Decision-making regarding total knee replacement surgery: a qualitative meta-synthesis

Knee osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent condition that can result in disability and reduced quality of life. The evidence suggests that total knee replacement surgery (TKR) is an effective intervention for patients with severe knee problems, but there is also an unmet need for this treatment in the UK. To help understand the reason for this unmet need, the aim of this study was to explore the factors that influence the decision-making process of TKR surgery by synthesising the available evidence from qualitative research on this topic

Study On Effect of Boron Carbide, Aluminium Oxide and Graphite On Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour of Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composite at Different Temperature

The present research has been conducted to study the impact of boron carbide (B4C), aluminium oxide(Al2O3) and graphite on Aluminium 2219 (Al2219). According to current research, B4C and graphite material be a good substitute for Al2219.Reinforced composites and unreinforced Al2219 prepared by a stir casting process. A scanning electron microscope was used to analyze the reinforcement and distribution in the matrix and worn surface of the specimen. Exceptional wear resistance (30%) exhibited by  B4C and graphite-reinforced hybrid composite at 150 ºC in contrast with the unreinforced Al2219. The B4C and Gr reinforcement particulate existence improves the strengthening kinetics in the matrix phase at 150 °C. The artificial neural network used to get the test significance, normalized factor importance and absolute relative error of less than 1%

On local structures of cubicity 2 graphs

A 2-stab unit interval graph (2SUIG) is an axes-parallel unit square intersection graph where the unit squares intersect either of the two fixed lines parallel to the $X$-axis, distance $1 + \epsilon$ ($0 < \epsilon < 1$) apart. This family of graphs allow us to study local structures of unit square intersection graphs, that is, graphs with cubicity 2. The complexity of determining whether a tree has cubicity 2 is unknown while the graph recognition problem for unit square intersection graph is known to be NP-hard. We present a polynomial time algorithm for recognizing trees that admit a 2SUIG representation

Complete Hydatidiform Mole Coexisting with a Live Fetus

Hydatidiform mole co-existing with a normal fetus is very rare. We report a case of a 36 year old woman Para 4+0 who presented with amenorrhoea of twenty four weeks duration, vaginal bleeding , abdominal pain and  pre-eclampsia. Ultrasound examination revealed a hydatidiform mole  coexisting with a normal living fetus. The patient underwent a caesarean section at twenty eight weeks for maternal distress due to unbearable   abdominal pain. The baby died after seven days. Post operatively she had an eclamptic fit and developed oliguria and persistent trophoblastic disease which were all successfully treated.Key words: hydatidiform mole, living fetus, perisitent trophoblastic disease

Nasal chondromesenchymal harmatoma in a nine year old female: Case report

Hamartomas are tumorlike benign mass lesions due to excessive growth of tissues indigenous to the site of origin. Nasal  chondromesenchymal hamartomas are predominantly in young infants and their occurrence in children is especially rare andonly a few cases have been described in literature. Patients may present with nasal blockage leading to difficulties in breathing, rhinorrhea, epistaxis, visual disturbances, and even otitis media. Surgery is the method of treatment and the outcome is usuallygood when this is done early in the disease progression. We present a case of Nasal Chondromesenchymal harmatoma in a nine year old female child who presented late with a large nasal mass

Engineering modular half-antibody conjugated nanoparticles for targeting CD44v6-expressing cancer cells

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a major cause of death worldwide mainly because of the late detection in advanced stage. Recently, we proposed CD44v6 as a relevant marker for early detection of GC, opening new avenues for GC-targeted theranostics. Here, we designed a modular nanoscale system that selectively targets CD44v6-expressing GC cells by the site-oriented conjugation of a new-engineered CD44v6 half-antibody fragment to maleimide-modified polystyrene nanoparticles (PNPs) via an efficient bioorthogonal thiol-Michael addition click chemistry. PNPs with optimal particle size (200 nm) for crossing a developed biomimetic CD44v6-associated GC stromal model were further modified with a heterobifunctional maleimide crosslinker and click conjugated to the novel CD44v6 half-antibody fragment, obtained by chemical reduction of full antibody, without affecting its bioactivity. Collectively, our results confirmed the specific targeting ability of CD44v6-PNPs to CD44v6-expressing cells (1.65-fold higher than controls), highlighting the potential of CD44v6 half-antibody conjugated nanoparticles as promising and clinically relevant tools for the early diagnosis and therapy of GC. Additionally, the rational design of our nanoscale system may be explored for the development of several other nanotechnology-based disease-targeted approaches.This work was supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) projects Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000012 and NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000029, through COMPETE 2020-Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) Portugal 2020 and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016390, and PTDC/CTMNAN/120958/2010, B.N.L. doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/87400/2012) and postdoctoral grant (PTDC/MEC-GIN/29232/2017). R.F.P. was supported by Institute of Network Bioengineering for Healthy Aging (0245_IBEROS_1_E)

Acute and Subacute Toxic Study of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Combretum Molle

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the acute and subacute toxicity of the aqueous leaf extract of Combretum molle.Methods: The acute toxicity of the extract was evaluated in rats. The animals were orally administered with doses ranging from 2000 to 8000 mg/kg and observed continuously for the first 4 h, then hourly for the next 24 h, and finally, 6-hourly for 72 h. Control animals received orally normal saline. The rats were observed carefully for mortality, pain as well as respiratory movements. For subacute toxicity, 6 groups of 6 rats (3 male and 3 female) each received intraperitoneally, normal saline (control), 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 mg/kg of the extract, respectively, thrice daily for 15 days. At the end of the treatment period, the animals were sacrificed and their organs (liver, heart and kidney) removed for macroscopic examination.Results: For the acute toxicit test, no death and signs of poisoning were observed in the treated groups. In the subacute tstudy, LD50 in the rats after intraperitoneal administration was 700 mg/kg (456 - 896, 95 % confidence interval). The clinical signs of poisoning (motor difficulties, decreased respiratory rate, and tremor preceding death) were observed, suggesting overt toxicity throughout the neuromuscular system. However, histological examination of vital organs showed normal architecture suggesting no morphological abnormalities in the heart, kidney and liver.Conclusion: The results show that the aqueous leaf extract of C. molle is moderately toxic when given intraperitoneally.Keywords: Combretum molle, Acute/subacute toxicity, Histopathology, Rat

Fastness Properties of Colorant Extracted from Tamarind Fruits Pods to Dye Cotton and Silk Fabrics

This study investigates the extraction of colour from tamarind fruits pods to dye cotton and silk fabrics using the mordanting treatment with these mordants of CUSO4, FERROUS (II) &amp; (III) SULPHATE AND ALUM. Aqueous and solvent extraction method was adopted for this experiment. The colour obtained was different shades ranging from soft, light brown and brown, depending on the mordant used. However, the change in colour can be improved using other mordant from the ones used in this study, fastness properties test was carried out and proved good result. Therefore, the findings will benefit local dyers, farmers, textiles industries; organisations, institutions that deal with dyes/colour, research institutes and can be good for future research on other natural fabrics. Keywords: Aqueous and solvent Extraction method, Colour/dye, Tamarind Fruit              pods, Cotton and Silk Fabrics, Dyed, Fastness test

Response to letter to editor: 'Comment on Arch et al., Trials. 2016;17:517'

In October 2015 we published the paper ‘Measurement of HbA1c in multicentre diabetes trials – should blood samples be tested locally or sent to a central laboratory: an agreement analysis’. Chatterjee and Pradhan have submitted a letter to the editor asking critical questions regarding the methods we used. We offer this letter in response