Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection : The Phantom Menace

Articles © The authorsWe present a case of a 66-year-old lady with chest pain, without dynamic 12-lead electrocardiographic (ECG) changes and normal serial troponin. Coronary angiography revealed a linear filing defect in the first obtuse marginal branch of the circumflex artery indicating coronary artery dissection, with superadded thrombus. She was managed medically with dual antiplatelet therapy and has responded well. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of cardiac chest pain, which can be missed without coronary angiography. Unlike most other lesions in patients with unstable symptoms, where coronary intervention with stenting is recommended, patients with SCAD generally fare better with conservative measures than with intervention, unless there is hemodynamic instability.Peer reviewe

Effects of high activator content on fly ash-based geopolymers exposed to elevated temperatures

This article reports the influence of high alkaline activator content on the compressive strength and microstructure characteristics of a fly ash (FA) geopolymer system after exposure to elevated temperatures of 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C. The sequential changes in the geopolymer gel structure after exposure to elevated temperatures and their effects on the residual strength were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the high strength of the FA geopolymers reduced after exposure to 400 °C and 600 °C and failed in return any strength after exposure to 800 °C. The SEM results showed that the high activator content generated large quantities of unreacted crystals composed mainly from silicate underwent viscous sintering process at range of temperatures of 600 °C to 800 °C, and swelling resulting in system failure. XRD results showed that the geopolymers exposed to 800 °C exhibited significant decomposition in the aluminosilicate phase and amorphous hump compared to unexposed pattern

Some Hematological and Blood Biochemical Profile of Iraqi Riverine Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) During Different Gestation Periods

This study was conducted to demonstrate some hematological and blood biochemical profile of Iraqi riverine buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) during pregnancy. Ten out of 22 adult buffaloes of 4.6 ± 0.97 years old were used in this study. Blood samples was collected from each buffalo from mating (day 0), day 22-24 PM, 10-12 days interval during gestation period. Hemoglobin (Hb) was greater (P < 0.05) at days 103 - 106, 133 - 136 and 238 - 241 of pregnancy than those at 32 -34 days PM. The AST was highest at days 133 - 136 of pregnancy. Higher and lower ALP activity was noted at days 178-181 of gestation. A considerable increase in plasma albumin occurred at days 268 - 271 of gestation in comparison to days 42 - 44 PM. In conclusion, nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disorders during gestation in riverine buffaloes can be detected by monitoring blood alterations

Design and Construction of Sheabutter Extraction Machine for Rural Areas In The Developing Countries

Both industrial and domestic applications of oils/fats have necessitated lipids research and the best method of extraction. The design and construction of the sheabutter extractor was made with the view of improving the nutrients in sheabutter. The construction was made within the available local raw materials.· The extractor- which is portable and manually operated, is meant to serve r-ur-al areas in the developing countries. The sheabutter extractor was tested and was found to be sa tis factory

Epidemiological modelling of type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia :predicted trends and public health implications

PhD thesisBackground: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces one of the highest prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the world. However, there are no credible local data on the trends and future projections of the disease, and the relevant international studies underestimated the true prevalence rates. This thesis used epidemiological modelling to study the trends in T2DM prevalence in Saudi Arabia, predicted its future levels, and quantified the impact of reducing some risk factors on the disease prevalence trends. Methods: This thesis developed and validated the “Saudi IMPACT Diabetes Forecast Model”, which integrates data on the population, obesity and smoking prevalence trends in Saudis aged ≥25 years to estimate the trends in T2DM prevalence (1992-2022) using a Markov modelling approach. The model considers different reasonable scenarios of future trends in obesity prevalence, and incorporates a number of parameters to model the disease epidemiology. These parameters include the estimated diabetes incidence, case-fatality, total mortality, relative risk of diabetes if obese, and relative risk of diabetes if a smoker. The model data inputs and parameters were obtained from different sources, including local departments, medical literature and assumptions. The model results were validated against local data from the STEPwise survey in 2005, and against the model of the Global Burden of Disease study, where the model produced reasonably close results to both of these studies. Results: The prevalence of T2DM among the Saudi population aged ≥25 years was estimated to rise substantially during the 30-year period of 1992-2022 from 8.5% to 39.5%, assuming some levelling off of obesity trends (capping), or to 44.1%, assuming uncapped increasing obesity trends. In men, T2DM prevalence was estimated to increase from 8.7% to 39.2% with capped obesity trends, or to 41.3% with continuing linear increase in obesity trends. In women, T2DM prevalence was estimated to increase from 8.2% to 39.8% with capping of obesity trends, or to 47.7% without such a capping. The model showed that if the trends in obesity start to decline by 10% in 12 years (2010-2022), a relative reduction of 13% in diabetes prevalence could be achieved. If the prevalence of obesity was halted at the 2010 levels, a 10% relative reduction in diabetes prevalence could be attained by 2022. ii Conclusion: T2DM is currently a major public health challenge in Saudi Arabia, and this thesis predicted that its burden will increase substantially in the next decade. Intensive and aggressive preventive measures directed to reduce the levels of risk factors, particularly obesity and smoking, can result in reasonable reduction of the disease prevalence, and therefore should be an urgent action

Preparation and Evaluation of Electrical Properties of Plastic Composites Developed from Recycled Polystyrene and Local Clay

In this study, the development of polymer composites was achieved from local clay material and waste polystyrene by cold pressing method, the preparation, electrical, and physical behaviours of clay-polystyrene composites are described. Polystyrene based resin (PBR) was produced from waste polystyrene by solvolysis in petroleum solvent and mixed with the 100μm clay particles at 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% clay contents. Composite panels were prepared and tested for Physical and electrical properties. Metallurgical microscope was used for the microstructural studies. It was found that with the increase in clay content in PBR from 0 to 40%, there was a rise in density of the composite by about 11% with a simultaneous decrease in the void fraction or porosity from 5.3 % to 1.5%. It was also observed that the polymer composite with the filler loading of 40 wt% has the highest conductivity value of 1.88E-07 S/cm. The comparison of micrographs at 40x and 100x indicated a good dispersion and distribution of clay particles in the polystyrene matrix. The polymer composites produced can be adapted for applications where electrostatic dissipative materials are required.KEYWORDS: Electrical property, iron fillings, plastic composite, recycled polystyrene, clay particles

Development Of An SMS Based Alert Systemusing Object Oriented Design Concept

An automated lecture alert management system has been developed using java programming concept knownfor its portability. This backend system was interfaced with the GSM network through USB port of a PC and GSM modem. The desktop SMS application was developed using C# programming language. It generates updates and reminder from a time schedule stored in a database thereby making the system a time triggered application