A Systematic Review on Cardiovascular Stent and Stenting Failure: Coherent Taxonomy, Performance Measures, Motivations, Open Challenges and Recommendations

Cardiovascular stenting is a mature topic but it is still being developed in the research community because of its importance. To provide worthy information about cardiovascular stenting environments and to give support to the researchers, attention must be given to understand the obtainable choices and gaps in this research field. This work aims to examine and examine the literature of each work related to the placement of cardiovascular stents, the failure of the stents and the models of stent designs to provide a good understanding through the investigation of articles published in various contextual aspects, such as motivations, open-challenges and recommendations to improve the field of stent placement. A systematic review is carried-out to map and examine the articles related to cardiovascular stents, the failure of the stents and the models of stent designs through a coherent-taxonomy used in three well-known scientific databases: ScienceDirect, IEEE Explore, and Web of Science. These databases involve literature that highlight arterial stenting. Based-on our inclusion and exception, a total of 90 articles composed the final set that offer various classes and sub-classes. The first class includes the development studies with (42/90) of experimental, computational and combined experimental and computational studies related to stent models performance and stent failure, the second class discussed studies that have been performed on stent design with (32/90), the third class is focused on the framework studies with (10/90), and the fourth class includes problems of stenting long-term with (6/90). The performance of stent designs, which is a research area that requires periodic controls, tools and procedures that could provide a stent design with good mechanical performance, reduce restenosis in the stent and increase fatigue resistance and durability. There have been numerous studies on stent performance that could promise good results in this field. The fields of research in stent designs vary, but all fields are fundamental equally. The expectation of this work could help to emphasize present research chances and, therefore, expand and make further research fields

Nexus between Intellectual Capital and Financial Performance Sustainability: Evidence from Listed Jordanian Firms

Purpose: The authors observe the effect of exploring the reality of Intellectual Capital (IC) and its impact on the financial performance of Jordanian industrial firms in Amman Stock Exchange. This empirical research explores the effect of intellectual capital on financial performance using data from 36 Jordanian industrial firms listed in Amman Stock Exchange for the period 2016-2020. The Value-Added Intellectual coefficient (VAIC) was adopted to measure the intellectual capital, while the return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS) were adopted as measures of the companys financial performance. The effect of IC was tested by using statistical analysis, dependent on the data obtained from annual financial statements. The results showed that the IC has a significant and positive effect on profitability due to its significant effect on ROA and EPS. However, it has not been proven that IC affects the ROE. This research extends the research on IC and aims to enrich studies in this field, especially in the Jordanian market. It reflects the reality of Intellectual Capital and its impact on industrial firms’ performance in Jordan as an example of developing countrie

Assessment of Infertility Factors and Their Relative Impact in Pregnancy using Ultrasonography & Hormonal Checkup

Infertility as a social and psychological problem among middle east natives. Among them, Transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) and hormonal tests have been selected to evaluate infertility in this study. The objective was to assess the infertility factors and their relative impact in pregnancy and to deduce the equation to predict infertility. Methods: a retrospective data (morphometric pathologies of uterus and ovaries using TVU and laboratory hormones (FSH, LH)) have been collected from clinics for 180 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Sudan.  The data analyzed by SPSS. The results showed that there were 120 (66.7%) infertile and 60 (33.3%) fertile ladies based on the marriage date. The common ovarian causes of infertility were the polycystic ovary (PCOs) 23.3%, simple cyst 6.1%, hemorrhagic cyst, 4.4%, and uterus causes: 6.7% intramural fibroma, 6.1% retroverted uterus, 2.8% submural fibroma, 2.2 polyps. The general accuracy of Stepwise Linear Discriminant Analysis (SLDA) was 78.9%, for infertile was 70.8% and for fertile 95%. Larger ovarian width indicates significance (p smaller than 0.05) infertility and FSH level low among infertile ladies, but LH is less dependent on discriminatio

Morphometric Analysis of the Corpus Callosum According to Age and Sex in Middle Eastern Arabs: Racial Comparisons and Clinical Correlations to Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study sought to examine the influence of age and sex on morphometric measurements of the corpus callosum (CC) within Middle Eastern Arab population, in order to obtain reference data and conduct racial comparisons with previously reported measurements from other ethnicities. Furthermore, it aimed to investigate CC variations that may occur in children with autism. To this end, magnetic resonance images of normal brains were acquired from three different age groups, consisting of children, younger adults, and older adults. Brain images were also acquired from boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The CC length, area, and thickness were measured. The CC length was smaller in children than in the other age groups, but no difference in CC length was found between younger and older adults. The CC area and thickness were greater in younger adults than in children and older adults, and greater in older adults than in children. With regard to sexual dimorphism, the CC area and forebrain volume were larger in male children than in female children. No sex-related differences in CC area or thickness were found in adults. However, the ratio of CC area to the forebrain volume was greater in adult females than in males, owing to the smaller forebrain volume in females. The absolute length of the CC was greater in older adult males than in their female counterparts. In addition, significant differences in CC measurements were found in comparison to measurements obtained from other ethnicities. Lastly, significant reductions in CC area and thickness were found in boys with ASD compared to their neurotypical peers. In conclusion, age and sex significantly influence morphometric measurements of CC in Middle Eastern Arab population. This study points to the presence of racial differences in CC size. Finally, it reveals that children with ASD display a distinct reduction in CC size compared to neurotypical children of the same ethnicity.Funds for the conduction of this study were provided by the Deanship of Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan (Grant # 20160212). Publication fees were provided by a grant to MZA from the Office of Research at United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE (Grant # G00003289, Fund # 31M441)

A Review on Security Challenges and Features in Wireless Sensor Networks: IoT Perspective

The Internet of Things is becoming a very promising paradigm with the extensive market adoption of the development of associated technologies, such as; cloud computing, near-field communications, wireless mobile networks, etc. This will expose the future direction of communication around the world. Wireless Sensor Networks together with the existing communication technologies are enabling the continuous integration of controlling and processing the functionality of the Internet of Things applications. Since Wireless Sensor Networks are typically deployed for gathering sensitive information from unattended or hostile environments, they are exposed for security attacks, which are strongly affecting the user privacy and the network performance. There are various security mechanisms and solutions for Wireless Sensor Networks that have been proposed in the previous works. Therefore, it is mandatory to give attention for its applicability and feasibility features in terms of related security challenges based on the Internet of Things perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to explore and show the influence of Wireless Sensor Networks security challenges within the perspective of the Internet of Things and its applications. Consequently, an exploration of the major and minor security requirements in the Wireless Sensor Networks has been made in this paper, accompanied by a classification of the available attacks and threats against these requirements. Finally, a discussion on the Internet of Things security issues and challenges in Wireless Sensor Networks is provided

Presentation and outcome of Middle East respiratory syndrome in Saudi intensive care unit patients.

BACKGROUND: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection is associated with high mortality rates but limited clinical data have been reported. We describe the clinical features and outcomes of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data from all adult (>18 years old) patients admitted to our 20-bed mixed ICU with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection between October 1, 2012 and May 31, 2014. Diagnosis was confirmed in all patients using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on respiratory samples. RESULTS: During the observation period, 31 patients were admitted with MERS-CoV infection (mean age 59 ± 20 years, 22 [71 %] males). Cough and tachypnea were reported in all patients; 22 (77.4 %) patients had bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. Invasive mechanical ventilation was applied in 27 (87.1 %) and vasopressor therapy in 25 (80.6 %) patients during the intensive care unit stay. Twenty-three (74.2 %) patients died in the ICU. Nonsurvivors were older, had greater APACHE II and SOFA scores on admission, and were more likely to have received invasive mechanical ventilation and vasopressor therapy. After adjustment for the severity of illness and the degree of organ dysfunction, the need for vasopressors was an independent risk factor for death in the ICU (odds ratio = 18.33, 95 % confidence interval: 1.11-302.1, P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: MERS-CoV infection requiring admission to the ICU is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The need for vasopressor therapy is the main risk factor for death in these patients

Effects of herbal supplements on milk production quality and specific blood parameters in heat-stressed early lactating cows

The present study explored the influence of supplemental herbal mixtures on cow milk production, quality, and blood parameters in dairy cows under high ambient temperatures. Thirty Holstein cows were randomly assigned into three experimental groups of 10 each. The first control group was supplied with the commercial basal diet, whereas two treatment groups were provided with the commercial basal diet supplemented with 50 and 100 g/head/day of the herbal mixture, respectively. The results showed that the mixture of herbal supplementation did not influence weekly milk production. Milk total fat, triglyceride, and total protein values were not affected (p < 0.05) in cows fed on basal diets supplemented with herbal mixture; however, milk cholesterol was decreased significantly by 100 mg/head/day of the herbal mixture. On the other hand, lactose has increased significantly by adding 100 mg/head/day of herbal mixture. Furthermore, the total cholesterol level in serum was decreased by adding 100 mg/head/day of the herbal mixture, while plasma prolactin, cortisol, GOT, and GPT were unaffected. Regarding fatty acids (C18, C18:1 (c9), 18:1 (c11), 18:2 (c9, c12), 18:2 (t9, t12), and CLA (c9, t11)), there was no significant variation between the groups. Meanwhile, both C19:00 and 18:3 (c6, c9, and c12) were noticeably higher (p < 0.05) in the group that received 100gm, followed by 50 mg, compared to the control. In conclusion, the supplement with a herbal mixture positively affected milk quality by decreasing total cholesterol and increasing lactose, milk fatty acid profile by increasing unsaturated fatty acids content, and plasma cholesterol levels

Hepatobiliary manifestations following two-stages elective laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy for patients with ulcerative colitis: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUNDHepatobiliary manifestations occur in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The effect of laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy (LRP) with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) on hepatobiliary manifestations is debated.AIMTo evaluate hepatobiliary changes after two-stages elective laparoscopic restorative proctocolectomy for patients with UC.METHODSBetween June 2013 and June 2018, 167 patients with hepatobiliary symptoms underwent two-stage elective LRP for UC in a prospective observational study. Patients with UC and having at least one hepatobiliary manifestation who underwent LRP with IPAA were included in the study. The patients were followed up for four years to assess the outcomes of hepatobiliary manifestations.RESULTSThe patients' mean age was 36 +/- 8 years, and males predominated (67.1%). The most common hepatobiliary diagnostic method was liver biopsy (85.6%), followed by Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (63.5%), Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (62.5%), abdominal ultrasonography (35.9%), and Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (6%). The most common hepatobiliary symptom was Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (62.3%), followed by fatty liver (16.8%) and gallbladder stone (10.2%). 66.4% of patients showed a stable course after surgery. Progressive or regressive courses occurred in 16.8% of each. Mortality was 6%, and recurrence or progression of symptoms required surgery for 15%. Most PSC patients (87.5%) had a stable course, and only 12.5% became worse. Two-thirds (64.3%) of fatty liver patients showed a regressive course, while one-third (35.7%) showed a stable course. Survival rates were 98.8%, 97%, 95.8%, and 94% at 12 mo, 24 mo, 36 mo, and at the end of the follow-up.CONCLUSIONIn patients with UC who had LRP, there is a positive impact on hepatobiliary disease. It caused an improvement in PSC and fatty liver disease. The most prevalent unchanged course was PSC, while the most common improvement was fatty liver disease

Coexistence of HBsAg/Anti-HBs and HBeAg/Anti-HBe in Sudanese Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Seroconversion of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) to hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) is a recognized goal of HBV therapy. This dynamic transition responsible for the coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs is rarely detected in clinical cases. However, with vaccination and the use of various antiviral drugs, as well as the development of new medical technologies, recognizing the coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs has become more common. In addition, mutations in viral genomes, immune status, and human genetic factors may also contribute to such coexistence. The current study was designed to determine the prevalence of the coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs and HBeAg and anti-HBe in CHB patients in Sudan. Methods and Results: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Khartoum state from November 2018 to January 2019. The study included 70 HBV-infected patients who were positive for HBsAg for more than six months. Blood samples were tested for HBsAg/Anti-HBs and HBeAg/Anti-HBe using Commercial ELISA Kits (Foresight, United Kingdom) and (PRECHEK, USA). Demographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and any antiviral agent and laboratory results were also recorded for each participant. The current study showed that one case (1.4%) was reactive for the coexistence of HBsAg/HBsAb and two cases (2.8%) for the coexistence of HBeAg/HBeAb. There was no statistical difference between the coexistence of HBsAg/HBsAb and HBeAg/HBeAb with age, gender, residence, and treatment status. Conclusion: Our study indicates that the frequencies of the coexistence of HBsAg/HBsAb and HBeAg/HBeAb among Sudanese patients with chronic HBV infection were low compared to previous studies in a different population

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation