Kinematic Modelling of FES Induced Sit-to-stand Movement in Paraplegia

FES induced movements from indication is promising due to encouraging results being obtained by scholars. The kinematic model usually constitute the initial phase towards achieving the segmental dynamics of any rigid body system. It can be used to ascertain that the model is capable of achieving the desired goal. The dynamic model builds on the kinematic model and is usually mathematically cumbersome depending on the number of degrees-of-freedom. This paper presents a kinematic model applicable for human sit-to-stand movement scenario that will be used to obtain the dynamic model the FES induced movement in a later study. The study shows that the 6 DOF conceptualized sit-to-stand movement can be achieved conveniently using 4 DOF. The 4 DOF has an additional joint compared to similar earlier works which makes more it accurate and flexible. It is more accurate in the sense that it accommodates additional joint i.e. the neck joint whose dynamics could be captured. And more flexible in the sense that if future research uncover more contributions by the segments it can be easily incorporated including that of other segments e.g. the trunk, neck and upper limbs

Comparative analysis on the effect of heavy metals: a case study of selected states in Nigeria

In the toxicological aspect, uncontrolled amount of heavy metals is deadly, to the environment and its inhabitants. To complicate issues, reviewed work has revealed that technological advancement is one of the key sources of heavy metals. This can lead to outbreak of diseases, decrease of life span, cancer, and other related effects. Providing sustainable environment, the concentration of these metals need to be periodically regulated. This research studies the effect of some selected heavy metals (Fe, Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Zn and Mn) in Kano State Nigeria, using Atomic Absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The results were compared with other related work conducted in some states across Nigeria (Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Kaduna, and Bauchi States) and standard international values (WHO, FAO, SEPA and US EPA). The parameters analysed were; Concentration, Bioaccumulation (Plant concentration factor –PCF), Transfer factor (TF), Daily Intake of Metals (DIM), and Health Risk Index (HRI). Statistical package (SPSS) was used, to establish the relationship between these metals in all the sites. The result showed that there were substantial absorption of these metals by the plants and the consumers. Children were more exposed than adults in terms of DIM and the HRI. The comparison showed sequential order in the parameters investigated. All the biological samples exhibited Phytoremediation quality with the TF>1, this will aid in having sustainable environment to the resident and citizen of the state in particular and the nation in general, as well as serving as an impetus for the initiation of safe comprehensive remedy of the subject matter. The PCF for all the samples varied across states and plants.Keywords: AAS, Adults, ANOVA. Children, Concentration, DIM, HRI, PCF, Phytoremediatio

Design and Implementation of Iris Pattern Rec-ognition Using Wireless Network System

Abstract The goal of this paper is to propose a fast and accurate iris pattern recognition system by using wireless network system. This paper consists of three parts: the first part includes two methods of the iris pattern recognition system: Libor Masek and genetic algorithms, the second part includes the compression-decompression process of iris image using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a data reduction method, in order to reduce image size, and the third part talks about wireless network. In this work, an iris image is transferred across wireless network which contains two independent-parallel lines connected to the central Personal Computer (PC) in order to be recognized at the end of each line, then the results of recognition are sent back to the central PC. The proposed genetic algorithm, which is used in this paper is more accurate than Masek algorithm and has low computational time and complexity, which makes this method better than Masek method in recognizing iris patterns

Community pharmacists' management of minor ailments in developing countries: A systematic review of types, recommendations, information gathering and counselling practices

Aims: To conduct a systematic review of the management of minor ailments by community pharmacists in developing countries, and to identify the specific minor ailments encountered, the medications recommended or requested and the information gathering and counselling practices. Method: Observational studies from developing countries published in English language from inception to 2019 and report the management of minor ailments by community pharmacists were systematically searched in PubMed, ScienceDirect and Cochrane Library. Results: Thirty full-text studies, out of 7876 retrieved and screened, were included in the systematic review. Minor ailment-induced encounters by patients with community pharmacists are generally pervasive and involve mainly verbal request for specific medicines by name (60%). The most frequent minor ailments reported were respiratory, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal conditions, and the most common medicines recommended or requested for were cough/cold preparations, antimotility and oral rehydration preparation, and analgesic/antipyretic. Inappropriate recommendation of antibiotics were reported for acute diarrhoea and cough/colds (40%) (10/25). Community pharmacists encountered 11-30 customers with minor ailments per day, with an average of about 4.8 (1.3-20.5) minutes per encounter. None of the studies reported the availability and/or use of a specific protocol to guide the management of minor ailments. There was wide variation in the type and depth of information gathered and used for the management of minor ailments; and the counselling information provided by community pharmacists, and there was no evidence of the documentation activities related to the management of minor ailments. Conclusions: Community pharmacists' encounter with and management of minor ailments appear extensive in developing countries and probably present an opportunity to contribute significantly to reduce disease burden and enhance public health. However, the management process is currently unstructured, unguided by a specific protocol and vary in the quality of recommendations, information gathering and counselling practices.Qatar National Research Fund, UREP24-147-3043; Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library

Thyroid Panel and Modified Lipid Profile among Sudanese Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract: The analytical, comparative cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the thyroid profiles and modified lipid profiles levels among Sudanese patients with coronary heart disease performed on forty-one patients with coronary heart disease as test group collected from Sudan Heart Center, Al rebat teaching hospital and Al mawada hospital in Khartoum state, during the period between November 2017 and May 2018. Furthermore, the test group compared with forty-one apparently healthy volunteers as control group was selected with the same inclusion criteria. Spectrophotometeric methods were used for measurement of lipid profile. Thyroid hormones (T3 &T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone were measured by using Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Moreover, statistical package for social science (SPSS version 23) computer software was used for data analysis. The study clearly demonstrated that there was statistically significant decrease in T3, and significant increase in T4 levels in test group compared to control with (P. value 0.047) for T3, and (P. value 0.002) for T4.Nonetheless, the result of this study indicated a significant elevation in mean of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels and significant decrease in high density lipoprotein –cholesterol in test group compared to control (P.value 0.000). In conclusion Coronary heart diseases patients have significantly low Triiodothyronine, elevated Thyroxin, and normal Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels, with significantly higher Total Cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol concentrations, and lower HighDensity Lipoprotein-Cholesterol concentrations

Production of Lettuce Edible Vaccine for Cholera Disease Using Chloroplast Genetic Engineering.

Lettuce is one of the most important edible plant worldwide. At the timethat lettuce isthe candidate plant to carry the foreign vaccine gene forhuman. The B subunits of toxin of Vibrio cholerae(CTB) are candidatevaccine antigens. This research was conduct to express CTB gene in lettucechloroplast. Genesrequired in this study were obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)technique using specific forward and reverse primers, and these genes wereCTB, BADH, prrnpromoter and many other regulatory genes. Some ofthese genes were isolated from their hosts and some were obtained fromprevious work available at Daniell laboratory. All these genes beside manytechniques for ligation, extension, sequencing, orientation confirmationwere used to construct the cassette vector pLS-BADH-LS-CTB whichcarries the gene of interest. In this work the CTB gene with BADH genewere transferred to the chloroplast of lettuce plant and selection oftransgenic plant was performed on the MS medium containing BA andNaCl without any antibiotic selectable marker. Integration of an unmodifiedCTB-coding sequence into chloroplast genomes (up to 1000 copies per cell)resulted in the accumulation of up to 6.2% of total soluble lettuce leavesprotein as functional oligomers (620-fold higher expression levels than thatof the unmodified CTB gene expressed via the nuclear genome). PCR andSouthern blot analyses confirmed stable integration of the CTB gene andBADH gene into the chloroplast genome in addition to the integration in theright orientation and in specific region between trnaI rnA.Western blotanalysis showed that the chloroplast synthesized CTB assembled intooligomers and were antigenically identical with purified native CT

Improvement of Lactuca sativa slat Tolerance by Plastid Transformation with BADH Gene

Salinity is one of the major factors that limits geographical distribution of plants and adversely affects crop productivity and quality.Here high-level expression of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) was reported in cultured explantsof lettuce via plastid genetic engineering. Lettuce (Lactucasativa) plant was primarilyexperimented for tolerance of betaine aldehyde (BA) and soudium chloride(NaCl) by tissue culture technique and it was found that the wild typelettuce tolerated 10 and 75 mM from each substance respectively. Genesrequired in this study were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)technique using specific forward and reverse primers, and these genes wereBADH, prrn promoter and many other regulatory genes. Some ofthese genes were isolated from their hosts and some were obtained fromprevious work available at Daniell laboratory. All these genes beside manytechniques for ligation, extension, sequencing, orientation confirmationwere used to construct the cassette vector pLS-BADH-LS whichcarries the gene of interest. Homoplasmic transgenic plants exhibiting high levels of salt tolerance were regenerated from bombarded cell cultures via somatic embryogenesis. Transgenic lettuce plants expressing BADH grew in the presence of high concentrations of NaCl (up to 150mM), the highest level of salt tolerance reported so far among genetically modified lettuce, and the tolerance to betaine aldehyde was 30 mM

Polymorphism of growth hormone gene and its association with wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds

Growth hormone (GH) gene has been described as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in different farm animals. The present study was designed to identify the polymorphism in GH gene and its association with variation of wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds. Wool and blood samples were collected from 42 animals including two breeds (Barki and Rahmani) and one crossbred (Rahmani x Awase). Measurements of wool traits were analyzed and involved staple strength (Str), staple length (STL), fiber diameter (FD) and clean fleece yield (CFW). DNA was extracted from blood samples and a 365-bp fragment from exon V was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Single strand conformation polymorphisim (SSCP) analysis showed two conformational patterns. The pattern I was recorded to be more frequent (83.3, 92.86 and 90%) than pattern II (16.7, 7.14 and 10%) in Barki, Rahmani and crossbred, respectively. The sequence analysis showed one single nucleotide polymorphism (C/T). The pattern I (allele T) has been found to affect CFW and FD than pattern II (allele C). Whereas, C allele was more pronounced for Str and STL. These traits are the most important parameters determining commercial values of wool that are preferred for clothing or carpets industry. The nucleotide sequences of C and T alleles were submitted to GenBank and have the accession numbers: KT250511 and KT250512, respectively. In conclusion, the present results provide evidence that there is a single nucleotide polymorphism within GH gene in Egyptian sheep breeds. This mutation was found to have some effects on wool traits. Therefore our data show interesting prospects in future selection programs for improving wool industry.Key words: Sheep, wool, growth hormone (GH) gene, polymorphism, single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)

Enhancement of the Injection Grade Polypropylene using Extrusion Grade Polypropylene and Calcium Carbonate

the invention provides for study properties of polypropylene (injection grade) / polypropylene (extrusion grade) blend filled with calcium carbonates. In four formulations of PP(Injection grade)/PP(Extrusion grade)) viz. 95/5, 90/10, 85/15 and 80/20 in ratio of weight percentage were prepared for injection molding machine. This PP(Injection grade)/PP(Extrusion grade) (80/20) blend was selected and investigated at different three fractions of calcium carbonate. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength and elongation test were investigated. The rheological properties such as melt flow index (MFI) and melt density were evaluated. The results indicated that incorporate calcium carbonate increase the (MFI), melt density and elongation decreased while increase the tensile strength. It was obtained that increase calcium carbonate content into PP(Injection grade)/PP(Extrusion grade) blends will increase the density. Taking into consideration, it was concluded that, the optimum composition provided the good mechanical, rheological properties and density is PP(Injection grade)/PP(Extrusion grade)/Calcium carbonate (80/20/22.5) wt%