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Preparation of Hybrid Chitosan/Silica Composites Via Ionotropic Gelation and Its Electrochemical Impedance Studies
No full textHybrid materials are inimitable conjugates of organic/inorganic structures having synergetic behaviour and extraordinary properties. Therefore, hybrid chitosan/silica composite was synthesized by using sodium tripolyphosphate via ionotropic gelation technique. The obtained intercalation of hybrid chitosan/silica composite was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The surface morphology of the composite was studied through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The EDX analysis was performed to find the wt.% of the present elements in the composite that showed the increment of O element up to 47.50 wt. % and the presence of Si (27.61 wt. %) revealed that the silica is present within the chitosan matrix, which demonstrates successful hybridization of chitosan/silica. Furthermore, the obtained hybrid chitosan/silica was incorporated within the epoxy matrix and electrochemical studies such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed for 60 days. The experimental results revealed that the presence of hybrid chitosan/silica composite up to 0.8 wt. % resulted in a profound outcome as a considerable active reinforcing agent for corrosion prevention application with the highest coating resistance, (1.97 ± 0.01) × 1011 Ω and lowest breakpoint frequency, 51 × 10-3 Hz after 60 days. © 2020 Elsevier B.V
A pilot study comparing parent and adolescent online health information seeking behaviours in elective pediatric surgical situations
No full textPurpose: Little is known of how children seek health information. This study evaluates online health information (OHI) seeking behaviours in adolescents undergoing major elective surgical procedures and compares responses within parent–child dyads. Methods: With institutional approval, we prospectively surveyed parents of children admitted to our institution for major elective operations between November 2017 and November 2018, using convenience sampling. Patients aged 12 years and above were also invited. Each respondent completed an anonymized modification of a previously published survey on Internet usage. Chi squared tests were used for categorical data, with significance at P value < 0.05. Results: Ninety-one parents and 19 patients (median age 15 years, range 12–18) responded, with 13 parent–child pairs. Daily Internet access was reported by 84 (93%) parents and 18 (95%) children, but OHI was sought in 77% of parents and 74% of children. Six (32%) children could not name their admitting condition, compared to 10 (11%) parents. Nine (50%) children consulted family and friends for information compared to 27 (30%) parents. Parents were more likely to access hospital websites (n = 15, 44%) compared to no children (p = 0.01), while most children (n = 7, 70%) accessed non-health websites (e.g. Wikipedia). In the 13 parent–child pairs, only one parent accurately assessed what their child understood of their condition. Most patients (63.6%) did not understand the aspects of their condition that their parents deemed important. Conclusions: This study highlights the differences in parental and child behaviours. Children are equally important to include when counselling. Surgeons can guide both parties to reliable Internet sources for health information. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Impact of agricultural land use on physicochemical properties of soils derived from sedimentary rocks in Malaysia
No full textIn Malaysia, soils derived from sedimentary rocks are extensively used for agricultural purposes with oil palm and rubber being the main dwellers. In order to understand the environmental impact of these perennial crops planting, the variability of physicochemical properties of 25 representative soils derived from sedimentary rocks under different ecosystems (agriculture land and natural forest) at six study sites spread across Malaysia was examined. Among the soil physicochemical properties, total soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and fertility level were found to be generally higher in the forest ecosystems followed by rubber plantation and finally oil palm plantations. Likewise, projection of principal component analysis showed an associative relationship between soil physicochemical properties and microhabitats. Finally, this study showed that soils from different agricultural and natural sites, but derived from similar sedimentary rocks, had distinctive weathering conditions and soil properties. Therefore, site-specific field management according to soil type, soil management techniques as well as fertilizer strategies are required to maximize crop production and to sustain ecosystem services. The output of this study will enable farmers to improve their crop yield via the selection of suitable crops cultivation based on soil characteristics. © 2019, © 2019 Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
What is new in the 2018 Chinese hypertension guideline and the implication for the management of hypertension in Asia?
No full textThe new Chinese hypertension guideline comprehensively covers almost all major aspects in the management of hypertension. In this new guideline, hypertension remains defined as a systolic/diastolic blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg. For risk assessment, a qualitative approach is used similarly as in previous Chinese guidelines according to the blood pressure level and the presence or absence of other risk factors, target organ damage, cardiovascular complications, and comorbid diseases. The therapeutic target is 140/90 mm Hg in general, and if tolerated, especially in high-risk patients, can be more stringent, that is, 130/80 mm Hg. However, a less stringent target, that is, 150/90 mm Hg, is used in the younger (65-79 years, if tolerated, 140/90 mm Hg) and older elderly (≥80 years). Five classes of antihypertensive drugs, including β-blockers, can be used either in initial monotherapy or combination. The guideline also provided information on the management of hypertension in several special groups of patients and in the presence of secondary causes of hypertension. To implement the guideline recommendations, several nationwide hypertension control initiatives are being undertaken with new technology. The new technological platforms hopefully will help improve the management of hypertension and generate scientific evidence for future hypertension guidelines, including a possible Asian hypertension guideline in the near future. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Different vascular healing process between bioabsorbable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents versus bioresorbable vascular scaffolds via optical coherence tomography and coronary angioscopy (the ENHANCE study: ENdothelial Healing Assessment with Novel Coronary tEchnology)
No full textRecent clinical trials have raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of ABSORB™ bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS). The difference in the vascular healing process between SYNERGY™ bioabsorbable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents (BP-EES) and BVS remains unclear. The aim of the ENHANCE study was to compare vascular healing on BP-EES versus BVS by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and coronary angioscopy (CAS) at 4- and 12-month follow-ups. This is a prospective, non-randomized, single center clinical trial. Thirteen eligible patients with multivessel disease were enrolled. BP-EES and BVS were simultaneously implanted in the same patients, but in different coronary vessels. Imaging follow-up with both OCT and CAS was completed in 11 patients at 12 months. Neointimal coverage rates were similar between the two groups based on OCT measurements. The neointimal thickness of BP-EES was significantly thicker at the 12th month than at the 4th month, whereas the neointimal thickness of BVS did not change between the measurements taken at the 4th and 12th month. Existence of intra-stent thrombus was significantly higher in the BVS group, compared to the BP-EES group. On the other hand, CAS revealed that red-thrombi and yellow-plaque were more frequently observed in BVS at 4 months and up to 12-month follow-ups than in BP-EES. These findings suggested that the evidence of instability remained up to 12 months in the vascular healing with BVS, compared to that with BP-EES. Vascular healing of the stented wall was recognized at the very early phase after BP-EES implantation. However, vascular healing with BVS was still incomplete after 12 months. © 2019, The Author(s)
Esketamine Nasal Spray Plus Oral Antidepressant in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression
No full textOBJECTIVE: To evaluate long-term safety and efficacy of esketamine nasal spray plus a new oral antidepressant (OAD) in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). METHODS: This phase 3, open-label, multicenter, long-term (up to 1 year) study was conducted between October 2015 and October 2017. Patients (≥ 18 years) with TRD (DSM-5 diagnosis of major depressive disorder and nonresponse to ≥ 2 OAD treatments) were enrolled directly or transferred from a short-term study (patients aged ≥ 65 years). Esketamine nasal spray (28-mg, 56-mg, or 84-mg) plus new OAD was administered twice a week in a 4-week induction (IND) phase and weekly or every-other-week for patients who were responders and entered a 48-week optimization/maintenance (OP/MAINT) phase. RESULTS: Of 802 enrolled patients, 86.2% were direct-entry and 13.8% were transferred-entry; 580 (74.5%) of 779 patients who entered the IND phase completed the phase, and 150 (24.9%) of 603 who entered the OP/MAINT phase completed the phase. Common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were dizziness (32.9%), dissociation (27.6%), nausea (25.1%), and headache (24.9%). Seventy-six patients (9.5%) discontinued esketamine due to TEAEs. Fifty-five patients (6.9%) experienced serious TEAEs. Most TEAEs occurred on dosing days, were mild or moderate in severity, and resolved on the same day. Two deaths were reported; neither was considered related to esketamine. Cognitive performance generally either improved or remained stable postbaseline. There was no case of interstitial cystitis or respiratory depression. Treatment-emergent dissociative symptoms were transient and generally resolved within 1.5 hours postdose. Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale total score decreased during the IND phase, and this reduction persisted during the OP/MAINT phase (mean [SD] change from baseline of respective phase to endpoint: IND, -16.4 [8.76]; OP/MAINT, 0.3 [8.12]). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term esketamine nasal spray plus new OAD therapy had a manageable safety profile, and improvements in depression appeared to be sustained in patients with TRD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02497287. © Copyright 2020 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc
Interregional Migration and Graduate Earning in Malaysia
No full textThis paper investigated the interregional migration patterns and the effects of spatial mobility on the earnings of new graduates from Malaysian universities, utilising the 2013 Tracer Study data obtained from the Ministry of Higher Education. Several local studies using the same data source mainly dealt with issues of employability, but none have studied the effects of migration on their earnings. Some graduates pursued tertiary education away from their state of birth and settled to work in the state where they studied or relocated to work in another state. This study examined graduate migration between Klang Valley (KV) and the rest of Malaysia, which differs very much in terms of economic activities and development. The estimations of the wage equation using ordinal logit models show that migration from all other states towards Klang Valley was associated with higher starting salaries for the graduates
A comparative study on the impact of Gd2O3 burnable neutron absorber in UO2 and (U, Th)O2 fuels
No full textThe performance of gadolinium burnable absorber (GdBA) for reactivity control in UO2 and (U, Th)O2 fuels and its impact on spent fuel characteristics was performed. Five fuel assemblies: one without GdBA fuel rod and four each containing 16, 24, 34 and 44 GdBA fuel rods in both fuels were investigated. Reactivity swing in all the FAs with GdBA rods in UO2 fuel was higher than their counterparts with similar GdBA fuel rods in (U, Th)O2 fuel. The excess reactivity in all FAs with (U, Th)O2 fuel was higher than UO2 fuel. At the end of single discharge burn-up (~ 49.64 GWd/tHM), the excess reactivity of (U, Th)O2 fuel remained positive (16,000 pcm) while UO2 fuel shows a negative value (−6,000 pcm), which suggest a longer discharge burn-up in (U, Th)O2 fuel. The concentration of plutonium isotopes and minor actinides were significantly higher in UO2 fuel than in (U, Th)O2 fuel except for 236Np. However, the concentration of non-actinides (gadolinium and iodine isotopes) except for 135Xe were respectively smaller in (U, Th)O2 fuel than in UO2 fuel but may be two times higher in (U, Th)O2 fuel due to its potential longer discharge burn-up. © 201
Investigation on the effect of 238U replacement with 232Th in small modular reactor (SMR) fuel matrix
No full textEffect of 238U replacement with 232Th in small modular reactor fuel matrix was studied. Four different 235U enrichment levels (10, 13.8, 16.5 and 19.8 wt%) were used in a pairwise manner for UO2 and (ThO2 + 235U) fuels. The calculation was performed using Monte Carlo N-particle code integrated with CINDER90 for burn-up calculations in a homogeneous fuel assembly. The results show that enrichment level <17 wt% for thorium fuel produced virtually no plutonium isotopes but became visible only at 19.8 wt% enrichment. The number of neutrons produced per fission (ν) for ThO2 + 235U was less than that of UO2 because its averaged contribution from 235U and 233U was smaller compared to the similar contribution from 239Pu, 241Pu and 235U. Large amount of 239Pu and actinides were produced from UO2 fuel due to the impact of 238U. The reactivity of thorium at the beginning of cycle (BOC) was smaller compared to uranium but higher at end of cycle (EOC) resulting to higher excess reactivity in all thorium fuel. Production of little plutonium isotopes by thorium fuel suggests that it would make a good proliferation resistance fuel and could be used in any W-SMR to incinerate stockpiled plutonium. © 2019 Elsevier Lt
Does bone marrow aspirate help enhance the integration of gamma irradiated allograft bone?
No full textBone allografts donated by other individuals offer a viable alternative to autograft. Risks of disease transmission are overcome by sterilizing the bone; unfortunately sterilization methods generally affect bone functional properties including osteogenic potential and biomechanical integrity. This study aimed to determine any enhancement effect when gamma sterilised allografts was impregnated with autologous bone marrow in improving the rate and quality of integration in metaphyseal-tibial defects of rabbits. Almost all subjects showed 50% of the defect being covered by new bones by the third week and smaller residual defect size in the treated group at the fifth week. Hounsfield units at the defect site showed increasing healing in all samples, with the treated group having an apparent advantage although insignificant (p > 0.05). In the histopathological score evaluating healing over cortical and cancellous bone at the fracture site showed only slight variations between the groups (p > 0.05). Therefore no enhanced healing by the autologous bone marrow was observed when added to the bone allografts in treating the unicortical defects. © 2020, Springer Nature B.V