EFFECTS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES ON THYROID GLAND STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN FEMALE RATS

Objective: Due to their unique properties, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) gained a broad utilization in nano-based industries and medicine, which may expose human to increased levels of NPs. However, little is known about their potential harmful effects on endocrine physiology. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the potential dose- and time-dependent outcomes of AgNPs on serum levels of thyroid hormones and thyroid gland histology in female rats.Methods: A total of 60 female rats were divided into three groups (each of 20 animals), treated with AgNPs for (10, 20, and 30) days. Within each treatment period, animals were assigned into four subgroups each of five rats; control treated with vehicle and the others treated with 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg of AgNPs, respectively, by intraperitoneal injection. At the end of treatments, all rats were sacrificed; blood samples were obtained and analyzed for serum levels of T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Thyroid gland was removed and weighed then kept in buffered formalin solution for microscopic examination.Results: The data showed a significant increase in the weight of the thyroid gland after 20 and 30 days of the treatment with 50 mg/kg of AgNPs, while the 25 mg/kg dose of AgNps resulted in significant increase only after 30 days. Serum levels of T3 and TSH were nonsignificantly altered by AgNPs in all the treatment groups. Thyroxin levels (T4) were significantly decreased after long-term exposure. Histological specimens of AgNPs treated group showed disturbance of the normal architecture of the thyroid tissue with degeneration of thyroid follicles and desquamated luminal cells.Conclusion: The results of the current study suggested the possible disrupting potential of long-term exposure to high level of AgNPs on thyroid gland function and histology in female rats

Knowledge, Information, and Water Treatment Behavior of Residents in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Access to safe drinking water plays a crucial role in the overall social and economic development of a community. Unsafe water delivered to household taps increases the risks of waterborne diseases and threatens population health. Consumers can adopt a number of averting behaviors such as filtering or boiling their water. While these approaches are effective in reducing the likelihood of contracting a waterborne disease, not all households treat their water. Given this, it is important to develop a better understanding of factors that influence water treatment behavior. In this paper, we examine determinants of water treatment behavior using survey data (N=1200) from Kathmandu, Nepal. In particular, this paper focuses on the impacts of knowledge, exposure to information, and community participation on drinking water treatment behavior. Previous research has found that income, education level, awareness, and exposure to media are major factors that impact the individual-level decision to treat water before using it. We contribute to this literature by explicitly examining how knowledge about waterborne diseases, exposure to water quality information campaigns, and participation in community organizations impact drinking water treatment behavior. The results from probit regression analyses suggest that either a one percentage increase in the knowledge index or community participation index both increase the likelihood of utilizing drinking water treatment methods by about 0.17 percentage points. Households connected to the distribution system are 31 percentage points more likely to treat water compared to those that are not connected to the system. Multinomial results indicate that wealthier households use more than one treatment method

Generating optical orbital angular momentum at visible wavelengths using a plasmonic metasurface

The authors acknowledge the support of the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program.Light beams with a helical phase-front possess orbital angular momentum along their direction of propagation in addition to the spin angular momentum that describes their polarisation. Until recently, it was thought that these two ‘rotational’ motions of light were largely independent and could not be coupled during light–matter interactions. However, it is now known that interactions with carefully designed complex media can result in spin-to-orbit coupling, where a change of the spin angular momentum will modify the orbital angular momentum and vice versa. In this work, we propose and demonstrate that the birefringence of plasmonic nanostructures can be wielded to transform circularly polarised light into light carrying orbital angular momentum. A device operating at visible wavelengths is designed from a space-variant array of subwavelength plasmonic nano-antennas. Experiment confirms that circularly polarised light transmitted through the device is imbued with orbital angular momentum of ±2ħ (with conversion efficiency of at least 1%). This technology paves the way towards ultrathin orbital angular momentum generators that could be integrated into applications for spectroscopy, nanoscale sensing and classical or quantum communications using integrated photonic devices.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Use of intravenous iron polymaltose in the management of iron deficiency in pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Intravenous iron polymaltose (IPM) is commonly utilised in pregnancy when oral treatment is not tolerated or where rapid replenishment of iron stores is required, but data on use in pregnancy is scarce. Aim: To examine the use, safety and efficacy of intravenous IPM in pregnancy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of pregnant women administered intravenous IPM between January 2014 and January 2016 at a Tertiary teaching hospital in Adelaide, Australia. Data on maternal characteristics, intravenous iron infusion details, and haematological parameters were collected from case notes and electronic records. Main outcome measures included indication for intravenous iron infusion, prevalence of infusion reactions, change in haemoglobin and correction of anaemia prior to delivery. Results: Intravenous IPM was administered in 213 pregnancies, 62.0% of women with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and the remainder (38.0%) with non-anaemic iron deficiency. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occurred in 24% of women, of which 32% required infusion cessation. Anaemia was still present at delivery among 7%, and 17% of women with mild, and moderate/severe anaemia respectively. Approximately one in five anaemic women received an intravenous IPM dose below that recommended by the local guideline, particularly in women with a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m² compared with <25 kg/m² (30.9% vs 6.3%; P < 0.001). Doses ‘at recommended’ resulted in a greater increase in haemoglobin from treatment until delivery than doses ‘below recommended’ (adjusted beta coefficient 8.4 g/L; 95% CI 2.7–14.1 g/L). Conclusion: Intravenous IPM is effective in treating IDA in pregnancy but is associated with a high prevalence of ADRs and treatment cessation.Alaa Qassim, Rosina G. Gergis, Bill Jeffries, Rosalie M. Grivell and Luke E. Grzeskowia

Attractor selection in semiconductor laser chaos generated by optoelectronic feedback

In this paper, an experimental and numerical study for the evolution of the non-linear dynamics of semiconductor laser has been done under two conditions, when the dc bias current of Semiconductor laser is varied, and when the feedback strength is varied. These dynamics were analyzed by time series and their extracted(FFT) power spectrums, phase diagrams (attractors),inter-spike intervals(ISI), these measurements enhanced by bifurcation diagram which explained the chaotic regimes. The stability states using different control parameters have been demonstrated. The role of control parameters of laser such as: dc bias current and feedback strength is proved in spiking generation and chaos control in the laser output

Repetition of For the Poets of Contury of Hegira Calendesound (Stylistics Study)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; يتعلق التكرار عند شعراء الغدير في القرن الثاني عشر الهجري،ببيعة الغديرِ وما تحملُ هذه الحادثة من الوقع في النفس نجد لها من مؤيدِ لها أو معارض، ولهذا نجد الشعراء المؤيدين في هذا العصر قد وصفوا هذا اليوم بأجمل العبارات التي تنم عن انتمائهم للولاية أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب (عليه السلام), فقد وردت بعض كِتاباتهم مشتملة&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; للأسلوب التكرار الذي يعبر عن أهميته تلك البيعة, إذ تعد هذه البيعة من أهم القضايا التي شهدها تاريخ المسلمين.&nbsp; &nbsp;This speech presents a research&nbsp; about&nbsp; sound&nbsp; repetition of AL-Ghadeer poets in twelfth century of hegira calender. This research deals with&nbsp; AL- Ghadeer pledge of allegiance(Bayat AL- Ghadeer)with all its effects and impressions in spirit.This event has support poets in this era put this day in the most beautiful phrases and expressions، The work and poetry expresses their adherence of AL- welaya thait&nbsp; Allah has granted to the commander of faithful AL- Emam Ali (peace be upon him). Their choice of sound repition style which expresses the importance and specialization. That AL-welaya cant&nbsp; be undertaken by anyone except. AL-Eman Ali (peace be upon him). AL- Ghadeer pledge of Allegiance considers the most important issues in Islamic history

Risk stratification and clinical utility of polygenic risk scores in ophthalmology

Combining genetic and clinical data into an informative risk prediction profile has been an important ambition of personalized medicine. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms are commonly found throughout the genome and account for the majority of interindividual genetic variation. To date, genome-wide association studies have led to the discovery of thousands of disease-associated loci, including across dozens of ophthalmic diseases and traits. However, compared with the clinical utility of identifying rare Mendelian variants, the translation of these results to clinical practice has so far been limited because such variants are found commonly in the population, and individually account for a very small risk. Recently, combining large numbers of these genetic variants into polygenic risk scores (PRS) has shown clinically meaningful risk prediction across several common diseases. PRS have the potential to translate the discovery of common risk variants into individualized disease risk prediction, prognostication, and may enable targeted treatments. In this context, we review the clinical utility of PRS in three common, genetically complex ophthalmic conditions: primary open angle glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and myopia. Translational Relevance: Common genetic variants can be used to effectively stratify the risk of disease development and progression and may be used to guide screening, triaging, monitoring, or treatment thresholds.Ayub Qassim, Emmanuelle Souzeau, Georgie Hollitt, Mark M. Hassall, Owen M. Siggs, and Jamie E. Crai