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Biofunctionalization of an implant using functional ceramics with exceptional electrical characterization, such as BaTiO3 and SrTiO3, has gained considerable attention in creating a composite coating with bio-polymer to activate metal implant surfaces for bone tissue engineering applications and, at the same time, resist bacterial infection. A Ti–Zr alloy sample was created by powder technology, and then a coating was applied using the electrospinning technique. Individually, nanopowders of ceramic compounds such as nBaTiO3 and nSrTiO3 were added to a blend of polycaprolactone and chitosan to create composite solutions that could be converted into a nanofibrous coating layer using the electrospinning technique. The samples were analyzed for their morphology, chemical composition, surface roughness, dielectric constant, and wettability. The techniques employed were SEM, EDS, FTIR, an LCR meter, and a contact angle goniometer. The samples' cytocompatibility was assessed by examining the cell viability, ALP activity, proliferation, and attachment of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells on both coated and uncoated sample surfaces.The bacterial resistance assays were conducted against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans. The findings demonstrate a notable enhancement in the biocompatibility of the coated specimens following a week of cellular cultivation. The composite coating containing piezoelectric BaTiO3 has a dielectric constant Ɛr (16) close to dry human bone at 100HZ frequency. Cell proliferation increases dramatically with time in coated samples, and the improvement approaches 125.16% for (BA1) and 111.38% for (SR1) as compared to uncoated Ti–25Zr sample. Cell viability percentage for the coated samples is compared with bare Ti–25Zr, which has an 80.52 ± 1.97% crucial increase, while (BA1) has 181.63 ± 17.87 and (SR1) 170.09 ± 18.12%. No zone of inhibition was detected in the bacterial resistance test for the uncoated sample, while the samples with composite coating show an adequate and comparable inhibitory zone. The composite nano-fiber has a strong biocompatibility, and the coating process is simple and economical, holding potential for use in orthodontic and orthopedic bone regeneration applications.

Jeffrey Wooliscroft,1 Rubeel Akram,1 Hafsa Zuberi,1 Betty Tong,1 Jane Gu,1 Aaron Hurd,1 Karanjit Kooner1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Veteran Affairs North Texas Health Care System Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USACorrespondence: Karanjit Kooner, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA, Tel +1 (214) 648-4733, Fax +1 (214) 648-2270, Email Karanjit.Kooner@utsouthwestern.eduPurpose/Relevance: To determine the influence of hypertension (HTN), type 2 diabetes (DM2), migraine, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the onset of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) to enhance predictive accuracy.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data for 389 eligible patients with POAG were collected through medical records review and phone surveys. All data were assessed collectively using stepwise multiple regression analysis to determine the relative contribution to age at POAG diagnosis. We used the following groups, based on age at diagnosis, HTN for patients with or without DM2 (model 1), HTN for patients with DM2 (model 2), DM2 for patients with or without HTN (model 3), and DM2 for patients with HTN (model 4).Results: In model 1, age at HTN diagnosis was associated with age at POAG diagnosis (β = 0.14; 95% CI, 0.01– 0.26, p = 0.04). In model 2, age at HTN diagnosis was not associated with age at POAG diagnosis (p > 0.05). In model 3, age at DM2 diagnosis was associated with age at POAG diagnosis (β = 0.37; 95% CI 0.16– 0.58, p = 0.001). In model 4, age at DM2 diagnosis was associated with age at POAG diagnosis (β = 0.40; 95% CI 0.00– 0.15, p = 0.003). Asian race/ethnicity was associated with early onset of POAG in model 3 (β = − 6.44; 95% CI − 12.34– 0.54, p = 0.033). OSA and migraine did not influence the onset of POAG.Conclusion: Our study found that the diagnosis of DM2 and HTN at an earlier age is associated with the early onset of POAG.Keywords: primary open-angle glaucoma, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, migraine, obstructive sleep apnea, onset of glaucoma

Contamination of aquatic systems with pesticides occurs frequently. This study aimed to detect the levels of some pesticides: organochlorines, organophosphorus, pyrethroids, and carbamates groups in imported frozen and local fresh fish in Jordan. A total of 218 samples were randomly collected (194 imported frozen fish). Samples were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/Ms/Ms). Results showed that 23 different pesticides were found in this study. All 218 fish samples were contaminated with at least 4 compounds and maximally 12 pesticides. In terms of contamination rate, no significant differences between local and imported types were observed. Up to 65.2% of pesticides were detected at concentration higher than the maximum residue limit set by the WHO (10 ppb) in 215 samples (98.6%). These samples concluded heavy contaminations with different pesticides for either imported or locally raised products. Therefore, routine monitoring of pesticides in fish and their environment are officially required.

There is a critical need in orthopedic and orthodontic clinics for enhanced implant-bone interface contact to facilitate the quick establishment of a strong and durable connection. Surface modification by bioactive multifunctional materials is a possible way to overcome the poor osteoconductivity and the potential infection of Ti-based implants. Ti-25Zr biometallic alloy was prepared by powder metallurgy technique and then coated by Nano-composite fiber using electrospinning. Ceramic Nanocompound (CaTiO3, BaTiO3) was used as filler material and individually added to polymeric matrices constructed from the blend of polycaprolactone/chitosan. Using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and wettability, respectively, the morphology, chemical analysis, surface roughness, and contact angle measurements of the samples were evaluated. The result shows a significant improvement in cell viability, proliferation, and ALP activity for coated samples compared to noncoated samples. PCL/Chitosan/Nano-CaTiO3 (CA1) recorded remarkable enhancement from the surface-coated samples, demonstrating a significantly higher cell viability value after seven days of MC3T3-E1 cell culture, reaching 271.56 ± 13.15%, and better cell differentiation with ALP activity reaching 5.61 ± 0.35 fold change for the same culture time. PCL/Chitosan/Nano-BaTiO3 (BA1) also shows significant improvement in cell viability by 181.63 ± 17.87% and has ALP activity of 3.97 ± 0.67 fold change. For coated samples, cell proliferation likewise exhibits a considerable temporal increase; the improvement reaches 237.53% for (CA1) and 125.16% for (BA1) in comparison with uncoated samples (bare Ti-25Zr). The coated samples resist bacteria in the antibacterial test compared to the noncoated samples with no inhibition zone. This behavior suggests that a Nanocomposite fiber coat containing an active ceramic Nanocompound (CaTiO3, BaTiO3) promotes cell growth and holds promise for orthodontic and orthopedic bioapplication.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of mycotoxins (Deoxynivalenol (DON), Zearalenone (ZEA), Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Fumonisin B1 (FB1)) in local hen's table eggs (white and yolk) as well as their stability upon refrigeration. Two hundred and fifty of fresh table eggs samples collected from Jordan governorates were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrophotometry (LC– MS/MS) More than half (67%) of the tested samples were positive for mycotoxins. The mean concentration of AFB1, FB1 and ZEA was 0.5 ± 0.4, 0.5 ± 0.2 and 3.2 ± 1.5 μg/kg, respectively. The overall prevalence of AFB1, ZEA, FB1 was 56.8, 16.0 and 7.6%, respectively. DON was not found in any of the samples. The highest prevalence was observed in Amman (85.7%) followed by Mafraq (78.6%), Karak (75.0%) and Zarqa'a (66.6%). None of the investigated mycotoxins were detected in egg whites. However, the prevalence of AFB1, ZEA, FB1 in egg yolk was 21.3, 16 and 7.6%, respectively. Refrigeration up to 4 weeks did not decrease the mycotoxin concentration significantly. Mycotoxin concentration in all investigated samples in this study were well below both the International and Jordanian acceptable limits. However, continuous exposure may lead to bioaccumulation over a long term and pose a threat to health.

The phospholipid fatty acid method was used to determine the shifts in microbial biomass due to irrigation with reverse-osmosis (RO) concentrate (or highly saline reject water) and brackish groundwater (BGW). In this greenhouse study, RO concentrate and BGW were applied to irrigate pecan trees for 8 months for two consecutive seasons. The objectives of the study were to (i) evaluate how irrigation with RO concentrate and BGW impacts soil microbial composition in pecan rhizospheres using microbial phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers as indicators, and (ii) evaluate its implications on soil health. Three treatments of RO concentrate (EC = 8.0 dS/m), BGW (EC = 4.0 dS/m), and the city of Las Cruces’s water (EC = 0.8 dS/m) as a control were used to irrigate pecan trees. EC, pH, and organic matter (OM%) content of the soil samples were measured, and PLFA biomarkers for the microbial community were determined. Na-, Cl-, and K-ion concentrations were 26.16, 32.54, and 5.93 meq/L in 2017 and 25.44, 24.26, and 5.49 meq/L in 2018, respectively, in RO irrigation pots. For two seasons, gram-positive bacteria were dominant, while gram-negative bacteria were not detected in the second season. PLFA biomarkers of fungi were found among all three treatments in the first season; however, they appeared only with BGW in the second season. Actinomycetes were recorded in the first season while they were not seen in the second season. Increases in soil salinity and microbial shifts could have important implications for soil health. Irrigating with RO and BGW shifted the soil microbial composition; therefore, long-term irrigation with BGW and RO concentrate would be deleterious for pecan production and soil health.

Fuel cells are one of important renewable energy sources represent scientific trends of contemporary researches that seek to find better alternatives to solve the negatives of organic fuels and biological damage to humans, environment and atmosphere. The most vital part in hydrogen fuel cells is the cation exchange membranes whose special and critical role. Cation exchange membranes have been prepared and characterized using expanded polystyrene (PS) from waste packaging. Electrospun polystyrene PS membranes were synthesized by electrospinning. The electrospun PS membranes were chemically modified by sulfonation reaction. Electrospun PS membranes were immersed in (20%) diluted sulfuric acid (H2SO4), as a sulfonating agent, for different periods of 1, 2, 3, and 4 h. Sulfonating reaction successfulness was demonstrated by FTIR investigations.SEM and EDS were used to detect the sulfonating and desulfonating reactions regarding the sulfonating time. Ion-exchange capacity (IEC) and the proton conductivity were reported and discussed with respect to different sulfonation time. IEC increased with increasing the sulfonation time. Obtained results showed that the membrane sulfonated for 2 h have the highest IEC, which was equal to 2.857 mmol/g. The proton conductivities of electrospun membranes increased with increasing sulfonation time. Maximum proton conductivity was (8.8 × 10−4) S/cm resulted after 3 h sulfonation. Keywords: Electrospinning, Sulfonation, Expanded polystyrene, Ion exchange capacity, Proton conductivity

Background: Older adults' health issues are a vital part of any system that delivers health care. On April 7, 1999, the world health day topic was "ACTIVE AND HEALTHYAGEING" As stated by Dr. Shigeru Omi, the former Western Pacific Regional Director of WHO, "Our goal is not only to add years to life, but to add quality to those years.". OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the socio-demographic profile of the elderly population in the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre. 2. To study the health problems among the elderly population in the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre. MATERIAL & METHODS: Study Design: Community based cross-sectional study. Study area: The study was conducted at village Venkatachalam which is one of our villages in the field practice area, under department of community medicine, Narayana Medical College, Nellore. Study Period: 1 year (October 2019 to September 2020). Sample size: Study consisted a total of 290 subjects. The First part consists of personal data. It specifies the name, age, sex, religion, education, occupation, marital status, living arrangement, and approximate per capita monthly income. The Second part specifies data regarding habits like tobacco, alcohol, or any other medicine use. The form of tobacco use like smoking, chewing, or snuff was determined. The subjects were classified as current users, former users, and non-users. Current consumers are those who were presently consuming tobacco or alcohol. Former consumers used to consume tobacco or alcohol earlier, but not during the past year. Results: Underweight and obesity were defined according to the BMI. Table 40 shows that 21% of the elderly populations were underweight, 13.4% are overweight, 15.9% are preobese, and 2.4% are obese. Our study showed that 53.4% of the elderly had difficulty in vision. Out of those who had trouble in vision (155), only 15.48% (24) used a visual aid. And 25.9% of the elderly had difficulty in hearing. Of them, 97.3% are not using any aid for their hearing disability. In our study, chewing difficulty was present among 32.4% of the older people. CONCLUSION: We can conclude from the study that there is a growing need for interventions to ensure the health of this vulnerable group and to create a policy to meet at least the essential needs of the old people. Also the common morbidities among the elderly should be considered before planning for any intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many schoolchildren confront serious health problems as a result of their familial, environmental, or risk-taking behaviours. These health hazards are frequently linked and may share common underlying determinants, which may impair the child's capacity to learn. Aim: To assess the implementation of school health services in the primary schools of Nellore City. Objective: To study the extent of implementation of various aspects of school health services in the primary schools of Nellore city. Material & Methods: Study Design: Community-based Cross-sectional study. Study area: The study was conducted in Primary schools which consists of classes I to V, in Nellore city. Study Period: 2 years. (Jan 2014 to Jan 2016). Sample size: The study consisted of a total of 163 schools. Sampling Technique: Simple Random sampling. Study tools and Data collection procedure. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire was used for data collection, 2. Data regarding certain aspects of school health services like Health facilities, Nutrition facilities, Health education and Maintenance of Health records are obtained by interviewing the Head Master of the school who is the key informant. 3. The remaining data regarding the Healthful school environment and sanitation facilities was collected by examining the school environment. Results: In the present study 46 (28.2%) schools provided treatment for minor ailments like fever, stomach ache etc., and referred the students to the nearest hospital for health problems that were beyond their purview. In the present study, it was revealed that 27 (16.6%) schools provide Eye Health Services by conducting eye health screening and referring students with vision problems to the nearest eye hospital. Conclusion: The current study's findings emphasize the need for the government and health organizations to make the required efforts to improve school health services to establish a healthy community. As a result, emphasis should be placed on a multidisciplinary approach to improving school health care. Aside from a multidisciplinary approach, social and political commitment is essential to improve the quality of school-based health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic feasibility of using aluminum as a conductive material is explained by the favorable ratio of its cost to the cost of copper. In addition, one should take into account the factor that the cost of aluminum has remained virtually unchanged for many years. When using conductive aluminum alloys for the manufacture of thin wire, winding wire, etc. Certain difficulties may arise in connection with their insufficient strength and a small number of kinks before fracture. In recent years, aluminum alloys have been developed, which even in a soft state have strength characteristics that allow them to be used as a conductive material. One of the promising areas for the use of aluminum is the electrical industry. Conducting aluminum alloys type of the E-AlMgSi (Aldrey) are representatives of this group of alloys and belong to heat-strengthened alloys. They are distinct by high strength and good ductility. These alloys, with appropriate heat treatment, acquire high electrical conductivity. The producing made from it are used almost exclusively for overhead power lines. The paper presents the results of a study of the anodic behavior of aluminum E-AlMgSi (Aldrey) alloy with tin in a medium electrolyte of 0.03; 0.3 and 3.0% NaCl. Corrosion-electrochemical studies of the alloys were carried out by the potentiostatic method in potentiostat PI-50-1.1 at a potential sweep speed of 2 mV/s. It is shown that alloying E-AlMgSi (Aldrey) alloy with tin increases its corrosion resistance by 20%. The main electrochemical potentials of the E-AlMgSi (Aldrey) alloy, when doped with tin, shift to a positive range of values, and from the concentration of sodium chloride in the negative direction of the ordinate.

Determination of the chick embryonic developmental period at which embryonic mortalities occur could help in establishing the cause of such mortalities. The late stage of embryonic development has particular importance due to its dramatic effect on life after hatching. This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence, frequency and bacterial isolates from dead-in-shell chick embryos in Northern Jordan. A total of 1,000 unhatched eggs were collected at hatching day from 10 hatcheries located in Northern Jordan. Out of 1,000 eggs, 357 (35.7%) were fertile, of which 210 (58.8%) were dead-in-shell embryos. Approximately 50.5% of the dead embryos displayed abnormalities, including neck muscles with subcutaneous petechial haemorrhages (44.3%), beak abnormalities (3.8%), eye deformities (1.9%) and anencephaly (0.5%). Sixty-six bacterial isolates were identified from 82 samples from the dead-in-shell embryos. The isolates were 22 (33.3%) Escherichia coli, 18 (27.3%) Klebsiella pneumoniae, 14 (21.2%) Staphylococcus aureus, 5 (7.6%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4 (6.1%) Salmonella enteritidis, 2 (3%) Bacillus cereus and 1 (1.5%) Proteus vulgaris. Mixed growth was also recorded in 16 (19.5%) samples. There was a significant (P < 0.05) association between Escherichia coli as a bacterial isolate and the occurrence of neck and beak abnormalities. In this study, infection of check embryos with several bacterial species, particularly Escherichia coli, was identified as an important cause of multiple congenital abnormalities involving the neck and beak of unhatched chicks.

Water scarcity and weed infestation are major challenges to soybean production. Therefore, two field experiments were conducted in a strip plot design including three replicates in the 2019 and 2020 summer seasons at Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Agricultural Research Centre, Egypt, to investigate the effect of three irrigation levels (I0 (100%), I1 (90%), and I2 (80%)), and six weed control treatments of pendimethalin (T1), oxyfluorfen (T2), bentazon + clethodim (T3), imazethapyr (T4), hand-hoeing twice (T5), and untreated check (T6) on annual weeds, physiological traits, water relations, and yield and its components of soybean cv Giza 111. Results indicated that intermediate irrigation levels lead to the highest yield and economic return, while the herbicide program that resulted in the greatest weed control gave the highest yield. The rate of weed infestation in field experiments was 19.7 and 21.8 t ha−1 dry weights, which decreased soybean yield by 56.9 and 57.1%, compared to treatment (T4). The interactions between 100 irrigation level (I0) and imazethapyr (T4), bentazon + clethodim (T3), and hand-hoeing twice (T5) gave the highest significant values of the most studied characters. Furthermore, under 90% irrigation, all weed control treatments give the best control of weeds and the highest values of the economic criteria.

Tahini (sesame paste) is a traditional food. Numerous foodborne outbreaks have been associated with it. This study aimed to (i) explore the efficiency of 2450 MHz microwave heating at 220, 330, 440, 550, and 660 W on the inactivation of Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in tahini; (ii) determine the impact of desiccation and starvation stresses on pathogen survival; (iii) assess the impact of microwave heating on the physicochemical characteristics of tahini. The inoculated microorganisms in tahini were reduced with higher microwave power levels (p < 0.05) and longer exposure times. The D-values of unstressed Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes ranged from 6.18 to 0.50 min, 6.08 to 0.50 min, and 4.69 to 0.48 min, respectively, at power levels of 220 to 660 W, with z-values of 410, 440, and 460 W, respectively. Generally, desiccation and starvation stress levels prior to heating increased microbial resistance to heat treatment. Microwave heating did not affect acid, peroxide, p-anisidine, or color values of tahini up to 90 °C. These findings reveal microwave heating as a potential method for lowering the risk of Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes in tahini with no compromise on quality.

In this paper, a non-isothermal study of the calendering processes is presented using Carreau–Yasuda model along with nonlinear slip condition introduced at the upper roll surface. The flow equations for the problem are developed and converted into dimensionless form with the help of dimensionless variables and then finally simplified by a well-known lubrication approximation theory. The final equations are solved numerically using "bvp4c" to find stream function and velocity profiles, while the hybrid numerical method which is the combination of shooting and finite difference methods is used to solve the energy equation. Graphs show the impact of the concerned material parameters on various quantities of interest. The pressure distribution decreases with the increasing values of the slip parameter and Weissenberg number. The mechanical variables show an increasing trend with the increasing values of the slip parameter and Weissenberg number. The temperature distribution increases with an increase in the Brinkman number, while temperature shows declining trend near the roll surface with the increasing values of the slip parameter. The force separating the two rollers, total power input into both rolls, increase with the increasing values of the Weissenberg number and slip parameters. The results show that the Newtonian model predicts higher pressure in the nip zone than the Carreau–Yasuda model. It is interesting to note that for the case of shear thinning, the Carreau–Yasuda model predicts 30% less pressure in the nip region when compared to the Newtonian model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the properties of titanium for implant applications,PCL/Chitosan/cinnamon watery extract composite were deposited on commercially pure titanium specimens using electro spinning technique . Water contact angle and surface roughness(Ra) tests were conducted, revealing significantly increased Wettability and(Ra) in the coated samples, a finding supported by statistical analysis. This increased surface roughness will potentially improve the Wettability properties of titanium which has demonstrated the significant impact of these surface characteristics on cellular responses to biomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nylon 6 / (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5) wt. % NaCl solutions were prepared for electrospinning technique. The electrical conductivity of polymeric solutionincreases directly with NaCl concentration from 3.8 (mS/ cm) for pure nylon solution to 12.7 mS/cm at nylon 6/ 2.5 wt. % NaCl, and slight decreasing the viscosity and the surface tension of the solution . Increasing the polymeric solution conductivity cause more electrical charges carried by the electrospinning jet. Prepared films morphology tested by SEM and the average fibers diameters measured for each concentration. In this research, it was proved that the nanofibers film shows decreasing the average diameter by increasing NaCl concentration.

Electrospinning has recently emerged as a leading technique for generating biomimetic scaffolds made of synthetic and natural polymers for tissue engineering applications. PVA was dissolved in distilled water at concentration (10% wt). PVA 10% DW solution was prepared as biopolymeric materials for fabricating tissue engineered scaffolds by electrospinning, varying ambient temperature (25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50) ͦ C andinvestigated the ambient temperature effect on tissue nanofibers pore size. Scanning electron microscopy was utilized to profile the topography of individual electrospun fibers. Statistical measurements for each SEM images lead to measure the mean poresize of tissue obtained. Our results indicate that the average poresize of PVA fibertisues could be scaled down to mean values (132-300)nm smooth nanofibers without any beads, poresize decreased as ambient temperature increase to certain temperature at (40 °C) and retrain increasing at (45 and 50) °C temperature.