The present objective was to investigate the possible effect of immunization protocol against Schistosoma mansoni infection using purified lung-stage schistosomulae antigen. Two experimental models ...(lung & liver) were used, each of 3 groups (Gs): Immunized G. (10 mice) infected control G. (10 mice) and normal control G. (10 mice). Hundred microg of purified schistosomulae antigen followed by two booster doses each of 50 microg antigen and at one week interval were injected intraperitoneally into Swiss albino mice three days prior to intravenous injection of 3000 viable S. mansoni eggs (lung model) or to exposure to 100 cercariae (hepatic model). Mice were sacrificed 16 days post-injection (lung model) and 8 weeks post-infection (hepatic model). Various parasitological parameters, histopathological assessments and immunological parameters were studied. The data revealed that immunization with purified lung-stage schistosomulae antigen induces protective effect against S. mansoni infection. The marked reduction in worm burden, egg load, granuloma diameter and collagen content were accompanied by increased percentage of degenerated ova and amelioration of the associated pathological changes in pulmonary and hepatic tissue. Increased levels of specific immunoglobulins particularly IgG & IgM and decreased ratio of T cell subsets (CD4+/CD8+) in granulomas of both models were also noticed.
The kinetics of exchange of thorium and uranyl ions on Al-13-phosphatoantimonic acid (Al-13-PAA) was studied in nitrate solution at pH 1. The investigations were carried out under particle diffusion ...mechanism and the limited batch technique. The effects of particle size, concentration, and temperature have been studied. The effective diffusion coefficient, activation energy, and entropy of activation have been evaluated. The exchange capacity was evaluated and found to be 0.9 and 0.7 meq g
−1
for uranyl and thorium ions respectively.
Evaluation of the effect of coating, staining beverages and aging on the color stability and hardness of recently introduced glass ionomer (GI) restorative material and to determine whether there was ...a correlation between these two variables.
Two commercially available conventional GI restorative materials were used; Ketac™ Universal Aplicap™ and Ketac™ Fil Plus Aplicap™ GI restoratives. A total of 84 disc-shaped specimens (5 × 2 mm) were prepared and divided into 3 main groups (n = 28). Fifty six specimens were prepared from Ketac Universal Aplicap where half of them was coated (CU) and the other half was uncoated (U) and 28 coated specimens from Fil Plus Aplicap™ (CF) that act as a control group. Coating was performed with Ketac Glaze. Each group was further subdivided into 4 subgroups (n = 7) according to the beverages (tea, coffee, coke and distilled water). Color changes (ΔE) and hardness (MPa) were measured by scanning spectrophotometer and Vickers's hardness (VH) test respectively. Measurements were recorded at the baseline, after 7 and 30 days of aging in each beverage. Chemical analysis of the glass powders was performed by EDXA. Additionally, the filler size was examined by the SEM. The data were statistically analyzed (P ≤ 0.05).
The CU subgroups possessed lower ΔE than U subgroups in tea and coffee. The impact of staining beverages and aging on the ΔE was material's dependent. The CU subgroups recorded higher VH than the U and CF subgroups after aging in coke (30 days). Aging of the U subgroups in tea and coke significantly decreased its VH. The SEM revealed smaller average filler size in Ketac Universal Aplicap (7.2 μm) than Ketac Fil Plus Aplicap (17.9 μm).
It is advisable to use the recently introduced uncoated GI restorative material for patients who are not consuming tea and/or coffee but with surface protection to maintain its color acceptability up to 3 year clinically. Not all color changes could be associated with surface degradation.
BackgroundMyasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorder characterized by fatigable muscle weakness and autoantibodies. Frequent associations exist between myasthenia gravis and ...thymic abnormalities, including hyperplasia and thymoma. Several autoimmune illnesses have been identified to be associated with thymoma; however, a few case reports have linked thymoma and achalasia, and the underlying mechanism is unknown. Case reportA 43-year-old man with thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis presented with dysphagia that was refractory to conventional treatment of myasthenia gravis. This dysphagia was challenging to diagnose even after multiple gastroenterology consults and upper endoscopy. The diagnosis of achalasia type II was established after a comprehensive evaluation, including upper endoscopy, barium swallow, and high-resolution esophageal manometry. The patient underwent elective pneumatic balloon dilatation, which successfully alleviated his dysphagia. ConclusionThis case confirmed the association between myasthenia gravis secondary to thymoma and achalasia and showed how the diagnosis of achalasia was challenging. Awareness of this association is crucial for early diagnosis and treatment, improving affected patients' quality of life.
The escalating energy prices and the increasing environmental impact posed by the industrial usage of energy have spurred industry to adopt various approaches to conserving energy and mitigating ...negative environmental impact. This work aims at developing a systematic approach to integrate solar energy into industrial processes to drive thermal energy transfer systems producing power, cool, and heat. Solar energy is needed to be integrated with other different energy sources (biofuels, fossil fuels, process waste heat) to guarantee providing a stable energy supply, as industrial process energy sources must be a stable and reliable system. The thermal energy transform systems (turbines, refrigerators, heat exchangers) must be selected and designed carefully to provide the energy demand at the different forms (heat, cool, power). This dissertation introduces optimization-based approaches to address the following problems: (1) Design of cogeneration systems with solar and fossil systems (2) Design and integration of solar-biofuel-fossil cogeneration systems (3) Design of solar-assisted absorption refrigeration systems and integration with the processing facility (4) Development of thermally-coupled dual absorption refrigeration systems, and (5) Design of solar-assisted trigeneration systems Several optimization formulations are introduced to provide methodical and systematic techniques to solve the aforementioned problems. The approach is also sequenced into interacting steps. First, heat integration is carried out to minimize industrial heating and cooling utilities. Different forms of external-energy sources (e.g., solar, biofuel, fossil fuel) are screened and selected. To optimize the cost and to overcome the dynamic fluctuation of the solar energy and biofuel production systems, fossil fuel is used to supplement the renewable forms of energy. An optimization approach is adopted to determine the optimal mix of energy forms (fossil, bio fuels, and solar) to be supplied to the process, the system specifications, and the scheduling of the system operation. Several case studies are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the devised procedure. The results show that solar trigeneration systems have higher overall performance than the solar thermal power plants. Integrating the absorption refrigerators improves the energy usage and it provides the process by its cooling demand. Thermal coupling of the dual absorption refrigerators increases the coefficient of performance up to 33%. Moreover, the process is provided by two cooling levels.
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