Smoking and obesity are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. E-cigarette which was first introduced in 2000s is perceived as an effective alternative to conventional tobacco smoking. ...Limited knowledge is available regarding the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes. This study systematically reviews the current literature on the effects of e-cigarettes on body weight changes and adipocytes. The search was performed using OVID Medline and Scopus databases and studies meeting the inclusion criteria were independently assessed. This review included all English language, empirical quantitative and qualitative papers that investigated the effects of e-cigarettes on bodyweight or lipid accumulation or adipocytes. Literature searches identified 4965 references. After removing duplicates and screening for eligibility, thirteen references which involve human, in vivo and in vitro studies were reviewed and appraised. High prevalence of e-cigarette was reported in majority of the cross sectional studies conducted among respondent who are obese or overweight. More conclusive findings were identified in in vivo studies with e-cigarette causing weight decrease. However, these observations were not supported by in vitro data. Hence, the effect of e-cigarette on body weight changes warrants further investigations. Well-designed population and molecular studies are needed to further elucidate the role of e-cigarettes in obesity.
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a major contributing factor for discogenic low back pain (LBP), causing a significant global disability. The IVD consists of an inner core proteoglycan-rich ...nucleus pulposus (NP) and outer lamellae collagen-rich annulus fibrosus (AF) and is confined by a cartilage end plate (CEP), providing structural support and shock absorption against mechanical loads. Changes to degenerative cascades in the IVD cause dysfunction and instability in the lumbar spine. Various treatments include pharmacological, rehabilitation or surgical interventions that aim to relieve pain; however, these modalities do not halt the pathologic events of disc degeneration or promote tissue regeneration. Loss of stem and progenitor markers, imbalance of the extracellular matrix (ECM), increase of inflammation, sensory hyperinnervation and vascularization, and associated signaling pathways have been identified as the onset and progression of disc degeneration. To better understand the pain originating from IVD, our review focuses on the anatomy of IVD and the pathophysiology of disc degeneration that contribute to the development of discogenic pain. We highlight the key mechanisms and associated signaling pathways underlying disc degeneration causing discogenic back pain, current clinical treatments, clinical perspective and directions of future therapies. Our review comprehensively provides a better understanding of healthy IVD and degenerative events of the IVD associated with discogenic pain, which helps to model painful disc degeneration as a therapeutic platform and to identify signaling pathways as therapeutic targets for the future treatment of discogenic pain.
Rapid urbanization has led to a growing sanitation crisis in urban areas of Bangladesh and potential exposure to fecal contamination in the urban environment due to inadequate sanitation and poor ...fecal sludge management. Limited data are available on environmental fecal contamination associated with different exposure pathways in urban Dhaka. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the magnitude of fecal contamination in the environment in low-income, high-income, and transient/floating neighborhoods in urban Dhaka. Ten samples were collected from each of 10 environmental compartments in 10 different neighborhoods (4 low-income, 4 high-income and 2 transient/floating neighborhoods). These 1,000 samples were analyzed with the IDEXX-Quanti-Tray technique to determine most-probable-number (MPN) of E. coli. Samples of open drains (6.91 log10 MPN/100 mL), surface water (5.28 log10 MPN/100 mL), floodwater (4.60 log10 MPN/100 mL), produce (3.19 log10 MPN/serving), soil (2.29 log10 MPN/gram), and street food (1.79 log10 MPN/gram) had the highest mean log10 E. coli contamination compared to other samples. The contamination concentrations did not differ between low-income and high-income neighborhoods for shared latrine swabs, open drains, municipal water, produce, and street foodsamples. E. coli contamination levels were significantly higher (p <0.05) in low-income neighborhoods compared to high-income for soil (0.91 log10 MPN/gram, 95% CI, 0.39, 1.43), bathing water (0.98 log10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.41, 1.54), non-municipal water (0.64 log10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.24, 1.04), surface water (1.92 log10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 1.44, 2.40), and floodwater (0.48 log10 MPN/100 mL, 95% CI, 0.03, 0.92) samples. E. coli contamination were significantly higher (p<0.05) in low-income neighborhoods compared to transient/floating neighborhoods for drain water, bathing water, non-municipal water and surface water. Future studies should examine behavior that brings people into contact with the environment and assess the extent of exposure to fecal contamination in the environment through multiple pathways and associated risks.
ABSTRACTDuring this Coronavirus disease-19 (Covid -19) Pandemic, the challenges for appropriate and safe delivery nursing care is becoming main concerns since cancer patients are at high risk to be ...infected. Oncology nurse must reassure that the patients still get the optimal treatment while in other part they have to keep their patients safe. However, the change of provision of care in order to protect cancer patients must pay more attention. The aim of this paper was to review the literature on both the impact of Covid 19 to the provision of cancer care and nursing workforce. The implications of these findings for cancer patients will also be discussed. The electronic Science direct, Googlescholar and Pubmed databases were used to identify relevant articles. A combination of keywords: cancer, care, Corona virus 19, Covid-19 and Pandemic were used to identify relevant articles. Ten articles were included in the review. The broad issues were the impact of Covid 19 on nursing delivery care and the impact to the workforce. In terms of cancer care delivery, the Oncology teams are adopting new ways to minimise the risk of Covid 19 to the patients and their staff while at the similar times they have to reassure that the patients get the optimum care. Triage patients, adjusting treatment and limitation of visitor’s access to the patients is kind of changes that could do. A serious shortage and the availability of personal protective equipment are the major concern in nursing workforce changes during this pandemic. Planning or resuming cancer treatment and screening to mitigate the risk is the most important way to get the best outcomes. Hence, nurse has been pushed to adapt quickly and give their optimum nursing care to patients as well as protect themselves from cross infectionABSTRAKSelama masa pandemi Coronavirus 19, tantangan terhadap pemberian asuhan keperawatan pada pasien kanker menjadi perhatian utama. Hal ini dikarenakan, pasien kanker adalah pasien dengan resiko tinggi tertular infeksi. Perawat oncology harus memastikan bahwa pasien yang mereka rawat tetap mendapatkan perawatan yang optimal walaupun disisi lain mereka harus menjaga keamanan pasien. Oleh karena itu perubahan cara layanan dalam rangka melindungi pasien harus menjadi fokus tersendiri. Tujuan dari artikel ini adalah melakukan literature review tentang impact Covid 19 terhadap layanan pasien kanker dan lingkungan kerja di unit kerja keperawatan. Aplikasi dari temuan juga didiskusikan di artikel ini. Electronic data base seperti Science Direct, Googlescholar dan Pubmed digunakan untuk mencari artikel yang berhubungan. Kombinasi dari kata kuci : cancer, care, Corona virus 19, Covid-19 and Pandemic digunakan untuk telusur artikel. 10 artikel terseleksi. Isu utama yang didapatkan adalah efek dari Covid 19 terhadap cara pemberian asuhan keperawatan dan perubahan yang terjadi dalam lingkungan tenaga kerja. Dalam hal pemberian asuhan keperawatan diketahui bahwa team oncology mengadopsi cara baru untuk mencegah penyebaran Covid-19 kepada pasien dan staff dengan melakukan triage, menunda atau menyesuaikan treatment dan membatasi akses pengunjung ke pasien. Kekurangan tenaga kerja dan ketersediaan alat pelindung diri menjadi issue utama dalam ketenagakerjaan di area keperawatan selama masa pandemi. Merencanakan atau meresume kembali asuhan yang diberikan dan melakukan screening untuk mitigasi resiko infeksi merupakan salah satu cara yang paling naik untuk pelayanan yang terbaik. Oleh karena itu perawat harus bisa beradatasi secara cepat terhadap perubahan dan memberikan pelayanan keperawatan yang optimum dengan tidak melupakan perlindungan diri terhadap diri mereka sendiri dari infeksi silang.
A sensitive and selective optical DNA biosensor was developed for dengue virus detection based on novel square-planar piperidine side chain-functionalized
,
...'-bis-4-(hydroxysalicylidene)-phenylenediamine-nickel(II), which was able to intercalate via nucleobase stacking within DNA and be functionalized as an optical DNA hybridization marker. 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS)-modified porous silica nanospheres (PSiNs), was synthesized with a facile mini-emulsion method to act as a high capacity DNA carrier matrix. The Schiff base salphen complexes-labelled probe to target nucleic acid on the PSiNs renders a colour change of the DNA biosensor to a yellow background colour, which could be quantified via a reflectance transduction method. The reflectometric DNA biosensor demonstrated a wide linear response range to target DNA over the concentration range of 1.0 × 10
-1.0 × 10
M (R² = 0.9879) with an ultralow limit of detection (LOD) at 0.2 aM. The optical DNA biosensor response was stable and maintainable at 92.8% of its initial response for up to seven days of storage duration with a response time of 90 min. The reflectance DNA biosensor obtained promising recovery values of close to 100% for the detection of spiked synthetic dengue virus serotypes 2 (DENV-2) DNA concentration in non-invasive human samples, indicating the high accuracy of the proposed DNA analytical method for early diagnosis of all potential infectious diseases or pathological genotypes.
The Brief COPE Inventory has been proven as acceptable psychometric properties to examine coping strategies among cancer patients. However, most psychometric testing studies have been carried out in ...Western countries, raising concerns about the properties' relevance and applicability in other cultural contexts. This study aimed to present psychometric properties of the Brief COPE in a sample of patients with advanced cancer in Indonesia. Specifically, we intended to examine the factorial structure and the measure's validity and reliability. This study included 440 patients from the original study who completed the Indonesian version of Brief COPE. We used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to assess factor structure and evaluate the structural model fit, respectively. Reliability was demonstrated by internal consistency represented by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The factor analysis identified a 21-items scale with 5-factors (avoidance, religion and acceptance, social support coping, problem solving and distraction). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit. For the whole scale and its subscales Cronbach's alpha coefficients were acceptable signifying good reliability. Convergent, divergent validity and contrast group comparison were evidenced by significant correlations among subscales and the other instruments used. This study shows that the Indonesian version of Brief COPE is a reliable and valid instrument to measure coping in advanced cancer patients and is ready for use amongst this population in the Indonesian cultural context.
The co-use of conventional drug and herbal medicines may lead to herb-drug interaction via modulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) by herbal constituents. UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) ...catalyzing glucuronidation are the major metabolic enzymes of Phase II DMEs. The in vitro inhibitory effect of several herbal constituents on one of the most important UGT isoforms, UGT2B7, in human liver microsomes (HLM) and rat liver microsomes (RLM) was investigated. Zidovudine (ZDV) was used as the probe substrate to determine UGT2B7 activity. The intrinsic clearance (V
/K
) of ZDV in HLM is 1.65 µL/mg/min which is ten times greater than in RLM, which is 0.16 µL/mg/min. Andrographolide, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, mitragynine and zerumbone inhibited ZDV glucuronidation in HLM with IC
values of 6.18 ± 1.27, 18.56 ± 8.62, 8.11 ± 4.48 and 4.57 ± 0.23 µM, respectively, hence, herb-drug interactions are possible if andrographolide, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, mitragynine and zerumbone are taken together with drugs that are highly metabolized by UGT2B7. Meanwhile, only mitragynine and zerumbone inhibited ZDV glucuronidation in RLM with IC
values of 51.20 ± 5.95 μM and 8.14 ± 2.12 µM, respectively, indicating a difference between the human and rat microsomal model so caution must be exercised when extrapolating inhibitory metabolic data from rats to humans.
Previous works have shown that wearable antennas can operate ideally in free space; however, degradation in performance, specifically in terms of frequency shifts and efficiency was observed when an ...antenna structure was in close proximity to the human body. These issues have been highlighted many times yet, systematic and numerical analysis on how the dielectric characteristics may affect the technical behavior of the antenna has not been discussed in detail. In this paper, a wearable antenna, developed from a new electro-textile material has been designed, and the step-by-step manufacturing process is presented. Through analysis of the frequency detuning effect, the on-body behavior of the antenna is evaluated by focusing on quantifying the changes of its input impedance and near-field distribution caused by the presence of lossy dielectric material. When the antenna is attached to the top of the body fat phantom, there is an increase of 17% in impedance, followed by 19% for the muscle phantom and 20% for the blood phantom. These phenomena correlate with the electric field intensities (V/m) observed closely at the antenna through various layers of mediums (
-axis) and along antenna edges (
-axis), which have shown significant increments of 29.7% in fat, 35.3% in muscle and 36.1% in blood as compared to free space. This scenario has consequently shown that a significant amount of energy is absorbed in the phantoms instead of radiated to the air which has caused a substantial drop in efficiency and gain. Performance verification is also demonstrated by using a fabricated human muscle phantom, with a dielectric constant of 48, loss tangent of 0.29 and conductivity of 1.22 S/m.
In the 5G mobile system, new features such as millimetre wave operation, small cell size and multi beam are requested at base stations. At millimetre wave, the base station antennas become very small ...in size, which is about 30 cm; thus, dielectric lens antennas that have excellent multi beam radiation pattern performance are suitable candidates. For base station application, the lens antennas with small thickness and small curvature are requested for light weight and ease of installation. In this paper, a new lens shaping method for thin and small lens curvature is proposed. In order to develop the thin lens antenna, comparisons of antenna structures with conventional aperture distribution lens and Abbe’s sine lens are made. Moreover, multi beam radiation pattern of three types of lenses are compared. As a result, the thin and small curvature of the proposed lens and an excellent multi beam radiation pattern are ensured.
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