Early Outcome of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Obese and Non Obese Patients

Objective: To determine the impact of body mass index (BMI) on short-term outcomes like; renal failure, prolonged ventilation and mortality after CABG surgery. Methodology: This prospective comparative study was conducted at the Cardiac Surgery Department, Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Bahawalpur from February to December 2021. A total of 148 patients were enrolled after taking written consent and data was collected through predesign proforma sheets, including; clinical history, investigation and early outcomes in term of (renal failure, prolonged ventilation, and mortality). SPSS 23 was used to analyze data with statistically significant p-value < 0.05. Results: The findings showed that average age of research participants were 57.14 ± 3.07 (age range 30-73 years) and 121 (81.76%) male compared with 27(18.24%) female patients were enrolled with insignificant p-value of 0.730. In this study prolonged ventilation was found in 5(6.76%) obese and 8(10.81%) non-obese patients with insignificant p-value of 0.070. Renal Failure was found in 2 (2.70%) obese and 8 (10.81%) non-obese patients with significant p-value of 0.02 and mortality in 4(5.41%) obese and 2 (2.70%) non-obese patients with significant p-value of 0.0482. Conclusion: The results of the current investigation demonstrated that an obese BMI was a reliable indicator of morbidity or mortality following CABG

Assessment of knowledge of pharmacies and drug stores workers toward dengue and its management at Al-Mukalla district – Hadhramout-Yemen

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito borne disease that has spread rapidly in Al-Mukalla city in the last ten years, so a necessary requirement is to analyze the knowledge of healthcare providers, including pharmacists, toward dengue management and control in the country. This paper aims to assess the knowledge of pharmacies and drug store workers toward dengue management at Al-Mukalla district. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 pharmacies and drug store workers in Al-Mukalla district in 2020. A random sampling method was used to select the pharmacies and drug stores and data was collected by using pretest questionnaires. All statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS software, version 24. A total of 384 workers of pharmacies and drug stores, were enrolled. 361 were male (94%), and 23 were female (6%). The pharmacy diploma was the most qualified of the participants (58.1%). The majority of participants had 1–5 years’ experience (45.3%). The result showed that most workers of pharmacies and drug stores had knowledge of dengue fever disease (82.1%). Medical consultation was the most common choice of participation regarding dealing with warning signs of dengue fever (red spots or patches on the skin (59.1%) , nasal or gingival bleeding(66.9%), vaginal bleeding(74.2%), hematemesis (72.7%), and severe abdominal pain (46.4% ). The larger proportion of participants did not have knowledge of the WHO clinical management of dengue guideline (75.5%). This study showed that more than half of pharmacies and drug stores workers had knowledge toward management of dengue fever (57 %). This study revealed that the knowledge of pharmacy and drug store workers in Al-Mukalla district toward dengue fever management was not satisfactory. This result highlights the need for extensive scientific programs to increase the knowledge of pharmacies and drug store workers toward dengue management so this gap will be plugged

Oil palm leaf fibre and its suitability for paper-based products

Due to the shortage of wood as origin materials for paper-based production, agro-residue materials have been explored in the quest of finding the best alternative fibre. Oil palm leaf (OPL) is one of agro-residue that has potential due to its comparable characteristics with wood fibre. Studies on chemical compositions, fibre morphology, and mechanical property of OPL have been carried out aiming to evaluate its potential as a substitute raw material for pulp and paper-based production. The chemical compositions were analysed according to the TAPPI standard, Kurscher-Hoffner and chlorite methods accordingly. The mechanical property (tensile, tearing and bursting strengths) were determined as described in TAPPI test methods. Fibre dimensions were determined using Franklin method and analysed under the optical microscope. The content of cellulose in the OPL is determined to be 43.8%. Although, this result is lower than wood fibre (53%), OPL has higher hemicellulose content (36.4%) than the wood fibre (27.5%). In addition, the lignin content (19.7%) of OPL is in the low range of those in wood resources (18 - 25%). These parameters are important components to produce good quality pulp and will provide high mechanical strength of the paper-based products. The measured fibre length of oil palm leaf (1.13 mm) is shorter than the wood fibre (1.90 mm). Meanwhile, the mechanical property of OPL showed lower indexes than wood resources, however, tear (1.80 mN.m2/g) and burst (0.95 kPa.m2/g) indexes of OPL are higher than other published and successful wood resources (Eucalyptus). Based on the analyses, the oil palm leaf is indeed a suitable alternative of raw material for pulp and paper-based industries

Does stirring influence hydrothermal carbonization experiments? A laboratory and computational study of a lignocellulosic biomass

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Boosted Antioxidant Effect Using a Combinatory Approach with Essential Oils from Origanum compactum, Origanum majorana, Thymus serpyllum, Mentha spicata, Myrtus communis, and Artemisia herba-alba: Mixture Design Optimization

Several studies have demonstrated the possible synergistic effect as an effective strategy to boost the bioactivity of essential oils. Using this framework, this study was conducted to effectively establish the ideal combination of six essential oils from different plants (Origanum compactum, Origanum majorana, Thymus serpyllum, Mentha spicata, Myrtus communis, and Artemisia herba-alba) that would express the best antioxidant activity. Each mixture was optimized using a mixture design approach to generate the most effective blend. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method was used as a reference method to assess the antioxidant activity. Each essential oil’s composition was identified using the GC/MS method. The single essential oil activities demonstrated variable antioxidant effects, and following the mixture design approach, the optimal antioxidant blend was revealed, as two mixtures demonstrated the best antiradical activity with 79.46% obtained with the mixture of O. majorana (28%) and M. spicata (71%) and 78.8% obtained with the mixture O. compactum (64%), O. majorana (13%), and T. serpyllum (21%). This study proposes a practical way to elaborate mixtures in the search for a boosting effect that can be oriented for the food or pharmaceutical industry

Boosted Antioxidant Effect Using a Combinatory Approach with Essential Oils from Origanum compactum, Origanum majorana, Thymus serpyllum, Mentha spicata, Myrtus communis, and Artemisia herba-alba: Mixture Design Optimization

Several studies have demonstrated the possible synergistic effect as an effective strategy to boost the bioactivity of essential oils. Using this framework, this study was conducted to effectively establish the ideal combination of six essential oils from different plants (Origanum compactum, Origanum majorana, Thymus serpyllum, Mentha spicata, Myrtus communis, and Artemisia herba-alba) that would express the best antioxidant activity. Each mixture was optimized using a mixture design approach to generate the most effective blend. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method was used as a reference method to assess the antioxidant activity. Each essential oil’s composition was identified using the GC/MS method. The single essential oil activities demonstrated variable antioxidant effects, and following the mixture design approach, the optimal antioxidant blend was revealed, as two mixtures demonstrated the best antiradical activity with 79.46% obtained with the mixture of O. majorana (28%) and M. spicata (71%) and 78.8% obtained with the mixture O. compactum (64%), O. majorana (13%), and T. serpyllum (21%). This study proposes a practical way to elaborate mixtures in the search for a boosting effect that can be oriented for the food or pharmaceutical industry

A Phytochemical Analysis, Microbial Evaluation and Molecular Interaction of Major Compounds of Centaurea bruguieriana Using HPLC-Spectrophotometric Analysis and Molecular Docking

Centaurea is one of the most important genera within the family Asteraceae. An investigation of the phytochemical composition of Centaurea bruguieriana using Gas-Chromatography coupled to Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the minimum inhibitory concentration method (MIC) and validated by molecular docking for the major compounds of the most active fraction (1,10-di-epi-cubenol and methyl 8-oxooctanoate) of C. bruguieriana against three bacterial receptors (TyrRS, DNA gyrase, and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)). Evaluation of antioxidant activity was conducted using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify and quantify the contents of major compounds from ethyl acetate fraction (luteolin 7-O-glucoside, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol and isorhamnetin). The antimicrobial activity test showed that the chloroform fraction was more active against all microbial strains. The results of the molecular docking of two major compounds from chloroform fraction showed that good affinities were made between 1,10-di-epi-cubenol and the three selected receptors (TyrRs: −6.0 Kcal/mol against −8.2 Kcal/mol obtained with clorobiocin (standard); DNA gyrase: −6.6 Kcal/mol against −9.1 Kcal/mole obtained with clorobiocin; DHFR: −7.4 Kcal/mol against −6.3 Kcal/mol obtained with SCHEMBL2181345 Standard). Antioxidant evaluation showed that the ethyl acetate fraction was the most active fraction in DPPH (IC50 49.4 µg/mL) and ABTS (IC50 52.8 µg/mL) models. HPLC results showed the contents of luteolin 7-O-glucoside (7.4 µg/mg), and chlorogenic acid (3.2 µg/mg). Our study demonstrated that C. bruguierana is a promising source of bioactive compounds

A Phytochemical Analysis, Microbial Evaluation and Molecular Interaction of Major Compounds of Centaurea bruguieriana Using HPLC-Spectrophotometric Analysis and Molecular Docking

Centaurea is one of the most important genera within the family Asteraceae. An investigation of the phytochemical composition of Centaurea bruguieriana using Gas-Chromatography coupled to Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the minimum inhibitory concentration method (MIC) and validated by molecular docking for the major compounds of the most active fraction (1,10-di-epi-cubenol and methyl 8-oxooctanoate) of C. bruguieriana against three bacterial receptors (TyrRS, DNA gyrase, and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)). Evaluation of antioxidant activity was conducted using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify and quantify the contents of major compounds from ethyl acetate fraction (luteolin 7-O-glucoside, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol and isorhamnetin). The antimicrobial activity test showed that the chloroform fraction was more active against all microbial strains. The results of the molecular docking of two major compounds from chloroform fraction showed that good affinities were made between 1,10-di-epi-cubenol and the three selected receptors (TyrRs: −6.0 Kcal/mol against −8.2 Kcal/mol obtained with clorobiocin (standard); DNA gyrase: −6.6 Kcal/mol against −9.1 Kcal/mole obtained with clorobiocin; DHFR: −7.4 Kcal/mol against −6.3 Kcal/mol obtained with SCHEMBL2181345 Standard). Antioxidant evaluation showed that the ethyl acetate fraction was the most active fraction in DPPH (IC50 49.4 µg/mL) and ABTS (IC50 52.8 µg/mL) models. HPLC results showed the contents of luteolin 7-O-glucoside (7.4 µg/mg), and chlorogenic acid (3.2 µg/mg). Our study demonstrated that C. bruguierana is a promising source of bioactive compounds

Calibration of Thermal Dissipation Probes for Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

The quantification of water flow through the stem is vital for date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to promote a good water stress management. The thermal dissipation probe (TDP) method developed by Granier is widely used to evaluate transpiration of forest trees; however, there are contradictory reports regarding its reliability. Considerable errors in estimated sap flux density, which might be due to a lack ofspecies-specific calibrations. The TDP method uses a mathematical model that is based on an empirical equation to estimate sap flux density, which is claimed to be applicable to all tree species, independently of wood structure and anatomy. At the laboratory, we compared the rate of water uptake by cut stems with sap flux estimates derived from the TDP method to assess the validity of the method.Our calibration results were considerably different compared to the Granier’s original equation. Moreover, sap flux density was overestimated by 18.2 ± 0.5% when the original calibration parameters of Granierare employed. However, using new calibration parameters improved the accuracy of sap flow measurements. Our results indicated that it is not appropriate to use a general equation for different species. Therefore, previous estimations of date palm’s water requirement through thermal dissipation probes should be revised

Identification of Fungi Isolated from Clinical Wastes

The distrubition of fungi in the hospitals wastes are coming from the clinical wastes specimens used for the disgnistic process. The aim of the present study was to identify the fungal isolates obtained from clinical wastes based on phenotype method. The fungal isolates were obtained by the direct plate method on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28â—¦C for 7 to 14 days, therafter purified by single spore isolation. The cultural characteristics of the fungal isolates were described on different media, while the morphologies were observed using a light microscope. Eight fungal species from five genera were identified and included Curvularia Trichoderma spp. Rhizopus sp. Fusarium spp. Oidiodendron sp. These results indicated that the clinical wastes have a diversity of fungi which might possess health risk to humans if these fungi have not inactivated in the clinical wastes before the final disposal into the environment