Assessment of early vascular changes in adult females with polycystic ovary syndrome: correlation with insulin resistance.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrine disorder in females in the reproductive period with estimated prevalence of 5% to 18% [1]. It contributes to the mortality and morbidity in patients with PCOS due to the increased risk of different metabolic and cardiovascular (CV) complications [2]. Despite the presence of obesity in 40-60% of cases [3], the disease may occur in non-obese women. The occurrence of metabolic disorders in non-obese PCOS patients, suggests that the syndrome itself may play a role in the development of metabolic and CV co-morbidities [4]. The identification of early stages of atherosclerosis in patients with PCOS might be useful in the development of new strategies to control modifiable CV risk factors [5]. Assessment of vascular endothelial function (ED) as an initial reversible step in atherosclerosis development, may serve as an integral index for CV risk factor burden [6]. In addition, carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) is a helpful marker for atherosclerosis and for the identification of increased risk of CV disease [7]. Our study assessed the early vascular changes in Egyptian women with PCOS both physically and functionally by looking at the CIMT using high resolution Doppler ultrasound and by measuring ED using brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD). Our results indicate that patients with PCOS have significant ED and premature atherosclerosis which is, to a great extent, independent of obesity and IR. This suggests that PCOS patients are at increased risk for premature CVD and may benefit from early detection and management.

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO2 and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications.

Nanocrystalline TiO2 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) materials have been synthesized by a simple and low-cost microwave-assisted hydrothermal method and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photoactive and metal-free counter electrodes, respectively. Different TiO2 nanocrystalline materials have been synthesized via the acid hydrolysis sol-gel method, followed by microwave hydrothermal treatment at 210 °C and 300 psi and at different microwave irradiation times (20, 30, 45, and 60 min) instead of the usual hydrothermal time of 12 h. The properties of the produced mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO2 are investigated in terms of their morphology, crystal structure, optical properties, and surface area behavior using relevant characterization techniques. Maximum specific surface area values (S BET) of 97.77 and 100.7 m2 g-1 are measured for TiO2, with the average crystallite sizes of 18.6 and 17.5 nm, at microwave irradiation times of 30 and 45 min, respectively. Different rGO samples have been prepared by the modified Hummers method, followed by microwave-assisted reduction at a temperature of 200 °C and pressure of 300 psi at different microwave irradiation times (3, 17, and 25 min). The physicochemical properties of the different rGO samples in terms of morphology, crystallization, and optical properties are characterized by TEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopic analysis. The current density J sc of the fabricated DSSCs based on TiO2 as the photoelectrode and rGO as the counter electrode compared with DSSCs based on Pt as the counter electrode is found to be 11.25 and 9.28 mA cm-2, respectively. Although the overall power efficiency of the fabricated DSSCs based on rGO as the counter electrode is lower than that based on the Pt electrode, the former still exhibits promising prospects for replacing Pt with low-cost metal-free carbon-based DSSCs.

Implications of inappropriate prescription of oral nutritional supplements on the quality of life of cancer outpatients: a cross-sectional comparative study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are considered a cornerstone in the treatment plan of malnutrition in cancer patients. However, the prevalence of inappropriate prescription of ONS is high. In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of inappropriate oral nutritional supplementation (consisting of prescription of ONS without evident clinical indication, or the absence of ONS when at risk of malnutrition) on the quality of life of cancer outpatients. METHODS: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in 104 cancer outpatients, receiving ONS without prior malnutrition risk screening (n = 51), and patients not receiving ONS (n = 53). Nutritional risk screening was performed using the abridged patient-generated subjective global assessment (ab-PG-SGA). The quality of life was assessed using EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3.0 questionnaire. Multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of quality-of-life scales. Age (years), malnutrition (ab-PG-SGA scores), BMI (kg/m2), TSF (mm), MUAC (cm), ONS (yes, no) were entered into the linear regression analysis as predictors (backward stepwise linear regression analysis). RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition risk (ab-PG-SGA ≥ 6) was 74%. The median score of the ab-PG-SGA for ONS receiving group was significantly higher (p = 0.045). Furthermore, univariate analysis showed that the scores of the global health status (QoL) and the role functioning (RF) scales were significantly lower for the ONS receiving group (p = 0.020 and p = 0.016, respectively). Multivariately, malnutrition, inappropriate ONS prescription, and triceps skin fold were found to be predictors of the RF scale, while malnutrition was the only predictor for the QoL. CONCLUSION: The inappropriate ONS prescription does not improve nutritional status or quality of life of cancer outpatients.

Combined oral isotretinoin and Candida antigen versus either agent alone in the treatment of plane warts.

BACKGROUND: Oral isotretinoin and intralesional immunotherapy by Candida antigen have shown promising efficacy and safety for the treatment of plane warts in a few studies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combination of oral isotretinoin and Candida antigen versus either agent alone in the treatment of multiple plane warts. METHODS: The study included 108 patients who were randomly assigned to three groups, 36 in each. Group 1 received oral isotretinoin alone at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg/day. Group 2 received intralesional injection of Candida antigen alone at a dose of 0.1 ml of 1/1000 solution into the largest wart. Group 3 received a combination of Candida antigen and oral isotretinoin by the same method and dose mentioned above. RESULTS: Complete clearance of warts was observed in 44.4% of the oral isotretinoin alone group, in 55.6% of the Candida antigen alone group, and in 38.8% of the combination therapy group. A statistically significant difference in favor of the Candida antigen alone group was demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Candida antigen, oral isotretinoin and a combination of both represent potential effective and safe modalities for the treatment of plane warts, with the Candida antigen alone as the most effective.

Crystal Growth of Cubic and Hexagonal GaN Bulk Alloys and Their Thermal-Vacuum-Evaporated Nano-Thin Films.

In this study, we investigate a novel simple methodology to synthesize gallium nitride nanoparticles (GaN) that could be used as an active layer in light-emitting diode (LED) devices by combining the crystal growth technique with thermal vacuum evaporation. The characterizations of structural and optical properties are carried out with different techniques to investigate the main featured properties of GaN bulk alloys and their thin films. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) delivered images in bulk structures that show micro rods with an average diameter of 0.98 µm, while their thin films show regular microspheres with diameter ranging from 0.13 µm to 0.22 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the bulk crystals reveals a combination of 20% hexagonal and 80% cubic structure, and in thin films, it shows the orientation of the hexagonal phase. For HRTEM, these microspheres are composed of nanoparticles of GaN with diameter of 8-10 nm. For the optical behavior, a band gap of about from 2.33 to 3.1 eV is observed in both cases as alloy and thin film, respectively. This article highlights the fabrication of the major cubic structure of GaN bulk alloy with its thin films of high electron lifetime.

Enhancement of the Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency by Spin-Coated Polythiophene Films Embedded with Gold or Palladium Nanoparticles on the Rear Contact.

In this article, we investigate the application of polythiophene (PT), polythiophene with embedded gold nanoparticles (PT-Au), and polythiophene with embedded palladium nanoparticles (PT-Pd) via the spin coating technique on the rear contact of single-crystalline silicon solar cells. Several layers of coating (up to four layers) were applied, followed by a simple heat treatment at 70 °C for 30 min. The morphology, particles distribution in the polymer, and crystal structure of the colloid PT, PT-Au, and PT-Pd were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Optical characteristics of the polymer and nanoparticles embedded in the polymers exhibited high absorption in the near-UV region, and a plasmonic peak at around 580 nm is observed. The calculated energy gap ranged from 2.65 eV (PT-Pd 5%) to 2.9 eV (PT) and 3.05 eV (PT-Au 5%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the successive layers show an increase in the density and thickness of the PT particles with increasing number of coating layers, up to 12 µm for four layers of PT. Devices were characterized under dark conditions exhibiting variations in the ideality factor and series and shunt resistances with different coating layers. The silicon solar cells were characterized by measuring quantum efficiency, photoconversion efficiency (PCE), fill factor, and series and shunt resistances before and after coating. The coating was found to reduce the series resistance and to increase the efficiency of the cell by up to 7.25% for the PT-Au5% layers.

Subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography and its relation to ambulatory arterial stiffness index in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: Increased arterial stiffness is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among hypertensive patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction assessed by 2-D speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE). METHODS: We enrolled 70 consecutive patients with hypertension. All patients were evaluated for parameters of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) including AASI. From those patients, 51 underwent conventional echocardiography as well as 2-D STE to assess for subclinical LV systolic dysfunction defined by global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients (n = 51) was 46.3 ±â€Š12.3 years, women represented 59%. Study population were divided into two groups according to blood pressure control as defined by ABPM; controlled (n = 23), and uncontrolled (n = 28). Baseline characteristics were comparable between both groups. There were significant differences in both daytime and night-time mean ABPM (P < 0.05). Posterior wall thickness, as well as LV relative wall thickness were significantly higher in uncontrolled patients (P < 0.05 for each). AASI was significantly, but moderately correlated to GLS. Most ABPM parameters were elevated with the higher AASI values (AASI ≥0.5). Significantly more uncontrolled hypertensive patients were encountered as well. Interestingly, sex and AASI were predictors of impaired GLS by univariate linear regression analysis; however, AASI was the only independent predictor of impaired GLS on multivariate analysis (Beta = 0.3, CI = 0.2--12, and P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: AASI might predict subclinical LV systolic dysfunction as assessed by global longitudinal strain. Further wide-scale studies should further explore this intriguing hypothesis.

Electrospun PVA Polymer Embedded with Ceria Nanoparticles as Silicon Solar Cells Rear Surface Coaters for Efficiency Improvement.

This paper introduces electrospun nanofibers embedded with ceria nanoparticles as silicon solar cells coaters, showing their influence on the solar cells efficiency. Ceria nanoparticles can be synthesized to have formed oxygen vacancies (O-vacancies), which are associated with converting cerium ions from the Ce4+ state ions to the Ce3+ ones. These O-vacancies follow the rule of improving silicon solar cellconductivity through the hopping mechanism. Besides, under violet excitation, the reduced trivalent cerium Ce3+ ions are directly responsible for down-converting the un-absorbed violet or ultra-violet (UV) wavelengths to a resulted green fluorescence emission at ~520 nm. These are absorbed through the silicon solar cells active layer. When electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is embedded with ceria nanoparticles on the rear surface of silicon solar cell, a promising enhancement in the behavior of solar cells current⁻voltage (I⁻V) curve is observed. The efficiency has improved by about 24% of its initial value due to the mutual impact of improving both electrical conductivity and optical conversions from the higher surface-to-volume ratio of electrospun nanofibers embedded by ceria nanoparticles. The solar cell efficiency improvement is due to the mutual impact of both optical down-conversion and better electric paths via the used nanocomposite. The added nanostructures coating can utilize part of the transmitted UV or violet spectrum through the cell as optical conversion from violet to the visible region. In addition, the formed active tri-valent states are associated with O-vacancies which can help in a better conductivity of the generated photoelectrons from the cell through the hopping mechanism. The PVA nanofibers host offers a better distribution of ceria nanoparticles and better conductivity paths for the photoelectrons based on the better surface-to-volume ratio of the nanofibers.

Relationship between visceral obesity and plasma fibrinogen in obese children.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased significantly worldwide with an alarming rise of its co-morbidities. The excess of visceral adipose tissue is associated with hypertension, prothrombotic and pro-inflammatory states. Our aim was to find a possible association between visceral obesity and plasma fibrinogen, as one of the cardiovascular risk factors, in obese children. METHODS: Forty-three obese children and 40 non-obese controls were studied regarding their history, complete physical examination, anthropometric assessment, body composition analysis, ultrasonographic measurement of visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous fat as well as laboratory measurement of plasma fibrinogen. RESULTS: Our study revealed significant higher levels of fibrinogen in obese children than controls (14.5+5.1 and 2.9+0.52 mg/mL, respectively) with p-value <0.01. Moreover, the obese group had statistically significant difference in visceral fat (5.96+0.77 cm) and subcutaneous fat (2.66+0.70 cm) than controls (2.45+0.65 and 0.70+0.18 mg/mL, respectively) with p-value <0.01. In addition, fibrinogen had significant positive correlation with body mass index (r=0.327), waist/hip ratio (r=0.394), fat percentage (r=0.301), visceral adipose tissue (r=0.323) and subcutaneous fat (r=0.301). CONCLUSIONS: There was highly significant increase in the fibrinogen level, visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat in the obese group with insignificant sex differences. Fibrinogen had a significant positive correlation with the different adiposity markers, blood pressure, visceral and subcutaneous fat. Visceral adipose tissue is a stronger predictor for cardiovascular risk compared to subcutaneous fat.

Autologous platelet rich plasma: topical versus intradermal after fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser treatment of atrophic acne scars.

BACKGROUND: A proposal has recently been made regarding the potential adjuvant use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with fractional carbon dioxide laser (FCL) for the correction of acne scars. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of two administration modes of autologous PRP (intradermal injection (ID) and topical application) after FCL with that of FCL alone in the treatment of atrophic acne scars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty patients were randomly divided into two groups. Both underwent split-face therapy. Group 1 was administered FCL followed by ID PRP on one side and FCL followed by ID saline on the other. In group 2, one cheek was treated with FCL followed by ID PRP, and the other received FCL followed by topical PRP. Each patient received 3 monthly sessions. The final assessment took place at 6 months. RESULTS: Combined PRP- and FCL-treated areas had a significantly better response (p = .03), fewer side effects, and shorter downtime (p = .02) than FCL-treated areas, but there were no significant differences in ID- and topical PRP-treated areas in degree of response and downtime (p = .10); topically treated areas had significantly lower pain scores. CONCLUSION: The current study introduces the combination of topical PRP and FCL as an effective, safe modality in the treatment of atrophic acne scars with shorter downtime than FCL alone and better tolerability than FCL combined with ID PRP.