A Rare Case of Sinonasal Cavernous Hemangioma

Abstract He mangio mas are co mmon benign lesions of the head and neck which predominantly orig inate fro m lips, tongue and buccal mucos

THE PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION, OBESITY, DIABETES AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS IN CENTRAL PROVINCE, SRI LANKA

Aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension, obesity, overweight, diabetes and job satisfaction among public health workers in the Central province, Sri Lanka. This cross sectional study was conducted in three districts in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Data were collected from public health workers (PHW) (n= 336). BMI, blood pressure and random blood sugar were measured. General information and self-reported job satisfaction and coping strategies were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Mean age of PHW was 42.5 (SD 10.3, CI=95%). There were 302 females (89%) in the group. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among PHW were 29. 5% and 16.4% respectively. Among the group 26.4 % individuals (n=89) were hypertensive and 21 (6%) individuals were living with diabetes. 57.1% of individuals (n=192) reported with moderate pressure on their work. Extremely satisfied, very satisfied and moderately satisfied unsatisfied and not at all satisfied were 31.5%, 61%, 5.4 %, 1.2% and 0.6 respectively. Field work, work load, working environment, income were found to be as the common sources for stressful circumstances at work. Study revealed that overweight and obesity prevalence among public health workers in the Central Province is considerable. Significant amount of public health workers were hypertensive and living with diabetes. More than half from the group had a moderate satisfaction with their job.&nbsp

Mimtags: the use of phage display technology to produce novel protein-specific probes

In recent times the use of protein-specific probes in the field of proteomics has undergone evolutionary changes leading to the discovery of new probing techniques. Protein-specific probes serve two main purposes: epitope mapping and detection assays. One such technique is the use of phage display in the random selection of peptide mimotopes (mimtags) that can tag epitopes of proteins, replacing the use of monoclonal antibodies in detection systems. In this study, phage display technology was used to screen a random peptide library with a biologically active purified human interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) to identify mimtag candidates that interacted with these proteins. Once identified, the mimtags were commercially synthesised, biotinylated and used for in vitro immunoassays. We have used phage display to identify M13 phage clones that demonstrated specific binding to IL-4R and IL-13 cytokine. A consensus in binding sequences was observed and phage clones characterised had identical peptide sequence motifs. Only one was synthesised for use in further immunoassays, demonstrating significant binding to either IL-4R or IL-13. We have successfully shown the use of phage display to identify and characterise mimtags that specifically bind to their target epitope. Thus, this new method of probing proteins can be used in the future as a novel tool for immunoassay and detection technique, which is cheaper and more rapidly produced and therefore a better alternative to the use of monoclonal antibodies

Extraction of parameters for simulating photovoltaic panels

Presented in this paper is a method of simulating photovoltaic modules by taking the manufacturer specified data at standard test conditions as inputs. A method for estimating unknown parameters of a simplified version of the single diode solar cell model corresponding to a given photovoltaic panel is described. In the proposed approach, the equivalent circuit represents an entire solar panel, composed of several solar cells. A new method, which is simple, is also proposed to identify the ideality factor of the equivalent diode along with the series resistance. Estimated unknowns are used in generating module output curves at different environmental conditions. The generated curves are compared with manufacturer's data. The curves are also compared with curves generated with an alternative method available in the literature. The superiority of the proposed technique is demonstrated. © 2011 IEEE

Towards Coupling of 1D and 2D Models for Flood Simulation—A Case Study of <i>Nilwala</i> River Basin, Sri Lanka

The Nilwala river basin is prone to frequent flooding during the southwest monsoon and second intermonsoon periods. Several studies have recommended coupling 1D and 2D models for flood modelling as they provide sufficient descriptive information of floodplains with greater computational efficiency. This study aims to couple a 1D hydrological model (HEC-HMS) with a 2D hydraulic model (iRIC) to simulate flooding in the Nilwala river basin. Hourly rainfall and streamflow data of three flood events were used for calibration and validation of HEC-HMS. The model performed exceptionally well considering the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient, percent bias, and root mean square error. The flood event of May 2017 was simulated on iRIC using the streamflow hydrographs modelled by HEC-HMS. An overall accuracy of 81.5% was attained when the simulated extent was compared with the surveyed flood extent. The accuracy of the simulated flood depth was assessed using the observed water level at Tudawa gauging station, which yielded an NSE of 0.94, PBIAS of −4.28, RMSE of 0.18 and R2 of 0.95. Thus, the coupled model provided an accurate estimate of the flood extent and depth and can be further developed for hydrological flood forecasting on a regional scale

Bimetallic Trifluoroacetates as Single-Source Precursors for Alkali–Manganese Fluoroperovskites

Alkali–manganese­(II) trifluoroacetates were synthesized, and their potential as single-source precursors for the solid-state and solution-phase synthesis of AMnF₃ fluoroperovskites (A = Na, K, Rb, Cs) was demonstrated. Crystals of Na₂Mn₂(tfa)₆(tfaH), K₂Mn₂(tfa)₆(tfaH)₂·H₂O, Rb₂Mn₂(tfa)₆·H₂O, and CsMn­(tfa)₃ (tfa = trifluoroacetato) were grown via solvent evaporation and their crystal structures solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). Chemical purity was confirmed using thermal analyses (TGA/DTA) and Rietveld analysis of powder XRD patterns. Thermal decomposition of Na₂Mn₂(tfa)₆(tfaH), K₂Mn₂(tfa)₆(tfaH)₂·H₂O, Rb₂Mn₂(tfa)₆·H₂O, and CsMn­(tfa)₃ in both the solid state and solution phase yielded crystalline, single-phase NaMnF₃, KMnF₃, RbMnF₃, and CsMnF₃ fluoroperovskites, respectively. Nanocrystals (<100 nm) and submicrocrystals (<500 nm) were obtained in a mixture of high-boiling-point organic solvents. Crystal structures of bimetallic trifluoroacetates displayed a variety of building blocks, coordination environments of the alkali atoms, and coordination modes of the trifluoroacetato ligand. Alkali–fluorine interactions ranging from chemical bonds to short contacts were observed throughout the series. The coordination flexibility of the trifluoroacetato ligand was attributed to the ability of the −CF₃ groups to interact with alkali atoms over a broad range of distances. The synthetic approach described in this investigation provides a starting point to expand the library of fluorinated single-source precursors suitable for solution-phase routes to mixed-metal fluorides