The effect of prenatal ultrasound heating throughout gestation on rabbit fetal weight

The aim of this in vivo experimental study is to determine the association between ultrasound exposure time and rabbit fetal weight. A total of 14 pregnant does were exposed to ultrasound heating for 30, 60, and 90 minutes of ultrasound exposure at their middle of each gestational stage, while another 4 pregnant does served as control. Total of 136 fetuses (1st stage, n=34 (25%); 2nd stage, n=28 (20.6%); 3rd stage, n=74 (54.4%)) were analyzed for fetal body weight. There were significant differences in fetal weight at all stages (p<0.05; 95% CI do not cross 0) of all groups at different length of exposure time. There were also negative correlation between groups with different exposure durations and fetal weight in the 1st and the 3rd stage (p<0.05; r = -0.40, p<0.05; r = -0.23 respectively). Exposure time was found poorly associated with fetal weight in the 1st and the 3rd stage (p<0.05; r2 = 0.15 and 0.04 respectively). This study suggests the heating effect of ultrasound exposure might act as a noxious agent that promotes intrauterine growth restriction in developing fetus that might consequently impacts the rabbit fetal weight. Therefore a considerably increase in awareness of negligible effects aroused from prenatal ultrasound exposure was concerned as it was widely applied to pregnant women

Reliability Block Diagram Assessment of Ethylene Oxide Production Facilities

Reliability block diagram assessment of ethylene oxide production facilities. Having a maintenance plan by referring to the OEM manual is not the optimum time interval. The manual usually created to follow the failure rate of the equipment in a general operating range and condition, and tested independently. Difficulty in having optimal maintenance plan is the accuracy of the data and the equipment modeling. Accuracy in the data usually is very low therefore creating optimum strategy is the best solution. In the study component prioritization is the strategy based on risk. Focused on the developing the reliability block diagram for the ethylene oxide production facilities

Spatial pattern distribution of dengue fever in sub-urban area using GIS tools

Dengue fever (DF) is one of the major public health problems in Malaysia. The number of cases recorded is always fluctuating. The aim of the study is to identify the high-risk area for the occurrence of dengue disease. Spatial-temporal model was used by measuring three characteristics which are frequency, duration and intensity to define the severity and magnitude of outbreak transmission. This study examined a total of 386 registered dengue fever cases, geo-coded by address in Jempol district between January 2011 and December 2015. Even though case notification figures are subjected to bias, this information is available in the health services. It may lead to crucial conclusion, recommendations, and hypotheses. Public health officials can utilize the temporal risk indices to describe dengue relatively than relying on the traditional case incident figures

Peranan adjung dalam bahasa Melayu: satu analisis tatabahasa peranan dan rujukan

Kebanyakan kajian lepas hanya meneliti adjung secara umum, iaitu sebagai penerang ayat. Kajian tentang adjung amat jarang dilakukan kerana peranannya dianggap kurang penting dalam ayat. Namun begitu, makalah ini bertujuan membincangkan peranan adjung secara terperinci. Adjung adalah unsur tambahan dalam ayat yang kehadirannya bersifat opsyenal yakni hadir atau tidak, ia tidak akan menjejaskan binaan sesebuah struktur ayat. Kehadiran adjung dapat diteliti dari pelbagai posisi dalam ayat. Data makalah ini diperolehi secara intuisi dan dianalisis dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berdasarkan teori ‘Tatabahasa Peranan dan Rujukan’. Dapatan yang dilaporkan dalam makalah ini adalah, adjung berupaya mengubah pelbagai peringkat sama ada pada tahap klausa, inti dan nukleus dalam Struktur Berlapisan Klausa (SBK). Selain itu, makalah ini turut melaporkan bahawa adjung boleh hadir dalam ketiga-tiga peringkat lapisan klausa berkenaan secara serentak dalam sesebuah ayat. Oleh itu, makalah ini memperluaskan korpus ilmu Linguistik Melayu sedia ada, khususnya dalam bidang nahu kontemporari berdasarkan Tatabahasa Peranan dan Rujukan

Mycophenolic acid pharmacokinetics and clinical outcomes in renal transplantation: effect of ABCC2 haplotype analysis and distribution into lymphocytes and kidney

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunosuppressant commonly used to prevent rejection following renal transplantation. MPA prevents graft rejection through selective inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) enzyme in lymphocytes. It displays considerable inter-individual pharmacokinetic (PK) variability, and many factors, other than dose or total plasma concentrations, may impact on lymphocyte MPA concentrations. There is evidence that the multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 efflux transporter may influence MPA PK in plasma and affect its distribution into lymphocytes. Therefore, the major aim of this thesis was to investigate the influence of ABCC2 genetic polymorphisms as a determinant of inter-individual variability in MPA treatment response, as well as clinical outcomes. This thesis also set out to investigate intra-lymphocyte pharmacokineticpharmacodynamic analyses of MPA as predictors of graft rejection. The first major study of this thesis incorporated the development and validation of new LCMS/ MS methods for the quantification of MPA concentrations in human kidney biopsies (Chapter 2) taken as part of routine clinical procedures, and lymphocytes (Chapter 4), and applying these new methods in a pilot prospective clinical study of the utility of determining intra-renal and lymphocyte MPA concentrations as predictors of graft rejection. For the second major study (Chapter 3) of this thesis, recipients (n = 60) prescribed MMF, tacrolimus and prednisolone-based immunosuppression, and their donors (n = 46) were retrospectively genotyped for three common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ABCC2 (-24 C > T, 1249 G > A, 3972 C > T), haplotyped and patients were divided into wild-type, low or high ABCC2 expressor group. Whilst no relationship was observed between donor expressor status and MPA PK parameters, recipients with the high ABCC2 expressor haplotype (CAC, -24C/1249A/3972C, variant at 1249) had significantly higher MPA trough (C0) concentrations, presumably due to an increased enterohepatic recirculation of MPA, compared to recipients with low expressor haplotypes. The multivariate analyses indicated that MPA C0 concentrations were associated with recipient ABCC2 expressor phenotype, rejection incidence and peak panel reactive antibody. The third major study (Chapter 4) of this thesis investigated the concentrations of MPA and IMPDH activity in lymphocytes, as predictors of rejection in 48 renal transplant recipients. Lymphocyte MPA concentration was the only covariate independently associated with rejection incidence in the multivariate analysis, suggesting that lymphocyte concentrations may be the best indicator of MPA therapeutic efficacy compared to monitoring plasma concentrations alone. ROC curve analyses revealed that lymphocyte MPA concentration was a better predictor of severe (cellular/vascular) rejection compared to IMPDH activity or plasma concentrations. IMPDH activity was not a significant predictor of graft rejection, however, a single measurement of IMPDH activity at pre-dose may have accounted for the lack of significant relationship between IMPDH activity and rejection. In summary, ABCC2 genetic variability may be important in determining exposure to MPA and may have clinically significant impacts on MPA treatment response. Despite monitoring plasma concentrations to maintain MPA efficacy and minimise the consequences of overexposure, inter-individual differences in MPA plasma PK are still difficult to predict, but may be accounted for by directly measuring lymphocyte MPA concentrations.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, 201

A review of the thermal effects during pregnancy by using ultrasound: Doppler mode

Doppler ultrasound is used in obstetrics and gynecology fields to serve as the complement mode in the standard prenatal scan. It aids in investigating fetus blood flow in expectant mothers’ wombs, usually those who come with pregnancy complications. In the conventional ultrasound beam, the heat produced by attenuation is distributed over the area. However, the Doppler ultrasound beam is focused at only one point. This leads the heat to accumulate at that particular area and hence there is an increase in the temperature. Heat is considered as a teratogen in pregnancy, whereby an increase in the fetal temperature can be fatal to the fetus. Studies have found that Doppler mode is associated with higher acoustic output as compared to the conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound mode. Several studies done on animals have ruled out the evidence of Doppler ultrasound bioeffects. This narrative review only discusses the thermally induced effect of ultrasound by using Doppler mode. This study reviews prior studies with keywords such as Doppler ultrasound, bioeffects, heating effects, rabbit, and pregnancy. Earlier studies noted that the risk of thermal effects increased with the increase of exposure time. However, Doppler ultrasound wave inducing fetal hyperthermia is not the main reason for causing adverse neonatal outcomes without taking into account other external factors. Therefore, it is essential for the practitioners to adopt and adapt the concept of ‘as low as reasonably achievable’ (ALARA) to avoid any subtle adverse effects. © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Reliability of diaphragmatic mobility assessment using a real time ultrasound among non-specific low back pain

Background and Objective: Ultrasound measurement of Diaphragmatic Mobility (DM) has been shown to be a reliable measurement tool among healthy subjects. However, the measures of reliability are needed prior to clinical use of this device among Non-Specific Low Back Pain (NS-LBP). Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the relative and absolute reliability of DM using Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) among subjects with NS-LBP. Materials and Methods: Nine subjects with NS-LBP (23.33 ± 1.58) years old were recruited. A qualified examiner performed measurement of DM using RTUS by placing transducer on the right subcostal region in semi-fowler’s position with 30 degree elevation of the trunk. The test-retest measures were re-assessed with 24 hour interval between sessions. Results: There was no systematic errors between the test-retest measures (p>0.05). Intra rater reliability showed ICC value of 0.92, which indicates an excellent reliability. The SEMs of the measurement was 2.56 mm and the MDC of 7.09mm. Conclusion:The RTUS for assessing DM provides an excellent intra-rater reliability which may be used as an assessment technique for clinical evaluation of DM in adults with NS-LBP. The SEMs and MDC reported may also allow for accurate interpretation of DM assessments in NS-LBP

The effect of operating parameters on ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis of palm oil mill effluent for reclamation and reuse of water.

An attempt was made to reclaim and recover palm oil mill effluent (POME) for water reuse using tubular ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The reclaimed water was compared with the final discharged water of the local mill. The raw POME was first subjected to a physical pre-treatment process to remove the content of organic matter and suspended solids. The pre-treatment process was coupled with membrane technology (UF and RO) to reclaim the clean water from POME. From the combined techniques of UF (5 bar) and RO (30 bar) the results showed that the turbidity and BOD5 were reduced by 99% and 98.9%, respectively. Compared to the final discharged POME, this suggested method gives a significant difference in BOD5 and turbidity. The final permeate of RO was found to comply with the standards for water reuse. Therefore, the combined UF and RO method is a viable alternative and has a great potential for use in the palm oil industry

Prenatal ultrasound heating impacts on fluctuations in haematological analysis of Oryctolagus cuniculus

Prenatal Ultrasound (US) is commonly used as a routine procedure on pregnant women. It is generally perceived as a safe procedure due to the use of non-ionizing radiation. However, the neurotoxicity of diagnostic prenatal US was detected to have a correlation with high susceptibility to early developing fetus. This research involved in vivo experimental model by using 3rd trimester pregnant Oryctolagus cuniculus and exposing them to US exposures for 30, 60, and 90 minutes at their gestational day (GD) 28-29. The output power and intensities, spatial peak temporal average intensity (ISPTA) of US were varied from 0.4 to 0.7 W and 0.13 to 0.19 W/cm2 respectively were tested initially in free-field, water. Haematological analysis was carried out to detect any changes in blood constituents. Statistically significant differences were detected in red blood cell (RBC) count (P<0.001), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration (P<0.001) and also platelet (PLT) count (P<0.001) in newborn of Oryctolagus cuniculus. These findings indicate the possibility of US heating in causing defects on studied animal