Histamine reduces GPIb?-mediated adhesion of platelets to TNF-?-activatedvascular endothelium

Histamine and tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) are critical mediators of acute and chronic inflammation that are generated by mast cells and macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions or systemically during allergic attacks. Both of them induce activation of vascular endothelium and thus may play a role in thrombosis. Here we studied the interplay between histamine and TNF-? in glycoprotein (GP) Ib?-mediated platelet adhesion to cultured human vascular endothelial cells under static and shear flow conditions. The stimulation of endothelial cells with histamine or TNF-? increased the number of adherent or slow rolling GP Ib?-coated microbeads or washed human platelets. However, the application of histamine to endothelium pre-activated by TNF-? inhibited GP Ib?-mediated platelet adhesion. These effects were found to be associated with changes in the concentration of ultra large von Willebrand factor (ULVWF) strings anchored to endothelium. The results of this study indicate that histamine released during mast cell degranulation may cause or inhibit thrombosis, depending on whether it acts on resting endothelial cells or on cells pre-activated by other inflammatory stimuli

PDMS Well Platform for Culturing Millimeter-Size Tumor Spheroids

Multicellular tumor spheroids are widely used as in vitro models for testing of anticancer drugs. The advantage of this approach is that it can predict the outcome of a drug treatment on human cancer cells in their natural three-dimensional environment without putting actual patients at risk. Several methods were utilized in the past to grow submillimeter-size tumor spheroids. However, these small models are not very useful for preclinical studies of tumor ablation where the goal is the complete destruction of tumors that can reach several centimeters in diameter in the human body. Here, we propose a PDMS well method for large tumor spheroid culture. Our experiments with HepG2 hepatic cancer cells show that three-dimensional aggregates of tumor cells with a volume as large as 44 mm3 can be grown in cylindrical PDMS wells after the initial culture of tumor cells by the hanging drop method. This is a 350 times more than the maximum volume of tumor spheroids formed inside hanging drops (0.125 mm3 )

Management of Sepsis

This study aims to document the microbial profile and pattern of use of antibiotics in the government hospital of Penang state, Malaysia. A retrospective study was conducted in 2007 in the general medical ward of Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The mortality rate was 54.22% with severe sepsis or septicemia. Mithicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus caused 37% of deaths, while 33% of deaths involved Klebsiella Spp. Commonly prescribed antibiotics included; cloxacillin 500mg (qid) 20%, tazocin 2gm (bid) 1.1%, and  vancomycin 1gm (od) 27%. We report the use of high doses of antibiotics in the six months prior to a notable rise in resistant infections

Реконструкция системы электроснабжения ОАО «Гомсельмаш» в связи с изменением технологического процесса и внедрение энергосберегающих мероприятий

Background: The Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire is an instrument designed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000 to assess the experience of patients when interacting with the health care system. This investigation aimed to adapt a Mental Health System Responsiveness Questionnaire (MHSRQ) based on the WHO concept and evaluate its validity and reliability to the mental health care system in Iran. Design: In accordance with the WHO health system responsiveness questionnaire and the findings of a qualitative study, a Farsi version of the MHSRQ was tailored to suit the mental health system in Iran. This version was tested in a cross-sectional study at nine public mental health clinics in Tehran. A sample of 500 mental health services patients was recruited and subsequently completed the questionnaire. Item missing rate was used to check the feasibility while the reliability of the scale was determined by assessing the Cronbach's alpha and item total correlations. The factor structure of the questionnaire was investigated by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The results showed a satisfactory feasibility since the item missing value was lower than 5.2%. With the exception of access domain, reliability of different domains of the questionnaire was within a desirable range. The factor loading showed an acceptable unidimentionality of the scale despite the fact that three items related to access did not perform well. The CFA also indicated good fit indices for the model (CFI=0.99, GFI=0.97, IFI=0.99, AGFI=0.97). Conclusions: In general, the findings suggest that the Farsi version of the MHSRQ is a feasible, reliable, and valid measure of the mental health system responsiveness in Iran. Changes to the questions related to the access domain should be considered in order to improve the psychometric properties of the measure

An explanatory model of depression among female patients in Fars, Kurds, Turks ethnic groups of Iran

Background: Depressive disorder is globally estimated to be as many as one in five visits to primary health care. Approximately more than 50 of depressed women in primary care are not diagnosed. As a part of a major investigation into perceptions of women's depression, this study explored how female patients and their relatives conceptualize patients' conditions in three ethnic groups in Iran (Fars, Kurds and Turks). Methods: Qualitative methods were used for data collection. Depressed women and their relatives were purposively selected from the public psychiatric clinics affiliated to university of medical sciences in the three study cities. Twentyfive depressed women and 14 relatives were interviewed in three ethnic groups. Results: One theme "illness meaning", including three categories: perceived symptoms, label of the illness, and effects of the illness was found through the content analysis. The participants perceived symptoms of illness as somatic and psychological depending on the participant's assumed reason for the onset of the illness. There were most similarities in term used for of the illness in the three ethnic groups. Most of the study participants described the illness in terms of nerve problems/illness, and depression "afsordehgi". The most important effects that depressed women had experienced because of their illness were marital conflict or a guilt feeling originating from their inability to support family. Conclusion: These findings suggest the need to recognize and choose appropriate diagnostic approach for depressed women in the context of Iran

Temperature-dependent development of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its larval parasitoid, Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): implications for species interactions

Habrobracon hebetor (Say) is a parasitoid of various Lepidoptera including Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), a key pest of different crops and vegetables. The development of both H. armigera and H. hebetor were simultaneously evaluated against a wide range of constant temperatures (10, 15, 17.5, 20, 25, 27.5, 30, 35, 37.5 and 40 °C). Helicoverpa armigera completed its development from egg to adult within a temperature range of 17.5–37.5 °C and H. hebetor completed its life cycle from egg to adult within a temperature range of 15–40 °C. Based on the Ikemoto and Takai model the developmental threshold (T o) and thermal constant (K) to complete the immature stages, of H. armigera were calculated as 11.6 °C and 513.6 DD, respectively, and 13 °C and 148 DD, respectively, for H. hebetor. Analytis/Briere-2 and Analytis/Briere-1 were adjudged the best non-linear models for prediction of phenology of H. armigera and H. hebetor, respectively and enabled estimation of the optimum (T opt) and maximum temperature (T max) for development with values of 34.8, 38.7, 36.3, and 43 °C for host and the parasitoid, respectively. Parasitisation by H. hebetor was maximal at 25 °C but occurred even at 40 °C. This study suggests although high temperature is limiting to insects, our estimates of the upper thermal limits for both species are higher than previously estimated. Some biological control of H. armigera by H. hebetor may persist in tropical areas, even with increasing temperatures due to climate change

Detecting Distributed Denial of Service Attacks in Neighbour Discovery Protocol Using Machine Learning Algorithm Based on Streams Representation

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. The main protocol of the Internet protocol version 6 suites is the neighbour discovery protocol, which is geared towards substitution of address resolution protocol, router discovery, and function redirection in Internet protocol version 4. Internet protocol version 6 nodes employ neighbour discovery protocol to detect linked hosts and routers in Internet protocol version 6 network without the dependence on dynamic host configuration protocol server, which has earned the neighbour discovery protocol the title of the stateless protocol. The authentication process of the neighbour discovery protocol exhibits weaknesses that make this protocol vulnerable to attacks. Denial of service attacks can be triggered by a malicious host through the introduction of spoofed addresses in neighbour discovery protocol messages. Internet version 6 protocols are not well supported by Network Intrusion Detection System as is the case with Internet Protocol version 4 protocols. Several data mining techniques have been introduced to improve the classification mechanism of Intrusion detection system. In addition, extensive researches indicated that there is no Intrusion Detection system for Internet Protocol version 6 using advanced machine-learning techniques toward distributed denial of service attacks. This paper aims to detect Distributed Denial of Service attacks of the Neighbour Discovery protocol using machine-learning techniques, due to the severity of the attacks and the importance of Neighbour Discovery protocol in Internet Protocol version 6. Decision tree algorithm and Random Forest Algorithm showed high accuracy results in comparison to the other benchmarked algorithms

A genetic variant in proline and serine rich coiled-coil 1 gene is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease

Background: Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The Proline and Serine Rich Coiled-Coil 1 gene in 1p13.3 locus has been reported to be associated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and coronary artery disease (CAD). The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the rs599839 polymorphism of the Proline and Serine Rich Coiled-Coil 1 (PSRC1) gene with CVD outcomes in a population sample recruited as part of the Mashhad-Stroke and Heart-Atherosclerotic-Disorders (MASHAD) cohort. Methods: Five hundred and nine individuals who had an average follow-up period of 10 years were enrolled as part of the MASHAD cohort. DNA was extracted and genotyped using the TaqMan-real-time-PCR based method. Results: The study found individuals with GA/GG genotypes were at a higher risk of CVDs (OR= 4.7; 95% CI, 2.5-8.7; p< 0.001) in comparison to those with AA genotype; however, the result was not significant for GG genotype data. Conclusions: The results suggest that the GA/GG genotypes of the PSRC1gene locus were at increased risk of CVD in a representative population-based cohort, demonstrating further functional analysis to discover the value of emerging marker as a risk stratification biomarker to recognize high risk cases