Towards standardizing retinal optical coherence tomography angiography:a review

The visualization and assessment of retinal microvasculature are important in the study,diagnosis,monitoring,and guidance of treatment of ocular and systemic di...     

Hydrogen generation via ethanol steam reforming over Co/HAp catalysts

The catalytic activity of calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp) supported cobalt nanoparticles in ethanol steam reforming (SRE) was investigated. Co was supported on hydrothermally prepared HAp by incipient wetness impregnation method. Co/HAp catalysts were characterized through XRD, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy, TEM, SEM/EDS, N₂ physisorption, TG and TPR-H₂. Results showed that spinel cobalt oxide is reduced to CoO and Co and these species are responsible for catalytic activity for hydrogen production via SRE process. The main reactions over Co/HAp are incomplete steam reforming and dehydrogenation of ethanol. Reforming experiment over pre-reduced sample indicated a negative impact of H₂ treatment on hydrogen production. The best catalytic properties (${\text{Y}}_{{\text{H}}_2}$ and C_EtOH) were obtained over 5%Co/HAp catalyst.     

Functionality of graphene as a result of its heterogenic growth on SiC nanoparticles on the basis of reversible hydrogen storage

This article presents the results from research related to graphene functionality based on the production of spatial structures provided for the reversible storage of hydrogen. The functionality process was conducted during graphene synthesis onto a liquid metallic support, on a single level, using SiC nanoparticles. Within the scope of research it was proved that heterogenic growth of the domains of polycrystalline graphene onto the SiC nanoparticles is possible. These nanoparticles are in-built into the graphene structure constituting the pillars of the spatial structure. Material produced in such a way constitutes the foundation for creating a spatial 3D structure (through the rolling operation), called GraphRoll, for the reversible storage of hydrogen in order to conduct its sorption and de-sorption. So, independently of the theoretical configuration, deviations or a possible exception from the 2D configuration on the silicon carbide/graphene were discussed. These differences resulted from the difference between the crystallographic structures of the analyzed forms as well as the structure determined to decrease tensions within the structure.     

Poly(diethylene glycol adipate): A Study of Its Behavior as a PVC Plasticizer

The compatibility of PVC with poly(diethylene glycol adipate) M _n = 1500 was evaluated by DSC, indicating a limit value of 15 phr. The behavior of the oligomer as a PVC plasticizer, alone or in combination with dioctylphthalate (DOP), was investigated by measurements such as hardness, glass transition temperature, heat stability, and solvent resistance. In spite of its limited compatibility the oligoester can act as a secondary plasticizer enhancing the overall performance of the compositions.     

Adaptive Anomaly Detection in Transaction-Oriented Networks

Adaptive algorithms for real-time and proactive detection of network/service anomalies, i.e., soft performance degradations, in transaction-oriented wide area networks (WANs) have been developed. These algorithms (i) adaptively sample and aggregate raw transaction records to compute service-class based traffic intensities, in which potential network anomalies are highlighted; (ii) construct dynamic and service-class based performance thresholds for detecting network and service anomalies; and (iii) perform service-class based and real-time network anomaly detection. These anomaly detection algorithms are implemented as a real-time software system called TRISTAN ( ansaction n antaneous nomaly otification), which is deployed in the AT&T Transaction Access Services (TAS) network. The TAS network is a commercially important, high volume (millions of transactions per day), multiple service classes (tens), hybrid telecom and data WAN that services transaction traffic such as credit card transactions in the US and neighboring countries. TRISTAN is demonstrated to be capable of automatically and adaptively detecting network/service anomalies and correctly identifying the corresponding "guilty" service classes in TAS. TRISTAN can detect network/service faults that elude detection by the traditional alarm-based network monitoring systems.     

Gene Variants Related to Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases May Correlate with Severe Outcome of COVID-19

Background: Severe outcomes of COVID-19 account for up to 15% of all cases. The study aims to check if any gene variants related to cardiovascular (CVD) and pulmonary diseases (PD) are correlated with a severe outcome of COVID-19 in a Polish cohort of COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this study, a subset of 747 samples from unrelated individuals collected across Poland in 2020 and 2021 was used and whole-genome sequencing was performed. Results: The GWAS analysis of SNPs and short indels located in genes related to CVD identified one variant significant in COVID-19 severe outcome in the HADHA gene, while for the PD gene panel, we found two significant variants in the DRC1 gene. In this study, both potentially protective and risk variants were identified, of which variants in the HADHA gene deserve the most attention. Conclusions: This is the first study reporting the association between the HADHA and DRC1 genetic variants and COVID-19 severe outcome based on the cohort WGS analysis. Although all the identified variants are localised in introns, they may be correlated and therefore inherited along with other risk variants, potentially causative to severe outcome of COVID-19 but not discovered yet.     

Thermal,mechanical, and water vapor barrier behavior of polypropylene composite containing modified kaolinite

Polypropylene composites containing modified kaolinite were prepared using melt processing and the morphological, thermal, mechanical and their water barrier properties were analyzed. To improve compatibility with polypropylene, kaolinite was modified with silane as a coupling agent. Characterization techniques (X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy) confirmed the effective grafting of these compounds on the surface and edges of the kaolinite with no functionalization on the inner surface. The differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction techniques demonstrated that the addition of grafted kaolinite affected the iPP crystallinity. The thermogravimetric analysis helped to determine the thermal stability of the composites, being this, dependent on the amount of kaolinite and silane. The stress–strain tests demonstrated an increase in Young's modulus and obtained a 70% reduction in water vapor permeation. These improvements were mainly related to the increased compatibility between the iPP/Kaol interfaces promoted by the silane. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45785.     

Serum enzymes in heat stroke: prognostic implication

We measured serum creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in 26 heat stroke (HS) victims and 10 control (non-heat-exhausted) subjects during annual Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. On admission to the HS treatment unit, serum CK, AST, ALT, and LD were higher in HS victims than controls (P < 0.05), and at 6, 12, and 24 h were higher than baseline concentration. The patient group was divided into three groups, (a) those who had a quick recovery, (b) those who were critically ill until the end of the Hajj period (7 days), and (c) those who died. Serum enzymes at the time of admission were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the nonsurviving group (n = 6) and the severely ill (n = 9) than in those who had a quick recovery (n = 11). ROC curves were plotted for each enzyme. The most useful indicator was LD, as it could distinguish significantly between the groups who died and those who had a quick recovery (area under the curve = 0.991 +/- 0.0286). It was followed by CK and AST as useful prognostic factors. When compared with ROC curves for body temperature, anion gap, and serum potassium, the enzyme results were superior prognostic indicators.