Herbal treatment of secretory diarrhea

The research study is conducted to understand interaction of illness, symptoms, context, patients response and the clinical skill vis a vis better management of secretory diarrhea. Specific aim of this study is to determine the impact of intensive medical intervention with herbal drug “Dirasif” (Test) and allopathic drug “Furoxone” (Control) to treat secretory diarrhea. This is randomized controlled clinical trial in primary care with an open intervention. All patients judged by the physician to need either herbal or allopathic medicine for secretory diarrhea are randomized in treatment therapy. Clinical trial was conducted on hundred patients from both groups i.e.50 patient from control and 50 from experimental group having age between 12-40 year.Comparison of data recorded by participants relating to these variables showed significant differences between test and control groups (p < 0.05) despite the fact that no side effects were recorded in test group. Overall clinical success was observed in both treatment groups however the efficacy of the test treated medication (Dirasif) was superior as p=0.03. Dirasif is more effective than the Furoxone in the treatment of secretory diarrhea in Gadap community Karachi, Pakistan.Keywords: Secretory diarrhea, efficacy, dirasif, furoxon

Reality capture of buildings using 3D laser scanners

The urgent need to improve performance in the construction industry has led to the adoption of many innovative technologies. 3D laser scanners are amongst the leading technologies being used to capture and process assets or construction project data for use in various applications. Due to its nascent nature, many questions are still unanswered about 3D laser scanning, which in turn contribute to the slow adaptation of the technology. Some of these include the role of 3D laser scanners in capturing and processing raw construction project data. How accurate are the 3D laser scanner or point cloud data? How does laser scanning fit with other wider emerging technologies such as building information modeling (BIM)? This study adopts a proof-of-concept approach, which in addition to answering the aforementioned questions, illustrates the application of the technology in practice. The study finds that the quality of the data, commonly referred to as point cloud data, is still a major issue as it depends on the distance between the target object and 3D laser scanner’s station. Additionally, the quality of the data is still very dependent on data file sizes and the computational power of the processing machine. Lastly, the connection between laser scanning and BIM approaches is still weak as what can be done with a point cloud data model in a BIM environment is still very limited. The aforementioned findings reinforce existing views on the use of 3D laser scanners in capturing and processing construction project data

Herbal treatment of secretory diarrhea

The research study is conducted to understand interaction of illness, symptoms, context, patients response and the clinical skill vis a vis better management of secretory diarrhea. Specific aim of this study is to determine the impact of intensive medical intervention with herbal drug “Dirasif” (Test) and allopathic drug “Furoxone” (Control) to treat secretory diarrhea. This is randomized controlled clinical trial in primary care with an open intervention. All patients judged by the physician to need either herbal or allopathic medicine for secretory diarrhea are randomized in treatment therapy. Clinical trial was conducted on hundred patients from both groups i.e.50 patient from control and 50 from experimental group having age between 12-40 year.Comparison of data recorded by participants relating to these variables showed significant differences between test and control groups (p < 0.05) despite the fact that no side effects were recorded in test group. Overall clinical success was observed in both treatment groups however the efficacy of the test treated medication (Dirasif) was superior as p=0.03. Dirasif is more effective than the Furoxone in the treatment of secretory diarrhea in Gadap community Karachi, Pakistan.Keywords: Secretory diarrhea, efficacy, dirasif, furoxon

Impacts of supplementing broiler diets with a powder mixture of black cumin, Moringa and chicory seeds

The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of a phytogenic mixture in the diet on broiler production. A total of 400 day-old unsexed Cobb broiler chicks were randomly allotted to four treatment groups of 10 replications in a randomised design experiment. The phytogenic feed mixture (BMC) contained equal ratios of black cumin, Moringa oleifera and chicory seeds. The treatment groups were as follows: T1 was fed the basal diet, while T2, T3 and T4 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.2%, 0.4% or 0.6% of three BMC mixture, respectively. Results showed that increasing the dietary BMC level could be associated with a gradual but significant increase in body weight and improvement in the feed conversion ratio when compared with the control group. Broiler diets enriched with 0.4% to 0.6% of the BMC mixture reduced gut microbial count of coliforms, E. coli and C. perfringens as well as gut pH, compared to the control group. Increasing the dietary BMC mixture level was associated with gradual but significant decrease in serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein concentrations and liver enzymes concentrations. However, there was an increase in the high density lipoprotein concentration, and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity in serum. In conclusion, the BMC mixture could be deemed an effective growth promoter, but further research is needed to evaluate it as a viable alternative to antibiotics.Keywords: blood, broiler, carcass, microbiota, oxidative status, performance, phytogeni

Properties and Applications of Geopolymer Composites: A Review Study of Mechanical and Microstructural Properties

Portland cement (PC) is considered the most energy-intensive building material and contributes to around 10% of global warming. It exacerbates global warming and climate change, which have a harmful environmental impact. Efforts are being made to produce sustainable and green concrete as an alternative to PC concrete. As a result, developing a more sustainable strategy and eco-friendly materials to replace ordinary concrete has become critical. Many studies on geopolymer concrete, which has equal or even superior durability and strength compared to traditional concrete, have been conducted for this purpose by many researchers. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) has been developed as a possible new construction material for replacing conventional concrete, offering a clean technological choice for long-term growth. Over the last few decades, geopolymer concrete has been investigated as a feasible green construction material that can reduce CO2 emissions because it uses industrial wastes as raw materials. GPC has proven effective for structural applications due to its workability and analogical strength compared to standard cement concrete. This review article discusses the engineering properties and microstructure of GPC and shows its merits in construction applications with some guidelines and suggestions recommended for both the academic community and the industrial sector. This literature review also demonstrates that the mechanical properties of GPC are comparable and even sometimes better than those of PC concrete. Moreover, the microstructure of GPC is significantly different from that of PC concrete microstructure and can be affected by many factors

Neuromatch Academy: a 3-week, online summer school in computational neuroscience

Neuromatch Academy (https://academy.neuromatch.io; (van Viegen et al., 2021)) was designed as an online summer school to cover the basics of computational neuroscience in three weeks. The materials cover dominant and emerging computational neuroscience tools, how they complement one another, and specifically focus on how they can help us to better understand how the brain functions. An original component of the materials is its focus on modeling choices, i.e. how do we choose the right approach, how do we build models, and how can we evaluate models to determine if they provide real (meaningful) insight. This meta-modeling component of the instructional materials asks what questions can be answered by different techniques, and how to apply them meaningfully to get insight about brain function

Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Regularly updated data on stroke and its pathological types, including data on their incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability, risk factors, and epidemiological trends, are important for evidence-based stroke care planning and resource allocation. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) aims to provide a standardised and comprehensive measurement of these metrics at global, regional, and national levels. Methods We applied GBD 2019 analytical tools to calculate stroke incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and the population attributable fraction (PAF) of DALYs (with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs]) associated with 19 risk factors, for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. These estimates were provided for ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and all strokes combined, and stratified by sex, age group, and World Bank country income level. Findings In 2019, there were 12·2 million (95% UI 11·0–13·6) incident cases of stroke, 101 million (93·2–111) prevalent cases of stroke, 143 million (133–153) DALYs due to stroke, and 6·55 million (6·00–7·02) deaths from stroke. Globally, stroke remained the second-leading cause of death (11·6% [10·8–12·2] of total deaths) and the third-leading cause of death and disability combined (5·7% [5·1–6·2] of total DALYs) in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, the absolute number of incident strokes increased by 70·0% (67·0–73·0), prevalent strokes increased by 85·0% (83·0–88·0), deaths from stroke increased by 43·0% (31·0–55·0), and DALYs due to stroke increased by 32·0% (22·0–42·0). During the same period, age-standardised rates of stroke incidence decreased by 17·0% (15·0–18·0), mortality decreased by 36·0% (31·0–42·0), prevalence decreased by 6·0% (5·0–7·0), and DALYs decreased by 36·0% (31·0–42·0). However, among people younger than 70 years, prevalence rates increased by 22·0% (21·0–24·0) and incidence rates increased by 15·0% (12·0–18·0). In 2019, the age-standardised stroke-related mortality rate was 3·6 (3·5–3·8) times higher in the World Bank low-income group than in the World Bank high-income group, and the age-standardised stroke-related DALY rate was 3·7 (3·5–3·9) times higher in the low-income group than the high-income group. Ischaemic stroke constituted 62·4% of all incident strokes in 2019 (7·63 million [6·57–8·96]), while intracerebral haemorrhage constituted 27·9% (3·41 million [2·97–3·91]) and subarachnoid haemorrhage constituted 9·7% (1·18 million [1·01–1·39]). In 2019, the five leading risk factors for stroke were high systolic blood pressure (contributing to 79·6 million [67·7–90·8] DALYs or 55·5% [48·2–62·0] of total stroke DALYs), high body-mass index (34·9 million [22·3–48·6] DALYs or 24·3% [15·7–33·2]), high fasting plasma glucose (28·9 million [19·8–41·5] DALYs or 20·2% [13·8–29·1]), ambient particulate matter pollution (28·7 million [23·4–33·4] DALYs or 20·1% [16·6–23·0]), and smoking (25·3 million [22·6–28·2] DALYs or 17·6% [16·4–19·0]). Interpretation The annual number of strokes and deaths due to stroke increased substantially from 1990 to 2019, despite substantial reductions in age-standardised rates, particularly among people older than 70 years. The highest age-standardised stroke-related mortality and DALY rates were in the World Bank low-income group. The fastest-growing risk factor for stroke between 1990 and 2019 was high body-mass index. Without urgent implementation of effective primary prevention strategies, the stroke burden will probably continue to grow across the world, particularly in low-income countries.publishedVersio

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369