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Purpose: To evaluate service access for women with epilepsy (WWE) during pregnancy; to determine seizure frequency and rates of adherence to anti-seizure medication (ASM).\ud \ud Methods: Between June 2019-June 2020, pregnant WWE within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health-board were identified from the National Obstetric Register. A manual review of electronic patient records was undertaken to ensure diagnostic accuracy, as well as determine contact with epilepsy services and documented seizures. Medication dispensing records were obtained six months before and six months after midwifery booking and measures of ASM adherence calculated.\ud \ud Results: Between June 2019-June 2020, 4592 women were registered with a pregnancy. Eighty-five (1.9%) were identified as having active epilepsy (generalised- 40/85 (47.0%), focal- 35/85 (41.2%), unclassified- 10/85 (11.8%)). Preconceptually, 42/85 WWE (49.4%) had input from epilepsy services. Only 59/85 (69.4%) were reviewed during pregnancy (First trimester- 21/59 (35.6%), Second trimester- 25/59 (42.4%) and Third trimester- 13/59 (22.0%)). Seizure occurrence was documented in 37/85 WWE (43.5%) during the antenatal/postnatal period. 71/85 WWE (83.5%) were prescribed ASM. Poor adherence was noted in 50/85 (58.9%) and a documented seizure recorded in 26/50 (52.0%) of these women.\ud \ud Conclusion: Too many WWE do not receive input from epilepsy services during pregnancy, leaving some with poor ASM adherence and continued seizures. We aim to use “near-live” obstetric and dispensing data to facilitate early identification of WWE, promoting timely access to epilepsy specialists. This will also provide an opportunity to address concerns regarding ASM safety and allow medication dose changes to be considered.

Purpose: \ud To examine the rate of persistence with anti-seizure medications (ASMs) in a cohort of patients with epilepsy, and to investigate the impact of a range of clinical and demographic factors on persistence\ud \ud Methods: \ud Patients receiving ASMs for epilepsy were identified from linked, routinely collected data within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area between January 2011 and August 2019. Persistence with individual ASMs at 365-days after initiation was assessed using a 90-day allowable gap between individual prescriptions. Univariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association between 1-year persistence with ASM and demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and medication characteristics.\ud \ud Results: \ud In total, 6,449 patients with epilepsy were identified – 1,631 were new users of ASMs at baseline and 4,818 had been prescribed at least one ASM prior to baseline. Persistence with individual ASMs ranged 11.8% to 78.6%. Persistence was significantly lower in younger patients and patients who had previously been non-persistent to ASMs. Persistence was higher amongst those with cardiac comorbidities, previous stroke, or higher overall comorbidity, as well as those prescribed newer ASMs.\ud \ud Conclusion: \ud Persistence varied widely. Demographic factors, previous non-persistence and overall number of comorbidities were more important determinants of persistence to anti-seizure medications than specific individual comorbidities. Interventions to improve persistence should be targeted at younger patients from more deprived backgrounds and those who have previously been non-persistent with ASMs.

This study was conducted during 2019/2020 on sweet cherry trees (Prunus Avium L.) (Bing and Hardy Giant) cultivar planted at Sergaya-Al_Zabadani area of Rural Damascus, to reduce fruit drop of sweet cherry. The experiment included 4 foliar applications: T1: control, T2: GA3 (100 ppm), T3: NAA (20 ppm), T4: (100 ppm GA3 + 20 ppm NAA). Fruit set and fruit drop percentage, fruiting factor, and yield were recorded. The results showed that treatment with (100 ppm GA3 + 20 ppm NAA) recorded higher fruit set percentage (73.81% and 75.62%), and fruiting factor (48.38% and 50.04%) respectively; In addition to fruit yield (40.19 and 41.21 kg/tree) for both cultivars, compared to the control (9.13, 6.60 kg/tree). Therefore, it can be concluded that GA3 + NAA treatment reduced Sweet cherry fruit drop better than other treatments, where fruit drop percentage didn’t exceed (63.11% and 62.01%) in both cultivars (Bing and Hardy Giant) respectively, compared to the control (80.92% and 80.64%).

Spider silk is a biomaterial with exceptional mechanical toughness, and there is great interest in developing biomimetic methods to produce engineered spider silk-based materials. However, the mechanisms that regulate the conversion of spider silk proteins (spidroins) from highly soluble dope into silk are not completely understood. The N-terminal domain (NT) of Euprosthenops australis dragline silk protein undergoes conformational and quaternary-structure changes from a monomer at a pH above 7 to a homodimer at lower pH values. Conversion from the monomer to the dimer requires the protonation of three conserved glutamic acid residues, resulting in a low-pH `locked' dimer stabilized by symmetric electrostatic interactions at the poles of the dimer. The detailed molecular events during this transition are still unresolved. Here, a 2.1 Å resolution crystal structure of an NT T61A mutant in an alternative, asymmetric, dimer form in which the electrostatic interactions at one of the poles are dramatically different from those in symmetrical dimers is presented. A similar asymmetric dimer structure from dragline silk of Nephila clavipes has previously been described. It is suggested that asymmetric dimers represent a conserved intermediate state in spider silk formation, and a revised `lock-and-trigger' mechanism for spider silk formation is presented.

In this study, SnO2 nanorods (SnO2 NRs) and SnO2 nanorods–nanoporous graphene hybrids, SnO2 NRs-NPG, with two different weight ratios (0.05 and 0.1) of nanoporous graphene to tin salt have been prepared as sensing materials. These materials were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method and print screened on alumina substrates for low-temperature methane (CH4) gas sensors. The structure and morphology of the fabricated sensing materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that in the case of SnO2 NRs-NPG hybrids, the porous graphene sheets are decorated with SnO2 nanorods. The gas response of the prepared hybrid samples to 1000 ppm methane gas was investigated at 100–200 °C. The nanohybrid with 0.05 wt ratios of nanoporous graphene to tin salt showed significant sensor response of 24.9–51% to 1000–10000 ppm methane at a relatively low operating temperature of 150 °C which is about 600% higher than that of pure SnO2 nanorods. The substantial enhancement in the gas detection of SnO2 NRs-NPG nanohybrid, compared to the pristine SnO2, can be attributed to its larger specific surface area, the presence of nanoporous graphene as a good conductor and interactions between nanoporous graphene and SnO2 nanorods.

The study aims to increase the fruitset percentage of sweet cherry trees, reduce their fall rate and increase fruit retention percentage that reaches the maturity stage. It was conducted during 2019/2020 years at Cherry orchard located in Sargaya- Al- Zabadani area in Rural Damascus, in Syria. the experiment included 4 foliar spray treatments (T1: Control, T2: Zn (100 ppm), T3: B (500 ppm), T4: (100 ppm Zn + 500 ppm B) on sweet cherry trees (Prunus Avium L.) cultivar (Bing) the fruitset percentage, fruit drop percentage, fruiting factor, and yield quantity were calculated for all treatments. The results showed that all treatments (T2, T3, T4) recorded higher fruitset percentage, compared to the control (T1) with no significant differences between (74.83, 76.35, 76.25%) respectively, while the control fruitset percentage (72.76%), and (T4) has achieved the highest percentage of fruiting factor (41.40%) with no significant differences between it and treatment (T3) (37.12%), and the highest yield (19.98 kg), as well as (T2, T3) treatments was (9.39, 10.80 kg/tree) respectively, while the control yield was (5.93 kg/tree). Therefore, it can be considered that treatment (T4) has succeeded in reducing Sweet cherry fruit drop, where the fruit drop percentage didn't exceed (70.27%), and in (T2, T3) treatments was (74.94, 72.99%) respectively, while it reached in the control treatment to (80.64%).

Funding: This research was supported by a grant from TENOVUS Scotland, a national charity supporting medical research and involved in the improvement of healthcare within Scotland, UK. Introduction: Substance misuse is not uncommonly recognized in people with epilepsy (PWE). Mortality is significantly greater in those with comorbid substance misuse, but it remains unclear whether epilepsy care and management contribute to this. This cohort study aimed to compare the rates of mortality in PWE receiving opiate replacement therapy (ORT) and PWE alone, as well as evaluate their medication adherence, levels of engagement with epilepsy services as currently delivered, and utilization of unscheduled hospital care. Material and methods: A 5-year historical cohort for PWE was identified and manually validated using electronic patient records registered with NHS Tayside. Overall incidence rates for mortality and contact with emergency health care services were calculated for PWE receiving ORT and PWE alone. Engagement with outpatient epilepsy services was also noted. Adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) was expressed in terms of medication possession ratio (MPR). Results: Of the 1297 PWE attending a tertiary care epilepsy service, 68 (5.3%) PWE were receiving ORT. The mortality rate was significantly greater in PWE on ORT in comparison to PWE only (7.4% vs 1.7 %; P

In this study, a novel, simple, high yield, and scalable method is proposed to synthesize highly porous MoS

In this study, SnO2 quantum dots-fullerene (SnO2 QDs-C60) nanohybrid as novel sensing material was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the synthesized sample were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared hybrid was used as gas sensors for detection of different gasses including 70 ppm H2S, 1% methane, and 1% propane at low temperatures of 100–200 °C. The results indicated that the SnO2 QDs-C60 nanohybrid has high response and high selectivity to 70 ppm H2S, 1% methane, and 1% propane gasses at low temperatures. The highest response (Rair/Rgas) of 66.0 and 5.4–70 ppm H2S and 1% methane gasses at 150 °C and the response of 2.7–1% propane at 200 °C were observed for the prepared nanohybrid gas sensor. Moreover, the prepared sensor showed a good selectivity toward H2S gas. Also, DFT calculations were used for studying the interaction of these gases with SnO2-C60. DFT results showed that H2S has the strongest interaction and the highest effect on band-gap variation which is in a good agreement with experimental results.

Background: Ionizing radiation used in computed tomography (CT) has a carcinogenic risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the justification of CT scan requests by physicians in Kashani hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Methods: Patients' data including the gender, age, type of CT scan, the cause of the request, the specialty of the requesting physician, and the test report were collected. The percentage of positive or abnormal cases for each test was obtained based on radiologist reports. The percentage of positive cases was also determined in term of the specialty of the requesting physicians. Findings: The data of 888 patients were analyzed. The number of CT scans of the brain, abdomen, chest, spine, facial bones, pelvis, upper limbs, and lower limbs was 601, 13, 31, 76, 53, 29, 19, and 66, respectively. The lowest and highest percentages of positive results were related to brain (18.64%) and upper extremity (36.84%) CT scan, respectively. The highest percentage of normal results was related to patients referred to the CT scan by general practitioners, general surgeons, and emergency medicine specialists. Conclusion: Totally, in all tests, 78.38% of the reports were normal, and less than 22% of the tests were indicative of pathological cases. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the requests without indication to reduce the radiation dose of the community. The knowledge of the physicians about the suitable justification of the CT scan tests should be increased based on clinical guidelines, as well.

Stannic oxide nanoparticles and various compositions of SnO2@rGO (reduced graphene oxide) nanohybrids were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method and utilized as chemiresistive methane gas sensors. To characterize the synthesized nanohybrids, BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller), XRD, FESEM, TEM, FTIR, and Raman techniques were used. Sensing elements were tested using a U-tube flow chamber with temperature control. To obtain the best sensor performance, i.e., the highest signal and the fastest response and recovery times, the sensing element composition, operating temperature, and gas flow rate were optimized. The highest response (change in resistance) of 47.6% for 1000 ± 5 ppm methane was obtained with the SnO2@rGO1% nanohybrid at 150 °C and a flow rate of 160 sccm; the response and recovery times were 61 s and 5 min, respectively. A sensing mechanism was suggested, based on the experiments.

The emerging environmental issues necessitate the engineering of novel and well-designed nanoadsorbents for advanced separation and purification applications. Despite recent advances, the facile synthesis of hierarchical micro-mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with tuned structures has remained a challenge. Herein, we report a simple defect engineering approach to manipulate the framework, induce mesoporosity, and crease large pore volumes in MIL-101(Cr) by embedding graphene quantum dots (GQDs) during its self-assembly process. For instance, MIL-101@GQD-3 (Vmeso: 0.68 and Vtot: 1.87 cm3/g) exhibited 300.0% and 53.3% more meso and total pore volume compared to those of the conventional MIL-101 (Vmeso: 0.17 and Vtot: 1.22 cm3/g), respectively, resulting in 1.7 and 2.8 times greater benzene and toluene loading at 1 bar and 25 °C. In addition, we found that MIL-101@GQD-3 retained its superiority over a wide range of VOC concentrations and operating temperature (25–55 °C) with great cyclic capacity and energy-efficient regeneration. Considering the simplicity of the adopted technique to induce mesoporosity and tune the nanoporous structure of MOFs, the presented GQD incorporation technique is expected to provide a new pathway for the facile synthesis of advanced materials for environmental applications.

The main challenge in utilizing permeable reactive barriers (PRB) for remediation of metals-contaminated groundwater is determination of a proper low-cost reactive medium that can remove the desired contaminants simultaneously. In this study, the performance of different zeolite materials and nZVI-based adsorbents for cadmium (Cd) removal was compared. Further, a composite of the best nZVI and zeolite samples was synthesized with the removal efficiency of 20.6 g/kg and selected as the proposed adsorbent. Moreover, the characteristics of the composite were analyzed through different techniques (BET, XRF, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM and EDX). In addition, through kinetic and thermodynamic studies, the effect of temperature, pH, ionic strength and presence of other metal ions on Cd removal efficiency was investigated. According to the results, since sodium zeolite (NaZ) provides a large number of specific ion-exchange sites for decoration with nZVI, stabilizes nZVI, and prevents its aggregation and further leaching in the harsh environment, the NaZ-nZVI composite is capable of removing Cd by adsorption and is applicable in PRBs, and thus it seems that the aforementioned composite is a proper candidate for groundwater remediation from a wide range of metal ions.

In this study, a novel, simple, high yield, and scalable method is proposed to synthesize highly porous MoS2/graphene oxide (M−GO) nanocomposites by reacting the GO and co-exfoliation of bulky MoS2 in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) under different condition of ultrasonication. Also, the effect of ultrasonic output power on the particle size distribution of metal cluster on the surface of nanocatalysts is studied. It is found that the use of the ultrasonication method can reduce the particle size and increase the specific surface area of M−GO nanocomposite catalysts which leads to HDS activity is increased. These nanocomposite catalysts are characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, STEM, HR-TEM, AFM, XPS, ICP, BET surface, TPR and TPD techniques. The effects of physicochemical properties of the M−GO nanocomposites on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reactions of vacuum gas oil (VGO) has been also studied. Catalytic activities of MoS2-GO nanocomposite are investigated by different operating conditions. M9-GO nanocatalyst with high surface area (324 m2/g) and large pore size (110.3 A), have the best catalytic performance (99.95%) compared with Co-Mo/γAl2O3 (97.91%). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also used to elucidate the HDS mechanism over the M−GO catalyst. It is found that the GO substrate can stabilize MoS2 layers through weak van der Waals interactions between carbon atoms of the GO and S atoms of MoS2. At both Mo- and S-edges, the direct desulfurization (DDS) is found as the main reaction pathway for the hydrodesulfurization of DBT molecules.

Los diagramas de manejo de la densidad son herramientas de decisión robustas disponibles para los gestores forestales que disponen de información limitada. Los diagramas son modelos empíricos a nivel de masa, gráficamente representan las relaciones temporales entre la densidad de masa y diferentes variables como el diámetro medio cuadrático, la altura dominante o el volumen. Son usados para definir espaciamiento inicial de una plantación o para organizar las claras. En la actualidad hay un interés creciente en los bosques mixtos como una opción de la gestión forestal adaptativa ya que se consideran cada vez más como una garantía para salvaguardar una amplia variedad de servicios ecosistémicos dentro de la sostenibilidad. Pero hay todavía una falta de conocimiento, herramientas eficientes y modelos para las masas mixtas, como pueden ser los diagramas de densidad. El objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar un diagrama de densidad para las masas mixtas de Pinus sylvestris y Pinus pinaster en la Sierra de la Demanda usando los datos del tercer Inventario Forestal Nacional ya que son dos de las coníferas más importantes en Europa y en la cuenca mediterránea, sobre todo en España. Se pueden usar diferentes variables para desarrollar un diagrama de densidad. En este caso se usaron el diámetro medio cuadrático, la altura dominante, el volumen de la masa, la densidad y el índice de Reineke. Además se realizó un ajuste simultáneo de dos ecuaciones. Estas ecuaciones se ajustaron incluyendo una nueva variable representando la proporción de ambas especies para tener en cuenta la mezcla de la masa. Todos los análisis estadísticos y la construcción del diagrama se realizaron usando el software estadístico R. Los resultados del ajuste simultáneo mostraron que la nueva variable representando la proporción de ambas especies no fue significativo. Basado en esto se construyó un diagrama sin el grado de mezcla de las especies. Este diagrama podrá ser usado por los gestores forestales como una eficiente herramienta para la gestión de la selvicultura de estas masas., Máster Erasmus Mundus en Gestión Forestal y de Recursos Naturales en el Mediterráneo (MEDFOR)

Adequate nutrition is essential in early childhood to ensure healthy growth, proper organ formation and function, a strong immune system, and neurological and cognitive development. Child malnutrition – as measured by poor child growth – is an important indicator for monitoring population nutritional status and health. In 2013, about 17%, or 98 million children under five years of age in developing countries were underweight (low weight-for-age according to the WHO child growth standards). Underweight prevalence is highest in the United Nation (UN) region of Southern Asia (30%), followed by Western Africa (21%), Oceania and Eastern Africa (both 19%) and South-Eastern Asia and Middle Africa (both 16%), and Southern Africa 12%. Prevalence below 10% for 2013 is estimated for the UN regions of Eastern, Central and Western Asia, Northern Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Childhood malnutrition, including fetal growth restriction, suboptimum breastfeeding, stunting, wasting and Vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, is an underlying cause of death in an estimated 45% of all deaths among children under five years of age.

In this study, SnO

Computational methods in materials design can lead to significant progresses toward optimization of novel responsive adsorbents and sensors. In this regard, in current research for the first time, Density Functional Theory (DFT) method has been utilized to tune the properties of C60 fullerene for better adsorptive and detection capability. The DFT calculations were performed on various types of C60, where, to enhance the end properties of the C60 various dopants were imbedded in its structure. The effects of different dopants including B, N, P, S and Si on adsorptive and sensing capability of the C60 were elucidated. Regarding the effect of Nitrogen, it was found that pyrrolic and pyridinic nitrogen can enhance the adsorption energy of C60 considerably. The other dopants could also improve the interaction energy of C60, where, the highest adsorption energy was obtained for B-doped C60 (−32.2973 kj/mol) followed by pyrrolic nitrogen (−17.4745 kj/mol), Si-doped C60 (−10.6411), S-doped C60 (−9.3903 kj/mol) and P-doped C60 (−8.1723 kj/mol). The sensing capability of the proposed structures was evaluated in terms of variation of band gap energy after adding H2 S molecule in which the pyridinic oxide nitrogen in C60 had the highest electrical response to presence of H 2S. Moreover, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis was performed and then stabilization energies, electron occupation at each bond and hybridization character around each atom were evaluated. Consequently, appropriate synthesis methods can be used to prepare the doped-C60 materials as effective H2S adsorbents and sensors.

We studied the effect of three diets consisting of eggs and adults of two forms of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) on the rate of predation, rate of oviposition, and development of the predatory mite, Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). The diet types consisted of T. urticae red form eggs/adults (type a), green form eggs/adults, (type b) and mixed red and green form eggs/adults (type c). The form of eggs did not have an effect on the rate of predation, nor did the forms of adults with the exception of more predation on mixed forms on the third day of the experiment and on both red and mixed forms on the second day. The rate of oviposition did not differ between N. californicus provided different forms of eggs as prey on the second day, but on the third day, there was a significantly higher rate of oviposition associated with diet types a, and c. There was no effect on rate of oviposition when N. californicus fed on adult prey. When T. urticaeeggs and adults w...