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Abstract Background Left ventricle (LV) volume overload is observed with hemodynamically significant PDA as it causes left to right shunting, leading to increased pulmonary blood flow. This overload causes LV remodeling as LV increases stroke volume in trial for compensation, but in larger shunts, patients may develop symptoms of congestive heart failure. Two-dimensional (2D) speckle-tracking echocardiography has emerged as a technique for objective and quantitative evaluation of global and regional myocardial function, independent of the angle of myocardial insonation. Aim of the work This study aimed to evaluate left ventricular function by 2-dimensional speckle tracking in children with hemodynamically significant PDA. Methods This prospective controlled study was performed on 54 children divided into two groups (34 as cases and 20 as controls) to compare echocardiographic measurements. Conventional Echocardiography, tissue Doppler, and Speckle tracking were done for all patients, and measurements were compared. Results There was a statistically significant difference (p value

Introduction: Superiorly based pharyngeal flap is one of the most common surgical techniques described for surgical correction of velopharyngeal disorders. Being a technique-sensitive and owing to its associated complications, a simple technique has been introduced and compared with it. Aim: The aim was to compare the surgical results and the phoniatric outcome of the superiorly based pharyngeal flap versus the myomucosal resection and direct closure of the posterior pharyngeal wall. Patients and Method: One hundred patients of both sexes were classified into two groups. Group A patients included fifty patients who had velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) and were surgically corrected by the superiorly based pharyngeal flap. Group B patients included fifty patients who had VPI and were surgically corrected by myomucosal resection and direct closure of the posterior pharyngeal wall. Results: Postoperatively, 13% of Group A patients had open nasality Grade 4 as compared to 0% in Group B patients. Hyponasality and obstructive sleep apnea were not recorded in any case of Group B patients as compared with 10% of Group A patients. With regard to the postoperative velopharyngeal gap during speech, 18% of patients in Group A had velopharyngeal gap 3 mm, while 10% of patients in Group B had velopharyngeal gap 3 mm. Conclusion: Myomucosal resection and direct closure of the posterior pharyngeal wall is a simple reliable technique for the correction of velopharyngeal disorders.

Abstract The operation and effectiveness of a solar-powered underground water pumping system are affected by many environmental and technical factors. The impact of these factors must be investigated to be considered when developing these systems and to ensure their dependability. This study evaluated the dependability and performance of photovoltaic water pumping system (PVWPS) under real operating conditions by examining the effects of solar irradiance, panels’ temperature, and components' efficiency. From December 2020 to June 2021, experiments were conducted on a 10 hp PVWPS located in Bani Salamah, Al-Qanater-Giza Governorate, Egypt, at latitude 30.3° N, longitude 30.8° E, and 19 m above sea level. The irradiance values reached 755.7, 792.7, and 805.7 W/m2 at 12:00 p.m. in December, March, and June, respectively. Furthermore, the irradiance has a significant impact on the pump flow rate, as the amount of pumped water during the day reached 129, 164.1, and 181.8 m3/day, respectively. The panels' temperatures rose to 35.7 °C, 39.9 °C, and 44 °C, respectively. It was observed that when the temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius, efficiency falls by 0.48%. The average efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels reached its highest value in March (13.8%) and its lowest value in December (13%).

Background: Left ventricle (LV) volume overload is observed with hemodynamically significant PDA as it causes left to right shunting, leading to increased pulmonary blood flow. This overload causes LV remodeling as LV increases stroke volume in trial for compensation, but in larger shunts, patients may develop symptoms of congestive heart failure. Two-dimensional (2D) speckle-tracking echocardiography has emerged as a technique for objective and quantitative evaluation of global and regional myocardial function, independent of the angle of myocardial insonation. Aim of the work: This study aimed to evaluate left ventricular function by 2-dimensional speckle tracking in children with hemodynamically significant PDA. Methods: This prospective controlled study was performed on 54 children divided into two groups (34 as cases and 20 as controls) to compare echocardiographic measurements. Conventional Echocardiography, tissue Doppler, and Speckle tracking were done for all patients, and measurements were compared. Results: There was a statistically significant difference (p value < 0.001) in global longitudinal strain (GLS) in the PDA group indicating a decrease in LV function in PDA patients. This difference was observed in several conventional echocardiographic parameters but not in tissue Doppler in our study. Conclusion: Left ventricle global strain is an important predictor of the myocardial performance index of the Left ventricle in patients with hemodynamically significant PDA and outweighs other conventional echocardiographic parameters and tissue Doppler indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin films of Nb2O5 were synthesized by RF sputtering. The effect of annealing, at different temperatures (100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 °C), on the structural and optical properties was studied. The crystallinity and structural characteristics of the Nb2O5 thin films were examined employing the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD and SEM analyses showed an amorphous nature for the as-deposited and annealed samples from 100 to 350 °C and crystalline structure for the annealed sample at 400 °C. The high values of the transmittance and low reflection make these films used as a window layer in solar cell systems. Upon increasing annealing temperature, the energy band gap Eg increased from 4.039 to 4.175 eV. Eg high values again make these films suitable to be used as a window layer in solar cell system. Urbach tail, EU, decreased with increasing annealing temperature. The refractive index showed the normal dispersion. The dispersion energies were found to have the same behavior with respect to annealing temperature, besides, the single oscillator energy Eₒ had a lower value compared to the dispersion energy Ed. The plasma frequency ω p was found to increase with annealing temperature. The first and third optical moments had peak values depending on the incident photon energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnSmO3 thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering method with pure argon flow rate (20, 30, 45, 50, and 60 sccm). The crystalline and morphological structures of MnSmO3 thin films were examined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy revealing amorphous nature. Optical properties MnSmO3 thin films showed direct transition and normal dispersion of the refractive index at all rate of flow. The optical energy gap decreased with increasing the rate of flow, whereas the plasma behaved contrary to that of the optical gap. The dispersion energies deduced from Drude models are found to be larger than that of the single-oscillator energies. Non-linear refractive index is found to decrease with increasing the rate of flow. The linear and non-linear optical susceptibilities showed a tendency of decreasing with increasing the rate of flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerating skin lesions are manifestations of human ISG15 deficiency, a type I interferonopathy. However, chronic inflammation may not be their exclusive cause. We describe two siblings with recurrent skin ulcers that healed with scar formation upon corticosteroid treatment. Both had a homozygous nonsense mutation in the ISG15 gene, leading to unstable ISG15 protein lacking the functional domain. We characterized ISG15–/– dermal fibroblasts, HaCaT keratinocytes, and human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived vascular endothelial cells. ISG15-deficient cells exhibited the expected hyperinflammatory phenotype, but also dysregulated expression of molecules critical for connective tissue and epidermis integrity, including reduced collagens and adhesion molecules, but increased matrix metalloproteinases. ISG15–/– fibroblasts exhibited elevated ROS levels and reduced ROS scavenger expression. As opposed to hyperinflammation, defective collagen and integrin synthesis was not rescued by conjugation-deficient ISG15. Cell migration was retarded in ISG15–/– fibroblasts and HaCaT keratinocytes, but normalized under ruxolitinib treatment. Desmosome density was reduced in an ISG15–/– 3D epidermis model. Additionally, there were loose architecture and reduced collagen and desmoglein expression, which could be reversed by treatment with ruxolitinib/doxycycline/TGF-β1. These results reveal critical roles of ISG15 in maintaining cell migration and epidermis and connective tissue homeostasis, whereby the latter likely requires its conjugation to yet unidentified targets.

Background: The use of hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease has increased patient life span significantly. Infectious diseases caused by viruses that are commonly found in the liver include hepatitis C virus (HCV), SEN virus (SENV), and the Teno virus (TTV). This work aimed to find out the frequency of SENV & TTV infections and to correlate their viral load with their clinical condition among hemodialysis patients in Zagazig University Hospitals. Methods: In a case-control study we included 44 patients divided into 2 groups; 22 hemodialysis patients attending to hemodialysis unit and 22 apparently healthy individuals served as control group. Detection of anti HCV antibodies & anti HBsAg was done by ELISA. Detection of SENV DNA and TTV as done by nested PCR analysis. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the studied groups regarding prevalence of SEN D, SEN H, coinfection SEN D and H, TTV and combined SEN/TTV genotypes (p=0.048, 0.021, 0.048, 0.026, and 0.021 respectively). SEN D, SEN H, TTV prevailed in 22.7%, 45.5% and 50% of patients on HD. Combined SEN V D and H prevailed in 22.7% while 45.5% of HD patients had coinfection with SENV and TTV. Also, statistically significant differences were revealed between the studied groups regarding prevalence of combined SEN H/D and TTV genotypes among hemodialysis patients and comorbid hypertension, diabetes ALT, AST, and hemodialysis duration (p=0.004, <0.001, 0.002,0.002 and 0.008 respectively). Conclusions: We found a significantly higher prevalence of SEN virus D, SEN virus H, TTV, and concurrent infections involving combinations of these viruses among hemodialysis patients compared to healthy controls. The viral infections associated strongly with comorbid conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and liver enzyme abnormalities as well as longer duration on hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future transportation will replace the current mechanical combustible engines with chargeable electric vehicles (EVs). The DC-Dc boost converter is an essential part of such systems that not only helps to generate the required level but also helps to regulate the load voltage. In conventional boost converter topologies, their gain, switching losses, and high voltage stress across switches are the main reason for limiting the output power. Coupled inductor-based isolated converters increase the system weight and cost. Therefore, in this paper, a transformerless adjustable gain and non-isolated DC-DC boost converter with multi-port flexible power supply, reduced switch voltage stress, and considerable good range efficiency is proposed. The proposed converter is tested with the 100 W resistive load to test the desired characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerating skin lesions are manifestations of human ISG15 deficiency, a type I interferonopathy. However, chronic inflammation may not be their exclusive cause. We describe two siblings with recurrent skin ulcers that healed with scar formation upon corticosteroid treatment. Both had a homozygous nonsense mutation in the ISG15 gene, leading to unstable ISG15 protein lacking the functional domain. We characterized [ISG15.sup.-/-] dermal fibroblasts, HaCaT keratinocytes, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular endothelial cells. ISG15-deficient cells exhibited the expected hyperinflammatory phenotype, but also dysregulated expression of molecules critical for connective tissue and epidermis integrity, including reduced collagens and adhesion molecules, but increased matrix metalloproteinases. [ISG15.sup.-/-] fibroblasts exhibited elevated ROS levels and reduced ROS scavenger expression. As opposed to hyperinflammation, defective collagen and integrin synthesis was not rescued by conjugation-deficient ISG15. Cell migration was retarded in [ISG15.sup.-/-] fibroblasts and HaCaT keratinocytes, but normalized under ruxolitinib treatment. Desmosome density was reduced in an [ISG15.sup.-/-] 3D epidermis model. Additionally, there were loose architecture and reduced collagen and desmoglein expression, which could be reversed by treatment with ruxolitinib/doxycycline/TGF-[beta]1. These results reveal critical roles of ISG15 in maintaining cell migration and epidermis and connective tissue homeostasis, whereby the latter likely requires its conjugation to yet unidentified targets., Introduction Monogenic type I interferonopathies are a heterogeneous group of autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders characterized by persistently elevated levels of type I interferons (IFN-I) (1-3). The underlying molecular mechanisms are [...]

Optical, magnetoresistance, and thermoelectric properties of La1−xKxMnO3 (x = 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25) compounds have been investigated. The crystallography demonstrates that the samples x = 0.05 and 0.15 are a single‐phase rhombohedral (R3¯C$R \overset{\cdot}{3} C$) structure, while x = 0.25 is near to a single rhombohedral phase with a minor amount of Mn3O4 (with a ratio of ≈2%). The optical properties manifest that the reflectivity decreases slightly with increasing x‐doping, where the sample of x = 0.05 has the lowest reflection value, making it a promising material for photovoltaic applications. Electrical resistivity measurements show that the samples have a metal–semiconductor transition, and the transition temperature Tms decreases with the K content. The thermoelectric data show a remarkable coincidence behavior of the ρ–T relationship, which has a peak at a transition temperature (TS). Magnetic susceptibility data show that the samples undergo ferro‐paramagnetic transition at a certain temperature (Curie temperature). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]