Distributed space scales in a semilinear reaction-diffusion system including a parabolic variational inequality: A well-posedness study

This paper treats the solvability of a semilinear reaction-diffusion system, which incorporates transport (diffusion) and reaction effects emerging from two separated spatial scales: $x$ - macro and $y$ - micro. The system's origin connects to the modeling of concrete corrosion in sewer concrete pipes. It consists of three partial differential equations which are mass-balances of concentrations, as well as, one ordinary differential equation tracking the damage-by-corrosion. The system is semilinear, partially dissipative, and coupled via the solid-water interface at the microstructure (pore) level. The structure of the model equations is obtained in \cite{tasnim1} by upscaling of the physical and chemical processes taking place within the microstructure of the concrete. Herein we ensure the positivity and $L^\infty-$bounds on concentrations, and then prove the global-in-time existence and uniqueness of a suitable class of positive and bounded solutions that are stable with respect to the two-scale data and model parameters. The main ingredient to prove existence include fixed-point arguments and convergent two-scale Galerkin approximations.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur

Topical Formulation For Stimulating Sweat Secretion as an Alternative to Iontophoresis

Sweat test or pilocarpine iontophoresis test is the existing method for diagnosis of cystic fibrosis that is recommended to perform at 48 hours after birth. However, the current method is painful, with several side effects such as full thickness skin burn, skin rash, erythema etc. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a pilocarpine topical formulation which can stimulate sweat secretion when applied on skin without iontophoresis. Several formulations with Transcutol®, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), Polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200), menthol and salicylic acid (SA) each at varying concentrations were screened as penetration enhancers. In vitro penetration test (IVPT) was performed on these formulations to compare the influence of these ingredients on the penetration of pilocarpine. The results from the preliminary studies indicate that the formulation with SA shobetter penetration into porcine skin after both 10 minutes (120.29 ± 27.54 µg/cm2) and 40 minutes (158.97 ± 20.15 µg/cm2) compared to others. Based on the preliminary studies, the lead formulation was decided to have pilocarpine nitrate, ethanol and water as solvents, salicylic acid as penetration enhancer, PEG 200 as a hydrating agent to minimize any dehydration due to ethanol, menthol as a cooling agent and sodium hydroxide as a pH modifier. The penetration of pilocarpine nitrate on application of lead formulation into the porcine skin was compared to that of iontophoresis technique by both IVPT as well as tape stripping techniques. The IVPT results indicate that total amount of pilocarpine nitrate recovered from skin with passive formulation (152.04 ± 52.23 µg/cm2 after 10 min, 210.27 ± 53.72 µg/cm2 after 40 min) is higher than that of iontophoresis with pilocarpine solution (97.05 ± 27.93 µg/cm2 after 10 min, 140.56 ± 88.66 µg/cm2 after 40 min) at both 10 and 40 minutes. The tape stripping data shoa correlation with the IVPT results. The amount of pilocarpine recovered from the tape strips used in the lead formulation (78.46 µg/mg at 10 min and 53.32 µg/mg at 40 min) was significantly higher than the pilocarpine recovered from tape strips used for iontophoresis (13.32 µg/mg at 10 minute and 7.38 µg/mg at 40 minutes). The lead formulation was also investigated for its effectiveness by a clinical study on 20 human volunteers to determine if the developed formulation was efficient enough to stimulate the sweat production. The average amount of the sweat secreted due to passive formulation was found to be 77.28 ± 18.97 mg when applied on an area of 38.46 cm2. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the passive formulation was successful in delivering pilocarpine and to stimulate sweat secretion which can be a compliant alternative technique to iontophoresis

Energy-Momentum Distribution: A Crucial Problem in General Relativity

This paper is aimed to elaborate the problem of energy-momentum in General Relativity. In this connection, we use the prescriptions of Einstein, Landau-Lifshitz, Papapetrou and M\"{o}ller to compute the energy-momentum densities for two exact solutions of Einstein field equations. The spacetimes under consideration are the non-null Einstein-Maxwell solutions and the singularity-free cosmological model. The electromagnetic generalization of the G\"{o}del solution and the G\"{o}del metric become special cases of the non-null Einstein-Maxwell solutions. It turns out that these prescriptions do not provide consistent results for any of these spacetimes. These inconsistence results verify the well-known proposal that the idea of localization does not follow the lines of pseudo-tensorial construction but instead follows from the energy-momentum tensor itself. These differences can also be understood with the help of the Hamiltonian approach.Comment: 28 pages, accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Energy Distribution associated with Static Axisymmetric Solutions

This paper has been addressed to a very old but burning problem of energy in General Relativity. We evaluate energy and momentum densities for the static and axisymmetric solutions. This specializes to two metrics, i.e., Erez-Rosen and the gamma metrics, belonging to the Weyl class. We apply four well-known prescriptions of Einstein, Landau-Lifshitz, Papaterou and M$\ddot{o}$ller to compute energy-momentum density components. We obtain that these prescriptions do not provide similar energy density, however momentum becomes constant in each case. The results can be matched under particular boundary conditions.Comment: 18 pages, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and SpaceScienc

Association study of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene G2350A dimorphism with myocardial infarction

The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is a strong candidate gene for myocardial infarction (MI). Insertion-deletion dimorphism in intron 16 of this gene has been inconclusively found to be associated with it. Several new polymorphisms in the ACE gene have been identified and among these, a dimorphism in exon 17, ACE G2350A, has a significant effect on plasma ACE concentrations. To assess the value of genotyping the ACE G2350A dimorphism in a genetically homogeneous population, we carried out a case-control study of dimorphism G2350A for a putative association with MI among Pakistani nationals. We investigated a sample population of 370 Pakistanis, comprising 163 controls, and 207 patients with clinical diagnosis of acute MI (AMI). ACE G2350A alleles were visualized by assays based on polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease analysis. Frequencies of G alleles were 0.68 among controls and 0.72 among AMI patients. The ACE G2350A dimorphism showed no significant association with MI (chi2 = 0.90, 2 df, P = 0.64), plasma levels of homocysteine (P = 0.52) or with serum levels of folate (P = 0.299). The results indicate that ACE G2350A polymorphism is not associated with risk of myocardial infarction in the Pakistani population investigated here

Comparative Analysis of Craniofacial Parameters in Thalassemic Patients and Non-Thalassemic Individuals across Both Sexes in Chattogram, Bangladesh

Introduction: Thalassemia is a haematologic disorder impairing craniofacial development in inadequately treated patients. Research on craniofacial parameters in Bangladeshi thalassemic population comparing to non-thalassemics is scarce. This study aimed to determine the differences in craniofacial parameters if any between thalassemic patients and non-thalassemic individuals in Chattogram, Bangladesh across both sexes. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out among 100 respondents (50 transfusion dependent thalassemia patients and 50 non-thalassemic healthy individuals) of 5-30 years during 2020 in Chittagong Medical College, Bangladesh. To measure 10 key craniofacial parameters (head circumference, 6 horizontal and 3 vertical) in cranial, facial, nasal and orbital zones, digital slide caliper and tape were used. To test statistical significance Mann-Whitney U test and unpaired student’s t-test were done as appropriate. Results: The face height of non-thalassemic males was higher than that of thalassemia patients and this was significant (p = 0.027), the intercanthal distance in male with thalassemia showed high significant difference (p= 0.024). When compared to their non-thalassemic peers, thalassemic females patients were observed with significantly larger head circumference (p = 0.025) and head width (p = 0.031). There were differences between the groups in other craniofacial parameters but statistically non-significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Distinct differences in craniofacial parameters between thalassemic and non-thalassemic individuals are highlighted which emphasize the impact of thalassemia on craniofacial development, with potential implications for clinical management in thalassemic patients in Bangladesh. Further research is recommended to explore these differences' underlying mechanisms and broader inferences. Update Dent. Coll. j: 2025; 15(1): 9-1

Green hydrogen derived from municipal wastewater via bioconversion by attached microalgae onto various sizes of polyurethane foam cubes

In order to mitigate the environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption and gear up for its depletions over the years, it is essential to explore the transition towards the renewable energy sources. Microalgae are characterized as the primary producers in an ecosystem which can adapt easily and have high growth rate. Indeed, microalgae can produce various biofuels, inclusive of green hydrogen which is touted as the most clean and sustainable option for fossil fuel replacement. Immobilization of microalgae onto polyurethane foam had been employed in the current study to increase the hydrogen yield, while offering an easy harvesting process for potential reusability, and preventing cells’ wash out from cultivation system. Polyurethane foam cubes of four different sizes, namely, 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 cm (cubes’ edge lengths), were initially used to immobilize microalgae for 7 days. They were then introduced into municipal wastewater medium to provide alimentation for attached microalgae in performing dark fermentation. The results revealed that the 1 cm cubes’ size could consistently produce high hydrogen volumes of 20 – 21 mL with the COD and ammoniacal nitrogen removal efficiencies being achieved at 70% and 57%, respectively. The smaller sizes than 1 cm cubes failed to sustain its hydrogen yields due to the excessive losses of attached microalgae stemming from the abrasion process when the cubes were fluidizing in the culture medium. The bigger cubes than 1 cm had produced lesser hydrogen due to the limited surface area available to populate attached microalgae. And also due to the diffusion limitation of essential nutrients from culture medium into the cubes to support the metabolic activities of attached microalgae within the cubes. The hydrogen production from 1 cm cubes was also well fitted into the first order kinetics, attaining theR2 = 0.9998 and rate constant of 0.1247±0.0005h-1. Lastly, a statistical model was derived to predict the overall hydrogen yield from attached microalgae onto 1 cm polyurethane foam cubes. This was carried out based on the amount of COD being fermented to produce hydrogen in advocating the application of municipal wastewater as the alimentation for microalgal bioconversion

A persistent neutrophil-associated immune signature characterizes post-COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae

Interstitial lung disease and associated fibrosis occur in a proportion of individuals who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection through unknown mechanisms. We studied individuals with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after recovery from acute illness. Individuals with evidence of interstitial lung changes at 3 to 6 months after recovery had an up-regulated neutrophil-associated immune signature including increased chemokines, proteases, and markers of neutrophil extracellular traps that were detectable in the blood. Similar pathways were enriched in the upper airway with a concomitant increase in antiviral type I interferon signaling. Interaction analysis of the peripheral phosphoproteome identified enriched kinases critical for neutrophil inflammatory pathways. Evaluation of these individuals at 12 months after recovery indicated that a subset of the individuals had not yet achieved full normalization of radiological and functional changes. These data provide insight into mechanisms driving development of pulmonary sequelae during and after COVID-19 and provide a rational basis for development of targeted approaches to prevent long-term complications

Actionable genomic variants in 6045 participants from the Qatar Genome Program

In a clinical setting, DNA sequencing can uncover findings unrelated to the purpose of genetic evaluation. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommends the evaluation and reporting of 59 genes from clinic genomic sequencing. While the prevalence of secondary findings is available from large population studies, these data lack Arab and other Middle Eastern populations. The Qatar Genome Program (QGP) generates whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and combines it with phenotypic information to create a comprehensive database for studying the Qatari and wider Arab and Middle Eastern populations at the molecular level. This study identified and analyzed medically actionable variants in the 59 ACMG genes using WGS data from 6045 QGP participants. Our results identified a total of 60 pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in 25 ACMG genes in 141 unique individuals. Overall, 2.3% of the QGP sequenced participants carried a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in one of the 59 ACMG genes. We evaluated the QGP phenotype-genotype association of additional nonpathogenic ACMG variants. These variants were found in patients from the Hamad Medical Corporation or reported incidental findings data in Qatar. We found a significant phenotype association for two variants, c.313+3A>C in LDLR, and c.58C>T (p.Gln20*) in the TPM1.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library