Efficacy of a single-dose regimen of inactivated whole-cell oral cholera vaccine: results from 2 years of follow-up of a randomised trial

Qadri, Firdausi,Ali, Mohammad,Lynch, Julia,Chowdhury, Fahima,Khan, Ashraful Islam,Wierzba, Thomas F,Excler, Jean-Louis,Saha, Amit,Islam, Md Taufiqul,Begum, Yasmin A,Bhuiyan, Taufiqur R,Khanam, Farhana Elsevier 2018 LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES Vol.18 No.6

<P><B>Summary</B></P> <P><B>Background</B></P> <P>A single-dose regimen of inactivated whole-cell oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is attractive because it reduces logistical challenges for vaccination and could enable more people to be vaccinated. Previously, we reported the efficacy of a single dose of an OCV vaccine during the 6 months following dosing. Herein, we report the results of 2 years of follow-up.</P> <P><B>Methods</B></P> <P>In this placebo-controlled, double-blind trial done in Dhaka, Bangladesh, individuals aged 1 year or older with no history of receipt of OCV were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of inactivated OCV or oral placebo. The primary endpoint was a confirmed episode of non-bloody diarrhoea for which the onset was at least 7 days after dosing and a faecal culture was positive for <I>Vibrio cholerae</I> O1 or O139. Passive surveillance for diarrhoea was done in 13 hospitals or major clinics located in or near the study area for 2 years after the last administered dose. We assessed the protective efficacy of the OCV against culture-confirmed cholera occurring 7–730 days after dosing with both crude and multivariable per-protocol analyses. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02027207.</P> <P><B>Findings</B></P> <P>Between Jan 10, 2014, and Feb 4, 2014, 205 513 people were randomly assigned to receive either vaccine or placebo, of whom 204 700 (102 552 vaccine recipients and 102 148 placebo recipients) were included in the per-protocol analysis. 287 first episodes of cholera (109 among vaccine recipients and 178 among placebo recipients) were detected during the 2-year follow-up; 138 of these episodes (46 in vaccine recipients and 92 in placebo recipients) were associated with severe dehydration. The overall incidence rates of initial cholera episodes were 0·22 (95% CI 0·18 to 0·27) per 100 000 person-days in vaccine recipients versus 0·36 (0·31 to 0·42) per 100 000 person-days in placebo recipients (adjusted protective efficacy 39%, 95% CI 23 to 52). The overall incidence of severe cholera was 0·09 (0·07 to 0·12) per 100 000 person-days versus 0·19 (0·15 to 0·23; adjusted protective efficacy 50%, 29 to 65). Vaccine protective efficacy was 52% (8 to 75) against all cholera episodes and 71% (27 to 88) against severe cholera episodes in participants aged 5 years to younger than 15 years. For participants aged 15 years or older, vaccine protective efficacy was 59% (42 to 71) against all cholera episodes and 59% (35 to 74) against severe cholera. The protection in the older age groups was sustained throughout the 2-year follow-up. In participants younger than 5 years, the vaccine did not show protection against either all cholera episodes (protective efficacy −13%, −68 to 25) or severe cholera episodes (−44%, −220 to 35).</P> <P><B>Interpretation</B></P> <P>A single dose of the inactivated whole-cell OCV offered protection to older children and adults that was sustained for at least 2 years. The absence of protection of young children might reflect a lesser degree of pre-existing natural immunity in this age group.</P> <P><B>Funding</B></P> <P> <ce:grant-sponsor id='gs3' sponsor-id='http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000865' xlink:type='simple' xlink:role='http://www.elsevier.com/xml/linking-roles/grant-sponsor'>Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</ce:grant-sponsor> to the International Vaccine Institute.</P>

Embryogenic callus culture of Tribulus terrestris L. a potential source of harmaline, harmine and diosgenin

T. D. Nikam,Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi,V. A. Patil 한국식물생명공학회 2009 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.3 No.3

In the present study, a simple one medium formulation protocol for callus culture, somatic embryogenesis and in vitro production of b-carboline alkaloids and diosgenin in Tribulus terrestris L. was developed. Extensive callus induction and proliferation was obtained in leaf explant on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 lM 6 benzyl adenine (BA) and 2.5 lM a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The embryogenic callus was maintained on subculture to fresh parental medium at 4-week intervals over a period of 28 months. The frequency of embryo formation was at a maximum (18.1 ± 0.9 per g of callus) on MS medium containing 5.0 lM BA and 2.5 lM NAA together with 75 mg l-1 casein hydrolysate. Globular embryo developed into torpedo stage embryo under the influence of starvation. The accumulation of b-carboline alkaloids (harmaline and harmine) and steroidal saponin (diosgenin) in nonembryogenic and embryogenic callus culture derived from leaf explant was compared with root, leaf, stem, and fruit of the mother plant. The embryogenic callus accumulated equivalent amounts of harmaline (66.4 ± 0.5 lg/g dry weight), harmine (82.7 ± 0.6 lg/g dry weight), and diosgenin (170.7 ± 1.0 lg/g dry weight) to that of the fruit of T. terrestris. The embryogenic callus culture of this species might offer a potential source for production of important pharmaceuticals. In the present study, a simple one medium formulation protocol for callus culture, somatic embryogenesis and in vitro production of b-carboline alkaloids and diosgenin in Tribulus terrestris L. was developed. Extensive callus induction and proliferation was obtained in leaf explant on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 lM 6 benzyl adenine (BA) and 2.5 lM a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The embryogenic callus was maintained on subculture to fresh parental medium at 4-week intervals over a period of 28 months. The frequency of embryo formation was at a maximum (18.1 ± 0.9 per g of callus) on MS medium containing 5.0 lM BA and 2.5 lM NAA together with 75 mg l-1 casein hydrolysate. Globular embryo developed into torpedo stage embryo under the influence of starvation. The accumulation of b-carboline alkaloids (harmaline and harmine) and steroidal saponin (diosgenin) in nonembryogenic and embryogenic callus culture derived from leaf explant was compared with root, leaf, stem, and fruit of the mother plant. The embryogenic callus accumulated equivalent amounts of harmaline (66.4 ± 0.5 lg/g dry weight), harmine (82.7 ± 0.6 lg/g dry weight), and diosgenin (170.7 ± 1.0 lg/g dry weight) to that of the fruit of T. terrestris. The embryogenic callus culture of this species might offer a potential source for production of important pharmaceuticals.

Reasons and Motivations for Cigarette Smoking and Barriers against Quitting Among a Sample of Young People in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Baig, Mukhtiar,Bakarman, Marwan A,Gazzaz, Zohair J,Khabaz, Mohamad N,Ahmed, Tahir J,Qureshi, Imtiaz A,Hussain, Muhammad B,Alzahrani, Ali H,Al-Shehri, Ali A,Basendwah, Mohammad A,Altherwi, Fahd B,Al-Sh Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.7

Background: Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Tobacco consumption has grave negative consequences for health so that it is important to understand the reasons and motivations towards cigarette smoking and barriers against quitting smoking among the young generation for developing effective policies to control this widespread problem. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was carried out at the Faculty of Medicine, Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A total of 438 young smokers participated from the University and the general population. Data were collected through anonymous, self-administered questionnaires in the Arabic language that contained questions about the reasons and motivations towards cigarette smoking and barriers against quitting smoking. The questionnaire also contained several questions regarding knowledge and attitude of the participants towards cigarette smoking. The data was analyzed on SPSS-16. Results: The mean age of the respondents was $22.9{\pm}3.48$, out of 438 subjects 87 (19.9%) were married, and 351 (80.1%) were unmarried, and 331 (75.6%) belonged to urban areas while 107 (24.5%) were from the rural areas. Responding to a question about a number of cigarettes smoked per day, 31% answered 11-20, 29% answered 21-30, and 25% answered 1-10. Questioned about smokers in the family, 34.5% responded more than one, with 19% for brother and 13% for father. About the reasons for not quitting smoking, 26% described lack of willpower, 25% had no reason, 22% said that people around me smoke, and 15.3% responded stress at home/work. The major motivation for smokers was smoker friends (42%), for 33.8% others, for 12% father/brother and 7.8% media. Conclusions: There are several avoidable and preventable reasons and barriers against quitting smoking. However, knowledge and attitude about smoking were good, and the majority of the smokers were well aware of the associated hazards. Therefore, there is a need to search out ways and means to help them to quit this addiction.

Comparative Study of Conventional and Micro WEDM based on Machining of Meso/Micro Sized Spur Gear

Mohammad Yeakub Ali,A. N. Mustafizul Karim,Erry Yulian T. Adesta,Ahmad Faris Ismail,‘Aisy Anuarin Abdullah,Mohd Nazrol Idris 한국정밀공학회 2010 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.11 No.5

This paper discusses the comparison of micro machining process using conventional and micro wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) for fabrication of miniaturized components. Seventeen toothed miniaturized spur gear of 3.5 and 1.2 mm outside diameter were fabricated by conventional and micro WEDM respectively. The process parameters for both conventional and micro WEDM were optimized by preliminary experiments and analysis. The gears were investigated for the quality of surface finish and dimensional accuracy which were used as the criteria for the process evaluation. An average surface roughness (Ra ) of 50 nm and dimensional accuracy of 0.1-1 μm were achieved in micro WEDM. Whenever applied conventional WEDM for meso/micro fabrication, a Ra surface roughness of 1.8 μm and dimensional accuracy of 2-3 μm were achieved. However, this level of surface roughness and dimensional accuracy are acceptable in many applications of micro engineering. A window of conventional WEDM consisting of low energy discharge parameters is identified for micromachining.

A Multi-Objective Mathematical Model for the Population-Based Transportation Network Planning

Supat Chupradit,Mohammad A. Tashtoush,Mohammed Yousif Oudah Al-Muttar,Trias Mahmudiono,Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra,Purnima Chaudhary,Muneam Hussein Ali,Ahmed Alkhayyat,Dr. Sutarto 대한산업공학회 2022 Industrial Engineeering & Management Systems Vol.21 No.2

The current article introduces a three-objective model for the problem of location, allocation, and routing, taking into account the travel times depending on the population on the route. Objective functions include minimizing the total network transit time, maximizing travel attractiveness for travel applicants, and balanced allocation of travel appli-cants to each service area. In this research, a general form of the proposed three-objective mathematical planning model is formulated. The proposed model seeks to select a suitable place or places as places of service, allocate people or vehicles in each area to these places and determine the transportation route of each person or vehicle in each area to reach the service provider in question. Getting a direct impact of random factors and population flow on the random travel times of each bow so that all three goals are met simultaneously. The cuckoo optimization algorithm is developed to solve this model. A sample problem is also examined to show the validity and behavior of the proposed model. The numerical results indicate the high performance of the cuckoo optimization algorithm.

A form of the metabolic syndrome associated with mutations in DYRK1B.

Keramati, Ali R,Fathzadeh, Mohsen,Go, Gwang-Woong,Singh, Rajvir,Choi, Murim,Faramarzi, Saeed,Mane, Shrikant,Kasaei, Mohammad,Sarajzadeh-Fard, Kazem,Hwa, John,Kidd, Kenneth K,Babaee Bigi, Mohammad A,Ma Massachusetts Medical Society 2014 The New England journal of medicine Vol.370 No.20

<P>Genetic analysis has been successful in identifying causative mutations for individual cardiovascular risk factors. Success has been more limited in mapping susceptibility genes for clusters of cardiovascular risk traits, such as those in the metabolic syndrome.</P>

Numerical desirability function for adsorption of methylene blue dye by sulfonated pomegranate peel biochar: Modeling, kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic, and mechanism study

Ali H. Jawad,Ahmed Saud Abdulhameed,M. A. K. M. Hanafiah,Zeid A. AlOthman,Mohammad Rizwan Khan,S. N. Surip 한국화학공학회 2021 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.38 No.7

Sulfonated pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel biochar (SPPBC) was developed via thermal activation with sulfuric acid (H2SO4) to act as a promising biochar material for the adsorptive removal of toxic cationic dye namely methylene blue (MB) dye from contaminated water. A Box-Behnken design (BBD) and numerical desirability function were adopted to optimize the input adsorption variables (SPPBC dosage, temperature, pH, and contact time). The maximum removal of the MB dye can be accomplished by simultaneous significant interaction between SPPBC dosage with solution pH, SPPBC dosage with time, SPPBC dosage with temperature, solution pH with time, and time with temperature. The numerical desirability function identified the highest MB dye removal (93.9%) can be achieved at the following optimum numerical adsorption conditions: SPPBC dosage 0.18 g, temperature 49 oC, pH 9.7, and time 4.3 h. Equilibrium data were well fitted to the Temkin and Langmuir isotherm models. The maximum recorded adsorption capacity of SPPBC for MB dye adsorption by using Langmuir isotherm model was 161.9mg/g. This research work reveals the possibility of converting lignocellulose pomegranate peel into a renewable and environmentfriendly biochar via a relatively fast acid-activation process with the great potential to be promising adsorbent for removal of MB dye.

Local mismatch and noise investigation for pre and post multilayer pHEMTs

Mohammad A. Alim,I. Jahan,N.J. Nipu,S. Naher,Ali A. Rezazadeh 한국물리학회 2020 Current Applied Physics Vol.20 No.12

The key objective of this study is to investigate the local mismatch of pre and post multilayer structure on the active devices. Five pre and post multilayer structure pHEMTs on the same wafer within the same cell between adjacent devices are considered. As the study of local mismatch ensures good yields and a way to gain insights about the technology various comparisons are made including the effects of multilayer structuring. The threshold voltage, built-in potential and the net doping concentration of the 2-DEG of the devices are extracted through capacitance-voltage data. The underlying electrical parameter of the transistors as well as the RF figure of merit has been analyzed. The microwave noise related parameters namely minimum noise figure, associate gain, noise resistance, magnitude of the optimum reflection are also discussed and investigated. Centre-to-edge mismatch results in minor variation in performance between devices. These studies would help within the advancement of solid, proficient and low cost generation of future compact structure in 3-D multilayer MMICs.

Investigation of Failure Behaviour of Soil Nailed Excavations under Surcharge by Centrifuge Model Test

S. Mohammad Shoari Shoar,Ali A. Heshmati R.,Hossein Salehzadeh 대한토목학회 2023 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.27 No.1

A series of centrifuge tests were performed to evaluate surcharge effects on the behavior of nailed vertical excavations. The primary purpose was to observe the mechanism of failure surface development and to compare the test results with software results based on equilibrium limit analysis. In this experiment, four different surcharges were applied to both samples with and without nails. Applying surcharge and the following excavation were performed in 40 g acceleration. At the beginning of the test, the excavation was maintained using a water-filled membrane, right next to it. At the target acceleration, the surcharge was modelled by filling the loading tank over the sample with water, and finally, with water draining from the membrane, soil excavation was simulated. Eventually, failure surfaces resulted from the experiment were compared with the ones calculated by the equilibrium limit analysis-based software. Results revealed that the shapes of failure surfaces are bilinear in all tests and that the surcharge has its effects on the development of failure surfaces. In the meantime, the pull-out mechanism was observed in the nails during failure, with no bending. The equilibrium limit analysis also estimates the width of failure wedge well and its depth conservatively.

Parametric study on probabilistic local seismic demand of IBBC connection using finite element reliability method

Mohammad Taherinasab,Ali A. Aghakouchak 국제구조공학회 2020 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.37 No.2

This paper aims to probabilistically evaluate performance of two types of I beam to box column (IBBC) connection. With the objective of considering the variability of seismic loading demand, statistical features of the inter-story drift ratio corresponding to the second, fifth and eleventh story of a 12-story steel special moment resisting frames are extracted through incremental dynamic analysis at global collapse state. Variability of geometrical variables and material strength are also taken into account. All of these random variables are exported as inputs to a probabilistic finite element model which simulates the connection. At the end, cumulative distribution functions of local seismic demand for each component of each connection are provided using histogram sampling. Through a parametric study on probabilistic local seismic demand, the influence of some geometrical random variables on the performance of IBBC connections is demonstrated. Furthermore, the probabilistic study revealed that IBBC connection with widened flange has a better performance than the un-widened flange. Also, a design procedure is proposed for WF connections to achieve a same connection performance in different stories.