Biggest Reduction Research Articles

Changes in admission rates to an Aotearoa New Zealand hospital general medical service during COVID-19 lockdowns

aim: To better understand the reasons for reduced hospital admissions to a hospital general medicine service during COVID-19 lockdowns. methods: A statistical model for admission rates to the General Medicine Service at Wellington Hospital, Aotearoa New Zealand, since 2015 was constructed. This model was used to estimate changes in admission rates for transmissible and non-transmissible diagnoses during and following COVID-19 lockdowns for total admissions and various sub-groups. results: For the 2020 lockdown (n=734 admissions), the overall rate ratio of admissions was 0.71 compared to the pre-lockdown rate. Non-transmissible diagnoses, which constitute 87% of admissions, had an admission rate ratio of 0.77. Transmissible diagnoses, constituting 13% of admissions, had an admission rate ratio of 0.44. Reductions in admissions did not exacerbate existing ethnic disparities in access to health services. The lag in recovery of admission rates was more pronounced for transmissible than non-transmissible diagnoses. The 2021 lockdown (n=105 admissions) followed this pattern, but was of shorter duration with small numbers, and therefore measures were frequently not statistically significant. conclusions: The biggest relative reduction in hospital admission was due to a reduction in transmissible illness admissions, likely due to COVID-related public health measures. However, the biggest reduction in absolute terms was in non-transmissible illnesses, where hospital avoidance may be associated with increased morbidity or mortality.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 397 631 elective dental admissions among the under-25s in England: a retrospective study.

COVID-19 caused widespread disruptions to health services worldwide, including reductions in elective surgery. Tooth extractions are among the most common reasons for elective surgery among children and young people (CYP). It is unclear how COVID-19 affected elective dental surgeries in hospitals over multiple pandemic waves at a national level. Elective dental tooth extraction admissions were selected using Hospital Episode Statistics. Admission trends for the first 14 pandemic months were compared with the previous five years and results were stratified by age (under-11s, 11-16s, 17-24s). The most socioeconomically deprived CYP comprised the largest proportion of elective dental tooth extraction admissions. In April 2020, admissions dropped by >95%. In absolute terms, the biggest reduction was in April (11-16s: -1339 admissions, 95% CI -1411 to -1267; 17-24s: -1600, -1678 to -1521) and May 2020 (under-11s: -2857, -2962 to -2752). Admissions differed by socioeconomic deprivation for the under-11s (P<0.0001), driven by fewer admissions than expected by the most deprived and more by the most affluent during the pandemic. Elective tooth extractions dropped most in April 2020, remaining below pre-pandemic levels throughout the study. Despite being the most likely to be admitted, the most deprived under-11s had the largest reductions in admissions relative to other groups.

INVESTIGATION OF HYBRID PHOTOVOLTAIC /THERMAL SOLAR SYSTEM PERFORMANCE UNDER IRAQ'S CLIMATE CONDITIONS

The research investigates the use of fins fastened to a solar panel's rear surface for passive cooling. The research compared solar modules with air cooling against modules with connected fins acting as a heat sink. The comparison was based on the former. The research studies the cooling of modules with fins using two different types of air: ventilation air and still air. By comparing the heat transmission by photovoltaic panels with and without fins, the research sought to analyses the effects of the environment and solar radiation on the performance of solar cells. The inquiry was done hypothetically. According to the findings, using fins for cooling reduced cell temperature and improved electrical and thermal efficiency. The estimated performance values of the PVT solar cell obtained by using the COMSOL program and the experimental measurements carried out during the daytime were reasonably in accord. The biggest reduction in cell temperature is (3.7ºC at noon), while the greatest increases in electrical and thermal efficiency are (16.54% and 58.3%, respectively). There is good agreement between experimental and numerical results.

Flexible education reform and Iceland’s police staffing crisis

Abstract In 2018, Iceland had Europe’s second-fewest police officers per capita and had experienced the continent’s biggest reduction in officers since 2009—after suffering the biggest financial crisis in modern economic history. Fewer officers, a growing, more diverse population, and a tourist boom fuelled a police staffing crisis peaking in the mid-2010s. In this case study, we document, using secondary data and interrupted time-series analysis, how moving basic police education to the university level in 2016 and shifting from face-to-face to flexible learning—a form of blended learning—helped Iceland accommodate more students, reverse the downward trend of police staffing, improve female representation, and raise the education level. Moreover, public trust in the police remained high after reform. The case of Iceland demonstrates that blended learning can facilitate police–university partnerships, accommodate more students by expanding access, capacity, and capability, help address staffing challenges, and optimize resources.

Stabilizing, neutral or destabilizing? The impact of fiscal rules on the GDP volatility in the EU countries

The goal of the present article is to estimate the impact of numerical fiscal rules on the volatility of GDP growth in the European Union countries in 1995–2019 to answer the question about their counter--cyclical and stabilizing properties. The obtained results show that the introduction and the wider use of fiscal rules in the EU countries reduced economic fluctuations – an increase in the Fiscal Rules Index of one standard deviation was associated with a decrease in the volatility of the GDP growth rate of approximately 20%. When analysing different types of fiscal rules existing in the EU countries, the biggest reduction in GDP volatility was obtained for countries where debt rules were in force. In the case of “operational” rules, the budget balance rules have a stronger impact on limiting GDP growth fluctuations, while the impact of expenditure rules in this matter turned out to be insignificant.

Health, economic growth, and Gini index in North America using a panel model

Objective: The objective of this paper is assessed the nexus among health status, economic growth, and the Gini index in North America and its countries using a panel model. Materials and Method: The materials consist of annual data regarding life expectancy, government health expenditure as percentage of the gross domestic product, Gini index, and gross domestic product at constant 2015 US$ for the period 2000-2019. The method applies a panel model for North America and its three countries: Canada, Mexico and The United States. North America diversity treatment among countries is dealt with fixed and random effects. Results: North America inhabitants health status are negatively influenced by an increasing income inequality, and a reduction on economic growth. The country that expends more in health care is The United States, follow by Canada and Mexico. The biggest reduction on life expectancy from an increase in income inequality is in The United States, followed by Canada and Mexico. Life expectancy increases when Canada and The United States experience economic growth. The countries with inarticulate health policy responses to an increase in income inequality are first Mexico followed by The United States. Conclusions: In North America and its countries an increasing income inequality reduces life expectancy, and government health expenditure. Economic growth benefits life expectancy and government health expenditure. Health status seems to improve with a reduction in income inequality and a greater public health expenditure. Therefore, policies that increases income inequality and reduces public health expenditure seems to be advocates of a reduction: in health status, population welfare and economic growth.

Conservation Tillage and Weed Management Influencing Weed Dynamics, Crop Performance, Soil Properties, and Profitability in a Rice–Wheat–Greengram System in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain

A three-year field experiment was carried out to assess the efficacy of various tillage and residue management practices, as well as weed management approaches, in a rice–wheat–green gram rotation. The treatments included: conventional till transplanted rice–conventional till wheat–fallow (T1); conventional till transplanted rice–zero-till wheat–zero-till green gram (T2); conventional till direct-seeded rice—conventional-till wheat—zero-till green gram (T3); zero-till direct-seeded rice—zero-till wheat—zero-till green gram (T4); zero-till direct-seeded rice + residue zero-till wheat + residue zero-till green gram (T5). In weed management, three treatments are as follows: recommended herbicides (W1); integrated weed management (W2); and unweeded (W3). The integrated weed management treatment had the lowest weed biomass, which was 44.3, 45.3, and 33.7% lower than the treatment W3 at 30 and 60 days after sowing and harvest, respectively. T1 grain and straw yielded more than T2 in the early years than in subsequent years. The conventional till transplanted rice–zero-till wheat–zero-till green gram system produced 33.6, 37.6, and 27.7% greater net returns than the zero-till direct-seeded rice—zero-till wheat—zero-till greengram system, respectively. Conventional till transplanted rice–conventional till wheat–fallow had the biggest reduction (0.41%) in soil organic carbon from the initial value. The findings of the study demonstrated that adopting the transplanting method for rice, followed by zero tillage for wheat and green gram, enhanced productivity and profitability, while simultaneously preserving soil health.

Few dental indices in modern Bulgarian population from southern Bulgaria

AimThe aim of the present study is to evaluate the reduction of the distal teeth towards the medial ones in one functional dental group in southern Bulgarian population.Materials and methodsThe study included 232 Bulgarians aged 20–40 years. Mesiodistal dimensions of the teeth were measured by Dentistry Sliding Vernier Caliper and analyzed with SPSS 23.0. Four interdental indices were calculated: inter-incisive, premolar, upper, and lower molar indices.ResultsWe found a decrease in the percentage ratio of the lateral to the central incisors of people from the Bulgarian population compared to those dating from the Eneolithic period on the territory of Bulgaria. Furthermore, we found a reduction in the percentage ratio of the upper and lower second molars compared to the first ones. The biggest reduction in the percentage ratio (more than 6%) was found in the lower second premolars compared to the first ones, which is characteristic for southern Bulgarians.ConclusionThere was a dental reduction in all the distal members compared to the medial ones participating in one morphological dental group. As a result, we think that interdental indices can be used for explaining historical, cultural, and biological macro and microevolutionary processes and thus for understanding the origin, formation, contacts, and migration pathways of the different populations leading to ethnic variation of humanity. Therefore, they can be a reliable source of information in physiological anthropology.

Drought shortens cotton fiber length by inhibiting biosynthesis, remodeling and loosening of the primary cell wall

Drought could severely impair the formation of cotton fiber length, yet the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, the effects of drought on cotton fiber elongation processes including primary cell wall biosynthesis, remodeling and loosening and osmolyte accumulation were investigated from transcriptomic and physiological levels by using two upland cotton cultivars (Dexiamian 1 and Yuzaomian 9110). The results showed that the cotton fiber elongation was significantly stunted under drought, and the biggest reduction in fiber length appeared at 10 days post anthesis. The total osmolytes concentration of cotton fiber sap was increased by drought via promoting the accumulation of malate and K+, which was favorable to fiber elongation. Whilst the biosynthesis of fiber primary cell wall components including pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose was inhibited under drought by suppressing the expression of galacturonosyltransferase (GhGAUT) and galacturonosyltransferase-like (GhGATL), xylosyltransferase (GhXXT), and cellulose synthase (GhCesA) respectively, leading to reduced fiber cell wall biomass. Meanwhile, drought restricted the remodeling and loosening of fiber primary cell wall by suppressing the expression of genes related to primary cell wall decomposition including pectin methylesterase (GhPME), xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (GhXTH), and endoglucanase (GhEG), and α-expansin (GhEXPA). Taken together, it is concluded that the shortened fiber length induced by drought was caused by restricted primary fiber cell wall biosynthesis, remodeling, and loosening but not the lowered osmotic potential. Overall, our work provides new insights into understanding the mechanisms by which drought shortens cotton fiber length.

Heat treatment effect on tocopherols, total phenolics and fatty acids in table olives (Olea europaea L.)

The olive fruits are rich source of oil, vitamins, minerals, organic acids and pigments. The fruits contain high level of bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of heat treatment on tocopherols, total phenolics and antioxidant activity in green and black olives, as well as their fatty acid composition. The instrumental methods used in this experiment were high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC/FID) and spectrophotometric methods. The results revealed that the β+γ-tocopherols content after the heat treatment had the biggest reduction, which was 68.4% for green and 80.2% for black olives. Also, a significant loss of total phenolic content was observed after heat treatment in green and black olives by 18.6% and 18.4%, respectively, as well as antioxidant activity (decrease up to 28.1%). The most abundant fatty acids in green and black olives were oleic (C18:1), palmitic (C16:0) and linoleic acid (C18:2). The changes in fatty acids composition during the heat treatment occurred mostly at the level of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linolenic acid (C18:3) in black olives had the significant reduction (by 57.4%) in relation to the initial quantity.

Influence of Eucalyptus Agroforestry on Crop Yields, Soil Properties, and System Economics in Southern Regions of India

Agroforestry benefits farmers, making it a sustainable alternative to monoculture. To create a viable Eucalyptus clone-based agroforestry system, a field experiment was carried out in Tamil Nadu, India. The economics and changes in the soil qualities were evaluated by growing agricultural and horticultural crops, namely pearl millet, sorghum, maize, sesame, small onions, green gram, and red gram, as intercrops under eight-month-old eucalyptus clone trees using a randomised block design in three replications at a spacing of 3 m × 1.5 m. The plots for the intercrops and the eucalyptus clones were kept apart for comparison. Maize showed the greatest drop in plant height during all the phases, including 30 DAS, 60 DAS, and harvest, while small onions showed the least reduction in plant height. Sesame and small onions showed the greatest drop in dry matter production, whereas sorghum showed the least. In terms of the intercrop yield reduction, maize had the biggest reduction and green gram had the lowest. Red gram had the largest crop equivalent yield, whereas maize had the lowest. The volume of the trees was generally increased more favourably by red gram than by green gram. The intercrops had some effects on the nutrients in the soil. Red gram intercropping had the highest levels of EC, soil organic carbon, available soil nitrogen, available soil phosphorus, and available soil potassium, while the sole tree treatment had the lowest levels. Small onions, red gram, and sesame were the crops; tree + small onion, tree + red gram, and tree + sesame were the intercrop combinations with the highest gross income, net income, and B:C in the intercropping treatment alone. Tree + green gram had the highest land equivalent ratio (LER) and the red gram, sesame, and small onion intercrops were shown to be the most profitable. Although the present study supports a complementary relationship, the lack of awareness among farmers of Eucalyptus allelopathy formed the major limitation.

Gene-Gene Interactions Reduce Aminoglycoside Susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa through Efflux Pump-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a wide range of acute and chronic infections. Aminoglycosides are a cornerstone of treatment, but isolates are often resistant. The purpose of this research was to better understand the genetic basis of aminoglycoside resistance in P. aeruginosa. Bioinformatic approaches identified mutations in resistance-associated genes in the clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. The common mutations were then engineered into the genome of P. aeruginosa reference strain PAO1. Mutations in the elongation factor gene fusA1 caused the biggest reduction in aminoglycoside susceptibility, with mutations in the two-component regulator gene amgS and the efflux pump regulator gene mexZ having less impact. This susceptibility was further reduced by combinations of mutations. Mutations in fusA1, amgS and mexZ all increased the expression of the mexXY efflux pump that is strongly associated with aminoglycoside resistance. Furthermore, the fusA1 amgS mexZ triple mutant had the highest efflux pump gene expression. Engineering fusA1 and amgS mutants lacking this efflux pump showed that fusA1 and amgS also reduce aminoglycoside susceptibility through additional mechanisms. The fusA1 and amgS mutations reduced bacterial growth, showing that these mutations have a fitness cost. Our findings demonstrate the complex interplay between mutations, efflux pump expression and other mechanisms for reducing the susceptibility of P. aeruginosa to aminoglycosides.

Long-Term Postoperative Perfusion Indices in Surgically Resolved Myopic Traction Maculopathy

Background: Pathological myopia can be complicated by the presence of posterior staphyloma, macular atrophy, ruptures in Bruch’s membrane, pathologic choroidal neovascularization, and different degrees of myopic traction maculopathy. Purpose: To report the structural, functional and perfusional outcomes in patients underwent surgery for different stages of myopic traction maculopathy (MTM). Methods: A retrospective, consecutive, comparative, interventional, one-surgeon, case-control study was conducted in 46 eyes of 34 individuals between April 2015 and May 2021. Participants included normal emmetropic eyes (Control emmetropia, n = 25), healthy myopic eyes (Control high myopia, n = 20), and operated and structurally fully resolved myopic eyes with different stages of MTM (Surgically treated group, n = 46). Long-term postoperative functional and perfusional follow-up evaluations were performed with spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and OCT angiography. The primary outcome measure included long-term functional, structural and perfusion macular status across groups. Results: Forty-six eyes in 34 patients were included in the study group, with both eyes affected in 12 (26.3%) patients. The mean axial length was 29.89 ± 1.67 mm. The preoperative logMAR was 1.29 ± 0.54 and the postoperative logMAR was 0.60 ± 0.52 (P < 0.001), with the biggest reduction in eyes with more advanced MTM. The fellow-eye prevalence rate was 53.85%, with a mean time to surgery of 43 ± 26.77 months. The fellow-eye final VA was 0.34 ± 0.29, and the first-eye final VA was 0.80 ± 0.72 logMAR (P < 0.05). Majority of eyes showed abnormal macula morphology post-operation, where eyes with normal postoperative macula showed better visual improvement (P = 0.022). Conclusion: Compared to emmetropic and healthy myopic eyes, surgically-resolved MTM eyes generally have larger superficial foveal avascular zone area, lower vessel density, smaller choriocapillaris flow area, thinner central subfoveal thickness, and more macular defects. Eyes with stage III or IV MTM had larger deviation compared to eyes at earlier stages. Visual function change after surgery was associated with superficial foveal avascular zone area. Better functional, structural and perfusion index outcomes were observed when highly myopic eyes underwent early surgery.

The impact of primary and secondary processing steps on Campylobacter concentrations on chicken carcasses and portions

Campylobacteriosis is the most commonly notified foodborne disease in New Zealand and poultry meat is the major source for human infection. Carcasses and portions were sampled from key points along primary and secondary processing chains of three New Zealand poultry processors to determine the impact of processing steps on Campylobacter concentrations. Primary processing reduced Campylobacter concentrations on carcasses by almost 6-log; the biggest reduction was achieved by the spinchill, followed by the scald step. Significant plant differences in the degree of Campylobacter reduction were also observed at these steps. The spinchill and final acidified sodium chlorite wash resulted in carcasses with low-to-no levels of Campylobacter regardless of concentrations at prior steps. A similar study was conducted at primary processing for one plant in 2013; significant improvements in Campylobacter mitigation since 2013 were noted. Campylobacter concentrations from final product from secondary processing were higher than concentrations at the end of primary processing. Drumsticks had lower Campylobacter concentrations than other portion types. Skin removal from product did not consistently result in product with lower Campylobacter concentrations. Results identify key areas to target for further reduction of Campylobacter on poultry meat, and provide a benchmark to compare the efficacy of future interventions.

Changes and Trend Disparities in Life Expectancy and Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy Attributed to Disability and Mortality From 1990 to 2019 in China.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate sex, age, and cause-specific contributions to changes and trend disparities in life expectancy (LE) and health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) attributed to disability and mortality from 1990 to 2019 in China, which provides insight into policy-making, health systems planning, and resource allocation.MethodsContributions of disability and mortality to changes and trend disparities in LE and HALE were estimated with standard abridged life table, Sullivan's method, and decomposition method, using retrospective demographic analysis based on mortality and years lived with disability (YLD) rates extracted from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (GBD 2019).ResultsFrom 1990 to 2019, LE and HALE increased by 10.49 and 8.71 years for both sexes, mainly due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (5.83 years, 55.58% for LE and 6.28 years, 72.10% for HALE). However, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections had negative effects on changes in LE (−0.03 years, −0.29%) and HALE (−0.05 years, −0.57%). Lung cancer and ischemic heart disease caused the biggest reduction in LE (−0.14 years, −1.33%) and HALE (−0.42 years, −4.82%). Also, cardiovascular diseases (−0.08 years, −0.92%), neurological disorders (−0.08 years, −0.92%), diabetes and kidney diseases (−0.06 years, −0.69%), and transport injuries (−0.06 years, −0.69%) had main negative disability effects in HALE. Moreover, life expectancy lived with disability (LED) increased by 1.78 years, mainly attributed to respiratory infections and tuberculosis (1.04 years, 58.43%) and maternal and neonatal disorders (0.78 years, 43.82%).ConclusionThe LE and HALE in China have grown rapidly over the past few decades, mainly attributed to NCDs. It is necessary to further reduce the negative mortality effect of HIV/AIDS, lung cancer, colon and rectum cancer, pancreatic cancer, and ischemic heart disease and the negative disability effect of stroke, diabetes mellitus, and road injuries. In addition, the signs of disparities in mortality and disability of different sexes and ages call for targeted and precise interventions for key groups such as males and the elderly. According to the decomposition results, we may better determine the key objects of health policies that take into account substantial cause-specific variations to facilitate the realization of “healthy China 2030” plan.

Associations between declining antibiotic use in primary care in Scotland and hospitalization with infection and patient satisfaction: longitudinal population study.

BackgroundReducing antibiotic use is central to antimicrobial stewardship, but may have unintended consequences.ObjectivesTo examine associations between size of decline in antibiotic prescriptions in general practices and (i) rate of hospitalization for infection and (ii) patient satisfaction.MethodsRoutine data analysis for all general practices in Scotland, quarter one 2012 (Q1 2012) to quarter one 2018 (Q1 2018). Practices were grouped into quartiles of rate of change in prescribing and changes in rates of hospitalization were compared across groups. For satisfaction analysis, associations between practice-level patient satisfaction in 2017–18 (Scottish Health and Care Experience Survey) and prior change in antibiotic prescription were examined.ResultsAntibiotic prescriptions overall fell from 194.1 prescriptions/1000 patients in Q1 2012 to 165.3 in Q1 2018 (14.9% reduction). The first quartile of practices had a non-significant increase in prescriptions [change per quarter = 0.22 (95% CI −0.42 to 0.86) prescriptions/1000 patients], compared with large reductions in the other three groups, largest in quartile four: −2.95 (95% CI −3.66 to −2.24) prescriptions/1000 patients/quarter (29.7% reduction overall). In all quartiles, hospitalizations with infection increased. The increase was smallest in quartile four (the biggest reduction in prescriptions) and highest in quartile one (no significant change in prescriptions): 2.18 (95% CI 1.18 to 3.19) versus 3.68 (95% CI 2.64 to 4.73) admissions/100 000 patients/quarter, respectively [difference = − 1.50 (95% CI −2.91 to −0.10)]. There was no statistically significant association between change in antibiotic prescriptions and patient satisfaction.ConclusionsVery large reductions in antibiotic prescriptions in Scottish general practices have not been associated with increases in hospitalization with infection or changes in patient satisfaction.

Digital Watermarking as an Adversarial Attack on Medical Image Analysis with Deep Learning.

In the past years, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have become popular in many disciplines such as Computer Vision (CV), and the evolution of hardware has helped researchers to develop many powerful Deep Learning (DL) models to deal with several problems. One of the most important challenges in the CV area is Medical Image Analysis. However, adversarial attacks have proven to be an important threat to vision systems by significantly reducing the performance of the models. This paper brings to light a different side of digital watermarking, as a potential black-box adversarial attack. In this context, apart from proposing a new category of adversarial attacks named watermarking attacks, we highlighted a significant problem, as the massive use of watermarks, for security reasons, seems to pose significant risks to vision systems. For this purpose, a moment-based local image watermarking method is implemented on three modalities, Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT-scans), and X-ray images. The introduced methodology was tested on three state-of-the art CV models, DenseNet 201, DenseNet169, and MobileNetV2. The results revealed that the proposed attack achieved over 50% degradation of the model’s performance in terms of accuracy. Additionally, MobileNetV2 was the most vulnerable model and the modality with the biggest reduction was CT-scans.

Alternative Using of Fine Aggregate in Concrete with Acid Curing

One of the most widely used construction materials is concrete. Concrete technology is currently developing, one of which is looking for alternative materials concrete forming. This research focuses on the use of slag as a fine aggregate in concrete, especially in environments containing sulfuric and chloride acid. Observations were made by testing compressive strength, indirect tensile strength, and flexural strength, with 171 cylindrical specimens and 27 sample beam specimens. The test results show that the relative percentage of compressive strength of normal concrete on H2SO4 curing against normal curing decreased 1.85% and 2.58% on HCl curing. The biggest reduction in the percentage of concrete compressive strength was found in 30% slag substitution with a value 8.42%, while the percentage reduction in the relative strength of the indirect tensile strength concrete is found in concrete with a slag substitution of 35% with a value 9.26%. As well as the decrease in relative percentage of flexural strength was found in 35% slag substitution with a value 12.84%. Although there is a decrease in each characteristic of concrete, slag material can be used as a constituent for concrete under environmental conditions of sulfuric acid and chloride acid.

Topical ozonated virgin coconut oil improves wound healing and increases HSP90α, VEGF-A, EGF, bFGF, and CD34 in diabetic ulcer mouse model of wound healing

Background: Diabetes is a disease that affects people worldwide, including in Indonesia. The prevalence of diabetes in Indonesia is increasing from year to year. One of the most devastating complications of diabetes mellitus is diabetic ulcers, which is a limb-threatening complication. Over the past few decades, ozone generated using plasma medical technology has been investigated as an agent that helps wound healing. This study aims to evaluate the effects of topical ozonated virgin coconut oil (VCO) in a diabetic wound mouse model. Methods: This study was an experimental study with a post-test control design. An ulcer wound model was made in 50 diabetic male Wistar mice, divided into five groups, and a control group of 10 non-diabetic mice. The control groups were given conventional therapy only and the treatment groups were also given topical ozonated VCO with different flow durations (0 min, 90 min, 7 h, 14 h). Macroscopic appearance and wound contraction were observed. HSP90β, VEGF-A, EGF, bFGF, and CD34 levels were measured from the immunostained slices of wound margins. Results: The reduction of wound length was proportionally related to the duration of ozone flow. Ozonated VCO with a longer duration of ozone flow healed the wound more quickly and had the shortest wound length. VCO with ozone flow for 14 hours (16837.10 µm) had the biggest reduction in wound length compared to other groups. The wounds treated with ozonated VCO showed an increase in HSP90β, VEGF-A, EGF, bFGF, and CD34 levels that correlated to improved wound healing. A longer period of treatment resulted in higher levels of wound healing biomarkers compared to shorter therapeutic durations. Conclusions: Topical ozonated VCO improved the wound healing process in a diabetic ulcer mouse model by improving macroscopic wound appearance and increasing levels of wound healing biomarkers.

795Contribution of school meals provision/receipt to “catch up growth” in young children: A counterfactual approach

795Contribution of school meals provision/receipt to “catch up growth” in young children: A counterfactual approach