Diode laser assisted horizontal bone defect regeneration in the treatment of peri-implantitis

Our findings show the use of a diode laser to remove inflamed tissue and regenerate the horizontal bone defects around the implant. These findings could be applied in the clinic

Indirect Impact of Segregation Wall on the Investment in Renewable Energy in Palestine

Segregation wall played a pivotal role in making the renewable energy sector in Palestine insecure. This study assesses the direct and indirect effects of the Segregation Wall on investment in renewable energy in Palestine. Elucidate the possibility of confronting the policy of imposing unilateral sovereignty and clarifying the depth of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over energy sector and renewable energy sector by separating residential complexes, which exacerbated the economic problems in various governorates. The study also showed that the Palestinians are highly dependent on the Israeli occupation in the energy sector, which makes the idea of dependence of the Israeli occupation economy.The historical approach has been used to follow up the Israeli occupation policy in the energy sector, in addition to using the descriptive approach and analyzing the investment policy in renewable energy sector. The construction of 771km wall forced more than 41% of the Palestinians to abandon the lands that were confiscated from the lands close to the segregation wall, the wall confiscated many mountainous areas in West Bank that could be used to operate wind turbines. In addition to that 47.6% of Palestinian families lost their local source of income due to the construction of the segregation Wall, and the occupation authorities have demolished and closed many economic establishments near the segregation wall.The study recommended the importance of developing strategic plans by governmental and non-governmental agencies to promote investment in renewable energy, as the wall caused the demolition and closure of many economic institutions, which contributed to an increase in the poverty rate, which made it difficult to invest in renewable energy

Effects of Ketamine Versus Midazolam on Neurocognition at 24 Hours in Depressed Patients With Suicidal Ideation

You are prohibited from making this PDF publicly available.For reprints or permissions, contact [email protected]. ♦ © 2021 Copyright Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.It is illegal to post this copyrighted PDF on any website. e1J Clin Psychiatry 82:6, November/December 2021 Focus on Suicide ABSTRACT Objective: Subanesthetic ketamine rapidly reduces depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in some depressed patients. Its effects on neurocognitive functioning in such individuals with significant suicidal ideation is not well understood, even though certain neurocognitive deficits are associated with suicide behavior beyond clinical symptoms. Methods: In this study, depressed patients with clinically significant suicidal ideation (n = 78) underwent neuropsychological testing before and 1 day after double-blind treatment with intravenous ketamine (n = 39) or midazolam (n = 39). A subgroup randomized to midazolam whose ideation did not remit after initial infusion received open ketamine and additional neurocognitive testing a day after this treatment. The primary outcome was change in performance on this neurocognitive battery. The study was conducted between November 2012 and January 2017. Results: Blinded ketamine produced rapid improvement in suicidal ideation and mood in comparison to midazolam, as we had reported previously. Ketamine, relative to midazolam, was also associated with specific improvement in reaction time (Choice RT) and interference processing/cognitive control (computerized Stroop task)—the latter a measure that has been associated with past suicide attempt in depression. In midazolam nonremitters later treated with open ketamine and retested, reaction time and interference processing/cognitive control also improved relative to both of their prior assessments. Neurocognitive improvement, however, was not correlated with changes in depression, suicidal thinking, or general mood. Conclusions: Overall, ketamine was found to have a positive therapeutic effect on neurocognition 1 day after treatment on at least 1 measure associated with suicidal behavior in the context of depression. Results suggest additional independent therapeutic effects for ketamine in the treatment of depressed patients at risk for suicidal behavior

Moderating Role of Leverage Maturity on the Relationship Between CEO Duality and Asset Tangibility in Textile Firms: Evidence from Pakistan

This study investigates the moderating role of leverage maturity on the relationship between CEO duality and asset tangibility. The data consist of 101 textile firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2012 to 2017. To establish causality, thisstudy employed one step system generalized method of moment (system GMM)regression on panel data obtained through secondary sources. The results prove that CEO duality has a significant negative impact on asset tangibility but this impact is positively moderated by leverage maturity ratio during the study period. This study suggests that long term debt is a motivation for the management to hold more fixed assets in their asset structure because theseare collateralized when in need of external financing

Prevalence of chronic diseases in older Palestinian adults and common pharmacological interventions: a cross-sectional study

Background Older people (aged 60 years and older) are more susceptible than younger people to multiple medical disorders and are therefore more frequently exposed to polypharmacy. We investigated prevalence of chronic diseases and medical conditions, medications used, and associated sociodemographic factors among older adults of the Palestinian population.Methods A cross-sectional study was done between June, 2013, and January, 2014. The study population was Palestinians aged 60 years and older living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Study participants were selected in a stratified random manner. The sample was selected from all governorates (strata) according to the size of the population of each governate on the basis of census data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The research team visited and interviewed older residents in their houses.Questionnaire items were explained in informal language to participants by the interviewer, to ensure complete understanding, and answers were recorded by the interviewer. Informed written consent was obtained from each participant. The study design and protocols were revised and approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Al-Quds University.Findings 1574 older Palestinian adults were invited to participate, of whom 1192 (76%) enlisted. The mean age was 70·3 years (SD8·58, range 60–110 years). 55% (659 of 1192) were female and 45% (533) were male. The majority (84%; 996) were non-workers or retired; monthly income for 78% of participants (930) was less than 2500 NIS, which falls in the low-income group. More participants (78%; 934) had governmental health insurance than had private insurance (8%; 89) or no insurance (14%; 169). 40 chronic diseases and conditions were reported. The mean number of diseases reported per participant was 2·33 (SD1·68, range 0–11). Cardiovascular, endocrine, and musculoskeletal conditions were the most frequently reported. 66% of participants (787 of 1192) reported at least one cardiovascular condition, 40% (480) at least one endocrine condition, and 32% (385) at least one musculoskeletal condition. The most prevalent cardiovascular condition was hypertension, which affected 54% of participants (647); the most prevalent endocrine condition was diabetes (38·2%, 455); and the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition was arthritis (13·7%, 163). The total number of different types of medication (both prescribed and over-the-counter drugs) was 175. The mean number of medications per participant was 4·54 (SD2·83), and the highest number of different medications being taken by one participant was 17. Commonly prescribed therapeutic agents were aspirin (prescribed to 48% of participants, 575 of 1192), angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (34%, 403), diuretics (34%, 409), metformin (27%, 323), paracetamol (23%, 270), and protein pump inhibitors (23%, 275).Interpretation The findingsprovide insights into the most prevalent chronic diseases and conditions, as well as the most commonly used medications among older Palestinians. Cardiovascular, endocrine, and musculoskeletal conditions were the most prevalent diseases. Older Palestinians adults are subjected to polypharmacy, which should be assessed whenever they are evaluated for health problems, and drug interactions should be carefully checked. Physicians, pharmacists, health professionals, and health policymakers in Palestine should consider increasing citizens’ health awareness and encourage healthy lifestyles to decrease the incidence of these diseases.In addition, intersectoral cooperation between the governmental and non-governmental organisations will be key in the fight against chronic diseases in older Palestinian adults.Non

Desktop and Mobile Operating System Fingerprinting based on IPv6 Protocol using Machine Learning Algorithms

Operating system (OS) fingerprinting tools are essential to network security because of their relationship to vulnerability scanning and penetrating testing. Although OS identification is traditionally performed by passive or active tools, more contributions have focused on IPv4 than IPv6. This paper proposes a new methodology based on machine learning algorithms to build classification models to identify IPv6 OS fingerprinting using a newly created dataset. Unlike other proposals that mainly depend on TCP and IP generic features; this work adds other features to improve the detection accuracy. It also considers OSes installed in mobiles (Android and iOS). The experimental results have shown that the algorithms achieved high and acceptable results in classifying OSes. KNN and DT achieved high accuracy of up to 99%. SVM and GNB achieved 81% and 75%, respectively. Moreover, KNN, RF and DT achieved the best recall, precision, and f-score with almost the same as the achieved accuracy

Self-assembly of diclofenac prodrug intonanomicelles for enhancing the anti-inflammatory activity

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed for the treatment of various types ofinflammatory conditions. Diclofenac is a very common NSAID that is utilized to relieve pain and reduce feverand, most importantly, inflammation. However, it suffers from low water solubility and a low dissolutionprofile. Therefore, we aim to develop a new drug delivery system based on the synthesis of amphiphilicstructures that are capable of self assembling into nano-micelles which will be a water-soluble deliverysystem for the diclofenac. The amphiphilic structure consists of a hydrophilic moiety of triethylene glycol(TEG), polyethylene glycol PEG 400, or PEG 600 linked with the hydrophobic drug diclofenac throughan ester linkage. The diclofenac derivatives were successfully synthesized as confirmed by nuclearmagnetic resonance. Moreover, the formation of the micellar structure of the synthesized amphiphilicderivatives was confirmed by atomic force microscopy obtaining a spherical shape of the micelles withaverage diameters of 200 nm for Dic-PEG400-Dic, and 110 nm for Dic-PEG600-Dic. The critical micelleconcentration has been determined as 2.7 10 3mg mL 1for Dic-PEG400-Dic, and 1 10 4mg mL 1for Dic-PEG600-Dic. Thein vitrodiclofenac release profile by esterase enzyme was conducted andshowed almost complete conversion to free diclofenac within 35 h in the case of Dic-PEG400-Dicmicelles and more than 85% of Dic-PEG600-Dic micelles. Then the anti-inflammatory activity wasdetermined by testing the TNF-aproduction in LPS-stimulated Balb/c mice. Diclofenac micellessignificantly suppressed TNF-aproduction after a 5 mg kg 1dose was given. The developed micellesshowed TNF-ainhibition up to 87.4% and 84% after 48 hours of treatment in the case of Dic-PEG400-Dic and Dic-PEG600-Dic micelles respectively in comparison to 42.3% in the case of diclofenac alone.Dic-PEG400-Dic micelles showed the most potent anti-inflammatory activity with improved TNF-asuppression through time progress. Therefore, the developed nano-micelles provide a facile syntheticapproach to enhance diclofenac water solubility, improve the anti-inflammatory effect and achievea sustained release profile to get better patient compliance

Relationship between cognitive distortions and decision-making skills among Al-Quds University students

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between cognitive distortions and decision-making skills among Al-Quds University students. Methodology: The current research was performed on a sample of (264) male and female students chosen using the random method. Both of cognitive distortions and decision-making skills measurements have been used. Validity and reliability of the study instruments were tested, and it was clear that the instruments were sufficiently reliable (stable) enough to meet the objectives of the study. Main Findings: Findings showed a negative relationship between cognitive distortions and decision-making skills among Al-Quds University students, and also suggested that the means for the total score of cognitive distortions and decision-making skills were moderate. Over-thinking reflected the dominant domain of cognitive distortions. Findings also revealed differences in cognitive distortions in favor of females, Faculty of Humanities, and residents of the village. Applications of the study: The strength of the negative relationship between distortions and decision-making can be deduced, as there is a need to improve students’ understanding of the risks of cognitive distortions, and seek to enhance the ability of decision-making skills. Novelty: Decision-making is one of the cognitive processes resulted from multiple-choice. Cognitive distortions influence decision-making skills. Thus, the purpose of this study was to overcome the barriers to negative thinking and to improve student capacity for appropriate and effective decision-making skills. We can obtain this using a direct relationship between cognitive distortions and decision-making skills.The authors would like to thank Al-Quds university students for their participation in filling out the questionnaire

The long Non-coding RNA Orchestrator of Cancer Axis of EvilInsights into the Multiple Modes of Action of the H19 Gene

ncreasing evidence has indicated that the non-coding RNA molecules play central roles in almost all biological processes and many pathological conditions including carcinogenesis. This review focuses on the pathological tumorigenic role of the first discovered long non-coding RNA gene called H19 and its pivotal contribution to the cancer axis of evil. H19 RNA utilizes a variety of mechanisms to perform its pathological function. Some key unanswered questions are presented by the end. Understanding the H19 RNA mechanisms of action will shed light into the class of long non-coding RNA which contains contains thousands of members mostly with unknown functionn and will help in delineating the pathological role played by at least some of the

Systems and methods for cognitive diagnostics for neurological disorders: parkinson's disease and comorbid depression

A system for diagnosing a neurological disorder, Parkinson's Disease, and a comorbid mental health condition, major depressive disorder is provided. The system comprises a smart device and a device including a memory and a processor. The smart device allows a participant to perform a cognitive task and the device receives data collected from the smart device in connection with the cognitive task performed by the participant. The device determines whether the participant has Parkinson's Disease based on the data collected and via a classification algorithm. If the participant has Parkinson's Disease, the device determines whether the participant has comorbid major depressive disorder