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It has been the heartbeat of researchers and food engineers to discover the appropriate and effective technology for microbial control to ensure the safety of food. This is because microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa can cause contamination in food products. Many studies have published reviews on the use of single novel technology such as radio frequency (RF), pulsed light (PL), and cold plasma (CP) to process food to ensure food safety. However, no review has provided a comprehensive, detailed overview of the RF, PL, and CP treatments for pasteurizing food products in one publication. This study aims to review and present the future directions of RF, PL, and CP applications in light of various aspects of these technologies. The review concluded that although no novel technique (thermal or nonthermal) could adequately meet all the requirements for food safety, traditional thermal processes can be extremely useful in reducing and eliminating microbe contamination. However, they cannot be applied to temperature-sensitive foods. Besides inactivating microbial spores, traditional thermal processes can denature proteins as well as organoleptic properties, such as taste, nutritional value, and sensory characteristics, illustrating the importance of these novel technologies as an alternative to heat-based techniques. As a result of this study, hurdle technology is recommended since it has an additive effect and achieves better germicidal results.

Despite many advantages, wide‐spread integration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the power systems is challenging. Large‐scale uncontrolled EV charging load may lead to under‐voltage violations, higher power losses, overloading of transformers and transmission lines. In this research work, a machine learning‐based communication‐free EV charge control strategy is developed to mitigate the issues caused by the uncontrolled EV charging. Another notable feature of the proposed controller is to ensure the fairness among the EVs available at different locations in the distribution system. Moreover, two indices are proposed, that is system utilisation index (SUI) and system average voltage violation duration index (SAVVDI), to assess the performance of any EV charge controller. In the proposed control structure, a nodal voltage and the voltage‐to‐load sensitivity are measured at each load node which are fed to the EV charge controller. In fact, an upstream node is generally less sensitive to the changes in load, since it is closer to the feeding point, as compared to a downstream node. The output of the charge controller is the charging rate of an EV. In order to validate the robustness of the proposed controller, light and heavy loading conditions are considered which mimic the daily, monthly, yearly and seasonal load variations. Simulation results prove that the proposed controller effectively improves the voltage profiles and ensures fairness among the EVs connected at various charging points in the distribution system. Moreover, it effectively utilises the power system resources.

Currently, the customer's demands have expressively amplified their expectations of getting software at a high‐quality level. However, the non‐functional requirements of the software products attention have been expanded in both the academic and the industrial fields; so, there is no framework for specifying and measuring such kinds of quality constraints for the security requirements of software product quality. This paper presents an integrated framework of the early specification and measurement of the functional and non‐functional software security requirements. Such a measurement framework would help software and systems engineers to improve product qualities whether the software has already been delivered or has yet to be built. The main steps that have been followed include: identify, specify and measure the software security requirements based on ISO/IEC SQuaRE series of international standards for software product quality. A standard measurement framework used to measure the functional size of the software product quality to develop a functional size measurement of the functional and non‐functional security requirements is described. As a result, a functional size measurement framework of the functional and non‐functional security requirements (SPQNFSR) using international standards is proposed. An automatic teller machine case study for the measurement of security requirements based on perspectives of a software functional user requirements is presented. Finally, it is concluded that it is essential to develop such a functional size measurement framework for functional and non‐functional security requirements to support developers to face the challenges derived from early dealing with such requirements.

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of using additive manufacturing (AM) for dental ceramic fabrication in comparison with subtractive manufacturing (SM), and to evaluate the effect of the type of AM technology on dental ceramic fabrication.A search was conducted electronically in MEDLINE (via PubMed), EBSCOhost, Scopus, and Cochran Library databases, and also by other methods (table of contents screening, backward and forward citations, and grey literature search) up to February 12, 2022, to identify records evaluating additive manufacturing of ceramics for dental purposes in comparison with subtractive manufacturing. A minimum of 2 review authors conducted tstudy selection, quality assessment, and data extraction. Quality assessment was performed with Joanna Briggs Institute tool, and the quantitative synthesis was performed with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program (CMA, Biostat Inc). Hedges's g for effect size was calculated, with 0.2 as small, 0.5 as medium, and 0.8 as large. Heterogeneity was assessed with IA total of 28 studies were included for the qualitative and quantitative synthesis; 11 in vitro studies on accuracy, 1 in vivo study on color, and 16 in vitro studies on physical and mechanical properties. Meta-analysis showed overall higher accuracy for SM compared with AM, with medium effect size (0.679, CI: 0.173 to 1.185, p = 0.009) and also for marginal (g = 1.05, CI: 0.344 to 1.760, p = 0.004), occlusal (g = 2.24, CI: 0.718 to 3.766, p = 0.004), and total (g = 4.544, CI: -0.234 to 9.323, p = 0.062) with large effect size; whereas AM had higher accuracy than SM with small effect size for the external (g = -0.238, CI: -1.215 to 0.739), p = 0.633), and internal (g = -0.403, CI: -1.273 to 0.467, p = 0.364) surfaces. For technology, self-glazed zirconia protocol had the smallest effect size (g = -0.049, CI: -0.878 to 0.78, p = 0.907), followed by stereolithography (g = 0.305, CI: -0.289 to 0.9, p = 0.314), and digital light processing (g = 1.819, CI: 0.662 to 2.976, p = 0.002) technologies. Flexural strength was higher for ceramics made by SM in comparison to AM with large effect size (g = -2.868, CI: -4.371 to -1.365, p0.001). Only 1 study reported on color, favoring ceramics made through combined AM and SM.Subtractive manufacturing had better overall accuracy, particularly for the marginal and occlusal areas, higher flexural strength, and more favorable hardness, fracture toughness, porosity, fatigue, and volumetric shrinkage; whereas AM had more favorable elastic modulus and wettability. Both methods had favorable biocompatibility. All studies on accuracy and mechanical properties were in vitro, with high heterogeneity and low to very low certainty of evidence. There is a lack of studies on color match and esthetics.

This paper reports the use of a self‐assembling hydrogel as a delivery vehicle for the Parkinson's disease drug l‐DOPA. Based on a two‐component combination of an l‐glutamine amide derivative and benzaldehyde, this gel has very soft rheological properties and self‐healing characteristics. It is demonstrated that the gel can be formulated to encapsulate l‐DOPA. These drug‐loaded gels are characterized, and rapid release of the drug is obtained from the gel network. This drug‐loaded hydrogel has appropriate rheological characteristics to be amenable for injection. This system is therefore tested as a vehicle for nasal delivery of neurologically‐active drugs—a drug delivery strategy that can potentially avoid first pass liver metabolism and bypass the blood–brain barrier, hence enhancing brain uptake. In vitro tests indicate that the gel has biocompatibility with respect to nasal epithelial cells. Furthermore, animal studies demonstrate that the nasal delivery of a gel loaded with 3H‐labeled l‐DOPA out‐performed a simple intranasal l‐DOPA solution. This is attributed to longer residence times of the gel in the nasal cavity resulting in increased blood and brain concentrations. It is demonstrated that the likely routes of brain penetration of intranasally‐delivered l‐DOPA gel involve the trigeminal and olfactory nerves connecting to other brain regions., A self‐assembling gel based on a low‐molecular‐weight gelator is demonstrated to achieve effective intranasal delivery of the Parkinson's disease drug l‐DOPA. In particular, using the supramolecular gel enhances residence times in the nasal cavity and improves delivery of the drug both into the blood and brain compared with a simple solution of l‐DOPA administered the same way.

The syntheses and crystal structures of sterically crowded mono- and bichromophoric BODIPY-based dyes are reported. The "monomeric" compound is weakly fluorescent in the liquid phase due to fast internal conversion associated with rotation of aryl rings at the boron atom. The side-by-side "dimer" exhibits weak excitonic coupling between the dipyrrin units and is much more emissive in fluid solution. Solid samples of both molecular entities are strongly fluorescent under near-UV illumination. Thus, the mono-chromophore exhibits dual fluorescence from what appears to be a mixture of crystalline and possibly amorphous (or interfacial regions) distributions. The bi-chromophore packs in the crystal as pairs of chromophores with each unit being provided by a different molecule. This leads to excitonic splitting and the formation of a strong H-band in the absorption spectrum. Fluorescence occurs from the corresponding J-species and also from what appears to be an aggregated state associated with interfacial areas. Both bulk and interface-bound states show relatively long-lived fluorescence while the crystal structures indicate the likelihood for fast electronic energy migration between molecules.

Background The emergence of COVID‐19 global pandemic coupled with high transmission rate and mortality has created an unprecedented state of emergency worldwide. This global situation may have a negative impact on the psychological well‐being of individuals which in turn impacts individuals' performance. This study aims to explore the prevalence of depression and anxiety among the GP, HCPs, and USs during COVID‐19 outbreak, and to identify key population(s) who might need psychological intervention. Methods A cross‐sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Jordan between 22 and 28 March 2020 to explore the mental health status (depression and anxiety) of the general population, healthcare professionals, and university students during the COVID‐19 outbreak. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7) were used to assess depression and anxiety among the study participants. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of depression and anxiety. Results The prevalence of depression and anxiety among the entire study participants was 23.8% and 13.1%, respectively. Anxiety was most prevalent across university students 21.5%, followed by healthcare professionals 11.3%, and general population 8.8%. Females among healthcare professionals and university students, divorced healthcare professionals, pulmonologists, and university students with history of chronic disease were at higher risk of developing depression. Females, divorced participants among the general population, and university students with history of chronic disease and those with high income (≥1,500 JD) were at higher risk of developing anxiety. Conclusions During outbreaks, individuals are put under extreme stressful condition resulting in higher risk of developing anxiety and depression particularly for students and healthcare professionals. Policymakers and mental healthcare providers are advised to provide further mental support to these vulnerable groups during this pandemic., The prevalence of depression and anxiety among the entire study participants was 23.8% and 13.1%, respectively. Anxiety and depression were most prevalent across university students, followed by healthcare professionals, and general population. Females, university students, divorced individuals, healthcare professionals at front‐line, and those who are with underlying chronic conditions are at a higher risk of these mental health problems.

Introduction This study aims to evaluate the conceptual relevance of four measures of disease activity in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD): (1) the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale; (2) the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living Inventory; (3) the Neuropsychiatry Inventory; and (4) the Dependence Scale. Methods A conceptual model depicting patient experience of mild AD was developed via literature review; concepts were compared with the items of the four measures. Relevance of the concepts included in the four measures was evaluated by patients with mild AD in a survey and follow-up interviews. Results The four measures assessed few of the symptoms/impacts of mild AD identified within the literature. Measured items addressing emotional impacts were deemed most relevant by participants but were included in the measures only superficially. Discussion The four assessment measures do not appear to capture the concepts most relevant to/important to patients with mild/mild-moderate AD., Highlights • Many impacts associated with mild Alzheimer's disease were reported by patients. • The included outcome measures assessed did not provide high conceptual coverage. • These four measures appeared more suitable for more severe Alzheimer's disease. • Completion of patient reported outcomes should be possible in this patient population. • These may be currently used in addition to clinician- and observer-reported outcomes.

Getting rid of the tubes: An assessment of the retention of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in the organs of mice was carried out using single photon emission computed tomography and quantitative scintigraphy (see scheme). Increasing the degree of functionalization on MWNTs enhanced renal clearance, while lower functionalization promoted reticuloendethelial system accumulation. journal article research support, non-u.s. gov't 2012 Jun 25 2012 05 23 imported

Objective Compound motor action potential (CMAP) can quantitatively evaluate innervation following injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in canines. CMAP duration (the total time of CMAP) and latency (the time between the nerve impulse and the onset of action potentials) have not been assessed following RLN injury. Study design Animal study. Methods Twelve canine hemilaryngeal preparations were investigated. Baseline CMAP duration and latency were derived. Group A (n = 5) underwent RLN stretch injury, and group B (n = 7) underwent RLN transection/repair. The change in CMAP duration and latency was assessed between the baseline and 6-month measurements using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for each group individually and combined. Results Six months following injury, transection/repair injuries had the most significant increase in CMAP duration (2.8 ± 0.6 ms vs. 4.2 ± 0.8 ms, difference 1.4 ms 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43 to 2.40) and latency (2.6 ± 0.5 ms vs. 5.6 ± 1.5 ms, difference 3.0 ms 95% CI: 1.65 to 4.38). Stretch injuries also caused an increase in CMAP duration (2.3 ± 0.8 ms vs. 3.0 ± 0.6 ms, difference 0.7 ms 95% CI: -0.49 to 1.77) and latency (2.5 ± 0.8 ms vs. 4.7 ± 1.5 ms, difference 2.3 95% CI: 0.76 to 3.80). Using ROC curves, CMAP duration and latency differentiated between the baseline control and RLN injury at 6 months (area under the curve = 0.78 and 0.98, respectively). Conclusion CMAP duration and latency are both quantitative measures that may have clinical utility as markers of RLN injury. CMAP latency had superior discrimination between injured and uninjured RLNs. Increased CMAP duration and latency may be explained by incomplete myelination and focal conduction block. Level of evidence NA. Laryngoscope, 127:1855-1860, 2017.

Background Febrile ulceronecrotic Mucha-Habermann disease (FUMHD) is a rare fulminant variant of pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (PLEVA) characterized by a rapidly progressive course with predominant ulceronecrotic lesions associated with fever and systemic manifestations. First described by Degos in 1966, it carries a high morbidity and is potentially fatal. The exact pathogenesis is not clear, but it is proposed to be the result of hypersensitivity reaction to an infection. Methods Here we report the case of an 8-year-old boy with FUMHD in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Results The patient presented with pyrexia, fatigue, arthralgia, and worsening of his already existing skin lesions of PLEVA. There was an extensive painful erythematous maculopapular rash, some lesions ulcerated and necrotic, involving the face, trunk, limbs, and flexures. A diagnosis of FUMHD was made based on clinical and histological features. The skin lesions responded extremely well to oral methotrexate, with almost complete healing after 4 weeks. Conclusions We describe a rare variant of PLEVA, namely FUMHD, in an 8-year-old boy who showed a remarkably favorable response to methotrexate, as manifested by near total clearance of the skin lesions without scarring or hyperpigmentation.

Ion‐pairing a lifesaving drug such as theophylline with a targeting moiety could have a significant impact on medical emergencies such as status asthmaticus or COVID‐19 induced pneumomediastinum. However, to achieve rapid drug targeting in vivo the ion‐pair must be protected against breakdown before the entry into the target tissue. This study aims to investigate if inserting theophylline, when ion‐paired to the polyamine transporter substrate spermine, into a cyclodextrin (CD), to form a triplex, could direct the bronchodilator to the lungs selectively after intravenous administration. NMR demonstrates that upon the formation of the triplex spermine protruded from the CD cavity and this results in energy‐dependent uptake in A549 cells (1.8‐fold enhancement), which persists for more than 20 min. In vivo, the triplex produces a 2.4‐fold and 2.2‐fold increase in theophylline in the lungs 20 min after injection in rats and mice, respectively (p, This article demonstrates that ion‐pairing theophylline, a drug used in medical emergencies such as status asthmaticus or COVID‐19 induced pneumomediastinum, with a polyamine, can direct delivery to the lung. Such an approach is effective when the ion‐pair is stabilized as a triplex with cyclodextrin, which increases the in vivo ion‐pair life‐time to facilitate active accumulation in the lung.

Genes from the HLA complex have a major contribution in type 1 diabetes (T1D), which results from an interplay between environmental and genetic factors. The latter can explain some of the geographic variability in T1D occurrence around the world. Of a particular importance in this regard are the HLA-DR, -DP and -DQ loci. Consequently, we aimed at elucidating the collective genetic profiles of various alleles relating to HLA-DRB1 and -DP in T1D patients throughout the Arab World using the tools of meta-analysis. As for HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 alleles; this analysis was completed and published previously (see Introduction). As a result of limited availability of relevant studies of the HLA-DP locus, only HLA-DRB1 alleles were tackled in this paper. Our study showed that significant increases in T1D risk resulted from harboring the alleles DRB1*03:01 and *04:05 (odds ratio 7.76 and 7.52, respectively). DRB1*04:01 and *04:02 were also predisposing for T1D in Arabs. Very strong evidence supported the protective effects of DRB1*10:01, *13:01, *15:02 and *16:01, with low heterogeneity and no publication bias. The results from the series of meta-analyses performed in this study help to complete the global genetic epidemiological map of T1D by providing statistically robust data from the Arab World.

Temperature-dependent in-situ Raman spectroscopy is used to investigate the phase transformation of zinc metastannate (ZnSnO3) to zinc orthostannate (Zn2SnO4) induced upon annealing in the ambient. ...

A series of substituted 4-oxopyrido[2,3-a]phenothiazine-3-carboxylic acids (6a-d) were prepared via cyclization of the corresponding ethyl 7-(arylthioxy)-8-nitro(or azido)-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylates (3a-d/4a-d), followed by hydrolysis of the resultant esters (5a-d). Among these tetracyclics, compound 6a with unsubstituted terminal benzo-ring D was the most active against representative Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. These compounds were also active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with very low toxicity to normal cells. Virtual screening using ligand-protein docking modeling predicted that the compounds 6a-d are potential inhibitors of the topoisomerase IV enzyme and that hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds are the major molecular interactions between these compounds and the residues of the active site of topoisomerase IV.