A comparative study between visual, near infrared and infrared images for the detection of veins for intravenous cannulation

The process of identification and locating of veins plays an important role to reduce health care cost and suffering of patients during intravenous cannulation. This paper compares between three technologies to assess their suitability and capability for the detection of veins. Three types of cameras are used in this study, a visual camera, an infrared camera and a near infrared camera. The collected data has then been subjected to analysis and comparison using different image processing techniques, namely grayscale, invert grayscale, histogram equalisation, edge detection (difference of Gaussians) and unsharp mask enhancement to improve the visualisation of veins. In this study, the near infrared images supported by suitable LED illumination has been found to be the most effective technology and the most cost effective for the visualisation of veins

Flowfield-dependent variant method for moving-boundary problems

A novel numerical scheme using the combination of flowfield-dependent variation method and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is developed. This method is a mixed explicit–implicit numerical scheme, and its implicitness is dependent on the physical properties of the flowfield. The scheme is discretized using the finite-volume method to give flexibility in dealing with complicated geometries. The formulation itself yields a sparse matrix, which can be solved by using any iterative algorithm. Several benchmark problems in two-dimensional inviscid and viscous flow have been selected to validate the method. Good agreement with available experimental and numerical data in the literature has been obtained, thus showing its promising application in complex fluid–structure interaction problems

Increased hazard of myocardial infarction with insulin‐provision therapy in actively smoking patients with diabetes mellitus and stable ischemic heart disease: The BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) trial

Background In the BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) trial, randomization of diabetic patients with stable ischemic heart disease to insulin provision ( IP ) therapy, as opposed to insulin sensitization ( IS ) therapy, resulted in biochemical evidence of impaired fibrinolysis but no increase in adverse clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that the prothrombotic effect of IP therapy in combination with the hypercoagulable state induced by active smoking would result in an increased risk of myocardial infarction ( MI ). Methods and Results We analyzed BARI 2D patients who were active smokers randomized to IP or IS therapy. The primary end point was fatal or nonfatal MI . PAI ‐1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1) activity was analyzed at 1, 3, and 5 years. Of 295 active smokers, MI occurred in 15.4% randomized to IP and in 6.8% randomized to IS over the 5.3 years ( P =0.023). IP therapy was associated with a 3.2‐fold increase in the hazard of MI compared with IS therapy (hazard ratio: 3.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.43–7.28; P =0.005). Baseline PAI ‐1 activity (19.0 versus 17.5 Au/mL, P =0.70) was similar in actively smoking patients randomized to IP or IS therapy. However, IP therapy resulted in significantly increased PAI ‐1 activity at 1 year (23.0 versus 16.0 Au/mL, P =0.001), 3 years (24.0 versus 18.0 Au/mL, P =0.049), and 5 years (29.0 versus 15.0 Au/mL, P =0.004) compared with IS therapy. Conclusions Among diabetic patients with stable ischemic heart disease who were actively smoking, IP therapy was independently associated with a significantly increased hazard of MI . This finding may be explained by higher PAI ‐1 activity in active smokers treated with IP therapy. Clinical Trial Registration URL : http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT 00006305. </jats:sec

Growth responses and accumulation of heavy metals by fungus Agaricus bisporus

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are able to form symbiotic associations with tree roots, and therefore, plants gain different benefits. On metal-contaminated soils, these fungi may improve plant fitness through an enhanced nutrition or by reducing toxicity of the metals. Agaricus bisporus, an edible fungus has been noted to grow in large numbers under Pistacia vera plantations in orchards of Kerman, Iran, indicating that it may form ectomycorrhiza with the tree. This research describes the responses of this fungus to heavy metals in solid and liquid MMN media. The fungus was grown in vitro in liquid and solid cultures for 3 weeks on five different concentrations (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 ppm) of five heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn) as sulphate and the effect of these metal on radial growth, biomass production and metal content of fungal biomass were determined. The result showed there was a strong variation in metal tolerance, so that Agaricus bisporus was more tolerant to Mn than other metals, while the reverse was true for Ni, so that the fungus had an increased growth in the presence of low concentrations of Co, Mn, and Zn, but Ni greatly inhibited increase in biomass and colony diameter even at concentrations as low as 15 mg/l

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Cited Articles on Hepatic Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The purpose of this study is to guide the readers to the impact of the articles published on hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We searched Scopus using 10 different search terms for hepatic MRI. The selected studies were thoroughly reviewed by two independent authors and any disagreement was sorted out by mutual consensus. The list of articles and journals was downloaded into an excel spreadsheet. Only the top 100 cited articles were selected by mutual consensus among all the authors. These articles were further read in the full-text form and were further categorized into subgroups. Three authors independently reviewed the top 100 selected articles, and subsequently data was extracted from them and analyzed. Our study showed that the highest number of top 100 cited articles on hepatic MRI were from Radiology (30 articles) followed by European Radiology (14 articles). The American Journal of Roentgenology, Radiographics, and Journal of Magnetic Resonance had seven articles each. The United States had the highest number of articles by region. Nineteen other journals contributed only one article each to the list of top 100 cited articles. The contribution of authors to the top 100 cited articles was reviewed; all the authors contributing with more than two articles to the highly cited articles are given in Table 3 in the supplementary material. The maximum number of articles were published during 2009 (14 articles), and for a five-year period, the maximum contribution was made during 2008-2013 (44 articles). Our analysis gives an insight on the frequency of citations of top articles on hepatic MRI, categorizes the subtopics, the timeline of the publications, and contributions from different geographic distributions

Gaschromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of degradation of ethylacetoacetate achieved in shake flask culture using a previously characterized yeast strain Tichosporon dermatis.

Public and regulatory interest regarding the presence of pharmaceutically active compounds in the environment its increasing adverse impact has increased in the recent years. Detection of a wide variety of pharmaceutical compounds in water environment has been a serious and growing concern in the last few decades. Understanding the biological degradation of pharmaceutical compounds is essential for accurately determining their ultimate environmental fate, conducting accurate risk assessments, and improving removal of such micro pollutants.  Present investigation was designed to accomplish biodegradation of ethylacetoacetate in shake flask culture using whole cells of previously isolated and identified yeast strain Trichosporon dermatis, from pharmaceutical effluents using enrichment culture technique. The strain was cultivated for two generations on an orbital shaker at 120 rpm at 28 ± 20C and the biomass was separated by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm for 20 mts. Normal saline washed cells were used in degradation carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks containing 500 ml of mineral medium containing ethylacetoacetate at standard conditions; wet cell weight= 20g/l; ethylacetoacetate concentration = 0.5% in mineral medium (w/v); time of biodegradation= 72 hrs; temperature= 28 ± 20C. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of microbially degraded product revealed that complete degradation of ethylacetoacetate in mineral medium was achieved in 72 hours using whole cells of Trichosporon dermatis yeast strain. Degradation of ethylacetoacetate by this yeast strain has not been reported before the present investigation. Keywords: ethyl acetoacetate, biodegradation, Gass chromatography/mass spectrometry and effluents

Experimental investigation of plain- and flapped-wing tip vortices

Particle image velocimetry was used in a low-speed wind tunnel to investigate and characterize wing tip vortex structures. A rectangular wing of a subsonic wall interference model was used as a vortex generator in two different configurations: 1) plain wing and 2) flapped wing with the trailing-edge flap extended at 20 degrees. Vortex flow quantities and their dependence on angle of attack at Reynolds numbers of 32:8 � 103 and 43:8 � 103 were evaluated. Assessment of measured data reveals that the peak values of tangential velocities, vortex strength, and vorticities are directly proportional to the angle of attack. The vortex core radius value grows slowly as the angle of attack is increased. Both plain and flapped configurations showed similar trends. The peak tangential velocities and circulation almost doubled when the flapped configuration was used instead of the plain wing

Enhanced frequency domain decomposition algorithm: a review of a recent development for unbiased damping ratio estimates

Enhanced frequency domain decomposition (EFDD) is one of OMA methods and has received significant interest from the engineering community involved in the identification of the modal structure. The great attention towards this method is driven by its capability as a user-friendly and fast processing algorithm. However, this method has drawbacks in providing accurate identification of damping ratios, despite natural frequencies and mode shapes can be computed through assuredly and reasonably accurate estimates. The exact practical computation of modal damping is still an open issue, often leading to biased estimates since the errors are coming from every step in EFDD procedures and mainly due to signal processing. Thus, the computation of modal damping becomes tremendously vital in structural dynamics because modal damping is one of the critical parameters of resonance. This review aims to provide relevant essential information on modal damping for a reliable estimation, reduce uncertainties and define error bounds. A literature review has been carried out to find the best practice criteria for modal parameter identification, in particular, modal damping ratio

Evaluation of The Quality of E-Learning Platforms Used in Educating Kindergarten Children Distantly During the Coronavirus Pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, and for the first time, ministries of education in many countries have resorted to electronic education platforms for kindergarten children as a safe alternative to face-to-face education. This shift to distance education is still used partly in the education process, even after the end of the pandemic. The current study aimed to consider this unique experience by evaluating the quality of the Rawdaty platform, which is one of the e-learning platforms launched by the Saudi Ministry of Education during the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure the continuation of the educational process in kindergartens. The analytical descriptive approach was used, and a scale derived from the Saudi National E-Learning Center (NELC) standards was designed to achieve the studys objectives. The scale includes four main dimensions: Design, Interaction, Equity and accessibility, Measurement and Evaluation. The research sample consisted of (94) mothers and (67) kindergarten teachers. The results of the study were as follows: The quality standards of the Rawdaty platform were achieved to a high degree from the point of view of mothers, with an arithmetic mean of (55.93) and an average weight of (2.664). It also showed the high-quality standards of the kindergarten platform from the point of view of the teachers, with an arithmetic mean of (58.35) and an average weight of (2.78). The study recommended the possibility of adopting e-learning platforms to teach kindergarten children distantly during exceptional circumstances

POTENTIAL ROLE OF MILK THISTLE SEED AND ITS OIL EXTRACTS AGAINST HEART AND BRAIN INJURIES INDUCED BY γ-RADIATION EXPOSURE

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Silybum marianum (S. marianum) seeds extract its oil fraction against damage effect of γ-radiation in female albino rats.Methods: Ultrasonic-assisted extraction was used for the extraction of S. marianum seeds. Lipid patterns of S. marianum seeds oil were elucidated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). S. marianum seeds extract was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and metallothionein (MT) were estimated in heart and brain tissues of the examined rats. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase-MB (CKMB) were measured in the serum of the examined rats, and the brain biomarkers; dopamine and serotonin were also measured.Results: The oil was found to be rich in linoleic acid (58.20%) and arachidic acid (23.38%). S. marianum seeds extract revealed the presence of taxifolin and six main active constituents of silymarin, including silydianin, silychristin, silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A and isosilybin B. Treatment of γ-radiation damage effect using S. marianum seeds extract and its oil fraction led to a significant reduction of MDA levels in heart (139.6 and 165.5 nmol/g, respectively) and brain (158.5 and 135.2 nmol/g, respectively) tissues, however, significant increase of GSH levels in heart (316.4 and 293 mg/g, respectively) and brain (210.4 and 227 mg/g, respectively) tissues was observed, also a significant increase of dopamine levels (85.27 and 65.74 ng/g, respectively) and MT levels of heart tissues (108.5 and 70.52 mg/g, respectively) was observed.Conclusion: S. marianum seeds extract and its oil fraction showed a protective effect against γ-radiation-induced damage in heart and brain.Â