by Victor Dong  , Aldo J. Montano-Loza  and Andrew L. Mason

Received: 19 November 2019;  Published: 13 December 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1904094

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are idiopathic and progressive autoimmune hepatobiliary disorders that lead to liver failure and a need for liver transplantation in a proportion of individuals with poorly controlled disease. It is currently thought that an environmental agent triggers disease in a genetically susceptible host and to date, xenobiotics, bacteria and a human betaretrovirus have all been linked with PBC. However, there is no consensus on which agents predomina [...]

by Hassan-Ali Hakemi  and Ghazal Hakemi

Received: 05 December 2019;  Published: 03 January 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2001001

In this study, we explored the phase equilibria in blends of a nematic liquid crystal monomer and a nematic liquid crystal flexible polymer within the whole composition of the phase diagram. The crystal-nematic and nematic-isotropic transition temperatures, as well as the transition enthalpies and entropies, indicated the total miscibility in this mesogenic blend system. We also extracted an empirical axial ratio of 4.52 for the polymer from the nematic-isotropic transitions of the blends. Further, from the biphasi [...]

by Francisca S. Rodriguez

Received: 19 June 2018;  Published: 31 October 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1804017

Background: Cognitive reserve describes the capacity for cognitively normal functioning despite brain damage. Previous research on cognitive reserve outlined how characteristics of the brain promote good cognitive functioning, although it is not yet clear what cognitive processes help individuals to maintain good cognitive functioning in the face of brain damage. Methods: Narrative review of relevant articles identified in literature searches for cognitive and/or psychometric characteristics of cognitive reserve. R [...]

by Atena Samarehfekri  , Mohammad Ali Zakeri  , Hemn Kaka Mirza  , Adnan Rashid Aziz  and Mahlagha Dehghan

Received: 21 December 2022;  Published: 02 June 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302186

Foot reflexology has improved numerous physical and psychological symptoms in patients. The researchers in this study aimed to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on laboratory parameters, intake/output/weight and medication regimen after kidney transplant surgery. The research was a secondary analysis of a parallel randomized controlled trial. The research included patients who were admitted to the transplantation ward. The stratified randomization approach divided 53 eligible patients into two groups: foot [...]

by Giuseppe Cocco  and Philipp Amiet

Received: 23 March 2021;  Published: 30 July 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2103133

“Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence” (https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm). Epigenetic interactions, along with the genetic expression in innate cells, change the structure and function of chromatin, and thus, turn the genes on and off. Epigenetic changes influence dise [...]

by Coad Thomas Dow  and Julia Szepieniec

Received: 01 August 2018;  Published: 25 November 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1804020

Improved understanding of the underlying cellular dysfunction and resultant neuropathology of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is needed to stem the anticipated public health crisis due to this increasingly common neurodegenerative disease. The four main risk factors for sporadic AD are age, female gender, genetic carriage of the APOE4 allele and type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Each of these four risk factors is associated with impaired and/or dysfunctional autophagy suggesting that perturbation of autophagy is [...]

by Eugene Stephane Mananga  and Lamisa Rusmeha

Received: 23 December 2020;  Published: 13 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2102012

Towards the end of 2019, an unanticipated outbreak, coronavirus also referred to as COVID-19’s first cases occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. In early 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic as a Public Health emergency of international concern. COVID-19 is a transmissible disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 puts a spotlight on numerous issues varying from educational, social, political, and economic that were already prese [...]

by Ganisetti Vijay Kumar  , Min-Ze Lu  and Chang-Ming Liaw

Received: 02 May 2021;  Published: 11 August 2021;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2103037

The development of high-efficiency motor drives for various applications is important in the industry 4.0 era, especially for their extensive application to electric vehicles (EVs). In this study, a position sensorless EV synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) drive has been developed, which exhibits good driving performance and efficiency over a wide speed and load range. To solve the key problems popularly encountered in the existing approaches, the high-frequency injection (HFI) scheme based on q-axis injection ha [...]

by Jesse Tanko Zarmai  , Isaac Ibitoye Alabi  , Ebimene Ezekiel Ebisine  , Musa Tanko Zarmai  and Ovis D. Irefu

Received: 26 September 2023;  Published: 03 April 2024;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2402010

Inadequate electricity supply is a global challenge that needs solutions. This situation has compelled the purchasing of fossil fuel-generating units for use in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors to generate electricity. However, using fossil fuel generating units cause greenhouse gas emissions, bringing about environmental pollution and ultimately resulting in climate change. In particular, educational institutions require adequate and reliable power supply to ensure proper learning and teaching, whic [...]

by Zachary Brozzesi  , Darson Dezheng Li  and Ann Lee

Received: 16 June 2023;  Published: 08 September 2023;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2303027

Buildings, with their significant energy consumption, pose a pressing concern for the future. Inadequate heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems further exacerbate thermal management difficulties and energy requirements. To address these challenges, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) offer valuable potential for sustainable energy reduction within the building sector, leveraging passive cooling and heating techniques. Numerical study has been conducted to explore the impact of embedding PCM within the [...]