Frequency of Clinical Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Asthmatic Patients

Background: Gastroesophageal reflex is known as an acid reflex, is long term condition where stomach contents back into the oesophagus resulting in either symptoms or complications. GERD disease is caused by weakness or failure of the lower oesophageal sphincter. Symptoms include the acidic taste behind the mouth, heart burn, chest pain, difficult breathing and vomiting. Complication includes esophagitis, oesophageal strictures and barrettes oesophagus. Objective: The aim of this research was to introduce the symptoms of GERD disease in asthmatic patients and how these symptoms worsen the symptoms of asthma disease and what clinical pictures present with the asthmatic disease. Methodology: A designed performa was used to collect the data and after filling the performa, results were drawn and conclusion through the facts and the information given by patients. Results: In the present study among all 164 asthmatic patients, 70 (42.7%) patients showed dyspepsia, 58 (35.4%) were with chest burning, 23 (14%) were asking about chest pain, with acidic mouth taste were 39 (23.8%), 22 (13.4%) were feeling sore throat and 44 (26.8%) showed regurgitation reflex. Among these 164 patients 16 (9.8%) were smokers and 148 (90.2 %) were non-smokers. 47 (28.7%) were males and 117 (71.3%) were females. Conclusion: It is concluded that gastroesophageal reflux disease in asthmatic patients present symptoms of acidic mouth taste, chest burning, chest pain, dyspepsia, regurgitation reflex and sore throat

Comparison of Flow Field Simulation of Liquid Ejector Pump using Standard K-ε and Embedded LES Turbulence Modelling Techniques

The flow field analysis of a liquid ejector pump is important for its design improvements, performance estimation and understanding of mixing and entrainment phenomenon. Ejector pumps, due to their simpler design and ease of maintenance are used in a variety of industrial applications. The subject pump, under consideration in this study, is used for transferring fuel from one fuel tank to another in a fighter aircraft. To study the underlying flow field characteristics of subject ejector pump, the fluid domain is simulated using Embedded LES turbulence modelling technique in Ansys Fluent ® environment. The flow field and performance parameters of subject pump are then compared with that of previously researched study of same pump wherein Standard K-ε RANS Turbulence Model was used. It is revealed that the results obtained using Embedded LES are much closer to experimental data than that of Standard K-ε. The limitations of RANS turbulence model for accurate simulation of complex flow field of subject pump are then identified, analyzed and discussed in details by studying the flow characteristics such as Reynolds shear stresses distribution, Potential Core estimation and turbulent viscosity modelling, obtained using both turbulent models

Simulation of a Standard Store Separated from Generic Wing

Evaluation of store separation experimentally is expensive; time consuming and dangerous as human risks are involved. This results in development of computational methods to simulate the store separation. Store separation studies include store separation simulation and determination of linear and angular displacements of store under the influence of complex and non-uniform flow field of parent aircraft. In order to validate the methodology, the unsteady CFD results, obtained by coupling six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) with flow solver, are compared with experimental results. Major trends are captured which are consistent with experimental results. Variation in store trajectory has been evaluated with different combinations of forward and rearward ejection forces. By increasing the magnitude of forward ejection force vertical displacement increases and store separates more safely from the wing. Moreover, effects of varying parent wing configuration on store trajectory has also been analyzed by incorporation of leading-edge flaps (LEFs). Store always separates in nose down condition due to LEFs which increases vertical displacement of store and thus safety related to store separation is enhanced

In silico modeling of the specific inhibitory potential of thiophene-2,3-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepine against BChE in the formation of β-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alzheimer's disease, known to be associated with the gradual loss of memory, is characterized by low concentration of acetylcholine in the hippocampus and cortex part of the brain. Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase has successfully been used as a drug target to treat Alzheimer's disease but drug resistance shown by butyrylcholinesterase remains a matter of concern in treating Alzheimer's disease. Apart from the many other reasons for Alzheimer's disease, its association with the genesis of fibrils by β-amyloid plaques is closely related to the increased activity of butyrylcholinesterase. Although few data are available on the inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase, studies have shown that that butyrylcholinesterase is a genetically validated drug target and its selective inhibition reduces the formation of β-amyloid plaques.</p> <p>Rationale</p> <p>We previously reported the inhibition of cholinesterases by 2,3-dihydro-1, 5-benzothiazepines, and considered this class of compounds as promising inhibitors for the cure of Alzheimer's disease. One compound from the same series, when substituted with a hydroxy group at C-3 in ring A and 2-thienyl moiety as ring B, showed greater activity against butyrylcholinesterase than to acetylcholinesterase. To provide insight into the binding mode of this compound (Compound A), molecular docking in combination with molecular dynamics simulation of 5000 ps in an explicit solvent system was carried out for both cholinesterases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Molecular docking studies revealed that the potential of Compound A to inhibit cholinesterases was attributable to the cumulative effects of strong hydrogen bonds, cationic-π, π-π interactions and hydrophobic interactions. A comparison of the docking results of Compound A against both cholinesterases showed that amino acid residues in different sub-sites were engaged to stabilize the docked complex. The relatively high affinity of Compound A for butyrylcholinesterase was due to the additional hydrophobic interaction between the 2-thiophene moiety of Compound A and Ile69. The involvement of one catalytic triad residue (His438) of butyrylcholinesterase with the 3'-hydroxy group on ring A increases the selectivity of Compound A. C-C bond rotation around ring A also stabilizes and enhances the interaction of Compound A with butyrylcholinesterase. Furthermore, the classical network of hydrogen bonding interactions as formed by the catalytic triad of butyrylcholinesterase is disturbed by Compound A. This study may open a new avenue for structure-based drug design for Alzheimer's disease by considering the 3D-pharmacophoric features of the complex responsible for discriminating these two closely-related cholinesterases.</p

Inter-organizational governance and trilateral trust building: a case study of crowdsourcing-based open innovation in China

In a case study of a Chinese crowdsourcing intermediary, we explore the impact of inter-organizational governance on trilateral trust-building. We show that formal control and relational governance mechanisms are essential for swift and knowledge-based trust in R&D crowdsourcing. The case also indicates that Chinese businesses continue to use guanxi (informal personal connections) as a relational and contingent mechanism to maintain affect-based trust, but guanxi is shown to inhibit the growth of Internet-based crowdsourcing for open innovation in China

The contingent role of distributed leadership in the relationship between HR practices and organizational ambidexterity in the cross-border M&As of emerging market multinationals

This paper investigates the effect of human resource practices on organizational ambidexterity in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Previous research suggests that human resource practices play an important role in improving organizational performance, but that there may be contingency factors that interact with human resource practices, leading to different performance outcomes. We focus on one such potential contingency factor: distributed leadership as a key moderator that interacts with human resource practices, leading to organizational ambidexterity in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. We examine 84 deals of emerging economies cross-border mergers and acquisitions. We found that human resource practices positively influence the acquired firms' ambidexterity, but when we take into account the contingent role of distributed leadership, the effect of human resource practices becomes much stronger, indicating the importance of distributed leadership as a key variable that can explain variations in the success of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The findings have important implications for international human resources management practices in the acquired subsidiaries and for individual leadership styles adopted by parent firms during the post-acquisitions period

Network centrality and organizational aspirations: A behavioral interaction in the context of international strategic alliances

Whereas social network analysis has been associated with organizational aspirations, little is known on how firm's structural positioning, and particularly network centrality, affects organizational aspirations to engage in international strategic alliances (ISA). This study examines the impact of network centrality on firm's internationalization behavior within the ISA domain in response to the performance-aspiration gap. We build on social and behavioral perspectives to predict that network centrality and performance-based aspirations will be associated with the number of ISA the firm engages in. Using a sample of 7760 alliance collaborations from the top 81 global pharmaceutical firms for the period of 1991-2012, we find supporting evidence for most of our arguments

Ab Initio Screening Approach for the Discovery of Lignin Polymer Breaking Pathways

The directed depolymerization of lignin biopolymers is of utmost relevance for the valorization or commercialization of biomass fuels. We present a computational and theoretical screening approach to identify potential cleavage pathways and resulting fragments that are formed during depolymerization of lignin oligomers containing two to six monomers. We have developed a chemical discovery technique to identify the chemically relevant putative fragments in eight known polymeric linkage types of lignin. Obtaining these structures is a crucial precursor to the development of any further kinetic modeling. We have developed this approach by adapting steered molecular dynamics calculations under constant force and varying the points of applied force in the molecule to diversify the screening approach. Key observations include relationships between abundance and breaking frequency, the relative diversity of potential pathways for a given linkage, and the observation that readily cleaved bonds can destabilize adjacent bonds, causing subsequent automatic cleavage.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Research Support Corporation, Reed Grant)United States. Dept. of Energy. Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Program (DOE-CSGF)Burroughs Wellcome Fund (Career Award at the Scientific Interface

An exploratory study of the determinants of the quality of strategic decision implementation in Turkish industrial firms

This paper investigates the determinants of quality of decision implementation. By drawing on a sample of 116 firms located in Turkey, the authors test whether the features of important team processes (i.e. trust and participation), of the organisation (i.e. past performance) and of implementation (i.e. its speed and uncertainty) exert an influence on the quality with which decisions are implemented. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the validity of the measures, while path analysis was used in hypotheses testing. The results suggest that quality of decision implementation is positively related to trust, participation and past performance, and negatively to implementation speed and uncertainty. The implications of these findings for theory, practice and general management are discussed

The impact of leadership on organizational ambidexterity and employee psychological safety in the global acquisitions of emerging market multinationals

This paper examines the impact of leadership on organizational ambidexterity and employee psychological safety (EPS) based on a sample of 105 global acquisitions of emerging market multinationals. The findings suggest that, compared to the transactional and laissez-faire ones, the charismatic leadership style is more significantly related to organizational ambidexterity and EPS. The results also suggest that transactional leadership is more positively related to ambidexterity and EPS than laissez-faire leadership. In addition, organizational ambidexterity is directly and positively associated with EPS. The implications of these results for both research and practice are discussed in the paper