Incorporating Betweenness Centrality in Compressive Sensing for Congestion Detection

This paper presents a new Compressive Sensing (CS) scheme for detecting network congested links. We focus on decreasing the required number of measurements to detect all congested links in the context of network tomography. We have expanded the LASSO objective function by adding a new term corresponding to the prior knowledge based on the relationship between the congested links and the corresponding link Betweenness Centrality (BC). The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by simulations on two real datasets. The results demonstrate that our model outperformed the state-of-the-art CS based method with significant improvements in terms of F-Score

Development of Optical Biosensor Technologies for Cardiac Troponin Recognition

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death among cardiovascular diseases. Among the numerous attempts to develop coronary marker concepts into clinical strategies, cardiac troponin is known as a specific marker for coronary events. The cardiac troponin concentration level in blood has been shown to rise rapidly for 4–10 days after onset of AMI, making it an attractive approach for a long diagnosis window for detection. The extremely low clinical sensing range of cardiac troponin levels consequently makes the methods of detection highly sensitive. In this review, by taking into consideration optical methods applied for cardiac troponin detection, we discuss the most commonly used methods of optical immunosensing and provide an overview of the various diagnostic cardiac troponin immunosensors that have been employed for determination of cardiac troponin over the last several years

A Novel Electrochemical Biosensor Based On Fe3O4 Nanoparticles-Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite for Sensitive Detection of Glucose

In this research, a new electrochemical biosensor was constructed for the glucose detection. Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were synthesized through co-precipitation method. Polyvinyl alcohol-Fe3O4 nanocomposite was prepared by dispersing synthesized nanoparticles in the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. Glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized on the PVA-Fe3O4 nanocomposite via physical adsorption. The mixture of PVA, Fe3O4 nanoparticles and GOx was drop cast on a tin (Sn) electrode surface (GOx/PVA-Fe3O4/Sn). The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Also, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques were utilized to evaluate the PVA-Fe3O4 and GOx/PVA-Fe3O4 nanocomposites. The electrochemical performance of the modified biosensor was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Presence of Fe3O4nanoparticles in the PVA matrix enhanced the electron transfer between enzyme and electrode surface and the immobilized GOx showed excellent catalytic characteristic toward glucose. The GOx/PVA-Fe3O4/Sn bioelectrode could measure glucose in the range from 5 × 10−3 to 30 mM with a sensitivity of 9.36 μA mM−1 and exhibited a lower detection limit of 8 μM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The value of Michaelis-Menten constant (KM) was calculated as 1.42 mM. The modified biosensor also has good anti-interfering ability during the glucose detection, fast response (10 s), good reproducibility and satisfactory stability. Finally, the results demonstrated that the GOx/PVA-Fe3O4/Sn bioelectrode is promising in biosensor construction

Evaluation of Glycated Albumin (GA) and GA/Hba1c Ratio for Diagnosis of Diabetes and Glycemic Control: A Comprehensive Review

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by chronic high blood glucose concentrations (hyperglycemia). When it is left untreated or improperly managed, it can lead to acute complications including diabetic ketoacidosis and non-ketotic hyperosmolar coma. In addition, possible long-term complications include impotence, nerve damage, stroke, chronic kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, foot ulcers, and retinopathy. Historically, universal methods to measure glycemic control for the diagnosis of diabetes included fasting plasma glucose level (FPG), 2-h plasma glucose (2HP), and random plasma glucose. However, these measurements did not provide information about glycemic control over a long period of time. To address this problem, there has been a switch in the past decade to diagnosing diabetes and its severity through measurement of blood glycated proteins such as Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and glycated albumin (GA). Diagnosis and evaluation of diabetes using glycated proteins has many advantages including high accuracy of glycemic control over a period of time. Currently, common laboratory methods used to measure glycated proteins are high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), immunoassay, and electrophoresis. HbA1c is one of the most important diagnostic factors for diabetes. However, some reports indicate that HbA1c is not a suitable marker to determine glycemic control in all diabetic patients. GA, which is not influenced by changes in the lifespan of erythrocytes, is thought to be a good alternative indicator of glycemic control in diabetic patients. Here, we review the literature that has investigated the suitability of HbA1c, GA and GA:HbA1c as indicators of long-term glycemic control and demonstrate the importance of selecting the appropriate glycated protein based on the patient’s health status in order to provide useful and modern point-of-care monitoring and treatment

Dextran Hydrogels Incorporated with Bioactive Glass-Ceramic: Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

A series of nanocomposite scaffolds comprised of dextran (Dex) and sol–gel derived bioactive glass ceramic nanoparticles (nBGC: 0–16 (wt%)) were fabricated as bioactive scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Scanning electron microscopy showed Dex/nBGC scaffolds were consisting of a porous 3D microstructure with an average pore size of 240 μm. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy illustrated nBGC nanoparticles were homogenously distributed within the Dex matrix at low nBGC content (2 wt%), while agglomeration was observed at higher nBGC contents. It was found that the osmotic pressure and nBGC agglomeration at higher nBGC contents leads to increased water uptake, then reduction of the compressive modulus. Bioactivity of Dex/nBGC scaffolds was validated through apatite formation after submersion in the simulated body fluid. Dex/nBGC composite scaffolds were found to show improved human osteoblasts (HOBs) proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity with increasing nBGC content up to 16 (wt%) over two weeks. Owing to favorable physicochemical and bioactivity properties, the Dex/nBGC composite hydrogels can be offered as promising bioactive scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

Development of Chitosan/Gelatin/Keratin Composite Containing Hydrocortisone Sodium Succinate as a Buccal Mucoadhesive Patch to Treat Desquamative Gingivitis

The aim of this research was to develop chitosan/gelatin/keratin composite containing hydrocortisone sodium succinate as a buccal mucoadhesive patch to treat desquamative gingivitis, which was fabricated through an environmental friendly process. Mucoadhesive films increase the advantage of higher efficiency and drug localization in the affected region. In this research, mucoadhesive films, for the release of hydrocortisone sodium succinate, were prepared using different ratios of chitosan, gelatin and keratin. In the first step, chitosan and gelatin proportions were optimized after evaluating the mechanical properties, swelling capacity, water uptake, stability, and biodegradation of the films. Then, keratin was added at different percentages to the optimum composite of chitosan and gelatin together with the drug. The results of surface pH showed that none of the samples were harmful to the buccal cavity. FTIR analysis confirmed the influence of keratin on the structure of the composite. The presence of a higher amount of keratin in the composite films resulted in high mechanical, mucoadhesive properties and stability, low water uptake and biodegradation in phosphate buffer saline (pH = 7.4) containing 104 U/ml lysozyme. The release profile of the films ascertained that keratin is a rate controller in the release of the hydrocortisone sodium succinate. Finally, chitosan/gelatin/keratin composite containing hydrocortisone sodium succinate can be employed in dental applications

Cloning of the Recombinant Cytochrome P450 Cyp141 Protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a Diagnostic Target and Vaccine Candidate

Background: Tuberculosis has been announced as a global emergency by World Health Organization and the second infectious agent of mortality worldwide. The general policy in the development of new vaccines is to develop some vaccines with higher efficiency not only for infants but also for adults compared with the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine. Recently, cytochrome P450 cyp141 has been introduced as a new target for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical samples. Objectives: The aim of this study was to clone this gene in order to pave the way for more evaluation. Materials and Methods: M. tuberculosis H37Rv DNA was extracted by a standard phenol-chlorophorm protocol. After designing the specific primers, P450 cyp141 gene was replicated by PCR. The purified PCR products were then subcloned into the pTZ57R/T plasmid vector. After extraction, enzyme digestion, and recombinant pTZ57R/T-cyp141 plasmid vector sequencing, the aforementioned products were cloned into a pET-26b plasmid vector. Then, the recombinant pET26b-cyp141 plasmid molecules were transformed to Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3) using the transformation method. Next, the recombinant pET26b-cyp141 plasmids were purified and evaluated by the enzyme digestion analysis. Results: The cloning of P450 cyp141 gene was confirmed by the enzyme digestion and sequencing of the recombinant pTZ57R/T-cyp141 and pET26b-cyp141 plasmid vectors. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that the P450 cyp141 gene was successfully cloned into a pET26b plasmid vector as an expression vector. In this paper, for the first time in Iran, this gene was cloned for more purposes, including the expression and purification of the recombinant cytochrome P450 cyp141 protein

The Etiology and Clinical Evaluations of Neonatal Seizures in Kashan, IRAN

How to Cite This Article: Talebian A, Jahangiri M, Rabiee M, Masoudi Alavi N, Akbari H, Sadat Z. The Etiology and Clinical Evaluations ofNeonatal Seizures in Kashan, IRAN. Iran J Child Neurol. Spring 2015;9(2):29-41. AbstractObjectiveDetection of seizure, its etiology, and clinical types is important for guiding therapy. This study was designed to evaluate the etiology and clinical evaluations of neonatal seizures in Kashan, Iran.Materials and MethodsThe data of 100 hospitalized neonates with a complaint of seizures in Kashan City, from January 2006 to January 2011 were evaluated. The pediatric neurologist made the final diagnosis. The gestational age, neonate admission age, type of delivery, and laboratory and radiological investigations were reviewed   from the medical records. The relation of seizure etiology and other variables were compared using the Chi-square test. All the statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (ver 11.5).ResultsA total of 100 neonates were hospitalized with a diagnosis of seizures. The overall incidence rate of seizures was 2.6 per 1,000 live births. A total of 59% of seizures happened in the first three days of life. The etiologies of seizures were hypoxicischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (36%), hyponatremia (12%), hypoglycemia (11%), intracranial hemorrhage (11%), infections (10%), hypocalcemia (8%), metabolic disorders (7%), the structural anomalies (5%), and hypomagnesaemia (4%). In 23% of neonates, no specific etiology was found and 23% had multiple etiologies. In 45% of neonates, the EEG was not recorded. The type of the seizures were focal-clonic (26%), tonic (25%), multifocal clonic (34%), subtle(11%), and myoclonic (4%). The types of the seizure were unrelated to the paraclinical findings.ConclusionNeonatal seizures are common and HIE was the main cause of seizures in this study. The clinical evaluation of neonatal seizures needs improvement