Editorial: health financing and spending in low- and middle-income countries

The World Bank has introduced the Atlas method to determine in an econometrically valid way borderline thresholds for classifications of all national economies into low, middle, and high-income categories in an objective and predictable manner. Although this approach may be challenged to some extent, it has long served well in observation and predictions of long-term trends in GDP growth and national health expenditures (1–3). The contribution of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) share in total health expenditures as observed through the (4) Global Health Expenditure criteria has almost doubled in terms of purchase power parity (PPP) basis from only 20% of the global share in 1995 up to almost 40% in 2013 (5, 6). These fiscal flows have been well-documented via WHO’s National Health Accounts database. This lengthy and rocky road forward for the LMICs contains many difficulties. A few core challenges include socioeconomic inequalities in medical care access and affordability, large out-of-pocket expenses, and vulnerabilities against catastrophic household expenditures. These challenges remain matters of grave concern in many LMICs (7). Broad trends give far greater grounds for optimism, however, since networks of rural and suburban health care facilities are growing and strengthening. Preventive lifestyle interventions, provision of essential medicines, and spreading of cost-effective basic medical technologies, designated in WHO policy as “best buys” interventions, all contributed to exceptionally improved early childhood survival and extended life expectancy. Current circumstances in most LMICs are characterized by aging populations, rapid urbanization, and increased citizen expectations in terms of health insurance coverage. Prescription drugs consumption is still dominated by generic medicines, with brand name originals gradually taking root. Hospital sectors are state or publicly owned in most former and modern day centrally-planned socialist economies. By contrast, in some regions like the Middle East and North African (MENA) Arabic nations, Latin America, and free-market Far East Asian economies, hospital property structure is predominantly privately owned (1).The authors would like to hereby express gratitude to Grant No.175014 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, out of which some underlying studies were partially financed. Publication of results was not contingent on Ministry’s censorship or approval.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The novel benzimidazole derivative BRP-7 inhibits leukotriene biosynthesis in vitro and in vivo by targeting 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leukotrienes (LTs) are inflammatory mediators produced via the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) pathway and are linked to diverse disorders, including asthma, allergic rhinitis and cardiovascular diseases. We recently identified the benzimidazole derivative BRP-7 as chemotype for anti-LT agents by virtual screening targeting 5-LOX-activating protein (FLAP). Here, we aimed to reveal the in vitro and in vivo pharmacology of BRP-7 as an inhibitor of LT biosynthesis. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: We analysed LT formation and performed mechanistic studies in human neutrophils and monocytes, in human whole blood (HWB) and in cell-free assays. The effectiveness of BRP-7 in vivo was evaluated in rat carrageenan-induced pleurisy and mouse zymosan-induced peritonitis. KEY RESULTS: BRP-7 potently suppressed LT formation in neutrophils and monocytes and this was accompanied by impaired 5-LOX co-localization with FLAP. Neither the cellular viability nor the activity of 5-LOX in cell-free assays was affected by BRP-7, indicating that a functional FLAP is needed for BRP-7 to inhibit LTs, and FLAP bound to BRP-7 linked to a solid matrix. Compared with the FLAP inhibitor MK-886, BRP-7 did not significantly inhibit COX-1 or microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1, implying the selectivity of BRP-7 for FLAP. Finally, BRP-7 was effective in HWB and impaired inflammation in vivo, in rat pleurisy and mouse peritonitis, along with reducing LT levels. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: BRP-7 potently suppresses LT biosynthesis by interacting with FLAP and exhibits anti-inflammatory effectiveness in vivo, with promising potential for further development

Physical parameters of close binaries QX Andromedae, RW Comae Berenices, MR Delphini, and BD +07{\circ} 3142

Aims. We analyze new multicolor light curves and recently published radial velocity curves for close binaries QX And, RW Com, MR Del, and BD +07{\circ} 3142 to determine the physical parameters of the components. Methods. The light curves are analyzed using a binary star model based on Roche geometry to fit the photometric observations. Spectroscopic parameters, such as the mass ratios and spectral types, were taken from recent spectroscopic studies of the systems in question. Results. Our findings provide consistent and reliable sets of stellar parameters for the four studied binary systems. Of particular interest is the BD +07{\circ} 3142 system, since this is the first analysis of its light curves. We find that it is an overcontact binary of W UMa type and W subtype, and that each component has a large cool spot in the polar region. QX And is an A subtype, and RW Com a W subtype W UMa binary, and in both systems we find a bright spot in the neck region between the components. MR Del is a detached binary with a complex light curve that we could model with two cool spots on the hotter component.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication by A&

Cosmology with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) has two scientific objectives of cosmological focus: to probe the expansion rate of the universe, and to understand stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds and their implications for early universe and particle physics, from the MeV to the Planck scale. However, the range of potential cosmological applications of gravitational wave observations extends well beyond these two objectives. This publication presents a summary of the state of the art in LISA cosmology, theory and methods, and identifies new opportunities to use gravitational wave observations by LISA to probe the universe

Artificial intelligence in medical education curriculum: An e-Delphi study for competencies

Background Artificial intelligence (AI) has affected our day-to-day in a great extent. Healthcare industry is one of the mainstream fields among those and produced a noticeable change in treatment and education. Medical students must comprehend well why AI technologies mediate and frame their decisions on medical issues. Formalizing of instruction on AI concepts can facilitate learners to grasp AI outcomes in association with their sensory perceptions and thinking in the dynamic and ambiguous reality of daily medical practice. The purpose of this study is to provide consensus on the competencies required by medical graduates to be ready for artificial intelligence technologies and possible applications in medicine and reporting the results. Materials and methods A three-round e-Delphi survey was conducted between February 2020 and November 2020. The Delphi panel accorporated experts from different backgrounds; (i) healthcare professionals/ academicians; (ii) computer and data science professionals/ academics; (iii) law and ethics professionals/ academics; and (iv) medical students. Round 1 in the Delphi survey began with exploratory open-ended questions. Responses received in the first round evaluated and refined to a 27-item questionnaire which then sent to the experts to be rated using a 7-point Likert type scale (1: Strongly Disagree—7: Strongly Agree). Similar to the second round, the participants repeated their assessments in the third round by using the second-round analysis. The agreement level and strength of the consensus was decided based on third phase results. Median scores was used to calculate the agreement level and the interquartile range (IQR) was used for determining the strength of the consensus. Results Among 128 invitees, a total of 94 agreed to become members of the expert panel. Of them 75 (79.8%) completed the Round 1 questionnaire, 69/75 (92.0%) completed the Round 2 and 60/69 (87.0%) responded to the Round 3. There was a strong agreement on the 23 items and weak agreement on the 4 items. Conclusions This study has provided a consensus list of the competencies required by the medical graduates to be ready for AI implications that would bring new perspectives to medical education curricula. The unique feature of the current research is providing a guiding role in integrating AI into curriculum processes, syllabus content and training of medical students. © 2022 Çalışkan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The authors would like to thank Melih Bulut and Süleyman Sevinç for sharing their wise opinions on the first-round statements, İlyas Yazar for his contributions on Turkish language, Yusuf Yılmaz, Elif Buğra Kuzu Demir and Ahmet Acar for their feedback on the competency statements, Shafiul Haque for his valuable feedback on the draft of this paper. Finally, would like to extend our deep and sincere gratitude to all experts who participated in the research for their time, commitment, and willingness. Without their participation, this work would not have been possible

Thermoecologic assessment and life cycle-based environmental pollution cost analysis of microgas turbine

Increasing global warming concerns are compelling humanity to find alternative fuels to fossil fuels. Ammonia, with its carbon-free structure, can be combusted to produce only water and nitrogen. This study includes exergy analysis-based thermoecologic analysis and life cycle assessment-based environmental pollution cost analysis of a Turbec T100 microturbine. A Turbec T100 microturbine is normally operated with natural gas combustion and is modeled using commercially available software for (1) natural gas; (2) 10% ammonia and 90% natural gas; and (3) 20% ammonia and 80% natural gas mass fractions. The ecologic objective function and ecological coefficient of performance parameters for natural gas combustion are-174.441 and 0.37336, respectively. The 20% ammonia combustion has the best ecologic objective function and ecological coefficient of performance results, which are-156.818 and 0.3986, respectively. The 20% ammonia combustion also decreases the environmental and life cycle-based environmental payback period. However, 20% ammonia combustion slightly increases the payback period of the system. The 20% ammonia has the lowest CO2-equivalent emission rate due to producing the lowest CO2-equivalent emissions during combustion. Finally, 20% ammonia combustion decreases total and specific environmental pollution costs. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers

Effect of ammonia fuel fraction on the exergetic performance of a gas turbine

International Energy and Environmental Research Institute4th International Symposium on Hydrogen Energy, Renewable Energy and Materials, HEREM 2018 -- 13 June 2018 through 14 June 2018 -- -- 138102Decreasing of fossil fuels and increasing global warming lead researchers to find cheap and environmentally friendly alternative energy sources. In this regard, ammonia (NH3) is a widely used feedstock. This carbon free fuel can be combusted in gas turbines or internal combustion engines, producing only nitrogen and water vapor. Nevertheless, ammonia is hard to burn because of low laminar burning velocity. In this paper, the effect of ammonia fuel fraction on the exergetic performance of a Turbec T100 micro gas turbine is investigated. Three different fuels are considered to operate the gas turbine: (i) natural gas (100%CH4), (ii) natural gas blend with %10 ammonia fraction (10%CH4-90%NH3) and (iii) natural gas blend with %20 ammonia fraction (20%CH4-80%NH3). The operating data of the micro turbine is obtained from the literature and the micro turbine is modelled with EBSILON software. It is found that %20 ammonia fraction is more environmentally benign compared to %10 ammonia fraction and natural gas fuels. The exergetic sustainability indicators are also determined as 3.168, 2.864 and 3.7 for the natural gas, 10% ammonia blend and 20% ammonia blend combustions, respectively. So, the controlling of ammonia fraction is important to sustain exergy efficiency of the micro turbine. More detailed combustion and environmental analyses are also necessary for better evaluation of environmental effects on the micro turbine during ammonia and natural gas combustions. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

MOLECULAR COMPOSITION OF A RECENT LUNAR METEORITE: NORTHWEST AFRICA 11474

82nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical-Society (MetSoc) -- JUL 07-12, 2019 -- Sapporo, JAPAN -- Meteorit Soc[Abstract Not Available]Ministry of Development of TurkeyTurkiye Cumhuriyeti Kalkinma Bakanligi [DPT2006K-120470]M.K. acknowledges the TARLA project founded by the Ministry of Development of Turkey (project code: DPT2006K-120470).WOS:00047211360005

Prediction of Vibro-Acoustic Response of Enclosed Spaces by Using Structural Modification Techniques

Low frequency noise caused by vibrating panels can become a problem for vehicles from NVH standpoint. The vibro-acoustic analysis of a simplified vehicle model is presented in this study. Analysis of vibro-acoustic behavior includes frequency response analysis of structure by Finite Element Method (FEM) and sound pressure level (SPL) prediction of the cabin interior by Boundary Element Method (BEM). The structural design of the vibrating panels can be modified by adding stiffeners to improve the acoustic field inside the cabin. The dynamic analysis of the structural model must be repeated after every modification which will be a time consuming process in the design stage. In this study, a methodology that utilizes the frequency response functions (FRFs) of the original model for the reanalysis of the structure that is subjected to structural modification is adapted. Modal analysis of the original structure is performed only once to obtain the receptance values. Then, the structural modification method is used to calculate the receptances of the modified system. The structural modification method uses the receptances of the original system and the dynamic stiffness matrix of the modifying part of the structure. The response of the structure obtained from receptances of the modified structure is then used to supply vibration data as boundary condition for acoustic analysis of the cavity for SPL prediction at desired points