Effect of excess dietary copper on proliferation and differentiation of the proerythroblasts and erythrocytes in rats

This research was carried out to test the cytotoxic effects of excess copper in rats. Animals were divided into three groups, each containing five animals. Low dose (2 mg/kg) and high dose (4 mg/kg) of copper sulphate were force-fed into the animal by a stomach tube daily for 3 weeks and the third group was used as the control. At the end of each week, three animals (one of each group) were randomly selected and sacrificed. Blood samples were collected and blood smears were made. The bone marrow was collected from the heads of long-bones and bone marrow smears were also prepared. It was found that the application of copper sulphate doses modulates the proliferation and differentiation of stem cell progenitors and erythrocytes. Several alterations were observed and these were time- and dosedependent. Of these alterations, the predominant existence of giant pro-erythroblasts and promyeloblasts marked the increase of adipose cells and degeneration of pro-erythroblasts among the bone marrow cells. Also observed were hypochromia, anisocytosis, fragmentation and burr-shaped erythrocytes.Key words: Environmental pollution, copper toxicity, stem cells, blood, rats

Escaping the Ashby limit for mechanical damping/stiffness trade-off using a constrained high internal friction interfacial layer.

The development of new materials with reduced noise and vibration levels is an active area of research due to concerns in various aspects of environmental noise pollution and its effects on health. Excessive vibrations also reduce the service live of the structures and limit the fields of their utilization. In oscillations, the viscoelastic moduli of a material are complex and it is their loss part - the product of the stiffness part and loss tangent - that is commonly viewed as a figure of merit in noise and vibration damping applications. The stiffness modulus and loss tangent are usually mutually exclusive properties so it is a technological challenge to develop materials that simultaneously combine high stiffness and high loss. Here we achieve this rare balance of properties by filling a solid polymer matrix with rigid inorganic spheres coated by a sub-micron layer of a viscoelastic material with a high level of internal friction. We demonstrate that this combination can be experimentally realised and that the analytically predicted behaviour is closely reproduced, thereby escaping the often termed 'Ashby' limit for mechanical stiffness/damping trade-off and offering a new route for manufacturing advanced composite structures with markedly reduced noise and vibration levels

Combining vitamin C and carotenoid biomarkers better predicts fruit and vegetable intake than individual biomarkers in dietary intervention studies.

The aim of this study was to determine whether combining potential biomarkers of fruit and vegetables is better at predicting FV intake within FV intervention studies than single biomarkers

A robust automatic generation control system based on hybrid Aquila Optimizer-Sine Cosine Algorithm

Data availability: Data will be made available on request.Additional material is available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046224001145#appendix .The fluctuating frequency in a power grid is the major stability challenge duo to the unpredictable power demand of costumers during the time. To address this issue, automatic generation controller (AGC) is employed. The AGC based on a proportional integral derivative (PID) approach is popularly utilised owing to its soft implementation and lower expenditure. However, it ripples to handle the standard frequency of a multi-area power grid that occurs in a competitive load-demand case, because of the high sensitivity of its uncertain parameters. In this paper, a Hybrid Aquila Optimizer-Sine Cosine algorithm (HSCAO) is designed for addressing the sensitivity of the PID-AGC parameters specifically for the multi-area power system network. The suggested algorithm is assessed based on CEC-2019, and classical benchmark issues with various dimensions to validate its performance and address the better fits of the algorithm parameters adequately. Also, a statistical analysis technique is conducted using Wilcoxon's test and Friedman test to demonstrate the supervise performance of the HSCAO optimisation regarding to other relative optimal algorithms. A two-area power system network is simulated using MATLAB environment to implement the proposed AGC system. The outcomes prove that the optimal PID-AGC method based on HSCAO technique demonstrates its ability to address the simple and complex fluctuations of load demands quickly. Also, it is the most robust to supervise the frequency response under fault condition test, resulting in, achieving the lowest ITAE index of 5.2s compared to the conventional fuzzy logic control-AGC and the conventional PID-AGC of 10.9s and 17.4s respectively

Phytochemical analysis, cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum) leaf extract

Arum maculatum is traditionally used for the control of many diseases and illnesses such as kidney pain, liver injury, hemorrhoids. However, the detailed biomedical knowledge about this species is still lacking. This study reports on the bioactive components and the possible mechanisms underlying the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity of A. maculatum leaf extract. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for phytochemical analysis. Assay of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide ) (MTT) was used to determine the cytotoxicity in the murine cell line L20B upon exposure to different extract concentrations for 24 h. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect pro-inflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). GC-MS analysis identified the presence of important phytochemical components, e.g., 9-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, (E), hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, followed by benzenepropanoic acid, 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-hydroxy-, methyl ester (17.74%), heptadecanoic acid, 16-methyl-, methyl ester and dibutyl phthalate. The results indicated a significant dose-dependent decrease in L20B cell growth at a dose of 400 μg/ml (IC50) that is associated with a significant 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity. The results suggested that the aqueous extract of A. maculatum leaves have potent antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity against L20B cell line with potential pro-inflammatory activity

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability