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Innovative, low-loss, and compact optical systems are essential to meet the experimental requirements of emerging novel radiation sources. The microchannel plate (MCP), a metamaterial-based optical device, shows promising potential for shaping, condensing, and focusing soft x-ray radiation at synchrotron radiation (SR) facilities. This study highlights the impact of MCP optical devices on SR beam condensing capability and their sensitivity to the degree of coherence by investigating the profile of transmitted beams through single and double MCP optical devices. Transmitted diffraction patterns of soft x-ray SR radiation change with energy and radiation modes. At 92 eV, the double MCP-based device affects the beam divergence and degree of coherence more than the single MCP. Moreover, the double MCP device shows potential as a condensing optics at shorter wavelengths, i.e., 480 eV. Experiments were performed at the available end-station of the Circular Polarization beamline at the Elettra synchrotron facility in Trieste, using a high-vacuum chamber with a hexapod system, providing the precise movement necessary to align these diffractive optics. The findings contribute to the development of innovative optical systems for SR and free-electron laser beamlines, paving the way for advanced experiments in spectroscopy, microscopy, and imaging in a wide energy range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning algorithms have gained popularity recently as a method for predicting the efficiency of industrial processes. The fluctuation of desulfurization process operation conditions, especially sulfur content in diesel fuel, has an impact on the efficiency of the process. This study presents the development of an artificial neural network (ANN) model using Python to predict the efficiency of the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process in highly sour diesel fuel. Experimental data from a trickle bed reactor were used to train and validate the model. The dataset included variables such as ODS temperature, pressure, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV), and sulfur content in the feed. The ANN model demonstrated a high prediction accuracy with sulfur conversion results matching the experimental data with approximately 98% accuracy and a regression coefficient (R²) of 0.99. The model effectively captured the influence of the operating conditions, showing that higher temperatures and pressures significantly enhanced the desulfurization efficiency. Additionally, the optimization of LHSV contributed to achieving optimal sulfur removal. This work highlights the potential of machine learning techniques in enhancing the predictive capabilities and efficiency of industrial desulfurization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was carried out on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) for growing 2021 season to study the effect of various water sources i.e., fresh water (FW), agricultural drainage (ADW), sewage (SW) and industrial drainage (IDW) after treated with moringa seed extract (MSE) on remove water and soils contamination and its effect on yield and heavy metals content of lettuce plants. The lowest values of SSP, SAR, SCAR, RSC, RSBC, PI, PS, KR and MAR were obtaind in fresh water followed by industrial drainage water, sewage water and agricultural drainage water when treated with MSE. The classification of all water sources indicates before treated with MSE of high salinity-low sodicity (C4S1) and moderate low sodicity (C2S1) after treated with MSE. Addition of MSE to water soureces reduced water turbidity, NO3-N, BOD, COD, DO and heavy metals compared with untreated water. The highest values of fresh and dry weight, N, P and K- uptake of lettuce plants obtainted in different water sources treated with MSE. Addition of MSE to different water sources gave the lowest accumulation of Pb, Cd, Ni, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn in soil and lettuce plants compared to untreated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation was carried out at the experimental farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University through the growing summer season of 2019. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of inorganic, organic and bio-fertilization on plant growth and NPK content by successive four cuts of sudan grass plants grown in clayey soils. The most important findings could be summarized as follows: Generally, in most cases, adding any organic sources i.e., chicken manure (CM) or rabbit manure (RM) or Quail manure (QM) or farmyard manure (FYM) at the rate of 0.5% with50 % RD (NPK) plus inoculated by microbien (Mic.) gave the highest significant values of four cuts and accumulative fresh weight as well as N, P and K percentage of sudan grass grown in clay soil compared with control treatment. As a general view, the fresh weight and N percentage of sudan grass grown in clay soil was increased from 1st cut to 2nd one then decreased in 3rd cut followed by last one using the control treatment or 100% RD (NPK) with or without microbien inoculated or 50% RD (NPK) with CM, QM, RM and FYM with microbien inoculated. The same trend was noticed for P% using the microbien inoculated with 50 % RD (NPK) or 50% RD (NPK) alone or control treatment. Also, the fresh weight of sudan grass was increased from 1st cut to 2nd one followed by 3rd cut then decreased in last one by adding the treatment of 50% RD (NPK) with QM or CM. Similar trend was obtained for N% by adding the 100% RD (NPK) with or without microbien inoculated or 50% RD (NPK) with Mic. The same trend was noticed for P% by adding 50% RD (NPK) plus 0.5% of any organic wastes with or without microbien inoculated. Similar trend was obtained for K% by adding 50% RD (NPK) plus 0.5% of any organic wastes with microbien inoculated compared with control treatment. In general, it could be stated that to increase forage production and its quality of sudan grass, mineral with organic and bio-fertilizer can be used at rate of 50% NPK mineral fertilizers with any organic wastes plus bio- fertilizer (microbien)under the same soil conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a Z source (ZS) based switched capacitor multilevel inverter (SC-MLI) with low capacitors charging inrush currents utilizing a modified modulation strategy. The topology generates nine output voltage levels with quadruple voltage gain utilizing eight power switches, five capacitors, two inductors, four discrete diodes, and a single DC source. The voltage gain can be further increased by applying shoot through (ST) states to the frontend ZS-network. Owing to its high voltage gain, the topology is suitable for low voltage renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics (PV), and fuel cells (FC). A modified modulation strategy is presented based on the conventional level shifted sinusoidal pulse width modulation (LS-SPWM). The proposed modulation strategy improves the dc-link utilization at higher modulation index. A detailed mathematical analysis is provided for the gain calculation based on the modified modulation strategy. A comparative study is implemented to verify the merits of the proposed topology. A simulation model is implemented utilizing MATLAB / Simulink to verify the topology characteristics. The power losses and efficiency calculations are presented using Altair PSIM. Furthermore, an experimental prototype is constructed to verify the simulation findings. The topology is tested with different loading conditions at numerous modulation index values and ST duty ratios. Furthermore, step change conditions are implemented to test the topology response. The effect of the ZS network on the switched capacitors charging inrush currents is validated. The proposed topology shows an overall advantage in terms of the output characteristics as well as the hardware requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the natural cellulose has low ionic exchange properties, due to its characterization by a small number of carboxylic groups. Incorporation of different functional groups can promote its ionic exchange capacity. In this work, modification of orange peel by treating with sodium hydroxide and amination, phosphoration and sulfonation. The different ion exchanger has been used to increase the ion exchange capacity of such materials, by developing their swelling properties and decreasing their lignin content. A maximum uranium uptake of 726 mg/g was observed at the obtained optimum conditions using modified resin (ion exchange No. VII). The latter (0.841: 0.420) mm size orange peels were modified using a mixture of sulfonic and phosphoric acids. Ion exchange No. VII was used as the case study to remove uranium and associated elements from Sinai wells water. The main purpose of this work is to prepare different resins from the Egyptian plant waste. Orange peels were chosen because they are popular and widespread plant wastes in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the use of abundant and low-cost biomaterials such as agricultural wastes in the preparation of activated carbon has been receiving a lot of attention. Besides, the conventional middle and heavy fuel cuts require a substantial and cost-effective sweetening process because sulfur in transportation fuel was found as one of the main causes of air pollution. The present work explored the preparation and characterization of microporous activated carbon (AC) catalysts prepared from olive stone by tubular furnace (Fe/AC1) and microwave (Fe/AC2) heating methods using H 3 PO 4 (85 wt%) as chemical activating agents. The kinetics of the oxidative desulfurization process (ODS) of a highly sour diesel fuel (sulfur content = 7361 ppm) was determined. The effect of the heating method on the texture and morphological structure, surface area, and surface chemistry of the carbons produced was investigated. Fe/AC1 was prepared in a horizontal tabular furnace at 650 °C calcination temperature and 90 min residence time under a nitrogen atmosphere, while Fe/AC2 was performed in a microwave reactor with 565 W and 7 min microwave power and irradiation time respectively. The catalysts were characterized by N 2 - adsorption-desorption, SEM-EDX, FTIR, XRD, XRF, TGA, PSD, and elemental analysis. It was found that the use of a tubular furnace for heating the olive seeds resulted in a higher surface area and yield. Also, the characterizations of the Fe/AC1 catalyst showed that it has a large surface area of 1175 m2/g and micropore volume of 0.6954 cm3/g whereas Fe/AC2 had a surface area of 854 m2/g and micropore volume of 0.6936 cm3/g. Moreover, SEM-EDX results indicated that Fe/AC1 was dispersed uniformly better than Fe/AC2. Also, TGA/DTA results revealed better results for Fe/AC1 than Fe/AC2 making it favorable in ODS experiments. The difference in texture and chemical properties is caused by the heating methods. The desulfurization removal was investigated under different temperatures (80, 90, 100, 110 °C) and reaction time (30–90 min). The kinetics of the ODS were conducted over the efficient Fe/AC1 catalyst prepared. It was shown that the ODS reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with a fairly low activation energy over the catalyst was 40.71 kJ/mol. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological experiment was conducted in the clay and sandy soils to study the effect of inorganic, organic and bio fertilization on growth and yield components as well as N, P and Kuptake by wheat plants. Ammonium sulphate (N) was added at the rates of 25 [50% the recommended dose (RD)] and 50 (100% RD) mg N kg-1 soil, while ordinary superphosphate (P1) and rock phosphate (P2) were applied at the rates of 9.72 (50% RD) and 19.44 (100% RD mg P kg-1 soil. Potassium sulphate (K1) and feldspar (K2) were added at the rates of 20.8 (50% RD) and 41.5 (100% RD) mg K kg-1 soil. The organic materials i.e. clover straw (CS), sunflower seed teflon (ST) and banana peel (BP) were added at a rate of (0.5%). Some wheat grains were inoculated by biofertilizers i.e. nitrobein (nit), phosphate dissolving bacteria (PDB) and potassiumage (Pot). The results showed that the treatments of [50% RD (NP1K1) + CS + ST + BP + Nit + PDB + Pot] gave the greatest values of the straw and grains dry weight, biological yield and harvest index, N-uptake by grains and P- and K- uptake by straw and grains if compared to the other treatments in both soils under study. Wherease the highest 1000 grains weight was observed with the treatment of [50% RD (NP2K2) + CS + ST + BP + Nit + PDB + Pot] in the clayey soil and [50% RD (NP1K1) + CS + ST + BP] in the sandy soil compared to the other treatments. The greatest values of N- uptake by straw were recorded with treatments of [50% RD (NP1K1) + CS + ST + BP] in the clayey soil and [50% RD (NP1K1) + CS + ST + BP + Nit + PDB + Pot] in the sandy soil compared to the other treatments. Finally, it could be concluded that the use of 50% of the recommend dose of the most mineral fertilizers (NP1K1) mixed with organic materials (CS + ST + BP) and biofertilizers (Nit + PDB + Pot) may reduce the mineral fertilization (NP1K1) dose, production cost and environmental contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different organic materials such as town refuse, compost, sewage sludge and biogas have been used as sources of humic acids (HA). However, a systematic characterization of these organic materials and their comparison of humic acids which extracted from them have not been reported. This is essential to decide the relative merits and demerits of these substances as sources of humic acids. The objective of this work was to extract and characterize the chemical compositions of the different four organic materials and humic acids which extracted from them. Results showed that the four organic materials which used in this study were, generally, different in all studied properties. Sewage sludge sample recorded high values of moisture content, saturation percent, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon and organic matter content and lower values in each of bulk density, pH and EC as compared to other organic samples. Also, the highest value for each of total and available nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3-) was shown with sewage sludge and town refuse, respectively, while total and available phosphorus and potassium along with C/N ratio were recorded with compost sample. Furthermore, the four organic materials were different in total micronutrients and heavy metals. The highest value for each of Fe, Co and Ni was recorded with compost sample as well as similar results of Pb, Zn and Cu were observed with sewage sludge sample. Moreover, elementary composition of humic acids extracted from different samples was rich in carbon, nitrogen and oxygen and poor in sulfur except for sewage sludge sample. The C/N ratio was relatively high in HA extracted from biogas as well as HA from compost was superior in C/H, O/H, N+O/C and E4/E6 values. The lowest value of N/H was observed in HA extracted from biogas. On the other hand, obtained results reported that HA percentage was relatively high in biogas sample and the four organic materials can be arranged as following biogas > town refuse > compost > sewage sludge. Also, total acidity of humic acid samples reveals that, HA of sewage sludge was superior as compared to the other organic materials. The highest value for each of total carboxyl groups and carboxyl/phenol ratio was found with HA extracted from town refuse sample, whereas the greatest value of total phenolic groups was recorded with HA derived from sewage sludge. Furthermore, Infrared spectral (IR) analysis provides further useful information concerning the molecular structures and characteristic bonds and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed some crystal forms found in all HA samples. These results elucidated that the chemical composition and the molecular structure of HA samples varies as per the origin and environment where decomposition has occurred. Present study also documented that the spectroscopic and imaging techniques can be successfully used to bring out the finer differences among HA extracted from different organic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of feeding glycine (Gly)-fortified low protein (LP) diets on the growth performance, duodenal morphology and caecal microbial populations of broiler chickens raised under unheated, cyclic or constant heat stress environmental conditions. 2. From d 1 to 21 (starter phase), an equivalent number of birds were fed either a normal protein (NP) diet or a LP diet fortified with Gly. From d 22 to 42 (grower phase), an equivalent number of birds from each starter diet were distributed to one of the following dietary groups: (i) an NP diet during the starter and grower phases (NPNP), (ii) an NP diet during the starter phase and a LP diet during the grower phase (NPLP), (iii) an LP diet during the starter phase and an NP diet during the grower phase (LPNP) or (iv) LP diets during both phases (LPLP). 3. Commencing from d 22, an equivalent number of birds from each dietary group were exposed to (i) 23 ± 1°C throughout (unheated), (ii) 34 ± 1°C for 7 h each day from 10:00 to 17:00 (cyclic heat) or (iii) 34 ± 1°C throughout (constant heat). 4. Feeding the LP diet during the starter phase resulted in feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratios (FCR) and energy efficiency ratios (EER) similar to those for the NP diet. The birds fed the LP diet had a significantly higher protein efficiency ratio (PER) compared with the birds fed the NP diet. 5. During the grower phase, there were significant diet × temperature interactions for F, WG, FCR, PER, EER, villus height, crypt depth and caecal Clostridia. The birds fed the NPLP and LPLP diets had lower FI, WG and EER, higher FCR, shorter villus height and crypt depth and higher caecal Clostridia compared with the birds fed LPNP and NPNP diets under constant heat stress. However, feeding birds the NPLP and LPLP diets resulted in FI, WG, EER, FCR, morphology parameters and caecal Clostridia equivalent to the birds fed LPNP and NPNP diets, as well as improved PER, under unheated and cyclic heat stress conditions. 6. In conclusion, our results indicate that Gly-fortified LP diets can be fed to broilers under normal and acute heat stress environmental conditions without any adverse effects on performance. However, the use of such LP diets can be detrimental to broilers under chronic heat stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both plant and animal ingredients are used commonly to formulate balanced diets for poultry. Although many changes have been occurred in the genetics, nutrition and feeding of modern meat chickens, free selection and indiscriminate uses of feedstuffs for the non-ruminant animal diets can be hazardous due to the emerging threat of diseases outbreak via animal by-products. Besides this, many other concerns of including animal ingredients in poultry diets such as high price, zoonotic effects, ban on uses, food safety and product quality etc., encourage the poultry integrators to use merely vegetable feedstuffs for diet formulation excluding animal by-products. Exclusive use of plant ingredients into poultry diets might offer potential beneficial effects for optimizing poultry products. Poultry industry may be benefitted by using these cheap sources of vegetable ingredients for quality, safe and organic meat production. After all, most poultry integrators are looking for alternative ways to streamline production. This is why, currently the search for and the appropriate use of vegetable ingredients demand more research to explore their potential uses in poultry diets including other farm animals. However, despite the advantages of using vegetable feedstuffs in poultry diets, there are some associated problems that can affect the performance of meat chickens. So our current study is focused on to review these limitations of meat chickens fed vegetable-based diet, which include productivity, feed utilization and nutrient digestibility, leg bone health and litter quality of meat chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy saving is an important consideration in process design for low cost sustainable production with reduced environmental impacts (carbon footprint). In our earlier laboratory scale pilot plant study of catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of phenol (a typical compound found in wastewater), the energy recovery was not an issue due to small amount of energy usage. However, this cannot be ignored for a large scale reactor operating around 140–160 °C due to high total energy requirement. In this work, energy savings in a large scale CWAO process is explored. The hot and cold streams of the process are paired up using 3 heat exchangers recovering significant amount of energy from the hot streams to be re-used in the process leading to over 40% less external energy consumption. In addition, overall cost (capital and operating) savings of the proposed process is more than 20% compared to that without energy recovery option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) have the ability to regulate natural killer (NK) cell function through inhibition/activation mechanisms. Healthy human cells express HLA class I ligands on their surface, which are recognized by NK cells to avoid spontaneous cell destruction. The associations of KIRs and/or HLA class 1 ligands in leukemic patients have been studied in some populations, with some of these studies demonstrating an association of specific types with leukemia. KIRs and their corresponding HLA class 1 ligands were investigated in Saudi patients with ALL and AML and compared to healthy controls. The homozygous A haplotype was found significantly more often in ALL patients ≤18 years-old than in control individuals. No significant association was observed in KIRs and their corresponding HLA ligands in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to estimate the pollution of status of some heavy metals in water and sediments of five fish farms use different water sources during April 2013 - March 2014. The first farm (G1) used groundwater, the second one (G2) feed with agriculture drainage water, the third one (G3) used a mixture of groundwater and Nile water, the fourth farm (G4) sewage wastewater from Bahr El-Baqar drain after sedimentation and the fifth farm (G5) filled with water from Lake Manzala. G1, G2 and G3 are located at Abbassa, Sharkia Governorate, while G4 and G5 are located at Shader Azzam at the south region of Lake Manzala, Port Said Governorate. The results showed that, G1 had the highest concentration of heavy metals in water, while G5 showed the lowest one. The order of metals concentrations in water was as follows: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd except at G3 where Cd > Pb. In sediment, the order was G5 > G4> G3> G2> G1. The differences among groups were highly significant for all studied metals in sediments. Concentrations of all tested metals in water and sediments were within the guidelines values. From this study, it could be concluded that all water sources in this study do not pose pollution with heavy metals and could be used in fish cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among several treatment methods catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) treatment is considered as a useful and powerful method for removing phenol from waste waters. In this work, mathematical model of a trickle bed reactor (TBR) undergoing CWAO of phenol is developed and the best kinetic parameters of the relevant reaction are estimated based on experimental data (from the literature) using parameter estimation technique. The validated model is then utilized for further simulation and optimization of the process. Finally, the TBR is scaled up to predict the behavior of CWAO of phenol in industrial reactors. The optimal operating conditions based on maximum conversion and minimum cost in addition to the optimal distribution of the catalyst bed is considered in scaling up and the optimal ratio of the reactor length to reactor diameter is calculated with taking into account the hydrodynamic factors (radial and axial concentration and temperature distribution). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding low-protein diets fortified with individual non-essential amino acids (NEAA) on growth performance, serum metabolites (uric acid, UA; triglycerides, TG; total protein, TP; and albumin, Alb), organ weight, breast yield, and abdominal fat weight in broiler chicks raised under the hot and humid tropical climate. Eight isocaloric (3,017 kcal/kg) experimental diets were formulated and fed to male broiler chicks from d 1-21 as follows: 1) 22.2% crude protein (CP) (positive control; PC); 2) 16.2% CP + mixture essential amino acids (EAA) to meet or exceed the National Research Council (1994) recommendations (negative control; NC); 3) NC + glycine (Gly) to equal the total glycine + serine level in the PC; diets 4 through 7 were obtained by supplementing NC diet with individual glutamic acid, proline, alanine, or aspartic acid (Glu, Pro, Ala, or Asp, respectively); 8) NC + NEAA (Gly + Glu + Pro + Ala + Asp) to equal the total level of these NEAA in the PC. Fortifying NC diet with mixture NEAA resulted in a similar growth performance as PC. However, fortification of low-CP diet with individual NEAA failed to improve body weight (BW) (P < 0.0001), feed intake (FI) (P = 0.0001), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P = 0.0001). Serum uric acid (UA) was lower (P = 0.0356) in NC birds and NC diet supplemented with individual NEAA birds, whereas serum triglyceride (TG) (P = 0.007) and relative weight of abdominal fat (P = 0.001) were higher in these birds. In conclusion, no single NEAA fortification may compensate the depressed growth performance attributed to a low-CP diet. However, fortification with Gly may improve FCR. There is a possibility that broilers raised under the hot and humid climate require higher Gly fortification than the level used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was performed under greenhouse conditions to study the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizers in contaminated soils, under the effect of some inorganic amendments (gypsum and rock phosphate) and organic amendments (compost) and their interaction at the Farm of Soil, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Mansoura, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt during winter season (2010-2011) using wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Sakha 93. Plastic pots having 35cm diameter and 50cm height were filled with 10 kg soil. Before filling the pots, the treatments of soil amendments were mixed thoroughly with the investigation soil before sowing. Gypsum was added at rate of 4 t fad-1., compost was added at rate of 4 t fad-1 and rock phosphate at rate of 400 kg fad-1. Lead treatments were also added before sowing at rate of 200 mg kg-1 soil as PbSO4 (solid) and cadmium treatments were added at rate of 25 mg kg-1 soil as CdSO4 (liquid) after two weeks form sowing. Treatments of nitrogen forms were added at rate of 100 mg N kg-1 soil as ammonium nitrate (33.5%), ammonium nitrate + nitrification inhibitor (thiourea) and bentonite coated urea (37% N). The inhibitor was added at rate of 5% of added nitrogen. Results can be summarized as follows: There was a clear effect of soil amendments, nitrogen sources and pollutants on growth yield and mineral constituents of wheat plant at tillering and booting stages. At harvesting stage, ammonium nitrate plus nitrification inhibitor followed by bentonite coated urea (BCU) gave the highest mean values of straw and grains total nitrogen uptake at all treatments of pollutants. The values of nitrogen efficiency ratio (N.E.R) of wheat straw and grains at different stages of plant growth were slightly affected by different treatments. Treating the soil with compost or rock phosphate decreased the concentration of lead and cadmium in wheat straw and grains at harvesting stage. The application of ammonium nitrate combined with nitrification inhibitor followed by bentonite coated urea (BCU) tended to increase the residual available nitrogen in soil, either with or without pollutants. Finally, the effect of soil amendments illustrated that compost gave the greatest values of dry matter, total nitrogen uptake and available nitrogen in soil by wheat plants at different stages followed by rock phosphate and gypsum, the orders can be arranged as following: compost > rock phosphate > gypsum> control. It could be concluded that compost reduced the hazard effect of pollutants on wheat plants by controlling the mobility of lead and cadmium, in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Genes encoding KIRs vary in frequency among different populations and ethnic groups. This study investigated the KIR gene frequency distribution in 148 healthy unrelated Saudi subjects and compared the results with other published findings. All inhibitory and activating KIR genes were present at variable frequencies, with A haplotype-associated genes (KIR2DL1, -2DL3, -3DL1, and KIR2DS4) being observed at higher frequencies (88.9–99.5%) than B haplotype-associated genes (KIR2DS1, -2DS2, -2DS3, -2DS5, -2DL5 and -2DL2) (31.1–70.1%). Thirty-one different KIR genotypes were observed, and AA genotypes displayed the highest frequency (18.2%). This Saudi population possesses similar KIR gene distributional characteristics to those reported in other neighboring populations (e.g., Lebanese) and shows disparities in certain genes and gene contents from other populations (e.g., Australian Aborigines). These findings can be used as a reference control in future studies evaluating the functional significance of the KIR genes and their associations with specific diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Epilepsy is a disorder of brain function characterized by periodic and unpredictable occurrence of seizures that refers to as a transient alteration of behavior due to disordered, synchronous and rhythmic firing of populations of brain neurons. Modern drug therapy of epilepsy is complicated by side effects and inability to control seizures in some patients. Objectives: The present study was conducted to test the anticonvulsant activity of Capsicum annum fruit extract in rat models. Materials and Methods: The methanolic extract of Capsicum annum fruit was tested for its potential anticonvulsant activity using pentylentetrazole (PTZ) and maximum electroshock (MES) induced seizure models in rats. The simple activity meter was used to determine the sedative activity of Capsicum annum fruit extract. Thereafter, the protective index was calculated. Results: Results obtained showed that the extract at concentrations of 5, 9, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg produced dose dependent anticonvulsant activity. Capsicum annum (40 mg/kg, i.p.) caused 100% protection from seizure induced by PTZ and sedation in 50% of rats (TD50). Fifty percent anticonvulsant activity was produced by 9mg/kg Capsicum annum. Moreover, the protective index was calculated to be more than four. When tested on seizure induced by MES, Capsicum annum extract at doses of 10, 20 and 40 mg\kg showed no seizure protection. Conclusion: It could be concluded that Capsicum annum fruit could be a source for potential antiepileptic agent(s). Further studies are needed to determine the active constituents responsible for the anticonvulsant activity as well as to elucidate their mechanism(s) of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-phase direct pulse width modulation (PWM) buck-boost AC–AC converter is proposed. The proposed converter utilizes a minimum number of semiconductor switches and passive components that decreases the converter power losses and offers high efficiency. It can be operated with simple PWM control and doesn't require soft-commutation strategies. It does not suffer from input source shoot-through and commutation problems. Moreover, it supplies both continuous input and output currents. The common sharing ground of the input and output gives the proposed converter the feature that it can be utilized for voltage sag and swell compensation. A comparison of the proposed converter performance with similar existing converters is presented. Also, detailed circuit analysis, component design guidelines, and simulation results using the MATLAB/Simulink environment are demonstrated. A laboratory prototype has been built and tested to validate the converter performance and confirm the results obtained by computer simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 10 week old preterm infant was noted to have a vesiculo-pustular eruption on the face and scalp with an erythematous base. Initially the lesions were thought to be secondary to herpes simplex virus infection. However, skin biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF). This idiopathic skin disorder is rarely seen in neonates. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of EPF in a preterm infant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kernicterus caused by severe jaundice is a devastating condition and has long term neurodevelopmental consequences in children. Infections and drugs can trigger severe hemolysis in newborns with deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD), and can precipitously increase the severity of jaundice. In this case report, we speculate that Staphylococcus aureus sepsis may have triggered severe hemolysis in a G-6-PD-deficient preterm neonate, leading to severe neonatal jaundice and kernicterus. To our knowledge this is the first such reported case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A preterm infant with signs of non-immune hydrops was born at 30 weeks gestation to a 34-year-old mother after an uneventful pregnancy with normal antenatal fetal ultrasound scans. Physical examination revealed generalized hydrops with hepatomegaly and ascites. Extensive investigations identified an elevated α-fetoprotein. An abdominal ultrasound scan showed a huge primary solid mass in the liver that compressed the inferior vena cava, with evidence of significant arterio-venous shunting suggestive of hepatoblastoma. Liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of hepatoblastoma with a fetal epithelial pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effect of dietary supplements in the production of immunomodulatory cytokines in Oncorhynchus mykiss. The cytokine-like soluble products produced by fish plays an enhancing role in the immune system. The study uses rainbow trout from commercial fish farms in Scotland and were acclimitized in aerated free-flowing fresh water. It is inferred that plant products such as lupin, mango, and stinging neetle show potential immunomodulatory components in fish feed.

Feeding rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), with 1% lupin, Lupinus perennis, mango, Mangifera indica, or stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, for 14 days led to reductions in mortality after challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila. In addition, there was significant enhancement in serum bactericidal activity, respiratory burst and lysozyme activity in the treatment groups compared to the controls. Use of lupin and mango led to the highest number of red blood and white blood cells in recipient fish, with use of stinging nettle leading to the highest haematocrit and haemoglobin values; the highest value of mean corpuscular volume and haemoglobin was in the control groups and those fed with stinging nettle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To objectively evaluate postpartum blood loss after successful misoprostol induction and compare it with blood loss after oxytocin induction of labour. Design Prospective randomised study. Setting Labour ward in university maternity hospital. Population A total of 150 women up to third parity with completed 40 weeks of singleton normal pregnancy, average size cephalic fetus. Methods Cases were randomised between oxytocin induction and misoprostol induction. Blood was collected in suction set and measured in the delivery room starting after delivery of the fetus and was evaluated by pad weighing in the following 6 hours. Pre- and postdelivery haematocrit were measured and difference between the two values was assessed and analysed. Main outcome measures Success of induction, induction delivery interval, postpartum blood loss, and difference between pre- and postdelivery haematocrit. Results Induced labour was significantly faster with misoprostol induction ( P < 0.001). Blood loss and haematocrit difference was significantly greater in the misoprostol group than in oxytocin group ( P < 0.02 and 0.001, respectively). Blood loss in both groups was significantly correlated with higher initial Bishop score ( P < 0.001 and 0.024, respectively) and short labour duration ( P < 0.0002 and 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions Misoprostol induction is associated with increased blood loss especially when used in women with high Bishop score; therefore, it is better reserved for cases requiring cervical ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common complication in patient with liver cirrhosis. It comprises of a broad spectrum of neuropsychiatric abnormalities of varying severity, and affected patients usually suffer from psychomotor, cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and motor coordination dysfunctions. Patients with minimal HE (MHE), a subclinical form of HE, usually have a normal mental and neurological status upon routine clinical examination. The subtle deficits in patients with MHE can only be elicited by specialized neuropsychological tests. Aim of the Work: the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of 3-Nitro-Tyrosine as a biomarker of Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis. Patients and Methods: our conducted study was a prospective case control study carried on 60 adult patients and 30 age matched controls. All were recruited from Internal Medicine and Hepatology and Gastroenterology Department at Ain Shams University Hospitals in the period between September 2016 and June 2018. All patients enrolled in the study were subjected to detailed history taking, full physical examination, laboratory investigations, psychometric tests for detection of MHE using specially digit symbol test (DST), Trail making test A (TMT A), Trail making test B (TMT B), serial dotting test (SDT) and 3-Nitro-Tyrosine level (3NT). Results: our study found that the serum levels of 3-nitro-tyrosine are a good predictor of the presence of MHE in patients with liver cirrhosis, with good sensitivity (90%) and specificity (93.33%) and positive and negative predictive values were 93.1% and 90.3% respectively at a cutoff of 14.8 ng. Conclusion: determination of 3-nitro-tyrosine in serum is easy and is not time consuming. It only requires taking a serum sample from the patient and determining 3-nitro-tyrosine concentration. This procedure can be therefore easily added to the routine clinical determinations in patients with liver cirrhosis. This would also allow extending the diagnosis of MHE to most clinical settings, helping to identify patients with MHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes those conditions characterized by a tendency for chronic or relapsing immune activation and inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract, Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two major forms of idiopathic IBD. Aim of the Work: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the soluble transferrin receptor-Ferritin index in the evaluation of anemia in patients with IBD and especially for differentiation between iron deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease. Patients and Methods: This study included fifty patients with established diagnosis of IBD either Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease. They were collected at Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology outpatient clinics and inpatient wards at Ain Shams University hospitals as well at New Cairo hospital in the period from March 2017 to September 2017. They were classified into 2 groups: group I: 25 patients with Crohn's disease and anemia with active or inactive disease, group II: 25 patients with ulcerative colitis and anemia with active or inactive disease, group III: 25 healthy controls with no significant medical or family history of IBD. Results: In the current study there was no significant difference between the different study groups regarding the demographic data except for the disease localization as there was significant difference between ulcerative and crohn's disease. Conclusion: The results of the current study stated that the sTfR and sTfR-F index seems to be very efficient in the detection and diagnosis of IDA, among patients with IBD. Its detection rate is higher using sTfR/F index than sTfR alone and of course higher than the other existing markers. It is essential to mention that the clinical use of this sTfR/F index rather adds to the value of other established markers, such as ferritin, transferrin and Tsat, than replaces them in the diagnosis of IDA. Therefore, sTfR-F index could be proposed as an additional parameter, which can improve the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in patients with IBD. This remains to be confirmed with other larger studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt was made to test the applicability of the multi-hit model in CR-39 SSNTD etched for a few micrometers. In this work the detector response ( V t ) as a function of the particle restricted energy loss ( REL ) was determined from the well-known Poisson's distribution. The model can describe the function V t ( REL ) for a given ion through three registration parameters (ν, C , REL o ). The model was used to fit the experimental data of V t vs. REL that were quoted from the literature at different REL regions. A computer algorithm was developed to calculate, numerically, these parameters from the non-linear V t ( REL ) function. It was found that the multi-hit model can predict V t for a short as well as a long REL range in CR-39, within µm-scale, with good accuracy. The ν, C and REL o parameters that satisfy the best possible fit for such data have been obtained and their physical meaning was stated as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study determined whether providing auditory enrichment to broiler chickens with or without regular human contact influenced stress response, underlying fearfulness, and growth performance. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomised design with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of three auditory enrichment (AE) treatments and two human contact (HC) regimens. From days 1 to 35, a total of 480 day-old male broiler chicks were allotted to one of the three auditory enrichment treatments: no auditory enrichment (NE), auditory enrichment with classical music (Vivaldi's Four Season) (ME), or auditory enrichment with Quran recitation (Yaseen chapter) (QE). An equal number of chicks from each AE treatment were subjected to either no-human contact (NC) or regular human contact (the experimenter placed her right hand into the cage for 30 seconds twice daily) (RC). On day 7, the ME birds had significantly higher body weights (BW) than the control and QE birds. The BW of the QE chicks was significantly lower than that of their ME counterparts on day 14. HC had a negligible influence on the birds' BW, feed intake (FI), or feed conversion ratio (FCR). Neither AE nor HC significantly affected tonic immobility (TI) duration or number of induction attempts. ME and QE significantly affected serum levels of corticosterone (CORT) on days 14 and 21. However, HC did not affect CORT. In conclusion, ME has a beneficial effect on the performance of broilers during the early stage of growth. Exposure to ME or QE dampens stress response but not underlying fearfulness in chickens at market age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel chirped metal structure (CMS) is developed for polarimetric enhanced detection of both mid-wave (MW) (3-5 μm) and long-wave (LW) infrared (IR) wavelength bands (8-14 μm). The nano-scale structure consists of parallel sub-wavelength chirped-width stripes together with graded-width separating gaps. The CMS allows plasmonically enhanced polarisation-sensitive absorption of dual-bands simultaneously in underneath IR detection device. The finite-difference- time-domain method is utilised to numerically evaluate gold CMS structure on an IR detector. Simulations show an excellent performance with high plasmonic absorption enhancement and polarisation extinction-ratio over the continuous wavelength range 3-14 μm. The maximum recorded extinction-ratios are 2900:1 and 400:1 in the LW and MW bands, respectively. The maximum estimated plasmonic absorption enhancements for TM-polarisation in the LW and MW bands are 96 and 16%, respectively. The suppression of TE-polarisation absorption is almost 100% over both bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel chirped metal structure (CMS) is developed for polarimetric enhanced detection of both mid‐wave (MW) (3–5 µm) and long‐wave (LW) infrared (IR) wavelength bands (8–14 µm). The nano‐scale structure consists of parallel sub‐wavelength chirped‐width stripes together with graded‐width separating gaps. The CMS allows plasmonically enhanced polarisation‐sensitive absorption of dual‐bands simultaneously in underneath IR detection device. The finite‐difference‐time‐domain method is utilised to numerically evaluate gold CMS structure on an IR detector. Simulations show an excellent performance with high plasmonic absorption enhancement and polarisation extinction‐ratio over the continuous wavelength range 3–14 µm. The maximum recorded extinction‐ratios are 2900:1 and 400:1 in the LW and MW bands, respectively. The maximum estimated plasmonic absorption enhancements for TM‐polarisation in the LW and MW bands are 96 and 16%, respectively. The suppression of TE‐polarisation absorption is almost 100% over both bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient natural bioextractant, orange peel extractant, was applied to recover uranium as one of hazardous elements. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the effect of various factors on the uranium extraction using a synthetic standard solution. These factors include the diluent type, pH, solvent concentration, contact time, and temperature. Under the optimum conditions (pH 4, A/O = 3/1), the maximum saturation capacity of the orange peel extractant for uranium reaches approximately 54.5 mg/g. The extracted uranium ions were almost completely eluted with NaCl/H2SO4 (1 M each). The procedure was applied to real sulfate leach liquor of a clay stone sample from Southeastern Sinai, Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Waste cooking oil to biodiesel using avocado and mango seeds based catalyst. • Cost-effective bifunctional catalyst for the production of biodiesel from waste oil. • The catalyst's high surface area and effective metal dispersion were confirmed. • Low activation energy bifunctional catalyst. • 99.6% biodiesel yield, surpassing similar studies. Converting waste oil into biodiesel has significant economic and environmental benefits, including reducing waste disposal costs and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. However, bifunctional catalysts for esterification–transesterification reactions generally have low yields and high production costs, limiting their commercialization. This study addresses these issues by investigating the preparation and use of high-value energy products obtained from agricultural waste, especially avocado and fruit curd seed, for the production of biodiesel from waste oil. The bifunctional catalyst synthesized by the wet impregnation method showed remarkable efficiency in the esterification-transesterification reaction. The experimental setup has different reaction conditions such as temperature, catalyst loading, and microwave power for better biodiesel production. Characterization methods including SEM-EDS and FTIR confirmed the large surface area of the catalyst and efficient metal degradation. The improved purification increased the biodiesel yield to 99.6 %, exceeding results reported in similar studies. Kinetic studies revealed an activation energy of 45 kJ/mol, indicating good catalytic activity. Biodiesel complies with ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards and has properties such as a high heating value (HHV) of 40 MJ/kg and API absorption of 30. This demonstrates the potential of using waste products from agriculture to produce biodiesel to provide a sustainable pathway for waste management and renewable energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European standard for access control imposes stringent performance requirements on commercial biometric technologies that few existing recognition systems are able to meet. In this correspondence paper, we present the first mouse dynamics biometric recognition system that fulfills this standard. The proposed system achieves notable performance improvement by developing separate models for separate feature groups involved. The improvements are achieved through the use of a fuzzy classification based on the Learning Algorithm for Multivariate Data Analysis and using a score-level fusion scheme to merge corresponding biometric scores. Evaluation of the proposed framework using mouse data from 48 users achieves a false acceptance rate of 0% and a false rejection rate of 0.36%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Various techniques have been proposed in different literature to analyze biometric samples collected from individuals. However, not a lot of attention has been paid to the inverse problem, which consists of synthesizing artificial biometric samples that can be used for testing existing biometric systems or protecting them against forgeries. In this paper, we present a framework for mouse dynamics biometrics synthesis. Mouse dynamics biometric is a behavioral biometric technology, which allows user recognition based on the actions received from the mouse input device while interacting with a graphical user interface. The proposed inverse biometric model learns from random raw samples collected from real users and then creates synthetic mouse actions for fake users. The generated mouse actions have unique behavioral properties separate from the real mouse actions. This is shown through various comparisons of behavioral metrics as well as a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. We also show through a two-fold cross-validation test that by submitting sample synthetic data to an existing mouse biometrics analysis model we achieve comparable performance results as when the model is applied to real mouse data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to investigate whether providing mirrors as environmental enrichment to broiler chickens housed at two different stocking densities affects growth performance, behaviour and physiological stress responses. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of two stocking densities and two environmental enrichment regimens. A total of 208 day-old male broiler chicks were assigned to one of the four subgroups with eight replicates. Within each enrichment regimen [provision of mirrors (ME) or no-mirror (NM)], birds were raised at two stocking densities of low, 0.1000 m2/bird (5 birds/cage; LD) or high, 0.0625 m2/bird (8 birds/cage; HD) density from day 1 onward. On day 35, the HD-birds had a significantly lower feed intake and body weight than their LD counterparts. On day 34, the HD-broilers showed significantly more resting behaviour than those of the LD-group. Neither stocking density nor environmental enrichment had significant effects on other activities throughout the study. There were significant interactions between stocking density and environmental enrichment for serum levels of corticosterone (CORT) and ceruloplasmin (CPN) at day 35. Provision of mirrors resulted in similar CORT and CPN among the LD- and HD-chickens on day 35. However, the HDNM birds had significantly higher CORT and CPN than the LD-NM group. Overall, the results suggest that the provision of mirrors has a negligible effect on growth performance, but can reduce the physiological stress response in broiler chickens with a higher stocking density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films (a-Si:H) have been prepared by the rf glow discharge technique. The configuration of bonded hydrogen was investigated by infrared absorption measurements of Si:H vibrational modes before and after bombardment with an α-particle beam energy of 125 keV/n. The results showed an increase in the absorption mode near 2100, 890 and 850 cm -1 and a decrease in the absorption mode near 2000 cm -1 after bombardment. These observations are interpreted in terms of changes of the oscillator strengths of vibrational modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the clinical and etiological profile of new onset seizures in adults with the help of laboratory and neuroimaging studies in a tertiary care hospital in Cairo. Methods: An observational hospital based cross sectional analytical study of 120 cases with new onset seizures were included in the study, who had their first seizure above the age of 18, and admitted to Neurology OPCs and ER of Ain Shams University and Nasr city Health Insurance Hospitals between March 2018 to September 2018. We determined the type of seizure and etiological factors. Results: In the 120 patients, whose specific incidence of acute new onset seizures was found to be highest in males in the age group > 55 years 48 (66.67 %), we found the most common seizure type was generalized seizure 56 (46.67%) and the most common etiologic factor was cerebrovascular diseases 58 (48.33 %). Patients presented with cluster seizures was 31 (25.83 %) and status epileptics was 14 (11.67 %). The most common metabolic insult was hypocalcemia 12 (10%) and hyponatremia 8 (6.76%). Conclusion: Cerebrovascular disease was the most common etiology after 55 years of age whereas Idiopathic epilepsy syndrome and Metabolic insults were common in younger individuals (18-35) years of age. Patients presented with cluster seizures were mostly found to have SOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epilepsy is a serious common neurological disorder that can affect any age. Cognitive functions are highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy and is more likely to occur in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Associations were found between cognitive functions and brain volume loss in patients with epilepsy. Objective: This work was carried out to assess the volumetric changes in brain of epileptic patients to use it as a biomarker for cognitive dysfunction in adult and adolescent patients with epilepsy. Patients and Methods: A case control study was conducted to include 61 patients, 20 of which diagnosed with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), 21 with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and 20 with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) who were selected from the epilepsy outpatient clinic in Ain Shams university hospitals along with 23 age and sex matched healthy controls. Both cases and control groups were subjected to Magnetic resonance imaging MRI brain volumetry and detailed cognitive testing. An informed consent was taken from each adult patient, guardian of adolescent patient and healthy control. Results: Statistically significant difference in comprehension subcategory of the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS) between patients with IGE and healthy controls denoting poorer social judgment in the IGE group. The IGE group also showed poorer performance in digit symbol subcategory of the same test denoting worse psychomotor speed and sustained attention. Also, significant difference in similarities subcategory was found between TLE group and control group denoting poorer abstract thinking among the TLE group. The IGE and TLE groups also showed lower attention and concentration than control group in the mental control subcategory of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) yet failed to show superiority over each other. No statistically significant difference was found on comparing the whole brain volume between cases and control groups. A statistically significant direct relationship was found between the arithmetic subcategory of WAIS and the whole brain volume of the patients among the patients of the FLE group. Conclusion: Patients with IGE had worse psychomotor speed, sustained attention and concentration than healthy controls in addition to poorer social judgment. Also, patients with TLE showed lower attention and concentration together with poorer abstract thinking despite normal IQ. The study also concluded that increased whole brain volume in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy is associated with better mathematical problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a split-capacitor shunt Active Power Filter (SC-APF) based on Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) theory. This topology is used in compensating the currents of 3-Ph unbalanced non-linear loads. The voltage control loop used in SRF which is only suitable in controlling Four-Leg APF (FL-APF) is modified to control Spilt-Capacitor APF (SC-APF). The proposed scheme provides compensating the 3-Ph unbalanced non-linear loads with lower number of switches, passive elements, and sensors. The performance of the SC-APF with the modified calculation algorithm is verified through simulation and experimental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a transformerless/non-isolated, high-gain DC-DC converter required to increase low voltages in renewable energy applications. The converter topology uses only a single-switch with minimum voltage stress over the semiconductors. The design is obtained by integrating both the boost and the quadratic boost converter topology. Operating principles of the converter circuit topology are detailed, and the steady-state performance is analysed. The design results in lower switching voltage that significantly improves the efficiency of the controlled switches. The results obtained by computer simulation demonstrate that the high voltage gain is obtained at lower values of duty ratio with an efficiency of more than 94%. The merits of the proposed converter are given in comparison with other high-gain DC-DC converters. Finally, a laboratory model is built using the digital signal processor [dSPACE (DS-1104)] to verify the converter theory. The theoretical, simulation and experimental results that indicate the claimed converter performance and capability are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a Four-Switch Three-Phase Shunt Active Power Filter (FSTP-APF) based on One Cycle Control (OCC) technique for compensating the currents of three phase non-linear loads. The power stage of FSTP-APF uses only four semiconducting switches which leads to reduce the overall cost of APF. The proposed technique retains the advantages of the conventional OCC, such as no reference current calculation, no need for using Phase-Locked Loop (PLL), very simple control circuit and constant switching frequency. In addition, the modification reduces the number of semiconductor switches, reduces the filter output inductances, reducing the number of sensors to only four sensors, two of them for measuring supply currents and the others for measuring DC-link voltages, and the control algorithm becomes simpler. The feasibility and performance of the proposed technique are demonstrated through the simulation and experimental verifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A set of Makrofol DE 1-1 polymeric samples was irradiated to different gamma doses. The dielectric response of irradiated polymers was investigated at a wide range of frequencies at room temperature. The modification induced in optical properties include the optical band gap (Eoptical), number of carbon per cluster (M), number of carbon per length (N), and refractive index (n) for irradiated samples were studied as well. Methods: The dielectric constant (έ), dielectric loss factor (ε˝), loss tangent (tanδ), the ac electrical conductivity (σac), and impedance (Z) were measured in the frequency range from (100) Hz to (100) MHz. The optical band gap energy and its corresponding parameters for the samples were evaluated using ineffective thickness method (ITM). Results: Gamma-ray irradiation had a considerable effect on the optical band gap energy for Makrofol DE 1-1 polymer detector film, which decreases from 4.20 to 3.96 eV and 4.35 to 4.16 eV for indirect and direct allowed transitions in ITM method, respectively, while it decreases from 4.40 to 4.20 eV in DITM method as a result of γ-ray dose increases. (n) of all studied samples is considerably high. (N) and (M) for the direct transition are lower than that for the indirect transition and their values increase with increasing gamma dose. Conclusion: The results reveal that Makrofol DE1-1 polymer can be used as gamma dosimeter. Furthermore, Makrofol DE1-1 has much greater resistance to radiation damage; the attained results suggested strongly the applicability of Makrofol DE1-1 polymer to be used in medical products applications and suitable for optoelectronic and photoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of protease supplementation on productive performance and physiological responses were investigated in broiler chickens fed reduced crude-protein (low-CP) diets and reared under normal or high stocking densities (SD). Chicks were housed in pens with two stocking densities (≈10 birds/m2 or ≈15 birds/m2) and fed diets with either the recommended or reduced level of CP and metabolisable energy (ME) from 1 to 21 days. From 22 to 42 days, an equal number of birds from each dietary group was fed one of the following finisher diets: (1) recommended-CP and ME, (2) low-CP and recommended-ME or (3) low-CP and recommended-ME supplemented with protease. No interactions (P > 0.05) were observed between diet and SD for feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), Newcastle disease antibody titre, pododermatitis, caecal clostridia, Escherichia coli , lactobacilli, serum corticosterone or acute-phase proteins. Diet had no effect (P > 0.05) on FI, WG or FCR during the finisher period nor on FI and WG during the overall (1–42 days) period. High SD resulted in lower FI (P < 0.05) and Newcastle disease antibody titre (P < 0.05) and higher FCR (P < 0.05), pododermatitis incidence (P < 0.05), caecal population of clostridia (P < 0.05) and E. Coli (P < 0.05), and acute-phase protein and corticosterone concentrations than did normal SD. In conclusion, the supplementation of protease to a low-CP diet during the finisher period had no effect on the performance and immunity of overcrowded broiler chickens. Regardless of dietary CP and protease supplementation, a high SD negatively affected the growth performance, immunity, caecal microflora and welfare of the broiler chickens. There is a dearth of information regarding the effects of feeding protease-supplemented reduced-protein diets on overcrowded broilers. The inclusion of protease in broiler diets could be considered by poultry industry as an effective nutritional tool for reducing nutrient density, so as to improve feed efficiency and increase the profit margin. The present study is not only of academic interest, but will be valuable to the poultry industry too, given present imperatives to produce better-quality chicken meats at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]