Potential of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications

YesElectrospinning is a versatile technique that has gained popularity for various biomedical applications in recent years. Electrospinning is being used for fabricating nanofibers for various biomedical and dental applications such as tooth regeneration, wound healing and prevention of dental caries. Electrospun materials have the benefits of unique properties for instance, high surface area to volume ratio, enhanced cellular interactions, protein absorption to facilitate binding sites for cell receptors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of electrospun nanofibers for repair and regeneration of various dental and oral tissues including dental pulp, dentin, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and skeletal tissues. However, there are a few limitations of electrospinning hindering the progress of these materials to practical or clinical applications. In terms of biomaterials aspects, the better understanding of controlled fabrication, properties and functioning of electrospun materials is required to overcome the limitations. More in vivo studies are definitely required to evaluate the biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, mechanical properties of such scaffolds should be enhanced so that they resist mechanical stresses during tissue regeneration applications. The objective of this article is to review the current progress of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications. In addition, various aspects of electrospun materials in relation to potential dental applications have been discussed

Big data analysis solutions using mapReduce framework

Recently, data that generated from variety of sources with massive volumes, high rates, and different data structure, data with these characteristics is called Big Data. Big Data processing and analyzing is a challenge for the current systems because they were designed without Big Data requirements in mind and most of them were built on centralized architecture, which is not suitable for Big Data processing because it results on high processing cost and low processing performance and quality. MapReduce framework was built as a parallel distributed programming model to process such large-scale datasets effectively and efficiently. This paper presents six successful Big Data software analysis solutions implemented on MapReduce framework, describing their datasets structures and how they were implemented, so that it can guide and help other researchers in their own Big Data solutions

AH jump as predictor for successful Ablation of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT)

Background: Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the commonest regular supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. Ablation in the area of slow pathway (SP) has been successfully implemented in every day clinical electrophysiological practice for more than 20 years. Although the procedure is generally regarded as effective and safe, data on long-term effects and predictors of success or failure are incomplete. Objectives: This study was designated to prove that AH interval is an electrophysiological parameter which serves as a predictor for successful AVNRT ablation. Methods: While performing an electrophysiological study using a programmed atrial stimulation, thirty nine (39) patients (25 female and 14 males) with a mean age 51 ± 16.7 years with AVNRT were assessed and underwent AVNRT radiofrequency ablation using diagnostic and ablation catheters inserted via the right femoral veins. This study was performed during the period from February, 2013 to march, 2014 at the unit of Electrophysiogy in Leipzig heart center. Results: Acute successful AVNRT ablation was achieved in 39 (100%) patients, including 23 (59%) with slow pathway (SP) ablation and 16 (41%) with SP modification. Patients with SP modification were younger male, had faster AVNRT cycle length, and had more frequent isoproterenol usage before ablation. During six months follow-up period, all patients experienced no AVNRT recurrences. . Conclusions: AH jump served as predictor for successful Ablation of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia with a better outcome

The effect of Valsalva maneuver on diastolic filling indices in patients with essential hypertension.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction are considered to be an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in asymptomatic hypertensive patients. At the bedside, left ventricular geometric remodeling and diastolic dysfunction in hypertension can not be diagnosed without echocardiography which is a useful adjunct to the medical history, physical examination, ECG, and chest radiography. Hence, it provides an opportunity for good management and prognosis of what appears to be preclinical hypertensive complication.  Subjects and Methods: 127 subjects with essential hypertension of either sex attending echo unit were subjected to medical history, clinical examination, physical measurements, ECG, M-mode and Doppler echocardiography. They were classified as 46 treated hypertensives where they were on regular antihypertensive medication, and 81 untreated hypertensive patients. In addition, they were sex and age matched to 39 healthy subjects who served as control group.  Results: The results of this study revealed that hypertensive patients especially those with stage II hypertension were prone to develop left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) of concentric geometric pattern and diastolic dysfunction. However, small percentage of those patients found to have diastolic dysfunction despite they were without LVH. In addition, Doppler echocardiography clarify that hypertensives with abnormal transmitral inflow profile; of left ventricular impaired relaxation pattern suffered left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Moreover, in this study there was no evidence of  pseudonormal transmitral inflow filling pattern which is excluded after Valsalva maneuver. Conclusion: There is a strong association between left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction which was more common in patients with stage II hypertension. However, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is usually follows left ventricular hypertrophy, but it still may proceed especially in those patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) of concentric geometric pattern. In addition, left ventricle diastolic dysfunction is not necessary coincide with the development of systolic dysfunction, namely normal ejection fraction and fractional shortening

Molecular identification of some virulence related genes for E. coli O157:H7 isolated from bloody diarrhea and UTI in Baghdad city.

This study was carried out for detection of some virulence factors for E coli O157:H7 isolated from patients with bloody hemorrhagic diarrhea or urinary tract infection (UTI). A total of 200 bloody diarrhea and 150 urine samples were collected from children of both sexes between the age of 3 and 10 years, who were suffering from bloody diarrhea and urinary tract infection (UTI) in the period from September to December 2016 in, Central Children Hospital and Children Safe Hospital in Baghdad/Iraq. All samples were screened to detect the presence of non-sorbitol fermenting colonies on sorbitol MacConkey agar supplemented with Cefixime -Tellurite (CT-SMAC) also cultured on other enrichment and selective media(Hicrome and Eosin methylen blue) at 37°C for 24hrs. The isolates were identified by Vitek 2 system and they were confirmed by latex agglutination test. A total of 11 isolate, 8 (4%) from bloody diarrhea and 3 (2%) isolates from urine samples were diagnosed as E. coli O157:H7 that appeared on CT-SMAC as small, circular and colorless colonies with smoky center whereas on Hicrome media as dark purple to magenta colored moiety colonies, positive for Vitek2 and latex agglutination. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect some virulence genes of isolates ,as hlyA (responsible for hemolysine) flicH7 (encoding fimbria) and rfbO157 (encoding- lipopolysaccharide) using specific primers of 534, 625 and 259 bp for previous genes respectively . The result of PCR amplification revealed presence of hly A , flic H7 and rfb O157 genes in all isolate

Analysis of Chitosan Polymer Doped with Nano Al 2 O 3 and Nano CuO

Abstract Chitin is a naturally abundant mucopolysaccharide which by the process of N-deacetylation gives the polymer Chitosan. High percentage of nitrogen compared to synthetically substituted cellulose gives an added commercial edge for the polymer. Chitosan is very relevant in terms of wide availability and reduced cost of the raw material. Enhanced properties of chitosan can be exploited for wider applications strengthening its existing vital role in medical and waste water treatment. Objective of the investigation carried out in this work is to study the effect of nano-copper oxide (CuO) and nano-aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) particles on the mechanical properties of chitosan. Chitosan nano films have been fabricated by solution casting process using acetic acid as a solvent. Each film was tested for its Tensile Strength, Young's modulus, Stiffness and Elongation at Fracture. It is observed that, the polymer when doped with Al 2 O 3 , CuO nano particles show favourable properties only upto a certain composition limit

Constructing domain ontology for Alzheimer disease using deep learning based approach

Facts can be exchanged in multiple fields with the help of disease-specific ontologies. A range of diverse values can be produced by mining ontological approaches for demonstrating disease mechanisms. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable neurological brain illness. An early diagnosis of AD can be helpful for better treatment and the prevention of brain tissue destruction. Researchers have used machine learning techniques to predict the early detection of AD. However, Alzheimer’s disorders are still underexplored in the knowledge domain. In the biomedical field, the illustration of terminologies and notions is essential. Multiple methods are adopted to represent these notions, but ontologies are the most frequent and accurate. Ontology construction is a complex and time-consuming process. The designed ontology relies on Disease Ontology (DO), which is considered the benchmark in medical practice. Ontology reasoning mechanisms can be adopted for AD identification. In this paper, a deep convolutional neural network-based approach is proposed to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, using an AD dataset acquired from Kaggle. Machine learning-based approaches (logistic regression, gradient boosting, XGB, SGD, MLP, SVM, KNN, random forest) are also used for a fair comparison. The simulation results are generated using three strategies (default parameters, 10-cross validation, and grid search), and MLP provides superior results on a default parameter strategy with an accuracy of 92.12%. Furthermore, the deep learning-based approach convolutional neural network (CNN) achieved an accuracy of 94.61%. The experimental results indicate that the construction of ontology, with the help of deep learning knowledge, can produce better results where the robustness and scalability can be enhanced. In comparisons to other methods, the CNN results are excellent and encouraging

Genotypic and morphological diversity analysis in high altitude maize (Zea mays L.) inbreds under Himalayan temperate ecologies

The present investigation was carried out to generate information on genetic divergence of maize (Zea mays L.) inbreds and to identify elite lines to develop potential hybrids for high altitude ecologies. Data were recorded for thirteen (13) quantitative traits viz. germination (%), root depth, shoot length, days to 50 % pollen shed, days to 50% silking, plant height, ear height, ear length, ear girth, number of kernels per row, 100 seed weight, grain yield per plant. The tested genotypes expressed significant variability with high estimates of heritability (broad sense) for all the traits revealing that these traits are amenable to genetic improvement. Grain yield per plant exhibited positive and significant correlation with plant height, ear height, ear width, number of kernels per row, number of kernel rows and 100 seed weight at both the levels which exhibit a strong possibility for improvement of grain yield per plant by selection for these traits. Genetic divergence based on thirteen quantitative traits grouped thirty maize inbred lines into four clusters as per Mahalanobis D2 analysis employing Tocher’s method which revealed wide diversity in elite genotypes owing to the involvement of diverse parental lines in the hybridization programme. Grain yield per hectare was the main factor contributing to total divergence (41.16%) which needs to be considered for highlighting clusters to be chosen for the purpose of further selection

Building local capacities in the operation and management of an integrated solid waste management programme; Experience of Ampara District, Eastern Sri Lanka

Open dumping and burning of wastes in the environmental sensitive areas were common practices in almost all the local authorities in Ampara district. It had become a big threat to public health, the beautiful natural environment and to the local economy. The Local Authorities of the District often faced severe difficulties in the management of solid waste in an environmentally, socially and economically feasible manner. The lack of technical and financial capacities to apply and practice the newly developed waste management guidelines and policies further aggravated this situation.Having identified the gravity  and the importance of this serious environmental issue, the Department of Assistant Commissioner of Local Government of Ampara District, with the financial assistance of the European Union and the technical assistance of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), is currently implementing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme (ISWMP) in 12 local authorities of the District. This ISWMP is completely being operated with the full coordination of the District Office of the Central Environmental Authority, Ampara. The UNOPS, as part of its technical assistance, has constructed solid waste management facilities such as 7 engineered landfills, one Waste Transfer Station, 4 Recycling Centers, 5 compost yards, well developed collection systems  as well as provided with capability building/training assistance aiming to establish an effective and efficient solid waste management system for the District. These  facilities are now completed,  already in use and operational. With these facilities in place, and with the continued support from UNOPS in providing institutional and capacity building assistance to the LA officers and staff, haphazard dumping and littering of waste in certain areas of the LAs have now been stopped. Thus 45,000 urban households or 58% of the total urban population are benefitted under thisprogramme with a total collection of 137tonnes of wastes per day through this programme. Out of this 137tonnes of waste, 59 tonnes are collected from cluster systems involving five local authorities while the balance from the other non-clustered Local Authorities.The paper will also present the processes and methodologies to improve the landfill practices from the open dumping practices to controlled tipping and then to engineered landfills  among the implementing local authorities. It will also highlight interventions/strategies to ensure sustainability of the operation and their management through the introduction of a User Fee system/Service Charge which is currently being implemented in 04  Local Authorities. This collected User Fee covers about 80% of cost of collection of waste which would otherwise been spent through their normal budget.Key words: Integrated Solid Waste Management, Ampara, haphazard dumping, controlled tipping, engineered landfill

Association of Methylentetraydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) 677 C > T gene polymorphism and homocysteine levels in psoriasis vulgaris patients from Malaysia: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme catalyzes the reduction of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and methyl donors. The methyl donors are required for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Mutation of MTHFR 677 C > T disrupts its thermostability therefore leads to defective enzyme activities and dysregulation of homocysteine levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This case-control study (n = 367) was conducted to investigate the correlation of the MTHFR gene polymorphism [NM_005957] and psoriasis vulgaris amongst the Malaysian population. Overnight fasting blood samples were collected from a subgroup of consented psoriasis vulgaris patients and matched controls (n = 84) for the quantification of homocysteine, vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no significant increase of the MTHFR 677 C > T mutation in patients with psoriasis vulgaris compared with controls (<it>χ</it>²= 0.733, p = 0.392). No significant association between homocysteine levels and MTHFR gene polymorphism in cases and controls were observed (F = 0.91, df = 3, 80, p = 0.44). However, homocysteine levels in cases were negatively correlated with vitamin B₁₂(r = -0.173) and folic acid (r = -0.345) levels. Vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels in cases were also negatively correlated (r = -0.164).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that there was no significant association between the MTHFR gene polymorphism and psoriasis vulgaris in the Malaysian population. There was no significant increase of the plasma homocysteine level in the psoriasis patients compared to the controls.</p