Early development of structural networks and the impact of prematurity on brain connectivity

Preterm infants are at high risk of neurodevelopmental impairment, which may be due to altered development of brain connectivity. We aimed to (i) assess structural brain development from 25 to 45 weeks gestational age (GA) using graph theoretical approaches and (ii) test the hypothesis that preterm birth results in altered white matter network topology. Sixty-five infants underwent MRI between 25(+3) and 45(+6) weeks GA. Structural networks were constructed using constrained spherical deconvolution tractography and were weighted by measures of white matter microstructure (fractional anisotropy, neurite density and orientation dispersion index). We observed regional differences in brain maturation, with connections to and from deep grey matter showing most rapid developmental changes during this period. Intra-frontal, frontal to cingulate, frontal to caudate and inter-hemispheric connections matured more slowly. We demonstrated a core of key connections that was not affected by GA at birth. However, local connectivity involving thalamus, cerebellum, superior frontal lobe, cingulate gyrus and short range cortico-cortical connections was related to the degree of prematurity and contributed to altered global topology of the structural brain network. The relative preservation of core connections at the expense of local connections may support more effective use of impaired white matter reserve following preterm birth

CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND LIFESTYLE RELATED RISK FACTORS OF BREAST CANCER AMONG DIFFERENT AGE AND ETHNIC GROUPS

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequent and leading cause of malignancies in females globally. In Pakistan, breast cancer is most frequently found in younger individuals and late stage presentation is the key feature for clinical diagnosis. Numbers of genetic factors are reported to be significantly associated with the manifestation of breast cancer. A number of factors including gender, age, genetic predisposition, familial vertical history, ethnicity and life style eventually leading to the development of the cancer. Therefore, we identified the role of biochemical characteristics of all participants in the development of breast cancer. 50 breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. A written informed consent was taken from each of the patients prior to data collection through questionnaire. People belonging to different ethnic groups: Pashtoon was found to be the highest noteworthy figure of breast cancer patients with an overall of 14 (28%) followed by Afghani ethnic group with 7 (14%), Baloch 15 (30%), Hazara 8 (16%), Punjabi 3 (6%) and Sindhi 3 (6%). Key words: Breast cancer, Ethnic groups, Cenar Hospital, Balochistan

Toxicity assessment of Cedrus deodara oil compared to carbosulfan for Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) adults

Specific compounds extracted from plants can control insect pests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of deodar oil (phytopesticide) to adult mealworms Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) compared with carbosulfan (synthetic insecticide), which exibits cholinesterase (ChE), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) activities. The insecticides were applied through feeding, and the LC50 (lethal concentration) was calculated using the Finney method. The LC50 of deodar oil was higher than that of carbosulfan. The doses of both deodar oil and carbosulfan inhibited the ChE activity (p > 0.05) and enhanced the GPT and GOT activities (p < 0.05) in mealworm adults. Alterations in the activity of these biomarkers indicated that deodar oil could effectively control adult mealworms, being an environmentally low-impact method that can replace the use of chemical products

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Design and Optimization of Microwave Sensor for the Non-Contact Measurement of Pure Dielectric Materials

This article presents an optimized microwave sensor for the non-contact measurement of complex permittivity and material thickness. The layout of the proposed sensor comprises the parallel combination of an interdigital capacitor (IDC) loaded at the center of the symmetrical differential bridge-type inductor fabricated on an RF-35 substrate (&epsilon;r = 3.5 and tan&delta; = 0.0018). The bridge-type differential inductor is introduced to obtain a maximum inductance value with high quality (Q) factor and low tunable resonant frequency. The central IDC structure is configured as a spur-line structure to create a high-intensity coupled electric field (e-field) zone, which significantly interacts with the materials under test (MUTs), resulting in an increased sensitivity. The proposed sensor prototype with optimized parameters generates a resonant frequency at 1.38 GHz for measuring the complex permittivity and material thickness. The experimental results indicated that the resonant frequency of the designed sensor revealed high sensitivities of 41 MHz/mm for thickness with a linear response (r2 = 0.91567), and 53 MHz/&Delta;&epsilon;r for permittivity with a linear response (r2 = 0.98903). The maximum error ratio for measuring MUTs with a high gap of 0.3 mm between the testing sample and resonator is 6.52%. The presented performance of the proposed sensor authenticates its application in the non-contact measurement of samples based on complex permittivity and thickness

Design and Optimization of Microwave Sensor for the Non-Contact Measurement of Pure Dielectric Materials

This article presents an optimized microwave sensor for the non-contact measurement of complex permittivity and material thickness. The layout of the proposed sensor comprises the parallel combination of an interdigital capacitor (IDC) loaded at the center of the symmetrical differential bridge-type inductor fabricated on an RF-35 substrate (εr = 3.5 and tanδ = 0.0018). The bridge-type differential inductor is introduced to obtain a maximum inductance value with high quality (Q) factor and low tunable resonant frequency. The central IDC structure is configured as a spur-line structure to create a high-intensity coupled electric field (e-field) zone, which significantly interacts with the materials under test (MUTs), resulting in an increased sensitivity. The proposed sensor prototype with optimized parameters generates a resonant frequency at 1.38 GHz for measuring the complex permittivity and material thickness. The experimental results indicated that the resonant frequency of the designed sensor revealed high sensitivities of 41 MHz/mm for thickness with a linear response (r2 = 0.91567), and 53 MHz/Δεr for permittivity with a linear response (r2 = 0.98903). The maximum error ratio for measuring MUTs with a high gap of 0.3 mm between the testing sample and resonator is 6.52%. The presented performance of the proposed sensor authenticates its application in the non-contact measurement of samples based on complex permittivity and thickness