Complicated Benign Peptic Stricture of the Esophagus

Peptic esophageal stricture secondary to gastroesophageal reflux is an important cause of esophageal stenosis and dysphagia. Symptoms of peptic strictures are usually insidious but progressive beginning with dysphagia to solids followed by dysphagia to liquids. It was estimated to occur in up to 20% of untreated patients, which has decreased significantly since the era of proton pump inhibitor therapy. The presence of esophageal reflux stricture is typically diagnosed by means of a barium esophagogram, although endoscopy may have both diagnostic and therapeutic value. Treatment usually involves dilation combined with acid- suppressive therapy. We reported a 43-year-old patient with complicated benign peptic stricture of the esophagus that finally underwent esophageal resection, a rarely therapeutic option

Theoretical Model to Estimate the Distribution of Radon in Alveolar Membrane Neighborhood

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which tends to concentrate indoors, easily emanates from the ground into the air, where it disintegrates and emits radioactive particles. It can enter the human body through breathing or ingesting mostly water. When radon inhaled, travels through the respiratory tract to alveoli where the majority is expelled into the environment. Moreover, when ingested in water, it passes into the intestine where it is absorbed and driven from the bloodstream to the lungs; in these organs, due to differences in partial pressures, it is transported to alveoli by simple diffusion process. When radon is not removed, it decays in short-lived solid disintegration products (218Po and 214Po) with high probability of being deposited in biological tissues, causing DNA damage because of the densely ionizing alpha radiation emitted. We propose a semi-empirical, smooth, and continuous pair potential function in order to model the molecular interactions between radon and lung alveolar walls; we use Molecular Dynamics (MD) to determine the gas distribution in an alveolar neighborhood wall, and estimate the quantity thereof it diffuses through the alveolar membrane as a concentration function

“Surabaya Underground Aqua Project” Konsep Pengelolaan Air Minum, Air Limbah, dan Air Hujan Perkotaan di Bawah Tanah sebagai Solusi Permasalahan Air di Kota Besar

Surabaya community faces serious water problems, such as drinking water, wastewater and rain water. Surabaya River has been polluted by domestic wastewater and does not meet the requirement as raw water of water treatment facility (PDAM). Otherwise, Surabaya does not have rain water utilization management system. This study is to determine a concept of Surabaya Underground Aqua Project that is a city-scale innovation of water management and technology. It is to create an idea of water recycle concept to obtain environmental sustainability. The concept includes networks planning and installation. Installation section is divided into two areas, namely area of wastewater treatment and rainwater and area of raw water treatment for drinking water. Furthermore, the piping networks are divided into two, namely drinking water supply systems and sewerage systems and rainwater collections system. The entire installations and networks are constructed underground building. From this idea, it obtains the concepts to improve the quality and quantity of drinking water supply in Surabaya. It also can overcome floods, preventing water crisis and can improve environmental health

Structural Variations Induced by Temperature Changes in Rotavirus VP6 Protein Immersed in an Electric Field and Their Effects on Epitopes of The Region 300-396

Rotavirus diarrhea is an infectious intestinal disease that causes about 215 thousand deaths annually in infants under five years old. This virus is formed by three layers of concentric proteins that envelop its genome, from which VP6 structural protein is the most conserved among rotavirus serotypes and an excellent vaccine candidate. Recent studies have shown that structural proteins are susceptible to losing their biological function when their conformation is modified by moderate temperature increments, and in the case of VP6, its antigen efficiency decreases. We performed an in silicoanalysis to identify the structural variations in the epitopes 301-315, 357-366, and 376-384 of the rotavirus VP6 protein -in a hydrated medium- when the temperature is increased from 310 K to 322 K. In the latter state, we applied an electric field equivalent to a low energy laser pulse and calculated the fluctuations per amino acid residue. We identified that the region 301-315 has greater flexibility and density of negative electrical charge; nevertheless, at 322 K it experiences a sudden change of secondary structure that could decrease its efficiency as an antigenic determinant. The applied electric field induces electrical neutrality in the region 357-366, whereas in 376-384 inverts the charge, implying that temperature changes in the range 310 K-322 K are a factor that promotes thermoelectric effects in the VP6 protein epitopes in the region 300-396

In vitro Study of the Survival, Reproduction and Morphology of Daphnia pulicaria irradiated with a Low Energy Laser

Daphnia is a genus of crustaceans that is representative of freshwater communities. The species exhibit a high sensitivity to a wide range of toxic compounds so that they have been used internationally as biomonitors in toxicity tests to evaluate ecosystem conditions such as water quality. It is also a model genus in genetics, epigenetics and reproductive ecology. In this work, we used Daphnia pulicaria as a model to measure the effects of low-energy laser irradiation on survival, reproduction, and morphology variables of parental organisms and their offspring. We used (1) a single clone line of organisms to eliminate interindividual genetic variability; (2) individuals from more than 50 generations after the clone line was established, and offspring from the third brood onwards to dissipate maternal and epigenetic effects, and (3) neonates, those individuals of the species that have less than 48 hours of life, because they are the most sensitive stage to optical stimuli. We analyzed number of deaths, longevity, age at first reproduction, number of offspring per week, number of total offspring during all their life cycle, body size, size of the antennules, and length of the apical spine of the 4th and 5th brood of the irradiated individuals, who were exposed to a blue laser stimulus of 405 nm for 25 minutes with a power of 40 mW at a distance of 50 cm, compared to those of the control (non-irradiated) group

Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) Structural Susceptibility in the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Spike Protein Exposed to a Pulsed Electric Field

SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for causing the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has so far infected more than thirty million people and caused almost a million deaths. For this reason, it has been a priority to stop the transmission of the outbreak through preventive measures, such as surface disinfection, and to establish bases for the design of an effective disinfection technique without chemical components. In this study, we performed in silico analysis to identify the conformational alterations of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) caused by the effect of a pulsed electric field at two different intensities. We found that both stimuli, especially the one with the highest angular frequency and amplitude, modified the electrical charge distribution in the RBD surface and the number of hydrogen bonds. Moreover, the secondary structure was significantly affected, with a decrease of the structured regions, particularly the regions with residues involved in recognizing and interacting with the receptor ACE2. Since many regions suffered conformational changes, we calculated RMSF and ΔRMSF to identify the regions and residues with larger fluctuations and higher flexibility. We found that regions conformed by 353-372, 453-464, and 470-490 amino acid residues fluctuate the most, where the first is considered a therapeutic target, and the last has alreadybeen characterized for its flexibility. Our results indicate that a pulsed electric field can cause loss of stability in the Spike-RBD, and we were able to identify the vulnerable sites to be used as a starting point for the development of viral inhibition or inactivation mechanisms

Effects of Low-Energy Laser Irradiation on Sperm Cells Dynamics of Rabbit (Oryctolagus Cuniculus)

Infertility is a world disease in which a couple is unable to achieve pregnancy. There are numerous parameters to determinate fertility; nevertheless, sperm motility is by consensus one of the most important attributes to evaluate male fertility. Contributions to a better understanding of this crucial parameter are imperative; hence, the aim of this investigation was to assess the effect of low-energy laser irradiation on sperm cell dynamics in thawed samples that were cryopreserved. We used a 405 nm blue laser beam to irradiate spermatic cells from rabbit inside a temperature-controlled dispersion chamber at 37 °C; then, we applied an image recognizing system to calculate individual sperm trajectories and velocities. We found that sperms raise its motility after irradiation suggesting that λ=405 nm is an optimal wavelength for spermatic photo-stimulation

Reducing alcohol use through alcohol control policies in the general population and population subgroups: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We estimate the effects of alcohol taxation, minimum unit pricing (MUP), and restricted temporal availability on overall alcohol consumption and review their differential impact across sociodemographic groups. Web of Science, Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, and EconLit were searched on 08/12/2022 and 09/26/2022 for studies on newly introduced or changed alcohol policies published between 2000 and 2022 (Prospero registration: CRD42022339791). We combined data using random-effects meta-analyses. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Of 1887 reports, 36 were eligible. Doubling alcohol taxes or introducing MUP (Int$ 0.90/10 g of pure alcohol) reduced consumption by 10% (for taxation: 95% prediction intervals [PI]: -18.5%, -1.2%; for MUP: 95% PI: -28.2%, 5.8%), restricting alcohol sales by one day a week reduced consumption by 3.6% (95% PI: -7.2%, -0.1%). Substantial between-study heterogeneity contributes to high levels of uncertainty and must be considered in interpretation. Pricing policies resulted in greater consumption changes among low-income alcohol users, while results were inconclusive for other socioeconomic indicators, gender, and racial and ethnic groups. Research is needed on the differential impact of alcohol policies, particularly for groups bearing a disproportionate alcohol-attributable health burden. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AA028009