The Effects of Age and Alcohol on Lipid Metabolism in the Liver

Background: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) encompasses the liver manifestation of chronic alcohol abuse, characterized by different stages of liver damage that progresses from fat accumulation to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis. The severity of liver damage is influenced by age, which is also a predictor for ALD-related mortality. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate how aging and alcohol affect lipid metabolism in the liver. Methods: Rats aged 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, and 22 months-old were pair-fed Lieber-DeCarli control or ethanol diet for 6 weeks. Serum and liver were collected for analyses when rats were euthanized. Analyses included histopathology, measurements of non-esterified fatty acid content and hepatic triglyceride content, and gene expression.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/surp2022/1034/thumbnail.jp

MFO tunned SVR models for analyzing dimensional characteristics of cracks developed on steam generator tubes

Accurate prediction of material defects from the given images will avoid the major cause in industrial applications. In this work, a Support Vector Regression (SVR) model has been developed from the given Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) features extracted from Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) images wherein the length, depth, and width of the images are considered response values from the given features data set, and a percentage of data has been considered for testing the SVR model. Four parameters like Kernel function, solver type, and validation scheme, and its value and % of testing data that affect the SVR model's performance are considered to select the best SVR model. Six different kernel functions, and three different kinds of solvers are considered as two validation schemes, and 10% to 30% of the testing data set of different levels of the above parameters. The prediction accuracy of the SVR model is considered by simultaneously minimizing prediction measures of both Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and maximizing R-2 values. The Moth Flame Optimization (MFO) algorithm has been implemented to select the best SVR model and its four parameters based on the above conflict three prediction measures by converting multi-objectives into a single object using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The performance of the MFO algorithm is compared statistically with the Dragon Fly Optimization Algorithm (DFO) and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (PSO).Web of Science1223art. no. 1237

Global burden of chronic respiratory diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Updated data on chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are vital in their prevention, control, and treatment in the path to achieving the third UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a one-third reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. We provided global, regional, and national estimates of the burden of CRDs and their attributable risks from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, and incidence of CRDs, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other CRDs, from 1990 to 2019 by sex, age, region, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) in 204 countries and territories. Deaths and DALYs from CRDs attributable to each risk factor were estimated according to relative risks, risk exposure, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level input. Findings: In 2019, CRDs were the third leading cause of death responsible for 4.0 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 3.6–4.3) with a prevalence of 454.6 million cases (417.4–499.1) globally. While the total deaths and prevalence of CRDs have increased by 28.5% and 39.8%, the age-standardised rates have dropped by 41.7% and 16.9% from 1990 to 2019, respectively. COPD, with 212.3 million (200.4–225.1) prevalent cases, was the primary cause of deaths from CRDs, accounting for 3.3 million (2.9–3.6) deaths. With 262.4 million (224.1–309.5) prevalent cases, asthma had the highest prevalence among CRDs. The age-standardised rates of all burden measures of COPD, asthma, and pneumoconiosis have reduced globally from 1990 to 2019. Nevertheless, the age-standardised rates of incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis have increased throughout this period. Low- and low-middle SDI countries had the highest age-standardised death and DALYs rates while the high SDI quintile had the highest prevalence rate of CRDs. The highest deaths and DALYs from CRDs were attributed to smoking globally, followed by air pollution and occupational risks. Non-optimal temperature and high body-mass index were additional risk factors for COPD and asthma, respectively. Interpretation: Albeit the age-standardised prevalence, death, and DALYs rates of CRDs have decreased, they still cause a substantial burden and deaths worldwide. The high death and DALYs rates in low and low-middle SDI countries highlights the urgent need for improved preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures. Global strategies for tobacco control, enhancing air quality, reducing occupational hazards, and fostering clean cooking fuels are crucial steps in reducing the burden of CRDs, especially in low- and lower-middle income countries

Effectiveness of information communication technology in rural insurance

Information and communications technologies are a device set of technological tools and resources used to communicate rural people about to disseminate awareness, create interest and to stimulate enroll intentions of insurance. It has enabled countries to leapfrog traditional modes of service delivery and make manifold improvements in process effectiveness and efficiency. Widespread adoption and application of information communication technology across the different fields of society and the economy is presently considered to be the key factor behind boosting competitiveness and developing an informed society. In general, information communication technology and its tools that people use to share, distribute, information gathering and to communicate with insurance providers, or in groups, through the use of media such as print, visual and interconnected computer networks

Linkage between online banking service quality and customers

Banks have expanded the scope of competition to an e-environment with online banking. The commercial banks in India are introducing online banking to their customers in order to retain their customers from the competition given by foreign banks. Even though, these are so many empirical studies related online banking service quality and customers satisfaction. Hence, the present study has an attempt to fill up the research gap. The findings of the study reveals that the online customers service quality, online information system quality and banking service product quality are significantly and positively influencing the customer satisfaction

Effectiveness of information communication technology in rural insurance

Information and communications technologies are a device set of technological tools and resources used to communicate rural people about to disseminate awareness, create interest and to stimulate enroll intentions of insurance. It has enabled countries to leapfrog traditional modes of service delivery and make manifold improvements in process effectiveness and efficiency. Widespread adoption and application of information communication technology across the different fields of society and the economy is presently considered to be the key factor behind boosting competitiveness and developing an informed society. In general, information communication technology and its tools that people use to share, distribute, information gathering and to communicate with insurance providers, or in groups, through the use of media such as print, visual and interconnected computer networks.Insurance, ICT, effectiveness, rural people, media.

Myocutaneous cysticercosis – A hidden worm caught by an ultrasound

Cysticercosis is one of the common parasitic infections that can affect many sites in the human body, though often seen in the brain and the eyes. Myocutaneous form of cysticercosis is often rare since most of them are asymptomatic and often go unnoticed. They often present to the emergency department due to pain over the lesion or central nervous manifestations. Here, we report a case of subcutaneous swelling, initially thought of as lipoma/abscess, later diagnosed as cysticercosis with the ultrasound. Myocutaneous cysticercosis can mimic various conditions such as lipoma, abscess, epidermoid cyst, ganglion, tuberculous lymphadenitis, pyomyositis, or fat necrosis. Hence, differentiating this from others in the clinical setting is essential because treatment modality is different

Piezosurgical osteotomy for harvesting intraoral block bone graft

The use of ultrasonic vibrations for the cutting of bone was first introduced two decades ago. Piezoelectric surgery is a minimally invasive technique that lessens the risk of damage to surrounding soft tissues and important structures such as nerves, vessels, and mucosa. It also reduces damage to osteocytes and permits good survival of bony cells during harvesting of bone. Grafting with intraoral bone blocks is a good way to reconstruct severe horizontal and vertical bone resorption in future implants sites. The piezosurgery system creates an effective osteotomy with minimal or no trauma to soft tissue in contrast to conventional surgical burs or saws and minimizes a patient′s psychological stress and fear during osteotomy under local anesthesia. The purpose of this article is to describe the harvesting of intraoral bone blocks using the piezoelectric surgery device

Vapor grown carbon fibers from benzene pyrolysis: Filament length distributions

The fiber length distributions of carbon fibers grown on alumina substrates by the vapor phase decomposition of benzene have been measured at different lengthening times in the temperature range of 1283-1353 K and at two concentrations of benzene. The proportion of longer fibers increased with lengthening time. A two-parameter model has been used to compare the calculated and experimental fiber length distributions at various lengthening times. The evolution of the length distributions with time suggests the presence of an activation (of catalyst) step, leading to an induction phenomenon