Effect of antiretroviral therapy on some liver enzymes in HIV/AIDS breast fed and non breast fed children

The relationship and effect of antiretroviral therapy with associated hepatotoxicity were investigated in different paediatric age groups using serum alanine and aspartate transaminases (ALT and AST) and alkaline phosphates (ALP) biomarkers. The study consisted of a total of onehundred and twenty (120) participants; fifteen (15) each from different age groups of HIV infected children at baseline and three (3) months after initiation of therapy as well as a control group. Ninety three percent (93%) of the children studied acquired HIV infection through vertical transmission with seventy percent (70%) having mixed feeding as their feeding pattern. Before treatment initiation, total serum ALT and AST values (mean±S.E.M.) (25.7±4.8 and 69.6±3.6 U/L) were significantly higher (p<0.05) among the baseline than the control groups (21.1±1.9 and 17.9±3.6 U/L). After treatment, total serum transaminases and ALP values were found to besignificantly lower (p<0.05) among the treated (24.4±3.6, 38.4±5.4 and 255.5±77.5 U/L) than the baseline (25.7±4.8, 69.6±3.6 and 262.1±114.8 U/L) groups, except for the children in the least age group. This study concluded that antiretroviral drugs have effect on liver enzymes and are risk factors for developing hepatotoxicity especially in children at lower age groups. Children therefore require frequent evaluation during antiretroviral therapy even in the absence of signs and symptoms of metabolic complications.Keywords: Antiretroviral therapy, hepatotoxicity, transaminases, paediatric

3D Thermal Model of Laser Surface Glazing for Ti6Al4V alloy

t: Ti6Al4V alloy plays a significant role in the biomedical applications such as bioimplants for its excellent biocompatibility. Its usage can be further extended by improving the surface hardness and wear resistance. In this respect, laser surface glazing (LSG), an advanced surface modification technique, is very useful which can produce thin hardened surface layer and strong metallurgical bonding. Investigation of temporal and spatial temperature distributions of laser glazed surface of materials are essential because temperature plays significant role in achieving required surface properties. Therefore, in this study, a 3D Finite element analysis has been developed to perform transient thermal analysis of LSG for Ti64 alloy. The model investigated temperature distribution, depth of modified zone and heating and cooling. The results show that the peak temperature is attained 2095 K for 300 W laser power, 0.2 mm beam width and 0.15 ms residence time. Since this temperature is above the melting point (1933 K) of Ti64 alloy, the melt depth is calculated 22.5 μm. Furthermore, from the simulation results, the average heating and cooling rates are estimated 1.19×107 Ks-1 and 2.71×106 Ks-1 respectively which indicate the presence of hard phases in the modified zone

3D Thermal Model of Laser Surface Glazing for H13 Tool Steel

In this work a three dimensional (3D) finite element model of laser surface glazing (LSG) process has been developed. The purpose of the 3D thermal model of LSG was to achieve maximum accuracy towards the predicted outcome for optimizing the process. A cylindrical geometry of 10mm diameter and 1mm length was used in ANSYS 15 software. Temperature distribution, depth of modified zone and cooling rates were analysed from the thermal model. Parametric study was carried out varying the laser power from 200W-300W with constant beam diameter and residence time which were 0.2mm and 0.15ms respectively. The maximum surface temperature 2554°K was obtained for power 300W and minimum surface temperature 1668°K for power 200W. Heating and cooling rates increased with increasing laser power. The depth of the laser modified zone attained for 300W power was 37.5µm and for 200W power was 30µm. No molten zone was observed at 200W power. Maximum surface temperatures obtained from 3D model increased 4% than 2D model presented in author’s previous work. In order to verify simulation results an analytical solution of temperature distribution for laser surface modification was used. The surface temperature after heating was calculated for similar laser parameters which is 1689°K. The difference in maximum surface temperature is around 20.7°K between analytical and numerical analysis of LSG for power 200W

Two dimensional finite element thermal model of laser surface glazing for H13 tool steel

A two dimensional (2D) transient thermal model with line-heat-source was developed by Finite Element Method (FEM) for laser surface glazing of H13 tool steel using commercial software-ANSYS 15. The geometry of the model was taken as a transverse circular cross-section of cylindrical specimen. Two different power levels (300W, 200W) were used with 0.2mm width of laser beam and 0.15ms exposure time. Temperature distribution, heating and cooling rates, and the dimensions of modified surface were analysed. The maximum temperatures achieved were 2532K (2259°C) and 1592K (1319°C) for laser power 300W and 200W respectively. The maximum cooling rates were 4.2×107 K/s for 300W and 2×107 K/s for 200W. Depths of modified zone increased with increasing laser power. From this analysis, it can be predicted that for 0.2mm beam width and 0.15ms time exposer melting temperature of H13 tool steel is achieved within 200-300W power range of laser beam in laser surface glazing

Focal adhesions are foci for tyrosine-based signal transduction via GIV/Girdin and G proteins.

GIV/Girdin is a multimodular signal transducer and a bona fide metastasis-related protein. As a guanidine exchange factor (GEF), GIV modulates signals initiated by growth factors (chemical signals) by activating the G protein Gαi. Here we report that mechanical signals triggered by the extracellular matrix (ECM) also converge on GIV-GEF via β1 integrins and that focal adhesions (FAs) serve as the major hubs for mechanochemical signaling via GIV. GIV interacts with focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and ligand-activated β1 integrins. Phosphorylation of GIV by FAK enhances PI3K-Akt signaling, the integrity of FAs, increases cell-ECM adhesion, and triggers ECM-induced cell motility. Activation of Gαi by GIV-GEF further potentiates FAK-GIV-PI3K-Akt signaling at the FAs. Spatially restricted signaling via tyrosine phosphorylated GIV at the FAs is enhanced during cancer metastasis. Thus GIV-GEF serves as a unifying platform for integration and amplification of adhesion (mechanical) and growth factor (chemical) signals during cancer progression

Effect of Mother Tongue on Performance in Concept Erosion among Primary School Students in Faskari Educational Zone, Katsina-State

This study x-rays the effect of Mother tongue on performance in concept erosion among primary school students in Faskari Educational Zone, Katsina-State. The study adopted quasi experimental research design (pre-test, treatment, post-test). The population of the study consists of all primary five students in Faskari local government education authority. Intact classes in two primary schools were randomly selected as samples. The objective of the study aimed to examine the mean performance score of students exposed to concept erosion using Mother tongue medium of instruction and those taught using English languages in Faskari Educational Zone, Katsina state. The research question and hypothesis are in line with the objective of the study. Mother Tongue Performance Test (MTPT) containing thirty multiple choice items was used as the research instrument. The instrument yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.83. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while, t-test was used in testing the hypothesis. The finding of the study revealed that, students taught concept erosion using Mother tongue medium of instruction performed academically better than those taught using English language. Based on the finding, the study recommended that, Mother tongue should be made the language of instruction at the primary school level and eventually at all levels of education in Katsina state

Penggunaan Fly Ash sebagai Bahan Tambah pada Proses Pembuatan Mortar dengan Bahan Dasar Pasir Apung

Sumber daya alam yang terdapat di Kota Tidore Kepulauan, salah satunya berupa ketersediaan batu apung,yang telah dimanfaatkan untuk membuat bata pres. Di Kota Tidore juga terdapat abu batubara (fly ash) yang berasal dari PLTU yang dapat menggangu Kenyamanan masyrakat sehingga batu bara ini di coba untuk bahan campuran bata semen untuk mengurangi beret semen dalam pembuatan bata semen. Tinjauan pada penelitian ini berupa sifat-sifat mekanis bata batu apung dan tahapan yang dilakukan antara lain : pengujian karakteristik material, perencanaan komposisi campuran 1PC : 4PS, dan variasi limbah batu bara fly ash yang digunakan yaitu 0%, 10%, 20%, 30, 40% dan 50% dengan jumlah sampel 60 buah. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah semakin besar bahan tambah fly ash semakin tinggi nilai kuat tekan, untuk bahan tambah fly ash sebagai bahan tambah semen menghasilkan kuat tekan bata 133,88 kg/cm², 150,87 kg/cm², 161,06 kg/cm², 196,40 kg/cm², 243,29 kg/cm², dan 243,29 kg/cm². Dalam syarat-syarat fisis menunjukan bata semen pasir apung berada pada tingkat mutu bata semen mutu I

Geometry of the infalling causal patch

The firewall paradox states that an observer falling into an old black hole must see a violation of unitarity, locality, or the equivalence principle. Motivated by this remarkable conflict, we analyze the causal structure of black hole spacetimes in order to determine whether all the necessary ingredients for the paradox fit within a single observer's causal patch. We particularly focus on the question of whether the interior partner modes of the outgoing Hawking quanta can, in principle, be measured by an infalling observer. Since the relevant modes are spread over the entire sphere, we answer a simple geometrical question: can any observer see an entire sphere behind the horizon? We find that for all static black holes in 3+1 and higher dimensions, with any value of the cosmological constant, no single observer can see both the early Hawking radiation and the interior modes. We present a detailed description of the causal patch geometry of the Schwarzschild black hole in 3+1 dimensions, where an infalling observer comes closest to being able to measure the relevant modes.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. Minor edits/reformatting. Consistent with version published in PR

A hybrid modular approach for dynamic fault tree analysis

YesOver the years, several approaches have been developed for the quantitative analysis of dynamic fault trees (DFTs). These approaches have strong theoretical and mathematical foundations; however, they appear to suffer from the state-space explosion and high computational requirements, compromising their efficacy. Modularisation techniques have been developed to address these issues by identifying and quantifying static and dynamic modules of the fault tree separately by using binary decision diagrams and Markov models. Although these approaches appear effective in reducing computational effort and avoiding state-space explosion, the reliance of the Markov chain on exponentially distributed data of system components can limit their widespread industrial applications. In this paper, we propose a hybrid modularisation scheme where independent sub-trees of a DFT are identified and quantified in a hierarchical order. A hybrid framework with the combination of algebraic solution, Petri Nets, and Monte Carlo simulation is used to increase the efficiency of the solution. The proposed approach uses the advantages of each existing approach in the right place (independent module). We have experimented the proposed approach on five independent hypothetical and industrial examples in which the experiments show the capabilities of the proposed approach facing repeated basic events and non-exponential failure distributions. The proposed approach could provide an approximate solution to DFTs without unacceptable loss of accuracy. Moreover, the use of modularised or hierarchical Petri nets makes this approach more generally applicable by allowing quantitative evaluation of DFTs with a wide range of failure rate distributions for basic events of the tree.This work was supported in part by the Dependability Engineering Innovation for Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) (DEIS) H2020 Project under Grant 732242, and in part by the LIVEBIO: Light-weight Verification for Synthetic Biology Project under Grant EPSRC EP/R043787/1