child protection concerns, this approach should be viewed cautiously as it can result in stereotyping and generalizing that then results in inappropriate assessment and intervention. However, poverty and the lack of social supports, both well-known contributors to child protection concerns, also impact these families disproportionately. Child protection systems, therefore, need to continue to examine policy and practice approaches with these families that ensures safety of children while balancing the needs of families. This presentation provides data from several research studies that examined definitions of child maltreatment among a sample of racialized immigrant families, experiences of a sample of immigrant families with the child protection system, concerns of a sample of child protection workers in the provision of services to these families, and struggles of families in the transitions to their new country. These studies, along with others provide insights into areas of consideration for practice that can contribute to safety for children while ensuring just and equitable responses that have greater potential for keeping families together rather than premature apprehension and removal of children to state care.

Keywords: child protection, child welfare services, immigrant families, racial and ethnic diversity

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Authors: Cath Grimley, Debra Bick, Sarah Hillman, Louise Clarke, Helen Atherton, Jo Parsons

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The problem: Women in the UK are offered influenza (flu), pertussis (whooping cough) and COVID-19 vaccinations during their pregnancy but uptake of all three vaccines is below the desired rate. These vaccines are offered during pregnancy as pregnant women are at an increased risk of hospitalisation, morbidity, and mortality from these illnesses. Exposure to these diseases during pregnancy can also have a negative impact on the unborn baby with an increased risk of serious complications both while in utero and following birth. The research aims to explore perceptions about the vaccinations offered in pregnancy both from the perspectives of pregnant women and midwives. To determine factors that influence pregnant women’s decisions about whether or not to accept the vaccines following the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore midwives’ experiences of recommending and delivering vaccines. The approach: This research follows a qualitative design involving semi-structured interviews with pregnant women and midwives in the UK. Interviews with midwives explored vaccination discussions they routinely have with pregnant women and identified some of the barriers to vaccination that pregnant women discuss with them. Interviews with pregnant women explored their views since the COVID-19 pandemic about vaccinations offered during pregnancy, and whether the pandemic has influenced perceptions of vulnerability to illness in pregnant women. Midwives were recruited via participating hospitals and midwife specific social media groups. Pregnant women were recruited via participating hospitals and community groups. All interviews were conducted remotely (using telephone or Microsoft Teams) and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: 43 pregnant women and 16 midwives were recruited and interviewed. The findings presented here will focus on data from midwives. Topics identified included three key themes for midwives. These were 1) Delivery of vaccinations which includes the convenience of offering vaccinations while attending standard antenatal appointments and practical barriers faced in delivering these vaccinations at hospital. 2) Messages and guidance included the importance of up-to-date informational needs for midwives to deliver vaccines and that uncertainty and conflicting messages about the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy were a barrier to delivery. 3) Recommendations to have vaccines look at all aspects of recommendations such as how recommendations are communicated, the contents of the recommendation, the importance of the vaccine and the impact of those recommendations on whether women accept the vaccine. Implications: Findings highlight the importance for midwives to receive clear and consistent information so they can feel confident in relaying this information while recommending and delivering vaccines to pregnant women. Emphasising why vaccines are important when recommending vaccinations to pregnant women in addition to standard information on the availability and timing will add to the strength and impact of that recommendation in helping women to make informed decisions about accepting vaccines. The findings of this study will inform the development of an intervention to increase vaccination uptake amongst pregnant women.

Keywords: vaccination, pregnancy, qualitative, interviews, Covid-19, midwives

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Authors: Shiva Mardani, Mehdi Nasr-Esfahani, Majid Olia, Hamid Molahosseini, Hamed Hassanzadeh Khankahdani

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Plant-parasitic nematodes cause serious diseases on plants and effectively reduce food production in quality and quantity worldwide, with at least 17 nematode species in the three important and major genera, including Meloidogyne, Heterodera, and Pratylenchus. Root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp. with the dominant species, Meloidogynejavanica, are considered as the important plant pathogens of agricultural products globally. The hosts range can be vegetables, bedding plants, grasses, shrubs, numerous weeds, and trees, including forests. In this study, chemical management was carried out on RKN, M. javanica, to investigate the efficacy of Iranian Abamectin insecticide product [acaricide Abamectin (Vermectin® 2% EC, Gyah Corp., Iran)] verses imported normal Abamectin available in the Iran markets [acaricide Abamectin (Vermectin® 1.8% EC, Cropstar Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)] each of which at the rate of 8 L./ha, on Tomatoes, Solanumlycopersicum L., (No. 29-41, Dutch company Siemens) as a test plant, and the controls (infested to RKN and without any chemical pesticides treatments); and (sterile soil without any RKN and chemical pesticides treatments) at the greenhouse in Isfahan, Iran. The trails were repeated thrice. The results indicated a highly significant reduction in RKN population and an increase in biomass parameters at 1% level of significance, respectively. Relatively similar results were obtained in all the three experiments conducted on tomato root-knot nematodes. The treatments of Gyah-Abamectin (51.6%) and external Abamectin (40.4%) had the highest to least effect on reducing the number of larvae in the soil compared to the infected controls, respectively. Gyah-Abamectin by 44.1% and then external one by 31.9% had the highest effect on reducing the number of larvae and eggs in the root and 31.4% and 24.1% reduction in the number of galls compared to the infected controls, respectively. Based on priority, Gyah-Abamectin (47.4 % ) and external Abamectin (31.1 %) treatments had the highest effect on reducing the number of egg- masses in the root compared to the infected controls, with no significant difference between Gyah-Abamectin and external Abamectin. The highest reproduction of larvae and egg in the root was observed in the infected controls (75.5%) and the lowest in the healthy controls (0.0%). The highest reduction in the larval and egg reproduction in the roots compared to the infected controls was observed in Gyah-Abamectin and the lowest in the external one. Based on preference, Gyah-Abamectin (37.6%) and external Abamectin (26.9%) had the highest effect on the reduction of the larvae and egg reproduction in the root compared to the infected controls, respectively. Regarding growth parameters factors, the lowest stem length was observed in external Abamectin (51.9 cm), with nosignificantly different from Gyah-Abamectin and healthy controls. The highest root fresh weight was recorded in the infected controls (19.81 gr.) and the lowest in the healthy ones (9.81 gr.); the highest root length in the healthy controls (22.4 cm), and the lowest in the infected controls and external Abamectin (12.6 and 11.9 cm), respectively. Conclusively, the results of these three tests on tomato plants revealed that Gyah-Abamectin 2% compared to external Abamectin 1.8% is competitive in the chemical management of the root nematodes of these types of products and is a suitable alternative in this regard.

Keywords: solanum lycopersicum, vermectin, biomass, tomato

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Authors: Sarah Pfoser, Lisa-Maria Putz, Thomas Berger

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In the EU, the transport sector accounts for roughly one fourth of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the transport sector is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Climate protection targets aim to reduce the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. climate change, global warming) worldwide. Achieving a modal shift to foster environmentally friendly modes of transport such as rail and inland waterways is an important strategy to fulfill the climate protection targets. The present paper goes beyond these conventional transport modes and reflects upon currently emerging high-performance transport modes that yield the potential of complementing future transport systems in an efficient way. It will be defined which properties describe high-performance transport modes, which types of technology are included and what is their potential to contribute to a sustainable future transport network. The first step of this paper is to compile state-of-the-art information about high-performance transport modes to find out which technologies are currently emerging. A multidimensional impact analysis will be conducted afterwards to evaluate which of the technologies is most promising. This analysis will be performed from a spatial, social, economic and environmental perspective. Frequently used instruments such as cost-benefit analysis and SWOT analysis will be applied for the multidimensional assessment. The estimations for the analysis will be derived based on desktop research and discussions in an interdisciplinary team of researchers. For the purpose of this work, high-performance transport modes are characterized as transport modes with very fast and very high throughput connections that could act as efficient extension to the existing transport network. The recently proposed hyperloop system represents a potential high-performance transport mode which might be an innovative supplement for the current transport networks. The idea of hyperloops is that persons and freight are shipped in a tube at more than airline speed. Another innovative technology consists in drones for freight transport. Amazon already tests drones for their parcel shipments, they aim for delivery times of 30 minutes. Drones can, therefore, be considered as high-performance transport modes as well. The Trans-European Transport Networks program (TEN-T) addresses the expansion of transport grids in Europe and also includes high speed rail connections to better connect important European cities. These services should increase competitiveness of rail and are intended to replace aviation, which is known to be a polluting transport mode. In this sense, the integration of high-performance transport modes as described above facilitates the objectives of the TEN-T program. The results of the multidimensional impact analysis will reveal potential future effects of the integration of high-performance modes into transport networks. Building on that, a recommendation on the following (research) steps can be given which are necessary to ensure the most efficient implementation and integration processes.

Keywords: drones, future transport networks, high performance transport modes, hyperloops, impact analysis

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Authors: Martin Grootveld, Benita Percival, Sarah Moumtaz, Kerry L. Grootveld

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Objectives/Hypotheses: The adverse health effect potential of dietary lipid oxidation products (LOPs) has evoked much clinical interest. Therefore, we employed a ¹H NMR-linked Principal Component Regression (PCR) chemometrics modelling strategy to explore relationships between data matrices comprising (1) aldehydic LOP concentrations generated in culinary oils/fats when exposed to laboratory-simulated shallow frying practices, and (2) the prior saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents of such frying media (FM), together with their heating time-points at a standard frying temperature (180 ^oC). Methods: Corn, sunflower, extra virgin olive, rapeseed, linseed, canola, coconut and MUFA-rich algae frying oils, together with butter and lard, were heated according to laboratory-simulated shallow-frying episodes at 180 ^oC, and FM samples were collected at time-points of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, and 90 min. (n = 6 replicates per sample). Aldehydes were determined by ¹H NMR analysis (Bruker AV 400 MHz spectrometer). The first (dependent output variable) PCR data matrix comprised aldehyde concentration scores vectors (PC1* and PC2*), whilst the second (predictor) one incorporated those from the fatty acid content/heating time variables (PC1-PC4) and their first-order interactions. Results: Structurally complex trans,trans- and cis,trans-alka-2,4-dienals, 4,5-epxy-trans-2-alkenals and 4-hydroxy-/4-hydroperoxy-trans-2-alkenals (group I aldehydes predominantly arising from PUFA peroxidation) strongly and positively loaded on PC1*, whereas n-alkanals and trans-2-alkenals (group II aldehydes derived from both MUFA and PUFA hydroperoxides) strongly and positively loaded on PC2*. PCR analysis of these scores vectors (SVs) demonstrated that PCs 1 (positively-loaded linoleoylglycerols and [linoleoylglycerol]:[SFA] content ratio), 2 (positively-loaded oleoylglycerols and negatively-loaded SFAs), 3 (positively-loaded linolenoylglycerols and [PUFA]:[SFA] content ratios), and 4 (exclusively orthogonal sampling time-points) all powerfully contributed to aldehydic PC1* SVs (p 10^-3 to < 10^-9), as did all PC1-3 x PC4 interaction ones (p 10^-5 to < 10^-9). PC2* was also markedly dependent on all the above PC SVs (PC2 > PC1 and PC3), and the interactions of PC1 and PC2 with PC4 (p < 10^-9 in each case), but not the PC3 x PC4 contribution. Conclusions: NMR-linked PCR analysis is a valuable strategy for (1) modelling the generation of aldehydic LOPs in heated cooking oils and other FM, and (2) tracking their unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) triacylglycerol sources therein.

Keywords: frying oils, lipid oxidation products, frying episodes, chemometrics, principal component regression, NMR Analysis, cytotoxic/genotoxic aldehydes

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Authors: Durri Andriani, Irsan Tahar, Lilian Sarah Hiariey

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Every institution has to develop, implement, and control its policies to ensure the effectiveness of the institution. In doing so, all related stakeholders have to be involved to maximize the benefit of the policies and minimize the potential constraints and resistances. Open and distance education (ODE) institution is no different. As an education institution, ODE institution has to focus their attention to fulfilling academic needs of their students through open and distance measures. One of them is quality learning support system. Significant stakeholders in learning support system are tutors since they are the ones who directly communicate with students. Tutors are commonly seen as objects whose main responsibility is limited to implementing policies decided by management in ODE institutions. Nonetheless, tutors’ perceptions of tutorials are believed to influence tutors’ performances in facilitating learning support. It is therefore important to analyze tutors’ perception on various aspects of learning support. This paper presents analysis of tutors’ perceptions on policies of tutoriala in ODE institution using Policy Analysis Framework (PAF) modified by King, Nugent, Russell, and Lacy. Focus of this paper is on on-line tutors, those who provide tutorials via Internet. On-line tutors were chosen to stress the increasingly important used of Internet in ODE system. The research was conducted in Universitas Terbuka (UT), Indonesia. UT is purposely selected because of its large number (1,234) of courses offered and large area coverage (6000 inhabited islands). These posed UT in a unique position where learning support system has, to some extent, to be standardized while at the same time it has to be able to cater the needs of different courses in different places for students with different backgrounds. All 598 listed on-line tutors were sent the research questionnaires. Around 20% of the email addresses could not be reached. Tutors were asked to fill out open-ended questionnaires on their perceptions on definition of on-line tutorial, roles of tutors and students in on-line tutorials, requirement for on-line tutors, learning materials, and student evaluation in on-line tutorial. Data analyzed was gathered from 40 on-line tutors who sent back filled-out questionnaires. Data were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis from all 40 tutors. The results showed that using PAF as entry point in choosing learning support services as area of policy with delivery learning materials as the issue at UT has been able to provide new insights of aspects need to be consider in formulating policies in online tutorial and in learning support services. Involving tutors as source of information could be proven to be productive. In general, tutors had clear understanding about definition of online tutorial, roles of tutors and roles of students, and requirement of tutor. Tutors just need to be more involved in the policy formulation since they could provide data on students and problem faced in online tutorial. However, tutors need an adjustment in student evaluation which according tutors too focus on administrative aspects and subjective.

Keywords: distance education, on-line tutorial, tutorial policy, tutors’ perspectives

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Authors: John G. Skelly, Peter K. Dearden, Thomas W. R. Harrop, Sarah N. Inwood, Joseph Guhlin

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The Argentine stem weevil (ASW; L. bonariensis) is an economically important pasture pest in New Zealand, which causes about $200 million of damage per annum. Microctonus hyperodae (Mh), a parasite of the ASW in its natural range in South America, was introduced into New Zealand to curb the pasture damage caused by the ASW. Mh is an endoparasitic wasp that lays its eggs in the ASW halting its reproduction. Mh was initially successful at preventing ASW proliferation and reducing pasture damage. The effectiveness of Mh has since declined due to decreased parasitism rates and has resulted in increased pasture damage. Although the mechanism through which ASW has developed resistance to Mh has not been discovered, it has been proposed to be due to the different reproductive modes used by Mh and the ASW in New Zealand. The ASW reproduces sexually, whereas Mh reproduces asexually, which has been hypothesised to have allowed the ASW to ‘out evolve’ Mh. Other species within the Microctonus genus reproduce both sexually and asexually. Strains of Microctonus aethiopoides (Ma), a species closely related to Mh, reproduce either by sexual or asexual reproduction. Comparing the genomes of sexual and asexual Microctonus may allow for the identification of the mechanism of asexual reproduction and other characteristics that may improve Mh as a biocontrol agent. The genomes of Mh and three strains of Ma, two of which reproduce sexually and one reproduces asexually, have been sequenced and annotated. The French (MaFR) and Moroccan (MaMO) reproduce sexually, whereas the Irish strain (MaIR) reproduces asexually. Like Mh, The Ma strains are also used as biocontrol agents, but for different weevil species. The genomes of Mh and MaIR were subsequently upgraded using Hi-C, resulting in a set of high quality, highly contiguous genomes. A subset of the genes involved in mitosis and meiosis, which have been identified though the use of Hidden Markov Models generated from genes involved in these processes in other Hymenoptera, have been catalogued in Mh and the strains of Ma. Meiosis and mitosis genes were broadly conserved in both sexual and asexual Microctonus species. This implies that either the asexual species have retained a subset of the molecular components required for sexual reproduction or that the molecular mechanisms of mitosis and meiosis are different or differently regulated in Microctonus to other insect species in which these mechanisms are more broadly characterised. Bioinformatic analysis of the chemoreceptor compliment in Microctonus has revealed some variation in the number of olfactory receptors, which may be related to host preference. Phylogenetic analysis of olfactory receptors highlights variation, which may be able to explain different host range preferences in the Microctonus. Hi-C clustering implies that Mh has 12 chromosomes, and MaIR has 8. Hence there may be variation in gene regulation between species. Genome alignment of Mh and MaIR implies that there may be large scale genome structural variation. Greater insight into the genetics of these agriculturally important group of parasitic wasps may be beneficial in restoring or maintaining their biocontrol efficacy.

Keywords: argentine stem weevil, asexual, genomics, Microctonus hyperodae

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Florence Roselle Adalin, Misha Louise Delariarte, Fabbette Laire Lagas, Sarah Emanuelle Mejia, Lika Mizukoshi, Irish Paullen Palomeno, Gibrianne Alistaire Ramos, Danica Pauline Ramos, Josefina Tuazon, Jo Leah Flores

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Pain, often a missed and undertreated symptom, affects the quality of life of individuals. Nurses are key players in providing effective pain management to decrease morbidity and mortality of patients in pain. Nurses’ knowledge and attitude on pain greatly affect their ability on assessment and management. The Pain Society of the Philippines recognized the inadequacy and inaccessibility of data on the knowledge, skills, and attitude of nurses on pain management in the country. This study may be the first of its kind in the county, giving it the potential to contribute greatly to nursing education and practice through providing valuable baseline data. Objectives: This study aims to describe the level of knowledge and attitude, and current practices of nurses on pain assessment and management; and determine the relationship of nurses’ knowledge and attitude with years of experience, training on pain management and clinical area of practice. Methodology: A survey research design was employed. Four hospitals were selected through purposive sampling. A total of 235 Medical-Surgical Unit and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses participated in the study. The tool used is a combination of demographic survey, Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain (NKASRP), Acute Pain Evidence Based Practice Questionnaire (APEBPQ) with self-report questions on non-pharmacologic pain management. The data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics, two sample T-tests for clinical areas and training; and Pearson product correlation to identify relationship of level of knowledge and attitude with years of experience. Results and Analysis: The mean knowledge and attitude score of the nurses was 47.14%. Majority answered ‘most of the time’ or ‘all the time’ on 84.12% of practice items on pain assessment, implementation of non-pharmacologic interventions, evaluation and documentation. Three of 19 practice items describing morphine and opioid administration in special populations were only done ‘a little of the time’. Most utilized non-pharmacologic interventions were deep breathing exercises (79.66%), massage therapy (27.54%), and ice therapy (26.69%). There was no significant relationship between knowledge scores and years of clinical experience (p = 0.05, r= -0.09). Moreover, there was not enough evidence to show difference in nurses’ knowledge and attitude scores in relation to presence of training (p = 0.41) or areas (Medical-Surgical or ICU) of clinical practice (p = 0.53). Conclusion and Recommendations: Findings of the study showed that the level of knowledge and attitude of nurses on pain assessment and management is suboptimal; and no relationship between nurses’ knowledge and attitude and years of experience. It is recommended that further studies look into the nursing curriculum on pain education, culture-specific pain management protocols and evidence-based practices in the country.

Keywords: knowledge and attitude, nurses, pain management, practices on pain management

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Authors: Majid Manawer Alenezi, Gavin Lawrence, Hans-Peter Kubis

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Imagery training could be an important treatment for muscle function improvements in patients who are facing limitations in exercise training by pain or other adverse symptoms. However, recent studies are mostly limited to small muscle groups and are often contradictory. Moreover, a possible bilateral transfer effect of imagery training has not been examined. We, therefore, investigated the effectiveness of unilateral imagery training in comparison with exercise training on hip abductor muscle strength and EMG. Additionally, both limbs were assessed to investigate bilateral transfer effects. Healthy individuals took part in an imagery or exercise training intervention for two weeks and were assesses pre and post training. Participants (n=30), after randomization into an imagery and an exercise group, trained 5 times a week under supervision with additional self-performed training on the weekends. The training consisted of performing, or to imagine, 5 maximal isometric hip abductor contractions (= one set), repeating the set 7 times. All measurements and trainings were performed laying on the side on a dynamometer table. The imagery script combined kinesthetic and visual imagery with internal perspective for producing imagined maximal hip abduction contractions. The exercise group performed the same number of tasks but performing the maximal hip abductor contractions. Maximal hip abduction strength and EMG amplitudes were measured of right and left limbs pre- and post-training period. Additionally, handgrip strength and right shoulder abduction (Strength and EMG) were measured. Using mixed model ANOVA (strength measures) and Wilcoxen-tests (EMGs), data revealed a significant increase in hip abductor strength production in the imagery group on the trained right limb (~6%). However, this was not reported for the exercise group. Additionally, the left hip abduction strength (not used for training) did not show a main effect in strength, however, there was a significant interaction of group and time revealing that the strength increased in the imagery group while it remained constant in the exercise group. EMG recordings supported the strength findings showing significant elevation of EMG amplitudes after imagery training on right and left side, while the exercise training group did not show any changes. Moreover, measures of handgrip strength and shoulder abduction showed no effects over time and no interactions in both groups. Experiments showed that imagery training is a suitable method for effectively increasing functional parameters of larger limb muscles (strength and EMG) which were enhanced on both sides (trained and untrained) confirming a bilateral transfer effect. Indeed, exercise training did not reveal any increases in the parameters above omitting functional improvements. The healthy individuals tested might not easily achieve benefits from exercise training within the time tested. However, it is evident that imagery training is effective in increasing the central motor command towards the muscles and that the effect seems to be segmental (no increase in handgrip strength and shoulder abduction parameters) and affects both sides (trained and untrained). In conclusion, imagery training was effective in functional improvements in limb muscles and produced a bilateral transfer on strength and EMG measures.

Keywords: imagery, exercise, physiotherapy, motor imagery

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Authors: Amanullah Lagharil, Majid Ali Laghari, M. Qasim, Jan. M., Asif Khan, M. Hassan Agheem

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The Nagar Parkar area in southeastern Sindh is a part of the Thar Desert adjacent to the Runn of Kutchh, and covers 480 km2. It contains exposures of a variety of igneous rocks referred to as the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex. The complex comprises rocks belonging to at least six phases of magmatism, from oldest to youngest: 1) amphibolitic basement rocks, 2) riebeckite-aegirine grey granite, 3) biotite-hornblende pink granite, 4) acid dykes, 5) rhyolite “plugs”, and basic dykes (Jan et al., 1997). The last three of these are not significant in volume. Radiometric dates are lacking but the grey and pink granites are petrographically comparable to the Siwana and Jalore plutons, respectively, emplaced in the Malani volcanic series. Based on these similarities and proximity, the phase 2 to 6 bodies in the Nagar Parkar may belong to the Late Proterozoic (720–745 Ma) Malani magmatism that covers large areas in western Rajasthan. Khan et al. (2007) have reported a 745 ±30 – 755 ±22 Ma U-Th-Pb age on monazite from the pink granite. The grey granite is essentially composed of perthitic feldspar (microperthite, mesoperthite), quartz, small amount of plagioclase and, characteristically, sodic minerals such as riebeckite and aegirine. A few samples lack aegirine. Fe-Ti oxide and minute, well-developed crystals of zircon occur in almost all the studied samples. Tourmaline, fluorite, apatite and rutile occur in only some samples and astrophyllite is rare. Allanite, sphene and leucoxene occur as minor accessories along with local epidote. The pink granite is mostly leucocratic, but locally rich in biotite (up to 7 %). It is essentially made up of microperthite and quartz, with local microcline, and minor plagioclase (albite-oligoclase). Some rocks contain sufficient oligoclase and can be called adamellite or quartz mozonite. Biotite and hornblende are main accessory minerals along with iron oxide, but in a few samples are without hornblende. Fayalitic olivine, zircon, sphene, apatite, tourmaline, fluorite, allanite and cassiterite occur as sporadic accessory minerals. Epidote, carbonate, sericite and muscovite are produced due to the alteration of feldspar. This work concerns the major element geochemistry and comparison of the principal granitic rocks of Nagar Parkar. According to the scheme of De La Roche et al. (1980), majority of the grey and pink granites classify as alkali granite, 20 % as granite and 10 % as granodiorite. When evaluated on the basis of Shand's indices (after Maniar and Piccoli, 1989), the grey and pink granites span all three fields (peralkaline, metaluminous and peraluminous). Of the analysed grey granites, 67 % classify as peralkaline, 20 % as peraluminous and 10 % as metaluminous, while 50 % of pink granites classify as peralkaline, 30 % metaluminous and 20 % peraluminous.

Keywords: petrography, nagar parker, granites, geological sciences

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Authors: Natalia V. Beloglazova, Pieterjan Lenain, Martin Hedstrom, Dietmar Knopp, Sarah De Saeger

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In recent years polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which represent a hazard to humans and entire ecosystem, have been receiving an increased interest due to their mutagenic, carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting properties. They are formed in all incomplete combustion processes of organic matter and, as a consequence, ubiquitous in the environment. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is on the priority list published by the Environmental Agency (US EPA) as the first PAH to be identified as a carcinogen and has often been used as a marker for PAHs contamination in general. It can be found in different types of water samples, therefore, the European Commission set up a limit value of 10 ng L–1 (10 ppt) for BAP in water intended for human consumption. Generally, different chromatographic techniques are used for PAHs determination, but these assays require pre-concentration of analyte, create large amounts of solvent waste, and are relatively time consuming and difficult to perform on-site. An alternative robust, stand-alone, and preferably cheap solution is needed. For example, a sensing unit which can be submerged in a river to monitor and continuously sample BaP. An affinity sensor based on capacitive transduction was developed. Natural antibodies or their synthetic analogues can be used as ligands. Ideally the sensor should operate independently over a longer period of time, e.g. several weeks or months, therefore the use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was discussed. MIPs are synthetic antibodies which are selective for a chosen target molecule. Their robustness allows application in environments for which biological recognition elements are unsuitable or denature. They can be reused multiple times, which is essential to meet the stand-alone requirement. BaP is a highly lipophilic compound and does not contain any functional groups in its structure, thus excluding non-covalent imprinting methods based on ionic interactions. Instead, the MIPs syntheses were based on non-covalent hydrophobic and π-π interactions. Different polymerization strategies were compared and the best results were demonstrated by the MIPs produced using electropolymerization. 4-vinylpyridin (VP) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were used as monomer and cross-linker in the polymerization reaction. The selectivity and recovery of the MIP were compared to a non-imprinted polymer (NIP). Electrodes were functionalized with natural receptor (monoclonal anti-BaP antibody) and with MIPs selective towards BaP. Different sets of electrodes were evaluated and their properties such as sensitivity, selectivity and linear range were determined and compared. It was found that both receptor can reach the cut-off level comparable to the established ML, and despite the fact that the antibody showed the better cross-reactivity and affinity, MIPs were more convenient receptor due to their ability to regenerate and stability in river till 7 days.

Keywords: antibody, benzo(a)pyrene, capacitive sensor, MIPs, river water

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Seham A. S. Mohamed, Sarah R. Baker, Christopher Deery, Mario V. Vettore

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Background: The link between oral health conditions and school performance and attendance remain unclear among Middle Eastern children. The association has been studied extensively in the Western region; however, several concerns have been raised regarding the reliability and validity of measures, low quality of studies, inadequate inclusion of potential confounders, and the lack of a conceptual framework. These limitations have meant that, to date, there has been no detailed understanding of the association or of the key social, clinical, behavioural and parental factors which may impact the association. Aim: To examine the association between oral health conditions and children’s school performance and attendance at Grade 2 in Muharraq city in the Kingdom of Bahrain using Heilmann et al.’s (2015) life course framework for oral health. Objectives: To (1) describe the prevalence of oral health conditions among 7-8 years old schoolchildren in the city of Muharraq; (2) analyse the social, biological, behavioural, and parental pathways that link early and current life exposures with children’s current oral health status; (3) examine the association between oral health conditions and school performance and attendance among schoolchildren; (4) explore the early and current life course social, biological, behavioural and parental factors associated with children’s school outcomes. Design: A time-ordered-cross-sectional study was conducted with 466 schoolchildren aged 7-8 years and their parents from Muharraq city in KoB. Data were collected through parents’ self-administered questionnaires, children’s face-face interviews, and dental clinical examinations. Outcome variables, including school performance and school attendance data, were obtained from the parents and school records. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results: Dental caries, the consequence of dental caries (PUFA/pufa), and enamel developmental defects (EDD) prevalence were 93.4%, 25.7%, and 17.2%, respectively. The findings from the SEM showed that children born in families with high SES were less likely to suffer from dentine dental caries (β= -0.248) and more likely to earn high school performance (β= 0.136) at 7-8 years of age in Muharraq. From the current life course of children, the dental plaque was associated significantly and directly with enamel caries (β= 0.094), dentine caries (β= 0.364), treated teeth (filled or extracted because of dental caries) (β= 0.121), and indirectly associated with dental pain (β= 0.057). Further, dentine dental caries was associated significantly and directly with low school performance (β= -0.155). At the same time, the dental plaque was indirectly associated with low school performance via dental caries (β = −0.044). Conversely, treated teeth were associated directly with high school performance (β= 0.100). Notably, none of the OHCs, biological, SES, behavioural, or parental conditions was related to school attendance in children. Conclusion: The life course approach was adequate to examine the role of OHCs on children’s school performance and attendance. Birth and current (7-8-year-olds) social factors were significant predictors of poor OH and poor school performance.

Keywords: dental caries, life course, Bahrain, school outcomes

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Iris Sirirada Pattara-Angkoon, Rory Devine, Anja Lindberg, Wendy Browne, Sarah Foley, Gabrielle McHarg, Claire Hughes

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Introduction: The “Terrible Twos” is a phrase used to describe toddlers 18-30 months old. It characterizes a transition from high dependency to their caregivers in infancy to more autonomy and mastery of the body and environment. Toddlers at this age may also show more willfulness and stubbornness that could predict a future trajectory leading to conduct disorders. Thus, an important goal for this age group is to promote responsiveness to their caregivers (i.e., compliance). Existing literature tends to focus on praise to increase desirable child behavior. However, this relationship is not always straightforward as some studies have found no or negative association between praise and child compliance. Research suggests positive emotions and affection showed through body language (e.g., smiles) and actions (e.g., hugs, kisses) along with positive parent-child relationship can strengthen the praise and child compliance association. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the influences of positive emotionality within the speech. This is important as implementing verbal positive emotionality is easier than physical adjustments. The literature also tends not to include fathers in the study sample as mothers were traditionally the primary caregiver. However, as child-caring duties are increasing shared equally between mothers and fathers, it is important to include fathers within the study as studies have frequently found differences between female and male caregiver characteristics. Thus, the study will address the literary gap in two ways: 1. explore the influences of positive emotionality in parental speech and 2. include an equal sample of mothers and fathers. Positive emotionality is expected to positively correlate with and predict child compliance. Methodology: This study analyzed toddlers (18-24 months) in their dyadic interactions with mothers and fathers. A Duplo (block) task was used where parents had to work with their children to build the Duplo according to the given photo for four minutes. Then, they would be told to clean up the blocks. Parental positive emotionality in different speech types (e.g., bids, praises, affirmations) and child compliance were measured. Results: The study found that mothers (M = 28.92, SD = 12.01) were significantly more likely than fathers (M = 23.01, SD = 12.28) to use positive verbal emotionality in their speech, t(105) = 4.35, p< .001. High positive emotionality in bids during Duplo task and Clean Up was positively correlated with more child compliance in each task, r(273) = .35, p< .001 and r(264) = .58, p< .001, respectively. Overall, parental positive emotionality in speech significantly predicted child compliance, F(6, 218) = 13.33, p< .001, R² = .27) with emotionality in verbal bids (t = 6.20, p< .001) and affirmations (t = 3.12, p = .002) being significant predictors. Conclusion: Positive verbal emotions may be useful for increasing compliance in toddlers. This can be beneficial for compliance interventions as well as to the parent-child relationship quality through reduction of conflict and child defiance. As this study is correlational in nature, it will be important for future research to test the directional influence of positive emotionality within speech.

Keywords: child temperament, compliance, positive emotion, toddler, verbal bids

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Authors: Oli Sophie Meredith, Jacquelyn Osborne, Sarah Verdon, Jane Frawley

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PROJECT OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND: Over one million Australians are affected by ADHD at an economic and social cost of over $20 billion per annum. Despite health outcomes being significantly worse compared with men, women have historically been overlooked in ADHD diagnosis and treatment. While research suggests physical activity and other non-prescription options can help with ADHD symptoms, the frontline response to ADHD remains expensive stimulant medications that can have adverse side effects. By interviewing women with ADHD, this research will examine women’s self-directed approaches to managing symptoms, including alternatives to prescription medications. It will investigate barriers and affordances to potentially helpful approaches and identify any concerning strategies pursued in lieu of diagnosis. SIGNIFICANCE AND INNOVATION: Despite the economic and societal impact of ADHD on women, research investigating how women manage their symptoms is scant. This project is significant because although women’s ADHD symptoms are markedly different to those of men, mainstream treatment has been based on the experiences of men. Further, it is thought that in developing nuanced coping strategies, women may have masked their symptoms. Thus, this project will highlight strategies which women deem effective in ‘thriving’ rather than just ‘hiding’. By investigating the health service use, self-care and physical activity of women with ADHD, this research aligns with a priority research areas as identified by the November 2023 senate ADHD inquiry report. APPROACH AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with up to 20 women with ADHD. Interviews will be conducted in person and online to capture experience across rural and metropolitan Australia. Participants will be recruited in partnership with the peak representative body, ADHD Australia. The research will use an intersectional framework, and data will be analysed thematically. This project is led by an interdisciplinary and cross-institutional team of women with ADHD. Reflexive interviewing skills will be employed to help interviewees feel more comfortable disclosing their experiences, especially where they share common ground ENGAGEMENT, IMPACT AND BENEFIT: This research will benefit women with ADHD by increasing knowledge of strategies and alternative treatments to prescription medications, reducing the social and economic burden of ADHD on Australia and on individuals. It will also benefit women by identifying risks involved with some self-directed approaches in lieu of medical advice. The project has an accessible impact plan to directly benefit end-users, which includes the development of a podcast and a PDF resource translating findings. The resources will reach a wide audience through ADHD Australia’s extensive national networks. We will collaborate with Charles Sturt’s Accessibility and Inclusion Division of Safety, Security and Well-being to create a targeted resource for students with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD, women's health, self-directed strategies, health service use, physical activity, public health

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Authors: Gary J. Pickering, Sarah Lucas, Catherine E. Klodnicki, Nicole J. Gaudette

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Two taste pheno types that are of interest in the study of habitual diet-related risk factors and disease are 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) responsiveness and thermal tasting. Individuals differ considerable in how intensely they experience the bitterness of PROP, which is partially explained by three major single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the TAS2R38 gene. Importantly, this variable responsiveness is a useful proxy for general taste responsiveness, and links to diet-related disease risk, including body mass index, in some studies. Thermal tasting - a newly discovered taste phenotype independent of PROP responsiveness - refers to the capacity of many individuals to perceive phantom tastes in response to lingual thermal stimulation, and is linked with TRPM5 channels. Thermal tasters (TTs) also experience oral sensations more intensely than thermal non-tasters (TnTs), and this was shown to associate with differences in self-reported food preferences in a previous survey from our lab. Here we report on two related studies, where we sought to determine whether PROP responsiveness and thermal tasting would associate with perceptual differences in the oral sensations elicited by sampled energy-dense foods, and whether in turn this would influence liking. We hypothesized that hyper-tasters (thermal tasters and individuals who experience PROP intensely) would (a) rate sweet and high-fat foods more intensely than hypo-tasters, and (b) would differ from hypo-tasters in liking scores. (Liking has been proposed recently as a more accurate measure of actual food consumption). In Study 1, a range of energy-dense foods and beverages, including table cream and chocolate, was assessed by 25 TTs and 19 TnTs. Ratings of oral sensation intensity and overall liking were obtained using gVAS and gDOL scales, respectively. TTs and TnTs did not differ significantly in intensity ratings for most stimuli (ANOVA). In a 2nd study, 44 female participants sampled 22 foods and beverages, assessing them for intensity of oral sensations (gVAS) and overall liking (9-point hedonic scale). TTs (n=23) rated their overall liking of creaminess and milk products lower than did TnTs (n=21), and liked milk chocolate less. PROP responsiveness was negatively correlated with liking of food and beverages belonging to the sweet or sensory food grouping. No other differences in intensity or liking scores between hyper- and hypo-tasters were found. Taken overall, our results are somewhat unexpected, lending only modest support to the hypothesis that these taste phenotypes associate with energy-dense food liking and consumption through differences in the oral sensations they elicit. Reasons for this lack of concordance with expectations and some prior literature are discussed, and suggestions for future research are advanced.

Keywords: taste phenotypes, sensory evaluation, PROP, thermal tasting, diet-related health risk

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Authors: Andrew Cummings, Rhianne Boag, Sarah Bryson, Gordon Turner

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Packages designed for transport of radioactive material must satisfy rigorous safety regulations specified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Higher Activity Waste (HAW) transport packages have to maintain containment of their contents during normal and accident conditions of transport (NCT and ACT). To ensure containment criteria is satisfied these packages are required to be leak-tight in all transport conditions to meet allowable activity release rates. Package design safety reports are the safety cases that provide the claims, evidence and arguments to demonstrate that packages meet the regulations and once approved by the competent authority (in the UK this is the Office for Nuclear Regulation) a licence to transport radioactive material is issued for the package(s). The standard approach to demonstrating containment in the RWM transport safety case is set out in BS EN ISO 12807. In this document a method for measuring a leak rate from the package is explained by way of a small interspace test volume situated between two O-ring seals on the underside of the package lid. The interspace volume is pressurised and a pressure drop measured. A small interspace test volume makes the method more sensitive enabling the measurement of smaller leak rates. By ascertaining the activity of the contents, identifying a releasable fraction of material and by treating that fraction of material as a gas, allowable leak rates for NCT and ACT are calculated. The adherence to basic safety principles in ISO12807 is very pessimistic and current practice in the demonstration of transport safety, which is accepted by the UK regulator. It is UK government policy that management of HAW will be through geological disposal. It is proposed that the intermediate level waste be transported to the geological disposal facility (GDF) in large cuboid packages. This poses a challenge for containment demonstration because such packages will have long seals and therefore large interspace test volumes. There is also uncertainty on the releasable fraction of material within the package ullage space. This is because the waste may be in many different forms which makes it difficult to define the fraction of material released by the waste package. Additionally because of the large interspace test volume, measuring the calculated leak rates may not be achievable. For this reason a justification for a lower releasable fraction of material is sought. This paper considers the use of aerosol processes to reduce the releasable fraction for both NCT and ACT. It reviews the basic coagulation and removal processes and applies the dynamic aerosol balance equation. The proposed solution includes only the most well understood physical processes namely; Brownian coagulation and gravitational settling. Other processes have been eliminated either on the basis that they would serve to reduce the release to the environment further (pessimistically in keeping with the essence of nuclear transport safety cases) or that they are not credible in the conditions of transport considered.

Keywords: aerosol processes, Brownian coagulation, gravitational settling, transport regulations

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Authors: Zoltán Höhling, Sarah-Lu Oberschelp, Niklas Gilsdorf, Michael Wirsching, Andrea Kuhnert

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A majority of medical students at the University of Freiburg reported stress-related psychosomatic symptoms which are often associated with their studies. International research supports these findings, as medical students worldwide seem to be at special risk for mental health problems. In some countries and institutions, psychologically based interventions that assist medical students in coping with their stressors have been implemented. It turned out that anonymity is an important aspect here. Many students fear a potential damage of reputation when being associated with mental health problems, which may be due to a high level of competitiveness in classes. Therefore, we launched an online-platform where medical students could anonymously seek help and exchange their experiences with fellow students and experts. Medical students of all semesters have access to it through the university’s learning management system (called “ILIAS”). The informative part of the platform consists of exemplary videos showing medical students (actors) who act out scenes that demonstrate the antecedents of stress-related psychosomatic disorders. These videos are linked to different expert comments, describing the exhibited symptoms in an understandable and normalizing way. The (inter-)active part of the platform consists of self-help tools (such as meditation exercises or general tips for stress-coping) and an anonymous interactive forum where students can describe their stress-related problems and seek guidance from experts and/or share their experiences with fellow students. Besides creating an immediate proposal to help affected students, we expect that competitiveness between students might be diminished and bondage improved through mutual support between them. In the initial phase after the platform’s launch, it was accessed by a considerable number of medical students. On a closer look it appeared that platform sections like general information on psychosomatic-symptoms and self-treatment tools were accessed far more often than the online-forum during the first months after the platform launch. Although initial acceptance of the platform was relatively high, students showed a rather passive way of using our platform. While user statistics showed a clear demand for information on stress-related psychosomatic symptoms and its possible remedies, active engagement in the interactive online-forum was rare. We are currently advertising the platform intensively and trying to point out the assured anonymity of the platform and its interactive forum. Our plans, to assure students their anonymity through the use of an e-learning facility and promote active engagement in the online forum, did not (yet) turn out as expected. The reasons behind this may be manifold and based on either e-learning related issues or issues related to students’ individual needs. Students might, for example, question the assured anonymity due to a lack of trust in the technological functioning university’s learning management system. However, one may also conclude that reluctance to discuss stress-related psychosomatic symptoms with peer medical students may not be solely based on anonymity concerns, but could be rooted in more complex issues such as general mistrust between students.

Keywords: e-tutoring, stress-coping, student support, online forum

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Authors: Ana Handel, Jamal Ellerbe, Sarah Kanzaki, Natalie White, Nathan Ousey, Sean Gallagher

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A sense of belonging is the ability for individuals to feel they are a necessary part of whatever organization or community they find themselves in. In an academic setting, a sense of belonging is key to a student’s success. The collected research points to this sense of belonging in academic settings as a significant contributor of students’ levels of engagement and trust. When universities leverage the arts, students are provided with more opportunities to engage and feel confident in their surroundings. This allows for greater potential to develop within academic and social settings. The arts also call for the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion by showcasing works of artists from all different backgrounds, thus allowing students to gain cultural knowledge and be able to embrace differences. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are all emotional facets of belonging. Equity relates to the concept of making the conscious choice to recognize opportunities to incorporate inclusive and diverse ideals into different thought processes and collaboration. Inclusion involves providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people of all ‘ingroups. In an inclusive culture, individuals are able to maximize their potential with the confidence they have gained through an accepting environment. A variety of members in academic communities have noted it may be beneficial to make certain events surrounding the arts to be built into course requirements in order to ensure students are expanding their horizons and exposing themselves to the arts. These academics also recommend incorporating the arts into extracurricular activities, such as Greek life, in order to appeal to large groups of students. Once students have an understanding of the rich knowledge cultivated through exploring the arts, they will feel more comfortable in their surroundings and thus more confident to become involved in other areas of their university. A number of universities, including West Chester and Carnegie Mellon, have instituted programs aiming to provide students with the necessary tools and resources to feel comfortable in their educational settings. Different programs include references to hotlines for discrimination and office for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Staff members have also been provided with means of combating biases and increasing feelings of belongingness in order to properly support and communicate with students. These tools have successfully allowed universities to foster inviting environments for students of all backgrounds to feel belong as well as strengthening the community’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through demonstrating concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion by introducing the arts into learning spaces, students can find a sense of belonging within their academic environments. It is essential to understand these topics and how they work together to achieve a common goal. The efforts of universities have made much progress in shedding light on different cultures and ideas to show students their full potential and opportunities. Once students feel more comfortable within their organizations, engagement will increase substantially.

Keywords: arts, belonging, engagement, inclusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Sarah Faulkner, Patrick Faulkner, Caroline Ellison

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Improved mental and physical health, community connection, and increased life satisfaction has been strongly associated with bike riding for those with and without a disability. However, much evidence suggests that people living with a disability face increased barriers to engaging in cycling compared to members of the general population. People with an intellectual disability often live more sedentary and socially isolated lives that negatively impact their mental and physical health, as well as life satisfaction. This paper is based on preliminary findings from a three-year intervention cycling project funded by the South Australian Government. The cycling project was developed in partnership with community stakeholders that provided weekly instruction, training, and support to individuals living with intellectual disabilities to increase their capacity in cycling. This project aimed to support people living with intellectual disabilities to foster and facilitate improved physical and mental health, confidence, and independence and enhance social networking through their engagement in community cycling. The program applied principles of social role valorisation (SRV) theory as its guiding framework. Preliminary data collected is based on qualitative interviews with over 50 program participants, results from two participant wellness questionnaires, as well as a perceptually regulated exercise test administered throughout the project implementation. Preliminary findings are further supplemented with ethnographic analyses by the researchers who took a phenology of life experience approach. Preliminary findings of the program suggest a variety of social motivations behind participants' desire to learn cycling that acknowledges previous barriers to engagement and cycling’s role to address feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Meaningful health benefits can be achieved as demonstrated by increases in predicted V02 max measures, suggesting that physical intervention can not only improve physical health outcomes but also provide a variety of other social benefits. Initial engagement in the project has demonstrated an increase in participants' sense of confidence, well-being, and physical fitness. Implementation of the project in partnership with a variety of community stakeholders has identified a number of critical factors and processes necessary for future service replication, sustainability, and success. Findings from this intervention study contribute to the development of a knowledge base on how best to support individuals living with an intellectual disability to partake in bike riding and increase positive outcomes associated with their capacity building, social interaction, increased physical activity, physical health, and mental well-being. The initial findings of this study provide critical academic insights into the social and physical benefits of cycling for people living with a disability, as well as practical advice for future human service applications.

Keywords: cycling, disability, social inclusion, capacity building

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Authors: Alexandra Sargent, Sarah Ferris, Ioannis Theofanous

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The Abbott RealTime High Risk HPV test (RealTime HPV) is one of five assays clinically validated and approved by the English NHS Cervical Screening Programme (CSP) for HPV triage of low grade dyskaryosis and test-of-cure of treated Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia. The assay is a highly automated multiplex real-time PCR test for detecting 14 high risk (hr) HPV types, with simultaneous differentiation of HPV 16 and HPV 18 versus non-HPV 16/18 hrHPV. An endogenous internal control ensures sample cellularity, controls extraction efficiency and PCR inhibition. The original cervical specimen collected in SurePath (SP) liquid-based cytology (LBC) medium (BD Diagnostics) and the SP post-gradient cell pellets (SPG) after cytological processing are both CE marked for testing with the RealTime HPV test. During the 2011 NHSCSP validation of new tests only the original aliquot of SP LBC medium was investigated. Residual sample volume left after cytology slide preparation is low and may not always have sufficient volume for repeat HPV testing or for testing of other biomarkers that may be implemented in testing algorithms in the future. The SPG samples, however, have sufficient volumes to carry out additional testing and necessary laboratory validation procedures. This study investigates the correlation of RealTime HPV results of cervical specimens collected in SP LBC medium from women with low grade cytological abnormalities observed with matched pairs of original SP LBC medium and SP post-gradient cell pellets (SPG) after cytology processing. Matched pairs of SP and SPG samples from 750 women with borderline (N = 392) and mild (N = 351) cytology were available for this study. Both specimen types were processed and parallel tested for the presence of hrHPV with RealTime HPV according to the manufacturer´s instructions. HrHPV detection rates and concordance between test results from matched SP and SPGCP pairs were calculated. A total of 743 matched pairs with valid test results on both sample types were available for analysis. An overall-agreement of hrHPV test results of 97.5% (k: 0.95) was found with matched SP/SPG pairs and slightly lower concordance (96.9%; k: 0.94) was observed on 392 pairs from women with borderline cytology compared to 351 pairs from women with mild cytology (98.0%; k: 0.95). Partial typing results were highly concordant in matched SP/SPG pairs for HPV 16 (99.1%), HPV 18 (99.7%) and non-HPV16/18 hrHPV (97.0%), respectively. 19 matched pairs were found with discrepant results: 9 from women with borderline cytology and 4 from women with mild cytology were negative on SPG and positive on SP; 3 from women with borderline cytology and 3 from women with mild cytology were negative on SP and positive on SPG. Excellent correlation of hrHPV DNA test results was found between matched pairs of SP original fluid and post-gradient cell pellets from women with low grade cytological abnormalities tested with the Abbott RealTime High-Risk HPV assay, demonstrating robust performance of the test with both specimen types and reassuring the utility of the assay for cytology triage with both specimen types.

Keywords: Abbott realtime test, HPV, SurePath liquid based cytology, surepath post-gradient cell pellet

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Seyed Majid Hashemzadeh

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Solar energy is one of the remarkable renewable energy sources that have particular characteristics such as unlimited, no environmental pollution, and free access. Generally, solar energy can be used in thermal and photovoltaic (PV) types. The cost of installation of the PV system is very high. Additionally, due to dependence on environmental situations such as solar radiation and ambient temperature, electrical power generation of this system is unpredictable and without power electronics devices, there is no guarantee to maximum power delivery at the output of this system. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) should be used to achieve the maximum power of a PV string. MPPT is one of the essential parts of the PV system which without this section, it would be impossible to reach the maximum amount of the PV string power and high losses are caused in the PV system. One of the noticeable challenges in the problem of MPPT is the partial shading conditions (PSC). In PSC, the output photocurrent of the PV module under the shadow is less than the PV string current. The difference between the mentioned currents passes from the module's internal parallel resistance and creates a large negative voltage across shaded modules. This significant negative voltage damages the PV module under the shadow. This condition is called hot-spot phenomenon. An anti-paralleled diode is inserted across the PV module to prevent the happening of this phenomenon. This diode is known as the bypass diode. Due to the performance of the bypass diode under PSC, the P-V curve of the PV string has several peaks. One of the P-V curve peaks that makes the maximum available power is the global peak. Model-based Global MPPT (GMPPT) methods can estimate the optimal point with higher speed than other GMPPT approaches. Centralized, modular, and interleaved DC-DC converter topologies are the significant structures that can be used for GMPPT at a PV string. there are some problems in the centralized structure such as current mismatch losses at PV sting, loss of power of the shaded modules because of bypassing by bypass diodes under PSC, needing to series connection of many PV modules to reach the desired voltage level. In the modular structure, each PV module is connected to a DC-DC converter. In this structure, by increasing the amount of demanded power from the PV string, the number of DC-DC converters that are used at the PV system will increase. As a result, the cost of the modular structure is very high. We can implement the model-based GMPPT through the multi-input interleaved boost DC-DC converter to increase the power extraction from the PV string and reduce hot-spot and current mismatch error in a PV string under different environmental condition and variable load circumstances. The interleaved boost DC-DC converter has many privileges than other mentioned structures, such as high reliability and efficiency, better regulation of DC voltage at DC link, overcome the notable errors such as module's current mismatch and hot spot phenomenon, and power switches voltage stress reduction.

Keywords: solar energy, photovoltaic systems, interleaved boost converter, maximum power point tracking, model-based method, partial shading conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Anita Bajpai, Sarah Duan, Ashlee Erskine, Shehzein Khan, Raymond Kramer

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Introduction: This research focuses on exploring the beneficial effects if any, of Vitamin-D in reducing the need for supplemental oxygen among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Two questions are investigated – Q1)Doeshaving a healthy level of baselineVitamin-D 25-OH (≥ 30ng/ml) help,andQ2) does administering Vitamin-D therapy after-the-factduring inpatient hospitalization help? Methods/Study Design: This is a comprehensive, retrospective, observational study of all inpatients at RUHS from March through December 2020 who tested positive for COVID-19 based on real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction assay of nasal and pharyngeal swabs and rapid assay antigen test. To address Q1, we looked atall N1=182 patients whose baseline plasma Vitamin-D 25-OH was known and who needed supplemental oxygen. Of this, a total of 121 patients had a healthy Vitamin-D level of ≥30 ng/mlwhile the remaining 61 patients had low or borderline (≤ 29.9ng/ml)level. Similarly, for Q2, we looked at a total of N2=893 patients who were given supplemental oxygen, of which713 were not given Vitamin-D and 180 were given Vitamin-D therapy. The numerical value of the maximum amount of oxygen flow rate(dependent variable) administered was recorded for each patient. The mean values and associated standard deviations for each group were calculated. Thesetwo sets of independent data served as the basis for independent, two-sample t-Test statistical analysis. To be accommodative of any reasonable benefitof Vitamin-D, ap-value of 0.10(α< 10%) was set as the cutoff point for statistical significance. Results: Given the large sample sizes, the calculated statistical power for both our studies exceeded the customary norm of 80% or better (β< 0.2). For Q1, the mean value for maximumoxygen flow rate for the group with healthybaseline level of Vitamin-D was 8.6 L/min vs.12.6L/min for those with low or borderline levels, yielding a p-value of 0.07 (p < 0.10) with the conclusion that those with a healthy level of baseline Vitamin-D needed statistically significant lower levels of supplemental oxygen. ForQ2, the mean value for a maximum oxygen flow rate for those not administered Vitamin-Dwas 12.5 L/min vs.12.8L/min for those given Vitamin-D, yielding a p-valueof 0.87 (p > 0.10). We thereforeconcludedthat there was no statistically significant difference in the use of oxygen therapy between those who were or were not administered Vitamin-D after-the-fact in the hospital. Discussion/Conclusion: We found that patients who had healthy levels of Vitamin-D at baseline needed statistically significant lower levels of supplemental oxygen. Vitamin-D is well documented, including in a recent article in the Lancet, for its anti-inflammatory role as an adjuvant in the regulation of cytokines and immune cells. Interestingly, we found no statistically significant advantage for giving Vitamin-D to hospitalized patients. It may be a case of “too little too late”. A randomized clinical trial reported in JAMA also did not find any reduction in hospital stay of patients given Vitamin-D. Such conclusions come with a caveat that any delayed marginal benefits may not have materialized promptly in the presence of a significant inflammatory condition. Since Vitamin-D is a low-cost, low-risk option, it may still be useful on an inpatient basis until more definitive findings are established.

Keywords: COVID-19, vitamin-D, supplemental oxygen, vitamin-D in primary care

Procedia PDF Downloads 152