Consanguinity among the risk factors for underweight in children under five: a study from rural Sindh

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is a common problem, especially in developing countries. Of the 11 million children under 5 who die each year in the developing countries mainly from preventable causes, the death of about 54% are either directly or indirectly attributable to malnutrition. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and associated factors for underweight in rural Sindh.METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jhangara Town, located in District Dadu, Sindh. Eight hundred children under 5 years of age were enrolled. A questionnaire was used to elicit required information and anthropometric measurements were made.RESULTS: The overall prevalence for underweight was 54.3% in the study population, which was higher than the prevalence reported by PDHS 1990-91. In multivariate analysis, various factors for underweight were consanguinity (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.08-2.07), low birth weight (parents\u27 perspective) (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.08-2.16) and lack of breast-feeding (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.19-6.17).CONCLUSION: Effective strategies to discourage consanguineous marriages between first cousins are required. Promoting breast feeding is another factor that should be incorporated while designing control strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malnutrition in children (\u3c 5 years)

Mathematical simulation of graphene with modified c-c bond length and transfer energy

In nanotechnology research, allotropes of carbon like Graphene, Fullerene (Buckyball) and Carbon nanotubes are widely used due to their remarkable properties. Electrical and mechanical properties of those allotropes vary with their molecular geometry. This paper is specially based on modeling and simulation of graphene in order to calculate energy band structure in k space with varying the C-C bond length and C-C transfer energy. Significant changes have been observed in the energy band structure of graphene due to variation in C-C bond length and C-C transfer energy. In particular, this paper focuses over the electronic structure of graphene within the frame work of tight binding approximation. It has been reported that conduction and valence states in graphene only meet at two points in k-space and that dispersion around these special points is conical. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2305

Homogeneous Gold Catalysis through Relativistic Effects: Addition of Water to Propyne

In the catalytic addition of water to propyne the Au(III) catalyst is not stable under non-relativistic conditions and dissociates into a Au(I) compound and Cl2. This implies that one link in the chain of events in the catalytic cycle is broken and relativity may well be seen as the reason why Au(III) compounds are effective catalysts.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Role of the dielectric constant of ferroelectric ceramic in enhancing the ionic conductivity of a polymer electrolyte composite

The dispersal of high dielectric constant ferroelectric ceramic material Ba(0.7)Sr(0.3)TiO(3) (Tc~30 C) and Ba(0.88)Sr(0.12)TiO(3) (Tc~90 C) in an ion conducting polymer electrolyte (PEO:NH4I) is reported to result in an increase in the room temperature ionic conductivity by two orders of magnitude. The conductivity enhancememt "peaks" as we approach the dielectric phase transition of the dispersed ferroelectric material where the dielectric constant changes from ~ 2000 to 4000. This establishes the role of dielectric constant of the dispersoid in enhancing the ionic conductivity of the polymeric composites.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Homogeneous and heterogenised new gold C-scorpionate complexes as catalysts for cyclohexane oxidation

Gold(III) complexes of type [AuCl2{eta(2)-RC(R'pz)(3)}]Cl [R = R' = H (1), R = CH2OH, R' = H (2) and R = H, R' = 3,5-Me-2(3), pz = pyrazol-1-yl] were supported on carbon materials (activated carbon, carbon xerogel and carbon nanotubes) and used for the oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone, with aqueous H2O2, under mild conditions

The EVerT2 (Effective Verruca Treatments) trial : a randomised controlled trial of needling versus nonsurgical debridement for the treatment of plantar verrucae

Background: Verrucae are a common foot skin pathology which can in some cases persist for many years. Plantar verrucae can be unsightly and painful. There are a range of treatment options including needling. Objectives: The EVerT2 trial aimed to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of the needling procedure for the treatment of plantar verrucae, relative to callus debridement. Methods: This single centre randomised controlled trial recruited 60 participants (aged 18 years and over with a plantar verruca). Participants were randomised 1:1 to the intervention group (needling) or the control group (debridement of the overlying callus). The primary outcome was clearance of the index verruca at 12 weeks after randomisation. Secondary outcomes include recurrence of the verruca; clearance of all verrucae; number of verrucae; size of the index verruca; pain; and participant satisfaction at 12 and 24 weeks. A cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out from the NHS perspective over 12 weeks. Results: Sixty eligible patients were randomised (needling group n=29, 48.3%; debridement group n=31, 51.7%) and 53 were included in the primary analysis (needling n=28, 96.6%; debridement n=25, 80.7%). Clearance of the index verruca occurred in 8 (15.1%) participants (needling n=4, 14.3%; debridement n=4, 16.0%, p=0.86). The needling intervention costs were on average £14.33 (95% CI 5.32 to 23.35) more per patient than debridement. Conclusions: There is no evidence that the needling technique is more clinically or cost effective than callus debridement. The results show a significant improvement in pain outcomes after needling compared to the debridement treatment alone. Trial registration number: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN1642944

A QM/MM approach for the study of monolayer-protected gold clusters

We report the development and implementation of hybrid methods that combine quantum mechanics (QM) with molecular mechanics (MM) to theoretically characterize thiolated gold clusters. We use, as training systems, structures such as Au25(SCH2-R)18 and Au38(SCH2-R)24, which can be readily compared with recent crystallographic data. We envision that such an approach will lead to an accurate description of key structural and electronic signatures at a fraction of the cost of a full quantum chemical treatment. As an example, we demonstrate that calculations of the 1H and 13C NMR shielding constants with our proposed QM/MM model maintain the qualitative features of a full DFT calculation, with an order-of-magnitude increase in computational efficiency.Comment: Journal of Materials Science, 201

Polypyrrole-Fe2O3 nanohybrid materials for electrochemical storage

We report on the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of nanohybrid polypyrrole (PPy) (PPy/Fe2O3) materials for electrochemical storage applications. We have shown that the incorporation of nanoparticles inside the PPy notably increases the charge storage capability in comparison to the “pure” conducting polymer. Incorporation of large anions, i.e., paratoluenesulfonate, allows a further improvement in the capacity. These charge storage modifications have been attributed to the morphology of the composite in which the particle sizes and the specific surface area are modified with the incorporation of nanoparticles. High capacity and stability have been obtained in PC/NEt4BF4 (at 20 mV/s), i.e., 47 mAh/g, with only a 3% charge loss after one thousand cyles. The kinetics of charge–discharge is also improved by the hybrid nanocomposite morphology modifications, which increase the rate of insertion–expulsion of counter anions in the bulk of the film. A room temperature ionic liquid such as imidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonimide seems to be a promising electrolyte because it further increases the capacity up to 53 mAh/g with a high stability during charge–discharge processes

A DNA Computer for Glioblastoma Multiforme Diagnosis and Drug Delivery

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a debilitating malignant brain tumor with expected patient survival of less than a year and limited responsiveness to most treatments, often requiring biopsy for diagnosis and invasive surgery for treatment. We propose a DNA computer system, consisting of input, computation, and output components, for diagnosis and treatment. The input component will detect the presence of three GBM biomarkers: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), caveolin-1α (CAV), and B2 receptors. The computation component will include indicator segments for each of these genes, and ensure that output is only released if all the biomarkers are present. The output component will consist of the therapeutic agent interleukin-12 (IL-12). This study will designate four groups of animals: untreated tumor-free (control), tumor-inoculated (RG2), treated and tumor-free (DNA), and treated and tumor-inoculated (RG2/DNA). In the RG2 and RG2/DNA groups, we will inoculate adult male Fischer rats with RG2 cells into the striatum to induce tumor growth. Rats in the DNA and RG2/DNA groups will be implanted with the DNA system at the same location via recombinant adeno- associated viral vectors. The effectiveness of the DNA system will be evaluated through tumor size measurements, collected from brain slices stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and survival curve. Additionally, IL-12 localization will confirm the release of the output component. We anticipate that the DNA treatment will result in a decrease in tumor size, leading to smaller tumor size in the RG2/DNA group versus the RG2 group. The control group is expected to survive the longest, followed by the DNA group, then the RG2/DNA group, and finally the RG2 group. In the DNA group, IL-12 is expected to stay localized to the implantation site, remaining in its unreleased stem-loop form. On the other hand, it is expected to be released and active in the RG2/DNA group. This study provides a proof of concept to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of a DNA system using VEGF, CAV, and B2 receptors as biomarkers and IL-12 as a therapeutic output component in the RG2 model. Further research may include varying several of the parameters used in this study, including amount of RG2 administered, choice of biomarkers, quantity and choice of output component, and choice of animal model. This system provides a promising and innovative new approach that is less invasive than surgery yet is still effective in diagnosing, targeting, and treating GBM

A Machine Learning Approach to Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease

I will investigate applications of machine learning algorithms to medical data, adaptations of differences in data collection, and the use of ensemble techniques. Focusing on the binary classification problem of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis, I will apply machine learning algorithms to a primary dataset consisting of voice recordings from healthy and PD subjects. Specifically, I will use Artificial Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines, and an Ensemble Learning algorithm to reproduce results from [MS12] and [GM09]. Next, I will adapt a secondary regression dataset of PD recordings and combine it with the primary binary classification dataset, testing various techniques to consolidate the data including treating the regression data as unlabeled data in a semi-supervised learning approach. I will determine the performance of the above algorithms on this consolidated dataset. Performance of algorithms will be evaluated using 10-fold cross validation and results will be analyzed in a confusion matrix. Accuracy, precision, recall, and F-score will be calculated. The expands on past related work, which has used either a regression dataset alone to predict a Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale score for PD patients, or a classification dataset to determine healthy or PD diagnosis. In past work, the datasets have not been combined, and the regression set has not been used to contribute to evaluation of healthy subjects