Search results for: target receptor

Authors: Wei-Ju Huang, Hung-Pin Hsu

Abstract:

[Background] In congestive heart failure (CHF), it has always been the principle of clinical treatment to control the water retention mechanism in the body to prevent excessive fluid retention. Early control of sympathetic nerves, Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system (RAA system, RAAS), or strengthening of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP) was the point. In RAA system, related hormones, such as angiotensin, or enzymes in the pathway, such as ACE-I, can be used with corresponding inhibitors to reduce water content.[Aim] In recent years, clinical studies have pointed out that if different mechanisms are combined, the control effect seems to be better. For example, recent studies showed that ENTRESTO, a combination of Sacubitril and Valsartan, is a good new drug for CHF. Sacubitril is a prodrug. After activation, it can inhibit neprilysin and act as a neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) to reduce the breakdown of natriuretic peptides(ANP). Valsartan is a kind of angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), both of which are used to treat heart failure at the same time, have excellent curative effects.[Materials and Methods] Considering the side effects of this drug, coughing and a few cases of diarrhea were observed. However, the effect of this drug on the patient's intestinal tract has not been confirmed. On the other hand, studies have pointed out that ANP supplement can improve the CHF and increase the inhibitory effect on cancer cells. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use a special microbial detection method to prove that whether oral drugs have an effect on microorganisms.The experimental method uses Nissui Compact Dry to observe the situation in different types of microorganisms. After the drug is dissolved in water, it is implanted in a petri dish, and the presence of different microorganisms is detected through different antibody reactions to confirm whether the drug has some toxicology in the gut.[Results and Discussion]From the above experimental results, it can be known that among the effects of Sacubitril and Valsartan on the basic microbial flora of the human body, low doses had no significant effect on Escherichia coli or intestinal bacteria. If Sacubitril or Valsartan with a high concentration of 3mg/ml is used alone or under the stimulation of a high concentration of the two drugs, it has a significant inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli. However, in terms of the effect on intestinal bacteria, high concentration of Sacubitril has a more significant inhibitory effect on intestinal bacteria, while high concentration of Valsartan has a less significant inhibitory effect on intestinal bacteria. The inhibitory effect of the combination of the two drugs on intestinal bacteria is also less significant.[Conclusion]The results of this study can be used as a further reference for the possible side effects of the clinical use of Sacubitril and Valsartan on the intestinal tract of patients,

Keywords: sacubitril, valsartan, entresto, congestive heart failure (CHF)

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Xinrui Gao

Abstract:

This research aims to explore the potential of shifting urban villages to public housing in China. In common practice, the central and local governments established two divided systems of urban redevelopment and public housing, including aims, design ideas, policy, headquarters, and branch offices. In most cases, the urban regeneration and public housing projects satisfy only the selected part of the society who can afford it (urban regeneration) or meet the requirements (public housing), which fail to cover the housing demand. However, there are many similarities between these two types of housing under the background of a shared economy, especially in target groups, affordable prices, and efficient use of spaces. Shenzhen always takes the lead in China’s urban regeneration and housing reformation. There are some top-down approaches to transforming housing in the urban village into public housing at present. These new approaches will provide a good chance to evaluate existing practices and explore the future development path of urban villages; while at the same time it could positively influence the housing problem in China.

Keywords: urban village, public housing, sharing economy, urban redevelopment

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Siphiwe P. Mandina, Tinashe Shamuyashe

Abstract:

Tourism has become a topical issue amongst academics and practitioners due to its potential to contribute significantly towards an economy’s GDP. The problem underpinning this research is the fact that the major attraction, Victoria Falls, is being marketed in neighboring countries like South Africa, Botswana and Zambia with tour operators providing just day trips to the Victoria Falls. This has deprived Zimbabwe of income from tourism with tourists making day trips and actually not spending nights in Zimbabwe. This therefore calls for cutting edge marketing strategies that are superior to or inimitable by competing nations such as South Africa and Zambia. This study proposes a shift towards an experience management paradigm in the tourism sector. A qualitative research was adopted for this study, and findings of this study were generalized across different tourism contexts, therefore making the survey based research design more appropriate. The target population for this study is tourists visiting Zimbabwe over the period 2016 and ZTA visitor database acquired from the Department of Immigration will form the sampling frame for the purposes of this study.

Keywords: tourist experiences, Zimbabwe, tourist arrivals, competitiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Ke Lin, Steve Wu Qing Yang, Zhang Nan

Abstract:

The medicine and drugs has in the past been manufactured to the final products and then used laboratory analysis to verify their quality. However the industry needs crucially a monitoring technique for the final batch to batch quality check. The introduction of process analytical technology (PAT) provides an incentive to obtain real-time information about drugs on the production line, with the following optical techniques being considered: near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and imaging, mid-infrared spectroscopy with the use of chemometric techniques to quantify the final product. However, presents problems in that the spectra obtained will consist of many combination and overtone bands of the fundamental vibrations observed, making analysis difficult. In this work, we describe a non-destructive system and method for capsule and liquid medicine identification, more particularly, using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and/or designed terahertz portable system for identifying different types of medicine in the package of capsule or in liquid medicine bottles. The target medicine can be detected directly, non-destructively and non-invasively.

Keywords: terahertz, non-destructive, non-invasive, chemical identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Jaime Martín-de-Nicolás, David Mata-Moya, Nerea del-Rey-Maestre, Pedro Gómez-del-Hoyo, María-Pilar Jarabo-Amores

Abstract:

Ship detection is nowadays quite an important issue in tasks related to sea traffic control, fishery management and ship search and rescue. Although it has traditionally been carried out by patrol ships or aircrafts, coverage and weather conditions and sea state can become a problem. Synthetic aperture radars can surpass these coverage limitations and work under any climatological condition. A fast CFAR ship detector based on a robust statistical modeling of sea clutter with respect to sea states in SAR images is used. In this paper, the minimum SNR required to obtain a given detection probability with a given false alarm rate for any sea state is determined. A Gaussian target model using real SAR data is considered. Results show that SNR does not depend heavily on the class considered. Provided there is some variation in the backscattering of targets in SAR imagery, the detection probability is limited and a post-processing stage based on morphology would be suitable.

Keywords: SAR, generalized gamma distribution, detection curves, radar detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 446

Authors: Aurelija Burinskiene

Abstract:

This paper presents the study for an e-commerce warehouse. The study is aiming to improve order fulfillment activity by identifying the strategy presenting the best performance. A simulation model was proposed to reach the target of this research. This model enables various scenario tests in an e-commerce warehouse, allowing them to find out for the best order fulfillment strategy. By using simulation, model authors investigated customers’ orders representing on-line purchases for one month. Experiments were designed to evaluate various order picking methods applicable to the fulfillment of customers’ orders. The research uses cost components analysis and helps to identify the best possible order picking method improving the overall performance of e-commerce warehouse and fulfillment service to the customers. The results presented show that the application of order batching strategy is the most applicable because it brings distance savings of around 6.7 percentage. This result could be improved by taking an assortment clustering action until 8.34 percentage. So, the recommendations were given to apply the method for future e-commerce warehouse operations.

Keywords: e-commerce, order, fulfilment, strategy, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Yong Pan, Li Wang, Xue Qiong Su, Dong Wen Gao

Abstract:

To date, nanomaterials have received extensive attention over the years because of their wide application. Various nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanowire, nanoring, nanostars and other nanostructures have begun to be systematically studied. The preparation of these materials by chemical methods is not only costly, but also has a long cycle and high toxicity. At the same time, preparation of nanoparticles of multi-doped composites has been limited due to the special structure of the materials. In order to prepare multi-doped composites with the same structure as macro-materials and simplify the preparation method, the Ga_xCo_1-xZnSe_0.4 (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) nanoparticles are prepared by Pulse Laser Ablation (PLA) method. The particle component and structure are systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra, which show that the success of our preparation and the same concentration between nanoparticles (NPs) and target. Morphology of the NPs characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) indicates the circular-shaped particles in preparation. Fluorescence properties are reflected by PL spectra, which demonstrate the best performance in concentration of Ga_0.3Co_0.3ZnSe_0.4. Therefore, all the results suggest that PLA is promising to prepare the multi-NPs since it can modulate performance of NPs.

Keywords: PLA, physics, nanoparticles, multi-doped

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Mamatha Hosapatna, Anne D. Souza, Antony Sylvan Dsouza, Vrinda Hari Ankolekar

Abstract:

Our study intends to know the effect of the overall teaching program of Anatomy on a students learning. The advancement of various teaching methodologies in the present era has led to progressive changes in education. A student should be able to correlate well between the theory and practical knowledge attained even in the early years of their education in medicine and should be able to implement the same in patient care. The present study therefore aims to assess the impact the current anatomy teaching program has on a students learning and to what extent is it successful in making the learning program effective. Specific objectives of our study to assess the impact of overall teaching program of Anatomy in a students’ learning. Description of process proposed: A questionnaire will be constructed and the students will be asked to put forth their views regarding the Anatomy teaching program and its method of assessment. Suggestions, if any will also be encouraged to be put forth. Type of study is cross sectional observations. Target population is the first year MBBS students and sample size is 250. Assessment plan is to obtaining students responses using questionnaire. Calculating percentages of the responses obtained. Tabulation of the results will be done.

Keywords: anatomy, observational study questionnaire, observational study, M.B.B.S students

Procedia PDF Downloads 487

Authors: Ellisha Iling, Dayang Siti Hazimmah Ali

Abstract:

Experimental composite boards were fabricated using oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) fronds particles by applying hot press pressure of 5MPa, 6MPa and 7MPa respectively. Modulus of rupture (MOR) and internal bond strength (IB) of the composite boards made with target density of 0.80 g/cm³ were evaluated. Composite board fabricated under hot press pressure of 5MPa had MOR and IB values of 16.27 and 4.34 N/mm² respectively. Corresponding values for composite board fabricated under hot press pressure of 6MPa were 16.76 and 5.41 N/mm² respectively. Whereas, the MOR and IB values of composite board fabricated under hot press pressure of 7MPa were 17.24 and 6.19 N/mm² respectively. All composite boards met the MOR and IB requirement stated in Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Based on results of this work, the strength of mechanical properties of composite board increased with increase of hot press pressure. This study revealed that the selection of applied pressure during fabrication of composite board is important to improve mechanical properties of composite boards.

Keywords: composite board, Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Fronds, hot press pressure, mechanical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Jiaxu Huang

Abstract:

The melt carbonized blast furnace slag containing TiC was produced by carbothermal reduction of high titanium blast furnace slag. The treatment technology of melt carbonized blast furnace slag with TiC as raw material was studied, including the influence of different cooling methods, crushing atmosphere and sieving particle size on the target product TiC in the slag. The results show that air-cooling and water-cooling have little effect on TiC content of molten carbide blast furnace slag, and have great effect on crystal structure and grain size. TiC content in slag is different when carbide blast furnace slag is crushed in argon atmosphere and air atmosphere. After screening, the difference of TiC content of carbide blast furnace slag with different particle size distribution is obvious. The average TiC content of 100-400 mesh carbide blast furnace slag is 14%. And the average TiC content of carbide blast furnace slag with particle size less than 400 mesh is 10.5%.

Keywords: crushing atmosphere, cooling methods, sieving particle size, TiC

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Mobarok Hossain Bhuyain

Abstract:

Video surveillance processing has attracted various security fields transforming it into one of the leading research fields. Today's demand for detection and tracking of human mobility for security is very useful for human security, such as in crowded areas. Accordingly, video surveillance technology has seen a rapid advancement in recent years, with algorithms analyzing the behavior of people under surveillance automatically. The main motivation of this research focuses on the detection and tracking of the elderly and socially vulnerable people in crowded areas. Degenerate people are a major health concern, especially for elderly people and socially vulnerable people. One major disadvantage of video surveillance is the need for continuous monitoring, especially in crowded areas. To assist the security monitoring live surveillance video, image processing, and artificial intelligence methods can be used to automatically send warning signals to the monitoring officers about elderly people and socially vulnerable people.

Keywords: human detection, target tracking, neural network, particle filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Yu-Ching Lin, Hsi-Ya Chang

Abstract:

Cloud computing and virtualization technology have brought an innovative way for people to develop and use software nowadays. However, conventional virtualization comes at the expense of performance loss for applications. Container-based virtualization could be an option as it potentially reduces overhead and minimizes performance decline of the service platform. In this paper, we introduce a system framework and present an implementation of resource broker for dynamic cloud service deployment on the container-based platform to facilitate the efficient execution and improve the utilization. We target the load-aware service deployment approach for task ranking scenario. This proposed effort can collaborate with resource management system to adaptively deploy services according to the different requests. In particular, our approach relies on composing service immediately onto appropriate container according to user’s requirement in order to conserve the waiting time. Our evaluation shows how efficient of the service deployment is and how to expand its applicability to support the variety of cloud service.

Keywords: cloud computing, container-based virtualization, resource broker, service deployment

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: M. Khalid Alamgir, Javed Ahsan Bhatti, M. Zafarullah Khan

Abstract:

Thin film of amorphous carbon (DLC) was deposited on 316 steel using Nd: YAG laser having energy 300mJ. Pure graphite was used as a target. The vacuum in the deposition chamber was generated in the range of 10-6 mbar by turbo molecular pump. Ratio of sp3 to sp2 content shows amorphous nature of the film. This was confirmed by Raman spectra having two peaks around 1300 cm-1 i.e. D-band to 1700 cm-1 i.e. G-band. If sp3 bonding ratio is high, the films behave like diamond-like whereas, with high sp2, films are graphite-like. The ratio of sp3 and sp2 contents in the film depends upon the deposition method, hydrogen contents and system parameters. The structural study of the film was carried out by XRD. The hardness of the films as measured by Vickers hardness tester and was found to be 28 GPa. The EDX result shows the presence of carbon contents on the surface in high rate and optical microscopy result shows the smoothness of the film on substrate. The film possesses good adhesion and can be used to coat surgical instruments.

Keywords: DLC, thin film, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, EDX

Procedia PDF Downloads 552

Authors: Monika Sobolewska, Aleksandra Majchrzak, Bartlomiej Chojnacki, Katarzyna Baruch, Adam Pilch

Abstract:

The main purpose of the study is to perform the measurement and analysis of noise harmfulness in public utility facilities. The World Health Organization reports that the number of people suffering from hearing impairment is constantly increasing. The most alarming is the number of young people occurring in the statistics. The majority of scientific research in the field of hearing protection and noise prevention concern industrial and road traffic noise as the source of health problems. As the result, corresponding standards and regulations defining noise level limits are enforced. However, there is another field uncovered by profound research – leisure time. Public utility facilities such as clubs, shopping malls, sport facilities or concert halls – they all generate high-level noise, being out of proper juridical control. Among European Union Member States, the highest legislative act concerning noise prevention is the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC. However, it omits the problem discussed above and even for traffic, railway and aircraft noise it does not set limits or target values, leaving these issues to the discretion of the Member State authorities. Without explicit and uniform regulations, noise level control at places designed for relaxation and entertainment is often in the responsibility of people having little knowledge of hearing protection, unaware of the risk the noise pollution poses. Exposure to high sound levels in clubs, cinemas, at concerts and sports events may result in a progressive hearing loss, especially among young people, being the main target group of such facilities and events. The first step to change this situation and to raise the general awareness is to perform reliable measurements the results of which will emphasize the significance of the problem. This project presents the results of more than hundred measurements, performed in most types of public utility facilities in Poland. As the most suitable measuring instrument for such a research, personal noise dosimeters were used to collect the data. Each measurement is presented in the form of numerical results including equivalent and peak sound pressure levels and a detailed description considering the type of the sound source, size and furnishing of the room and the subjective sound level evaluation. In the absence of a straight reference point for the interpretation of the data, the limits specified in EU Directive 2003/10/EC were used for comparison. They set the maximum sound level values for workers in relation to their working time length. The analysis of the examined problem leads to the conclusion that during leisure time, people are exposed to noise levels significantly exceeding safe values. As the hearing problems are gradually progressing, most people underplay the problem, ignoring the first symptoms. Therefore, an effort has to be made to specify the noise regulations for public utility facilities. Without any action, in the foreseeable future the majority of Europeans will be dealing with serious hearing damage, which will have a negative impact on the whole societies.

Keywords: hearing protection, noise level limits, noise prevention, noise regulations, public utility facilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 214

Authors: Shah Abbas

Abstract:

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic, inflammatory autoimmune disease, affecting an overall 1% of the global population. Despite being tremendous efforts by scientists, early diagnosis of RA still has not been achieved. In the current study, a Graphene oxide (GO) based electrochemical sensor has been developed for early diagnosis of RA through Cyclic voltammetry. Chitosan (CHI), a CPnatural polymer has also been incorporated along with GO in order to enhance the biocompatibility and functionalization potential of the biosensor. CCPs are known antigens for Anti Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies (ACPAs) which can be detected in serum even 14 years before the appearance of symptoms, thus they are believed to be an ideal target for the early diagnosis of RA. This study has yielded some promising results regarding the binding and detection of ACPAs through changes in the electrochemical properties of biosensing material. The cyclic voltammogram of this biosensor reflects the binding of ACPAs to the biosensor surface, due to its shifts observed in the current flow (cathodic current) as compared to the when no ACPAs bind as it is absent in RA negative patients.

Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, peptide sensor, graphene oxide, anti citrullinated peptide antibodies, cyclic voltammetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Chuan Yin

Abstract:

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subpopulation of cancer cells that possess the characteristics associated with normal stem cells. CD133 is a phenotype of melanoma CSCs responsible for melanoma metastasis and drug resistance. Although adriamycin (ADR) is commonly used drug in melanoma therapy, but it is ineffective in the treatment of melanoma CSCs. In this study, we constructed CD133 antibody conjugated ADR immunoliposomes (ADR-Lip-CD133) to target CD133+ melanoma CSCs. The results showed that the immunoliposomes possessed a small particle size (~150 nm), high drug encapsulation efficiency (~90%). After 72 hr treatment on the WM266-4 melanoma tumorspheres, the IC50 values of the drug formulated in ADR-Lip-CD133, ADR-Lip (ADR liposomes) and ADR are found to be 24.42, 57.13 and 59.98 ng/ml respectively, suggesting that ADR-Lip-CD133 was more effective than ADR-Lip and ADR. Significantly, ADR-Lip-CD133 could almost completely abolish the tumorigenic ability of WM266-4 tumorspheres in vivo, and showed the best therapeutic effect in WM266-4 melanoma xenograft mice. It is noteworthy that ADR-Lip-CD133 could selectively kill CD133+ melanoma CSCs of WM266-4 cells both in vitro and in vivo. ADR-Lip-CD133 represent a potential approach in targeting and killing CD133+ melanoma CSCs.

Keywords: cancer stem cells, melanoma, immunoliposomes, CD133

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Tewelde Gebresslase Haile, S. P. Singh

Abstract:

To bridge the existing knowledge gap on public intervention implementations, this study estimates the impact of social protection intervention (SPI) on alleviating social vulnerability. Following a multi-stage sampling, primary information was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire, FGD, and interviews from the target households located at four systematically selected districts of Tigrai, Ethiopia. Factor analysis and Propensity Score Matching are applied to construct Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and measuring the counterfactual impact of selected intervention. As a multidimensional challenge, social vulnerability is found as an important concept used to guide policy evaluation. Accessibility of basic services of Social Affairs, Agriculture, Health and Education sectors, and Food Security Program are commonly used as SPIs. Finally, this study discovers that the households who had access to SPI have scored 9.65% lower SVI than in the absence of the intervention. Finally, this study suggests the provision of integrated, proactive, productive, and evidence-based SPIs to alleviate social vulnerability.

Keywords: social protection, livelihood assets, social vulnerability, public policy SVI

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Doaa Nounou

Abstract:

This research examines the public policy energy subsidies reform efforts in Egypt since 2014. Egypt’s widely used energy subsidies have been controversial since they were first introduced, as they inadequately target the poorest part of the population. Also, their effect on economic development and democratic transition became very challenging in recent years. This research argues that although subsidy reform is a highly politicalized issue in democratizing countries, there are still a number of pragmatic public policies that can be applied to make the subsidy system function more efficiently and at the same time decrease inequality which could facilitate a more orderly and peaceful transition to democracy. Therefore, this research attempts to study the role of the executive branch in reforming the subsidy programmes to support the poor and bring about structural changes to achieve social justice and economic growth. This research also attempts to analyze the role of the military and civil society in reforming the subsidy system. Moreover, it attempts to discuss the role of the state media in social mobilization to rationalize consumption and its contribution to subsidies reform.

Keywords: subsidies, public policy, political economy, democratization, equality

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Miranda Enesi, Helena Grillo Mukli

Abstract:

The English word-stock is extremely rich in synonyms which can be largely accounted for by the abundant borrowing. Translation problems encountered by translators in general are usually ‘transfer problems’. They face more difficulties in the interpretation of meaning from the source language text than lexical differences between languages. The aim of the study is to inspect the various strategies used in translating from English into Albanian specific words in the ‘A Farwell to arms’ novel. For this purpose, examples translated from English into Albanian were examined. The Albanian equivalents have shown that various strategies were used in order to overcome the problem of rendering words and expressions into the target language. Employed strategies were synonymy, modulation, transposition, calque and word for word translation. In addition, this paper shows that the strategy of translating using synonymy is mostly used. In this paper, an attempt is made to examine the nature of contextual synonymy in order to investigate its problematic nature regarding translation. Types of synonymy are analyzed and then examples from English and Albanian versions are provided to examine the overlap between them.

Keywords: equivalence, literal translation, paraphrasing, transfer problems, synonymy

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: D. R. Rama Brahma Reddy, A. Vijaya Sarada Reddy

Abstract:

Nanoparticles represent a promising drug delivery system of controlled and targeted drug release. They are specially designed to release the drug in the vicinity of target tissue. The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate polymethacrylic acid nanoparticles containing Zidovudine in different drug to polymer ratio by nanoprecipitation method. SEM indicated that nanoparticles have a discrete spherical structure without aggregation. The average particle size was found to be 120 ± 0.02 - 420 ± 0.05 nm. The particle size of the nanoparticles was gradually increased with increase in the proportion of polymethacrylic acid polymer. The drug content of the nanoparticles was increasing on increasing polymer concentration up to a particular concentration. No appreciable difference was observed in the extent of degradation of product during 60 days in which, nanoparticles were stored at various temperatures. FT-IR studies indicated that there was no chemical interaction between drug and polymer and stability of drug. The in-vitro release behavior from all the drug loaded batches was found to be zero order and provided sustained release over a period of 24 h. The developed formulation overcome and alleviates the drawbacks and limitations of Zidovudine sustained release formulations and could possibility be advantageous in terms of increased bio availability of Zidovudine.

Keywords: nanoparticles, zidovudine, biodegradable, polymethacrylic acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 610

Authors: Vijaya Yuvaram Singh V M, Kameshwar Rao J V

Abstract:

The challenge with development of neural network based methods for medical is the availability of data. Anatomical landmark detection in the medical domain is a process to find points on the x-ray scan report of the patient. Most of the time this task is done manually by trained professionals as it requires precision and domain knowledge. Traditionally object detection based methods are used for landmark detection. Here, we utilize reinforcement learning and query based method to train a single agent capable of detecting multiple landmarks. A deep Q network agent is trained to detect single and multiple landmarks present on hip and shoulder from x-ray scan of a patient. Here a single agent is trained to find multiple landmark making it superior to having individual agents per landmark. For the initial study, five images of different patients are used as the environment and tested the agents performance on two unseen images.

Keywords: reinforcement learning, medical landmark detection, multi target detection, deep neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Pattaramon Pongjetpong

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Hassan Mahdi

Abstract:

The integration of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools in translation creates several opportunities for translators. However, this integration is not useful in all types of English structures. This study aims at examining the impact of using CAT tools in translating collocations. Seventy students of English as a foreign language participated in this study. The participants were divided into three groups (i.e., CAT tools group, Machine Translation group, and the control group). The comparison of the results obtained from the translation output of the three groups demonstrated the improvement of translation using CAT tools. The results indicated that the participants who used CAT tools outscored the participants who used MT, and in turn, both groups outscored the control group who did not use any type of technology in translation. In addition, there was a significant difference in the use of CAT for translation different types of collocations. The results also indicated that CAT tools were more effective in translation fixed and medium-strength collocations than weak collocations. Finally, the results showed that CAT tools were effective in translation collocations in both types of languages (i.e. target language or source language). The study suggests some guidelines for translators to use CAT tools.

Keywords: machine translation, computer-assisted translation, collocations, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Seema Singh Parmar, Shweta Chauhan

Abstract:

Aims & Objectives: To evaluate the presence of various psychiatric disorders in patients reporting with a headache as the only symptom. Methodology: 200 patients with the chief complain of a headache who visited the psychiatric OPD of a tertiary care were investigated. Out of them 50 who had pure psychiatric illness without any other neurological disease were investigated, and their diagnosis was made. Independent sample t-tests were applied to generate results. Results: The most common psychiatric diagnosis seen in the sample was Depression (64%) out of which 47% showed features of Depression with anxious distress. Other psychiatric disorders seen were Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, Somatic Symptom Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. For pure psychiatry, headache related illnesses female to male ratio was 1.64. Conclusion: The increasing frequency of psychiatric disorders among patients who only visit the doctor seeking treat a headache shows the need for better identification of psychiatric disorders because proper diagnosis and target of psychiatric treatment shall give complete relief to the patient’s symptomatology.

Keywords: anxiety disorders, depression, headache, panic attacks

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Wildan Maulana, Machfudz Sa'idi

Abstract:

Yogyakarta is a city with the most students in Indonesia, more than 250 thousand students living in Yogyakarta and more than 140 universities in Yogyakarta. Therefore, Yogyakarta is a very strategic place for the culinary business. Food is a basic requirement of all living things, and the tasty food and cheap is the target of almost all students. The objective of this paper is to give an idea and the innovation of culinary business in Yogyakarta who apply the concept sociopreneur and technology as a tool to facilitate the course of this business. KedaiKampus is a startup that brings the food business operators such as food stalls, restaurants or angkringan (a traditional restaurant of Indonesia) and people who want to find the food with the best price and the best taste. The uniqueness of this business is offered weekly and monthly food packages for students in particular or for everyone who needs and will be delivered to their homes each every hour meal. KedaiKampus is also a marketspace for industrial and culinary houses, using technology based mobile application and website will allow the food industry to connect them with customers, but it also allows them to know the customer's desire for food trending in the market. The application to be developed is designed for ease of access to customers in finding their favorite foods and convenience for the culinary home to create amazing culinary innovation.

Keywords: marketplace, sociopreneur, culinary, meal

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Elham Rezaee, Sayyed Abbas Tabatabai

Abstract:

Dual inhibition of COX-2 and sEH enzymes represents one of the distinct pharmaceutical approaches for the treatment of inflammation, pain, cancers, and other diseases. The discovery of these inhibitors for treatment is a great deal of attention because of some advantages such as increased efficacy, a promising safety profile, ease of formulation, and better target engagement. In this research, based on the structure-activity relationship of COX-2 and sEH inhibitors, some amide derivatives with oxadiazole and dihydropyrimidinone rings against sEH and COX-2 enzymes were developed. The designed compounds showed high affinity to the active site of both enzymes in docking studies and were synthesized in good yield and characterized by IR, Mass, 1HNMR, and 13CNMR. All of the novel compounds exhibited considerable in-vitro sEH and COX-2 inhibitory activities in comparison with 12-(3-Adamantan-1-yl-ureido)- dodecanoic acid and celecoxib (a potent urea-based sEH inhibitor and selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, respectively). Ethyl 6-methyl-4-(4-(4-(methylsulfonyl)benzamido)phenyl)-2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate was found to be the most selective COX-2 inhibitor (COX-2/COX-1 ratio: 683) with IC50 value of 2.1 nM targeting sEH enzyme.

Keywords: COX-2, dual inhibitors, sEH, synthesis

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: Seul-Ki Park, Jong-Chun Park, Gyu-Mok Jeon, Dae-Kyung Ock, Seung-Gyu Jeong

Abstract:

Rogue waves cause frequent accidents of ships and offshore structures, which can result in severe damage to the structures. The Rogue waves, which are also known as big waves, freak waves, extreme waves, monster waves, focused waves, giant waves and abnormal waves, are unexpected and suddenly appearing, and can have a breaking force to destroy the structure even though modern structures are designed to tolerate a breaking wave. In the present study, a series of focused waves are numerically reproduced by concentrating nonlinear multi-directional waves into a target point using a commercial CFD software, Star-CCM+. A flow analysis for investigating the physical characteristics of the focused waves is performed using the Star-CCM+, while it has several difficulties to examine the inner properties of the waves in existing potential theory and experiments. Additionally, the 6-DOF (Degree of Freedom) motion of a floating body interacting with the focused waves are simulated, and the dynamic response of the body are discussed.

Keywords: multidirectional waves, focused waves, rogue waves, wave-structure interaction, numerical wave tank, computational fluid dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: W. Mohammedsaeed, A. J. Mcbain, S. M. Cruickshank, C. A. O’Neill

Abstract:

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of probiotics and their potential therapeutic effects within the gut. Recently, the possible therapeutic effects of probiotics in other tissues have also begun to be investigated. Comparatively few studies have evaluated the use of topical probiotics in relation to the skin. In this study, we have conducted preliminary investigations into whether a well-known probiotic, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), can increase the rate of re-epithelialization in a model wound. Full-thickness skin was obtained from individuals undergoing elective cosmetic surgery. This skin was wounded using excisional punch and cultured using a serum-free medium, either in the presence or absence of L. rhamnosus GG lysate. Histological staining of the sections was performed with Haematoxylin& Eosin E to quantify “epithelial tongue length”. This is the length of the new epithelial ‘tongue’ that grows and covers the exposed dermis at the inner wound edges. The length of the new epithelial ‘tongue’ was compared in untreated section and section treated with and L. rhamnosus GG made using108CFU/ml bacterial cells. L. rhamnosus GG lysate enhanced significantly the re-epithelialisation of treated wounds compared with that of untreated wounds (P=0.005, n=3). Tongue length, at day 1 was 7.55μm 0.15, at day 3 it was 18.5μm 0.25 and at day 7 was 22.9μm 0.35. These results can be compared with untreated cultures in which tongue length was 3.25μm 0.35, day 3 was 9.65μm 0.25 and day 7 was 13.5μm 0.15 post-wounding. In ex-vivo proliferation and migration cells were measured by determining the expression of nuclear proliferation marker Ki-67 and the expression of Phosphorylated cortactin respectively demonstrated that L. rhamnosus GG significantly increased NHEK proliferation and migration rates relative to controls. However, the dominant mechanism was migration because in ex-vivo skin treated with the L. rhamnosus GG up-regulated the gene expression of the chemokine receptor and ligands CXCR2 and CXCL2 comparing with controls (P=0.02, P=0.03 respectively, n=3). High levels of CXCL2/CXCL2 have already been implicated in multiple aspects of stimulation of wound healing through activation of keratinocyte migration. These data demonstrate that lysates from Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG increase re-epithelialization by stimulation of keratinocyte migration. The current study identifies the partial mechanism that contribute to stimulating the wound-healing process ex vivo in response to L. rhamnosus GG lysate is an increase in the production of CXCL2/ CXCR2 in ex vivo models. The use of probiotic lysates potentially offers new options to develop treatments that could improve wound healing.

Keywords: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, wounds, migration, lysate

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Ghirmay Teklemicheal, Samsom Mehari, Sara Tesfay

Abstract:

Objectives: A total of 1074 suspected chikungunya cases were reported in Tesseney Province, Gash Barka region, Eritrea, during an outbreak. This study was aimed to assess the possible association of chikungunya severity among ABO blood groups and other potential determinants. Methods: A sex-matched and age-matched case-control study was conducted during the outbreak. For each case, one control subject had been selected from the mild Chikungunya cases. Along the same line of argument, a second control subject had also been designated through which neighborhood of cases were analyzed, scrutinized, and appeared to the scheme of comparison. Time is always the most sacrosanct element in pursuance of any study. According to the temporal calculation, this study was pursued from October 15, 2018, to November 15, 2018. Coming to the methodological dependability, calculating odds ratios (ORs) and conditional (fixed-effect) logistic regression methods were being applied. As a consequence of this, the data was analyzed and construed on the basis of the aforementioned methodological systems. Results: In this outbreak, 137 severe suspected chikungunya cases and 137 mild chikungunya suspected patients, and 137 controls free of chikungunya from the neighborhood of cases were analyzed. Non-O individuals compared to those with O blood group indicated as significant with a p-value of 0.002. Separate blood group comparison among A and O blood groups reflected as significant with a p-value of 0.002. However, there was no significant difference in the severity of chikungunya among B, AB, and O blood groups with a p-value of 0.113 and 0.708, respectively, and a strong association of chikungunya severity was found with hypertension and diabetes (p-value of < 0.0001); whereas, there was no association between chikungunya severity and asthma with a p-value of 0.695 and also no association with pregnancy (p-value =0.881), ventilator (p-value =0.181), air conditioner (p-value = 0.247), and didn’t use latrine and pit latrine (p-value = 0.318), among individuals using septic and pit latrine (p-value = 0.567) and also among individuals using flush and pit latrine (p-value = 0.194). Conclusions: Non- O blood groups were found to be at risk more than their counterpart O blood group individuals with severe form of chikungunya disease. By the same token, individuals with chronic disease were more prone to severe forms of the disease in comparison with individuals without chronic disease. Prioritization is recommended for patients with chronic diseases and non-O blood group since they are found to be susceptible to severe chikungunya disease. Identification of human cell surface receptor(s) for CHIKV is quite necessary for further understanding of its pathophysiology in humans. Therefore, molecular and functional studies will necessarily be helpful in disclosing the association of blood group antigens and CHIKV infections.

Keywords: Chikungunya, Chikungunya virus, disease outbreaks, case-control studies, Eritrea

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Chengcao Sun, Shujun Li, Cuili Yang, Yongyong Xi, Liang Wang, Feng Zhang, Dejia Li

Abstract:

Hsa-miRNA-139-5p (miR-139-5p) has recently been discovered having anticancer efficacy in different organs. However, the role of miR-139-5p on lung cancer is still ambiguous. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-139-5p on development of lung cancer. Results indicated miR-139-5p was significantly down-regulated in primary tumor tissues and very low levels were found in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-139-5p in NSCLC cell lines significantly suppressed cell growth through inhibition of cyclin D1 and up-regulation of p57(Kip2). In addition, miR-139-5p induced apoptosis, as indicated by up-regulation of key apoptosis gene cleaved caspase-3, and down-regulation of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl2. Moreover, miR-139-5p inhibited cellular metastasis through inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-7 and MMP-9. Further, oncogene c-Met was revealed to be a putative target of miR-139-5p, which was inversely correlated with miR-139-5p expression. Taken together, our results demonstrated that miR-139-5p plays a pivotal role in lung cancer through inhibiting cell proliferation, metastasis, and promoting apoptosis by targeting oncogenic c-Met.

Keywords: hsa-miRNA-139-5p (miR-139-5p), c-Met, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), proliferation, apoptosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 335