The measurement of bovine pericardium density and its implications on leaflet stress distribution in bioprosthetic heart valves

Purpose: Bioprosthetic Heart Valves (BHVs) are currently in widespread use with promising outcomes. Computational modeling provides a framework for quantitatively describing BHVs in the preclinical phase. To obtain reliable solutions in computational modeling, it is essential to consider accurate leaflet properties such as mechanical properties and density. Bovine pericardium (BP) is widely used as BHV leaflets. Previous computational studies assume BP density to be close to the density of water or blood. However, BP leaflets undergo multiple treatments such as fixation and anti-calcification. The present study aims to measure the density of the BP used in BHVs and determine its effect on leaflet stress distribution. Methods: We determined the density of eight square BP samples laser cut from Edwards BP patches. The weight of specimens was measured using an A&D Analytical Balance, and volume was measured by high-resolution imaging. Finite element models of a BHV similar to PERIMOUNT Magna were developed in ABAQUS. Results: The average density value of the BP samples was 1410 kg/m3. In the acceleration phase of a cardiac cycle, the maximum stress value reached 1.89 MPa for a density value of 1410 kg/m3 , and 2.47 MPa for a density of 1000 kg/m3(30.7% difference). In the deceleration, the maximum stress value reached 713 and 669 kPa, respectively. Conclusion: Stress distribution and deformation of BHV leaflets are dependent upon the magnitude of density. Ascertaining an accurate value for the density of BHV leaflets is essential for computational models.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Effect of hydraulic conductivity and permeability on drug distribution, an investigation based on a part of a real tissue

In this study, a computational simulation is employed to place two essential parameters, the permeability of vessels and hydraulic conductivity, under assessment. These parameters impact the movement of drug particles through vessels, and normal and tumoral tissue to examine the concentration of nanoparticles, interstitial pressure, and velocity. To provide a geometric model detailing the capillary network under normal and tumoral tissue conditions, the geometry is extracted via real image processing. Subsequently, the real conditions were considered to solve the equations pertaining to drug transport and intravascular and interstitial flows in the tissue. The results showed that an increase in permeability and hydraulic conductivity leads to an increase in drug concentration in the tumor. Finally, Methotrexate drug has the most effect in the treatment of tumors. Overall, the computational model for anti-cancer delivery provides a powerful tool for understanding and optimizing drug delivery strategies for the treatment of cancer.Comment: 15 page

Characteristics of natural and antrogenically developed radioactivity of the Stara planina mt. and its environmental impact

Pojave radioaktivnosti na Staroj planini su poznate i proučavane. U ovom radu je dat sistematski prikaz karakterističnih geoloških jedinica nosioca prirodne radioaktivnosti poznatih prostora Stare Planine. Ispitani su lokaliteti Mezdreje i Gabrovnice starih rudnika u okviru granita Janje, grafitičnih škriljaca Inovske serije paleozojske starosti i sedimentnih članova donjeg trijasa iz rejona Dojkinci - Jelovica. Metodologija istraživanja se zasnivala na kabinetskim radovima koji su uključivali pregled literature i konsultacije sa stručnjacima koji su proučavali problematiku radioaktivnosti Stare planine, terenskim radovima sa uzorkovanjem i kratiranjem prostora od interesa, eksperimentalnim radovima merenjima hemijskog sastava i radioaktivnosti. Uspostavljena je GIS baza podataka. Na kraju sintezom podataci su inkorporirani u ovaj rad. Pre prikaza problematike i rezultata ispitivanja dat je kratak pregled karakteristika pojavljivanja urana i radioaktivnosti u prirodi. Kako je to jako obimno i široko naučno područje date su informacije koje su od značaja za ovaj rad. Dat je kartak pregled istraživanja urana na Staroj planini koji je započet još 1949 godine i trajao je do ranih devedesetih godina prošlog veka, sa konstatacijom da se danas vrše nesistematska ispitivanja radioaktivnosti uglavnom da ekološkog aspekta. Područije Stare planine je definisano kao "Park prirode" u primeni je od decembra 1997 godine i na tom prostoru nalaze se neki od jedinstvenih primera geodiverziteta. Navešćemo pored ostalih nekoliko karakterističnih primera geodiverziteta, sa osnovnim prikazom geološke građe: Babin Zub, Arbinje i Rosomački lonci. Data je podela glavnih izvora radioaktivnosti na: 1. Granitne endogene - singenetske pojave i ležišta, 2. Metamorfogene - singenetske i 3. Sedimentne sa pojavama deponovanja i fluktuacije urana vodom u različitim tipovima sedimentnih stena nastalih u kontinentalnoj sredini, koje bi se mogle svrstati u epigenetske tipove. Kao i podela prostora od ineresa na: A. intruzivno-metamorfi i B. sedimentni blok. U okviru granita Janje ispitivani su karakteristični geološki predstavnici, nosioci prirodne radioaktivnosti. Prvenstveno su obrađeni primerci granita, host rock ležišta Mezdreja i Gabrovnica. Pored pomenutog, u okviru lokaliteta Mezdreja osim granita, ispitani su uzorci jalovišta (glinoviti materijal sa fragmentima kataklaziranog granita), silifikovane partije sa limonitiskim skramama i na kraju fragmenti kontaktnog gabroida sa krupnim (preko 1cm) K-feldspat. Od grafitčnih škriljaca Inovske serije uzeto je više uzoraka, ovde su prikazani podaci za uzorak sa manje i više grafitičnog materijala. Merenjem sa Niton XRF goldd + je konstatovano da uzorak sa više grafitičnog materijala nosi veću količinu urana. Takođe uzorak sa više grafitičnog materijala je krhk i konstatovane su limonitske skrame po pravcima uškriljenja stene. Observacione tačke u okviru sedimenata "šarene serije" se nalaze u oblasti definisanoj kao donji trijas. Poznati prostori sa povišenim vrednostima na uran se nalaze u delu terena lokalnosti Dojkinci - Jelovica. Uzorci su uzeti iz dela koje bi se moglo nazvati pojava "Jelovica". Pojava se nalazi od granice rifeo-kambrijskih škriljaca pa do pojave sivih alevrolita prema ušću Jelovice sa Dojkinačkom rekom. Vrednosti koncentracije U, Th, Pb, kao Sr, Rb i K su date u nivoima od - do jer su merenja bila ponavljana više puta da bi se u suštini dobio opseg kretanja koncentracija u sprašenim i nesprašenim uzorcima, a i da bi se proverilo da li su odstupanja velika. Pre prikaza rezulata hemijskih XRF analiza dati su rezultati merenja radiaktivnosti karakterističnih petroloških predstavnika, urađene u nuklearnom institutu Vinča. Rezultati dobijeni merenjem radioaktivnosti uzoraka su iskorišćeni za izračunavanje sledećih parametara radijacionog rizika: ukupne apsorbovane doze gama zračenja u vazduhu na visini 1 m od tla (D, nGz, h-1), radijumu ekvivalentne aktivnosti (Raeq, Bq kg -1), indeksa spoljašnjeg hazarda (Hex) i godišnje efektivne doze spoljašnjeg zračenja (AEDoutdoor, μSv). Konstatovano je da objekti nastali antropogenom aktivnošću, haldišta rudnika Mezdreja i Gabrovnica imaju najviše vrednosti pomenutih parametara. Preporuka je da se objekati saniraju i zaštite od transporta radioaktivnog materijala u životnu sredinu. Takođe konstatovano je da svi vodotoci, gde se slivaji ocedne vode prolaze u nekom trenutku kroz krečnjake, koji drastično obaraju rastvoreni uran i druge radionukleide iz vode, a pre ulazka u gusto naseljena mesta, što je u ovom slučaju olakšavajuća okolnost

AI Adoption in the Printing Industry: A FVM perspective

Despite its application in high-profile areas, AI's utilisation in the print manufacturing sector is still scarce. Competitiveness and advances in this sector urgently require higher value-added processes, including digitisation, incorporation of advanced manufacturing technologies, and efficient resource utilisation. This paper outlined challenges in organisational adoption of AI demands systematic assessment of the fit and viability of software implementations in heterogeneous, concurrent, and integrated systems while accounting for the performance, efficiency, stability, and sustainability of the sector. We develop a working framework for further assessment based on multiple theories and case studies, with particular attention to the Fit-Viability Model (FVM). Keywords: AI technologies adoption and implementation; Fit-Viability Model; printing industry; Industry 4.0 eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI5.294

Endurance Training and Royal Jelly Consumption Effects on Dopamine in Rats with Alzheimer's disease

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease may be a sort of amnesia with brain dysfunction that gradually degrades the patient's mental abilities. The purpose of this study was to research the effect of endurance training with royal jelly consumption on dopamine in the hippocampus tissue of Alzheimer's rats with trimethyltin. Methods: During this study, 30 rats underwent injection of 8 milligram / Kilograms trimethyltin chloride and were divided into groups of 6 rats: control, training, royal jelly consumption, and training with royal jelly consumption. 6 rats were included in the healthy control group to be evaluated the effects of Alzheimer's induction on dopamine levels. The training groups were active on the treadmill for 8 weeks. The royal jelly consumption groups received 100 milligram / Kilograms royal jelly per day peritoneally for 8 weeks. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s post hoc tests were used to analyze the findings. (P ≤0.05). Results: Alzheimer's induction with trimethyltin toxin had a Significant Impact on reducing dopamine gene levels (P = 0.04); royal jelly, training, and training with royal jelly consumption had a significant effect on increasing dopamine gene expression levels (P = 0.001). Also, the effect of training with Royal Jelly was greater than training or royal jelly consumption alone. (P = 0.001) Conclusions: Although training and royal jelly consumption improve dopamine gene expression levels in the hippocampus tissue of rats with Alzheimer's disease, the effects of training combined with royal jelly consumption appear to be greater than those of royal jelly consumption alone

Identifying key digital prepress competence requirements for printing technology workforce / Muhammad Yusuf Masod … [et al.]

Printing is an industrial process for mass production of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a press. It is an essential part of publishing, which is defined by Webster as the business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature, information, musical scores or sometimes recording or arts. It however does not cover printing or producing of a family history bound book form without commercial intent. Current literature in the field acknowledge that the printing industry is no longer the dominant sector as it is on its way to becoming a multimedia industry. However it will nevertheless remain an important component in the long term. The publishing industry is going through a major transformation which leads to decentralized production, print on demand, and diversified printed products, as well as the development of a new print media market, which is establishing its place between the printing industry, desktop publishing, and online media [1]. Recently, the production of printed products has changed from a crafts men trade into industrial production. The use of conventional typesetting machines, repro cameras and films has been replaced by computer technology in virtually all branches of the printing industry. A study by Shin, Meng-Tsung, Tai (2010), showed the rapid development in the area of computer software and hardware has directly led to comprehensive change in the printing industry [2]. To meet these demands, the workforce must adapt to the rapid development within the digital prepress sector

Identifying key digital prepress competence requirements for printing technology workforce / Muhammad Yusuf Masod … [et al.]

Printing is an industrial process for mass production of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a press. It is an essential part of publishing, which is defined by Webster as the business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature, information, musical scores or sometimes recording or arts. It however does not cover printing or producing of a family history bound book form without commercial intent. Current literature in the field acknowledge that the printing industry is no longer the dominant sector as it is on its way to becoming a multimedia industry. However it will nevertheless remain an important component in the long term. The publishing industry is going through a major transformation which leads to decentralized production, print on demand, and diversified printed products, as well as the development of a new print media market, which is establishing its place between the printing industry, desktop publishing, and online media [1]. Recently, the production of printed products has changed from a crafts men trade into industrial production. The use of conventional typesetting machines, repro cameras and films has been replaced by computer technology in virtually all branches of the printing industry. A study by Shin, Meng-Tsung, Tai (2010), showed the rapid development in the area of computer software and hardware has directly led to comprehensive change in the printing industry [2]. To meet these demands, the workforce must adapt to the rapid development within the digital prepress sector

Perceived Self-Efficacy of Care Process Management among Pediatric Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Self-efficacy as the main predictor of nurses’ behavior plays an important role in caring and nurses’ professional behavior. However, various aspects of this concept have not been considered. This study tried to explore perceived self-efficacy of care process management in pediatric nurses. Method: This study was part of a larger study on the caring self-efficacy concept that was conducted through content analysis and from a qualitative approach during 2014-2015 in Iran. 27 pediatric nurses and clinical instructors participated in this research according to the purposive sampling employed in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using conventional content analysis method. Results: The “Management of care process” theme was one of the main themes extracted from the interview analysis. The theme was of two main categories “Provide process-oriented care” including caring according to nursing process and caring decision making, and “Guidance and control of the caring process” including supervision and leadership of care and self-control. Conclusion: Nurses with self-efficacy perception can manage care to children. Perceived self-efficacy of care process management takes place through infrastructures such as caring according to nursing process, caring decision making, and supervision and leadership of care and self-control appear. These results can be used by nursing managers and instructors to help development of self-efficacy perception in nurses, especially in pediatric care. Keywords: Caring process management, Self-efficacy, Pediatric nursing and qualitative researc

Infeksi Mycobacterium tuberculosis: data demografi dan perbandingan ujian kerentanan anti-tuberkulosis

Tuberkulosis merupakan masalah utama dalam kesihatan awam di kebanyakan negara membangun termasuklah Malaysia. Di Malaysia, bilangan kes kematian disebabkan tuberkulosis menurun tetapi yang membimbangkan adalah apabila terdapat peningkatan kes kerintangan Mycobacterium tuberculosis terhadap ubat-ubatan sedia ada. Dalam kajian ini, data demografik pesakit telah dianalisis dan kerintangan M. tuberculosis terhadap agen anti-tuberkulosis (Isoniazid, Streptomycin, Rifampicin dan Ethambutol) telah dikenal pasti dengan menggunakan ujian kerentanan plat MYCOTB. Sejumlah 40 pencilan klinikal M. tuberculosis yang dipencil daripada pesakit di PPUKM telah dipilih secara rawak. Dalam kalangan pesakit tuberkulosis, seramai 62.5% adalah lelaki (purata umur: 36.9+17.9 tahun) manakala 37.5% adalah wanita (purata umur: 42.6+16.6 tahun). Pesakit berbangsa Melayu mencatatkan peratusan tertinggi iaitu 60%, diikuti pesakit India 15%, Cina 5% dan lain-lain bangsa 20%. Pemencilan M. tuberculosis daripada sampel klinikal adalah masing-masing 60%, 17.5%, 7.5%, 7.5%, 5% dan 2.5% daripada kahak, aspirat trakea, nanah, darah, larvaj bronkoalveolar dan tisu. Ini berhubung kait dengan pesakit Tuberculosis yang majoritinya (67.5%) hadir dengan simptom batuk berpanjangan. Keputusan ujian kerentanan antara MYCOTB dan BACTEC MGIT 960 telah dibandingkan. Purata masa yang diperlukan untuk ujian kerentanan anti-TB menggunakan plat MYCOTB dan BACTEC MGIT 960 ialah masing-masing 2 dan 40.5 minit. Kos setiap sampel bagi plat MYCOTB dan BACTEC MGIT 960 adalah masing-masing RM16.65 dan RM42.87. Sebagai kesimpulan, berdasarkan data demografik, jangkitan TB dalam kalangan pesakit lelaki kaum Melayu adalah yang tertinggi sementara kahak merupakan spesimen yang paling banyak diterima. Penggunaan plat MYCOTB adalah lebih baik berbanding BACTEC MGIT 960 dan keputusan ujian kerentanan menunjukkan pencilan klinikal tersebut adalah 100% rentan kepada agen anti-TB yang diuji. Data yang diperoleh boleh digunakan sebagai maklumat dalam pengemaskinian panduan diagnosis dan rawatan TB pada masa hadapan

Natural Radioactivity of Intrusive-Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks of the Balkan Mountain Range (Serbia, Stara Planina)

Stara Planina (also known as the Balkan mountain range) is known for numerous occurrences and deposits of uranium and associated radionuclides. It is also famous for its geodiversity. The geologic framework is highly complex. The mountain is situated between the latitudes of 43 degrees and 44 degrees N and the longitudes from 22 degrees 16' to 23 degrees 00' E. Uranium exploration and radioactivity testing on Stara Planina began back in 1948. Uranium has also been mined in the zone of Kalna, within the Janja granite intrusive. The naturally radioactive geologic units of Stara Planina are presented in detail in this paper. The main sources of radioactivity on Stara Planina can be classified as: 1. Granitic endogenous-syngenetic-epigenetic deposits and occurrences; 2. Metamorphogenic-syngenetic; and 3. Sedimentary, including occurrences of uranium deposition and fluctuation caused by water in different types of sedimentary rocks formed in a continental setting, which could be classified under epigenetic types. The area of Stara Planina with increased radioactivity (higher than 200 cps), measured by airborne gamma spectrometry, is about 380 square kilometers. The highest values of measured radioactivity and uranium grade were obtained from a sample taken from the Mezdreja uranium mine tailing dump, where Ra-226 measures 2600 +/- 100 Bq/kg and the uranium grade is from 76.54 to 77.65 ppm U. The highest uranium (and lead) concentration, among all samples, is measured in graphitic schist with high concentrations of organic (graphitic) material from the Inovska Series-99.47 ppm U and 107.69 ppm Pb. Thorium related radioactivity is the highest in granite samples from the Janja granite in the vicinity of the Mezdreja granite mine and the Gabrovnica granite mine tailing dump, and it is the same-250 +/- 10 Bq/kg for Th-232, while the thorium grade varies from 30.82 to 60.27 ppm Th. In gray siltstones with a small amount of organic material, the highest radioactivity is related to potassium-2080 +/- 90 Bq/kg for K-40