An Artistic Vision of Using Polyurethane Foam in Drapping Fictional Costumes Designs to Achieve Sustainable Development

One of the aspects of the modern era is leaving more room for imagination and experimentation. Costumes design in general and fictional costumes design in particular are among the areas that need a lot of experimentation, especially with new, non-traditional materials. This is what encouraged the researchers to choose the polyurethane foam as a non-traditional material to design fictional costumes in order to achieve sustainable development goals. The research aims at clarifying the characteristics of the polyurethane foam and it’s Forming instead of plastic capabilities in the field of Costumes design, and providing proposals for fictional costumes designs with this material, in addition to achieving the sustainable development goals; such as, adopting sustainable production and consumption patterns, and stimulating innovation. The research findings state the possibility of achieving new visions of using the polyurethane foam to design and create fictional costumes in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development

Using Shabby Chic Style in Contemporary Clothing Accessories to Achieve the Principles of Sustainable Development

The research team is keen to provide a new thinking approach characterized by creativity and innovation to achieve the principles of sustainable development, both environmentally and economically. Thus, the team thought about how to preserve the environment by using worn-out clothes and accessories that are not usable again or through recycling instead of disposing of them permanently in a way that harms the environment while emphasizing the economic aspect and reducing the cost. The research team invented artworks with an antique touch as accessories to contemporary clothes, based on the Shabby Chic style, which is one of the economical styles that reuses old worn-out items and mixes them with simple modern ones to create an atmosphere of simplicity and elegance. It is a method used in interior design that combines elements of old furniture with simple design, soft colors, and classic touches that give the house a comfortable and attractive atmosphere. This is the reason why the research team applied the rules of this style with clothes and their accessories attempting to provide inexpensive and creative solutions to be the basis of a small successful project that goes with the new trend of entrepreneurship, in line with the events that the whole world is witnessing nowadays; and this is the most prominent goal of the research. The research followed the descriptive approach with analysis and application. It included a questionnaire to measure the opinions of experts about the suggested designs, and a questionnaire to identify the opinions of consumers about the suggested designs as well. The findings suggest that Shabby Chic Style could be used to create contemporary designs for clothing accessories that meet the principles of sustainable development and entrepreneurship

Sandwich structure polymer electrolyte membranes containing phosphotungstic acid immobilized electospun nanofibers

The advances in proton exchange membranes (PEM)s is critical for improving the performance of fuel cells [1]. Membranes compromising perfluorosulfonic acid polymers such as Nafion have been used extensively due to their desired conductivity and stability. However, these materials need to be saturated with water to obtain practical level of proton conductivity. There is a strong demand for the PEMs to work at lower relative humidity or under anhydrous conditions because the electrochemical reactions will be accelerated and water management of fuel cell will be simpler. Various designing strategies and advanced materials have been developed to mitigate for this issue without causing serious loss in proton conductivity or stability [2]. Among all, the introducing of inorganic proton conductors such as heteropoly acids have been considered widely. Generally, HPAs (such as phosphotungstic acid H3PW12O40, PWA) have a very strong Brønsted acidity approaching the superacid region (more acidic than Nafion) [3]. In this work, high level of PWA was self-anchored onto nylon electrospun nanofiberous sheet (Figure 1b). Sandwich structured proton conducting membranes were fabricate by assembling nanofibrous central layer with outer Nafion layers (Figure 1b). Since the PWA is attached to the polymer backbones, the risk of leaching out is minimized. Moreover, the significant synthetic versatility of the method helps to increase PWA immobilization level. As shown in the Figure 1c, proton conductivity of as high as 60 mS cm-1 at 30 °C was achieved which is comparable with Nafion 115. The durability of the proton conductivity of sandwiched membrane

Male disadvantage?:Fetal sex and cardiovascular responses to asphyxia in preterm fetal sheep

Clinically and experimentally male fetuses are at significantly greater risk of dying or suffering injury at birth, particularly after premature delivery. We undertook a retrospective cohort analysis of 60 female and 65 male singleton preterm fetal sheep (103-104 days, 0.7 gestation) with mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate, and carotid and femoral blood flow recordings during 25 min of umbilical cord occlusion in utero. Occlusions were stopped early if fetal MAP fell below 8 mmHg or if there was asystole for >20 s. Fetuses that were able to complete the full 25-min period of occlusion showed no differences between sexes for any cardiovascular responses. Similar numbers of occlusions were stopped early in males (mean: 21 min, n = 16) and females (mean: 23 min, n = 16); however, they showed different responses. Short-occlusion males (n = 16) showed a slower initial fall in femoral vascular conductance, followed by greater bradycardia, hypotension, and associated organ hypoperfusion compared with full-occlusion fetuses. In contrast, short-occlusion females (n = 16) showed a significantly more rapid early increase in femoral vascular conductance than the full-occlusion fetuses, followed by worsening of bradycardia and hypotension that was intermediate to the full-occlusion fetuses and short-occlusion males. Among all fetuses, MAP at 15 min of occlusion, corresponding with the time of the maximal rate of fall, was correlated with postmortem weight in males (R(2) = 0.07) but not females. In conclusion, male and female fetuses showed remarkably similar chemoreflex and hemodynamic responses to severe asphyxia, but some males did show impaired hemodynamic adaptation within the normal weight range

Extracts of Feijoa Inhibit Toll-Like Receptor 2 Signaling and Activate Autophagy Implicating a Role in Dietary Control of IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory disease affecting the gut with limited treatment success for its sufferers. This suggests the need for better understanding of the different subtypes of the disease as well as nutritional interventions to compliment current treatments. In this study we assess the ability of a hydrophilic feijoa fraction (F3) to modulate autophagy a process known to regulate inflammation, via TLR2 using IBD cell lines

Mutation of DNA and RNA sequences through the application of topological spaces

Topology is branch of modern mathematics that plays an important role in applications of biology. The aim of this paper is to study DNA sequence mutations using multisets, relations, metric functions, topology and association indices. Moreover, we use association indices to study the similarity between DNA sequences. These different ways of identifying a mutation help biologists to make a decision. A decision of mutation that depends on metrics between two sequences of genes and the topological structure produced by their relationship is presented

Egyptian consensus on treat-to-target approach for osteoporosis: a clinical practice guideline from the Egyptian Academy of bone health and metabolic bone diseases

Background: This study was carried out to achieve an Egyptian expert consensus on a treat-to-target managementstrategy for osteoporosis using Delphi technique. A scientific committee identified researchers and clinicians with expertise in osteoporosis in Egypt. Delphi process was implemented (2 rounds) to establish a consensus on 15 clinical standards: (1) concept, (2) diagnosis, (3) case identification, (4) whom to treat, (5) who should treat?, (6) case stratification and intervention thresholds, (7) falls risk, (8) investigations, (9) treatment target, (10) management, (11) optimum treatment duration, (12) monitoring, (13) drug holiday, (14) osteoporosis in men, and (15) post-fracture care and fracture liaison service. Results: The surveys were sent to an expert panel (n = 25), of whom 24 participated in the two rounds. Respondents were drawn from different governorates and health centres across Egypt including the Ministry of Health. Most of the participants were rheumatologists (76%), followed by internists (8%), orthopaedic doctors (4%), rehabilitation doctors (4%), primary care (4%), and ortho-geriatrics (4%) physicians. Seventy-two recommendations, categorised into 15 sections, were obtained. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 83.4 to 100%. Consensus was reached (i.e. ≥ 75% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed) on the wording of all 15 clinical standards identified by the scientific committee. An algorithm for the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis has been suggested. Conclusion: A wide and representative panel of experts established a consensus regarding the management of osteoporosis in Egypt. The developed guidelines provide a comprehensive approach to the assessment and management of osteoporosis for all Egyptian healthcare professionals who are involved in its management

Fabrication and characterization of PU-g-poly(HEMA) film for clotting time and platelet adhesion

This paper describes a fabrication of poly (2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate) poly(HEMA) grafted on polyurethane (PU) film prepared by radiation-induced grafting (RIG) copolymerization method using electron beam irradiation for the first time. This method was well known to be fast technique, clean method without involve any chemical initiator, chemically bond the materials, and at the same time is a sterile technique suitable for further potential of biomedical application. This poly(HEMA) grafted on PU film or called as PU-g-poly(HEMA) films was analysed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), water contact angle analyser (WCA), platelet adhesion and clotting time measurement. As the results, poly(HEMA) was confirmed successful grafted on PU based on the shifting of the functional group, no significant changes in surface morphology, lowering the water contact angle from 78.28° to 70.02°, nearly no platelet adhesion and no excessive disturbance of the clotting time was observed. This means that PU-g-poly(HEMA) was improved its hydrophilicity, thus significantly reduced the platelet adhesion and maintain the normal range of time taken for blood to clot. Therefore, the present PU-g-poly(HEMA) films not only improved hydrophilicity, however, was also compatible with blood. Thus, it may be potential candidates in the biomedical devices or new biomaterial useful for future tissue engineering fields

Consensus evidence-based recommendations for treat-to-target management of immunoglobulin A vasculitis

IgA vasculitis (IgAV), formerly known as Henoch-Schönlein purpura, is the most common cause of systemic vasculitis in childhood. Given its potential life-threatening systemic complications, early and accurate diagnosis as well as management of IgAV represent a major challenge for health care professionals. This study was carried out to attain an evidence-based expert consensus on a treat-to-target management approach for IgAV using Delphi technique. The preliminary scientific committee identified a total of 16 key clinical questions according to the patient, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) approach. An evidence-based, systematic, literature review was conducted to compile evidence for the IgAV management. The core leadership team identified researchers and clinicians with expertise in IgAV management in Egypt upon which experts were gathered from different governorates and health centers across Egypt. Delphi process was implemented (two rounds) to reach a consensus. An online questionnaire was sent to expert panel (n = 26) who participated in the two rounds. After completing round 2, a total of 20 recommendation items, categorized into two sections were obtained. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 91.7–100%. Consensus was reached (i.e. ⩾75% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed) on the wording of all the 20 clinical standards identified by the scientific committee. Algorithms for the diagnosis and management have been suggested. This was an expert, consensus recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of IgAV and IgA vasculitic nephritis, based on best available evidence and expert opinion. The guideline presented a strategy of care with a pathway to achieve a state of remission as early as possible