Prediction of Emergency Preparedness Level On-Board Ships Using Discrete Event Simulation: the Case of Firefighting Drill

This paper proposes a hybrid approach, including Fuzzy Dematel (FD) integrated with Discrete Event Simulation (DES), to predict emergency preparedness levels on-board ships. The FD used critical factors that affect emergency preparedness to conduct a DES based on real firefighting drill records collected from 45 merchant ships. The simulation results showed the average duration of on-board drills in ideal conditions (27.47 min.), in the worst-case scenario (51.49 min.), for Ship A (29.99 min.), and Ship B (28.12 min.). Based on the findings, recovery actions linked to the factors have been recommended to promote on-board implementation. The proposed model is of great importance to shore-based managers, allowing them to monitor the emergency preparedness level of the fleet continuously, even during pandemics. Further studies are planned to develop a remote monitoring system that would digitalize the existing response procedures in emergency situations

Multilevel Botulinum Toxin Type A as a Treatment for Spasticity in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children. Spasticity is a disabling clinical symptom that is prevalent among patients suffering from cerebral palsy. The treatment of spasticity with botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) is a well-established option in the interdisciplinary management of spasticity, providing focal reductions in muscle tone in cerebral palsy patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the effect of multilevel BTX-A injections in the lower extremities, focusing mainly on gross motor function and functional status in cerebral palsy patients. METHODS: Data from 71 cerebral palsy patients (64% male, 36% female, mean age 6.7 ±3.2 years) were analyzed retrospectively. We used the Ashworth and Tardieu scales to evaluate the degree of spasticity. Motor function was measured by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88), and functional status was classified by the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS I-V). Multilevel BTX-A injections were applied after sedation and with electrostimulation guidance. The evaluations were repeated every three months, and the patients were followed for six months. RESULTS: We found that the Ashworth and Tardieu scores decreased significantly at the three-month evaluation (p<0.05) but not at the six-month evaluation (p>0.05). Although the improvement in spasticity was not maintained at the six-month evaluation, GMFM-88 scores increased significantly at the three- and six-month assessments. GMFSC levels showed no change in the three- and six-month assessments. CONCLUSION: We believe that a single multilevel BTX-A injection reduces spasticity and improves motor function in children with cerebral palsy

The role of Sprouty3 in brain cancer-derived cells

Essenzielle biologische Prozesse wie Proliferation, Differenzierung, Migration und Zellzyklus sind meist eine zelluläre Antwort auf Wachstumsfaktorstimuli, die durch Rezeptor-Tyrosin-Kinase-vermittelt sind. Sprouty (Spry) Proteine sind evolutionär konservierte Modulatoren dieser Signalwege, die durch ihre Interaktion mit weiteren Effektoren, Mediatoren und Regulatoren die Intensität und Dauer der intrazellulären Signale koordinieren. Dementsprechend ist deren Deregulierung häufig in der Pathophysiologie von Krebs zu finden. Die in dieser Arbeit präsentierte Studie untersucht Sprouty3 (Spry3), ein bisher kaum charakterisiertes Mitglied der Familie, in Bezug auf seine Rolle bei der Krebsentstehung von Hirntumoren. Wir zeigen, dass die Spry3 Expression, anders als die der anderen Spry-Isoformen, keiner Wachstumsfaktorinduktion unterliegt. Des Weiteren wird das Spry3 Protein auf Western-Blots als Doppelband-Muster detektiert. Häufig sind langsamer wandernde Banden in jenen Zellen anzutreffen, die in Gegenwart von Serum kultiviert wurden, was darauf hinweist, dass das Spry3 Protein einer serumabhängigen Modifikation unterliegt. Dazu passend wird ersichtlich, dass die Spry3 Expression nicht mit dem Tumorgrad einhergeht, da die Spry3 Proteinlevels keine signifikanten Unterschiede in der Verteilung zwischen den klinisch-pathologischen Untergruppen von Hirntumoren aufweisen. Hirnzelllinien wurden hinsichtlich ihres unterschiedlichen Bandenmusters auf Western Blots, der endogenen Levels von Spry3 und des klinisch-pathologischen Subtyps für Überexpressionsstudien ausgewählt, insofern sie auch fähig waren, Adenoviren aufzunehmen, ohne auf deren Expression zu reagieren. Mit Hilfe eines adenoviralen Expressionssystems wurden Spry3 und als weitere Spry-Kontrolle auch Spry4, in den Zellen überexprimiert und der Effekt von Spry Proteinen auf die Migration, Proliferation, Adhäsion und Klonogenität der Zellen wurde analysiert. Betrachtet man die Migrationsresultate, beschleunigt die Spry3 Expression die Migration von DBTRG-05MG (Glioblastom, WHO IV) Zellen signifikant, während in U-373 MG (Astrozytom, WHO III) eine erhöhte Migrationsgeschwindigkeit nur angedeutet wird. Gegenteilig dazu führt die Spry4 Expression zu einer Inhibierung der Migration beider Zelllinien. Zusätzlich zeigen wir, dass die Spry3 Überexpression die Proliferationsrate beider Zelllinien erhöht, während die Spry4 Expression die Zellverdopplung inhibiert. Übereinstimmend mit dieser Beobachtung demonstrieren wir, dass der Knock-down von Spry3 in U-373 MG dann auch zu einer signifikanten Inhibierung der Zellproliferation führt. Außerdem deuten nicht weiter verifizierte Daten an, dass die Überexpression von Spry3 in U-373 MG Zellen die Klonogenität fördert, während Spry4 auf das Wachstum von DBTRG-05MG Zellen inhibierend wirkt. Zusätzlich wird gezeigt, dass Spry3-überexprimierende SK-N-FI (Neuroblastom, WHO IV) Zellen eine signifikante Verminderung der Zelladhäsion aufweisen, während die Überexpression von Spry4 keinen Einfluss auf die Adhäsion nimmt. Auch hier kehrt der Spry3 Knock-down diesen Effekt um, was sich in einer signifikanten Förderung der Adhäsion auswirkt. Zusammenfassend zeigen wir, dass die Spry3 Expression keiner Wachstumsfaktorinduktion unterliegt. Darüber hinaus berichten wir erstmalig, dass Spry3 tumorpromovierende Eigenschaften in Gehirnzellen ausübt, während der Knock-down von Spry3 dieselben Eigenschaften inhibiert. Ganz im Gegensatz zu der Wirkung von Spry3 vermag Spry4 dem malignen Phänotyp in Hirnkrebszellen entgegenzuwirken. Daher leisten unsere Daten einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Verständnis der Rolle von Spry Proteinen in Hirntumoren.Essential biological processes such as proliferation, differentiation, migration and cell cycle are mostly a coordinated cellular response to growth factor stimuli interpreted by receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated signaling pathways. Sprouty (Spry) proteins are evolutionarily conserved proteins affecting signal duration and intensity of transmitted signals via their interplay with effectors, mediators, and regulators. Accordingly, the deregulation of Spry is frequently found in cancers and thereby influences the malignant phenotype. This study investigates a previously uncharacterized member of the Spry family, Sprouty3 (Spry3), concerning its role in cancerogenesis of brain-associated cancers. In this work, we show that unlike it is the case for other Spry isoforms, the expression of Spry3 is not subject to growth factor induction in human brain cancer cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Spry3 expression does not coincide with advanced tumor progression. For overexpression studies, brain cell lines were selected for their different band pattern on Western blots, the endogenous level of Spry3 and clinicopathological subtype, inasmuch as their ability to accept adenoviruses without reacting to their expression. Using the adenoviral system, Spry3 and, as another Spry control, Spry4, were transiently overexpressed and the effect of Spry proteins on migration, proliferation, adhesion and clonogenicity was analyzed. With respect to migration, ectopically expressed Spry3 significantly accelerates cell migration in DBTRG-05MG cells (glioblastoma, WHO IV), while in U-373 MG cells (astrocytoma, WHO III) velocity rates remain largely unaffected. In contrast, Spry4 significantly inhibits cell migration in both cell lines analyzed. In addition, we show that Spry3 overexpression accelerates cell proliferation in both cell lines. In accordance, by using a shRNA directed against Spry3, repression of Spry3 expression in U-373 MG results in a significant inhibition of cell proliferation. In contrast to the tumor promoting activity of Spry3, Spry4 also exerts an inhibitory effect in this assay. Regarding the effects on clone formation ability, our data suggest that overexpression of Spry3 promotes clonogenicity in U-373 MG cells. In DBTRG-05MG, Spry4 impairs clone formation ability in these cells. Concerning their effects on adhesion, it can be shown that Spry3 significantly reduces adhesion of SK-N-FI cells (neuroblastoma, WHO IV), while overexpression of Spry4 protein has no effect. Again, Spry3 knock-down counteracts this effect, resulting in a significant promotion of adhesion. In summary, we demonstrate that Spry3 expression is not subject to growth factor induc-tion. In addition, we report for the first time that increased Spry3 levels have tumor-promoting properties in brain cells, while a reduction of Spry3 as achieved by a shRNA-mediated knock-down has opposite effects. We further conclude that Spry4 counteracts the malignant phenotype in brain cancer-derived cells. Therefore, our data make an important contribution to the understanding of the role of Spry proteins in brain cancer

AN APPLICATION OF AGENT-BASED TRAFFIC FLOW MODEL FOR MARITIME SAFETY MANAGEMENT EVALUATION

This paper aims to analyze maritime traffic safety assessment via a traffic flow simulation model. The model was developed via the NetLogo platform, agent-based modeling, and simulation approach. And it is implemented on an open sea area, at the Aegean Sea to show its applicability. The model is verified through experiments conducted in the area. The simulation outputs give the risky locations and scores. Dangerous locations and risk scores in the area are determined as the outputs of the simulation runs. A traffic separation scheme is established to prove the model's suitability as adaptable and updatable. After the scheme is implemented, the potential collision locations and scores change considerably. The developed model is convenient to simulate various conditions by changing the input parameters on maritime traffic safety.</jats:p

A novel colorimetric sensor for measuring hydroperoxide content and peroxyl radical scavenging activity using starch-stabilized gold nanoparticles

A novel colorimetric nanosensor was developed for evaluating peroxyl radical scavenging activity of phenolic antioxidants and for the detection of hydroperoxides formed during AAPH-induced oxidation of linoleic acid emulsions. Starch was used as a green reduction/stabilization agent for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesis in alkaline medium. When tert-butyl hydroperoxide (ten-BHP) was incubated with an excess of iodide ions in a 37 degrees C water bath for 90 min, triodide (I-3(-)) was formed in an amount equivalent to tert-BHP concentration. Upon the addition of starch-stabilized gold nanoparticles (ss-AuNPs) solution to the incubation mixture, triiodide ions were rapidly adsorbed on the surface of AuNPs and caused their aggregation. A concomitant red shift (from 525 nm to 563 nm) of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption of the nanoparticles was observed, absorbance linearly increasing with aqueous tert-BHP concentration. The method provided an LOD of 39 mu M for tert-BHP, and was validated through linearity, precision and accuracy. The concentration of hydroperoxides estimated in linoleic acid peroxidation correlated well with those found by the reference ferric thiocyanate assay. Peroxyl radical scavenger antioxidants decreased the red-shifted SPR absorption of aggregated ss-AuNPs, thereby enabling an indirect estimation of antioxidant activity. This AuNPs-based colorimetric sensor is the first of its kind to directly determine peroxyl radical scavenging activity of polyphenols. The half-maximal inhibitive concentrations (IC50) of selected antioxidant compounds were calculated by utilizing the decrease in absorbance with increasing concentration of scavengers, and compared to those of classical oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. The proposed nanosensor was superior over FL-based ORAC in determining the peroxyl radical scavenging activity of the lipophilic antioxidant alpha-tocopherol. The percentage scavenging of real samples such as green tea infusion and synthetic serum were determined. The proposed assay can be used for estimating the peroxyl scavenging of various food and biological samples in terms of its low cost, ease of use and compatibility

Criteria for Open Access and Publishing

Gürdal, Gültekin/0000-0001-7259-8134WOS: 000393289600016This article gives an overview of the history and current status of the DOAJ. After a brief historical overview, DOAJ policies regarding open access, intellectual property rights and questionable publishers are explained in detail. The larger part of this article is a much requested explanation on how DOAJ uses its new set of criteria for the evaluation of open access journals and the rationale behind choosing the seven extra criteria that qualify for the DOAJ Seal. A final section is devoted to the extended possibilities that DOAJ will be offering shortly to scholars and publishers for searching the database and for uploading metadata. The result is a renewed DOAJ that offers a more robust platform, a more stable database and enhanced services to allow the upload and collection of metadata

Psychopathology and Temperament in Parents of Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders: A Controlled Study

WOS: 000264595300001PubMed: 19306121Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of psychopathology and temperament in parents of adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD). We compared the psychiatric diagnoses and temperament characteristics of parents of adolescents with SUD with parents of adolescents without SUD. Methods: Diagnostic interviews of the parents were conducted with 3 instruments: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM non-patients, Axis 1 Disorders, and Axis 2 Disorders (SCID-NP, SCID-I, and SCID-II). Temperament characteristics were evaluated with TEMPS-A (Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and Son Diego Autoquestionnaire), Turkish version. Results: Mood disorders (P = 0.010), and avoidont (P = 0.005) and paranoid (P = 0.011) personality were more frequent in mothers of adolescents with SUD than in the controls, whereas mood disorders (P = 0.011), SUD (P = 0.047), and paranoid personality (P = 0.008) were more frequent in the fathers of adolescents with SUD than in the controls. Depressive, cyclothymic, and anxious temperament scores (respectively P = 0.023, P = 0.00, and P = 0.003) were higher in mothers than in the controls, and depressive temperament (P = 0.013) scores were higher in fathers of adolescents with SUD than in the controls. Conclusion: DSMAxis I and Axis II disorders were more frequent in the parents of adolescents with SUD than in the parents of adolescents without SUD. The difference in temperament characteristics exists in both groups. Familial effects have significant clinical implications for SUD in adolescents, such as individual features and peer effect. Key Words: Adolescent, substance use disorders, psychiatric diagnoses, temperamen