Iron Deficiency Anemia in Adults and its Diagnosis and Treatment: A Systemic Review

The aim of this study is to explore the clinical management in diagnosis and treatment of the iron deficiency anemia in adults with a systematic review methodology, as the iron deficiency is the most frequent cause of anemia worldwide. And it impairs quality of life, increases asthenia and can lead to clinical worsening of patients. In addition, iron deficiency has a complex mechanism whose pathologic pathway is recently becoming better understood. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding diagnostic algorithms for iron deficiency anemia. The majority of aetiologies occur in the digestive tract, and justify morphological examination of the gut. First line investigations are upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy, and when negative, the small bowel should be explored; newer tools such as video capsule endoscopy have also been developed. The treatment of iron deficiency is aetiological if possible and iron supplementation whether in oral or in parenteral form

Optimizing the Gamma Ray-Based Detection System to Measure the Scale Thickness in Three-Phase Flow through Oil and Petrochemical Pipelines in View of Stratified Regime

As the oil and petrochemical products pass through the oil pipeline, the sediment scale settles, which can cause many problems in the oil fields. Timely detection of the scale inside the pipes and taking action to solve it prevents problems such as a decrease in the efficiency of oil equipment, the wastage of energy, and the increase in repair costs. In this research, an accurate detection system of the scale thickness has been introduced, which its performance is based on the attenuation of gamma rays. The detection system consists of a dual-energy gamma source ( 241 Am and 133 Ba radioisotopes) and a sodium iodide detector. This detection system is placed on both sides of a test pipe, which is used to simulate a three-phase flow in the stratified regime. The three-phase flow includes water, gas, and oil, which have been investigated in different volume percentages. An asymmetrical scale inside the pipe, made of barium sulfate, is simulated in different thicknesses. After irradiating the gamma-ray to the test pipe and receiving the intensity of the photons by the detector, time characteristics with the names of sample SSR, sample mean, sample skewness, and sample kurtosis were extracted from the received signal, and they were introduced as the inputs of a GMDH neural network. The neural network was able to predict the scale thickness value with an RMSE of less than 0.2, which is a very low error compared to previous research. In addition, the feature extraction technique made it possible to predict the scale value with high accuracy using only one detector

A Systemic Review of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Adults and the Clinical Management of Diagnosis and Treatment

Iron deficiency is the most frequent cause of anaemia worldwide. It impairs quality of life, increases asthenia and can lead to clinical worsening of patients. In addition, iron deficiency has a complex mechanism whose pathologic pathway is recently becoming better understood. The discovery of hepcidin has allowed a better clarification of iron metabolism regulation. Furthermore, the ratio of concentration of soluble transferrin receptor to the log of the ferritin level, has been developed as a tool to detect iron deficiency in most situations. Therefore, the problem of this research lies in exploring the cause of iron deficiency that always be sought because the underlying condition can be serious. This review will summarize the current knowledge regarding diagnostic algorithms for iron deficiency anemia. The majority of aetiologies occur in the digestive tract, and justify morphological examination of the gut. First line investigations are upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy, and when negative, the small bowel should be explored; newer tools such as video capsule endoscopy have also been developed. The treatment of iron deficiency is aetiological if possible and iron supplementation whether in oral or in parenteral form

Solving Nonlinear Parabolic Equations by a Strongly Implicit Finite-Difference Scheme

We discuss the numerical solution of nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations, exhibiting finite speed of propagation, via a strongly implicit finite-difference scheme with formal truncation error $\mathcal{O}\left[(\Delta x)^2 + (\Delta t)^2 \right]$. Our application of interest is the spreading of viscous gravity currents in the study of which these type of differential equations arise. Viscous gravity currents are low Reynolds number (viscous forces dominate inertial forces) flow phenomena in which a dense, viscous fluid displaces a lighter (usually immiscible) fluid. The fluids may be confined by the sidewalls of a channel or propagate in an unconfined two-dimensional (or axisymmetric three-dimensional) geometry. Under the lubrication approximation, the mathematical description of the spreading of these fluids reduces to solving the so-called thin-film equation for the current's shape $h(x,t)$. To solve such nonlinear parabolic equations we propose a finite-difference scheme based on the Crank--Nicolson idea. We implement the scheme for problems involving a single spatial coordinate (i.e., two-dimensional, axisymmetric or spherically-symmetric three-dimensional currents) on an equispaced but staggered grid. We benchmark the scheme against analytical solutions and highlight its strong numerical stability by specifically considering the spreading of non-Newtonian power-law fluids in a variable-width confined channel-like geometry (a "Hele-Shaw cell") subject to a given mass conservation/balance constraint. We show that this constraint can be implemented by re-expressing it as nonlinear flux boundary conditions on the domain's endpoints. Then, we show numerically that the scheme achieves its full second-order accuracy in space and time. We also highlight through numerical simulations how the proposed scheme accurately respects the mass conservation/balance constraint.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figures, Springer book class; v2 includes improvements and corrections; to appear as a contribution in "Applied Wave Mathematics II

Adapting the Montessori Method in Saudi Early Childhood Classrooms

This study explored how teachers have adapted the Montessori method in Saudi early childhood classrooms to align with Saudi socio-culture and Islamic practices. The study was framed using the socio-cultural theory. A qualitative multi-case study design was used to collect data from semi-structured interviews and on-site observations for four Saudi early childhood teachers in two Montessori classrooms in Saudi Arabia. The data were thematically analyzed manually and with NVivo software. The study results showed that the teachers encouraged children’s independence and freedom of choice in work time and during the classroom day, but limited their freedom during mini-lessons and circle times to meet religious or cultural expectations. The results also highlighted that the flexibility of the school culture and the Montessori method encouraged the teachers to cooperate in designing lessons and activities for the Saudi Montessori classroom context. The study found that the teachers integrated the Islamic and Saudi socio-cultural practices most in circle time, classroom activities, and the daily classroom routine to teach academic, social, and behavioral practices. The results also highlighted that the Montessori system and school rules encouraged organizing the classroom environment. The socio-cultural theory illuminated how the teachers’ adaptations of Montessori principles and Islamic and Saudi socio-cultural practices were affected by their background, beliefs, and experiences. Implications of the study were discussed and recommendations given for early childhood teachers, the Saudi Ministry of Education, and higher education programs. Further research could focus on comparative analysis between teachers implementing Montessori in Saudi Arabia and in a Western country to highlight the cultural influences on adapting the Montessori approach

Adapting the Montessori Method in Saudi Early Childhood Classrooms

This study explored how teachers have adapted the Montessori method in Saudi early childhood classrooms to align with Saudi socio-culture and Islamic practices. The study was framed using the socio-cultural theory. A qualitative multi-case study design was used to collect data from semi-structured interviews and on-site observations for four Saudi early childhood teachers in two Montessori classrooms in Saudi Arabia. The data were thematically analyzed manually and with NVivo software. The study results showed that the teachers encouraged children’s independence and freedom of choice in work time and during the classroom day, but limited their freedom during mini-lessons and circle times to meet religious or cultural expectations. The results also highlighted that the flexibility of the school culture and the Montessori method encouraged the teachers to cooperate in designing lessons and activities for the Saudi Montessori classroom context. The study found that the teachers integrated the Islamic and Saudi socio-cultural practices most in circle time, classroom activities, and the daily classroom routine to teach academic, social, and behavioral practices. The results also highlighted that the Montessori system and school rules encouraged organizing the classroom environment. The socio-cultural theory illuminated how the teachers’ adaptations of Montessori principles and Islamic and Saudi socio-cultural practices were affected by their background, beliefs, and experiences. Implications of the study were discussed and recommendations given for early childhood teachers, the Saudi Ministry of Education, and higher education programs. Further research could focus on comparative analysis between teachers implementing Montessori in Saudi Arabia and in a Western country to highlight the cultural influences on adapting the Montessori approach

Tooth Colored Post System: Review of Literature

The basic application of a tooth colored posts (functionally graded composite, zirconia and fiber reinforced composite) in the post endodontic restorative phase of a tooth is based on the usage of the correct post in a given situation. Many advantages of the tooth colored posts such as, its favorable esthetics, ease of use, their modulus of elasticity values that are similar to that of dentin and this can reduce the risk of fractures as well as stress concentration at the apex of root. It can increase their survival compared to teeth restored with metallic posts. The most complication of the colored post system is the deboning failures, but those posts allowed the retreatment of the deboning post. All studies evaluating the tooth colored post systems up to December 2011were included. Key words: Post, Tooth Colored, Endodontic Treated Teet

Salvianolic Acid B Slows the Progression of Breast Cancer Cell Growth via Enhancement of Apoptosis and Reduction of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Angiogenesis

Breast cancer is the current leading cause of cancer death in females worldwide. Although current chemotherapeutic drugs effectively reduce the progression of breast cancer, most of these drugs have many unwanted side effects. Salvianolic acid B (Sal-B) is a bioactive compound isolated from the root of Danshen Radix with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Since free radicals play a key role in the initiation and progression of tumor cells growth and enhance their metastatic potential, the current study was designed to investigate the antitumor activity of Sal-B and compare it with the antitumor activity of the traditional anticancer drug, cisplatin. In vitro, Sal-B decreased the human breast cancer adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells proliferation in a concentration and time dependent manner. In vivo and similar to cisplatin treatment, Sal-B significantly reduced tumor volume and increased the median survival when compared to tumor positive control mice group injected with Ehrlich solid carcinoma cell line (ESC). Sal-B decreased plasma level of malondialdehyde as a marker of oxidative stress and increased plasma level of reduced glutathione (GSH) as a marker of antioxidant defense when compared to control ESC injected mice. Either Sal-B or cisplatin treatment decreased tumor tissue levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), and Cyclin D1 in ESC treated mice. Contrary to cisplatin treatment, Sal-B did not decrease tumor tissue Ki-67 protein in ESC injected mice. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that Sal-B or cisplatin treatment increased the expression of the apoptotic markers caspase-3 and P53. Although Sal-B or cisplatin significantly reduced the expression of the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ESC injected mice, only Sal-B reduced expression level of COX-2 in ESC injected mice. Our data suggest that Sal-B exhibits antitumor features against breast cancer cells possibly via enhancing apoptosis and reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and angiogenesis

Heart Failure Following Creation of an Arteriovenous Fistula for Hemodialysis.

Careful analysis of the Doppler profile, performance of maneuvers during image acquisition, and comparison of data with prior studies are basic tools that allow us to provide useful clinical information and improved diagnostic accuracy. Here, we discuss a patient in whom a thorough evaluation of the Doppler pattern at rest and during maneuvers and the identification of temporal changes in cardiac hemodynamics helped establish a diagnosis