Environmental factors play a very important role in the child development process, especially in a situation like that of Iraq. Thirteen years of economic sanctions followed by the 2003 war and 8 years of unstable security have affected the daily life of Iraqi families and children. The objective of this study was to assess the associations between living environment domains and child intelligence quotient (IQ) score.
Measurement of quality of life among prostate cancer patients helps the health care providers to understand the impact of the disease in the patients' own perspective. The main aim of this study is to measure the quality of life among prostate cancer patients at University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) and to ascertain the association factors for physical coefficient summary (PCS) and mental coefficient summary (MCS). A hospital based, cross sectional study using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire was conducted over a period of 6 months. A total of 193 respondents were recruited. Their total quality of life score was 70.1± 14.7 and the PCS score was lower compared to MCS. The factors associated for PCS were: age, living partner, renal problem, urinary problem of intermittency, dysuria and hematuria. Factors associated for MCS were: age, living partner, renal problem, presenting prostatic specific antigen and urinary problem of intermittency and dysuria. Our prostate cancer patients had moderate quality of life in the physical health components but their mental health was less affected.
Standardized digital images of maxillary dental casts of 47 subjects were analyzed using MATLAB software whereby the two hamular notches and the incisive papilla defines the Cartesian vertical and horizontal axes, as well as the origin. The angle and length of the midpoints of the anterior teeth, mesiobuccal and distobuccal cusp of the posterior teeth were measured from the origin and denoted as θ(1), …, θ(18) and l(1), …, l(18) respectively. These values were collectively used to represent the shape of each dental cast. Clustering and principal component analyses were employed to find possible groups of dental arches using the above measure of shape. The main result of this study is that the 3 groups of dental arch shape may be represented by the novel feature vector v(k) = (θ(k)(1), l(k)(1), θ(k)(3), l(k)(3), θ(k)(5), l(k)(5), θ(k)(13), l(k)(13)), k = 1, 2, 3. Knowledge of v(k) implies three impression trays should be sufficient in a particular prosthetic dentistry application for Malaysian patients. Further, given that v(k) are accurately measured they may be potential candidates as evidence in specific application of forensic dentistry.
Synovial sarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma of the head and neck region involving the parapharyngeal space. The diagnosis of synovial sarcoma can be very challenging to the pathologists. We present a rare case of parapharyngeal synovial sarcoma in a young female patient who had a two-month history of left cervical intumescent mass at level II. The fine needle aspiration cytology of the mass was proved inconclusive. Transcervical excision of the mass was performed and the first case of parapharyngeal sarcoma was identified in our center by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique. Repeat imaging revealed residual tumor. The patient successfully underwent a second excision of the residual tumor and received adjuvant radiotherapy.
Central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were employed to optimize four important variables, i.e. amounts of oil, bacterial inoculum, nitrogen and phosphorus, for the removal of selected n-alkanes during bioremediation of weathered crude oil in coastal sediments using laboratory bioreactors over a 60 day experimentation period. The reactors contained 1 kg soil with different oil, microorganisms and nutrients concentrations. The F Value of 26.89 and the probability value (P < 0.0001) demonstrated significance of the regression model. For crude oil concentration of 2, 16 and 30 g per kg sediments and under optimized conditions, n-alkanes removal was 97.38, 93.14 and 90.21% respectively. Natural attenuation removed 30.07, 25.92 and 23.09% n-alkanes from 2, 16 and 30 g oil/kg sediments respectively. Excessive nutrients addition was found to inhibit bioremediation.
Hydrocarbon pollution in marine ecosystems occurs mainly by accidental oil spills, deliberate discharge of ballast waters from oil tankers and bilge waste discharges; causing site pollution and serious adverse effects on aquatic environments as well as human health. A large number of petroleum hydrocarbons are biodegradable, thus bioremediation has become an important method for the restoration of oil polluted areas. In this research, a series of natural attenuation, crude oil (CO) and dispersed crude oil (DCO) bioremediation experiments of artificially crude oil contaminated seawater was carried out. Bacterial consortiums were identified as Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. First order kinetics described the biodegradation of crude oil. Under abiotic conditions, oil removal was 19.9% while a maximum of 31.8% total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) removal was obtained in natural attenuation experiment. All DCO bioreactors demonstrated higher and faster removal than CO bioreactors. Half life times were 28, 32, 38 and 58 days for DCO and 31, 40, 50 and 75 days for CO with oil concentrations of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/L, respectively. The effectiveness of Corexit 9500 dispersant was monitored in the 45 day study; the results indicated that it improved the crude oil biodegradation rate.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of Fenton's technique for the treatment of semi-aerobic landfill leachate collected from Pulau Burung Landfill Site (PBLS), Penang, Malaysia. The Fe2+ or Fe3+ as catalyst and H2O2 as oxidizing agent are commonly used for the classical Fenton's reaction. In present study, the effect of operating conditions such as pH, reaction time, molar ratio, agitation rate, feeding mode and Fenton reagent concentrations which are important parameters that affect the removal efficiencies of Fenton method were investigated. Under the most favorable conditions, the highest removals of 58.1 and 78.3% were observed for COD and color, respectively. In general, the best operating conditions were pH = 3, Fe = 560 mg L(-1), H2O2 = 1020 mg L(-1), H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio = 3, agitation rate = 400 rpm and reaction time = 120 minutes. The results highlighted that stepwise addition of Fenton's reagent was more effective than adding the entire volume in a single step. Excessive hydrogen peroxide and iron have shown scavenging effects on hydroxyl radicals and reduced degradation of refractory organics in the landfill leachate.
Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations for removal of n-alkanes from crude oil contaminated seawater samples in batch reactors. Erlenmeyer flasks were used as bioreactors; each containing 250 mL dispersed crude oil contaminated seawater, indigenous acclimatized microorganism and different amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus based on central composite design (CCD). Samples were extracted and analyzed according to US-EPA protocols using a gas chromatograph. During 28 days of bioremediation, a maximum of 95% total aliphatic hydrocarbons removal was observed. The obtained Model F-value of 267.73 and probability F<0.0001 implied the model was significant. Numerical condition optimization via a quadratic model, predicted 98% n-alkanes removal for a 20-day laboratory bioremediation trial using nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of 13.62 and 1.39 mg/L, respectively. In actual experiments, 95% removal was observed under these conditions.
Mature landfill leachate is typically non-biodegradable and contains high concentration of refractory organics. The aim of this research was to optimize operating parameters in electro-Fenton process, for the removal of recalcitrant organics from semi-aerobic landfill leachate using response surface methodology (RSM). Effectiveness of important process parameters H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+) molar ratio, current density, pH and reaction time were determined, optimized and modeled successfully. Significant quadratic polynomial models were obtained (R(2)=0.9972 and 0.9984 for COD and color removals, respectively). Numerical optimization based on desirability function were employed; in a 43 min trial 94.07% of COD and 95.83% of color were removed at pH 3 and H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+) molar ratio 1, while current density was 49 mA/cm(2). The results indicate that E-Fenton process was an effective technology for semi-aerobic landfill leachate treatment.
Cutaneous larva migrans is a common parasitic skin disease that can be easily prevented by wearing 'protective' footwear. However, this has been under-emphasized in terms of what constitutes the protective footwear. Even though the disease resolves spontaneously, the significant duration of the disease along with severity of pruritus make treatment unavoidable. Here, we present a very long-standing creeping eruption, which puzzled many attending clinicians handling the case, and the possibility of long socks as a causal effect on the development of cutaneous larva migrans infection.
An intelligent prediction system has been developed to discriminate drug-like and non drug-like molecules pattern. The system is constructed by using the application of advanced version of standard multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network called Hybrid Multilayer Perceptron (HMLP) neural network and trained using Modified Recursive Prediction Error (MRPE) training algorithm. In this work, a well understood and easy excess Rule of Five + Veber filter properties are selected as the topological descriptor. The main idea behind the selection of this simple descriptor is to assure that the system could be used widely, beneficial and more advantageous regardless at all user level within a drug discovery organization.
In the present study, Electrochemical Oxidation was used to remove COD and color from semi-aerobic landfill leachate collected from Pulau Burung Landfill Site (PBLS), Penang, Malaysia. Experiments were conducted in a batch laboratory-scale system in the presence of NaCl as electrolyte and aluminum electrodes. Central composite design (CCD) under Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the electrochemical oxidation process conditions using chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removals as responses, and the electrolyte concentrations, current density and reaction time as control factors. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed good coefficient of determination (R(2)) values of >0.98, thus ensuring satisfactory fitting of the second-order regression model with the experimental data. In un-optimized condition, maximum removals for COD (48.77%) and color (58.21%) were achieved at current density 80 mA/cm(2), electrolyte concentration 3,000 mg/L and reaction time 240 min. While after optimization at current density 75 mA/cm(2), electrolyte concentration 2,000 mg/L and reaction time 218 min a maximum of 49.33 and 59.24% removals were observed for COD and color respectively.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at the main hospitals in Sana'a, Yemen to determine the attitude and practice of Yemen female doctors on mammography screening. Study subjects were all female doctors who were on duty during the questionnaire distribution. Those who agreed to participate were given the questionnaire to complete. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse socio-demographic variables and variables related to general health. Participants in this study were 105 female doctors with mean age of 32.1 years (SD = 7.17). Thirty-four respondents (36.6%) did not send asymptomatic women for mammography screening. The reasons were because of high cost (58.0%, n= 25), availability of other methods (23.3%, n= 10), instrument not available (11.6%, n= 5) and high risk of radiation (7.0%, n= 3). Twenty-five participants (26.9%) sent patients on regular basis if there was a family or personal history of breast cancer. Twenty-three participants (24.7%) sent the patients for mammogram screening every year regardless of the patients'history or symptoms. Although most doctors (36.5%) do not refer patients for mammography screening, seventy-seven (74.0%) indicated that they would refer patients for mammography screening on personal request by the patients. This study showed a low percentage of doctors who referred patients for routine mammography. The major reason given was the high cost of the procedure.
Increased prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major threat to the health sector worldwide due to their virulence, limited therapeutic options and their distribution in both hospital and community settings. Discovery and development of new anti-MRSA agents as alternatives to the very few antibiotics left in the armamentarium are, thus, urgently required. Recently, an efflux mechanism in MRSA has been identified as one of the main contributors of resistance towards various structurally unrelated antibiotics. The potential of reserpine (a phytoalkaloid) as efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) against various microbes remains limited as the concentration needed for inhibition is toxic to humans. This study therefore aimed to evaluate 13 alkaloid compounds as potential inhibitory agents and/or potential EPIs against a panel of three MRSA isolates which not only differ in their susceptibility to vancomycin (amongst the last drugs available to treat serious MRSA infection), but also exhibited active efflux activity. Results indicated berberine's moderate inhibitiory activity against two MRSA isolates scoring a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 125 microg/ml. Notable efflux inhibitory activity (ranging from two- to eightfold Ethidium Bromide MIC reduction) meanwhile was detected from quinine, piperine and harmaline using reserpine as the positive control. Findings from this study support the opinion that a vast number of potential phytocompounds with pharmacological potential await discovery. Therapeutic application of these compounds, however, warrants further investigation to ascertain their pharmacodynamics and safety aspects.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and its diagnosis on routine stains is usually straightforward, except in some cases where there may be difficulty in distinguishing HCCs from metastatic carcinomas (MC) and cholangiocarcinomas (CC). Hepatocyte Paraffin 1 antibody (Hep Par 1) is a new monoclonal antibody which reacts with normal and neoplastic hepatocytes, and this study aims to determine its specificity and sensitivity in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and metastatic carcinomas (MC). Hep Par 1 antibody was applied to 28 cases of HCC, 22 cases of MC from varying sites and 8 CCs, and produced a strong, diffuse, granular, cytoplasmic staining of all benign hepatocytes. 23 out of 28 cases of HCC showed heterogeneously positive staining for Hep Par 1 irrespective of their degree of differentiation, while 2 out of 8 cases of cholangiocarcinoma were positive for Hep Par 1, and all 22 cases of metastatic carcinoma were negative. The sensitivity and specificity of Hep Par 1 for HCC was 82.1% and 93.3% respectively; whereby the antibody was noted to show occasional false positivity in cases of cholangiocarcinoma and non-neoplastic bowel mucosa, while its variable staining in HCC produced false negative results in some small biopsies. Thus, Hep Par 1 should be used in a panel with other antibodies to obtain useful information in distinguishing HCC from CC and MC.
The treatment and therapy to be administered on breast cancer patients are dependent on the stage of the disease at time of diagnosis. It is therefore crucial to determine the stage at the earliest time possible. Tumor dissemination to axillary lymph nodes has been regarded as an indication of tumor aggression, thus the stage of the disease. Neural networks have been employed in many applications including breast cancer prognosis. The performance of the networks have often been quoted based on accuracy and mean squared error. In this paper, the performance of hybrid networks based on Multilayer Perceptron and Radial Basis Function networks to predict axillary lymph node involvement have been investigated. A measurement of how confident the networks are with respect to the results produced is also proposed. The input layer of the networks include four image cytometry features extracted from fine needle aspiration of breast lesions. The highest accuracy achieved by the hybrid networks was 69% only. However, most of the correctly predicted cases had a high confidence level.
Our aim of this study was to develop a new methodology for constructing a bilayer human skin equivalent to create a more clinical compliance skin graft composite for the treatment of various skin defects. We utilized human plasma derived fibrin as the scaffold for the development of a living bilayer human skin equivalent: fibrin-fibroblast and fibrin-keratinocyte (B-FF/FK SE). Skin cells from six consented patients were culture-expanded to passage 1. For B-FF/FK SE formation, human fibroblasts were embedded in human fibrin matrix and subsequently another layer of human keratinocytes in human fibrin matrix was stacked on top. The B-FF/FK SE was then transplanted to athymic mice model for 4 weeks to evaluate its regeneration and clinical performance. The in vivo B-FF/FK SE has similar properties as native human skin by histological analysis and expression of basal Keratin 14 gene in the epidermal layer and Collagen type I gene in the dermal layer. Electron microscopy analysis of in vivo B-FF/FK SE showed well-formed and continuous epidermal-dermal junction. We have successfully developed a technique to engineer living bilayer human skin equivalent using human fibrin matrix. The utilization of culture-expanded human skin cells and fibrin matrix from human blood will allow a fully autologous human skin equivalent construction.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4-N) from synthetic wastewater using limestone (LS) and granular activated carbon (GAC) mixture as low cost adsorbent. In batch study, optimum shaking and settling times were 150 and 120 min, respectively. The LS-GAC mixture ratio of 25:15 removed about 58% NH4-N. The smaller particle size of medium yielded higher adsorption capacity. The equilibrium adsorption data followed the Freundlich isotherm (R2 > 0.98) but it showed weak bond. Adsorption kinetics were well described by the pseudo second-order rate model (R2 > 0.93). The upflow column showed that higher flow rate and initial concentration resulted in shorter column saturation time. The study showed that the usage of GAC could be reduced by combining GAC with LS for the removal of NH4-N from wastewater; thus reducing the cost of treatment.
PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that fluoride-modified titanium surfaces would enhance osteoblast differentiation. Osteoblast growth on a moderately rough etched fluoride-modified titanium surface (alteration in cellular differentiation) was compared to osteoblast growth on the same surface grit-blasted with titanium dioxide. The potential role of nanometer-level alterations on cell shape and subsequent differentiation was then compared.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human embryonic palatal mesenchymal (HEPM) cultures were incubated on the respective surfaces for 1, 3, and 7 days, followed by analysis for cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) -specific activity, and mRNA steady-state expression for bone-related genes (ALP, type I collagen, osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein [BSP] II, Cbfa1, and osterix) by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
RESULTS: The different surfaces did not alter the mRNA expression for ALP, type I collagen, osterix, osteocalcin, or BSP II. However, Cbfa1 expression on the fluoride-modified titanium surface was significantly higher (P < .001) at 1 week. The number of cells on this surface was 20% lower than the number of cells on the surface TiO2-blasted with 25-microm particles but not significantly different from the number of cells on the surface TiO2-blasted with 125-microm particles. Cells grown on all the titanium surfaces expressed similar levels of ALP activity.
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that a fluoride-modified surface topography, in synergy with surface roughness, may have a greater influence on the level of expression of Cbfa1 (a key regulator for osteogenesis) than the unmodified titanium surfaces studied.