Search

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) helps identify coronary artery disease of different etiologies. Vasospasm from OCT catheter is a rarely reported complication that is more commonly seen in the right coronary artery. We report a case of OCT-catheter induced vasospasm of the left anterior descending artery that resolved with administration of nitroglycerine. Interventionalists need to weary of the occurrence of catheter-related coronary artery spasm to avoid stenting when not necessary.

Introduction: Excessive smartphone usage among adolescents and young adults has been consistently linked to poor sleep. Moreover, smartphone overuse has been associated with daytime tiredness, longer sleeps latency, and reduced sleep duration. The significance of addressing poor sleep among adolescents and young adults is underscored by recent research linking it to adverse physical and psychological health outcomes, such as mood disturbances, impaired cognitive function, and increased risk incidence of hypertension and diabetes. Aim: To evaluate the effects of smartphone usage on sleep quality among individuals using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and hypnogram data. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, sleep patterns were assessed using the PSQI questionnaire and Prime Nap sleep tracker app (version 1.1.4). The study was conducted by Deccan College of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The data was collected in the form of a hypnogram and the study was conducted in the participants’ homes (under domicile conditions) in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India from March 2020 to April 2020. A total of 60 participants (both male and female) in the age group of 15-25 years were recruited and divided into two groups: one comprising 30 individuals with regular prolonged exposure to smartphone screens at night, and the other consisting of 30 individuals who experienced minimal or no smartphone exposure once they prepared to sleep. Descriptive statistics were applied to the collected data using Microsoft Excel and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 25.0. Results: Adding up the average scores of the seven factors gives a global PSQI score from 0 to 21, with 0-4 indicating good sleep and 5-21 indicating poor sleep. Among those who used smartphones regularly at night time, 20 participants (66.67%) had PSQI score >5 and poor sleep quality, 24 participants (80%) had prolonged sleep latency, 18 participants (60%) had poor sleep duration, 27 participants (90%) had sleep disturbances, and 22 participants (73.33%) had increased daytime dysfunction. Hypnogram abnormalities were seen in >15 participants (50%) of subjects. Conclusion: The prevalence of smartphone addiction is widely acknowledged in the medical literature, highlighting the need for its assessment, especially among adolescents and young adults. The study reveals that poor sleeping habits among participants were attributable either to a lack of awareness or neglect. By recognising the importance of adequate sleep, improvement in the quality of daily activities can be made by reducing daily screen time, consequently alleviating both physical and mental stress. Furthermore, the findings have implications for individuals whose work involves prolonged exposure to computer screens, especially during night time.

Countries should focus on the improvements to achieve sustainable development goals. However, taking these actions create some operational costs. Thus, it is appropriate for rising nations to prioritize sustainable development objectives. Due to this condition, more critical sustainable development goals should be identified. Accordingly, this study evaluates green energy-oriented sustainable development goals for emerging economies. Within this context, a model is generated by considering the golden cut and bipolar q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (q-ROFSs). The novelty of this study is to identify key green energy-oriented sustainable development goals for the improvement of emerging economies by an original model based on the golden cut and bipolar q-ROF decision making approach. All results are similar, indicating the proposed model's validity and coherency. It is concluded that increasing renewable energy is the most significant target with a weight of 0.235 regarding green energy-oriented sustainable development. Cooperation and efficiency are other significant issues for this condition, with weights of 0.198 and 0.196. It is also identified that Turkey and Mexico are the most successful countries in reaching green energy-oriented sustainable development goals. Increasing the share of renewable energy in total energy production and consumption is important for emerging countries. For this situation, governments should provide subsidies for renewable energy investors to provide a cost advantage. In this context, issues such as tax cuts and loans with low-interest rates can increase the motivation of clean energy investors.

The aim of our current study was to identify the effect of particulate matter of both types (PM2.5 and PM10) resulting from hookah smoking on the hemopoietic system of workers (smokers) in closed cafes. This study included six stations (cafes) on the Rusafa side of Baghdad city and conducted a blood test that included a complete blood count (CBC). A multifunctional air quality detector measured both types of particulate matter in the morning peak and evening peak. The study included 30 men (workers and smokers) and 30 men (non-smokers), whose ages ranged from 20 to 40 years. The study found that smokers had an increase in white blood cells and red blood cells, as well as an increase in the percentage of hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and the number of platelets (PLT), while also showing a decrease in the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). There was a significant difference between PM2.5 in the morning and hemoglobin, or platelets, in smokers. Additionally, smokers showed a significant difference between PM2.5 in the evening, PLT, and MCV. In the case of PM10, a significant difference was found between it and the blood platelets of smokers in the morning, while PM10 in the evening was found to have a significant difference with PLT and MCV among the smokers group.

Trial design: This is a prospective, block-randomized, blinded, multiple arm and parallel-group superiority clinical trial. Methods: Seventy-eight patients satisfying the recruitment standards, were randomly allocated into three groups as follows: Group I (n = 26) – Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) devoid of aromatherapy (AT); Group II (n = 26) - IANB with lavender AT and Group III - IANB with rose AT (n = 26) with the help of the ultrasonic aroma diffuser (with respective oils)for 20 min/2 h in operatories 1,2 and 3 respectively. For AT, 3–4 drops of lavender and rose-conditioned oils were added from a 100 ml solution containing 100 mg of these medicinal plants. The pre-operative (PRO) and access opening (AO) pain as well as the anxiety of patients were recorded using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) respectively. Data thus obtained was entered into the Excel sheet and subjected to statistical tests (analysis of variance and paired t-test). The p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Group I showed non-significant disparity between PRO and AO for both VAS as well as MDAS (p = 0.62, p = 0.71). However, group II (p = 0.04, p = 0.02) and group III (p = 0.03, p = 0.01) revealed significant differences between PO - AO VAS and MDAS. MDAS and VAS intergroup comparison revealed a significant difference among groups I and II (p = 0.03, p = 0.04), and groups I and III (p = 0.02, p = 0.03). However non-significant disparity was observed among groups II and III (p = 0.85, 0.34). Moreover, there was a statistically significant reduction in anxiety levels in females compared to males after rose AT (p = 0.02). Nevertheless, groups I and II did not show any gender predilection for anxiety as well as pain. Conclusion: Alleviation of dental anxiety as well as reduction in pain during AO of teeth with SIP can be achieved using Lavender and rose AT. In female patients, rose AT can be preferred over lavender AT.

Inter-appointment pain (IAP) is a subtype of postoperative pain which occurs between endodontic appointments. It may begin within a few hours after the first appointment and may continue for several days. Apart from mechanical instrumentation and thorough irrigation, intracanal medicaments play a central role in the disinfection of root canals and thus decreasing IAP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Curcuma Longa as an intracanal medicament on IAP in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP). One hundred healthy adult patients having SIP in one of their single-rooted maxillary or mandibular teeth participated in this randomized, parallel, single-blinded clinical trial. After thorough biomechanical preparation, the root canals were randomly medicated with one of the following medicaments, Control (no medicament), Calcium Hydroxide, triple antibiotic paste (TAP), and Curcuma Longa. The pain was recorded using Visual analog scale at 4 h, 24 h, and every day until the seventh day. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. No statistical difference in pain scores was observed between Calcium Hydroxide, TAP or Curcuma Longa groups. It can be concluded that Curcuma Longa, Calcium hydroxide, and TAP are equally effective in controlling IAP.

Recent advancements in additive manufacturing (AM), which includes both three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) printing, have revolutionized manufacturing processes across the board. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most widespread 3D printing technique that enables the use of a wide range of virgin polymers and polymer-based composites to meet the demand for high-performance, intelligent, and self-assembling structures. Although polymer-based composites offer a variety of multifunctional properties, it is essential to comprehend the mechanical and microstructural properties of parts printed with virgin polymers to analyze and design the additives and reinforcements required to achieve the optimal desired functionalities. Overall, this review focuses on the adoption and applications of virgin FDM polymers and highlights different virgin polymers and equipment used in 3D and 4D printing. A comparative study on the mechanical and microstructural properties of various FDM polymers is also performed. In addition, this work also covers the state-of-the-art approaches and practices used for 4D printing of polymer-based systems and future directions for this field.

Abstract Aim This research aimed to use an extra-oral 3D scanner for conducting volumetric analysis after caries excavation using caries-detecting dyes and chemomechanical caries removal agents in individuals with occlusal and proximal carious lesions. Methods Patients with occlusal (A1, A2, A3) and proximal carious lesions (B1, B2, B3) were treated with the conventional rotary technique, caries detecting dyes (CDD) and chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) method on 90 teeth (n = 45 for each). Group A1, B1: Excavation was performed using diamond points. Group A2, B2: CDD (Sable Seek™ caries indicator, Ultradent) was applied and left for 10 s, and then the cavity was rinsed and dried. For caries removal, diamond points or excavators were used. Group A3 and B3: BRIX3000 papain gel was applied with a micro-brush for 20 s and was activated for 2 min, and then the carious tissue was removed with a sharp spoon excavator. Post-excavation cavity volume analysis was performed using a 3D scanner. The time required and the verbal pain score (VPS) for pain were scored during excavation. Post-restoration evaluation was performed at 1, 3, and 6 months FDI (Federation Dentaire Internationale) criteria. Results Comparison of age, time and volume with study groups were made using Independent Sample’ t’ test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for two and more than two groups, respectively. Using Cohen’s Kappa Statistics, evaluators 1 and 2 agreed on caries removal status aesthetic, functional and biological properties at different follow-ups. The chi-square test revealed that the rotary groups [A1(2.5 ± 0.4 min) B1(4.0 ± 0.4 min)] had significantly less (p = 0.000) mean procedural time than CDD [A2(4.5 ± 0.4 min) B2(5.7 ± 0.4 min)] and CMCR [A3(5.4 ± 0.7 min) B3(6.2 ± 0.6 min)] groups. The CMCR group showed better patient acceptance and less pain during caries excavation than the rotary and CDD groups. CMCR group showed significantly less mean caries excavated volume(p = 0.000). Evaluation of restoration after 1-, 3-, and 6-month intervals was acceptable for all the groups. Conclusion Brix3000 helps effectively remove denatured teeth with less pain or sensitivity. The time required for caries removal was lowest in the rotary method and highest in the brix3000 group, while the volume of caries removed was the lowest for brix3000 and highest for the rotary group.

Air-writing is a widely used technique for writing arbitrary characters or numbers in the air. In this study, a data collection technique was developed to collect hand motion data for Bengali air-writing, and a motion sensor-based data set was prepared. The feature set as then utilized to determine the most effective machine learning (ML) model among the existing well-known supervised machine learning models to classify Bengali characters from air-written data. Our results showed that medium Gaussian SVM had the highest accuracy (96.5%) in the classification of Bengali character from air writing data. In addition, the proposed system achieved over 81% accuracy in real-time classification. The comparison with other studies showed that the existing supervised ML models predicted the created data set more accurately than many other models that have been suggested for other languages.

Many research works on the child soldier phenomenon seem to focus largely on the war-time experiences of the child soldier. Consequently, great attention is given to the life of the child soldier during the war. This paper, through qualitative content analysis and the trauma theory (Cathy Caruth’s concept of belatedness and Dominick LaCapra’s concept of acting-out) pays particular attention to the child soldier’s life after the war and his preparedness towards reintegration. The difficulty that accompanies this exercise is what makes obvious the loss of the child soldier. Even though he is far away from the war, he becomes a troubled and lost child who struggles futilely to erase his war-time memories. The paper finds that the child soldier’s loss is often manifested in the form of extreme violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, identity crisis and the lack of trust. Also, the paper subtly questions rehabilitation as an absolute curative measure for the child who was once a vicious perpetrator of violence and chaos. The paper finds that although rehabilitation provides a serene environment for the former child soldier and attempts to normalize his difficult and painful memories in his present world, it does not completely heal him of his psychological pain and wound.

This paper investigates possibilities of reducing production inefficiency using same input vector. Firms mostly suffer technical inefficiency in their production. Producers are found to operate below the frontier. Hence, empirical measures of production efficiencies are necessary to determine the inefficiency level, magnitude of inefficiency reduction, and gains that could be obtained by improving performance in the sector. The study used secondary data collected from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) database. The dataset covers the period 1960-2021. Variables extracted included agricultural GDP (kg), fertiliser usage (kg), agricultural labour(man-days), and number of tractors (No). The data were subjected to a unit root test for stationarity, and a stochastic frontier production/ Cost function model were applied to determine technical inefficiency of variables in the model. The result of unit root shows that series are integrated of the first order I (1). AIC criteria indicate an optimal lag length of two years, while the Unrestricted Co-integration Trace and Maximum Eigenvalue test show strong evidence of long-run relationship amongst variables. The parameters of Stochastic Frontier Production Function estimated were positively consistent with the study’s a priori expectation for such variables as fertiliser (0.2634), labour (0.3159), land (0.1846), and tractor (0. 1587). Output-oriented technical efficiency is 0.7802 (78%) and 22% is technically inefficient. A decreasing returns to scale value of (0.9226) with a scale effect of 0.9226. The sector is 58% economically efficient with cost savings of 42% and 75% allocative efficiency. This study concludes that Nigeria’s agriculture suffers from production inefficiencies and this inefficiency can be reduced by using the same input levels.

Logistics resources play a critical role in shaping service quality and maintaining organizational competitiveness. This study examines how service quality (SQ) and logistics resources (LR) affect the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) of hotels in Kurdistan, Iraq. Importantly, this study addresses a limited body of research in the Middle East, contributing a unique viewpoint on the relationship between logistics resources and service quality dynamics in the region. A questionnaire was employed to gather data from 152 hotel managers in Kurdistan, Iraq. The results indicate that sustainable competitive advantage was influenced by both the direct and indirect effects of service quality. When considering the role of service quality as a mediator, it was identified that it had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between logistics resources and sustainable competitive advantage. The findings provide an opportunity for practitioners to gain clear knowledge on the mediating effect of service quality between logistics resources and sustainable competitive advantage in the hotel industry. It can assist hotel managers in the region in focusing on and developing their service levels, particularly empathy, tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, and sensory, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the study will provide benefits for the relevant authorities to emphasize strategic policy.

Introduction Radical chemoradiotherapy represents the gold standard for locally advanced cervical cancer. However, despite significant progress in improving local tumour control, distant relapse continues to impact overall survival. The development of predictive and prognostic biomarkers is consequently important to risk-stratify patients and identify populations at higher risk of poorer treatment response and survival outcomes. Exploratory study of using Magnetic resonance Prognostic Imaging markers for Radiotherapy In Cervix cancer (EMPIRIC) is a prospective exploratory cohort study, which aims to investigate the role of multiparametric functional MRI (fMRI) using diffusion-weighed imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and blood oxygen level-dependent imaging (BOLD) MRI to assess treatment response and predict outcomes in patients undergoing radical chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer.Methods and analysis The study aims to recruit 40 patients across a single-centre over 2 years. Patients undergo multiparametric fMRI (DWI, DCE and BOLD-MRI) at three time points: before, during and at the completion of external beam radiotherapy. Tissue and liquid biopsies are collected at diagnosis and post-treatment to identify potential biomarker correlates against fMRI. The primary outcome is to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of quantitative parameters derived from fMRI as predictors of progression-free survival at 2 years following radical chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer. The secondary outcome is to investigate the roles of fMRI as predictors of overall survival at 2 years and tumour volume reduction across treatment. Statistical analyses using regression models and survival analyses are employed to evaluate the relationships between the derived parameters, treatment response and clinical outcomes.Ethics and dissemination The EMPIRIC study received ethical approval from the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA) on 14 February 2022 (protocol number RD2021-29). Confidentiality and data protection measures are strictly adhered to throughout the study. The findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific conferences, aiming to contribute to the growing body of evidence on the use of multiparametric MRI in cervical cancer management.Trial registration number NCT05532930.

Multiphase fluids are common in many industries, such as oil and petrochemical, and volume fraction measurement of their phases is a vital subject. Hence, there are lots of scientists and researchers who have introduced many methods and equipment in this regard, for example, photon attenuation sensors, capacitance-based sensors, and so on. These approaches are non-invasive and for this reason, are very popular and widely used. In addition, nowadays, artificial neural networks (ANN) are very attractive in a lot of fields and this is because of their accuracy. Therefore, in this paper, to estimate volume proportion of a three-phase homogeneous fluid, a new system is proposed that contains an MLP ANN, standing for multilayer perceptron artificial neural network, a capacitance-based sensor, and a photon attenuation sensor. Through computational methods, capacities and mass attenuation coefficients are obtained, which act as inputs for the proposed network. All of these inputs were divided randomly in two main groups to train and test the presented model. To opt for a suitable network with the lowest rate of mean absolute error (MAE), a number of architectures with different factors were tested in MATLAB software R2023b. After receiving MAEs equal to 0.29, 1.60, and 1.67 for the water, gas, and oil phases, respectively, the network was chosen to be presented in the paper. Hence, based on outcomes, the proposed approach’s novelty is being able to predict all phases of a homogeneous flow with very low error.

Morphological and optical properties of a multilayer film (CAZO/CZAO/ZACO) prepared by spin-coating method and deposited on a glass substrate were evaluated. The study was initially carried out for each layer, individually and then as a multilayer subsequently. Structural properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), infrared spectra (IR) and X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of three phases of zinc, copper and silver oxides at different levels. The CZAO sample observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed an excellent porous surface with a large deformation in the multilayer configuration. Doping with zinc and copper in the silver crystal lattice improved the crystal structure and reduced the optical energy gap, thus increasing the optical absorbance and refractive index. The dielectric constants εr and εi showed an increase in the optical polarization values for lower photonic energies. The maximum degradation rate for photocatalysts of methylene blue was 89 % for a 5-h exposure period with CAZO/CZAO/ZACO while it reached 71 % for the CZAO sample during the same time period. The sensitivity of samples to light proved that the presence of ultraviolet radiation increases the number of holes trapped by oxygen ions and causes more free electrons and contribute to a better production of photocurrent than in darkness.

Introduction: The mechanical nature of nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches makes them sluggish yet desirable for ultra-low-power, harsh environment applications. Two- and three-terminal NEM switches have been demonstrated using onedimensional, two-dimensional, and thin films, but sub-0.3 V operation with improved mechanical and electrical reliability is still elusive.Method: This study presents WNxnano-ribbon-based NEM sensor switches that operate at 0.6 V, 30 nanosecond switching time, 8 trillion cycles, and 0.5 mA ON current with less than 5 kΩ ON resistance, without stiction, mechanical welding, or short circuits. WNx’s high Young’s modulus gives it great elasticity and mechanical restoring force, which may overcome van der Waal and capillary forces.Results and Discussion: With its high Young’s modulus, the device’s nanoscale size facilitated low operating voltage. WNxnano-ribbon without grain boundaries is amorphous and more mechanically strong. Hammering and high current flow may destroy the nano-ribbon contact surface and interface, which is practically immaculate. Pull-out time (dominant delay factor) is 0 owing to high Young’s modulus, hence hysteresis loss and delay are absent. Elasticity and Young’s modulus increase speed.

Abstract Membrane filtration exhibit operational limitations such as biofouling, which leads to concentration polarization and reduces permeability and selectivity, despite advantages such as low operating cost, high selectivity, and permeability. In recent years, the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been investigated for improving membrane processes; however, the fouling phenomena in presence of AgNPs in the membrane matrix have not been fully discussed. Herein, the antifouling properties of a poly (acrylonitrile-styrene) copolymer incorporated with AgNPs were studied in a microfiltration membrane process. The Creighton method was used to synthesize AgNPs, and the effects of AgNPs on the porosity, morphology, pore size, mechanical strength, permeability, and selectivity of the membranes were investigated. Moreover, to investigate the biofouling of the obtained membranes, microfiltration of industrial oily wastewater was performed at constant pressure over three cycles. Using AgNPs in the membrane matrix resulted in enhanced antifouling properties of the copolymer membrane, which is related to the structure of the AgNPs in the casting solution, as proven by SAXS analysis. The results show that the CFU% for Staphylococcus aureus and E.coli reach 2% and 6%, respectively. Finally, the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) thermodynamic model was applied to study the antifouling mechanism, correctly predict the separation behavior in the membrane, and design, simulate, and optimize the separation processes in the membrane separation plantsa. The DLVO model could predict the separation behavior in the synthesized membranes, and the poly(acrylonitrile-styrene) copolymer membranes containing AgNPs were proven have promising industrial wastewater treatment applications.

The study area is of high socio-economic importance. It is characterized by the dependence of most of its inhabitants on agriculture as a basic resource for life, the water, and hydrological status play an important role in the social and economic stability of its inhabitants. Euphrates River passes in the area and is split into two branches: Sabeel and Atshan. The quality of the river water deteriorated very quickly as it passes through the area, where Total Dissolved Solids increases up to 3000 mg/l. The study aims to determine the characteristics of surface and groundwater in this region and their mutual relationship. (113) samples in 2019, were collected from rivers, drainages, springs, shallow and deep wells, and lakes. Main Cations (Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+1, K+1) and anions (Cl-1, SO4-2, HCO3-1, CO3-2, NO3-1) and Boron were analyzed in addition to the physio-chemical parameters (pH and TDS). The results showed that there is no or at least a very weak relationship between the groundwater in the area and the water of the Euphrates River. In addition, there is no effect of this shallow salty groundwater on the quality of the river’s water. On the other hand, the relations showed that there is a strong correlation between drainage water and Euphrates River water quality, which indicates that drainage is a source of added salinity to the river water. The study recommends that appropriate management should be implemented for the water of the Euphrates River in its two branches (i.e. before entering Samawa city) by maintaining fairly high river levels to stop any possibility of water drainage flow in it in the future. It is necessary to address the situation of all drainages scattered in the region, that flow directly into the Sabeel River, by transferring it to the eastern Euphrates drainage, and the volumes of water from these drainages must be compensated to the Euphrates River.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology offers a national operational 7-day ensemble streamflow forecast service covering regions of high environmental, economic, and social significance. This semi-automated service generates streamflow forecasts every morning and is seamlessly integrated into the Bureau’s Hydrologic Forecasting System (HyFS). Ensemble rainfall forecasts, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and Poor Man’s Ensemble (PME), available in the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) suite, are used to generate these streamflow forecasts. The NWP rainfall undergoes pre-processing using the Catchment Hydrologic Pre-Processer (CHyPP) before being fed into the GR4H rainfall–runoff model, which is embedded in the Short-term Water Information Forecasting Tools (SWIFT) hydrological modelling package. The simulated streamflow is then post-processed using Error Representation and Reduction In Stages (ERRIS). We evaluated the performance of the operational rainfall and streamflow forecasts for 96 catchments using four years of operational data between January 2020 and December 2023. Performance evaluation metrics included the following: CRPS, relative CRPS, CRPSS, and PIT-Alpha for ensemble forecasts; NSE, PCC, MAE, KGE, PBias, and RMSE; and three categorical metrics, CSI, FAR, and POD, for deterministic forecasts. The skill scores, CRPS, relative CRPS, CRPSS, and PIT-Alpha, gradually decreased for both rainfall and streamflow as the forecast horizon increased from Day 1 to Day 7. A similar pattern emerged for NSE, KGE, PCC, MAE, and RMSE as well as for the categorical metrics. Forecast performance also progressively decreased with higher streamflow volumes. Most catchments showed positive performance skills, meaning the ensemble forecast outperformed climatology. Both streamflow and rainfall forecast skills varied spatially across the country—they were generally better in the high-runoff-generating catchments, and poorer in the drier catchments situated in the western part of the Great Dividing Range, South Australia, and the mid-west of Western Australia. We did not find any association between the model forecast skill and the catchment area. Our findings demonstrate that the 7-day ensemble streamflow forecasting service is robust and draws great confidence from agencies that use these forecasts to support decisions around water resource management.

This study aims to use the environmental isotopes technique to evaluate the interaction between groundwater and surface water at a location between two cities in the southwest of Iraq; namely Al-Kifl and Al-Samawa. The salinity of the Euphrates River water increases sharply as it passes in this area, to a level that affects its usage for municipal purposes. A total of 111 samples were collected from the rivers, drainages, springs, shallow and deep wells, and from Sawa Lake, and all the samples were subjected to chemical (TDS, SO4, Cl, and B) and isotopic (deuterium and oxygen-18) analyses. The chemical and isotopic results showed no interference between the quality of the groundwater (from wells and springs) and Sawa Lake water with the Euphrates River water, in the study area, and hence, neither the groundwater nor Sawa Lake affects the river water quality. Statistically, the t-test analysis showed significant differences among those water samples (p-values less than 0.05 for almost all the chemical and isotopic parameters). On the other hand, drainage water showed a strong relationship to the river water, which indicates a high and strong influence of the drainage water on the river water quality when it mixes with the Euphrates River water.

Abstract Background Anxiety disorders comprise some of the most common mental health conditions. This study examined the global and regional burden of anxiety disorders over the last three decades. The study was designed to help accurately target preventative and management efforts by highlighting trends and high-risk groups. Epidemiological data relating to anxiety disorders from the latest Global Burden of Disease dataset were analyzed to determine the prevalence, incidence, and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) rates from 1990 to 2019 for 204 countries and regions. Results An estimated 4.05% of the global population has an anxiety disorder, translating to 301 million people. The number of persons affected has increased by more than 55% from 1990 to 2019. Anxiety disorder metrics show a continuous increase in prevalence, incidence, and DALY rates. Portugal has the highest prevalence (8,671 cases per 100,000), followed by Brazil, Iran, and New Zealand. The prevalence is higher in high-income regions. Women are 1.66 times more likely to be affected by anxiety disorders than men. Age-standardized rates have remained stable, indicating the possible stability of risk factors. Conclusions The prevalence of anxiety disorders has been rising over the last three decades. The prevalence of anxiety appears to increase with socioeconomic development, a higher dependent older population, and urbanization. Future research on this topic could include the development of more accurate cross-cultural metrics to assess anxiety and its correlates, as well as population-based studies to assess trends in anxiety over time.

The general view of most scholars and indigenes is that the Anoufum have always been subjects of the Dagomba. Others have however opposed this view and speak strongly about it. This paper sets out to find the actual relationship between the Anoufom and the Dagombas in Northern Ghana. Is it a subject-master relationship? This study was qualitative in nature. Data was collected from extensive oral interviews conducted with knowledgeable elders from the Dagbon ethnic groups of Kumbungu, Tolon and Yendi in the Northern Region of Ghana The same was carried out among the Anoufom of Ghana (NaloriI) Chereponi and those in Sansane – Mango in the Northern part of present-day Togo. A scrutiny and analysis of the data gathered indicated that the Anoufom have never been subjects of the Dagombas, whether through war or conquest, or peace treaty. What indeed brought about that perception was a result of colonial administrative policies carried by the British colonial administrators. This was done by merging smaller ethnic groups with that of a larger one for administrative convenience. It was revealed that the Anoufom had never been subjects of Dagombas. This research adds to the existing literature on political relations among the various tribes in Northern Ghana.

AbstractThis study examines a group of women entrepreneurs of small and micro businesses in Hail, Riyadh and Eastern regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study aims to identify the particular style of leadership displayed by these women entrepreneurs; and whether all their competencies have the same or different influence on their task-oriented or people-oriented leadership styles. The respondents were initially identified through various organizations such as Wa’ed (Aramco’s entrepreneurship centre), MISK Foundation and Monsha’at. Subsequently, we finalized female-owned small businesses that are operating for minimum two years in their respective business area as our target respondents. The survey questionnaire was sent to 310 women entrepreneurs after obtaining their approval. A total of 211 filled surveys were received. The responses having repetition or missing data were deleted which resulted in 174 surveys which were analyzed using SPSS. Surprisingly, the results indicate that our respondents exhibit a higher score of task-oriented leadership style. The female entrepreneurs who possess high degrees of business and management, relationship, entrepreneurial and human relation skills are found to incline towards task-oriented leadership style. The relationship and entrepreneurial competencies show a positive influence on the people-oriented leadership style. On the other hand, business and management, as well as entrepreneurial and human interactions, show a positive influence on task-oriented style of leadership.

This study investigates the effect of aluminum nanoparticles (AL NPs) on vaccines (e.g., poliomyelitis and bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccines). Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine the extent of its effect on the blood composition using an in vivo study on blood samples obtained from rabbits injected with poliomyelitic virus and BCG vaccines across a period of four weeks. The oxidation current peaks of the vaccines in the rabbit blood samples were enhanced with increasing doses of AL NPs. AL NPs acted as oxidative reagents to the rabbit blood components.

Introduction: During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all prospective of life have been affected by the situation. As a result of which, many universities adopted the online way of teaching instead of the traditional classroom teaching or by blending both together. This study was carried out with the objective to assess the perception of teachers and students regarding classes taken online versus those taken in the classroom. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among students and faculty members of the medical college at Majmaah University, KSA, from October 2020 to April 2021. Results: The study found that the majority of teachers have disagreed (91%) that online classes were more effective than classroom mode, and regarding the overall perception of teachers for classes taken online and in the classroom, 62% of teachers agreed that online classes were better than classroom mode, whereas 38% disagreed; 61% of students agreed that online classes were better than classroom mode, and 39% disagreed. Conclusion: Educational institutions should be ready to handle pandemic-like situations without disrupting educational activities and to achieve this, appropriate training of the faculty members and students should be carried out to make online teaching effective and also to minimise any associated disturbing factors.

Abstract We provide an automated analysis of the pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and estimate areas of serous, neovascular, and fibrous tissues within PEDs. A retrospective analysis of high-definition spectral-domain OCT B-scans from 43 eyes of 37 patients with nAMD with presence of fibrovascular PED was done. PEDs were manually segmented and then filtered using 2D kernels to classify pixels within the PED as serous, neovascular, or fibrous. A set of PED composition indices were calculated on a per-image basis using relative PED area of serous (PEDCI-S), neovascular (PEDCI-N), and fibrous (PEDCI-F) tissue. Accuracy of segmentation and classification within the PED were graded in masked fashion. Mean overall intra-observer repeatability and inter-observer reproducibility were 0.86 ± 0.07 and 0.86 ± 0.03 respectively using intraclass correlations. The mean graded scores were 96.99 ± 8.18, 92.12 ± 7.97, 91.48 ± 8.93, and 92.29 ± 8.97 for segmentation, serous, neovascular, and fibrous respectively. Mean (range) PEDCI-S, PEDCI-N, and PEDCI-F were 0.253 (0–0.952), 0.554 (0–1), and 0.193 (0–0.693). A kernel-based image processing approach demonstrates potential for approximating PED composition. Evaluating follow up changes during nAMD treatment with respect to PEDCI would be useful for further clinical applications.

Australia is a unique continent, surrounded by the ocean, and the majority of its catchments flow to the coast. Some of these catchments are gauged and others are ungauged. There are 405 gauged catchments covering 2,549,000 km2 across the coastal regions of 12 drainage divisions in Australia, whereas there are 771 catchments conceptualised as ungauged covering additional 835,000 km2. The spatial and temporal distribution of mean annual rainfall and potential evaporation (PET) vary significantly from one drainage division to another. We developed a continuous daily streamflow time series of all gauged and ungauged catchments from 1993 onwards. We applied the daily GR4J lumped conceptual model to these catchments. The performance of gauged catchments was analysed through (i) visual inspection of daily hydrographs, flow duration curves, and daily scatter plots; and (ii) performance metrics, including NSE and PBias. Based on the NSE and PBias, performance ratings of 80% and 96% of the models, respectively, were found to be ‘good’. There was no relationship found between the catchment area and the model performance. The ungauged catchments were divided into four categories based on distance from potential donor catchments, where observed data are available for GR4J model calibration, and Köppen climate zone. The total ungauged catchments represent 24.7% of the total drainage division areas. The streamflow from ungauged catchments was estimated using the GR4J model based on the parameters of their donor catchments. Overall, runoff ratios from ungauged catchments were found to be higher compared to their donor-gauged catchments, likely driven by their higher rainfall and less PET. This tendency was particularly evident in two drainage divisions—the Carpentaria Coast (CC) and the Tanami–Timor Sea Coast (TTS)—where ungauged areas comprised 51% and 43%, respectively. The mean gauged annual streamflow varied significantly across drainage divisions—230 gigalitres (GL) from the South Australian Gulf (SAG) to 146,150 GL in TTS. The streamflow from all ungauged catchments was estimated at 232,200 GL per year. Overall, the average streamflow from all drainage divisions, including gauged and ungauged areas, across the coastal regions of Australia was estimated at 419,950 GL per year. This nationwide estimate of streamflow dataset could potentially enhance our understanding of coastal processes and lead to improvements in marine modelling systems and tools.

The fidelity of the decadal experiment in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase-5 (CMIP5) has been examined, over different climate variables for multiple temporal and spatial scales, in many previous studies. However, most of the studies were for the temperature and temperature-based climate indices. A quite limited study was conducted on precipitation of decadal experiment, and no attention was paid to the catchment level. This study evaluates the performances of eight GCMs (MIROC4h, EC-EARTH, MRI-CGCM3, MPI-ESM-MR, MPI-ESM-LR, MIROC5, CMCC-CM, and CanCM4) for the monthly hindcast precipitation of decadal experiment over the Brisbane River catchment in Queensland, Australia. First, the GCMs datasets were spatially interpolated onto a spatial resolution of 0.05 × 0.05° (5 × 5 km) matching with the grids of observed data and then were cut for the catchment. Next, model outputs were evaluated for temporal skills, dry and wet periods, and total precipitation (over time and space) based on the observed values. Skill test results revealed that model performances varied over the initialization years and showed comparatively higher scores from the initialization year 1990 and onward. Models with finer spatial resolutions showed comparatively better performances as opposed to the models of coarse spatial resolutions, where MIROC4h outperformed followed by EC-EARTH and MRI-CGCM3. Based on the performances, models were grouped into three categories, where models (MIROC4h, EC-EARTH, and MRI-CGCM3) with high performances fell in the first category, and middle (MPI-ESM-LR and MPI-ESM-MR) and comparatively low-performing models (MIROC5, CanCM4, and CMCC-CM) fell in the second and third categories, respectively. To compare the performances of multi-model ensembles’ mean (MMEMs), three MMEMs were formed. The arithmetic mean of the first category formed MMEM1, the second and third categories formed MMEM2, and all eight models formed MMEM3. The performances of MMEMs were also assessed using the same skill tests, and MMEM2 performed best, which suggests that evaluation of models’ performances is highly important before the formation of MMEM.

The alarming pace of environmental degradation necessitates the treatment of wastewater from the oil industry in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of human civilization. Electrocoagulation has emerged as a promising method for optimizing the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from wastewater obtained from oil refineries. Therefore, in this study, electrocoagulation was experimentally investigated, and a single-factorial approach was employed to identify the optimal conditions, taking into account various parameters such as current density, pH, COD concentration, electrode surface area, and NaCl concentration. The experimental findings revealed that the most favorable conditions for COD removal were determined to be 24 mA/cm2 for current density, pH 8, a COD concentration of 500 mg/l, an electrode surface area of 25.26 cm2, and a NaCl concentration of 0.5 g/l. Correlation equations were proposed to describe the relationship between COD removal and the aforementioned parameters, and double-factorial models were examined to analyze the impact of COD removal over time. The most favorable outcomes were observed after a reaction time of 20 min. Furthermore, an artificial neural network model was developed based on the experimental data to predict COD removal from wastewater generated by the oil industry. The model exhibited a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.12% and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.99, indicating its high accuracy. These findings suggest that machine learning-based models have the potential to effectively predict COD removal and may even serve as viable alternatives to traditional experimental and numerical techniques.

screen out is a blocking of the fracture path caused by bridging the path or accumulation of the proppant inside the fracture, clumping or lodging of the (solid particles) proppant across the hydraulic fracture width that causes to restrict formation fluid to flow into the hydraulically fractured formation. To avoid the screen out happening needing to save fracturing fluids, hydraulic horsepower. Conditions that leading to screen out during the hydraulic fracturing job in a well, such as, the ratio between the fracture widths to particle diameter that called (β), proppant concentration,  and wall roughness. The effects of these factors are investigated experimentally in the present work by building an apparatus that meet the shape of the real hydraulic fracture. The plugging time were measured and monitored through glass windows on both sides of the apparatus to follow the behavior of the proppant inside the fracture during the flow of the fracturing fluid or when the proppant plugs the fracture. To study the effect of the fracture wall roughness on the screen out phenomena, apparatus was build to get two different fracture shapes, to meet the real fracture wall in reality. Through the relation between the different proppant concentration and the plugging time, one can indicate on the graph the plugging region and non plugging region for different values of β, proppant concentration and fracture shape, in order to avoid the screen out. During designing the hydraulic fracture, the values of β were very important factor that can lead to screen out, through the results found that when β=1, the screen out happened very fast even at low proppant concentration, but for β=2, 3 and 4 the screen out depends on the proppant concentration and fracture shape. For β=5 it was found that, there is no screen out occurring for wide range of proppant concentration. The effect of hydraulic fracture wall roughness is important because it effect the speed of the suspension when passing through the fracture.

The effect of climate prevails on a diverse time scale from days to seasons and decades. Between 1993 and 2013, global warming appeared to have paused even though there was an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. The variations in oceanographic variables, like current speed and sea surface temperature (SST), under the influence of the global warming hiatus (1993–2013), have drawn the attention of the global research community. However, the magnitude of ocean current and SST characteristics oscillates and varies with their geographic locations. Consequently, investigating the spatio-temporal changing aspects of oceanographic parameters in the backdrop of climate change is essential, specifically in coastal regions along Kuroshio current (KC), where fisheries are predominant. This study analyzes the trend of ocean current and SST induced mainly during the global warming hiatus, before and till the recent time based on the daily ocean current data from 1993 to 2020 and SST between 1982 and 2020. The Kuroshio extent is delineated from its surrounding water masses using an aggregation of raster classification, stretching, equalization, and spatial filters such as edge detection, convolution, and Laplacian. Finally, on the extracted Kuroshio extent, analyses such as time series decomposition (additive) and statistical trend computation methods (Yue and Wang trend test and Theil–Sen’s slope estimator) were applied to dissect and investigate the situations. An interesting downward trend is observed in the KC between the East coast of Taiwan and Tokara Strait (Tau = −0.05, S = −2430, Sen’s slope = −5.19 × 10−5, and Z = −2.61), whereas an upward trend from Tokara Strait to Nagoya (Tau = 0.89, S = 4344, Sen’s slope = 8.4 × 10−5, and Z = 2.56). In contrast, a consistent increasing SST in trend is visualized in the southern and mid-KC sections but with varying magnitude.

Conflict of interests, as an act of corruption, is considered a loose concept. Legal jurisprudence differed in defining its concept, but the salient feature in it is that it constitutes an act of a public job that calls for both disciplinary and criminal responsibility, as it constitutes a two-faced act, a criminal and a disciplinary aspect. This study came to examine a important issue within the framework of the public job. From here it was necessary to stand on the definition of conflict of interest and the types of this conflict within the framework of the public job, and the elements of the crime of conflict of interest according to the criminal framework in the punitive legislation in the countries under study. The main findings show that the most prominent of which is that the most common and dangerous form of conflict is the conflict between the public interest and the private interest. This is when the employee has a direct or indirect interest that affects the administrative decision-making process or any other administrative act. The two researchers recommended that more details be given to the images of Conflict of interests in order to avoid any legal lapse or loophole, which would result in the establishment of the largest possible criminal and disciplinary confrontation for this act.

اشتمل الباب الأول على التعريف بالبحث وأهميته وتم التطرق فيه إلى مشكلة البحث والسبب في استخدام هذه الطرق والتعرف على أهداف البحث وفروضه ومجالاته الثلاث. أما الباب الثاني فاشتمل على الدراسات النظرية والمشابهة المتعلقة بموضوع البحث. أما الباب الثالث فتم التطرق فيه إلى منهج البحث المستخدم وعينته وكيفية تقسيم المجموعات مع تكافؤ العينة وإلى التجربة الاستطلاعية، ثم تطرق الباحث إلى الاختبار القبلي والتجربة الرئيسة للبحث ثم الاختبار البعدي والوسائل الإحصائية المستخدمة في البحث. أما الباب الرابع فتم التطرق فيه إلى عرض النتائج التي توصل إليها الباحث ثم تحليلها ومناقشتها، وتم التعرف فيه إلى أهمية الطرائق التعليمية المستخدمة في البحث لتطوير بعض مهارات حراس المرمى بكرة القدم، ثم تم مناقشة مقدار تعلم كل مجموعة من مجموعتي الحث. أما الباب الخامس فاحتوى على الاستنتاجات والتوصيات التي توصل إليها الباحث، وكانت من أهم الاستنتاجات إن للطرق التعليمية (المكثف والموزع) تأثير إيجابي وفعال في تعلم بعض مهارات حراس المرمى بكرة القدم مع أفضلية واضحة لصالح طريقة التعلم الموزع، أما أهم التوصيات فهي استخدام طريقة التعلم الموزع العشوائي مع الطلاب المبتدئين في تعلم مهارات حراس المرمى بكرة القدم، واستخدام التعلم المكثف العشوائي مع طلاب أكثر تطوراً في التعلم

BackgroundDigital therapeutic platforms facilitate health care through patient-centered strategies based on multidisciplinary teams and shared decision-making. Such platforms can be used for developing a dynamic model of diabetes care delivery, which can help in improving glycemic control by promoting long-term behavior changes in people with diabetes. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of the Fitterfly Diabetes CGM digital therapeutics program for improving glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after the completion of 90 days in the program. MethodsWe analyzed deidentified data of 109 participants in the Fitterfly Diabetes CGM program. This program was delivered through the Fitterfly mobile app coupled with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology. This program consists of 3 phases: the first phase is observation, wherein the patient’s CGM readings are observed for 7 days (week 1); the second phase is the intervention; and the third phase aims at sustaining the lifestyle modification introduced during the second phase. The primary outcome of our study was the change in the participants’ hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels after program completion. We also evaluated the changes in participant weight and BMI after the program, changes in the CGM metrics in the initial 2 weeks of the program, and the effects of participant engagement in the program on improving their clinical outcomes. ResultsAt the end of the 90 days of the program, the mean HbA1c levels, weight, and BMI of the participants were significantly reduced by 1.2% (SD 1.6%), 2.05 (SD 2.84) kg, and 0.74 (SD 1.02) kg/m2 from baseline values of 8.4% (SD 1.7%), 74.45 (SD 14.96) kg, and 27.44 (SD 4.69) kg/m2 in week 1, respectively (P

We analysed changes in magnitude and timing of the largest annual observed daily flow (Amax), in each water year, for 596 stations in high-value water resource catchments and flood risk locations across Australia. These stations are either included in the Bureau of Meteorology’s Hydrologic Reference Stations or used in its operational flood forecasting services. Monotonic trend (which is either consistently increasing or decreasing) analyses of the magnitude and timing of flood peaks (estimated using Amax) were performed using the Theil–Sen and Mann–Kendall approaches and circular statistics to identify the strength of seasonality and timing. We analysed regional significance across different drainage divisions using the Walker test. Monotonic decreasing trends in Amax flood magnitude were found in the Murray–Darling River Basin and in other drainage divisions in Victoria, southwest and midwest of Western Australia and South Australia. No significant obvious pattern in Amax magnitude was detected in northern Queensland, coastal NSW, central Australia and Tasmania. Monotonic increasing trends were only found in the Tanami–Timor Sea Coast drainage division in northern Australia. Monotonic trends in Amax magnitude were regionally significant at the drainage division scale. We found two distinct patterns in flood seasonality and timing. In the northern and southern parts of Australia, flood peaks generally occur from February to March and August to October, respectively. The strength of this seasonality varies across the country. Weaker seasonality was detected for locations in the Murray–Darling River Basin, and stronger seasonality was evident in northern Australia, the southwest of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The trends of seasonality and timing reveal that in general, flood peaks have occurred later in the water year in recent years. In northern Australia, flood peaks have generally occurred earlier, at a rate of 12 days/decade. In Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, the trends in timing are generally mixed. However, in the southwest of Western Australia, the largest change in timing was evident, with Amax peaks commencing later at a rate of 15 days/decade. Decadal variability in flood timing was found at the drainage division scale as well. Most stations show a decreasing trend in Amax magnitude, but how that trend is associated with the change in timing is not clear.

Vitiligo, the most widespread hypopigmentary syndrome, is considered to be a multifactorial disease in which the active melanocytes are lost. Vitiligo has been studied in a variety of ways, and several genes have been implicated. In this study we focused on investigating biomarker levels of TNF-α, MDA and TAS by using ELISA, and along with that mRNA expression levels of MIF, NLRP1 and FoxP3 genes were quantified with qRT-PCR. In expression studies, Non-segmental Generalized Vitiligo (NSV) subjects had a substantial (P

Today's modern computing environment provides a smart healthcare monitoring system for early prediction of fall detection. The Internet of Things-based health model plays a significant role in the health care service area and helps to improve the processing of data and its prediction. Transferring reports or data from one place to another takes too much time and energy, and it will cause high latency and energy issues. To handle these kinds of hazards, edge computing provides solutions. In this paper w presents smart healthcare system issues, services, and applications. Furthermore, propose a CNN-based prediction model with the use of edge computing and IoT paradigms. Edge computing is a distributed environment framework that enables rapid resource availability and response time through local edge servers computed at the end of IoT devices. The CNN model is used to analyse the health data collected by IoT devices. Furthermore, the role of edge devices is to provide doctors and patients with timely health-prediction reports via edge servers. The proposed mechanism can be analysed using accuracy and error rate performance parameters. In the proposed mechanism, the accuracy is 99.23% in comparison with other techniques.

Introduction: patients with HIV/AIDS in developing countries have to face discrimination in the society and in health care system .The knowledge of people in such countries also not good enough as many of them don’t know the main information about this disease and some of them get infected because of lack of information Objective: To examine the knowledge of people about HIV/AIDS in Kirkuk city among different educational background. Subjects and Methods: A structured questionnaire form related to HIV/AIDS was administrated on the 6000 person included (primary, secondary, high school, university student and employers as well as public people). The questionnaire form included demographic items including gender, age, setting, and educational level and questions on AIDS related knowledge covering main topics. The data was analysed and evaluated by chi-square and student t-test. Result: The results of this study showed that the rate of knowledge about HIV/AIDS regarding the knowledge of people about the causative agent the highest knowledge was virus (80.86%) followed by bacteria (8.9%), parasite (3.38%), fungus (2.23%). the rate of knowledge about HIV/AIDS according to being zoonosis in females (32.1%) was higher than males (21.18%). The knowledge of university student (45.13%) was highest followed by high school (28%), secondary school (19.75%), and the primary school (8.68%). The knowledge of people about the prevention and control of the disease, the rate of correct answer (66.8%) was higher than incorrect one (28.9%). Conclusion: There is a gap in the existing knowledge of HIV/AIDS regarding route of transmission, causative agent, and general appearance of the disease.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine illness, affecting an increasing number of people all over the world. It is caused by a lack, or inadequate synthesis of insulin by the pancreas leading to an increase in blood glucose concentrations. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most strongly linked disease to obesity of all disorders. The number of obesity-related diabetes is predicted to reach 300 million by 2025. The term 'diabesity' was coined as a result of this strong link, therefore, weight loss is seen as a key therapeutic goal in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that stimulates insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. Also, it has weight-losing benefits which is assumed to be due to appetite suppression and delayed gastric emptying. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of Liraglutide on weight management, body mass index, renal function and blood pressure in type 2 diabetic mellitus obese patients in Iraq. Methods: An open-label therapeutic trial was conducted from November 2021 to June 2022 at Baquba Teaching Hospital/ Diyala. (23 males and 27 females) with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus for 2 - 4 years were included in the study. They were obese, hypertensive and dyslipidemic. They received metformin and liraglutide for 12 weeks as 0.6 mg/day during the first week, which was gradually increased to 1.2 mg and up to 1.8 mg/day according to patient tolerance and requirement for control at the beginning the study. The patients had their height as well as body weight measured, calculated, blood pressure measured and renal functions tested. The statistical analysis was performed using SAS (Statistical Analysis System - version 9.1). Two-way ANOVA and Least significant differences (LSD) post hoc test were performed as well as paired t-test. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Treatment with liraglutide for 12 weeks has resulted in a significant decrease in body weight, BMI, and blood pressure (P

This is the first time a large endovesical leiomyoma of the urinary bladder has been reported in India. A 44-year-old woman had painless gross haematuria, increased urine frequency, an incomplete emptying feeling, and left loin discomfort. Imaging and cystoscopy revealed a 6 x 5 cm projecting endovesical tumour emerging from the bladder's base near the left vesico-ureteric junction. Transurethral bladder resection with few biopsies was performed, histopathological examination revealed a pathological diagnosis of a leiomyoma of the urinary bladder. Intravesical complete excision of the tumor was performed after ligating its pedicle. Complete surgical resection is a very effective treatment, associated with almost no recurrence. We discuss the relevant recent literature of bladder leiomyoma.

Background: Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor which has been given approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced renal cell carcinoma . However, measuring quality of life and patient-reported symptoms may provide further information for evaluating and comparing treatment efficacy and toxicity profiles during cancer treatment. Despite the critical importance of patients' quality of life while receiving anticancer treatment, neither Iraqi patients undergoing anti-cancer medications in general nor those receiving Sorafenib in particular had any published data evaluating this important parameter. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the quality of life of Sorafenib-treated Iraqi patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was performed at the oncology clinic of (Oncology Teaching Hospital, Al-Amal Hospital and Al -Imamein Al- Kadhimein Medical City in Baghdad, Iraq) during the period from November 2021 to July 2022. Patients were enrolled in current study by using a convenient sampling method. Assessment of quality of life was performed using a questionnaire from the “European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer”. Statistical analyses were performed using statistical package for Social Sciences. Student’s t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare categorical data. P value of

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis is a rare disease affecting people with hereditary factors. Its treatment includes life style modification and use of drugs such as the biologic agent infliximab or its biosimilar, CT-P13 infliximab. Despite their therapeutic usefulness, these agents are associated with a number of serious adverse effects such as immunogenicity. Objectives: The aim of current study was to investigate if immunogenicity of the biosimilar CT-P13 infliximab or the original infliximab, in Iraqi patients with Ankylosing spondylitis, is affected by any of the patients’ demographic characteristics. Methods: A retrospective open-label study was conducted from December 2021 to March 2022 at the Rheumatology Unit, Baghdad Teaching Hospital/Medical City, Baghdad. Forty-four patients were taking Infliximab, and another 50 patients were taking CT-P13, both at a dose of 5mg/kg for 3 months prior to recruitment in current study. Disease activity was assessed by ASDAS-CRP score while antibodies and C-reactive protein were tested by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay technique. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS statistical package for Social Sciences version 20.0. The level of significance was considered at P0.05). Similar data were reported regarding the biosimilar CT-P13 infliximab except for smoking and disease activity which exhibited significant correlation with development of anti-CT-P13 antibodies (P

This work aims to explore the impact of side loads, drill-pipe tool-joint (DP-TJ) speed (rpm), and mud type on the austenitic stainless steel SM2535-110 casing wear characteristics. Actual field drill pipe tool joints, casings, and drilling muds are used in this study. The results of the study show that under both types of lubrication, the wear volume increased with radial load and DP-TJ speed. SM2535-110 casing specimens tested under oil-based mud (OBM) lubrication had higher casing wear volumes than those obtained under water-based mud (WBM) lubrication. This unexpected behavior is mainly due to the increase in the surface hardness of the casing specimens tested under WBM. The results also show that the specific wear rate or wear factor (K) (which is defined as the volume loss per unit load per unit distance sliding) values of specimens tested under WBM are in general two to four times higher than those obtained under OBM. While K values under WBM increase with both the side load and rpm, those under OBM show a sharp decrease with rpm. This behavior under OBM is due to this lubricant’s higher viscosity and the change of lubrication regime from thin film to thick film lubrication at higher rpm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the digital microscopic imaging (DMI) of SM235-110 casing specimens show that an aggressive combination of adhesive, abrasive, and plastic deformation was observed under WBM, while the dominant wear mechanism under OBM is abrasive wear.

In this paper, we investigate the outage performance of the three-hop mixed system integrating radio frequency (RF), free space optics (FSO), and under water optical communication (UWOC) system. The closed-form analytical expressions for the outage probability of the system are derived. In the considered system, the RF channel follows the Nakagami-m distribution, the FSO channel observes the Gamma-Gamma fading statistics, and the UWOC link experiences a mixture Exponential Generalized Gamma (EGG) fading distribution. To verify the derived analytical expressions, numerical simulations are also carried out, and we present the influence of the various link parameters such as path loss, atmospheric turbulence, pointing errors, angle-of-arrival fluctuations, water salinity, and scintillation on the performance of the decode and forward (DF) relayed multi-hop communication system.

Fluidized catalytic cracking of vacuum gas oil is considered a promising factor in enhancing the gasoline yield to fulfill global energy demands. In this study, a series of FCC catalysts with a zeolite to matrix ratio varying from 18 to 50 was prepared using USY zeolite and amorphous matrix. The matrix was composed of amorphous silica-alumina, kaolin, and silica sol binder. All fresh catalysts were subjected to hydrothermal deactivation treatment at 750 °C for 5 h. The performance evaluation of FCC catalysts was conducted in a fixed bed microactivity test unit, with vacuum gas oil as feed at 550 °C. Comparing a steamed CAT01 sample with a fresh CAT01, the surface area of the steamed sample was 23.3% less. Similarly, the fresh sample CAT05 acidity increased by 102% when compared with the fresh CAT01 sample. As the zeolite to matrix ratio increased, the selectivity of dry gas, LPG, and coke increased, associated with a consistent decrease in gasoline and heavy ends (LCO and HCO). The combined selectivity of product gasoline and LCO with low-zeolite steamed catalyst (CAT01) was 82%, and that of high-zeolite steamed catalyst (CAT05) was 76%. Furthermore, coke selectivity for the steamed CAT01 was 2.1%, whereas 3.7% was observed for the steamed CAT05 sample. The effect of the zeolite to matrix ratio was less pronounced in steamed catalysts as compared with fresh catalysts.

Global carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to Portland cement production; thus, an alternative cementitious system is essential to reduce cement demand. Ceramic waste powder (CWP), which contains high proportions of silica and alumina, has emerged as a promising alternative because of its chemical composition. This review discusses the potential of CWP as an alternative cementitious system and its effects on the physical, mechanical, and durability properties of cementitious systems. The findings revealed that the utilization of CWP in cementitious systems has positive effects on their physical, mechanical, and durability properties owing to the chemical composition of CWP, which can act as a filler material or contribute to the pozzolanic reaction. A pozzolanic reaction occurs between the silica and alumina in the CWP and calcium hydroxide in the cement, resulting in the production of additional cementitious materials such as calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminate hydrates. These additional materials can improve the strength and durability of cementitious systems. Various studies have demonstrated that CWP can be effectively used as a partial replacement for cement in cementitious systems. This can reduce the carbon footprint of construction activities by reducing the demand for Portland cement. However, the optimal amount and particle size of CWP have not been fully determined, and further research is required to optimize its use in cementitious systems. In addition, the technical and economic challenges associated with the use of CWP in construction must be further investigated to ensure its effective implementation.

Two-phase fluids are widely utilized in some industries, such as petrochemical, oil, water, and so on. Each phase, liquid and gas, needs to be measured. The measuring of the void fraction is vital in many industries because there are many two-phase fluids with a wide variety of liquids. A number of methods exist for measuring the void fraction, and the most popular is capacitance-based sensors. Aside from being easy to use, the capacitance-based sensor does not need any separation or interruption to measure the void fraction. In addition, in the contemporary era, thanks to Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), measurement methods have become much more accurate. The same can be said for capacitance-based sensors. In this paper, a new metering system utilizing an 8-electrode sensor and a Multilayer Perceptron network (MLP) is presented to predict an air and water volume fractions in a homogeneous fluid. Some characteristics, such as temperature, pressure, etc., can have an impact on the results obtained from the aforementioned sensor. Thus, considering temperature changes, the proposed network predicts the void fraction independent of pressure variations. All simulations were performed using the COMSOL Multiphysics software for temperature changes from 275 to 370 degrees Kelvin. In addition, a range of 1 to 500 Bars, was considered for the pressure. The proposed network has inputs obtained from the mentioned software, along with the temperature. The only output belongs to the predicted void fraction, which has a low MAE equal to 0.38. Thus, based on the obtained result, it can be said that the proposed network precisely measures the amount of the void fraction.

Purpose: The physical and mechanical performance of a newly commercialized dental restorative material (alkasite) was compared with glass ionomer cement (GIC) and nano-hybrid composite. Methodology: Human extracted premolars were used to investigate the shear bond strength. Restorative materials were placed on the dentine surface and were aged in deionized water for 14 days. The 3-D surface roughness was evaluated before and after chewing simulation cycles (50,000). The samples were fatigued mechanically using a chewing simulator and investigated with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results: For shear bond strength, alkasite showed significantly high values than GIC, whereas non-significant difference was observed between alkasite and nano-hybrid composite. After the chewing simulation (50,000 cycles), non-significant difference was found between GIC and nano-hybrid composite, where surface roughness values were highest for GIC and lowest for alkasite. Conclusion: The newly developed restorative material (alkasite) has shown better results than existing restorative materials.

Field experiment was conducted to investigate the comparison between two types of ridge (panel and disc) using two spaces between the operational parts (90 and 110 cm) at two speeds (4 and 2.6 km/hr). First stage from this study was to identify the important dimensions to the local manufactured ridge (ridge panel) with selecting the appropriate material throughout series of material, mechanical and chemical analyses. Second stage was to evaluate the performance of this particular manufactured ridge by measuring the effects of this implement on draft force, slippage percentage and power-use-efficiency as well as field performance represented by field productivity, efficiency, and the size of the disturbed soil. Randomized Complete Block Design (split-split plot) was used in this experiment to find out the effects of the studied factors on the indications that mentioned above. The results have shown that the local manufactured panel ridge (LMPR) was significantly higher than the Conventional Disc Ridge (CDR) (P

inhibitory effects of the aqueous extracts of Vicia faba on the seed germination and the growth of the Lycopersicon esculentum seedlings. The experiment was carried out at the research stations and laboratories of College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, and the Department of Examination and Certification of Seeds in Tikrit, Salah Aldeen, Iraq. In this study, different concentrations of the aqueous extracts of various parts of Vicia faba were tested in this study, namely (4, 8 and 12% root extracts; 4, 8 and 12% stem extracts; 4, 8 and 12 % leaf extracts) for determining their effects on the seed germination and the seedling growth of the Lycopersicon esculentum plant. Water was used as the control treatment. All parameters used in the experiments were randomly distributed based on the Completely Randomised Design (CRD). The results were the mean of 4 replicate experiments. The results indicated that the aqueous root extracts (4%) of Vicia faba showed a significant stimulatory effect on the different growth parameters like radicle length and the dry weight of the radicle of the Lycopersicon esculentum. The different aqueous extracts of the Vicia faba showed differing effects (either stimulatory or inhibitory) on the seedling growth. The mode of action was dependent on the extracts of the plant parts that were used. The results indicated that the different concentrations of aqueous extracts of various parts of Vicia faba showed an allelopathic effect.