The values of the relative counterion (X) binding constant R(X)(Br) (=K(X)/K(Br), where K(X) and K(Br) represent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTABr, micellar binding constants of X(v-) (in non-spherical micelles), v = 1,2, and Br(-) (in spherical micelles)) are 58, 68, 127, and 125 for X(v-) = 1(-), 1(2-), 2(-), and 2(2-), respectively. The values of 15 mM CTABr/[Na(v)X] nanoparticles-catalyzed apparent second-order rate constants for piperidinolysis of ionized phenyl salicylate at 35 °C are 0.417, 0.488, 0.926, and 0.891 M(-1) s(-1) for Na(v)X = Na1, Na2 1, Na2, and Na2 2, respectively. Almost entire catalytic effect of nanoparticles catalyst is due to the ability of nonreactive counterions, X(v-), to expel reactive counterions, 3(-), from nanoparticles to the bulk water phase.
The effects of feeding different levels of whole linseed on fatty acid (FA) composition of muscles and adipose tissues of goat were investigated. Twenty-four Crossed Boer bucks were assigned randomly into three treatment diets: L0, L10, or L20, containing 0%, 10%, or 20% whole linseed, respectively. The goats were slaughtered after 110 days of feeding. Samples from the longissimus dorsi, supraspinatus, semitendinosus, and subcutaneous fat (SF) and perirenal fat (PF) were taken for FA analyses. In muscles, the average increments in α-linolenic (ALA) and total n-3 PUFA were 6.48 and 3.4, and 11.48 and 4.78 for L10 and L20, respectively. In the adipose tissues, the increments in ALA and total n-3 PUFA were 3.07- and 6.92-fold and 3.00- and 7.54-fold in SF and PF for L10 and L20, respectively. The n-6 : n-3 ratio of the muscles was decreased from up to 8.86 in L0 to 2 or less in L10 and L20. The PUFA : SFA ratio was increased in all the tissues of L20 compared to L0. It is concluded that both inclusion levels (10% and 20%) of whole linseed in goat diets resulted in producing meat highly enriched with n-3 PUFA with desirable n-6 : n-3 ratio.
Wearable health tech provides doctors with the ability to remotely supervise their patients' wellness. It also makes it much easier to authorize someone else to take appropriate actions to ensure the person's wellness than ever before. Information Technology may soon change the way medicine is practiced, improving the performance, while reducing the price of healthcare. We analyzed the secrecy demands of wearable devices, including Smartphone, smart watch and their computing techniques, that can soon change the way healthcare is provided. However, before this is adopted in practice, all devices must be equipped with sufficient privacy capabilities related to healthcare service. In this paper, we formulated a new improved conceptual framework for wearable healthcare systems. This framework consists of ten principles and nine checklists, capable of providing complete privacy protection package to wearable device owners. We constructed this framework based on the analysis of existing mobile technology, the results of which are combined with the existing security standards. The approach also incorporates the market share percentage level of every app and its respective OS. This framework is evaluated based on the stringent CIA and HIPAA principles for information security. This evaluation is followed by testing the capability to revoke rights of subjects to access objects and ability to determine the set of available permissions for a particular subject for all models Finally, as the last step, we examine the complexity of the required initial setup.
MeSH terms: Smartphone*; Confidentiality*; Humans; Wireless Technology*; Mobile Applications*
The research conducted in the last three decades has collectively demonstrated that the skeletal muscle performance can be alternatively assessed by mechanomyographic signal (MMG) parameters. Indices of muscle performance, not limited to force, power, work, endurance and the related physiological processes underlying muscle activities during contraction have been evaluated in the light of the signal features. As a non-stationary signal that reflects several distinctive patterns of muscle actions, the illustrations obtained from the literature support the reliability of MMG in the analysis of muscles under voluntary and stimulus evoked contractions. An appraisal of the standard practice including the measurement theories of the methods used to extract parameters of the signal is vital to the application of the signal during experimental and clinical practices, especially in areas where electromyograms are contraindicated or have limited application. As we highlight the underpinning technical guidelines and domains where each method is well-suited, the limitations of the methods are also presented to position the state of the art in MMG parameters extraction, thus providing the theoretical framework for improvement on the current practices to widen the opportunity for new insights and discoveries. Since the signal modality has not been widely deployed due partly to the limited information extractable from the signals when compared with other classical techniques used to assess muscle performance, this survey is particularly relevant to the projected future of MMG applications in the realm of musculoskeletal assessments and in the real time detection of muscle activity.
Tocotrienols, especially the gamma isomer was discovered to possess cytotoxic effects associated with the induction of apoptosis in numerous cancers. Individual tocotrienol isomers are believed to induce dissimilar apoptotic mechanisms in different cancer types. This study was aimed to compare the cytotoxic potency of alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocotrienols, and to explore their resultant apoptotic mechanisms in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and glioblastoma U87MG cells which are scarcely researched.
This study evaluated the validity of panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the assessment of mandibular canal and impacted third molar. In this descriptive-analytical study, 58 mandibular third molars from 42 patients who showed a close relationship between impacted third molar and canal on panoramic radiographs were selected. They were then classified into seven radiographic markers in panoramic radiographs (superimposition, darkening of the root, interruption of the white lines, root narrowing, canal diversion, canal narrowing, and also closed distance in OPG <1mm). The groups of markers were further assessed with CBCT to see presence or absence of contact. The three most common markers seen in panoramic images are superimposition, interruption of white line and root darkening. In CBCT, superimposition marker always presented higher frequency of contact with canal compared to non-contact group. There are 31% of teeth presented with interruption of white lines and there are 29.3% of teeth presented with superimposition. About 55.6% and 35.3% of the impacted mandibular third molars which indicated interruption of white lines and superimposition also indicated contact in the CBCT respectively. Presence or absence of radiological sign in panoramic radiography was not properly predict a close relationship with third molar and it is suggested that in case of tooth-canal overlapping, the patient should be referred for CBCT assessment.
MeSH terms: Adult; Dental Pulp Cavity/radiography; Female; Humans; Male; Mandible/radiography*; Molar, Third/radiography*; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiography, Panoramic/methods*; Tooth, Impacted/diagnosis*; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods*; Comparative Effectiveness Research
The ever-increasing number of tumor-associated antigens has provided a major stimulus for the development of therapeutic peptides vaccines. Tumor-associated peptides can induce high immune response rates and have been developed as vaccines for several types of solid tumors, and many are at various stages of clinical testing. MAGED4B, a melanoma antigen, is overexpressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and this expression promotes proliferation and cell migration. In this study, we have identified 9 short peptides derived from MAGED4B protein that are restricted in binding to the HLA subtypes common in the Asian population (HLA-A2, A11, and A24). The peptides had good binding affinity with the MHC-Class I molecules and stimulated ex-vivo IFN-gamma and Granzyme-B production in blood samples from OSCC patients, suggesting that they are immunogenic. Further, T cells stimulated with peptide-pulsed dendritic cells showed enhanced T-cell cytotoxic activity against MAGED4B-overexpressing OSCC cell lines. In summary, we have identified MAGED4B peptides that induce anti-tumor immune responses advocating that they could be further developed as vaccine candidates for the treatment of OSCC.
Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by the pathogenic bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the B. pseudomallei genome includes 5855 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), of which ∼25% encode hypothetical proteins. A pathogen-associated hypothetical protein, BPSL1038, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized using vapour-diffusion methods. A BPSL1038 protein crystal that grew using sodium formate as precipitant diffracted to 1.55 Å resolution. It belonged to space group C2221, with unit-cell parameters a = 85.36, b = 115.63, c = 46.73 Å. The calculated Matthews coefficient (VM) suggests that there are two molecules per asymmetric unit, with a solvent content of 48.8%.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore patients' experiences with their illnesses and the reasons which influenced them in not following hypertensive care recommendations (antihypertensive medication intake, physical activity, and diet changes) in primary health clinic settings.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A qualitative methodology was applied. The data were gathered from in-depth interviews with 25 hypertensive patients attending follow-up in nine government primary health clinics in two districts (Hulu Langat and Klang) in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The transcribed data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: There was evidence of lack of patient self-empowerment and community support in Malaysian society. Most of the participants did not take their antihypertensive medication or change their physical activity and diet after diagnosis. There was an agreement between the patients and the health care professionals before starting the treatment recommendation, but there lacked further counseling and monitoring. Most of the reasons given for not taking antihypertensive medication, not doing physical activity and not following diet recommendations were due to side effects or fear of the side effects of antihypertensive medication, patients' attitudes, lack of information from health care professionals and insufficient social support from their surrounding environment. We also observed the differences on these reasons for nonadherence among the three ethnic groups.
CONCLUSION: Health care professionals should move toward supporting adherence in the management of hypertensive patients by maintaining a dialogue. Patients need to be given time to enable them to overcome their inhibition of asking questions and to accept the recommendations. A self-management approach must be responsive to the needs of individuals, ethnicities, and communities.
KEYWORDS: adherence; hypertension; in-depth interview; qualitative research
Study site: Klinik kesihatan, Selangor, Malaysia
MeSH terms: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Female; Humans; Hypertension*; Malaysia; Male; Self Care; Interview; Qualitative Research
Concurrent study of secretomic and glycoproteomic profiles in cancer cell lines represents an excellent approach for investigating cancer progression and identifying novel biomarker candidates. In this study, we performed a comparative secretomic and N-glycoprotein profiling from the secretions of normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEpC) and the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.
The asymmetric unit of the title complex, [Ni(C14H11FNO)2], contains one-half of the mol-ecule with the Ni(II) cation lying on an inversion centre coordinated by a bidentate Schiff base anion. The cationic Ni(II) center is in a distorted square-planar coordination environment chelated by the imine N and phenolate O donor atoms of the two Schiff base ligands. The N and O donor atoms of the two ligands are mutually trans with Ni-N and Ni-O bond lengths of 1.9242 (10) and 1.8336 (9) Å, respectively. The fluoro-phenyl ring is almost orthogonal to the coordination plane and makes a dihedral angle of 82.98 (7)° with the phenolate ring. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into screw chains by weak C-H⋯F hydrogen bonds. Additional C-H⋯π contacts arrange the mol-ecules into sheets parallel to the ac plane.
In the title compound, [SbBr(C10H7)2], the Sb(III) atom has a distorted trigonal-pyramidal coordination geometry and the planes of the two naphthalene ring systems make a dihedral angle of 80.26 (18)°. An intra-molecular C-H⋯Br hydrogen bond forms an S(5) ring motif. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯Br inter-actions link the mol-ecules into helical chains along the b-axis direction.
In the title compound, C10H19N3S, the cyclo-hexyl group adopts a chair conformation and adopts a position approximately syn to the thione S atom. The CN2S thio-urea moiety makes dihedral angle of 13.13 (10)° with the propan-2-yl-idene-amino group. An intra-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bond is noted. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N-H⋯S hydrogen bonds generate R (2) 2(8) loops.
In the title compound, C15H20BrNO2, there are two independent mol-ecules (A and B) comprising the asymmetric unit and these adopt very similar conformations. In A, the dihedral angle between the CO2 and MeC=CMe2 groups is 80.7 (3)°, and these make dihedral angles of 3.5 (3) and 84.09 (16)°, respectively, with the bromo-benzene ring. The equivalent dihedral angles for mol-ecule B are 78.4 (3), 2.1 (3) and 78.37 (12)°, respectively. The most prominent inter-actions in the crystal packing are amine-N-H⋯O(carbon-yl) hydrogen bonds between the two independent mol-ecules, resulting in non-centrosymmetric ten-membered {⋯OC2NH}2 synthons. Statistical disorder is noted for each of the terminal methyl groups of the ethyl residues.
In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C7H9ClN2O2, the conformation is determined by intra-molecular C-H⋯O and C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, which generate S(6) and S(5) ring motifs. The isopropyl group is almost perpendicular to the pyrimidine ring with torsion angles of -70.8 (3) and 56.0 (3)°. In the crystal, two inversion-related mol-ecules are linked via a pair of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into R 2 (2)(8) dimers; these dimers are connected into chains extending along the bc plane via an additional N-H⋯O hydrogen bond and weaker C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure is further stabilized by a weak π-π inter-action [3.6465 (10) Å] between adjacent pyrimidine-dione rings arranged in a head-to-tail fashion, producing a three-dimensional network.
In the title salt of an S-substituted di-thio-carbazate, C16H16N3S2 (+)·Cl(-), the dihedral angles between the almost planar (r.m.s deviation = 0.005 Å) central CN2S2 residue and the terminal pyridinium and phenyl rings are 80.09 (11) and 3.82 (11)°, respectively, indicating the cation has an L-shape; the amine H and thione S atoms are syn. The conformation about each of the imine [1.376 (3) Å] and ethene [1.333 (4) Å] bonds is E. The shortened C-C bond [1.444 (4) Å] linking the double bonds is consistent with conjugation in this part of the mol-ecule. In the crystal, supra-molecular layers with a jagged topology are formed by charged-assisted amine-H⋯Cl(-) and pyridinium-N(+)-H⋯Cl(-) hydrogen bonds. The layers stack along the a axis with no specific directional inter-actions between them.
Buildings are among the largest consumers of energy. Part of the energy is wasted due to the habits of users and equipment conditions. A solution to this problem is efficient energy usage. To this end, an energy audit can be conducted to assess the energy efficiency. This study aims to analyze the energy usage of a primary school and identify the potential energy reductions and cost savings. A preliminary audit was conducted, and several energy conservation measures were proposed. The energy conservation measures, with reference to the MS1525:2007 standard, were modelled to identify the potential energy reduction and cost savings. It was found that the school's usage of electricity exceeded its need, incurring an excess expenditure of RM 2947.42. From the lighting system alone, it was found that there is a potential energy reduction of 5489.06 kWh, which gives a cost saving of RM 2282.52 via the improvement of lighting system design and its operating hours. Overall, it was found that there is a potential energy reduction and cost saving of 20.7% when the energy conservation measures are earnestly implemented. The previous energy intensity of the school was found to be 50.6 kWh/m(2)/year, but can theoretically be reduced to 40.19 kWh/mm(2)/year.
MeSH terms: Conservation of Energy Resources/economics*; Electricity; Humans; Lighting; Malaysia; Schools/economics*; Cost Savings*
Fractal dimensions (FDs) are frequently used for summarizing the complexity of retinal vascular. However, previous techniques on this topic were not zone specific. A new methodology to measure FD of a specific zone in retinal images has been developed and tested as a marker for stroke prediction. Higuchi's fractal dimension was measured in circumferential direction (FDC) with respect to optic disk (OD), in three concentric regions between OD boundary and 1.5 OD diameter from its margin. The significance of its association with future episode of stroke event was tested using the Blue Mountain Eye Study (BMES) database and compared against spectrum fractal dimension (SFD) and box-counting (BC) dimension. Kruskal-Wallis analysis revealed FDC as a better predictor of stroke (H = 5.80, P = 0.016, α = 0.05) compared with SFD (H = 0.51, P = 0.475, α = 0.05) and BC (H = 0.41, P = 0.520, α = 0.05) with overall lower median value for the cases compared to the control group. This work has shown that there is a significant association between zone specific FDC of eye fundus images with future episode of stroke while this difference is not significant when other FD methods are employed.
Recycling is one of the most efficient methods for environmental friendly waste management. Among municipal wastes, plastics are the most common material that can be easily recycled and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of its major types. PET material is used in consumer goods packaging such as drinking bottles, toiletry containers, food packaging and many more. Usually, a recycling process is tailored to a specific material for optimal purification and decontamination to obtain high grade recyclable material. The quantity and quality of the sorting process are limited by the capacity of human workers that suffer from fatigue and boredom. Several automated sorting systems have been proposed in the literature that include using chemical, proximity and vision sensors. The main advantages of vision based sensors are its environmentally friendly approach, non-intrusive detection and capability of high throughput. However, the existing methods rely heavily on deterministic approaches that make them less accurate as the variations in PET plastic waste appearance are too high. We proposed a probabilistic approach of modeling the PET material by analyzing the reflection region and its surrounding. Three parameters are modeled by Gaussian and exponential distributions: color, size and distance of the reflection region. The final classification is made through a supervised training method of likelihood ratio test. The main novelty of the proposed method is the probabilistic approach in integrating various PET material signatures that are contaminated by stains under constant lighting changes. The system is evaluated by using four performance metrics: precision, recall, accuracy and error. Our system performed the best in all evaluation metrics compared to the benchmark methods. The system can be further improved by fusing all neighborhood information in decision making and by implementing the system in a graphics processing unit for faster processing speed.