Mechanism of development of pre-eclampsia linking breathing disorders to endothelial dysfunction

High blood pressure is an important component of pre-eclampsia. The underlying mechanism of development of hypertension in pre-eclampsia is complicated and still remains obscure. Several theories have been advanced including endothelial dysfunction, uteroplacental insufficiency leading to generalized vasoconstriction, increased cardiac output, and sympathetic hyperactivity. Increased blood flow and pressure are thought to lead to capillary dilatation, which damages end-organ sites, leading to hypertension, proteinuria and edema. Additional theories have been put forward based on epidemiological research, implicating immunological and genetic factors. None of these theories have been substantiated. Based on a review of literature this paper postulates that the initiating event for the development of preeclampsia is intermittent hypoxia associated with irregular breathing during sleep, hypoapnea, apnea,inadequate respiratory excursions during the waking hours and inadequate cardiopulmonary synchronization (abnormal sympatho-vagal balance)

Decision-Making in Fuzzy Environment: A Survey

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is a crucial process in many business and management applications. The final decision is based upon the relative weights to the decision-making team. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has found to be one of the most successful approaches for evaluations of the weights and the importance of the criteria. However, most of the evaluated values are not so precise due to the fuzziness of the evaluating environment. This chapter surveys essentially the basic analytic hierarchy process and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). It depicts through an example the steps for using the original analytic hierarchy process for two levels of criteria. Then, it uses the same example to explain the fuzzy approach in the evaluation. Finally, it compares both approaches

Dual Induction of New Microbial Secondary Metabolites by Fungal Bacterial Co-cultivation

We thank the College of Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, for provision of infrastructure and facilities in the Marine Biodiscovery Centre. We acknowledge the receipt of funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under Grant Agreement No. 312184 (PharmaSea). MR thanks School of Science and Sport, University of the West of Scotland for providing the open-access fees required for the publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Ultrasonographic Characters of Uterine Myoma as Predictors for Successful Laparoscopic Myomectomy at Mansoura University Hospital

Background: Myomectomy is the surgical procedure of choice for symptomatic myoma in the reproductive age, especially if future fertility is desired. LM is the surgical removal of uterine myoma through small incisions in the abdomen. It is an appropriate, if not preferred, alternative to abdominal myomectomy in well-selected patients since it offers shorter hospitalization, short recovery period and resumption of activities within 1–2 weeks, reduced risk of blood transfusion, and intraoperative adhesions. Aim: The aim of the current study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of different ultrasonographic characters of uterine myoma in predicting success of laparoscopic myomectomy. Methods: The present study was prospective interventional study that was carried out on 35 cases with Chronic pelvic pain. All patients had radiological evaluation by TVS and TAS. All Laparoscopic myomectomies done under general anaesthesia. Outcomes included determining ultra-sonographic predictors for successful laparoscopic myomectomy as regards site, size, and character of Myoma, presence of capsule and line of separation around myoma. Results: The most common complain among the studied cases was bleeding followed by pain and lastly infertility. Regarding location, the most common site was posterior followed by fundal, then anterior and lastly at the cornu. Operative times, blood loss amount, method of extraction, need laparoscopic suturing, complications during surgery recovery and hospital stay after operation demonstrated significant relation with outcomes. Myoma characters, numbers and type demonstrated insignificant relation with outcomes. Conclusion: The current study concluded that, myoma characters, numbers and type could not be used as predictors for successful LM; outcomes. However, operative times, blood loss amount, complications during surgery recovery and hospital stay after operation were less in successful LM than in LAM; and laparoscopic suturing and morcellation have less time consumption and better results than LAM

Scalable and Cost Efficient Algorithms for Virtual CDN Migration

Virtual Content Delivery Network (vCDN) migration is necessary to optimize the use of resources and improve the performance of the overall SDN/NFV-based CDN function in terms of network operator cost reduction and high streaming quality. It requires intelligent and enticed joint SDN/NFV migration algorithms due to the evident huge amount of traffic to be delivered to end customers of the network. In this paper, two approaches for finding the optimal and near optimal path placement(s) and vCDN migration(s) are proposed (OPAC and HPAC). Moreover, several scenarios are considered to quantify the OPAC and HPAC behaviors and to compare their efficiency in terms of migration cost, migration time, vCDN replication number, and other cost factors. Then, they are implemented and evaluated under different network scales. Finally, the proposed algorithms are integrated in an SDN/NFV framework. Index Terms: vCDN; SDN/NFV Optimization; Migration Algorithms; Scalability Algorithms.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, 4 tableaux, conference Local Computer Networks (LCN), class

An accelerated shape based segmentation approach adopting the pattern search optimizer

AbstractAll known solutions of the shape based segmentation problem are slower than real-time application requirements. In this paper, the problem is formulated as a global optimization problem for an energy objective function with several constraints. This formulation allows the use of the global optimization solvers as a solution. However, this solution will be slow as it requires the evaluation of the objective function for several thousand times. The objective function computation is one of the critical factors that affect the time needed to reach a solution. The authors implemented two accelerated parallel versions of the solution that integrates the objective function and the pattern search solver. The first uses a GPU accelerated implementation of the objective function and the second uses a CPU parallel version which is executed on several processors/cores. The results of the proposed solution show that the GPU version has substantial speed compared to other approaches

Forecasting project schedule performance using probabilistic and deterministic models

AbstractEarned value management (EVM) was originally developed for cost management and has not widely been used for forecasting project duration. In addition, EVM based formulas for cost or schedule forecasting are still deterministic and do not provide any information about the range of possible outcomes and the probability of meeting the project objectives. The objective of this paper is to develop three models to forecast the estimated duration at completion. Two of these models are deterministic; earned value (EV) and earned schedule (ES) models. The third model is a probabilistic model and developed based on Kalman filter algorithm and earned schedule management. Hence, the accuracies of the EV, ES and Kalman Filter Forecasting Model (KFFM) through the different project periods will be assessed and compared with the other forecasting methods such as the Critical Path Method (CPM), which makes the time forecast at activity level by revising the actual reporting data for each activity at a certain data date. A case study project is used to validate the results of the three models. Hence, the best model is selected based on the lowest average percentage of error. The results showed that the KFFM developed in this study provides probabilistic prediction bounds of project duration at completion and can be applied through the different project periods with smaller errors than those observed in EV and ES forecasting models

Molecular Role of Nitric Oxide in Secondary Products Production in Ginkgo biloba Cell Suspension Culture

Effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP; nitric oxide donor) treatment on the enhancement of secondary metabolites production, oxidative stress mediators (O2-.) accumulation and antioxidant defense enzymes of Ginkgo biloba callus culture was investigated. On one hand, the obtained data showed a highly metabolic modification of chemical constituents, PAL activity and various antioxidant defense enzymes (APX, SOD), which gradually increased in response to SNP treatments. On the other hands the high NO levels significantly increased the accumulation of various oxidative burst of O2-.. MS basal medium supplemented with casein hydrolase (500 mg/L), NAA and BA at equal concentration (0.5 mg/L) recorded the highest number of regenerated shoots (4.81 cm) and shoot height (4.96 cm) as well as root number (2.25 cm) and root length (4.5 cm). The highest survival (40 %) was shown in acclimatization on the mixture containing sand, peat moss and vermiculite (1: 1: 1, v/v/v), which significantly confirmed and reflected the variation in survival percentage. Meanwhile, higher treatment (500 μM) of NO positively enhanced secondary products accumulation of total tannins, saponins, phenols and total flavonoids in G. biloba callus culture

Response of primiparous and multiparous buffaloes to yeast culture supplementation during early and mid-lactation

Strains of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast have exhibited probiotic effects in ruminants. This study investigated the effects of the dietary yeast supplement, S. cerevisiae (Yea-Sacc1026), on primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) Egyptian buffaloes in early to mid-lactation. Lactating buffaloes were fed either a basal total mixed ration (TMR, control; 4 PP and 8 MP) or the basal TMR plus 10 g Yea-Sacc1026 per buffalo cow per day (yeast; 4 PP and 8 MP). The feeds were given from 15 days prepartum to 180 days postpartum. Feed intake, body weight, and milk yields (MY) were recorded, and milk and blood samples were collected for analyses. Feces were collected from days 45 to 47 during early lactation and from days 90 to 92 during mid-lactation to determine apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF). Energy corrected milk yield (ECM), feed conversion, and energy and nitrogen conversion efficiency were calculated. Yeast treated MP buffaloes consumed more DM (P ≤ 0.041) and CP than the untreated control group. Apparent digestibility of DM and OM were significantly greater at mid-lactation for treated versus control group (P = 0.001). Crude fiber digestibility was greater in MP than in PP buffaloes (P = 0.049), and yeast supplemented MP cows had a greater CF digestibility than control MP buffaloes at mid-lactation (P = 0.010). Total blood lipids decreased after yeast supplementation (P = 0.029). Milk yields, ECM, fat and protein yields increased for yeast treated MP buffaloes (P ≤ 0.039). The study concluded that the response to yeast supplementation in buffalo cows is parity dependent. Multiparous buffaloes respond to yeast supplementation with an increased DM intake and CF digestibility without significant weight gains, allowing a greater ECM yield with less fat mobilization. Supplementing buffaloes with yeast culture may increase milk production in early lactation and results in a more persistent milk production during mid-lactation. Feed conversion and energy and nitrogen conversion efficiency may be increased with the use of yeast supplementation in Egyptian buffaloes