Development of telemedicine system for remote biomedical operation

This study presents a system of teleoperation as a practical solution in order to eliminate the barriers and obstacles linked with deficiency of qualified medical experts in rural areas of the country. Therefore, in this work we presented an artificial robotic hand with comparable abilities to a human hand, such a multi finger gripper by using low cost artificial hand gripper (AHG). The (AHG) was printed in-house with a 3D printer. The (AHG) was designed with feasibility and flexibility for gripping activities such as opening and closing of hand by using 5 flex sensors, couple of force sensors and accelerometer sensor (master unit) positioned at each finger to measure finger flexion, extension, pressure and movements axis (x,y,z). The 5 fingers fixed activities controlled using a master unit which referred to as the smart glove. This system uses an Arduino mega microcontroller programmed for accurate and delicate detection respond via the master unit and transmitting to the slave unit. (AHG) has fast and real-time movement respond towards the activities created via the smart glove. An Ethernet shield and visual basic software were upgraded further in which master unit motion data were recorded and transmitted online through user friendly GUI system software, and the logged data can be further analyzed by other medical doctors for research, reference or diagnostic purposes

Difficult management of an extremely rare case of giant pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma

Pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma (PEM), a heavily pigmented and highly uncommon melanocytic lesion, is extremely rare. It comes under several forms and names. We report the case of a three-year-old boy born with an isolated right lumbopelvic and femoral giant PEM. The boy was unable to walk due to the size and the shape of the lesion. He underwent two stages of intra lesional resections, one in Benin and the second in Switzerland. The first surgery was followed by hypothetic hypovolemic and anaphylactic shocks, and the second surgery by a continuous lymphatic leakage from the wounds for months. The strategic management approach, the surgery and follow-up of this case of giant PEM presented a real challenge. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND licens

Osteoclasts modulate the balance between immunosuppression and inflammation through antigen presentation and interactions with CD4+ T cells

Poster presentationInternational audienc

Marrow adipose tissue expansion coincides with insulin resistance in MAGP1-deficient mice

Marrow adipose tissue (MAT) is an endocrine organ with the potential to influence skeletal remodeling and hematopoiesis. Pathologic MAT expansion has been studied in the context of severe metabolic challenge, including caloric restriction, high fat diet feeding, and leptin deficiency. However, the rapid change in peripheral fat and glucose metabolism associated with these models impedes our ability to examine which metabolic parameters precede or coincide with MAT expansion. Microfibril-associated glycoprotein-1 (MAGP1) is a matricellular protein that influences cellular processes by tethering signaling molecules to extracellular matrix structures. MAGP1-deficient (Mfap2(−/−)) mice display a progressive excess adiposity phenotype, which precedes insulin resistance and occurs without changes in caloric intake or ambulation. Mfap2(−/−) mice were, therefore, used as a model to associate parameters of metabolic disease, bone remodeling, and hematopoiesis with MAT expansion. Marrow adiposity was normal in Mfap2(−/−) mice until 6 months of age; however, by 10 months, marrow fat volume had increased fivefold relative to wild-type control at the same age. Increased gonadal fat pad mass and hyperglycemia were detectable in Mfap2(−/−) mice by 2 months, but peaked by 6 months. The development of insulin resistance coincided with MAT expansion. Longitudinal characterization of bone mass demonstrated a disconnection in MAT volume and bone volume. Specifically, Mfap2(−/−) mice had reduced trabecular bone volume by 2 months, but this phenotype did not progress with age or MAT expansion. Interestingly, MAT expansion in the 10-month-old Mfap2(−/−) mice was associated with modest alterations in basal hematopoiesis, including a shift from granulopoiesis to B lymphopoiesis. Together, these findings indicate MAT expansion is coincident with insulin resistance, but not excess peripheral adiposity or hyperglycemia in Mfap2(−/−) mice; and substantial MAT accumulation does not necessitate a proportional decrease in either bone mass or bone marrow cellularity

Underwriter's Attributes and Their Relationship with IPO Underpricing

Underwriting banks play a vital role in doing a successful initial public offering (IPO), which is considered as an important source of finance for Malaysian companies. This study aims to provide some evidence on the attributes of underwriters that affect the level of underpricing in IPOs in Malaysia. This evidence is on the application of IPO theories that are based on the information asymmetry between the IPO parties, issuing companies, underwriters, and investors. A total of 113 Malaysian IPOs listed from 29 June, 2006 until 24 February, 2011 were included in this study. For achieving the purpose of this study the OLS multiple regression technique was applied. In the multiple regressions, underpricing is used as the dependent variable and underwriter's reputation and spread as the independent variables while leverage, age, offer size, and company size were used as the control variables. The findings show that there is a negative significant relationship between reputation and underpricing. Also, the findings show that underwriter's spread has a positive significant association with underpricing. Besides that, the findings show the relationship between the control variables (leverage, age, offer size, and company size) and the dependent variable. One of these four control variables, leverage, has a positive significant relationship with IPO underpricing while the rest of these variables (age, offer size, and company size) have an insignificant negative relationship with IPO underpricing. Overall, evidence in this study supports the consensus of the existing international evidence that IPO underpricing increases or decreases following underwriting banks' attributes. These findings have implications for issuing companies, investors, and security analysts

Cyanide detoxification by soil microorganisms.

Cyanides enter the environment through both natural and man-made sources. Natural sources include cyanogenesis by bacteria, fungi and plants. A number of cyanide catabolising microorganisms have also been reported in literature. This is the first reported instance of cyanide catabolism in Trichoderma harzianum. Four strains of T. harzianum, one of T. pseudokoningii were evaluated. An investigation was made into the occurrence and distribution of the cyanide catabolising enzymes. Three enzymes, cyanide hydratase, beta-cyanoalanine synthase and rhodanese, were studied. All the strains showed a high capacity to degrade cyanide via both the cyanide hydratase and rhodanese pathways, beta-cyanoalanine synthase activity, however, was not detected in any of the selected strains. In the studies on the kinetic characterization of the rhodanese enzyme, a broad pH optimum of 8.5 - 10.5 was obtained for all the strains and a broad temperature optimum of 35 - 55 °C was also observed. The KmCN and Vmax values ranged from 7-16 mM and from 0.069 - 0.093 betamoles. Min-1. mg protein-1, respectively, between the selected strains of Trichoderma. Strong evidence of cyanide biodegradation and co-metabolism emerged from studies with flask cultures where glucose was provided as a co-substrate. The rate of degradation of 2000 ppm CIST was enhanced almost three times in the presence of glucose. Plant microcosm studies carried out using pea and wheat seeds too gave further corroboration of the cyanide degrading and plant growth promotion capabilities of Trichoderma. Microcosms set-up with cyanide at 50 or 100 ppm CN, in the presence of Trichoderma, showed germination of both pea and wheat seeds. There was no seed germination in any of the controls in the absence of Trichoderma inoculation

Audit committees and accuracy of management earnings forecasts of Malaysian IPOs

This study aims to make a meaningful contribution to the IPO literature by examining the impact of audit committee characteristics on the accuracy of earnings forecasts in 190 Malaysian IPO prospectuses during the period of 2002-2012. This study also adds to the body of knowledge by investigating the accuracy of IPO earnings forecasts during the former mandatory earnings forecasts (January 2002 to January 2008) and the current voluntary earnings forecasts (February 2008 to February 2012). Furthermore, it explores the provided explanations in the first published annual reports after IPO, which explain the reasons behind the errors of earnings forecasts. Two proxies were used for accuracy; absolute forecast error and squared forecast error. The models were developed using the frameworks of the agency theory, the signaling theory, and the resource-dependence theory to examine the association of eight characteristics of the audit committee (size, independence, financial expertise, gender diversity, ethnicity, stock ownership, educational background, and experience) with the accuracy of IPO earnings forecasts. The findings indicate that the earnings forecasts of Malaysian IPO are pessimistic and the percentage of accuracy is unsatisfactory. Further, the results show that Malaysian IPO earnings forecasts have been more pessimistic and less accurate under the voluntary regulation regime than the mandatory regime. The findings of multiple regressions of the audit committee and absolute forecast error show significant relationships with positive impacts among size, experience and accuracy of earnings forecasts. In terms of the findings of multiple regressions of the audit committee and the squared forecast error, the results show significant relationships with positive impacts between size and earnings forecasts accuracy. Finally, the results indicate that the number of provided explanations was greater when the management were more optimistic and the forecasts errors were large. The results of this study can be of interest to investors, policymakers, investment analysts and other market participant

The Relationship Between Learner Autonomy and English Proficiency of Yemeni Postgraduate ‎English Students: A Correlational Study in Hodeidah University

Knowing the level of students' learner autonomy and its impact on their language proficiency makes teachers aware of the significance of this term for better EFL learning. Also, this helps in fostering learner autonomy especially that one of advanced students. This study investigates postgraduate students’ level of learner autonomy and its relationship with their English proficiency in a sample of 35 second-year postgraduate students undergoing two-year Master degree course in English, in the Department of English at the Faculty of Education affiliated to the University of Hodeidah, Yemen. The needed data are collected by a means of a learner autonomy questionnaire and a standard proficiency test. For data analysis, one-sample t-test and Pearson Correlation are used. The findings reveal that the learner autonomy and English proficiency of postgraduate English students, in Hodeidah University, are not ‎significantly correlated and this implies that the high or low level of English proficiency of the ‎students doesn’t imply that their learner autonomy will be high or low correspondingly.‎ Keywords: Learner autonomy, language proficiency, postgraduate (PG) ,‎ correlation and relationship