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Topic Review
Earthquake Consideration in Architectural Design: Guidelines for Architects
The need for architects and engineers to take earthquake resilience into account in their designs is becoming increasingly critical as urbanization keeps growing and more people move into earthquake-prone areas. Architectural earthquake-resistant designs are necessary to protect building integrity and occupant safety during seismic disasters.
  • 2.6K
  • 21 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Chitosan-Nanoparticles for Oral Insulin Delivery
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic endocrine disease, affecting more than 400 million people around the world. Patients with poorly controlled blood glucose levels are liable to suffer from life-threatening complications, such as cardiovascular, neuropathy, retinopathy and even premature death. Today, subcutaneous parenteral is still the most common route for insulin therapy. Oral insulin administration is favourable and convenient to the patients. In contrast to injection route, oral insulin delivery mimics the physiological pathway of endogenous insulin secretion. However, oral insulin has poor bioavailability (less than 2%) due to the harsh physiological environment through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Over the last few decades, many attempts have been made to achieve an effective oral insulin formulation with high bioavailability using insulin encapsulation into nanoparticles as advanced technology. Various natural polymers have been employed to fabricate nanoparticles as a delivery vehicle for insulin oral administration. Chitosan, a natural polymer, is extensively studied due to the attractive properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioactivity, nontoxicity and polycationic nature. Numerous studies were conducted to evaluate chitosan and chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles capabilities for oral insulin delivery. This review highlights strategies that have been applied in the recent five years to fabricate chitosan/chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery. A summary of the barriers hurdle insulin absorption rendering its low bioavailability such as physical, chemical and enzymatic barriers are highlighted with an emphasis on the most common methods of chitosan nanoparticles preparation. Nanocarriers are able to improve the absorption of insulin through GIT, deliver insulin to the blood circulation and lower blood glucose levels. In spite of some drawbacks encountered in this technology, chitosan and chitosan derivatives-based nanoparticles are greatly promising entities for oral insulin delivery.
  • 2.6K
  • 02 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Voisin Rational Grazing and Its Four Principles
This entry briefly describes the need to promote sustainable agriculture, proposing Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG) as an alternative livestock production system as a way to address sustainability in all its dimensions. It describes the four VRG principles that allows this livestock production system to attain high productive standards while boosting social, cultural and environmental characteristics within the pastoral ecosystem.
  • 2.6K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Brodie's Law (Act)
Brodie's Law is an amendment to the Victorian Crimes Act 1958 which makes serious bullying an offence punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment. The law is named after Brodie Panlock, a 19-year-old who committed suicide after being bullied at work. Brodie's parents, Damien and Rae Panlock, successfully lobbied the Victorian Government to make the amendment.
  • 2.6K
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Periadenitis Mucosa Necrotica Recurrens
Aphthous stomatitis, or recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), is a common condition characterized by the repeated formation of benign and non-contagious mouth ulcers (aphthae) in otherwise healthy individuals. The informal term canker sore is also used, mainly in North America, although it may also refer to other types of mouth ulcers. The cause is not completely understood but involves a T cell-mediated immune response triggered by a variety of factors which may include nutritional deficiencies, local trauma, stress, hormonal influences, allergies, genetic predisposition, certain foods, dehydration, some food additives, or some hygienic chemical additives like SDS (common in toothpaste). These ulcers occur periodically and heal completely between attacks. In the majority of cases, the individual ulcers last about 7–10 days, and ulceration episodes occur 3–6 times per year. Most appear on the non-keratinizing epithelial surfaces in the mouth – i.e. anywhere except the attached gingiva, the hard palate and the dorsum of the tongue – although the more severe forms, which are less common, may also involve keratinizing epithelial surfaces. Symptoms range from a minor nuisance to interfering with eating and drinking. The severe forms may be debilitating, even causing weight loss due to malnutrition. The condition is very common, affecting about 20% of the general population to some degree. The onset is often during childhood or adolescence, and the condition usually lasts for several years before gradually disappearing. There is no cure, and treatments such as corticosteroids aim to manage pain, reduce healing time and reduce the frequency of episodes of ulceration.
  • 2.6K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Leishmania Major and Leishmania Donovani
Leishmania are protozoa belonging to the Phylum Euglenozoa Cavalier-Smith, 1981; Class Kinetoplastea Honigberg, 1963; order Trypanosomatida Kent, 1880; family Trypanosomatidae Doeflein, 1901 and subfamily Leishmaniinae, Maslov and Lukes 2012. The genus Leishmania is further divided into four subgenera, L. (Leishmania) Safjanova 1982, L. (Viannia) Lainson and Shaw, 1987, L. (Mundinia) Shaw, Camargo and Teixeira 2016 and L. (Sauroleishmania) Ranque 1973 [1]. Members of the first three subgenera are causative agents of leishmaniasis, the worldwide distributed, vector-borne human and veterinary disease. The main insect vectors are phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae). Human leishmaniases are highly variable in their clinical manifestation, ranging from self-healing cutaneous lesions to serious visceral forms, life-treating if untreated. The main representative of the zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Old World is Leishmania major, distributed from North and West Africa through Sahel belt and the Middle East to Central Asia, Mongolia and south-west Asia. This species is transmitted by sand flies of the subgenus Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus). The sores appear at the site of insect bite and the necrotic process results in large, open and wet lesions which cure without treatment.  Several lesions may occur simultaneously. Reservoir hosts of L. major are various rodents, humans getting infected incidentally. Leishmania donovani is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis, called also kala azar. Fully developed kala azar is characterized with anaemia, haepatosplenomegaly and progressive cachexia and may be fatal if untreated, but subclinical or asymptomatic cases are frequent. The main vectors are P. (Larrousius) orientalis in East Africa and Phlebotomus (Euphlebotomus) argentipes in the Indian peninsula. The disease is regarded as anthroponotic in Indian peninsula while involvement of reservoir animals has been suggested in East Africa [2].
  • 2.6K
  • 09 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Cryotropic Gelation and Macroporous Scaffolds
Cryogels obtained by the cryotropic gelation process are macroporous hydrogels with a well-developed system of interconnected pores and shape memory. Biodegradable cryogels have been prepared from natural polymers (biopolymers) and synthetic polymers with biodegradable/bioresponsive bonds containing bio-resembling or artificial units. The cryogels could be composed of one type of polymer or a combination of different materials. Polymers from natural origins (plants or animals) attract considerable attention for their intrinsic biocompatibility and potential ability to mimic ECM, favoring cell-matrix interactions for tissue-engineering and regeneration.
  • 2.6K
  • 12 Jul 2021
Topic Review
E-Device Purchase and Disposal Behaviours in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the high-income countries in the Middle Eastern region and is vying for sustainable development in every sector. One of the UAE sustainable development goals is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; hence, the emphasis is on circular economy. UAE is one of largest consumers of e-devices, and their proper disposal is of paramount importance. E-waste disposal awareness leads to better disposal behaviors.
  • 2.6K
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
Dependent Personality Disorder
Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people. This personality disorder is a long-term condition in which people depend on others to meet their emotional and physical needs, with only a minority achieving normal levels of independence. Dependent personality disorder is a cluster C personality disorder, which is characterized by excessive fear and anxiety. It begins by early adulthood, and it is present in a variety of contexts and is associated with inadequate functioning. Symptoms can include anything from extreme passivity, devastation or helplessness when relationships end, avoidance of responsibilities and severe submission.
  • 2.6K
  • 14 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Structure and Physicochemical Properties of Konjac Glucomannan
Konjac glucomannan (KGM), can not only be applied as a food additive, which greatly improves the taste and flavor of food and extends the shelf life of food but also occupies an important role in T2DM (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus). KGM can extend gastric emptying time, increase satiety, and promote liver glycogen synthesis, and also has the potential to improve intestinal flora and the metabolic system through a variety of molecular pathways in order to positively regulate oxidative stress and immune inflammation, and protect the liver and kidneys.
  • 2.6K
  • 01 Feb 2023
Topic Review
The Half-Truth Effect and Its Implications for Sustainability
Half-truth is defined as “a statement that mingles truth and falsehood with deliberate intent to deceive”. 
  • 2.6K
  • 23 Jun 2022
Topic Review
ACSL3 and ACSL4 in Ferroptosis
Ferroptosis involves cell metabolism, regulations of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and iron metabolism. To trigger ferroptosis, specific lipids must undergo peroxidation, and the natural defense mechanisms that prevent the accumulation of peroxidized lipids must be compromised. Acyl CoA synthetase (ACSLs) play an important role in tissue cell metabolism, and different isoforms have different tissue distributions and substrate preferences, which regulate different intracellular lipid compositions. Among these five isoforms, ACSL3 and ACSL4 have been shown to participate in ferroptosis. In addition, ACSL4 is a positive regulator in ferroptosis, whereas ACSL3 contributes to cancer cells acquiring ferroptosis resistance.
  • 2.6K
  • 15 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Articular Cartilage Injury and Repair
Articular cartilage injury and repair is an issue of growing importance. Although common, defects of articular cartilage present a unique clinical challenge due to its poor self-healing capacity, which is largely due to its avascular nature. There is a critical need to better study and understand cellular healing mechanisms to achieve more effective therapies for cartilage regeneration. This article aims to describe the key features of cartilage which is being modelled using tissue engineered cartilage constructs and ex vivo systems. These models have been used to investigate chondrogenic differentiation and to study the mechanisms of cartilage integration into the surrounding tissue.
  • 2.6K
  • 19 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Digital Preservation for UNESCO Architectural Heritage
Architectural heritage includes built structures that are of outstanding value of natural and cultural identity and require conservation, preservation, presentation and transmission to the future generations. In this regard, UNESCO has enlisted six World Heritage Sites in Pakistan that need to be preserved. Moreover, the heritage sites are undergoing theft, vandalism, natural decay and other socio-cultural harms. One of the state-of-the-art methodologies is the digital preservation of the historic sites. Amongst the various available computer technologies, photogrammetry is the quickest and most cost-effective method that can be used for digital preservation. The research will focus on the digital preservation of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which is an emerging trend in an architectural context. Developing countries have limited funds and resources and most historic sites are being neglected by the lack of financial resources. This research suggests digital preservation as an emerging solution, identifies its challenges and suggests photogrammetry as a cost-effective solution to six UNESCO enlisted historic sites of Pakistan. It also suggests that once digitally recorded, information of historic sites can also be used in diverse applications to generate further finances. 
  • 2.6K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Organic Waste Gasification by Steam and Carbon Dioxide
The selective studies on environmentally friendly, combustion-free, allothermal, atmospheric-pressure, noncatalytic, direct H2O/CO2 gasification of organic feedstocks like biomass, sewage sludge wastes (SSW) and municipal solid wastes (MSW) are considered to demonstrate the pros and cons of the approaches and provide future perspectives. The environmental friendliness of H2O/CO2 gasification is well known as it is accompanied by considerably less harmful emissions into the environment as compared to O2/air gasification. Comparative analysis of the various gasification technologies includes low-temperature H2O/CO2 gasification at temperatures up to 1000 °C, high-temperature plasma- and solar-assisted H2O/CO2 gasification at temperatures above 1200 °C, and an innovative gasification technology applying ultra-superheated steam (USS) with temperatures above 2000 °C obtained by pulsed or continuous gaseous detonations. Analysis shows that in terms of such characteristics as the carbon conversion efficiency (CCE), tar and char content, and the content of harmful by-products the plasma and detonation USS gasification technologies are most promising. However, as compared with plasma gasification, detonation USS gasification does not need enormous electric power with unnecessary and energy-consuming gas–plasma transition.
  • 2.6K
  • 28 Jan 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Tautomerism of β-Diketones and β-Thioxoketones
The present overview concentrates on recent developments of tautomerism of β-diketones and β-thioxoketones, both in solution and in the solid state. In particular, the latter has been a matter of debate and unresolved problems. Measurements of 13C, 17O, and 2H chemical shifts have been used. Deuterium isotope effects on chemical shifts are proposed as a tool in the study of this problem. Photoconversion of β-diketones and β-thioxoketones are discussed in detail, and the incorporation of β-diketones into molecules with fluorescent properties is assessed. Finally, docking studies of β-diketones are scrutinized with an emphasis on correct tautomeric structures and knowledge about barriers to interconversion of tautomers.
  • 2.6K
  • 13 Mar 2025
Topic Review
CD47-SIRPα Innate Immune Checkpoint on Neutrophils
Immunotherapy aims to engage various immune cells in the elimination of cancer cells. Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in the circulation and have unique mechanisms by which they can kill cancer cells opsonized by antibodies. However, neutrophil effector functions are limited by the inhibitory receptor SIRPα, when it interacts with CD47. The CD47 protein is expressed on all cells in the body and acts as a ‘don’t eat me’ signal to prevent tissue damage. Cancer cells can express high levels of CD47 to circumvent tumor elimination. Thus, blocking the interaction between CD47 and SIRPα may enhance anti-tumor effects by neutrophils in the presence of tumor-targeting monoclonal antibodies. Blocking the CD47-SIRPα interaction may therefore potentiate neutrophil-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) towards cancer cells, and various inhibitors of the CD47-SIRPα axis are now in clinical studies.
  • 2.6K
  • 27 Jul 2022
Topic Review
GMC CCKW 2½-ton 6X6 Truck
The GMC CCKW, also known as "Jimmy", or the G-508 by its Ordnance Supply Catalog nr, was a highly successful series of off-road capable, 2​1⁄2-ton, 6x6 trucks, built in large numbers to a standardized design (from 1941 to 1945) for the U.S. Army, that saw heavy service, predominantly as cargo trucks, in both World War II and the Korean War. The original "Deuce and a Half", it formed the backbone of the famed Red Ball Express that kept Allied armies supplied as they pushed eastward after the Normandy invasion. The CCKW came in many variants, including open or closed cab, long wheelbase (LWB) CCKW-353 and short (SWB) CCKW-352, and over a score of specialized models, but the bulk were standard, general purpose, cargo models. A large minority were built with a front mounted winch, and one in four of the cabs had a machine-gun mounting ring above the co-driver's position. Of the almost 2.4 million trucks that the U.S. Army bought between 1939 and December 1945, across all payload weight classes, some 812,000, or just over one third, were ​2 1⁄2-ton trucks. GMC's total production of the CCKW and its variants, including the 2​1⁄2-ton, 6x6, amphibian DUKW, and the 6x4, 5-ton (on-road) CCW-353, amounted to some 572,500 units – almost a quarter of the total WW II U.S. truck production, and 70 percent of the total ​2 1⁄2-ton trucks. GMC's total of ~550,000 purely 6x6 models, including the DUKW, formed the overwhelming majority of the ~675,000 six by six ​2 1⁄2-ton trucks, and came in less than 100,000 shy of the almost 650,000 World War II jeeps. Additionally, GM built over 150,000 units of the CCKW's smaller brother, the ​1 1⁄2-ton, 4x4 Chevrolet G506, at the same factory. The GMC CCKW began to be phased out, once the M35 series trucks were first deployed in the 1950s, but remained in active U.S. service until the mid-1960s. Eventually, the M35 series, originally developed by REO Motors, succeeded the CCKW as the U.S. Army's standard ​2 1⁄2-ton, 6x6 cargo truck.
  • 2.6K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Plant Extract-Mediated Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoparticles
Eucalyptus globulus (EG) is an endemic plant in Australia that is widely found throughout the world. It is the main source of botanical essential oils and is well-recognized in pharmacopeia around the globe. In the plant-assisted fabrication of nanoparticles, the salt solution and extract are simply mixed at room temperature or slightly high temperature, resulting in the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) within minutes.
  • 2.6K
  • 13 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Durga Puja
Durga Puja, one of the most celebrated and grand festivals of India, particularly in West Bengal, has a deep historical, cultural, and spiritual significance. Originating as a form of Shakti worship in the Indian subcontinent, Durga Puja has evolved over millennia. This festival honors Goddess Durga, the embodiment of feminine power, who symbolizes the victory of good over evil. However, the practice and celebration of Durga Puja have faced numerous challenges over the centuries, especially during periods of foreign invasions and the rise of Islam and Christianity in India. Despite these obstacles, Durga Puja not only survived but flourished by adapting to the social, political, and religious changes of the time. This article traces the history of Durga Puja from its ancient roots, examines how it weathered foreign invasions, and explores how it continues to thrive in the modern world.
  • 2.6K
  • 31 Oct 2024
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