Mean Values Of Samples Research Articles

Groundwater quality assessment for irrigation and drinking water: health risks from heavy metals and PAHs in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The mean value for the samples ranged from 0.004 to 0.24 mg/L. Cadmium, cobalt, nickel, chromium, manganese, zinc, and lead were not significant and below the permissible limit set by the World Health Organization. Based on the calculation of the water pollution index, the mean values of water samples from all sampling locations fall within 29.02–134.78, indicating poor water quality. The order of decreasing HQing and HQderm values was as follows: cobalt > lead > chromium > cadmium > manganese > zinc > copper > nickel > iron, for both children and adults, respectively. Thirteen distinct polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected, with mean concentrations of 0.101 ± 0.09 for sample A, 0.1010 ± 0.09 for sample B, 0.0819 ± 0.09 for sample C, 0.01735 ± 0.02 for sample D, and 0.0118 ± 0.0 for sample E. The result showed total BaPeq (mg/kg) values ranging from 2.74E-1 for sample A, 2.80E-1 for sample B, 2.82E-1 for sample C, 2.64E-3 for sample D, and 1.22E-5 for sample E. Elevated levels of fluorene, naphthalene, and dibenzyl (a–h) anthracene were observed in all the sampled points. Irrigation quality of the investigated water sources are sodium adsorption ratio (A: 6.31, B: 4.42), magnesium adsorption ratio (B: 52.27), %Na (A: 55.61), residual sodium carbonate (B: −53.36), permeability index (A: 50.31), soluble sodium percentage (B: 52.62), and Kelly's ratio (equilibrium).

Pertumbuhan tiram mutiara (Pinctada maxima) menggunakan metode karambah apung dan longline

Pearl oyster cultivation is a growing industry in various countries. The growth and quality of pearls produced by oysters is greatly influenced by the cultivation method used. This research aims to compare the growth of pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) cultivated using the floating cage and longline methods. Different cultivation methods can influence the growth of pearl oysters and the surrounding environmental conditions. Statistical analysis was conducted on sample size, mean values, standard deviation, and standard error of the mean for both cultivation methods. The results indicate no significant difference in the growth of pearl oysters between the floating cage and longline methods. However, biofouling and other disrupting organisms can affect the growth of pearl oysters in the floating cage method. The study also highlights the importance of environmental factors such as water quality, temperature, and food availability in influencing the growth of pearl oysters. Thus, this research provides valuable insights for the pearl oyster cultivation industry in selecting the optimal cultivation method to enhance productivity and the quality of the pearls produced.

Mapping the oxygen abundance in Red Geysers and its relation with the gas kinematics using megacubes

ABSTRACT Red Geysers are galaxies with low-star formation rates and galactic scale ionized outflows likely driven by low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN). We investigated the impact of AGN winds on the oxygen abundance using integral field spectroscopic data from Mapping Nearby Galaxies for Red Geysers, control galaxies (quiescent galaxies without outflows), and AGN hosts within the inner 1.5 kpc radius. Red Geyser galaxies have higher W$_{80}$ values compared to those of AGN and controls, with 64 per cent showing W$_{80}\gt 500$ km s$^{-1}$ that is indicative of outflow. Only 40 per cent of controls and 31 per cent of AGNs reach this value. We found a small tendency of the oxygen abundance distribution of controls to be biased towards higher values than those of Red Geysers. However, Red Geysers do not show a correlation between H$\alpha$ width (parametrized by the W$_{\rm 80}$) and oxygen abundance, which indicates that AGN winds are not significantly impacting the chemical abundance of the nuclear region of these galaxies. The oxygen abundance distribution mean value for the tree samples is $\rm 12+log(O/H)\sim$8.7 ($\mathit{Z}\sim \rm Z_{\odot })$. On the other hand, AGN hosts show a positive correlation between W$_{80}$ and O/H which could be due to star formation that outflows from the active nuclei could induce; or to the reservoir of gas that makes the nucleus active, and its is also used in the star formation.

Educational Game Teaching Methods on Communicative English Listening and Speaking Abilities for Early Childhood Students

Background and Aims: Early childhood education (ECE) in China has undergone significant transformations, shaped by historical, cultural, and socio-political factors. The foundations of early education in China can be traced back to Confucian traditions, emphasizing moral development and the importance of family and community in transmitting cultural values. This overview explores the historical roots, current practices, challenges, and notable reforms in China's general early childhood education system, providing a comprehensive understanding of its evolution. Thus, the purposes of this research were to:1) To compare the communicative English listening abilities of early childhood students after learning through the educational game teaching method with the criterion determined of 70 percent of the full score. 2) To compare the communicative English speaking abilities of the early childhood students after learning through the educational game teaching method with the criterion determined of 70 percent of the full score. The sample of this study is 30 early childhood students (1 classroom) of Jinshan Xinyuan Preschool Zoucheng City in the academic year of 2023 which was selected by cluster random sampling method. Materials and Methods: The population of this study is 180 early childhood students (6 classrooms), who were enrolled in English courses. The sample of this study is 30 early childhood students (1 classroom) of Jinshan Xinyuan Preschool Zoucheng City in the academic year of 2023 which was selected by cluster random sampling method. Data was collected through listening rubrics and speaking rubrics and SPSS software was used to analyze the collected data, the data used for analysis were the mean value of samples, standard deviation, and single sample t-test. Result: The results of the study were as follows: (1) As presented in Table 4.3, the mean scores of students’ English Communicative English Listening Abilities after learning through Learning Management Using the educational game teaching methods were 11.8 and the standard deviation was 1.69. which was statistically higher than the criterion of 70% at a .05 level of statistical significance (t29 =38.25, p＜0.05). The data above showed that Learning Management Using the educational game teaching methods was able to enhance the students’ Communicative English Listening Ability. (2) As presented in Table 4.3, the mean scores of students’ Communicative English-Speaking Abilities after learning through Learning Management Using the educational game teaching methods were 14.77 and the standard deviation was 2.65. which was statistically higher than the criterion of 70% at a .05 level of statistical significance (t29=30.54, p=0.000 < .05). The data above showed that Learning Management Using the educational game teaching methods was able to enhance the students’ Communicative English-Speaking Ability. Conclusion: According to the research results, we can draw the following conclusions: The average score and standard deviation of the preschool students who adopted the educational game teaching mode were higher than the standard of 70% at the level of statistical significance of 0.05. The educational game teaching method can enhance the preschool students’ Communicative English Listening and Speaking Abilities.

401 Detecting Hypofibrinolysis in Clinical Coagulation Testing

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The goal of this study is twofold: To develop a method for an ex vivo hypofibrinolytic control and second to analyze patterns in standard and recently developed clinical coagulation assays for the detection of hypofibrinolytic states. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We analyzed blood samples from healthy patients first under normal conditions and then laced with human recombinant PAI-1 under three different concentrations. We then analyzed both samples using standard clinical assays (PT, aPTT, D-dimer, Fibrinogen), thromboelastography point-of-care tests (Hemosoncs- Quantra system), and with research assays of clot size and aggregation. Our previous research of diagnostic errors showed the patient group with the highest overall risk of these non-identifiable thrombotic complications was post-menopausal women with chronic diseases. We therefore focused our patient population to healthy post-menopausal women who were not using hormone replacement therapy. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Research assays showed PAI-1 significantly increased clot size and aggregation. Preliminary results of clinical assays showed no detectable difference in hypofibrinolytic samples at any concentration. We anticipate ongoing testing will show similar results. Results on Quantra tests showed much larger differences between control and hypofibrinolysis samples, and we anticipate ongoing testing will achieving statistical significance. It is still unknown whether the mean value for hypofibrinolysis samples on the Quantra Clot Stability assay will be outside of the “normal” reference range. We theorize that this may be due to hypofibrinolytic changes in the overall structure and core density of the clots. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Cellular stress stimulates a concomitant activation of inflammation and coagulation, including decreased fibrinolysis. Unfortunately, current clinical assays do not assess clot breakdown. This connection would account for the increased rate of thrombosis in patients with chronic inflammation without detectable results on clinical tests.

Trace and rare earth elements in phytoplankton from the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy).

Plankton plays a very crucial role in bioaccumulation and transfer of metals in the marine food web and represents a suitable bioindicator of the occurrence of trace and rare earth elements in the ecosystem. Trace elements and REEs were analyzed by ICP-MS in phytoplankton samples from the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Metal concentrations in phytoplankton were found strongly influenced by seasons and depth of collection (- 30m, - 50m). Principal component analysis (PCA) has shown that Al, As, Cr, Cu, Ga, and Sn concentrations were related to summer and autumn in samples collected at 30m depth, while Fe, Mn, Ni, V, and Zn levels related strongly with summer and spring at 50m depth. Fe, Al, and Zn were the most represented elements in all samples (mean values respectively in the ranges 4.2-8.2, 9.6-13, and 1.0-4.4mgkg-1) according to their widespread presence in the environment and in the earth crust. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed on REEs showed that mostly all lanthanides' concentrations strongly correlate with summer and autumn seasons (- 30m depth); the highest ∑REE concentration (75µgkg-1) was found in winter. Phytoplankton REE normalized profile was comparable to those of other marine biota collected in the same area according to the suitability of lanthanides as geological tracers.

Isolation of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli from the Surfaces of Beef Carcasses in Slaughterhouses in Japan

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is an important foodborne pathogen worldwide. It is necessary to control and prevent STEC contamination on beef carcasses in slaughterhouses because STEC infection is associated with beef consumption. However, the frequencies of STEC contamination of beef carcasses in various slaughterhouses in Japan are not well known. Herein, we investigated the contamination of beef carcasses with STEC in slaughterhouses to assess the potential risks of STEC. In total, 524 gauze samples were collected from the surfaces of beef carcasses at 12 domestic slaughterhouses from November 2020 to February 2023. The samples were measured for aerobic plate counts and tested for pathogenic genes (stx and eae) and major O-serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157) by real-time PCR screening. Subsequently, immunomagnetic separation (IMS) was performed on samples positive for stx, eae, and at least one of the seven O-serogroups of STEC. Isolation process without IMS was performed on samples positive for stx, including those subjected to IMS. STEC O157:H7 and stx-positive E. coli other than serotype O157:H7 were isolated from 0.6% and 4.6% of beef carcass surfaces, respectively. Although the STEC O157:H7 isolation rate was low and stx-positive E. coli other than serotype O157:H7 belonged to minor O-serogroups, the results mean a risk of foodborne illness. Furthermore, a moderate correlation was observed between aerobic plate counts and detection rates of stx-positive samples by real-time PCR screening. The STEC O157:H7 isolated facilities showed higher values on aerobic plate counts and detection rates of stx-positive samples than the mean values of total samples. Therefore, these results suggest that it is important to evaluate hygiene treatments against beef carcasses for the reduction of STEC contamination risk, particularly in facilities with high aerobic plate counts.

A small sample bearing fault diagnosis method based on ConvGRU relation network

Considering that in the fault diagnosis of bearing based on relation network, using the sample mean value as the class prototype for each class is susceptible to outliers, resulting in inaccurate class prototypes, this paper proposes a convolutional gate recurrent unit (ConvGRU) relation network fault diagnosis model; firstly, the model utilizes a embedding module to extract bearing fault features, and then uses the ConvGRU as a learnable class prototype generator to generate class prototypes for each class. Secondly, a relation module is utilized to measure the similarity between class prototypes and the sample features of the query set, obtaining relation scores, and ultimately achieving fault diagnosis. In order to test the validity and advantages of the model, experimental verification and analysis were conducted on the case western storage rolling bearing dataset. The results of the experiment show that the class prototypes generated by the ConvGRU class prototype generation module have better discrimination and accuracy compared to the class prototypes generated by the relation network. In the 10-way 5-shot experiment, the accuracy of the model proposed in this paper reaches 99.60%, which increases by 6.63%, 5.10%, 4.80%, and 1.75% compared to k-nearest neighbor, convolutional neural network, prototypical network, and relation network. The method proposed in this paper helps to generate more accurate class prototypes and has a certain effect on improving the accuracy of model fault diagnosis.

Effectiveness of Chitosan versus Natural Aloe Vera on Candida Adherence in Denture Soft Lining Material.

Soft denture lining materials act as a cushion between the denture base and tissues. Alongside having many advantages, its main problem is candida growth due to its rubbery and porous texture. Many interventions have been performed to halt the growth of candida within soft lining materials such as the use of antifungal therapy and strict oral and denture hygiene but there are consequences such as recurrence, drug resistance, and toxicity related to these interventions. Since natural agents such as aloe vera and chitosan have been proven to have antibacterial and antifungal properties with minimum adverse effects, this study aimed to study the effectiveness of chitosan and aloe vera powders incorporated within denture soft lining materials against candida adherence. Methodology. A total of 60 soft-lining material samples were prepared that were equally divided into three groups, viz., group 1 (chitosan incorporation), group 2 (aloe vera incorporation), and group 3 (control). Candida was obtained from the microbiology lab to form a candidal suspension, diluted in 0.9% NaCl to match the McFarland standard bacteriologic solution. Samples were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours in test tubes containing 100 mL of the candidal suspension and 9.9 mL of the previously prepared Sabouraud dextrose agar. Crystal violet stain was used to stain the adhering cells by fixing them with methanol 80%. For each sample, the adhering candida cells were counted on three standard fields by using an inverted light microscope, and the mean of those fields was recorded. The mean value for samples containing aloe vera was 41.15, while the mean values for samples containing chitosan and the control group were 16.05 and 79.1, respectively. Of all the three groups, aloe vera powder had a significant efficacy against candida growth as compared to the chitosan and control groups (P value = 0.001). Both herbal agents were effective against candida growth. In comparison, aloe vera was more effective against candida growth compared to chitosan.

Maxillary bone analysis in dentate and edentulous men through panoramic radiographs

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the height of maxillary bone in dentate and edentulous men through panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: This research is an analytic descriptive design with a cross-sectional approach. This study used 40 samples of panoramic radiography images, divided into groups of 20 edentulous men and groups of 20 dentate men as a control group. Maxillary bone height is measured by drawing a vertical line from the lowest point of the infraorbital ridge to the maxillary alveolar crest. Results: The result showed that the mean value of the dentate group samples was greater than that of the edentulous group. Conclusion: Dentate men have a higher maxillary bone height than edentulous men, as analyzed using panoramic radiography. There were significant differences in maxillary bone in edentulous and dentate men.

Kajian Meta-Analisis: Efektivitas Penggunaan Bahan Ajar terhadap Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis Berdasarkan Jenjang Pendidikan

Meta-analysis is a statistical method for combining quantitative results from several studies to produce an overall summary or empirical knowledge on a particular topic. This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of the use of teaching materials on students' critical thinking skills based on educational level. Research results that can be used in meta-analysis have certain characteristics/criteria. The analysis used is quantitative descriptive statistical analysis with the help of the OpenMEE application. Data analysis by calculating the Effect Size (ES) value from the mean value, Standard Deviation (SD), and number of samples (N) from each article analyzed. The overall average effect size is 3.801 in the high category (ES ≥ 0.8), and the P-Value value is <0.001, which means that the use of teaching materials provides significant effectiveness in critical thinking skills because the P-Value value is higher. smaller than 0.05. Meanwhile, the results of the heterogeneity test show that the Tauˆ2 value is 4.091, and the Het P-Value value is <0.001, which means it is significant. So it can be said that the Q statistic from the 17 studies has a variety of variances with diversity that is classified as very high with an Iˆ2 value reaching 97.1%, so there is potential for moderator variable analysis to be carried out. Furthermore, the effect size value based on level of education obtained an average effect size at the high school education level of 9.196, higher than other levels of education, which means that the use of teaching materials is more effective when used at the high school level compared to elementary, middle school and other educational levels. University, with P-Value < 0.001, which means that the use of teaching materials in high school provides significant effectiveness.

Does the Guided Inquiry Model Improve Student's Problem Solving Thinking Ability? Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of guided inquiry models to improve students' problem-solving abilities. This type of research is a meta-analysis. The inclusion criteria in research are publications from reputable international journals and proceedings; Research must be experimented with guided inquiry learning models and conventional control class models; Research obtained from google scholar database; Hindawi, ScienceDirect, ERIC and IEEE; research related to guided inquiry and problem solving models; The study was published in 2013-2023 and the study had a sample size (N), mean value and standard deviation (SD). The results of the analysis of 18 studies suggest that there is a significant influence of guided inquiry models on problem-solving ability (Z = 9.29; p < 0.001; 95 % Confidence Interval [0.581; 1.245]. Effect size criteria are high with (rRE= 0.849]. This finding explains that the guided inquiry model has a significant effect on students' problem-solving abilities

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of diffuse axonal injury in brain trauma in young children: retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children. Children’s TBI is associated with a number of characteristics that distinguish it from adults. Although the death rate associated with TBI has decreased over the past 2 decades, the disability of children who survived TBI continues to have a significant impact on the economy and public health of society as a whole.OBJECTIVE: To show the possibilities of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of traumatic diffuse axonal injuries in infants and young children.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this work, we analyzed the CT and MRI data of 1334 children under 3 years of age with acute TBI who were treated at the Clinical and Research Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Trauma (730 boys, 604 girls). The age of the children was from 23 days to 3 years, the average age was 1 year 6 months. Computed tomography scans were performed on a 128-slice Ingenuity Elite scanner (Philips). Scanning of the area of interest (head + cervical spine) was carried out with the maximum possible reduction in indicators to minimize the radiation dose, including the iDose4 program. MRI was performed on a Phillips Achieva 3 T scanner with multiplanar T1- and T2WI, 2D and 3D isotropic images, FLAIR, SWI, DWI/DTI, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). No contrast enhancement was applied. Statistics: data processing was carried out using the GraphPad Prism 9 software package. The computing and graphic capabilities of the Excel spreadsheet editor were used. To compare the mean values of the data samples, ANOVA analysis of variance wasused; differences were considered significant at a significance level of p<0.05.RESULTS: 824 (61.8%) of 1334 children had a concussion, 510 (38.2%) had traumatic injuries of skull and brain from uncomplicated cephalohematomas and linear fractures to massive intracranial hematomas and total brain edema. Diffuse axonal injuries(DAI) type I and II on CT, further confirmed by MRI, were detected in 32 (6.27%) of all 510 children with TBI. 19 out of 32 hada combination with brain contusions, 13 with epi — and / or subdural hematomas of a small volume. MRI was performed in 89 out of 510 children under 3 years of age with intracranial injuries, in whom CT was initially performed. DAI of various types were detected by MRI in 92.13% (82/89) of the patients.DISCUSSION: DAI is one of the most common types of TBI, occurring in both mild and severe forms, and is a brain injury characterized by axonal disruption, resulting in lesions of white matter tracts over a wide area. Taking into account the fact that children with TBI were admitted to the institute with a significant spread (from 1 hour to 7 days), the initial CT scan was performed no later than one hour after admission and was supplemented by MRI. The criteria for CT and MRI prescribements after TBI were: clinical and neurological status at the time of admission. CT has low sensitivity for detecting DAI, as only large hemorrhagic (hyperdense) lesions of DAI are detected. The use of multiplanar reconstruction, as well as various options, such as 3D reconstruction, MIP and MinIP (maximum and minimum intensity projection) and others, allows for a detailed assessment of the brain parenchyma and increases the detection of DAI. In our study, DAI using MRI was detected in 92.13% of patients, and the most critical type of DAI III was detected in 100% of children with severe TBI with poor outcome and death of patients.CONCLUSION: Head CT is the preferred method for emergency radiology of TBI patients due to its affordability, speed of data acquisition, and ability to detect lesions requiring urgent neurosurgical intervention. In acute cases, MRI is chosen for patients with severe neurological impairment despite the absence of structural brain damage on CT. MRI is the method of choice for subacute and chronic TBI

B-157 Metrics to Express Risk in Terms of A. Risk Sources, B. Potential Events, C. Their Consequences and D. Their Likelihood.- As Recommended by ISO 31000

Abstract Risk Metrics to express risk in terms of A. risk sources, B. potential events, C. their consequences and D. their likelihood (as recommended by ISO 31000) compared to sigma metrics. Background ISO 31000 Risk Management Guidelines provides guidelines on managing risk faced by all organizations. “Risk is usually expressed in terms of A. risk sources, B. potential events, C. their consequences, and D. their likelihood.” I compared risk metrics to implement these guidelines in medical laboratories to sigma metrics to examine the most effective way to enable risk evaluation as “the process of comparing the estimated risk against given risk criteria to determine the acceptability of the risk” (CLSO EP 23A). Method Eighty QC sample mean and SD values were compared to Peer Means and CLIA TEa limits for 14 routine chemistry analytes and four cardiac markers tested on two Ortho Vitros 5600 analyzers in December 2022. Risk evaluation was divided into Current Risk, driven by analytical accuracy and precision, and Potential Risk driven by effectiveness of the daily QC system to detect a simulated shift to a 5% error rate. Current risk consequences were quantified as the number of failures per million opportunities and per year, and the estimated healthcare cost of lab error based on the costing process established for calcium in 2004.i Potential risk consequences were quantified as the number of failures reported and healthcare cost of lab error following a simulated shift to create a 5% error rate. Results Conclusion There is a good relationship between sigma and projected failures per year. Sigma is NOT a good indicator of cost of error per year, or the number or cost of failures reported after a simulated failure. Endnotesi National Institute of Standards and Technology. Planning Report 04.1. The impact of calibration error in medical decision making.

B-156 Impact of Seven Incremental Scenarios of QC Strategies

Abstract Background CLSI EP23A states that “At the least, the ability of the QC procedures to detect medically allowable error should be evaluated.” It also defines that “The QC strategy using QC samples should include the following for each measuring system: Methods Eighty QC sample mean and SD values were compared to Peer Means and TEa limits for 14 routine chemistry analytes and four cardiac markers tested in December 2022. The number of patient results was normalized to 200 and 60 per day for routine and cardiac; the number reported before the first QC flag after a simulated shift to a 5% error was calculated using CatalystQC software for seven incremental scenarios of quality control beginning with [A] Original QC rules (1-3s/2-2s), chart limits, frequency (once per day), analytical bias & SD; [B] Westgard Rules based on sigma values; [C] Westgard QC frequency; [D] Chart means & SDs set to measured values; [E] Improved bias and/or SD where advised by CatalystQC software; [F] Single CatalystQC™ rules; [G] QC bracketed at the end of each day. Results The number of patients at risk decreased with each component of the QC process. Observed and advised number of QC samples per year was inconsistent. Conclusion Selecting Westgard rules and frequency alone will not reduce patient risk significantly. Assigning QC chart values to recent mean and SD and improving analytical bias and SD have the most impact on reduction of patient risk. Catalyst QC single rules are more effective than Westgard rules. Bracketing QC with verified-effective QC will reduce patient risk to zero.

Characterization of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in lyophilized plasma prepared with amotosalen-UVA pathogen reduction.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients exhibit disease ranging from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death. convalescent COVID plasma (CCP) from recovered patients with high levels of neutralizing antibodies has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy to reduce the morbidity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in some studies. The development of assays to characterize the activity of CCP to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infectivity offers the possibility to improve potential therapeutic efficacy. Lyophilization of CCP may increase the availability of this therapy. We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles of pooled lyophilized pathogen-reduced CCP from COVID-19-recovered blood donors retains virus-neutralizing efficacy as reported for frozen pathogen-reduced CCP. Pooled lyophilized pathogen-reduced plasma was prepared from recovered COVID plasma donors. Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were characterized in each donor plasma prior to pathogen reduction and lyophilization and after lyophilization of individual CCP, and in the lyophilized CCP pool. Several complimentary assays were used to characterize antibody levels, neutralizing capacity, and the spectrum of antigen reactivity. The mean values for individual plasma samples and the value in the pool were compared. The mean ratio for antibody binding to SARS-CoV-2 antigens before and after treatment was 0.95 ± 0.22 mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) units. Antibody activity to an array of influenza virus antigens demonstrated a mean activity ratio of 0.92 ± 0.12 MFI before and after treatment. The antibody activity in pooled pathogen-reduced lyophilized CCPs demonstrated minimal impact due to pathogen reduction treatment and lyophilization.

Optimisation of Edible Coating to Improve the Postharvest Shelf-life of Guava Using Response Surface Methodology

The effects of composite edible coating consisting of gum Arabic, beeswax and coconut oil on Cambodia cultivar guava (Psidium guajava) were evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum coating formulation was determined using the weight loss percentage and total soluble solid (TSS) content as the responses. From the central composite rotatable design in RSM, a total of 15 sets of coating compositions were designed. The optimised coating emulsion was made up of gum Arabic (6.6% w/v), beeswax (5.5% w/v) and coconut oil (3.6% w/v) with Tween 80 (3% w/v) as surfactant. Under this optimised coating emulsion, the predicted mean values of weight loss and TSS were 2.91% and 7.84oBrix respectively, whereas the actual mean values of guava samples were 3.38% and 8.00oBrix respectively, after 6 days of ambient storage. The actual mean values of both responses were within the 95% prediction interval, which was 2.35 – 3.47% for weight loss and 7.22 – 8.45oBrix for TSS. The optimised coating emulsion successfully reduced weight loss with maximised TSS content for guava.

Cost-Effectiveness of Cerebrolysin after Ischemic Stroke: Secondary Analysis of the CARS Study.

The cost-effectiveness of Cerebrolysin as an add-on therapy for moderate-severe acute ischemic stroke is a topic that remains understudied. This study aims to address this gap by performing a comprehensive cost-utility analysis using both deterministic and probabilistic methods from a payer perspective and within the Romanian inpatient care setting. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated using partial individual patient data from the 2016 Cerebrolysin and Recovery After Stroke (CARS) trial, utilizing three different health state valuation models. Cost data was extracted from actual acute care costs reported by Romanian public hospitals for reimbursement purposes for patients included in the CARS study. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated for each treatment arm for the duration of the clinical trial. Deterministic analysis based on sample mean values indicates Cerebrolysin would be cost-effective at a threshold between roughly 18.8 and 29.9 thousand EUR, depending on valuation techniques. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis results indicate an 80% chance probability of cost-effectiveness of Cerebrolysin as an add-on therapy for acute ischemic stroke, considering a willingness-to-pay threshold of 50,000 EUR in a 90-day timeframe after stroke. Further economic evaluations of Cerebrolysin are needed to strengthen these findings, covering a timeframe of at least 12 months after the acute incident, which would account for treatment effects spanning beyond the first 90 days after ischemic stroke. These should be conducted to determine its cost-effectiveness under various care settings and patient pathways. Most importantly, modelling techniques are needed to answer important questions such as the estimates of population gain in QALYs after acute administration of Cerebrolysin and the potential offsetting of direct medical costs as a result of administering the intervention.

Estimating normal metabolic activity for disease quantification via PET/CT images.

In this paper, we propose a novel pipeline for conducting disease quantification in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images on anatomically pre-defined objects. The pipeline is composed of standardized uptake value (SUV) standardization, object segmentation, and disease quantification (DQ). DQ is conducted on non-linearly standardized PET images and masks of target objects derived from CT images. Total lesion burden (TLB) is quantified by estimating normal metabolic activity (TMAn) in the object and subtracting this entity from total metabolic activity (TMA) of the object, thereby measuring the overall disease quantity of the region of interest without the necessity of explicitly segmenting individual lesions. TMAn is calculated with object-specific SUV distribution models. In the modeling stage, SUV models are constructed from a set of PET/CT images obtained from normal subjects with manually delineated masks of target objects. Two ways of SUV modeling are explored, where the mean of mean values of the modeling samples is utilized as a consistent normality value in the hard strategy, and the likelihood representing normal tissue is determined from the SUV distribution (histogram) for each SUV value in the fuzzy strategy. The evaluation experiments are conducted on a separate clinical dataset of normal subjects and a phantom dataset with lesions. The ratio of absolute TLB to TMA is taken as the metric, alleviating the individual difference of volume sizes and uptake levels. The results show that the ratios in normal objects are close to 0 and the ratios for lesions approach 1, demonstrating that contributions on TLB are minimal from the normal tissue and mainly from the lesion tissue.

Awareness on Tax Planning: a study of Taxpayers in Haryana

The present paper analyse the level of awareness of the employees of public and private sector undertakings. The responses of the respondents on awareness have been collected on the five point likert scale. For each service sector, the mean values of the respondents' samples were analysed as an "Excellent" level of awareness was deemed to exist when the mean value was greater than 2.5, and a "Not satisfactory" level of awareness was deemed to exist when the mean value was less than 2.0 whereas value between 2.0 to 2.5 has considered as “Average” level of awareness in the study. Chi-square test has been applied to analyse the data using SPSS and excel. It is found that most of the p values are <0.05, it clearly states that there is significant difference in between public and private sector employees in the level of awareness in Haryana.