Synthesis of New Formyl Halo N-methylimidazole Derivatives

Bromo-formyl imidazoles 16-20 have been prepared by three different ways. The first consisted of conversion of bromo or iodo imidazoles 1-6 into diethyl acetals 13-15, and subsequent hydrolysis into formyl derivatives 7-9. In the second, bromination of. formyl imidazoles with NBS afforded compounds 16-18 in 45-70°/o yield. The third method used direct formylation of bromo imidazoles 10-12 with n-BuLi/DMF reagent into compounds 16, 19, and 20

Dynamic Data Driven Methods for Self-aware Aerospace Vehicles

A self-aware aerospace vehicle can dynamically adapt the way it performs missions by gathering information about itself and its surroundings and responding intelligently. Achieving this DDDAS paradigm enables a revolutionary new generation of self-aware aerospace vehicles that can perform missions that are impossible using current design, flight, and mission planning paradigms. To make self-aware aerospace vehicles a reality, fundamentally new algorithms are needed that drive decision-making through dynamic response to uncertain data, while incorporating information from multiple modeling sources and multiple sensor fidelities.In this work, the specific challenge of a vehicle that can dynamically and autonomously sense, plan, and act is considered. The challenge is to achieve each of these tasks in real time executing online models and exploiting dynamic data streams–while also accounting for uncertainty. We employ a multifidelity approach to inference, prediction and planning an approach that incorporates information from multiple modeling sources, multiple sensor data sources, and multiple fidelities

Success and Failure in the Simulation of an Accident and Emergency Department

Healthcare simulation has the potential to offer many benefits but the implementation is often problematic. This paper describes the development of a simulation of an Accident and Emergency Department in an NHS hospital. The early experience of the client provoked great enthusiasm but ultimately the simulation failed to meet all expectations. The simulation delivered a number of benefits, notably in terms of stimulating constructive debate and helping the stakeholders appreciate the complete Accident and Emergency system. The project produced a technically proficient tool that was delivered too late to have the desired impact. This mixed record of success appears typical of many simulations. Important lessons were learned, both technically and in the management of client expectations, which have contributed to subsequent successful implementation in other departments of the hospital. The experience suggests that both potential clients and analysts need to establish realistic expectations and appreciate the particular challenges of simulation in a healthcare environment

Exploring alternative routes to realising the benefits of simulation in healthcare

Discrete event simulation should offer numerous benefits in designing healthcare systems but the reality is often problematic. Healthcare modelling faces particular challenges: genuine, fundamental variations in practice and an opposition to any suggestion of standardisation from some professional groups. This paper compares the experiences of developing a new simulation in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, a subsequent adaptation for modelling an outpatient clinic and applications of a generic A&E simulation. These studies provide examples of three distinct approaches to realising the potential benefits of simulation: the bespoke, the reuse and the generic route. Reuse has many advantages: it is relatively efficient in exploiting previous modelling experience, delivering timely results while providing scope for adaptations to local practice. Explicitly demonstrating this willingness to adapt to local conditions and engaging with stakeholders is particularly important in healthcare simulation

The hypertension cascade of care in the midst of conflict: the case of the Gaza Strip

Although hypertension constitutes a substantial burden in conflict-affected areas, little is known about its prevalence, control, and management in Gaza. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and correlates of hypertension, its diagnosis and control among adults in Gaza. We conducted a representative, cross-sectional, anonymous, household survey of 4576 persons older than 40 years in Gaza in mid-2020. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, anthropometric, and blood pressure measurements. Hypertension was defined in anyone with an average systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or average diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg from two consecutive readings or a hypertension diagnosis. The mean age of participants was 56.9 ± 10.5 years, 54.0% were female and 68.5% were Palestinian refugees. The prevalence of hypertension was 56.5%, of whom 71.5% had been diagnosed. Hypertension was significantly higher among older participants, refugees, ex-smokers, those who were overweight or obese, and had other co-morbidities including mental illnesses. Two-thirds (68.3%) of those with hypertension were on treatment with one in three (35.6%) having their hypertension controlled. Having controlled hypertension was significantly higher in females, those receiving all medications for high blood pressure and those who never or rarely added salt to food. Investing in comprehensive but cost-effective initiatives that strengthen the prevention, early detection and timely treatment of hypertension in conflict settings is critical. It is essential to better understand the underlying barriers behind the lack of control and develop multi-sectoral programs to address these barriers

Inversion of Airborne Contaminants in a Regional Model

We are interested in a DDDAS problem of localization of airborne contaminant releases in regional atmospheric transport models from sparse observations. Given measurements of the contaminant over an observation window at a small number of points in space, and a velocity field as predicted for example by a mesoscopic weather model, we seek an estimate of the state of the contaminant at the beginning of the observation interval that minimizes the least squares misfit between measured and predicted contaminant field, subject to the convection-diffusion equation for the contaminant. Once the ''initial'' conditions are estimated by solution of the inverse problem, we issue predictions of the evolution of the contaminant, the observation window is advanced in time, and the process repeated to issue a new prediction, in the style of 4D-Var. We design an appropriate numerical strategy that exploits the spectral structure of the inverse operator, and leads to efficient and accurate resolution of the inverse problem. Numerical experiments verify that high resolution inversion can be carried out rapidly for a well-resolved terrain model of the greater Los Angeles area

Ankyrin is the major oxidised protein in erythrocyte membranes from end-stage renal disease patients on chronic haemodialysis and oxidation is decreased by dialysis and vitamin C supplementation

Chronically haemodialysed end-stage renal disease patients are at high risk of morbidity arising from complications of dialysis, the underlying pathology that has led to renal disease and the complex pathology of chronic kidney disease. Anaemia is commonplace and its origins are multifactorial, involving reduced renal erythropoietin production, accumulation of uremic toxins and an increase in erythrocyte fragility. Oxidative damage is a common risk factor in renal disease and its co-morbidities and is known to cause erythrocyte fragility. Therefore, we have investigated the hypothesis that specific erythrocyte membrane proteins are more oxidised in end-stage renal disease patients and that vitamin C supplementation can ameliorate membrane protein oxidation. Eleven patients and 15 control subjects were recruited to the study. Patients were supplemented with 2 × 500 mg vitamin C per day for 4 weeks. Erythrocyte membrane proteins were prepared pre- and post-vitamin C supplementation for determination of protein oxidation. Total protein carbonyls were reduced by vitamin C supplementation but not by dialysis when investigated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Using a western blot to detect oxidised proteins, one protein band, later identified as containing ankyrin, was found to be oxidised in patients but not controls and was reduced significantly by 60% in all patients after dialysis and by 20% after vitamin C treatment pre-dialysis. Ankyrin oxidation analysis may be useful in a stratified medicines approach as a possible marker to identify requirements for intervention in dialysis patients

Bridging the food security gap: an information-led approach to connect dietary nutrition, food composition and crop production

© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry BACKGROUND: Food security is recognized as a major global challenge, yet human food-chain systems are inherently not geared towards nutrition, with decisions on crop and cultivar choice not informed by dietary composition. Currently, food compositional tables and databases (FCT/FCDB) are the primary information sources for decisions relating to dietary intake. However, these only present single mean values representing major components. Establishment of a systematic controlled vocabulary to fill this gap requires representation of a more complex set of semantic relationships between terms used to describe nutritional composition and dietary function. RESULTS: We carried out a survey of 11 FCT/FCDB and 177 peer-reviewed papers describing variation in nutritional composition and dietary function for food crops to identify a comprehensive set of terms to construct a controlled vocabulary. We used this information to generate a Crop Dietary Nutrition Data Framework (CDN-DF), which incorporates controlled vocabularies systematically organized into major classes representing nutritional components and dietary functions. We demonstrate the value of the CDN-DF for comparison of equivalent components between crop species or cultivars, for identifying data gaps and potential for formal meta-analysis. The CDN-DF also enabled us to explore relationships between nutritional components and the functional attributes of food. CONCLUSION: We have generated a structured crop dietary nutrition data framework, which is generally applicable to the collation and comparison of data relevant to crop researchers, breeders, and other stakeholders, and will facilitate dialogue with nutritionists. It is currently guiding the establishment of a more robust formal ontology. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Cost-effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi) for averting anaemia in Gabon: a comparison between intention to treat and according to protocol analyses

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In Gabon, the impact of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi) was not statistically significant on malaria reduction, but the impact on moderate anaemia was, with some differences between the intention to treat (ITT) and the according to protocol (ATP) trial analyses. Specifically, ATP was statistically significant, while ITT analysis was borderline. The main reason for the difference between ITT and ATP populations was migration. METHODS: This study estimates the cost-effectiveness of IPTi on the reduction of anaemia in Gabon, comparing results of the ITT and the ATP clinical trial analyses. Threshold analysis was conducted to identify when the intervention costs and protective efficacy of IPTi for the ATP cohort equalled the ITT cost-effectiveness ratio. RESULTS: Based on IPTi intervention costs, the cost per episode of moderate anaemia averted was US$12.88 (CI 95$11.30 (CI 95% 4.56, 26.66) using the ATP analysis. In order for the ATP results to equal the cost-effectiveness of ITT, total ATP intervention costs should rise from US$118.38 to US$134 or the protective efficacy should fall from 27% to 18.1%. The uncertainty surrounding the cost-effectiveness ratio using ITT trial results was higher than using the ATP results. CONCLUSIONS: Migration implies great challenges in the organization of health interventions that require repeat visits in Gabon. This was apparent in the study as the cost-effectiveness of IPTp-SP worsened when drop out from the prevention was taken into account. Despite such challenges, IPTi was both inexpensive and efficacious in averting cases of moderate anaemia in infant