OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a virtual reality condition on students' learning ability and physiological state.
METHODS: Students were shown 6 sets of videos (3 videos in a two-dimensional condition and 3 videos in a three-dimensional condition), and their learning ability was analyzed based on a subsequent questionnaire. In addition, we analyzed the reaction of the brain and facial muscles of the students during both the two-dimensional and three-dimensional viewing conditions and used fractal theory to investigate their attention to the videos.
RESULTS: The learning ability of students was increased in the three-dimensional condition compared to that in the two-dimensional condition. In addition, analysis of physiological signals showed that students paid more attention to the three-dimensional videos.
CONCLUSIONS: A virtual reality condition has a greater effect on enhancing the learning ability of students. The analytical approach of this study can be further extended to evaluate other physiological signals of subjects in a virtual reality condition.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between 24th February 2020 and 20th April 2020. All consecutive patients in the entire State of Kuwait diagnosed with COVID-19 according to WHO guidelines and admitted to Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital were included. Patients received standardized investigations and treatments. Multivariable analysis was used to determine the associations between risk factors and outcomes (admission to intensive care and/or mortality).
Findings: Of 1096 patients, the median age was 41 years and 81% of patients were male. Most patients were asymptomatic on admission (46.3%), of whom 35 later developed symptoms, and 59.7% had no signs of infection. Only 3.6% of patients required an ICU admission and 1.7% were dead at the study's cutoff date. On multivariable analysis, the risk factors found to be significantly associated with admission to intensive care were age above 50 years old, a qSOFA score above 0, smoking, elevated CRP and elevated procalcitonin levels. Asthma, smoking and elevated procalcitonin levels correlated significantly with mortality in our cohort.
RESULTS: The total phenolic and flavonoid content, radical scavenging (IC50 ) and metal reducing properties were 67.0 ± 2.5 mg GAE g-1 sample 32.0 ± 0.5 mg QE g-1 extract, 0.08 ± 0.01 mg mL-1 and 510 ± 10 µmol eq Fe(II) g-1 extract, respectively. Morphological and spectroscopic analysis of the fibre mats confirmed successful nanoencapsulation of MO extract within defect free nanofibres via electrospinning process. The percentage encapsulation efficiency (EE) was between 80% and 85%. Furthermore, thermal stability of encapsulated fibres, especially at 3% and 5% of core loading content, was significantly improved. Toxicological analysis revealed that the extract in its original and encapsulated form was safe for oral consumption.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the present study showed the potential of ambient temperature electrospinning process as a safe nanoencapsulation method, where MO extract retained its antioxidative capacities. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
DESIGN: 12 subjects with normal and 12 with increased WC, matched for age and gender were examined fasted and following a meal and with waist belts on and off. A magnet was clipped to the squamo-columnar junction (SCJ). Combined assembly of magnet-locator probe, 12-channel pH catheter and 36-channel manometer was passed.
RESULTS: The waist belt and increased WC were each associated with proximal displacement of SCJ within the diaphragmatic hiatus (relative to upper border of lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS), peak LOS pressure point and pressure inversion point, and PIP (all p<0.05). The magnitude of proximal migration of SCJ during transient LOS relaxations was reduced by 1.6-2.6 cm with belt on versus off (p=0.01) and in obese versus non-obese (p=0.04), consistent with its resting position being already proximally displaced. The waist belt, but not increased WC, was associated with increased LOS pressure (vs intragastric pressure) and movement of pH transition point closer to SCJ. At 5 cm above upper border LOS, the mean % time pH <4 was <4% in all studied groups. Acid exposure 0.5-1.5 cm above SCJ was increased, with versus without, belt (p=0.02) and was most marked in obese subjects with belt.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that in asymptomatic volunteers, waist belt and central obesity cause partial hiatus herniation and short-segment acid reflux. This provides a plausible explanation for the high incidence of inflammation and metaplasia and occurrence of neoplasia at the GOJ in subjects without a history of reflux symptoms.
METHODS: A prospective cohort study of all patients with COVID-19 found in the Electronic Medical Records of Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital in Kuwait was conducted. The study included 3995 individuals (symptomatic and asymptomatic) of all ages who tested positive from February 24th to May 27th, 2020, out of which 315 were treated in the ICU and 3619 were discharged including those who were transferred to a different healthcare unit without having previously entered the ICU. A competing risk analysis considering two events, namely, ICU admission and hospital discharge using flexible hazard models was performed to describe the association between event-specific probabilities and patient characteristics.
RESULTS: Results showed that being male, increasing age and comorbidities such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and weakened immune system increased the risk of ICU admission within 10 days of entering the hospital. CKD and weakened immune system decreased the probabilities of discharge in both females and males however, the age-related pattern differed by gender. Diabetes, which was the most prevalent comorbid condition, had only a moderate impact on both probabilities (18% overall) in contrast to CKD which had the largest effect, but presented only in 7% of those admitted to ICU and in 1% of those who got discharged. For instance, within 5 days a 50-year-old male had 19% (95% C.I.: [15,23]) probability of entering the ICU if he had none of these comorbidities, yet this risk jumped to 31% (95% C.I.: [20,46]) if he had also CKD, and to 27% in the presence of asthma/COPD (95% C.I.: [19,36]) or of weakened immune system (95% C.I.: [16,42]).
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides useful insight in describing the probabilities of ICU admission and hospital discharge according to age, gender, and comorbidities among confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kuwait. A web-tool is also provided to allow the user to estimate these probabilities for any combination of these covariates. These probabilities enable deeper understanding of the hospital demand according to patient characteristics which is essential to hospital management and useful for developing a vaccination strategy.
METHODS: We used the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ), antral and body biopsies from the 52 Helicobacter pylori-negative healthy volunteers who had participated in our earlier physiological study and did not have hiatus hernia, transsphincteric acid reflux, Barrett's oesophagus or intestinal metaplasia (IM) at cardia. The densities of inflammatory cells and reactive atypia were scored at squamous, cardiac and oxyntocardiac mucosa of SCJ, antrum and body. Slides were stained for caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX-2), villin, trefoil factor family 3 (TFF-3) and liver-intestine (LI)-cadherin, mucin MUC1, Muc-2 and Muc-5ac. In addition, biopsies from 15 Barrett's patients with/without IM were stained and scored as comparison. Immunohistological characteristics were correlated with parameters of obesity and high-resolution pH metry recording.
RESULTS: Cardiac mucosa had a similar intensity of inflammatory infiltrate to non-IM Barrett's and greater than any of the other upper GI mucosae. The immunostaining pattern of cardiac mucosa most closely resembled non-IM Barrett's showing only slightly weaker CDX-2 immunostaining. In distal oesophageal squamous mucosa, expression of markers of columnar differentiation (TFF-3 and LI-cadherin) was apparent and these correlated with central obesity (correlation coefficient (CC)=0.604, p=0.001 and CC=0.462, p=0.002, respectively). In addition, expression of TFF-3 in distal oesophageal squamous mucosa correlated with proximal extension of gastric acidity within the region of the lower oesophageal sphincter (CC=-0.538, p=0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with expansion of cardia in healthy volunteers occurring by squamo columnar metaplasia of distal oesophagus and aggravated by central obesity. This metaplastic origin of expanded cardia may be relevant to the substantial proportion of cardia adenocarcinomas unattributable to H. pylori or transsphincteric acid reflux.
Methods and materials: The phantom is fabricated with two main parts, liver parenchyma and HCC inserts. The liver parenchyma was fabricated by adding 2.5 wt% of agarose powder combined with 2.6 wt% of wax powder while the basic material for the HCC samples was made from polyurethane solution combined with 5 wt% glycerol. Three HCC samples were inserted into the parenchyma by using three cylinders implanted inside the liver parenchyma. An automatic injector is attached to the input side of the cylinders and a suction device connected to the output side of the cylinders. After the phantom was prepared, the contrast materials were injected into the phantom and imaged using MRI, CT, and ultrasound.
Results: Both HCC samples and liver parenchyma were clearly distinguished using the three imaging modalities: MRI, CT, and ultrasound. Doppler ultrasound was also applied through the HCC samples and the flow pattern was observed through the samples.
Conclusion: A multimodal dynamic liver phantom, with HCC tumor models have been fabricated. This phantom helps to improve and develop different methods for detecting HCC in its early stages.
METHODS: The cytotoxicity activity was measured using MTS assay. The mode of cell death was analysed by early (phosphatidylserine externalization) and late apoptosis (DNA fragmentation). The caspases 8, 9, 3/7 and apoptotic proteins bax, bcl-2 study were done by western blot and ELISA method.
RESULTS: The methanol extract was found to inhibit 50% growth of T-47D cells at the concentration of 79.43µg/ml respectively after 72hr. From seven fractions, fraction F1, F2 and F3 produced cytotoxicity effects in T-47D cell line with IC50 (72hr) < 30µg/ml. The results obtained by Annexin V/PI apoptosis detection assay and TUNEL assay suggest that active fractions of Vitex rotundifolia induced early and late apoptosis (DNA fragmentation) in T-47D cell line. Moreover, western blot analysis and Caspase GloTM luminescent assay demonstrated that fractions F2 and F3 triggered apoptotic cell death via activation of caspases -8, -9 and -3/7 and up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein. Furthermore, chemical profiling confirms the presence of potential metabolites (vitexicarpin) in fractions of Vitex rotundifolia.
CONCLUSION: Thus, the present study suggests the remarkable potential of active metabolites in fractions of Vitex rotundifolia as future cancer therapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer.
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