Magnetic Properties And Structure Of Iron-Nickel Nanoparticles And Thin Films Synthesized By Pulsed Laser Deposition

The study of new combinations of self-assembled magnetic materials in nanoparticle and thin film form is becoming increasingly important with the continuous shrinking of data storage device size with higher densities. The work presented in this dissertation is focused towards synthesis, structural characterizations, and magnetic properties of an L10 iron-nickel (Fe50Ni50) phase that has a potential to replace noble metals based L10 magnetic materials, such as Ni-Pt, Fe-Pt, being used as recording media. Fe50Ni50 was fabricated using a pulsed laser disposition (PLD) method under various deposition conditions, the most important among which was the substrate temperature. The substrate temperature was varied all the way from liquid nitrogen boiling temperature of 77K (-196 ºC) to high temperatures up to 600 ºC. In order to understand and optimize the formation of L10 phase, the PLD method was used to fabricate FeNi in three distinct ways: (i) FeNi films were prepared using a FeNi composite (alloy) target, (ii) FeNi films were fabricated in a multilayered structure using sequential ablation of Fe and Ni targets, and (iii) FeNi thin films were fabricated in alumina (Al2O3)/FeNi/Al2O3 sandwich structures. To promote the stabilization of L10 FeNi phase, a thin film layer of gold catalyst was deposited prior to the deposition of FeNi films. FeNi films deposited in the presence or absence of gold catalyst were annealed at 600°C for 1 hour to study effect of annealing that has been found to bring about significant alterations in structural and magnetic properties. The substrate materials such as silicon and sapphire were also found to play a significant role in the microstructural and magnetic properties of the FeNi films. The FeNi samples deposited at liquid nitrogen temperature were found to be completely glassy (amorphous), and they exhibited a perfect superparamagnetic behavior, making them good candidates for magnetic biomedical devices

Aims of Egypt : Assessment of Governmental Mental Health System Egypt (2016-2017)

RESUMO: O principal objetivo deste estudo é obter um conjunto de informações sobre o setor público do sistema de saúde mental no Egito, usando o WHO-AIMS. A obtenção destas informações, pela primeira vez no país, pode ajudar-nos a melhorar o sistema de saúde mental, permitindo uma avaliação inicial para acompanhar a mudança. Estas informações serão ainda úteis para o acompanhamento da implementação do plano de reforma, das políticas e de outras acções de saúde mental, incluindo as que são desenvolvidas nos serviços psiquiátricos gerais e especializados, e as que dizem respeito ao desenvolvimento de recursos humanos, ao financiamento de serviços de saúde mental, à investigação, à melhoria da qualidade e da promoção da saúde mental e às campanhas de consciencialização pública.. Os dados para este estudo foram colhidos em 2017 e referem-se ao ano de 2016. O Egito tem um plano e uma legislação de saúde mental. O financiamento é maioritariamente destinado ao funcionamento dos serviços, à formação de profissionais e à disponibilização da medicação essencial. O tratamento, incluindo a disponibilização de drogas psicotrópicas, é fornecido gratuitamente pelo governo nos serviços de internamento e no tratamento ambulatório. Este estudo sobre o sistema de saúde mental representa uma nova abordagem no país que se concentra na análise geográfica para medir a disponibilidade e a prestação de cuidados de saúde à população, podendo contribuir para uma melhor distribuição dos recursos. Os maiores desafios incluem o facto do Plano de Saúde Mental no Egito ser aplicado nos hospitais de saúde mental afiliados ao Ministério da Saúde (setores governamental e privado), mas não nos hospitais universitários e nos hospitais militares. O facto da equipa do Ministério (Secretaria Geral de Saúde Mental e do Tratamento das Dependências), responsável pela implementação, ser reduzida face aos padrões internacionais, é outro desafio. No entanto, esta equipa continua a disponibilizar formação contínua para os profissionais. Deverá existir uma melhoria dos programas de reabilitação na comunidade, que permitirá suportar os planos para a alta as pessoas com doenças mentais, facilitando a integração na comunidade e a continuidade de cuidados.ABSTRACT: The main goal of this study is to collect information about the governmental sector of mental health system in Egypt using the WHO-AIMS. Collecting this information for the first time in the country can help us improve the mental health system and provide a baseline for monitoring the change. It will also be useful to monitor progress in implementing reform plan, policies and mental health act, providing general and specialized Psychiatric services, monitor the human resource development, and mental health services financing, research, quality improvement, promotion of mental health and public awareness campaigns. Data for this study was collected in 2017 and based on the year 2016. Egypt has a mental health plan and mental health legislation should be regulates the services. Treatment, including the supply of psychotropic drugs is provided free by the government for inpatient and outpatient clinics. Explore of mental health services represents a type of new study that focuses on spatial analysis to measure the availability and delivery of health care to the population, and how to allocate resources. Current Mental Health act in Egypt applied on mental health hospitals affiliated to Ministry of Health (Governmental and Private sectors) but not applied on University Hospitals and Military Hospitals. The Numbers of all the health team is still less than the international standards; however General Secretariat of Mental Health and Addiction Treatment provide continuous training for mental health providers. There should be an improvement in the rehabilitation programs in the community that help discharged patients to merge normally in the community and post discharges follow up

Towards Sustainable Revitalization: The Public Squares Characteristics - Led the Adaptive Urban Revitalization Mechanisms

The public square is a specifically designed urban space that includes many natural and formative elements that achieve communication among the main axes of the city and facilitate the movement of users through it. The public squares (PSs) in many cities, especially Baghdad, need to be revitalized. The Adaptive Urban Revitalization (AUR) strategy, which focuses on improving the quality of urban spaces for PSs to enhance their location, activity, and purpose, can be used for this revitalization. The result is a new space that is adaptive and convenient with regard to the sustainable revitalization of the contemporary city. The main research problem is how to make PSs attractive places for users. There is an absence of clear knowledge about the mechanisms of the AUR strategy, its relationship to the characteristics of PSs, and its influence on the revitalization process. Considering this problem, the main research goal is to reveal the characteristics of PSs as factors that affect the mechanisms of AUR and the role that these influences have in developing a clear approach to the AUR strategy to make PSs attractive places for users. This can be done by improving their conditions and promoting their use more effectively. To achieve this goal, the research will address improving the quality of urban spaces through the application of the AUR strategy. The focus is on addressing urban problems that have an effect on PSs, obtaining the indicators of AUR, applying them to the selected case studies and testing them mathematically. The results of the research produced a clear approach with regard to utilizing the strategy of AUR in PSs. It examined all mechanisms represented by Urban Response, Urban Accessibility, and Dynamic Activities. The results showed a positive relationship of these mechanisms on the characteristics of PSs. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-04-015 Full Text: PD

Emotional Experiences and Regulation in the Workplace: The Effects of Culture

The present research aimed to investigate the experienced emotions and emotional regulation in the workplace particularly in child and family social work practice in a Malaysian context. The interrelationship between emotion and emotional regulation and cultural context were explored. The overall research strategy was ethnographic. The researchers used a mixture of methods including individual interviews, participant observation, and a questionnaire. The research was conducted in three locations in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Petaling and Kota Kinabalu. Participants consisted of child protectors and rehabilitation officers from the Malaysia Welfare Department and medical social workers in hospitals. This paper presents an analysis of individual interviews in the three locations. A total of twenty-five interviews were conducted (12 male, 13 female; age range 29-51). Data were analysed using thematic analysis . The research findings show that societal and professional cultures have influenced how child social workers regulate their experienced emotion when dealing with clients

Is Presepsin a Reliable Marker of Sepsis Diagnosis in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit?

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a major challenge in emergency departments and intensive care units (ICUs). Sepsis also mimics or interacts with many other disorders causing high mortality and morbidity. There is no accurate biomarker or test to diagnose or predict sepsis. The treatment of sepsis is often based on the clinician’s experience. AIM: We conducted this study to analyze the serum level of presepsin in pediatric critical patients with SIRS, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock. METHODS: The study included 58 children, 32 septic pediatric patients admitted to the Pediatric ICU (PICU) of Cairo University Teaching Hospital and 26 healthy children who served as a control group. The aim was to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of presepsin in predicting sepsis in PICU. We classified the patients into systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock according to the international consensus conference criteria. RESULTS: In our study, we detected a positive correlation between C-reactive protein and presepsin levels at day 1 and day 3 of admission and a negative correlation between hemoglobin and presepsin levels at day 1. However, we found no difference in the serum presepsin between the children who had sepsis and the healthy ones (at day 1 [p = 0.430) and at day 3 [p = 0.845]). We also found that serum levels of presepsin were not significantly increased with the increasing severity of sepsis despite the higher median values with increasing sepsis severity. CONCLUSIONS: It was noted that presepsin levels increased in anemic critical patients, whereas presepsin had no role in differentiating the septic critical patients from healthy children. However, its level increased with increasing severity of sepsis grade

Pigment epithelium-derived factor inhibits retinal microvascular dysfunction induced by 12/15-lipoxygenase-derived eicosanoids

We recently demonstrated that 12/15-lipoxygenase (LOX) derived metabolites, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), contribute to diabetic retinopathy (DR) via NADPH oxidase (NOX) and disruption of the balance in retinal levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). Here, we test whether PEDF ameliorates retinal vascular injury induced by HETEs and the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we pursue the causal relationship between LOX–NOX system and regulation of PEDF expression during DR. For these purposes, we used an experimental eye model in which normal mice were injected intravitreally with 12-HETE with/without PEDF. Thereafter, fluorescein angiography (FA) was used to evaluate the vascular leakage, followed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assess the presence of angiogenesis. FA and OCT reported an increased vascular leakage and pre-retinal neovascularization, respectively, in response to 12-HETE that were not observed in the PEDF-treated group. Moreover, PEDF significantly attenuated the increased levels of vascular cell and intercellular adhesion molecules, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, elicited by 12-HETE injection. Accordingly, the direct relationship between HETEs and PEDF has been explored through in-vitro studies using Müller cells (rMCs) and human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs). The results showed that 12- and 15-HETEs triggered the secretion of TNF-α and IL-6, as well as activation of NFκB in rMCs and significantly increased permeability and reduced zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) immunoreactivity in HRECs. All these effects were prevented in PEDF-treated cells. Furthermore, interest in PEDF regulation during DR has been expanded to include NOX system. Retinal PEDF was significantly restored in diabetic mice treated with NOX inhibitor, apocynin, or lacking NOX2 up to 80% of the control level. Collectively, our findings suggest that interfering with LOX–NOX signaling opens up a new direction for treating DR by restoring endogenous PEDF that carries out multilevel vascular protective functions.National Eye Institute 5R01EY023315-02, Qatar National Research Fund NPRP 4-1046-3-284, and Vision Discovery Institute (MA), Mr. and Mrs. Richards travel award (ASI)

Antioxidant Potential of Spirulina platensis

The present study aimed to examine the protective role of Spirulina platensis (S. platensis) against arsenic-induced testicular oxidative damage in rats. Arsenic (in the form of NaAsO2 at a dose of 6.3 mg/kg body weight for 8 weeks) caused a significant accumulation of arsenic in testicular tissues as well as a decrease in the levels of testicular superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione, and zinc. Moreover, it significantly decreased plasma testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) levels and reduced sperm motility and sperm count. Arsenic (AS) led to a significant increase in testicular malondialdehyde (MDA), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO), and sperm abnormalities. S. platensis at a dose of 300 mg/kg was found to attenuate As-induced oxidative stress, testicular damage, and sperm abnormalities by its potent antioxidant activity. S. platensis may represent a potential therapeutic option to protect the testicular tissue from arsenic intoxication

A lipidomic screen of hyperglycemia-treated HRECs links 12/15-Lipoxygenase to microvascular dysfunction during diabetic retinopathy via NADPH oxidase

Retinal hyperpermeability and subsequent macular edema is a cardinal feature of early diabetic retinopathy (DR). Here, we investigated the role of bioactive lipid metabolites, in particular 12/15-lipoxygenase (LOX)-derived metabolites, in this process. LC/MS lipidomic screen of human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) demonstrated that 15-HETE was the only significantly increased metabolite (2.4 ± 0.4-fold, P = 0.0004) by high glucose (30 mM) treatment. In the presence of arachidonic acid, additional eicosanoids generated by 12/15-LOX, including 12- and 11-HETEs, were significantly increased. Fluorescein angiography and retinal albumin leakage showed a significant decrease in retinal hyperpermeability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice lacking 12/15-LOX compared with diabetic WT mice. Our previous studies demonstrated the potential role of NADPH oxidase in mediating the permeability effect of 12- and 15-HETEs, therefore we tested the impact of intraocular injection of 12-HETE in mice lacking the catalytic subunit of NADPH oxidase (NOX2). The permeability effect of 12-HETE was significantly reduced in NOX2−/− mice compared with the WT mice. In vitro experiments also showed that 15-HETE induced HREC migration and tube formation in a NOX-dependent manner. Taken together our data suggest that 12/15-LOX is implicated in DR via a NOX-dependent mechanism.National Institutes of Health Grant 5R01EY023315 and National Priorities Research Program Grant 4-1046-3-284 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). This study was also supported in part by the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health Grant S10RR027926

Responding to Emerging Diseases Requires Multi-disciplinary and One Health Training, Egypt

Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years like H1N1, MERSCoV and H5N1, the latter now endemic. Responding to these diseases requires a workforce trained in multi-disciplinary approaches to zoonotic disease research and control. It is difficult to deliver multidisciplinary and one health training globally because of the limited number of higher education programs that support such training. In low and middle-income countries where the impacts of emerging zoonotic diseases are felt more directly there is enthusiasm for such training and the use of e-technology can foster international, long-term collaborations. Objectives: To provide health training for infectious diseases research and to foster multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: We designed and simultaneously held two training workshops, one focused on pediatric infectious diseases and another on emerging infectious diseases to meet the objective. Both workshops had pre- and post-workshop activities for multi-disciplinary methods with an emphasis on the use of mobile technologies to enhance emerging infectious diseases surveillance and research for public health professionals in Egypt. Faculty and scientists from all universities in Egypt and from the National Research Center were invited to participate. Results: 85 participants attended, 31 abstracts were submitted, and over a 3 year period 3 international grant applications were submitted, and 4 abstracts were presented at international conferences. An online forum was developed to continue building collaboration. Conclusions: Interactive on-site workshops are suitable for providing multi-disciplinary training for disease surveillance, research and disease control. Participants shared the opinion that grant proposal and scientific manuscript writing were important skills that they felt they did not have. Long term investments in workshops of this nature are needed to build upon the excitement generated by these activities

The Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Healthcare Workers in Sierra Leone: an explorative qualitative study

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has wide-reaching health and non-health consequences, especially on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Healthcare workers involved in COVID-19 patient care are particularly vulnerable to psychosocial distress due to increased pressure on healthcare systems. We explored the psychosocial experiences of frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone. Methods This qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit 13 healthcare workers from different cadres across five designated COVID-19 treatment centres in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In-depth interviews were conducted remotely in July and August 2020, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework approach. Results This study identified three overarching themes: vulnerability, resilience, and support structures. Participants expressed vulnerability relating to the challenging work environment and lack of medications as key stressors resulting in anxiety, stress, anger, isolation, and stigmatisation. Signs of resilience with experiences drawn from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, teamwork and a sense of duty were also seen. Peer support was the main support structure with no professional psychosocial support services available to healthcare workers.   Conclusions This is the first study to provide evidence of the psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 among frontline healthcare workers in Sierra Leone. Despite signs of resilience and coping mechanisms displayed, they also experienced adverse psychosocial outcomes. There is a need to focus on enhancing strategies such as psychosocial support for healthcare workers and those that overall strengthen the health system to protect healthcare workers, promote resilience, and guide recommendations for interventions during future outbreaks