Radiologic feeding gastrostomy placement: experience in 23 patients

Objective: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and complications of percutaneous gastrostomy catheter placementunder flouro guidance for long-term enteral feeding.MATERIALS AND Methods: Between April 1998 to May 2002, 23 patients who had percutaneous gastrostomy catheter placement were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical indications for catheter placement included patients with neurologic disease, head and neck malignancy, and pulmonary disease patients. Placement of 12 - 14 Fr gastrostomy catheter was then accomplished with the Seldinger technique. The technical success, procedural complications were recorded.Results: Twenty seven procedures, including revisions, were performed. The success rate for catheter placement was 100%. Revision was necessary in 7 (30%) instances in 7 patients. There was one (3.8%) major and 4 (14.8%) minor complications.CONCLUSION: Fluoroscopically directed percutaneous placement of gastrostomy catheters is a safe and effective procedure

Molecular characterization of some local and exotic Brassica juncea germplasm

The production of Brassica germplasm with a wider genetic base is essential for using them properly in the genetic improvement of rapeseed/mustard. During the present study, different RAPD (RandomAmplified Polymorphic DNA) primers were used to estimate the genetic distances among thirty different genotypes in all possible combinations. Level of genetic polymorphism at DNA level observed duringpresent study varied, but in general it was in the range of 21.54 to 59.36%. The dissimilarity coefficient matrix of these lines based on the data of four RAPD markers using UPGMA method was also used toconstruct a dendrogram. The dendrogram analysis indicated that the lines UCD-319/2, UCD-310/2 and P34/R3 were genetically apart from other lines that can be exploited in a synergistic way to create widergenetic base in local Brassica germplasm thus augmenting the Brassica breeding program

Uptake and clearance analysis of Technetium(99m) labelled iron oxide nanoparticles in a rabbit brain

Nanoparticles as solid colloidal particles are extensively studied and used as anticancer drug delivery agents because of their physical properties. This current research aims to prepare water base suspension of uncoated iron oxide nanoparticles and their biodistribution study to different organs, especially the brain, by using a single photon emission computed tomography gamma camera. The water-based suspension of iron oxide nanoparticles was synthesised by a reformed version of the co-precipitation method and labelled with Tc99m for intravenous injection. The nanoparticles were injected without surface modification. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques were used for characterisation. Peaks of XRD and EDS indicate that the particles are magnetite and exist in aqueous suspension. The average diameter of iron oxide nanoparticles without any surface coating determined by TEM is 10 nm. These particles are capable of evading the reticuloendothelial system and can cross the blood-brain barrier in the rabbit. The labelling efficiency of iron oxide nanoparticles labelled with Tc99m is 85%, which is good for the biodistribution study. The sufficient amount of iron oxide nanoparticles concentration in the brain as compared with the surrounding soft tissues and their long blood retention time indicates that the water-based suspension of iron oxide nanoparticles may be an option for drug delivery into the brain

Analyses of structural and electrical properties of aluminium doped ZnO-NPs by experimental and mathematical approaches

Pure and aluminium doped ZnO-NPs were played the central role in every field of life due to extraordi-nary physical, chemical and electrical properties. The main objective of the present research was used to enhance the electrical conductivity and reduce the electrical resistivity of aluminium doped zinc oxide-NPs. Synthesis of pure and aluminium doped zinc oxide-NPs (Zn1-xAlxO) at x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 wt% was carried out by co-precipitation method. The XRD results depicted that hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure and crystallite size in the range of 13-25 nm were calculated by using Debye-Scherrer's equa-tion. Likewise, the non-uniform, irregular and pore like surface morphology of the prepared NPs was evi-dent from SEM micrographs. Various functional groups (CH, CO, OH and ZnO) attached to the surface of aluminium doped zinc oxide-NPs were identified by FTIR analysis. The UV-VIS spectra also depicted a shift towards the blue region of the visible spectrum. In terms of electrical properties with the help of experimental and mathematical analyses of aluminum doped zinc oxide-NPs exhibited higher conductiv-ity (1.34 x 10(-6) to 1.43 x 10(-3) S/cm) and lower resistivity (5.46 x 10(5) to 6.99 x 10(2) Omega-cm). The present results suggest that the aluminum doped zinc oxide-NPs have been improved the structural and electrical properties which make it a good candidate for optoelectronic devices. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).</p

Pollution and health risk assessment of co-existing microplastics and heavy metals in urban dust of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals have recently attracted much attention due to their widespread distribution in the environment. Co-occurrence of MPs and heavy metals in dust poses potential health risks for humans. The objectives of this study were to investigate pollution and health risk factors associated with co-occurring MPs and heavy metals in urban dust. Here, 20 dust samples (both indoor and outdoor environments) were collected from different places in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using sweeping method. The MPs were separated from dust samples via density separation using ZnCl2 Microscopic techniques were used to investigate MPs while inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was used heavy metals analyses in the collected samples. The results of the study showed that all the collected dust samples were contaminated with MPs of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Fragment-shaped MPs were the most dominant, followed by granules, fibers, and lines, while the majority of the MP particles were red and black. Furthermore, the size distribution analyses demonstrated that particles above 1,000 µm were abundant. Also, the number of MPs was in the range of 20 particles g-1 to 1,052 particles g-1. Human exposure estimations showed that toddlers could inhale more MPs (0.86 MPs particles kg-1 day-1 and 312.93 particles kg-1 year-1) than children, teenagers, and adults. In addition, the concentrations of heavy metals varied from one site to another, however, the average concentrations were lower than their corresponding values in the guidelines (except for Zn). The integrated potential ecological risk in dust samples was characterized as a low-risk criterion. The enrichment factor for Zn in dust samples at all sites was more than 2, indicating a major contamination concern and anthropogenic sources responsible for the existence of Zn. The estimated hazard quotient indicates that children and adults are saved from the adverse effects of dust inhalation in the studied area. These findings could serve as a preliminary step for efficient pollution management and environmental quality maintenance in Riyadh

Prelamin A mediates myocardial inflammation in dilated and HIV-Associated cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathies are complex heart muscle diseases that can be inherited or acquired. Dilated cardiomyopathy can result from mutations in LMNA, encoding the nuclear intermediate filament proteins lamin A/C. Some LMNA mutations lead to accumulation of the lamin A precursor, prelamin A, which is disease causing in a number of tissues, yet its impact upon the heart is unknown. Here, we discovered myocardial prelamin A accumulation occurred in a case of dilated cardiomyopathy, and we show that a potentially novel mouse model of cardiac-specific prelamin A accumulation exhibited a phenotype consistent with inflammatory cardiomyopathy, which we observed to be similar to HIV-associated cardiomyopathy, an acquired disease state. Numerous HIV protease therapies are known to inhibit ZMPSTE24, the enzyme responsible for prelamin A processing, and we confirmed that accumulation of prelamin A occurred in HIV' patient cardiac biopsies. These findings (a) confirm a unifying pathological role for prelamin A common to genetic and acquired cardiomyopathies; (b) have implications for the management of HIV patients with cardiac disease, suggesting protease inhibitors should be replaced with alternative therapies (i.e., nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors); and (c) suggest that targeting inflammation may be a useful treatment strategy for certain forms of inherited cardiomyopathy

On the effects of geometrical shapes in failure modes in natural – conventional fiber reinforced composite tube: a review

Background: Natural and synthetic fibers are known for their low density, easier fabrication than metallic in several engineering applications. Furthermore, their structural rigidity is high and they can be used for advanced applications, such as aerospace applications and automotive industry sector. Methods: Owing to this in depth, studies had been conducted to evaluate its failure modes and process of fabrication for axial and lateral crushing behaviour to replace metallic materials. In this review paper, failure modes and geometrical designs such as shapes, triggering and geometry have been examined, where these factors are affected on crashworthiness parameters. The main aim of this review article is the reported work done in crushing behavior and failure modes of natural, synthetic and manufacturing technique process parameters on fibers reinforced composite tubes. Results: The results showed that the failure modes and crushing behavior in composite tubes depend on the type of material reinforced composite tubes and structure. Conclusion: The failure modes and crushing behavior in composite tubes depend on the type of material reinforced composite tubes and structure