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Background: Placenta accreta is a condition of abnormal placental implantation in which the placental tissue invades beyond the decidua basalis. It may invade into or even through the myometrium and adjacent organs, such as the urinary bladder. It is a major cause of obstetric hemorrhage and complication leading to significant maternal morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to compare the role of three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasonography in the antenatal diagnosis of placenta accreta versus two-dimensional and color Doppler ultrasonography. Methods: A prospective comparative study design was conducted. This study was performed on 50 Pregnant females at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tanta University Hospitals Inclusion Criteria: Patients with placenta previa and previous one or more ceserian section at gestational age from 28 weeks to 36 weeks. The diagnosis of placenta previa confirmed using all diagnostic techniques (gray scale, color Doppler, and 3D power Doppler) and full availability of delivery information. Results: abnormal placental lacunae was most frequently encountered in 2D gray scale ultrasound as it was noted in 12 (24.0%) patients, thinning or disruption of hyperechoic serosa-bladder interface was detected in 8 (16.0 %) patients, loss of retroplacental sonolucent zone was detected in 7 (14.0 %) patients, irregular retroplacental sonolucent zone was noted in 5 (10.0%) patients, while presence of focal exophytic masses invading the urinary bladder was the least encountered as it was noted in 4 (8.0 %) patients. The 2D gray scale initially diagnose 52.0% of study participants as placenta accreta and 48.0% as had no placenta accreta. Conclusions: There is no one imaging modality that provides the gold standard for diagnosing placental invasion. A high index of clinical suspicion is required for its detection in high risk patients. In contemporary obstetrical practice, this applies to patients with previous caesarean sections, and especially if there is a coexisting anterior low-lying placenta. A probable case of morbidly adherent placenta will benefit from preoperative multidisciplinary input and perioperative measures in preparation for an elective planned delivery

BACKGROUND: Unsuitable schoolbags may stress the spine and promote poor body posture, particularly for school students. Global recommendations have suggested that schoolbag weight must not exceed 10% of a healthy student’s body mass, which would need continuous monitoring and enforcement. OBJECTIVES: The present study presents a comparison between an ergonomically designed schoolbag, which helps reduce the potential effects of carrying a load, and a commercial one. METHODS: A total of 30 healthy male students were recruited for this experiment. Independent variables determined were schoolbag type (ergonomically designed and commercial schoolbags) and three load levels based on body mass percentage (i.e., 10%, 15%, and 20% of body mass). Heart rate variability (HRV) and body discomfort rating were then measured. RESULTS: Our results showed that the developed schoolbag promoted enhanced subjective measures and HRV response at 15% and 20% of body mass. Participants who wore the developed schoolbags experienced significantly lesser neck, shoulder, upper and lower trunk discomfort than those who wore the traditional ones. Changing the load percentage from 10% to 15% caused an increase in heart rate among participants carrying a commercial schoolbag but a decrease in heart rate among those carrying the developed schoolbag. CONCLUSIONS: The findings presented herein suggest introducing strategies for reducing the potential impact of load carrying through the combined effect of new educational inventions and policy changes.

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOs) is a prevalent endocrine condition affecting women throughout their reproductive years. It is the most common cause of ovulation-related infertility, accounting for around 75% of instances of anovulatory infertility. The goal of this study is to see how laparoscopic ovarian drilling affects the Doppler pattern in patients with clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovarian syndrome. Methods: 50 patients were included, diagnosed as PCO patients according to Rotterdam criteria, 2003 and were planned for LOD. Results: This study was done at 50 patients was with mean age 29 year, Mean BMI 27.28 Kg/m2,Mean duration of infertility 3.71 years. there were statistically significant decrease in ovarian stromal VI ,FI,VFI and PSV postoperatively, But there was statistically significant increase in ovarian stromal RI postoperatively. Conclusion: ovarian stromal blood flow indices significantly changed after LOD. Our results provide a potential avenue for evaluation of ovarian stromal blood flow changes after LOD.

In this study, a novel algorithm is developed to solve the multi-level multiobjective fractional programming problems, using the idea of a neutrosophic fuzzy set. The co-efficients in each objective functions is assumed to be rough intervals. Furthermore, the objective functions are transformed into two sub-problems based on lower and upper approximation intervals. The marginal evaluation of pre-determined neutrosophic fuzzy goals for all objective functions at each level is achieved by different membership functions, such as truth, indeterminacy/neutral, and falsity degrees in neutrosophic uncertainty. In addition, the neutrosophic fuzzy goal programming algorithm is proposed to attain the highest degrees of each marginal evaluation goals by reducing their deviational variables and consequently obtain the optimal solution for all the decision-makers at all levels. To verify and validate the proposed neutrosophic fuzzy goal programming techniques, a numerical example is adressed in a hierarchical decision-making environment along with the conclusions.

The chitosan chains were integrated with MCM-48 mesoporous silica in an eco-friendly composite (CH/MCM-48) of enhanced adsorption capacity. The prepared CH/MCM-48 composite was applied in systematic retention of U (VI) as well as Sr (II) ions from water as the commonly detected radioactive pollutants. It displayed promising retention capacities of 261.3 mg/g and 328.6 mg/g for U (VI) and Sr (II) considering the equilibrium time interval that was identified after 420 min. The composite showed the kinetic behavior of the Pseudo-First order model and the isotherm properties of the Langmuir assumption. The thermodynamic assessment of the reactions validated the retention of both U (VI) and Sr (II) ions by spontaneous, favorable, and exothermic reactions. Based on the theoretical values of entropy (−5.94 kJ mol−1 (U (VI)) and −2.93 kJ mol−1 (Sr (II))), Gibbs free energy (less than 20 kJ mol−1), and Gaussian energy (5.77 kJ mol−1 (U (VI)) and 4.56 kJ mol−1 (Sr (II))) the uptake processes are related to physical adsorption reactions. The CH/MCM-48 composite is of significant recyclability and showed considerable affinities for the studied radioactive ions even in the presence of other metal ions (Cd (II), Pb (II), Zn (II), and Co (II)).

This paper proposes a novel high voltage gain structure of DC-DC converter with soft-switching ability for photovoltaic (PV) applications. A small size coupled inductor with one magnet core is utilized to improve the voltage conversion ratio in the proposed converter. The converter has one active MOSFET with low conducting resistance ( $R_{DS}-_{ON}$ ), which in turn reduces the conduction losses and complexity of the control section. Due to the low input current ripple, the lifetime of the input PV panel is increased, and the maximum power point (MPP) of the PV panel can be easily tracked. The MOSFET’s zero-voltage and zero-current switching and diodes are the other countenance of the proposed converter, which improve its efficiency. Additionally, an improved Perturb and Observe MPP tracking (IP&O MPPT) algorithm is introduced to boost the extracted power of the input PV sources. To validate the performance of this converter, the operation modes principle, steady-state and efficiency survey, and comparison results with other same family converters are carried out. Finally, an experiential prototype is built with 20 V input, 200 V output, power rate of 200 W, and 50 kHz operating frequency to validate the mathematical analysis and effectiveness of the proposed structure. The efficiency of the proposed converter was estimated by over 95% at various power levels.

Kaolinite nanotube particles (KNTs) were synthesized by a chemical exfoliation and scrolling process in the existence of sonication waves. The KNT product was identified as a mesoporous material (12 nm in pore diameter) with high surface area (105 m2/g) and promising adsorption affinity for the levofloxacin antibiotic (LVOX) residuals in wastewater. The KNT particles were used as a fixed bed in the continuous adsorption column system for LVOX considering the essential variables. The investigation of the KNT fixed bed in a continuous column for 1800 min verified its suitability to reduce the LVOX content in 9 L of polluted solutions by 80.4%. This was recognized after using the KNT bed of 4 cm in height, a flow rate of 5 mL/min, a pH value of 8, a total flow interval of 1800 min, and an LVOX concentration of 10 mg/L. The regeneration study of the bed declared effective recyclability properties for the KNT particles in the LVOX adsorption column system. The dynamic properties of the KNT bed-based column system were explained based on Thomas, Adams–Bohart, and the Yoon–Nelson kinetic models. The LVOX adsorption reaction by KNTs follows Langmuir behavior with homogeneous and monolayer uptake form. The Gaussian energy (2.05 kJ/mol) and the thermodynamic parameters emphasized physical, spontaneous, and exothermic adsorption reactions for LVOX by KNTs.

The ongoing development of technology has changed the nature of electric networks in the field of electric power generation. In the same vein, the generation units and demands are getting close by the integration of distributed resources within the distribution system with the aim of bringing more advantages to the system. Considering the promising concept of hybrid networks, which comprises different distributed resources, as a supportive element for the power system, this paper mainly focuses on modeling a distributed hybrid network, through which both the AC and DC loads can be supplied within the hybrid network. This network is operated in a distributed way where no independent operator is assumed for the operation. The primal-dual method of multipliers (PDMM) as an effective distributed method handles the operation of this network. So far, this method has only been applied to the AC grid or DC grid separately, while the presented method is modified for the operation of the hybrid network. Convergence speed and preciseness are mentioned as the advantages of this method which dominates the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). In real cases, there are some errors in the output power of the renewable resources. Aiming to make the presented PDMM method more applicable, the uncertainty is also modelled using the Unscented Transform (UT) approach, as a way of uncertainty modelling which has shown attractive features, especially the capability of correlation modelling; therefore, it is more preferable for uncertainty modeling in many cases compared to the other methods. The proposed work is implemented on a smart island and the authenticity of this work is proved by comparing the performance of the proposed distributed approach with the centralized method.

Chitosan/zeolite-A nanocomposite (CH/ZA) was synthesized as a potential carrier for levofloxacin (LVOX) of enhanced technical properties. The CH/ZA composite displayed enhanced loading capacity (425 mg/g) as compared to chitosan (188.8 mg/g) and zeolite-A (234.6 mg/g). The loading behavior follows Pseudo-Second-order and Langmuir as kinetic and isotherm models. The equilibrium studies, Gaussian energy (8.15 KJ/mol), and thermodynamic parameters demonstrate homogenous and monolayer loading by complex chemical and physical reactions that are of spontaneous and exothermic nature. The CH/ZA composite is of slow and continuous release profile (200h) with 94.3% as the maximum release percentage. The release reactions are of non-Fickian behavior involving both diffusion and erosion mechanisms. The loading of LVOX into CH/ZA induced its anti-inflammatory effect against the cytokine production (IL-6 and IL-8) within the human bronchial epithelia cells (NL20). The cytotoxicity studies on the normal cells demonstrated a high safety value for the composite.

The siliceous frustules of diatomite were integrated with β-cyclodextrin polymer in novel composite (β-CD/D) for enhanced retention properties for radioactive ions. The β-CD/D composite was characterized by different analytical techniques and applied in batch adsorption studies for the dissolved Cs+ and Ba2+ ions. The β-CD/D composite exhibits promising retention capacities (Cs+ (144.5 mg/g) and Ba2+ (195.7 mg/g)) which are higher than its components and other evaluated adsorbent in literature. The Cs+ and Ba2+ retention reactions by β-CD/D are of Langmuir properties, Pseudo-Second order kinetics, and Gaussian energies less than 8 KJ/mol. Therefore, the ions were adsorbed homogeneously in monolayer forms by physicochemical mechanisms involved in electrostatic attraction and the formation of chemical complexes. The thermodynamic parameters suggested spontaneous and exothermic behaviors for the occurred Cs+ and Ba2+ retention reactions. The synthetic β-CD/D is of significant affinities for the Cs+ and Ba2+ ions in the presence of competitive anions (HCO3−, SO42−, NO3−, and PO43−) and considerable affinitive in the presence of other metals (Cd2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, and Co2+). The β-CD/D composite also is a highly recyclable product and can be reused effectively in Cs+ and Ba2+ removal processes for five cycles.

The high penetration of renewable energy sources in varied types along with the electric vehicles charging demand has created new challenges against the optimal operation and management of these systems. Therefore, this article attempts to formulate, model and operate the renewable microgrids considering different types of renewable sources including solar units, wind units and storages in the presence of electric vehicles. Due to the volatile and random nature of renewable sources and the charging demands by the electric vehicles, it is needed to find a solution for optimal control of these technologies. In this way, a new policy is devised for control of the charging demand in three different schemes, so-called the smart scheme, coordinated scheme and uncoordinated scheme. In order to capture the influence of uncertainties rooting from the renewable sources in the problem, a novel intelligent approach based on fuzzy cloud theory is used which generates an entropy-entropy concept for its task. Through this model, not only the uncertainty of the random variables is handled, but also the uncertainty of the probability density function (PDF) type is also deployed. In order to solve the problem, a swarm optimization based on honeybee mating algorithm (HMA) is proposed which is equipped by the polar search operators for making a symmetrical searching frame. The simulation results on a typical renewable microgrid test system advocate the quality and appropriate efficacy of the model.

In traditional power system planning problems, transmission and distribution networks are separated, which is not suitable for future power systems due to the rapid development of active distribution networks. This paper presents a hierarchy framework to optimize the transmission and distribution network expansion in a simultaneous manner. The proposed decentralized decision-making architecture forms a Tri-level structure where the first level is the transmission expansion planning (TEP) problem solved by the transmission system operator (TSO) as the leader, while the second level is the distribution expansion planning (DEP) problem solved by the distribution system operators (DSOs) as the second level followers. The third level problem is the optimal economic dispatch problem solved by the independent system operator (ISO) as the third level follower. The economic dispatch problem is replaced by its primal-dual (PD) formulation leading to a bilevel multi-follower mixed-integer linear programming (BMF-MILP) problem. Then, by using multi-parametric programming (MPP) method, the BMF-MILP problem is recast as several single level independent optimization problems. Numerical experiments are shown to corroborate the efficiency and tractability of the presented model. The results show the new coordinated transmission and distribution expansion planning (CTDEP) model provides additional flexibility and reduces the total cost.

The urgent demand for renewable, eco-friendly and safe energy resources rather than traditional fossil fuels is the most critical issue encountering in the contemporary world. The urgent demand for renewable, eco-friendly and safe energy resources rather than traditional fossil fuels is the most critical issue encountering in the contemporary world. Clinoptilolite decorated with nano MgO (MgO/CP) was synthesized as advanced hybrid structure by alkali green modification process using green tea extract. It showed significant enhancement in the surface area (324.5 m2/g), ion exchange capacity (141.5 meq/100 g), and the total basicity (4.34 mmol OH/g) which qualifies the composite as a potential basic catalyst in the transesterification reactions. The MgO/CP catalyst was applied in the transesterification of used corn oil and palm oil. The composite is of promising activity and achieved biodiesel yield of 94 % from corn oil after 120 min using 4 wt., % of it as catalyst load and 15:1 as methanol-to-oil ratio at 60 °C and stirring speed of 1250 rpm. For palm oil, the catalyst achieved a yield of 97.6 % after 150 min using 4 wt., % of it as catalyst load and 20:1 as methanol-to-oil ratio at 70 °C and stirring speed of 1250 rpm. The recyclability properties of MgO/CP green nanocomposite as basic catalyst validated significant reusing of it in the transesterification of both corn oil and palm oil with high yields. The extracted biodiesel from corn oil and palm oil matches strongly the recommended limitations by ASTM D-6751 and EN 14214 standards.

Driver mutations propel oncogenesis and occur much less frequently than passenger mutations. The need for automatic and accurate identification of driver mutations has increased dramatically with the exponential growth of mutation data. Current computational solutions to identify driver mutations rely on sequence homology. Here we construct a machine learning-based framework that does not rely on sequence homology or domain knowledge to predict driver missense mutations. A windowing approach to represent the local environment of the sequence around the mutation point as a mutation sample is applied, followed by extraction of three sequence-level features from each sample. After selecting the most significant features, the support vector machine and multimodal fusion strategies are employed to give final predictions. The proposed framework achieves relatively high performance and outperforms current state-of-the-art algorithms. The ease of deploying the proposed framework and the relatively accurate performance make this solution applicable to large-scale mutation data analyses.

Exfoliated bentonite sheets admixed with nano-cellulose fibers (EXB/CF) were prepared as advanced bio-composite of enhanced decontamination properties for different species of water pollutants (Cd2+, safranin dye, and phosphate). The composite achieved promising adsorption capacities with experimental values of 206.8 mg/g (Cd2+), 336 mg/g (safranin), and 296 mg/g (phosphate); and predicted maximum capacities of 212.9 mg/g (Cd2+), 341 mg/g (safranin), and 305 mg/g (phosphate). The adsorption systems for the three species follow the Freundlich isotherm model and Pseudo-First order as kinetic model considering both the linear and nonlinear fitting demonstrating heterogeneous and multilayer uptake properties of physisorption type. The operation of physisorption mechanisms was supported by the obtained adsorption energies from D-R model that are less than 8 kJ/mol as well as the calculated free energies and enthalpies. The thermodynamic investigation revealed the nature of the adsorption reactions of the three pollutants by EXB/CF as exothermic, favorable, and spontaneous reactions. The EXB/CF composite also is of significant recyclability value and applied in five decontamination reusing runs for Cd2+, safranin dye, and phosphate achieving promising removal percentages.

Kaolinite nanotubes were synthesized by a simple scrolling process and decorated by ZnO nanoparticles as a novel nanocomposite (ZnO/KNTs). The synthetic ZnO/KNTs composite was characterized as an effective photocatalyst in the oxidation of levofloxacin pharmaceutical residuals in the water resources. The composite displays a surface area of 95.4 m2/g, average pore diameter of 5.8 nm, and bandgap energy of 2.12 eV. It is of high catalytic activity in the oxidation of levofloxacin in the presence of visible light source. The complete oxidation for 10 mg/L of levofloxacin was recognized after 55 min, 45 min, and 30 min with applying 30 mg, 40 mg, and 50 mg of ZnO/KNTs as catalyst dosage, respectively. Additionally, it achieved complete oxidation for 20 mg/L and 30 mg/L of levofloxacin after 45 min and 75 min, respectively using 50 mg as catalyst dosage. The degradation efficiency was confirmed by detecting the residual TOC after the treatment tests and the formed intermediate compounds were identified to suggest the degradation pathways. In addition to the oxidation pathway, the mechanism was evaluated based on the active trapping tests that proved the dominance of hydroxyl radicals as the essential active species. Finally, the ZnO/KNTs composite is of promising recyclability properties and achieved better results than several studied photocatalysts in literature.

Kaolinite nanotubes were synthesized by exfoliation and scrolling process for kaolinite sheets and then doped with potassium ions (K+/KNTs) forming a novel basic catalyst of promising activity in the transesterification reactions. The synthetic K+/KNTs catalyst displayed well-developed nanotube morphology with an average pore diameter of 14.5 nm, surface area of 112 m2/g, and total basicity of 7.43 mmol OH/g. The catalyst was applied in the transesterification of waste samples for sunflower cooking oil based on statistical design. The statistical design was built based on the response surface methodology in conjunction with the central composite design. The obtained results considering the interaction between the different factors (time, temperature, catalyst loading, and methanol-to-oil ratio) reflected achieving maximum biodiesel yield of 98%. This value was obtained after conducting the test for 4 h using 6 wt, of K+/KNTs as catalyst loading in the presence of 15:1 methanol-to-oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 90 °C. Considering the suggested optimization solutions from the design, K+/KNTs catalyst can achieve biodiesel yield of 99.4% if the conditions adjusted at 5.5 h as time interval, 4.96 wt, % as loading, 103.3 °C as temperature, and 14.64:1 as a methanol-to-oil ratio. The properties of the biodiesel sample at the best conditions match the technical limitations of both EN 14214 and ASTM D-6751 standards.

Bentonite/zeolite hybrid structure was synthesized as adsorbent material for promising retention of U (VI), Sr (II), and Ba (II) as toxic radionuclides in water. The retention of U (VI) and Ba (II) show slight partialities to be described with the Pseudo-First order model and the adsorption of Sr (II) is of slightly higher fitting with Pseudo-Second order model. The equilibrium modeling demonstrated retention processes according to Langmuir assumption with expected qmax of 172.26 mg/g, 123 mg/g, and 187.9 mg/g for U (VI), Ba (II), and Sr (II), respectively. The calculated energies for the retention of U (VI) (1.18 KJ/mol), Ba (II) (0.84 KJ/mol), and Sr (II) (1.24 KJ/mol) suggesting physisorption mechanisms. The retention reactions are of exothermic nature with spontaneous properties. The studied BE/Z hybrid structure is of excellent recyclability properties and is of promising efficiency in reducing Sr (II) and U (VI) from the groundwater sample.

MgO/CaO nanorods (MgO/CaO NRs) were synthesized using a diatomite substrate under the microwave irradiation. The synthesized composite exhibits well-developed rod-like morphology with 112.8 m2/g BET surface area. The synthetic MgO/CaO NRs were evaluated as a potential catalyst in the transesterification of non-edible castor oil into biodiesel. The catalyst achieved stunning catalytic performance with biodiesel yield of 96.2 % within 70 min using 6 wt.,% of it as loading value after fixing the temperature at 70 °C and the ethanol-to-the used castor oil molar ratio at 15:1 by normal mixing. The sonication effect resulted in an enhancement in the yield to about 98.8 % after 60 min only and reduced the required ethanol, catalyst dosage and temperature. The characterization of the resulted castor oil-based biodiesel by the two mixing technique is of strong matching with the qualifications of EN 14214 as well as the ASTM D-6571 international standards of biodiesel.

Purpose The capabilities of handheld scanners have been investigated previously in different applications, without considering its impact on the accuracy of model, heart rate variability (HRV), subjective measurements, and worker muscular activity. The present study aims to evaluate the impact of using two handheld scanners, elevation, and orientation of object that is scanned on the basis of aforementioned parameters. Design/methodology/approach To achieve these objectives, electromyographic measurements of six muscles were obtained. Moreover, dependent variables include; NASA task load index (NASA-TLX) as a subjective measure, HRV, and accuracy of the model; while, the scanner-type (laser versus white light scanner), target orientation (0° versus 45°), and elevation (50 cm versus 80 cm table height) were the independent variables. Findings The results of the within-subject design indicated that a light scanner exhibited less accurate performance, lower cardiac cost, less subjective NASA-TLX, and less task execution time than the laser scanner. Originality/value When using the laser scanner, to reduce muscle contraction and decrease the subjective NASA-TLX, the target elevation and orientation angle with respect to the horizontal plane must be 80 cm and 45°, respectively. However, when using the light scanner, to reduce muscle contraction and the subjective NASA-TLX, the target elevation and orientation angle with respect to the horizontal plane must be 50 cm and 0°, respectively. Furthermore, cardiac rhythms were less stressed when using the laser scanner at a 50 cm target elevation and light scanner at an 80 cm target elevation.

With the rapid development of next generation sequencing technology, the amount of biological sequence data of the cancer genome increases exponentially, which calls for efficient and effective algorithms that may identify patterns hidden underneath the raw data that may distinguish cancer Achilles' heels. From a signal processing point of view, biological units of information, including DNA and protein sequences, have been viewed as one-dimensional signals. Therefore, researchers have been applying signal processing techniques to mine the potentially significant patterns within these sequences. More specifically, in recent years, wavelet transforms have become an important mathematical analysis tool, with a wide and ever increasing range of applications. The versatility of wavelet analytic techniques has forged new interdisciplinary bounds by offering common solutions to apparently diverse problems and providing a new unifying perspective on problems of cancer genome research. In this paper, we provide a survey of how wavelet analysis has been applied to cancer bioinformatics questions. Specifically, we discuss several approaches of representing the biological sequence data numerically and methods of using wavelet analysis on the numerical sequences.

Aim The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of isosorbide mononitrate (IMN), misoprostol, and combination therapy for cervical ripening before induction of labor at term. Patients and methods A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was carried out on 196 term and post-term nulliparous women with unfavorable cervices who were assigned randomly to receive either 40 mg of IMN (n = 65), 50 ΅g of misoprostol (n = 65), or both of them (n = 66) in the posterior vaginal fornix. Changes in the Bishop score and cervical length, progress, and outcomes of labor and adverse effects were assessed. Results Combination therapy was more effective than IMN or misoprostol alone. Successful induction (vaginal delivery within 24 h of initiation of cervical ripening) was significantly higher in the misoprostol (60%) and the combination therapy (62.1%) groups compared with the IMN (27.7%) group (P Conclusion Combination therapy was more effective than either IMN or misoprostol alone for preinduction cervical ripening at term. However, IMN was safer, well tolerated, and more acceptable.