The sorption capacity of cadmium (Cd (II)) on three new generated nanocomposite beads sodium alginate (SA) based; SA-Clay (SA-C) beads, SA-Phosphate (SA-P) beads, and SA- Activated Charcoal (SA-Ch) ...beads was investigated in a batch scale, then a continuous flow reactor.
The highest adsorption capacity (137 mg/g) was obtained for SA-Ch using 1000 mg/L of initial Cd (II). The isotherm results showed that the adsorption equilibrium is compatible with the Langmuir isotherm and the sorption capacity of SA-Nano-adsorbent beads is very high. The models used for representing kinetic data was given that the removal of Cd (II) be well-fitted by second-order reaction kinetics. For the fixed bed column treatment, the maximum breakthrough times were 30, 38, and 48 h respectively for the SA-C, SA-P, and SA-Ch.
According to the obtained results, it was concluded that SA-Nano-adsorbent bead is an excellent designed material as a nanocomposite for cadmium elimination from wastewater in a continuous treatment process.
To examine the variation in the incidence and to identify the timing of the presentation of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in a cohort of preterm infants within the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN).
...This was a population-based cohort of 16 669 infants with gestational age (GA) <33 weeks, admitted to 25 NICUs participating in the CNN between January 1, 2003, and December 31(,) 2008. Variations in NEC incidence among the participating NICUs for the study period were examined. We categorized early-onset NEC as occurring at <14 days of age and late-onset NEC occurring at ≥14 days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for early-onset NEC.
The overall incidence of NEC was 5.1%, with significant variation in the risk adjusted incidence among the participating NICUs in the CNN. Early-onset NEC occurred at a mean of 7 days compared with 32 days for late-onset NEC. Early-onset NEC infants had lower incidence of respiratory distress syndrome, patent ductus treated with indomethacin, less use of postnatal steroids, and shorter duration of ventilation days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that greater GA and vaginal delivery were associated with increased risk of early-onset NEC.
Among infants <33 weeks' gestation, NEC appears to present at mean age of 7 days in more mature infants, whereas onset of NEC is delayed to 32 days of age in smaller, lower GA infants. Further studies are required to understand the etiology of this disease process.
Background: There is a need for safe disinfection methods without a detrimental effect on the acrylic denture base. Aim: the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of ozonated water ...and two protocols of microwave disinfection on tensile bond strength of high-impact acrylic. Material and methods: Eighty samples were divided into four major groups: one control and three experimental groups, 20 specimens each. The experimental groups each received either disinfection by ozonated water, microwave 850W/1min, or microwave 650W/6min. Further division of the major groups into two sub-groups depending on the number of disinfection cycles and total immersion time in distilled water: One cycle and one day versus seven cycles and seven days. The control group specimens were immersed in distilled water without any disinfection for either one day or seven days. Tensile strength testing was performed on the specimens from the eight groups. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 21#. The ANOVA and Tukey-HSD multiple comparison tests were used for comparison for groups. Results: A non-significant difference in the tensile strength was observed in the groups subjected to one cycle of ozone or microwave disinfection at 850W/1min. There was a significant decrease in tensile strength for the specimens subjected to one cycle of 650W/6min microwaving. The number of testing cycles and storage time in distilled water had a significant impact on the tensile strength of the acrylic in all tested groups, by decreasing it. Conclusion: Ozone disinfection and microwaving at 850W for one minute did not affect the tensile strength of the acrylic, but repeated disinfection over seven days at one cycle per day impaired the tensile strength of the acrylic resin.
Objective To examine the association between treatment for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and neonatal outcomes in preterm infants, after adjustment for treatment selection bias. Study design ...Secondary analyses were conducted using data collected by the Canadian Neonatal Network for neonates born at a gestational age ≤32 weeks and admitted to neonatal intensive care units in Canada between 2004 and 2008. Infants who had PDA and survived beyond 72 hours were included in multivariable logistic regression analyses that compared mortality or any severe neonatal morbidity (intraventricular hemorrhage grades ≥3, retinopathy of prematurity stages ≥3, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or necrotizing enterocolitis stages ≥2) between treatment groups (conservative management, indomethacin only, surgical ligation only, or both indomethacin and ligation). Propensity scores (PS) were estimated for each pair of treatment comparisons, and used in PS-adjusted and PS-matched analyses. Results Among 3556 eligible infants with a diagnosis of PDA, 577 (16%) were conservatively managed, 2026 (57%) received indomethacin only, 327 (9%) underwent ligation only, and 626 (18%) were treated with both indomethacin and ligation. All multivariable and PS-based analyses detected significantly higher mortality/morbidities for surgically ligated infants, irrespective of prior indomethacin treatment (OR ranged from 1.25-2.35) compared with infants managed conservatively or those who received only indomethacin. No significant differences were detected between infants treated with only indomethacin and those managed conservatively. Conclusions Surgical ligation of PDA in preterm neonates was associated with increased neonatal mortality/morbidity in all analyses adjusted for measured confounders that attempt to account for treatment selection bias.
The aim of this study was to evaluate left ventricular function in preterm infants from 28 days to near term using echocardiography.
Thirty clinically stable preterm infants delivered at <30 weeks' ...gestational age were prospectively enrolled. At 28 days, conventional, tissue Doppler, and speckle-tracking echocardiography evaluations of left ventricular function were performed, with comparison made to findings in 30 healthy term infants of similar postnatal age. Sixteen preterm infants underwent repeat examinations near term.
Compared with controls, preterm infants at 28 days had decreased peak mitral valve (MV) E-wave velocities (P < .01), E/A ratios (P < .0001), annular e' velocities (P < .0001), and e'/a' ratios (P < .0001); increased MV E/e' ratios (P < .01); and lower basal circumferential early diastolic and higher late diastolic strain rates. No significant differences were found in fractional shortening, ejection fraction, and longitudinal or circumferential strain and strain rate between preterm infants and controls. Although preterm infants at 28 days had higher heart rates compared with controls (161 ± 15 vs 142 ± 16 beats/min), no significant correlations existed between heart rate and MV E, E/A ratio, e', e'/a' ratio, and E/e' ratio. Near term, the differences in diastolic function persisted, including decreased MV e'/a' ratio (P < .05), increased E/e' ratio (P < .01), and increased late diastolic strain rate.
Clinically stable preterm infants have normal left ventricular systolic function but altered diastolic function, with greater dependence on atrial contraction, the latter of which persists despite nearing term. These findings may be relevant to the management of preterm infants and may relate to the longer term myocardial dysfunction observed in affected adults.
(1) Background: Colon polyps are common protrusions in the colon’s lumen, with potential risks of developing colorectal cancer. Early detection and intervention of these polyps are vital for reducing ...colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates. This research aims to evaluate and compare the performance of three machine learning image classification models’ performance in detecting and classifying colon polyps. (2) Methods: The performance of three machine learning image classification models, Google Teachable Machine (GTM), Roboflow3 (RF3), and You Only Look Once version 8 (YOLOv8n), in the detection and classification of colon polyps was evaluated using the testing split for each model. The external validity of the test was analyzed using 90 images that were not used to test, train, or validate the model. The study used a dataset of colonoscopy images of normal colon, polyps, and resected polyps. The study assessed the models’ ability to correctly classify the images into their respective classes using precision, recall, and F1 score generated from confusion matrix analysis and performance graphs. (3) Results: All three models successfully distinguished between normal colon, polyps, and resected polyps in colonoscopy images. GTM achieved the highest accuracies: 0.99, with consistent precision, recall, and F1 scores of 1.00 for the ‘normal’ class, 0.97–1.00 for ‘polyps’, and 0.97–1.00 for ‘resected polyps’. While GTM exclusively classified images into these three categories, both YOLOv8n and RF3 were able to detect and specify the location of normal colonic tissue, polyps, and resected polyps, with YOLOv8n and RF3 achieving overall accuracies of 0.84 and 0.87, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Machine learning, particularly models like GTM, shows promising results in ensuring comprehensive detection of polyps during colonoscopies.
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