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A series of fifteen N4-benzyl substituted 5-nitroisatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 5a–o was synthesized and evaluated for urease inhibitory, phytotoxic and cytotoxic influences. All the compounds proved to be highly potent inhibitors of the enzyme, showing inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.87 ± 0.25–8.09 ± 0.23 μM) much better than the reference inhibitor, thiourea (IC50 = 22.3 ± 1.12 μM) and may thus act as persuasive leads for further studies. In phytotoxicity assay, twelve out of fifteen thiosemicarbazones tested i.e. 5a–e, 5g, 5i and 5k–o appeared to be active, exhibiting weak or non-significant (5–35%) growth inhibition at the highest tested concentrations (1000 or 500 μg/mL). In contrast, only one compound i.e. 5i was active in the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality bioassay, demonstrating cytotoxic activity with LD50 value 2.55 × 10−5 M. Molecular docking studies of compounds 5a–o were also performed to identify their probable binding modes in the active site of the enzyme.

An efficient and environmentally benign synthetic protocol has been developed for the synthesis of benzo[

Waste foundry sand (WFS) is the by-product of the foundry industry. Utilizing it in the construction industry will protect the environment and its natural resources, and enable sustainable construction. WFS was employed in this research as a fractional substitution of natural sand by 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% in concrete. Several tests, including workability, compressive strength (CS), splitting tensile strength (STS), and flexural strength (FS), ultrasonic pulse velocity (USPV), Schmidt rebound hammer number (RHN), and residual compressive strengths (RCS) tests were performed to understand the behavior of concrete before and after exposure to elevated temperatures. Test findings showed that the strength characteristics were increased by including WFS at all the phases. For a substitute rate of 30%, the maximum compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength were observed. Replacement with WFS enhanced the 28-day compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength by 7.82%, 9.87%, and 10.35%, respectively at a 30% replacement level, and showed continuous improvement until the age of 91 days. The RCS of foundry sand concrete after one month of air cooling at ambient temperature after exposing to 300 &deg, C, 400 &deg, C, 500 &deg, C, 600 &deg, C, 700 &deg, C, and 800 &deg, C was found to be in the range of 67.50% to 71.00%, 57.50% to 61.50%, 49.00% to 51.50%, 38% to 41%, 31% to 35% and 26% to 31.5% of unheated compressive strength values for 0% to 40% replacement of WFS, respectively. The RCS decreases with increasing temperature, however, with increasing WFS, the RCS was enhanced in comparison to the control samples. In addition, the replacement of 30% yielded excellent outcomes. Hence, this study provides a sustainable construction material that will preserve the Earth&rsquo, s natural resources and provide a best use of WFS.

In this work, we report the efficient synthesis of novel (hydroxybenzoyl)pyrido[2,3

PURPOSEDiagnosis and treatment of cancer are associated with significant psychological distress, and patients face a broad range of challenges that create a vacuum of unmet needs felt by patients, such as a loss of personal control and frustration. The aim of the current study was to determine the magnitude, distribution, and correlates of unmet needs in Nigerian patients with cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODSUsing a descriptive cross-sectional approach, we assessed 205 patients with cancer who attended oncology outpatient clinics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Eligible patients were administered the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) –Short Form 34 with a focus on five domains of need: psychological, health system and information, physical and daily living, patient care and support, and sexuality.RESULTSMean age was 47.4 ± 12.3 years and patients were predominantly female (96.6%). The most common diagnosis was breast cancer (92.2%), and mean duration since diagnosis was 20.9 ± 21.9 months for all patients. Mean SCNS score was 83.9 ± 24.8 and at least 46% of participants indicated unmet needs in 15 items of the SCNS. The most frequent unattended needs were related to the health information (53.4%), physical and daily living (49.4%), psychological (48.5%), sexuality, and patient care and support domains. None of the factors considered—age, sex marital status, family type, educational attainment, employment status, economic status, the presence of financial support, social support, and cancer type—was significantly predictive of unmet needs in these patients ( P > .05).CONCLUSIONNigerian patients with cancer experience considerable levels of unmet needs. These needs require urgent and long-term interventions to help patients achieve increased care satisfaction and a better quality of life.

In this study, three different artificial neural network (ANN) including feed forward back-propagation (FFBPNN), recurrent neural network (RNN), and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) were proposed to estimate Cd removal efficiency through polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs). A multiple linear regression (MLR) statistical technique was also applied to evaluate PIMs efficiency. The proposed ANN models and MLR results were compared regarding statistical performance criteria such as root-mean-squared error, mean absolute error and coefficient of determination (R-2). In the modeling, time, film thickness, extractant type and amount, plasticizer type and amount and polymer molecular weight were considered as inputs while Cd removal efficiency was output. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the effect of each input parameter on the output regarding magnitude. According to performance criteria of models, FFBPNN and RNN have the best prediction capability as compared with GRNN and MLR. Sensitivity analysis results demonstrated that extractant amount, plasticizer type and plasticizer amount are more influential operating parameters than time, extractant type, film thickness, and polymer molecular weight. The results of FFBPNN and RNN models are superior and reliable in the prediction of PIMs Cd removal efficiency due to the nonlinearity of data set.

Background: Cancer is a common cause of death in Low Middle-Income Countries. There have been strategies to bring quality cancer care to underserved patients around the world, but poor utilization of principles of teamwork is a major barrier to achieving quality services. The intent of this study was to assess teamwork as perceived by the health care workers caring for cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a survey among health care professionals involved in cancer care in three tertiary centers in the southwestern part of Nigeria from July to November 2016. Respondents rated teamwork using the previously validated Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. For this paper, we focused on the teamwork climate subscale which was scored on a scale of 0-100. We compared teamwork assessment by healthcare providers and institutions using analysis of variance and collaboration using logistic regression. Results: Overall 373 professionals completed the survey: physicians 177 (47%), nurses 51 (14%), pharmacists 21 (6%), lab technicians 31 (8%), and others 88 (33%). The average teamwork climate assessed across all professionals in the study was 70·5 (SD = 24·2). Pharmacists rated teamwork climate the lowest with a mean 63·9 (SD = 29·5), nurses and lab technicians rated teamwork high with means 74·5 (SD = 21·7) and 74·2 (SD = 27·1) respectively, and physicians rated teamwork lower 66·0 (SD = 23·6). Only 54·9% of physicians reported good collaboration among themselves, 52·9% of them reported good collaboration with nurses, and 44·9% reported good collaboration with pharmacists. 85·7% of nurses reported good collaboration amongst themselves, and collaboration with physicians and pharmacists were reported in 75·6% and 69·4% respectively. 76·2% Pharmacists reported good collaboration amongst themselves, and good collaboration with physicians and nurses were reported by 76·2% and 57·1% respectively. Interpretation: While overall teamwork scores were consistent with US ambulatory studies, there are important subgroup variations that provide targets for intervention. Physicians rated collaboration poorly both intra and inter professionally whilst pharmacists rated inter professional teamwork with nurses poorly. Efforts to transform cancer care need to focus on building trust among the key stakeholders, this is critical in low resource settings where there is a need to maximize the use of limited resources to improve patient outcomes. Funding Statement: The authors state: "This study was not funded by any organization." Declaration of Interests: All authors declared no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), University of Ibadan(UCH), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and University of Chicago individual Institutions’ Review Boards.

The adsorption of acetaldehyde from air using various activated carbon and carbon fibers was investigated in this study. These adsorbents included activated carbon (AC), carbon fibers (CFs), activated carbon fibers (ACFs), and metal-coated carbon fibers (MCCFs) supplied by different manufacturers. AC was categorized as AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC4, CFs were denoted as ACF1, while ACFs and MCCFs were expressed as ACF2 and ACF3, respectively. Five composite materials were prepared using the AC and ACFs in different ratios, and experiments were conducted to assess their acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency under dry and wet conditions. The results showed that the acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency of an impregnated AC4 was higher (95.9%) than that of both non-impregnated AC1 and AC3 and an impregnated AC2 after 1 min of operation. ACF2 showed a higher acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency (50.9%) as compared to ACF1 and ACF3 because of its larger surface area and selective absorption capability after 1 min of operation. A composite material comprising 6.3 g of AC4 and 1 g of ACF2 showed the highest adsorption efficiency of 97.9% under dry conditions. However, this adsorption efficiency significantly decreased under wet conditions.

In this paper, an experimental study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of various composite confinement repairing techniques for the restoration of strength and stiffness of concrete cylinders. A total of 42 plain concrete cylinders were heated to a range of temperatures from 400 to 800 °C. They were tested under uniaxial compression. The test specimens were placed into six groups: undamaged non-repaired, fire damaged non-repaired, undamaged repaired with exclusively carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite jacket, fire damaged repaired with exclusively CFRP composite jacket, fire damaged repaired with cement slurry injection along with CFRP composite jacket and fire damaged repaired with epoxy resin mortar injected steel wire mesh jointly confined with CFRP composite wrapping system. The results indicated that the exclusively CFRP and epoxy resin mortar injected steel wire mesh jointly confined with CFRP composite wrapping systems were ineffectual to restore the stiffness, although it was noted that they were extremely useful to increase the strength, ductility, deformation capacity and energy dissipation capacity of fire damaged concrete specimens. However, it was found that the cement slurry injection along with CFRP composite wrapping system was functional in the restorability of stiffness, strength, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, and serviceability of fire damaged concrete equivalent to the undamaged concrete or even beyond that without increasing the cross-sectional size of specimens .

An experimental study was carried out to evaluate the residual compressive strength of post-heated reinforced concrete columns using techniques applicable in the field. A total of thirty-five reinforced concrete columns (along with three standard cubes for each column) were tested. Ultrasonic pulse velocity tests were carried out on un-damaged and heat damaged reinforced concrete columns and on the related un-damaged and heat damaged concrete cubes. The reinforced concrete columns (fourteen square and thirteen circular) along with three cubes for each column were heated to a uniform temperature of 500 °C at a rate of 150 °C/h. In addition, fifteen undamaged and fifteen heat damaged extra cubes cast from the same batches of concrete (used for casting the columns) were also tested in order to develop a relationship between pulse velocity tests and the residual compressive strength when the cubes were heated over a temperature range. The fifteen heat-damaged cubes were heated with the same heating rate as that used for the columns to uniform temperatures of 200 °C, 300 °C, 450 °C, 500 °C or 550 °C. It was shown that the residual compressive strength of concrete on the 7th day of cooling at ambient temperature after exposing to 200 °C, 300 °C, 450 °C, 500 °C and 550 °C was found to be 80%, 76%, 60%, 47% and 30% of the original un-heated strength respectively. A general relationship was developed between the ultrasonic pulse velocity and the residual compressive strength of cubes over a temperature range of 20 °C–550 °C in order to relate the compressive strength of cubes directly to the in-situ compressive strength of concrete in the reinforced concrete post-heated columns. Additionally, the theoretical and experimental tested values of the axial compressive strength of un-damaged and heat damaged columns were compared in order to evaluate the residual compressive strength of columns. It was found that the theoretical and tested values agreed well for un-damaged (20 °C) and heat damaged (500 °C) square and circular columns.

Background: Childhood cancers evoke various emotional reactions in caregivers which can impair their well-being and roles. Little is known about caregiving and which cancer-associated factors are related to caregiver’s depression in resource-restricted settings. We sought to investigate if child’s symptom burden is related to depressive symptoms in caregivers. Methods: Seventy-two caregivers and children with cancers were administered questionnaires to elicit socio-demographic and disease-related data. Subsequently, the child’s symptoms were profiled with Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS 7–12); while screening for depressive symptoms in caregivers was done using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CES-DR). Results: All the caregivers were parents, and largely mothers (83.7%). The mean ages of caregivers and children were 39±2 and 10±2 years respectively. Majority of caregivers (90.3%) were either ignorant or attributed spiritual causation to the cancers. The common symptoms with prevalence >50% in the children included pain, nausea, worry, and lack of energy (LE); symptoms’ prevalence ranged from LE (68%) to itching (32%). Approximately, one-third each of the children reported hair and weight loss which were considered ‘unusual’ in the design of MSAS 7–12. The symptoms showed variability in distress, frequency and intensity. In particular, pain, lack of appetite (LA) and feeling sad (FS) were reported as most burdensome in >50% of the children. More than one-third of caregivers (38.2%) screened positive for significant depressive symptoms. The global symptom burden (r=0.58) and individual symptom correlated positively with depressive symptoms in caregivers (P Conclusions: Our findings suggest the need for improved awareness creation on childhood cancers to obviate late presentations and poor access to care. Again, early integration of pediatric palliative care in childhood cancer care to ensure symptom management as well as its extended benefits on caregivers’ well-being is desirable. The pattern of certain “unusual” symptoms in children with cancer in our work suggests the need to put into consideration ‘novel’ symptoms which were not captured in existing instruments. Future research on supportive care in pediatric cancers is indicated.

BACKGROUND Low phosphorus (P) efficiency from existing granular fertilisers necessitates searching for efficient alternatives to improve wheat productivity in calcareous soil. RESULTS Multi-location trials have shown that phosphoric acid (PA) produced 16% higher wheat grain over commercial P fertilisers, i.e. diammonium phosphate (DAP) and triple superphosphate (TSP). Methods of P application significantly influenced grain yield and the efficiency of methods was observed in the order: PA placement below seed > PA, DAP or TSP fertigation > DAP or TSP broadcast. The sub-surface application of PA produced highest grain yields (mean of all rates), i.e. 4669, 4158 and 3910 kg ha−1 in Bagh, Bhalwal and Shahpur soil series, respectively. Phosphoric acid at 66 kg P2O5 ha−1 was found more effective in increasing gain yield over that of control. Trend in grain P uptake was found similar to that observed for grain yield. Maximum P uptake by grain was recorded at the highest P rate and the lowest at zero P. The significant increase in P uptake with P rates was generally related to the increase in yield rather than its concentration in grain. Phosphorus agronomic efficiency (PAE) and phosphorus recovery efficiency (PRE) were found higher at lower P rate (44 kg P2O5 ha−1) and decreased with P application. However, PA applied by the either method resulted in higher PAE and PRE compared to DAP and TSP. CONCLUSION Phosphoric acid is suggested as an efficient alternative to commercial granular P fertilisers for wheat production in alkaline calcareous soils. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

A series of coumarin-based thiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes have been synthesized and their in vitro potency against urease was evaluated. Single crystal X-ray crystallographic studies were carried out for compound 14 to investigate the solid state self-assembly which showed a preference for the S-conformation owing to intramolecular hydrogen bonding. An in vitro urease inhibition assay revealed coumarin-thiosemicarbazone 12 as the most potent inhibitor (IC50 value of 2.23 ± 0.14 μM) compared to thiourea, used as standard (IC50 value of 21.25 ± 0.15 μM). Similarly, compounds 4, 6, 7, 9, 15 & 16 showed excellent urease inhibition activity with IC50 values ranging from 4.15 ± 0.17 to 16.95 ± 0.12 μM. Furthermore, compounds 3, 8, 11 & 13 also showed good activities (IC50 values ranging from 33.86 ± 0.12 to 43.12 ± 0.19 μM) against this enzyme. However, the metal complexes of these compounds showed low activity against urease. Molecular docking with the most cogent ligand against urease was also performed to assess the putative binding mode of the synthesized compounds. Potent compound 12 can serve as a potential lead for further chemical tuning towards drug candidate development.

A new series of thirty nine 5-trifluoromethoxy/fluoro/chloro-isatin 3-hydrazonothiazolines 5a–n, 6a–o and 7a–j were synthesized by cyclization of the corresponding intermediate N4-aryl-substituted isatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 3 (prepared by condensation of appropriate isatin 1 with appropriate N4-aryl-substituted 3-thiosemicarbazides 2) with 4-chlorophenacyl bromide 4 in absolute ethanol or ethanol–benzene mixture and screened for their cytotoxicity, phytotoxicity, antifungal and urease inhibitory potential. All the synthesized compounds were found to be almost inactive in a brine shrimp (Artemia salina) bioassay, demonstrating IC50 values > 1.62 × 10−4 to 2.17 × 10−4 M. In a phytotoxicity assay, out of thirty-nine compounds tested, six i.e. 5i, 6h, 6i, 6k, 7c and 7h proved to be active, showing weak or non-significant (5–30%) activity at the highest tested concentration (500 μg mL−1). Similarly, in antifungal assay, twenty-six compounds i.e. 5a, 5b, 5d–f, 5h–j, 5m, 6a, 6b, 6d, 6j, 6l–o, 7a, 7b and 7d–j were found to be active against one, two, or three selected fungal strains, exhibiting weak or non-significant inhibition (10–30%). Of these, 6d and 6o displayed a relatively better activity profile in terms of the number of organisms inhibited. On the other hand, in a urease inhibition bioassay, all the synthesized hydrazonothiazolines proved to be potent enzyme inhibitors, demonstrating inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 3.70 ± 0.62 to 849 ± 2.26 μM. Compounds 5c, 5g–i, 5k, 5n, 6b, 6c, 6i, 6k, 6l, 6n, 6o, 7a, 7e, 7i and 7j were, however, found to be relatively very potent, displaying outstanding enzymatic activity (IC50 = 3.70 ± 0.62 to 20.9 ± 0.57 μM), even better than the reference inhibitor thiourea (IC50 = 22.3 ± 1.12 μM), and may thus act as valid leads for further studies. Molecular docking studies of the synthesized isatin–thiazolines 5a–n, 6a–o and 7a–j were also carried out to elucidate their relationship with the binding pockets of the enzyme. This study offers the first example of exhibition of urease inhibitory potential by isatin–thiazolines and as such provides a solid basis for further research on these compounds to develop more potent antiurease compounds of medicinal/agricultural interest.

Several isatin-3-thiosemicarbazones (a class of Schiff bases) from our earlier studies have been validated as promising cytotoxic agents and urease inhibitors. Also, a number of isatin-derived imines (Schiff bases) and their Cu(II) complexes have been reported in the literature to exhibit potential cytotoxic activity towards different cells. In view of this, a series of seven new 5-(un)-substituted isatin-derived bis-Schiff bases/ligands 3a–g and their Cu(II) complexes 5a–g were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic and urease inhibitory activities. All the Schiff base ligands 3a–g proved to be active in sulforhodamine B (SRB) bioassay, displaying promising cytotoxic activity against lung carcinoma (H157) cells. Compound 3b was found to be the most potent inhibitor of H157 cells, exhibiting an IC50 value of 2.32 ± 0.11 μM. Similarly, all the metal complexes 5a–g proved to be active in this assay, demonstrating enhanced cytotoxic activity in each case, occurring as a result of coordination of the Schiff base ligands to the metal ion. Compound 5d proved to be the most potent inhibitor of H157 cells, showing cytotoxic activity comparable to that of the standard drug, vincristine (VCN) (IC50 = 1.29 ± 0.06 vs. 1.03 ± 0.04 μM). In the urease inhibition assay, all the synthesized Schiff base ligands except 3f proved to be highly potent enzyme inhibitors, displaying inhibitory activity even better than that of the reference inhibitor, thiourea (IC50 = 0.04 ± 0.004–5.86 ± 0.09 vs. 22.3 ± 1.12 μM), and thus may act as promising lead molecules for further studies. Molecular docking studies were also carried out for bis-Schiff bases 3a–g to elucidate their relationship with the binding pockets of the enzyme.

In this paper, a machine learning approach was used for brain tumour localization on FLAIR scans of magnetic resonance images (MRI). The multi-modal brain images dataset (BraTs 2012) was used, that is a skull stripped and co-registered. In order to remove the noise, bilateral filtering is applied and then texton-map images are created by using the Gabor filter bank. From the texton-map, the image is segmented out into superpixel and then the low-level features are extracted: the first order intensity statistical features and also calculates the histogram level of texton-map at each superpixel level. There is a significant contribution here that the low features are not too much significant for the localization of brain tumour from MR images, but we have to make them meaningful by integrating features with the texton-map images at the region level approach. Then these features which are provided later to classifier for the prediction of three classes: background, tumour and non-tumour region, and used the labels for computation of two different areas (i.e. complete tumour and non-tumour). A Leave-one-out (LOOCV) cross validation technique is applied and achieves the dice overlap score of 88% for the whole tumour area localization, which is similar to the declared score in MICCAI BraTS challenge. This brain tumour localization approach using the textonmap image based on superpixel features illustrates the equivalent performance with other contemporary techniques. Recently, medical hypothesis generation by using autonomous computer based systems in disease diagnosis have given the great contribution in medical diagnosis.

MEUF was applied efficiently to remove mercury (Hg) from simulated wastewater by using polyacrylonitrile membrane and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant. In this process leakage of surfactant monomer to permeate water causing a secondary pollution that was addressed by using MEUF followed by activated carbon fiber (MEUF-ACF). The effect of operating parameters including, concentration of Hg and pH of feed solution, molar ratio of SDS to Hg, and retentate pressure was investigated to optimize MEUF process. Moreover, artificial neural network (ANN) model was proposed to predict Hg removal efficiency to optimize MEUF process without doing laborious and time-consuming experimental work. ANN model performance was evaluated on the basis of statistical values such as mean square error (MSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The experimental results presented that optimum operating parameters were found as 10 ppm of Hg concentration, pH 7.0, molar ratio of SDS to Hg 8:1 and retentate pressure was 1.5 bar. MEUF results showed 95.75% and 50.91% removal of Hg and SDS, respectively, while 96.83% Hg and 97.15% of SDS rejection was achieved using MEUF-ACF. The statistical values of proposed ANN model presented high degree of agreement between experimental and predicted values by ANN (R2>0.95 for training, validation and testing dataset). Resultantly, MEUF-ACF can eradicate issue of secondary pollution and proposed ANN model can be a competitive, powerful and fast alternate to laborious experimental work for MEUF process optimization.

To determine frequency of maternal hypotension during spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section by comparing fixed dose with height and weight-adjusted dose of hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine.This randomised controlled trial was carried out at Pakistan Naval Ship Shifa Hospital, Karachi, and comprised patients with singleton pregnancy who were randomly divided into two groups. After preloading with 10ml/kg of Ringers lactate, Group A received fixed dose of 10mg of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine, while Group B received dose according to height and weight using Harten's dose chart. Patients were made supine with wedge placed below the right hip. Variation in blood pressure was recorded and hypotension was treated with phenylephrine. Data was analysed with SPSS 16..There were 80 subjects divided into groups of 40(50%) each. Hypotension occurred in 20(50%) subjects in group A and in 15(37.5%) patients in group B(p0.05). Median dose of 0.5% bupivacaine in group B was 9(IQR=0.5)mg and minimum dose was 8mg. Additional analgesia with ketamine was given to 2(5%) patients in group A and 3(7.5%) patients in group B.Fixed dose of 10mg of hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine had similar results to height and weight-adjusted dose of bupivacaine in spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section.

A series of fifteen N4-benzyl substituted 5-chloroisatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 5a–o were synthesized and screened mainly for their antiurease and antiglycation effects. Lemna aequinocitalis growth and Artemia salina assays were carried out to determine their phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity potential. All the compounds proved to be extremely effective urease inhibitors, demonstrating enzyme inhibition much better than the reference inhibitor, thiourea (IC50 values 1.31 ± 0.06 to 3.24 ± 0.15 vs. 22.3 ± 1.12 μM). On the other hand, eight out of fifteen compounds tested, i.e. 5b, 5c, 5h–k, 5m and 5n were found to be potent glycation inhibitors. Of these, five viz. 5c, 5h–j and 5n proved to be exceedingly efficient, displaying glycation inhibition greater than the reference inhibitor, rutin (IC50 values 114.51 ± 1.08 to 229.94 ± 3.40 vs. 294.5 ± 1.5 μM).

Entrepreneurship has become an international interest of students. The economic and social relevance of entrepreneurship is established across the world and many offerings are available by the universities. This has resulted into an increased focus of university teachers on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of this paper is to study and evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship education on attitude of students to become an entrepreneur. Relationship between the education and student in development of entrepreneurial attitude is proposed.Review of the literature also shows the importance of entrepreneurship education in development of entrepreneurial attitude. This study was carried out in universities of Pakistan and data was collected from 10 different universities in which entrepreneurship is available as a course or discipline. Sample of 329 students was collected and statistical tests were used to evaluate the relationship. It is found that a strong relationship and positive correlation exist between attitude towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education.

The applications of thioureas in crystal engineering have increased dramatically over the past few years. However, their analogs namely N-imino thioureas/thiosemicarbazones are largely ignored, despite the fact that these can be more interesting with respect to crystal engineering applications due to the presence of an additional N-imino moiety. Aiming to highlight their importance in crystal engineering/supramolecular chemistry, three structurally related coumarin–thiosemicarbazone hybrids (3a–3c) have been designed, synthesized and crystallographically characterized. All of the compounds showed a general preference for the adoption of the cis, trans conformation around the central thiourea moiety; a conformation which is ideal for the formation of a dimeric hydrogen-bonded R22(8){⋯H–N–CS}2 synthon as the building block. Therefore, this dimeric synthon is observed in all of the compounds, regardless of the formation of layered to cage-like three dimensional supramolecular networks depending on different substituents. The prevalence of the cis, trans conformation and the robustness of the thioamide dimer synthon in thiosemicarbazones indicate its potential use as a design element in crystal engineering.

A new strategy has been used to synthesize 2,3,4,4a-tetrahydroxanthen-1-one (3) in high yield. Using the Me3N-promoted domino Baylis–Hillman/oxa-Michael reaction sequence at room temperature, the reaction of salicyldehyde (1) with cyclohexanone (2) provided 3 in 88% yield, which further undergo reaction with thiosemicarbazides (4) to afford a series of new xanthene-based thiosemicarbazones (5a–5j). All the synthesized compounds were characterized by their physical and spectral data. The solid state self-assembly studies for 5d and 5i were carried out by the single crystal X-ray technique to investigate the prevalence of the thioamide dimer synthon and its role in molecular alignment in the solid state. Furthermore, the compounds (5a–5j) were tested for their antibacterial activity. The compounds 5b, 5c, 5d and 5i showed excellent antibacterial activity against one or more of the tested bacterial strains. Notably, the antibacterial activity for the compound 5c was found comparable to the standard reference drug, ciprofloxacin against Salmonella typhi.

Purpose Comorbidities have been indicated to influence cancer care and outcome, with strong associations between the presence of comorbidities and patient survival. The objective of this study is to determine the magnitude and pattern of comorbidities in Nigerian cancer populations, and demonstrate the use of comorbidity indices in predicting mortality/survival rates of cancer patients. Methods Using a retrospective study design, data were extracted from hospital reports of patients presenting for oncology care between January 2015 and December 2016 at two tertiary health facilities in Lagos, Nigeria. Patient comorbidities were ranked and weighted using the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Results The mean age for the 848 cancer patients identified was 53.9 ± 13.6 years, with 657 (77.5%) females and 191 (22.5%) males. Breast (50.1%), cervical (11.1%) and colorectal (6.3%) cancers occurred most frequently. Comorbidities were present in 228 (26.9%) patients, with the most common being hypertension (20.4%), diabetes (6.7%) and peptic ulcer disease (2.1%). Hypertension-augmented CCI scores were 0 (15.6%), 1-3 (62.1%), 4-6 (21.7%) and ≥7 (0.6%). The mean CCI scores of patients ≤50 years (0.8 ± 0.9) and ≥51 years (3.3 ± 1.2) were significantly different (p < 0.05). Patients with lower mean CCI scores were more likely to receive chemotherapy (2.2 ± 1.6 versus 2.5 ± 1.9; p < 0.05) and/or surgery (2.1 ± 1.5 versus 2.4 ± 1.7; p < 0.05). Conclusion Comorbidities occur significantly in Nigerian cancer patients and influence the prognosis, treatment outcome and survival rates of these patients. There is a need to routinely evaluate cancer patients for comorbidities with the aim of instituting appropriate multidisciplinary management measures where necessary.

Penelitian ini dilakukan pada kelompok tani Sabiduak Sadayuang desa kampung Apar kecamatan Pariaman Selatan kota Pariaman. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dari 10 desember 2016 hingga 28 februari 2017 dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui pelaksanaan dan tingkat keberhasilan Program UPPO pada kelompok tani Sabiduak Sadayuang. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode studi kasus. Responden pada penelitian merupakan seluruh anggota kelompok tani Sabiduak Sadayuang yang berjumlah 21 orang. Hasil penelitian mendapatkan, karakteristik anggota : umur produktif sebanyak 66,64%, jenis kelamin sebanyak 61,88% (wanita), pendidikan SMA 57,12%, petani bukan pekerjaan utama sebanyak 66,64%, dan pengalaman beternak

This study was conducted in order to examine the potential use of nutrient-rich biosolid in combination with crop residues on the growth of ornamental plants that aims to increase sustainable waste resource recovery and reuse. Locally available crop residues namely, hazelnut husk (HHC), rice hull (RHC), corn straw (CSC) and sawdust (SWC), were composted by mixing with municipal wastewater biosolid (1:1 v/v). After 6-month composting, four different growth media were prepared. The suitability of each growth medium was evaluated by comparing their properties to standard peat and by measuring the plant growth parameters of two well-known ornamental species, Cupressus macrocarpa and Thuja occidentalis, over two consecutive years. The growing experiments were performed in a commercial producer greenhouse and the plants were grown under conditions similar to those used by growers. The key physical and physicochemical properties of the growth media, such as bulk density, porosity, air porosity, water holding capacity, biological stability, pH, EC and organic matter were within the acceptable ranges. Pearson’s correlations and stepwise regression analysis indicated that nutrient properties, such as carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, cation exchange capacity, humification index, and total phosphorus and potassium, were most influential on plant growth parameters. The calculated comprehensive growth index values for C. macrocarpa (0.86, 0.89 and 0.78) and T. occidentalis (0.77, 0.71 and 0.74) for HHC, SWC and peat medium, respectively, were higher than RHC and CSC. This study proves that biologically stable crop residues with biosolid could be used as a growth medium and shows that peat could be successfully replaced by HHC and SWC.

The present study “Promotion of Primary Health Care in Pakistan: A Case Study of the Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Promoting Primary Health Care in Karachi” is aimed at determining the role of NGOs in the promotion of primary health Care sector in Pakistan with special reference to Karachi. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the role and performance of relevant NGOs working in Karachi in the health sector. It is a quantitative research. A questionnaire based to obtain the opinions of respondents. The health care is the basic responsibility of the state. However, the NGOs play their role in promoting the health care facilities. It was noted that the primary health care system is still not working properly. NGO sector was given a wide room and finances but unfortunately they did not make the required contribution. Their lack of technical knowledge and accountability was a factor in their failure. The prevailing attitude towards health care among the masses has not changed despite the efforts of the NGO sector. Therefore the basic health conditions of the masses at the grass roots level continue to be poor. The stake holders in the health care sector should rethink about their strategies to improve health care facilities in Karachi.

This paper presents the experimental behavior of columns confined with passive steel strips instead of standard deformed stirrups. Three types of steel strips having width with thickness ratios as 7.5, 12.4 and 18.8 were used. To compare results stirrup with 6.35 mm in diameter were also used as confining reinforcement. Cross-sectional area of each strip was kept the same and was equivalent to 6.35 mm diameter deformed bars. All the columns were tested under cyclic axial load and behavior of columns, in terms of performance of hooks and stress–strain relationship, was compared. It was found that strength of column increases as width to thickness ratio increases. However, when width to thickness ratio of strips increases from 12.4 to 18.8, the resulting increases in strength decreases. It was also found that the technique used to provide hooks to the strips needs improvement.

Background: Brain neoplasia is of concern in our environment because there are no preventive measures or sufficient availability of definite treatment. With imaging, the disease can be detected and the treatment evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study carried out at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria, diagnostic imaging modalities used for imaging brain tumors, the pattern of tumors identified at histology, and the response of brain neoplasia to radiation therapy were analyzed. Results: Out of the 147 patients included in the study, the mean age was 44.5 ± 2.3 years of age. For diagnostic imaging, 60% used only computed tomography (CT) scan, 24% used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while 16% used both CT scan and MRI. Histologically, primary tumors (54%) occurred more than metastasis (46%). Breast metastasis (33.3%) was the singular most common tumor, followed by astrocytoma (19%). For definitive management, almost half of the cases (49%) had radiotherapy alone. 25% had radiotherapy with surgery, 10% had both radiotherapy and chemotherapy while 16% had all three. Four weeks posttreatment, there was 78% positive response to therapy. Conclusion: In our environment, the radiological evaluation of brain tumors is often by CT scan, even though MRI offers better soft-tissue contrast. This may be ascribed to the relative affordability and availability of CT scan. Radiation therapy is effective in the treatment of brain tumors.

Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a genetic disorder of the skin that presents with eruptive lesions accompanied by blistering has multiple types. We present a case of dystrophic and epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a rare variant of the disease with the underlying pathophysiology involving a mutation of type VII collagen that serves as an anchoring protein for basement membrane to the dermis. The patient presented with palmoplantar hyperkeratosis with blistering extending on multiple sites of the body, bilateral pleural effusion and an ejection fraction of 23% with moderate mitral regurgitation. The patient was treated symptomatically with diuretics and inotropic medication for the dilated heart, along with draining of pleural spaces. No case of DEB with pleural effusion has been reported prior to this one. We believe this is the first case that presented with both pleural effusion and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Naturally occurring humates like leonardite and brown coal or lignite are marketed under different brand names e.g. Pak Humates, Humate Fertilizer, Pak Humax, Humkara and Humide etc. However, their efficacy is needed to be confirmed before their use. Different studies were conducted for the comparison of four commercial humates for their physico-chemical, optical properties, plant growth promoting ability in terms of seed germination and seedling vigour in wheat (cv Sehr), mung bean (Mung-54), maize (C-12) and sesbania and their effect on growth of some fungi. Moisture content of four humates varied from 0.52 to 71.11%, while solubility in water varied from 30.2 to 98.2% and density differed from 1.67 to 4.17. A 2% solution of humates had pH and EC varying from 5.39 to 10.11 and 3.140 to 1.143 mS cm-1, respectively. Carbon and nitrogen concentrations varied from 22.95 to 36.56% and 0.658 to 1.183, respectively with a C/N ratio of 30.91 to 44.16. Humates dissolved in 0.1N NaOH were partitioned into humic acid and fulvic acid fractions. Of the total C in humates, 40.3 to 77.5% was ranged in humic acid and 22.5 to 59.7% in fulvic acid fraction. The HA was also studied for optical properties at 400, 500, 600, and 700 nm besides that at 465 and 665 to calculate E4/E6 (extinction coefficient); the later varied between 3.64 and 5.48. Optical density of the humic acid decreased at increasing wavelength and was correlated significantly with the carbon contents of humic compounds. Three fungi, Trichoderma harzianum, T. hamatum and Alternaria alternata showed maximum growth at 0.025% HA in the growth medium on the basis of colony diameter. Humates inhibited seed germination in wheat, maize and mung bean except for sesbania. Root length and shoot dry matter increased in wheat and maize but no effect was found in mung bean and sesbania. The studies revealed that humates available in the market vary widely and therefore some sort of quality monitoring is required for the benefit of end users.

A series of N 4-aryl-substituted 5-fluoroisatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 3a–3l was synthesized and evaluated for selected biological activities. The brine shrimp lethality bioassay was carried out to study their in vitro cytotoxicity potential and besides, their antifungal, phytotoxic and urease inhibitory effects were also investigated. Seven compounds i.e. 3a, 3d, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3j and 3k proved to be active in the brine shrimp assay, displaying promising cytotoxicity (LD50 = 6.89 × 10−5–2.79 × 10−4 M). Amongst these, 3a and 3h were found to be the most active ones (LD50 = 6.89 × 10−5 and 9.79 × 10−5 M, respectively). Compounds 3i, 3j and 3 k displayed moderate (40 %) antifungal activity against one or two fungal strains i.e. A. flavus and/or M. canis. In phytotoxicity assay, all the synthesized compounds, including the reference point 2m showed weak-to-moderate (15–70 %) activity at the highest tested concentration (500 μg/mL). In urease inhibition assay, compounds 3f, 3g and 3j proved to be the most potent inhibitors, demonstrating relatively a higher degree of enzymatic inhibition with IC50 values ranging from 37.7 to 47.3 μM.

This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out to compare the effectiveness of ferrocement and fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) jackets for the repair of post-heated square and circular reinforced concrete columns. The suite of test specimens comprised (a) non-heated and non-repaired; (b) post-heated and non-repaired and (c) post-heated and repaired, columns. Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP), carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and ferrocement jackets were used to repair the heated columns. All the columns were tested under axial compression. The test results covering the axial compressive strength, stiffness (secant stiffness), ductility, deformation and energy dissipation for the non-heated and non-repaired, and post-heated and non-repaired columns, were explored and compared with those of the post-heated columns repaired with FRP and ferrocement jackets. The test results showed that the FRP jackets increased the compressive strength, ductility, deformation ability and energy dissipation capacity of post-heated columns but did not increase the stiffness. However, the ferrocement jackets enhanced both the strength and stiffness of the post-heated columns. It is concluded that a possible combination of ferrocement and FRP jackets is the optimum solution to restore the required strength, stiffness and ductility following structural damage from a fire.

A series of fifteen N

The aim of this study is to introduce, through an appropriate selection of the training algorithm, a better and optimum artificial neural network (ANN) that will capable to predict Polymeric Inclusion Membranes (PIMs) Cr(VI) removal efficiency from aqueous solutions. To accomplish that, three training algorithms including Levenberg-Marquardt (LM), Bayesian Regularization (BR) and Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG) have been assessed by training different ANN. The performances of developed models are evaluated by Coefficient of Regression (R 2 ) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) to find the best ANN training algorithms. This study clears that right choice of the training algorithm grants maximizing the predictive capability of the ANN models.

The title compound (III) is synthesized in high yield by Me3N-promoted domino Baylis—Hillman/oxa-Michael reaction sequence and smoothly converted into xanthene-based thiosemicarbazones (V).

This paper describes the results of an experimental study carried out to investigate the seismic performance of post-heated reinforced concrete square columns repaired with unidirectional glass or carbon fibre reinforced polymers (GFRPs or CFRPs). The test specimens were categorized into three groups; (a) un-heated, (b) post-heated and (c) post-heated columns repaired with GFRP or CFRP jackets. Each group consisted of two columns with a shear-span-to-depth ratio of 2.5 tested under similar conditions comprising a constant axial and a lateral cyclic load simulating earthquake loading. The main variables investigated in this experimental study were the effect of heat damaged columns, the type of fibres used for repair, the orientation of the main fibres and the peak drift ratios achieved. The seismic performance of the GFRP or CFRP wrapped post-heated columns were compared to the reference un-heated and post-heated columns through the hysteretic response, shear resistance, lateral strength, ductility, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation. The test results showed that wrapping of columns with a single layer of GFRP or CFRP notably enhanced the shear capacity, ductility, energy dissipation ability and slowed the rate of strength and stiffness degradation. It was shown that the post-heated columns regained the lateral strength up to the original level of un-heated columns wrapped with a single layer of GFRP or CFRP. However, it was also shown that the post-heated columns wrapped with a single layer of GFRP or CFRP did not restore the repaired post-heated column to the original level of stiffness of the un-heated columns. Additionally, the un-heated and post-heated columns failed in shear while the governing failure mechanism of the GFRP or CFRP wrapped post-heated columns was successfully shifted from column shear to flexural failure.

A novel method for the synthesis of tetracyclic fused-ring heterocycles, closely related to circumdatin alkaloids, is developed via regioselective reaction of heterocyclic ketene aminals (HKA) with 3-formylchromones.

Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), regarded as the most lethal of all urological tumors, is relatively uncommon. Recent reports from developed countries indicate a rising incidence, most likely from the increasing availability of imaging services leading to an increase in incidental diagnosis of early stage tumors, with consequently better prognosis. However, literature on RCC in sub-Saharan Africa is relatively sparse. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, presentation, pattern and outcome of RCC at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Methods: Information extracted from the records of 64 adult patients with RCC seen in our institution between January 2000 and December 2010 included the age and sex of the patient, clinical features, investigations, tumor stage, treatment, outcome of management and follow-up. Results: The mean patient age was 41.8 years (range 20–75 years) with a male:female ratio of 1:1.7. Flank mass, flank pain and hematuria were present in 90.6%, 86% and 40.6% of patients, respectively, while 36% of patients had the classical triad of loin pain, loin mass and hematuria. Only 1 patient (1.6%) had an incidental diagnosis. TNM tumor stages T3 and T4 accounted for 93.7% of patients, while the clear cell type accounted for 60% of histologically examined cases. Forty-five patients (70.3%) had surgical intervention. Of the T2 patients available for follow-up, 50% were alive at 48 months, while all inoperable T4 and M1 patients available for follow-up were dead within 1 year. Conclusion: RCC in our environment is characterized by a younger age at presentation, a female predominance and clinical presentation at an advanced clinical stage.

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the seismic performance of post-heated circular reinforced concrete columns wrapped with glass or carbon fibre reinforced polymer jackets. Eight shear critical reinforced circular columns with a shear span-to-depth ratio of 2.5 were tested under a combined constant axial and cyclic lateral displacement history, simulating earthquake loading. The columns were tested in three groups, unheated, post-heated and post-heated repaired with either glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) or carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). In terms of seismic performance the test results indicated that using GFRP or CFRP jackets significantly increased the shear capacity, ductility and energy dissipation of the post-heated damaged columns. However, the GFRP or CFRP did not increase the stiffness of the post-heated damaged columns. It was found that the unheated and post-heated damaged columns failed in a brittle shear mode while the mode of failure of posted-heated columns repaired with GFRP or CFRP was successfully shifted from a shear to a ductile flexural failure.

A series of twenty one N4-aryl substituted 5-trifluoromethoxyisatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 3a-3u was synthesized by the reaction of trifluoromethoxyisatin 1 with different arylthiosemicarbazides 2 in aqueous ethanol (50%), containing a few drops of acetic acid. Their structures were established on the basis of analytical (CHN) and spectral (IR, 1H-NMR, EIMS) data. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their toxicity potential by a brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Ten compounds i.e., 3a, 3e, 3i-3l and 3n-3q proved to be active in this assay, displaying promising toxicity (LD50 = 1.11 × 10−5 M − 1.80 × 10−4 M). Amongst these, 3k, 3n and 3o were found to be the most active ones (LD50 = 1.11 × 10−5 M − 1.43 × 10−5 M). Compound 3k showed the highest activity with a LD50 value of 1.11 × 10−5 M and can, therefore, be used as a lead for further studies. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed that the presence of strong inductively electron-attracting trifluoromethoxy substituent at position-5 of the isatin moiety played an important role in inducing or enhancing toxic potentiality of some of the synthesized compounds.

A series of 5-nitroisatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 2a–2l was synthesised and evaluated for selected biological activities. The brine shrimp lethality bioassay was carried out to study their in vitro cytotoxicity potential and besides, their antifungal, phytotoxic and urease inhibitory effects were also investigated. Only compound 2j proved to be active in the brine shrimp assay exhibiting LD50 value 1.16 × 10−3 M. Compounds 2a and 2d displayed moderate antifungal activity (50 and 40%, respectively) against M. canis. Similarly, compound 2l exhibited moderate activity (40%) against the fungal strain, A.flavus. In phytotoxicity assay, all the synthesised compounds including the reference point 2m showed weak to moderate (20–60%) activity at the highest tested concentrations (1,000 μg and 500 μg/ml, respectively). In urease inhibition assay, compounds 2a, 2i and 2k proved to be potent inhibitors demonstrating pronounced inhibition with IC50 values 0.440, 0.901 and 27.880 μM, respectively. These compounds may act as leads for further studies.