The preparation and characterization of chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) blended films : mechanical, thermal and surface investigations

In this study, blends of chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (CS/PVA) having various proportions were prepared and characterized by universal mechanical tester, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and contact angle measurements. Studying the mechanical properties of the films showed that blending improved the tensile strength, which increased with increasing PVA content up to 40% while the elongation% at break of the blends was decreased compared to that of the pure components. The obtained results of DSC suggested that some interaction between chitosan and PVA mostly took place. Static water contact angle measurements showed an improvement in the wettability of the obtained films

Detroit Health Department: Lead Report 2016

The Epidemiology team at the Detroit Health Department rigorously stress- tested Detroit’s lead numbers. The findings suggest a true decline in EBLL levels rather than a decrease in lead testing or a change in the characteristics of the children who are being tested

Stimulation of rhamnolipid biosurfactants production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa AK6U by organosulfur compounds provided as sulfur sources

AbstractA Pseudomonas aeruginosa AK6U strain produced rhamnolipid biosurfactants to variable extents when grown on MgSO4 or organosulfur compounds as sulfur sources and glucose as a carbon source. Organosulfur cultures produced much higher biosurfactants amounts compared to the MgSO4 cultures. The surface tension of the growth medium was reduced from 72mN/m to 54 and 30mN/m in cultures containing MgSO4 and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DM-DBT), respectively. AK6U cultures produced different rhamnolipid congener profiles depending on the provided sulfur source. The dibenzothiophene (DBT) culture produced more diverse and a higher number of rhamnolipid congeners as compared to the DBT-sulfone and MgSO4 cultures. The number of mono-rhamnolipid congeners in the DBT culture was also higher than that detected in the DBT-sulfone and MgSO4 cultures. Di-rhamnolipids dominated the congener profiles in all the analyzed cultures. The sulfur source can have a profound impact on the quality and quantity of the produced biosurfactants

Intelligent Dynamic Backlash Agent: A Trading Strategy Based on the Directional Change Framework

The Directional Changes (DC) framework is an approach to summarize price movement in financial time series. Some studies have tried to develop trading strategies based on the DC framework. Dynamic Backlash Agent (DBA) is a trading strategy that has been developed based on the DC framework. Despite the promising results of DBA, DBA employed neither an order size management nor risk management components. In this paper, we present an improved version of DBA named Intelligent DBA (IDBA). IDBA overcomes the weaknesses of DBA as it embraces an original order size management and risk management modules. We examine the performance of IDBA in the forex market. The results suggest that IDBA can provide significantly greater returns than DBA. The results also show that the IDBA outperforms another DC-based trading strategy and that it can generate annualized returns of about 30% after deducting the bid and ask spread (but not the transaction costs

ACCREDITATION OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF GEZIRA (FMUG), PILOT STUDY

The Faculty of Medicine University of Khartoum was founded in 1924 and has graduated the majority of doctors in the Sudan. In recent years the government invested heavily in higher education and 26 new medical schools have been established and are now functioning and graduating doctors. Those new schools adopted different models of curricula, however most of them benefited from the Gezira medical school experience and hence their curricula are innovative. The large number of schools and the diversity in their curricular models fueled interest in the Sudan General Medical Council and the Ministry of Higher Education to establish a national mechanism for evaluating those schools and ensuring the society that they graduate doctors with optimum standard

SALT TOLERANCE OF OCIMUM BASILICUM CV. GENOVESE USING SALICYLIC ACID, SEAWEED, DRY YEAST AND MORINGA LEAF EXTRACT

To improve the salt tolerance of Genovese cultivar of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) plants, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of certain growth substances (salicylic acid, seaweed extract, dry yeast and moringa leaf extract) on growth, volatile oil percentage and yield as well as chemical constituents under saline water irrigation stress conditions (control, 1000, 2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl). The obtained results revealed that the higher salinity levels (2000 and 4000 ppm NaCl) caused significant decreases in vegetative growth measurements of basil plants compared to control and the lowest salinity level (1000 ppm NaCl). Maximum reduction was observed at 4000 ppm NaCl which showed higher increase of the total phenolics and free proline contents. All recoded parameters were enhanced for plants grown under 1000 ppm NaCl. Seaweed extract was superior than other treatments in enhancing the plant tolerance to salinity which appeared in the significantly increasing of growth and volatile oil content of basil. Phenolics and proline contents were increased with salicylic acid treatment comparing with other ones. The best combination recommended as a result of the current study is treating basil plants with seaweed extract under low salinity level (1000 ppm) for improving the growth and volatile oil parameters

Genetic Variants of Neurotransmitter-Related Genes and miRNAs in Egyptian Autistic Patients

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with indisputable evidence for a genetic component. This work studied the association of autism with genetic variations in neurotransmitter-related genes, including MAOA uVNTR, MAOB rs1799836, and DRD2 TaqI A in 53 autistic patients and 30 healthy individuals. The study also analyzed sequence variations of miR-431 and miR-21. MAOA uVNTR was genotyped by PCR, MAOB and DRD2 polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-based RFLP, and miR-431 and miR-21 were sequenced. Low expressing allele of MAOA uVNTR was frequently higher in female patients compared to that in controls (OR = 2.25). MAOB G allele frequency was more significantly increased in autistic patients than in controls (P<0.001 for both males and females). DRD2 A1+ genotype increased autism risk (OR = 5.1). Severity of autism tends to be slightly affected by MAOA/B genotype. Plasma MAOB activity was significantly reduced in G than in A allele carrying males. There was no significant difference in patients and maternal plasma MAOA/B activity compared to controls. Neither mutations nor SNPs in miR-431 and miR-21 were found among studied patients. This study threw light on some neurotransmitter-related genes suggesting their potential role in Autism pathogenesis that warrants further studies and much consideration

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was USD 92 492 million using approach 1 and USD 73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was USD 95 004 million using approach 1 and USD 75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially.publishedVersio

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London