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In this paper, a simple and efficient no-reference image quality assessment technique based on polynomial coefficient and reduced Gerschgorin circle is presented. The dominant features and dynamics of the test images are captured using the polynomial coefficient. Moreover, the image focus measure is modeled using the concept of reduced Gerschgorin's higher circle bound. The presented image focus measure is tested on different synthetic images datasets such as LIVE, TID2008, CSIQ, Cornel and IVC. Further, the proposed approach is also examined on real-time images captured by the camera in different conditions. It is observed that the proposed approach demonstrates important properties of focus measures such as unimodality and contrast invariance. Moreover, the presented technique is robust under the different varying noisy conditions.

OBJECTIVE--To evaluate the phenotype of 15 children with congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and profound hearing loss, known as Homozygous llp15-p14 Deletion syndrome (MIM #606528). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--Prospective clinical follow-up and [...]

ABSTRACT Sixteen under-reinforced high strength concrete one-way slabs were cast, heated at 600°C for 2 h, repaired, and then tested under four-point loading to investigate the coupling effect of water [...]

Problem statement: The problem of urban traffic noise pollution is universal and in the past few decades it has grown to the point that it has become a major concern for both the public and the policy-makers. Approach: In a comprehensive 18 month research project, traffic-generated noise was monitored at 47 roadway locations in fourteen districts in metropolitan Kuwait in 2004-2005. Simultaneously with noise, traffic flow variables of volume-by mix and traffic speed were also measured. Measurements of noise and traffic flow variables were performed for a period of 20 min at each location, repeated 3-5 times, during peak and off-peak hours to account for time-fluctuation of these variables. At each district, a sample of freeway, arterial, collector and local residential streets were included in the noise and traffic flow monitoring plan. In addition to the analysis of noise, flow and their interrelationships, two models-regressions and the FHWA's traffic noise model, were employed to predict noise pollutions from traffic. Results: Findings indicated that traffic noise is at or above, the standard outdoor limits in most locations and especially at arterial roadways and freeways. Recommendations concerning measured to improve the problem of urban traffic noise pollution in Kuwait are also made. Conclusion: Findings of this research project had shown that level of traffic-generated noise pollution in Kuwait urban area is high enough to adversely affect the welfare activities and productivities of its residents. With the rapidly growing rate of infrastructural development and unplanned urban land-use change, it is almost certain, that problem of urban traffic noise pollution will soon assume a critical dimension and will be a cause of increasing concern for both public and responsible policy-makers. The quality of urban life will undoubtedly be adversely affected. Key words: Noise pollution, noise models, noise from traffic, Kuwait, INTRODUCTION The affluent State of Kuwait has experienced a very rapid growth rate in the socio-economic and infrastructures over the last three decades. The construction of hundreds of kilometers of [...]

In Kuwait, two main power stations, one comprising of seven-300MW steam generators at Doha and other with eight-300MW steam generators at Subyia cover the major power requirement of Kuwait city. These stations used different types of fuel oil as the prime source of energy that has different sulpher contents (S%). Comprehensive emission inventories for year the 2001 were used to execute Source Complex model for Short-term Dispersion (ISCST4.5) to predict ambient ground level concentrations of sulphur dioxide ([SO.sub.2]) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) at selected receptors. A yearlong meteorological data were used in conjunction with the dispersion model to compute [SO.sub.2] and NOx levels in and around the power stations. For validation of the model, computed results were compared with the measured daily average values at a fixed Kuwait EPA air quality monitoring station located at the roof of polyclinic in Rabia residential area. Contributions of each power station to the highest predicted values were assessed. Significance of the fifty highest hourly, daily and annual ground level concentration values under existing meteorological conditions was analyzed. The results for year 2001 revealed that daily and annual mean predicted [SO.sub.2] concentrations had exceedance about 5.7% and 0.16% respectively of the total area under investigation. Based on these results, mitigation strategies would be proposed to abate high pollution levels caused by these power stations. Key words: Air pollution, ISCST4.5, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, INTRODUCTION Rapid industrialization worldwide has triggered off a wave of economic development bringing prosperity and advancement for many nations. However, such activity has not been without degradation of the environment, [...]

The layer of cells in the innermost part of the synovium may produce an extracellular matrix of proteins and molecules that provides organization and adhesion for the cell layer. Synovium is the membrane which lines the cavity of joints. Substances such as hyaluronan, collagen, and fibronectin make up the extracellular matrix. Some of the adhesion molecules in the matrix are the vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and the intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs). ICAM-1 may become sensitized in rheumatoid arthritis. There is evidence that the extracellular matrix, along with synovium, may grow next to orthopedic implants, as it does in natural joints. Future research about the growth of synovium alongside of implants may provide information about cell adhesion and loosening of joint replacements.

In higher educational institutions such as colleges and universities, student attendance has a significant impact on the academic outcomes and thus on the overall educational process. Therefore, the need for an automatic attendance registration system is one of the most critical requirements in educational process nowadays; especially with the tremendous growth in technology sectors. This paper presents an automated attendance management system (AAMS) where the attendance of the students is recorded automatically to overcome the manual attendance tracking system flaws. The proposed system consists of two main components, a student identification number and a hand-held scanner. The AAMS system is mainly designed for the Hashemite University, one of the leading universities in Jordan, to replace the old and inefficient current manual attendance system with a portable, simple, easy and low-cost solution of attendance registration system. Details of a real implementation of AAMS system within the university are illustrated and presented.

This paper presents a low-cost IGBT driver circuit for a three-level neutral point clamped (3L-NPC) converters. The driver circuit is built with IR2110 with an external dead-time circuit based on Schmitt trigger. Originally, the IR2110 is designed to drive two switches of a half-bridge inverter in a complementary manner. Two IR2110 are used to drive one phase of the 3L-NPC converter. Each pulse leading edge is delayed for around ten microseconds to prevent the shoot-through phenomenon. The circuit manipulates the pulses generated from the digital controller is introduced in details. The low and high voltage side of the driver circuit are optically isolated. The proposed circuit design is experimentally tested its applicability for driving 3L-NPC converters is verified.

A seismic hazard map of Kanpur city has been developed considering the region-specific seismotectonic parameters within a 500-km radius by deterministic and probabilistic approaches. The maximum probable earthquake magnitude (Mmax) for each seismic source has been estimated by considering the regional rupture characteristics method and has been compared with the maximum magnitude observed Mmaxobs $\left ({M_{\max }^{\text {obs}}}\right )$, Mmaxobs+0.5 $M_{\max }^{\text {obs}} +0.5$and Kijko method. The best suitable ground motion prediction equations (GMPE) were selected from 27 applicable GMPEs based on the ‘efficacy test’. Furthermore, different weight factors were assigned to different Mmaxvalues and the selected GMPE to calculate the final hazard value. Peak ground acceleration and spectral acceleration at 0.2 and 1 s were estimated and mapped for worst-case scenario and 2 and 10% probability of exceedance for 50 years. Peak ground acceleration (PGA) showed a variation from 0.04 to 0.36 g for DSHA, from 0.02 to 0.32 g and 0.092 to 0.1525 g for 2 and 10% probability in 50 years, respectively. A normalised site-specific design spectrum has been developed considering three vulnerable sources based on deaggregation at the city center and the results are compared with the recent 2011 Sikkim and 2015 Nepal earthquakes, and the Indian seismic code IS 1893.

The Makran Subduction Zone marks the plate boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian plate within the northern Arabian Sea. The only instrumentally recorded earthquake (MW 8.1) that triggered a tsunami along this subduction zone occurred on 27 November, 1945. We summarise and review individual observations of both: earthquake and tsunami. Published scientific reports, newspaper articles as well as eyewitness accounts are used. The information gathered reveals the impact along the shorelines of the Arabian Sea. It is evident that the most severe impact was encountered along the Pakistani shoreline in close proximity to the epicentre of the earthquake. Additionally, the low lying Indus river delta was severely affected. The most distant record of the tsunami is located on the Seychelles Islands; 3,400 km from the epicentre. The tsunami was observed along the eastern shoreline of Oman. Several eyewitnesses report that the sea rose unexpectedly. A storm event is excluded, as such would have been recognised beforehand. The damages reported for the Omani coastline are only minor. However, locally the coastline is decorated by boulder and block deposits. These are interpreted as indicative for palaeo-tsunami with higher run-ups. The total number of casualties along the entire area of impact is estimated in the order of a couple of hundreds. Reports of several thousand casualties are exaggerated and derive from early estimations that were not confirmed.

Pomelo fruit juice and pomelo ethylacetate extract have been shown to increase the bioavailability of some CYP3A substrates. The purpose of this study was to investigate if this effect might be contributed to by changes in CYP3A and p-glycoprotein mRNAs levels in the liver and proximal small intestine. The ethyl acetate extract of pomelo mix was administered for 7 days to 10 rabbits. Nine rabbits were administered tap water for 7 days. The administration was through oral intubation to the stomach. On the 8th day, the rabbits were sacrificed, and the liver and the proximal 15 cm of the small intestine were dissected. Total RNA was extracted from the specimens and cDNA was prepared by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using specific primers. The ethyl acetate extract of pomelo mix reduced the mRNA expression of CYP3A6 almost 5-folds in the intestine and 2-folds in the liver. In contrast, a 1-fold increase to the p-glycoprotein mRNA expression was observed under the same experimental conditions. In conclusion, the ethyl acetate extract of pomelo mix reduced the mRNA expression of CYP3A6 in both intestine and liver but to different degrees, while the p-glycoprotein mRNA expression was not reduced.

Small airway epithelial cells from, which most pulmonary adenocarcinomas (PACs) derive, and pancreatic duct epithelia, from which pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) originate, share the ability to synthesize and release bicarbonate. This activity is stimulated in both cell types by the 7nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (7nAChR)-mediated release of noradrenaline and adrenaline, which in turn activate -adrenergic receptor (-AR) signaling, leading to the cAMP-dependent release of bicarbonate. The same signaling pathway also stimulates a complex network of intracellular signaling cascades which regulate the proliferation, migration, angiogenesis and apoptosis of PAC and PDAC cells. The amino acid neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) serves as the physiological inhibitor of this cancer stimulating network by blocking the activation of adenylyl cyclase. This review summarizes experimental, epidemiological and clinical data that have identified risk factors for PAC and PDAC such as smoking, alcoholism, chronic non neoplastic diseases and their treatments as well as psychological stress and analyzes how these factors increase the cancer-stimulating effects of this regulatory cascade in PAC and PDAC. This analysis identifies the careful maintenance of balanced levels in stimulatory stress neurotransmitters and inhibitory GABA as a key factor for the prevention of PDAC and suggests the marker-guided use of beta-blockers, GABA or GABA-B receptor agonists as well as psychotherapeutic or pharmacological stress reduction as important tools that may render currently ineffective cancer intervention of PAC and PDAC more successful.

This study examines the strategic decision-making in international business relating to the internationalisation and foreign market entry decisions. More specifically, the study looks at the initiation stage and drivers of the internationalisation decision as well as the important location decision factors involved in the foreign market entry decision. One in-depth and information-rich case study of the Arabian premium international manufacturing firms was purposively undertaken. The results show that both firm and location-specific factors, firm's competitive advantage, company's management attitudes and profit growth were the main drivers of internationalisation. Further, the study reveals that the predevelopment of world region, country, city, and site qualitative and quantitative location factors was elemental to attain profitable foreign market choice. Accordingly, these findings have significant theoretical and practical implications to the internationalisation and foreign market entry decisions of international firms.

Objective: To conduct a prospective study of the diagnostic value of features of cervical lymph nodes (large size, central location, abnormal shape, cystic changes, calcifications, and loss of echogenic hilum), assessed by neck ultrasonography (US), in patients scheduled for surgical treatment of persistent or recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer. Methods: We studied 152 US abnormalities in 42 patients (median age, 38.5 years) who had undergone one or more neck operations, with or without radioiodine therapy, but continued to have persistent or recurrent disease, which was confirmed by fine-needle aspiration. Another surgical procedure was planned for these patients. On the day of operation, patients underwent a detailed US neck examination by an experienced radiologist. US abnormalities were plotted on a standard diagram of the neck and given specific numbers to help track them during surgical intervention and histopathologic examinations. The US features were compared with the final histopathologic diagnosis. Results: Of 152 US abnormalities, 127 involved cervical lymph nodes and 25 involved other types of tissue. In univariate analysis, size, absent echogenic hilum, cystic changes, calcifications, and central location (medial to the sternomastoid muscle) of cervical lymph nodes were significantly associated with the presence of metastatic involvement. In multivariate analysis, only central location (odds ratio, 4.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64 to 10.10) and size (odds ratio, 5.14; 95% CI, 1.64 to 16.06) remained significant. The receiver operating characteristic curve for the size of lymph nodes showed a large area under the curve of 0.77 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.85), and a size of 7.5 mm showed the highest sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Size and central location of cervical lymph nodes assessed by US during follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were the most important predictors of presence of metastatic disease. (Endocr Pract. 2005;11:165-171)

Toxoplasma gondii is the most common cause of secondary CNS infections in immunocompromised persons such as AIDS patients. The major route of adenosine metabolism in T. gondii is direct phosphorylation to adenosine 5‘-monophosphate (AMP) catalyzed by the enzyme adenosine kinase (EC 2.7.1.20). Adenosine kinase in T. gondii is significantly more active than any other purine salvage enzyme in this parasite and has been established as a potential chemotherapeutic target for the treatment of toxoplasmosis. Subversive substrates of T. gondii, but not the human, adenosine kinase are preferentially metabolized to their monophosphorylated forms and become selectively toxic to the parasites but not their host. 6-Benzylthioinosine (BTI) was identified as an excellent subversive substrate of T. gondii adenosine kinase. Herein, we report the synthesis of new analogues of BTI as subversive substrates for T. gondii adenosine kinase. These new subversive substrates were synthesized starting from tribenzoyl protected d-ribose. To accomplish the lead optimization process, a divergent and focused combinatorial library was synthesized using a polymer-supported trityl group at the 5‘-position. The combinatorial library of 20 compounds gave several compounds more active than BTI. Structure−activity relationship studies showed that substitution at the para position plays a crucial role. To investigate the reasons for this discrimination, substrates with different substituents at the para position were studied by molecular modeling using Monte Carlo Conformational Search followed by energy minimization of the enzyme−ligand complex.

In practise, intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFNs) are particularly useful for describing ambiguous data. We look at multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problems with a prioritising relationship between the parameters. The concept of a priority degree is presented. The aggregation operators (AOs) are formed by assigning nonnegative real numbers to stringent priority levels, known as priority degrees. As a result, we construct “intuitionistic fuzzy prioritized averaging operator with priority degrees” and “intuitionistic fuzzy prioritized geometric operator with priority degrees,” which are both prioritized operators. The attributes of the existing method are frequently compared to those of other current approaches, stressing the superiority of the provided work over other methods now in use. In addition, the impact of priority degrees on the overall result is thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, in the intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) context, a decision-making strategy is proposed based on these operators. To highlight the efficacy of the proposed approach, an illustrative example relating to the selection of the best choice is considered.

Abstract—This cross‐sectional survey was carried out to assess epi‐demiological data concerning dental injuries to the permanent incisors of Syrian children. It included 1087 children aged 9 to 12 years, of both sexes, randomly selected from public and private primary schools in Damascus. The response rate was 100%. The prevalence of traumatic injuries to the permanent incisors rose from 5.2% at the age of 9 years to 11.7% at the age of 12 years (P=0.007). The difference in prevalence between boys and girls was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The majority (59.8%) of children who had experienced injuries to the permanent incisors reported that they were not taken to the dentist for evaluation or treatment of the damage. Among those children who had experienced traumatic injuries to the teeth 93.1% presented with untreated damage. Because some injuries were minor, such as small enamel fractures, the proportion of children who needed treatment was 63.2%. There was a tendency for children with an incisal overjet greater than 5 mm to have experienced dental injuries (P=0.06). Children with inadequate lip coverage were more likely to have experienced dental injuries than those with adequate lip coverage (P=0.000). The most common reported cause of injuries to the permanent incisors was violence (42.5%), followed by traffic accidents (24.1%), collisions with people or inanimate objects (16.0%) and falls (9.1%). In conclusion, traumatic dental injury may pose a serious dental public health problem.

Error estimates of Dupont and Scott are used to derive uniform error estimates for Lagrange finite elements in $ {\Re ^n}\;(n \geq 2)$ in each element T must include the space of polynomials of degree $ \leq m - 1$ $ m \geq 1 + n/2$n is odd, this does not cover elements of lowest degree that are normally considered with the shape regularity requirement that the ratio of their outer and inner diameters be bounded. For example, if $ n = 3$ contain all first-degree polynomials. The result of this paper requires that each contain all quadratic polynomials, and consequently does not apply to linear (Courant) elements in tetrahedrons or trilinear (tensor) elements in rectangular boxes. Counterexamples in these two cases are included.

Membrane associated IGFBP-3 is now known to play a role in the modulation of IGF at the cellular level, but mechanisms involved in cell membrane binding are far from certain. In this study we report the identification and initial structural characterisation of proteins in a range of sheep and rat tissues which specifically bind recombinant human non-glycosylated IGFBP-3. Tissues were homogenised in Tris HCl (0.1 M, pH 7.4), containing proteolytic enzyme inhibitors and the residues re-extracted in buffer containing SDS and Triton X-100 (both 1% w/v) prior to analysis. These were subjected to SDS-PAGE, electro-blotted onto nitrocellulose and subjected to ligand blot analysis (LBA) using radioiodinated IGFBP-3 as ligand. LBA revealed a major band of binding activity migrating at 60 kDa in extracts of rat muscle while sheep muscle contained forms of 52 and 40 kDa as the principal species and ovine pancreatic extracts an abundance of the 40 kDa variant alone. Distribution of the binding activity appears tissue specific. Apart from skeletal muscle, pancreas and a small amount of the 52 kDa form in pituitary, analysis revealed no evidence of IGFBP-3 binding in a range of other sheep tissues including liver, kidney, spleen, intestine, adrenal, brain, mammary, uterus, ovary and plasma. The binding activity is TCA precipitable, trypsin digestible, dose responsive and relatively specific for IGFBP-3 since the related proteins recombinant human IGFBP-2 and purified caprine IGFBP-4 failed to bind. Additionally, IGFBP-3 binding to these species appeared unaffected by presaturation of IGFBP-3 with IGF-I, nor by their transient acidification which together with molecular weight estimates and their pattern of tissue distribution suggests they are not related to the acid labile subunit of the ternary 150 kDa IGFBP complex. IGFBP-3 binding and molecular mobility of the species were unaffected by sample reduction but binding was suppressed in a concentration dependent fashion by heparin. Finally LBA using 125I-Concanavalin A revealed the 40 kDa species to be glycosylated while the 52 kDa form was not. Functions of these novel proteins in targeting or modulating IGF activity at the cellular level remain to be clarified.

Two one-step implicit methods - the second order Trapezium method and the fourth order implicit Runge-Kutta method for solving the delay differential equations (DDE) are developed. The significance of implicit methods lie in their 4-stability for ordinary differential equations. Different techniques are used to approximate the delay term. We also discuss the local truncation error estimate. Numerical examples are solved to show the effectiveness of the methods so developed.

This paper presents the novel concept of complex spherical fuzzy N-soft set (CSFNSfS) which is capable of handling two-dimensional vague information with parameterized ranking systems. First, we propose the basic notions for a theoretical development of CSFNSfSs, including ranking functions, comparison rule, and fundamental operations (complement, union, intersection, sum, and product). Furthermore, we look into some properties of CSFNSfSs. We then produce three algorithms for multiattribute decision-making that take advantage of these elements. We demonstrate their applicability with the assistance of a numerical problem (selection of best third-party app of the year). A comparison with the performance of Pythagorean N-soft sets speaks for the superiority of our approach. Moreover, with an aim to expand the range of techniques for multiattribute group decision-making problems, we design a CSFNSf-TOPSIS method. We use a complex spherical fuzzy N-soft weighted average operator in order to aggregate the decisions of all experts according to the power of the attributes and features of alternatives. We present normalized-Euclidean distances (from the alternatives to both the CSFNSf positive and negative ideal solutions, respectively) and revised closeness index in order to produce a best feasible alternative. As an illustration, we design a mathematical model for the selection of the best physiotherapist doctor of Mayo hospital, Lahore. We conduct a comparison with the existing complex spherical fuzzy TOPSIS method that confirms the stability of the proposed model and the reliability of its results.

Phosphate rocks can contain considerable amounts of accompanying uranium and rare earth elements (REEs). Interest to extract these elements during phosphate rock processing to mineral fertilizer is given as both uranium and REEs are valuable and toxic. Recovering these elements is thus advantages from a resource conserving and environmental protection point of view. Past efforts to recover uranium and REEs focused on extracting these elements from the intermediate products (phosphoric acid and phosphogypsum) during de-hydrate wet phosphoric acid production. Another approach, that is discussed here, is direct leaching of uranium and REEs from phosphate rocks before phosphate rock processing. First successful lab scale experiments with a selected leaching reagent and phosphate rock from the Abu Tartur mine in Egypt are presented and discussed.

Novel 6(3-1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-3-phenylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones (7a–e) were synthesized from different enaminones (6a–e) with 6-hydrazinyl-3-phenylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione. 2,6(4-2-Substituted-1,3,5-triazin-1(2H)-yl)-3-phenylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones (8a–k) were synthesized from the reaction of 1-(2,4-dioxo-3-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazolin-6-yl)thiourea, urea, or guanidine (3a–c) with enaminones (6a–e), and a series from 3-substituted-2-imino-1,3,5-triazin-1(2H)-yl-sulfonyl-phenyl-1-methylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (12a–j) were obtained from the reaction of N-(diaminomethylene)-4-(1-methyl-2,4-dioxo-1,2-dihydroquinazolin-3(4H)-yl)benzenesulfonamide (11) with the enaminone (6a–j). The antitumor activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated against two human cell lines: human colon carcinoma HCT116 and human hepatocellular carcinoma HEP-G2. Some of the tested compounds showed significant potency compared to the reference drug staurosporin.

In search for highly bioactive barbituric and thiobarbituric acid derivatives, some new barbituric and thiobarbituric acids bearing 1,2,4-triazine moiety and their related systems (5–13) have been obtained from the addition of isocyanate and isothiocyanate to 3-amino-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine (1) followed by ring closure reactions with diethyl malonate. Also, chemical reactivities of the related systems were obtained from the condensation of barbituric and thiobarbituric acid derivatives with aromatic aldehyde and/or fluoroacylation reactions. The structure of all the products was deduced from both elemental analysis and spectral data (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and MS). The herbicidal activity was also evaluated for the products.

Spectroscopic and crystallographic studies shows that the epoxidation, osmylation and bromination of 17β-acetoxy-5β-androst-3-ene takes place from the β-face of the alkene and that a diequatorial dibromide and bromohydrin accompany the diaxial addition products.

BACKGROUND: Bordetella pertussis infections continue to be a major public health challenge in Canada. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect B pertussis are typically based on the multicopy insertion sequence IS481, which offers high sensitivity but lacks species specificity.METHODS: A novel B pertussis real-time PCR assay based on the porin gene was tested in parallel with several previously published assays that target genes such as IS481, ptx-promoter, pertactin and a putative thialase. The assays were evaluated using a reference panel of common respiratory bacteria including different Bordetella species and 107 clinical nasopharyngeal specimens. Discrepant results were confirmed by sequencing the PCR products.RESULTS: Analytical sensitivity was highest for the assay targeting the IS481 element; however, the assay lacked specificity for B pertussis in the reference panel and in the clinical samples. False-positive results were also observed with assays targeting the ptx-promoter and pertactin genes. A PCR assay based on the thialase gene was highly specific but failed to detect all reference strains of B pertussis. However, a novel assay targeting the porin gene demonstrated high specificity for B pertussis both in the reference panel and in clinical samples and, based on sequence-confirmed results, correctly predicted all B pertussis-positive cases in clinical samples. According to Probit regression analysis, the 95% detection limit of the new assay was 4 colony forming units/reaction.CONCLUSION: A novel porin assay for B pertussis demonstrated superior performance and may be useful for improved molecular detection of B pertussis in clinical specimens.

OBJECTIVE: To review the epidemiology and associated risk factors for candidemia at a tertiary care centre, in view of recent reports on the changing epidemiology of bloodstream infection due to Candida species.METHODS: Between January 2000 and December 2009, patients with blood culture samples positive for Candida species were identified using the microbiology laboratory information system. Patient data were collected by retrospective chart review of clinical characteristics including demographic data, underlying medical diagnoses and risk factors.RESULTS: A total of 266 candidemia episodes were included in the final analysis. Fifty-nine per cent of these episodes occurred in males and 51% were in patients >60 years of age. The most common risk factor for candidemia was previous antibiotic use (85%). The most frequent species was Candida albicans (49%), followed by Candida glabrata (30%). C albicans was the predominant species in all study years with the exception of 2002, in which C glabrata was more frequent. The likelihood of recovering a non-albicans Candida species was found to be significantly associated with previous antifungal therapy (P=0.0004), immunosuppressive therapy (P=0.002), abdominal surgery (P=0.003) and malignancy (P=0.05). Mixed candidemia was found in 10 episodes (4%); 80% grew C albicans and C glabrata. Risk factors for mixed candidemia were not significantly different from those with monomicrobial candidemia.CONCLUSION: C albicans remains the most commonly isolated species in this setting, consistent with findings from other Canadian centres. However, non-albicans Candida species were overall predominant. Mixed-species candidemia does not appear to be more prevalent in patients with identified risk factors.

A field study was carried out under rainfed conditions during the growing season 2008/2009 in Maru (Northern Jordan) to evaluate the phenological variation using heat-accumulated system and its relation with yield in sixteen durum wheat genotypes. Grain yield was negatively correlated with growing degree days (GDDs) to maturity, while positively correlated with GDD to heading. Increasing GDD to heading resulted in higher grain yield, while increasing grain fill duration had little effect. Rapid grain fill rate was positively correlated with grain weight and negatively correlated with grain fill duration. Waha-1, Omrabi-5, and Massara-1 genotypes had the highest grain yields among genotypes studied. These three genotypes tended to have relatively longer preheading periods with early maturity. The results of this study indicate that Mediterranean-adapted cultivars would have long preheading periods, followed by short periods and high rates of grain fill and mature early to avoid late-season drought and high-temperature stress and to attain high yields. Therefore, it is recommended for the development of high yielding wheat cultivars adapted to semiarid environments to select the genotypes with early maturity and a relatively long time to heading.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate five forage crops (alfalfa (Medicago sativa), barley (Hordeum vulgare), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and wheat (Triticum aestivum)) for green fodder production and water use efficiency under hydroponic conditions. The experiment has been conducted under temperature-controlled conditions (24 ± 1°C) and natural window illumination at growth room of Soilless Culture Laboratory, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain. The results showed that green forage can be produced in 8 days from planting to harvest using hydroponic technique. Highest values for green fresh yields were recorded for the crops cowpea, barley, and alfalfa which gave 217, 200, and 194?tons/ha, respectively. However, only cowpea and barley crops gave the highest green dry yield, but not alfalfa. Barely crop used water more efficiently than the other four tested crops when produced about 654?kg fresh matter/m3 water in comparison to 633, 585, 552, and 521?kg fresh matter/m3 water for cowpea, sorghum, wheat, and alfalfa, respectively. No significant differences between barley and cowpea for water use efficiency were noted. It can be concluded from this study that barley crop can be considered the best choice for production of hydroponic green fodder with less water consumption.

It has been conjectured by Erdos, Faudree, Rousseau, and Schelp that ??(????,????)=(??-1)(??-1)+1 for all (??,??)?(3,3) satisfying that ??=??=3 (except ??(??3,??3)=6). In this paper, we prove this for the case ??=9 and ??=8.

The administration of intravenous contrast media by hand or power injection in paediatric computed tomography (CT) procedures is carried out at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre for chest, abdomen and torso diagnostic examinations. Some procedures require the CT unit to commence patient scanning during the injection of the last volume of the contrast medium. During the injection, even if the nurse is wearing a 0.5 mm lead equivalent protective apron, the head region and the hand are likely to receive high doses. This study was therefore made to assess the head and extremity doses to the nurses during CT procedures where typical exposure parameters of 200 to 220 mA s and 120 kVp were used. Thermoluminescence dosemeters were deployed for three consecutive months in two CT rooms. A total of 96 procedures were performed during this period and they were included in this study. Scattered radiation measurements were done at different locations where the nurse may be positioned. Results showed that the average dose to the head region and the hands per paediatric case were 50 �Sv and 80 �Sv respectively. This study investigated the factors that affect the dose and found them to be the length of stay inside the room, type of CT examination, exposure parameters and location of the nurse.