The effect of platelet rich fibrin (PRF) on inter-proximal papillary height around dental implants

The original study design called for twenty patients. Fourteen patients with 13 implants have thus far been recruited for a prospective proof of principle study to assess the effect of addition of Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) on interproximal papillary height (I.P.H.) at the restorative line angles when used during the second stage uncovering procedure for dental implants. The secondary objective of this study was to assess the effect on the height of the direct interproximal tissue thickness (I.T.T.) at 6 weeks following uncovering. Implants placed 3 or more months prior at Boston University School of Dental Medicine Periodontics Department were scheduled to be uncovered by the principal investigator. Second stage uncovering was performed with a conventional mid-crestal incision to place standard healing abutments. PRF membrane(s) were inserted around the implants before flap closure in an attempt to augment or thicken the interproximal papillary area. The I.P.H. was measured at the four line angles of each abutment at the highest aspect of the interproximal tissue immediately following the uncovering procedure and at 2, 4 & 6 week intervals. I.T.T. was also measured prior to surgical exposure and at 6 weeks following the uncovering procedure. Results: The use of PRF membranes around dental implants did not significantly improve I.P.H. However, a positive correlation was observed between the use of P.R.F and I.T.T. Further studies are warranted to assess the effect of PRF on the peri-implant papillary tissue

Mobility-based predictive call admission control and resource reservation for next-generation mobile communications networks.

Recently, the need for wireless and mobile communications has grown tremendously and it is expected that the number of users to be supported will increase with high rates in the next few years. Not only the number of users, but also the required bandwidth to support each user is supposed to increase especially with the deploying of the multimedia and the real time applications. This makes the researchers in the filed of mobile and wireless communications more interested in finding efficient solutions to solve the limitations of the available natural radio resources. One of the important things to be considered in the wireless mobile environment is that the user can move from one location to another when there is an ingoing call. Resource reservation ( RR ) schemes are used to reserve the bandwidth ( BW ) required for the handoff calls. This will enable the user to continue his/her call while he/she is moving. Also, call admission control ( CAC ) schemes are used as a provisioning strategy to limit the number of call connections into the network in order to reduce the network congestion and the call dropping. The problem of CAC and RR is one of the most challenging problems in the wireless mobile networks. Also, in the fourth generation ( 4G ) of mobile communication networks, many types of different mobile systems such as wireless local area networks ( WLAN s) and cellular networks will be integrated. The 4G mobile networks will support a broad range of multimedia services with high quality of service.New Call demission control and resource reservation techniques are needed to support the new 4G systems. Our research aims to solve the problems of Call Admission Control (CAC), and resource reservation (RR) in next-generation cellular networks and in the fourth generation (4G) wireless heterogeneous networks. In this dissertation, the problem of CAC and RR in wireless mobile networks is addressed in detail for two different architectures of mobile networks: (1) cellular networks, and (2) wireless heterogeneous networks (WHNs) which integrate cellular networks and wireless local area networks (WLANs). We have designed, implemented, and evaluated new mobility-based predictive call admission control and resource reservation techniques for the next-generation cellular networks and for the 4G wireless heterogeneous networks. These techniques are based on generating the mobility models of the mobile users using one-dimensional and multidimensional sequence mining techniques that have been designed for the wireless mobile environment. The main goal of our techniques is to reduce the call dropping probability and the call blocking probability, and to maximize the bandwidth utilization n the mobile networks. By analyzing the previous movements of the mobile users, we generate local and global mobility profiles for the mobile users, which are utilized effectively in prediction of the future path of the mobile user. Extensive simulation was used to analyze and study the performance of these techniques and to compare its performance with other techniques. Simulation results show that the proposed techniques have a significantly enhanced performance which is comparable to the benchmark techniques

Yayya\u27s spiritual journey

This audio documentary follows the spiritual journey of 82-year old Hari Said, born Cypriot and Greek Orthodox. This audio documentary is about the spiritual journey Hari Said embarked on, having been born Greek Orthodox and in an uneducated family. After moving to Cairo, and being exposed to several other religions and experiences, she started questioning her identity and now identifies as agnostic, believing in God, but following no specific religion

Innovative Microreactors for Low-grade Feedstock Gasification

The first fluidized bed thermogravimetric analyzer (FBTGA) has been developed. The proof of concept of the FBTGA has been carried out on the thermal decomposition of calcium hydroxide. The kinetics and modeling of coal pyrolysis and gasification were investigated in the FBTGA. The obtained activation energies for the individual gases that are produced from coal pyrolysis are 19 to 21% lower than those found for similar coals in the literature. This decrease in the activation energies is explained by a temperature gradient of 185 to 209°C. For the CO shift reaction, the resulting activation energy is 46.6 kcal/mol, increasing by 20% from the one used in the literature. The second reactor presented in this work is a TGA powered by electromagnetic irradiation. As an application for this reactor, a novel kinetic model based on a dual attempt to predict not only the yield but also the composition of bio-oil is presented. The validation of the developed models demonstrated an excellent capability of predicting the yield and quality of the produced oil. The third reactor is a saddle reactor, which consists of two V-shaped pairs of arms and minimizes the impact of the heat and mass transfer limitation on chemical reactions

Up-Regulation of the Cardiac Lipid Metabolism at the Onset of Heart Failure

Chronic pressure overload and atherosclerosis are primary etiologic factors for cardiac hypertrophy and failure. However, mechanisms underlying the transition from hypertrophy to heart failure are incompletely understood. We analyzed the development of heart failure in mice with chronic pressure overload induced by aortic constriction and compared the results with aged apolipoprotein E-deficient mice suffering from advanced atherosclerosis. We combined cardiac function analysis by echocardiography and invasive hemodynamics with a comprehensive microarray gene expression study (GSE25765-8). The microarray data showed that the onset of heart failure induced by pressure overload or advanced atherosclerosis was accompanied by a strong up-regulation of key lipid metabolizing enzymes involved in fat synthesis, storage and oxidation. Cardiac lipid overload may be involved in the progression of heart failure by enhancing cardiomyocyte death. Up-regulation of the cardiac lipid metabolism was related to oxygen and ATP depletion of failing hearts because anti-ischemic treatment with ranolazine normalized the cardiac lipid metabolism and improved cardiac function. Vice versa, inhibition of cellular respiration and ATP generation by mild thiol-blocking with cystamine triggered the cardiac lipid metabolism and caused signs of heart failure. Cardiac tissue specimens of patients with heart failure also showed high protein levels of key fat metabolizing enzymes as well as lipid accumulation. Taken together, our data strongly indicate that up-regulation of the cardiac lipid metabolism and myocardial lipid overload are underlying the development of heart failure

Comparison Study between Opioid Free and Opioid Based General Anesthesia in Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries

Background: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is a standard procedure for the treatment of chronic sinusitis. This surgery is usually conducted under general anesthesia and it is better to be performed under controlled hypotensive technique to improve surgical field and to decrease the operation time. Routine analgesic treatment is usually based on non-opioid analgesics with rescue opioids. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare opioid free versus opioid based general anesthesia in functional endoscopic sinus surgeries regarding hypotension, surgical field, operation time and postoperative pain. Patients and methods: Patients were divided into 2 equal groups: Group 1: Opioid free group: (Group OFA) 22 participants, Group 2: Opioid based group: (Group OBA) 22 participants. All participants were subjected to medical history taking, complete clinical examination and premedication and routine laboratory investigations. Results: There was no statistical significant difference between the studied groups regarding the mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation and need for analgesia. Duration of stay in post anesthesia care unit was significantly shorter in OFA group than OBA group. OBA Group was significantly associated with higher VAS score at 6-, 10- and 12-hours postoperatively. Conclusion: OFA provided satisfactory intraoperative analgesia and control of surgery-induced pressor reflexes. Also, the perioperative safety and efficacy of the opioid-free anesthesia techniques provided for functional endoscopic sinus surgeries had good postoperative analgesia and other postrecovery criteria. There is a need for wider-scale comparative studies with large number of patients with long period in multi-center studies to confirm our finding

Listening to Students’ and Teachers’ Voices: Online Teaching Practices Leading to EFL Learners ' Demotivation

This study was conducted in response to the online teaching practices which demotivate EFL learners in learning English from both the teachers' and students' perspectives so that it can provide an equal point of view. The study was done by distributing a questionnaire to 152 students of the State Islamic Madrasah in Tulungagung, East Java, Indonesia to find data related to those who experience demotivation in learning English and interviewing them in depth both directly and indirectly through voice notes in July to September 2022. The in-depth interview was also done to their English teachers. The result of qualitative data analysis revealed that students were demotivated, bored, and lazy during online learning because of two main factors, namely teachers, i.e., uninteresting teaching methods and techniques, lack of online teaching experience, teacher’s personality, and the usage of the online learning application. Meanwhile, the teachers perceive that their demotivating EFL teaching was resulted from students' learning loss, lack of students' learning involvement, and teachers' feeling insecure caused by some factors, namely the variety of online teaching methods, the accessibility of online learning media, family interference, and students' internal lack of motivation. Still, this demotivating online teaching and learning do not significantly implicate the students' achievement of English. These research results are pedagogically implemented to improve the quality of online teaching and learning English, mainly at the secondary levels

Effect of online intervention based on life skills for mental health, self-efficacy and coping skills among Arab adolescents in the Klang Valley, Malaysia: A cluster randomised controlled trial protocol.

BackgroundMigrant children and adolescents face a significantly increased risk of mental health issues. Focusing on this population's mental health issues is fundamental and requires more attention to detect and reduce these burdens in adulthood. Nevertheless, life skills intervention can improve mental health. Its effects on Arab migrant adolescents have not been tested. Here, an evaluation protocol of the effect of an online life skills-based intervention for improving depression, anxiety, stress, self-efficacy, and coping skills among Arab adolescents in Malaysia will be examined.Material and methodsThis cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve 207 Arab students (14-18 years old) from 12 Arabic schools in the Klang Valley. The schools will be assigned randomly to an intervention (online life skills programme) or control group at a 1:1 ratio. The researcher will deliver eight one-hour sessions to the intervention group weekly. The control group will receive the intervention at the evaluation end. Both groups will complete assessments at baseline, and immediately and three months after the intervention. The primary outcome is anxiety, depression, and stress [Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21)]. The secondary outcomes are self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale) and coping skills (Brief COPE Inventory). Data analysis will involve the Generalised Estimation Equation with a 95% confidence interval. P DiscussionThis will be the first cluster RCT of an online life skills education programme involving Arab adolescent migrants in Malaysia. The results could support programme effectiveness for improving the participants' mental health problems (depression, anxiety, stress), increasing their self-efficacy, and enhancing their coping skills. The evidence could transform approaches for ameliorating migrant children and adolescents' mental well-being.Trial registrationThe study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry (Identifier: NCT05370443)

An overview of the role of long non-coding RNAs in human choriocarcinoma

Funding: The publication of this manuscript was funded by the European Cooperation in Science & Technology Program (EU COST)–COST Action CA18117: GYNOCARE- “European network for Gynaecological Rare Cancer research: From Concept to Cure”. R.D.F., S.S., A.F., S.A.O., J.J.O., M.P.W., J.B., M.S., P.O., A.Y., M.V.-S., B.E., A.G., and J.C.-A. are Action management committee members and/or form part of Working Groups 1–3, and J.C.-A. is the Chairperson of this Action.Choriocarcinoma (CC), a subtype of trophoblastic disease, is a rare and highly aggressive neoplasm. There are two main CC subtypes: gestational and non-gestational, (so called when it develops as a component of a germ cell tumor or is related to a somatic mutation of a poorly differentiated carcinoma), each with very diverse biological activity. A therapeutic approach is highly effective in patients with early-stage CC. The advanced stage of the disease also has a good prognosis with around 95% of patients cured following chemotherapy. However, advancements in diagnosis and treatment are always needed to improve outcomes for patients with CC. Long non-coding (lnc) RNAs are non-coding transcripts that are longer than 200 nucleotides. LncRNAs can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Deregulation of their expression has a key role in tumor development, angiogenesis, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, and proliferation. Furthermore, detection of cancer-associated lncRNAs in body fluids, such as blood, saliva, and urine of cancer patients, is emerging as a novel method for cancer diagnosis. Although there is evidence for the potential role of lncRNAs in a number of cancers of the female genital tract, their role in CC is poorly understood. This review summarizes the current knowledge of lncRNAs in gestational CC and how this may be applied to future therapeutic strategies in the treatment of this rare cancer.publishersversionpublishe