Investigation of the absorptive potential of polymeric nanoparticles across the lungs and their development for efficient systemic delivery following pulmonary administration

The lungs are an attractive route for drug delivery due to their high epithelial surface area available for absorption, a thin epithelium and extensive vasculature to name a few. Accordingly, a vast number of small molecule drugs, peptides, and proteins have been used to investigate their translocation across the lungs with many of the tested candidates showing excellent pharmacokinetics following pulmonary administration. Findings from all these studies over the years have strongly established the lungs as a route for drug delivery of small molecules and proteins. Nanoparticles on the other hand have gained increasing interest in drug delivery due to the wide variety of advantages they possess that allow for temporal, spatial and targeted delivery of therapeutics that can be fine tuned for various applications. Further, the pulmonary administration of polymeric nanoparticle based drug delivery systems is of great interest for both systemic and localized therapies. However, little is understood about the relationship between nanoparticle size and its effect on pulmonary absorption from a drug delivery perspective. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nanoparticle size on their biodistribution from lungs after pulmonary administration with a special emphasis on their lymph node distribution. Interesting observations were made wherein polystyrene nanoparticles demonstrated significant translocation out of the lungs into extrapulmonary organs. Nanoparticles predominantly deposited in the regional lymph nodes surrounding the lungs as compared to that in other tissues. Furthermore, lymph node deposition of nanoparticles occurred in a time dependent and size dependent manner. The smallest size nanoparticles (50 nm) demonstrated the highest lymph node deposition among all sizes tested and increased with time. Results from this study suggest that nanoparticles may potentially be employed in the treatment of lymph related diseases following pulmonary administration

Knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding in the north of Jordan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: In Jordan, as in neighboring countries in the Middle East, higher education and higher employment rates in recent years among women have had an impact on traditionally based infant feeding. The objective of this study was to evaluate practice, knowledge and attitude to breastfeeding and to assess factors associated with breastfeeding among women in the north of Jordan. METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out between 15 July 2003 and 15 August 2003. A total of 344 women with children aged between 6 months and 3 years from five different villages in the north of Jordan were randomly selected and interviewed. Information regarding participants' demographics, infant feeding in first six months of life, knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding was collected. RESULTS: Full breastfeeding was reported by 58.3%, mixed feeding was reported by 30.3% and infant formula feeding was reported by 11.4%. Almost one third of the full breastfeeding group did so for 6–12 months, and almost two thirds did continue breastfeeding for more than one year. Employed women were more likely not to practice full breastfeeding compared to unemployed women (odds ratio 3.34, 95% CI 1.60, 6.98), and women who had caesarian delivery were more likely not to practice full breastfeeding compared to those who had vaginal delivery (odds ratio 2.36, 95% CI 1.17, 4.78). Jordanian women had a positive attitude but work place and short maternity leaves had a negative impact on breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: This study showed that a high proportion of Jordanian women did breastfeed for more than one year. However, working women and those who deliver by caesarean section were less likely to breastfeed. It is speculated that adopting facilitatory measures at hospitals and work place could increase the rate of full breastfeeding

THE U.S. ROLE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTIONA CASE STUDY OF THECAMP DAVID SUMMITS OF 1979 AND 2000

This thesis is a comparative case study of Camp David (1979) and Camp David (2000), with a focus on the U.S. role as the main broker between Israel and Arabs. The study aims to understand what actually went wrong in the Camp David Summit of 2000, and it reveals the real factors behind such failure. It explains the reasons behind the different outcome of both summits, even though both were held under the patronage of the U.S. as the main mediator. The objective of this research is to examine how the Palestinians can build a better relationship with the U.S. and how they can learn more about how the United States works, in order to influence U.S. policy, so that it takes better account of the Palestinian perspective and Palestinian needs. Such a change in U.S. policy is necessary for Palestinians to gain trust in the United States as a mediator in the conflict and perhaps, at a later stage, as an arbiter, too. This study briefly discusses the main interest groups in the United States and their role in the creation of American policies that support Israel at the cost of the Palestinians. The study analyzes the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship in comparison with the U.S.-Palestinian relationship. It also discusses the use of U.S. foreign financial aid policy as an instrument in resolving conflicts, and it discusses mediation as a commonly used approach in conflict resolution. The role of mediation has rapidly developed over the last four decades and has become a tool of increasing importance to resolve conflicts. The study analyzes the role of mediation in resolving disputes and explores whether mediation is sufficient for resolving complicated and very controversial cases, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Resolving such a conflict perhaps needs to shift at a later stage from mediation to arbitration. Palestinians and Israelis need outside help to overcome the conflict between them. The United States has the most potential as the mediator and as an arbiter. The study concludes that the U.S. has not acted as a professional and fair mediator, which has caused the Palestinians to feel that there is an absence of neutrality practiced by the U.S. Therefore, the chances of succeeding in brokering a final, just, and comprehensive peace agreement are very slim. The conclusion recommends that Palestinians need to alter their approach to the United States in order to strengthen and improve relations; and ultimately moderate the role of the U.S. as a mediator in order to reach a just and permanent solution to the conflict with Israel

Security Life Cycle framework for Exploring & Prevention of Zero day attacks in Cyberterrorism

The rise of cyber terrorism poses a significant threat to governments, businesses, and individuals worldwide. Cyber terrorists use information technology to carry out attacks that range from simple hacking attempts to more sophisticated attacks involving malware, ransomware, and zero-day exploits. This paper aims to provide an in-depth understanding of cyber terrorism, with a special focus on zero-day attacks. As the world becomes more digitized and automated, it brings convenience to everyone\u27s lives. However, it also leads to growing concerns about security threats, including data leakage, website hacking, attacks, phishing, and zero-day attacks. These concerns are not only for organizations, businesses, and society, but also for governments worldwide. This paper aims to provide an introductory literature review on the basics of cyber-terrorism, focusing on zero-day attacks. The paper explores the economic and financial destruction caused by zero-day attacks and examines various types of zero-day attacks. It also looks at the steps taken by international organizations to address these issues and the recommendations they have made. Additionally, the paper examines the impact of these externalities on policymaking and society. As cyber-security becomes increasingly important for businesses and policymakers, the paper aims to delve deeper into this aspect, which has the potential to threaten national security, public life, and the economic and financial stability of developed, developing, and underdeveloped economies

Clinical and Biological Effects of Adjunctive Photodynamic Therapy in Refractory Periodontitis

Introduction: To date, no novel treatment approach is available for optimum outcomes regarding refractory periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficiency of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating patients diagnosed with refractory periodontitis and compare the clinical and biological outcomes of conventional periodontal treatment with or without adjunctive PDT in these patients, by assessing clinical parameters (plaque index [PI], gingival recession [GR], bleeding on probing [BOP], periodontal probing depth [PPD] and clinical attachment level [CAL]) as well as biological parameters (IL-1β) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF).Methods: Sixteen patients within the age of 30 to 60 years, with a mean age of 40 years old, diagnosed with refractory periodontitis were included. In this split mouth design study, 2 quads (1 upper + 1 lower) from the same patient were randomly treated with (scaling and root planing [SRP]+PDT) together. The other 2 quadrants (1 upper + 1 lower) were treated by SRP only and selected to serve as controls. Clinical parameters including PI, GR, BOP, PPD and CAL and biological parameters (IL-1β) in the GCF were measured at baseline, then at, 2 and 6 months after therapy.Results: A statistically significant reduction in several clinical parameters as, BOP (P < 0.001), PI (P < 0.001), PPD (P < 0.001) and CAL (P < 0.001) in quadrant treated with SRP and adjunctive PDT when compared to control group treated with SRP alone was observed and both therapies showed non-statistically significant differences in the reduction of IL-1β level.Conclusion: The inclusion of PDT as an adjunctive measure to nonsurgical conventional periodontal treatment seems to be a useful therapeutic measure in refractory periodontitis treatment

Optimum design of flexural strength and stiffness for reinforced concrete beams using machine learning

In this paper, an optimization approach was presented for the flexural strength and stiffness design of reinforced concrete beams. Surrogate modeling based on machine learning was applied to predict the responses of the structural system in three-point flexure tests. Three design input variables, the area of steel bars in the compression zone, the area of steel bars in the tension zone, and the area of steel bars in the shear zone, were adopted for the dataset and arranged by the Box-Behnken design method. The dataset was composed of thirteen specimens of reinforced concrete beams. The specimens were tested under three-points flexure loading at the age of 28 days and both the failure load and the maximum deflection values were recorded. Compression and tension tests were conducted to obtain the concrete data for the analysis and numerical modeling. Afterward, finite element modeling was performed for all the specimens using the ATENA program to verify the experimental tests. Subsequently, the surrogate models for the flexural strength and the stiffness were constructed. Finally, optimization was conducted supporting on the factorial method for the predicted responses. The adopted approach proved to be an excellent tool to optimize the design of reinforced concrete beams for flexure and stiffness. In addition, experimental and numerical results were in very good agreement in terms of both the failure type and the cracking pattern. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

A Hybrid Method Based on Cuckoo Search Algorithm for Global Optimization Problems

Cuckoo search algorithm is considered one of the promising metaheuristic algorithms applied to solve numerous problems in different fields. However, it undergoes the premature convergence problem for high dimensional problems because the algorithm converges rapidly. Therefore, we proposed a robust approach to solve this issue by hybridizing optimization algorithm, which is a combination of Cuckoo search algorithm and Hill climbing called CSAHC discovers many local optimum traps by using local and global searches, although the local search method is trapped at the local minimum point. In other words, CSAHC has the ability to balance between the global exploration of the CSA and the deep exploitation of the HC method. The validation of the performance is determined by applying 13 benchmarks. The results of experimental simulations prove the improvement in the efficiency and the effect of the cooperation strategy and the promising of CSAHC

Nutritional Status among Children under Five Years in Amman, Jordan

Objectives: There is scarcity of data on malnutrition among children in Jordan. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the nutritional status and estimate the prevalence rates of stunting, underweight, and wasting and their associated factors among children under five. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2017 among children under five years in Amman, Jordan. All Jordanian children under five years who visited the selected health centers for vaccination or accompanied their mothers during the study period were included in this study. Mothers or caregivers of children were interviewed face-to face using the study questionnaire. Weight in kilograms and height in centimeters were measured for all children. Anthropometric indices were calculated using reference medians recommended by the World Health Organization. Results: This study included a total of 923 (463 boys and 460 girls) children. The prevalence rates of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 6.2%, 3.8%, and 2.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that low birth weight was significantly associated with stunting (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4,6.0; p-value=0.003) and underweight (OR =5.6, 95% CI: 2.5,12.3, p-value <0.001). Compared to exclusive breastfeeding, mixed feeding was associated with increased odds of stunting (OR =2, 95% CI: 1.1-3.9, p-value =0.029) and underweight (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.002, 5.0; p = 0.049). None of the variables were significantly associated with wasting. Conclusions: The prevalence rates of stunting, wasting and undernutrition among children under five years in Jordan are low. Low birth weight and mixed feeding were associated with higher rates of malnutrition

Development of a Robot-Based Multi-Directional Dynamic Fiber Winding Process for Additive Manufacturing Using Shotcrete 3D Printing

The research described in this paper is dedicated to the use of continuous fibers as reinforcement for additive manufacturing, particularly using Shotcrete. Composites and in particular fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are increasingly present in concrete reinforcement. Their corrosion resistance, high tensile strength, low weight, and high flexibility offer an interesting alternative to conventional steel reinforcement, especially with respect to their use in Concrete 3D Printing. This paper presents an initial development of a dynamic robot-based manufacturing process for FRP concrete reinforcement as an innovative way to increase shape freedom and efficiency in concrete construction. The focus here is on prefabricated fiber reinforcement, which is concreted in a subsequent additive process to produce load-bearing components. After the presentation of the fabrication concept for the integration of FRP reinforcement and the state of the art, a requirements analysis regarding the mechanical bonding behavior in concrete is carried out. This is followed by a description of the development of a dynamic fiber winding process and its integration into an automated production system for individualized fiber reinforcement. Next, initial tests for the automated application of concrete by means of Shotcrete 3D Printing are carried out. In addition, an outlook describes further technical development steps and provides an outline of advanced manufacturing concepts for additive concrete manufacturing with integrated fiber reinforcement