Septic Arthritis in Rheumatology: Review of Five Cases

This report illustrates five cases of patients admitted to medical ward in HUKM, diagnosed and treated as septic arthritis over the course of two months. Their age ranged from 32 to 67 years old with one patient had history of monoarticular pain and the other four had polyarticular pain. Two of these patients had pre-existing joint disease, namely gouty arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and another patient with background history of mixed connective tissue disease on long term steroid therapy. The diagnosis of septic arthritis was made mainly from clinical assessment, supported by synovial fluid assessment and blood investigations. All patients received minimum of two weeks intravenous antibiotic followed by one month course of antibiotic. All of them had arthrocentesis for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes and two had laparoscopic arthroscopy with wash out done

Media in guidance and counseling services: a tool and innovation for school counselor

Guidance and counseling services is an element of education that aims to support the achievement of the objectives of education. Guidance and counseling can prevent students experience problems and may even alleviate student of his problems. One of the efforts that need to be done to improve the effectiveness of guidance and counseling services is the development of media guidance and counseling. Media guidance and counseling can make different colors of guidance and counseling services so that the interests of students increase when following the guidance and counseling services. Used media must be relevant with the objectives/ competency of the guidance and counseling and relevant with material guidance and counseling services. Media in guidance and counseling services plays an important role in the implementation of guidance and counseling so that student can better understand, understand, and internalize the material guidance and counseling services to the student

Highlight of Grid-connected PV systems in administrative buildings in Egypt

Solar energy applications are becoming increasingly common in Egypt. The abundant sunshine in Egypt, as well as the increasing competitiveness of solar energy systems including- but not limited to photovoltaic (PV), – predicts that these technologies could be weighed to be raised in Egypt.PV systems are installed on roof tiles or other parts of building structures to supplement grid utility, reduce electric bills, and provide emergency back–up energy. Moreover, they simultaneously reduce significant amounts of CO2 emissions. It is foreseen, a number of residential and public buildings in Egypt are using solar power to cut electric utility bills significantly. The approximately payback period to recover the investment costs for PV systems is up to about 5 years.  In addition, it is more economical to use PV system than grid utility systems. The two components that determine the total initial price of a grid- connected PV system are the modules and the balance of systems (BOS). The BOS includes different components such as mounting frames, inverters and site- specific installation hardware.The Government of Egypt (GOE) has endorsed the deployment of PV systems through three approaches. It started with a prime minister decree to install PV projects on one-thousand of the governmental buildings. This was followed by as an initiative called "Shamsk ya Masr", and finally the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) projects.Following the prime minster decree the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) and its affiliated companies took the lead to install PV systems at the top roof of their administrative buildings and interconnect these systems to the electricity network where the suitable locations have been selected for mounting them. About 90 PV systems have been already mounted with about a capacity of 9 MW. On the other hand, "Shamsk ya Masr" has considered energy efficiency (EE) so as to complement the PV systems, which will be installed on administrative buildings. Cost- effective EE measures should be implemented prior to or at the same time as implemented PV program. The amount of electricity that a PV system produces depends on the system type, orientation and the available solar resource. In 2014, the GOE issued the Feed-in Tariff program to further promote RE technologies in general and PV in particular. Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Authority (Egypt ERA) has set the regulations, promotion and awareness for PVs. This approach has been applied for administrative buildings as well.The paper highlights the impact of the previously mentioned mechanisms in deploying PV technologies through small scale projects. It also represents a cost- benefit analysis for the installed systems taking into account the measured value for PV parameters (kWh/kWp, PSH) and daily load profiles of the selected administrative buildings.</p

Antibody responses to acute COVID-19 infection; assessment via multiplex LABScreen COVID Plus Assay

Background:&nbsp;Understanding the profile of antibody responses following acute COVID-19 infection is required.&nbsp;Aim:&nbsp;to describe the pattern of IgG anti-COVID-19 antibody production in patients with acute infection using the LABScreen COVID Plus assay.&nbsp;Results:&nbsp;The overall seropositivity was 69/73(94.5%). Anti-Spike, Spike 1 and spike S2 subunits were positive in 78.1%, while anti spike receptor binding domain&nbsp; (RBD) was detected in 68.4% and anti nucleocapsid protein in 61.6%. The overall positivity of the assay reached 100.0% during the second week post symptoms. The mean fluorescent intensities (MFI) of anti-Spike S1 was higher in the second week than the first week,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.03. MFI of anti-Spike S2 was significantly higher in PCR positive patients in comparison with the negative ones,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.006. When compared to the RT-PCR results; the overall antibodies positivity, anti-Spike, and anti-Spike2 antibodies had sensitivities (100% and 84.7%) and specificities (28.6% and 50.0%) and accuracies (86.3% and 78.1%).&nbsp; Patients' outcome correlated significantly with the time of hospital admission,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.001.&nbsp;Conclusion:&nbsp;COVID-19 IgG antibodies are detectable with considerable frequencies during the first two weeks post infection. Anti S2 antibodies correlates well with the RT-PCR results. The LABScreen COVID Plus is a sensitive assay for the detection of post-acute COVID-19 infection antibody responses.Background: Understanding the profile of antibody responses following acute COVID-19 infection is required. Aim: to describe the pattern of IgG anti-COVID-19 antibody production in patients with acute infection using the LABScreen COVID Plus assay. Results: The overall seropositivity was 69/73(94.5%). Anti-Spike, Spike 1 and spike S2 subunits were positive in 78.1%, while anti spike receptor binding domain&nbsp; (RBD) was detected in 68.4% and anti nucleocapsid protein in 61.6%. The overall positivity of the assay reached 100.0% during the second week post symptoms. The mean fluorescent intensities (MFI) of anti-Spike S1 was higher in the second week than the first week,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.03. MFI of anti-Spike S2 was significantly higher in PCR positive patients in comparison with the negative ones,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.006. When compared to the RT-PCR results; the overall antibodies positivity, anti-Spike, and anti-Spike2 antibodies had sensitivities (100% and 84.7%) and specificities (28.6% and 50.0%) and accuracies (86.3% and 78.1%).&nbsp; Patients' outcome correlated significantly with the time of hospital admission,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.001. Conclusion: COVID-19 IgG antibodies are detectable with considerable frequencies during the first two weeks post infection. Anti S2 antibodies correlates well with the RT-PCR results. The LABScreen COVID Plus is a sensitive assay for the detection of post-acute COVID-19 infection antibody responses

Aktivní enkapsulace imiquimodu do lipozomů s dendrimery

Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmaceutical Technology Supervisor: Dr. Georgios Paraskevopoulos, Ph.D. Consultant: Eleni Panoutsopoulou Author: Dina Manna Title of the thesis: Active Encapsulation of Imiquimod in Liposomes with Dendrimers One of the main obstacles to tackle when dealing with drug delivery systems such as liposomes is efficiently loading adequate concentration of active ingredient. Drug encapsulation in liposomes occurs in two possible methods: passive and active loading. Passive drug loading involves the capture of drugs into the liposome whilst it is being prepared. Active loading however is the passage of drug through liposome's phospholipid bilayer after the liposome is fully formed. This method has been shown to be effective for low molecular weight ionizable active components and it was hypothesized to be an effective method of encapsulation of imiquimod. IMQ is an imidazole quinolone drug known for its extreme hydrophobicity and basicity and have been used for skin diseases (e.g. skin cancer). During our approach, liposomes were prepared using the classical thin layer method while the lipids were hydrated with aqueous solution of in-house synthesized first-generation dendrimer of two different concentrations (5 mM and 10 mM). Once...Univerzita Karlova, Farmaceutická fakulta v Hradci Králové Katedra Farmaceutické technologie Školitel: Dr. Georgios Paraskevopoulos, Ph.D. Konzultant: Eleni Panoutsopoulou Autor: Dina Manna Název diplomové práce: Aktivní enkapsulace imiquimodu do lipozomů s dendrimery Jednou z hlavních překážek, které je třeba řešit při vývoji systémů pro dodávání léčiv jako jsou lipozomy, je účinná enkapsulace ("drug loading") adekvátní koncentrace účinné látky. Enkapsulaci léčiva do liposomů je možné provést dvěma způsoby: pasivním a aktivním. Při pasivní enkapsulaci se léčivo dostává do lipozomu během jeho přípravy. Při aktivní enkapsulaci však dochází k průchodu léčiva přes fosfolipidovou dvojvrstvu lipozomu poté, co je lipozom kompletně zformován. Bylo dokázáno, že tato metoda je účinná pro nízkomolekulární ionizovatelná léčiva a lze tedy předpokládat, že by mohlo jít o účinnou metodu enkapsulace léčiva imiquimodu (IMQ). IMQ je imidazochinolon známý pro svou extrémní hydrofobicitu a zásaditost., užívaný pro léčbu kožních onemocněních (např. karcinom kůže). Příprava lipozomů v této práci probíhala pomocí klasické metody tenkého filmu, kdy byly lipidy hydratovány vodným roztokem v naší výzkumné skupině syntetizované první generace dendrimerů o dvou různých koncentracích (5 mM a 10 mM). Jakmile byly lipozomy...Department of Pharmaceutical TechnologyKatedra farmaceutické technologieFarmaceutická fakulta v Hradci KrálovéFaculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králov

Selective Electrochemical Detection of Epinephrine Using Gold Nanoporous Film

Epinephrine (EP) is one of the important catecholamine neurotransmitters that play an important role in the mammalian central nervous system. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the change of its concentrations. Nanoporous materials have wide applications that include catalysis, energy storages, environmental pollution control, wastewater treatment, and sensing applications. These unique properties could be attributable to their high surface area, a large pore volume, and uniform pore sizes. A gold nanoporous layer modified gold electrode was prepared and applied for the selective determination of epinephrine neurotransmitter at low concentration in the presence of several other substances including ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). The constructed electrode was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The resulting electrode showed a selective detection of epinephrine with the interferences of dopamine and uric acid over a wide linear range (from 50 μM to 1 mM). The coverage of gold nanoporous on the surface of gold electrode represents a promising electrochemical sensor with high selectivity and sensitivity

Management research in the Arab World: What is now and what is next?

Given the significant political and socio-economic transformations occurring in the challenging yet under-researched Arab world nowadays, this study seeks to (1) systematically review the literature in the leading mainstream management journals; and (2) develop a future research agenda that would enhance our understanding of the region. To do this, we conducted a systematic review of 176 published management studies (2000–2016). Our thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes. These were (1) avenues for economic development and improved performance, (2) leveraging and adapting to changing local institutional contexts and (3) overcoming legitimacy concerns/barriers in the Arab world. Our recommendations on the future research agenda of these themes were intended to provide key insights for researchers and managers interested in proactively contributing to the development of a timely research agenda for these promising markets

Pemanfaatan Ekstrak Daun Mahkota Dewa (Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl) sebagai Pengawet Tomat

Tomato fruit is one of the fruits susceptible to decay because of its high water content. The durability of tomato can be improved by storing in a humid place or by adding of a preservative. Phaleriamacrocarpa (Scheff.) boerlleaf can act as an antibacterial due to the saponin compounds contained therein. This study aimed to investigate the phaleriamacrocarpa (Scheff.) boerlleaf extract as a preservative for tomatoes, and to determine the concentration of leaf extract to sustain tomatoes texture longer. The method used in this study was the maceration for extraction, and iodometric titration to determine of vitamin C levels before and after curing. The results showed that the pickling tomatoes using phaleriamacrocarpa (Scheff.) boerl leaf extract with a concentration of 6% sustained tomatoes up to 9 days, and the fruit decreased levels of vitamin C from 33.440 mg/100 g material into 27.580 mg/100 g of material

Comparing monolithic and fused core HPLC columns for fast chromatographic analysis of fat soluble vitamins

HPLC stationary phases of monolithic and fused core type can be used to achieve fast chromatographic separation as an alternative to UPLC. In this study, monolithic and fused core stationary phases are compared for fast separation of four fat-soluble vitamins. Three new methods on the first and second generation monolithic silica RP-18e columns and a fused core pentafluoro-phenyl propyl column were developed. Application of three fused core columns offered comparable separations of retinyl palmitate, DL-α-tocopheryl acetate, cholecalciferol and menadione in terms of elution speed and separation efficiency. Separation was achieved in approx. 5 min with good resolution (Rs >5) and precision (RSD ≤ 0.6 %). Monolithic columns showed, however, a higher number of theoretical plates, better precision and lower column backpressure than the fused core column. The three developed methods were successfully applied to separate and quantitate fat-soluble vitamins in commercial products

Nematocidal and Bactericidal Activities of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by \u3ci\u3eFicus sycomorus\u3c/i\u3e Leaf Extract

Nanoparticles effectively control most plant pathogens, although research has focused more on their antimicrobial than their nematocidal properties. This study synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) through a green biosynthesis method using an aqueous extract of Ficus sycomorus leaves (FS-Ag-NPs). The nanoparticles were characterized using SEM, TEM, EDX, zeta sizer, and FTIR. The TEM results showed that the synthesized NPs were nanoscale and had an average particle size of 33 ± 1 nm. The elemental silver signal at 3 keV confirmed the formation of Ag-NPs from an aqueous leaf extract of F. sycomorus. The FTIR analysis revealed the existence of several functional groups in the prepared Ag-NPs. The strong-broad band detected at 3430 cm-1 indicated the stretching vibration of -OH (hydroxyl) and -NH2 (amine) groups. The nematocidal activity of biosynthesized FS-Ag-NPs has been evaluated in vitro against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita at 24, 48, and 72 h. The FS-Ag-NPs at a 200 μg/mL concentration applied for 48 h showed the highest effectiveness, with 57.62% nematode mortality. Moreover, the biosynthesized FS-Ag-NPs were also tested for their antibacterial activity against Pectobacterium carotovorum, P. atrosepticum, and Ralstonia solanacearum. With the application of nanoparticles, the reduction in bacterial growth gradually increased. The most potent activity at all concentrations was found in R. solanacearum, with values of 14.00 ± 2.16, 17.33 ± 2.05, 19.00 ± 1.41, 24.00 ± 1.41, and 26.00 ± 2.83 at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 μg/mL, respectively, when compared with the positive control (Amoxicillin 25 μg) with a value of 16.33 ± 0.94. At the same time, the nanoparticles showed the lowest reduction values against P. atrosepticum when compared to the control. This study is the first report on the nematocidal activity of Ag-NPs using F. sycomorus aqueous extract, which could be a recommended treatment for managing plant-parasitic nematodes due to its simplicity, stability, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally safe nature