Search results for: metabolic bone diseases

Authors: Anupuma Raina, Ajay Parkash

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In forensic investigation, DNA analysis helps in the identification of a particular individual under investigation. A set of Short Tandem Repeats loci are widely used for individualization at a molecular level in forensic testing. STRs with tetrameric repeats of DNA are highly polymorphic and widely used for forensic DNA analysis. Identification of an individual became challenging for forensic examiners after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. HSCT is a well-accepted and life-saving treatment to treat malignant and nonmalignant diseases. It involves the administration of healthy donor stem cells to replace the patient’s own unhealthy stem cells. A successful HSCT results in complete donor-derived cells in a patient’s hematopoiesis and hence have the capability to change the genetic makeup of the patient. Although an individual who has undergone HSCT and then committed a crime is a very rare situation, but not impossible. Keeping such a situation in mind, various biological samples like blood, buccal swab, and hair follicle were collected and studied after a certain interval of time after HSCT. Blood was collected from both the patient and the donor before the transplant. The DNA profile of both was analyzed using a short tandem repeat kit for autosomal chromosomes. Among all exhibits studied, only hair follicles were found to be the most suitable biological exhibit, as no donor DNA profile was observed for up to 90 days of study.

Keywords: chimerism, HSCT, STRs analysis, forensic identification

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Authors: Desta Gebretekle Shiferaw, Balakrishna Kalluraya

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Triazoles are basic five-membered ring heterocycles with an unsaturated, six-delocalized electron ring system. Since the dawn of click chemistry, triazoles have represented a functional heterocyclic core that has been the foundation of medicinal chemistry. The compounds with 1,2,3-triazole rings can be used in several fields, including medicine, organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, fluorescent imaging, horticulture, and industries, to name a few. Besides that, they found it to have health applications in the prevention and reduction of the risk of diseases, such as anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we present the synthesis of twelve 1,2,3-triazolyl chalcone derivatives (4a–l), which were produced in high yields by coupling substituted aldehydes and triazolyl acetophenone (3a–d) in ethanol. The title products were characterized by physicochemical, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectral methods. The in vitro tests were used to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of each of the prepared molecules. The preliminary assessment and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl activity of the title compounds showed significantly higher antibacterial activity and moderate-to-good antifungal and antioxidant activities compared to their standards. This work presents the synthesis of triazolyl chalcone derivatives and their biological activity. Based on the findings, these compounds could be used as lead compounds in antimicrobial and antioxidant research in the future.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, antioxidant activity, chalcone, 1, 2, 3-triazole

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Authors: Andrea L. Arnett, Ann T. Packard, Yolanda I. Garces, Kenneth W. Merrell

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Objective: Pathologic response following neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) has been associated with improved overall survival (OS). Conflicting results have been reported regarding the pathologic predictive value of positron emission tomography (PET) response in patients with stage III lung cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between post-treatment PET response and pathologic response utilizing novel FDG-PET parameters. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with non-metastatic, stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC cancer treated with CRT followed by resection. All patients underwent PET prior to and after neoadjuvant CRT. Univariate analysis was utilized to assess correlations between PET response, nodal clearance, pCR, and near-complete pathologic response (defined as the microscopic residual disease or less). Maximal standard uptake value (SUV), standard uptake ratio (SUR) [normalized independently to the liver (SUR-L) and blood pool (SUR-BP)], metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were measured pre- and post-chemoradiation. Results: A total of 44 patients were included for review. Median age was 61.9 years, and median follow-up was 2.6 years. Histologic subtypes included adenocarcinoma (72.2%) and squamous cell carcinoma (22.7%), and the majority of patients had the T2 disease (59.1%). The rate of pCR and near-complete pathologic response within the primary lesion was 28.9% and 44.4%, respectively. The average reduction in SUVmₐₓ was 9.2 units (range -1.9-32.8), and the majority of patients demonstrated some degree of favorable treatment response. SUR-BP and SUR-L showed a mean reduction of 4.7 units (range -0.1-17.3) and 3.5 units (range –1.7-12.6), respectively. Variation in PET response was not significantly associated with histologic subtype, concurrent chemotherapy type, stage, or radiation dose. No significant correlation was found between pathologic response and absolute change in MTV or TLG. Reduction in SUVmₐₓ and SUR were associated with increased rate of pathologic response (p ≤ 0.02). This correlation was not impacted by normalization of SUR to liver versus mediastinal blood pool. A threshold of > 75% decrease in SUR-L correlated with near-complete response, with a sensitivity of 57.9% and specificity of 85.7%, as well as positive and negative predictive values of 78.6% and 69.2%, respectively (diagnostic odds ratio [DOR]: 5.6, p=0.02). A threshold of >50% decrease in SUR was also significantly associated pathologic response (DOR 12.9, p=0.2), but specificity was substantially lower when utilizing this threshold value. No significant association was found between nodal PET parameters and pathologic nodal clearance. Conclusions: Our results suggest that treatment response to neoadjuvant therapy as assessed on PET imaging can be a predictor of pathologic response when evaluated via SUV and SUR. SUR parameters were associated with higher diagnostic odds ratios, suggesting improved predictive utility compared to SUVmₐₓ. MTV and TLG did not prove to be significant predictors of pathologic response but may warrant further investigation in a larger cohort of patients.

Keywords: lung cancer, positron emission tomography (PET), standard uptake ratio (SUR), standard uptake value (SUV)

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Authors: Daniel Ter Goon, Aanuoluwa O. Adedokun, Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi, Oladele Vincent Adeniyi, Anthony Idowu Ajayi

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Background: The unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyle of commercial drivers predisposes them to obesity and obesity related diseases. Yet, no attention has been paid to obesity burden among this high risk group in South Africa. This study examines the prevalence of obesity and its risk factors among commercial drivers in East London, South Africa. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the WHO STEP wise approach to screen for obesity among 403 drivers in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), South Africa. Anthropometric, blood pressure and blood glucose measurements were taken following a standard procedure. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 kgm⁻²–29.9 kg/m² and≥ 30 kg/ m², respectively. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine the prevalence and determinants of obesity. Result: The mean age of the participants was 43.3 (SD12.5) years, mean height (cm) and weight (kg) were 170.1(6.2cm) and 83(SD18.7), respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 34.0% and 38.0%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, only age (OR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.7), hypertension (OR 3.6, CI 2.3-5.7) and non-smoking (OR 2.0, CI 1.3-3.1) were independent predictors of obesity. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among commercial drivers. Age, hypertension, and non-smoking were independent predictors of obesity among the sample. Measures aimed at promoting health and reducing obesity should be prioritized among this group.

Keywords: obesity and overweight, commercial taxi drivers, risk factors, South Africa

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Authors: Milu T. Cherian, Sergio C. Chai, Morgan A. Casal, Taosheng Chen

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This study aims to use CINPA1, a recently discovered small-molecule inhibitor of the xenobiotic receptor CAR (constitutive androstane receptor) for understanding the binding modes of CAR and to guide CAR-mediated gene expression profiling studies in human primary hepatocytes. CAR and PXR are xenobiotic sensors that respond to drugs and endobiotics by modulating the expression of metabolic genes that enhance detoxification and elimination. Elevated levels of drug metabolizing enzymes and efflux transporters resulting from CAR activation promote the elimination of chemotherapeutic agents leading to reduced therapeutic effectiveness. Multidrug resistance in tumors after chemotherapy could be associated with errant CAR activity, as shown in the case of neuroblastoma. CAR inhibitors used in combination with existing chemotherapeutics could be utilized to attenuate multidrug resistance and resensitize chemo-resistant cancer cells. CAR and PXR have many overlapping modulating ligands as well as many overlapping target genes which confounded attempts to understand and regulate receptor-specific activity. Through a directed screening approach we previously identified a new CAR inhibitor, CINPA1, which is novel in its ability to inhibit CAR function without activating PXR. The cellular mechanisms by which CINPA1 inhibits CAR function were also extensively examined along with its pharmacokinetic properties. CINPA1 binding was shown to change CAR-coregulator interactions as well as modify CAR recruitment at DNA response elements of regulated genes. CINPA1 was shown to be broken down in the liver to form two, mostly inactive, metabolites. The structure-activity differences of CINPA1 and its metabolites were used to guide computational modeling using the CAR-LBD structure. To rationalize how ligand binding may lead to different CAR pharmacology, an analysis of the docked poses of human CAR bound to CITCO (a CAR activator) vs. CINPA1 or the metabolites was conducted. From our modeling, strong hydrogen bonding of CINPA1 with N165 and H203 in the CAR-LBD was predicted. These residues were validated to be important for CINPA1 binding using single amino-acid CAR mutants in a CAR-mediated functional reporter assay. Also predicted were residues making key hydrophobic interactions with CINPA1 but not the inactive metabolites. Some of these hydrophobic amino acids were also identified and additionally, the differential coregulator interactions of these mutants were determined in mammalian two-hybrid systems. CINPA1 represents an excellent starting point for future optimization into highly relevant probe molecules to study the function of the CAR receptor in normal- and pathophysiology, and possible development of therapeutics (for e.g. use for resensitizing chemoresistant neuroblastoma cells).

Keywords: antagonist, chemoresistance, constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), multi-drug resistance, structure activity relationship (SAR), xenobiotic resistance

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Authors: Muhammad G. Almatar, Mohammad A. Alnasrallah

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This research focuses on the study of three main issues: 1) The temporal analysis of leukemia for a period of six years (2006-2012), 2) spatial analysis by investigating this phenomenon in the Kuwaiti society spatially in the residential areas within the six governorates, 3) the use of Geographic Information System technology in investigating the hypothesis of the research and its variables using the linear regression, to show the pattern of linear relationship. The study depends on utilizing the map to understand the distribution of blood cancer in Kuwait. Several geodatabases were created for the number of patients and air pollution. Spatial interpolation models were used to generate layers of air pollution in the study area. These geodatabases were tested over the past six years to reach the conclusion: Is there a relationship with significant significance between the two main variables of the study: blood cancer and air pollution? This study is the first to our best knowledge. As far as the researchers know, the distribution of this disease has not been studied geographically at the level of regions in Kuwait within six years and in specific areas as described above. This study investigates the concentration of this type of disease. The study found that there is no relationship of significant value between the two variables studied, and this may be due to the nature of the disease, which are often hereditary. On the other hand, this study has reached a number of suggestions and recommendations that may be useful to decision-makers and interested in the study of leukemia in Kuwait by focusing on the study of genetic diseases, which may be a cause of leukemia rather than air pollution.

Keywords: Kuwait, GIS, cancer, geography

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Authors: Chia-Jung Chang, Sheng-Che Chen, Ming-Long Yeh, Chih-Wei Wang, Chih-Han Chang

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Introduction and Motivation: In recent years, magnesium alloy is used to be a kind of medical biodegradable materials. Magnesium is an essential element in the body and is efficiently excreted by the kidneys. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of magnesium alloy is closest to human bone. However, in some cases magnesium alloy corrodes so quickly that it would release hydrogen on surface of implant. The other product is hydroxide ion, it can significantly increase the local pH value. The above situations may have adverse effects on local cell functions. On the other hand, nowadays magnesium alloy corrode too fast to maintain the function of implant until the healing of tissue. Therefore, much recent research about magnesium alloy has focused on controlling the corrosion rate. The in vitro corrosion behavior of magnesium alloys is affected by many factors, and pH value is one of factors. In this study, we will study on the influence of pH value on the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloy by the Micro-CT (micro computed tomography) and other instruments.Material and methods: In the first step, we make some guiding plates for specimens of magnesium alloy AZ91 by Rapid Prototyping. The guiding plates are able to be a standard for the degradation of specimen, so that we can use it to make sure the position of specimens in the CT image. We can also simplify the conditions of degradation by the guiding plates.In the next step, we prepare the solution with different pH value. And then we put the specimens into the solution to start the corrosion test. The CT image, surface photographs and weigh are measured on every twelve hours. Results: In the primary results of the test, we make sure that CT image can be a way to quantify the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloy. Moreover we can observe the phenomenon that corrosion always start from some erosion point. It’s possibly based on some defect like dislocations and the voids with high strain energy in the materials. We will deal with the raw data into Mass Loss (ML) and corrosion rate by CT image, surface photographs and weigh in the near future. Having a simple prediction, the pH value and degradation rate will be negatively correlated. And we want to find out the equation of the pH value and corrosion rate. We also have a simple test to simulate the change of the pH value in the local region. In this test the pH value will rise to 10 in a short time. Conclusion: As a biodegradable implant for the area with stagnating body fluid flow in the human body, magnesium alloy can cause the increase of local pH values and release the hydrogen. Those may damage the human cell. The purpose of this study is finding out the equation of the pH value and corrosion rate. After that we will try to find the ways to overcome the limitations of medical magnesium alloy.

Keywords: magnesium alloy, biodegradable materials, corrosion, micro-CT

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Authors: Nurul Nadhirah Anuar, Muhammad Fauzi Abdul Ghani

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Scheduled waste management is very important in environmental and health aspects. Despite it is very important, the research study on schedule waste management is very little in the highway industry even though there is a rapid growth of highway operation in the Asian region. It should be noted that there are many unnoticeable wastes in highway industry that should be managed properly. This paper aims to define the scheduled waste, to provide a conceptual framework of the scheduled waste management in highway industry, to highlight the effect of improper management of scheduled waste and to encourage future researchers to identify and share the present practice of scheduled management in their country. The understanding on effective management of scheduled waste will help the operators of highway industry, the academicians, future researchers, and encourage a friendly environment around the world. The study on scheduled waste management in highway industry is very crucial as compared to factories in which the factories are located on specified areas whereas, highway transverse and run along kilometers crossing the various type of environment, residential and schools. Using Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations, 2005 as a guide, this conceptual paper highlight several scheduled wastes produced by highway industry in Malaysia and provide a conceptual framework of scheduled waste management that focused on the highway industry. Understanding on schedule waste management is vital in order to preserve the environment. Besides that, the waste substances are hazardous to human being. Many diseases have been associated with the improper management of scheduled waste such as cancer, throat irritation and respiration problem.

Keywords: Asia region, environment, highway industry, scheduled waste

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Authors: Aniruddha Hore, Saptarshi Mitra, Sandip Ghosh, Sujoy Bose, Avijit Ghosh

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The Indian rupee is the official currency of India. With time, science and technology got advanced, and our society is slowly making its way to a cashless mode of transaction. But as India is still a developing country, a large part of our society still depends on transaction through cash. During times of pandemics, we came to understand that everything that we touch is not safe from microbial contamination. The Indian currency is also not an exception. The Indian currency is the modern-day medium of harmful bacterial as well as other microbial contaminations resulting in diseases in human bodies. Therefore, the need came to make the currency disinfectant to give our people a healthier lifestyle. The main focus of the study is to develop a solution that, when applied to the currency notes, will kill the persisting bacteria or microbes present in the notes. So various natural edible products were used in order to prepare the solution, which is highly effective against the presence of harmful bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus. The antibacterial activity of these natural ingredients is not unknown to us, so extracts from those products were mixed together to form a solution which was made the Indian currency notes antibacterial for 20min approx. The solution was creating a layer on the surface of currency notes, therefore, making it antibacterial for a given duration of time, i.e., no bacterial growth was seen during the time period of 20 minutes, therefore, making it safe for the usage of human hands.

Keywords: Indian currency, antibacterial property of Indian currency, surface coating, currency disinfectant

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Authors: N. Hadthamard, P. Chaumpluk, M. Buanong, P. Boonyaritthongchai, C. Wongs-Aree

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Ripe ‘Nam Dok Mai’ mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important exported fruit of Thailand, but rapidly declined in the quality attributes mainly by infection of anthracnose and stem end rot diseases. Multilayer coating is considered as a developed technique to maintain the postharvest quality of mangoes. The utilization of alternated coating by matching oppositely electrostatic charges between 0.1% chitosan and 0.1% polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) was studied. A number of the coating layers (layer by layer) were applied on mature green ‘Nam Dok Mai No.4’ mangoes prior to storage at 25 ^oC, 65-70% relative humidity (RH). There were significant differences in some quality attributes of mangoes coated by 3½ layers, 4½ layers and 5½ layers. In comparison to coated mangoes, uncoated fruits were higher in weight loss, total soluble solids, respiration rate, ethylene production and disease incidence except the titratable acidity. Coating fruit at 3½ layers exhibited the ripening delay and reducing disease infection without off flavour. On the other hand, fruit coated with 5½ layers comprised the lowest acceptable score, caused by exhibiting disorders from fermentation at the end of storage. As a result, multilayer coating between chitosan and PSS could effectively maintain the postharvest quality of mango, but number of coating layers should be thoroughly considered.

Keywords: multilayer, chitosan, polystyrene sulfonate, Nam Dok Mai No.4

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Authors: Joseph P. Mandala

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This paper examines the legal and medical ethics concerns, which proponents of human head transplantation continue to defy since the procedure was first attempted on dogs in 1908. Despite recent bioethical objections, proponents have proceeded with radical experimentation, claiming transplantation would treat incurable diseases and improve patients’ quality of life. In 2018, Italian neurosurgeon, Sergio Canavero, and Dr. Xiaoping Ren claimed to have performed a head transplant on a corpse in China. Content analysis of literature shows that the procedure failed to satisfy scientific, legal, and bioethical elements because, unlike humans, corpses cannot coordinate function. Putting a severed head onto a body that has been dead for several days is not equivalent to a transplant which would require successfully reconnecting and restoring function to a spinal cord. While reconnection without restoration of bodily function is not transplantation, the publicized procedure on animals and corpses could leapfrog to humans, sparking excitement in society likely to affect organ donors and recipients from territorial jurisdictions with varying legal and ethical regimes. As neurodiscoveries generate further excitement, the need to preemptively address the legal and medical ethics impact of head transplantation in our society cannot be overstated. A preemptive development of methods to address the impact of head transplantation will help harmonizing national and international laws on organ donations, advance directives, and laws affecting end of life.

Keywords:

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Authors: Agampodi Promoda Perera, Yong Shin, Mi Kyoung Park

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The successful detection of pathogenic bacteria in blood provides important information for early detection, diagnosis and the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Silicon microring resonators are refractive-index-based optical biosensors that provide highly sensitive, label-free, real-time multiplexed detection of biomolecules. We demonstrate the technique of using GO (graphene oxide) to enhance the signal output of the silicon microring optical sensor. The activated carboxylic groups in GO molecules bind directly to single stranded DNA with an amino modified 5’ end. This conjugation amplifies the shift in resonant wavelength in a real-time manner. We designed a capture probe for strain Staphylococcus aureus of 21 bp and a longer complementary target sequence of 70 bp. The mismatched target sequence we used was of Streptococcus agalactiae of 70 bp. GO is added after the complementary binding of the probe and target. GO conjugates to the unbound single stranded segment of the target and increase the wavelength shift on the silicon microring resonator. Furthermore, our results show that GO could successfully differentiate between the mismatched DNA sequences from the complementary DNA sequence. Therefore, the proposed concept could effectively enhance sensitivity of pathogen detection sensors.

Keywords: label free biosensor, pathogenic bacteria, graphene oxide, diagnosis

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Authors: Wenjun Zhang, Yunqing Du, Steven W. Cranford, Ming L. Wang

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The beginning of 21st century has witnessed new advancements in the design and use of new materials for biosensing applications, from nano to macro, protein to tissue. Traditional analytical methods lack a complete toolset to describe the complexities introduced by living systems, pathological relations, discrete hierarchical materials, cross-phase interactions, and structure-property dependencies. Materiomics – via systematic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation – can provide structure-process-property relations by using a materials science approach linking mechanisms across scales and enables oriented biosensor design. With this approach, DNA biosensors can be utilized to detect disease biomarkers present in individuals’ breath such as acetone for diabetes. Our wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) has successfully detected trace amount of various chemicals in vapor differentiated by pattern recognition. Here, we present how MD simulation can revolutionize the way of design and screening of DNA aptamers for targeting biomarkers related to oral diseases and oral health monitoring. It demonstrates great potential to be utilized to build a library of DNDA sequences for reliable detection of several biomarkers of one specific disease, and as well provides a new methodology of creating, designing, and applying of biosensors.

Keywords: biosensor, DNA, biomarker, molecular dynamics simulation

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Authors: Mohammad Ali Al Qatawneh, Bespalchuk Pavel Ivanovich

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Computer navigation has been introduced in total knee arthroplasty to improve the accuracy of the procedure. Computer navigation improves the accuracy of bone resection in the coronal and sagittal planes. It was also noted that it normalizes the rotational alignment of the femoral component and fully assesses and balances the deformation of soft tissues in the coronal plane. The work is devoted to the advantages of using computer navigation technology in total knee arthroplasty in 62 patients (11 men and 51 women) suffering from gonarthrosis, aged 51 to 83 years, operated using a computer navigation system, followed up to 3 years from the moment of surgery. During the examination, the deformity variant was determined, and radiometric parameters of the knee joints were measured using the Knee Society Score (KSS), Functional Knee Society Score (FKSS), and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scales. Also, functional stress tests were performed to assess the stability of the knee joint in the frontal plane and functional indicators of the range of motion. After surgery, improvement was observed in all scales; firstly, the WOMAC values decreased by 5.90 times, and the median value to 11 points (p < 0.001), secondly KSS increased by 3.91 times and reached 86 points (p < 0.001), and the third one is that FKSS data increased by 2.08 times and reached 94 points (p < 0.001). After TKA, the axis deviation of the lower limbs of more than 3 degrees was observed in 4 patients at 6.5% and frontal instability of the knee joint just in 2 cases at 3.2%., The lower incidence of sagittal instability of the knee joint after the operation was 9.6%. The range of motion increased by 1.25 times; the volume of movement averaged 125 degrees (p < 0.001). Computer navigation increases the accuracy of the spatial orientation of the endoprosthesis components in all planes, reduces the variability of the axis of the lower limbs within ± 3 °, allows you to achieve the best results of surgical interventions, and can be used to solve most basic tasks, allowing you to achieve excellent and good outcomes of operations in 100% of cases according to the WOMAC scale. With diaphyseal deformities of the femur and/or tibia, as well as with obstruction of their medullary canal, the use of computer navigation is the method of choice. The use of computer navigation prevents the occurrence of flexion contracture and hyperextension of the knee joint during the distal sawing of the femur. Using the navigation system achieves high-precision implantation for the endoprosthesis; in addition, it achieves an adequate balance of the ligaments, which contributes to the stability of the joint, reduces pain, and allows for the achievement of a good functional result of the treatment.

Keywords: knee joint, arthroplasty, computer navigation, advantages

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Authors: Orathai Srithongtham, Ubonsri Thabuddha

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The youth with HIV positive is not difference from the general youth in term of sexual needs. Sexual health is crucial the most to support the youth with HIV positive to be sexual well-being. This study aims to elucidate the sexual health on protection from STDs (Sexual Transmitted Diseases) and HIV transmission and to explain sexual risk behavior of the youth with HIV positive. The target group was the youth with HIV positive about 23 cases from two provinces in northeastern part of Thailand. Qualitative method was applied for collecting data by in-depth interview. Content analysis was use for data analysis. The youth with HIV positive was protection from STDs and HIV transmission by using the condom during sexual activity. The reason to deny the condom use were ashamed, condom is not a part of life, no have fit size, and the youth fear to stigmatized as a mental disorder and fear to stigmatized as going to fuck someone. The youth who trust with nurse in clinic was dare to request the condom by face. Sexual activity without condom use is sexual risk behavior. The major causes were couple trust and the sexual enjoyment first and sexual active competition with friend without condom use. The concern on HIV was the boyfriend or girlfriend not accepts the HIV positive people, worry about the HIV transmutation, and finally not compliance to ARV drug. The youth with HIV positive was lacking of the knowledge on sexual health on the issues of access to condom and the concern to keep on relationship with the boyfriend or girlfriend. This concern issues was led to the non-adherence of ARV drug and HIV distribution. To provide the sexual health service is more essential to the youth with HIV positive.

Keywords: sexual health, sexual risk behavior, youth, HIV

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Authors: Nadia Arikat, Katharine Blain

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During the worst of the COVID pandemic, only essential treatment was provided for patients needing urgent care. With the prolonged extent of the pandemic, there has been a return to more routine referrals for paediatric dentistry advice and treatment for specialist conditions. However, some of these patients and/or their carers may have significant medical issues meaning that attending in-person appointments carries additional risks. This poses an ethical dilemma for clinicians. This project looks at how a secure video conferencing platform (“Near Me”) has been used to assess the need and urgency for in-person new patient visits, particularly for patients and families with additional risks. “Near Me” is a secure online video consulting service used by NHS Scotland. In deciding whether to bring a new patient to the hospital for an appointment, the clinical condition of the teeth together with the urgency for treatment need to be assessed. This is not always apparent from the referral letter. In addition, it is important to judge the risks to the patients and carers of such visits, particularly if they have medical issues. The use and effectiveness of “Near Me” consultations to help decide whether vulnerable paediatric patients should have in-person appointments will be illustrated and discussed using two families: one where the child is medically compromised (Alagille syndrome with previous liver transplant), and the other where there is a medically compromised parent (undergoing chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant). In both cases, it was necessary to take into consideration the risks and moral implications of requesting that they attend the dental hospital during a pandemic. The option of remote consultation allowed further clinical information to be evaluated and the families take part in the decision-making process about whether and when such visits should be scheduled. These cases will demonstrate how medically compromised patients (or patients with vulnerable carers), could have their dental needs assessed in a socially distanced manner by video consultation. Together, the clinician and the patient’s family can weigh up the risks, with regards to COVID-19, of attending for in-person appointments against the benefit of having treatment. This is particularly important for new paediatric patients who have not yet had a formal assessment. The limitations of this technology will also be discussed. It is limited by internet availability, the strength of the connection, the video quality and families owning a device which allows video calls. For those from a lower socio-economic background or living in some rural areas, this may not be possible or limit its usefulness. For the two patients discussed in this project, where the urgency of their dental condition was unclear, video consultation proved beneficial in deciding an appropriate outcome and preventing unnecessary exposure of vulnerable people to a hospital environment during a pandemic, demonstrating the usefulness of such technology when it is used appropriately.

Keywords: COVID-19, paediatrics, triage, video consultations

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Authors: Loai AbdAllah, Mahmoud Kaiyal

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Missing values in real-world datasets are a common problem. Many algorithms were developed to deal with this problem, most of them replace the missing values with a fixed value that was computed based on the observed values. In our work, we used a distance function based on Bhattacharyya distance to measure the distance between objects with missing values. Bhattacharyya distance, which measures the similarity of two probability distributions. The proposed distance distinguishes between known and unknown values. Where the distance between two known values is the Mahalanobis distance. When, on the other hand, one of them is missing the distance is computed based on the distribution of the known values, for the coordinate that contains the missing value. This method was integrated with Wikaya, a digital health company developing a platform that helps to improve prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. In order for Wikaya’s recommendation system to work distance between users need to be measured. Since there are missing values in the collected data, there is a need to develop a distance function distances between incomplete users profiles. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed distance function in reflecting the actual similarity between different objects, when some of them contain missing values, we integrated it within the framework of k nearest neighbors (kNN) classifier, since its computation is based only on the similarity between objects. To validate this, we ran the algorithm over diabetes and breast cancer datasets, standard benchmark datasets from the UCI repository. Our experiments show that kNN classifier using our proposed distance function outperforms the kNN using other existing methods.

Keywords: missing values, incomplete data, distance, incomplete diabetes data

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Authors: Natalia Politaeva, Iuliia Smiatskaia, Iuliia Bazarnova, Iryna Atamaniuk, Kerstin Kuchta

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Nowadays, the progressive decrease of primary natural resources and ongoing upward trend in terms of energy demand, have resulted in development of new generation technological processes which are focused on step-wise production and residues utilization. Thus, microalgae-based 3^rd generation bioeconomy is considered one of the most promising approaches that allow production of value-added products and sophisticated utilization of residues biomass. In comparison to conventional biomass, microalgae can be cultivated in wide range of conditions without compromising food and feed production, and thus, addressing issues associated with negative social and environmental impacts. However, one of the most challenging tasks is to undergo seasonal variations and to achieve optimal growing conditions for indoor closed systems that can cover further demand for material and energetic utilization of microalgae. For instance, outdoor cultivation in St. Petersburg (Russia) is only suitable within rather narrow time frame (from mid-May to mid-September). At earlier and later periods, insufficient sunlight and heat for the growth of microalgae were detected. On the other hand, without additional physical effects, the biomass increment in summer is 3-5 times per week, depending on the solar radiation and the ambient temperature. In order to increase biomass production, scientists from all over the world have proposed various technical solutions for cultivators and have been studying the influence of various physical factors affecting biomass growth namely: magnetic field, radiation impact, and electric field, etc. In this paper, the influence of infrared radiation (IR) and fluorescent light on the growth rate of microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana has been studied. The cultivation of Chlorella sorokiniana was carried out in 500 ml cylindrical glass vessels, which were constantly aerated. To accelerate the cultivation process, the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes at 500 rpm following 120 minutes of rest time. At the same time, the metabolic needs in nutrients were provided by the addition of micro- and macro-nutrients in the microalgae growing medium. Lighting was provided by fluorescent lamps with the intensity of 2500 ± 300 lx. The influence of IR was determined using IR lamps with a voltage of 220 V, power of 250 W, in order to achieve the intensity of 13 600 ± 500 lx. The obtained results show that under the influence of fluorescent lamps along with the combined effect of active aeration and variable mixing, the biomass increment on the 2^nd day was three times, and on the 7^th day, it was eight-fold. The growth rate of microalgae under the influence of IR radiation was lower and has reached 22.6·10⁶ cells·mL^-1. However, application of IR lamps for the biomass growth allows maintaining the optimal temperature of microalgae suspension at approximately 25-28°C, which might especially be beneficial during the cold season in extreme climate zones.

Keywords: biomass, fluorescent lamp, infrared radiation, microalgae

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Authors: Ari Istiany, Guspri Devi Artanti, M. Si

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Based on the results Riskesdas, it is known that breastfeeding awareness about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding is still low at only 15.3 %. These conditions resulted in a very infant at risk for infectious diseases, such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infection. Therefore, the aim of this study to evaluate the video development about exclusive breastfeeding as a nutrition education media for posyandu cadre. This research used development methods for making the video about exclusive breastfeeding. The study was conducted in urban areas Rawamangun, East Jakarta. Respondents of this study were 1 media experts from the Department of Educational Technology - UNJ, 2 subject matter experts from Department of Home Economics - UNJ and 20 posyandu cadres to assess the quality of the video. Aspects assessed include the legibility of text, image display quality, color composition, clarity of sound, music appropriateness, duration, suitability of the material and language. Data were analyzed descriptively likes frequency distribution table, the average value, and deviation standard. The result of this study showed that the average score assessment according to media experts, subject matter experts, and posyandu cadres respectively was 3.43 ± 0.51 (good), 4.37 ± 0.52 (very good) and 3.6 ± 0.73 (good). The conclusion is on exclusive breastfeeding video as feasible as a media for nutrition education. While suggestions for the improvement of visual media is multiply illustrations, add material about the correct way of breastfeeding and healthy baby pictures.

Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, posyandu cadre, video, nutrition education

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Authors: Ishmael Ntlhamu

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In Limpopo Province, the use of herbal concoctions is becoming very popular. These concoctions are claimed to be capable of treating ulcers, diabetes, certain STDs, blood cleansing, and many more types of diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition, evaluate the pharmacological effects and consumption safety in herbal concoctions to treat various kinds of ailments in Limpopo. The concoctions were extracted with 80% acetone. Microorganisms in the concoctions were identified using the Vitek 2 compact system. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was determined using standard chemical tests and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Total polyphenol content was quantified. Antioxidant activity was quantified using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and ferric reducing power. Antimicrobial activities were determined using a broth micro-dilution assay and bioautography. Cell viability assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity. Results showed that concoctions had antioxidant activity. Presence of different phytoconstituents was observed. Isolated microorganisms were identified as Burkholderia pseudomallei, Staphylococcus vitulimus, Enterococcus columbae, Kocuria kristanae, Staphylococcus intermedius, Cryptococcus laurenti. and Burkholderia pseudomallei (highly pathogenic). Therefore, phytochemicals prove that the concoctions can heal as the antimicrobial tests also displayed activity. Moreover, the concoctions did not exhibit cytotoxic effects. However, contaminants raise concerns, not only for consumer safety but also the quality of herbal concoctions available as part of the traditional medicinal practice in Limpopo.

Keywords: antimicrobials, concoctions, cytotoxicity, phytochemicals

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Authors: Karakhalis N. B.

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This study aimed to determine the prevalence of heparin resistance among cardiac surgical pediatric and neonatal patients and identify associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: The study included 306 pediatric and neonatal patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery. Patients whose activated clotting time (ACT) targets were achieved after the first administration of heparin formed the 1st group (n=280); the 2nd group (n=26) included patients with heparin resistance. The initial assessment of the haemostasiological profile included determining the PT, aPPT, FG, AT III activity, and INR. Intraoperative control of heparinization was carried out with a definition of ACT using a kaolin activator. A weight-associated protocol at the rate of 300 U/kg with target values of ACT >480 sec was used for intraoperative heparinization. Results: The heparin resistance was verified in 8.5% of patients included in the study. Repeated heparin administration at the maximum dose of≥600 U/kg is required in 80.77% of cases. Despite additional heparinization, 19.23% of patients had FFP infusion. There was reduced antithrombin activity in the heparin resistance group (p=0.01). Most patients with heparin resistance (57.7%) were pretreated with low molecular weight heparins during the preoperative period. Conclusion: Determining the initial level of antithrombin activity can predict the risk of developing heparin resistance. The factor analysis verified hidden risk factors for heparin resistance to the heparin pretreatment, chronic hypoxia, and chronic heart failure.

Keywords: congenital heart disease, heparin, antithrombin, activated clotting time, heparin resistance

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Dahi Ghareab Abdelsalam Ibrahim, R. H. Bakr

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Ionizing radiation, such as gamma radiation and X-rays, has many applications in medical diagnoses and cancer treatment. In this paper, we used the windowed Fourier transform to extract the complex image of the deformed red blood cells. The real values of the complex image are used to extract the best fitting of the deformed cell boundary. Male albino rats are irradiated by γ-rays from ⁶⁰Co. The male albino rats are anesthetized with ether, and then blood samples are collected from the eye vein by heparinized capillary tubes for studying the radiation-damaging effect in-vivo by the proposed windowed Fourier transform. The peripheral blood films are prepared according to the Brown method. The peripheral blood film is photographed by using an Automatic Image Contour Analysis system (SAMICA) from ELBEK-Bildanalyse GmbH, Siegen, Germany. The SAMICA system is provided with an electronic camera connected to a computer through a built-in interface card, and the image can be magnified up to 1200 times and displayed by the computer. The images of the peripheral blood films are then analyzed by the windowed Fourier transform method to extract the precise deformation from the best fitting. Based on accurate deformation evaluation of the red blood cells, diseases can be diagnosed in their primary stages.

Keywords: windowed Fourier transform, red blood cells, phase wrapping, Image processing

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Authors: Ananthakrishna L. R., Ramesh D., Kumar Wodeyar, Kotresh A. M., Gururaj P. M.

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Malnad Gidda is the indigenous recognized cattle breed of Shivamogga District of Karnataka state, India is known for its disease resistance to many of the infectious diseases. There are 25 LRR (Leucine Rich Repeats) identified in bovine (Bos indicus) TLR9. The amino acid sequence of LRR is deduced to nucleotide sequence in BLASTx bioinformatic online tools. LRR2 to LRR10 are involved in pathogen recognition and binding in human TLR9 which showed a higher degree of nucleotide variations with respect to disease resistance to various pathogens. Hence, primers were designed to amplify the flanking sequences of LRR2 to LRR10, to discover the nucleotide variations if any, in Malnad Gidda breed of Cattle which is associated with disease resistance. The DNA isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ten Malnad Gidda cattle. A desired and specific amplification product of 0.8 kb was obtained at an annealing temperature of 56.6ᵒC. All the PCR products were sequenced on both sides by gene-specific primers. The sequences were compared with TLR9 sequence of cross breed cattle obtained from NCBI data bank. The sequence analysis between Malnad Gidda and crossbreed cattle revealed no nucleotide variations in the region LRR2 to LRR9 which shows the conserved in pathogen binding domain (LRR) of TLR9.

Keywords: leucine rich repeats, Malnad Gidda, cross breed, TLR9

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Authors: Zuzana Chaloupková, Zdeňka Marková, Václav Ranc, Radek Zbořil

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Prostate cancer is now one of the most serious oncological diseases in men with an incidence higher than that of all other solid tumors combined. Diagnosis of prostate cancer usually involves detection of related genes or detection of marker proteins, such as PSA. One of the new potential markers is PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen). PSMA is a unique membrane bound glycoprotein, which is considerably overexpressed on prostate cancer as well as neovasculature of most of the solid tumors. Commonly applied methods for a detection of proteins include techniques based on immunochemical approaches, including ELISA and RIA. Magnetically assisted surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (MA-SERS) can be considered as an interesting alternative to generally accepted approaches. This work describes a utilization of MA-SERS in a detection of PSMA in human blood. This analytical platform is based on magnetic nanocomposites Fe3O4@Ag, functionalized by a low-molecular selector labeled as JB303. The system allows isolating the marker from the complex sample using application of magnetic force. Detection of PSMA is than performed by SERS effect given by a presence of silver nanoparticles. This system allowed us to analyze PSMA in clinical samples with limits of detection lower than 1 ng/mL.

Keywords: diagnosis, cancer, PSMA, MA-SERS, Ag nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: R. M. Noah, N. M. Nasir, M. R. Jais, M. S. S. Wahab, M. H. Abdullah, A. S. S. Raj

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Infectious diseases are getting more difficult to treat due to the resistant strains of bacteria. Current generations of antibiotics are most likely ineffective against multi-drug resistant strains bacteria. Thus, there is an urgent need in search of natural antibiotics in particular from medicinal plants. One of the common medicinal plants, Melaleuca cajuputi, has been reported to possess antibacterial properties. The study was conducted to evaluate and justify the presence of antibacterial activity of Melaleuca cajuputi essential oil (EO) against the multi-drug resistant bacteria. Clinical isolates obtained from the teaching hospital were re-assessed to confirm the exact identity of the bacteria to be tested, namely methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producer (ESBLs). A well diffusion method was done to observe the inhibition zones of the essential oil against the bacteria. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the microdilution method in 96-well flat microplate. The absorbance was measured using a microplate reader. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was performed using the agar medium method. The zones of inhibition produced by the EO against MRSA, CRE, and ESBL were comparable to that of generic antibiotics used, gentamicin and augmentin. The MIC and MBC results highlighted the antimicrobial efficacy of the EO. The outcome of this study indicated that the EO of Melaleuca cajuputi had antibacterial activity on the multi-drug resistant bacteria. This finding was eventually substantiated by electron microscopy work.

Keywords: melaleuca cajuputi, antibacterial, resistant bacteria, essential oil

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Authors: Azzam H., Abousamra N. K., Wafa A. A., Hafez M. M., El-Gilany A. H.

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Platelet activation occurs in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) and atrial fibrillation (AF) and could be related to abnormal thrombogenesis. The CD40/CD40 ligand (CD40L) which reflects platelet activation, mediate a central role in thrombotic diseases. However, the role of CD40/CD40L system in rheumatic MS with or without AF remains unclear. Expressions of CD40 on monocytes and CD40L on platelets were determined by whole blood flow cytometry and serum levels of soluble CD40L were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in group 1 (19 patients with MS) and group 2 (20 patients with MS and AF) compared to group 3 (10 controls). Patients with groups 1 and 2 had a significant increase in expression of CD40 on monocytes (P1 and P2 = 0.000) and serum levels of sCD40L (P1 = 0.014 and P2 = 0.033, respectively), but nonsignificant increase in expression of CD40L on platelets (P1 = 0.109 and P2 = 0.060, respectively) as compared to controls. There were no significant difference in all the parameters in group 1 compared to group 2. Correlation analysis demonstrated that there was a significant direct relationship between the severity of MS and serum levels of sCD40L (r = -0.469, p = 0.043). In conclusion, rheumatic MS patients with or without AF had upregulation of the CD40/CD40L system as well as elevated sCD40L levels. The levels of sCD40L had a significantly direct relationship with the severity of MS and it was the stenotic mitral valve, not AF, that had a significant impact on platelet activation.

Keywords: CD40, CD40L, mitral stenosis, atrial fibrillation

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: P. S. Seboletswe, Z. Mkhize, L. M. Katata-Seru

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Protorhus longifolia is known as a medicinal plant that has been used traditionally to treat various ailments such as hemiplegic paralysis, blood clotting related diseases, diarrhoea, heartburn, etc. The study reports a High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprint profile of Protorhus longifolia methanolic extract and its qualitative analysis of gallic acid, rutin, and quercetin. HPTLC analysis was achieved using CAMAG HPTLC system equipped with CAMAG automatic TLC sampler 4, CAMAG Automatic Developing Chamber 2 (ADC2), CAMAG visualizer 2, CAMAG Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) scanner and visionCATS CAMAG HPTLC software. Mobile phase comprising toluene, ethyl acetate, formic acid (21:15:3) was used for qualitative analysis of gallic acid and revealed eight peaks while the mobile phase containing ethyl acetate, water, glacial acetic acid, formic acid (100:26:11:11) for qualitative analysis of rutin and quercetin revealed six peaks. HPTLC sillica gel 60 F254 glass plates (10 × 10) were used as the stationary phase. Gallic acid was detected at the R_f = 0.35; while rutin and quercetin were not evident in the extract. Further studies will be performed to quantify gallic acid in Protorhus longifolia leaves and also identify other biomarkers.

Keywords: biomarkers, fingerprint profiling, gallic acid, HPTLC, Protorhus longifolia

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Adam Musa Adam Eissa

Abstract:

Environmental and weather changes especially rainfall affects the distribution and densities of mosquitoes. This work was carried out to study the distribution and densities of mosquitoes adults and larvae in a total of five selected stations in El Obied Town. A cross-sectional survey of Anopheline mosquito larval habitats was conducted. The survey was conducted during the dry season (January 2013). Larvae were collected by using the standard dipping technique, while adult stages were collected by rearing larvae in cage, because the density of adults Anopheles mosquito per room was zero by using spray sheet method by using Permethrin pesticide 25%E.C, during the study period. The results revealed that (2347) Anopheline mosquito larvae were found and collected from only one station. All of which (2347) larvae (100%) were classified as probably Anopheles Squamosus. The study also showed that, a number of 81 adults (100%) Anopheline mosquito were classified as probably Anopheles Squamosus. Anopheles Squamosus were found only in the shallow pond water habitat in Alrahma west area of El Obied, the mean Anopheline density in the study area for larvae was 0.313 per dip while the mean density of adult was 0 per room. The high mosquito larval density in Alrahma west area indicated that, this part of El Obied Town is at risk of mosquito-borne diseases including malaria. This study recommended to apply the control program against mosquito at this part of the Town.

Keywords: anopheles, squamosus, Alrahma, distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: O. I. Papagianni, P. Potsaki, K. Almpounioti, D. Chatzicharalampous, A. Voutsa, O. Katira, A. Michalaki, H. C. Karantonis, A. E. Koutelidakis

Abstract:

High intakes of carbohydrates and fats have been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases due to the role of postprandial oxidative stress. This pilot nutritional intervention aimed to examine the acute effect of consuming two different types of breadsticks prepared from durum wheat flour mixtures differing in total phenolic content on postprandial inflammatory and oxidant responses in healthy volunteers. A cross-over, controlled, and single-blind clinical trial was designed, and two isocaloric high-fat and high-carbohydrate meals were tested. Serum total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, CRP, uric acid, plasma total antioxidant capacity, and antiplatelet activity were determined in fasting and 30, 60, and 120 min after consumption. The results showed a better postprandial HDL-cholesterol and total antioxidant activity response in the intervention group. The choice of durum wheat flours with higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity is presented as promising for human health, and clinical studies will expand to draw safer conclusions.

Keywords: breadsticks, durum wheat flours, postprandial inflammation, postprandial oxidative stress, ex vivo antiplatelet activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Ľudmila Ballová, Slavomír Kurhajec, Eva Petrovová, Jarmila Eftimová

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Angiogenesis, a formation of new blood vessels from a pre-existing vasculature, plays an important role in pathologic processes such as the growth and metastasis of tumours. Tumours cannot grow beyond a few millimetres without blood supply from the newly formed blood vessels from the host tissue, a process called tumour-induced angiogenesis. The successful research of antiangiogenic treatment of cancer has focused on nutraceuticals with angiogenesis-modulating properties. Berberine, as a major active component of the bark of Phellodendron amurense Rupr., has shown antitumour activity by intervening into different steps of carcinogenesis. The influence of ethanolic extract of Phellodendron amurese bark on the angiogenesis was tested in vivo on chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). The irritancy of the CAM after the application of the crude bark extract dissolved in normal saline (10 mg/mL) was investigated on embryonic day 7. No significant signs of the irritancy, such as vasoconstriction, hyperaemia, haemorrhage or coagulation were observed which indicates the harmless character of the extract. A significant reduction in vessel sprouting and higher percentage of avascular zone was observed in the case of CAM treated with the extract in comparison with non-treated CAM (control), which is a proof of the antiangiogenic potential of the extract. These results could contribute to the development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer or other diseases, in which angiogenesis plays a significant role.

Keywords: angiogenesis, berberine, chorioallantoic membrane, irritancy, phellodendron amurense

Procedia PDF Downloads 370