Articles Related to

The incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, exhibits consider able geographical variability. Although studies have extensively documented VTE in low-altitude settings, the impact of high-altitude (HA) environments remains underexplored. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by examining the inci dence and risk factors for VTE in the HA of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, offering a unique perspective on how altitude influences VTE risk. In this retrospective analysis, we reviewed the medical records from the Tibet Autonomous Region Peo ple's Hospital between January 2018 and December 2023

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Background: Maternal steroid use carries a theoretical risk for neonatal adrenal insufficiency (AI). Most of neonatal units do not recommend short synacthen test (SST) to check AI in babies who were exposed to steroids in utero. Two local units in Yorkshire recommend SST based on certain criteria. One unit uses antenatal dose thresholds of 7.5 mg/day equivalent prednisolone for≥ 28 days while another uses 5 mg/day equivalent prednisolone for same duration as indication for SST.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The real-life use of Phosphodiesterase type 5 Inhibitors (PDE5Is) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) might differ across Institutions and physicians. We performed the Optimizing Management of Erectile Dysfunction (OPTI.M.E.D.) sur vey to outline the real-life practice of ED management in Italy. The OPTI.M.E.D. Survey tested the hypothesis that the new formulation of sildenafil oral suspension may show higher patient satisfaction and better clinical outcomes compared to other PDE5 inhibitors. The Survey involved 59 Italian urologists/andrologists, with data from a total of 1,150 patients. In the first Step, a Webinar was held for the presentation of the survey, and the Physician Interview Form used in the survey was presented. In Step 2, the forms were completed and collected, and the data obtained were subsequently analyzed. In Step 3, a final Webinar was held, during which the results were presented by the Scientific Board to all participants. In 88.9% of patients already treated with PDE5Is, the previously used molecule/formulation was changed at the first visit, be cause of treatment ineffectiveness and/or because of poor tolerability or compliance. According to the physicians’ reports, sildenafil oral suspension was the most commonly prescribed drug at the first visit (75.9% OF CASES), both in naïve pa tients and in those previously taking other PDE5Is. The prescription of sildenafil oral suspension was also confirmed at the second visit (after 60-90 days) in 97.9% of patients. The OPTI.M.E.D. survey provided a "real-life" snapshot of the manage ment of ED patients seen in daily clinical practice in andrology and urology settings in Italy. According to the results of this survey, sildenafil oral suspension is associated with a high degree of patient satisfaction, also thanks to its peculiar formula tion, which facilitates dosage modulation and is characterized by convenience and discretion of use as it does not require wa ter to take it

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Objective：To observe the clinical effect of Acupuncture Cupping Bubbling Therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. Methods: 88 patients of breast cancer were divided into the Acupuncture Cupping Bubbling Therapy group of 46 cases and the traditional Acupuncture Cupping group of 42 cases at random, and the symptom-relieving, the tumor-disappearing, tu mor- lessening (surviving with tumors) and functional recovery were observed separately. Results: The total effective rate of Acupuncture Cupping Bubbling Therapy group was 100% and the excellently effective rate was 89.1%. But the total effective rate of Acupuncture Cupping Therapy group was 88.1% and the excellently effective rate was 42.9%. the difference of the ex cellently effective rates has extreme significance（P<0.01）. Conclusion: The Acupuncture Cupping Bubbling Therapy has significant clinical effect, which surpasses that of the traditional Acupuncture Cupping Therapy.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

To analyze the clinical effects of transverse tibial transfer technology, transverse tibial transfer combined with platelet-rich plasma therapy and conventional treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Thirty patients with diabetic foot ulcers from January 2021 to December 2023 were randomly divided into 3 groups

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Introduction: The assessment of physicians’ awareness levels in Sanandaj educational centers regarding ionizing radiation doses related to the use of chest CT scans during the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial. This assessment can prevent unneces sary procedures. Additionally, it ensures that when necessary, these procedures are not overlooked. Through this approach, costs incurred by patients and insurance organizations due to unwarranted requests can be reduced.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The incidence of autoimmune disorders has increased with the rise in carbon dioxide since last century. Objective: To determine whether CO2 is associated with autoimmune disorders. Design: Case-control study at local tertiary hospitals in Egypt. Method: A total of 150 patients with various autoimmune disorders, and 75 controls were aged 20 to 70 years. The exclu sion criteria were neuromuscular disorder, critical, respiratory illness, and exposure to CO2, guided by the criteria of the National Institute for Occupational Safety. Patients recruited from November 2023 to March 2024, matched by age, sex, and other demographic variables. All participants were tested for blood gases. Certain cases were further tested to confirm the autoimmune status. Pa CO2 analysis performed using two methods of statistical significance to validate data. Results: Pa CO2 (Mean ± SD) was (48.18 ± 12.10) in autoimmune cases, compared to (42.63 ± 11.06) in control (p= 0.001), number (%) of cases with ↑PaCO2= 97(64.7%) for cases, and 30(40%) for control (RR=1.6167). OR (95% CI) = 2.7453 (1.552 to 4.857), p=0.0005

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Background: Immune Defense Proteins (IDP) is a complex of milk proteins that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity and provide protection from infection. The effect of IDP on enhancing immune response after an influenza vaccine in humans has not been shown and is the objective of this study

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Anaemia is one of the major public health concerns among women of child bearing age globally with associated adverse outcomes for mother and child. However, there is limited information on the factors associated with anaemia among wo men in Zambia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia and its associated factors among women aged 15-49 in Zambia using data from the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS). We analyzed secondary data from 13,683 women who participated in the ZDHS survey. Descriptive statistics were used to generate fre quencies and percentages, while binary logistic regression identified significant factors associated with anaemia. The pre valence of anaemia among women aged 15 – 49 years was 30%, with 16% being mildly, 13% being moderately, and 1% be ing severely anaemic. Anaemia prevalence was higher in women of ages 30 to 49 (31.3%) compared to that of women be low 30 years old (29.7%). Similarly, anaemia prevalence was slightly higher among urban respondents (30.6%) compared to their rural counterparts (30.2%). Additionally, pregnancy status, marital status, employment status, wealth index, age, and total number of children ever born were significantly associated with anaemia prevalence among Zambian women based on ZDHS. Conclusion: Anemia in women is a pervasive global health issue, as evidenced by its high prevalence in Zambia (30%), reflecting broader patterns seen worldwide. Addressing this challenge requires targeted interventions, in cluding education on the importance of consuming iron-rich foods and the use of iron supplements, especially during pregnancy

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Synovial cysts are well known in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and most common around joints. Multiple extra-articular syn ovial cysts in the patients who has no rheumatoid joint arthritis involvement are rare. Early diagnosis is crucial for manage ments of the patients

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Objective: We aim to investigate the association between socioeconomic determinants, the costs of care, and the Health-Re lated Quality of Life (HRQoL) of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients and their caregivers

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

This study explored the effects of subtle scents of 1,8-cineole and (-)-bornyl acetate on mood, cognition, and behavior in healthy individuals and elderly residents of nursing homes. Three experiments were conducted involving short- and longterm exposure to these scents to assess mood, memory, and task completion

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Compared to traditional heat exchangers, primary surface heat exchangers are characterized by their compact structure, light weight, small size, and high heat transfer efficiency, making them widely applicable in military, aerospace, transporta tion, and civilian sectors. This review first examines the structure of primary surface heat exchangers, summarizing the re sults of numerical simulations that compare the impact of different structural parameters on heat transfer performance, as well as the optimization design of primary surface heat exchangers. Subsequently, it reviews the research progress on pri mary surface heat exchangers, focusing primarily on the structure of corrugated plates. Different corrugated plate structures affect the heat transfer performance of primary surface heat exchangers in various ways. Finally, it reviews the specific appli cation scenarios of primary surface heat exchangers and provides a summary and outlook on the development of primary surface heat exchangers.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Chlorophyllum molybdites is one of the most common causes of mushroom poisoning worldwide. The majority of cases are from consumption of misidentified mushrooms while foraging. To date, there have been no reported cases of mushroom poisoning in Singapore

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Background: In dermatological and pharmaceutical research ex vivo mouse skins are frequently used in topical drug deliv ery studies and analysis of skin diseases. One part of the experiments reported is carried out in hairless mouse skins, such as SKH1 nude mice, while others prefer the widely validated C57BL/6J hairy mice. However, in-depth characterization of the dermal barrier under healthy conditions has not been performed yet. In the current study tissue morphology, chemical com position, transepidermal water loss, and drug permeability were measured and compared at di erent anatomical regions in C57BL/6J and SKH1 mice

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

asdsadsad

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text  | Digital

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

With this special issue of JMSN we are pleased to present significant contributions to a fascinating topic in the field of materials nanostructing, which is the anodization of valve metals. By this treatment porous oxides of controlled geometry can be grown on the respective metal surfaces. To date, aluminum (Al) has been used most often, as confirmed in this special issue where nine out of ten contributions deals with its anodization.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The results are presented of obtaining anodic aluminum oxide with an ordered pore arrangement by employing two anodizing modes - galvanostatic mode and combined (galvanostatic + potentiostatic) mode, at high values of the current density and voltage. Use has been made of an oxalate electrolyte and a complex electrolyte comprising oxalic acid and phosphoric acid. Scanning electron microscopy has been used to investigate the surface morphology of the barrier and porous layers and to determine pore sizes and inter-pore distance.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Self-organized anodic porous alumina films with hexagonal pore lattice have attracted a considerable attention for biological arrays and confinement of various organic probes dyes in solutions. A molecular structure with axial symmetry in bis-heterocyclic indole chains and conjugate system, such as cyanine fluorophore Cy3 dye, was investigated here with respect to its fluorescence when loaded in the anodic alumina pores.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Two basic reactions occur during the anodizing of aluminum: 1) the aluminum is consumed and 2) an oxide grows. By accepting this statement as true, the anodizing process can be viewed as a corrosion process, and anodizing can be modeled using the Tafel Equation. Anodizing process parameters of electrolyte chemistry and concentration, temperature, aluminum substrate resistance and current density are presented as they relate to the Tafel Equation and how they impact the anodic aluminum oxide structure and properties. Understanding this relationship is consequent in making anodizing an engineering process, one that enables tuning the structure such that it yields distinct characteristics to fulfill design and application requirements.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Human odor detection technologies have drawn attention due to the wide possibility of potential applications they open up in areas such as biometrics, criminal investigation and forensics, search for survivors under rubble, and security checkpoint screening. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been the most successful and powerful analytical approach developed to date for human odor analysis, and hundreds of human odorants have been identified using this tool.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The application of electronic-nose (E-nose) technologies in forensic science is a recent new development following a long history of progress in the development of diverse applications in the related biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Data from forensic analyses must satisfy the needs and requirements of both the scientific and legal communities. The type of data collected from electronic-nose devices provides a means of identifying specific types of information about the chemical nature of evidentiary objects and samples under investigation using aroma signature profiles of complex gaseous mixtures containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from manufactured products and parts of the human body. E-nose analyses also provide useful qualitative information about the physicochemical characteristics and metabolic conditions of human subjects without the need for time-consuming analyses to identify all chemical components in human-derived volatile mixtures.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Carbon nanotube (NT) based electronic vapor sensors were tested against synthetic sweat solutions, consisting of 13 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in saline, in order to probe the device ability to analyze and differentiate vapors derived from complex biological samples.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The collection of human odor volatiles is of interest to forensic applications as a path to investigate canine scent discriminations in legal investigations. A study using a selected array of previously identified human odor compounds has been conducted to determine the retention and release capabilities of five (5) natural and synthetic fabric types, cotton (mercerized fabric and gauze matrix), polyester, rayon and wool.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The anodization of aluminum foils having micrometer thickness is a common process and results in hexagonally self-ordered alumina membranes. However, anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes fabricated from nanometer-thin films present new challenges to the anodization process, since aluminum films adheres poorly on supporting substrates and the smoothness of the film is highly related to the kind of substrate.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Anodisation of pure titanium has been carried out in sulphuric and in phosphoric acid solutions at potentials ranging from 50 to 150V. The SEM and AFM morphological analysis indicates that, within this potential range, oxidation in sulphuric acid solution produces better developed mesoporous oxide layers.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

We investigated a method for preparation of ordered nanopore arrays with the interpore distance of 60 nm by guided self-organization of anodic aluminum oxide with a prepatterned array of pits in the starting Al film.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

The design of an electrochemical reactor for the preparation of self-supported comparatively thin (up to 10 μm) and large area (up to 50 cm2) anodic alumina membranes is described allowing growth of porous alumina at high applied potential (up to 150 V) without burning.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Vertical Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanowire arrays have been synthesized via two-step electroplating method into anodized aluminum oxide template. For deposition of CZTS nanowires, anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) was used as the growth mask for the growth of the nanowires. AAO templates with hole sizes of 70 nm in diameter were used in the experiments.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

Anodic aluminum oxide doped with vanadyl citrate chelate complex anions was formed by a two-step self-organized anodization in 2 wt. % sulfuric acid containing 0.04 M V2O5 and 0.08 M citric acid at voltage range 13-23 V, and at 0 and 15 oC. The combination of two temperatures and at least four voltages (depending on the applied temperature) was applied as the operating conditions of anodization.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text

In this paper, we report on the synthesis of BaTiO3 nanowires via the anodic aluminum oxide template method. To fill in the precursors of BaTiO3 into anodic aluminum oxide templates, the vacuum and drop loading method developed in our previous study was used. Ba(CH3COO)2 (barium acetate) and C12H28O4Ti (tetraisopropyl orthotitanate) were used as Ba and Ti sources, respectively. Anodic aluminum oxide membranes with the through-hole diameter of ~200 nm were used as the template for BaTiO3 nanowires.

View complete article: PDF  |  Full-text