In the near future, i.e., beyond 4G, some of the prime objectives or demands that need to be addressed are increased capacity, improved data rate, decreased latency, and better quality of service. To ...meet these demands, drastic improvements need to be made in cellular network architecture. This paper presents the results of a detailed survey on the fifth generation (5G) cellular network architecture and some of the key emerging technologies that are helpful in improving the architecture and meeting the demands of users. In this detailed survey, the prime focus is on the 5G cellular network architecture, massive multiple input multiple output technology, and device-to-device communication (D2D). Along with this, some of the emerging technologies that are addressed in this paper include interference management, spectrum sharing with cognitive radio, ultra-dense networks, multi-radio access technology association, full duplex radios, millimeter wave solutions for 5G cellular networks, and cloud technologies for 5G radio access networks and software defined networks. In this paper, a general probable 5G cellular network architecture is proposed, which shows that D2D, small cell access points, network cloud, and the Internet of Things can be a part of 5G cellular network architecture. A detailed survey is included regarding current research projects being conducted in different countries by research groups and institutions that are working on 5G technologies.
Fluoride contamination has become a considerable threat to our society worldwide. Fluoride in drinking water is primarily due to rich fluoride soil, volcanic activity, forage, grasses and grains, and ...anthropogenic reasons. World Health Organization has regulated the upper limit for fluoride in drinking water to be 1.5 mg/L while different countries have set their standards according to their circumstances. Excess amounts of fluoride ions in drinking water can cause dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, arthritis, bone damage, osteoporosis, muscular damage, fatigue, joint-related problems, and chronicle issues. In extreme conditions, it could adversely damage the heart, arteries, kidney, liver, endocrine glands, neuron system, and several other delicate parts of a living organism, briefed in the present article. Moreover, a comprehensive scenario for the situations in countries like, China, Canada, Mexico, United States, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Australia, and India affected with high fluoride levels in ground water has been described. To analyze the presence of fluoride molecule, out of different detections methods, ion selective and colorimetric method has been adopted for real situation in the field of water application. Also, different methods to remove fluoride from water like reverse osmosis, nano filtration, adsorption, ion-exchange, and precipitation/coagulation with their removal mechanism were highlighted in the review. Moreover, the applicability of the approach with the prospect of country's economic status has been discussed, due to high cost and maintenance the membrane technology is not popular in developing countries like India, Senegal, Tanzania, and Kenya which employ adsorption and coagulation-precipitation for fluoride removal. It is noticeable from literature study that different approaches show unique potential for defluoridation. Some key parameters and mechanistic adaptations which could pave the defluoridation methods to newer horizons have been put forward.
Display omitted
•In this review, occurrence of fluoride ion has been highlighted with its worldwide and national scenario.•The effect of fluoride ions in the environment, as well as the human body, was elaborated.•Fluoride detection technologies with special reference to Sensor based technologies•Removal techniques were discussed including process mechanism and economics.•Future recommendations were put forward in the field of fluoride removal.
Secukinumab, a fully human immunoglobulin G1-kappa monoclonal antibody that directly inhibits interleukin (IL)-17A, has been shown to have robust efficacy in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ...psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) demonstrating a rapid onset of action and sustained long-term clinical responses with a consistently favorable safety profile in multiple Phase 2 and 3 trials. Here, we report longer-term pooled safety and tolerability data for secukinumab across three indications (up to 5 years of treatment in PsO and PsA; up to 4 years in AS).
The integrated clinical trial safety dataset included data pooled from 21 randomized controlled clinical trials of secukinumab 300 or 150 or 75 mg in PsO (14 Phase 3 trials and 1 Phase 4 trial), PsA (3 Phase 3 trials), and AS (3 Phase 3 trials), along with post-marketing safety surveillance data with a cut-off date of June 25, 2017. Adverse events (AEs) were reported as exposure-adjusted incident rates (EAIRs) per 100 patient-years. Analyses included all patients who received ≥ 1 dose of secukinumab.
A total of 5181, 1380, and 794 patients from PsO, PsA, and AS clinical trials representing secukinumab exposures of 10,416.9, 3866.9, and 1943.1 patient-years, respectively, and post-marketing data from patients with a cumulative exposure to secukinumab of ~ 96,054 patient-years were included in the analysis. The most frequent AE was upper respiratory tract infection. EAIRs across PsO, PsA, and AS indications were generally low for serious infections (1.4, 1.9, and 1.2, respectively), Candida infections (2.2, 1.5, and 0.7, respectively), inflammatory bowel disease (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1, respectively), and major adverse cardiac events (0.3, 0.4, and 0.6, respectively). No cases of tuberculosis reactivation were reported. The incidence of treatment-emergent anti-drug antibodies was low with secukinumab across all studies, with no discernible loss of efficacy, unexpected alterations in pharmacokinetics, or association with immunogenicity-related AEs.
Secukinumab demonstrated a favorable safety profile over long-term treatment in patients with PsO, PsA, and AS. This comprehensive assessment demonstrated that the safety profile of secukinumab was consistent with previous reports in patients with PsO, PsA, and AS, supporting its long-term use in these chronic conditions.
Polylactide (PLA), the biodegradable synthetic aliphatic polyester, has been studied extensively for a number of applications. With potential applications PLA represents its prospective utility in a ...number of growing technologies such as orthopedics, drug delivery, sutures, and scaffolds, and have further enhanced the interest of researchers in this novel area. Renewable resource generated monomers possess better mechanical properties and easy processability by conventional methods like thermoforming, injection, and blow molding with non-toxic degradation products, which have made it superior than the other conventional thermoplastics. In order to meet the different performance requirements, PLA can be synthesised by various methods using different catalysts. In this review a collection of more than 100 catalysts for the synthesis of PLA are mentioned, apart from this, efforts have been made to present an updated review on the various aspects of polylactide.
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with both (1) 'ill-defined' or 'medically unexplained' somatic syndromes, e.g. unexplained dizziness, tinnitus and blurry vision, and ...syndromes that can be classified as somatoform disorders (DSM-IV-TR); and (2) a range of medical conditions, with a preponderance of cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological, and gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, chronic pain, sleep disorders and other immune-mediated disorders in various studies. Frequently reported medical co-morbidities with PTSD across various studies include cardiovascular disease, especially hypertension, and immune-mediated disorders. PTSD is associated with limbic instability and alterations in both the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal and sympatho-adrenal medullary axes, which affect neuroendocrine and immune functions, have central nervous system effects resulting in pseudo-neurological symptoms and disorders of sleep-wake regulation, and result in autonomic nervous system dysregulation. Hypervigilance, a central feature of PTSD, can lead to 'local sleep' or regional arousal states, when the patient is partially asleep and partially awake, and manifests as complex motor and/or verbal behaviours in a partially conscious state. The few studies of the effects of standard PTSD treatments (medications, CBT) on PTSD-associated somatic syndromes report a reduction in the severity of ill-defined and autonomically mediated somatic symptoms, self-reported physical health problems, and some chronic pain syndromes.
Summary Psoriasis is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory disorder which manifests as dermatologic lesions, and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in about 30% of cases. Psoriasis is associated with ...multiple comorbidities including metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular events, obesity and psychiatric disorders, which can all affect the course of sleep disorders. A systematic review of the literature on the relationship between psoriasis, PsA, and formal sleep disorders identified 33 studies. There is an increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with 36%–81.8% prevalence in psoriasis versus 2%–4% in the general population. There was also an increase in the prevalence of restless legs syndrome of 15.1%–18% in psoriasis versus 5%–10% in European and North American samples. The wide variety of insomnia criteria used in studies resulted in an insomnia prevalence of 5.9%–44.8% in psoriasis, which is insufficient to show an elevated prevalence when the general population has a 10% prevalence of chronic insomnia and 30–35% prevalence of transient insomnia. There is evidence that symptoms of insomnia in psoriasis are directly mediated by pruritus and pain. Treatments that decrease the cutaneous symptoms in psoriasis were successful in mitigating insomnia, but did not show improvements in OSA where the relationship with psoriasis is multifactorial.
Summary
The conclusions of pairwise meta‐analyses of interventions for actinic keratosis (AK) are limited due to the lack of direct comparison between some interventions. Consequently, we performed a ...network meta‐analysis for eight treatments 5‐aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)‐photodynamic therapy (PDT), cryotherapy, diclofenac 3% in 2·5% hyaluronic acid (DCF/HA), 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) 0·5% or 5·0%, imiquimod (IMI) 5%, ingenol mebutate (IMB) 0·015–0·05%, methyl aminolaevulinate (MAL)‐PDT and placebo/vehicle (including placebo‐PDT) to determine their relative efficacies. As part of a prior Cochrane systematic review, different databases and grey literature were searched for randomized controlled trials up to April 2012. The inclusion criteria were parallel‐group studies with nonimmunosuppressed participants: (i) reporting ‘participant complete clearance’ and (ii) comparing at least two of the interventions. Thirty‐two publications met the criteria and they included the following number of individual or pooled studies (n) and total number of participants (N) for the different interventions: 5‐FU 0·5% (n = 4, N = 169), 5‐FU 5·0% (n = 2, N = 44), ALA‐PDT (n = 6, N = 739), cryotherapy (n = 2, N = 174), DCF/HA (n = 5, N = 299), IMI (n = 14, N = 1411), IMB (n = 3, N = 560), MAL‐PDT (n = 7, N = 557) and placebo (n = 32, N = 2520). Network analyses using a random‐effects Bayesian model were carried out with the software ADDIS v1.16.1. The interventions were ranked as follows based on calculated probabilities and odd ratios: 5‐FU > ALA‐PDT ≈ IMI ≈ IMB ≈ MAL‐PDT > cryotherapy > DCF/HA > placebo. This efficacy ranking was obtained based on the current available data on ‘participant complete clearance’ from randomized controlled trials and the analysis model used. However, several other factors should also be considered when prescribing a treatment for AK.
What's already known about this topic?
Several interventions are effective for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK).
Due to the lack of direct comparisons between these interventions, their relative efficacy is unknown.
What does this study add?
Using network meta‐analysis, the relative efficacy of eight main interventions for AK was determined based on the outcome ‘participant complete clearance’.
With the exception of ingenol mebutate, the relative efficacy of the interventions was independent of the anatomical location of the lesions.
Carotid Vessel Wall Imaging on CTA Baradaran, H; Gupta, A
American journal of neuroradiology : AJNR,
03/2020, Volume:
41, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Vessel wall imaging has been increasingly used to characterize plaque beyond luminal narrowing to identify patients who may be at the highest risk of cerebrovascular ischemia. Although detailed ...plaque information can be obtained from many imaging modalities, CTA is particularly appealing for carotid plaque imaging due to its relatively low cost, wide availability, operator independence, and ability to discern high-risk features. The present Review Article describes the current understanding of plaque characteristics on CTA by describing commonly encountered plaque features, including calcified and soft plaque, surface irregularities, neovascularization, and inflammation. The goal of this Review Article was to provide a more robust understanding of clinically relevant plaque features detectable on routine CTA of the carotid arteries.
Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide including India, where advanced stages at diagnosis, and rising incidence and mortality rates, make it essential to ...understand cancer literacy in women. We conducted a literature review to evaluate the awareness levels of risk factors for breast cancer among Indian women and health professionals. Methods A structured literature search using combined keywords was undertaken on bibliographic databases including MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) and SCOPUS. Searches were restricted to research published in English language peer-reviewed journals through December, 2014 in India. Results A total of 7066 women aged 15–70 years showed varied levels of awareness on risk factors such as family history (13–58%), reproductive history (1–88%) and obesity (11–51%). Literacy levels on risk factors did not improve over the 8-year period (2005–2013). On average, nurses reported higher, though still varied, awareness levels for risk factors such as family history (40.8–98%), reproductive history (21–90%) and obesity (34–6%). Awareness levels were not consistently higher for the stronger determinants of risk. Conclusion Our review revealed low cancer literacy of breast cancer risk factors among Indian women, irrespective of their socio-economic and educational background. There is an urgent need for nation- and state-wide awareness programmes, engaging multiple stakeholders of society and the health system, to help improve cancer literacy in India.
We examined the prevalence of depression (measured by the Carroll Rating Scale for Depression, CRSD), wishes to be dead and acute suicidal ideation among 480 patients with dermatological disorders ...that may be cosmetically disfiguring, i.e. non‐cystic facial acne (n = 72; 5.6% suicidal ideation), alopecia areata (n = 45; 0% suicidal ideation), atopic dermatitis (n = 146; 2.1% suicidal ideation) and psoriasis (79 outpatients, 2.5% suicidal ideation and 138 inpatients, 7.2% suicidal ideation). Analysis of variance revealed that the severely affected psoriasis inpatients (mean ± SD total body surface area affected: 52 ± 23.4%) had the highest (P < 0.05) CRSD score, followed by the patients with mild to moderate acne; both scores were in the range for clinical depression (CRSD score > 10). The 5.6–7.2% prevalence of active suicidal ideation among the psoriasis and acne patients was higher than the 2.4–3.3% prevalence reported among general medical patients. Our findings highlight the importance of recognizing psychiatric comorbidity, especially depression, among dermatology patients and indicate that in some instances even clinically mild to moderate disease such as non‐cystic facial acne can be associated with significant depression and suicidal ideation.
PDF
