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By 2030, it is projected that over 60% of the global population will use AI-powered applications, signifying a widespread integration of AI into our daily lives. While this advancement in technology offers substantial prospects, it also triggers growing concerns over its impact on personal welfare. The increasing prevalence of AI technology used by malevolent cyberattackers poses a significant threat to individual security. The article explores the convergence of AI technology and personal safety, analyzing the risks associated with AI-driven cyber-crimes and proposing potential solutions. This report examines several artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and evaluates their vulnerabilities, highlighting statistics such as the 90% prevalence of human error in cyberattacks in 2022. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing defensive tactics, the research introduces a multidimensional structure for improving individual safety. This paradigm integrates legislative frameworks, technological solutions, and instructional activities, fostering a complete approach that addresses the problem from several angles. The proposed framework places user empowerment as the top priority via the implementation of cybersecurity education. Equipping individuals with the requisite knowledge and skills to safeguard themselves on the internet is crucial in diminishing their vulnerability to AI-fueled attacks. Practical recommendations are offered to individuals, policymakers, and technology companies to mitigate the security risks associated with artificial intelligence proactively. This article contributes to the significant discourse on ensuring the safeguarding of personal privacy and security in the age of artificial intelligence. By advocating for a holistic approach that includes legal, technical, and educational elements, it establishes the groundwork for a future that places human welfare as a top priority while still advancing technology.

Induction therapy is a critical component of renal transplantation, aimed at reducing delayed graft function (DGF) and improving graft survival. This review assesses the impact of leading large national and international guidelines: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), and European Renal Best Practice (ERBP) propositions, focusing on their applicability to high-risk groups, specifically, on Black patients and those with donor-specific antibodies (DSAs). While NICE guidelines provide a standardized approach favoring basiliximab, concerns arise regarding their suitability for high-risk patients, who may benefit more from potent lymphocyte-depleting agents. KDIGO and ERBP guidelines advocate for personalized approaches, emphasizing genetic diversity and specific patient profiles to tailor immunosuppressive regimens effectively. This review advocates for a paradigm shift toward personalized induction therapy, integrating genetic insights to improve clinical outcomes and address health disparities. By tailoring induction therapies to the genetic and immunological profiles of transplant recipients, healthcare providers can enhance transplant success and ensure equitable healthcare for diverse populations. This approach underscores the importance of personalized medicine in achieving optimal outcomes in renal transplantation. This concern is of particular importance to Black individuals due to the specific genetic markers and health profiles relevant to this group, while recognizing the current gap in data regarding other ethnicities.

In this study, caffeine (CAF) was loaded into nanoliposomes (n-LPs) and chitosan-coated n-LPs, so called nanochitosomes (n-CTs). Among different CAF concentrations (1–5 mg/mL) and various chitosan coatings (0.1–1.0 mg/mL), n-LPs loaded with 4 mg/mL CAF (n-LPs-4) and coated with 0.4 mg/mL chitosan (n-CTs-0.4) exhibited the best physical properties, encapsulation efficiency (EE), and antioxidant activity. Under different storage conditions (4 °C, 25 °C, 70 °C, and freeze-thaw), freeze-thaw stress had the most detrimental effect on structural stability and unintended CAF release. However, chitosan coating layer increased its resistance to stress and controlled release in gastrointestinal conditions. To evaluate release mechanisms and kinetics, release data were fitted to zero-order, Kopcha, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Higuchi models. CAF release kinetics in both simulated gastric and intestine conditions followed a Fickian diffusion mechanism. The release data fitted well with Kopcha and Korsmeyer-Peppas models, with R2 > 0.92. The differential scanning calorimetry of CAF showed an endothermic peak at 237.85 °C. This peak was not observed after incorporation into n-LPs and n-CTs, indicating successful CAF encapsulation in these structures. Spray-drying of n-LPs-4 and n-CTs-0.4 resulted in particles with good production yield, physicochemical properties, moisture content, water activity, solubility, and color indices. FTIR analysis confirmed successful CAF loading inside n-LPs, chitosan placement on their membrane surface, and entrapment of particles within maltodextrin carriers. Morphological features revealed spherical particles in both n-LPs and n-CTs, along with instability, aggregation, and size-varied wrinkled structures (in powders) after spray drying. Finally, texture analysis and sensory evaluation of enriched Gaz (one of the traditional and conventional sweets in Iran) with CAF-loaded n-LPs-4 and n-CTs-0.4 powders indicated the production of a high quality and functional product with acceptable characteristics.

Abstract Background The allometric body shape index (ABSI) and hip index (HI), as well as multi-trait body shape phenotypes, have not yet been compared in their associations with inflammatory markers. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between novel and traditional anthropometric indexes with inflammation using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and UK Biobank cohorts. Methods Participants from EPIC (n = 17,943, 69.1% women) and UK Biobank (n = 426,223, 53.2% women) with data on anthropometric indexes and C-reactive protein (CRP) were included in this cross-sectional analysis. A subset of women in EPIC also had at least one measurement for interleukins, tumour necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma, leptin, and adiponectin. Four distinct body shape phenotypes were derived by a principal component (PC) analysis on height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist (WC) and hip circumferences (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). PC1 described overall adiposity, PC2 tall with low WHR, PC3 tall and centrally obese, and PC4 high BMI and weight with low WC and HC, suggesting an athletic phenotype. ABSI, HI, waist-to-height ratio and waist-to-hip index (WHI) were also calculated. Linear regression models were carried out separately in EPIC and UK Biobank stratified by sex and adjusted for age, smoking status, education, and physical activity. Results were additionally combined in a random-effects meta-analysis. Results Traditional anthropometric indexes, particularly BMI, WC, and weight were positively associated with CRP levels, in men and women. Body shape phenotypes also showed distinct associations with CRP. Specifically, PC2 showed inverse associations with CRP in EPIC and UK Biobank in both sexes, similarly to height. PC3 was inversely associated with CRP among women, whereas positive associations were observed among men. Conclusions Specific indexes of body size and body fat distribution showed differential associations with inflammation in adults. Notably, our results suggest that in women, height may mitigate the impact of a higher WC and HC on inflammation. This suggests that subtypes of adiposity exhibit substantial variation in their inflammatory potential, which may have implications for inflammation-related chronic diseases.

Abstract Perception systems in autonomous vehicles need to accurately detect and classify objects within their surrounding environments. Numerous types of sensors are deployed on these vehicles, and the combination of such multimodal data streams can significantly boost performance. The authors introduce a novel sensor fusion framework using deep convolutional neural networks. The framework employs both camera and LiDAR sensors in a multimodal, multiview configuration. The authors leverage both data types by introducing two new innovative fusion mechanisms: element‐wise multiplication and multimodal factorised bilinear pooling. The methods improve the bird's eye view moderate average precision score by +4.97% and +8.35% on the KITTI dataset when compared to traditional fusion operators like element‐wise addition and feature map concatenation. An in‐depth analysis of key design choices impacting performance, such as data augmentation, multi‐task learning, and convolutional architecture design is offered. The study aims to pave the way for the development of more robust multimodal machine vision systems. The authors conclude the paper with qualitative results, discussing both successful and problematic cases, along with potential ways to mitigate the latter.

The concept of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge is influenced by various factors and can be assessed using self-assessment scales. However, relying solely on these scales raises concerns. This study comparing two teacher recruitment and training methods found that longer-term training resulted in better pedagogical and technological knowledge, while the short-term training group excelled in content knowledge. However, there were no significant differences in other TPACK components. The study also emphasized that teachers often overestimate their knowledge, underscoring the importance of comprehensive training programs and multiple assessment methods to evaluate teacher skills and knowledge.

Persistent primitive hypoglossal artery (PPHA) is a rare embryological carotid–basilar anastomosis. Diagnosis is by imaging and computed tomography angiography is the most common methods employed. Herein we present a case of a 51 years-old Indian male, who admitted with midnight nonwitnessed syncope. CT angiogram of the brain revealed a very rare caroto-basilar anastomoses anomaly with PPHA.

Introduction Astaxanthin is a widely used carotenoid pigment in the food industry which is extracted from various natural and synthetic sources. Nowadays, due to the adverse effects of organic solvents green solvents which are non-toxic, non-volatile and environmentally friendly have been proposed. Therefore, this study focuses on comparison of the extraction of astaxanthin from shrimp (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) and Gammarus (Pontogammarus maeoticus) under soaking conditions for 24 hours with organic solvent (combination of ethanol with ethyl acetate), green solvent (microemulsion of ionic liquid in water) and vegetable oil (sunflower oil). Ionic liquid microemulsion in water is considered a newnovel solvent for astaxanthin extraction. Determination of density, conductivity and diameter were the characteristics of microemulsion test. In extraction,Solvent to sample ratios of 5x, 12.5x and 20x were used for the extraction and compared with the control sample. Materials and Methods merguiensis and P. maeoticus With species approval were procured from Persian Gulf Ecology Research Institute (Iran). Commercial astaxanthin (>98 % purity), α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were procured from Sigma-Aldrich (USA). The HPLC grade ethanol, propanol, ethyl acetate,, tributyl octyl phosphonium bromide, Triton X-100, and n-butanol were obtained from Merck Chemicals Co. (Germany). Refined sunflower oil which was antioxidant-free, was also purchased from Hayat Company (Iran). The shell of F. merguiensis and P. maeoticus were carefully washed with distilled water, then freeze-dried (Christ-Alpha 1–4, LD freeze dryer, Germany) for 48 h at -50 °C. After sieving the powders with a laboratory sieve with a mesh smaller than 15 µm. The obtained powders were kept at Refrigerator. All experiments were done in the Food and Drug Administration Department of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences. Results and Discussion According to the results, the density of the microemulsion was determined in the range of 0.97151 g/cm3, its diameter was 15.8 nanometers and the conductivity was 312 microsiemens at 27.1°C. The results of astaxanthin extraction with different solvents in the comparison with control solvent were statistically significant (p< 0.05). According to the results obtained from the extraction of astaxanthin from two sources of shrimp and gammarus, shrimp was selected as the source with the highest amount of extracted astaxanthin. The use of green solvent (ionic liquid microemulsion in water) in a ratio of 12.5 times solvent to sample was also chosen as the optimal method. The amount of astaxanthin extracted under optimal conditions was 77.44 ± 1.09 mg/ml. The results of DPPH radical inhibition by extracted astaxanthin using ionic, oily and organic solvents compared to synthetic antioxidant BHT showed that the antioxidant activity increased with increasing the concentration of astaxanthin, but this increase was always lower than BHT. ConclusionIn general, the results of this research show that the use of microemulsion based on ionic liquids is a suitable alternative to conventional methods in extracting and recovering astaxanthin from natural biological sources. AcknowledgementWe are grateful to the Honorable Vice-Chancellor of Hormozgan Food and Drug Administration for the help in using the Hormozgan Food and Drug Laboratory to conduct the experiments of this doctoral thesis.

AbstractIntroduction: This article tries to analyze Hajar Abdul Samad's novel "Habibi ISIS" and explore the realm of reality and social life. Hajar Abdel Samad is an Egyptian writer who had no other novel before "Habibi Daesh" and first came into the field with the publication of the electronic version of this novel. a realistic novel, with a simple expression without ambitious words The author tried to reveal a new phenomenon called ISIS in the form of a novel and criticize the ugliness and degradation of society regarding women and of course in confronting ISIS and present them in the frame of realism. A Characteristic exhibited by each of them is that in addition to their characteristics, each of them is also a representative of their class and they are always changing and not static. This article tries to portray their vulnerability in the fight against ISIS by using realistic perspectives.

Dalam menghadapi transformasi teknologi informasi di rumah sakit, evaluasi sistem informasi manajemen menjadi satu aspek penting untuk memastikan efektivitas, efisiensi dan kesesuaian sistem dalam mendukung operasional dam pelayanan pasien. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi dan menganalisis tujuan teknologi informasi yang relevan di Semen Padang Hospital dengan menggunakan framework COBIT 2019. COBIT 2019 adalah suatu kerangka kerja yang dirancang untuk membantu organisasi dalam mengatur dan mengelola informasi dan teknologi secara efektif. Metode penelitian dilakukan melalui wawancara dengan pimpinan terkait dalam implementasi SIMRS dengan mengikuti alur desain tata kelola COBIT 2019. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa objektif proses dengan nilai tertinggi adalah EDM03 (Optimalisasi Risiko), APO12 (Manajemen Risiko) dan APO13 (Manajemen Keamanan). Implikasi dari studi ini memberikan wawasan tentang prioritas tujuan teknologi informasi yang dapat meningkatkan efektivitas pengelolaan SIMRS. Studi ini juga memberikan rekomendasi untuk perbaikan lebih lanjut, serta saran agar penelitian berikutnya dapat melakukan evaluasi tingkat kemampuan SIMRS berdasarkan proses yang ada pada COBIT 2019.

AbstractDue to the perishable nature of food, especially vegetables, and the need for long-term storage, freezing is one of the best methods to preserve food, and thawing is often required to use frozen products. The purpose of this study was to use the combined method of defrosting using hot air-infrared radiation on the quality characteristics of defrosted cooked carrot samples. At first, after cutting, the carrot samples were cooked at 75 °C for 30 minutes, and after placing the thermocouple inside the samples, they were frozen at -18°C for 48 hours. Then, the effect of defrosting parameters including air temperature (30 and 40 °C), air velocity (0.5 and 5 ms-1) and infrared power (100 and 300 W) on the quality characteristics of defrosted cooked carrots was investigated and the sample thawed at 25 °C was considered as a control samples. Using this method, the thawing time for the control sample was reduced from 47 min to 6.11 min in the optimal conditions, The minimum amount of ascorbic acid was 2.63 mg100 g-1 for treatment 1 and the maximum for treatment 6 was 5.78 mg100 g-1 . The amount of beta-carotene in the control sample was 29.21 mg100 g-1 in the minimum condition and 49.33 mg100 g-1 in the optimal condition. The highest amount of loss due to defrosting belonged to treatment 8 by 18.32% and the lowest amount belonged to the control sample by 44.7%. The use of combined infrared-hot air method is very suitable for defrosting cooked carrots and in addition to reducing the duration of defrosting, it maintains the quality of the product to a great extent. This method is very cost-effective and its investment and setup costs are small and can be used for various products.

Abstract We reported a gastric anti-ulcerogenic effect of the Nigella sativa (L.)-derived herbal melanin (HM) using rat models. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this HM gastroprotective effect remain unknown. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)-catalyzed prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated interleukin-6 (IL-6) production and secretion play major roles in gastric mucosal protection. In the current study, the human gastric carcinoma epithelial cell line AGS was used as a model to investigate the effect of HM on TLR4, COX-2, glycoprotein mucin 4 protein and gene expression using immuno-cyto-fluorescence staining, Western blot technology, and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Gastroprotective markers PGE2 and IL-6 production and secretion were also assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), well-known inducers of TLR4, COX-2, PGE2 and IL-6 expression, were used as a positive control. We showed that HM upregulated its main receptor TLR4 gene and protein expression in AGS cells. HM increased, in a dose- and time-dependent manner, the secretion of PGE2 and the expression of COX-2 mRNA and protein, which was detected in the nucleus, cytoplasm and predominantly at the intercellular junctions of the AGS cells. In addition, HM enhanced IL-6 production and secretion, and upregulated the mucin 4 gene expression, the hallmarks of gastroprotection. To check whether HM-induced PGE2 and IL-6 through TLR4 signaling and COX-2 generated, AGS cells were pre-treated with a TLR4 signaling inhibitor TAK242 and the COX-2 inhibitor NS-398. A loss of the stimulatory effects of HM on COX-2, PGE2 and IL-6 production and secretion was observed in TAK242 and NS-398-pre-treated AGS cells, confirming the role of TLR4 signaling and COX-2 generated in the HM gastroprotective effects. In conclusion, our results showed that HM enhances TLR4/COX-2-mediated secretion of gastroprotective markers PGE2 and IL-6, and upregulates mucin 4 gene expression in the human gastric epithelial cell line AGS, which may contribute to the promising beneficial gastroprotective effect of HM for human gastric prevention and treatment.

Summary: Background: Repurposed drugs with host-directed antiviral and immunomodulatory properties have shown promise in the treatment of COVID-19, but few trials have studied combinations of these agents. The aim of this trial was to assess the effectiveness of affordable, widely available, repurposed drugs used in combination for treatment of COVID-19, which may be particularly relevant to low-resource countries. Methods: We conducted an open-label, randomized, outpatient, controlled trial in Thailand from October 1, 2021, to June 21, 2022, to assess whether early treatment within 48-h of symptoms onset with combinations of fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide, given to adults with confirmed mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, can prevent 28-day clinical deterioration compared to standard care. Participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment with fluvoxamine alone, fluvoxamine + bromhexine, fluvoxamine + cyproheptadine, niclosamide + bromhexine, or standard care. The primary outcome measured was clinical deterioration within 9, 14, or 28 days using a 6-point ordinal scale. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05087381). Findings: Among 1900 recruited, a total of 995 participants completed the trial. No participants had clinical deterioration by day 9, 14, or 28 days among those treated with fluvoxamine plus bromhexine (0%), fluvoxamine plus cyproheptadine (0%), or niclosamide plus bromhexine (0%). Nine participants (5.6%) in the fluvoxamine arm had clinical deterioration by day 28, requiring low-flow oxygen. In contrast, most standard care arm participants had clinical deterioration by 9, 14, and 28 days. By day 9, 32.7% (110) of patients in the standard care arm had been hospitalized without requiring supplemental oxygen but needing ongoing medical care. By day 28, this percentage increased to 37.5% (21). Additionally, 20.8% (70) of patients in the standard care arm required low-flow oxygen by day 9, and 12.5% (16) needed non-invasive or mechanical ventilation by day 28. All treated groups significantly differed from the standard care group by days 9, 14, and 28 (p

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world. Traditional medicine poses a serious challenge to drug resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Hence, it is an urgent need to develop, novel the anti-mycobacterial compounds. In this study, a potent anti-mycobacterial compound producing Staphylococcus hominis IS2 was isolated from the custard apple exhibiting novel anti-mycobacterial activity than other isolates. The bacterial strain was cultured and anti-mycobacterial compound was purified by the combination of ammonium sulphate precipitation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The purified protein corresponding to 10 kDa presented anti-mycobacterial activity. It was further characterized and the difference in activity towards temperature and pH was observed (p

This research aimed to assess the impact of ultrasonication on the emulsifying ability of a conjugate system composed of sodium caseinate and soluble soy polysaccharides. The study analyzed the characteristics of the particles and evaluated the emulsions produced using nanoconjugates. The results showed that ultrasonication improved the contact angle (63.7°) and decreased particle size (75 nm), resulting in more effective emulsifying efficiency. At a 2 % concentration of the nanoconjugates, stable emulsions with a 50 % oil content were successfully formed through complete coverage of the droplets' surface, and no oil release was observed. Moreover, the emulsions’ creaming index remained below 25 % even after 60 days of storage. The stability of the nanoconjugate-based emulsions depended on the concentration of nanoconjugates, with an optimal concentration of 4 %. These findings suggest that the nanoconjugates have great potential as a natural stabilizer for emulsion-based products.

Introduction There has been an increasing demand for functional analog meat products due to environmental, human health, and animal welfare concerns. Burger analogs are plant-based products that are designed to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of meat burgers. They are typically made from a combination of plant-based ingredients such as textured vegetable protein, legumes, grains, and vegetables. The goal of burger analogs is to provide a meat-like experience without using animal-based products.These formulations aim to provide a healthier and sustainable alternative to conventional meat products. The organoleptic properties of burger analogs, including texture, taste, and aroma, are crucial for their acceptance by consumers. Prickly pear (Opuntia stricta) is a fruit from the Cactaceae family that contains various beneficial components, including natural pigments, proteins, fibers, and polysaccharides. Pectic polysaccharides and arabinogalactans are two types of polysaccharides found in prickly pear that have thickening properties and can improve the texture of food products. Moreover, Prickly pear is a nutritious and functional fruit that can provide various benefits when incorporated into the diet or used as an ingredient in food products. To date, no health benefit analog burgers incorporating Opuntia fruit have been developed.This study investigated the effects of adding Prickly pear pulp powder at levels of 0.5-2.5% on the physicochemical, sensory, and textural properties of analog burgers. Materials and Methods Analog burgers were formulated according to Iranian national standards using common ingredients (texturized soy protein, water, canola oil, garlic, dehydrated onion, soy sauce, and guar gum) as a control sample. Mature prickly pear fruits (Opuntia stricta) were collected from west of Mazandaran province in February. The fruits were washed, peeled, and dried in a forced oven dryer at a temperature of 45 °C. The dried samples were then ground into a powder and stored at 4 °C until further physico-chemical parameters of the including moisture, pH, ash, protein, lipid, color and total phenolic content. For developing new formulation of analog burgers, the roasted flour was substituted with prickly pear pulp powder at 0.5%, 1.5%, and 2.5% of the base recipe. The average moisture, ash, fat, carbohydrate content, pH, holding capacity, and color of each raw packed burger were measured. The hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of cooked analog burgers were evaluated using a texturometer instrument. Sensory analysis was performed by 10 panelists who judged discrimination scales of color, odor, taste, and texture characteristics. Analysis and sample treatments were repeated at least three times. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 19.0), and data were expressed as means ± standard deviation (SD). Results and Discussion The lowest and highest cooking losses were observed in analog burgers with 2.5% pulp powder (21.03 ±0.47%) and the control (22.2 ± 0.63%), respectively. However, moisture retention and juiciness did not show significant differences (p > 0.05) between analog burgers with prickly pear pulp powder and the control. The results indicated that increasing prickly pear pulp powder levels significantly decreased the redness (+a*) parameter and yellowness (+b*) of raw analog burgers. Moreover, a reduction in cooking loss and shrinkage were observed for cooked soy burger samples using prickly pear pulp powder. However, cooked analog burgers with added prickly pear pulp powder showed significantly higher juiciness. The elasticity of the produced analog burgers significantly decreased with an increasing percentage of pulp powder (p

The amount of rainfall in Meknes region in Morocco is insufficient to meet agricultural water demand. Pumping methods based on diesel and butane are thus an unavoidable option for local farmers. Nonetheless, the region receives an average of 4.72 kW.m−2.day−1 of solar irradiation per day, thus solar pumping systems can cover irrigation needs while also provide other benefits such as lowering greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing energy expenditures, and aiding in environmental preservation. Farmers in the Meknes region, on the other hand, are hesitant to employ photovoltaic energy to power their equipment. This work has two aims: the first is to explore the solar energy resource in the region. This is to analyze the capacity of the energy resource to adequately meet the energy needs of solar water pumping systems in the region. Secondly, based on the coupling theory, a comparative study was conducted. The objective was to evaluate the two methods of operation of solar systems, namely direct coupling and coupling with a DC–DC adapter with a genetic algorithm. The findings of this study reveal that with this adaptation stage, this solution doubles energy efficiency.

Abstract Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and bystander CPR with public-access defibrillation improves OHCA survival outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for emergency medical services (EMS), including the suggestion of compression-only resuscitation and recommendations for complete personal protective equipment, which have created operational difficulties and prolonged response time. However, the risk factors affecting OHCA outcomes during the pandemic are poorly defined. This study aimed to assess the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. Methods This single-center, retrospective cohort study used data from electronic medical records and EMS paper records. All OHCA patients who visited Ramathibodi Hospital’s emergency department before COVID-19 (March 2018 to December 2019) and during COVID-19 (March 2020-December 2021) were identified, and the number of emergency department returns of spontaneous circulation (ED-ROSC) and characteristics in OHCA patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand were collected. Results A total of 136 patients were included (78 men [59.1%]; mean [SD] age, 67.9 [18] years); 60 of these were during the COVID-19 period (beginning March 2020), and 76 were before the COVID-19 period. The overall baseline characteristics that differed significantly between the two groups were bystander witness and mode of chest compression (p-values

For the past three decades, AA7075 based metal matrix composite materials showed more attraction due to their enhanced mechanical and fatigue properties. The mechanical and fatigue behaviour of nano composites needs more investigation for their applications. In the present study, stir casting route based AA7075 reinforced with nano – sized, Al2O3 particles (average size 35 nm). The evaluation of mechanical and fatigue properties in the nano cast composites and matrix were carried out at room temperature (RT). The composites and base metalwere subjected to high and low cycle fatigue. Scanning Electron Microscope was used to estimate fatigue behaviour of nano composites samples. The mechanical and fatigue properties was enhanced by the nano Al2O3, when compared to the matrix. The microsite evaluation showed uniform distribution of Al2O3 particles into the matrix and few porosity was recorded. The improvement of the properties above is attributed to the grain refinement and to the distribution of the Al2O3.

There are several problems facing the construction industry in Iraq. Delays in construction projects affect one of the most important factors in project success, namely time. This delay causes many problems such as increasing the cost of the project, lack of timely operation, and on a larger scale, economic and social impact on the country. As being one of the metropolises of Iraq, the city of Najaf needs a lot of development projects in the development path. Public school construction projects are an example of projects needed in the city, and delays in these projects in recent years have sometimes caused the city’s schools to operate on a mixed basis. This study deals with studies and researches related to the delay of construction projects in other countries, and after interviews and surveys of construction industry stakeholders in Iraq, new factors have been obtained and finally, using the opinions of the mentioned experts, prioritizing the factors extracted from both identified the source and the five main causes of project delays, including late payment to the contractor, design errors, construction length errors, problems with neighbors, and inexperience of contractors. In the next step, the amount of delay due to the main factors identified in the projects was analyzed using the official documents of 30 sample projects from the statistical population of completed school construction projects in Najaf city. Statistics on the amount of delay caused by factors and comparing it with some indicators, the need to use contractors with better ratings, skilled manpower, experienced project managers, and the number of sufficient engineers at the project site were presented.

In this study, optimization of fermentation conditions, and applying endogenous walnut lipase were investigated for the manufacture of a fermented, whey-based beverage containing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Among different commercial starter and probiotic cultures, the culture containing Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus showed high potency for CLA synthesis. The fermentation time and the type of walnut oil (lipolyzed or non-lipolyzed) had significant effects on CLA production, as the highest CLA content (36 mg/g fat) was synthesized in the sample containing 1 % lipolyzed walnut oil fermented at 42 °C for 24 h. Moreover, fermentation time had the highest contribution on viable cell counts, proteolysis, DPPH scavenging activity, and final pH. A significant and positive correlation between cell counts and CLA content was also observed (r = +0.823, p

BackgroundCancer incidence and mortality are increasing rapidly worldwide, necessitating further investigation into developing and optimizing emergent cancer therapies. Oncolytic viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus encoding interferon β (VSV-IFNβ) have attracted considerable attention, as they offer great efficacy and safety profiles. This systematic review aimed to determine and compare the efficacy profile between VSV-IFNβ and non-treatment controls in preclinical cancer models.MethodologyThe Embase and Medline databases were systematically searched for relevant studies using related key terms and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, and data from eligible articles were extracted by two groups independently and in duplicate (two reviewers per group). Disagreements were resolved by a fifth independent reviewer. The included articles were all preclinical (translational) in vivo English studies that investigated and compared the efficacy profile between VSV-IFNβ and non-treatment controls in animal models. The risk of bias among the studies was assessed by two reviewers independently and in duplicate using SYRCLE’s risk-of-bias tool for animal studies; disparities were addressed by a third independent reviewer.ResultsAfter employing relevant MeSH and key terms, we identified 1598 articles. A total of 87 articles were either duplicates or conference proceedings and were thus excluded. Following title and abstract screening, 37 articles were included in the full-text assessment. Finally, 14 studies met the eligibility criteria. Forty-two experiments from the included studies examined the potential efficacy of VSV-IFNβ through different routes of administration, including intratumoral, intraperitoneal, and intravenous routes. Thirty-seven experiments reported positive outcomes. Meanwhile, five experiments reported negative outcomes, three and two of which examined intratumoral and intravenous VSV-IFNβ administration, respectively.ConclusionAlthough the majority of the included studies support the promising potential of VSV-IFNβ as an oncolytic virus, further research is necessary to ensure a safe and efficacious profile to translate its application into clinical trials.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022335418.

Developing an instrument to measure and compare mathematics and science content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical knowledge (PK) of teachers who graduated from Teacher Training University (TTU) with those of teachers who graduated from other universities in Iran was the primary purpose of this study. A total of 226 teachers were selected using a two-stage cluster random sampling, which included 84 teachers graduating from TTU and 142 teachers from other universities. The data were collected using mathematics, science CK, PK, and NEO tests to measure teachers’ personality traits. The findings indicated a significant difference between the two groups of teachers in the CK tests, favoring TTU graduates. However, it was found that the two groups did not perform differently in the PK tests.

Small pottery vessels of scented oil were discovered during salvage excavations held between 1960 and 2005 at Kiman Faris (Medinet El-Fayoum) led by the Inspectorate of Antiquities of Fayoum. This study aims to identify the differences between these vessels and compare them to similar examples from Egyptian sites and abroad. The majority of them are made of Egyptian fabrics, with both alluvial and marl clays. These vessels reflect the Greek influence on culture and technology, through perfumes and cosmetics during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Kabupaten Semarang memiliki kontur wilayah yang beragam serta potensi yang variatif, tidak terkecuali sektor pariwisatanya. Salah satu desa yang memiliki potensi wisata serta telah memiliki BUM Desa adalah Kopeng. Adanya potensi wisata di Kopeng dikemas dalam wujud desa wisata, kondisi ini mendorong pertumbuhan UMKM di sekitar. Namun, UMKM di desa ini belum menunjukkan adanya ekspansi bisnis secara masif dengan ciri khas variatif maupun inovatif. Hal ini salah satunya dilatarbelakangi oleh pencatatan laporan keuangan yang masih sangat sederhana dan kurang sistematis, serta kurangnya pengetahuan UMKM mengenai pemisahan kekayaan pribadi dan aset bisnis. Kondisi tersebut membuat para pelaku UMKM kesulitan untuk mencetuskan strategi pemasaran maupun ekspansi bisnis yang lebih luas, terutama terkait dengan alokasi anggaran. Hal inilah yang mendorong pengabdian bertema “Scale Up Kapabilitas Keuangan Badan Usaha Milik Desa dengan Aplikasi Sistem Informasi Desa Mandiri (SIDesRi)”. Metode pengabdian dilaksanakan mulai dari persiapan, sosialisasi dan pelatihan, serta pemantauan lapangan. Adanya pengabdian yang berisi kegiatan peningkatan literasi keuangan dan pengenalan aplikasi pencatatan keuangan digital ini diharapkan mampu mendorong kapabilitas keuangan UMKM dan BUM Desa pada khususnya serta dihasilkan laporan keuangan yang lebih sistematis dan praktis, sehingga pertumbuhan bisnis UMKM yang lebih maju dan inovatif dapat terwujud.

The colonization and expansion of any plant species into a novel environment depend on its structural and functional characteristics. Therefore, developing better control measures for any invasive plant species requires examining and understanding the mechanisms underlying its reproduction and adaptation to the environment it invades. Recently, a novel exotic species Cylindropuntia rosea (DC.) Backeb. has been identified in Baljurashi, Al-Baha province, in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Reports suggest that this species may become invasive with the current rate of habitat expansion in Baljurashi. Although C. rosea is an important invasive species, most of its morpho-anatomical and physiological characteristics have not been examined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the morpho-anatomical and related physiological adaptations of C. rosea in its new habitats in the southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia. We observed that the species is well-equipped for invasion with traits to handle semi-arid conditions, including some morphological and anatomical features, CAM photosynthetic pathway, high growth rate, and highly effective defense mechanisms against herbivores and insects. These morpho-anatomical and physiological characteristics contribute to the high invasiveness of this species in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are at high risk of dyslipidemia, which in turn is associated with macrovascular diseases, such as heart diseases and stroke, and microvascular diseases, such as neuropathy and nephropathy. There are contradictory findings in the literature regarding the relationship between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and the lipid profile among T2DM patients. This study was performed to investigate the association between HbA1c level and the lipid profile in elderly T2DM patients at a primary care hospital in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Prince Abdul Majeed Healthcare Center (PAMHC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The sociodemographic and clinical data of the T2DM patients who had visited the PAMHC from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, were collected from the data registry of the PAMHC and analyzed for publication. Results: The study included a total of 988 T2DM patients (53.3% male). Of the participants, 42.9% were aged between 55 and 64 years. Dyslipidemia parameters were presented as high LDL-c (in 60.3% cases), low HDL-c (in 39.8% cases), high triglycerides (in 34.9% cases), and high total cholesterol (in 34.8% cases). The correlation of HbA1c with total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TGs) was positively significant, thereby highlighting the important link between glycemic control and dyslipidemia. A mean increase of 4.88 mg/dL and 3.33 mmHg in TG level and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, was associated with the male gender, in comparison to the female gender. However, the male gender was significantly associated with the reduction in the mean cholesterol level, BMI, HbA1c, HDL-c, and LDL-c by 11.49 mg/dL, 1.39 kg/m2, 0.31%, 7.47 mg/dL, and 5.6 mg/dL, respectively, in comparison to the female gender. Conclusions: The results of this study show that HbA1c was significantly associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the T2DM patients included in the study. Our findings highlight the important relationship between glycemic control and dyslipidemia.

Introduction: Hydrogels are a three-dimensional network of polymeric matrices with the ability to absorb water through chemical or physical cross-linking. Recently, the development of bio-based hydrogel with the aim of reducing the use of fossil fuel is becoming interested. Wheat filter flour (WFF) is a by-product obtained from air-classification in the modern wheat milling industry. It contains a high level of non-endosperm materials with the ability of water absorption and bio-film making capacity. Nevertheless, hydrogel-based films usually display weak water resistance, flexibility problems, and gas barrier properties. Carvacrol as a phenolic component is used to improve the functional properties of film and reduce the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. Materials and Methods: Hydrogel based films were prepared by casting technique. Six grams of WFF was added to 100 ml of distilled water, the pH of the solution was adjusted near to 10.7 with NaOH solution (1 N). The dispersion was heated up to 85°C, with gentle stirring at 250 rpm for 30 min.Glycerol (35 g/100g of dry polymer) was then added and stirred for another 15 min. Carvacrol, as an active agent incorporated at two concentrations (5 and 10% (g/100g of dry polymer)) and stirred for another 15 min at 40°C and dried in a forced-air oven at 35± 5°C for 24 h. Physical (density, water-solubility, moisture content), mechanical, barrier and antimicrobial properties of active hydrogel-based film were determined. Antimicrobial properties of active hydrogel-based were evaluated in the vapor phase by using the micro- atmosphere method and liquid medium (immersion in broth) as a food model system. Statistical analyses were performed on a completely randomized design with the analysis of variance procedure using SAS software. Results and Discussion: Increasing the carvacrol concentration in the film making solution led to decreasing the water solubility, moisture content, and hydrophobicity properties of WFF based films. The SEM observations confirmed a porous structure of the active hydrogel-based film. The highest water vapor permeability (1.32×10-10 gm-1s-1Pa-1) and the minimum water solubility (37.01± 0.63%) were observed in hydrogel film with 10% carvacrol. An increase in the concentration of carvacrol produced a greater growth inhibition zone for all microorganisms. The results in vapor phase showed that A.niger exhibited greater sensitivity to carvacrol than other studied bacteria. Hydrogel based films with 5% carvacrol in liquid food model system produced 1.16 and 1.34 log reduction against E. coli and L. monocytogenes, respectively. The greatest antibacterial activity was observed with films containing 10% carvacrol against L. monocytogenes (2.71 log reduction). This work suggested that the WFF hydrogel base film with 10% carvacrol can be used as an active packaging for improving the safety and shelf-life of food products.

Introduction In Saudi Arabia, the epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not well studied and is marked by inconsistencies in clinical diagnosis. Therefore, in this study, we explored the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and diagnostic validity of a prediction score based upon disease markers in orthropedic clinics’ patients in the Madinah region of Saudi Arabia. Method The clinical data for this retrospective cross-sectional study were retrieved from the database registry of orthopedic clinics in selected hospitals of the Medinah province of Saudi Arabia. Sociodemographic features, disease markers and the clinical characteristics were collected for a period of 6 months, from December 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The prediction score was generated from the sum of disease markers, coded as dichotomous variables. Results The total sample size of our study was 401. The prevalence of RA in the study subjects (n = 401) was 14.46% (n = 58). Among RA patients, the majority were females (60.3%). Painful joints (69%) and swollen joints (51.7%) were the most common clinical complaints among RA patients. RA patients suffered from arthritis (51.7%) and experienced fatigue (46.6%), weight loss (44.8%), and loss of appetite (41.4%). Diabetes (55.2%) was the most common comorbidity in the RA patients. The sensitivity and specificity of the prediction score at the criterion score of 2.5 were 67.3% and 63.0%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.69 (95% CI [0.62–0.76]). Conclusion There was a moderately high prevalence of RA in patients visiting the orthropedic clinics of the selected hospitals of Madinah region of Saudi Arabia. The diagnostic validity of the prediction score, though promising, was slightly lower than the acceptable range.

Background and Objectives: Spirituality is an individual’s effort and searches for meaning and purpose in life. Spirituality includes the connection with religious beliefs and some of the chosen beliefs, values, and duties that give meaning to life to achieve the desired perfection. This study aimed to model the structural equations of the relationship between spirituality and psychological wellbeing mediated by spiritual health. Methods: This was a descriptive and correlational study, especially of cause-effect modeling. The statistical population included students of higher education centers in Sanandaj City, Iran, in 2018. Of them, 464 subjects were selected as the research sample by cluster random sampling approach. Measurement tools included researcher-made spirituality questionnaires (2020), Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being (1980), and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Paloutzian & Ellison, 1983). Results: Data analysis was performed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, heuristic factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis by structural equation modeling. The results on the model of the relationship between spirituality, psychological well-being, and spiritual health indicated the acceptable desirability of the indicators of goodness of fit of the model (P≤0.01). Other results suggested that higher levels of spirituality were associated with psychological well being and spiritual health. Conclusion: The present research data revealed an overlap between spirituality, psychological well-being, and spiritual health. Spirituality positively affected psychological wellbeing and spiritual health concerning individual and social adjustment

التَّعليم هو الأداة الأهم التي تحقق النُّهوض الإنساني وقيام المجتمعات، وارتبطت هذه الوظيفة بتحقيق وظيفة التَّزكية، يسعى البحث إلى توضيح ماهية وظيفة التَّعليم والتَّزكية التي أُنيطت بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ودراستهما في ضوء المصطلحات العلمية المعاصرة، ابتدأ البحث بتوضيح مفهوم التَّعليم والتَّنمية ودلالة العلوم الإنسانية عليها، ثم وضَّح التأصيل العلمي لعلاقة التَّعليم بالتَّنمية وكونهما من الوظائف المنوطة بالإنسان، وبين البحث أن التَّزكية في الاصطلاح القرآني أشمل من مفهوم التَّنمية، وتضمن فلسفة كاملة تتضمن: الغايات، والمضامين التَّعليمية، والخصائص، ثم بين البحث: المؤشرات العامة للمنهج النَّبويّ في هذا المجال، والتي جعلت هذا التَّعليم يؤتي ثماره في صناعة التَّنمية في عصر النُّبوَّة، واستدل البحث على هذه العناوين من خلال نصوص القرآن والسُّنَّة ووقائع السِّيرة النَّبويّة، وخَلُصَ البحث إلى أنَّ التَّعليم هو الرَّافعة الحضارية للإنسان والمجتمع في زمن النُّبوَّة، وأنَّ التَّعليم يقصد به التَّعليم في ضوء رؤية الوحي والذي يشمل كل النواحي الحياتية، وأنَّ التَّطبيقات المعاصرة للتَّعليم لا بد لها من التَّأسي بالنموذج النَّبويّ في فهم فلسفة التَّعليم وربطه بالتَّنمية، لأنَّ التَّعليم الديني اليوم له دور مُهمَّ في القيام ببناء الفرد والمجتمع والمحافظة على الاعتدال في الفكر والسُّلوك، وصيانة المجتمع والعالم عن بواعث الجهل والتطرف.

BackgroundThe use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients who have both atrial fibrillation (AF) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring hemodialysis remains controversial, with warfarin remaining the mainstay of the treatment. As hemodialysis patients were excluded from most clinical DOACs trials, the evidence of their efficacy and safety is lacking in this cohort of patients.AimTo review the current evidence investigating safety profile and the efficacy of DOACs in comparison with warfarin in patients with AF and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring hemodialysis.Methods and ResultsWe included five studies with a total of 34,516 patients in our meta-analysis. The outcomes were major bleeding, ischemic stroke, systemic embolization, hemorrhagic stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding, minor bleeding, and death. Of these patients, 31,472 (92.14%) received warfarin and 3,044 patients received DOACs (8.91%). No significant differences in the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke, major bleeding, hemodialysis access site bleeding, ischemic stroke, and GI bleeding were found between DOACs and warfarin. However, there were higher rates of systemic embolization, minor bleeding, and death events in patients who received DOACs than in the warfarin group (3.39% vs. 1.97%, P-value = 0.02), (6.78% vs. 2.2%, P-value 0.02), and (11.38% vs. 5.12%, P-value < 0.006) respectively.ConclusionIn patients on dialysis who require anticoagulation for AF, warfarin could be associated with a significant reduction in minor bleeding, systemic embolization, and death compared to DOACs. These findings need to be validated by further prospective studies to address the best strategy to deal with the increased thrombotic and bleeding risks in such patients.

The significance of pretransplant donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) despite negative complement-dependent lymphocytotoxicity crossmatch (CDC-XM) would be useful for clinical decision-making. Hence, we aimed to determine the impact of pretransplant DSA despite negative crossmatch on the outcome of kidney transplantation. One hundred and eleven kidney recipients were prospectively enrolled in this study after being transplanted at Hamed Al-Essa Organ Transplant Center of Kuwait between January 2011 and December 2013. Of them, 50 recipients with positive DSA at the time of transplant were subjected to desensitization (Group 1). Three local protocols were utilized; first included plasma exchange, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and rituximab; second included immunoadsorption plus RTX, and the third included high-dose IVIG and rituximab. The second group included 61 recipients with negative DSA. All recipients had negative CDC-XM and flow cytometry crossmatch at the time of transplant. Panel-reactive antibody (±DSA) levels with mean fluorescence intensity and graft function were monitored along the first 24 months for all patients. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding early posttransplant graft function, patient and graft survivals. Pretransplant DSA with negative CXM carries a minimal clinical risk with optimized immunosuppression.

Abstract Background Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) represents an increasing morbidity in the general population, but more so in the elderly cohort of patients. Despite this, the concept of its prevention through prospective analysis has largely remained unexamined. We evaluated the utility of recently validated adverse drug reactions (ADR) avoidability tool in a cohort of elderly patients with DILI. Methods We examined 38 DILI-drug pairs from n=38 patients in a prospective cohort of patients presenting with adverse drug reactions to a Weill Cornell-affiliated tertiary hospital between February 2019 and January 2020. DILI outcomes were adjudicated by the updated Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM). Two clinical pharmacologists and two general physicians utilized the Liverpool adverse drug reactions avoidability tool (LAAT) and the modified Hallas tools to rate the preventability of DILI-drug pairs. Inter-rater, exact agreement proportions, as well as intraclass correlation coefficients were generated and expressed as ordinal outcomes. Results The cases examined for the determination of DILI avoidability had probability likelihood of “probable” or “highly probable” by the updated RUCAM scale. Examination of the 38 DILI-drug pairs (n= 38 patients) resulted in a total of 152 ordinal outcome decisions. We found about 32.3% (50/152) and 34.2% (52/152) of DILI-drug pairs were rated as “avoidable” (“probable” or “definite”) by the LAAT and the modified Hallas tools respectively. The overall median Krippendorf’s kappa with the LAAT was 0.61 (SE 0.12, CI 0.36, 0.85) and for modified Hallas tool was 0.53 (SE 0.18; CI 0.16, 0.89). The inter-rater correlation coefficient (ICC) for the LAAT and modified Hallas were 0.50 [0.32, 0.65] and 0.63 [0.48, 0.76] respectively. Exact pairwise agreement was present in 30/38 (IQR 29.5, 34.5), and 28/38 (IQR 27.5-35.5) of DILI-ADR pairs using the LAAT and modified Hallas tools respectively. Conclusion We found a significant proportion of drug-induced liver injury adjudicated by the updated RUCAM scale in elderly hospitalized cohort of patients were avoidable with significant implication for therapeutic commissioning as well as cost effectiveness interventions in this cohort of patients.

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here. Background and Objective: As universal concept that generally denotes a connection with a transcendental power and specifically defined as a search for finding a purpose in life, spirituality has gained attention in academic, educational, and cultural areas more than before. Therefore, it is a necessity to design and use the proper tools to measure this phenomenon. This study aims to develop and validate a questionnaire to “measure spirituality” among university students. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study with a statistical society of 464 university students in Sanandaj province. The research tools include a demographic and a spirituality questionnaire. Data analysis involved a two-phase approach including an exploratory factor analysis using principal components analyses method via varimax rotation approach, and confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling. In this study, all the ethical considerations were observed and the authors reported to conflicts of interest. Results: The results of Exploratory factor analysis pointed to the existence of two main dimensions named spiritual experiences and religious experiences which explained 56% of the variance in the spirituality questionnaire. Cronbach alpha coefficient for the dimensions confirmed in factor analysis including spirituality experiences and religious experiences and for the whole questionnaire was 0/88, 0/90, and 0/92, respectively. Convergent validity of the spirituality questionnaire, measured by Parsian and Dunning Spirituality questionnaire, was 0/66. Conclusion: The findings indicated that, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) of this model is acceptable and could be used as a reliable tool in measurement of university students’ spirituality scale, health psychology, and spirituality well-being. For downloading the full-text of this article please click here. Please cite this article as: Shakerian A, Maroofi Y, Nateghi F. Development and Validation of the Spirituality Questionnaire among University Students in Higher Educational Centers of Sanandaj in 2017. Journal of Pizhūhish dar dīn va salāmat. 2020;6(1):100-115. https://doi.org/10.22037/jrrh.v6i1.21301

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an incurable neoplasm of B-lymphocytes, which accounts for about one-third of all leukemias. Ocimum sanctum, an herbaceous perennial, is considered as one of the important sources of drugs for the treatment of various diseases, including cancers and autoimmune diseases. The present study was designed to screen various phytochemicals of O. sanctum for discovering their potential to inhibit Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), a well-known drug target of CLL. Various phytochemicals of O. sanctum were screened for their potential to inhibit BTK using several in silico protocols. First, the molecular docking approach was used to calculate the docking scores of the selected phytochemicals. Then, the selected top-ranked phytochemicals were screened for their physicochemical characteristics using ADME analysis. Finally, the stability of the selected compounds in their corresponding docking complexes with BTK was analysed using molecular dynamics simulations. Primarily, our observations revealed that, out of the 46 phytochemicals of O. sanctum, six compounds possessed significantly better docking scores (ranging from −9.2 kcal/mol to −10 kcal/mol). Their docking scores were comparable to those of the control inhibitors, acalabrutinib (−10.3 kcal/mol), and ibrutinib (−11.3 kcal/mol). However, after ADME analysis of these top-ranked six compounds, only three compounds (Molludistin, Rosmarinic acid, and Vitexin) possessed drug likeliness characteristics. During the MD analysis, the three compounds Molludistin, Rosmarinic acid, and Vitexin were found to remain stable in the binding pocket in their corresponding docking complexes with BTK. Therefore, among the 46 phytochemicals of O. sanctum tested in this study, the three compounds, Molludistin, Rosmarinic acid, and Vitexin are the best inhibitors of BTK. However, these findings need to be confirmed by biological experiments in the laboratory.

Nanotechnology based on nanoscale materials is rapidly being used in clinical settings, particularly as a new approach for infectious illnesses. Recently, many physical/chemical approaches utilized to produce nanoparticles are expensive and highly unsafe to biological species and ecosystems. This study demonstrated an environmentally friendly mode of producing nanoparticles (NPs) where Fusarium oxysporum has been employed for generation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which were further tested for their antimicrobial potentials against a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. The characterization of NPs was completed by UV–Vis spectroscopy, DLS and TEM, where it has been found that the NPs were mostly globular, with the size range of 50 to 100 nm. The myco-synthesized AgNPs showed prominent antibacterial potency observed as zone of inhibition of 2.6 mm, 1.8 mm, 1.5 mm, and 1.8 mm against Vibrio cholerae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus anthracis, respectively, at 100 µM. Similarly, at 200 µM for A. alternata, A. flavus and Trichoderma have shown zone of inhibition as 2.6 mm, 2.4 mm, and 2.1 mm, respectively. Moreover, SEM analysis of A. alternata confirmed the hyphal damage where the layers of membranes were torn off, and further EDX data analysis showed the presence of silver NPs, which might be responsible for hyphal damage. The potency of NPs may be related with the capping of fungal proteins that are produced extracellularly. Thus, these AgNPs may be used against pathogenic microbes and play a beneficial role against multi-drug resistance.

Background: Adherence to behavioral respiratory hygiene practices is essential in preventing the transmission of COVID-19, especially given the appearance of new variants of the COVID-19 virus. This study estimated the pre- and post-vaccination levels of adherence to COVID-19 preventive behavioral measures among vaccinated people. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the sociodemographics and preventive behavioral measures, and pre- and post-vaccination data, via a questionnaire. Paired t-tests and Chi-squared tests were used to assess the variation in adherence levels. Results: Of the 480 participants, 57.9% were male, and 30.4% were aged between 30 and 39 years of age. After vaccination, there was a statistically significant decline in adherence to all the assessed behavioral protective measures (p < 0.05). Being 50 years old or older, female, a healthcare worker, and a smoker were associated with higher adherence levels compared with other groups in the same categories. Conclusions: A change in the behavior of the community members regarding COVID-19 after receiving the vaccination and a reduction in adherence to respiratory hygiene practices was observed. This indicates the importance of raising awareness about the possibility of reinfection with COVID-19 despite the vaccination, and the importance of behavioral respiratory hygiene for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Artisanal cheeses are known as the source of beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and characterize LAB with different proteolytic activities from Iranian artisanal white cheeses. The isolates were classified into low, medium, and high proteolytic activity clusters via K-means clustering and identified as Lactiplantibacillus (Lpb.) pentosus L11, Lpb. plantarum L33, and Enterococcus faecium L13, respectively. Some safety tests (such as resistance to antibiotics, hemolytic activity, and biogenic amine production), probiotic properties (including cell surface hydrophobicity, auto/co-aggregation, and antibacterial activity), and production of volatile compounds were evaluated. These were non-hemolytic and non-biogenic amine producers, and showed no irregular antibiotic resistance. Lpb. plantarum L33 had the highest hydrophobicity (30.55%) and auto-aggregation (49.56%), and the highest co-aggregation was observed for Lpb. pentosus L11 with Staphylococcus aureus (61.51%). The isolates also showed a remarkable antibacterial effect against pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, Lpb. pentosus L11 and Lpb. plantarum L33 with low and medium proteolytic activity produced a wider range of volatile compounds in milk compared to the strain with a high proteolytic effect. The results showed that a probiotic strain with low or medium proteolytic activity could improve the flavor characteristics of fermented milk.

Background. Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a disease that affects the basement membrane of the glomeruli of the kidney resulting in proteinuria. The concurrent incidence of vasculitic glomerulonephritis and MN in the same patient is unusual. Herein, we report a case with this unusual combination. Case. Our patient is a 53-year-old Hispanic male with a medical history of tobacco use, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension who presented with hematuria and was found to have nephrotic range proteinuria and renal impairment. Blood workup revealed positive ANCA serology, which led to a renal biopsy that showed crescentic vasculitis in addition to membranous nephropathy. The patient was started on intermittent hemodialysis (HD) and treated initially with intravenous (IV) pulse steroids; subsequently, oral prednisolone and IV cyclophosphamide were initiated. The patient remained HD dependent at the time of discharge with the resolution of hematuria. A follow-up with an outpatient nephrology clinic was arranged. Conclusion. Membranous nephropathy complicated by crescentic glomerulonephritis has a more aggressive clinical course and decline in renal function compared to MN alone which can lead to initiating renal replacement therapy. However, immunosuppressive drugs can result in significant improvement of renal function if started early enough.

Heart sounds convey important information regarding potential heart diseases. Currently, heart sound classification attracts many researchers from the fields of telemedicine, digital signal processing, and machine learning—among others—mainly to identify cardiac pathology as quickly as possible. This article proposes chaogram as a new transform to convert heart sound signals to colour images. In the proposed approach, the output image is, therefore, the projection of the reconstructed phase space representation of the phonocardiogram (PCG) signal on three coordinate planes. This has two major benefits: (1) it makes possible to apply deep convolutional neural networks to heart sounds and (2) it is also possible to employ a transfer learning scheme by converting a heart sound signal to an image. The performance of the proposed approach was verified on the PhysioNet dataset. Due to the imbalanced data on this dataset, it is common to assess the results quality using the average of sensitivity and specificity, which is known as score, instead of accuracy. In this study, the best results were achieved using the InceptionV3 model, which achieved a score of 88.06%.

Objectives We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of observational studies to investigate the association between diabetes, hypertension, body mass index (BMI) or smoking with the risk of death in patients with COVID-19 and to estimate the proportion of deaths attributable to these conditions.Methods Relevant observational studies were identified by searches in the PubMed, Cochrane library and Embase databases through 14 November 2020. Random-effects models were used to estimate summary relative risks (SRRs) and 95% CIs. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the Cochrane methods and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework.Results A total of 186 studies representing 210 447 deaths among 1 304 587 patients with COVID-19 were included in this analysis. The SRR for death in patients with COVID-19 was 1.54 (95% CI 1.44 to 1.64, I2=92%, n=145, low certainty) for diabetes and 1.42 (95% CI 1.30 to 1.54, I2=90%, n=127, low certainty) for hypertension compared with patients without each of these comorbidities. Regarding obesity, the SSR was 1.45 (95% CI 1.31 to 1.61, I2=91%, n=54, high certainty) for patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 compared with those with BMI

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a large family of man-made organic, ubiquitous, and persistent contaminants with endocrine-disrupting properties. PCBs have been associated with numerous adverse health effects and were classified as carcinogenic to humans, but their long-term impact on mortality risk in the general population is unknown. Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to assess whether background exposure levels of PCBs increase all-cause and cancer- and cardiovascular-specific mortality risk in the general population. Methods: We searched the Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases for eligible studies up to 1st of January, 2021. We included cohort and nested-case control studies comparing the lowest vs. the highest background exposure level of PCBs in the general population and reporting data for all-cause mortality and/or cancer-/cardiovascular-specific mortality. Studies reporting occupational and accidental exposures were excluded. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate summary relative risks (SRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity across studies was assessed by I2 statistics, and publication bias both graphically and using Egger’s and Begg’s tests. Quality of included studies was assessed using the National Toxicology Program/Office of Health Assessment and Translation (NTP/OHAT). Confidence in the body of evidence and related level of evidence were assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) based on the NTP/OHAT framework. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020178079). Results: The initial search led to 2,132 articles. Eight prospective cohort studies met our inclusion criteria, leading to 72,852 participants including 17,805 deaths. Overall exposure to PCBs was not statistically significantly associated with all-cause mortality (SRR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.90–1.41, n = 7 studies, low certainty); however, dietary exposure to PCBs was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular-specific mortality (SRR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.14–1.66, n = 3 studies, moderate certainty), while no association was found with cancer-specific mortality (SRR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.72–1.59, n = 5 studies, low certainty). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggests that background exposure to PCBs is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular-specific mortality in the general population with a “moderate” level of evidence. These findings should be interpreted with caution given the small number of studies on mortality in the general population.

Reverse innovation refers to learning from or diffusion of innovations developed in low income settings and further translated to industrialized countries. There is lack of consensus regarding terminology, but the idea that innovations in low-income countries are promising for adoption in high-income contexts is not new. However, in healthcare literature globally, the vast majority of publications referring to ‘disruptive innovation’ were published in the last ten years. To assess the potential of innovative developments and technologies for improving animal health, we initiated a literature review in 2020. We used a combined approach, incorporating targeted searching in PubMed using a key word algorithm with a snowball technique, to identify 120 relevant publications and extract data for qualitative coding. Heterogeneity of articles precluded meta-analysis, quality scoring and risk of bias analysis. We can distinguish technical innovations like new digital devices, diagnostic tests and procedures, and social innovations of intersectoral cooperation. We profile two case studies to describe potential global innovations: an integrated surveillance and response system in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia and a blockchain secured One Health intervention to optimally provide post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies exposed people in West Africa. Innovation follows no borders and can also occur in low-income settings, under constraints of cost, lack of services and infrastructure. Lower administrative and legal barriers may contribute to produce innovations that would not be possible under conditions of high density of regulation. We recommend using the term global innovation, which highlights those emanating from international partnership to solve problems of global implications.

Context: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a noncontagious, inflammatory, chronic and recurrent disease. The prevalence of HS is estimated to be between less than 1 and 4%. It is more common in females than males at a 2:1 ratio. Many cases of HS are either misdiagnosed or remain undiagnosed. Aims: To assess knowledge of diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa by Ministry of Health primary health care physicians in Jeddah city, 2019 and to identify the determinants and knowledge of diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa. Settings and Design: An analytical cross-sectional study conducted in Jeddah city, 2019, among primary health care physicians of the MOH. Methods and Material: Estimated sample size was 114. The required primary health care centers were 38 centers. The centers were chosen by a simple random sampling technique. A reliable self-administered questionnaire was used. Ethical approval was obtained. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics consisted of means, standard deviations, frequency tables, cross tabulation and charts). Categorical variables were compared using the chi–square test to determine significant relationships between variables. Results: 65.4% (68) diagnosed the disease correctly. Most of their knowledge came from clinical practice (39.4%). There was a significant relationship with current job title and medical degree (P-value < 0.0005). Conclusion: The present study showed good knowledge about and ability to diagnose HS. A more advanced medical degree and more years of clinical experience was positively associated with the ability to diagnose HS.