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This study examined the influence of iron oxide incorporation on the durability of phosphate glasses with the following formula 50P2O5 -33·33K2O-(11·11-x/2)CaO-(5·56-x/2)MgO-xFe2O3 with 0=x=2 mol%. Indeed, the effects of adding iron on the glass structure, physicochemical properties, thermal properties, and especially, dissolution behaviours were investigated. The glasses were prepared using the classical melt quenching technique at 1000°C. The characterisation was performed using differential thermal analysis, x-ray diffraction, density measurements, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Dissolution behaviours were followed by measuring weight loss and pH. The substitution of calcium and magnesium for iron increased the characteristic temperatures (Tg, Tc, Tf) and reduced the molar volume, showing a more compact phosphate glasses network. Structural characterisation showed that the glass network is composed mainly of metaphosphate chains. The dissolution behaviours of the processed glasses revealed that the introduction of Fe2O3 to the phosphate glasses can improve the chemical durability due to the ionic crosslinking between the nonbridging oxygen atoms of the phosphate chains, which explains the changes in their physicochemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirometry is a pulmonary function test where correct interpretation of the results is crucial for accurate diagnosis of disease. There are online tools to assist in the interpretation of spirometry results; however, as yet none are validated. We evaluated the interpretation accuracy of the Espiro app using pulmonologist interpretations as the gold standard. This is an observational descriptive study in which 118 spirometry results were interpreted by the Espiro app, two pulmonologists, two primary care physicians, and two residents of a primary care training program. We determined the interpretation accuracy of the Espiro app and the concordance of the pattern and severity interpretation between the Espiro app and each of the observers using Cohen's kappa coefficient (k). We obtained a sensitivity and specificity for the Espiro app of 97.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 86.8–99.9%) and 94.9% (95%CI: 87.4–98.6%) with pulmonologist 1 and 100% (95%CI: 91.6–100%) and 98.7% (95%CI: 92.9–99.9%) with pulmonologist 2. The concordance for the pattern interpretation was greater than k 0.907, representing almost perfect agreement. The concordance of the severity interpretation was greater than k 0.807, representing substantial to almost perfect agreement. We concluded that the Espiro app is a valid tool for spirometry interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer and its treatment affect the patient's nutritional status. Weight loss and changes in body composition following chemotherapy may affect clinical outcomes. In this prospective study, 139 cancer patients were included. Anthropometric measurements were performed using standardized equipment. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to assess body composition. Clinical data were obtained from the hospital database. Regardless of cancer type and stage, body mass index (BMI) and fat-free mass values decreased significantly four weeks after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), while fat mass and body fat percentage increased significantly. The proportion of patients with low BMI, reduced muscle mass, and sarcopenic obesity also significantly increased (9.4% vs. 11.5%, 16.7% vs. 33.3%, and 5.0% vs. 21.7%, respectively). Approximately, 62% of patients experienced weight loss. Men were significantly more likely than women to have reduced muscle mass. Non-overweight patients had higher odds of losing weight and muscle mass than their overweight-obese counterparts. Similarly, colorectal cancer patients were 2.14 times more likely to experience moderate/severe weight loss than other patients. However, women with breast or uterine cancer were less likely to have reduced muscle mass than patients with other cancer types. Weight loss, reduced muscle mass, and sarcopenic obesity were common in our study population. Our findings suggest that NAC may increase the risk of malnutrition and that early nutritional interventions are required to prevent weight loss and body composition changes in cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotid diaphragm is a rare cause of stroke. Because of its rarity, it remains often undiagnosed. We report the case of four patients who presented a stroke due to carotid diaphragm. The diagnosis was made either by ultrasound Doppler, computed tomography-angiography or angiography. Two of the four patients were managed by carotid stenting and the other two by surgery. The follow-up was normal. Carotid diaphragm stroke is associated with a high risk of recurrence if not well managed. Therefore, the knowledge of this rare entity is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, manganese was suggested to improve the durability of 50P2O5-33·33K2O-(11·11-x/2) CaO-(5·56-x/2) MgO -xMnO glasses with 0≤x≤ 2 mol%. Indeed, its effect on the glass structure, thermal properties, physicochemical properties, and in particular, dissolution behaviours have been studied. The conventional melt-quenching technique was used to produce glasses at 1000°C and they were characterised by differential thermal analysis, density and molar volume measurements, x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Dissolution behaviours were tracked by measuring weight loss and pH. Molar volume measurements showed that phosphate glasses become more compact by incorporating MnO. Structural characterisation using Raman and infrared spectra proved that the glass network is composed mainly of metaphosphate chains. The dissolution results showed that incorporating manganese was an effective method to change the phosphate glasses' chemical durability due to their ionic crosslinking between the nonbridging oxygen atoms of the phosphate chains, corresponding to the change in thermal properties (Tg, Tc and Tf). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red clay is considered to be of significant value to the economy in Morocco, particularly in the Safi region, because of its abundance. This raw material has long been known for its quality in the manufacture of clay materials, but its use was limited to traditional ceramics. The red clay raw material was the subject of the current study with the objective of opening new industrial applications that will give added value to the Safi red clay. The physicochemical, mineralogical, and thermal properties of the Moroccan red clay were determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), oriented aggregate, and particle-size analyses, powder density by helium pycnometry, carbonate content using the Bernard method, differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA), and the BET surface area. The compacted dry powder particles were calcined at three sintering temperatures: 900, 1000, and 1100°C for 2 h. The effect of sintering temperature on ceramic properties, such as apparent porosity, water adsorption, bulk density, and mechanical strength, was examined. Dense ceramics with lower porosity and greater mechanical resistance (~300%) were produced by increasing the sintering temperature from 900 to 1100°C. The conclusion was that the evolution of physicochemical and thermal properties is related to mineralogical changes, which show that anorthite is the major phase at higher temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gesunde Pflanzen is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the present work is to characterize the phosphate sludge from two different countries: Morocco and Tunisia, and to study the difference between their thermal behavior, this may contribute to their valorization as an alternative raw material for ceramic and building materials industries. Mineralogical transformation during calcination at different temperatures of two different phosphate sludges from two different countries: Morocco and Tunisia were investigated. The two sludges were chemically and mineralogically studied with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After calcination at different temperatures, 600 °C, 700 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 °C, the mineralogy transformation was studied. The effects of the composition on the crystallization behaviour of new phases and the disappearance of others were investigated. The results showed an important difference in the thermal behaviour of the two sludges during calcination, based on the newly formed phases at the different temperatures and specially at the range of high temperatures (900–1100°C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD1) is a rare autosomal recessive hereditary disorder characterized by recurrent infections, impaired pus formation, delayed wound healing, omphalitis, and delayed separation of the umbilical cord as hallmark features of the disease. It results from mutations in the integrin β2 subunit gene ITGB2, which encodes the integrin beta chain-2 protein CD18. In this study, we aimed to investigate the case of a five-month-old boy who presented with a clinical phenotype and flow cytometry results suggesting LAD1 disease. Sanger sequencing of all exons and intron boundaries of ITGB2 identified a novel in-frame deletion in exon 7 (ITGB2 c.844_846delAAC, p.Asn282del) in the patient. The p.Asn282del mutation was heterozygous in the child's parents, whereas it was absent in the 96 control individuals from North Africa. This variant was evaluated by two in silico mutation analysis tools, PROVEAN and MutationTaster, which predicted that the mutation was likely to be pathogenic. In addition, molecular modeling with the YASARA View software suggested that this novel mutation may affect the structure of integrin beta-2 and, subsequently, its interaction with integrin alpha-X. In summary, we report a novel pathogenic mutation p.Asn282del associated with LAD1 that expands the mutation diversity of ITGB2 and suggest the combination of flow cytometry and ITGB2 sequencing as a first-line diagnostic approach for LAD disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hazardous, heavy drinking increases risk for developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), which affects ~7% of adult Americans. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms promoting risk for heavy drinking is essential to developing more effective AUD pharmacotherapies than those currently approved by the FDA. Using genome‐wide bisulfate sequencing, we identified DNA methylation (DNAm) signals within the nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) that differentiate nonheavy and heavy ethanol‐drinking rhesus macaques. One differentially DNAm region (D‐DMR) located within the gene neurobeachin (NBEA), which promotes synaptic membrane protein trafficking, was hypermethylated in heavy drinking macaques. A parallel study identified a similar NBEA D‐DMR in human NAcC that distinguished alcoholic and nonalcoholic individuals. To investigate the role of NBEA in heavy ethanol drinking, we engineered a viral vector carrying a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to reduce the expression of NBEA. Using two murine models of ethanol consumption: 4 days of drinking‐in‐the‐dark and 4 weeks of chronic intermittent access, the knockdown of NBEA expression did not alter average ethanol consumption in either model. However, it did lead to a significant increase in the ethanol preference ratio. Following withdrawal, whole‐cell patch clamp electrophysiological experiments revealed that Nbea knockdown led to an increase in spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current amplitude with no alteration in spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents, suggesting a specific role of NBEA in trafficking of glutamatergic receptors. Together, our findings suggest that NBEA could be targeted to modulate the preference for alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding sorption isotherms is crucial in food science for optimizing the drying processes, enhancing the shelf-life of food, and maintaining food quality during storage. This study investigated the isotherms of sweet cherry powder (SCP) using the static gravimetric method. The experimental water sorption curves of lyophilized sweet cherry powder were determined at 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C. The curves were then fitted to six isotherm models: Modified GAB, Halsey, Smith, Oswin, Caurie, and Kühn models. To define the energy associated with the sorption process, the isosteric sorption heat, differential entropy, and spreading pressure were derived from the isotherms. Among the six models, the Smith model is the most reliable in predicting the sorption of the cherry powder with a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.9978 and a mean relative error (MRE) ≤1.61. The values of the net isosteric heat and differential entropy for the cherry increased exponentially as the moisture content decreased. The net isosteric heat values varied from 10.63 to 90.97 kJ mol−1, while the differential entropy values varied from 27.94 to 273.39 J. mol−1K−1. Overall, the enthalpy-entropy compensation theory showed that enthalpy-controlled mechanisms could be used to regulate water adsorption in cherry powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé: La neurofibromatose de Von Recklinghausen est une maladie génétique qui peut toucher tous les systèmes de l'organisme. Chez l'enfant, ses complications sont nombreuses : elles sont surtout neurologiques et orthopédiques. L'atteinte vasculaire est exceptionnelle mais grave, et peut engager le pronostic fonctionnel et vital. Les atteintes les plus fréquentes sont les sténoses des artères rénales et la coarctation de l'aorte. L'atteinte des artères périphériques est encore plus rare. Nous rapportons le cas unique d'un enfant de 7 ans avec hypoplasie du membre inférieur gauche associée à un trouble trophique au gros orteil, secondaires à une occlusion de l'artère iliaque externe en rapport avec une neurofibromatose de type 1, qui a bénéficié d'un pontage veineux ilio-fémoral, avec bonne évolution clinique. Von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis is a genetic disease that can affect all systems of the body. In children, its complications are numerous, they are especially neurological and orthopedic. The vascular involvement is exceptional but serious, and can engage the functional and vital prognosis. The most common are renal artery stenosis and aortic coarctation. Peripheral vascular lesions are even more rare. We report a unique case of a 7-year-old child with left lower limb hypoplasia associated with a trophic disorder of the big toe, secondary to occlusion of the external iliac artery related to neurofibromatosis type 1, who benefited from ilio-femoral venous bypass, with good clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pan African Medical Journal is the property of Pan African Medical Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Résumé: Un jeune homme de 37 ans, sans antécédents notables, s'est présenté pour une ischémie subaiguë des deux membres inférieurs sans déficit sensitivo-moteur. L'examen trouvait des pouls fémoraux bien perçus et symétriques, des pouls poplités et distaux abolis de façon bilatérale, des pieds froids avec un temps de recoloration de 4 secondes sans dépilation cutanée et sans déficit sensitivo-moteur. L'examen cardiovasculaire et général était sans anomalie. L'évolution a été favorable sous héparine. L'angioscanner de l'aorte abdominale et des membres inférieurs a été réalisé en urgence objectivant un thrombus de l'aorte abdominale sous-rénale et une obstruction embolique quasi occlusive des deux artères poplitées avec une reprise très distale. Devant l'amélioration clinique et la diminution de la taille du thrombus constatée à l'écho-doppler, l'indication chirurgicale n'a pas été retenue. L'exploration étiologique n'a pas trouvé d'autres anomalies en dehors d'un effondrement du taux de vitamine B12 et une hyperhomocystéinémie. Cette observation attire l'attention sur les complications artérielles graves de l'hyperhomocystéinémie chez les sujets jeunes et l'intérêt de la rechercher devant un tel tableau. Elle ouvre également le débat entre le traitement médical conservateur ou l'attitude chirurgicale. A 37-year-old man, with no notable antecedents, was admitted for subacute ischemia of both lower limbs without neurological signs. The examination found well-perceived and symmetrical femoral pulses, popliteal and distal pulses abolished bilaterally, cold feet with a 4-second restoring time, without skin depilation and without neurological deficit. The cardiovascular and general examination were without abnormalities. The CT scan was performed in emergency objectifying thrombus of the abdominal aorta and embolic obstruction of popliteus arteries with a very distal outflow. The evolution was rapidly favorable under heparin and iloprost. After the clinical improvement and the decrease of thrombus size in doppler ultrasound, the surgical indication was not retained. The etiological investigation did not find any other abnormalities besides a collapse of B12 vitamin and hyperhomocysteinemia. This observation draws attention to serious arterial complications of hyperhomocysteinemia at young subjects and the interest of looking for it at such presentation. It also opens the debate between conservative medical treatment or surgical attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A traumatic non-anastomotic pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication of an axillofemoral bypass graft. Fewer than 20 cases have been reported in the literature. Our case is unusual in that we report a double localization of this complication.Case Presentation: We report the case of a 60-year-old Arabic male patient who was diagnosed with two hematomas in the trajectory of his axillofemoral bypass secondary to a traumatism. The diagnosis of a non-anastomotic pseudoaneurysm was retained considering the results of a computed tomography angiography scan, which showed the double localization of the pseudoaneurysm. Surgical management consisted of flattening the pseudoaneurysm along with the interposition of a prosthetic segment. There were no postoperative complications and our patient was well 3 years after discharge.Conclusions: Non-anastomotic pseudoaneurysm is a rarely described complication of a axillofemoral bypass graft. To the best of our knowledge, a double localization has not been described in the literature before. Minimally invasive techniques as a treatment option are being widely used as an alternative to open repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aneurysms of the intra-thoracic subclavian artery (SCA) are rare. They are often revealed by complications. Surgical treatment is always indicated. Endovascular treatment is a less invasive alternative. We report a case of a 60 years-old woman admitted for right chest pain and dysphonia. Laryngoscopy noted a right vocal cord palsy. Chest computed tomography and angiography showed a giant aneurysm of the intra-thoracic right SCA. A resection-ligation of the aneurysm was performed by a supra-clavicular approach. Postoperative course was uneventful. The histology defined an atherosclerotic aneurysm. The patient underwent voice reeducation with partial improvement after six months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental problems of fly ashes from incineration of waste of infectious risk cares (WIRC) so called hospital waste are brought out by several researchers around the world. In the past few years, they have been concerned with problems of storage and use of these ashes. We propose glass forming as a method of storage and recovery after presenting the general characteristics of these ashes. Using X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses, it was found that the fly ashes from WIRC consisted mainly of iron chlorides. Qualitative and quantitative analyses using inductively coupled plasma and scanning electron microscopy allowed the identification of copper, zinc, lead, cadmium and other trace elements. Based on the difference in water solubility of fly ashes constituents, we have separated them into a soluble fraction in which iron chlorides are the major compounds, with a significant amount of cadmium and an insoluble fraction rich in Fe(OH)3 with a large amount of copper and zinc. The fly ash components were stabilized in a phosphate matrix by a glass forming technique. The obtained glass has a significant chemical durability which allows it to be a good candidate for the storage and trapping trace metals containing in the incinerated waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three phosphate glass compositions, VF1, VF2, and VF3, containing macro and micronutrients with different [K2O/(CaO+MgO)] ratio, were formulated to be used as controlled release fertilizers for tomato crop, depending on their chemical durability in water and their propriety with respect to the standards of controlled-release fertilizers. This study investigated the influence of [K2O/(CaO+MgO)] ratio variation on glass properties. For this, the elaborated glasses have undergone a chemical characterization using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, a thermal characterization using differential thermal analysis, a physicochemical characterization based on density and molar volume measurements, and a structural characterization using Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. In addition, the chemical durability was determined by measuring the percentage of weight loss and the pH. Results revealed that the glass structure and composition have the mean role in controlling the release of nutrients in water. By increasing [K2O/(CaO+MgO)] ratio, the dissolution rates of the glasses increased due to the shrinking in the rate of crosslinking between phosphate chains, accompanied with a diminution in transition and crystallization temperatures, and an increase in the molar volume. An agronomic valorization of VF1 and VF2 glass fertilizers, which showed dissolution profiles adequate to the criteria of controlled-release fertilizers, was carried out to evaluate their efficiency on tomato crops. These glass fertilizers improved soil mineral content and tomato performances in comparison to the control and NPK treatments with the distinction of VF2. The results highlight the effectiveness of these smart fertilizers toward their potential large-scale application to improve crop production and quality for high nutritional value foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different phosphate glass formulations (F0, F1, F2, and F3) were developed according o wheat nutrient requirements to be used as controlled-release fertilizers. These glasses contain macro-elements (P2O5-K2O-CaO-MgO), with the addition of microelements (Fe-Mn-Zn-B-Cu-Mo) in each formulation. The effects of these elements' addition on thermal properties, glass structure, and dissolution behaviors were investigated. Results showed that these glasses are composed essentially of metaphosphate chains and that the addition of micronutrients could change the chemical durability of phosphate glasses. A greenhouse experiment was performed using wheat (Triticum durum L.) to evaluate the efficiency of the four glasses, with or without application of chemical nitrogen (N) (N + VF and VF, respectively). The different formulas were tested using two rates of 0.3 and 1 g per plant. In addition to the vitreous fertilizer formulations, two other treatments were applied: control treatment with no amendment and Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium treatment with the application of the conventional fertilizers on the base of optimal rates. After four months of cultivation, vitreous fertilizers application significantly improved growth (7% to 88%), photosynthetic (8% to 49%) parameters, and yield (29% to 33%) compared to NPK treatment and to the control. It has been found that formulas F1, F2, and F3 may constitute a potential alternative to conventional fertilization due to their positive impact on wheat production and can be used in practice as an environmentally controlled-release fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphate glasses have potentially interesting properties that can be used in various applications. Recently, different studies are focusing on their dissolution behaviours that can be modified to suit some environmental applications, such as controlled-release fertilisers. In this work, magnesium had been suggested to improve the glass durability of 3P2O5-2K2O-(1 − x)CaO-xMgO glasses (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). Indeed, its effect on glass structure, thermal properties and most important dissolution behaviours were studied, in order to evaluate their suitability of being used as controlled-release fertilisers. Various compositions in which calcium was partially replaced by magnesium were prepared by melting at 800 °C. The samples were characterised by differential scanning calorimetry, density measurements, X-Ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The dissolution behaviours were investigated using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry ICP-OES, pH measurements and SEM. Substitution of calcium by magnesium reduced the glass density, owing to the lower atomic weight of magnesium compared to calcium, and caused an increase in glass transition and crystallisation temperatures. Magnesium substitution significantly improved the chemical durability of the glasses due to more covalent Mg–O bond than the Ca–O bond. This study demonstrated that 3P2O5-2K2O-0.3CaO-0.7MgO (x = 0.7) had a dissolution profile adequate to the criteria of controlled-release fertilisers and could be used to nourish the plants with phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]