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The development of XS-Lr0 low-stress shear cell by Dietmar Schulze (model RST-XS.s) has confirmed the necessity of assessing powder flow at low consolidation stresses for improved powder flow production (Søgaard et al.,2014). This project assessed different powder flow properties at low consolidation stresses via stress walk and discrete shear tests. Previous methodology by Sogaard et al, 2014 was investigated and further developed using different pharmaceutical materials at a wide range of consolidation stresses (0.25 – 4.00 kPa). A polynomial function best described the relationship between consolidation stress and unconfined yield strength, with results being material dependent. The lowest pre-consolidation stress observed for reliable measurements was 0.25 kPa. The findings emphasise the need to refine current methodologies to measure shear stresses at low consolidation stresses to improve powder flow prediction.

The most prevalent mental illness worldwide and the main contributor to suicide and disability is major depressive disorder. Major depressive disorder is now diagnosed and treated based on the patient’s statement of symptoms, mental status tests, and clinical behavioral observations. The central element of this review is the increased need for an accurate diagnostic method. In this context, the present research aims to investigate the potential role of two non-coding RNA species (microRNA and long non-coding RNA) in peripheral blood samples and brain tissue biopsy from patients with major depressive disorder. This study reviewed the literature on microRNA and long non-coding RNA expression in blood and brain tissue samples in human and animal depression models by retrieving relevant papers using the PubMed database. The results reveal significant variations in microRNA and long non-coding RNA levels in depressed patients, making it a crucial diagnostic tool that predicts treatment outcomes. It can help track severe cases and adjust therapy dosages based on treatment responses. In conclusion, microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are pertinent biomarkers that can be added to the diagnostic test panel for major depressive disorder. Both microRNAs and non-coding RNAs can also be used as a tool to track patient progress during therapy and to assist the attending physician in tracking the molecular development of the disease.

Objectives: Immigration of Arabs to the United States has increased in recent years due to political instability and need for improved access to healthcare. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity disproportionally affect Arab Americans. Student pharmacists are well positioned to increase health awareness by providing health screening services and education classes to the Arab immigrant community. This report will describe the development of a student-run Arab American Health Awareness Program (AAHAP) that provides culturally-sensitive community screening services targeting common health disparities seen among Arab-Americans. Design: Data were collected on the number of patient cardiometabolic screenings, referrals for medical care, and health classes which were performed over the course of 2 years. The practice setting included community centers, faith-based centers, and grocery stores in the Chicago area participating in the AAHAP. Results: Over the course of two years, eight cardiometabolic screenings and four community health classes were provided to the Arab-American community. Over 100 student pharmacists provided screenings to 929 patients through AAHAP. Twenty percent (n=193) of all patients screened were referred for further medical care. A total of 77% patients were within goal for blood pressure, 82.3% for blood glucose, and 39.4% for BMI. Patients with a known history of hypertension (n=83) or diabetes (n=64) were more likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure (45% vs 11%, p

The increase of cyberattacks by using the Internet of Things devices has exposed multiple vulnerabilities not only on devices but also on IoT infrastructures. Now, small devices can affect different networks and their services. This paper presents a review of the vulnerabilities on wireless technologies that gives connectivity to IoT, and the experiences using Software Defined Radio SDR for implementing wireless attacks to IoT technologies are assessed. A systematic literature review was conducted. The types of vulnerabilities and attacks that can affect the wireless technologies that stand the IoT ecosystem and SDR platforms were compared, and recent methods to overcome these attacks were identified. On the IoT reference model, the perception layer was identified as the most vulnerable. Most attacks at this level occur due to hardware limitations, physical device exposure, and heterogeneity of technologies. Future cybersecurity systems based on SDR technologies have notable advantages due to their flexibility and adaptability to new communication technologies and their potential to develop advanced tools. However, the IoT’s cybersecurity challenges are so complex that merging SDR hardware with cognitive and intelligent techniques is highly advisable. Some of these techniques could include deep learning to adapt mitigation systems to rapid technological changes.

Punch sticking is a common tablet compression manufacturing issue experienced during late-stage large-scale manufacturing. Prediction of punch sticking propensity and identification of the sticking component is important for early-stage formulation development. Application of novel predictive capabilities offers early-stage sticking propensity assessment. 16 API compounds were utilised to assess punch sticking prediction using removable punch tip tooling. API descriptors were tested for sticking correlation using multivariate analysis. NIR imaging, SEM-EDX and Raman microscopy were used to examine the material adhered to the punch tips. Predictive modelling using linear and non-linear equations proved inaccurate in punch sticking mass prediction. PCA analysis identified sticking correlated physical descriptors and provided a dataset and method for further descriptor studies. Raman microscopy was identified as a suitable technique for chemical identification of punch sticking material, which offers insight towards a mechanistic understanding.

Pyogenic liver abscesses, despite being a rare complication of diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease, are potentially serious life-threatening pathologies. Diverticular diseases can lead to disruption of the colonic mucosal barrier and can serve as a route for bacterial infection via the portal venous system. This patient had such a delayed presentation due to his atypical symptoms; he developed large abscess formation, detected by computed tomography, eventually requiring an ultrasound-guided drain followed by a colonoscopy. The present report describes an elderly gentleman who developed a bacterial liver abscess due to seeding of a commensal organism caused by sigmoid diverticulitis.

ObjectivesDue to the uncontrolled increase of the mobile health applications and their scarce use by elderly for reason of absence credibility of measurements by lack scientific support, the aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between the biophysical measurements based on standard instrument against a mobile application using controlled experiments with elderly to propose an effective validation model of the developed apps.MethodsThe subjects of the study (50 people) were elderly people who wanted to check their weight and cardiac status. For this purpose, two mobile applications were used to measure energy expenditure based on physical activity (Activ) and heart rate (SMCa) during controlled walking at specific speeds. Minute-by-minute measurements were recorded to evaluate the average error and the accuracy of the data acquired through confidence intervals by means of statistical analysis of the data.ResultsThe experimental results obtained by the Activ/SMCa apps showed a consistent statistical similarity with those obtained by specialized equipment with confidence intervals of 95%. All the subjects were advised and trained on the use of the applications, and the initial registration of data to characterize them served to significantly affect the perceived ease of use.ConclusionsThis is the first model to validate a health-app with elderly people allowed to demonstrate the anthropometric and body movement differences of subjects with equal body mass index (BMI) but younger. Future studies should consider not only BMI data but also other variables, such as age and usability perception factors.

Introduction: The development of mobile technologies has facilitated the creation of mHealth applications, which are considered key tools for safe and quality care for patients from remote populations and with lack of infrastructure for the provision of health services. The article considers a proposal for an evaluation model that allows to determine weaknesses and vulnerabilities at the security level and quality of service (QoS) in mHealth applications. Objective: To carry out an approximation of a model of analysis that supports the decision making, concerning the use and production of safe applications, minimizing the impact and the probability of occurrence of the risks of computer security. Materials and methods: The type of applied research is of a descriptive type, because each one details the characteristics that the mobile health applications must have to achieve an optimum level of safety. The methodology uses the rules that regulate applications and mixes them with techniques of security analysis, using the characterization of risks posed by Open Web Application Security Project-OWASP and the QoS requirements of the International Telecommunication Union-ITU. Results: An effective analysis was obtained in actual current applications, which shows their weaknesses and the aspects to be corrected to comply with appropriate security parameters. Conclusions: The model allows to evaluate the safety and quality of service (QoS) requirements of mobile health applications that can be used to evaluate current applications or to generate the criteria before deployment.

El crecimiento de la cantidad de dispositivos con la capacidad de conectarse a internet y comunicarse por medio de la red ha generado la concepción del sistema llamado IoT (Internet of Things). Este sistema ha despertado interés en la sociedad y sus implementaciones cada vez aumentan más en número, por esta razón es necesario que este nuevo entorno esté asegurado y que las identidades de los dispositivos involucrados estén protegidas. En este documento se explican las partes que conforman al internet de las cosas y los tipos de ataques cibernéticos que podrían recibir cada una de ellas. Como consecuencia a esto, se muestra como los certificados digitales son una de las herramientas que podrían ser utilizadas para la autenticación de los dispositivos que forman parte de un sistema IoT y así mismo, se encuentran diferentes arquitecturas de seguridad implementadas con certificados digitales por empresas desarrolladoras como AWS (Amazon Web Services) y Microsoft. Finalmente, se encontrará una propuesta de arquitectura de seguridad en un entorno IoT con certificados digitales basados en una estructura On Premise que incluye un servidor local y servicios de la nube.

Telemedicine networks allow remote delivery of medical services. Each service uses some applications, such as vidéoconférence or audio-conference in order to conduct medical procedures. These services imply certain minimum requirements to ensure appropriate performance. At present, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada has no such tele-medicine network for academic purposes, where students (medicine students and researchers) can deploy some e-health services. In this paper, we propose an optical network for telemedicine services intended to connect two of the headquarters of Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. Then we evaluate the performance of the network according to application requirements. Finally, we compare the performance of the optical network and the values stated by international standards.

La Telemedicina hace posible realizar de forma remota, varios procedimientos médicos y clínicos como: exámenes, diagnósticos y supervisión de tratamientos, utilizando recursos tele informáticos como computadores, servidores, equipos de procesamiento de imágenes, Internet y equipos de transmisión y recepción de información. La transmisión de la información de los pacientes crece día con día, vinculando otra serie de problemas relacionados con el tráfico y seguridad de los datos. En el tema de la seguridad, aún existe divergencia en los criterios de almacenamiento, acceso y transmisión de información de los pacientes porque los requerimientos físicos y lógicos varían para cada empresa, equipo desarrollador o intereses particulares. El presente trabajo hace un análisis respecto del tema de la seguridad informática sobre una red de Telemedicina. Incluye un análisis sobre los procedimientos de los servicios de Telemedicina más característicos y sus requerimientos de seguridad. Los requerimientos fueron estudiados y seleccionados a partir de los estándares internacionales regulatorios que se adapten a las necesidades básicas de seguridad de los servicios de Telemedicina.

Las nuevas técnicas criptográficas, como la criptografía cuántica, permiten diseñar sistemas de distribución cuánticos de claves con niveles de seguridad bastante altos. A lo largo de este documento se describirá como se comportan estos sistemas frente a ataques del tipo Man in the middle y que debilidades pueden llegar a presentar.

The most prevalent mental illness worldwide and the main contributor to suicide and disability is major depressive disorder. Major depressive disorder is now diagnosed and treated based on the patient's statement of symptoms, mental status tests, and clinical behavioral observations. The central element of this review is the increased need for an accurate diagnostic method. In this context, the present research aims to investigate the potential role of two non-coding RNA species (microRNA and long non-coding RNA) in peripheral blood samples and brain tissue biopsy from patients with major depressive disorder. This study reviewed the literature on microRNA and long non-coding RNA expression in blood and brain tissue samples in human and animal depression models by retrieving relevant papers using the PubMed database. The results reveal significant variations in microRNA and long non-coding RNA levels in depressed patients, making it a crucial diagnostic tool that predicts treatment outcomes. It can help track severe cases and adjust therapy dosages based on treatment responses. In conclusion, microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are pertinent biomarkers that can be added to the diagnostic test panel for major depressive disorder. Both microRNAs and non-coding RNAs can also be used as a tool to track patient progress during therapy and to assist the attending physician in tracking the molecular development of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: AMD (age-related macular degeneration) is the main cause of central vision loss in the population over 60 years old. AMD does not affect peripheral vision and complete blindness does not occur, instead, central vision is affected both for distance and for near. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the neovascular form of AMD treatment and compare ocular and systemic effects after intravitreal injection of aflibercept, respectively after bevacizumab when administered in comparable dosages and regimens. We conducted a retrospective, single-center study from June 2021 to December 2022 and enrolled 20 patients with neovascular AMD who had not received any prior treatment for this condition. We randomly assigned them to two groups of 10: group one received aflibercept and group two received bevacizumab as intravitreal injections under aseptic conditions. We excluded 2 patients who did not meet the criteria and ended up with two groups of 9 patients who received monocular treatment. We gave the patients 3 monthly injections of anti-VEGF agent and followed them up at 1 month, 3 months, and 9 months after the treatment. We assessed their visual acuity, intraocular pressure and OCT appearance at each follow-up visit. The primary outcome was visual acuity. All 18 patients included in the study reported an improvement in visual acuity after the intervention. When comparing the two anti-VEGF agents, data revealed the effect of aflibercept was prompter and more long-lasting. Areas of retinal ischemia appeared in both cases. However, they were observed faster in the case of patients treated with aflibercept. Thus, neovascular AMD is a disease that occurs with age, it can be early detected by OCT and slowed the progression to central blindness with intravitreal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]