Room-temperature synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles in different media and their application in cyanide photodegradation

Cyanide is an extreme hazard and extensively found in the wastes of refinery, coke plant, and metal plating industries. A simple, fast, cost-effective, room-temperature wet chemical route, based on cyclohexylamine, for synthesizing zinc oxide nanoparticles in aqueous and enthanolic media was established and tested for the photodegradation of cyanide ions. Particles of polyhedra morphology were obtained for zinc oxide, prepared in ethanol (ZnO(E)), while spherical and some chunky particles were observed for zinc oxide, prepared in water (ZnO(W)). The morphology was crucial in enhancing the cyanide ion photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ZnO(E) by a factor of 1.5 in comparison to the efficiency of ZnO(W) at an equivalent concentration of 0.02 wt.% ZnO. Increasing the concentration wt.% of ZnO(E) from 0.01 to 0.09 led to an increase in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency from 85% to almost 100% after 180 min and a doubling of the first-order rate constant (k)

Filippov\u27s operator and discontinuous differential equations

The thesis is mainly concerned about properties of the so-called Filippov operator that is associated with a differential inclusion x\u27(t) ε F(x(t)) a.e. t ε [0,T], where F : Rn → Rn is given set-valued map. The operator F produces a new set-valued map F[F], which in effect regularizes F so that F[F] has nicer properties. After presenting its definition, we show that F[F] is always upper-semicontinuous as a map from Rn to the metric space of compact subsets of Rn endowed with the Hausdorff metric. Our main approach is to study the operator via its support function, which we show is an upper semicontinuous function. We show that the support function can be used to characterize the operator, and prove a new result that characterizes those set-valued maps that are fixed by F; this result was previously known to hold only in dimension one. We also generalize to higher dimensions a known result that characterizes those set-valued maps that are almost everywhere singleton-valued (that is, F(x) = {f(x)} where f : Rn → Rn is an ordinary function). The latter part of the thesis introduces four generalized solution concepts of discontinuous differential equations. These are known as the Filippov, Krasovskij, Hermes, and Euler solution concepts. We study the relations among these solution concepts, and in particular prove that the Euler and Hermes solutions in the autonomous case coincide

Morphology for hexagonal image processing: a comprehensive simulation analysis

Morphological operators for binary and grayscale images are commonly used to eliminate noise, recognize contours or specific structures, and arrange shapes in image processing for physiological modeling and biomechanics applications. Even though morphology has been substantially developed in square-pixelbased-image-processing (SIP), no effort has been made to construct morphological operators in hexagonal-pixel-based-image-processing (HIP) yet. In this paper, we transform basic SIP-domain-morphological operators such as dilation, erosion, closing, and opening into HIP-domain and compare their performance with their SIP counterparts. It is the first time to give the fundamental morphological operators in the HIP domain. The operators developed in this paper initiate the research about morphology in the HIP domain by successfully filling a significant gap by eliminating HIP’s lack of basic operators, thus capable of producing enhanced images for better analysis in anatomical models related to biology and medicine research fields

Cardiac Arrhythmia Disease Classifier Model Based on a Fuzzy Fusion Approach

Cardiac diseases are one of the greatest global health challenges. Due to the high annual mortality rates, cardiac diseases have attracted the attention of numerous researchers in recent years. This article proposes a hybrid fuzzy fusion classification model for cardiac arrhythmia diseases. The fusion model is utilized to optimally select the highest-ranked features generated by a variety of well-known feature-selection algorithms. An ensemble of classifiers is then applied to the fusion’s results. The proposed model classifies the arrhythmia dataset from the University of California, Irvine into normal/abnormal classes as well as 16 classes of arrhythmia. Initially, at the preprocessing steps, for the miss-valued attributes, we used the average value in the linear attributes group by the same class and the most frequent value for nominal attributes. However, in order to ensure the model optimality, we eliminated all attributes which have zero or constant values that might bias the results of utilized classifiers. The preprocessing step led to 161 out of 279 attributes (features). Thereafter, a fuzzy-based feature-selection fusion method is applied to fuse high-ranked features obtained from different heuristic feature-selection algorithms. In short, our study comprises three main blocks: (1) sensing data and preprocessing; (2) feature queuing, selection, and extraction; and (3) the predictive model. Our proposed method improves classification performance in terms of accuracy, F1 measure, recall, and precision when compared to state-of-the-art techniques. It achieves 98.5% accuracy for binary class mode and 98.9% accuracy for categorized class mode

Updates in Diagnosis and Management of CSF Rhinorrhea: A Systematic Review

Objectives: To synthesize current evidence on the diagnosis and management of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea (CSFR).Methods: A thorough search of pertinent databases following the PRISMA guidelines was done in order to find studies that satisfied the requirements for inclusion. A thorough search of PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Science Direct was conducted to find pertinent literature.Results: Eleven studies, including a total of 382 CSFR patients and 170 (44.5%) of them were males, were included in our data. The success rate of the trans-nasal endoscopic approach ranged from 66.6% to 100%, while Endoscopic endonasal eustachian tube obliteration (EEETO) reported a success rate of 65.1%. Meningitis, pneumocephalus, frontal Sinusitis, failure of closure (immediate), and failure of closure (delayed) were the reported adverse effects following trans-nasal endoscopy in CSFR. No adverse effects were reported among patients who underwent EEEO. 0.06% ipratropium bromide nasal spray reaction was useful in excluding CSFR, and computed tomography cisternography (CTC) and magnetic resonance hydrography (MRH) had excellent sensitivity for CSFR diagnosis.Conclusion: The preferred and most reported technique for repairing CSF fistulae in the majority of clinical situations is now endoscopic surgery with success rates ranged from 66.6% to 100%. CSFR is a general diagnostic that encompasses several locales and etiologies

A Correlation between MRI findings in current and future Disc Herniation Grade 1- Amongst Low Back Pain Patients

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a procedure used to assess the effects of a herniated disc. There is a hypothesis that there might be a correlation between MRI findings at baseline and follow-up to determine whether there is an ability to predict future progress in LBP among LBP patients with non- or mild disc prolapse (grade 1-disc herniation) with the help of MRI findings. Method: This study consisted of a total of 70 patients, all of whom gave their informed consent to participate in the study. Using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), patients were asked to rate how intense the back pain was and to complete the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire for an assessment of their disability. For all patients, the spine was assessed by MRI scan. Within 1.5 years of baseline MRI scan, 39 volunteers were repeat MRI scan for LBP patients. Result: In this study, we found that age, VAS, disability index, and disc herniation were weakly correlated. Pain and disability also had a weak relation with Grade 1 (r=0.11, r=0.04). In addition, Our longitudinal study found that most of the MRI findings did not seem to be linked to future LBP - severity, whether the participant experienced LBP in the past or not (r= 0.07, p=0.8). Conclusion: it was discovered that MRI scans in both ongoing and forthcoming studies do not exhibit a statistically noteworthy association with the magnitude and position of lumbar disc herniation, pain, and disability

Prediction of novel drug targets and vaccine candidates against human lice (insecta), acari (Arachnida), and their associated pathogens

The emergence of drug-resistant lice, acari, and their associated pathogens (APs) is associated with economic losses; thus, it is essential to find new appropriate therapeutic approaches. In the present study, a subtractive proteomics approach was used to predict suitable therapeutics against these vectors and their infectious agents. We found 9701 proteins in the lice (Pediculus humanus var. corporis) and acari (Ixodes scapularis, Leptotrombidium deliense), and 4822 proteins in the proteomes of their APs (Babesia microti, Borreliella mayonii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia recurrentis, Rickettsia prowazekii, Orientia tsutsugamushi str. Boryong) that were non-homologous to host proteins. Among these non-homologous proteins, 365 proteins of lice and acari, and 630 proteins of APs, were predicted as essential proteins. Twelve unique essential proteins were predicted to be involved in four unique metabolic pathways of lice and acari, and 103 unique proteins were found to be involved in 75 unique metabolic pathways of APs. The sub cellular localization analysis of 115 unique essential proteins of lice and acari and their APs revealed that 61 proteins were cytoplasmic, 42 as membrane-bound proteins and 12 proteins with multiple localization. The druggability analysis of the identified 73 cytoplasmic and multiple localization essential proteins revealed 22 druggable targets and 51 novel drug targets that participate in unique pathways of lice and acari and their APs. Further, the predicted 42 membrane bound proteins could be potential vaccine candidates. Screening of useful inhibitors against these novel targets may result in finding novel compounds efficient for the control of these parasites

Squint Among Adult Population in Hail City, Saudi Arabia

Background: Strabismus, also known as crossed eyes, is a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. If present during a large part of childhood, it may result in amblyopia. If onset is during adulthood, it is more likely to result in double vision. Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of squint, types and treatment characteristics in the studied adults in Hail city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in Hail city, Saudi Arabia. The study included 294 participants; 95 male and 199 female adults aged >20 years. The study period was from 1 January to 30 April 2018. Data collected by personal interview using a pre-designed questionnaire, which distributed among the participants to be self-reported. Results: The prevalence of squint among the studied population was 9.9%. it was more common in females than males. Squint was right sided in 24.1% of the cases, left sided in 51.7% and in both eyes in 24.1% of the studied cases. About half (44.8%) of cases had inward squint (esotropia) and 10.3% outward squint (exsotropia), 24.1% of the cases had Intermittent squint and 6.9% had permanent squint. Most (55.2%) of squint cases use glasses and 34.5% of cases squint affected their visual acuity. In 6.9%, squint causes psychological troubles. As regards treatment, 20.7% received medical treatment and 17.2% received surgical treatment but 62.1% do not seek medical care. Only 10.3% of cases completely cured and 13.8% had recurrence. There was insignificant relation with age, sex, education, squint in parents, chronic diseases, consanguinity or hereditary diseases (P>0.05). Conclusion: in this study, the prevalence of squint in the adult participants in Hail city, Saudi Arabia was 9.9% but 62.1% do not seek medical care. After treatment, only 10.3% of cases completely cured and 13.8% had recurrence. Health education of the public about importance of early treatment is highly recommended. Keywords: Squint; strabismus; adult population; prevalence; types; Hail; Saudi Arabia

Utilizing photothermally induced oscillation damping parameters for the determination of bacterial load suspended in microfluidic resonators

Microchannel resonators containing a miniaturized volume of a solution can have various applications in different fields. In this study, a microchannel cantilever was loaded with a solution containing a very small number of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria suspended in M9 growth medium. The liquid-filled microchannel cantilever was irradiated with a 532-nm laser. The shift in the frequency of the cantilever due to varying bacterial loads is less reliable; therefore, it could not be used for monitoring the bacterial concentration. The energy loss of the cantilever extracted from the quality factor exhibited reliable results and a very strong correlation with the bacterial concentration. The results showed a linear relation between the damping factor of the cantilever and the bacterial concentration. Accordingly, these findings were expected because the bacteria inside the solution can be considered as particles acting against the cantilever motion due to the solution’s viscosity. Thus, more bacteria caused more damping, in agreement with the experimental observations. A semiquantitative experiment was conducted with a heat source (i.e., laser beam) that focused at the cantilever tip to demonstrate the redistribution of the bacterial load within the solution due to the thermal gradient

Host immune responses to salivary components : a critical facet of tick-host interactions

Tick sialome is comprised of a rich cocktail of bioactive molecules that function as a tool to disarm host immunity, assist blood-feeding, and play a vibrant role in pathogen transmission. The adaptation of the tick’s blood-feeding behavior has lead to the evolution of bioactive molecules in its saliva to assist them to overwhelm hosts’ defense mechanisms. During a blood meal, a tick secretes different salivary molecules including vasodilators, platelet aggregation inhibitors, anticoagulants, anti-inflammatory proteins, and inhibitors of complement activation; the salivary repertoire changes to meet various needs such as tick attachment, feeding, and modulation or impairment of the local dynamic and vigorous host responses. For instance, the tick’s salivary immunomodulatory and cement proteins facilitate the tick’s attachment to the host to enhance prolonged bloodfeeding and to modulate the host’s innate and adaptive immune responses. Recent advances implemented in the field of “omics” have substantially assisted our understanding of host immune modulation and immune inhibition against the molecular dynamics of tick salivary molecules in a crosstalk between the tick–host interface. A deep understanding of the tick salivary molecules, their substantial roles in multifactorial immunological cascades, variations in secretion, and host immune responses against these molecules is necessary to control these parasites. In this article, we reviewed updated knowledge about the molecular mechanisms underlying host responses to diverse elements in tick saliva throughout tick invasion, as well as host defense strategies. In conclusion, understanding the mechanisms involved in the complex interactions between the tick salivary components and host responses is essential to decipher the host defense mechanisms against the tick evasion strategies at tick-host interface which is promising in the development of effective anti-tick vaccines and drug therapeutics