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Short-term load forecasting is a topic of considerable interest as it is of major importance for specifying and managing power resources and needs. In the literature, Deep Neural Networks have been successfully recently applied in load forecasting using single modalities as an improvement to traditional Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). In this paper, the main objective is to tackle the load forecasting problem with the intention of enhancing the prediction performance by combining and testing different multi-modal deep learning approaches and architectures in order to process and relate information from multiple modalities. The benefits of using multi-modality instead of one modality, applied to the time series modeling problem of short-term load forecasting is therefore investigated. The models are trained and evaluated using the hourly temperature and electrical consumption in addition to auto-regressive variables as the first modality. The day type characteristic, such as: weekends, week days, bank holidays, religious holidays etc., may be considered as a second modality. The approach liability is tested by comparing the empirical results of different Deep architectures namely: Stacked Denoising Auto- Encoders (SDAEs) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), with multiple and single modalities where processing the same task of one day ahead load forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conclusion, the analysis and measurement of thermal properties are crucial for a wide range of applications in science, technology, and industry. For energy efficiency optimisation, the design of sophisticated materials, and the creation of cutting-edge technologies, it is essential to comprehend how heat is transmitted and handled within materials. Researchers can precisely evaluate thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and other thermal parameters using a variety of experimental methodologies, including both conventional and cutting-edge technologies. This enables accurate material characterisation and performance evaluation. The landscape of thermal management and energy conversion has been significantly shaped by nanostructured materials. Their distinct nanoscale characteristics provide chances to modify thermal behaviour, boost effectiveness, and add new features. Researchers are able to manage heat conduction, phonon behaviour, and charge transport through the use of designed nanostructures, which has led to breakthroughs in a variety of industries, including electronics, energy storage, thermoelectric devices, and more. In addition to promoting energy efficiency and waste heat recovery, these developments pave the path for sustainable solutions to the world’s rising energy needs and environmental problems. We are on the verge of ground-breaking discoveries that have the potential to restructure industries, enhance energy sustainability, and pave the way for a more effective and linked society as we continue to investigate and harness the complex behaviour of heat within materials.

SUMMARY This paper investigates the problem of robust fault detection observer design for nonlinear Takagi-Sugeno models with unmeasurable premise variables subject to sensor faults and unknown bounded disturbance. The main idea is to synthesize a robust fault detection observer by means of a mixed H − ∕ H ∞ performance index. The considered observer is used to estimate jointly states and faults. Using the technique of descriptor system representation, we proposed a new less-conservative approach in term of a linear matrix inequality (LMI) by considering the sensor fault as an auxiliary state variable. A solution of the problem is obtained by using an iterative LMI procedure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in optical systems (isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry) for breath testing have provided a robust, low-cost option for undertaking 13C analysis. Although these systems were initially developed for breath testing for Helicobacter pylori, they have an enormous potential as a soil science research tool. The relatively low cost of the equipment, US$15,000–25,000, is within the research budgets of most institutes or universities. The simplicity of the mechanisms and optical nature mean that the equipment requires relatively low maintenance and minimal training. Thus methods were developed to prepare soil and plant materials for analysis using the breath test analyser. Results that compare conventional mass spectrometric methods with the breath test analyser will be presented. In combination with simple 13C-plant-labeling techniques it is possible to devise methods for estimating carbon sequestration under different agronomic management practices within a short time frame. This enables assessment of the carbon credit value of a particular agronomic practice, which can in turn be used by policy makers for decision-making purposes. For global understanding of the effect of agricultural practices on the carbon cycle, data are required from a range of cropping systems and agro-ecological zones. The method and the approach described will enable collection of hard data within a reasonable time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the combination of the four regions of Helicobacter pylori vacA with cagA, cagE, dupA genes and cagA-EPIYA motifs to identify the most likely combination that could be used as a disease determinant marker in the Moroccan population. A total of 838 H. pylori-positive samples were obtained from consenting patients, that were previously analyzed by PCR to characterize vacA-s, -m, and -i regions; cagE status; and cagA 3' region polymorphism, were used to characterize vacA-d region and to determine dupA gene status. The analysis showed the predominance of the less virulent combination {vacA(s2m2i2d2)dupA(-)cagE(-)cagA(-)}, and showed that the risk of gastric cancer is 13.33 fold higher (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-166.37) in patients infected with strains harboring vacA(s1m1i1d1)dupA(-)cagE(+)cagA(2EPIYA-C) compared to patients with gastritis without lesions and infected by H. pylori strains harboring vacA(s2m2i2d2)dupA(-) cagE(-)cagA(-). Infection with strains harboring the vacA(s1m1i1d1)dupA(+)cagE(+)cagA(1EPIYA-C) genotype combination represented a risk factor for both gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer than gastritis without lesions; odds ratio (OR) =16 (95% CI = 1.09-234.24) and OR = 12.39 (95% CI = 1.09-140.81), respectively. These results suggest that the combination of the active form of vacA genotypes, dupA gene status, and the number of EPIYA-C motifs may be helpful markers for discriminating between several gastric diseases.

Helicobacter pylori, Epstein-Barr virus and human papillomavirus are three pathogens associated with various human cancers. This study aimed to investigate the role of these pathogens in gastric cancer in Moroccan population. For this, a retrospective study has been conducted on participants attending the gastroenterology department of Hassan II University Hospital of Fez. A total of 279 participants were enrolled. H. pylori, EBV and HPV were detected and genotyped by PCR. In results, a significant association has been established between H. pylori, EBV and gastric cancer. 93.4% and 43.3% of gastric cancer cases are related to H. pylori and EBV respectively (p≤0.01). H. pylori-EBV co-infection is responsible of 31.6% of gastric cancer cases (p<0.01). Correlation between pathogens genotypes and gastric cancer shows 54.6% of GC EBV positives are carrying the 30 bp deletion in LMP1gene, while 16% of gastric cancers cases are carrying high-risk genotypes of HPV (p=0.21). The obtained results highlight the possible role of co-infection in gastric cancer development.

Helicobacter pylori infection is the most important etiological factor in gastroduodenal diseases development. Its evolution is influenced by several factors, including bacterial virulence genes such as cagA and cagE. This work aimed to evaluate the predictive value of cagE alone and in combination with cagA and CagA-EPIYA-C motifs number as a marker of the infection evolution. A total of 823 H. pylori DNA extracted from biopsies of consenting patients suffering from gastritis, peptic ulcer, or gastric cancer. The cagE, cagA status and cagA 3' region polymorphism were determined by PCR. The analysis shows that the risk of duodenal ulcer is 1.97-fold higher (CI = 1.18-3.30) in patients infected by strains cagA+/cagE+. And the risk of gastric cancer is 5.19-fold higher (CI = 1.18-22.70) in patients harboring strains cagE+/2EPIYA-C. The results suggest that cagE in combination with cagA-EPIYA-C motifs number can be used as predictive biomarker of H. pylori infection evolution., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest None, (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Biological nitrogen fixation requires a large amount of phosphorus (P). However, most of the soils are P-deficient and the extensive use of P- chemical fertilizers constitute a serious threat to the environment. In this context, two field experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of co-inoculation of Mesorhizobium ciceri with phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), Bacillus sp., and Enterobacter aerogenes, on chickpea as an alternative to chemical nitrogen (N) and phosphorous fertilizers in P-deficient soils in dry areas of Morocco. The results revealed that combined inoculation of chickpea with rhizobia and PSB showed a significant enhancement of chickpea nodulation, biomass production, yields and N, P, and protein content in grains as compared to single inoculation or single application of N or P. A significantly higher increase was obtained by inoculating chickpea with Mesorhizobium sp. MA72 combined with E. aerogenes P1S6. This combination allowed an enhancement of more than 270% in nodulation, 192% in shoot dry weight and 242% in grain yield. The effect of this combination was equivalent to the effect of combined application of N and P fertilizers. Formulation of biofertilizers based on tasted strains could be used for chickpea co-inoculation in P-deficient soils for an eco-friendly sustainable production of chickpea.

Helicobacter pylori infection induces inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which may progress to precancerous lesions and gastric cancer. The gastric histo-pathological damages may be associated with some virulence genes of the bacterium, notably vacA and cagA genes. To establish correlations between these genes and the lesions, biopsies from 1303 adults consenting patients that were previously analyzed by PCR to characterize vacA-s vacA-m, vacA-i regions and cagA 3' region polymorphism, were used. The highest average age was obtained in patients with intestinal metaplasia (53.65 ± 15.26 years) and gastric cancer (53.60 ± 14.32 years). Thus, these lesions are more frequent in elderly and male subjects. Tobacco smoking was significantly associated with neutrophilic activity (P = .02). No significant association was obtained between patients with chronic inflammation and vacA and cagA H. pylori genotypes. However, a significant association has been obtained between this lesion and cagA+ in aged patients (P = .02), while intestinal metaplasia was significantly associated with vacAi1 and vacAm1 separately (P < .01 and .01). Also, a significant association was obtained between intestinal metaplasia and strains with one EPIYA-C motif in young patients (P = .001). Interestingly, a significant association was obtained between gastric cancer and cagA+, vacAi1, vacAm1 H. pylori genotypes and also with two EPIYA-C motifs independently of age groups (all P < .05). The results of our study show that H. pylori vacAi1 could be more potent than the other H. pylori virulent factors for predicting the precancerous gastric lesions, confirming that this gene may be helpful to identify patients at high risk for gastric cancer., (© 2020 UICC.)

Background: Up to 44% of patients treated with infliximab and 7% of patients treated with etanercept reported to have anti-drug antibodies within the first 6 months of treatment. Recently, anti-TNF-α therapies have been reported to be employed in the induction of the druginduced lupus erythematous., Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between anti-TNFα antibodies and various manifestations of lupus erythematous., Methods: We enrolled a total of 56 cases divided into 28 known cases of rheumatoid arthritis and 28 cases of ankylosing spondylitis patients and 56 controls. The case group was divided into 4 groups according to the underlying disease (RA or AS) and treatment regimen (infliximab or etanercept). ANA and anti-dsDNA levels and lupus criteria were assessed at the beginning of the study and 4 months after the initiation of anti-TNFα., Results: 36% and 21% of RA patients treated with infliximab, were ANA and anti-dsDNA positive after 4 months (P=0.003, P=0.025). 28% and 7% of RA patients treated with etanercept, were ANA and anti-dsDNA positive after 4 months (P=0.009, P=0.15). 21% and 7% of AS patients treated with infliximab, were ANA and anti-dsDNA positive, respectively (P=0.025, P=0.15). 14% and 7% of AS patients treated with etanercept, were ANA and anti-dsDNA positive, respectively (P=0.63, P=0.15). Three patients who were positive for auto-antibodies developed three criteria for SLE., Conclusion: Infliximab potentially may increase both ANA and anti-dsDNA levels in rheumatoid arthritis, but only ANA in ankylosing spondylitis patients. In general, clinicians should consider different clinical symptoms of ATIL, which may be present as a lupus-like syndrome similar to idiopathic SLE or classical DIL., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: The pathogenicity of cagA-positive H. pylori strains is associated with the number and type of repeated sequences named EPIYA located in the C-terminal region of the CagA protein. The aim of this study is to determine the polymorphism of the H. pylori cagA 3' region circulating in Morocco and its association with different gastric pathologies., Methods: A total of 1353 consenting patients, were recruited in this study. The gastric biopsies performed during endoscopy were used for histological examination and for molecular characterization of H. pylori. The study of the type and number of "EPIYA" motif was identified by PCR directly on H. pylori positive biopsies., Results: Of all the biopsies, the infection rate was 61.1%. The cagA gene was amplified in 68.9% of the cases and the analysis of the 3' region of cagA showed the exclusive presence of the "Western CagA" type with a predominance of the EPIYA-ABC motif (71.4%). The number of EPIYA-C motif varies from 0 to 2. The multinomial analysis shows that the infection with strains of H. pylori having two EPIYA-C motifs is a factor that increases the risk of developing gastric cancer compared to gastritis cases with strains lacking this motif (OR = 11.64; CI: 3.34-45.15), whereas this risk is 6 fold higher in comparison with duodenal ulcer cases (OR = 6, CI: 1.29-27.76)., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the number of EPIYA-C motifs might be useful as a predictive marker of the infection evolution and will help in the identification of patients at high risk of developing gastric cancer., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection induces inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which may progress to precancerous lesions leading to gastric cancer. Pathological determinism is associated to some virulence genes of the bacterium, notably the vacA and cagA genes. The present study aimed to determine the H. pylori genotypes distribution and their association with sex, age and gastric diseases in a Moroccan population. Gastric biopsy was taken from 1079 consenting patients. The specimens were processed by PCR to identify H. pylori and to determine the genotypic profile by PCR characterizing vacA s, vacA m and vacA i regions directly from biopsies H. pylori positives. VacA genotyping revealed the predominance of vacA m2 (53.2%), vacA s2 (52.9%) and vacA i2 (52%). The most virulent vacA alleles (s1, i1 and m1) are more predominant in men (47.3%, 41.9% and 46.1% respectively) than in women (38.3%, 33.3% and 37% respectively). However, the association between vacA genotypes and age did not reach a statistical significant value. Logistic regression analysis results show that vacA i1m1 and vacA i1m2 genotypes were strongly associated with the risk of GC, the Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) was 29.73 [5.08-173.73] and 9.17 [2.06-40.82] respectively, while vacAs1/cagA+ seems to be a risk factor for DU since it is inversely associated with GC (OR was 0.13 [0.02-0.75]. The results of this study suggest that vacA i1 genotype independently to vacAm status may be of a clinical usefulness and will help to identify patients at a high risk of GC development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Finding a simple, accurate, and noninvasive diagnosis method is a substantial challenge for the detection of Helicobacter pylori. The aim of the present study was to compare the presence of H. pylori urease antigen in saliva with the presence of this bacterium in gastric mucosa., Methods: Saliva samples and gastric biopsies were taken from 153 consenting Moroccan patients. Saliva samples were analyzed using an immunochromatographic test for urease antigen H. pylori detection. Thereafter, the gastric biopsies were analyzed by histology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect this bacterium., Results: From a total of 153 recruited Moroccan patients, H. pylori was detected in 28 (18.30%), 87 (57.24%), and 69 (45.10%) cases by saliva test, histology, and PCR, respectively. A significant association was observed between the presence of H. pylori antigen in saliva and age. However, no association was found with sex, H. pylori virulence factors, gastric disease outcome, and density of the bacterium on the gastric mucosa. Considering that only 90 patients presented concordant results on H. pylori diagnosis (positive or negative) by both histology and PCR, the immunochromatographic test showed very low sensitivity (29.79%) and high specificity (90.70%). Of these two tests, the positive and negative predictive values were 77.78% and 54.17%, respectively. The accuracy of the test for salivary detection of urease antigen H. pylori was 58.89%., Conclusion: This study demonstrated a low detection rate of H. pylori antigens in saliva compared with the presence of this bacterium in gastric mucosa, suggesting that saliva cannot be used as a suitable sample for the diagnosis of H. pylori in our study population., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.)