Degradation of zinc containing phosphate-based glass as a material for orthopedic tissue engineering

Phosphate-based glasses have been examined in many studies as a potential biomaterial for bone repair because of its degradation properties, which can be controlled and allow the release of various elements to promote osteogenic tissue growth. However most of these experiments studied either tertiary or quaternary glass systems. This study investigated a qinternary system that included titanium dioxide for degradation rate control and zinc that is considered to have a role in bone formation. Zinc and titanium phosphate glass discs of different compositions were melt synthesized and samples of each composition was tested for different physical, chemical and biological characteristics via density measurement, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, mass loss, ion release, scanning electron microscopy, biocompatibility studies via live/dead assays at three time points (day 1, 4, and 7). The results showed that the glass was amorphous and that the all thermal variables decreased as zinc oxide amount raised, mass loss as well as ion release increased as zinc oxide increased, and the maximum rise was with ZnO15. The cellular studies showed that all the formulation showed similar cytocompatibility properties with MG63 except ZnO15, which displayed cytotoxic properties and this was confirmed also by the scanning electron microscope images. In conclusion, replacing calcium oxide with zinc oxide in proportion less than 10 % can have a positive effect on bone forming cells

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Soils of the Gulf of Aqaba (Northwestern Saudi Arabia): Integration of Geochemical, Remote Sensing, GIS, and Statistical Data

Ghrefat, H.; Zaman, H.; Batayneh, A.; El Waheidi, M.M.; Qaysi, S.; Al-Taani, A.; Jallouli, C., and Badhris, O., 2021. Assessment of heavy metal contamination in the soils of the Gulf of Aqaba (Northwestern Saudi Arabia): Integration of geochemical, remote sensing, GIS, and statistical data. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(4), 864872. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Rock and soil sample geochemical analysis was conducted to investigate the extent and causes of soil contamination in the Gulf of Aqaba region in NW Saudi Arabia. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Co, Cr, Mn, Fe, Hg, Mo, and Cd in 23 soil samples and 25 samples from granitic and Cenozoic marine sedimentary formations. The geochemical results have been integrated with remote sensing, GIS, and statistical analysis to assess the severity of soil pollution in the area. The concentrations of heavy metals (ppm) in the collected soil samples were as follows: Fe (2259.70), Mn (101.85), Zn (20.15), Pb (10.74), Cr (8.67), Cu (6.10), Co (1.35), Mo (0.69), Hg (0.30), and Cd (0.17). A significant variation in the mean metal concentrations was observed for the rock samples. The correlation analysis results showed that different degrees of positive and negative relationships exist among different metals in the area. Two factors (PC1 and PC2) were identified using the principal component analysis (PCA) and were responsible for about 60% of the total variance in the data. The studied metals were separated and classified into two factors based on their geochemical features and source. In contrast, the hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the identified metals into different groups based on the similarity of their characteristics. The principal component (PC2) applied to the Sentinel-2A image classified the land cover in the area into three classes: vegetation, barren rocks, and urban area. The enrichment factor shows a relatively higher percentage of enriched Mo; however, the indices of geo-accumulation and potential ecological risk generally reveal no substantial metallic contamination in the study area. The main sources of soil contamination with metals are rock-weathering processes and various agricultural works that are widely practiced in the area

Physical properties and biocompatibility effects of doping SiO2 and TiO2 into phosphate-based glass for bone tissue engineering

Phosphate glass is continuing to gain more attention as potential bone substitutes. The ternary (P2O5-CaO-Na2O) is investigated in terms of both physical properties and biocompatibility by doping different percentages of SiO2 and TiO2. Two groups were prepared; the first has different percentages of TiO2 and SiO2, whereas the second group compositions have 5 mol% TiO2 and 5 mol% SiO2 being added to compensate the network-forming oxide P2O5 and the network-modifying oxide CaO. Density, mass loss, pH, DTA, XRD, and cation release experiments were performed to study the physicochemical properties of the compositions, while MG63 and hMS cells were used within in vitro cell culture to study their biocompatibility. Results showed that an increase in TiO2 content correlated with an increase in glass density, decreased mass loss, increased trend of Tg and Tm values, and Na+ and Ca2+ release in group 1. There was no improvement in the MG63 viability or the ability of hMSCs to differentiate into osteoblasts where TiO2 decreased in favour of SiO2. Furthermore, in group 2, 50P2O5-25CaO was less dense than 45P2O5-30CaO, degraded dramatically less, had lower Tg and Tm values and released less Na+ and Ca(2+). The synergistic effect of doping 5 mol% TiO2 and 5 mol% SiO2 increased the MG63 viability in both compositions and was found 45P2O5-30CaO to have promising results in terms of the ability of hMSCs to differentiate into osteoblasts. To conclude, substituting TiO2 in place of SiO2 improved the physical properties and the biocompatibility of (P2O5-CaO-Na2O) glass system, whereas doping 5 mol% SiO2 and 5 mol% TiO2 together in place of P2O5 and CaO had a synergistic effect in controlling their degradation rate and improving their biological responses

Strontium- and calcium-containing, titanium-stabilised phosphate-based glasses with prolonged degradation for orthopaedic tissue engineering.

Strontium- and calcium-releasing, titanium-stabilised phosphate-based glasses with a controlled degradation rate are currently under development for orthopaedic tissue engineering applications. Ca and/or Sr were incorporated at varying concentrations in quaternary phosphate-based glasses, in order to promote osteoinduction. Ti was incorporated at a fixed concentration in order to prolong degradation. Glasses of the general formula (P2O5)-(Na2O)-(TiO2)-(CaO)-(SrO) were prepared via the melt-quench technique. The materials were characterised by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, (31)P magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis and density determination. The dissolution rate in distilled water was determined by measuring mass loss, ion release and pH change over a two-week period. In addition, the cytocompatibility and alkaline phosphatase activity of an osteoblast-like cell line cultured on the surface of glass discs was assessed. The glasses were shown to be amorphous and contained Q(1), Q(2) and Q(3) species. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed small changes in the glass structure as Ca was substituted with Sr and differential thermal analysis confirmed a decrease in crystallisation temperature with increasing Sr content. Degradation and ion release studies also showed that mass loss was positively correlated with Sr content. These results were attributed to the lower electronegativity of Sr in comparison to Ca favouring the formation of phosphate-based mineral phases. All compositions supported cell proliferation and survival and induced at least 2.3-fold alkaline phosphatase activity relative to the control. Glass containing 17.5 mol% Sr had 3.6-fold greater alkaline phosphatase activity than the control. The gradual release of Ca and Sr supported osteoinduction, indicating their potential suitability in orthopaedic tissue engineering applications

Examine the Perceived Risk of Falls Among Patients Receiving Acute Care

Purpose: In an effort to lower the number of falls that occur among hospitalized patients, several facilities have begun introducing various fall prevention programs. However, the efficacy of fall prevention programs is diminished if patients do not consider themselves to be at risk for falls and do not follow recommended procedures. The goal of this study was to characterize how patients in four different acute care specialist services felt about their risk of falling while in the hospital. Methods: One hundred patients admitted to the study hospital with a Morse Fall Scale score of 45 or higher were given the Patient Perception Questionnaire, a tool designed to assess a patient's perception of their own fall risk, fear of falling, and motivation to take part in fall prevention efforts. Scores on the Morse Fall Scale were gathered through a historical assessment of medical records. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and independent sample t tests were used to examine the data. Results: The average age was 65, and around half (52%) were men and half (48%) were women. Based on their ratings on the Morse Fall Scale, all 100 participants were classified as being at high risk for falls. However, only 55.5% of the individuals agreed with this assessment. The likelihood that a patient would seek assistance and the degree to which they feared falling both declined as their faith in their mobility improved. Patients hospitalized after a fall exhibited considerably lower confidence scores and greater fear scores than patients who had not been injured in a fall. Conclusions: Patients who have a high fall risk assessment score may not believe they are at risk for falls and may not take any steps to reduce their risk. The prevalence of falls in hospitals might be mitigated by the creation of a fall risk assessment technique that takes into account both objective and subjective factors

Gallium incorporation into phosphate based glasses: bulk and thin film properties

The osteogenic ions Ca2+, P5+, Mg2+, and antimicrobial ion Ga3+ were homogenously dispersed into a 1.45 mum thick phosphate glass coating by plasma assisted sputtering onto CP grade titanium. The objective was to deliver therapeutic ions in orthopedic/dental implants such as hip prosthesis or dental screws. The hardness 4.7 GPa and elastic modulus 69.7 GPa, of the coating were comparable to plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite/dental enamel, whilst superseding femoral cortical bone. To investigate the manufacturing challenge of translation from a target to vapour condensed coating, structural/compositional properties of the target (P51MQ) were compared to the coating (P40PVD) and a melt-quenched equivalent (P40MQ). Following condensation from P51MQ to P40PVD, P2O5 content reduced from 48.9 to 40.5 mol%. This depolymerisation and reduction in the P-O-P bridging oxygen content as determined by 31P-NMR, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy techniques was attributed to a decrease in the P2O5 network former and increases in alkali/alkali-earth cations. P40PVD appeared denser (3.47 vs. 2.70 g cm-3) and more polymerised than it’s compositionally equivalent P40MQ, showing that structure/ mechanical properties were affected by manufacturing route

THE EFFICIENCY OF GUM-SILICA CMPOSITE FOR REMOVING OF WASTEWATER TURBIDITY

A novel mixed natural coagulant has been developed to remove sewage pollutants and heavy metals from Qanat- al- Jayesh by using low cost adsorbent natural materials. In these materials, significant interaction contains Arabic gum mixed with extracted silica from rice husk ash (natural coagulants) by the Batch device approach, using two variables, pH values ranging from 5-8 and contact times between 0.25-5 hrs. All wastewater samples were collected after treatment by adsorbents and examined for determination of residual heavy metal concentrations: Pb, Ni, Zn and Cu by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), turbidity, pH, total dissolved salts (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC) and total salinity (TS). The results obtained indicate The coagulation process' highest level of effectiveness was 95.2% for gum-silica composite with the weight 8 gm for reducing turbidity. In comparison, The coagulation process's least effective efficiency was 80.6%, with the weight 4 gm of gum-silica composite. On the other pH values, Turbidity, TDS, TS, and EC were reduced in the waste water sample after being treated by gum-silica composite under standard water values. This mixture can be used to remove heavy water pollutants during treatment

A biochemical study of angiotensin II, electrolytes and vitamin D in obese patients

Background: Obesity is one of the most prevalent health issues impacting kids and teens in both industrialized and developing countries, yet  it is a complex illness brought on by both inherited and environmental factors, Obesity develops as a result of a combination of low energy expenditure (such as exercise) and excessive calorie intake. Obesity-related problems such hypertension, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease are linked by Ang II and electrolytes. This study was designed to evaluate the alteration of Angiotensin II, electrolytes, Vit D in obese individuals. Methods: 88 persons with ages range between (20-55) years. Angiotensin II was determined by ELISA method. While serum Electrolytes estimated by GE300 Electrolyte analyzer, and Vitamin D determined by High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: The findings of the present research reveals a significant increase in Ang II concentration (p<0.001) and decrease in Vit D (p<0.003), iCa (p<0.000) level in obese patients when compared with a control group. The results of linear regression analysis show positive correlations (r = 0.37, p < 0.01) of Ang II concentration with Sodium in obese group, and the same analysis show negative correlations (r =-0.49, p < 0.001) of BMI with Vit D in obese group

Biological Control of Phytopathogenic Fungi by Kluyveromyces marxianus and Torulaspora delbrueckii Isolated from Iraqi Date Vinegar

Yeasts are distributed in all environments and have been reported as potential biocontrol agents against various phytopathogenic fungi. To investigate their enzymatic and biological activities, 32 yeasts were isolated from 15 date vinegar samples. Evaluation of the antagonistic activities of isolated yeasts against the plant pathogens Fusarium oxysporium, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Macrophomina phaseolina indicated that there are two yeasts had the highest inhibitory effect against plant pathogens, these yeasts identified as Kluyveromyces marxianus and Torulaspora delbrueckii using traditional and molecular methods. These yeast isolates were tested for fungal cell wall degrading enzymes (in vitro), and results indicated that the yeasts had strong protease and amylase enzyme activity and moderate chitinase and cellulase enzyme activity. The antagonistic activities of each yeast were evaluated using a dual culture technique. The results showed that K. marxianus inhibited the mycelial growth of F. oxysporium, S. sclerotiorum, and M. phaseolina by 70.5, 57.5, and 75.5%, respectively, whereas T. delbrueckii inhibited mycelial growth of F. oxysporum, S. sclerotiorum, and M. phaseolina by 55.3%, 66.2%, and 31.11%, respectively. The biofilm production assay indicated that the tested yeast could form biofilms as a mechanism of antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic fungi

Empowering Communication: A Deep Learning Framework for Arabic Sign Language Recognition with an Attention Mechanism

This article emphasises the urgent need for appropriate communication tools for communities of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, with a specific emphasis on Arabic Sign Language (ArSL). In this study, we use long short-term memory (LSTM) models in conjunction with MediaPipe to reduce the barriers to effective communication and social integration for deaf communities. The model design incorporates LSTM units and an attention mechanism to handle the input sequences of extracted keypoints from recorded gestures. The attention layer selectively directs its focus toward relevant segments of the input sequence, whereas the LSTM layer handles temporal relationships and encodes the sequential data. A comprehensive dataset comprised of fifty frequently used words and numbers in ArSL was collected for developing the recognition model. This dataset comprises many instances of gestures recorded by five volunteers. The results of the experiment support the effectiveness of the proposed approach, as the model achieved accuracies of more than 85% (individual volunteers) and 83% (combined data). The high level of precision emphasises the potential of artificial intelligence-powered translation software to improve effective communication for people with hearing impairments and to enable them to interact with the larger community more easily