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Careful selection of landfill sites is essential because improper dumping of wastes can negatively impact health and degrade the environment. Therefore, this research presents a Geographic Information System based-Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process multicriteria decision-making approach for landfill zonation in Lagos State, Nigeria. Due to the rapid urbanisation leading to urban expansion and conversion of the landfills to built-up areas in Lagos State, the functioning landfills have been reduced. After a comprehensive literature review, this study considers nine factors: slope, elevation, land use and land cover, lithology, soil type, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, the distances to roads, distance to settlements, and distance to water bodies. From the decision matrix, the distance to water bodies, distance to roads, distance to settlements, and land use and land (LULC) cover were ranked with percentage weights of 22%, 19%, 17% and 11%, respectively. Afterwards, potential landfill sites were mapped and classified into five classes: very low (626.48 km2, 16.66%), low (1277.56 km2, 33.97%), moderate (1227.97 km2, 32.65%), high (500.52 km2, 13.31%), and very high (128.13 km2, 3.41%). The low and moderate suitability classes have the highest areal coverage due to the state's increased population and urbanisation. A large percentage of the high to very high suitability classes are located in Epe, Ikorodu, and Ibeju-Lekki local government areas (LGAs) which have lower urbanisation levels compared to most of the other LGAs. Therefore, governments and stakeholders should explore these areas for siting of landfills.

The international benchmarking methodology has emerged as a crucial device for understanding global interconnectedness, and the need for countries and regional blocs to interact at various levels. When adapted for use in the business context mindful of intersectoral collaboration, it facilitates the development of standards to determine the nature and extent of international interactions, facilitating the development of avenues for conceptualizing differences and similarities in policies, actions, and national strategies. The adapted methodology focuses on power dynamics analysis, focusing on states' motivations and behaviors, and analyzing economic, diplomatic, and military factors. The emerging approach is tailored to the unique characteristics of G20 and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, integrating theoretical insights with practical steps for supporting decision-making and intersectoral dynamics. The methodology also addresses cooperation and economic interdependence, leaning heavily towards liberalism theory, which emphasizes cooperation, institutions, and the interconnectedness of entities. It emphasizes the potential for collaboration, shared norms, and the role of international organizations. This adapted methodology involves evaluating existing economic collaborations, incorporating benchmark techniques for competitiveness, and assessing institutional roles and agreements. This approach aims to promote global cooperation, facilitate faster conflict resolution, and yield mutual benefits that is a forerunner for moving innovative and creative approaches forward within the context of transformation initiatives.

This article discusses professional branding that is rooted in marketing aimed at helping professionals differentiate themselves from others through personal branding to project their uniqueness and related values. It streamlines the process behind creating a robust profile that enhances simple elements of a resume by providing distinctive information to corporations or target markets. Furthermore, the article highlights the two broad theoretical underpinnings of personal branding: marketing-based and self-presentation behaviors. Marketing-based definitions frame the individual as a product to be marketed, while self-presentation-based definitions emphasize the formation of a person's public persona through strategic relationship management. Additionally, the article portrays personal branding as a defined set of individual characteristics, attributes, values, and beliefs crafted into a narrative and imagery that establishes a competitive advantage by influencing the perceptions of a targeted audience. It concludes that professional branding is an effective personal tool for individual differentiation and advancement in a highly globalized employment environment, particularly for Gen Z individuals with Arab cultural backgrounds in STEAM professional fields.

This article highlights the emerging applications of business ecosystems to organizations across a spectrum of disciplinaries. The article begins with a historical overview of business ecosystems, and a comparative analytical overview of the emergent intersectoral applied use of ecosystems in GCC and G20 governments. Furthermore, the article extends to illustrations of health sector ecosystems in GCC and G20 countries. It concludes with the advantages and disadvantages of vividly applying the ecosystem mindset pragmatically to organizational structures and governance.

This study determined consumers' attitudes towards physical and mental wellness related to red meat consumption and their willingness to pay (WTP) more for the meat. In 2019, two online surveys of red meat eaters were conducted in the USA (n = 1000) and Australia (n = 523) using commercial platforms. Results showed that over 90% of respondents indicated interest in purchasing red meat to improve their wellness status. Additionally, about 85% indicated their WTP more for red meat for its wellness benefits, with Americans indicating stronger willingness than Australian respondents. The potential of meat consumption to improve overall wellness among red meat eaters was a dominant factor influencing consumers' WTP more. Other factors that increased WTP included frequency of meat consumption, physical exercise, sleep quality, number of children in a household, partnership status, and economic position. Outcomes from this study highlight a unique opportunity for the meat industry to position meat on its qualities that include wellness improvement if backed up with robust scientific evidence., This research was co-funded by Meat & Livestock Australia Donor Company and AgResearch Ltd. Strategic Science Investment Fund, SSIF-A25692 (Consumer Experience: Delivering Customized Food Attributes), Postprint (updated version)

Background: Current management practices and outcomes in weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, management, timings, risk for failure, and outcomes of weaning in patients requiring at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: WEAN SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study done in 481 intensive care units in 50 countries. Eligible participants were older than 16 years, admitted to a participating intensive care unit, and receiving mechanical ventilation for 2 calendar days or longer. We defined weaning initiation as the first attempt to separate a patient from the ventilator, successful weaning as no reintubation or death within 7 days of extubation, and weaning eligibility criteria based on positive end-expiratory pressure, fractional concentration of oxygen in inspired air, and vasopressors. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients successfully weaned at 90 days. Key secondary outcomes included weaning duration, timing of weaning events, factors associated with weaning delay and weaning failure, and hospital outcomes. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03255109. Findings: Between Oct 4, 2017, and June 25, 2018, 10 232 patients were screened for eligibility, of whom 5869 were enrolled. 4523 (77·1%) patients underwent at least one separation attempt and 3817 (65·0%) patients were successfully weaned from ventilation at day 90. 237 (4·0%) patients were transferred before any separation attempt, 153 (2·6%) were transferred after at least one separation attempt and not successfully weaned, and 1662 (28·3%) died while invasively ventilated. The median time from fulfilling weaning eligibility criteria to first separation attempt was 1 day (IQR 0–4), and 1013 (22·4%) patients had a delay in initiating first separation of 5 or more days. Of the 4523 (77·1%) patients with separation attempts, 2927 (64·7%) had a short wean (≤1 d

Wild migratory birds have the capability to spread avian influenza virus (AIV) over long distances as well as transmit the virus to domestic birds. In this study, swab and tissue samples were obtained from 190 migratory birds during close surveillance in Egypt in response to the recent outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus. The collected samples were tested for a variety of AIV subtypes (H5N1, H9N2, H5N8, and H6N2) as well as other pathogens such as NDV, IBV, ILT, IBDV, and WNV. Among all of the tested samples, the HPAI H5N1 virus was found in six samples; the other samples were found to be negative for all of the tested pathogens. The Egyptian HPAI H5N1 strains shared genetic traits with the HPAI H5N1 strains that are currently being reported in Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa in 2021-2022. Whole genome sequencing revealed markers associated with mammalian adaption and virulence traits among different gene segments, similar to those found in HPAI H5N1 strains detected in Europe and Africa. The detection of the HPAI H5N1 strain of clade 2.3.4.4b in wild birds in Egypt underlines the risk of the introduction of this strain into the local poultry population. Hence, there is reason to be vigilant and continue epidemiological and molecular monitoring of the AIV in close proximity to the domestic-wild bird interface.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a significant global health concern with considerable high morbidity and mortality and its development is influenced by various genetic and environmental factors. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a vital regulator of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) metabolism, directly impacting serum cholesterol levels. However, its role in development of CAD is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the level of PCSK9 and coronary lesion severity in patients with CAD. A case-control study using consecutive sampling was conducted among CAD patients at H. Adam Malik General Hospital and Murni Teguh Memorial Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. A total of 200 CAD patients were divided into two groups based on the SYNTAX score: control (score ≤22, n=100) and case (score >22, n=100). Plasma PCSK9 levels were measured from venous blood using quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay. The Chi-squared test was used to analyze the data. Our data suggested that PCSK9 level was associated with coronary lesion severity (p<0.001) of which high PCSK9 level was associated with severe coronary lesion. We also found that hypertension (p<0.001), smoking (p=0.072), diabetes (p<0.001), dyslipidemia (p<0.001), obesity (p=0.023), and family history (p=0.001) were associated with lesion severity. Using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the cut-off 70.35 ng/mL of PCSK9 had sensitivity 75% and specificity 78% to predict severe coronary lesion. This study highlights that PCSK9 level has moderate sensitivity and specificity to predict the coronary lesion severity among CAD patients.

There is enormous enthusiasm and concerns in using large language models (LLMs) in healthcare, yet current assumptions are all based on general-purpose LLMs such as ChatGPT. This study develops a clinical generative LLM, GatorTronGPT, using 277 billion words of mixed clinical and English text with a GPT-3 architecture of 20 billion parameters. GatorTronGPT improves biomedical natural language processing for medical research. Synthetic NLP models trained using GatorTronGPT generated text outperform NLP models trained using real-world clinical text. Physicians Turing test using 1 (worst) to 9 (best) scale shows that there is no significant difference in linguistic readability (p = 0.22; 6.57 of GatorTronGPT compared with 6.93 of human) and clinical relevance (p = 0.91; 7.0 of GatorTronGPT compared with 6.97 of human) and that physicians cannot differentiate them (p < 0.001). This study provides insights on the opportunities and challenges of LLMs for medical research and healthcare.

Recent clinical research describes a subset of glioblastoma patients that exhibit REP prior to start of radiation therapy. Current literature has thus far described this population using clinicopathologic features. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the potential of conventional ra-diomics, sophisticated multi-resolution fractal texture features, and different molecular features (MGMT, IDH mutations) as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for prediction of REP from non-REP cases using computational and statistical modeling methods. Radiation-planning T1 post-contrast (T1C) MRI sequences of 70 patients are analyzed. Ensemble method with 5-fold cross validation over 1000 iterations offers AUC of 0.793 with standard deviation of 0.082 for REP and non-REP classification. In addition, copula-based modeling under dependent censoring (where a subset of the patients may not be followed up until death) identifies significant features (p-value <0.05) for survival probability and prognostic grouping of patient cases. The prediction of survival for the patients cohort produces precision of 0.881 with standard deviation of 0.056. The prognostic index (PI) calculated using the fused features suggests that 84.62% of REP cases fall under the bad prognostic group, suggesting potentiality of fused features to predict a higher percentage of REP cases. The experimental result further shows that mul-ti-resolution fractal texture features perform better than conventional radiomics features for REP and survival outcomes.

Cardiovascular stenting is a mature topic but it is still being developed in the research community because of its importance. To provide worthy information about cardiovascular stenting environments and to give support to the researchers, attention must be given to understand the obtainable choices and gaps in this research field. This work aims to examine and examine the literature of each work related to the placement of cardiovascular stents, the failure of the stents and the models of stent designs to provide a good understanding through the investigation of articles published in various contextual aspects, such as motivations, open-challenges and recommendations to improve the field of stent placement. A systematic review is carried-out to map and examine the articles related to cardiovascular stents, the failure of the stents and the models of stent designs through a coherent-taxonomy used in three well-known scientific databases: ScienceDirect, IEEE Explore, and Web of Science. These databases involve literature that highlight arterial stenting. Based-on our inclusion and exception, a total of 90 articles composed the final set that offer various classes and sub-classes. The first class includes the development studies with (42/90) of experimental, computational and combined experimental and computational studies related to stent models performance and stent failure, the second class discussed studies that have been performed on stent design with (32/90), the third class is focused on the framework studies with (10/90), and the fourth class includes problems of stenting long-term with (6/90). The performance of stent designs, which is a research area that requires periodic controls, tools and procedures that could provide a stent design with good mechanical performance, reduce restenosis in the stent and increase fatigue resistance and durability. There have been numerous studies on stent performance that could promise good results in this field. The fields

There is growing interest in data-driven weather prediction (DDWP), e.g., using convolutional neural networks such as U-NET that are trained on data from models or reanalysis. Here, we propose three components, inspired by physics, to integrate with commonly used DDWP models in order to improve their forecast accuracy. These components are (1) a deep spatial transformer added to the latent space of U-NET to capture rotation and scaling transformation in the latent space for spatiotemporal data, (2) a data-assimilation (DA) algorithm to ingest noisy observations and improve the initial conditions for next forecasts, and (3) a multi-time-step algorithm, which combines forecasts from DDWP models with different time steps through DA, improving the accuracy of forecasts at short intervals. To show the benefit and feasibility of each component, we use geopotential height at 500g hPa (Z500) from ERA5 reanalysis and examine the short-term forecast accuracy of specific setups of the DDWP framework. Results show that the spatial-transformer-based U-NET (U-STN) clearly outperforms the U-NET, e.g., improving the forecast skill by 45g %. Using a sigma-point ensemble Kalman (SPEnKF) algorithm for DA and U-STN as the forward model, we show that stable, accurate DA cycles are achieved even with high observation noise. This DDWP+DA framework substantially benefits from large (O(1000)) ensembles that are inexpensively generated with the data-driven forward model in each DA cycle. The multi-time-step DDWP+DA framework also shows promise; for example, it reduces the average error by factors of 2-3. These results show the benefits and feasibility of these three components, which are flexible and can be used in a variety of DDWP setups. Furthermore, while here we focus on weather forecasting, the three components can be readily adopted for other parts of the Earth system, such as ocean and land, for which there is a rapid growth of data and need for forecast and assimilation.

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In this study, 2,5-dimethyl-4-((4-nitrobenzylidene) amino) phenol (A1), N,N'-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diyl)bis(1-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)methanimine (A2) and 4,4'-(([1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diylbis(azaneylylidene))bis (methaneylylidene))bis(2-methoxyphenol) (A3) were synthesised. Analytical studies were then carried on (A1), (A2) and (A3); the results of the solvent effect were displayed that the best solubility was in ethanol and DMSO of each, which is due to the fact that the effect of the dielectric constant is the main factor that can control the shift of the absorption beaks. The results were also indicated, that there is a slight deviation from the linear relationship in (A3) that may have related to the hydrogen bond between this base and the solvent. However, the results of the pH effect of (A1), (A2) and (A3) in a range of buffer solution were gave two isopiestic points just in (A3). Due to the ionization constant (pKa) and the protonation constant (pKp) were calculated by using the half height method. Further, the results were indicated the existence of the equilibrium schemes of which displays the suggested ionization of (A3) in acidic and basic medium. Further, the effect of the prepared Schiff bases (A1, A2, and A3) were studied on breast cancer cells type MCF-7 using five different concentrations of each. The results were showed high inhibition activities of each especially at high concentration, due recommend these bases as novel anti-cancer drugs.

The current study assessed the ecological–health risks of potentially toxic arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) in the vegetable Centella asiatica, topsoils, and mangrove sediments sampled from Peninsular Malaysia. The As concentrations ranged from 0.21 to 4.33, 0.18 to 1.83, and 1.32 to 20.8 mg/kg dry weight, for the leaves, stems, and roots of the vegetable, respectively. The ranges of Sb concentrations were 0.31–0.62, 0.12–0.35, and 0.64–1.61 mg/kg dry weight, for leaves, stems, and roots of the vegetable, respectively. The children’s target hazard quotient (THQ) values indicated no non-carcinogenic risks of As and Sb in both leaves and stems, although children’s THQ values were higher than those in adults. The calculated values of estimated weekly intake were lower than established provisional tolerable weekly intake of As and Sb for both children and adult consumers. The carcinogenic risk (CR) values of As for children’s intake of leaves and stems of vegetables showed more public concern than those of adults. The levels of Sb and As in the topsoils were generally higher (although not significantly) than those in the mangrove sediments, resulting in a higher geoaccumulation index, contamination factor and ecological risk, hazard index, THQ, and CR values. This indicated that the anthropogenic sources of Sb and As originated from the land-based activities before reaching the mangrove near the coast. The CR of As signifies a dire need for comprehensive ecological–health risks exposure studies, as dietary intake involves more than just vegetable consumption. Therefore, risk management for As and Sb in Malaysia is highly recommended. The present findings of the ecological–health risks of As and Sb based on 2010–2012 samples can be used as an important baseline for future reference and comparison. Copyright © 2022 Yap, Tan, Cheng, Syazwan, Azrizal-Wahid, Krishnan, Go, Nulit, Ibrahim, Mustafa, Omar, Chew, Edward, Okamura, Al-Mutairi, Al-Shami, Sharifinia, Keshavarzifard, Y

With the recent development in power electronic devices, HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) systems have been recognized as the most prominent solution to transmit electric power economically. Today, several HVDC projects have been implemented physically. The conventional HVDC systems use grid commutation converters, and its commutation relies on an AC system for the provision of voltage. Due to this reason, there are possibilities of commutation failure during fault. Furthermore, once the DC (Direct Current) system power is interrupted momentarily, the reversal of work power is likely to cause transient over-voltage, which will endanger the safety of power grid operation. Hence, it is necessary to study the commutation failure and transient over-voltage issues. To tackle the above issues, in this paper, the dynamic and transient characteristics of Pakistan’s first HVDC project, i.e., the Matiari–Lahore ±660 kV transmission line has been analyzed in an electromagnetic transient model of PSCAD/EMTDC. Based on the characteristics of the DC and the off-angle after the failure, a new control strategy has been proposed. The HVDC system along with its proposed control strategy has been tested under various operating conditions. The proposed controller increases the speed of fault detection, reduces the drop of AC voltage and DC and suppresses the commutation failure probability of LCC-HVDC (line commutated converter-high voltage direct current). © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Atmospheric air temperature is the most crucial metrological parameter. Despite its influence on multiple fields such as hydrology, the environment, irrigation, and agriculture, this parameter describes climate change and global warming quite well. Thus, accurate and timely air temperature forecasting is essential because it provides more important information that can be relied on for future planning. In this study, four Data-Driven Approaches, Support Vector Regression (SVR), Regression Tree (RT), Quantile Regression Tree (QRT), ARIMA, Random Forest (RF), and Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR), have been applied to forecast short-, and mid-term air temperature (daily, and weekly) over North America under continental climatic conditions. The time-series data is relatively long (2000 to 2021), 70% of the data are used for model calibration (2000 to 2015), and the rest are used for validation. The autocorrelation and partial autocorrelation functions have been used to select the best input combination for the forecasting models. The quality of predicting models is evaluated using several statistical measures and graphical comparisons. For daily scale, the SVR has generated more accurate estimates than other models, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE = 3.592°C), Correlation Coefficient (R = 0.964), Mean Absolute Error (MAE = 2.745°C), and Thiels’ U-statistics (U = 0.127). Besides, the study found that both RT and SVR performed very well in predicting weekly temperature. This study discovered that the duration of the employed data and its dispersion and volatility from month to month substantially influence the predictive models’ efficacy. Furthermore, the second scenario is conducted using the randomization method to divide the data into training and testing phases. The study found the performance of the models in the second scenario to be much better than the first one, indicating that climate change affects the temperature pattern of the studied station. The findings offe, Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-11-07 (joosat)

The aim of this study is to assess the antifungal action of Averrhoa bilimbi fruit and Garcinia mangostana pericarp ethanolic extracts in altering the morphology and causing cellular damage of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium proliferatum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The pathogens were cultured on media containing both extracts individually and carbendazim as positive control, whereas media alone as negative control. All samples were processed for microscopy observations using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron (TEM) microscopes. Observation via SEM showed significant alterations in the hyphae of F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum and C. gloeosporioides compared to the control in which the hyphae were in normal form. However, no significant alteration in hyphae had been observed in the treated plate compared to the control for L. theobromae. The development of calcium carbonate crystals was also observed abundantly in control compared to treated pathogens for F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum only. This indicated that the plant extracts can inhibit some metabolic processes in the pathogens too. Observations via TEM had been conducted for F. proliferatum and C. gloeosporioides, respectively. The results showed disintegration of cytoplasmic organelles and cell wall, intense vacuolization and lyses part of fungal cells. The plant extracts have equivalent or even greater effects compared to commercial fungicide carbendazim.

Groundwater meets the majority portion of drinking water needs, particularly in the rural area of Bangladesh. Groundwater has been continuously contaminated by potentially harmful metals as a result of natural processes as well as some anthropogenic activity, creating a variety of health impacts. The current research aimed to evaluate the naturally occurring level of metal contamination and the human health risk associated with deep groundwater in the Hatiya Island. Because of the arsenic, iron, and salinity problem in shallow groundwater, the inhabitants of the Hatiya Island use deep groundwater. During the field investigation, no shallow tubewells were observed; therefore, only deep groundwater samples were collected. The total sample size collected throughout the Hatiya island was 17. Five metals (Zn, Fe, Mg, Mn, and Cu) were analyzed using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The concentrations of studied potential risky metals were ranked as follows: Mg > Zn > Fe >Mn> Cu. The detected values of all metals except Fe were found within the drinking water limits of WHO (2017), BIS (2012), and BDWS (1997), where only 29.41% of the Fe sample exceeded the standard drinking limits. According to the metal evaluation index (MEI) and degree of contamination (Cd), the groundwater of the study area is free from contamination but the metal pollution index (MPI) and nemerow pollution index (NI) exhibited little pollution in the middle of the western part of the study area. The hazard quotient (HQ) values revealed no oral and dermal health risk for individual metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn). On the other hand, the hazard index (HI) values exhibited no risk for combined metals as none of the values exceeded the safety limit value of 1. According to the HQ and HI results, the deep groundwater on Hatiya Island is non-carcinogenic and risk-free for children and adults. However, children were more susceptible to oral health risks than adults. In contrast, adults were more vulnerab

Digit therapeutics are novel software devices that clinicians may utilize in delivering quality mental health care and ensuring positive outcomes. However, uptake of digital therapeutics and clinically tested software-based programs remains low. This article presents possible reasons for attrition and low engagement in clinical studies investigating digital therapeutics, analyses of studies in which engagement was high, and design constructs that may encourage user engagement. The aim is to shed light on the importance of real-world attrition data of digital therapeutics, and important characteristics of medical devices that have positively influenced user engagement. The findings presented in this article will be useful to relevant stakeholders and medical device experts tasked with addressing the gap between software medical design and user engagement present in digital therapeutic clinical trials., Comment: 11 pages, 1 table

Kannan O Ahmed,1 Ashraf M Ahmed,1 Mojahed B Wali,1 Ali H Ali,1 Mustafa M Azhari,1 Anas Babiker,2 Bashir A Yousef,3 Hiba F Muddather1 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan; 2Department of Cardiology, Royal Care International Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan; 3Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, SudanCorrespondence: Kannan O Ahmed, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Gezira, Wad Medani, Sudan, Tel +249 121860001, Fax +249 511861180, Email omerkannan@gmail.comBackground: Five-medication regimen is recommended for patients after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as a secondary prevention strategy at discharge to reduce recurrence and improve mortality.Objective: This study aimed to assess prescribing of optimal medical therapy (OMT) as five-medication regimens for secondary prevention at discharge after ACS in Sudan.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary hospital located in Wad Medani, Sudan, in the period between January and December 2019. Data were collected from patients’ files. OMT was defined as a combination of five medications; aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitors, statins, beta-blockers (BBs), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or if a valid contraindication was documented.Results: Of the 619 patients throughout the study period, 591 were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The median age of patients was 60 years, and 58.9% of patients were male. Diabetes (44.5%) and hypertension (42%) were the most common risk factors. Most patients (58.4%) were diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. About 99.7% of patients were on aspirin, 99.5% on statins, 97% on clopidogrel, 96.8% on dual antiplatelet therapy, 70.4% on BBs, and 57.9% on ACEIs/ARBs. OMT for secondary prevention was prescribed to 267

Sky surveys are the largest data generators in astronomy, making automated tools for extracting meaningful scientific information an absolute necessity. We show that, without the need for labels, self-supervised learning recovers representations of sky survey images that are semantically useful for a variety of scientific tasks. These representations can be directly used as features, or fine-tuned, to outperform supervised methods trained only on labeled data. We apply a contrastive learning framework on multiband galaxy photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), to learn image representations. We then use them for galaxy morphology classification and fine-tune them for photometric redshift estimation, using labels from the Galaxy Zoo 2 data set and SDSS spectroscopy. In both downstream tasks, using the same learned representations, we outperform the supervised state-of-the-art results, and we show that our approach can achieve the accuracy of supervised models while using 2-4 times fewer labels for training. The codes, trained models, and data can be found at https://portal.nersc.gov/project/dasrepo/self-supervised-learning-sdss.

The authors aim to develop siRNA therapeutics for cancer that can be administered systemically to target tumors and retard their growth. The efficacy of systemic delivery of siRNA to tumors with nanoparticles based on lipids or polymers is often compromised by their rapid clearance from the circulation by the liver. Here, multifunctional cationic and anionic siRNA nanoparticle formulations are described, termed receptor-targeted nanocomplexes (RTNs), that comprise peptides for siRNA packaging into nanoparticles and receptor-mediated cell uptake, together with lipids that confer nanoparticles with stealth properties to enhance stability in the circulation, and fusogenic properties to enhance endosomal release within the cell. Intravenous administration of RTNs in mice leads to predominant accumulation in xenograft tumors, with very little detected in the liver, lung, or spleen. Although non-targeted RTNs also enter the tumor, cell uptake appears to be RGD peptide-dependent indicating integrin-mediated uptake. RTNs with siRNA against MYCN (a member of the Myc family of transcription factors) in mice with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma tumors show significant retardation of xenograft tumor growth and enhanced survival. This study shows that RTN formulations can achieve specific tumor-targeting, with minimal clearance by the liver and so enable delivery of tumor-targeted siRNA therapeutics.

In this work, structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.5Mg Zn0.5-xFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) nanocrystalline ferrites synthesized via the co-precipitation method are reported. The ferrites are found to be at the nano-scale with sizes below 30 nm and seem porous in their general appearance. The structural properties were investigated using X-ray and Infrared (IR) spectra. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns have been refined using the Rietveld method to find the lattice parameters. It was found that all these ferrites are a single-phase cubic spinel related structure belonging to the Fd-3m space group. Further, the positions, occupancy and Wyckoff s cationic position of the ions, in addition the lattice constant (a), the crystallite size (D) and the micro-strain of the composites have been analyzed and found to be affected by the variation of the Mg2+ ions concentration. The Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) technique showed that these nanoparticles are superparamagnetic with approximately impermanent magnetization of relatively high values. It was also found that the magnetization values of the Ni0.5MgxZn0.5-xFe2O4 (0.0 <= x <= 0.5) system increase with the existence of the Mg2+ and the Zn2+ contents together (at x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) due to the increase in the super exchange interaction happening between the Fe3+ and the Ni2+ ions resulting from the occupation of the Mg2+ and the Zn2+ ions (nonmagnetic) to exclusively the A-sites as indicated by the Rietvelds structural analysis. These composites are expected to be promising for biomedical applications due to their superparamagnetic property below 30 nm., Funding Agencies|Sultan Qaboos University

The sustainable use of fisheries resources is a major concern for coastal resource management. Malaysia is endowed with vast coastal fisheries resources which contribute about 1% to national GDP. Sarawak is the major state of Malaysia having high potentials for coastal fisheries. This study was conducted from December 2018 to May 2019 to inquire the status of the coastal fisheries and to identify gaps for further research and measures for sustainable fisheries. The study was undertaken through desk-based review and analysis of secondary data along with a focus on the primary fish landing data collected directly from fishers’ catches and Gnian (type of Estuarine Set Bag Net-ESBN) fish sampling. FAO production data (1950-2011) for fishing zone 71 (data of Sarawak-Sabah fishing zone) showed a sharp incremental trend (70100 to 682004 MT; R = 0.992). According to DoF data from 2000 to 2016, the Sarawak fishery was mainly contributed by coastal catches which is about 70% of the total catch, and a clear monthly fluctuation was observed in fish catches from Sarawak coast. In the same dataset (DoF 2000-2016), there was constant landing from March to August whereas declining trends from September to February. Data from case study site (Daro) exhibited 40.9 MT catch in 2018 and varied every month from the lowest 3004 kg (November) to the highest 3693 kg (March). Fishing efforts in terms of fishermen, vessels and gears were steadily increased over the period of year 2000 until 2016. The main contributing species/groups by weight were prawn and shrimp (39%) followed by Bornean grenadier anchovy (15%), and eeltail catfish, crabs and Gangetic anchovy (4%). There were 78 contributing species/group/guilds including fresh water, estuarine and coastal fishes showed in historic database of Daro via the catch assessment forms. However, there were only 34 species found to be contributing to catch during 2018. Out of 34 species, 23 were found contributing regularly (12 months) whereas the

We present the effect of the quantum corrections on the Szekeres spacetime, a system important for the study of the inhomogeneities of the pre-inflationary era of the universe. The study is performed in the context of canonical quantisation in the presence of symmetries. We construct an effective classical Lagrangian and impose the quantum version of its classical integrals of motion on the wave function. The interpretational scheme of the quantum solution is that of Bohmian mechanics, in which one can avoid the unitarity problem of quantum cosmology. We discuss our results in this context., Comment: Prepared for the proceedings of the Fifteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting - MG15

[EN] This paper provides a comprehensive probabilistic analysis of a full randomization of approximate SIR-type epidemiological models based on discrete-time Markov chain formulation. The randomization is performed by assuming that all input data (initial conditions, the contagion, and recovering rates involved in the transition matrix) are random variables instead of deterministic constants. In the first part of the paper, we determine explicit expressions for the so called first probability density function of each subpopulation identified as the corresponding states of the Markov chain (susceptible, infected, and recovered) in terms of the probability density function of each input random variable. Afterwards, we obtain the probability density functions of the times until a given proportion of the population remains susceptible, infected, and recovered, respectively. The theoretical analysis is completed by computing explicit expressions of important randomized epidemiological quantities, namely, the basic reproduction number, the effective reproduction number, and the herd immunity threshold. The study is conducted under very general assumptions and taking extensive advantage of the random variable transformation technique. The second part of the paper is devoted to apply our theoretical findings to describe the dynamics of the pandemic influenza in Egypt using simulated data excerpted from the literature. The simulations are complemented with valuable information, which is seldom displayed in epidemiological models. In spite of the nonlinear mathematical nature of SIR epidemiological model, our results show a strong agreement with the approximation via an appropriate randomized Markov chain. A justification in this regard is discussed.

WORKSHOP AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PLANNING AND BUDGETING OF VILLAGE FUND. The purpose of this technical assistance was to enhance the skill of village government officers in Desa Tanimulya. The project was divided into 4 focus that consists of: workshop, review long term plan and short term plan, introduce enterprise owned by the village and manual procedure design for several main activities. This project was held in Tanimulya. There were 30 participants in this activity including head of the village and his staff. After the technical assistance has done, it can be seen that the village officer in Tanimulya understood the relation between long term planning and short term planning thus, it makes them easier to calculate the budget for each activitiy inside the plan.

NiFe2O4, NiFe2O4/MWCNTs, CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4/MWCNTs nanocomposites were synthesized via the hydrothermal method. XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM techniques have been used to investigate the structural properties. CoFe2O4/MWCNTs has a good morphology with small sizes compared to NiFe2O4/MWCNTs. UV-vis. DRS analysis showed that the nanocomposites have high absorbance of irradiation in the whole range of the wavelengths (200-900 nm). The optical energy gaps of the nanocomposites have been calculated. Using VSM technique, NiFe2O4 and NiFe2O4/MWCNTs exhibited super-paramagnetism at room temperature, while CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4/MWCNTs exhibited ferromagnetism with saturation magnetization of 37.8, 25.5, 66.46 and 51.49 emu/g, respectively. The AC conductivity measurements for NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 NPs revealed an increase in conductivity with the addition of MWCNTs as well as the dielectric measurements. The structural and electrical properties of CoFe2O4/MWCNTs make it of potential for capacitive storage and optoelectronic devices. Promising magnetic-optical properties can be utilized for developing recyclable photocatalytic applications., Funding Agencies|Azal Pharmaceutical Industries "Azal Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. - Sudan", Al Khartoum Bahri, Khartoum, Sudan

Novel multifunctional NiFe2O4/MWCNTs/ZnO hybrid nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal and the co-precipitation methods at 210 degrees C and 90 degrees C, respectively, to be used as a solar radiation driven photocatalytic material. The hybrid nanocomposite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to NiFe2O4 and ZnO for decolorization of Methylene Blue (MB) dye -as a model pollutant - from aqueous solutions under solar radiation. Different complementary analytical tools were used to investigate the structural, optical and magnetic properties of the photocatalyst which possess good light response ability, photocatalytic stability, magnetic separation performance and reproducibility. The results from optical degradation confirmed the synergistic effect between the NiFe2O4, the ZnO and the MWCNTs. Suppressed recombination of electron-hole pairs mean more efficient charge separation and enhanced photocatalytic activity. The apparent rate constant (k(app)) of the MB decolorization for a duration of 300 min using NiFe2O4/MWCNTs/ZnO, NiFe2O4 and ZnO photocatalysts were found to be 0.00438 min(-1), 4.12857E(-4) min(-1) and 0.002 min(-1) respectively. The removal efficiency was also investigated for different pH values. Due to the magnetic properties of the nanocomposite, it was possible to separate it after degradation experiments and hence re-usability is possible. In view of the enhanced solar radiation driven photodegradation, the present composite can present a robust alternative as a solar radiation driven photocatalyst., Funding Agencies|Azal Pharmaceutical industries "Azal Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. - Sudan", Al Khartoum Bahri, Khartoum, Sudan

Nowadays, the chaotic cryptosystems are gaining more attention due to their efficiency, the assurance of robustness and high sensitivity corresponding to initial conditions. In literature, on one hand there are many encryption algorithms that only guarantee security while on the other hand there are schemes based on chaotic systems that only promise the uncertainty. Due to these limitations, each of these approaches cannot adequately encounter the challenges of current scenario. Here we take a unified approach and propose an image encryption algorithm based on Lorenz chaotic system and primitive irreducible polynomial S-boxes. First, we propose 16 different S-boxes based on projective general linear group and 16 primitive irreducible polynomials of Galois field of order 256, and then utilize these S-boxes with combination of chaotic map in image encryption scheme. Three chaotic sequences can be produced by the Lorenz chaotic system corresponding to variables $x$, $y$ and $z$. We construct a new pseudo random chaotic sequence $k_i$ based on $x$, $y$ and $z$. The plain image is encrypted by the use of chaotic sequence $k_i$ and XOR operation to get a ciphered image. To demonstrate the strength of presented image encryption, some renowned analyses as well as MATLAB simulations are performed.

With the tremendous benefits of internet and advanced communications, there is a serious threat from the data security perspective. There is a need of secure and robust encryption algorithm that can be implemented on each and diverse software and hardware platforms. Also, in block symmetric encryption algorithms, substitution boxes are the most vital part. In this paper, we investigate semifield substitution boxes using permutation of symmetric group on a set of size 8 S_8 and establish an effective procedure for generating S_8 semifield substitution boxes having same algebraic properties. Further, the strength analysis of the generated substitution boxes is carried out using the well-known standards namely bijectivity, nonlinearity, strict avalanche criterion, bit independence criterion, XOR table and differential invariant. Based on the analysis results, it is shown that the cryptographic strength of generated substitution boxes is on par with the best known $8\times 8$ substitution boxes. As application, an encryption algorithm is proposed that can be employed to strengthen any kind of secure communication. The presented algorithm is mainly based on the Shannon idea of (S-P) network where the process of substitution is performed by the proposed S_8 semifield substitution boxes and permutation operation is performed by the binary cyclic shift of substitution box transformed data. In addition, the proposed encryption algorithm utilizes two different chaotic maps. In order to ensure the appropriate utilization of these chaotic maps, we carry out in-depth analyses of their behavior in the context of secure communication and apply the pseudo-random sequences of chaotic maps in the proposed image encryption algorithm accordingly. The statistical and simulation results imply that our encryption scheme is secure against different attacks and can resist linear and differential cryptanalysis., Comment: 23 pages

Solar radiation is emitted from the sun and collected on the surface of the earth by solar collectors. Solar energy can be transformed into useful energy in the structure of thermal power. One of the foremosteconomic always is to reapheat by exploitationsolar Flat Plate Collector (FPC). The solar collector's function is to heat water from the atmosphere. Heated water can be used for domestic and industrial uses, etc. The types of FPCs involved in this study are, for the colour’s FPC (black collector versus white collector), material’s FPC (copper collector versus polypropylene collector) and glazing’s FPC (double glazing collector versus single glazing collector) by using the Energy Solar Trainer. The present work is aimed to predict the performance of FPC tested for three different days with different types of FPC using an application of water heating The sky was almost clear with an ambient temperature in the range 20o C-36.2o C. Readings are collected from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. with the solar radiation intensity, I = 722 W/m2 and flow rate fixed at 2 Lm-1. The result shows that the efficiency of FPCs (colour, material and glazing), the colour’s FPC, and black collector is higher than white collector. While for material’s FPC, copper collector is higher than polypropylene collector. For the glazing’s FPC, double glazing collector is higher than single collector. For the overall FPCs efficiency, double glazing collector is the highest compared to others FPC.

In Malaysia, the three main types of motorcycle accidents include collision with passenger cars, collision with other motorcycles and single-motorcycle accidents. An accident may occur due to the lack of road design consistency and visibility where most drivers make more errors in the absence of geometric features. One of the most important barriers to the more frequent use of high beam headlight is the length of visibility of the headlight beam in relation to the stopping distance of a vehicle. Furthermore, it is crucial to evaluate the current limits on the luminous intensity of high beam headlights that is considered visible for a driver to come to a stop. Therefore, this first stage study summarizes and investigates the stopping sight distances, braking distances that allow for the evaluation of the vehicle's performance to increase the capability of both the driver and vehicle with regard to safety. A total of ten experiments were carried out with a passenger car, the Perodua Myvi, on a road within a local university. The results found that Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) could be used to determine the SSD graph by considering the velocity (v0), driver’s perception reaction time (tR), coefficient of breaking friction (fT), gravitational constant (g), deceleration rate (a) and roadway grade (G). The study also concludes that SSD could be used to determine the SSD graph by considering the velocity (v0), driver’s perception reaction time (tR), coefficient of breaking friction (fT), gravitational constant (g), deceleration rate (a) and roadway grade (G). Ultimately, the study also indicates that the time to switch to hi-beam (Automatic High Beam – AHB) is at SSD distance (meter or second).

Ecotourism is an alternative form of tourism and is usually confused with natural and cultural tourism.CBET is fast becoming a popular biodiversity conservation tool that develops and benefits the local community. Based on the context of conservation theory and practice, Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) is a form of community-based natural resource management. However, a sustainable CBET development through Community Capacity Building (CCB)programs is not something that it easily achievable. Local community’s capacity varies from one culture to another. It takes a high level of community participation, in order for it to come to a level where the community members themselves are motivated to participate and contribute to the development of the program. This fully qualitative research involved 15 respondents from the community of Kg. Selai, Bekok in Johor, Malaysia. The result show there are five factors that sustained the ecotourism development based for Orang Asli Community in Kg. Selai, namely, existing CBET development, past CBET development, local community participation in planning stage of tourism, local participation in implementation stage of tourism and participation in nature conservation.

Ecotourism is an alternative form of tourism and is usually confused with natural and cultural tourism.CBET is fast becoming a popular biodiversity conservation tool that develops and benefits the local community. Based on the context of conservation theory and practice, Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) is a form of community-based natural resource management. However, a sustainable CBET development through Community Capacity Building (CCB)programs is not something that it easily achievable. Local community’s capacity varies from one culture to another. It takes a high level of community participation, in order for it to come to a level where the community members themselves are motivated to participate and contribute to the development of the program. This fully qualitative research involved 15 respondents from the community of Kg. Selai, Bekok in Johor, Malaysia. The result show there are five factors that sustained the ecotourism development based for Orang Asli Community in Kg. Selai, namely, existing CBET development, past CBET development, local community participation in planning stage of tourism, local participation in implementation stage of tourism and participation in nature conservation.

Ecotourism is an alternative form of tourism and is usually confused with natural and cultural tourism.CBET is fast becoming a popular biodiversity conservation tool that develops and benefits the local community. Based on the context of conservation theory and practice, Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) is a form of community-based natural resource management. However, a sustainable CBET development through Community Capacity Building (CCB)programs is not something that it easily achievable. Local community’s capacity varies from one culture to another. It takes a high level of community participation, in order for it to come to a level where the community members themselves are motivated to participate and contribute to the development of the program. This fully qualitative research involved 15 respondents from the community of Kg. Selai, Bekok in Johor, Malaysia. The result show there are five factors that sustained the ecotourism development based for Orang Asli Community in Kg. Selai, namely, existing CBET development, past CBET development, local community participation in planning stage of tourism, local participation in implementation stage of tourism and participation in nature conservation.

Mustafa M Alsmael,1 Ali H Gorab,1 Areej M AlQahtani2 1Family Medicine Academy, First Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 2First Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Al Khobar, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Ali H Gorab PO Box 1162, Al Khobar 31952, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaTel +966 50 680 6538Fax +966 13 891 1159Email Ghorabah@gmail.comPurpose: Workplace violence is common throughout the world. It causes many serious problems in the healthcare sector, where it significantly impacts healthcare workers, the services provided, and organizations as a whole. However, few studies have investigated these issues in Saudi Arabia. This study examined the prevalence of violence against healthcare workers at primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study also assessed the types, perpetrators, perceived causes, and consequences related to such violence. Here, the aim was to understand how healthcare workers responded to violence and gauge their awareness of a reporting system.Patients and Methods: A total of 360 healthcare workers (180 each from primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar) were invited to complete structured, self-administered questionnaires. As such, this study employed a cross-sectional analytical design.Results: The prevalence of workplace violence among all participating health workers was 46.9%, with approximately 90% of these workers reporting verbal violence, 34.3% having been subject to intimidation, and 3% reporting physical violence. Approximately 75% reported that violent events were initiated by patients, while 45.6% reported that the events were initiated by patients’ companions. Healthcare workers’ reactions included reporting events to their supervisors or the police, but 46.7% said they did nothing; the most common reason was perceived inefficacy. Finally, only 36.4% of all participants were aware of a violence reporting system.Conclusion: This study showed tha

In recent years, heuristic evaluation has focused to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of applications. This technique is considered as the most effective tool that is used in human-computer interaction studies to test the usability of information systems. Moreover, this technique is widely adopted to analyze the usability of applications as it is inexpensive and quick.The objective of this study is to use the heuristic evaluation principals to assess the effectiveness of the stock exchange mobile application in Malaysia. Questionnaire survey method was used and data were collected by 25 participants from Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). The heuristic evaluation was conducted by 25 experts to examine the usefulness of stock exchange mobile application. The results revealed that stock exchange application is an effective and useful application that has all required features. Meanwhile, findings also postulated that most of the users show agreeableness regarding the applications of principals of heuristics evaluation in this application. These heuristic principals can further used to avoid the usability gaps in this stock exchange application.This study also gives guidelines to designers for taking corrective measures during the designing of the applications for the stock exchange. Additionally, these guidelines help to provide solutions in the future that how designers may improve the user interface of these stock exchange applications that may improve the experience of users.