Study of Electrical, Optical and Structural Properties of Al- Doped ZnO Thin Films on PEN Substrates

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), as one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide (TCO) material, has now been widely used in thin film solar cells. Most of the study of AZO films till date has been done on glass substrates but nowadays there is a growing interest in replacing glass with polymer substrate for the thin-film solar cell technology and many other flexible optoelectronic devices. In this study, AZO thin films were deposited at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering on flexible substrates from a 3 inch diameter target of 2 wt % Al2O3 in zinc oxide. The effect of RF power on the structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO films was investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Hall measurement, and UV-visible spectrophotometery. The XRD data indicates a preferential c-axis orientation for all the films. All films exhibit high transmittance ( 85%) in visible region. Films deposited at 60 W power exhibit lowest resistivity of 1.2 10 – 3 Ωcm. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3102

Post-Operative Outcome in Patients Who Have Undergone Lateral Pancreaticojejunostomy for Chronic Pancreatitis

Abstract: AIM-To assess the benefit of Lateral Pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) in patients wit

Use of stem cells in tissue engineering and reconstruction of the maxillofacial region

The oral and craniofacial defect reconstruction has been a daunting task for several decades. Many clinicians have attempted to switch surgical techniques in flap transfer to enhance the purposeful outcomes. In many cases, however, near total restoration of the native anatomy is not achievable. Also, the normal functional performance is not attainable, regardless of the surgical technique used. This problem is more evident within the oral and craniofacial region considering the importance of functions, such as speech, chewing, and appearance. Stem cells have attracted a growing interest within the scientific community chiefly for their ability to regenerate broken tissues and conjointly for their known potential in modulating inflammatory and immune responses. These skills have caused stem cells to be thought about as a promising strategic tool for a range of clinical maxillofacial applications. In this review, authors briefly summarize the applications of stem cells in maxillofacial surgery.

Assessing Diagnostic Accuracy of Haemoglobin Colour Scale in Real-life Setting

The study was undertaken to determine diagnostic accuracy of Haemoglobin Colour Scale (HCS) in hands of village-based community health workers (CHWs) in real-life community setting in India. Participants (501 women) were randomly selected from 8 villages belonging to a project area of SEWA-Rural, a voluntary organization located in India. After receiving a brief training, CHWs and a research assistant obtained haemoglobin readings using HCS and HemoCueTM (reference) respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive-values, and likelihood ratios were calculated. Bland-Altman plot was constructed. Mean haemoglobin value, using HCS and HemoCueTM were 11.02 g/dL (CI 10.9-11.2) and 11.07 g/dL (CI 10.9-11.2) respectively. Mean difference between haemoglobin readings was 0.95 g/dL. Sensitivity of HCS was 0.74 (CI 0.65-0.81) and 0.84 (CI 0.8-0.87) whereas specificity was 0.84 (CI:0.51-0.98) and 0.99 (CI:0.97- 0.99) using haemoglobin cutoff limits of 10 g/dL and 7 g/dL respectively. CHWs can accurately diagnose severe and moderately-severe anaemia by using HCS in real-life field condition after a brief training

Sickle cell disease and pregnancy outcomes: a study of the community-based hospital in a tribal block of Gujarat, India

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder prevalent in tribal regions of India. SCD can increase complications during pregnancy and in turn negatively influence pregnancy outcomes. This study reports the analysis of tribal maternal admissions in the community-based hospital of SEWA Rural (Kasturba Maternity Hospital) in Jhagadia block, Gujarat. The objective of the study is to compare the pregnancy outcomes among SCD, sickle cell trait and non-SCD admissions. This study also estimated the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for SCD admissions. Methods: The data pertains to four and half years from March 2011 to September 2015. The total tribal maternal admissions were 14640, out of which 10519 admissions were deliveries. The admissions were classified as sickle cell disease, sickle cell trait and non-sickle cell disease. The selected pregnancy outcomes and maternal complications were abortion, stillbirth, Caesarean section, haemoglobin levels, blood transfusion, preterm pregnancy, newborn birth weight and other diagnosed morbidities (IUGR, PIH, eclampsia, preterm labour pain). The odds ratios for each risk factor were estimated for sickle cell patients. The odds ratios were adjusted for the respective years. Results: Overall, 1.2% (131 out of 10519) of tribal delivery admissions was sickle cell admissions. Another 15.6% (1645 out of 10519) of tribal delivery admissions have sickle cell trait. The percentage of stillbirth was 9.9% among sickle cell delivery admission compared to 4.2% among non-sickle cell deliveries admissions. Among sickle cell deliveries, 70.2% were low birth weight compared to 43.8% of non-sickle cell patient. Similarly, almost half of the sickle cell deliveries needed the blood transfusion. The 45.0% of sickle cell delivery admissions were pre-term births, compared to 17.3% in non-SCD deliveries. The odds ratio of severe anaemia, stillbirth, blood transfusion, Caesarean section, and low birth weight was significantly higher for sickle cell admissions compared to non-sickle cell admissions. Conclusions: The study exhibited that there is a high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for women with SCD. It may also be associated with the poor maternal and neonatal health in these tribal regions. Thus, the study advocates the need for better management of SCD in tribal Gujarat

Rehabilitation versus surgical reconstruction for non-acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL SNNAP): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability.MethodsWe did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367.FindingsBetween Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications.InterpretationSurgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management

Decidualized endometrial stromal cell derived factors promote trophoblast invasion

Objective: To evaluate the effects of decidua-derived factors on trophoblast invasion. Design Experimental study. Settings Research institute. Patient(s) In vitro decidualized human endometrial cells, trophoblast cell lines JEG-3, and ACH-3P. Intervention(s) The effect of decidual conditioned medium (DCM) on the invasion of trophoblast cells lines via JEG-3 and ACH-3P was investigated using a Matrigel invasion assay. The changes in expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and integrins in response to DCM in the trophoblast cells was also evaluated. Main Outcome Measure(s) Response of the trophoblast cells to the conditioned medium from decidual cells in terms of their invasive capability, and expression on invasion related molecules was measured. Result(s) DCM increased the invasion of both the cell lines by approximately 1.8-2.2-fold, compared with control condition medium. The increase in invasion was associated with elevated levels of MMP2, MMP3, and MMP9 mRNA and increased activity of MMP2 and MMP9 in DCM-treated ACH-3P, but not JEG-3 cells. DCM treatment led to a reduction in TIMP1 and TIMP3 and increased TIMP2 mRNA in JEG-3, cells but not ACH-3P cells. Compared with CCM-treated controls, DCM treatment led to a significant increase in the mRNA expression of integrin a5 and a6, but not integrin aV subunit in both cell lines. Conclusion(s) Decidua-derived factors increase the invasiveness of trophoblast cell lines and alter the expression of integrins, MMPs, and TIMPs