Fossa posterior fossa yerleşimli glioblastoma

A 63-year-old woman operated eight months ago for glioblastoma (GB) located in posterior fossa was admitted to emergency room for stuporous, nausea, vo-miting and headache. CT and MR showed recurrence of posterior fossa cystic-necrotic tumour without any other intracranial contrast enhancing lesion. Tumour was removed near totally. Perseverative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula from the incision was occurred and contaminated by multidrug resistant Acinetobacter ba-umannii. Two months after the tumour removal she was expired because of the septicaemia. GB located in posterior fossa is uncommon in both adults and child-ren; and it appears as two different subsets: de novo (primary type) and secondary glioblastomas. Although our patient's immunohistochemical findings werenot enough to demonstrate the tumour subset, we have thought that her tumour was de novo because of no other brain involvement, staining with GFAP, vimentin, and nearly absent p53 mutation

KANO MODEL APPROACH FOR DESIGN IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH ERGONOMICS ISSUES IN CNC MACHINE DESIGN

Application of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology in manufacturing industry has been recognized as one of the effective solutions to high productivity, efficiency, and precision. In advancement of CNC machine tool technology development; however, the ergonomic issues related to human-machine design are still less-addressed by scholars. This study was carried out to analyze a CNC machining center based on the operators’ requirements. The functional and dysfunctional questionnaireform developed based on Kano method was applied to determine the operators’ requirements related to technical specifications of the CNC machining center. Another questionnaire form equipped with a diagram of human body parts and ergonomics features was used to acquire information on the CNC machining center design.This study found that there is a significant correlation between the ergonomics problems in the feet towards facilities required for theCNC machining center – an adjustable standing platform. This study concluded that application of Kano model can contribute to operators’ satisfaction in terms of ergonomic design of CNC machining center

An experimental study of the interface pressure profile during level walking of a new suspension system for lower limb amputees

Background: Different suspension systems that are used within prosthetic devices may alter the distribution of pressure inside the prosthetic socket in lower limb amputees. This study aimed to compare the interface pressure of a new magnetic suspension system with the pin/lock and Seal-In suspension systems. Methods: Twelve unilateral transtibial amputees participated in the study. The subjects walked on a level walkway at a self-selected speed. The resultant peak pressure with the three different suspension systems was recorded using F-socket transducers. Findings: There were significant statistical differences between the three studied suspension systems. Pair-wise analyses revealed that the mean peak pressure (kPa) was lower with the magnetic system than it was with the pin/lock system over the anterior and posterior aspects during one gait cycle (89.89 vs. 79.26 and 47.22 vs. 26.01, respectively). Overall, the average peak pressure values were higher with the Seal-In system than they were with the new magnetic lock and pin/lock system. Interpretation: The new magnetic system might reduce the pressure within the prosthetic socket in comparison to the pin/lock and Seal-In system during one gait cycle. This is particularly important during the swing phase of gait and may reduce the pain and discomfort at the distal residual limb in comparison to the pin/lock system

Evaluation of solvents’ effect on solubility, intermolecular interaction energies and habit of ascorbic acid crystals

Solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in solvents is very important for drug development and manufacturing. Solubility data may provide further information such as thermochemical properties and intermolecular interactions that may lead to a better understanding of the formation of API crystals. In this study, solubility of ascorbic acid was determined by gravimetric method in four different commonly used polar protic solvents: water, methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol. The solubility of ascorbic acid crystal was also predicted using Conductor-like Screening Model – Realistic Solvent (COSMO-RS) approach. In this computational analysis, the generated ΔG values are based on the solubilities that were experimentally obtained to simulate the intermolecular forces. The intermolecular interaction data from COSMO-RS provide an insight into the relationship between the intermolecular interactions and its crystal habit across four different polar protic solvents. The habit of the crystals was then determined using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques, while the polymorphic form of the crystals was identified by X-ray powder diffraction and single X-ray diffraction techniques. The solubility and characterization data showed that the solvents with high polarity increased the solubility of ascorbic acid. The data also showed that different solvent polarity influenced the crystal habit, but did not change the crystal structure to form a new polymorph. Keywords: Solubility, Intermolecular forces, Crystal habit, COSMO-R

The impact of physical activity on cumulative cardiovascular disease risk factors among Malaysian adults

Background: Numerous studies have shown the importance of physical activity in reducing the morbidity and mortality rates caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, most of these studies emphasise little on the cumulative effect of CVD risk factors. Hence, this study investigates the association between physical exercise and cumulative CVD risk factors among adults in three different age groups. Methods: Using a sample of 7276 respondents drawn from community centers, the REDISCOVER team gathered information on physical activity, CVD risk factors (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, tobacco use) and socioeconomic and demographic variables in Malaysia. Because the study required medical examination, a convenience sampling frame was preferred in which all volunteers were included in the study. Fasting blood samples and anthropometric (height, weight and more) measurements were collected by trained staffs. Socio-demographic and physical activity variables were recorded through questionnaires. A Chi-square test was performed to identify the bivariate association between the covariates (socioeconomic variables, demographic variables and physical activity) and outcome variable. The association between the main exposure, physical activity, and the outcome variable, cumulative CVD risk factors, was assessed using an ordinal logistic regression model, controlling for socioeconomic status and demographic influences in three different age groups, 35-49, 50-64 and 65 and above. Results: The mean age of participants is 51.8 (SD = 9.4). Respondents in the age groups of 35-49 (aOR(moderate) = 0.12; 95 % CI: 0.02 - 0.53) and 65 and above (aOR(high) = 0.58; 95 % CI: 0.24, 0.78) showed a statistically significant inverse relationship between physical activity and cumulative CVD risk factors. However, this relationship was not significant among respondents in the 50-64 age group suggesting the possible influence of other variables, such as stress and environment. Conclusions: The statistically significant results show a negative association between physical exercise and cumulative CVD risk factors. However, the lack of a significant relationship in the 50-64 age group suggests the need to include other considerations in future studies, such as stress and environment

Synthesis and characterization of gefitinib and paclitaxel mono and dual drug-loaded blood cockle shells (<i>Anadara granosa</i>)-derived aragonite CaCO₃ nanoparticles

Calcium carbonate has slowly paved its way into the field of nanomaterial research due to its inherent properties: biocompatibility, pH-sensitivity, and slow biodegradability. In our efforts to synthesize calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CSCaCO3NP) from blood cockle shells (Anadara granosa), we developed a simple method to synthesize CSCaCO3NP, and loaded them with gefitinib (GEF) and paclitaxel (PTXL) to produce mono drug-loaded GEF-CSCaCO3NP, PTXL-CSCaCO3NP, and dual drug-loaded GEF-PTXL-CSCaCO3NP without usage of toxic chemicals. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results reveal that the drugs are bound to CSCaCO3NP. Scanning electron microscopy studies reveal that the CSCaCO3NP, GEF-CSCaCO3NP, PTXL-CSCaCO3NP, and GEF-PTXL-CSCaCO3NP are almost spherical nanoparticles, with a diameter of 63.9 ± 22.3, 83.9 ± 28.2, 78.2 ± 26.4, and 87.2 ± 26.7 (nm), respectively. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and N2 adsorption-desorption experiments revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles are negatively charged and mesoporous, with surface areas ranging from ~8 to 10 (m2/g). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) confirms that the synthesized nanoparticles are aragonite. The CSCaCO3NP show excellent alkalinization property in plasma simulating conditions and greater solubility in a moderately acidic pH medium. The release of drugs from the nanoparticles showed zero order kinetics with a slow and sustained release. Therefore, the physico-chemical characteristics and in vitro findings suggest that the drug loaded CSCaCO3NP represent a promising drug delivery system to deliver GEF and PTXL against breast cancer