Vitamin D and Its Deficiency in Saudi Arabia

Vitamin D is a hot topic that has attracted attention over the past 10 years, especially since a large proportion of people suffer from this nutrient deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is estimated to be about 1 billion people all over the world and 50% in Asia and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has also demonstrated a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among healthy Saudi individuals. This chapter provides, in detail, a clear and understandable identification of vitamin D, its function, source, synthesis, metabolism, status, and deficiency. The chapter also focuses on studying vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabia based on PubMed’s initial research criteria

New Insights in Staging and Chemotherapy of African Trypanosomiasis and Possible Contribution of Medicinal Plants

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a fatal if untreated fly-borne neuroinflammatory disease caused by protozoa of the species Trypanosoma brucei (T.b.). The increasing trend of HAT cases has been reversed, but according to WHO experts, new epidemics of this disease could appear. In addition, HAT is still a considerable burden for life quality and economy in 36 sub-Saharan Africa countries with 15–20 million persons at risk. Following joined initiatives of WHO and private partners, the fight against HAT was re-engaged, resulting in considerable breakthrough. We present here what is known at this day about HAT etiology and pathogenesis and the new insights in the development of accurate tools and tests for disease staging and severity monitoring in the field. Also, we elaborate herein the promising progresses made in the development of less toxic and more efficient trypanocidal drugs including the potential of medicinal plants and related alternative drug therapies

Unusual Dissolution Behavior of Tooth Enamel and Synthetic HAP Crystals Under High Partial Saturation Conditions

The dissolution behavior of enamel and synthetic hydroxyapatite in acidic media possessing a high degree of partial saturation was found to be neither simple surface dissolution nor linear with time. Instead, a repetitive, stepwise dissolution pattern was observed. To explain this phenomenon, a model based upon a hypothesis that the crystals dissolve in a synchronized fashion was proposed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66946/2/10.1177_00220345770560051201.pd

NEOPTERIN AND INTERFERON-GAMMA AS IMMUNE RESPONSE MARKERS IN BETATHALASSEMIA MAJOR PATIENTS

Objective: The assessment of neopterin and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels as a part of immune system response about serum iron status in β-thalassemia (TM) major patients.Methods: Spectrophotometry applied for the estimation of iron status including serum iron level, total iron-binding capacity, and unsaturated iron-binding capacity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) applied for the estimation of the serum cytokines included neopterin and IFN-γ also serum ferritin estimation by ELISA from 130 β-TM major patients where they divided according to serum ferritin level (< and ≥2500 ng/mL).Results: The neopterin and IFN-γ concentration showed significantly increased with direct correlation among TM patient group when compared to the normal healthy control group. However, there was no significant difference between different levels of serum ferritin.Conclusion: The increased serum level of neopterin and IFN-γ found in patients with β-TM may be due to the direct effect of iron on cellular immune cells beside of immune system response to the effect of iron toxicity on different body organs. There was a direct moderate relationship between neopterin and IFN-γ

Effects of fuel ratio on performance and emission of diesel-compressed natural gas (CNG) dual fuel engine

Recent research breakthrough reveals that diesel-CNG dual fuel (DDF) combustion can potentially reduce exhaust emission of internal combustion engines. However, problem arises when knock phenomenon occurs producing high carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emission due to uncontrolled blending ratio of diesel-CNG fuel on specific engine load. This study will determine the limit of dual fuel ratio before knock occurrence while analysing performance and exhaust emission of an engine operating with diesel and DDF fuel mode. A 2.5 litre 4-cylinder direct injection common-rail diesel engine was utilised as a test platform. The modelstested were 100% Diesel, 90% DDF, 80% DDF and 70% DDF, representing diesel to CNG mass ratio of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30 respectively. It was found that DDF engine performance was lower compared to diesel engine at 1500 rpm engine speed. At higher engine speed, the 70% DDF showed engine performance comparable to diesel engine. However, high HC emission with knock onset and a decrease of Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) emission were recorded. This study suggests the preferred limit of dual fuel ratio should not be lower than 70% DDF which will be able to operate at high engine speed without the occurrence of knock and poor exhaust emission

Physics at the Linear Collider

The physics at the planned $e^+e^-$ colliders is discussed around three main topics corresponding to different manifestations of symmetry breaking: $W$ physics in the no Higgs scenario, studies of the properties of the Higgs and precision tests of SUSY. A comparison with the LHC is made for all these cases. The $\gamma \gamma$ mode of the linear collider will also be reviewed.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures. Invited talk given at the Fifth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India, January 12 - 26, 199

Accounting Profession in Singapore; Professional Accounting in Foreign Country Series

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1692/thumbnail.jp

Lipid-soluble Vitamins A, D, and E in HIV-Infected Pregnant women in Tanzania.

There is limited published research examining lipid-soluble vitamins in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women, particularly in resource-limited settings. This is an observational analysis of 1078 HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled in a trial of vitamin supplementation in Tanzania. Baseline data on sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics, clinical signs and symptoms, and laboratory parameters were used to identify correlates of low plasma vitamin A (<0.7 micromol/l), vitamin D (<80 nmol/l) and vitamin E (<9.7 micromol/l) status. Binomial regression was used to estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Approximately 35, 39 and 51% of the women had low levels of vitamins A, D and E, respectively. Severe anemia (hemoglobin <85 g/l; P<0.01), plasma vitamin E (P=0.02), selenium (P=0.01) and vitamin D (P=0.02) concentrations were significant correlates of low vitamin A status in multivariate models. Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) was independently related to low vitamin A status in a nonlinear manner (P=0.01). The correlates of low vitamin D status were CD8 cell count (P=0.01), high ESR (ESR >81 mm/h; P<0.01), gestational age at enrollment (nonlinear; P=0.03) and plasma vitamins A (P=0.02) and E (P=0.01). For low vitamin E status, the correlates were money spent on food per household per day (P<0.01), plasma vitamin A concentration (nonlinear; P<0.01) and a gestational age <16 weeks at enrollment (P<0.01). Low concentrations of lipid-soluble vitamins are widely prevalent among HIV-infected women in Tanzania and are correlated with other nutritional insufficiencies. Identifying HIV-infected persons at greater risk of poor nutritional status and infections may help inform design and implementation of appropriate interventions

Attacking the V:On the resiliency of adaptive-horizon MPC

Inspired by the emerging problem of CPS security, we introduce the concept of controller-attacker games. A controller-attacker game is a two-player stochastic game, where the two players, a controller and an attacker, have antagonistic objectives. A controller-attacker game is formulated in terms of a Markov Decision Process (MDP), with the controller and the attacker jointly determining the MDP’s transition probabilities. We also introduce the class of controller-attacker games we call V-formation games, where the goal of the controller is to maneuver the plant (a simple model of flocking dynamics) into a V-formation, and the goal of the attacker is to prevent the controller from doing so. Controllers in V-formation games utilize a new formulation of model-predictive control we have developed called Adaptive-Horizon MPC (AMPC), giving them extraordinary power: we prove that under certain controllability conditions, an AMPC controller can attain V-formation with probability 1. We evaluate AMPC’s performance on V-formation games using statistical model checking. Our experiments demonstrate that (a) as we increase the power of the attacker, the AMPC controller adapts by suitably increasing its horizon, and thus demonstrates resiliency to a variety of attacks; and (b) an intelligent attacker can significantly outperform its naive counterpart

Effect of Micronutrient and Probiotic Fortified Yogurt on Immune-Function of Anti-Retroviral Therapy Naive HIV Patients

Background: Micronutrient supplementation has been shown to reduce the progression of HIV but does not have an effect on the intestinal barrier or the intestinal microbiota of HIV patients. Studies have suggested that probiotics could potentially complement micronutrients in preserving the immune-function of HIV patients. Objective: Assess the impact of micronutrient supplemented probiotic yogurt on the immune function of HIV patients. Design:We performed a randomized, double blind, controlled trial with CD4 count as primary outcome among HIV patients naïve to anti-retroviral treatment. Secondary outcomes included hematological parameters, incidence of diarrhea and clinical symptoms. A total of 112 HIV patients were randomized to receive a micronutrient fortified yogurt with (n = 55) or without additional probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 (n = 57) for four weeks. Results:An average decline in CD4 count of −70 cells/μL (95% CI: −154 to −15) was observed in the micronutrient, probiotic group versus a decrease of −63 cells/μL (95% CI: −157 to −30) in the micronutrient control group (p = 0.9). Additional probiotic supplementation was well tolerated and not associated with adverse events. No difference between groups was detected in incidence of diarrhea or clinical symptoms. An improvement of hemoglobin levels was observed for all subjects, based upon a mean difference from baseline of 1.4 g/L (SD = 6) (p = 0.02). Conclusion:The addition of probiotics to a micronutrient fortified yogurt was well tolerated by HIV patients but was not associated with a further increase in CD4 count after one month