BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a highly relevant public health challenge. Digital interventions may support improving adherence to anti-hypertensive medications and alter health behavior. Therefore, this protocol describes a study that aims to assess the effectiveness of mHealth and educational support through peer counseling (Ed-counselling) to control blood pressure in hypertensive patients when compared to standard care.
METHODS: We chose a double-blinded pragmatic randomized-controlled with factorial design for this investigation. The trial is going to recruit 1648 hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease at the age of 21 to 70 years. All participants will already be on anti-hypertensive medication and own a smartphone. They will be randomized into four groups with each having 412 participants. The first group will only receive standard care; while the second group, in addition to standard care, will receive monthly Ed-counselling (educational booklets with animated infographics and peer counseling); the third group will receive daily written and voice reminders and an education-led video once weekly together with standard care; while the fourth one gets both interventions given to second and third groups respectively. All groups will be followed-up for 1 year (0, 6, and 12 months). The primary outcome will be the change in systolic blood pressure while secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life and changes in medication adherence. For measuring changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and adherence scores difference at 0, 6, and 12 months between and within the group, parametric (ANOVA/repeated measure ANOVA) and non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis test/Friedman test) will be used. By using the general estimating equation (GEE) with negative binomial regression, at 12 months, the covariates affecting primary and secondary outcomes will be determined and controlled. The analysis will be intention-to-treat. All the outcomes will be analyzed at 0, 6, and 12 months; however, the final analysis will be at 12 months from baseline.
DISCUSSION: Besides adding up to existing evidence in the literature on the subject, our designed modules using mHealth technology can help in reducing hypertension-related morbidity and mortality in developing countries.
Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide on earth. It has a large number of desirable properties. Its low toxicity makes it more useful for a variety of applications. Nowadays, its composites are used in most engineering fields. Composite consists of a polymer matrix and use as a reinforcing material. By reducing the cost of traditional fibers, it has an increasing demand for environment-friendly purposes. The use of these types of composites is inherent in moisture absorption with hindered natural fibers. This determines the reduction of polymer composite material. By appropriate chemical surface treatment of cellulose composite materials, the effect could be diminished. The most modern and advanced techniques and methods for the preparation of cellulose and polymer composites are discussed here. Cellulosic composites show a reinforcing effect on the polymer matrix as pointed out by mechanical characterization. Researchers tried their hard work to study different ways of converting various agricultural by-products into useful eco-friendly polymer composites for sustainable production. Cellulose plays building blocks, that are critical for polymer products and their engineering applications. The most common method used to prepare composites is in-situ polymerization. This help to increase the yields of cellulosic composites with a significant enhancement in thermal stability and mechanical properties. Recently, cellulose composites used as enhancing the incorporation of inorganic materials in multi-functional properties. Furthermore, we have summarized in this review the potential applications of cellulose composites in different fields like packaging, aerogels, hydrogels, and fibers.
In this research article, novel starch phosphate grafted polyvinyl imidazole (StP-g-PIMDZs) was synthesized. Firstly, a phosphate group was attached to starch polymer via a phosphorylation reaction. Next, 1-vinyl imidazole (VIMDZ) was grafted on the backbone of starch phosphate (StP) through a free radical polymerization reaction. The synthesis of these modified starches was confirmed by 1H NMR, 31P NMR and FT-IR techniques. The grafting of vinyl imidazole onto StP diminished the crystallinity. Due to the insertion of the aromatic imidazole ring, the StP-g-PIMDZs demonstrated greater thermal stability. The StP and StP-g-PIMDZs were used as sorbents for the adsorption of methylene blue dye (MBD) from the model solution. The maximum removal percentage for starch, StP, StP-g-PIMDZ 1, StP-g-PIMDZ 2 and StP-g-PIMDZ 3 was found to be 60.6%, 66.7%, 74.2%, 85.3 and 95.4%, respectively. The Pseudo second order kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm were best suited to the experimental data with R2 = 0.999 and 0.99, respectively. Additionally, the thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption process was feasible, spontaneous, endothermic and favored chemi-sorption mechanism.
This study is based on the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution by cost effective and biodegradable adsorbent carboxymethyl starch grafted polyvinyl pyrolidone (Car-St-g-PVP). The Car-St-g-PVP was synthesized by grafting vinyl pyrolidone onto carboxymethyl starch by free radical polymerization reaction. The structure and different properties of Car-St-g-PVP were determined by 1H NMR, FT-IR, XRD, TGA and SEM. A series of batch experiments were conducted for the removal of MB, The adsorption affecting factors such as temperature, contact time, initial concentration of MB dye, dose of Car-St-g-PVP and pH were studied in detail. The other parameters like the thermodynamic study, kinetics and isothermal models were fitted to the experimental data. The results showed that pseudo 2nd order kinetics and Langmuir's adsorption isotherms were best fitted to experimental data with regression coefficient R2 viz. 0.99 and 0.97. The kinetic study showed that the adsorption mechanism favored chemisorption. The Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) for the adsorption process was found to be -7.31 kJ/mol, -8.23 kJ/mol, -9.00 kJ/mol and -10.10 kJ/mol at 25 °C, 35 °C, 45 °C and 55 °C respectively. The negative values of ΔG° suggested the spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. Similarly, the positive values of entropy (ΔS°) and enthalpy (ΔH°) 91.27 J/k.mol and 19.90 kJ/mol showed the increasing randomness and endothermic nature of the adsorption process. The value of separation factor (RL) was found to be less than one (RL
Epoxy resins are important thermosetting polymers. They are widely used in many applications i.e., adhesives, plastics, coatings and sealers. Epoxy molding compounds have attained dominance among common materials due to their excellent mechanical properties. The sol-gel simple method was applied to distinguish the impact on the colloidal time. The properties were obtained with silica-based fillers to enable their mechanical and thermal improvement. The work which we have done here on epoxy-based nanocomposites was successfully modified. The purpose of this research was to look into the effects of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) on various properties and applications. CNCs have recently attracted a lot of interest in a variety of industries due to their high aspect ratio, and low density which makes them perfect candidates. Adding different amounts of silica-based nanocomposites to the epoxy system. Analyzed with different techniques such as Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscope (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electronic microscopic (SEM) to investigate the morphological properties of modified composites. The various %-age of silica composite was prepared in the epoxy system. The 20% of silica was shown greater enhancement and improvement. They show a better result than D-400 epoxy. Increasing the silica, the transparency of the films decreased, because clustering appears. This shows that the broad use of CNCs in environmental engineering applications is possible, particularly for surface modification, which was evaluated for qualities such as absorption and chemical resistant behavior.
Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica, Apenidiella antarctica from permafrost, Cladosporium fildesense from an unidentified marine sponge. Argentina, Geastrum wrightii on humus in mixed forest. Australia, Golovinomyces glandulariae on Glandularia aristigera, Neoanungitea eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis, Teratosphaeria corymbiicola on leaves of Corymbia ficifolia, Xylaria eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus radiata. Brazil, Bovista psammophila on soil, Fusarium awaxy on rotten stalks of Zea mays, Geastrum lanuginosum on leaf litter covered soil, Hermetothecium mikaniae-micranthae (incl. Hermetothecium gen. nov.) on Mikania micrantha, Penicillium reconvexovelosoi in soil, Stagonosporopsis vannaccii from pod of Glycine max. British Virgin Isles, Lactifluus guanensis on soil. Canada, Sorocybe oblongispora on resin of Picea rubens. Chile, Colletotrichum roseum on leaves of Lapageria rosea. China, Setophoma caverna from carbonatite in Karst cave. Colombia, Lareunionomyces eucalypticola on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis. Costa Rica, Psathyrella pivae on wood. Cyprus, Clavulina iris on calcareous substrate. France, Chromosera ambigua and Clavulina iris var. occidentalis on soil. French West Indies, Helminthosphaeria hispidissima on dead wood. Guatemala, Talaromyces guatemalensis in soil. Malaysia, Neotracylla pini (incl. Tracyllales ord. nov. and Neotracylla gen. nov.) and Vermiculariopsiella pini on needles of Pinus tecunumanii. New Zealand, Neoconiothyrium viticola on stems of Vitis vinifera, Parafenestella pittospori on Pittosporum tenuifolium, Pilidium novae-zelandiae on Phoenix sp. Pakistan, Russula quercus-floribundae on forest floor. Portugal, Trichoderma aestuarinum from saline water. Russia, Pluteus liliputianus on fallen branch of deciduous tree, Pluteus spurius on decaying deciduous wood or soil. South Africa, Alloconiothyrium encephalarti, Phyllosticta encephalarticola and Neothyrostroma encephalarti (incl. Neothyrostroma gen. nov.) on leaves of Encephalartos sp., Chalara eucalypticola on leaf spots of Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla, Clypeosphaeria oleae on leaves of Olea capensis, Cylindrocladiella postalofficium on leaf litter of Sideroxylon inerme, Cylindromonium eugeniicola (incl. Cylindromonium gen. nov.) on leaf litter of Eugenia capensis, Cyphellophora goniomatis on leaves of Gonioma kamassi, Nothodactylaria nephrolepidis (incl. Nothodactylaria gen. nov. and Nothodactylariaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Nephrolepis exaltata, Falcocladium eucalypti and Gyrothrix eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Gyrothrix oleae on leaves of Olea capensis subsp. macrocarpa, Harzia metrosideri on leaf litter of Metrosideros sp., Hippopotamyces phragmitis (incl. Hippopotamyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Phragmites australis, Lectera philenopterae on Philenoptera violacea, Leptosillia mayteni on leaves of Maytenus heterophylla, Lithohypha aloicola and Neoplatysporoides aloes on leaves of Aloe sp., Millesimomyces rhoicissi (incl. Millesimomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Rhoicissus digitata, Neodevriesia strelitziicola on leaf litter of Strelitzia nicolai, Neokirramyces syzygii (incl. Neokirramyces gen. nov.) on leaf spots of Syzygium sp., Nothoramichloridium perseae (incl. Nothoramichloridium gen. nov. and Anungitiomycetaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Persea americana, Paramycosphaerella watsoniae on leaf spots of Watsonia sp., Penicillium cuddlyae from dog food, Podocarpomyces knysnanus (incl. Podocarpomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Podocarpus falcatus, Pseudocercospora heteropyxidicola on leaf spots of Heteropyxis natalensis, Pseudopenidiella podocarpi, Scolecobasidium podocarpi and Ceramothyrium podocarpicola on leaves of Podocarpus latifolius, Scolecobasidium blechni on leaves of Blechnum capense, Stomiopeltis syzygii on leaves of Syzygium chordatum, Strelitziomyces knysnanus (incl. Strelitziomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Strelitzia alba, Talaromyces clemensii from rotting wood in goldmine, Verrucocladosporium visseri on Carpobrotus edulis. Spain, Boletopsis mediterraneensis on soil, Calycina cortegadensisi on a living twig of Castanea sativa, Emmonsiellopsis tuberculata in fluvial sediments, Mollisia cortegadensis on dead attached twig of Quercus robur, Psathyrella ovispora on soil, Pseudobeltrania lauri on leaf litter of Laurus azorica, Terfezia dunensis in soil, Tuber lucentum in soil, Venturia submersa on submerged plant debris. Thailand, Cordyceps jakajanicola on cicada nymph, Cordyceps kuiburiensis on spider, Distoseptispora caricis on leaves of Carex sp., Ophiocordyceps khonkaenensis on cicada nymph. USA, Cytosporella juncicola and Davidiellomyces juncicola on culms of Juncus effusus, Monochaetia massachusettsianum from air sample, Neohelicomyces melaleucae and Periconia neobrittanica on leaves of Melaleuca styphelioides × lanceolata, Pseudocamarosporium eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Pseudogymnoascus lindneri from sediment in a mine, Pseudogymnoascus turneri from sediment in a railroad tunnel, Pulchroboletus sclerotiorum on soil, Zygosporium pseudomasonii on leaf of Serenoa repens. Vietnam, Boletus candidissimus and Veloporphyrellus vulpinus on soil. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes.