Implantable drug delivery systems, such as drug pumps and polymeric drug depots, have emerged as means of providing predetermined drug release profiles at the desired site of action. While initial implants aimed at providing an enduring drug supply, developments in polymer chemistry and pharmaceutical technology and the growing need for refined drug delivery patterns have prompted the design of sophisticated drug delivery implants such as on-demand drug-eluting implants and personalized 3D printed implants. The types of cargo loaded into these implants range from small drug molecules to hormones and even therapeutic cells. This review will shed light upon recent advances in materials and composites used for polymeric implant fabrication, highlight select approaches employed in polymeric implant fabrication, feature medical applications where polymeric implants have a significant impact, and report recent advances made in these areas.
Background: Axillary lymph node (ALN) enlargement with diffuse cortical thickening and conserved echogenic hilum may represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Sonographic strain elastography may help the characterization of borderline ALN.
Aim: To evaluate the strain elastography of borderline ALN and to calculate a cutoff value of strain ratio (SR) that can identify suspicious ALN with the highest sensitivity and specificity to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures.
Subjects and Methods: A prospective study included 45 patients who attended the Breast clinic in Oncology Teaching Hospital with borderline axillary lymphadenopathy (intact hilum and diffusely thic
... Show MoreCardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in women. Estimating cardiovascular risk using prediction models is essential for guiding preventive strategies. Despite progress, conventional risk models still omit critical women-specific factors, limiting their accuracy. Precision medicine, supported by artificial intelligence, provides a framework to integrate these overlooked determinants. This approach may help close existing gaps in cardiovascular risk prediction. Sex-specific biomarkers that contribute to overall cardiovascular risk can be incorporated into risk assessment tools to improve prevention strategies, early detection, and personalized intervention. The integration of imaging-derived variables enh
... Show MoreThe study of images in the cognitive field receives considerable attention by researchers, whether in the field of media and public relations or in other humanities. Due to the great importance in shaping trends of public opinion, especially trends that individuals and the behaviors of people, institutions or ideas are determined by forming images that they hold in their minds towards these persons or institutions. Modern enterprises have realized, whether they are governmental ministries and official departments or non-governmental organizations as civil society organizations, the importance of studying the dominant image in the minds of the masses and make decisions and draw plans to configure this image as these institutions wishes.&n
... Show MoreThe interplay of species in a polluted environment is one of the most critical aspects of the ecosystem. This paper explores the dynamics of the two-species Lokta–Volterra competition model. According to the type I functional response, one species is affected by environmental pollution. Whilst the other degrades the toxin according to the type II functional response. All equilibrium points of the system are located, with their local and global stability being assessed. A numerical simulation examination is carried out to confirm the theoretical results. These results illustrate that competition and pollution can significantly change the coexistence and extinction of each species.
In this study, chemical oxidation was employed for the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) nanofiber. Furthermore, PPy has been subjected to treatment using nanoparticles of neodymium oxide (Nd2O3), which were produced and added in a certain ratio. The inquiry centered on the structural characteristics of the blend of polypyrrole and neodymium oxide after their combination. The investigation utilises X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) for PPy, 10%, 30%, and 50% by volume of Nd2O3. According to the electrochemical tests, it has been noted that the nanocomposites exhibit a substantial amount of pseudocapacitive activity.
The steady 3-D raw water turbulent flow is numerically investigated. This flow is formed of solid silica sand (quartz) carried by water in stainless steel pipe. The flow in a straight pipe and flow in a pipe with a sudden contraction are analyzed using a two-way coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. Erosion rate is estimated by Oka erosion model combined with the constant coefficient of restitution. The effect of solid particles mass flow rate, inlet velocity, particle diameter, internal pipe diameter, orientation, contraction coefficient, and wall pipe contraction angle on erosion rate are examined. The predicted erosion is distributed homogenously for straight pipe, while the step wall area of the contraction is the most eroded part. The
... Show MoreHuman Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an enveloped ubiquitous ds-DNA virus that has been implicated in several types of malignancies. The current work was conducted in the period extending from (November 2018 to the end of October 2019) and aimed to assess the frequency of glycoprotein N (gN) genotypes of HCMV. A total number of 91serum and plasma specimens were collected to fulfill this purpose from females (71 breast cancer patients, and a control group of 20 females) attending Al-Amal hospital for cancer management and Baghdad teaching hospital. The molecular part of this data was achieved through both PCR and Multiplex PCR for detection of HCMV gN (UL73) entire gene as well as for genotyping. gN was detected in 36/71 (50.7%) of breast cancer
... Show MoreObjective: To conduct a standardized method for cavity preparation on the palatal surface of rat maxillary molars and to introduce a standardized method for tooth correct alignment within the specimen during the wax embedding procedure to better detect cavity position within the examined slides. Materials and methods: Six male Wistar rats, aged 4-6 weeks, were used. The maxillary molars of three animals were sectioned in the frontal plane to identify the thickness of hard tissue on the palatal surface of the first molar which was (250-300µm). The end-cutting bur (with a cutting head diameter of 0.2mm) was suitable for preparing a dentinal cavity (70-80µm) depth. Cavity preparation was then performed using the same bur on the tooth surf
... Show MoreWe consider the problem of calibrating range measurements of a Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) sensor that is dealing with the sensor nonlinearity and heteroskedastic, range-dependent, measurement error. We solved the calibration problem without using additional hardware, but rather exploiting assumptions on the environment surrounding the sensor during the calibration procedure. More specifically we consider the assumption of calibrating the sensor by placing it in an environment so that its measurements lie in a 2D plane that is parallel to the ground. Then, its measurements come from fixed objects that develop orthogonally w.r.t. the ground, so that they may be considered as fixed points in an inertial reference frame. Moreov
... Show MoreAn analytical method and a two-dimensional finite element model for treating the problem of laser heating and melting has been applied to aluminum 2519T87and stainless steel 304. The time needed to melt and vaporize and the effects of laser power density on the melt depth for two metals are also obtained. In addition, the depth profile and time evolution of the temperature before melting and after melting are given, in which a discontinuity in the temperature gradient is obviously observed due to the latent heat of fusion and the increment in thermal conductivity in solid phase. The analytical results that induced by laser irradiation is in good agreement with numerical results.