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The complex aerogel generated from nano-polysaccharides, chitin nanocrystals (ChiNC) and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TCNF), and its derivative cationic guar gum (CGG) is successfully prepared via a facile freeze-drying method with glutaraldehyde (GA) as cross-linkers. The complexation of ChiNC, TCNF, and CGG is shown to be helpful in creating a porous structure in the three-dimensional aerogel, which creates within the aerogel with large pore volume and excellent compressive properties. The ChiNC/TCNF/CGG aerogel is then modified with methyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) to obtain superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity and used for oil−water separation. The successful modification is demonstrated through FTIR, XPS, and surface wettability studies. A water contact angle of 155° on the aerogel surface and 150° on the surface of the inside part of aerogel are obtained for the MTCS-modified ChiNC/TCNF/CGG aerogel, resulting in its effective absorption of corn oil and organic solvents (toluene, n-hexane, and trichloromethane) from both beneath and at the surface of water with excellent absorption capacity (i.e., 21.9 g/g for trichloromethane). More importantly, the modified aerogel can be used to continuously separate oil from water with the assistance of a vacuum setup and maintains a high absorption capacity after being used for 10 cycles. The as-prepared superhydrophobic/superoleophilic ChiNC/TCNF/CGG aerogel can be used as a promising absorbent material for the removal of oil from aqueous media.

Background and Aims: This study assessed the impact of incorporating cancer as a predictor on performance of the PRECISE-DAPT score., Methods: A nationally linked cohort of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2019 was derived from the UK Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project and the UK Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care registries. The primary outcome was major bleeding at 1 year. A new modified score was generated by adding cancer as a binary variable to the PRECISE-DAPT score using a Cox regression model and compared its performance to the original PRECISE-DAPT score., Results: A total of 216 709 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients were included, of which 4569 had cancer. The original score showed moderate accuracy (C-statistic .60), and the modified score showed modestly higher discrimination (C-statistics .64; hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.04) even in patients without cancer (C-statistics .63; hazard ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.04). The net reclassification index was .07. The bleeding rates of the modified score risk categories (high, moderate, low, and very low bleeding risk) were 6.3%, 3.8%, 2.9%, and 2.2%, respectively. According to the original score, 65.5% of cancer patients were classified as high bleeding risk (HBR) and 21.6% were low or very low bleeding risk. According to the modified score, 94.0% of cancer patients were HBR, 6.0% were moderate bleeding risk, and no cancer patient was classified as low or very low bleeding risk., Conclusions: Adding cancer to the PRECISE-DAPT score identifies the majority of patients with cancer as HBR and can improve its discrimination ability without undermining its performance in patients without cancer., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Trials suggest patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) without 'standard modifiable cardiovascular risk factors' (SMuRFs) have poorer outcomes, but the role of ethnicity has not been investigated. We analyzed 118,177 STEMI patients using the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) registry. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression models; patients with ≥1 SMuRF (n = 88,055) were compared with 'SMuRFless' patients (n = 30,122), with subgroup analysis comparing outcomes of White and Ethnic minority patients. SMuRFless patients had higher incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (odds ratio, OR: 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.16) and in-hospital mortality (OR: 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.18) after adjusting for demographics, Killip classification, cardiac arrest, and comorbidities. When additionally adjusting for invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and revascularisation (percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafts surgery (CABG)), results for in-hospital mortality were no longer significant (OR 1.05, 95% CI .97-1.13). There were no significant differences in outcomes according to ethnicity. Ethnic minority patients were more likely to undergo revascularisation with ≥1 SMuRF (88 vs 80%, P < .001) or SMuRFless (87 vs 77%, P < .001. Ethnic minority patients were more likely undergo ICA and revascularisation regardless of SMuRF status., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Contemporary studies demonstrate that non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) processes of care vary according to sex. Little is known regarding variation in practice between geographical areas and centers., Methods: We identified 305 014 NSTEMI admissions in the United Kingdom (UK) Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP), 2010-2017, including female sex (110 209). Hierarchical, multivariate logistic regression models were fitted assessing for differences in primary outcomes according to sex. Risk standardized mortality rates (RSMR) were calculated for individual hospitals to illustrate correlation with variables of interest. 'Heat-maps' were plotted to show regional and sex-based variation in opportunity-based quality-indicator score (surrogate for optimal processes of care)., Results: Women presented older (77y vs. 69y, P < 0.001) and were more often Caucasian (93% vs. 91%, P < 0.001). Women were less frequently managed with an invasive coronary angiogram (ICA) (58% vs. 75%, P < 0.001) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (35% vs. 49%, P < 0.001)). In our hospital-clustered analysis, we show positive correlation between the RSMR and increasing proportion of women treated for NSTEMI (R2 = 0.17, P < 0.001). There was clear negative correlation between proportion of women who had an optimum OBQI score during their admission and RSMR (R2 = 0.22, P < 0.001), with weaker correlation in men (R2 = 0.08, P < 0.001). Heat-maps according to clinical commissioning group (CCG) demonstrate significant regional variation in OBQI score, with women receiving poorer quality care throughout the UK., Conlusion: There was a significant in variation of the management of patients with NSTEMI according to sex, with widespread geographical variation. Structural changes are required to enable improved care for women., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Although numerous studies have examined readmission with heart failure (HF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), limited data are available on HF readmission in cancer patients post-AMI., Objectives: This study aimed to assess the rates and factors associated with HF readmission in cancer patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)., Methods: A nationally linked cohort of STEMI patients between January 2005 and March 2019 were obtained from the UK Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project registry and the UK national Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care registry. Multivariable Fine-Gray competing risk models were used to evaluate HF readmission at 30 days and 1 year., Results: A total of 326,551 STEMI indexed admissions were included, with 7,090 (2.2%) patients having active cancer. The cancer group was less likely to be admitted under the care of a cardiologist (74.5% vs 81.9%) and had lower rates of invasive coronary angiography (62.2% vs 72.7%; P  < 0.001) and percutaneous coronary intervention (58.4% vs. 69.5%). There was a significant prescription gap in the administration of post-AMI medications upon discharge such as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (49.5% vs 71.1%) and beta-blockers (58.4% vs 68.0%) in cancer patients. The cancer group had a higher rate of HF readmission at 30 days (3.2% vs 2.3%) and 1 year (9.4% vs 7.3%). However, after adjustment, cancer was not independently associated with HF readmission at 30 days (subdistribution HR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.86-1.28) or 1 year (subdistribution HR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.92-1.16). The opportunity-based quality indicator was associated with higher rates of HF readmission independent of cancer diagnosis., Conclusions: Cancer patients receive care that differs in important ways from patients without cancer. Greater implementation of evidence-based care may reduce HF readmissions, including in cancer patients., Competing Interests: The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Aims: To assess processes of care and clinical outcomes in cancer patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) according to cancer type., Methods and Results: This is a national population-based study of patients admitted with STEMI in the UK between January 2005 and March 2019. Data were obtained from the National Heart Attack Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project (MINAP) registry and the Hospital Episode Statistics registry. We identified 353 448 STEMI-indexed admissions between 2005 and 2019. Of those, 8581 (2.4%) had active cancer. Prostate cancer (29% of STEMI patients with cancer) was the most common cancer followed by haematologic malignancies (14%) and lung cancer (13%). Cancer patients were less likely to receive invasive coronary revascularization (60.0% vs. 71.6%, P < 0.001] and had higher in-hospital death [odd ratio (OR) 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-1.54] and bleeding (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.03-1.46). Cancer patients had higher mortality at 30 days (HR 2.39, 95% CI 2.19-2.62) and 1 year (HR 3.73, 95% CI 3.58-3.89). Lung cancer was the cancer associated with the highest risk of death in the hospital (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.39-2.22) and at 1 year (OR 8.08, 95% CI 7.44-8.78). Colon cancer (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.24-3.14) was the main cancer associated with major bleeding. All common cancer types were associated with higher mortality at 1 year. Cardiovascular death (62%) was the main cause of death in the first 30 days, while cancer (52%) was the main cause of death within 1 year., Conclusion: STEMI patients with cancer have a higher risk of short- and long-term mortality, particularly lung cancer. Colon cancer is the main cancer associated with major bleeding. Cardiovascular disease was the main cause of death in the first month, whereas cancer was the main cause of death within 1 year., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who underwent atherectomy at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention in centers with on-site surgical centers (SCs) versus nonsurgical centers (NSCs). Patients treated with coronary atherectomy between January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2019, from the British Cardiovascular Society Intervention (BCIS) registry were included. Primary outcomes were in-hospital all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. A total of 20,833 patients were treated with coronary atherectomy, of which 7,983 (38%) were performed at NSC. The proportion of coronary atherectomies performed in NSC increased from 12.5% in 2006 to 42% in 2019. Compared with patients treated at SC, patients treated in NSC were older (mean age 75.1 ± SD years vs 74.2 ± SD, p <0.001), but had comparable prevalence of hypertension (NSC 73.9% vs SC 72.8%, p = 0.085), diabetes mellitus (NSC 32.2% vs SC 31.6%, p = 0.43) and renal disease (NSC 6.0% vs SC 6.0%, p = 0.99). Intracoronary imaging was used more often in NSC than SC (22.3% vs 19.4%, p <0.001). After adjustment, the odds of in-hospital mortality (odds ratios [OR] 0.76, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.50 to 1.16), major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.21), emergency coronary artery bypass graft (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.15 to 1.57), major bleeding (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.24) and coronary perforation (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.43) in NSC were comparable with SC. In conclusion, coronary atherectomy in hospitals with off-site surgical cover has become more frequent, with no association with poorer outcomes, compared with hospitals with on-site surgical cover., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Prognosis for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is worse when heart failure is present on admission. Understanding clinical practice in different health systems can identify areas for quality improvement initiatives to improve outcomes. In the absence of international comparison studies, we aimed to compare treatments and in-hospital outcomes of patients admitted with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) by heart failure status in two healthcare-wide cohorts., Methods and Results: We used two nationwide databases to capture admissions with STEMI in the United Kingdom (Myocardial ischemia National Audit Project, MINAP) and Japan (Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Diseases-Diagnostic Procedure Combination, JROAD-DPC) between 2012 and 2017. Participants were stratified using the HF Killip classification into three groups; Killip 1: no congestive heart failure, Killip 2-3: congestive heart failure, Killip 4: cardiogenic shock. We calculated crude rate and case mix standardized risk ratios (CSRR) for use of treatments and in-hospital death. Patients were younger in the United Kingdom (65.4 [13.6] vs. 69.1 [13.0] years) and more likely to have co-morbidities in the United Kingdom except for diabetes and hypertension. Japan had a higher percentage of heart failure and cardiogenic shock patients among STEMI during admission than that in the United Kingdom. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) rates were lower in the United Kingdom compared with Japan, especially for patients presenting with Killip 2-3 class heart failure (pPCI use in patients with Killip 1, 2-3, 4: Japan, 86.2%, 81.7%, 78.7%; United Kingdom, 79.6%, 58.2% and 79.9%). In contrast, beta-blocker use was consistently lower in Japan than in the United Kingdom (61.4% vs. 90.2%) across Killip classifications and length of hospital stay longer (17.0 [9.7] vs. 5.0 [7.4] days). The crude rate of in-hospital mortality increased with increasing Killip class group. Both the crude rate and CSRR was higher in the United Kingdom compared with Japan for Killip 2-3 (15.8% vs. 6.4%, CSRR 1.80 95% CI 1.73-1.87, P < 0.001), and similar for Killip 4 (36.9% vs. 36.3%, CSRR 1.11 95% CI 1.08-1.13, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Important differences in the care and outcomes for STEMI with heart failure exist between the United Kingdom and Japan. Specifically, in the United Kingdom, there was a lower rate of pPCI, and in Japan, fewer patients were prescribed beta blockers and hospital length of stay was longer. This international comparison can inform targeted quality improvement programmes to narrow the outcome gap between health systems., (© 2023 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Objective: To assess the impact of patient's sex on outcomes and management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)., Patients and Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study in AMI patients admitted with OHCA between 2010 and 2017 from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) registry. We used multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the role of sex as a predictor of clinical outcomes and treatment strategy., Results: Of 16,278 patients, women constituted almost one-quarter of the population (n=3710 [22.7%]). Women were older (median age 69 [IQR, 57-79] years vs 63 [IQR, 54-72] years, P<.001), experienced longer call-to-hospital-arrival time (median, 1.2 hours vs 1.1 hours; P=.008), were less likely to present with shockable rhythm (86.8% vs 91.5%, P<.001), and less likely to receive dual antiplatelet therapy (73.8% vs 78.6%, P<.001), beta blockers (64.7% vs 72.3%, P<.001), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (49.0% vs 55.3%, P<.001), coronary angiography (73.7% vs 83.3%, P<.001), and percutaneous coronary intervention (37.5% vs. 40.7%, p 0.004). After adjusting for patient characteristics and management, women had significantly higher odds of in-hospital death compared with men (odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.5) and lower odds of receiving coronary angiography (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.75) and coronary artery bypass graft (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.40)., Conclusion: Women were less likely to survive following OHCA secondary to AMI. Hospital protocols that minimize physician bias and improve women-physician communication are needed to close this gap., (Copyright © 2022 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We aimed to identify whether the availability of catheter laboratory affects clinical outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) complicating myocardial infarction (AMI)., Methods: Patients admitted with a diagnosis of AMI and OHCA from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) between 2010 to 2017 were stratified into three groups based on initial hospital's catheter laboratory status: hospitals without a catheter laboratory (No-catheter lab hospitals), hospitals with diagnostic catheter laboratory (Diagnostic hospitals), and hospitals with PCI facilities (PCI hospitals). We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate factors associated with clinical outcomes., Results: We included 12,303 patients of which 9,798 were admitted to PCI hospitals, 1,595 to no-catheter lab hospitals, and 910 to diagnostic hospitals. Patients admitted to PCI hospitals were more frequently reviewed by a cardiologist (96%, p < 0.001) than no-catheter lab hospitals (80%) and diagnostic hospitals (74%), and more likely to receive coronary angiography (PCI hospitals (87%), diagnostic hospitals (31%), no-catheter lab hospitals (54%), p < 0.001). They also were more likely to undergo PCI (PCI hospitals (42%), diagnostic hospitals (17%), no-catheter lab hospitals (17%), p < 0.001). After adjustment, there was no significant difference in the in-hospital mortality (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.55-1.06) or re-infarction (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.72-2.26) in patients admitted to PCI hospitals nor in patients admitted to diagnostic hospitals (mortality (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.72-2.26), re-infarction (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.68-2.82))., Conclusion: There is variation in coronary angiography use between hospitals without a catheter laboratory and PCI centres, which was not associated with better in-hospital survival., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Studies of racial disparities in care of patients admitted with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the setting of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have shown inconsistent results. Whether these differences in care exist in the universal healthcare system in United Kingdom is unknown., Methods: Patients admitted with a diagnosis of AMI and OHCA between 2010 and 2017 from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) were studied. All patients were stratified based on ethnicity into a Black, Asian, or minority ethnicity (BAME) group vs a White group. We used multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the predictors of clinical outcomes and treatment strategy., Results: From 14,287 patients admitted with AMI complicated by OHCA, BAME patients constituted a minority of patients (1185 [8.3%]), compared with a White group (13,102 [91.7%]). BAME patients were younger (median age [interquartile range]) for BAME group, 58 [50-70] years; for White group, 65 [55-74] years). Cardiogenic shock (BAME group, 33%; White group, 20.7%; P < 0.001) and severe left ventricular impairment (BAME group, 21%; White group, 16.5%; P < 0.003) were more frequent among BAME patients. BAME patients were more likely to be seen by a cardiologist (BAME group, 95.9%; White group, 92.5%; P < 0.001) and were more likely to receive coronary angiography than the White group (odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-1.88). The BAME group had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04-1.52) and re-infarction (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.06-2.18) than the White group., Conclusions: BAME patients were more likely to be seen by a cardiologist and receive coronary angiography than White patients. Despite this difference, the in-hospital mortality of BAME patients, particularly in the Asian population, was significantly higher., (© 2021 The Authors.)

There is limited data regarding the impact of time of admission on clinical outcomes of out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated the patient characteristics, management, and outcomes of OHCA complicating AMI according to the time of admission. Patients admitted with a diagnosis of AMI and OHCA between 2010 and 2017 from the Myocardial Ischemia National Audit Project (MINAP) were studied. All patients were stratified into out-of-hours (OOH) and working hours (WH) cohort according to the time of hospital admission. We used multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the predictors of clinical outcomes and treatment strategy. 16,118 patients were admitted with AMI and OHCA. The WH cohort consisted of 5,780 patients (35.9%) and OOH cohort consisted of 10,338 patients (64.1%). The OOH cohort was younger (OOH 64 vs WH 66 years, p <0.001). A significantly higher proportion of patients had a final diagnosis of STEMI in OOH cohort (OOH 78.3% vs WH 76.6%, p = 0.012). Whilst the use of coronary angiography was lower in OOH (OOH 80.7% vs WH 82.5%, p = 0.005), PCI rates were similar (OOH 39.7% vs WH 40.5%, p = 0.4). Adjusted in-hospital mortality (OR 0.96, 95%CI 0.86 to 1.07), re-infarction (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.12) and bleeding (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.12) were similar in the 2 groups. In conclusion, the majority of OHCA occurred out of working hours. However, the time of hospital admission didn't affect the rate of revascularization by PCI or clinical outcomes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We investigated the incidence, management, and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients according to cardiac arrest location. Patients admitted with a diagnosis of AMI between January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2017 from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) were studied. We used logistic regression models to evaluate predictors of the clinical outcomes and treatment strategy. The study population consisted of 580,796 patients admitted with AMI stratified into three groups: out of hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) (16,278[2.8%]), in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) (21,073[3.7%]), plus a reference group consisting of those without cardiac arrest (non-cardiac arrest (543,418[93.5%]). IHCA declined steadily (from 666 per 1000 in 2010 to 477 per 1000 AMI with cardiac arrest admissions in 2017) with a commensurate rise in OOHCA (from 344 per 1000 to 533 per 1000 AMI with cardiac arrest admissions). Coronary angiography utilization (OOHCA 81.1% vs IHCA 60.3% vs non-cardiac arrest 70.4%, p < 0.001) and PCI (OOHCA 40% vs IHCA 32.8% vs non-cardiac arrest 45.2%, p < 0.001) were higher in OOHCA. In-hospital mortality odds were greatest for IHCA (OR 35.3, 95% CI 33.4-37.2) compared to OOHCA (OR 12.7, 95% CI 11.9-13.6), with the worse outcomes seen in patients on medical wards (OR 97.37, 95% CI 87.02-108.95) and the best outcomes seen in the emergency department (OR 8.35, 95% CI 7.32-9.53). In conclusion, outcomes of AMI complicated by cardiac arrest depended on cardiac arrest location, especially the outcomes of the IHCA., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Recently, the growing environmental concerns and economic demands drive the need to develop effective solutions for the treatment of oily wastewater, especially for oil/water emulsions. In this work, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) are selected to form a complex membrane on the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nonwoven via layer-by-layer assembly for separation of water-in-oil emulsions. In order to obtain a hydrophobic surface, two post-treatment methods, thermally and chemically induced cross-linking, are applied to modify the hydrogen-bonded HEC/PAA complex membrane. The properties of the two treated HEC/PAA-PET membranes, including surface morphology, chemical structure, chemical composition, thermal stability, mechanical property, and membrane wettability are systematically studied and compared to each other. When the membranes are applied as oil filters to treat water-in-oil emulsions with different concentrations, both of the modified membranes show excellent separation efficiencies with a more than 99.4% rejection for all tested water-in-oil emulsions., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The treatment of oily wastewater is a global challenge owing to its diverse repercussions on environment and human life. The nanoporous complex membrane consisted of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), chitin nanocrystals (ChiNC) and chitosan (CH) is fabricated on top of the poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nonwoven fabric via a vacuum-assisted filtration method. The interactions among CNC, ChiNC and CH cause the formation of the membrane which shows underoil superhydrophobic property. The CH is demonstrated to play a key role in contributing to the hydrophobicity of membrane. Without any further treatment, the CNC/ChiNC/CH membrane is capable to separate water from water-in-oil emulsion with a high rejection. The separation performance is affected by the thickness of the prepared membrane which directly relates to the concentrations of the complex solutions. Such polysaccharide-based complex membranes with facile fabrication and low cost are promising for use in the field of oil/water separation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Coeliac disease can occur at any age but is more common in children. Its diagnosis requires correlation between clinical presentations, serological results, endoscopic findings and histopathological classification using the modified Marsh grading system. This study of coeliac disease with biopsies received in the department of histopathology at Soba University Hospital, and Fedail Hospital aimed to gain insight into the demographic profile, clinical presentations and histopathological classification of patients with coeliac disease., Methods: This was a descriptive study carried out at Soba University Hospital and Fedail Hospital during the period from January 2010-December 2013. Haematoxylin & Eosin and CD3-stained slides of small intestinal biopsies of coeliac disease patients were reviewed for various histological features (1) intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) count per 100 enterocytes, (2) crypt hyperplasia and (3) degree of villous atrophy. Based on the histopathological findings, the cases were categorized according to the modified Marsh classification. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from the patient request forms. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS)., Results: The study included 60 patients. Their age ranged from 2 to 70 years with a mean of 19.5 years (±15.7 SD). The most common age group was below 10 years old (41.6%). Male and female are equally affected. The most common clinical presentation was chronic diarrhoea (55.0%), followed by iron deficiency anemia (41.7%). The degree of villous atrophy ranged from complete atrophy (45.0%), marked atrophy (38.3%) to mild atrophy (16.6%). Marsh grade IIIC was the most common grade. The younger age-groups had a higher prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and higher Marsh grade.

We aimed to generate a valid reliable Arabic version of MOS social support survey (MOS-SSS). We did a cross sectional study in medical students of Faculty of Medicine in Khartoum, Sudan. We did a clustered random sampling in 500 students of which 487 were suitable for analysis. We followed the standard translation process for translating the MOS-SSS. We accomplished factor analysis to assess construct validity, and generated item-scales correlations to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity. We extracted the Cronbach's α and Spearman Brown coefficient of spit half method to determine internal consistency. We measured stability by correlation between the scores of the MOS survey taken at two different occasions with ten days apart in 252 participants. All items correlated highly (0.788 or greater) with their hypothesized scales. All items in subscales correlated higher by two standard errors with their own scale than with any other scale. Principle component analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on the 19 items and examination of scree plot graphically suggested 4 predominant factors that account for 72 % of variance. It showed high loadings, ranging from 0.720 to 0.84 for items of emotional support, 0.699-0.845 for tangible support, 0.518-0.823 for affectionate support, and 0.740-0.816 for positive social interaction. Cronbach's alpha for overall MOS scale and subscales indicated high internal consistency. The test-retest correlation showed weak correlation between the test and retest (ranges from 0.04 to 0.104). The Arabic MOS-SSS had high validity and internal consistency.

Placental hypoxia, a major component of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, is associated with various maternal vascular and endothelial dysfunctions. The higher incidence of preeclampsia at high altitude remains incompletely explained. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of high altitude on some endothelial and vascular dysfunction markers in normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. Eighty pregnant women (Paras 2-4) were enrolled in this study, which included four groups (each n = 20): normal pregnancies at low altitude (NL), normal pregnancies at high altitude (NH), preeclamptic pregnancies at low altitude (PL), and preeclamptic pregnancies at high altitude (PH). In normal pregnancies at high altitude serum ET-1, plasma TXA2, and serum TNF-α levels increased significantly with a significant reduction in plasma PGI2 (66.81 ± 7.36, 122.86 ± 13.37, 102.23 ± 13.31, 191.57 ± 19.68, respectively) compared with the NL group (48.92 ± 4.58, 89.03 ± 10.67, 69.86 ± 7.97, 238.01 ± 24.55, respectively). In preeclampsia at low altitude serum ET-1, plasma TXA2, and serum TNF-α levels increased significantly with a significant reduction in plasma PGI2 (88.39 ± 9.54, 162.73 ± 15.92, 142.39 ± 15.37, 149.155 ± 15.66, respectively) compared with both NL and NH groups. High altitude significantly augmented these changes in preeclamptic patients (117.75 ± 12.96, 211.01 ± 22.69, 196.86 ± 17.64, 111.92 ± 10.74) compared with PL, NH and NL groups. In conclusion hypoxia at high altitude aggravated the disturbances in the levels of ET-1, TXA2, PGI2 and TNF-α associated with preeclampsia. This may contribute to the higher risk of preeclampsia at high altitude.

A total of 243 individuals from Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus spadiceus), Rugao, Anka, Wenchang and Silikes chicken populations were used for polymorphism analysis in functional apoVLDL-II gene by Restriction fragment length polymorphism and single strand conformation polymorphism markers. The results show that Anka population has highest gene diversity and Shannon information index, while Red jungle fowl shows highest effective number of allele. In addition, the higher coefficient of genetic differentiation (Gst) across all loci in apoVLDL-II was indicating that high variation is proportioned among populations. As expected total gene diversity (Ht) has upper estimate compared with within population genetic diversity (Hs) across all loci. The mean Gst value across all loci was (0.194) indicating about 19.4% of total genetic variation could be explained by breeds differences, while the remaining 80.6% was accounted for differences among individuals. The average apoVLDL-II gene flow across all loci in five chicken populations was 1.189. The estimates of genetic identity and distance confirm that these genes are significantly different between genetically fat and lean population, because fat type breed Anka shows highest distance with the other Silikes and Rugao whish are genetically lean. In addition, Wenchang and Red jungle fowl were found more closely and genetically related than the other breeds with 49.4% bootstrapping percentages, then they were related to Silikes by 100% bootstrapping percentages followed by Rugao and finally all of them are related with exotic fat breed Anka.