Mango has a high global demand. Fruit fungal disease causes post-harvest mango and fruit losses. Conventional chemical fungicides and plastic prevent fungal diseases but they are hazardous to humans ...and the environment. Direct application of essential oil for post-harvest fruit control is not a cost-effective approach. The current work offers an eco-friendly alternative to controlling the post-harvest disease of fruit using a film amalgamated with oil derived from
. Further, this research also aimed to assess the mechanical, antioxidant, and antifungal properties of the film infused with essential oil. ASTM D882 was performed to determine the tensile strength of the film. The antioxidant reaction of the film was assessed using the DPPH assay. In vitro and in vivo tests were used to evaluate the inhibitory development of the film against pathogenic fungi, by comparing the film with different levels of essential oil together with the treatment of the control and chemical fungicide. Disk diffusion was used to evaluate mycelial growth inhibition, where the film incorporated with 1.2 wt% essential oil yielded the best results. For in vivo testing of wounded mango, the disease incidence was successfully reduced. For in vivo testing of unwounded mango to which the film incorporated with essential oil was applied, although some quality parameters such as the color index were not significantly affected, weight loss was reduced, soluble solid content was increased, and firmness was increased, compared to the control. Thus, the film incorporated with essential oil (EO) from
can be an environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional approach and the direct application of essential oil to control post-harvest disease in mango.
This study aims to evaluate the variation of PM2.5 components as well as to identify PM2.5 sources under non-hazy weather conditions in a tropical urban city, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The non-hazy ...weather conditions were characterized by copious rainfall throughout the year and ephemeral dry periods, with no significant haze events. The PM2.5 concentrations were recorded on the rooftop of an eight-floor building using a High Volume Sampler (HVS). The water-soluble ion (WSI), trace metal (TM) and organic and elemental carbon (OC-EC) content of PM2.5 was determined for source apportionment using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Daily PM2.5 concentrations were in the range 9.80–59.9 μgm−3. Dry weather conditions, rainfall and atmospheric stability in different seasons influenced the daily PM2.5 variations. The maximum PM2.5 concentration (33.1 μgm−3) was measured during the inter monsoon (INT I) season. The major constituents of PM2.5 were OC (6.80 μgm−3, 24.4%), EC (0.700 μgm−3, 2.5%) and inorganic matter (IM) (6.6 μgm−3, 23.7%). The PMF identified eight factor profiles of PM2.5 sources and the major source contributors were secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), traffic and oil combustion (28.5%). We note that source characteristics of PM2.5 were significantly modulated by seasonal factors during non-hazy weather conditions.
•PM2.5 and its potential sources under non-hazy tropical conditions were determined•The daily PM2.5 concentration was in the range of 9.80 to 59.9 μgm−3•Positive Matrix Factorization identified eight factor profiles of PM2.5 sources•PM2.5 sources ensued with more traceable pollutant groups from local activities
Background Variceal bleeding is a life-threatening complication of cirrhosis. Traditionally, endoscopy has been utilized as a preferred modality for the detection and grading of esophageal varices. ...However, endoscopy is an invasive procedure and may not be readily available in resource-limited settings. To overcome this limitation, various non-invasive tests, including Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) with portal vein (PV) velocity measurement, have been investigated to predict the presence of esophageal varices (EV). This study aimed to evaluate the potential utility of portal vein flow velocity (PVFV) as a non-invasive alternative to endoscopic screening for predicting the presence of esophageal varices among cirrhotic patients. Methodology This validation cross-sectional study was carried out at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute & Research Centre (PKLI&RC), Lahore, Pakistan from June 8, 2022, to March 8, 2023. Cirrhotic patients were enrolled based on clinical, laboratory, and radiological assessments. Doppler ultrasonography was performed to measure portal vein flow velocity along other relevant indices. Subsequently, all patients underwent endoscopic evaluation to screen and grade the esophageal varices. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify significant clinical predictors of EV based on the results of the independent sample t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to determine the optimal cut-off value for portal vein flow velocity (PVFV). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy were calculated based on the identified cut-off value. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A cohort of 137 cirrhotic patients was enrolled. The study population consisted of 92 males (67.2%) and 45 females (32.8%). Endoscopic screening confirmed the presence of esophageal varices in 81 patients (59.91%). A multivariate analysis revealed that aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) (p=0.008) and portal vein flow velocity (p=0.001) were significant factors associated with esophageal varices and were used for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The area under the curve (AUC) for PVFV was 0.981, and for APRI, it was 0.711. At a cut-off value of 18 cm/sec for PVFV, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy for esophageal varices were found to be 93.83%, 92.86%, 95%, 91.23%, and 93.43%, respectively. Conclusion Measurement of portal vein flow velocity using Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) is a reliable screening method for predicting the presence of esophageal varices (EV) in patients with liver cirrhosis. DUS offers several advantages, including its non-invasive nature, cost-effectiveness, and widespread availability, making it a recommended approach due to its high diagnostic accuracy.
Water scarcity will continue to be a global challenge in the coming years as long as sustainable solutions remain far-fetched. It has become necessary to improve the efficiency of water circulation ...to reduce the net demand in high water consumption sectors such as agriculture. In palm oil industry, the extraction of crude palm oil from oil palm fruit bunch requires a large amount of water, half of which is discharged as palm oil mill effluent (POME) that is considered a high strength wastewater. The current trend of POME research focuses on moving from conventional open-ponding treatment to an integrated zero-discharge system for better effluent management. In this review, the attempts taken by researchers in laboratory and pilot scale were highlighted to achieve an effluent of high-quality water from POME that can be used as drinking water or recycled as boiler water in the palm oil production process. Membrane technology has recently emerged as one of the most promising separation techniques having a broad spectrum of applications including POME treatment. Furthermore, water reclamation technique involving evaporation can split POME solids and recover clean water in a more sustainable and space-saving manner. Additionally, recovery of by-product, such as biofertilizer and biofuels, is necessary to overcome the cost of the treatment. As a whole, in spite of several challenges, water reclamation from POME can be considered economically feasible system from techno-economic analysis perspective and it can feasibly shift the adopted industrial method from a linear take-use-discharge economy approach to a circular economy by keeping water in circulation.
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•Clean water could be reclaimed from POME through sustainable water management.•Thermal, membrane and integrated zero-discharge treatment systems are discussed.•Thermal treatment is less dependent on pre-treatment step.•Efficient water reclamation could be achieved by integrated membrane separation.•Biological treatment methods require long time, large area and high-cost.
•Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe manifestation of parasite infection caused by Plasmodium species.•Cerebral malaria survivors face lifelong effects and a higher incidence of childhood ...neurodisability.•EphA2 receptors have been linked to several neurological disorders and have vital role in CM associated with breakdown of BBB.•EphA2 is a critical target protein that facilitates ECs apoptosis by targeting ephrin A ligand-expressing CD8+ t cell adhesion.
Plasmodium species causes cerebral malaria (CM), a dangerous parasitic illness. The World Health Organization estimates that there were roughly 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, which resulted in 405,000 tragic deaths. There was an approximate 20 % mortality rate among children diagnosed with CM who were admitted to the hospital. 67 % of the victims were children less than five years old. Patients who survive CM may experience lifetime post-CM complications and a higher risk of childhood neurodisability. The present review discuss about cellular mechanisms and immunological responses causing cerebral malaria. The breakdown of tight junctions and adherence junctions between endothelial cells (ECs) is the cause of an increase in the permeability of the blood brain barrier (BBB). It is obvious that this barrier can be breached by two different mechanisms: a) the apoptosis of ECs, and b) a loosening of the tight junctions between cells. T cells have been shown to have an important role in the development of cerebral malaria in an experimental mouse model (ECM). EphA2 receptors has been identified as contributing to many neurological illnesses and plays an important role in CM, associated with an impairment of the BBB. EphA2 is a key target protein that promotes EC apoptosis by targeting ephrin A ligand-expressing CD8+ T cell adhesion. Prominent role of the EphA2 receptors in CM has never been highlighted so far. Despite an intensive research, there is still a lack of successful malaria vaccines. The most advanced vaccines created so far, RTS,S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M, focus on combating the early stages of the P. falciparum parasite. This review also discuss about the progress made for developing an effective vaccine for cerebral malaria.
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The paper investigates the selectivity and market timing ability of fund houses in emerging countries. The study uses comprehensive performance models on fund houses from four emerging countries. ...Data span is from 2007 to 2018. Findings indicate that fund managers benefit from the common facilities provided by the fund houses like market research, diversification and investment opportunity. Fund houses showed good selectivity skills but poor market timing ability. The possible reason is that fund houses manage large and different types of funds. This resulted in more complex management processes and thus reduced the ability to track the fluctuations in the market. The findings are important for investors as they are able to allocate their resources more effectively to funds that are best managed by fund houses while for managers, they are able to position themselves relative to their competing peers.
There is a scarcity of clinical studies which evaluate the association of atrial fibrillation (AF) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in the Middle East. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ...impact of CAD on baseline clinical profiles and one-year outcomes in a Middle Eastern cohort with AF.
Consecutive AF patients evaluated in 29 hospitals and cardiology clinics were enrolled in the Jordan AF Study (May 2019-December 2020). Clinical and echocardiographic features, use of medications and one-year outcomes in patients with AF/CAD were compared to AF/no CAD patients.
Of 2020 AF patients enrolled, 216 (10.7%) had CAD. Patients with AF/CAD were more likely to be men and had significantly higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, heart failure and chronic kidney disease compared to the AF/no CAD patients. They also had lower mean left ventricular ejection fraction and larger left atrial size. Mean CHA
DS
VASc and HAS-BLED scores were higher in AF/CAD patients than those with AF/no CAD (4.3 ± 1.7 vs. 3.6 ± 1.8, p < 0.0001) and (2.0 ± 1.1 vs. 1.6 ± 1.1, p < 0.0001), respectively. Oral anticoagulant agents were used in similar rates in the two groups (83.8% vs. 82.9%, p = 0.81), but more patients with AF/CAD were prescribed additional antiplatelet agents compared to patients with AF/no CAD (73.7% vs. 41.5%, p < 0.0001). At one year, AF/CAD patients, compared to AF/no CAD patients had significantly higher hospitalization rate (39.4% vs. 29.2%, p = 0.003), more acute coronary syndrome and coronary revascularization (6.9% vs. 2.4%, p = 0.004), and higher all-cause mortality (18.5% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.002).
In this cohort of Middle Eastern patients with AF, one in 10 patients had CAD. The coexistence of AF and CAD was associated with a worse baseline clinical profile and one-year outcomes. Clinical study registration: the study is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (unique identifier number NCT03917992).
In peer-to-peer (P2P) content distribution systems, network coding is known as a helpful method for increasing the content availability, accelerating the download process, and robustness against ...churn. Originally, dense network coding (DNC) has been proposed and theoretically considered as an optimal solution. However, due to its huge computational overhead, it is not viable for real-world systems. Subsequently, sparse, generations, and overlapped generations network coding schemes are proposed as possible alternatives but at reduced performance compared to that provided by the DNC. Further in this paper, an improved applicable network coding scheme for P2P content distribution systems referred to therein as Super Generation Network Coding (SGNC) is proposed. SGNC maximizes the generation size so that it is as close as possible to the optimal size without adding computational overhead. Theoretical analysis and experimental work show that SGNC outperforms classical and all previous coding based schemes for P2P content distribution systems in terms of content availability, download time, overhead, and decodability for all piece scheduling policies.
Stroke has become a problem of public health importance worldwide. Knowledge and practices related to stroke prevention among hypertensive and diabetic patients are important in the control of the ...disease. In Nigeria, recent reports indicate an emerging epidemic of stroke. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and practices related to stroke prevention among hypertensive and diabetic patients in Sokoto, Nigeria.
This was a cross-sectional study among 248 patients attending hypertension and diabetes clinic of Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria, selected by systematic sampling technique. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the research variables. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 statistical package.
The mean age of respondents was 48.21 ± 15.07 years and they were predominantly females (65.7%). The respondents had good knowledge of stroke (70.3%), organs or parts of body affected by stroke (89.1%), signs or symptoms of stroke (87.0%), stroke risk factors (86.6%) and stroke prevention (90.8%). Formal education was the sole predictor of good knowledge of signs or symptoms of stroke (aOR = 3.99, 95% CI = 1.58-10.13, p = 0.004), stroke risk factors (aOR = 4.24, 95% CI = 1.68-10.67, p = 0.002) and stroke prevention (aOR = 3.45, 95% CI = 1.09-10.93, p = 0.035). Stroke prevention practices were sub-optimal and significantly associated with formal education and being employed.
These findings suggest the need for all stakeholders to focus on both patients' education and empowerment in halting the rising burden of stroke across the globe.
In today's increasingly complex industrial design and size, noise is one of the serious hazards to hearing. Loss of hearing as a result of long term exposure to high level noise at industrial sector ...is become one most potential harmful for workers. In-line with this concern, engineering control design has been adapted at industrial level as prevention approach and as a part of occupational safety and health culture at workplace. While hearing impairment of workers due to high level of noise exposure require proper hearing rehabilitation strategy at clinical level. This paper discusses briefly some of the engineering control adapted at industrial scale as a prevention strategy of hearing impairment and audiological assessment and management for the workers in risk for hearing impairment at clinical level.
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