Design, synthesis and biological activities of 5Hdibenzo[ b,f]azepine-5-carboxamide derivatives; Targeted hippocampal trypsin inhibition as a novel approach to treat epileptogenesis

Purpose: To synthesize anticonvulsant drug derivatives that target protease-activated receptor generated epileptic seizures.Method: Varieties of carbamazepine-based Schiff bases were designed with different aldehydes and ketones, and evaluated for in silico computer-aided drug design prediction of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME), and potential drug targets. The resultant compounds were synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques, including FTIR, 1H-NMR and 13CNMR, analysis. Thereafter, they were screened for antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticonvulsant potential.Results: Prominent anti-protease potential was shown by C7 and C3 compounds and the order of activity was C7 > C3 > C5 > C2 > C6 > C4 > C2 > C1 (p < 0.05). The anticonvulsant activity of C7 and C5 was comparable with the standard drug; C3, C4, C6 and C8 had mild activity while C1 and C4 showed the least activity. The synthesized compounds exhibited significant (p < 0.05) antioxidant potential (rank order: C3 > C4 > C5 > C7 > C8 > C6 > C1 > C2) and antimicrobial activity against S.aureus and B. bronchiseptica (rank order: C5 > C2 > C8 > C1 > C4 > C3 > C7).Conclusion: Synthesized derivatives retained their potential for anticonvulsant and antitrypsin activity, unlike their mother moiety, i.e., carbamazepine. The additional antibacterial activity effectively treats neurological disorders associated with bacterial infections

A Context-aware and Intelligent Framework for the Secure Mission Critical Systems

Recent technological advancements in pervasive systems have shown the poten-tial to address challenges in the military domain. Research developments in mili-tary-based mission-critical systems have refined a lot as in autopilot, sensing true target behavior, battle damage conditions, acquiring and manipulating command control information. However, the application of pervasive systems in the military domain is still evolving. In this paper, an intelligent framework has been pro-posed for mission-critical systems to incorporate advanced heterogeneous com-munication protocols; service-oriented layered structure and context-aware infor-mation manipulation. The proposed framework addresses the limitation of “time-space” constraints in Mission-critical systems that have been improved signifi-cantly. This improvement is courtesy to enhancing situation-aware tactical capa-bilities such as localization, decision significance, strategic span, strategic inten-tions, resource coordination and profiling concerning the situation. A comprehen-sive use case model has been presented for a typical battle-field scenario followed by a comparison of the proposed framework with existing techniques. It is evi-dent from experiments and analyses that the proposed framework provides more effective and seamless interaction with contextual resources to improve tactical capabilities. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: A Context-aware and Intelligent Framework for the Secure Mission Critical Systems, which has been published in final form in Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Version

Efficacy and safety of dotinurad in hyperuricemic patients with or without gout: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Introduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of dotinurad in hyperuricemic patients with or without gout. Dotinurad is a novel selective urate reabsorption inhibitor (SURI) that increases uric acid excretion by selectively inhibiting urate transporter 1 (URAT1). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis conducted to gauge the efficacy and safety of dotinurad. Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched from inception till March 2, 2021, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis statement. Randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety of dotinurad with placebo- or active (febuxostat or benzbromarone) control were included. The eligible studies were analyzed with RevMan 5.3 Software (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen).Results: Four eligible studies, consisting of 684 hyperuricemic patients were included. The number of patients who achieved serum uric acid (sUA) levels ≤ 6.0 mg/dl favoured dotinurad 1 mg group as compared to placebo group (risk ratio {RR} = 39.27, 95% onfidence interval {CI}, 5.59 to 275.65; p = 0.0002), dotinurad 2 mg group compared with placebo group (RR = 45.36, 95% CI, 6.48 to 317.38; p= 0.0001), and dotinurad 4 mg group compared with placebo group (RR = 54.16, 95% CI, 7.76 to 377.77; p \u3c 0.0001). Conversely, there was no significant difference in the number of patients who achieved the target sUA levels between dotinurad 2 mg and active control (RR = 1.00, 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.08; p = 0.91). Moreover, the percentage change in sUA levels from baseline to final visit favoured dotinurad 1 mg vs. placebo ((RR = 36.51, 95% CI, 33.00 to 40.02; p \u3c 0.00001), dotinurad 2 mg vs. placebo (RR = 46.70, 95% CI, 42.53 to 50.87; p \u3c 0.00001), and dotinurad 4 mg vs. placebo (RR = 63.84, 95% CI, 60.51 to 67.16; p \u3c 0.00001), while no significant difference was seen in dotinurad 2 mg vs. active control (RR = -0.08, 95% CI, -4.27 to 4.11; p= 0.97). Compared with active or placebo control, dotinurad 2 mg showed no significant difference in the number of events of gouty arthritis (RR= 1.31, 95% CI, 0.47 to 3.71; p = 0.60), the number patients with adverse events (RR = 1.09, 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.30; p = 0.36), and the number of patients who experienced adverse drug reactions (RR = 1.00, 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.47; p = 0.99).Conclusion: Dotinurad shows significant improvement in serum uric acid levels in hyperuricemic individuals with or without gout. Its urate-lowering effect is comparable to the commonly available anti-hyperuricemic agents. Moreover, it is effective at doses 1 mg, 2 mg, and 4 mg and well-tolerated at a dose of 2 mg

One pot preparation of CeO2@Alginate composite beads for the catalytic reduction of MB dye: Effect of cerium percentage

This study focuses on the preparation of composite beads CeO2@Alginate using a one-pot method. Ce(III) was used as a crosslinking agent and then was modified with a base to transform it into CeO2 encapsulated in the alginate matrix. To study the catalytic behavior of this material the reduction of MB dye in the presence of NaBH4 was selected as a model reaction. Several parameters affecting the reduction of the MB dye were studied such as the effect of cerium content in the composite beads, the concentration of NaBH4 and the concentration of the MB dye. The results showed that the dispersion of alginate in a solution containing Ce(III) leads to the formation of hydrogel beads. The treatment of the beads with a basic solution leads to the in-situ formation of CeO2 inside the beads with a porous structure. The catalytic activity of composite beads has shown interesting results via the reduction of MB dye. The reduction of MB dye catalyzed by CeO2@ALG(2%) was total in 2 min and the associated rate constant was 2.3 min–1. The reuse tests were studied during five successive cycles, in which it was shown that the CeO2@ALG(2%) catalyst was stable without losing its effectiveness

A Conceptual Model for Blockchain-Based Agriculture Food Supply Chain System

In agriculture supply chain management, traceability is a crucial aspect to ensure food safety for increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. Lack of quality assurance in centralized data storage makes us move towards a new approach based on a decentralized system in which transparency and quality assurance is guaranteed throughout the supply chain from producer to consumer. The current supply chain model has some disadvantages like a communication gap between the entities of the supply chain and no information about the travel history and origin of the product. The use of technology improves the communication and relation between various farmers and stakeholders. Blockchain technology acquires transparency and traceability in the supply chain, provides transaction records traceability, and enhances security for the whole supply chain. In this paper, we present a blockchain-based, fully decentralized traceability model that ensures the integrity and transparency of the system. This new model eliminated most of the disadvantages of the traditional supply chain. For the coordination of all transactions in the supply chain, we proposed a decentralized supply chain model along with a smart contract.publishedVersio

Assessment of anxiety and depression in hospitalized cardiac patients of Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Pakistan

Purpose: To assess the level of anxiety and depression in hospitalized cardiac patients in Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Faisalabad, Pakistan.Methods: The study was conducted on hospitalized cardiac patients at Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology (FIC), Faisalabad. Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS) was applied to estimate the occurrence of depression and anxiety in selected participants. This study involved 400 diagnosed hospitalized cardiac patients and another 400 participants without cardiac disease as control group.Results: The anxiety and depression level in hospitalized cardiac patient’s was 79.5% (318), compared with 68.25 % (273) of the control group. Female patients were also more prone to depression than male patients. Psychological suffering was 1.80 times more in the hospitalized cardiac patients (OR = 1.804, 95 %CI = 1.308 - 2.488, p = 0.0001). The results showed that gender was the leading factor in the occurrence of co-morbidities such as depression and anxiety.Conclusion: Depression symptoms are more common among hospitalized patients than in those without cardiac disease. Close monitoring is required and patients with psychiatric illness should be referred for appropriate treatment to overcome this risk.Keywords: Hypertension, Anxiety, Depression, Gender, Cardiac patient

An innovative fractal monopole MIMO antenna for modern 5G applications

Proposed in this paper is the design of an innovative and compact antenna array which based on four radiating elements for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna applications used in 5G communication systems. The radiating elements are fractal curves excited using an open-circuited feedline through a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The feedline is electromagnetically coupled to the inside edge of the radiating element. The array's impedance bandwidth is enhanced by inserting a ground structure composed of low-high-low impedance between the radiating elements. The low-impedance section of the ground is a staircase structure that is inclined at an angle to follow the input feedline. This inter-radiating element essentially suppresses near-field radiation between adjacent radiators. A band reject filter based on a composite right/left hand (CRLH) structure is mounted at the back side of the antenna array to reduce mutual coupling between the antenna elements by choking surface wave propagations that can otherwise degrade the radiation performance of the array antenna. The CRLH structure is based on the Hilbert fractal geometry, and it was designed to act like a stop band filter over the desired frequency bands. The proposed antenna array was fabricated and tested. It covers the frequency bands in the range from 2 to 3 GHz, 3.4-3.9 GHz, and 4.4-5.2 GHz. The array has a maximum gain of 6. 2dBi at 3.8 GHz and coupling isolation better than 20 dB. The envelope correlation coefficient of the antenna array is within the acceptable limit. There is good agreement between the simulated and measured results.Dr. Mohammad Alibakhshikenari acknowledges support from the CONEX-Plus programme funded by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801538. Funding for APC: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Read & Publish Agreement CRUE-CSIC 2022)

Patterns of Admission in Intensive Care Unit of Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: It is well known that early appropriate referrals of critically ill patients to an ICU can significantly reduce the mortality. At the same time, improper admissions to ICU limits bed availability that adversely affects ICU functioning. Objective: To determine the patterns of admissions and outcome in Medical and Surgical Intensive care Units.Material & Methods: A retrospective review of all patients admitted in medical and surgical ICU of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad from 2014 to 2016 was done. Data was collected from admission registers and patients’ files. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0. Chi-square test was applied and P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Study recruited data of 1652 patients admitted to intensive care unit of PIMS hospital. There were 769(46.5%) males and 883(53.5%) females. Among all the patients, 503(30.4%) were admitted to medical intensive care unit while 1149(69.6%) were admitted to surgical intensive care Unit. 684(41.4%) had undergone mortality while 968(58.6%) remained alive. Overall mean length of hospital stay was 7.4±4.1SD, mean length of mechanical ventilation 4.1±2.1SD and mean length of supplemental ventilation was 1.5±0.11SD. Acute abdomen (13.1%) and head injuries (12%) were most common causes for admission in ICU. Statistically significant association between years (2014, 2015 & 2016) and disease (p=0.000), years and mortality (p=0.000), years and age (p=0.000), intensive care unit and gender (p=0.01), intensive care unit and age (p=0.02) was reported.Conclusion: Acute abdomen and Head injuries had highest number of admissions in Medical and Surgical intensive care unit of PIMS hospital. Developing a well-equipped trauma ICU with adequately trained staff will help improve the outcome of patients

M (M: Cu, Co, Cr or Fe) nanoparticles-loaded metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr) material by sonication process: Catalytic activity and antibacterial properties

The current study deals with the preparation and development of nanomaterials based on iron, copper, chromium or cobalt to study their antibacterial and catalytic properties. To achieve this, the different metals were dispersed in the material MIL-101(Cr) by an ultrasonic-assisted method and then treated by chemical reduction in order to produce corresponding metal nanoparticles (MNPs). The obtained nanocatalysts MIL-101(Cr)/MNPs were characterized by various techniques such as XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, FTIR; TGA, XRF, Adsorption-desoprtion of nitrogen at 77 K and UV–vis DR. The results showed that the nanocatalysts consist of a mixture of metal phases and oxides. All the prepared nanocatalysts were evaluated based on their performance in reducing the methylene blue (MB) dye in the presence of NaBH4 as reducing agent, for selection of the optimal catalyst. The best catalytic activity was obtained by the MIL-101 (Cr)/CuNPs nanocatalyst in which 6 min was sufficient to reduce the MB dye and the recorded rate constant kapp was 0.503 min−1. The performance of this catalyst was evaluated by varying the effects of three important parameters such as catalyst loading and the concentration of NaBH4 and MB dye. The study of the effects of these three parameters on the reduction process reveals that more than 99% of MB dye was reduced using 0.6 mM of MB dye, 6.8 mM of NaBH4 and 3 mg of nanocatalyst. The kinetic study shows that the reduction of MB dye by the MOF-101(Cr)/CuNPs nanocatalyst follows pseudo-first order kinetics. In addition, the MIL-101(Cr)/CoNPs and MIL-101(Cr)/CuNPs samples demonstrated efficacy at inhibiting bacterial and fungal growth. Hence, it is concluded through this work that the nature, size and concentration of nanoparticles present in the MOF matrix are the key parameters that can influence the catalytic and antibacterial properties of these MNP-loaded MIL-101(Cr) systems