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Optical precursors in a weakly dispersive double narrow-resonance dielectric
No full textWe investigate optical precursors transmitted through a double-Lorentz dielectric consisting of two adjacent narrow resonances. Compared to the patterns in a single-Lorentz dielectric, the transmitted envelope shows additional modulation that oscillates at the separation frequency between two resonances, corresponding to the doublet frequency separation. We use the weakly dispersive, narrow-resonance condition to analyze it, which compares favorably to our observations. This work will be meaningful to identify dielectric properties by analyzing multi-resonant media for application of optical communication. © 2019 Optical Society of Americ
Brief Report: Malignancies in Adults Living with HIV in Asia
No full textBackground:Hematological malignancies have continued to be highly prevalent among people living with HIV (PLHIV). This study assessed the occurrence of, risk factors for, and outcomes of hematological and nonhematological malignancies in PLHIV in Asia.Methods:Incidence of malignancy after cohort enrollment was evaluated. Factors associated with development of hematological and nonhematological malignancy were analyzed using competing risk regression and survival time using Kaplan-Meier.Results:Of 7455 patients, 107 patients (1%) developed a malignancy: 34 (0.5%) hematological [0.08 per 100 person-years (/100PY)] and 73 (1%) nonhematological (0.17/100PY). Of the hematological malignancies, non-Hodgkin lymphoma was predominant (n = 26, 76%): immunoblastic (n = 6, 18%), Burkitt (n = 5, 15%), diffuse large B-cell (n = 5, 15%), and unspecified (n = 10, 30%). Others include central nervous system lymphoma (n = 7, 21%) and myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 1, 3%). Nonhematological malignancies were mostly Kaposi sarcoma (n = 12, 16%) and cervical cancer (n = 10, 14%). Risk factors for hematological malignancy included age >50 vs. ≤30 years [subhazard ratio (SHR) = 6.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.79 to 23.43] and being from a high-income vs. a lower-middle-income country (SHR = 3.97, 95% CI: 1.45 to 10.84). Risk was reduced with CD4 351-500 cells/μL (SHR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.74) and CD4 >500 cells/μL (SHR = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.78), compared to CD4 ≤200 cells/μL. Similar risk factors were seen for nonhematological malignancy, with prior AIDS diagnosis showing a weak association. Patients diagnosed with a hematological malignancy had shorter survival time compared to patients diagnosed with a nonhematological malignancy.Conclusions:Nonhematological malignancies were common but non-Hodgkin lymphoma was more predominant in our cohort. PLHIV from high-income countries were more likely to be diagnosed, indicating a potential underdiagnosis of cancer in low-income settings. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc
Histological, Biochemical, and Hematological Effects of Goniothalamin on Selective Internal Organs of Male Sprague-Dawley Rats
No full textGoniothalamin (GTN) is an isolated compound from several plants of the genus Goniothalamus, and its anticancer effect against several cancers was reported. However, there is no scientific data about effects of its higher doses on internal organs. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the acute and subacute effects of higher doses of GTN on the hematology, biochemistry, and histology of selected internal organs of male Sprague-Dawley rats. In acute study, 35 rats were distributed in 5 groups (n=7) which were intraperitoneally (IP) injected with a single dose of either 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg/kg of GTN, while extra 7 rats serve as a normal control. In subacute study, 7 rats were IP-injected with a daily dose of 42 mg/kg of GTN for 14 days, while another 7 rats serve as a normal control group. The normal controls in both studies were IP-injected simultaneously with 2 ml/kg of 10% DMSO in PBS. At the end of both tests, rats were sacrificed to collect blood for hematology and biochemistry and harvest livers, kidneys, lungs, hearts, spleens, and brains for histology. During acute and subacute exposure, no abnormal changes were observed in the hematology, biochemistry, and histology of the internal organs. However, the 300, 400, and 500 mg/kg of GTN during acute exposure were associated with morbidities and mortalities. Ultimately, GTN could be safe up to the dose of 200 mg/kg, and the dose of 42 mg/kg of GTN was tolerated well. © 2019 Fahmi Kaid et al
Soliton mode-locking in thulium-doped fibre laser by evanescent field interaction with reduced graphene oxide-titanium dioxide saturable absorber
No full textSoliton mode locking pulse generation in a thulium-doped fibre laser (TDFL) by evanescent wave interaction from a D-shaped fiber coated with rGO-TiO2 nanoparticles is proposed and demonstrated. The rGO-TiO2 nanoparticle coating serves as a saturable absorber (SA), and generates a mode locked pulse with a repetition rate, average output power and pulse width of 9.28 MHz, 11.17 nW and 1.49 ps respectively. The proposed laser has a central lasing wavelength of 1939.4 nm, which is the longest as of yet generated by evanescent wave interaction in a TDFL. An average signal-to-noise ratio of around 50 dB is obtained from the generation pulse, with minimal power and wavelength fluctuations indicating high stability. The proposed laser would have significant applications in various fields, particularly medicine for its operation in the eye-safe region of 2 µm. © 2019 Astro Ltd
A new structural motif for cadmium dithiocarbamates: crystal structures and Hirshfeld surface analyses of homoleptic zinc and cadmium morpholine dithiocarbamates
No full textThe crystal and molecular structures of two homoleptic morpholine-derived dithiocarbamates of zinc, binuclear {Zn[S 2 CN(CH 2 CH 2 ) 2 O) 2 ] 2 } 2 (1), and cadmium, one-dimensional coordination polymer {Cd[S 2 CN(CH 2 CH 2 ) 2 O) 2 ] 2 } 2 (2), are described. In 1, a centrosymmetric binuclear molecule is found as there are equal numbers of chelating and bidentate bridging dithiocarbamate ligands; weak transannular Zn···S interactions are found within the resultant eight-membered {···SCSZn} 2 ring which has the form of a chair. The resultant 4+1 S 5 donor set is highly distorted with the geometry tending towards a square-pyramid. By contrast, a square-planar geometry is found in centrosymmetric 2 defined by symmetrically chelating dithiocarbamate ligands. The presence of Cd···S secondary bonding in the crystal of 2 leads to a distorted 4+2 S 6 octahedron and a linear coordination polymer, which is unprecedented in the structural chemistry of cadmium dithiocarbamates. The analyses of the Hirshfeld surfaces for 1 and 2 show the dominance of H···H, S···H/H···S and O···H/H···O contacts to the surface, i.e. contributing around 90 and 80%, respectively. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Evaluation of occupants’ well-being and perception towards indoor environmental quality in Malaysia affordable housing
No full textPurpose: This paper aims to identify the indoor environmental quality in an affordable housing, as well as the health condition of users. Furthermore, it aims to find the relationship between quality of the indoor environment (IEQ) and sick building syndrome (SBS) and the satisfaction level of the occupants towards the IEQ factor, as well as the importance of the factors in the occupants’ view. Additionally, the purpose of this pilot study is to validate the questionnaire and identify the possible outcome of this research for the main study. Design/methodology/approach: There are a few methods to achieve the objective of this paper: first is by literature review and second is by a survey. There are two types of survey made: observation survey and questionnaire survey. The purpose of observation survey is to survey the surrounding and the condition of the apartments, while questionnaire survey was distributed to the respondents in the affordable housing area. Next, is analysis and discussion of the survey, and finally, summary. Findings: Aside from achieving the validity of the questionnaire survey, the results of the survey have found that the respondents are dissatisfied with the noise and glare level, as well as the amount of artificial lighting in their unit. Additionally, they have rated health, ventilation and amount of air movement as the most important IEQ factors. More importantly, the occupants have experienced the symptoms of SBS and the health condition of the building occupants. The results show that the most frequent symptoms affected the respondents are fatigue, dizziness and a headache. Originality/value: This paper has indicated the IEQ in the affordable housing and identifies the health risk of occupants, specifically in Malaysia. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited
Di-Iron Trioxide Hydrate-Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite for Arsenite Detection Using Surface Plasmon Resonance Technique
No full textWe present surface plasmon resonance-based sensor for arsenite [As(III)] detection using Di-iron trioxide hydrate - multi-walled carbon nanotube (Fe2H2O4-MWCNT) nanocomposite as a sensing layer. The enticing traits of Fe2H2O4-MWCNT having high surface to volume ratio and good affinity toward arsenic have proven to enhance As(III) absorption onto the sensing surface and consequently increase the sensitivity of the sensor. When tested with different concentrations of As(III) within the range of 0.2 ppb to 1 ppb, sensitivity value was obtained at 1.756° ppb−1 with Fe2H2O4-MWCNT thickness of 7 nm. The detection limit was achieved at 0.2 ppb which surpassed conventional methods and reported studies on SPR-based sensor for As detection. © 2020 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM
Optimization of energy management and conversion in the water systems based on evolutionary algorithms
No full textIn this article, an application of weed optimization algorithm (WOA) for reservoir operation was proposed. In addition, genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSOA) have been used as successful algorithms in such engineering application for optimizations in order to introduce a comprehensive comparison analysis with the results of WOA. Two case studies were considered in this research. The aim of the first case study was to minimize irrigation water deficits for Aydoughmoush dam in Iran. Results showed that average solution of the operation rule of the WOA is close to the global solution and that reliability index and resiliency index for water supply, based on WOA, are higher than the GA and PSOA. Also, the operation rule achieved by the WOA has well-supplied water to match the water demands for the operation period (1991–2000). The second case study was related to minimize the electricity power deficits in Karun-4 reservoir. In fact, the water should be released such that the electricity power generation is maximized or the electricity power deficit should be minimized. Results showed that the operation rule for the water achieved by the WOA produces more electrical power than GA and PSOA. Furthermore, the average solution accomplished by WOA is very close to the global solution. Different indexes were used for evaluating the proposed methods, namely reliability index, vulnerability index, and resiliency index. For the first case study, the proposed WOA could achieve 98% reliability which is outperformed the other GA and PSOA methods. On the other hand, for the second case study, the proposed WOA method could attain electricity power 12 and 15% more than the one generated while using the GA and PSOA methods. Thus, WOA has high potential to be applied for achieving optimal operation rule for dam and reservoir operation and better water resources management and plan. © 2018, The Natural Computing Applications Forum
Evaluation of Cancer-Based Criteria for Use in MainstreamBRCA1andBRCA2Genetic Testing in Patients With Breast Cancer
No full textImportance: Increasing BRCA1 and BRCA2 (collectively termed herein as BRCA) gene testing is required to improve cancer management and prevent BRCA-related cancers. Objective: To evaluate mainstream genetic testing using cancer-based criteria in patients with cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: A quality improvement study and cost-effectiveness analysis of different BRCA testing selection criteria and access procedures to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and mutation detection performance was conducted at the Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust as part of the Mainstreaming Cancer Genetics (MCG) Programme. Participants included 1184 patients with cancer who were undergoing genetic testing between September 1, 2013, and February 28, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Mutation rates, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were the primary outcomes. Results: Of the 1184 patients (1158 women [97.8%]) meeting simple cancer-based criteria, 117 had a BRCA mutation (9.9%). The mutation rate was similar in retrospective United Kingdom (10.2% [235 of 2294]) and prospective Malaysian (9.7% [103 of 1061]) breast cancer studies. If traditional family history criteria had been used, more than 50% of the mutation-positive individuals would have been missed. Of the 117 mutation-positive individuals, 115 people (98.3%) attended their genetics appointment and cascade to relatives is underway in all appropriate families (85 of 85). Combining with the equivalent ovarian cancer study provides 5 simple cancer-based criteria for BRCA testing with a 10% mutation rate: (1) ovarian cancer; (2) breast cancer diagnosed when patients are 45 years or younger; (3) 2 primary breast cancers, both diagnosed when patients are 60 years or younger; (4) triple-negative breast cancer; and (5) male breast cancer. A sixth criterion-breast cancer plus a parent, sibling, or child with any of the other criteria-can be added to address family history. Criteria 1 through 5 are considered the MCG criteria, and criteria 1 through 6 are considered the MCGplus criteria. Testing using MCG or MCGplus criteria is cost-effective with cost-effectiveness ratios of 1225 per discounted QALYs, respectively, and appears to lead to cancer and mortality reductions (MCG: 804 cancers, 161 deaths; MCGplus: 1020 cancers, 204 deaths per year over 50 years). Use of MCG or MCGplus criteria might allow detection of all BRCA mutations in patients with breast cancer in the United Kingdom through testing one-third of patients. Feedback questionnaires from 259 patients and 23 cancer team members (12 oncologists, 8 surgeons, and 3 nurse specialists) showed acceptability of the process with 100% of patients pleased they had genetic testing and 100% of cancer team members confident to approve patients for genetic testing. Use of MCGplus criteria also appeared to be time and resource efficient, requiring 95% fewer genetic consultations than the traditional process. Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that mainstream testing using simple, cancer-based criteria might be able to efficiently deliver consistent, cost-effective, patient-centered BRCA testing
Chemical constituents and antioxidant capacity of ocimum basilicum and ocimum sanctum
No full textThe chemical constituents of leaves, inflorescence, and flowers from Ocimum basilicum (Thai basil) and Ocimum sanctum (Holy basil) were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical compounds were extracted by hydrodistillation, headspace-solid phase microextraction, and solvent extraction. The main constituents of Ocimum basilicum were identified to consist of estragole (> 35.71%), (E)-β-ocimene (> 1.47%), trans-α-bergamotene (> 0.83%), τ-cadinol (> 0.41%) eucalyptol (> 0.25%) and α-caryophyllene (> 0.07%) while Ocimum sanctum consists mainly of eugenol methyl ether (> 34.34%), (E)-caryophyllene (> 7.91%), germacrene D (> 5.58%), β-elemene (> 4.22%) and copaene (> 1.49%). Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum sanctum leaves contain more chemical constituents followed by inflorescence and flowers. The genetic distance between the two species was calculated to investigate the interspecies relationship and it is 2.86. The calculated genetic distance between the two species showed that Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum sanctum are closely related species and share some of the same traits. The methanol and dichloromethane extracts of Ocimum basilicum leaves showed an IC50 value of 88 μg/mL and 1178 μg/mL, respectively, while the methanol and dichloromethane extract of Ocimum sanctum showed a higher 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil free radicals scavenging activities with an IC50 value of 11 μg/mL and 369 μg/mL, respectively. The natural antioxidant level Ocimum sanctum and Ocimum basilicum indicated that they can be used effectively in food preservation. © 2019, Iranian Institute of Research and Development in Chemical Industries. All rights reserved