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Tetracera scandens is a medicinal shrub that belongs to Dilleniaceae. The leaves of the plant have been traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Malaysia. The conventional quality control analysis of medicinal plants that relies on the quantification of few major metabolites is considered time-consuming since it requires extensive sample preparation and neglects the possible impacts that the minor metabolites could have on the activity. This study was aimed to investigate the α-glucosidase inhibitory (AGI) potential of different hydromethanolic extracts of T. scandens leaves and to establish a predictive multivariate model that could be used for the quality evaluation of T. scandens leaf based on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra of its extracts. Different solvent ratios (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% methanol in water) were used to prepare a total of 36 extracts. The AGI potential and the FT-IR fingerprint spectrum were acquired for each extract. A four components orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) model (1 + 3 + 0) with R2Y of 0.951 and Q2Y of 0.916 was established to describe the correlation between the fingerprint FT-IR spectra of different T. scandens extracts and their corresponding AGI activities. The carbon-halide, carbon–oxygen single bonds, as well as the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups were identified to be positively correlated with the AGI activity. To sum up, an OPLS model was successfully developed as a rapid quality evaluation method to predict the AGI activity of T. scandens.

While dengue virus (DENV) infection imposes a serious challenge to the survival of humans worldwide, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) remains the most devastating pandemic in human history. A significant number of studies have shown that plant-derived substances could serve as potential candidates for the development of safe and efficacious remedies for combating these diseases. Different scientific databases were used to source for literature on plants used against these infections. Thirty-five studies described the traditional use of 25 species from 20 families for treating DENV infection with Carica papaya and Euphorbia hirta were the most widely used across different regions. 13 in vivo studies, 32 in vitro studies, and eight clinical studies were conducted on 30 species from 25 families against different DENV serotypes, while plants from 13 families were reported to inhibit different forms of SARS-CoV, all of which were investigated through in vitro studies. Phytoconstituents belonging to various chemical classes were identified to show a wide range of antiviral activity against these infections. Extensive studies on the potentials of medicinal plants are needed to confirm their efficacy. This paper reveals the capabilities of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in inhibiting DENV and SARS-CoV infections.

Different extraction processes were employed to extract bioactive metabolites from Salacca zalacca flesh by a range of aqueous and organic solvents. The highest extraction yield was obtained by 50%...

Parkia speciosa is a food plant that grows indigenously in Southeast Asia. A great deal of interest has been paid to this plant due to its traditional uses in the treatment of several diseases. The pods contain many beneficial secondary metabolites with potential applications in medicine and cosmetics. However, studies on their phytochemical properties are still lacking. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to profile the bioactive compounds of P. speciosa pods collected from six different regions of Malaysia through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) and α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. This study applied metabolomics to elucidate the differences between P. speciosa populations found naturally in the different locations and to characterize potential α-glucosidase inhibitors from P. speciosa pods. P. speciosa collected from different regions of Malaysia showed good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, with a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.45–0.76 μg/mL. The samples from the northern and northeastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia showed the highest activity. Using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis, 25 metabolites were identified in the pods of P. speciosa. The findings unveiled that the pods of P. speciosa collected from different locations exhibit different levels of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The pods are a natural source of potent antidiabetic bioactive compounds.

Parkia speciosa is a food plant that grows indigenously in Southeast Asia. A great deal of interest has been paid to this plant due to its traditional uses in the treatment of several diseases. The pods contain many beneficial secondary metabolites with potential applications in medicine and cosmetics. However, studies on their phytochemical properties are still lacking. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to profile the bioactive compounds of P. speciosa pods collected from six different regions of Malaysia through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) and &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory potential. This study applied metabolomics to elucidate the differences between P. speciosa populations found naturally in the different locations and to characterize potential &alpha, glucosidase inhibitors from P. speciosa pods. P. speciosa collected from different regions of Malaysia showed good &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory activity, with a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.45&ndash, 0.76 &mu, g/mL. The samples from the northern and northeastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia showed the highest activity. Using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis, 25 metabolites were identified in the pods of P. speciosa. The findings unveiled that the pods of P. speciosa collected from different locations exhibit different levels of &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory activity. The pods are a natural source of potent antidiabetic bioactive compounds.

Fruit of salak (Salaaca zalacca) is traditionally used and commercialized as an antidiabetic agent. However, scientific evidence to prove this folk claim is quite lacking. Therefore, this research was aimed to evaluate the α-glucosidase inhibition activity of S. zalacca fruit and identify the bioactive compounds. The fruits were extracted by different ratios of ethanol and water (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100%, v/v) to get E0 (100% water), E20 (20% ethanol), E40 (40% ethanol), E60 (60% ethanol), E80 (80% ethanol), and E100 (100% ethanol) extracts. The extracts obtained were subjected to the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry- (GC-MS-) based metabolomics approach was used in profiling the bioactive metabolites present in the extracts. Orthogonal partial least square (OPLS) was used to correlate GC-MS data and α-glucosidase assay results to identify the possible chemical markers. All active compounds identified were subjected to molecular docking. The extracts from the S. zalacca fruit showed potent inhibition activity against α-glucosidase. The IC50 values from the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay ranged between 16 and 275 µg/ml. Overall, E60 displayed significantly higher α-glucosidase inhibition activity, while E0 showed the lowest α-glucosidase inhibition activity. Major compounds detected in S. zalacca fruits were sugars, fatty acids, and sterols, including myo-inositol, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and β-sitosterol. Moreover, the results obtained from molecular docking indicated that palmitic acid and β-sitosterol were close to the active side of the enzyme. Some of the residues that interacted include HID295, ASN259, LEU313, LYS125, PHE159, VAL216, PHE178, TYR72, TYR158, HIE315, ARG315, and PHE303. The bioassay result strongly suggests that E60 extract from S. zalacca fruits has potential α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The hydrophobic compounds, including palmitic acid and β-sitosterol, were found to induce the α-glucosidase inhibition activity.

The genus Parkia (Fabaceae, Subfamily, Mimosoideae) comprises about 34 species of mostly evergreen trees widely distributed across neotropics, Asia, and Africa. This review aims to provide an overview of the current status of the species from the genus Parkia in terms of its relationship between its phytochemistry and medical uses. Comprehensive information on Parkia species was retrieved from electronic databases, which were Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar. This review identified nine species from genus Parkia with properties of medicinal use. They are used traditionally to treat several ailments, such as diabetes, diarrhea, wounds, hypertension, cough, chronic piles, conjunctivitis, and measles. The most common species studied are P. biglobosa, P. speciosa, P. javanica, P. bicolor, P. biglandulosa, P. filicoidea, and P. clappertoniana. A considerable number of secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids (aglycone and glycosides), and numerous volatile compounds have been identified in this genus, which are responsible for their diverse pharmacological activities. Their extracts, pure compounds and seed lectins have been reported for their anticancer, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antiulcer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimalarial, hepatoprotective, and antidiarrheal activities. The information gathered in this review might be of help for future studies in terms of the current knowledge on the link between the phytochemical components and medicinal uses. This could facilitate more discoveries on its potentials particularly in the pharmacological characteristics and potential to be developed into modern medicines.

Background: Improved bioavailability of Aceclofenac (ACE) may be achieved through proniosomes, which are considered as one of the most effective drug delivery systems and are expected to represent a valuable approach for the development of better oral dosage form as compared to the existing product. However, the carrier in this system plays a vital role in controlling the drug release and modulating drug dissolution. Accordingly, a comparative study on different carriers can give a clear idea about the selection of carriers to prepare ACE proniosomes. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the role of maltodextrin, glucose, and mannitol as carriers for in vitro and in vivo performance of Aceclofenac (ACE) proniosomes. Methods: Three formulations of proniosomes were prepared by the slurry method using the 100 mg ACE, 500 mg span 60, 250 mg cholesterol with 1300mg of different carriers, i.e., glucose (FN1), maltodextrin (FN2), and mannitol (FN3). In vitro drug release studies were conducted by the USP paddle method, while in vivo studies were performed in albino rats. Pure ACE was used as a reference in all the tests. Lastly, the results were analyzed using the High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method, and data were evaluated using further kinetic and statistical tools. Results: No significant differences (p > 0.05) in entrapment efficiency (%EE) of FN1, FN2, and FN3 (82 ± 0.5%, 84 ± 0.66%, and 84 ± 0.34% respectively) were observed and formulations were used for further in vitro and in vivo evaluations. During in vitro drug release studies, the dissolved drug was found to be 42% for the pure drug, while 70%, 17%, and 30% for FN1, FN2, and FN3, respectively, at 15 min. After 24 hrs, the pure drug showed a maximum of 50% release while 94%, 80%, and 79% drug release were observed after 24 hr for FN1, FN2, and FN3, respectively. The in vivo study conducted on albino rats showed a higher Cmax and AUC of FN1 and FN2 in comparison with the pure ACE. Moreover, the relative oral bioavailability of proniosomes with maltodextrin and glucose as carriers compared to the pure drug was 183% and 112%, respectively. Mannitol- based formulation exhibited low bioavailability (53.7%) that may be attributed to its osmotic behavior. Conclusion: These findings confirm that a carrier plays a significant role in determining in vitro and in vivo performance of proniosomes and careful selection of carrier is an important aspect of proniosomes optimization.

OBJECTIVES The safety of living liver donors is considered a high priority. In this study, we aimed to highlight the incidence and risk factors of respiratory complications among living liver transplant donors at our institute. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated data of 178 related living liver donors who were seen from January 2014 to December 2018. We recorded significant respiratory complications, such as pulmonary embolism, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, pneumonia, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and transfusion-related acute lung injury. Complications were noted as clinically evident and/or needing intervention. We also recorded the frequency of nonrespiratory complications and duration of intensive care unit and hospital stays. RESULTS Ten donors (5.6%) developed significant respiratory complications: 2 (1.1%) had pulmonary embolisms, 3 (1.7%) developed symptomatic pleural effusion that required thoracentesis, and 4 (2.25%) had chest infections. The remaining donor (0.6%) had unexplained respiratory insufficiency. Logistic regression analyses identified age ≥ 35 years and previous surgery as the main risk factors of significant respiratory complications. There were no recorded cases of pneumothorax, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and transfusion-related acute lung injury. Raw surface collection (14.6%) and biliary leakage (7.9%) were the most frequent nonrespiratory complications. There was no significant difference between patients with and without significant respiratory complications with regard to intensive care unit and hospital stays. CONCLUSIONS Despite the low incidence of significant respiratory complications among our living liver donor cohort, close monitoring and early management are essential to achieve better prognosis, especially in donors older than 35 years or those with previous surgery.

Fruit of salak (Salacca zalacca) is traditionally used and commercialized as an antidiabetic agent. However, the scientific evidence to prove this traditional use is lacking. This research was aimed to evaluate the metabolic changes of obese-diabetic (OBDC) rats treated with S. zalacca fruit extract using proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals may be harmful to our body as it can cause many health problems. Antioxidants can act as radical scavengers to prevent these mechanisms. Christia vespertilionis or butterfly wings is widely found in South East Asia, traditionally used for many medical benefits. There are limited data that can be found about this plant from all possible scientific sources. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze multiple C. vespertilionis leaves extracts for its antioxidants’ capacity and infrared analysis. Five different extracts of different solvents viz, hexane, hexane: ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate: methanol, and methanol were obtained from C. vespertilionis leaves. All the extracts were assessed for 2, 2-diphenyl-1-pierylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging ability and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) followed by Fourier transform infrared analysis. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethyl acetate: methanol showed high radical scavenging activity with the lowest IC50 value of 0.549 ± 0.02 mg/mL compared to other extracts while ethyl acetate: hexane has the highest FRAP value of 271.67 ± 0.93 AAE µg ascorbic acid/g. The rapid FTIR analysis revealed the present of O-H, C-H, C=O, C=C, C-O, and N-H predominantly in the extracts. This study provides the information for further application of C. vespertilionis on various pharmacological and phytochemical aspects as not many scientific studies can be found.

Christia vespertilionis is a medicinal plant belonging to the Fabaceae family and traditionally consumed to manage diabetes. The present study aimed to screen the antidiabetic property by evaluating the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of multiple C. vespertilionis leaves extracts. C. vespertilionis leaves extracts were prepared using ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate: hexane, ethyl acetate: methanol, methanol, and hexane solvents and screened via α-glucosidase inhibitory assay, using quercetin as the positive control. Potential compounds present in the plant leaves that were reported previously were subjected to molecular docking simulation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae isomaltase (PDB code: 3A4A). The leaves extracts showed the IC50 values of α-glucosidase ranging from 0.195 mg/mL to 0.416mg/mL with ethyl acetate:hexane extract exhibiting highest inhibitory activity with the lowest IC50 value of 0.195 ± 0.004 mg/mL. Some of the compounds reported in previous studies such as quercetin 3-0-glucoside, oleanolic acid methyl ester, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, geraniol and 2’-hydroxygenistein have shown potential binding energy level during interaction with the protein involving residues such as GLN279, GLN 353, THR306, ASP352 and ASN350 with hydrogen bond, while PHE303 and GLH277 with hydrophobic contact. The results have suggested that C. vespertilionis leaves has the potential to manage the hyperglycemia via α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and further study to identify potential inhibitors may enhance its use in pharmaceutical application.

Saffron, Crocus sativus (Iridaceae), is a perennial herb, which earned its popularity as both medicine and spice. It is an inhabitant of different mountainous regions of Asia Minor to Greece, Western Asia, Egypt, and India. The benefits of saffron as an antidepressant are well-documented. Almost 150 volatile and nonvolatile compounds are obtained from the chemical analysis of this plant. Fewer than 50 constituents elucidated and identified so far showed phytochemical characteristics. The major bioactive compounds identified are safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin, which are responsible for its aroma as well as its bitter taste. This review is an attempt to encompass the methods of analysis and pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of saffron followed by its efficacious and safe potential.

Salacca zalacca (Gaertn.) Voss (family Arecaceae) is the snake fruit commonly known in Malay language as salak in Malaysia. This exotic fruit has diverse and potential pharmacological properties due to its high antioxidant content. It is often consumed due to its sweet taste. The abundant natural sugar and fibre along with minerals and vitamin makes it a nutritious fruit. Phytochemical investigation on this fruit has revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenolics, glycosides as well as some volatile and aromatic compounds, including gallic acid, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, proanthocyanidins, lycopene and β-carotene. Pharmacological studies on the fruit flesh and peel have shown some tremendous antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antidiabetic potential. This review provides the botanical information of Salacca zalacca as well as its scientific investigations involving the distinct pharmacological and phytochemical benefits. This could help in highlighting the lacking data and research gaps on this plant.

Background: Ventricular fibrillation occurs commonly after aortic cross clamp in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis. Amiodarone is a class III antiarrhythmic drug that can be used as a prophylactic measure to prevent reperfusion ventricular fibrillation as ventricular fibrillation increases myocardial oxygen demand and hence myocardial damage. Methods: A prospective, randomized, triple blinded study conducted in a single institution, Cardio-thoracic Academy, Ain –Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.120 patients with severe AS enrolled for elective aortic valve replacement. 60 patients received 10 ml of normal saline 9% (control group), while the other 60 patients received a single dose of Amiodarone 150 mg in 10 ml of Dextrose 5% through the pump circuit (Case Group). The incidence of post clamp arrhythmia, need of defibrillation, cardiac support was recorded. Results: 36 patients (60%) of the case group had spontaneous sinus rhythm upon declamping which is significantly lower than control group. The incidence of VF was lower in the case group (P value

Different extraction processes were employed to extract bioactive metabolites from

Porcupine bezoar (PB) is a calcified undigested material generally found in porcupine’s (Hystrix brachyura) gastrointestinal tract. The bezoar is traditionally used in South East Asia and Europe for the treatment of cancer, poisoning, dengue, typhoid, etc. However, limited scientific studies have been performed to verify its anticancer potential to substantiate its traditional claims in the treatment of cancers. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating the in vitro and in vivo anticancer properties of two grassy PB aqueous extract (PB-A and PB-B) using A375 cancer cell line and zebrafish model, respectively. This paper presents the first report on in vitro A375 cell viability assay, apoptosis assay, cell cycle arrest assay, migration assay, invasion assay, qPCR experimental assay and in vivo anti-angiogenesis assay using the grassy PBs. Experimental findings revealed IC50 value are 26.59 ± 1.37 μg/mL and 30.12 ± 3.25 μg/mL for PB-A and PB-B respectively. PBs showed anti-proliferative activity with no significant cytotoxic effect on normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF). PBs were also found to induce apoptosis via intrinsic pathway and arrest cell cycle at G2/M phase. Additionally, the findings indicated its ability to debilitate migration and invasion of A375 cells. Further evaluation using embryo zebrafish model revealed LC50 = 450.0 ± 2.50 μg/mL and 58.7 ± 5.0 μg/mL for PB-A and PB-B which also exerted anti-angiogenesis effect in zebrafish. Moreover, stearic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid and pregnenolone were identified as possible metabolites that might contribute to the anticancer effect of the both PBs. Overall, this study demonstrated that PB-A and PB-B possess potential in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects which are elicited through selective cytotoxic effect, induction of apoptosis, inhibition of migration and invasion and anti-angiogenesis. This study provides scientific evidence that the porcupine bezoar do possess anti-cancer efficacy and further justifies its traditional utility. However, more experiments with higher vertebrae models are still warranted to validate its traditional claims as an anticancer agent.

Salak (Salacca zalacca) is well-known as snake fruit and it is immensely studied for its antioxidative and antidiabetic active metabolites throughout the southeast Asian countries. However, there are many remaining unidentified metabolites due to very low abundance and natural variation, which need to be further explored. Nowadays mass spectrometry (MS/MS) facilitates the tentative identification of unknown compounds in the crude herbal extracts. This study described the metabolite profiling of hydroalcoholic extracts of S. zalacca analysed by LC-QTOF-MS/MS. The 60% ethanolic extract exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibition and ferric reducing antioxidant power activities with IC50 of 15.94 µg/mL and 78.13 μg AAE/g, respectively. Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) by an orthogonal partial least-squares (OPLS) algorithm was conducted to correlate the α-glucosidase inhibition activity with the LC- QTOF-MS data. A total of 4 compounds were reported for first time in this fruit and identified based on the molecular mass and fragment ions. LC-QTOF-MS analysis indicated the presence of carexane I, 5-phenoxytetrazol-1-yl)-2,3,5,6-hexahydrofurofuran-3-ethylurea, 3-acetylphenoxy)-N-[(2)-1-amino-4-methyl-1-oxopentan-2-yl]-4,5-dihydroxycyclohexene-1-carboxamide and Ethyl 4-[5-methyl-2-oxo-1′,2′,5′,6′,7′,7′a-hexahydro-1H-spiro[indole-3,3′-pyrrolizine]-2′-ylamido] benzoate. Molecular docking of those compounds with the α–glucosidase enzyme was performed to confirm their antidiabetic potential. These bioactive compounds could be suggested as α-glucosidase inhibitors and functional food additives.

Fruit of salak (Salacca zalacca) is traditionally used and commercialized as an antidiabetic agent. However, the scientific evidence to prove this traditional use is lacking. This research was aimed to evaluate the metabolic changes of obese-diabetic (OBDC) rats treated with S. zalacca fruit extract using proton-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR)-based metabolomics approach. This research presents the first report on the in vitro antidiabetic effect of S. zalacca fruits extract using this approach. The obtained results indicated that the administration of 400 mg/kg bw of 60% ethanolic S. zalacca extract for 6 weeks significantly decreased the blood glucose level and normalized the blood lipid profile of the OBDC rats. The potential biomarkers in urine were 2-oxoglutarate, alanine, leucine, succinate 3-hydroxybutyrate, taurine, betaine, allantoin, acetate, dimethylamine, creatine, creatinine, glucose, phenyl-acetylglycine, and hippurate. Based on the data obtained, the 60% ethanolic extract could not fully improved the metabolic complications of diabetic rats. The extract of S. zalacca fruit was able to decrease the ketones bodies as 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. It also improved energy metabolism, involving glucose, acetate, lactate, 2-hydroxybutyrate, 2-oxoglutarate, citrate, and succinate. Moreover, it decreased metabolites from gut microflora, including choline. This extract had significant effect on amino acid metabolism, metabolites from gut microflora, bile acid metabolism and creatine. The result can further support the traditional claims of S. zalacca fruits in management of diabetes. This finding might be valuable in understanding the molecular mechanism and pharmacological properties of this medicinal plant for managing diabetes mellitus.

Speed control DC motor (SCDCM) methods are widely used in power electronic circuits. This paper presents various SCDCM methods such as armature voltage control, the results show when armature voltage increases, the speed of the motor increases and when the armature voltage decreases, the motor speed decreases. However, in field resistance methods, when the field resistance increases the speed increases and when field resistance decreases the speed is reduced. While in feedback control when using feedback SCDCM method, two blocks have been used, the first block includes reference speed of motor and the second block includes the added value of speed to reference speed of motor. Power simulation (PSIM) is used to design and simulate the DC motor speed control circuits.

Salak fruit (Salacca zalacca), commonly known as snake fruit, is used indigenously as food and for medicinal applications in Southeast Asia. This study was conducted to evaluate the &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory activity of salak fruit extracts in correlation to its Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) fingerprint, utilizing orthogonal partial least square. This calibration model was applied to develop a rapid analytical method tool for quality control of this fruit. A total of 36 extracts prepared with different solvent ratios of ethanol&ndash, water (100, 80, 60, 40.20, 0% v/v) and their &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory activities determined. The FT-IR spectra of ethanol&ndash, water extracts measured in the region of 400 and 4000 cm&minus, 1 at a resolution of 4 cm&minus, 1. Multivariate analysis with a combination of orthogonal partial least-squares (OPLS) algorithm was used to correlate the bioactivity of the samples with the FT-IR spectral data. The OPLS biplot model identified several functional groups (C&ndash, H, C=O, C&ndash, N, N&ndash, H, C&ndash, O, and C=C) which actively induced &alpha, glucosidase inhibitory activity.

Determining the probability of survival after injury is important as it can inform triage, clinical research and audit. A number of methods have been reported for determining the probability of survival after injury. However, these have shortcomings and thus further developments are needed to improve their reliability and accuracy. In this study, a Bayesian method called Predictive Statistical Diagnosis (PSD) was developed to determine probability of survival in 4124 adults (age: mean = 67.9 years, standard deviation = 21.6 years) with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). In total, 86.2% of cases had survived and 13.8% of cases had not survived their injuries. The parameters considered as inputs to PSD were age, abbreviated injury score (AIS), Glasgow coma score (GCS), pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and respiration rate (RR). PSD statistically modeled the TBI cases and their associated injury outcomes, i.e., survived or not survived. The model was calibrated on randomly selected, roughly 2/3 (number 2676), of the cases and its performance was validated on the remaining cases (number 1448, i.e., validation dataset). The effectiveness of PSD in determining the probability of survival was compared with a method called Ps14 that uses regression modeling. With all parameters (i.e., age, AIS, GCS, SBP, RR and PR) included as inputs to PSD, it correctly identified 90.8% of survivors and 50.0% of non-survivors in the validation dataset while Ps14 identified 97.4% of survivors and 40.2% of non-survivors in the validation dataset. When age, AIS and GCS were used on their own as inputs to PSD, it correctly identified 82.4% of the survivors and 65.0% of non-survivors in the validation dataset. Age affected the performance of PSD in determining the survival outcomes. The number of non-surviving cases included in this study may have not been sufficiently high to indicate the full potential of PSD and a further study with a larger number of cases would be beneficial.

A preliminary computational analysis of a number of factors affecting the probability of survival in trauma injuries\ud was carried out. The study examined the manner the types and\ud extent of body injuries, specific body regions affected by the injuries, pre-exiting medical conditions, physiological parameters (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate), age, gender and Glasgow Comma Score contribute to the probability of survival. A more in depth analysis of these factors are currently ongoing to develop a model for the probability of survival.

Uncertainty is an inherent part in controllers for real world applications. In this paper we compare the performance differences between type-1 and interval type-2 fuzzy logic (IT2FLC) controllers, with five and three term membership functions. The controllers are used to control a PM DC motor in a closed loop real time system. The performance of system with each controller to a step is recorded. The results showed that there is a statistical difference between the fuzzy logic type-1 and type-2 controllers. It is also found that a type-2 five term controller is as good as a type-1five term or type-2 three term controller

Type-2 fuzzy logic systems have recently been utilized in many control processes due to their ability to model uncertainty. This research article proposes the position control of (DC) motor. The proposed algorithm of this article lies in the application of a genetic algorithm interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (GAIT2FLC) in the design of fuzzy controller for the position control of DC Motor. The entire system has been modeled using MATLAB R11a. The performance of the proposed GAIT2FLC is compared with that of its corresponding conventional genetic algorithm type-1 FLC in terms of several performance measures such as rise time, peak overshoot, settling time, integral absolute error (IAE) and integral of time multiplied absolute error (ITAE) and in each case, the proposed scheme shows improved performance over its conventional counterpart. Extensive simulation studies are conducted to compare the response of the given system with the conventional genetic algorithm type-1 fuzzy controller to the response given with the proposed GAIT2FLC scheme.

Background: Salacca zalacca or better known as salak fruit is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical countries, and it is traditionally used to treat diabetes. This study was aimed to investigate the salak peel extracts for their biological and chemical activities. Also, the chemical profile of the most promising extract was analysed on gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Materials and Methods: The peel extracts were prepared by maceration process at room temperature with different ratio of ethanol/water. All the extracts were determined for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity using α-glucosidase enzyme. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were determined through their Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The chemical constituents of salak peel extracts were analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC MS). Results: Phytochemical screening showed the presence of phenolic and flavonoid contents in all the extracts. About 100% ethanol extract shows the highest phenolic content (116.70 ± 0.764 μg/mL) while 60% ethanol extract has the lowest content 18.65 ± 1.155 μg/ml using gallic acid as a reference. 100% ethanol extract was observed to exhibit highest radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities (IC50: 49.45 ± 3.87 μg/mL, 144.81 ± 3.72 μg AAE/g, IC50: 11.62 ± 0.67b μg/mL), respectively. Water extracts had the lowest FRAP, radical scavenging activity as well as α-glucosidase activity. The phytochemical investigation on GC-MS showed the presence of active compounds in salak fruit peel extracts. Conclusion: Salak fruit peels showed the highest antioxidant as well as α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Phytochemical analysis on GC-MS confirms the presence of gallic acid, linoelaidic acid, palmitic acid, α-tocopherol, and steric acid which may contribute to α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Abbreviations Used: GC-MS: Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy; FRAP: Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay; TPTZ: 2,4,6-tris (2-pyridyl)-s-triazine; DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhdroxyl; MSTFA: N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide; TPC: Total phenolic content; DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide; ANOVA: Analysis of variance.

In digital communication the QPSK (quadrature phase-shift keying) signal occupies a special position, from satellite systems through to Local Area Networks (LAN). The QPSK signal can be detected or received using analog or digital receivers. The detection capability of digital receivers relies mainly on the number of samples per signal element and signal-to-noise ratio. The number of samples required by a digital receiver is the bottleneck for detection speed. This paper presents a novel algorithm to detect a QPSK signal with the minimum number of samples, or as few as four samples per symbol. The algorithm relies only on the samples’ polarities, which leads to superior immunity to amplitude noise. The algorithm was simulated and tested using ANSI C++. The results showed that the algorithm is capable of detecting a QPSK signal with minimum Bit Error Rate (BER) at signal-to-noise ratio of 7.57 dB and maximum phase distortion of PI/8.

Background Tracheal intubation under deep inhalational anaesthesia is a common practice in paediatrics; however, since the introduction of short-acting opioids, intubation has become more successful when these drugs are used in combination with propofol, avoiding the use of neuromuscular blocking agents with their unwanted side effects. Several techniques and adjuvants have been used to improve intubating conditions. We studied the interaction between magnesium sulphate and the anaesthetic agent's propofol and fentanyl to facilitate intubation in paediatrics. Patients and methods A total of 40 preschool and school-aged patients scheduled for short urogenital procedures were randomly assigned in a double-blind study to be administered either a 5-min infusion of magnesium sulphate (30 mg/kg) in 0.9% saline 5 ml/kg (magnesium group, n = 20), or the same volume of saline (control group, n = 20). Anaesthesia was induced (1 μg/kg) fentanyl followed by propofol (2.5 mg/kg). Intubating conditions were assessed by Copenhagen score. Blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and EtCO 2 were recorded. Serum magnesium was measured, and Aldrete recovery score was assessed. Results The two groups were comparable regarding demographic data. Intubating conditions were better in the magnesium group than in the control group (0 vs. 60%). There were no differences between both groups regarding haemodynamic variables. The duration of intubation was insignificantly shorter in the magnesium group. Aldrete recovery score showed no difference between both groups. Serum magnesium increased from 1.92 to 3.18 mg/dl in the magnesium group, but with no signs of hypermagnesemia. Conclusion Adding magnesium sulphate to propofol and fentanyl improves intubating conditions without the use of muscle relaxants during the start of procedures in paediatrics.