Search results for: adverse drug reaction reporting

Authors: Mannar R. Maurya, Bithika Sarkar, Fernando Avecilla

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Peroxidase activity is possibly successfully used for different industrial processes in medicine, chemical industry, food processing and agriculture. However, they bear some intrinsic drawback associated with denaturation by proteases, their special storage requisite and cost factor also. Now a day’s artificial enzyme mimics are becoming a research interest because of their significant applications over conventional organic enzymes for ease of their preparation, low price and good stability in activity and overcome the drawbacks of natural enzymes e.g serine proteases. At present, a large number of artificial enzymes have been synthesized by assimilating a catalytic center into a variety of schiff base complexes, ligand-anchoring, supramolecular complexes, hematin, porphyrin, nanoparticles to mimic natural enzymes. Although in recent years a several number of vanadium complexes have been reported by a continuing increase in interest in bioinorganic chemistry. To our best of knowledge, the investigation of artificial enzyme mimics of vanadium complexes is very less explored. Recently, our group has reported synthetic vanadium schiff base complexes capable of mimicking peroxidases. Herein, we have synthesized monoidovanadium(IV) and dioxidovanadium(V) complexes of pyrazoleone derivateis ( extensively studied on account of their broad range of pharmacological appication). All these complexes are characterized by various spectroscopic techniques like FT-IR, UV-Visible, NMR (1H, 13C and 51V), Elemental analysis, thermal studies and single crystal analysis. The peroxidase mimic activity has been studied towards oxidation of pyrogallol to purpurogallin with hydrogen peroxide at pH 7 followed by measuring kinetic parameters. The Michaelis-Menten behavior shows an excellent catalytic activity over its natural counterparts, e.g. V-HPO and HRP. The obtained kinetic parameters (Vmax, Kcat) were also compared with peroxidase and haloperoxidase enzymes making it a promising mimic of peroxidase catalyst. Also, the catalytic activity has been studied towards the oxidation of 1-phenylethanol in presence of H2O2 as an oxidant. Various parameters such as amount of catalyst and oxidant, reaction time, reaction temperature and solvent have been taken into consideration to get maximum oxidative products of 1-phenylethanol.

Keywords: oxovanadium(IV)/dioxidovanadium(V) complexes, NMR spectroscopy, Crystal structure, peroxidase mimic activity towards oxidation of pyrogallol, Oxidation of 1-phenylethanol

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Authors: Mazaher Yarmohamadi-Vasel, Ali Reza Modarresi-Alama, Sahar Shabzendedara

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Purpose/Objectives: The first purpose was synthesize Poly(N-(sulfophenyl)aniline) nanoflowers (PSANFLs) and Poly(N-(sulfophenyl)aniline) nanofibers/titanium dioxide nanoparticles ((PSANFs/TiO2NPs) by a solid-state mechano-chemical reaction and template-free method and use them in hybrid solar cell. Also, our second aim was to increase the solubility and the processability of conjugated nanomaterials in water through polar functionalized materials. poly[N-(4-sulfophenyl)aniline] is easily soluble in water because of the presence of polar groups of sulfonic acid in the polymer chain. Materials/Methods: Iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3∙6H2O) were bought from Merck Millipore Company. Titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2, <20 nm, anatase) and Sodium diphenylamine-4-sulfonate (99%) were bought from Sigma-Aldrich Company. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles paste (PST-20T) was prepared from Sharifsolar Co. Conductive glasses coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) were bought from Xinyan Technology Co (China). For the first time we used the solid-state mechano-chemical reaction and template-free method to synthesize Poly(N-(sulfophenyl)aniline) nanoflowers. Moreover, for the first time we used the same technique to synthesize nanocomposite of Poly(N-(sulfophenyl)aniline) nanofibers and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (PSANFs/TiO2NPs) also for the first time this nanocomposite was synthesized. Examining the results of electrochemical calculations energy gap obtained by CV curves and UV–vis spectra demonstrate that PSANFs/TiO2NPs nanocomposite is a p-n type material that can be used in photovoltaic cells. Doctor blade method was used to creat films for three kinds of hybrid solar cells in terms of different patterns like ITO│TiO2NPs│Semiconductor sample│Al. In the following, hybrid photovoltaic cells in bilayer and bulk heterojunction structures were fabricated as ITO│TiO2NPs│PSANFLs│Al and ITO│TiO2NPs│PSANFs /TiO2NPs│Al, respectively. Fourier-transform infrared spectra, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), ultraviolet-visible spectra, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrical conductivity were the analysis that used to characterize the synthesized samples. Results and Conclusions: FE-SEM images clearly demonstrate that the morphology of the synthesized samples are nanostructured (nanoflowers and nanofibers). Electrochemical calculations of band gap from CV curves demonstrated that the forbidden band gap of the PSANFLs and PSANFs/TiO2NPs nanocomposite are 2.95 and 2.23 eV, respectively. I–V characteristics of hybrid solar cells and their power conversion efficiency (PCE) under 100 mWcm−2 irradiation (AM 1.5 global conditions) were measured that The PCE of the samples were 0.30 and 0.62%, respectively. At the end, all the results of solar cell analysis were discussed. To sum up, PSANFLs and PSANFLs/TiO2NPs were successfully synthesized by an affordable and straightforward mechanochemical reaction in solid-state under the green condition. The solubility and processability of the synthesized compounds have been improved compared to the previous work. We successfully fabricated hybrid photovoltaic cells of synthesized semiconductor nanostructured polymers and TiO2NPs as different architectures. We believe that the synthesized compounds can open inventive pathways for the development of other Poly(N-(sulfophenyl)aniline based hybrid materials (nanocomposites) proper for preparing new generation solar cells.

Keywords: mechanochemical synthesis, PSANFLs, PSANFs/TiO2NPs, solar cell

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Authors: Satya P. Dubey, Hrushikesh A Abhyankar, Veronica Marchante, James L. Brighton, Björn Bergmann

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Aims: To develop a mathematical model that simulates the ROP of PLA taking into account the effect of alternative energy to be implemented in a continuous reactive extrusion production process of PLA. Introduction: The production of large amount of waste is one of the major challenges at the present time, and polymers represent 70% of global waste. PLA has emerged as a promising polymer as it is compostable, biodegradable thermoplastic polymer made from renewable sources. However, the main limitation for the application of PLA is the traces of toxic metal catalyst in the final product. Thus, a safe and efficient production process needs to be developed to avoid the potential hazards and toxicity. It has been found that alternative energy sources (LASER, ultrasounds, microwaves) could be a prominent option to facilitate the ROP of PLA via continuous reactive extrusion. This process may result in complete extraction of the metal catalysts and facilitate less active organic catalysts. Methodology: Initial investigation were performed using the data available in literature for the reaction mechanism of ROP of PLA based on conventional metal catalyst stannous octoate. A mathematical model has been developed by considering significant parameters such as different initial concentration ratio of catalyst, co-catalyst and impurity. Effects of temperature variation and alternative energies have been implemented in the model. Results: The validation of the mathematical model has been made by using data from literature as well as actual experiments. Validation of the model including alternative energies is in progress based on experimental data for partners of the InnoREX project consortium. Conclusion: The model developed reproduces accurately the polymerisation reaction when applying alternative energy. Alternative energies have a great positive effect to increase the conversion and molecular weight of the PLA. This model could be very useful tool to complement Ludovic® software to predict the large scale production process when using reactive extrusion.

Keywords: polymer, poly-lactic acid (PLA), ring opening polymerization (ROP), metal-catalyst, bio-degradable, renewable source, alternative energy (AE)

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Authors: M. Hadji, N. Chiker, Y. Hadji, A. Haddad

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In this paper, we report for the first time on the synthesis and characterization of novel MAX phases (Ti3SiC2, Ti2AlC) reinforced Ni-matrix and Ti2AlC reinforced Al-matrix. The stability of MAX phases in Al-matrix and Ni-matrix at a temperature of 985°C has been investigated. All the composites were cold pressed and sintered at a temperature of 985°C for 20min in H2 environment, except (Ni/Ti3SiC2) who was sintered at 1100°C for 1h.Microstructure analysis by scanning electron microscopy and phase analysis by X-Ray diffraction confirmed that there was minimal interfacial reaction between MAX particles and Ni, thus Al/MAX samples shown that MAX phases was totally decomposed at 985°C.The Addition of MAX enhanced the Al-matrix and Ni-matrix.

Keywords: MAX phase, microstructures, composites, hardness, SEM

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Authors: Dipti Govil, Nidhi Khosla

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Couple-level reports of contraception are important as wives and husbands may give different reports about contraceptive use. Using matched couple-data (N=62910), from India's NFHS–IV (2015-16), this paper examines concordance in spousal reports of current contraceptive use and its differentials. Reporting of contraceptive use was higher among wives (59%) than husbands (25%). Concordance was low; 16.5% of couples reported the use of the same method, while 21% reported the use of any method. There existed a huge denial from husbands on the use of female sterilization. Reconstruction of contraceptive use among men increased concordance by 10%. Multivariate analysis shows that concordance was low in urban and Southern India, among younger women and women with lower wealth-index. Men's control over household decision-making and negative attitudes towards contraception were associated with a lower concordance. Findings highlight the importance of using couple-level data to estimate contraceptive prevalence, the role of education programs to inculcate positive attitudes towards contraception, fostering gender equality, and involving men into family planning efforts. The results also raise the issue of data quality as the questions were asked differently from men and women, which might have contributed to wide discordance.

Keywords: concordance, contraceptive use, couple, female sterilisation, India

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Authors: Tareg Belali, Mosleh Abomughaid, Muhanad Alhujaily

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HNF4a is one of the steroid hormone receptor family of transcription factors with roles in the development of the liver and the regulation of several critical metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis, drug metabolism, and apolipoproteins and blood coagulation. The transcriptional potency of HNF4a is well known due to its involvement in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. However, recently HNF4a has been discovered to be closely associated with several haematological disorders, mainly because of genetic mutations, drugs, and hepatic disorders. We review HNF4a structure and function and its role in haematological disorders. We discuss possible good therapies that are based on targeting HNF4a.

Keywords: hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha, HNF4a nuclear receptor, steroid hormone receptor family of transcription factors, hematological disorders

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Authors: Ayman Haddad, Wafaa Sbeiti, Amr Qasem

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The main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the most influential economic changes and accounting legislation affecting financial reporting and disclosure practices in Jordan. It also provides an overview of disclosure studies conducted in Jordan covering the year(s) between 1986 and 2014. The economic changes in Jordan required conducting economic reform and revising/issuing new regulations and financial market reforms that led to an improvement in disclosure practices. The issuance of Temporary Securities Law and its Directives of Disclosure in 1997, which came into effect in 1998, is considered as the turning point in the improvement of disclosure practice in Jordan. Based on a review of prior disclosure studies, we conclude that disclosure practices have improved overtime. We also observe that that firm size as a factor has always affected the level of disclosure in Jordan and followed by external auditing while liquidity was found to have the least effect. The paper also addresses the disclosure items required in Corporate Governance Codes that exist for listed shareholding companies, banks, and insurance companies. Finally, the paper discusses the quality of accounting education in Jordan since prior studies noted its impact on accounting practice.

Keywords: accounting legislation, corporate governance, disclosure practice, Jordan

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Authors: Ahtesham Javaid, Costin S. Bildea

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The design and plantwide control of an integrated plant where the endothermic 1,4-butanediol dehydrogenation and the exothermic furfural hydrogenation is simultaneously performed in a single reactor is studied. The reactions can be carried out in an adiabatic reactor using small hydrogen excess and with reduced parameter sensitivity. The plant is robust and flexible enough to allow different production rates of γ-butyrolactone and 2-methyl furan, keeping high product purities. Rigorous steady state and dynamic simulations performed in AspenPlus and AspenDynamics to support the conclusions.

Keywords: dehydrogenation and hydrogenation, reaction coupling, design and control, process integration

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Authors: Zsolt Szucs, Viktor Kelemen, Son Le Thai, Magdolna Csavas, Erzsebet Roth, Gyula Batta, Annelies Stevaert, Evelien Vanderlinden, Aniko Borbas, Lieve Naesens, Pal Herczegh

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The approval of modern glycopeptide antibiotics such as dalbavancin and oritavancin which have excellent activity against Gram-positive bacteria, encouraged our research group to prepare semisynthetic compounds from several members of glycopeptides by various chemical methods. Derivatives from the aglycone of ristocetin, eremomycin, vancomycin and a pseudoaglycon of teicoplanin have been synthesized in a systematic manner. Interestingly, some of the aglycoristocetin derivatives displayed noteworthy anti-influenza activity. More recently our group has been focusing on the modifications of one of the pseudoaglycons of teicoplanin. The reaction of N-ethoxycarbonyl maleimide derivatives with the primary amino function, the copper-catalysed azide-alkyne click reaction and the sulfonylation of the N-terminus were utilized to obtain systematic series of compounds. All substituents provide a more lipophilic character to the new molecules compared to the parent antibiotics, which is known to be favourable for activity against resistant bacteria. Lipoglycopeptides are also known to have antiviral properties, which has been predominantly studied on HIV by others. The structure-activity relationship study of our compounds revealed the influence of a few structural elements on biological activity. In many cases, minimal changes in lipophilicity and structure produced great differences in efficacy and cytotoxicity. In vitro experiments showed that these compounds are not only active against glycopeptide resistant Gram-positive bacteria but in several cases they prevent the infection of cell cultures by different strains of influenza viruses. This is probably related to the inhibition of the viral entry into the host cell nucleus, of which the exact mechanism is unknown. In some instances, reasonably low concentrations were sufficient to observe this effect. Several derivatives were highly cytotoxic at the same time, but some of them displayed a good selectivity index. The antiviral properties of the compounds are not restricted to influenza viruses e.g., some of them showed good activity against Human Coronavirus 229E. This work could potentially lead to the development of antiviral drugs which possess the crucial structural motifs that are needed for antiviral activity, while missing those which contribute to the antibacterial effect.

Keywords: antiviral, glycopeptide, semisynthetic, teicoplanin

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Authors: Neelofar, Khursheed Alam, Jamal Ahmad

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Protein modification in diabetes mellitus may lead to early glycation products (EGPs) or amadori product as well as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Early glycation involves the reaction of glucose with N-terminal and lysyl side chain amino groups to form Schiff’s base which undergoes rearrangements to form more stable early glycation product known as Amadori product. After Amadori, the reactions become more complicated leading to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that interact with various AGE receptors, thereby playing an important role in the long-term complications of diabetes. Millard reaction or nonenzymatic glycation reaction accelerate in diabetes due to hyperglycation and alter serum protein’s structure, their normal functions that lead micro and macro vascular complications in diabetic patients. In this study, Human Serum Albumin (HSA) with a constant concentration was incubated with different concentrations of glucose at 370C for a week. At 4th day, Amadori product was formed that was confirmed by colorimetric method NBT assay and TBA assay which both are authenticate early glycation product. Conformational changes in native as well as all samples of Amadori albumin with different concentrations of glucose were investigated by various biophysical and biochemical techniques. Main biophysical techniques hyperchromacity, quenching of fluorescence intensity, FTIR, CD and SDS-PAGE were used. Further conformational changes were observed by biochemical assays mainly HMF formation, fructoseamine, reduction of fructoseamine with NaBH4, carbonyl content estimation, lysine and arginine residues estimation, ANS binding property and thiol group estimation. This study find structural and biochemical changes in Amadori modified HSA with normal to hyperchronic range of glucose with respect to native HSA. When glucose concentration was increased from normal to chronic range biochemical and structural changes also increased. Highest alteration in secondary and tertiary structure and conformation in glycated HSA was observed at the hyperchronic concentration (75mM) of glucose. Although it has been found that Amadori modified proteins is also involved in secondary complications of diabetes as AGEs but very few studies have been done to analyze the conformational changes in Amadori modified proteins due to early glycation. Most of the studies were found on the structural changes in Amadori protein at a particular glucose concentration but no study was found to compare the biophysical and biochemical changes in HSA due to early glycation with a range of glucose concentration at a constant incubation time. So this study provide the information about the biochemical and biophysical changes occur in Amadori modified albumin at a range of glucose normal to chronic in diabetes. Although many implicates currently in use i.e. glycaemic control, insulin treatment and other chemical therapies that can control many aspects of diabetes. However, even with intensive use of current antidiabetic agents more than 50 % of diabetic patient’s type 2 suffers poor glycaemic control and 18 % develop serious complications within six years of diagnosis. Experimental evidence related to diabetes suggests that preventing the nonenzymatic glycation of relevant proteins or blocking their biological effects might beneficially influence the evolution of vascular complications in diabetic patients or quantization of amadori adduct of HSA by authentic antibodies against HSA-EGPs can be used as marker for early detection of the initiation/progression of secondary complications of diabetes. So this research work may be helpful for the same.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, glycation, albumin, amadori, biophysical and biochemical techniques

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Authors: J. A. Gbadeyan, R. A. Kareem

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In this paper, we investigated the effects of unsteady internal heat generation of a two-step exothermic reactive hydromagnetic fluid flow under different chemical kinetics namely: Sensitized, Arrhenius and Bimolecular kinetics through an isothermal wall temperature channel. The resultant modeled nonlinear partial differential equations were simplified and solved using a combined Laplace-Differential Transform Method (LDTM). The solutions obtained were discussed and presented graphically to show the salient features of the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics.

Keywords: unsteady, reactive, hydromagnetic, couette ow, exothermi creactio

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Authors: Moeen Naseer Butt

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Clustering –geographic concentrations of entities– has recently received more attention in marketing research and has been shown to affect multiple outcomes. This study investigates the impact of intrabrand clustering (clustering of same-brand outlets) on an outlet’s quality performance. Further, it assesses the moderating effects of interbrand clustering (clustering of other-brand outlets) and firm size. An examination of approximately 21,000 food service establishments in New York State in 2019 finds that the impact of intrabrand clustering on an outlet’s quality performance is context-dependent. Specifically, intrabrand clustering decreases, whereas interbrand clustering and firm size help increase the outlet’s performance. Additionally, this study finds that the role of firm size is more substantial than interbrand clustering in mitigating the adverse effects of intrabrand clustering on outlet quality performance.

Keywords: intraband clustering, interbrand clustering, firm size, brand competition, outlet performance, quality violations

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Authors: Achraf Al Faraj, Asma Sultana Shaik, Baraa Al Sayed

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Specific and effective targeting of drug delivery systems (DDS) to cancerous sites remains a major challenge for a better diagnostic and therapy. Recently, SWCNTs with their unique physicochemical properties and the ability to cross the cell membrane show promising in the biomedical field. The purpose of this study was first to develop a biocompatible iron oxide tagged SWCNTs as diagnostic nanoprobes to allow their noninvasive detection using MRI and their preferential targeting in a breast cancer murine model by placing an optimized flexible magnet over the tumor site. Magnetic targeting was associated to specific antibody-conjugated SWCNTs active targeting. The therapeutic efficacy of doxorubicin-conjugated SWCNTs was assessed, and the superiority of diffusion-weighted (DW-) MRI as sensitive imaging biomarker was investigated. Short Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilized water soluble SWCNTs were first developed, tagged with iron oxide nanoparticles and conjugated with Endoglin/CD105 monoclonal antibodies. They were then conjugated with doxorubicin drugs. SWCNTs conjugates were extensively characterized using TEM, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, dynamic light scattering (DLS) zeta potential analysis and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. Their MR relaxivities (i.e. r1 and r2*) were measured at 4.7T and their iron content and metal impurities quantified using ICP-MS. SWCNTs biocompatibility and drug efficacy were then evaluated both in vitro and in vivo using a set of immunological assays. Luciferase enhanced bioluminescence 4T1 mouse mammary tumor cells (4T1-Luc2) were injected into the right inguinal mammary fat pad of Balb/c mice. Tumor bearing mice received either free doxorubicin (DOX) drug or SWCNTs with or without either DOX or iron oxide nanoparticles. A multi-pole 10x10mm high-energy flexible magnet was maintained over the tumor site during 2 hours post-injections and their properties and polarity were optimized to allow enhanced magnetic targeting of SWCNTs toward the primary tumor site. Tumor volume was quantified during the follow-up investigation study using a fast spin echo MRI sequence. In order to detect the homing of SWCNTs to the main tumor site, susceptibility-weighted multi-gradient echo (MGE) sequence was used to generate T2* maps. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements were also performed as a sensitive imaging biomarker providing early and better assessment of disease treatment. At several times post-SWCNT injection, histological analysis were performed on tumor extracts and iron-loaded SWCNT were quantified using ICP-MS in tumor sites, liver, spleen, kidneys, and lung. The optimized multi-poles magnet revealed an enhanced targeting of magnetic SWCNTs to the primary tumor site, which was found to be much higher than the active targeting achieved using antibody-conjugated SWCNTs. Iron-loading allowed their sensitive noninvasive tracking after intravenous administration using MRI. The active targeting of doxorubicin through magnetic antibody-conjugated SWCNTs nanoprobes was found to considerably decrease the primary tumor site and may have inhibited the development of metastasis in the tumor-bearing mice lung. ADC measurements in DW-MRI were found to significantly increase in a time-dependent manner after the injection of DOX-conjugated SWCNTs complexes.

Keywords: single-walled carbon nanotubes, nanomedicine, magnetic resonance imaging, cancer diagnosis and therapy

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Authors: Yan Zeng, Hongfang Ma, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying

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Ni-based catalysts with different amounts of Na as promoter from 2 to 6 wt % were prepared by solution combustion method. The catalytic activity was investigated in syngas methanation reaction. Carbon oxides conversion and methane selectivity are greatly influenced by sodium loading. Adding 2 wt% Na remarkably improves catalytic activity and long-term stability, attributed to its smaller mean NiO particle size, better distribution, and milder metal-support interaction. However, excess addition of Na results in deactivation distinctly due to the blockage of active sites.

Keywords: nickel catalysts, syngas methanation, sodium, solution combustion method

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Authors: Inas Kamel, Noor Z. Habib

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Utilizing construction and demolition wastes in hotmix asphalt (HMA) pavement construction can reduce the adverse environmental effect of its inadequate disposal and reduce the pressure of extracting and processing mineral aggregates (MA). This study aims to examine the viability of replacing MA by recycled construction and demolition waste aggregates (RCDWA) in the wearing course of asphaltic concrete (AC) pavements without compromising its loadbearing capacity. The Marshall Method was used to evaluate the performance of AC wearing course specimens by replacing MA by 10%, 20% and 30% RCDWA. Grade 60/70 bitumen was used in the range 3.0-5.5%, with 05% increments, to generate the optimum bitumen content (OBC). From the volumetric analysis and test property curves, the mixture containing 20% RCDWA was chosen as the preferred mix at 5.1% OBC. It possessed a 10% increase in Marshall Stability compared to the reference specimen, containing 100% MA, and a 6% increase in Marshall flow.

Keywords: aggregate, asphaltic concrete, Marshall method, optimum bitumen content, recycled construction and demolition waste

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Authors: N. Amraoui, D. Hammoutene

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We have performed a theoretical study using dispersion-corrected Density Functional Methods to evaluate a variety of artificial nucleobases as candidates for metal-mediated Hoogsteen-type base pairs. We focus on A-M-T Hoogsteen-type base pair with M=Co(II), Ru(I), Ni(I). All calculations are performed using (ADF 09) program. Metal-mediated Hoogsteen-type base pairs are studied as drug candidates, their geometry optimizations are performed at ZORA/TZ2P/BLYP-D level. The molecular geometries and different energies as total energies, coordination energies, Pauli interactions, orbital interactions and electrostatic energies are determined.

Keywords: chemistry, biology, density functional method, orbital interactions

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Authors: D. Muyama, M. Luyiga, P. Buyungo, D. Chemonges, M. Namukwaya, L. Ssekabembe, B. Lukwago, D. Kyamagwa

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Context: The study focuses on the sustainability of health interventions in Uganda, particularly in the private sector, beyond donor-funded project periods. The Population Services International (PSI) implemented the Women Health Project (WHP) to ensure continued access to quality family planning, cervical cancer screening, and post-abortion care services through private clinics. Research Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the continued access to quality family planning, cervical cancer screening, and post-abortion care services through the private sector after the closure or reduction in funding of the WHP. Methodology: PSI trained and mentored 83 clinics to establish functional systems in self-regulatory quality improvement, supply chain, referral, and demand creation. The clinics were also connected to the national reporting system and utilized Ministry of Health reporting tools. An assessment tool with six criteria was designed and used to evaluate the progress of the clinics. Clinics scoring 75% and above were considered independent and graduated from the program. Findings: Out of the 83 private clinics, 56 successfully met the graduation criteria and graduated from the program, while 25 lost interest and were gradually dropped. Two clinics failed to achieve the criteria due to leadership challenges. The 59 graduating clinics continued to provide high-quality family planning services, including IUD, implant, Depo-Provera, oral contraceptives, and post-abortion care. All graduating clinics were reassessed and found to still be capable of offering services, attributing their success to government stock availability and acquired skills through mentorships. The clinics expressed appreciation to PSI for the sustainable plan that allowed them to operate beyond the project period. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of sustainability planning and the importance of clinic owners' attitudes and buy-in for continued service provision. It emphasizes the implementation of sustainability plans through existing structures to leverage available resources and ensure continuity of care. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collected data through the assessment tool that evaluated the progress of clinics based on the established criteria. The tool was scored out of 100%, and clinics scoring above 75% were deemed independent. The findings were analyzed quantitatively to determine the success rate of clinics in meeting the graduation criteria. Questions Addressed: The study addresses the question of whether private clinics in Uganda can sustain the provision of family planning, cervical cancer screening, and post-abortion care services after the closure or reduction in funding of the WHP. Conclusion: The study concludes that the attitude and buy-in of clinic owners are essential for sustainability planning. Implementing sustainability plans through existing structures and leveraging available resources are crucial for the continuity of care after the end of a project or reduced funding. The findings highlight the importance of establishing sustainable plans to ensure continued access to essential health services beyond the project period. Contributions: This study contributes to the existing knowledge for programmers implementing or intending to implement donor-funded projects. It provides insights into designing sustainable plans that enable the independent operation of clinics even after the end of a project.

Keywords: graduation, family planning, systems strengthening, sustainability

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Authors: M. Duran Toksari, Berrin Ucarkus

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In this paper, we propose two algorithms to optimally solve makespan and total completion time scheduling problems with learning effect and job dependent delivery times in a single machine environment. The delivery time is the extra time to eliminate adverse effect between the main processing and delivery to the customer. In this paper, we introduce the job dependent delivery times for some single machine scheduling problems with position dependent learning effect, which are makespan are total completion. The results with respect to two algorithms proposed for solving of the each problem are compared with LINGO solutions for 50-jobs, 100-jobs and 150-jobs problems. The proposed algorithms can find the same results in shorter time.

Keywords: delivery Times, learning effect, makespan, scheduling, total completion time

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Authors: Chettou Souhaila, Soufi Omar, Roumia Mohammed Ammar

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Protecting the environment is to preserve the survival and future of humanity. Indeed, the environment is our source of food and drinking water, the air is our source of oxygen, the climate allows our survival and biodiversity are a potential drug reservoir. Preserving the environment is, therefore, a matter of survival. The objective of this project is to familiarize the general public with environmental problems not only with the theme of environmental protection, but also with the concept of biodiversity in different ecosystems. For it, the aim of our project was to create the Ecorium which is a place that preserves many species of plants of different ecosystems, schools, malls, buildings, offices, ecological transports, gardens, and many familial activities that participated in the ecosystems development, strategic biodiversity and sustainable development.

Keywords: ecological system, ecorium, environment, sustainable development

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Authors: S. Buloyan, V. Mamikonyan, H. Hakobyan, H. Harutyunyan, H. Gasparyan

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The liver is the strongest regenerating organ of the organism, and even with 2/3 surgically removed, it can regenerate completely. Hence, liver cirrhosis may only develop when the regenerating system is off. We present the results of a comparative study of structural and functional characteristics of rat liver tissue under the conditions of toxic liver cirrhosis development, induced by carbon tetrachloride, and its prevention/treatment by natural compounds with antioxidant and immune stimulating action. Studies were made on Wister rats, weighing 120~140 g. Grape seeds extracts, separately and in combination with well known anticirrhotic drug ursodeoxycholic acid (ursodiol) have demonstrated effectiveness in prevention of liver cirrhosis development and its treatment.

Keywords: carbon tetrachloride, GSE, liver cirrhosis, prevention, treatment

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Authors: Ewelina Musielak, Agnieszka Feliczak-Guzik, Izabela Nowak

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Based on the latest data, it is expected that the substances of therapeutic interest used will be as natural as possible. Therefore, active substances with the highest possible efficacy and low toxicity are sought. Among natural substances with therapeutic effects, those of plant origin stand out. Curcumin isolated from the Curcuma longa plant has proven to be particularly important from a medical point of view. Due to its ability to regulate many important transcription factors, cytokines, and protein kinases, curcumin has found use as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative, antiangiogenic, and anticancer agent. The unfavorable properties of curcumin, such as low solubility, poor bioavailability, and rapid degradation under neutral or alkaline pH conditions, limit its clinical application. These problems can be solved by combining curcumin with suitable carriers such as hierarchical zeolites. This is a new class of materials that exhibit several advantages. Hierarchical zeolites used as drug carriers enable delayed release of the active ingredient and promote drug transport to the desired tissues and organs. In addition, hierarchical zeolites play an important role in regulating micronutrient levels in the body and have been used successfully in cancer diagnosis and therapy. To apply curcumin to hierarchical zeolites synthesized from commercial FAU zeolite, solutions containing curcumin, carrier and acetone were prepared. The prepared mixtures were then stirred on a magnetic stirrer for 24 h at room temperature. The curcumin-filled hierarchical zeolites were drained into a glass funnel, where they were washed three times with acetone and distilled water, after which the obtained material was air-dried until completely dry. In addition, the effect of piperine addition to zeolite carrier containing a sufficient amount of curcumin was studied. The resulting products were weighed and the percentage of pure curcumin in the hierarchical zeolite was calculated. All the synthesized materials were characterized by several techniques: elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), N2 adsorption, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The aim of the presented study was to improve the biological activity of curcumin by applying it to hierarchical zeolites based on FAU zeolite. The results showed that the loading efficiency of curcumin into hierarchical zeolites based on commercial FAU-type zeolite is enhanced by modifying the zeolite carrier itself. The hierarchical zeolites proved to be very good and efficient carriers of plant-derived active ingredients such as curcumin.

Keywords: carriers of active substances, curcumin, hierarchical zeolites, incorporation

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Authors: Pi Hsia Liang

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The rise of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks significantly changes in interconnections between people, enhancing the process of information dissemination and amplify the influence of that information. Therefore, to develop informational efficiency or signaling equilibrium type of information environment among social networks, without adverse selection effects, becomes an important issue. Thus, someone may post a piece of intentional information in relation to personal interest for trying to create marginal influence. Therefore, economists are seeking to establish theories of informational efficiency under social network environment in order to resolve adverse selection issues. Reputation could be one of the important factors in the process of creating informational efficiency. Additionally, investors how to process green information, or information of corporate social responsibility is a very important study. This study essentially employs experimental study for examining how investors use stock relevant green information in Facebook and various Taiwan local networks. Facebook, and blogs of Money DJ, Technews and cnYES, respectively, are the primary sites for this examination that also allow to differentiate effects between Facebook and other local social networks. Questionnaire is developed for such an experimental testing. Note that questionnaire allows this study to group, for example, decision frequency and length of time duration focusing on social networks that are used for discriminating investor type and competence of informed investor. This study selects 500 investors that can be separated into two respective 250 samples as the control group and 250 samples in such an experimental. The quantity of sample investor sufficiently results in statistic significance of this experimental study. The empirical results of this study can be used for explaining how financial information in relation to corporate social responsibility would be disseminated in social websites. Therefore, we can lead to better interpretation of price/earnings relationship type of study and empirical studies of green information usefulness or informational efficiency Note that the above mentioned empirical studies did not exist any social network and annual report of corporate social responsibility. This study expects to find the results that both network degree and network cluster significantly affected green information dissemination frequency. In other words, investors with more connections and with high clustered connections might exert a greater influence on their green information dissemination process. The preferred users of financial social networks could make better stock decision that could amplify effects of green information. In addition, Facebook would be more influential than other local Taiwan financial social networks, although Facebook is not a specialized financial social network. In other words, the popularity and reputation effects of Facebook significantly contribute to usefulness of green information and influence of green information. Third, it has a better chance to find rumor or cheating information in local Taiwan financial social networks than Facebook. In other words, Facebook possesses reputation effect, or a better informational efficiency. Or, even though Taiwan local financial social networks have marginal informational effects on stock price, because of shortage of informational efficiency or monitoring system, information could be a tool for those whom owning superior information.

Keywords: network effect on financial services, informational efficiency theory, social networks, social websites

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Authors: Melaku Tsehay

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The Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations (CCRDA), and the CORE Group Polio Partners (CGPP) Secretariat have been working with Global Alliance for Vac-cines and Immunization (GAVI) to improve the immunization data quality in Afar and Somali Regional States. The main aim of this study was to compare the quality of immunization data before and after the above interventions in health facilities in the pastoralist communities in Ethiopia. To this end, a comparative-cross-sectional study was conducted on 51 health facilities. The baseline data was collected in May 2019, while the end line data in August 2021. The WHO data quality self-assessment tool (DQS) was used to collect data. A significant improvment was seen in the accuracy of the pentavalent vaccine (PT)1 (p = 0.012) data at the health posts (HP), while PT3 (p = 0.010), and Measles (p = 0.020) at the health centers (HC). Besides, a highly sig-nificant improvment was observed in the accuracy of tetanus toxoid (TT)2 data at HP (p < 0.001). The level of over- or under-reporting was found to be < 8%, at the HP, and < 10% at the HC for PT3. The data completeness was also increased from 72.09% to 88.89% at the HC. Nearly 74% of the health facilities timely reported their respective immunization data, which is much better than the baseline (7.1%) (p < 0.001). These findings may provide some hints for the policies and pro-grams targetting on improving immunization data qaulity in the pastoralist communities.

Keywords: data quality, immunization, verification factor, pastoralist region

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Mohamed E. Eleshaky

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This paper investigates the dynamic behavior of laminar water flows inside superhydrophobic micro-pipes patterned with square micro-posts features under different operating conditions. It also investigates the effects of air fraction and Reynolds number on the frictional performance of these pipes. Rather than modeling the air-water interfaces of superhydrophobic as a flat inflexible surface, a transient, incompressible, three-dimensional, volume-of-fluid (VOF) methodology has been employed to continuously track the air–water interface shape inside micro-pipes. Also, the entrance effects on the flow field have been taken into consideration. The results revealed the strong dependency of the frictional performance on the air fractions and Reynolds number. The frictional resistance reduction becomes increasingly more significant at large air fractions and low Reynolds numbers. Increasing Reynolds number has an adverse effect on the frictional resistance reduction.

Keywords: drag reduction, laminar flow in micropipes, numerical simulation, superhyrophobic surfaces, microposts

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Authors: Agnieszka E. Laudy, Karolina Stępien, Sergiusz Lulinski, Krzysztof Durka, Stefan Tyski

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1,3-dihydro-1-hydroxy-2,1-benzoxaborole and its derivatives are a particularly interesting group of synthetic agents and were successfully employed in supramolecular chemistry medicine. The first important compounds, 5-fluoro-1,3-dihydro-1-hydroxy-2,1-benzoxaborole and 5-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-hydroxy-2,1-benzoxaborole were identified as potent antifungal agents. In contrast, (S)-3-(aminomethyl)-7-(3-hydroxypropoxy)-1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-2,1-benzoxaborole hydrochloride is in the second phase of clinical trials as a drug for the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections of the Enterobacteriaceae family and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Equally important and difficult task is to search for compounds active against Gram-negative bacilli, which have multi-drug-resistance efflux pumps actively removing many of the antibiotics from bacterial cells. We have examined whether halogen-substituted benzoxaborole-based derivatives and their analogues possess antibacterial activity and are substrates for multi-drug-resistance efflux pumps. The antibacterial activity of 1,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1,1-dimethyl-1,2,3-benzosiloxaborole and 10 halogen-substituted its derivatives, as well as 1,2-phenylenediboronic acid and 3 synthesised fluoro-substituted its analogs, were evaluated. The activity against the reference strains of Gram-positive (n=5) and Gram-negative bacteria (n=10) was screened by the disc-diffusion test (0.4 mg of tested compounds was applied onto paper disc). The minimal inhibitory concentration values and the minimal bactericidal concentration values were estimated according to The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and The European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing recommendations. During the minimal inhibitory concentration values determination with or without phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide (50 mg/L) efflux pump inhibitor, the concentrations of tested compounds ranged 0.39-400 mg/L in the broth medium supplemented with 1 mM magnesium sulfate. Generally, the studied benzosiloxaboroles and benzoxadiboroles showed a higher activity against Gram-positive cocci than against Gram-negative rods. Moreover, benzosiloxaboroles have the higher activity than benzoxadiboroles compounds. In this study, we demonstrated that substitution (mono-, di- or tetra-) of 1,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1,1-dimethyl-1,2,3-benzosiloxaborole with halogen groups resulted in an increase in antimicrobial activity as compared to the parent substance. Interestingly, the 6,7-dichloro-substituted parent substance was found to be the most potent against Gram-positive cocci: Staphylococcus sp. (minimal inhibitory concentration 6.25 mg/L) and Enterococcus sp. (minimal inhibitory concentration 25 mg/L). On the other hand, mono- and dichloro-substituted compounds were the most actively removed by efflux pumps present in Gram-negative bacteria mainly from Enterobacteriaceae family. In the presence of efflux pump inhibitor the minimal inhibitory concentration values of chloro-substituted benzosiloxaboroles decreased from 400 mg/L to 3.12 mg/L. Of note, the highest increase in bacterial susceptibility to tested compounds in the presence of phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide was observed for 6-chloro-, 6,7-dichloro- and 6,7-difluoro-substituted benzosiloxaboroles. In the case of Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and P. aeruginosa strains at least a 32-fold decrease in the minimal inhibitory concentration values of these agents were observed. These data demonstrate structure-activity relationships of the tested derivatives and highlight the need for further search for benzoxaboroles and related compounds with significant antimicrobial properties. Moreover, the influence of phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide on the susceptibility of Gram-negative rods to studied benzosiloxaboroles indicate that some tested agents are substrates for efflux pumps in Gram-negative rods.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, benzosiloxaboroles, efflux pumps, phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Nasir Baba Ahmed, Nicolas Daclin, Marc Olivaux, Gilles Dusserre

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The Mobile field hospital is critical in terms of managing emergencies in crisis. It is a sub-section of the main hospitals and the health sector, tasked with delivering responsive, immediate, and efficient medical services during a crisis. With the aim to prevent further crisis, the assessment of the cyber assets follows different methods, to distinguish its strengths and weaknesses, and in turn achieve cyber resiliency. The work focuses on assessments of cyber resilience in field hospitals with trends growing in both the field hospital and the health sector in general. This creates opportunities for the adverse attackers and the response improvement objectives for attaining cyber resilience, as the assessments allow users and stakeholders to know the level of risks with regards to its cyber assets. Thus, the purpose is to show the possible threat vectors which open up opportunities, with contrast to current trends in the assessment of the mobile field hospitals’ cyber assets.

Keywords: assessment framework, cyber resilience, cyber security, mobile field hospital

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Elizabeth Stojanovski

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Associations between life events and various forms of cancers have been identified. The purpose of a recent random-effects meta-analysis was to identify studies that examined the association between adverse events associated with changes to financial status including decreased income and breast cancer risk. The same association was studied in four separate studies which displayed traits that were not consistent between studies such as the study design, location and time frame. It was of interest to pool information from various studies to help identify characteristics that differentiated study results. Two random-effects Bayesian meta-analysis models are proposed to combine the reported estimates of the described studies. The proposed models allow major sources of variation to be taken into account, including study level characteristics, between study variance, and within study variance and illustrate the ease with which uncertainty can be incorporated using a hierarchical Bayesian modelling approach.

Keywords: random-effects, meta-analysis, Bayesian, variation

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: R. C. Ferreira, H. H. C. De Lima, A. A. Cândido, O. M. Couto Junior, P. A. Arroyo, K. Q De Carvalho, G. F. Gauze, M. A. S. D. Barros

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Removal of the widespread used drug paracetamol from water was investigated using activated carbon originated from dende coconut mesocarp and babassu coconut mesocarp. Kinetic and equilibrium data were obtained at different values of pH. Babassu activated carbon showed higher efficiency due to its acidity and higher microporosity. Pseudo-second order model was better adjusted to the kinetic results. Equilibrium data may be represented by Langmuir equation. Lower solution pH provided better removal efficiency as the carbonil groups may be attracted by the positively charged carbon surface.

Keywords: adsorption, activated carbon, babassu, dende

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Supakorn Tantisriyanurak, Hussaya Maneesuwan, Thanyalak Chaisuwan, Sujitra Wongkasemjit

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TUD-1 is a siliceous mesoporous material with a three-dimensional amorphous structure of random, interconnecting pores, large pore size, high surface area (400-1000 m2/g), hydrothermal stability, and tunable porosity. However, the significant disadvantage of the mesoporous silicates is few catalytic active sites. In this work, a series of bimetallic Fe and Ti incorporated into TUD-1 framework is successfully synthesized by sol–gel method. The synthesized Fe,Ti-TUD-1 is characterized by various techniques. To study the catalytic activity of Fe, Ti–TUD-1, phenol hydroxylation was selected as a model reaction. The amounts of residual phenol and oxidation products were determined by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV-detector (HPLC-UV).

Keywords: iron, phenol hydroxylation, titanium, TUD-1

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Abdulaziz Abdulsaleh

Abstract:

This study aims at identifying the practices that should be taken into consideration by audit committees as a tool of corporate governance in Libyan commercial banks by investigating various perceptions on this topic. The study is based on a questionnaire submitted to audit committees ‘members at Libyan commercial banks, directors of internal audit departments as well as members of board of directors at these banks in addition to a number of external auditors and academic staff from Libyan universities. The study reveals that the role of audit committees has to be shifted from traditional areas of accounting to a broader role including functions related to financial reporting, audit planning, support the independence of internal and external auditors, acting as a channel of communication between external auditors and board of directors, reviewing external audit, and evaluating internal control systems. Although the study is a starting point in developing a framework of good audit committees’ practices in Libya, it is believed that the adoption of its results can result in enhancing the corporate governance practices not only in the banking sector but also in the entire corporate sector in Libya.

Keywords: audit committees, corporate governance, commercial banks, Libya

Procedia PDF Downloads 404