19672 research outputs found
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Novel chitosan derivative based composite scaffolds with enhanced angiogenesis; potential candidates for healing chronic non-healing wounds
No full textThe success of wound healing depends upon the proper growth of vascular system in time in the damaged tissues. Poor blood supply to wounded tissues or tissue engineered grafts leads to the failure of wound healing or rejection of grafts. In present paper, we report the synthesis of novel organosoluble and pro-angiogenic chitosan derivative (CSD) by the reaction of chitosan with 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid and triethylorthoformate (TEOF). The synthesized material was characterized by FTIR and 13C-NMR to confirm the incorporated functional groups and new covalent connectivities. Biodegradability of the synthesized chitosan derivative was tested in the presence of lysozyme and was found to be comparable with CS. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis effect of new derivative was determined against gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells and was found to be non-toxic. The CSD was found to be soluble in majority of organic solvents. It was blended with polycaprolactone (PCL) to form composite scaffolds. From an ex ovo CAM assay, it was noted that CSD stimulated the angiogenesis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
Tunable Q-switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Using Gold Nanoparticles Saturable Absorber
No full textWe have fabricated gold nanoparticles (GNP) based saturable absorber and used it to passively Q-switch an Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL). By adjusting a tunable filter, the laser operation is tunable from 1535 to 1560 nm. The highest slope efficiency of 23.38% is obtained at 1545 nm. At this operation wavelength, the repetition rate of the self-starting Q-switching pulses is increased from 19.2 to 36.4 kHz, while the pulse width is reduced from 18.2 to 11.1 μs, with increasing pump power from 14.9 to 37.7 mW. The maximum pulse energy of 195 nJ is obtained at 37.7 mW pump power. The proposed Q-switched laser is simple, cost-effective and thus suitable for environmental sensing, metrology and biomedical diagnostics ©2019 Old City Publishing, Inc
Economic and Social Well-Being of Asian Labour Migrants: A Literature Review
No full textIn this research article, we discussed the economic and social well-being of the Asian labour migrants in Asia. We are arguing that this issue is rarely addressed in the literature. The major characteristics of the migrant workers in Asian countries are seriously exploited, marginalized, and infrequently looked from human rights perspective. A Qualitative Interpretative Meta-Synthesis was conducted to analyze the contextual socio-economic factors that characterized intra-Asian migrant workers’ economic and social well-being. It is perceived that in most of the recruiting countries, there are lacks of government commitments to the international protocols, conventions and laws that they ratified towards safeguarding migrant workers’ economic and social well-being. The review results showed that despite some opportunities, the migrant workers had lack of job security, poor salary, long working hours, low access to the public services, poor health, poor living and working conditions, lack of legal rights, and physical and mental threats towards their economic and social well-being. The finding would be important guideline to the governments, policy makers, legal rights practitioners, and human rights organizations. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature
The association between CKD-associated pruritus and quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Pakistan
No full textChronic kidney disease (CKD)-associated pruritus is one of the most common symptoms found in patients who undergo dialysis for CKD, leading to a compromised quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the association between CKD-associated pruritus and the quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Pakistan. A cross-sectional multicenter study was carried out from July 2016 to April 2017 in 2 tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. Patients aged 18 years and above of both genders, undergoing hemodialysis, understood the Urdu language, and were willing to participate; were included. Of 354 recruited patients with a response rate of 100%, majority (66.1%) of the patients were males. The median (intra-quartile range [IQR]) age of patients was 42.0 [34.0-50.0] years. The prevalence of pruritus was 74%. The median [IQR] score for pruritus was 10.0 (out of possible 25) [8.0-12.0]. Multivariate linear regression revealed a statistically significant association between CKD-associated pruritus with age of patients (β=0.031; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.002-0.061; P=.038), duration of CKD (β=-0.013; 95% CI=-0.023 - 0.003; P=.014) and quality of life (β= -0.949; 95% CI=-1.450; -0.449). The median [IQR] score for health-related quality of life was 52.00 [43.00-58.00].Prevalence of CKD-associated pruritus was reported to be 74% and it negatively affected the patient's quality of life. Patients with moderate to severe CKD-associated pruritus have poor quality of life. With an increase in intensity of pruritus, the QOL score decreased among the patients undergoing hemodialysis. Copyright © 2019 the Author(s)
Prediction of signaling pathway induced by solanum nigrum polysaccharide fraction, SN-ppF3 in activating raw 264.7 macrophage cells
No full textPreviously, the Solanum nigrum polysaccharide fraction, SN-ppF3 was proven to have an immunomodulatory activity by classically activating RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line. However, the cellular pathway induced by SN-ppF3 has not to be outlined. In the present study, we predicted the possible cellular pathways induced when macrophage cells were treated with SN-ppF3. The cells were treated with SN-ppF3 for 24 hours and microscopically observed for any morphological due to the treatment. Pinocytosis analysis was carried out to revalidate SN-ppF3 capability as an immunomodulator and also to serve as cytotoxicity evaluation. To outline the signaling pathway induced the cell lysate of 24 hours SN-ppF3-treated macrophage cells were subjected to inflammation analysis through ELISA approach. After the treatment, the morphology of RAW 264.7 cells was obviously altered and pinocytosis activity was significantly increased. In response to the treatment, several phosphorylated proteins such as IκB-α, p38, and NF-κB p65 were significantly up-regulated. Our study suggested that SN-ppF3 treatment could classically activate macrophage through NF-κB pathways which closely similar to the pathway induced by LPS. © 2019 Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. All rights reserved
A Systematic Mapping Study of the Empirical MOOC Literature
No full textMassive open online courses (MOOCs) have revolutionized todays education by offering a global accessible form of online learning. Over the years, MOOCs have been an attractive research area and have yielded an ample amount of research publications. However, the existing review studies in MOOCs are characterized by short year coverage or focusing on a specific theme. As such, a systematic mapping methodology was adopted to provide a fine-grain overview of MOOC research domain by identifying the quantity, types of research, available results and publication trends in educational aspects of MOOCs from 2009 to 2018. Key findings show that I) MOOC research have been on the rise since MOOCs became mainstream in 2011. II) MOOC research largely resides in the United States and few European countries. II) Most of MOOC studies focused on addressing learners' completion/dropout/retention. In addition, we proposed some recommendations for future research on MOOCs. © 2013 IEEE
Building the Bridge between Higher Learning Institution and Social Media Technologies through Mobile Learning in Malaysia
No full textThe Malaysian government sees education as one of the important factors in the country’s advancement. In order to achieve this, Malaysia needs to have an up-to-date technology such as Social Media Technologies (SMTs) to support the learning system in Higher learning institutions (HLIs). There is a great argument that 21st Century students learn differently. SMTs help to form a student-centered environments among the digital generation. It bridges a gap in knowledge in relation between SMTs and its impact in HLIs. Mobile learning and SMTs deliver the ability to communicate with academicians and students. HLIs should take this opportunity to connect SMTs to design a modern educational setting that will advance their learning experiences. It shows that SMTs have a great value for academic associated, particularly as a teaching and learning tool. HLIs and students have identified numerous challenges related to the adoption process. This study reviews and evaluates the SMTs related research articles published in academic journals between the year 2010 to 2018, mainly in HLIs fields. It identifies the impacts of SMTs on both students and academicianss in HLIs and associate how SMTs can be effectively connected to Mobile learning to support and enhance the students’ learning in Malaysia. © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved
Postmortem evidence of disseminated Zika virus infection in an adult patient
No full text[No abstract available
Knowledge and attitude towards identification of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis among emergency personnel in tertiary teaching hospital
No full textIntroduction: An emergency department (ED) is often the first point of medical contact for sepsis patient, which plays an important role in early identification and management of high-risk septic patients. The present study was aim to evaluate emergency personnel's knowledge and attitude toward identification and management of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital and recruited all emergency personnel. A validated questionnaire on knowledge and attitude towards identification and management of SIRS/sepsis was distributed among 120 emergency personnel. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Overall finding founds emergency nurses and assistant medical officer appeared to have moderate knowledge in several important areas of SIRS/sepsis identification and management. Majority of the emergency personnel have neutral attitudes, as they do not give enough importance towards identification of patients with SIRS and sepsis. The present study finding found that knowledge of clinical criteria and management of SIRS/sepsis was highest among assistant medical officers (p = 0.02) and bachelor's degree holders (p = 0.02) with emergency experience more than 5 years (p = 0.03). A trend toward an increase in knowledge of SIRS and sepsis is significantly correlated with positive attitudes. Conclusion: The emergency personnel demonstrated a moderate knowledge and neutral attitude toward identification and management of SIRS and sepsis. Therefore, the awareness and knowledge of SIRS and sepsis should be enhanced among emergency personnel in order to improve outcome. © 2018 College of Emergency Nursing Australasi
Wind Turbine Tower Modeling and Vibration Control Under Different Types of Loads Using Ant Colony Optimized PID Controller
No full textVibration in the wind turbine tower disturbs the reliability and increases the possibility of structural damage. Design and optimization of vibration controller are a key goal for wind turbine tower to achieve optimal performance. In this study, a proportional integral derivative (PID) is designed and optimized using nature technology to find optimal required force for actuators and therefore, reducing wind turbine tower vibration. PID controller parameters are optimized with ant colony optimization (ACO) and compared with traditional tuning methods such as Ziegler–Nichols and Tyreus–Luyben methods to ensure its effectiveness in minimizing wind turbine tower vibration. The optimized active vibration controller shows better performance than traditional method in terms of vibration reduction rate, ability to adapt when frequency varies and computational time. This paper also investigated finite difference method for wind turbine tower modeling, and its efficacy is compared with another well-known numerical finite element method based on mean squared error, fit to estimated data and cross signature assurance criterion. The performance of ACO optimized PID controller is investigated for wind turbine tower under four different types of disturbances and compared with uncontrolled and passive controlled system. Results show that 98, 84, 92 and 98% of displacement of the tower are reduced under simulated blade/rotor imbalance, impact, wind and turbulence disturbances, respectively, using ACO optimized PID controller. © 2018, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals