Exploring stakeholders and their requirements in the process of home hemodialysis: A literature review.

Providing home hemodialysis (HHD) therapy is a complex process that not only requires the use of a complex technology but also involves a diverse group of stakeholders, and each stakeholder has their requirements and may not share a common interest. Bringing them together will require the alignment of their interests. A process management perspective can help to accomplish the alignment of their interests. To align their interests, it is crucial to identify interest groups and understand their interests. The main objective of this paper is to identify the stakeholders and represents their interests as a list of requirements in the HHD process. An extensive literature review has been carried out and PubMed was used for literature extraction. In total, 1848 articles were retrieved of which 80 have fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A large array of actors is identified and their interests/requirements at different stages of the HHD process are represented in the form of a list. They have both common and conflicting requirements in the HHD process. If these requirements are aligned and balanced, a stakeholder's driven treatment process will be developed and a real improvement will be achieved in the treatment process.

Jellyfish Collagen: A Biocompatible Collagen Source for 3D Scaffold Fabrication and Enhanced Chondrogenicity.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease leading to degeneration of articular cartilage, causing morbidity in approximately 8.5 million of the UK population. As the dense extracellular matrix of articular cartilage is primarily composed of collagen, cartilage repair strategies have exploited the biocompatibility and mechanical strength of bovine and porcine collagen to produce robust scaffolds for procedures such as matrix-induced chondrocyte implantation (MACI). However, mammalian sourced collagens pose safety risks such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and possible transmission of viral vectors. This study characterised a non-mammalian jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) collagen as an alternative, safer source in scaffold production for clinical use. Jellyfish collagen demonstrated comparable scaffold structural properties and stability when compared to mammalian collagen. Jellyfish collagen also displayed comparable immunogenic responses (platelet and leukocyte activation/cell death) and cytokine release profile in comparison to mammalian collagen in vitro. Further histological analysis of jellyfish collagen revealed bovine chondroprogenitor cell invasion and proliferation in the scaffold structures, where the scaffold supported enhanced chondrogenesis in the presence of TGFß1. This study highlights the potential of jellyfish collagen as a safe and biocompatible biomaterial for both OA repair and further regenerative medicine applications.

A Compositional Model of Consciousness Based on Consciousness-Only.

Scientific studies of consciousness rely on objects whose existence is assumed to be independent of any consciousness. On the contrary, we assume consciousness to be fundamental, and that one of the main features of consciousness is characterized as being other-dependent. We set up a framework which naturally subsumes this feature by defining a compact closed category where morphisms represent conscious processes. These morphisms are a composition of a set of generators, each being specified by their relations with other generators, and therefore co-dependent. The framework is general enough and fits well into a compositional model of consciousness. Interestingly, we also show how our proposal may become a step towards avoiding the hard problem of consciousness, and thereby address the combination problem of conscious experiences.

Radiative Colloidal Investigation for Thermal Transport by Incorporating the Impacts of Nanomaterial and Molecular Diameters (dNanoparticles, dFluid): Applications in Multiple Engineering Systems.

Thermal enhancement and irreversible phenomena in colloidal suspension (Al2O3-H2O) is a potential topic of interest from the aspects of industrial, mechanical and thermal engineering; heat exchangers; coolant car radiators; and bio-medical, chemical and civil engineering. In the light of these applications, a colloidal analysis of Al2O3-H2O was made. Therefore, a colloidal model is considered and treated numerically. The significant influences of multiple parameters on thermal enhancement, entropy generation and Bejan parameter are examined. From the presented colloidal model, it is explored that Al2O3-H2O is better for the applications of mechanical and applied thermal engineering. Moreover, fraction factor tiny particles are significant parameters which enhanced the thermal capability of the Al2O3-H2O suspension.

γ-Nanofluid Thermal Transport between Parallel Plates Suspended by Micro-Cantilever Sensor by Incorporating the Effective Prandtl Model: Applications to Biological and Medical Sciences.

The flow of nanofluid between infinite parallel plates suspended by micro-cantilever sensors is significant. The analysis of such flows is a rich research area due to the variety of applications it has in chemical, biological and medical sciences. Micro-cantilever sensors play a significant role in accurately sensing different diseases, and they can be used to detect many hazardous and bio-warfare agents. Therefore, flow water and ethylene glycol (EG) composed by γ-nanoparticles is used. Firstly, the governing nanofluid model is transformed into two self-similar nanofluid models on the basis of their effective models. Then, a numerical method is adopted for solution purposes, and both the nanofluid models are solved. To enhance the heat transfer characteristics of the models, the effective Prandtl model is ingrained in the energy equation. The velocity F'(η) decreases with respect to the suction of the fluid, because more fluid particles drags on the surface for suction, leading to an abrupt decrement in F'(η). The velocity F'(η) increases for injection of the fluid from the upper end, and therefore the momentum boundary layer region is prolonged. A high volume fraction factor is responsible for the denser characteristics of the nanofluids, due to which the fluids become more viscous, and the velocity F'(η) drops abruptly, with the magnetic parameters favoring velocity F'(η). An increase in temperature ß ( η ) of Al2O3-H2O and γAl2O3-C2H6O2 nanofluids was reported at higher fraction factors with permeable parameter effects. Finally, a comparative analysis is presented by restricting the flow parameters, which shows the reliability of the study.

Thermal Transport Investigation in Magneto-Radiative GO-MoS2/H2O-C2H6O2 Hybrid Nanofluid Subject to Cattaneo-Christov Model.

Currently, thermal investigation in hybrid colloidal liquids is noteworthy. It has applications in medical sciences, drug delivery, computer chips, electronics, the paint industry, mechanical engineering and to perceive the cancer cell in human body and many more. Therefore, the study is carried out for 3D magnetized hybrid nanofluid by plugging the novel Cattaneo-Christov model and thermal radiations. The dimensionless version of the model is successfully handled via an analytical technique. From the reported analysis, it is examined that Graphene Oxide-molybdenum disulfide/C2H6O2-H2O has better heat transport characteristics and is therefore reliable for industrial and technological purposes. The temperature of Graphene Oxide GO-molybdenum disulfide/C2H6O2-H2O enhances in the presence of thermal relaxation parameter and radiative effects. Also, it is noted that rotational velocity of the hybrid nanofluid rises for stronger magnetic parameter effects. Moreover, prevailed behavior of thermal conductivity of GO-molybdenum disulfide/C2H6O2-H2O is detected which shows that hybrid nanofluids are a better conductor as compared to that of a regular nanofluid.

Computational Study of the Coupled Mechanism of Thermophoretic Transportation and Mixed Convection Flow around the Surface of a Sphere.

The main goal of the current work was to study the coupled mechanism of thermophoretic transportation and mixed convection flow around the surface of the sphere. To analyze the characteristics of heat and fluid flow in the presence of thermophoretic transportation, a mathematical model in terms of non-linear coupled partial differential equations obeying the laws of conservation was formulated. Moreover, the mathematical model of the proposed phenomena was approximated by implementing the finite difference scheme and boundary value problem of fourth order code BVP4C built-in scheme. The novelty point of this paper is that the primitive variable formulation is introduced to transform the system of partial differential equations into a primitive form to make the line of the algorithm smooth. Secondly, the term thermophoretic transportation in the mass equation is introduced in the mass equation and thus the effect of thermophoretic transportation can be calculated at different positions of the sphere. Basically, in this study, some favorite positions around the sphere were located, where the velocity field, temperature distribution, mass concentration, skin friction, and rate of heat transfer can be calculated simultaneously without any separation in flow around the surface of the sphere.

Impacts of Freezing Temperature Based Thermal Conductivity on the Heat Transfer Gradient in Nanofluids: Applications for a Curved Riga Surface.

The flow of nanofluid over a curved Riga surface is a topic of interest in the field of fluid dynamics. A literature survey revealed that the impacts of freezing temperature and the diameter of nanoparticles on the heat transfer over a curved Riga surface have not been examined so far. Therefore, the flow of nanoparticles, which comprises the influences of freezing temperature and nanoparticle diameter in the energy equation, was modeled over a curved Riga surface. The model was reduced successfully in the nondimensional version by implementing the feasible similarity transformations and effective models of nanofluids. The coupled nonlinear model was then examined numerically and highlighted the impacts of various flow quantities in the flow regimes and heat transfer, with graphical aid. It was examined that nanofluid velocity dropped by increasing the flow parameters γ and S, and an abrupt decrement occurred at the surface of the Riga sheet. The boundary layer region enhances for larger γ. The temperature distribution was enhanced for a more magnetized nanofluid, and the thermal boundary layer increased with a larger R parameter. The volume fraction of the nanoparticles favors the effective density and dynamic viscosity of the nanofluids. A maximum amount of heat transfer at the surface was observed for a more magnetized nanofluid.

Heat Transfer Enhancement in Unsteady MHD Natural Convective Flow of CNTs Oldroyd-B Nanofluid under Ramped Wall Velocity and Ramped Wall Temperature.

This article analyzes heat transfer enhancement in incompressible time dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) convective flow of Oldroyd-B nanofluid with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are immersed in a base fluid named Sodium alginate. The flow is restricted to an infinite vertical plate saturated in a porous material incorporating the generalized Darcy's law and heat suction/injection. The governing equations for momentum, shear stress and energy are modelled in the form of partial differential equations along with ramped wall temperature and ramped wall velocity boundary conditions. Laplace transformation is applied to convert principal partial differential equations to ordinary differential equations first and, later, complex multivalued functions of Laplace parameter are handled with numerical inversion to obtain the solutions in real time domain. Expression for Nusselt number is also obtained to clearly examine the difference in rate of heat transfer. A comparison for isothermal wall condition and ramped wall condition is also made to analyze the difference in both profiles. A graphical study is conducted to analyze how the fluid profiles are significantly affected by several pertinent parameters. Rate of heat transfer increases with increasing volume fraction of nanoparticle while shear stress reduces with elevation in retardation time. Moreover, flow gets accelerated with increase in Grashof number and Porosity parameter. For every parameter, a comparison between solutions of SWCNTs and MWCNTs is also presented.

Survival and immunomodulation of stem cells from human extracted deciduous teeth expanded in pooled human and foetal bovine sera.

The immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from autologous and allogeneic sources are useful in stimulating tissue regeneration and repair. To obtain a high number of MSCs for transplantation requires extensive in vitro expansion with culture media supplements that can cause xeno-contamination of cells potentially compromising function and clinical outcomes. In this study stem cells from human extracted deciduous teeth (SHED) were cultured in Knockout™ DMEM supplemented with either pooled human serum (pHS) or foetal bovine serum (FBS) to compare their suitability in maintaining immunomodulatory properties of cells during in vitro expansion. No significant difference in cell survival of SHED grown in pHS (pHS-SHED) or FBS (FBS-SHED) was observed when co-cultured with complement, monocytes or lymphocytes. However, significant changes in the expression of sixteen paracrine factors involved in immunomodulation were observed in the supernatants of FBS-SHED co-cultures with monocytes or lymphocytes compared to that in pHS-SHEDs after both 24 and 120 h of incubation. Further analysis of changing protein levels of paracrine factors in co-cultures using biological pathway analysis software predicted upregulation of functions associated with immunogenicity in FBS-SHED and lymphocyte co-cultures compared to pHS-SHED co-cultures. Pathway analysis also predicted significant stimulation of HMGB1 and TREM1 signalling pathways in FBS-SHED co-cultures indicating activation of immune cells and inflammation. Though FBS supplementation does not impact survival of SHED, our combinatorial biological pathway analysis supports the idea that in vitro expansion of SHEDs in pHS provides optimal conditions to minimise xeno-contamination and inflammation and maintain their immunomodulatory properties.

New idea of Atangana and Baleanu fractional derivatives to human blood flow in nanofluids.

Applications of fractional derivatives are rare for blood flow problems, more exactly in nanofluids. The old definitions published in the literature for fractional derivatives, such as Riemann-Liouville definition, are rarely used by the researchers now; instead, they like to use the new definition introduced by Atangana and Baleanu quite recently. Therefore, in this article, a new idea of Atangana and Baleanu for fractional derivatives possessing a non-local and non-singular kernel has been applied to blood of nanofluids. Blood is considered as a base fluid, and single-wall carbon nanotubes are suspended in blood as nanoparticles in order to make a nanofluid. The magnetic effect with Lorentz force is also taken. The modelled problem is first written in the dimensionless form and later on solved by using an integral transform of Laplace. The effects of embedded parameters are shown in various plots on blood flow and temperature. The heart transfer rate is computed numerically in a tabular form. The results showed that Atangana and Baleanu fractional parameter slow down the blood motion, whereas increasing nanoparticles' volume fraction causes a significant increase in the heat transfer rate.

In vitro tissue culture model validation-the influence of tissue culture components on IPL energy output.

Intense pulsed light (IPL) has been used therapeutically in a number of clinical settings and has been shown to have a photobiomodulatory effect on connective tissue cells, such as those derived from skin and tendon. In vitro cell culture models are essential tools preclinically in investigating such treatment modalities, as they help in optimising parameters for successful treatment. However, as culture system components have been reported to absorb part of the irradiated energy, which in turn has a bearing on the amount of light reaching the cells, it is important to establish specific parameters for the particular in vitro model used. This study, therefore, investigates the effect of our tissue culture system components on the IPL energy delivered. Individual wells of multi-well plates were irradiated with IPL at different device settings and under variable culture conditions (e.g. in the absence or presence of cell culture media with or without the pH indicator dye, phenol red), and the energy lost through the culture system determined. Our data demonstrated that the IPL device delivered significantly lower outputs than those published, and energy absorption by the culture equipment would further reduce fluencies delivered to the cell monolayer. Furthermore, energy absorption by media containing phenol red was marginally greater than clear media and resulted in only a small increase in temperature, which would not be harmful to cells. The use of phenol red-containing media therefore is valid and physiologically relevant when examining light-culture system interactions.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Entropy Generation Minimization in Thermally Dissipating Flow Over a Thin Needle Moving in a Parallel Free Stream of Two Newtonian Fluids.

This article is devoted to study sustainability of entropy generation in an incompressible thermal flow of Newtonian fluids over a thin needle that is moving in a parallel stream. Two types of Newtonian fluids (water and air) are considered in this work. The energy dissipation term is included in the energy equation. Here, it is presumed that u∞ (the free stream velocity) is in the positive axial direction (x-axis) and the motion of the thin needle is in the opposite or similar direction as the free stream velocity. The reduced self-similar governing equations are solved numerically with the aid of the shooting technique with the fourth-order-Runge-Kutta method. Using similarity transformations, it is possible to obtain the expression for dimensionless form of the volumetric entropy generation rate and the Bejan number. The effects of Prandtl number, Eckert number and dimensionless temperature parameter are discussed graphically in details for water and air taken as Newtonian fluids.

Entropy Generation in MHD Mixed Convection Non-Newtonian Second-Grade Nanoliquid Thin Film Flow through a Porous Medium with Chemical Reaction and Stratification.

Chemical reaction in mixed convection magnetohydrodynamic second grade nanoliquid thin film flow through a porous medium containing nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms is considered with entropy generation. The stratification phenomena, heat and mass transfer simultaneously take place within system. Microorganisms are utilized to stabilize the suspended nanoparticles through bioconvection. For the chemical reaction of species, the mass transfer increases. The governing equations of the problem are transformed to nonlinear differential equations through similarity variables, which are solved through a well known scheme called homotopy analysis method. The solution is expressed through graphs and illustrations which show the influences of all the parameters. The residual error graphs elucidate the authentication of the present work.

Entropy Generation in MHD Conjugate Flow with Wall Shear Stress over an Infinite Plate: Exact Analysis.

The current work will describe the entropy generation in an unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow with a combined influence of mass and heat transfer through a porous medium. It will consider the flow in the XY plane and the plate with isothermal and ramped wall temperature. The wall shear stress is also considered. The influences of different pertinent parameters on velocity, the Bejan number and on the total entropy generation number are reported graphically. Entropy generation in the fluid is controlled and reduced on the boundary by using wall shear stress. It is observed in this paper that by taking suitable values of pertinent parameters, the energy losses in the system can be minimized. These parameters are the Schmitt number, mass diffusion parameter, Prandtl number, Grashof number, magnetic parameter and modified Grashof number. These results will play an important role in the heat flow of uncertainty and must, therefore, be controlled and managed effectively.

Glycyrrhiza glabra HPLC fractions: identification of Aldehydo Isoophiopogonone and Liquirtigenin having activity against multidrug resistant bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants have been founded as traditional herbal medicine worldwide. Most of the plant's therapeutic properties are due to the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, glycosides, tannins and volatile oil. METHODS: The present investigation analyzed the High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) fractions of Glycyrrhiza glabra (Aqueous, Chloroform, Ethanol and Hexane) against multidrug resistant human bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). All the fractions showed antibacterial activity, were subjected to LC MS/MS analysis for identification of bioactive compounds. RESULTS: Among total HPLC fractions of G. glabra (n = 20), three HPLC fractions showed potential activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial isolates. Fraction 1 (F1) of aqueous extracts, showed activity against A. baumannii (15 ± 0.5 mm). F4 from hexane extract of G. glabra showed activity against S. aureus (10 ± 0.2 mm). However, F2 from ethanol extract exhibited activity against S. aureus (10 ± 0.3 mm). These active fractions were further processed by LC MS/MS analysis for the identification of compounds. Ellagic acid was identified in the F1 of aqueous extract while 6-aldehydo-isoophiopogonone was present in F4 of hexane extract. Similarly, Liquirtigenin was identified in F2 of ethanol. CONCLUSIONS: Glycyrrhiza glabra extracts HPLC fractions showed anti-MDR activity. Three bioactive compounds were identified in the study. 6-aldehydo-isoophiopogonone and Liquirtigenin were for the first time reported in G. glabra. Further characterization of the identified compounds will be helpful for possible therapeutic uses against infectious diseases caused by multidrug resistant bacteria.

Punica granatum peel extracts: HPLC fractionation and LC MS analysis to quest compounds having activity against multidrug resistant bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants are rich source of traditional herbal medicine around the globe. Most of the plant's therapeutic properties are due to the presence of secondary bioactive compounds. METHODS: The present study analyzed the High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) fractions of Puncia granatum (peel) extracts (aqueous, chloroform, ethanol and hexane) against multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens (Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus). All the fractions having antibacterial activity was processed for bioactive compounds identification using LC MS/MS analysis. RESULTS: Among total HPLC fractions (n = 30), 4 HPLC fractions of P. granatum (peel) showed potential activity against MDR pathogens. Fraction 1 (F1) and fraction 4 (F4) collected from aqueous extract showed maximum activity against P. aeruginosa. Fraction 2 (F2) of hexane showed antibacterial activity against three pathogens, while ethanol F4 exhibited antibacterial activity against A. baumannii. The active fractions were processed for LC MS/MS analysis to identify bioactive compounds. Valoneic acid dilactone (aqueous F1 and F4), Hexoside (ethanol F4) and Coumaric acid (hexane F2) were identified as bioactive compounds in HPLC fractions. CONCLUSION: Puncia granatum peel extracts HPLC fractions exhibited potential inhibitory activity against MDR bacterial human pathogens. Several bioactive compounds were identified from the HPLC fractions. Further characterization of these compounds may be helpful to conclude it as therapeutic lead molecules against MDR pathogens.

In vitro studies to evaluate the effect of varying culture conditions and IPL fluencies on tenocyte activities.

Tendons are dense, fibrous connective tissues which carry out the essential physiological role of transmitting mechanical forces from skeletal muscle to bone. From a clinical perspective, tendinopathy is very common, both within the sporting arena and amongst the sedentary population. Studies have shown that light therapy may stimulate tendon healing, and more recently, intense pulsed light (IPL) has attracted attention as a potential treatment modality for tendinopathy; however, its mechanism of action and effect on the tendon cells (tenocytes) is poorly understood. The present study therefore investigates the influence of IPL on an in vitro bovine tendon model. Tenocytes were irradiated with IPL at different devise settings and under variable culture conditions (e.g. utilising cell culture media with or without the pH indicator dye phenol red), and changes in tenocyte viability and migration were subsequently investigated using Alamar blue and scratch assays, respectively. Our data demonstrated that IPL fluencies of up to 15.9 J/cm2 proved harmless to the tenocyte cultures (this was the case using culture media with or without phenol red) and resulted in a significant increase in cell viability under certain culture conditions. Furthermore, IPL treatment of tenocytes did not affect the rate of cell migration. This study demonstrates that irradiation with IPL is not detrimental to the tenocytes and may increase their viability under certain conditions, thus validating our in vitro model. Further studies are required to elucidate the effects of IPL application in the clinical situation.

Existence of common fuzzy fixed points via fuzzy F-contractions in b-metric spaces.

The main goal of this study is to establish common fuzzy fixed points in the context of complete b-metric spaces for a pair of fuzzy mappings that satisfy F-contractions. To strengthen the validity of the derived results, non-trivial examples are provided to substantiate the conclusions. Moreover, prior discoveries have been drawn as logical extensions from pertinent literature. Our findings are further reinforced and integrated by the numerous implications that this technique has in the literature. Using fixed point techniques to approximate the solutions of differential and integral equations is very useful. Specifically, in order to enhance the validity of our findings, the existence result of the system of non-linear Fredholm integral equations of second-kind is incorporated as an application.

Computation and convergence of fixed-point with an RLC-electric circuit model in an extended b-suprametric space.

This article establishes various fixed-point results and introduces the idea of an extended b-suprametric space. We also give several applications pertaining to the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the equations concerning RLC electric circuits. At the end of the article, a few open questions are posed concerning the distortion of Chua's circuit and the formulation of the Lagrangian for Chua's circuit.