Design and Development of a Bilateral Therapeutic Hand Device for Stroke Rehabilitation

The major cause of disability is stroke. It is the second highest cause of death after coronary heart disease in Australia. In this paper, a post stroke therapeutic device has been designed and developed for hand motor function rehabilitation that a str

Effect of Taurodehydrocholic Acid on the Hepatic Expression of Abcg5 and Abcg8 and Biliary Parameters in the Fistula Rat

Introduction: Biliary secretion of phospholipids and cholesterol is mainly dependent on bile-salt secretion although the exact mechanisms involved are not clearly defined. Aims: This study was to investigate the effect of oral administration of turodehydrocholic acid (TDHC) on cholesterol metabolism. Materials and Methods: TDHC was administered orally at a concentration of 10mM twice a day to rats for 7 days in order to mimic the in vivo situation in gallstone patients on bile salt therapy. Bile duct was cannulated and bile was collected for 30 mins on ice and subjected to analysis for total cholesterol, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT). Liver samples were subjected to real time PCR and the gene expression of the adenosing triphosphate-binding cassette transporter heterodimer Abcg5/g8 was determined. Results: TDHC significantly increased the expression of Abcg5 whilst the level of Abcg8 was significantly decreased. No changes in biliary cholesterol, ALP and GGT were observed, however the total bilirubin was significantly increased in the bile of TDHC administered rats. Conclusions: Increased expressıon of Abcg5 may be one mechanism by which TDHC stimulates the secretion of biliary cholesterol

A Unified 3D Spatial Data Model for Surface and Subsurface Spatial Objects

Three Dimensional (3D) spatial modelling is an abstract representation of  reality using mathematically proven relationships defined as points, lines, polygons and solids to represent man-made and natural features above, on and below the surface of the earth. 3D topology is the interrelationships existing between these objects to enable visualization, query and analysis. 3D mod-elling of subsurface objects and their integration with the surface and above surface objects currently lags behind despite efforts of researchers and the attempt at viewing above, surface and subsurface man-made objects for earth realism. Level of Details (LoD) for spatial objects has been extensively studied. However, these have not been extended to man-made features below the surface. LoD maps for surface and subsurface integration exist for most city centres but the 3D component is lacking and this does not enhance the Level of Realism (LoR) in most city centres. Knowledge about the surface and subsurface 3D objects for city centres, mining and 3D cadastre will create awareness among stakeholders for effective planning of a city or mine. This paper provides a discussion for 3D surface and subsurface integration. Various 3D spatial data models currently in existence for the integration of surface and subsurface models are discussed and a geometric, topological 3D object oriented model is sug-gested. A UML diagram for the top hierarchy class is presented and a conceptual and logical model for surface and subsurface integration is also discussed. A simulation of the above, on and below 3D spatial models for man-made constructions at differ-ent LoDs is presented. A simulation of this with regards to mining and cadastre is also presented. The model presented can be adopted in realising 3D GIS for mining and 3D cadastre can be realised in Ghana. Further work is geared towards 3D spatial analysis for such an integrated model

Could Public Restrooms Be an Environment for Bacterial Resistomes?

PMCID: PMC3547874This 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 role of HUCB derived stem cells therapy in repair of renal damage and improvement of renal function in cisplatin induced acute renal failure in rats

Acute renal failure (ARF) is a common clinical problem with increasing incidence, serious consequences, unsatisfactory therapeutic options and enormous financial burden to society. The aim is to investigate the role of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) derived mesenchymal (MSCs) and CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell therapy in repair of renal damage and improvement of renal function in cisplatin-induced ARF model. Forty four rats were divided into 4 equal groups. ARF was induced in 3 groups using cisplatin and was confirmed by an increase in serum urea and creatinine levels after 5 days. On the same day, 2 groups were injected via the tail vein by either MSCs (1x106 cells/rat) or CD34+ hematopoietic cells (5 x105 cells/rat). The third group received intravenous injection of phosphate buffer saline and served as positive control, while the last group was normal control. Renal functions were followed up every 4 days. Thirty-three days after initiation of cisplantin injection, rats were sacrificed, kidneys were extracted for histopathological and immunohistochemical examination for detection of human specific anti-vimentin monoclonal mouse anti body to investigate homing of HUCB stem cells into the damaged renal tissue. Treatment with MSCs and CD34+ cells significantly decreased both serum urea and creatinine induced by cisplatin administration with concomitant improvement in the degree of necrotic and degenerative changes. There was no significant difference in these parameters between MSCs and CD 34+ stem cells treated groups. There was positive reaction for human specific anti-vimentin in 88.9% of animals in MSCs treated rats versus 87.5% in CD34+ cells treated rats. HUCB derived CD 34+ and MSCs accelerate regeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells and lead to reduction of progressive renal injury in cisplatin-induced acute renal failure rats.Keywords: Acute renal failure; CD 34+ cells; Umbilical cord blood; Mesenchymal stem cell

Effect of WO3 Nanoparticle Loading on the Microstructural, Mechanical and Corrosion Resistance of Zn Matrix/TiO2-WO3 Nanocomposite Coatings for Marine Application

In this study, for marine application purposes, we evaluated the effect of process parameter and particle loading on the microstructure, mechanical reinforcement and corrosion resistance properties of a Zn-TiO2-WO3 nanocomposite produced via electrodeposition. We characterized the morphological properties of the composite coatings with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). We carried out mechanical examination using a Dura Scan hardness tester and a CERT UMT-2 multi-functional tribological tester. We evaluated the corrosion properties by linear polarization in 3.5% NaCl. The results show that the coatings exhibited good stability and the quantitative particle loading greatly enhanced the structural and morphological properties, hardness behavior and corrosion resistance of the coatings. We observed the precipitation of this alloy on steel is greatly influenced by the composite characteristics

Caesarean Risk Factors in Northern Region of Bangladesh: A Statistical Analysis

Purpose: To explore the measurement of a scale of caesarean (C-section) risk factors and degree of risk contribution in different health facilities and to determine a suitable graphical representation (image) of caesarean cases.Methods: Based on seventeen indicators, a composite index was computed for each respondent and classified into three groups using Beta distribution of first kind. For the analysis of contribution of risk factors between private and public patients, principal component analysis (PCA) was also used. An attempt was made to visualise a suitable graphical representation of caesarean cases by independent component analysis (ICA).Results: The selected risk factors were more contributory to public hospital patients than to those in private hospitals on the basis of higher estimated value of range (R = 0.134) but a higher proportion of C-section occurred in private (93.4 %) than in public hospitals (30.3 %). On the other hand, PCAshowed that the contribution of selected risk factors accounts for approximately 60.0 % and 68.5 % in private and public hospitals, respectively. Furthermore, from the various graphical representation, thenumbers of private patients were more interlinked by ICA but not of the other graphical representations of PCA.Conclusion: We had expected the rate of C-section would be higher among public hospital patients than private hospital patients but the results obtained indicate the reverse. It seems that the combination of the propensity of private practice doctors to carry out C-section and the financial benefits on the part of private hospitals may be contributory factors to the caesarean section rates in private health facilities.Keywords: Caesarean risk factors, Composite index, Principal component analysis (PCA), Independent component analysis (ICA)

Giant vesical calculi: experience with management of two Nigerians

Two cases of Giant Vesical Calculi were encountered in a semi-urban health facility (Nakowa Hospital, Yauri, Nigeria). careful clinical evaluation and investigation is important in the work up of the patients. surgical technique and accurate diagnosis are essential in their treatment. Nigerian Journal of Surgical Research Vol. 7(1&2) 2005: 203-20