Exercise as a treatment modality for depression: A narrative review

Depression is a major health burden associated with poor quality of life and impaired functioning. Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is associated with profound economic costs. Depression is usually treated with antidepressant medications and psychological therapy or combination of both. However, there are lot of limitations associated with these therapies and as a result, a number of alternative or adjunctive therapies have been sought for. Exercise is one such option with a lot of substantial supportive research. The objective of the article was to review the beneficial effects of exercise in depression. An electronic search of literature from inception till 06/2017 highlighting the effects of exercise on depression and the possible mechanistic pathways involved was conducted using PubMed/ Medline, Google scholar and Scopus and relevant articles were utilized for this review. The results of this review confirmed the beneficial role of exercise in depression as evidenced by the improvement in the outcomes and the various psychobiological parameters measured. Thus exercise can be considered as a treatment option for the management of depression.Keywords: Depression, Exercise, Physical activity, Mechanistic pathways, BDN

Is Forced Coughing Effective in Reducing Pain During Cervical Biopsy? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Our objective was to compare potential analgesic effect of forced coughing (FC) technique versus local anesthetics (LA) or placebo during cervical biopsy. We systematically searched five electronic databases from inception till March 2021; Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar. The data was extracted from six RCTs and analyzed them using Review Manager Software. During cervical biopsy, the overall effect estimate favored LA over FC group (MD =1.06; 95% CI [0.58 to 1.54]; p < 0.0001). On the other hand, when compared to no pain management pooled data were comparable between the two groups (MD = -1.2; 95% CI [-3.35 to 0.94]; p = 0.27). Procedure duration was significantly longer in LA than FC group (MD = -1.94; 95% CI [-2.47 to - 1.41]; p < 0.00001). FC and LA seemed to useful pain-lowering modalities during the cervical biopsy according to settings and availability. Further studies are recommended. Keywords: Cervical Biopsy; Colposcopy; Forced Coughing; Pain

Bioactive Lipids and Circulating Progenitor Cells in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Bone marrow-derived progenitor cells are mobilized into the peripheral blood after acute myocardial injury and in chronic ischemic heart disease. However, the mechanisms responsible for this mobilization are poorly understood. We examined the relationship between plasma levels of bioactive lipids and number of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs) in patients (N = 437) undergoing elective or emergent cardiac catheterization. Plasma levels of sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P) and ceramide-1 phosphate (C1P) were quantified using mass spectrometry. CPCs were assessed using flow cytometry. S1P levels correlated with the numbers of CD34+, CD34+/CD133+, and CD34+/CXCR4+ CPCs even after adjustment for potential confounding factors. However, no significant correlation was observed between C1P levels and CPC count. Plasma levels of S1P correlated with the number of CPCs in patients with coronary artery disease, suggesting an important mechanistic role for S1P in stem cell mobilization. The therapeutic effects of adjunctive S1P therapy to mobilize endogenous stem cells need to be investigated

Enhanced reactivity of pyridin-3-o1 towards 4-phenyl-l, 2, 4-triazoline-3, 5- dione: FMO treatment of the cycloaddition process

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A comprehensive review on the exergy analysis of combined cycle power plants

The arriving optimum improvement of a thermodynamic system of energy conversion such as a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) is complicated due to the existence of different factors. Energy and exergy analysis is utilized as effective methods to determine both the quantity and quality of the energy sources. This paper reviews the latest thermodynamics analysis on each system components of a CCPP independently and determine the exergy destruction of the plant. A few layouts of the CCPP plant from different locations considered as case studies. In fact, the most energy losses occurred in the condenser compared with the plant components. It found that in the combustion chamber (CC) the highest exergy destruction occurred. The ambient temperature causes an evident decrement in the power production by the gas turbine (GT). The result has proved that besides energy, exergy analysis is an efficient way to the assessment of the performance of the CCPP by recommending a more advantageous configuration of the CCPP plant, which would lead to reductions in fuel required and emissions of air pollutants

Improving the Antimicrobial Activity of Bagasse Packaging Paper using Organophosphorus Dimers

The antimicrobial properties of bagasse paper sheets coated with natural polymers (chitosan, different ratios of (gelatin/glycerol) + chitosan, hemicellulose, hemicellulose + glycerol, hemicellulose+chitosan) or synthetic organophosphorus dimer compounds were evaluated in this work. Hemicelluloses showed moderate activity against Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans, while chitosan showed weak activity against B. subtilis. The condition that offered the highest inhibitory activity of bagasse paper was the one coated with 1,3-diaryl-2,2,2,4,4,4-hexachlorocyclodiphosph(V)azane (where aryl is p-chloroaniline or p-anisidine). The developed bagasse papers were evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. The highest inhibitory activity was obtained at a concentration of 200 mg/mL for p-chloroaniline with an inhibition zone that varied for different microbes from 6.9 mm to 26 mm. The highest inhibitory activity was obtained at 300–250 mg/mL for p-anisidine against most of the pathogenic microorganisms with an inhibition zone that varied for different microbes from 8 mm to 14.75 mm. The observed antimicrobial and antifungal activity properties for bagasse paper coated with 1,3-diaryl 2,2,2,4,4,4-hexachlorocyclodiphosph(V)azane could be attributed to the presence of Cl, P atoms, and the lone pair of electrons on N atoms in the structure of the dimers

Biomarkers in Spinal Cord Injury: Prognostic Insights and Future Potentials

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a major challenge in Neurotrauma research. Complex pathophysiological processes take place immediately after the injury and later on as the chronic injury develops. Moreover, SCI is usually accompanied by traumatic injuries because the most common modality of injury is road traffic accidents and falls. Patients develop significant permanent neurological deficits that depend on the extent and the location of the injury itself and in time they develop further neurological and body changes that may risk their mere survival. In our review, we explored the recent updates with regards to SCI biomarkers. We observed two methods that may lead to the appearance of biomarkers for SCI. First, during the first few weeks following the injury the Blood Spinal Cord Barrier (BSCB) disruption that releases several neurologic structure components from the injured tissue. These components find their way to Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) and the systemic circulation. Also, as the injury develops several components of the pathological process are expressed or released such as in neuroinflammation, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species, and excitotoxicity sequences. Therefore, there is a growing interest in examining any correlations between these components and the degrees or the outcomes of the injury. Additionally, some of the candidate biomarkers are theorized to track the progressive changes of SCI which offers an insight on the patients' prognoses, potential-treatments-outcomes assessment, and monitoring the progression of the complications of chronic SCI such as Pressure Ulcers and urinary dysfunction. An extensive literature review was performed covering literature, published in English, until February 2018 using the Medline/PubMed database. Experimental and human studies were included and titles, PMID, publication year, authors, biomarkers studies, the method of validation, relationship to SCI pathophysiology, and concluded correlation were reported. Potential SCI biomarkers need further validation using clinical studies. The selection of the appropriate biomarker group should be made based on the stage of the injuries, the accompanying trauma and with regards to any surgical, or medical interference that might have been done. Additionally, we suggest testing multiple biomarkers related to the several pathological changes coinciding to offer a more precise prediction of the outcome

Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors Integrated with Phase Change Materials: A Comprehensive Analysis

The target of the current study was to review and analyze the research activities of previous studies on cooling techniques for thermal photovoltaic (PV) systems using phase-change materials. These materials have the ability to absorb and release certain amounts of potential heat energy by changing their state from phase to phase (solid–liquid) within a small temperature range. These materials have been used to regulate and lower the temperature, increase the efficiency, and extend the life of solar cells. A host of improvements have been made to phase-changing materials through the combined utilization of phase-change materials and fins in addition to nanoscale fluids to enhance electrical efficiency. When using PCMs, the thermal, electrical, and overall efficiency improved by 26.87%, 17.33%, and 40.59%, respectively. The addition of nanomaterials increased phase-change materials’ specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity, thus reducing the plate temperature and increasing the electrical efficiency. It was found that using of nanoparticles together with a microcapsule had better performance in terms of energy efficiency. Studies indicated that variable phase materials were not used because of their high cost and lack of stable operational design. Therefore, the effect of phase-change materials on PV/thermal (PVT) system performance needs further investigation and study. © by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This project is funded by King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia