Validity and Reliability of the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL)-8D Multi-Attribute Utility Instrument

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper was to report tests of the validity and reliability of a new instrument, the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL)-8D, which was constructed to improve the evaluation of health services that have an impact upon the psychosocial aspects of the quality of life. METHODS: Australian and US data from a large multi-instrument comparison survey were used to conduct tests of convergent, predictive and content validity using as comparators five other multi-attribute utility (MAU) instruments—the EQ-5D, SF-6D, Health Utilities Index (HUI) 3, 15D and the Quality of Well-Being (QWB)—as well as four non-utility instruments—the SF-36 and three measures of subjective well-being (SWB). A separate three part Australian survey was used to assess test–retest reliability. RESULTS: Results indicate that AQoL-8D correlates more highly with both the SWB instruments and the psychosocial dimensions of the SF-36, and that it is similar to the other MAU instruments in terms of its convergent and predictive validity. The second Australian survey demonstrated high test–retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the AQoL-8D is a reliable and valid instrument which offers an alternative to the MAU instruments presently used in economic evaluation studies, and one which is particularly suitable when psychosocial elements of health are of importance

Photocatalytic Z-Scheme Overall Water Splitting: Recent Advances in Theory and Experiments

Photocatalytic water splitting is considered one of the most important and appealing approaches for the production of green H2 to address the global energy demand. The utmost possible form of artificial photosynthesis is a two-step photoexcitation known as “Z-scheme”, which mimics the natural photosystem. This process solely relies on the effective coupling and suitable band positions of semiconductors (SCs) and redox mediators for the purpose to catalyze the surface chemical reactions and significantly deter the backward reaction. In recent years, the Z-scheme strategies and their key role have been studied progressively through experimental approaches. In addition, theoretical studies based on density functional theory have provided detailed insight into the mechanistic aspects of some breathtakingly complex problems associated with hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. In this context, this critical review gives an overview of the fundamentals of Z-scheme photocatalysis, including both theoretical and experimental advancements in the field of photocatalytic water splitting, and suggests future perspectives

Enhanced antioxidant defense after exogenous application of Ca2+ and K+ in Brassica napus seedlings under water deficit stress

Supply of adequate moisture is one of the most important factors limiting agricultural extension and productivity. Ca2+ and K+ are both essential plant nutrients required in a number of developmental and metabolic processes. Both of these nutrients play an important role in ameliorating drought stress in crop plants. This experiment was designed to study whether exogenous application of Ca2+ and K+ before the drought could enhance the potential of plants to survive under limiting water conditions. Brassica napus L. cv Bulbul-98 seedlings were exposed to drought stress for 10 days after exogenous application of different concentrations of Ca2+, K+ and N through irrigation water. Exogenous Ca2+ and K+ application was associated with increased relative water content, membrane stability and chlorophyll content in seedlings exposed to water deficit. Though the quantity of Pro and activities of APX (EC: 1.11.1.11) and CAT (EC: 1.11.1.6) were increased after K+ application, they were strongly induced in seedlings supplemented with Ca2+ in a dose dependent manner. Increasing quantity of N application, however, had a negative effect on these parameters.Key words: Drought, Ca2+, K+, AOS enzymes, proline, chlorophyll

Synthesis and molecular docking of new hydrazones derived from ethyl isonipecotate and their biological activities

Purpose: To investigate the antibacterial and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of hydrazone derivatives (8a-h) of ethyl isonipecotate.Methods: The reaction of ethyl isonipecotate (2) with 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzenesulfonyl chloride (1) in an aqueous basic medium yielded ethyl 1-[(3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin-4- carboxylate (3). Compound 3 was subsequently converted to ethyl 1-[(3,5-dichloro-2-ethoxyphenyl) sulfonyl]piperidin-4-carboxylate (5) via O-alkylation. Compound 5 on reaction with hydrated hydrazine yielded 1-[(3,5-dichloro-2-ethoxyphenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin-4-carbohyrazide (6) in MeOH. Target compounds 8a-h were synthesized by stirring 6 with different aromatic aldehydes (7a-h) in MeOH. All the synthesized compounds were structurally elucidated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), electron impact mass spectrometry (EI-MS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. For antibacterial activity, solutions of the synthesized compounds were mixed with bacterial strains, and the change in absorbance before and after incubation was determined. For enzyme inhibitory activity, change in the absorbance of mixtures of synthesized compounds and enzyme before and after incubation with substrate was determined.Results: The target compounds were synthesized in appreciable yields and well characterized by spectral data analysis. Salmonella typhi was inhibited by 8e (MIC 8.00 ± 0.54 μM), Escherichia coli by 8f (8.21 ± 0.83 μM), Bacillus subtilis by 8c (8.56 ± 0.63 μM) and Staphylococcus aureus by 8c (8.86 ± 0.29 μM). Two compounds, 8e and 8d, were very effective inhibitors of α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 40.62 ± 0.07 and 48.64 ± 0.08 μM, respectively.Conclusion: Low IC50  values of the synthesized compounds against α-glucosidase demonstrates their potential in type-2 diabetes treatment. Furthermore, these compounds exhibit substantial antibacterial activity against the bacterial strains tested.Keywords: Antibacterial activity, α-Glucosidase inhibition, Ethyl isonipecotate, Hydrazo

Thermal Characterization of Purified Glucose Oxidase from A Newly Isolated Aspergillus Niger UAF-1

An intracellular glucose oxidase was isolated from the mycelium extract of a locally isolated strain of Aspergillus niger UAF-1. The enzyme was purified to a yield of 28.43% and specific activity of 135 U mg−1 through ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme showed high affinity for D-glucose with a Km value of 2.56 mM. The enzyme exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 5.5. Temperature optimum for glucose oxidase, catalyzed D-glucose oxidation was 40°C. The enzyme showed a high thermostability having a half-life 30 min, enthalpy of denaturation 99.66 kJ mol−1 and free energy of denaturation 103.63 kJ mol−1. These characteristics suggest the use of glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger UAF-1 as an analytical reagent and in the design of biosensors for clinical, biochemical and diagnostic assays

Effect of &#946-Glucuronidase on Extraction Efficiency of Silymarin from Human Plasma Samples Using Validated HPLC-UV Analysis

Purpose: To investigate the effect of β-glucuronidase on the extraction efficiency of silymarin (mainly as silybin) from spiked human plasma using a sensitive and reproducible high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.Methods: The importance of β-glucuronidase was evaluated by comparing the extraction efficiency of silymarin in β-glucuronidase-treated and untreated plasma samples. Isocratic HPLC with simple UV detection (288 nm) was applied to analyze the major silymarin components using Thermo-Electron C18 column (200 mm, 4.6 mm I.D., 5μm particle size). The mobile phase, consisting of methanol and 20 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (50:50 v/v pH 2.8), was pumped at 1 ml/min.Results: The mean extraction efficiency was 98.97 % (CV = 1.69 %) for treated and 40.88 % (CV = 2.77 %) for untreated plasma samples, compared with nominal concentrations.Conclusion: The studied method showed 60 % reduced extraction efficiency of untreated samples compared to treated samples.Keywords: Silymarin, Silybin, Extraction Efficiency, β-glucuronidase, HPL

A prototype of an energy-efficient MAGLEV train : a step towards cleaner train transport

The magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) train uses magnetic field to suspend, guide, and propel vehicle onto the track. The MAGLEV train provides a sustainable and cleaner solution for train transportation by significantly reducing the energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions as compared to traditional train transportation systems. In this paper, we propose an advanced control mechanism using an Arduino microcontroller that selectively energizes the electromagnets in a MAGLEV train system to provide dynamic stability and energy efficiency. We also design the prototype of an energy-efficient MAGLEV train that leverages our proposed control mechanism. In our MAGLEV train prototype, the levitation is achieved by creating a repulsive magnetic field between the train and the track using magnets mounted on the top-side of the track and bottom-side of the vehicle. The propulsion is performed by creating a repulsive magnetic field between the permanent magnets attached on the sides of the vehicle and electromagnets mounted at the center of the track using electrodynamic suspension (EDS). The electromagnets are energized via a control mechanism that is applied through an Arduino microcontroller. The Arduino microcontroller is programmed in such a way to propel and guide the vehicle onto the track by appropriate switching of the electromagnets. We use an infrared-based remote-control device for controlling the power, speed, and direction of the vehicle in both the forward and the backward direction. The proposed MAGLEV train control mechanism is novel, and according to the best of our knowledge is the first study of its kind that uses an Arduino-based microcontroller system for control mechanism. Experimental results illustrate that the designed prototype consumes only 144 W-hour (Wh) of energy as compared to a conventionally designed MAGLEV train prototype that consumes 1200 Wh. Results reveal that our proposed control mechanism and prototype model can reduce the total power consumption by 8.3 x as compared to the traditional MAGLEV train prototype, and can be applied to practical MAGLEV trains with necessary modifications. Thus, our proposed prototype and control mechanism serves as a first step towards cleaner engineering of train transportation systems

The Innovative Business Model for Family-Owned Firms in the era of Digital Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Emerging Economy

The current Covid-19 pandemic has been changed the businesses plans. High uncertainty can compel the organization to change the business plan according to the market demand. In the current era of digitalization, organizations are needed to modify the existing business plan and innovate it through technologies. Modifying existing resources according to the market demand is challenging for the organization; employers face many challenges and obstacles. Businesses plan to develop a long-term business model to validate the attractiveness, reduce the avoidable investment of scarce resources, and structure the business process. In the current era of digitalization, businesses, specifically, SMEs cannot compete with the competitors who can adopt digitalization systems. Therefore, the current chapter is trying to find out the challenges faced by SMEs in developing economies during the adoption of the digital business model. In the current chapter, researchers focus on three different kinds of digital technologies that must be part of the business model during the era of digitalization, such as adopting digital technologies (artificial intelligence, Internet of Thing, and virtual reality and to create a new business model following the current era issue, these are the main block to resist of these market uncertainties in a new venture of family firms

Prevalence of hepatitis B in the blood donors of NW. F.P and FATA regions and the current scenario of HBV infection in Pakistan

Hepatitis B is a fatal liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. In this study, blood donors from various districts of the North-western frontier province and the federally administered tribal area (FATA) of Pakistan were tested for HBsAg and HBV DNA by ICT (Immuno-chromatographic test), ELISA and RTPCR. Out of the 7148 blood donors, 244 (3.41%) were positive for HBsAg by ICT, 147 (2.05%) by ELISA while 132 (1.85%) were positive by PCR. Our data indicates that the incidence of hepatitis B has decreased in these regions in recent times.Key words: HBV, HBsAg, Pakistan