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Lactobacillus reuteri fortified camel milk infant formula (CMIF) was produced. The effect of encapsulation in different matrices (sodium alginate and galacto-oligosaccharides) via spray drying, simulated infant gastrointestinal digestion (SIGID), and storage conditions (temperature and humidity) on the viability of L. reuteri in CMIF and the physicochemical properties of CMIF were evaluated. Compared with free cells, probiotic cell viability was significantly enhanced against SIGID conditions upon encapsulation. However, L. reuteri viability in CMIF decreased after 60 d of storage, predominantly at higher storage humidity and temperature levels. At the end of the storage period, significant changes in the color values were observed in all CMIF, with a reduction in their greenness, an increase in yellowness, and a wide variation in their whiteness. Moreover, pH values and caking behavior of all CMIF stored at higher temperature (40°C) and humidity [water activity (a

Date plum (Diospyrus lotus L.) is an edible fruit from the Ebenaceae family, rich in nutrients, and having tremendous medicinal properties. This paper attempted to show the influence of different parameters of convective drying such as temperature (50, 60, 70, and 80°C) and air velocity (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m/s) on the shrinkage and microstructure, rehydration properties, antioxidant activity, and phenolic compounds of date plum. The drying caused significant changes in the color, actual size, and distribution of the fruit cells of date plum. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) of fresh date plum were 0.81 ± 0.00 mg GAE/g, 0.23 ± 0.10 mg ECE/g, 7.15 ± 1.09 mmol ISE/g, and 14.92 ± 0.88 mmol/TE, respectively. The drying at 70°C had the highest values of TPC, TFC, gallic acid, chlorogenic and syringic acids, catechin, quercetin-3-glucoside, resveratrol, and DPPH. The drying air velocities showed no significant effects on the antioxidant contents and the antioxidant activity. Of the models applied to the drying kinetics, the Midilli model was found as the best model to describe the drying kinetics of date plum. In addition, the Weibull model was found as the most successful among the models applied to the rehydration kinetics of date plum. According to the achieved findings, the convective drying temperature of 70°C is the optimum temperature to produce the dehydrated date plum. Practical Application This work has revealed the drying conditions responsible for preserving the phenolic compounds, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant features of D. lotus L. The study found the optimum drying conditions, and Midilli and Weibull models were the most fitted models to describe the drying and rehydration behaviors of D. lotus L. fruits, respectively. The drying provides a reasonable value of the possibility of continuous consumption of the fruits dried afforded on off-seasons. The dried fruits are widely used for multipurpose and have been extensively used in food industries due to their rich nutraceutical and antioxidant compounds.

Objective: Due to the importance of poultry production, the purpose of the study are to show the efficacy of Tomatopowderin alleviating the deleterious effects of aflatoxin in broilers and modulating the oxidative stress. Methods:One hundred one-day-old fattening chicks (Ross 308) were used in the present work which lasted for 35 days and aflatoxin administration lasted for 28 days. In the control condition, birds were randomly distributed into 5 groups, 20 birds for each group as following for 35 days: (G1)20 chicksfed basal diet control negative(CON),(G2) 20 chicksfed basal diet + aflatoxin (30 ppb) (AF) control positiv,(G3) 20 chickstreated withaflatoxin (30 ppb) + mycofix 3 plus(AF+M),(G4) 20 chickstreated withaflatoxin (30 ppb) +Tomato powder %1(AF+TP),(G5) 20 chicksfed basal diet +Tomato powder %1(TB). Results:A significant increased (P˂0.05) in the concentration of (Gpx) and (SOD) in the fourth group (AF&TP) compared to the second group (AF) In addition, the results showed a significant decreased (P˂0.05) in the concentration (MDA) in the fourth group (AF&TP) compared to the second group (AF)at day 28. While at day 35 showed a significant increased (P˂0.05) in the concentration of (Gpx) in the fourth group (AF&TP) compared to the second group (AF).

The current research focuses on the antioxidant activity, phytochemical, and inorganic content of five common medicinal plants: Asian pigeonwings, lemon balm, lemongrass, ginger, and turmeric. According to the phytochemical screening, flavonoids were present in all plants; tannins were present in lemon balm and lemongrass, saponins were present in all plants except lemongrass, and anthraquinone glycosides were detected only in turmeric. The aqueous extracts from lemon balm, Asian pigeonwings, and the methanolic extract from turmeric had the highest phenolic content, respectively. The inorganic composition of plants was determined using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Asian pigeonwings, ginger and turmeric are mainly composed of K, while lemon balm and lemongrass are mainly composed of Ca. The mineral profile of each herb was determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry analysis. The antioxidant activity of each herb was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity assay. Among the extracts, the aqueous extract from ginger had the highest antioxidant activity with a percentage of 88.05 ±0.31 %.

The inorganic phosphate content and antioxidant activity of fresh fruit juices and canned fruit juices commonly consumed in Bahrain were compared. The fruits considered in this study were kiwi, guava, black grape, strawberry, apple, and pineapple. The inorganic phosphate content of the juices was determined by a colorimetric method using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Among the fresh juices, the highest inorganic phosphate content was measured for black grape juice (17.330 ±0.068 mg/L), and among the canned juices, the highest inorganic phosphate was measured for black grape canned juice too (16.020 ±0.141 mg/L, brand 3). The antioxidant activity was determined in-vitro by measuring the percentage of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of the juices. Among the fresh juices, the highest antioxidant activity was measured for fresh guava juice (95.98 ±0.15%). Among the canned juices, the highest antioxidant was measured for black grape canned juice (two brands: 88.69 ±0.05 and 90.49 ±0.12%). According to the inferential statistical analysis (normality assumption tests and one-way ANOVA), no statistically significant correlation was found between inorganic phosphate content and antioxidant activity (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.279, p-value = 0.263) at a 5% significance level.

Elderberry (This review article comprehensively describes new developments in elderberry extraction and encapsulation. Elderberry is largely employed in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its health-promoting and sensory characteristics. Elderberry has traditionally been used as a diaphoretic, antipyretic, diuretic, antidepressant, and antitumor agent in folk medicine.Conventional extraction methods (e.g. maceration and Soxhelt extraction) as well as advanced green techniques (e.g. supercritical fluids, pulsed electric field, emulsion liquid extraction, microwave, and ultrasonic extraction) have been used to extract bioactives from elderberry. Over the other protective measures, encapsulation techniques are particularly recommended to protect the bioactive components found in elderberry. Microencapsulation (spray drying, freeze drying, extrusion, emulsion systems) and nanoencapsulation (nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles and nanodispersions, nanohydrogels, electrospinning, nano spray drying) approaches for elderberry bioactives have been examined in this regard.

Carotenoids are isoprenoids that are extensively dispersed in foods that have always been part of the human diet.Certain carotenoids can be transformed into retinoids with vitamin A activity, which is needed for humans. Additionally, they are far more flexible, since they may be found in foods not just as sources of vitamin A, and also as natural colors, antioxidants, and health-promoting substances. Functional foods provide health advantages in addition to basic nourishment. They can be found in a variety of forms, including whole, fortified, enriched, or enhanced meals. A flood of information about the health advantages of functional foods has been supplied by several epidemiological research. This review discusses the factor for healthy and sustainable usage of carotenoidrich ingredients for the design of functional food products primarily intended for health promotion. Furthermore, data on sources, intakes, and variables influencing bioavailability are summarized.

Himanthalia elongata is a brown seaweed containing several nutritional compounds and bioactive substances including antioxidants, dietary fibre, vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, and macro- and trace- elements. A variety of bioactive compounds including phlorotannins, flavonoids, dietary fucoxanthin, hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid, polyphenols and carotenoids are also present in this seaweed. Multiple comparative studies were carried out between different seaweed species, wherein H. elongata was determined to exhibit high antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, fucose content and potassium concentrations compared to other species. H. elongata extracts have also shown promising anti-hyperglycaemic and neuroprotective activities. H. elongata is being studied for its potential industrial food applications. In new meat product formulations, it lowered sodium content, improved phytochemical and fiber content in beef patties, improved properties of meat gel/emulsion systems, firmer and tougher with improved water and fat binding properties. This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of the nutritional composition, bioactive properties, and food applications of H. elongata.

Nuts are dry, single-seeded fruits with a combination of beneficial compounds that aid in disease prevention and treatment. The aims of this research are to evaluate the total antioxidant activity (AI) by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, fatty acids by acid-catalyzed esterification method, and minerals by inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometer in hazelnuts, pistachios, and almond seeds and skins. Considering total AI, the results demonstrated that the highest activity was found in hazelnut and pistachio skin. The results considering minerals demonstrated that manganese, zinc, and iron levels are high in almond and hazelnut skins, copper is dominant in pistachio skin and hazelnut seed, and selenium is high in pistachio and almond skins and seed. Finally, the results showed palmitic acid is present in almond skin and pistachio seed, palmitoleic acid is high in almond and pistachio skins, and stearic acid is present in almond and hazelnut skins. Oleic acid was found in hazelnut seeds and their skin, linoleic acid in almond skin and pistachio seeds, and α-linolenic acid in almond and pistachio skins. In conclusion, hazelnut, pistachio, and almond skins are a great source of antioxidants, minerals, and healthy fatty acids, making them useful for nutraceutical development.

Cruciferous vegetables and oilseeds are rich in glucosinolates that can transform into isothiocyanates upon enzymic hydrolysis during post-harvest handling, food preparation and/or digestion. Vegetables contain glucosinolates that have beneficial bioactivities, while glucosinolates in oilseeds might have anti-nutritional properties. It is therefore important to monitor and assess glucosinolates and isothiocyanates content through the food value chain as well as for optimized crop production. Vibrational spectroscopy methods, such as infrared (IR) spectroscopy, are used as a nondestructive, rapid and low-cost alternative to the current and common costly, destructive, and time-consuming techniques. This systematic review discusses and evaluates the recent literature available on the use of IR spectroscopy to determine glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in vegetables and oilseeds. NIR spectroscopy was used to predict glucosinolates in broccoli, kale, rocket, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, brown mustard, rapeseed, pennycress, and a combination of Brassicaceae family seeds. Only one study reported the use of NIR spectroscopy to predict broccoli isothiocyanates. The major limitations of these studies were the absence of the critical evaluation of errors associated with the reference method used to develop the calibration models and the lack of interpretation of loadings or regression coefficients used to predict glucosinolates.

This study, carried out to study the effect of dietary fenugreek, alfalfa and their mixture in broiler diet on some physiological traits and immunity of broilers. The experiment was conducted in special field during a period for 35days. The study involved 120 one-day unsexed Ross 308 chicks , that were divided into four groups (30 birds/group) with three replicated (10 birds/replicate), the first group (control): chicks were fed on a basal diet without addition (G1) ,the second group fed on a basal diet with 2.5 gmfenugreek powder/Kg diet(G2),the third group fed on a basal diet with 2.5 gm alfalfa powder/Kg diet (G3) ,the fourth group was fed on a basal diet with 2.5 gmfenugreek and 2.5 gm alfalfa powder/Kg diet(G4),Blood samples were collected for biochemical parameters at 17thday and 35thday of age .The result revealed there were significant increase (P≤0.05) in total protein,globulin and albumin with a significant decrease(p≤0.05) in the cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) while the high density lipoprotein(HDL) recoded a significant increase (p≤0.05), also significant decreases of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) that present in the addition groups as compared with the control, the anti-body titer against New castle disease and infection bursal disease showed a significant increase (P≤0.05)in addition group as compared with the control.

The aim of the study was to compare the productive performance of broiler chickens when fed a traditional standard feed and the same feed supplemented with Fenugreek or/and alfalfa. One hundred and twenty one day old un sexed broiler chicks of the strain Ross 308, that were divided into four groups each included 30 birds with three replicated 10 birds in each replicated which reared for 35 days, the first group (control group G1): chicks were fed on a basic diet without any addition ,the second group fed on a basic diet with 2.5 gm fenugreek (G2)/ Kg diet ,the third group fed on a basic diet with 2.5 gm alfalfa (G3)/Kg diet ,the fourth group was fed on a basic diet with 2.5 gm fenugreek and 2.5 gm alfalfa /Kg diet(G4) .The productive parameters were calculated weekly throughout the experimental period. The mixture of fenugreek and alfalfa significantly affected and improve weekly body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio in treated groups compared with control group. Mortality was zero in all groups . The results of sensory test showed that flavor, taste, juiciness, and color in breast and thigh muscles were higher in addition groups as compared with control, except that moderate juiciness and tenderness in fenugreek group as compared with control.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in China in December 2019 and has generated a worldwide pandemic. The objective of the research is to examine and describe (a) the symptoms that persist after the end of the acute stage and (b) their relationship with the severity of the disease.This study is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain on COVID-19 infected patients using an online survey questionnaire with a total number of 52 patient responses (29 females and 23 males).A scale (0 no symptoms to 10 very high symptoms intensity) was assessed in patients after 3 months to detect the relevance of specific symptoms post-COVID-19 such as emotional and physical health, headache, dyspnoea, pain (muscles/joints/chest), anosmia, vertigo, neurologic symptoms, sarcopenia, delirium.The most common COVID-19 symptoms were reported to be fever (69.2%), headache (59.6%), and cough (50.0%). Data analysis showed that BMI was not correlated with any post-acute COVID-19 symptoms. Regarding the post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, this study showed that an increase of intensity of headache was associated with an increase of delirium; an increase of intensity of dyspnoea was associated with an increase of pulmonary dysfunction. The increase of anosmia and dysgeusia was associated with an increase in delirium. In addition, the increase of neurological symptoms and delirium were associated with the increase of sarcopenia. The most common persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms observed in this study were emotional stress, followed by loss of smell and taste, and neurological symptoms.Therefore, follow-up and rehabilitation care for COVID-19 patients must be focused on addressing the needs of these people in the longer term.

This paper uses a qualitative approach in examining the role and potential uses of colour psychology in arts practitioners and art students, looking specifically at the effects of colour on how subjects understand and process complex psycho-emotional phenomena. So, this paper is focused on ways artists use colour to deal with emotion, how this effect cognitively operates, and may have second-order effects on arts spectators. Colour psychology is initially considered from a clinical research perspective, vis-a-vis its utility, via art therapy, as a psychological curative. Next, the transposition from art therapeutic contexts to art production is examined: how psychological and cognitive processes potentially benefit students and artists alike, in related though distinct ways regarding metacognition and behavioural self-regulation. Finally, this study examines the work of four artistic masters, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch, and Wassily Kandinsky, analyzing the relationship between mood and mind state (of the artists) and the colours the artists use in their works.

This study uses the meta-cognitive model (developed in clinical psychology primarily in relation to depressive conditions) to explain the causal dynamics of why artists, in always looking for “perfection”, can experience mental states which predicate modes of overthinking which can be detrimental to their careers and/or projects. The meta-cognitive model proposes a specific causal relationship between metacognition and the regulation of thought processes, in which overthinking pertains to excessive metacognitive intervention or total lack thereof. The aim of this study is to establish a practical and implementable meta-cognitive intervention for arts practitioners, arts students, and teachers of arts practice, which will help in avoiding (or teaching how to avoid) the pitfalls of overthinking; to determine a practical “cognitive tool”, or mental framework, in the process of making arts. This meta-cognitive tool is intended as an abstract and intellectual complement to the concrete and formal compositional skills of art production. A key focus of this study concerns the liminal points between healthy/productive and unhealthy (and potentially pathological) aspects of creative overthinking, considering how excessive rumination factors into creative traits such as perfectionism and attention to detail in the production of artworks; looking, further, at how overthinking can affect the mind negatively, such as inducing anger and anxiety for example.

Reusing and recycling materials inside the domains of showy ensemble plan and generation is critical. When a Kuwaiti play wraps up its run, ensembles are tossed absent and modern ones are outlined when vital. This hone demonstrates a need for mindfulness of reusing procedures. This is often a genuine matter; tons of material materials are being squandered instead of reused. The current preparation of creating ensembles for Kuwait theatre preparations includes the conception and portraying of ensembles, the buy of modern textures, and the work of tailors for a generation. Since fitting is outsourced, there’s a deficiency of architects who can make outfits independently. The current handle does not consolidate any strategies for reusing ensembles. This combined with tall levels of material squander, comes about in critical biological issues that request quick consideration. However, in countries such as Kuwait, where the hone was commonplace earlier to the Iraqi intrusion, this can be not the case. This qualitative study looked for examining current hones among Kuwaiti costumiers and after that compared these to UK costumiers who give an illustration of existing feasible (reusing and recycling) ensemble plan hones. It pointed to explore the states of mind and discernment of Kuwaiti costumiers towards reusing and reusing as ways of lessening material squander. This paper used exploratory and participatory modes of essential investigation. Thinks were conducted to assemble essential information, an arrangement of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 4 UK and 4 Kuwaiti costumiers to inspire data on understanding their sustainable design process into making costumes. This paper will survey the discoveries of investigating ventures and exploring the generation forms utilized by ensemble originators within the UK and Kuwait. It’ll demonstrate how the Kuwaiti costumers their behaviors, coupled with their need of knowledge with utilizing reusing and reusing methodologies to make ensembles, had expanded material squander and adversely influenced the Kuwait theater ensemble plan industry.

The severe, acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 that was first reported in China in December 2019 quickly became a global pandemic that has resulted in over 100 million infections and more than 2 million deaths.This study aimed to assess the awareness level of university students regarding the possibility of becoming infected with COVID-19. In order to achieve this objective, we assessed the students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors using an online survey questionnaire offered to a total of 300 students.A positive response regarding awareness of COVID-19 symptoms was registered by more than 70% of the students, whereas 62% felt that wearing a mask did not give full protection against infection, approximately 30% agreed that antibiotics and antivirals did not treat COVID-19, and 62% agreed that vitamin C was helpful in treating common symptoms of COVID-19. Moreover, around 31% of the students believed that COVID-19 is a man-made virus. Students who had gotten infected with SARS-CoV-2 believed that wearing a mask gives full protection (p=0.018). In response to survey questions related to attitude, 80% of students cancelled and postponed meetings with friends, and 90% agreed that mask-wearing is the most precautionary measure used to prevent the infection. In addition, 82% avoided coughing in public, 82% avoided contact if they felt flu-like symptoms and 80% washed their hands far more often due to the pandemic. Interestingly, 76% carried hand sanitizer, 66.5% avoided shaking hands, and 42.7% were taking vitamin C supplements.This study showed that the participants had a positive awareness of COVID-19 transmission, symptoms, and treatments misconceptions and mistaken beliefs related to treatments and the origin of the virus were also common and should be addressed. This study thus provides a baseline for a population-based surveillance program that could help local authorities to improve pandemic preparation plans, particularly with regard to governmental education and media campaigns.

Background The incidence of septic arthritis is 2–10/100,000. Morbidity is higher with persistent joint dysfunction in up to 30%. Osteoarthritic knee with infection presents a rare challenge, with no established approach for treatment exists. We present our experience of managing infected degenerative joint disease (DJD) with two-stage primary arthroplasty similar to the management of periprosthetic joint infection. Patients and methods Four patients presented to us between 2016 and 2018 with advanced DJD associated with coexistent joint sepsis with or without adjacent osteomyelitis. The diagnosis of joint sepsis with periarticular osteomyelitis was made based on clinical presentation, radiographic findings, inflammatory serological markers, and culture of knee joint aspirate. All were operated with primary arthroplasty in two stages of debridement with a static spacer followed by antibiotics and implantation. Discussion With no established method of treating DJD superadded with infection, our experience adds valuable information in treating the same. Our 2-staged primary arthroplasty had a short antibiotic duration between stages, a mean of 63.5 days, and stopped within 3 days of 2ndstage reducing hospital stay, morbidity, and cost. Our approach is a very viable method of treating infected DJD with a minimum drug holiday time of two weeks before implantation with a better outcome, reducing the recurrence rate of infection. Though a small number with a minimum follow-up of 24 months, we believe we provide valuable additional information. Conclusion All patients had painless return to early activities with no signs of recurrent infection. Our approach is a very viable and could serve as a cost-effective method treatment for an infected arthritic knee.

Saffron is a valued herb, obtained from the stigmas of the C. sativus Linn (Iridaceae), with therapeutic effects. It has been described in pharmacopoeias to be variously acting, including as an anti-depressant, anti-carcinogen, and stimulant agent. The therapeutic effects of saffron are harbored in its bioactive molecules, notably crocins, the subject of this paper. Crocins have been demonstrated to act as a monoamine oxidase type A and B inhibitor. Furthermore, saffron petal extracts have experimentally been shown to impact contractile response in electrical field stimulation. Other research suggests that saffron also inhibits the reuptake of monoamines, exhibits N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonism, and improves brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling. A host of experimental studies found saffron/crocin to be similarly effective as fluoxetine and imipramine in the treatment of depression disorders. Saffron and crocins propose a natural solution to combat depressive disorders. However, some hurdles, such as stability and delivery, need to be overcome. United States Department of Agriculture | Ref. 2020-38821-31113 National Institute of Food and Agriculture | Ref. NC.X337-5-21-170-1 National Institute of Food and Agriculture | Ref. NC.X341-5-21-170-1

This review aims to define the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet (KD) for the management of sarcopenic obesity. As the combination of sarcopenia and obesity appears to have multiple negative metabolic effects, this narrative review discusses the effects of the ketogenic diet as a possible synergic intervention to decrease visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and fatty infiltration of the liver as well as modulate and improve the gut microbiota, inflammation and body composition. The results of this review support the evidence that the KD improves metabolic health and expands adipose tissue γδ T cells that are important for glycaemia control during obesity. The KD is also a therapeutic option for individuals with sarcopenic obesity due to its positive effect on VAT, adipose tissue, cytokines such as blood biochemistry, gut microbiota, and body composition. However, the long-term effect of a KD on these outcomes requires further investigations before general recommendations can be made.

Rice plays an important role in the diet of Bahraini people. Rice is usually imported from different countries to Bahrain, as Bahrain does not produce rice. The sources of rice and their growth conditions vary from a country to another, this directly affects the quality of rice and thus it is necessary to analyse the rice content as it has a direct impact on society���s diet. In the present study, the protein content, carbohydrate content, inorganic phosphate content, selected heavy metals (Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) content of 8 rice samples imported in Bahrain were analysed. In addition, the gamma radiation activity concentration of all samples was measured. The rice samples analysed were glutinous rice (from Thailand), long grain parboiled rice (from Thailand), Basmati rice (from Pakistan), Punjabi basmati rice (from Pakistan), brown rice (from U.S.A.), white pudding rice (from U.K.), jasmine rice (from Italy), and organic white rice (from Slovenia). The highest protein content and inorganic phosphate content was determined in Basmati rice from Pakistan. The highest carbohydrate content and Al content were determined in long grain parboiled rice from Thailand. Brown rice from the U.S.A. had the highest Cu, Mn, and Zn content, while the highest Fe content was determined in Jasmine rice from Italy. The lowest radioactive contaminated rice was the organic white rice from Slovenia., Moroccan Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 9, No 4 (2021): in progress

Moringa oleifera (MO) has started to focus the attention of many researchers, especially in the last decade, due to its rich nutrient content and bioactive compounds that have numerous pharmaceutical potentials. In this systematic review, 36 research articles were included that explored the anti-obesity potential of MO through in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The research articles included 9 in-vitro studies, 27 in-vivo studies, and 3 clinical studies. The studies mainly focused on the extract of MO prepared using MO leaves and few studies particularly focused on MO isothiocyanates. The in-vitro studies were mainly based on 3T3-L1 cells, while the in-vivo studies involved a good range of male and female mice and rats. Only two research involved human studies. The major anti-obesity mechanisms of MO were through improving the lipid profile (levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and body weight, regulating significant genes associated with adipogenesis, glucose uptake, insulin resistance, and hormones (such as leptin, vaspin, resistin, and insulin). The clinical trials studying the anti-obesity potential of MO on humans is limited and related to the impact of MO on body mass index, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and postprandial blood glucose only.

Bioactive peptides derived from milk proteins are widely known to possess antibacterial activities. Even though the antibacterial effects of milk-derived peptides are widely characterized, not much focus is given to their antifungal characterization. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the antifungal properties of camel and cow whey and casein hydrolysates against various species of pathogenic Candida. The hydrolysates were produced using 2 enzymes (alcalase and protease) at differing hydrolysis durations (2, 4, and 6 h) and tested for their antifungal properties. The results showed that intact cow whey and casein proteins did not display any anti-Candida albicans properties, whereas the alcalase-derived 2 h camel casein hydrolysate (CA-C-A2) displayed a higher percentage of inhibition against Candida albicans (93.69 ± 0.26%) followed by the cow casein hydrolysate generated by protease-6 h (Co-C-P6; 81.66 ± 0.99%), which were significantly higher than that of fluconazole, a conventional antifungal agent (76.92 ± 4.72%). Interestingly, when tested again Candida krusei, camel casein alcalase 2 and 4 h (CA-C-A2 and CA-C-A4), and cow whey alcalase-6 h (CO-W-A6) hydrolysates showed higher antifungal potency than fluconazole. However, for Candida parapsilosis only camel casein alcalase-4 h (Ca-C-A4) and cow casein protease-6 h (Co-C-P6) hydrolysates were able to inhibit the growth of C. parapsilosis by 19.31 ± 0.84% and 23.82 ± 4.14%, respectively, which was lower than that shown by fluconazole (29.86 ± 1.11%). Overall, hydrolysis of milk proteins from both cow and camel enhanced their antifungal properties. Camel milk protein hydrolysates were more potent in inhibiting pathogenic Candida species as compared with cow milk protein hydrolysates. This is the first study that highlights the antifungal properties of camel milk protein hydrolysates.

The research study includes shedding light on the sas dance in Iraq, as it is one of the popular legacies that are rich in the Mesopotamian civilization and because of the different practices it has in the different occasions on which these dances are held. Which is one of the kinetic arts widespread among the classes of Iraqi society. The researcher explained its features and artistic content that characterizes Iraqi music. The (methodological framework) reviewed the justification, importance and purpose of the research, and the limits of the research that included the (National Troupe of Folk Art) as a human limit to discover the artistic methods of the Sas dance and then define the terms of the search. The "theoretical framework" contained three topics as follows: the first (dance rituals in the Mesopotamian civilization), the second topic (types of dance in Iraq), and finally (the sas dance in the city of Baghdad). The (research procedures) in which the descriptive and analytical approach was adopted, (The research community) included (8) eight samples of the sas dance, and one sample was chosen within this community and then (the research tool and the analytical standard), then came (the musical analysis) for the specific sample and the results of the analysis, in which conclusions were reached based on the desired goal this search. Then, at the end of the research, came a list of sources and an abstract in English.

The generation of camel milk derived bioactive peptides (CM-BAPs) have started to grab keen interest of many researchers during the past decade. CM-BAPs have shown more significant bioactive properties in comparison to camel milk intact proteins. CM-BAPs can be obtained using enzyme hydrolysis to form hydrolysates, or by the fermentation process. In this systematic review, 46 research articles exploring the health-related bioactive properties of CM-BAPs through in-vitro and in-vivo studies have been included. CM-BAPs have been reported for their antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, antihypertensive, antibacterial, antibiofilm, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-haemolytic, and anti-hyperpigmentation activities. The effects of factors such as molecular weight of peptides, type of enzyme, enzyme to substrate ratio, hydrolysis temperature and duration have been analysed. The in-vitro studies have provided enough evidence on certain aspects of the pharmacological actives of camel milk bioactive peptides. Nevertheless, the in-vivo studies are very limited, and no clinical studies on CM-BAPs have been reported.

For more sustainable and environmentally friendly scientific research, it is essential to apply green chemistry principles in all areas of science. A possible area in which green chemistry principles can significantly influence the productivity and the quality of the outcome is extraction of natural products. The conventional toxic solvents can be replaced by environmentally friendly solvents known as deep eutectic solvents, which fortunately, due to their unique properties, can significantly improve extraction efficiency. In this literature review, the extraction of a specific class of natural products, phenolic compounds, using different types of green deep eutectic solvents has been reviewed. Within this review, the composition of those solvents used to extract different types of phenolic compounds has been discussed. In addition, the factors affecting their extraction, extracting solvent component structure, molar ratio of extracting solvent components, extraction temperature, solid to extraction solvent ratio, and water content, have been evaluated.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world and the most prevalent cause of death among women worldwide. Nevertheless, it is also one of the most treatable malignancies if detected early. In this paper, a deep convolutional neural network-based algorithm is proposed to aid in accurately identifying breast cancer from ultrasonic images. In this algorithm, several neural networks are fused in a parallel architecture to perform the classification process and the voting criteria are applied in the final classification decision between the candidate object classes where the output of each neural network is representing a single vote. Several experiments were conducted on the breast ultrasound dataset consisting of 537 Benign, 360 malignant, and 133 normal images. These experiments show an optimistic result and a capability of the proposed model to outperform many state-of-the-art algorithms on several measures. Using k-fold cross-validation and a bagging classifier ensemble, we achieved an accuracy of 99.5% and a sensitivity of 99.6%., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2009.08831

Accurate diagnostics of a skin lesion is a critical task in classification dermoscopic images. In this research, we form a new type of image features, called hybrid features, which has stronger discrimination ability than single method features. This study involves a new technique where we inject the handcrafted features or feature transfer into the fully connected layer of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model during the training process. Based on our literature review until now, no study has examined or investigated the impact on classification performance by injecting the handcrafted features into the CNN model during the training process. In addition, we also investigated the impact of segmentation mask and its effect on the overall classification performance. Our model achieves an 92.3% balanced multiclass accuracy, which is 6.8% better than the typical single method classifier architecture for deep learning., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

With a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case count exceeding 10 million worldwide, there is an increased need for a diagnostic capability. The main variables in increasing diagnostic capability are reduced cost, turnaround or diagnosis time, and upfront equipment cost and accessibility. Two candidates for machine learning COVID-19 diagnosis are Computed Tomography (CT) scans and plain chest X-rays. While CT scans score higher in sensitivity, they have a higher cost, maintenance requirement, and turnaround time as compared to plain chest X-rays. The use of portable chest X-radiograph (CXR) is recommended by the American College of Radiology (ACR) since using CT places a massive burden on radiology services. Therefore, X-ray imagery paired with machine learning techniques is proposed a first-line triage tool for COVID-19 diagnostics. In this paper we propose a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) to accurately classify chest X-ray scans of COVID-19 and normal subjects by fine-tuning several neural networks (ResNet18, ResNet50, DenseNet201) pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset. These neural networks are fused in a parallel architecture and the voting criteria are applied in the final classification decision between the candidate object classes where the output of each neural network is representing a single vote. Several experiments are conducted on the weakly labeled COVID-19-CT-CXR dataset consisting of 263 COVID-19 CXR images extracted from PubMed Central Open Access subsets combined with 25 normal classification CXR images. These experiments show an optimistic result and a capability of the proposed model to outperforming many state-of-the-art algorithms on several measures. Using k-fold cross-validation and a bagging classifier ensemble, we achieve an accuracy of 99.7% and a sensitivity of 100%., 9 Pages, 14 figures

The study reports formulation, characterization and in-vitro digestion of novel camel milk-based infant formula (IF) in comparison to bovine and commercial IF. Camel milk IF was further fortified with camel casein or whey at different levels to study the effect of different protein supplementation. A simulated infant gastrointestinal digestion (SIGID) model was used to compare the digestibility of different IFs. Protein digestibility of various IFs were studied through degree of hydrolysis (DH), sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UPLC). Upon SIGID, camel milk IF fortified with 10% whey showed the highest DH (3092.2 μg NH3 g−1) followed by camel milk IF (1308.16 μg NH3 g−1) displaying generation of diverse peptides. The fate of proteins and fats after SIGID was also studied using fluorescence microscopy that reflected homogenous breakdown of the proteins and lipid fractions. Furthermore, the effect of SIGID on bioactive properties was also analyzed via antioxidant (ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities) and anti-inflammatory activities. After SIGID, camel IF samples fortified with whey and casein proteins showed superior radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activities. The study concludes that camel milk can be a potential alternative for the development of infant formula with additional health benefits.

Computer-aided detection has been a research area attracting great interest in the past decade. Machine learning algorithms have been utilized extensively for this application as they provide a valuable second opinion to the doctors. Despite several machine learning models being available for medical imaging applications, not many have been implemented in the real-world due to the uninterpretable nature of the decisions made by the network. In this paper, we investigate the results provided by deep neural networks for the detection of malaria, diabetic retinopathy, brain tumor, and tuberculosis in different imaging modalities. We visualize the class activation mappings for all the applications in order to enhance the understanding of these networks. This type of visualization, along with the corresponding network performance metrics, would aid the data science experts in better understanding of their models as well as assisting doctors in their decision-making process., 20 pages, 28 Figures and 9 Tables

This short report describes our submission to the ISIC 2018 Challenge in Skin Lesion Analysis Towards Melanoma Detection for Task1 and Task 3. This work has been accomplished by a team of researchers at the University of Dayton Signal and Image Processing Lab. Our proposed approach is computationally efficient are combines information from both deep learning and handcrafted features. For Task3, we form a new type of image features, called hybrid features, which has stronger discrimination ability than single method features. These features are utilized as inputs to a decision-making model that is based on a multiclass Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The proposed technique is evaluated on online validation databases. Our score was 0.841 with SVM classifier on the validation dataset., 4 pages and 3 figures

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) eradication is prevented by the establishment on infection of cellular HIV-1 reservoirs that are not fully characterized, especially in genital mucosal tissues (the main HIV-1 entry portal on sexual transmission). Here, we show, using penile tissues from HIV-1-infected individuals under suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy, that urethral macrophages contain integrated HIV-1 DNA, RNA, proteins and intact virions in virus-containing compartment-like structures, whereas viral components remain undetectable in urethral T cells. Moreover, urethral cells specifically release replication-competent infectious HIV-1 following reactivation with the macrophage activator lipopolysaccharide, while the T-cell activator phytohaemagglutinin is ineffective. HIV-1 urethral reservoirs localize preferentially in a subset of polarized macrophages that highly expresses the interleukin-1 receptor, CD206 and interleukin-4 receptor, but not CD163. To our knowledge, these results are the first evidence that human urethral tissue macrophages constitute a principal HIV-1 reservoir. Such findings are determinant for therapeutic strategies aimed at HIV-1 eradication. Suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy fails to eradicate HIV-1 latent reservoirs in poorly characterized cell compartments. Here, urethral macrophages, but not urethral T cells, are shown to contain integrated HIV-1 DNA and to be able to release infectious HIV-1 following reactivation with lipopolysaccharide.

The nutrients especially nitrate and phosphate have proven the main factor that affected the density of macroinvertebrates in the ecology of river. Four sites in two seasons (Spring and Summer) of 2020 have been selected to address the question of how the density of different aquatic macroinvertebrate attached to aquatic plants is correlated with physicochemical variables in the Euphrates river/Kufa city that considered the first study in Iraq. 19 taxa were diagnosis of macroinvertebrates attached to four aquatic plants (Ceratophyllum demersum, Hydrilla verticillata, Potamogeton crispus and Phragmites australis) during the study period. The Chironomidae genus was recorded in all aquatic plants. High diversity species appearance was recorded in an aquatic plant (Phragmites australis). The high density of macroinvertebrates recorded in spring than summer. temporal and spatial significant differences were found. Apparently, these spatial and temporal differences to be associated with variations in anthropogenic pressure, which differs in each area of the river. We observed a positive relationship between the PO4, NO3 and the density of macroinvertebrates attached with Phragmites australis and negative relationship between TDS and density of macroinvertebrates attached with Potamogeton crispus and found a negative relationship between BOD and density of macroinvertebrates attached with Hydrilla verticillata. These relationships suggest the physical and chemical variables affect the distribution of functional groups, abundance or biomass. There have been spatiotemporal variations in physical and chemical conditions of water associated with changes in the concentration of organic matter and nutrients.

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is operating two Heavy Oil fields. Field A aims at production by Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), followed by steam flood. Field B envisages primary recovery through cold production, followed by non-thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). This requires drilling and completion of large number of wells. Implementing Well, Reservoir and Facilities Management (WRFM) and Smart Field approach will be a key requirement for operation excellence in these fields. Currently both fields have some wells in production, mostly as single isolated wells or wells in 5-acre/ 10-acre spacing. These pilot projects aimed at de-risking the commercial phase, which is to follow in the coming years. These wells are the training ground for young KOC staff to learn how to work in integrated teams using WRFM processes. WRFM processes are tailor-made for KOC's operating environment. These processes include Digital Oil Field based on Exception Based Surveillance (to flag out only those wells and facilities outside of their operating envelope and/or optimization window) and Production System Optimization. This would help to eliminate operational bottlenecks, leading to optimization in manpower to deal with large number of wells. It is expected to be achieved by combining existing best practices of International Oil Companies (IOC) with existing KOC applications, leveraging successful global practices. The paper shall highlight the timeline, activities and organizational changes underway to effect the transformation from existing operation to a larger and more complex development that includes continuous drilling, completion and well intervention (CWI) and facilities installation occurring simultaneously. The implementation of WRFM Processes along with Digital field will achieve the production and operation goals by reducing well, artificial lift, and facility downtime. This innovative production optimization system by enabling efficient decision-making process shall lower the cost per bbl. and reduce down time by implementing automated surveillance workflow.

This paper provides the required description of the methods used to obtain submitted results for Task1 and Task 3 of ISIC 2018: Skin Lesion Analysis Towards Melanoma Detection. The results have been created by a team of researchers at the University of Dayton Signal and Image Processing Lab. In this submission, traditional classifiers with hand-crafted features are utilized for Task 1 and Task 3. Our team is providing additional separate submissions using deep learning methods for comparison., ISIC 2018 https://challenge2018.isic-archive.com/

Rind and aril of pomegranate (Punica granatum) were freeze-dried and extracted using solvents of varying polarity: petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. Phytochemical investigations included qualitative detection of phytochemicals including phenols and tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanins, coumarins, quinones, saponins, steroids, triterpenoids, and alkaloids. Total phenolic and flavonoid content of each extract were determined quantitatively. Methanolic and aqueous pomegranate rind extracts showed highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid content. The presence of gallic acid in pomegranate rind and aril was determined by GCMS. Medicinal studies comprised of evaluating the antioxidant, antidiabetic and antibacterial potential of the prepared extracts. According to 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay for antioxidant potential, methanolic and aqueous extracts of pomegranate rind and methanolic extract of pomegranate rind showed antioxidant activity of above 80%. Aqueous extract of pomegranate aril showed highest inhibition of alpha-amylase which was taken as antidiabetic activity according to 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid assay (DNSA assay). Methanolic and aqueous extracts of pomegranate rind were most effective in inhibiting the growth of a number of bacteria according to the disc diffusion method.

Civil Engineering thin cylindrical shells such as silos and tanks are normally subjected to axial compression that arises from a stored solid, wind, earthquake, self-weight or roof loads. The walls of these shells are very thin, generally of the order of 6 to 25 mm, and massively less than the radius, which is typically 5 to 30 m. They are thus very thin shell structures, like those of rockets, spacecraft, motor vehicles and aircraft. The commonest failure mode is elastic buckling under axial compression. It has long been known that the buckling strength of a thin cylindrical shell under axial compression is very sensitive to tiny deviations of geometry, reducing the buckling strength to perhaps 10 or 20% of the value for the perfect structure. A normal internal pressure usually accompanies the axial compression, caused by stored granular solids or fluids. At relatively low pressures, the elastic buckling strength under axial compression rises, but an elastic-plastic buckling phenomenon intervenes at higher pressures, causing a dramatic decrease in buckling resistance associated with an elephant’s foot collapse mode. To construct such large shells, the fabrication technique is generally the assembly of many rolled plates or panels, joined by short longitudinal welds and continuous circumferential welds. The process of welding produces a distinctive geometric imperfection form at each weld joint, which in turn is extremely detrimental to the shell axial buckling carrying capacity. The strength may be further reduced by slight misalignments between adjacent panels, or in bolted construction, by vertical and horizontal lap splices. Due to the pattern of loading, both the axial compression and internal pressure increase progressively down the wall. Accordingly, practical construction usually uses a stepped wall, formed from panels of uniform thickness, but with larger thicknesses at lower levels. Since the loading varies smoothly, but each panel has constant thickness, the critical location for buckling lies at the base of a panel. But the greater thickness of the lower panel can usefully enhance the buckling strength of the critical panel above it. This thesis presents an extensive computational study that examines all the above influences, divided into chapters that are outlined here. A full exploration of the effect of the cylinder length on the perfect and imperfect elastic buckling strength is presented in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the elastic-plastic buckling resistance of imperfect cylinders is described, including strain hardening. These lead to many capacity curves, for which the key parameters are extracted. The effect of internal pressure on the buckling resistance of imperfect elastic cylinders is explored in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 studies the effect of high pressures that produce elastic-plastic elephant’s foot buckling at circumferential welds in imperfect shells. Next, a step change in plate thickness is studied in Chapter 7 for imperfect butt jointed cylinders with and without the internal pressure. Chapter 8 presents an exploration of the effect of plate misalignments at a circumferential joint, as well as the full misalignment of a circumferential lap joint in bolted construction. These are investigated in both the elastic and elastic-plastic domains. The entire thesis is conceived in the context of EN 1993-1-6 (2007) and the ECCS Recommendations on Shell Buckling (2008). This research has shown significant weaknesses in both the concepts and the detailed rules of these standards. Many conditions are found where either the standard is unnecessarily conservative, or its safety margin may be too low. Thus, some new provisions are proposed for each of the above practical problems. These are expected to provide useful knowledge for the design of such structures against buckling in the future.

One of the questions which has engaged the mind and soul of many people is: how can fifteen century old teachings of Islam and its guide lines given by Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and infallible Imams (peace be upon them) can answer the needs of today and how can it lead the way of today’s people to perfection? Is the teaching of Islam compatible with science of today?The present papertries to emphasize on teachings of Islam not belonging to people of specific time period, and have static and variable laws and comprehensive view on every aspect of life. It also performs an analytic and comparative study on viewpoint of psychologists and sayings of Imam Ali's concerning the most fundamental need of humanity; Autogenesis and perfectionism. Probably it may help us answer the above questions and will also help us in manifesting some part of that infallible Imam's endless knowledge.

One of the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants in the world commissioned at Addur, Kingdom of Bahrain survived the numerous obstacles that brought down the plant's production capacity to its lowest level. The drastic production loss, ever increasing heavy chemical cleaning programs, fouling of RO membranes and subsequent replacement within a short period of commissioning mystified the desalination world and drew the attention of experts in this field. Experiments and trials were conducted to identify the problems and rectify them. Ultrafiltration membrane technology emerged as the best viable alternative and was selected to improve the quality of the feedwater thereby to restore productivity. Based on that, the rehabilitation program was implemented with major changes in the infrastructure of the pretreatment section of the plant and ultrafiltration membranes were installed and operated. Soon, it became evident that the UF needed further refinement. A number of shortfalls in the UF system affected the operation and reduced the production capacity of the plant letting the operating cost to soar high. Under ‘The Addur SWRO desalination plant rehabilitation —production improvement works’ project, a team of experts investigated the probable methods to improve the production of the plant and suggested improvements with an enhanced model of UF membranes and entirely different type of RO membranes. The trials for this project were conducted at the pilot plant level; the tests were successful and the results were hopeful. With all positive expectations, ‘the production improvement works’ would be executed soon in the coming months with the improved UF membranes and use of cellulose acetate membrane type in one RO desalination production train. This paper attempts to describe the operational and mechanical problems encountered in the plant from the commissioning period till date and analyses them in view of before and after rehabilitation and sheds light on the reasons that lead to ‘the rehabilitation — the production improvement works’. The current status of the plant also is touched upon.