A novel synthesis of highly stable palladium nanoparticles and their application in the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds

Herein, a mild and efficient method for synthesis of highly stable palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) on Aristolochia Olivieri (AO) extract as a support and reducing agent is described. Investigation of catalytically activity of obtained catalyst (AO@PdNPs) was performed for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds. Of note are the functional group tolerance, fast rate, and the ability to apply a scope of nitro compounds (up to 30). The synthesized catalyst was characterized with UV−visible spectra, FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, AAS, FT-IR, and TEM techniques. The corresponding amine product was obtained excellent to high yields. The catalytic activity of AO@ PdNPs for the hydrogenation of 4-methyl-2-nitroaniline and 4-methoxy-2-nitroaniline was pursued by UV-visible spectroscopy which presented excellent activity of catalyst

Ethnobotanical, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Activity of Onosma (Boraginaceae): An Updated Review

The genus Onosma belongs to the Boraginaceae family and contains over 230 species. The present review sheds light on the ethnopharmacology, phytoconstituents, bioactivity, and toxicology of the Onosma species from previous investigations. Furthermore, the paper also highlights the unresolved issues for the future investigations. The review included previous studies of the genus Onosma available from Google Scholar and Baidu Scholar, Science Direct, SciFinder, Wiley Online Library, and Web of Science. Until now, more than 200 chemical compounds have been detected from the genus Onosma, including naphthoquinone (33), flavonoids (30), hydrocarbon (23), phenolic (22), ester (17), alkaloids (20), aromatics (12), carboxylic acid (11), fatty acids (9), terpenoids (10), while the most important ones are rosmarinic, ferulic, protocatechuic, chlorogenic, caffeic, p-coumaric acids, and apigenin. The Onosma species are reported as traditional medicine for wound healing, heart disease, and kidney disorders, while the pharmacological investigations revealed that the extracts and the phytochemicals of Onosma species have different therapeutic properties including antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, antitumor, hepatoprotective, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial actions. The summarized knowledge in this review provides valuable ideas for the current and future drug discovery and a motivation for further investigation on the genus Onosma

MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF DEHYDRATION IN PEDIATRICS

The level of fluid deficit may be difficult to scientifically quantify and there is no laboratory worth that is either delicate or details to approximate the degree of dehydration in children. Rehydration may take place by means of oral, subcutaneous, or IV paths. We performed a search using electronic databases; MEDLINE, science-direct, and EMBASE, through October, 2018. Dehydration related to gastroenteritis makes up a considerable worry of disease worldwide. Most of dehydration is amenable to ORT; only the treatment of severe dehydration needs IVF. Prior pilot data on the superiority of rapid IVF administration for rehydration has actually been refuted. Nevertheless, a new research suggests that initial rehydration with glucose including IVF trends toward lowering the return visits and decreasing the admission rates. More data on the efficiency and safety and security of antiemetics has actually been produced. Antiemetics have been proven well tolerated without masking severe alternate diagnoses, efficacious in improving the success of ORT, and affordable. These brand-new data supporters highly for the consolidation of antiemetics right into the scientific guidelines. Variability in guideline conformity has been shown, with doctors mentioning troubles in evaluating dehydration and scientific judgment as factors for variation

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

A novel synthesis of highly stable palladium nanoparticles and their application in the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds

Herein, a mild and efficient method for synthesis of highly stable palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) on Aristolochia Olivieri (AO) extract as a support and reducing agent is described. Investigation of catalytically activity of obtained catalyst (AO@PdNPs) was performed for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds. Of note are the functional group tolerance, fast rate, and the ability to apply a scope of nitro compounds (up to 30). The synthesized catalyst was characterized with UV−visible spectra, FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, AAS, FT-IR, and TEM techniques. The corresponding amine product was obtained excellent to high yields. The catalytic activity of AO@ PdNPs for the hydrogenation of 4-methyl-2-nitroaniline and 4-methoxy-2-nitroaniline was pursued by UV-visible spectroscopy which presented excellent activity of catalyst

Multidimensional poverty index of marginalized orang asli in Terengganu, Malaysia

The general interpretation of poverty line index (PLI) is the measurement of poverty in Malaysia. However, by using this unidimensional poverty approach, it does not truly reflect the status of those who are poor. It is only confined to addressing the income or expenses debate, which does not reflect the actual living standards of the poor. Therefore, this study introduce the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) as an alternative method of poverty measurement. MPI is capable of identifying “Who is Poor” among the underprivileged in society. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the Orang Asli society’s development and national policy from a multidimensional perspective. By applying the MPI to the Orang Asli population in Terengganu, this study is able to reveal the factors that have deprived the poor to the point of poverty. There are four dimensions used in this study such as education, health, standard of living, and wealth. The result shows 97.1% of the Orang Asli in Terengganu is deprived in livestock followed by waste management at 96.6%, years of schooling at 83.4%, and only 58.9% as an income indicator. The result also indicates that Sungai Pergam village is poorer compared to other villages based on the MPI measured. These findings prove that MPI is able to reveal the real reason behind poverty with accuracy. Therefore, this mode of measurement can also be applied to other targeted groups in order to achieve more effective poverty eradication programs. © Universiti Putra Malaysia Pres

Image Processing of UAV Imagery for River Feature Recognition of Kerian River, Malaysia

The impact of floods is the most severe among the natural calamities occurring in Malaysia. The knock of floods is consistent and annually forces thousands of Malaysians to relocate. The lack of information from the Ministry of Environment and Water, Malaysia is the foremost obstacle in upgrading the flood mapping. With the expeditious evolution of computer techniques, processing of satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images for river hydromorphological feature detection and flood management have gathered pace in the last two decades. Different image processing algorithms—structure from motion (SfM), multi-view stereo (MVS), gradient vector flow (GVF) snake algorithm, etc.—and artificial neural networks are implemented for the monitoring and classification of river features. This paper presents the application of the k-means algorithm along with image thresholding to quantify variation in river surface flow areas and vegetation growth along Kerian River, Malaysia. The river characteristic recognition directly or indirectly assists in studying river behavior and flood monitoring. Dice similarity coefficient and Jaccard index are numerated between thresholded images that are clustered using the k-means algorithm and manually segmented images. Based on quantitative evaluation, a dice similarity coefficient and Jaccard index of up to 97.86% and 94.36% were yielded for flow area and vegetation calculation. Thus, the present technique is functional in evaluating river characteristics with reduced errors. With minimum errors, the present technique can be utilized for quantifying agricultural areas and urban areas around the river basin

Biomonitoring of Malaysian aquatic environments: A review of status and prospects

Anthropogenic stressors are reported to be the major drivers of aquatic pollution all over the world. Combating aquatic pollution requires adequate monitoring and inventorying mechanisms, and biomonitoring with the help of bioindicator organisms can be regarded as a sensitive tool for the evaluation of the biological and ecological significance of aquatic pollution. Bioaccumulation, biochemical alterations, morphological and behavioural approaches, population and community level approaches, and in vitro toxicity tests of aquatic organisms are all common techniques employed in biomonitoring of aquatic environments. In this review, the body of literature dealing with the pollution via biomonitoring in Malaysian aquatic ecosystems is discussed. It is evident from the study that, in Malaysia, biomonitoring by bioaccumulation received more attention than other biomonitoring techniques. Aquatic ecotoxicological research studies are very limited in east Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), when compared to west (Peninsular) Malaysia. The potential applications of biomonitoring and its relevance for the Malaysian aquatic ecosystems are discussed. Recommendations for future improvements in the Malaysian aquatic pollution biomonitoring are also made

The moderating effect of hospital size on inter and intra-organizational factors of Hospital information system adoption

Healthcare is a highly institutionalized industry, subject to multiple regulatory forces, high levels of professionalism, and growing network externalities which may affect the decisions to adopt. Hence, this research integrates the Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), institutional theory along with Human Organization Technology (HOT) fit model as the organization theories to explain the adoption of Hospital Information System (HIS). To examine the effects of inter and intra-organizational potential factors on HIS adoption, within the context of Malaysian public hospitals, a survey method using web-based questionnaire is employed. The role of hospital size in this study is investigated to determine its distinct moderating influence among the relationships of the HIS adoption and significant dimensional factors. The results indicated that system affiliation (p < 0.05), mimetic pressure-competitors (p < 0.1), normative pressure (p < 0.05), and employees' IS knowledge (p < 0.05) were the most significant drivers for adopting HIS in the public hospitals of Malaysia. The results also showed that hospital size as the only moderator of this study has no significant effect on the other relationships in our developed theoretical model. In other words, the effects of the significant factors on HIS adoption are the same in three small, medium, and large Malaysian public hospitals. This research presents a conceptual foundation for future researches and fills a gap in the literature regarding the inter-organizational factors influencing the adoption of HIS