Antioxidant properties of date seeds extract (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in alloxan induced damage in rats

The study was conducted to examine the antioxidant activity and evaluate the protective effects of the date seeds powder kentichi against alloxan-induced damage in the liver, kidney, and pancreas in diabetic's rats. Group 1: control group, that did not receive any treatment, Group 2: alloxan was injected intraperitoneally (120 mg/kg body weight) for two days (Diab), Group 3: treated only by date seeds powder added in the diet (300 g/kg) for 6 weeks (DSPK), Group 4: alloxan-diabetic rats treated with date seeds powder (300 g/kg) (DSPK + Diab). Estimations of biochemical parameters in blood were determined. TBARS, SOD, CAT, and GPx activities were determined. A histopathological study was done by immersing pieces of both organs in a fixative solution followed by paraffin hematoxylin-eosin staining. In addition, the antioxidant activities of DSPK were evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power, and ABTS free radical scavenging. The results revealed that date seeds significantly decreased serum levels of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, creatinine, T-protein, ALP, D-bili and T-bili levels. In addition, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities that had been reduced in liver, kidney, and pancreas of the treated group were restored by DSPK treatments and, therefore, the lipid peroxidation level was reduced in the liver, kidney and pancreas tissue compared to the control group. Additionally, the histological structure in these organs was restored after treatment with date seeds powder.

Reliability of multi-purpose offshore-facilities: Present status and future direction in Australia

Sustainable use of the ocean for food and energy production is an emerging area of research in different countries around the world. This goal is pursued by the Australian aquaculture, offshore engineering and renewable energy industries, research organisations and the government through the "Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre". To address the challenges of offshore food and energy production, leveraging the benefits of co-location, vertical integration, infrastructure and shared services, will be enabled through the development of novel Multi-Purpose Offshore-Platforms (MPOP). The structural integrity of the designed systems when being deployed in the harsh offshore environment is one of the main challenges in developing the MPOPs. Employing structural reliability analysis methods for assessing the structural safety of the novel aquaculture-MPOPs comes with different limitations. This review aims at shedding light on these limitations and discusses the current status and future directions for structural reliability analysis of a novel aquaculture-MPOP considering Australia's unique environment. To achieve this aim, challenges which exist at different stages of reliability assessment, from data collection and uncertainty quantification to load and structural modelling and reliability analysis implementation, are discussed. Furthermore, several solutions to these challenges are proposed based on the existing knowledge in other sectors, and particularly from the offshore oil and gas industry. Based on the identified gaps in the review process, potential areas for future research are introduced to enable a safer and more reliable operation of the MPOPs.

Surgically induced astigmatism after photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis. Summit PRK-LASIK Study Group

PURPOSE

To compare the axis and magnitude of surgically induced astigmatism in photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

SETTING

Multicenter clinical trial.

METHODS

In this prospective randomized trial, 220 eyes of 220 patients entered the study cohort: 105 randomized to PRK and 115 to LASIK. All patients received a single-pass, multizone excimer laser ablation as part of a PRK or LASIK procedure. Attempted corrections ranged from -6.00 to -15.00 diopters (D). The LASIK procedures were performed with nasal hinges. Absolute changes in astigmatism and axis and magnitude of surgically induced astigmatism were analyzed. Patients were followed for up to 6 month.

RESULTS

In the PRK group, the mean change in absolute astigmatism was +0.14, +0.16 and +0.32 D at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively; in the LASIK group, the mean change was -0.15, -0.08, and -0.03 D, respectively. At all time points, a greater proportion of PRK than LASIK eyes had an increase in absolute magnitude of astigmatism. In the PRK group, the axis of vectoral-induced astigmatism was significantly different from random at 3 and 6 months (P = .01, P < .001), respectively) with a tendency for induced with-the-rule shifts postoperatively. In the LASIK group, the axis of vectoral-induced astigmatism was significantly different from random at only 1 month (P = .04), and there was no preponderant direction of axis shift. Despite these findings, other analyses showed no statistically significant between-group differences in vectoral axis or magnitude of surgically induced astigmatism.

CONCLUSIONS

Induced astigmatism was generally less and more random in axis in LASIK than in PRK; a general trend for induced with-the-rule astigmatism in PRK was not seen in LASIK. Hypothetically, the lamellar corneal flap in LASIK may counteract the tendency toward steepening at 90 degrees seen in PRK by retracting toward the hinge, by masking underlying induced astigmatism in the ablation zone, or by its mitigating influence on postoperative corneal healing.