Relationship Between Glycated Haemoglobin and Carotid Atherosclerotic Disease Among Patients with Acute Ischaemic Stroke

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between glycaemic control and carotid atherosclerotic disease among patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study took place in the Neurology Department of King Fahad Hospital of University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia, from April to October 2017. Data were collected from the medical records of 244 patients with a diagnosis of AIS confirmed by computed tomography. Doppler ultrasounds of the carotid artery were performed to determine the presence of increased carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and plaques. Results: Significantly higher mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were noted in cases with high CIMT values (P = 0.002), but not in cases with carotid plaques (P = 0.360). In addition, there was a significant association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and high CIMT (P = 0.045), but not with carotid plaques (P = 0.075). Finally, while dyslipidaemia and age were independently correlated with high CIMT values (P = 0.034 and 0.050 each). Conclusion: High HbA1c levels were associated with high CIMT values, but not with carotid plaques. Therefore, HbA1c levels may be useful as an indirect marker of the initial stages of carotid artery atherosclerosis. Keywords: Glycated Hemoglobin A1c; Diabetes Mellitus; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Atherosclerotic Plaque; Stroke

Faster and Slower Soliton Phase Shift: Oceanic Waves Affected by Earth Rotation

This research paper investigates the accuracy of a novel computational scheme (Khater II method) by applying this new technique to the fractional nonlinear Ostrovsky (FNO) equation. The accuracy of the obtained solutions was verified by employing the Adomian decomposition (AD) and El Kalla (EK) methods. The AD and EK methods are considered as two of the most accurate semi-analytical schemes. The FNO model is a modified version of the well-known Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation that considers the effects of rotational symmetry in space. However, in the KdV model, solutions to the KdV equations substitute this effect with radiating inertia gravity waves, and thus this impact is ignored. The analytical, semi-analytical, and accuracy between solutions are represented in some distinct plots. Additionally, the paper’s novelty and its contributions are demonstrated by comparing the obtained solutions with previously published results

Effect of Stand-Alone and Combined Ultraviolet and Ultrasound Treatments on Physicochemical and Microbial Characteristics of Pomegranate Juice

ICYER, Necattin Cihat/0000-0002-3190-9669; OZKAYA, Gulsum UCAK/0000-0002-4207-6797; ALABDALI, TAREQ/0000-0002-2526-6302; Durak, M. Zeki/0000-0001-7245-1116WOS:000565543700001Featured Application This paper features the design of modern pasteurization methods based on two combined non-thermal pasteurization methods. This combined method can be used as an alternative to the conventional thermal pasteurization method as it protects the nutrient content better. The objective of this study was to determine the combined usage possibilities of ultraviolet (UV) and ultrasonic (US) processes in the pasteurization of pomegranate juice. For this purpose, UV, US, and combined UV+US pasteurization of pomegranate juice were optimized using experimental designs, such as the Central Composite Design (CCD) and Factorial Design (FD), and compared with the conventional pasteurization process. Total phenolic content (TPC), color a*, water-soluble dry matter (degrees Brix), turbidity, anthocyanin, DPPH, HPLC TPC, and yeast and mold count were used as quality parameters during all of the processes. The results showed that the application of 50 degrees C, 3.5 L/min flow rate and 5.1 mW/cm2 UV dose, and 10 min US (200 Watt) together reduced the microbial population below the detection limits. The integration of UV+US processes into the pasteurization process could limit microbial activity at lower temperatures and times than the conventional pasteurization process, thus preserving the existing bioactive compounds

Three Dimensional Physical Modeling of the Wet Manufacturing Process of Solid State Battery Electrodes

We present a three-dimensional physics-based modeling workflow to study the impact of wet manufacturing process parameters on the properties of Solid-State Battery (SSBs) tape casted electrodes. This computational workflow was initially developed to study Lithium Ion Battery electrodes within our ARTISTIC project and it is adapted here to SSB cathode electrodes based on NMC622 active material. SSB electrode manufacturing remains almost unstudied in terms of computational modeling, with just a handful of simulation studies in the literature. Our workflow simulates the slurry constituted of active material, carbon additive, binder, solid electrolyte and solvent, its drying, and the calendering of the resulting electrodes. We focus our attention on the impact of the compression degree on the electrode microstructure. We believe that this first wet manufacturing process model of SSB cathodes paves the way towards systematic modeling approaches able to provide practical guidelines on how to tune interfaces between materials in electrodes for proper SSB performance and durability

Secured MCDM Model for Crowdsource Business Intelligence

In the current era, there are a plethora of mobile phone companies rendering different features. It is challenging to distinguish the best and create correlations among them. However, this can be accomplished through crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is the process of gathering information from multiple sources, and we use the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) process to determine which company’s model is the best among many. The weight value of each model is compared to the assigned values, and if one of the company product weights is greater than the assigned weight, that product is the best. Eventually, we can use this process to select the most preferred and best mobile phone model from among all other models. Gray Relational Analysis (GRA) is one of the most popular models, employing a grey co-efficient that estimates the data items by ranking. This model defines a process’s situation or state as black with no information and white with perfect information. In this work, AHP initially assumes criteria weights and assigns rank with the CR (Consistency Ratio) of 1.5%. The criteria weights are re-assigned based on the outcomes, and the CR remains constant as 1.5%. This work also provides an environmental-based attribute access control system, which adds the strength to the system by providing security and the integrity. So, this proposed work performs as a decision support system combined with the security enhancements, and hence it becomes a complete framework to provide a solution to a target application. The novelty of the proposed work is the combination of the crowdsourcing with the recommender system on a secured framework

Impacts of varying dietary energy and crude protein levels on growth, carcase traits and digestibility coefficients of growing Japanese quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica) during the summer season

An experiment that included crude protein (CP) levels and metabolisable energy (ME) energy (Kcal/kg diet) in meat-type Japanese quail chicks was conducted to evaluate their impacts on performance, carcase traits, digestibility coefficients and nutritional value during the growing period. A total of 540 one-week-old (16.0 ± 0.60 g) Japanese quail chicks were randomly divided into nine treatment groups in a factorial experimental design (3 × 3), which included three levels of CP and ME (22, 24 and 26%) plus three levels of (2800, 2900, or 3000 Kcal ME/kg diet) during the summer season. The highest values of body weight at marketing age, daily weight gain and best feed conversion during all experimental periods were observed for chicks given 24% CP with a 3000 Kcal ME/Kg diet. A significant (P < 0.01) interaction effect was observed due to energy and protein levels on the digestion coefficients of CP, ether extract (EE), nitrogen-free extract (NFE) and organic matter (OM). Results of digestion coefficients generally coincided with those of growth performance. The interaction effect between dietary energy and protein levels on total digested nutrients (TDN) and ME was significant (P < 0.01). Chicks fed the 3000 Kcal ME/Kg with a 24% CP diet had the highest values of TDN and ME. The interaction between energy and protein levels showed insignificant effects on all carcase traits studied. In conclusion, a dietary energy level of 3000 Kcal ME/Kg with 24% CP is recommended to feed growing Japanese quail from 1–6 weeks of age under summer season conditions. Quail production throughout the world is increasing. Diets with a lower percentage of protein and energy content may be less expensive. An energy level of 3000 Kcal ME/Kg with 24% CP is recommended for growing Japanese quail during summer

Shortening Door-to-Balloon Time: The Use of Ambulance versus Private Vehicle for Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abdulrhman Saleh Alghamdi,1,2 Abdullah Alshibani,1,2 Meshary Binhotan,1,2 Meshal Alharbi,1,2 Saleh S Algarni,2,3 Mohammed Musaed Alzahrani,1,2 Abdulmalik Nasser Asiri,1,2 Faisal Faleh Alsulami,1,2 Kamal Ayoub,2,4 Abdullah Alabdali1,2 1Department of Emergency Medical Services, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia; 4Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Abdulrhman Saleh Alghamdi, Emergency Medical Services, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Ext. 95186, Mail Code 3129, P.O. Box 3660, Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia, Tel +96611 429 9999, Email [email protected]: Time is critical when dealing with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients in the Emergency Department (ED), as 90 min is crucial for overall health. Using non-EMS transportation for critical patients, such as patients with acute myocardial infarction, to a hospital might delay the rapid identification of the underlying medical disease and initiating definitive treatment. We aim to evaluate the association between the mode of transportation and the D2B time in patients presenting at the ED with AMI.Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with patients who presented at ED with AMI and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The participants were patients with confirmed AMI at the ED of King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) from January 2019 to December 2019.Results: In total, 162 AMI patients were enrolled in the study and divided based on the method of transportation. Less than half (n=65, 40.1%) were transported with an ambulance and 97 (59.9%) patients with a private car. The door-to-balloon (D2B) time for the ambulance group was 93.6± 38.31 minutes, and the private car group was 93.8± 30.88 minutes.Conclusion: There was no statistical significance when comparing the D2B time between the private car group and the ambulance group (P = 0.1870). Finally, ambulance transport significantly shortened the time to first ED physician contact. However, it was not associated with shortened D2B time when compared to private vehicle transport.Keywords: chest pain, acute myocardial infarction, ambulance, door to balloon, emergency departmen