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WSEAS Transactions on Biology and Biomedicine


Print ISSN: 1109-9518
E-ISSN: 2224-2902

Volume 9, 2012


Issue 1, Volume 9, January 2012


Title of the Paper: Determination of Amoxicillin in Human Plasma by LC-MS/MS and its Application to a Bioequivalence Study

Authors: Satish G. Pingale, Madhukar A. Badgujar, Kiran V. Mangaonkar, Nikos E. Mastorakis

Abstract: An analytical method based on solid phase extraction has been developed and validated for analysis of amoxicillin in human plasma using gemifloxacin as an internal standard. A COSMOSIL 5C18-PAQ column provided chromatographic separation of analytes followed by detection with mass spectrometry. The method involves simple isocratic chromatographic conditions and mass spectrometric detection in the positive ionization mode using an API-3000 system. The proposed method has been validated with linear range of 100–15000 ng/mL for amoxicillin. The intra-run and inter-run precision values are within 3.53% and 5.63% respectively for amoxicillin at the LOQ level. Total elution time was as low as 2 min. This validated method was used successfully for analysis of plasma samples from a bioequivalence study.

Keywords: Amoxicillin, Antibiotic, Automated solid phase extraction, Tandem mass spectrometry, Human plasma, Bioequivalence study


Title of the Paper: A Plausible Route to a Prebiotic Synthesis of L-Histidine

Authors: N. Aylward

Abstract: Possible reactions in a mildly reducing prebiotic atmosphere of ammonia and hydrogen cyanide produce cyanamide, its isomer carbodiimide, and formamidine. Alkynes such as diacetylene may form very weak van der Waals complexes with metal derivatives of porphin that acts as a potent photochemical catalyst. The reactants carbodiimide and the diacetylene adduct with magnesium porphin may react spontaneously to form an iminazole structure. Subsequent reaction with ammonia leads to an aziridine derivative. Prototropic shifts lead to an opening of the ring and finally an imine bound to the catalyst. Carbon monoxide gas may also bind to porphin with either the metal ion or in the form of an aziridine-2one complex. If this has been determined by the magnetic field of the exciting ultraviolet radiation to have a particular orientation and is present as a high energy compound, photochemical excitation may easily lead to the migration of the carbon monoxide from the surface of the porphin ring to the imine group of the iminazole adduct. Subsequent hydrolysis gives the L-histidine which forms the zwitterion.
The reactions have been shown to be feasible from the overall enthalpy changes in the ZKE approximation at the HF and MP2 /6-31G* level, and with acceptable activation energies.

Keywords: L-histidine, diacetylene, carbodiimide, formamidine, cyanamide


Title of the Paper: Patient Variables Determining Treatment Protocol and Related Economical Impact in Occupational Rotator Cuff Tears

Authors: Amaryllis Audenaert, Els De Mey, Genserik Reniers

Abstract: Rotator cuff tears occur in almost three percent of all industrial accidents in Belgium. There are two treatment options for this type of injury: the non-surgical or ‘conservative’ option and the considerably more expensive surgical option. As the total cost associated with the treatment of rotator cuff tears has, over the past ten years, risen considerably in Belgium, we tried to identify variables that are related to an increased risk for need of such surgical treatment.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the use of different treatment options and their economic impact following rotator cuff tearing resulting from an occupational accident in the Belgian context.
Patient age and rupture size were interrelated and both significantly associated with need for surgical treatment and prolonged temporarily and even permanent disability with increasing social and medical costs. Occupation type, although itself a risk factor for the development of rotator cuff tears, was not significantly associated with increased need for surgical treatment.

Keywords: Rotator cuff rupture, economic evaluation, conservative treatment, surgical treatment, cost modelling of medical treatments


Issue 2, Volume 9, April 2012


Title of the Paper: An Improved MICA Approach with Applications to Batch Process Monitoring

Authors: Hongguang Li, Hui Guo

Abstract: On-line monitoring of batch processes using multi-way independent component analysis has attracted much attention in both academia and industry. This paper focuses on two knotty issues concerning selecting dominant independent components without a standard criterion and determining the control limits of monitoring statistics in the presence of non-Gaussian distribution. To optimize the number of key independent components, we introduce a novel concept of system deviation which is able to evaluate the reconstructed observations with different independent components. Additionally, the monitored statistics are transformed to Gaussian distribution data by means of Box-Cox transformation, which helps readily determine the control limits. Finally, the proposed method is applied to on-line monitoring of a fed-batch penicillin fermentation simulator, giving rise to satisfied results.

Keywords: Batch process monitoring, MICA, System deviation, Box-Cox transformation, Contribution plots, Fed-batch fermentation


Title of the Paper: Identification of DNA Signatures via Suffix Tree Construction on a Hybrid Computing System

Authors: Lin Feng, Angela Jean, Chong Poh Leng, Lai Danbo

Abstract: Identification of DNA signatures has been empowered by the increasing availability of thousands of bacterial and viral genomes through the next-generation sequencing technologies. In exploration for the computational solution, the suffix tree has been proposed as a data structure well suited to analyzing genomic sequences because it enables the storage of long strings in a logical, indexed manner for fast retrieval. We propose a new algorithm for identification of DNA signatures, based on exploitation of the endogenous features of a genomic sequence. These features are revealed in a construction of suffix array. Furthermore, to greatly speed up the time-consuming process, the core algorithm is mapped and routed on to a Field-Programable Gate Array (FPGA) for parallel implementation. In this paper, we will focus primarily on the relationship of the data structure and the features associated. We will then describe the deployment of the hybrid computing system on a HyperTransport compliant architecture. Illustrations are always given to clarify the technical details, and experimental results are presented to verify the correctness of the algorithm.

Keywords: DNA signature, endogenous feature, suffix tree, Field-Programable Gate Array, hybrid computing


Title of the Paper: The MELD Score: Limitations and Consequences

Authors: Christopher M. Moore, Magdalena George, Omar Lateef, David H. Van Thiel

Abstract: The success of liver transplantation has created unexpected challenges for physicians and surgeons caring for patients with chronic liver disease or acute liver failure. Specifically, with all of these legitimate candidates for liver transplantation, how does one prioritize them given the unfortunate issue of limited donor availability? The answer to that problem has undergone several iterations which have ultimately resulted in the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score allocation system. The MELD score, which yields a numeric value based upon serum creatinine, bilirubin and INR has been successful in prognosticating 90 day mortality for these patients, and has proven to be a just method of liver allocation. However, a careful look at the parameters of the MELD score reveals the limitations and resultant caution that should be given to ostensibly objective data. Creatinine and INR are labile especially in the setting of patients with advanced liver disease that are prone to alteration not only by the inherent disease state but also iatrogenic interventions. The implications of these interventions have significant medical and moral consequences as they not only determine immediate treatment but also which patients are allocated the precious life-extending resource of organ transplant. In this review the principles and parameters of the MELD score will be discussed, as well as their ultimate consequences upon both liver and simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation.

Keywords: liver transplant, liver-kidney transplant, MELD score, transplant priority


Issue 3, Volume 9, July 2012


Title of the Paper: Decision Support during Biological Incident Management: the Employment of Multi-Agent Simulations

Authors: Tereza Otčenášková, Vladimír Bureš, Pavel Čech

Abstract: Decision making processes during biological incident management represent challenging and demanding as well as complex and important task. Various principles such as partial differential equations or Markov chains have been already utilized for the model development. Nevertheless, the multi-agent technologies can be also effectively employed. As an example, this paper presents model utilizable for the management of biological incidents created in the multi-agent NetLogo environment. The main contribution to the scientific field includes the characterization of specifics related to discussed type of decision-making process. Moreover, within the paper the description of the simulation model is provided, parameterization is explained, and areas for further research are outlined.

Keywords: Biological incident, Decision support, Epidemiology, Multi-agent technologies, NetLogo, Simulation


Title of the Paper: Drying Kinetics of Malaysian Canarium Odontophyllum (Dabai) Fruit

Authors: Dayang Fredalina Basri, Ahmad Fudholi, Mohd Hafidz Ruslan, Mohamad Ahmed Alghoul

Abstract: Drying method using a hot-air chamber was tested on samples of dabai (Canarium odontophyllum) fruit. The drying experiments were performed at three different relative humidity of 10%, 20% and 30% and a constant air velocity of 1 m/s. Drying kinetics of C. odontophyllum fruit were investigated and obtained. A non-linear regression procedure was used to fit three different one-term exponential models of thin layer drying models. The models were compared with experimental data of C. odontophyllum fruit drying at air temperature of 55oC. The fit quality of the models was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Bias Error (MBE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The highest value of R2 (0.9348), the lowest of MBE (0.0018) and RMSE (0.0420) indicated that the Page model is the best mathematical model to describe the drying behavior of C. odontophyllum fruit.

Keywords: Drying kinetics, Canarium odontophyllum, dabai fruit, hot-air chamber, mathematical modelling


Title of the Paper: Tiger Milk Mushroom Cultivation By Using Submerged Culture Technique

Authors: N. A.Rahman, F. Daud, M. S.Kalil, S.Ahmad

Abstract: The aim of this project is to study the growth of tiger milk mushroom or Lignosus rhinocerus by using submerged culture technique. The strains used in this study are L. rhinocerus AOI and L. rhinocerus 7-19 but for growth kinetic only strain of L. rhinocerus 7-19 is studied by using Monod model. Based on the Monod model, parameters such as specific growth rate, ì and Monod coefficient, Ks can be determined. Value for ìmax is 0.54 hr-1 and value for Ks is 0.29 g/L. Doubling time, td is 22 minutes and 25 seconds, and biomass yield coefficient, Y X/S is 0.25. The optimum growth conditions for L. rhinocerus 7-19 are studied by using 6 types of carbon sources and 6 types of nitrogen sources. The data show that the highest growth is obtained by using lactose, followed by xylose, maltose, glucose, sucrose and fructose. Lactose shows the highest growth rate because of high percentage of carbon content. Besides, the biomass growth also high for xylose, due to xilose is a type of wood sugar and factor of mushroom habitat. The study of nitrogen sources show that the usage of ammonium salts such as NH4Cl, NH4NO3 and (NH4)2HPO4 can hinder the growth of biomass. The usage of other nitrogen sources such as meat peptone, yeast extract and peptone can increase the growth of biomass. Thus, the presence of carbon source and nitrogen source are crucial to biomass growth for both strains.

Keywords: Biomass, â-glucan, Lignosus rhinocerus; Monod Model; Nitrogen Sources


 Issue 4, Volume 9, October 2012


Title of the Paper: Generalization of the Concept for Biological Control in the Chemostat

Authors: Neli S. Dimitrova, Mikhail I. Krastanov

Abstract: The present paper is devoted to the concept of the so called biological control of the chemostat, recently proposed by A. Rappaport and J. Harmand (2008). This concept is based on the competitive exclusion principle for a dynamic model describing competition between species with general (nonmonotone) response functions and distinct removal rates. Here we present a generalization of this concept, aimed to extend the applicability of the biological control. This is demonstrated numerically on particular examples.

Keywords: Chemostat model, competitive exclusion principle, global stability, biological control


Title of the Paper: Daubechies Wavelet Neural Network Classifier for the Diagnosis of Epilepsy

Authors: Pravin A. Kharat, Sanjay V. Dudul

Abstract: Epilepsy is one of the major fields of application of EEG. Now a days, identification of epilepsy is accomplished manually by skilled neurologist. Those are very small in number. In this work, we propose a methodology for automatic detection of normal, interictal and ictal conditions from recorded of EEG signals. We used the wavelet transform for the feature extraction and obtained statistical parameters from the decomposed wavelet coefficients. The Generalized Feed Forward Neural Network (GFFNN), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Elman Neural Network (ENN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) are used for the classification. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated in terms of classification accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Classification Accuracy, Daubechies, EEG, Wavelet, and Entropy


Title of the Paper: Multimedia Surgical Sessions in a Web Environment

Authors: Grimón Francisca, Castañeda Antonio, Escobar Javier, Monguet Josep, Escovar Paúl

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop the Remote Surgery System that allows integrated multimedia sessions in either synchronous or asynchronous training, editing, evaluation and second opinion backed up by the patient's medical charts in a web environment. Method: The application was developed by a multidisciplinary team with members from the fields of health, IT, design and communications. This study can be classified as constructive research to test feasibility. The agile software development process was guided by the Extreme Programming method, using Unified Modelling Language. The features of the Remote Surgery System were generated based on surveys and interviews with users and direct observation of processes. Technical assessments of the Remote Surgery System were carried out on the Integrated Digital Backbone of the University of Carabobo between the Urology Teaching Institute facilities where the operating room and University Campus are located. Result: The performance of the application was assessed and found to be good under suitable interconnection of the network conditions. The images presented in good quality settings were adequate, with good definition of the contours and colors even when this meant a high demand on link bandwidth. Conclusion: This development provides new opportunities for interaction in telemedicine, particularly in the areas of training and obtaining a second surgical opinion in a Web environment. The system is technically feasible with high potential for medical staff training which will result in better patient care requiring surgery.

Keywords: Telemedicine, Health, Training, Medical Staff, Multimedia, Internet


 

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