Hardware Implementation of Chipless RFID Reader and Tags for Moving Targets Identification and Tracking

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a rapidly growing technology with significant security implications for humans and military ambushes. In this paper, the hardware implementation of a chipless RFID system using highly efficient Texas instrumentation components is introduced. We introduced the hardware implementation of both RFID reader and 5-bits chipless tags. The proposed reader system is equipped with an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio frequency (RF) power detector that allows the reader to read different types of tags with different code lengths over the frequency range from  to . The proposed spiral resonators based RFID tags are fabricated using microstrip technology on a cheap FR4 lossy substrate with a dielectric constant of , loss tangent , and thickness . The tags are designed using the computer simulation technology (CST) microwave studio software package. Fortunately, it is found that the experimental measurements of the scattering parameters of the fabricated tags are highly matched to the simulation results

Clinical hypoglycemic effects of allium cepa (Red Onion) in Type 1 Diabetic patients

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease caused by destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells and characterized by defect in insulin secretion.Objectives: The present study was carried out to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of Allium cepa in patients with type 1 diabetic patients.Results: In the assessment of the hypoglycaemic activity of Allium cepa in type 1 diabetic patients (n=21), crude Allium cepa (100g) caused a  considerably lowered value in the fasting blood glucose levels by about 89 mg/dl in relation to insulin (145 mg/dl) after 4 hours. Also the ingestion of crude Allium cepa by type 1 diabetic patients produced a significant reduction in the induced hyperglycemia (GTT) by about 120 mg/dl in relation to water (77 mg/dl) and the standard drug insulin (153 mg/dl).Conclusion: Crude Allium cepa produced hypoglycemic effects, thus it could be used as a dietary supplement in management of diabetes. Key words: Allium cepa, hypoglycemia, type 1 diabetes

CLINICAL HYPOGLYCEMIC EFFECTS OF ALLIUM CEPA (RED ONION) IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus results from defects in insulin secretion and/or insulin action or both. Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of Allium cepa in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.   Results: In type 2 diabetic patients (n=21) the administration of crude Allium cepa (100g) markedly reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 40 mg/dl 4 hours later, compared to glibenclamide (81 mg/dl). Also Allium cepa significantly reduced the induced hyperglycemia (GTT) after ingestion of 75 grams dextrose by 159 mg/dl in the test subgroup (n=7) of type 2 diabetic patients to a point below that produced in the negative control group after 4 hours. Conclusion: Crude Allium cepa produced hypoglycemic effects, thus it could be used as a dietary supplement in management of diabetes

C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio and Albumin to Fibrinogen Ratio in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Objective: the albumin to fibrinogen ratio (AFR) and the C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR) have been proposed as markers of systemic inflammation. The goal of this study was to differentiate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from healthy people and to study the association between AFR/CAR and DAS28 in RA.Patients and methods. A case control study including 30 RA patients and 30 healthy controls was performed. Fibrinogen, albumin, CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured. We calculated CAR and AFR in each group and compared them. Correlations of AFR, and CAR with disease activity were examined. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves of AFR and CAR were also used to detect cutoffs for disease activity assessment.Results and discussion. CAR was higher while AFR was lower in RA patients than in control group. ROC curve analyses showed that CAR can be used to detect disease activity of RA at cut off 2.66 with sensitivity 81.3% and specificity 64.3% with an area under the curve (AUC) 0.78. So, CAR was a fair parameter to discriminate disease activity among RA patients. AFR has AUC 0.62, sensitivity 87.5% and specificity 42.9% at cutoff value 5.96. So, in our group AFR was a poor indicator to discriminate disease activity among RA patients.Conclusion. AFR and CAR have been recently proposed as inflammatory markers for assessment of disease activity in RA. AFR and CAR are simple, and inexpensive biomarkers, they also can be rapidly evaluated. CAR was found to be a fair parameter to depict disease activity in RA patients. AFR poorly depicted RA activity.Objective: the albumin to fibrinogen ratio (AFR) and the C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR) have been proposed as markers of systemic inflammation. The goal of this study was to differentiate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from healthy people and to study the association between AFR/CAR and DAS28 in RA.Patients and methods. A case control study including 30 RA patients and 30 healthy controls was performed. Fibrinogen, albumin, CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured. We calculated CAR and AFR in each group and compared them. Correlations of AFR, and CAR with disease activity were examined. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves of AFR and CAR were also used to detect cutoffs for disease activity assessment.Results and discussion. CAR was higher while AFR was lower in RA patients than in control group. ROC curve analyses showed that CAR can be used to detect disease activity of RA at cut off 2.66 with sensitivity 81.3% and specificity 64.3% with an area under the curve (AUC) 0.78. So, CAR was a fair parameter to discriminate disease activity among RA patients. AFR has AUC 0.62, sensitivity 87.5% and specificity 42.9% at cutoff value 5.96. So, in our group AFR was a poor indicator to discriminate disease activity among RA patients.Conclusion. AFR and CAR have been recently proposed as inflammatory markers for assessment of disease activity in RA. AFR and CAR are simple, and inexpensive biomarkers, they also can be rapidly evaluated. CAR was found to be a fair parameter to depict disease activity in RA patients. AFR poorly depicted RA activity

Worst Case Scenarios! Complications Related to Hernial Disease

Incarceration, obstruction and strangulation are well recognized common complications of hernias. Several risk factors determine patients’ morbidity and mortality. Hernia surgery complications encompass infections, fascial dehiscence, recurrence, neuralgia, visceral injury, and mesh erosion or migration predetermined by many risk factors. The types and criteria for surgical site infections are defined by the extent of the infection. Whether the open or laparoscopic approaches are attempted, the rates of the respective complications depend on the approach. Post-operative hernias are appreciated because of their prevalence and complications. The criteria for enhanced recovery after surgery depend on whether patient is in the pre-operative, intra-operative or post-operative phase. Within the pediatric population, the risk of developing umbilical and inguinal is variable

Impact of Female Genital Mutilation on second stage of labour in Primigravida at Omdurman Maternity Hospital, Sudan 2010

Objective: To find out the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) on the second stage of labour at Omdurman Maternity Hospital (OMH).Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study, for primigravidae delivered vaginally in 2010. After an informed consent circumcised women, were included as study group and uncircumcised ladies as control group. Data was collected by trained registrars using a structured questionnaire to collect frequency of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), perineal tear, birth asphyxia, neonatal death and hospital stay.Results: A total of 1961 primigravidae, delivered in 2010 at OMH, 629(32.1%) were circumcised and 1332(67.9%) were uncircumcised. There was no significant difference in the mode of delivery and episiotomy.Conclusion: FGM places women at a greater risk during childbirth, endangering their health and their babies compared to uncircumcised.Key words: Female Genital Mutilation, second stage of labor, Sudan

Development and validation of stability indicating spectrophotometric and HPTLC methods for determination of acemetacin

Three simple and sensitive methods were developed for the determination of acemetacin (ACM) in presence of its degradation product, indomethacin (DEG). Several methods were evaluated and are presented. Method A was based on measuring the peak amplitude of the first derivative of the ratio spectra 1DD at 244 nm. In method B, mean centering of ratio spectra method (MCR) was applied, which depends on measuring the mean centered values of ratio spectra of ACM at 234 nm. Method C provided separation of ACM from its DEG on pre-activated silica gel 60F254 HPTLC plates using hexane:ethyl acetate:glacial acetic acid (6:4:0.3, v:v:v) as developing system followed by scanning at 254 nm. The suggested methods were validated in compliance with the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines and were successfully applied for quantification of ACM in its commercial capsule. The proposed methods were also statistically compared to a reported HPLC method with no significant difference in performance; indicating the ability of the proposed method to be reliable and suitable for routine analysis of drug product

Study of MicroRNA192 as an Early Marker of Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous ubiquitous non-coding single-stranded (ss) RNA transcripts, frequently of 19–25 nucleotides in length. They alter the differentiation, growth, apoptosis and proliferation of cells by interfering with protein synthesis by either inducing mRNA degradation or repressing translation. miRNAs are expressed in many diseases and different cancers such as diabetes and have the potential to become new kinds of diagnostic markers. miRNA-192 is highly expressed in kidney especially in renal cortex. Many studies have confirmed that miRNA-192 played important roles in the fibrosis of kidney and liver. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the use of microRNA-192 as early predictor in cases of diabetic nephropathy. Patients and methods: This study was conducted on volunteers from Internal Medicine Department - Suez Canal Authority Hospitals. 80 subjects were divided into: 60 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who were further subdivided into (normal albuminuria group (n= 20), microalbuminuria group (n= 20), and macroalbuminuria group (n=20)), and 20 healthy control group. MicroRNA-192 was quantified in blood using Reverse Transcription TaqMan MicroRNA Assay.Results: There was a statistical significance decrease in micro RNA-192 level in macro-albuminuria group comparedto other groups and also in microalbuminuria group compared to normal albuminuria group and healthy control group. Conclusions: We concluded that there is a possible role of miRNA-192 in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic kidney disease in humans. Also, blood miRNA-192 may be a useful biomarker for predicting the development and the stage of diabetic kidney disease

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18–49, 50–69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population