Teratogenic effects of gabapentin on the skeletal system of Balb/C mice fetuses

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of gabapentin )GBP( administration on mice fetuses. Methods: This study was carried out in Birjand University of Medical Sciences during 2008. Thirty Balb/c pregnant mice were divided randomly into 3 groups: 2 experimental groups that received 25 mg/kg )I( and 50 mg/kg )II( of GBP intraperitoneally for the first 15 days of pregnancy, and a control group that received normal saline. External observations of day 18 fetuses and skeleton double staining were performed. Results: Both experimental groups showed similar disorders that can be categorized as the following: 1( decrease of fetal body weight and increase of fetal resorption, 2( macroscopic malformations, and 3( skeletal malformations. Fetal body weights were significantly lower, and fetus resorptions were significantly higher in both treated groups compared to the control group. Macroscopic malformations included exencephaly, limbs defects, brachygnathia, vertebral column deformity, and fetuses with severe retarded growth. Skeletal malformations included delayed ossification, scoliosis, calvaria deformity, and mandibular hypoplasia. Conclusion: This study revealed that GBP can induce previously unreported severe malformations if it is used continuously during the implantation, neurulation, and organogenesis stages of pregnancy. Therefore, it is suggested that great caution should be exercised in using GBP during the early stages of pregnancy until further studies are performed to better understand these effects

An Investigation of the Scale and Spread of Child Marriage in the Suburbs of Mashhad (Ismaeel-Abad Region), Focused on Causes, Factors, and Preventive Solutions

The phenomenon of Child Marriage is referred to as a marriage or similar union between a child and an adult or another child under the age of eighteen. The causes of child marriage include: family relations, sexual discrimination, controlling sexual relationships and maintaining the dignity of the family, certain economic factors and other social and cultural factors as well. Among the effects of early marriage on children it can be pointed to divorce at young ages and its risks for girls, dropout, harming of children’s sexual health and their fertilization rights an instance of which is early pregnancy putting both the mother’s and infant’s health at risk, sexual dissatisfaction, increased violence and exploitation, violation of child rights, and lack of ability to manage life affairs. Filed investigations on the factors of child marriage in the Ismaeel-Abad district of Mashhad show that the most important factors that promote child marriage in the investigated area include economic factors and social attitudes. In terms of solutions aimed at mitigating the rate of child marriage, fighting poverty, training families and promoting their awareness, empowering the youth, reviewing and amending the laws, and correcting the cultural procedures of selecting a spouse can be considered to be potentially effective

A Solution of Fractional Laplace's Equation by Modified Separation of Variables

This paper applies the Modified separation of variables method (MSV) suggested by Pishkoo and Darus towards obtaining a solution for fractional Laplace's equation. The closed form expression for potential function is formulated in terms of Meijer's G-functions (MGFs). Moreover, the relationship between fractional dimension and parameters of Meijer’s G-function for spherical Laplacian in R, for radial functions is derived

End-to-end deep learning-based framework for path planning and collision checking: bin picking application

Real-time and efficient path planning is critical for all robotic systems. In particular, it is of greater importance for industrial robots since the overall planning and execution time directly impact the cycle time and automation economics in production lines. While the problem may not be complex in static environments, classical approaches are inefficient in high-dimensional environments in terms of planning time and optimality. Collision checking poses another challenge in obtaining a real-time solution for path planning in complex environments. To address these issues, we propose an end-to-end learning-based framework viz., Path Planning and Collision checking Network (PPCNet). The PPCNet generates the path by computing waypoints sequentially using two networks: the first network generates a waypoint, and the second one determines whether the waypoint is on a collision-free segment of the path. The end-to-end training process is based on imitation learning that uses data aggregation from the experience of an expert planner to train the two networks, simultaneously. We utilize two approaches for training a network that efficiently approximates the exact geometrical collision checking function. Finally, the PPCNet is evaluated in two different simulation environments and a practical implementation on a robotic arm for a bin-picking application. Compared to the state-of-the-art path planning methods, our results show significant improvement in performance by greatly reducing the planning time with comparable success rates and path lengths.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

The severity of preeclampsia and its associated factors in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. It occurs after 20 weeks of gestation with the presence of hypertension and proteinuria. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion and the associated factors of PE according to its severity among patients in Hospital USM. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 200 patients diagnosed with PE between years of 2011 to 2016 who were followed up and delivered in Hospital USM were included in this study. Patients from other referral hospitals in Kelantan and nearer states were also included to be the study samples. We also include those of chronic hypertension with superimposed PE, hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome, and eclampsia. The severity classification of mild, moderate and severe PE was determined based on the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline. Ordinal logistic regression was used for analyzing. Results: The percentage of PE among patients in Hospital USM were found to be 34.7% in mild, 30.2% in moderate and 35.1% in severe cases. Higher uric acid resulted in greater odds of getting severe versus mild PE (Adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.07) after adjusted for other variables. Patients having chronic hypertension (Adjusted OR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.28, 4.33) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (Adjusted OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.96) were also found to be associated with the severity of PE. Conclusion: Those who developedmild and severe PE was higher compared to moderate PE in this population. Patients with high uric acid and chronic hypertension have higher chances to get severe PE, while those with GDM was more likely to have mild PE. Uric acid, chronic hypertension, and GDM were significantly found to be associated with the severity of PE among patients in Hospital USM. A routine screening for PE based on BP and urine protein measurement should be practiced and done at every antenatal visit as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO)

Relationship between physical, anatomical and strength properties of 3-year-old cultivated tropical bamboo Gigantochloa Scortechinii

The physical, anatomical and strength properties of 3-year-old cultivated tropical bamboo Gigantochloa scortechinii was studied. Five (5) culms of the bamboo were selected and harvested from the Bambusetum plot located in the Forest Research Institute Malaysia in Kepong. The anatomical study focussed on the vascular bundles and fibres located at the internodes and nodes No. 8 at the outer, middle and inner cross section of the bamboo. The sizes of the vascular bundles length, vascular bundles width, fiber length, fiber diameter, fiber lumens diameter, fiber walls thickness and fiber Runkle's ratio were measured in relation to the samples positions at the internodes, nodes, and positions in the cross-section of the bamboo culms. The physical study gives emphasis on the moisture content, basic density and dimensional stability. The strength properties study focused on the tension parallel to the grain and shear test. Both the physical and strength study were conducted at internodes and nodes No. 8 of the bamboo. INTRODUCTION The timber production from the natural tropical forests will continue to be on the decline despite the increase in the world population and the market demand by the wood-based industry in Malaysia. The timber supply from the plantation could not cope with the growing demand for timbers. Bamboo, a fast-growing species reaches maturity within 3 -4 years can provide material to replace timber in the coming future. Research and development which covers all aspects in bamboo silviculture, propagation, processing, properties and utilization of bamboo found naturally growing wild in the forest and cultivated has been intensified. However, study on cultivated bamboo stands has so far mostly confined to selected species in silviculture and fertilizers application to enhance growing (Azmy et al., 2007). Information on the properties such as anatomical and structural properties is rather limited. The physical and strength properties of bamboo have been widely studied by many researchers all over the world (Li, 2004; Rafidah et al., 2010). However, the information on the relationship between the anatomical, physical and strength properties of some species in genus Gigantochloa is still limited. In this study, a tropical bamboo species G. scortechinii was studied. G. scortechinii is one of the most popular bamboo species in Malaysia due to its having good physical morphology and strength properties. Assessment of bamboo physical properties such as moisture content, specific gravity, maximum shrinkage (tangential, radial and volumetric, roughness and wet ability has been conducted. Tension parallel to grain, the static bending and compression roller shear test for small size specimens were carried out. Anatomical and physical characteristics of bamboo culms have been known to have significant effects on their durability and strength (Latif and Tamizi, 1993; Liese, 1985; Razak, 1998). Studies on the anatomical and physical properties of cultivated Bambusa vulgaris conducted by Razak et al. (2010) support this statement. Information generated on the anatomical properties of bamboo can be used to determine their possible proper utilization. Currently, bamboo used for making traditional products such as handicraft, basketry, and high-value added products of panels, parquets, furniture and construction materials. G. scortechinii bamboos are among the most popular tropical bamboo species for plantation. These bamboos are easily cultivated and possess thick culms wall, and having uniform sizes between the nodes and internodes. This makes them suitable as materials for industrial usage. Advancement in the application of bamboo in modern era requires further understanding of the material such as properties of the anatomy, physical and strength at different location and position in the bamboo culms. The objectives of the study was to determine the relationship between the anatomical, physical and strength of 3-year-old bamboo culms of the G. scortechinii

Kesejahteraan Pembangunan Komuniti Dalam Kalangan Penduduk Program Perumahan Rakyat (Ppr), Di Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Tesis ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesejahteraan pembangunan komuniti dalam kalangan penduduk Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR), di Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang. Kajian ini timbul apabila terdapat kelompangan terhadap ketidaksejahteraan dan ketidakseimbangan pembangunan komuniti di PPR. Oleh itu, Program PPR merupakan satu dasar Kerajaan dalam menyeimbangi keperluan asas tempat tinggal kepada rakyat yang tergolong dalam kategori B40 untuk memelihara hak kemanusiaan rakyat Malaysia agar menjalani kelangsungan kehidupan yang sejahtera. PPR sebagai Key Performance Indicator (KPI) oleh Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan (KPKT) untuk diberi fokus terhadap keberkesanan tahap kesejahteraan PPR. PPR juga menitik beratkan elemen kualiti hidup, penyertaan komuniti dan kesejahteraan sosial kepada penghuninya. Namun, wujudnya permasalahan apabila mengaitkan isu kesejahteraan pembangunan komuniti PPR, antaranya ialah ketidakcapaian kesejahteraan tersebut. Objektif kajian adalah bagi mengkaji hubungan dan kesan faktor kualiti hidup dan penyertaan komuniti terhadap kesejahteraan pembangunan komuniti di PPR. Kajian menggunakan kaedah gabungan (mixed method) berdasarkan pendekatan kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Hasil dapatan kajian dianalisis dengan menggunakan data primer dan data sekunde

Bauxite Industries: Lesson Learn from Governance Perspective

The mining of bauxite in Malaysia, specifically in Kuantan Pahang is in-demand industry. Over the last three years, Bauxite has become a national issue where uncontrolled handling will lead to severe impacts on the environment and the local community. It started from the dumping of bauxite by miners who have illegally and uncontrollably mine the bauxite. Thus, this paper aimed to study on good governance perspective as it is an important element in ensuring the sustainability of an organization and strengthening the direction and objectives of business activity. Failure to set effective good governance will cause the organization to be in a volatile state and will lead to fraud and breach of trust. The impact of these governance failures is huge and may cause the company or organization to be adversely affected and will cause negative perceptions from the community and stakeholders. This has led the government to set a moratorium to stop the bauxite operations. Throughout the moratorium, the Water, Land, and Natural Resources Minister revisits every single process and SOP to ensure that all rules and regulations, procedures, and laws are in full application. This paper looks at a lesson that can be learned from the episode and hopes it will serve as a guide to be the best steps to be taken to ensure that governance upheld once Bauxite activity continues

Psychological Violence in the Health Care Settings in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychological violence is the most common form of workplace violence that can affect professional performance and job satisfaction of health care workers. Although several studies have been conducted in Iran, but there is no consensus regarding current status of such violence. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychological violence among healthcare workers employed at teaching hospitals in Iran. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 5874 health professionals were selected using multistage random sampling. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire developed by the International Labor Organization, International Council of Nurses, World Health Organization, and Public Services International. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: It was found that 74.7% of the participants were subjected to psychological violence during the past 12 months. Totally, 64.5% of psychological violence was committed by patients’ families, but 50.9% of participants had not reported the violence, and 69.9% of them believed that reporting was useless. Conclusions: The results are indicative of high prevalence of psychological violence against healthcare workers. Considering non-reporting of violence in more than half of participants, use of an appropriate reporting system and providing training programs for health professionals in order to prevent and manage workplace violence are essential