Comparison of Hemodynamic Variations, Bispectral Index and Myoclonus Score of Propofol Dosage in Anesthesia Induced Patients

Aims Propofol is the most widely used intravenous anesthetic medication. It is necessary to assess the doses of the medication to determine proper anesthetic depth and to prevent its side-effects. The aim of this study was to compare 1 and 2.5mg/Kg doses of propofol in hemodynamic changes, myoclonus degree, and bi-spectral index (BIS) monitoring level in patients under anesthetic induction. Materials & Methods In the two-blind random clinical trial study, 92 patients being candidate for surgery wit general anesthesia induction were studied in Shahr-e Kord Kashani Center in 2013. The subjects, selected via simple sampling method, were randomly divided into two groups. The first and the second groups were received 1 and 2.5mg/kg doses of propofol, respectively. Hemodynamic, myoclonus, and BIS indices were measured at four different times in the groups. Data was analyzed by SPSS 17 using independent T and Chi-square tests, as well as repeated ANOVA and Fisher’s test. Findings There was no significant difference between the groups in the hemodynamic variables such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, pulse rate, and BIS (p>0.05). In addition, the change rates of the variables were the same. Nevertheless, there was a significant difference between the groups in the pulse change rate (p=0.032). There was no significant difference between the groups in myoclonus (p>0.05). Conclusion The hemodynamic changes and the changes in myoclonus degree and BIS are the same in 1 and 2.5mg/kg doses of propofol in the patients undergoing anesthetic induction

Modeling and Optimization of Phosphate Recovery from Industrial Wastewater and Precipitation of Solid Fertilizer using Experimental Design Methodology

In this work, the experimental design methodology is applied to optimize phosphate salts precipitation as struvite and others applied in soil fertilization from treated industrial wastewater stream. This is a process to maximize phosphate recovery percentage from inlet wastewater stream containing interfering foreign ions. Therefore, these optimized conditions could be used as input data for engineering design-software for successive equipment required in wastewater treatment plant. A four factors Box–Behnken experimental design was used to model and optimize the operating parameters. The optimum operating conditions were quite efficient in trapping 86.10 % recovered phosphates in industrial stream, and 92.6 % in synthetic solution at pH of 10.89, time of reaction of 34.76 min, temperature of 25.23 °C and R of 2.25 with an insignificance effect for molar ratio (R) between Mg and PO4 ions. If these optimal parameters were shifted, the reached recovery percentage would decrease with the precipitated struvite. The precipitated salts were subjected to characterization through different chemical techniques confirming the presence of struvite with schertelite as a mixed slow release fertilizer

The bonded macro fiber composite (MFC) and woven kenaf effect analyses on the micro energy harvester performance of kenaf plate using modal testing and Taguchi method

The demand on wind energy application will continue to increase as fossil fuel prices keep increasing and the reservoir keeps decreasing. In wind energy, wind turbine application should be properly selected. The material selection for turbine blade fabrication is highlighted as well in recent research. For green material application, the usage of natural fiber reinforced composite, especially kenaf fiber, in the fabrication of wind turbines needs to be given due attention. Woven and unwoven kenaf fiber is employed to fabricate composite plates which replicate the simple turbine blade model. At the same time, Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) is attached to the kenaf plates for micro energy harvester purposes. There are two methods to attach the MFC used in this study which are surface bonded and embedding into the plate. In order to investigate the effects of bonding MFC technique, modal Testing analysis and Taguchi method is employed. It is found out that the damping percentage of both woven and unwoven kenaf plates increase at 100 % and 50 % respectively when bonded with MFC on their surfaces. Bonded technique is suggested as the most influenced factor in micro energy harvesting at the vibration range of 20 to 60 Hz. It summarized that, the kenaf woven type, the distance from structure neutral axis, the stiffness of structure, the excitation vibration and the neutral frequency of a structure are highlighted as the factors influencing the performance of micro energy harvester as well

O-GlcNAcase Fragment Discovery with Fluorescence Polarimetry

The attachment of the sugar N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) to specific serine and threonine residues on proteins is referred to as protein O-GlcNAcylation. O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is the enzyme responsible for carrying out the modification, while O-GlcNAcase (OGA) reverses it. Protein O-GlcNAcylation has been implicated in a wide range of cellular processes including transcription, proteostasis, and stress response. Dysregulation of O-GlcNAc has been linked to diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease. OGA has been proposed to be a drug target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease given that increased O-GlcNAc levels appear to exert a protective effect. The search for specific, potent, and drug-like OGA inhibitors with bioavailability in the brain is therefore a field of active research, requiring orthogonal high-throughput assay platforms. Here, we describe the synthesis of a novel probe for use in a fluorescence polarization based assay for the discovery of inhibitors of OGA. We show that the probe is suitable for use with both human OGA, as well as the orthologous bacterial counterpart from <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>, <i>Cp</i>OGA, and the lysosomal hexosaminidases HexA/B. We structurally characterize <i>Cp</i>OGA in complex with a ligand identified from a fragment library screen using this assay. The versatile synthesis procedure could be adapted for making fluorescent probes for the assay of other glycoside hydrolases

The bonded macro fiber composite (MFC) and woven kenaf effect analyses on the micro energy harvester performance of kenaf plate using modal testing and Taguchi method

The demand on wind energy application will continue to increase as fossil fuel prices keep increasing and the reservoir keeps decreasing. In wind energy, wind turbine application should be properly selected. The material selection for turbine blade fabrication is highlighted as well in recent research. For green material application, the usage of natural fiber reinforced composite, especially kenaf fiber, in the fabrication of wind turbines needs to be given due attention. Woven and unwoven kenaf fiber is employed to fabricate composite plates which replicate the simple turbine blade model. At the same time, Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) is attached to the kenaf plates for micro energy harvester purposes. There are two methods to attach the MFC used in this study which are surface bonded and embedding into the plate. In order to investigate the effects of bonding MFC technique, modal Testing analysis and Taguchi method is employed. It is found out that the damping percentage of both woven and unwoven kenaf plates increase at 100 % and 50 % respectively when bonded with MFC on their surfaces. Bonded technique is suggested as the most influenced factor in micro energy harvesting at the vibration range of 20 to 60 Hz. It summarized that, the kenaf woven type, the distance from structure neutral axis, the stiffness of structure, the excitation vibration and the neutral frequency of a structure are highlighted as the factors influencing the performance of micro energy harvester as well