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Reduced Reinforced Concrete Material Waste (RRCMW) is recognized as a major issue that must be controlled in building projects. The primary goal of the study is to demonstrate the significance of BIM in construction and the importance of BIM in reducing reinforced concrete material waste. To achieve the study's goal, a questionnaire survey is undertaken to estimate the benefit of using BIM in Egyptian building projects. According to the survey results, about 41% of respondents are believed that BIM may reduce project costs by 16% to 20% when compared to the traditional method. In addition, the proportion of variations in reinforced concrete amount survey between traditional methods (AutoCAD) and (Revit) is discovered to be 44%, with a range of 11% to 15%. Approximately 46% of respondents are believed that BIM eliminates design errors, with a percentage ranging from 21% to 25%, and about 51% are believed that BIM helps in reducing rework, with a total percentage ranging from 21% to 25%. Then, case studies of building ("Residential projects") and infrastructure ("Bridges projects") projects are analyzed to determine the difference between waste minimization using traditional methods and waste minimization using BIM. Waste management is a critical issue since it is the only approach to optimize waste throughout the project phases. As a result, factors managing (RRCMW) are extracted, and BIM software should be used to manage these factors in order to optimize waste. The relevant BIM applications are used in this case study: site utilization planning, quantity take-off, 3D coordination, visualization, digital prefabrication, design validation, "design review and clash detection," and optimized workflow and communication structure. So, based on the preceding case studies, it is discovered that using BIM is far more successful and economical than using the traditional method, because it aids in the resolution of many issues before and during construction, such as clash detection, material storage, material ordering, and so on. As a result, while BIM is not widely used in Egypt, engineers should be familiar with it because it will be a vital tool to reduce waste in the future.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are on the rise owing to excessive fat consumption or hereditary factors. From infancy through old age, it is the leading cause of disease and mortality. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is an enzyme mostly excreted by macrophages and neutrophils from atherosclerotic plaque, which subsequently circulates in the circulation. We aimed to evaluate the relation between plasma level of LP-PLA2 and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: This retrospective randomized case control study was conducted on 60 cases aged ≥ 18 years, presented by any form of CAD than ten healthy adults to determine the relation between plasma level of LP-PLA2 and severity of CAD. All cases were subjected to the following: Full history taking such as Socio-demographic study including age, sex, occupation, complain, history of illness: Including family history of CAD, history of smoking, hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM). Results: Significantly elevated LDL-C, LP-PLA2, and decreased HDL-C levels were also observed in patients with significant CAD. The HDL-C levels of individuals with CAD were significantly lower than those of healthy individuals. HDL-C levels in Control group (N=10) and CAD groups (SA=20, UA=20 and AMI=20) were 78.5, 38.95, 36.85, 32, respectively; there was highly significance relation between both group regarding HDL-C Level with (p-value=0.003). Plasma level of Lp-PLA2 was gradually elevated in parallel with the increased severity of CAD. There was highly significant difference among study groups regarding plasma level of Lp-PLA2. Lp-PLA2 plasma level in Control group (N=10) and CAD groups (SA=20, UA=20 and AMI=20) were 87.9, 216.95, 272.15, 379.95, respectively; (p-value=0.001) show gradually significant elevation. Lp-PLA2 level remained independently associated with coronary artery stenosis after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, LDL-C and HDL-C. Conclusions: An increased plasma level of Lp-PLA2 is related with an unstable phenotype of coronary atherosclerotic plaque and a greater degree of coronary artery stenosis in individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD). Dynamic Lp-PLA2 monitoring may be predictive of cardiovascular disease risk. In recent years, there has been great interest in the capacity of Lp-PLA2 to predict and evaluate the prognosis of CVDs. In addition, Lp-PLA2 has been identified as an independent risk factor for the development and progression of coronary heart disease.

The objective of the current study is to compare patients' Quality of life with myocardial infarction (MI) and angina pectoris. In a cross-sectional study, 351 people who had been diagnosed with coronary artery disease in 2021 were selected. The QoL, SF-36, and information sheet were employed in this research. Univariate and bivariate binary Logistic Regression was used to analyse the data. Preliminary results show that concerning age, the average was in the AP group and the MI group (40.5 ± 0.2), (52.6 ± 0.3), respectively. Women constituted the highest percentage (57%) in the two groups. Most of the study participants have low education (57%) and are married (92%). In the invariable logistic regression analysis, ORs were higher among patients belonging to the age group ≥ 65 in the AP (OR, 4.11; 95% CI, (2.59–4.14); P= 0.001) and the MI group (OR, 7.18; 95% CI, (5.74–8.97); P< 0.001). Patients' Quality of life suffers significantly after a cardiac attack, particularly in the early stages of recovery. While significant life improvements have been made over time, physicians working with cardiac patients face difficulty due to residual discomfort after a year's follow-up.

Dermatophytes that may affect up to 20% of the global population. Fungal contamination during tattooing is thought to be due to the presence of fungal pathogens in the tattoo needle. The study aims to detect and molecular study to Dermatophytes sp. That isolated from people with tattoos in Diyala governorate of Iraq. Across sectional study was done in the period from 1st October 2020 until 15th February 2021 in Baquba teaching hospital (Consulting clinic).The study including 100 patients (43 were male and 57 female) aged from (10-65 years old). After the preparation of samples and detection of subtilisin-like protease gene by PCR, the teqnition sent the sample that has this gene to sequencing. The results showed the frequency of fungi species as follows T.mentagrophytes formed (9.0%), T.rubrum formed(3.0%), T.nigra (3.0%), M.audouinii (3.0%), M.gypseum (3.0%), other growth (29.0%), no growth (50.0%), with highly significant(P 0.5). Depending on the housing, T. nigra, no growth, and other growth were found, it highest rates of infection were found in people living in rural areas (66.70%, 40.00%, and 44.40%) respectively. As for the people who live in the city, T. nigra, Other growth, and M.gypseum formed the highest rates of infection (100.00%, 75.90%, and 66.70%) respectively. The differences between fungal infection and habitation were not significant (p> 0.5). Depending on education level, M.gypseum, T. nigra, and M.audouinii were found, it highest rates of infection among people were those who graduated from secondary school with (66.70%). Other growth and no growth also constituted a high rate of infection among secondary school graduates, with a percentage (58.60% and 46.00%) respectively. The differences between fungal infection and education level were not significant (p> 0.5). The results of the sequence were 96.22% similar to the T. rubrum standard and record in the Gene bank of NCBI.

Wind turbines are known to be the most efficient method of green energy production, and wind turbine blades (WTBs) are known as a key component of the wind turbine system, with a major influence on the efficiency of the entire system. Wind turbine blades have a quite manual production process of composite materials, which induces various types of defects in the blade. Blades are susceptible to the damage developed by complex and irregular loading or even catastrophic collapse and are expensive to maintain. Failure or damage to wind turbine blades not only decreases the lifespan, efficiency, and fault diagnosis capability but also increases safety hazards and maintenance costs. Hence, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods providing surface and subsurface information for the blade are indispensable in the maintenance of wind turbines. Damage detection is a critical part of the inspection methods for failure prevention, maintenance planning, and the sustainability of wind turbine operation. Industry 4.0 technologies provide a framework for deploying smart inspection, one of the key requirements for sustainable wind energy production. The wind energy industry is about to undergo a significant revolution due to the integration of the physical and virtual worlds driven by Industry 4.0. This paper aims to highlight the potential of Industry 4.0 to help exploit smart inspections for sustainable wind energy production. This study is also elaborated by damage categorization and a thorough review of the state-of-the-art non-destructive techniques for surface and sub-surface inspection of wind turbine blades.

Background: Obesity and overweight are two of the main serious health risk factors worldwide. Teachers have been found to be more likely than other groups of the population to be obese or overweight. The study aimed to explore the overweight and obesity prevalence and determine their sociodemographic factors among public school teachers in a sample population in Iraqi Kurdistan. Methods: The cross-sectional study design was applied from September 15th, 2021, to April 1st, 2022. Stratified-simple random sampling technique was used to select 500 school teachers aged from 18 to 64. The current study used a questionnaire and composed of two parts: the first part; included sociodemographic characteristics, and the second part, consisted of measuring body mass index. Results: The majority (40.6%) of teachers were aged 30–39 and 64.8% of them were female, and 54.6% were primary school teachers. The combined overweight and obesity prevalence was 71.4%. The higher obesity and being overweight prevalence was found in those over the age of 30, female, married, low to moderate-income teachers, and teachers with a diploma and lower education levels. The BMI of teachers was statistically associated with age (p=0.024), gender (p≤ 0.001), marital status (p≤0.001), income (p≤ 0.001), and education level (p=0.007). Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among primary school teachers in this region. They are associated with socio-demographic characteristics

There is no doubting that contemporary technology creates new hazards, and these threats are many and significant, directly harming people's lives and threatening their stability. Because of the increased use of computers and Internet-connected cellphones in recent years, the problem of cybercrime has expanded substantially. Unquestionably, this kind of crime is now a reality that jeopardizes people's reputations and lives, therefore we must be aware of it to prevent being a victim. The exponential growth in internet connectedness is closely tied to a rise in cyberattack incidences, frequently with significant consequences. Malware is the weapon of choice for carrying out malicious intent in cyberspace, whether by exploiting pre-existing flaws or exploiting the unique properties of new technology. There is an urgent need in the cybersecurity area to develop more inventive and effective virus defense techniques. To do this, we first give an overview of the most often exploited vulnerabilities in the current hardware, software, and network layers. This follows criticism of the most recent mitigation efforts and the reasons why they may or may not be helpful. Following that, We'll talk about new attack methods for cutting-edge technologies including social networking, cloud computing, mobile technology, as well as critical infrastructure. We conclude by sharing our speculative findings on potential future research avenues.

Background & Aim: Hypertension is a leading cause of death and disability in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Despite the fact that type 2 diabetes is more common in City of Mosul-Iraq, little is known about the prevalence of hypertension and the risk factors that go along with it in people with the disease. It was therefore necessary to investigate the prevalence and related variables of hypertension in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Methods & Materials: For this study, a tertiary care diabetes clinics from November 2021 to April 2022 were surveyed. Patients with type 2 diabetes at the Al Wafa clinics of were included in the study's source population. A systematic interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS software was used to capture the data. Results: (66.7) percent of the (600) participants were women, with a mean age of 53.84 years and a range of 18 to 68 years, more than a quarter of individuals were current smokers, frequent exercisers with obesity, and more than a third were obese and centrally obese.

It was the goal of this study to examine the relationship between pregnant women's consumption of fruits, vegetables, and ultra-processed foods and their nutritional status. Analysis of data from a cohort study of pregnant women enrolled in prenatal care at a primary health care center in the urban area of Al Qyarah, Saudi Arabia Socioeconomic, obstetric, and maternal anthropometric, biochemical, and dietary data will be collected from October 2021 to January 2022. (obtained in the 1st clinical evaluation, between the 16th and 20th week of gestation, performed at the health unit). Serum concentrations of vitamin E, folic acid and beta-carotene, as well as pre-pregnancy body mass (BMI, kg/m2), were used to assess nutritional status. Anemia and vitamin A deficiency were also examined. Only 183 of the 860 pregnant women screened were found to be ineligible for the study, and 171 had subsequently dropped out. As a result, 506 pregnant women were included in the study, with 26% of them being adolescents (under the age of 20) and 44% being primigravidae. 15.4% of pregnant women had anemia, and 10.9% had vitamin A deficiency, both of which were found in the study.

Use of the Hyperbaric Bupivacaine Association (10 mg) to Different Adjuvants in Spinal Anesthesia in operation for Caesarean Section Dr.Mohammed Rhidha M. Saeed A1, Dr. Layth Naji Musa Al-Sahhaf 1, Dr. Ban Hussein Ibrahim1* 1; M.B.Ch.B., F.I.C.A, Specialist in Anesthesia and Intensive Care. AL Hakeem general hospital, Baghdad-Iraq. *corresponding author: husseinban41@gmail.com Abstract: Background: Many causes affect the cephalic diffusion of the anesthetic solution in the subarachnoid space in the brain, between which the functional alterations inherent to pregnancy, basicity, dose and concentration of the local anesthetic stand out. Objective: To evaluate the efficiency and complications or side effect of many concentrations of the mixture of both hyperbaric bupivacaine and sufentanil through the subarachnoid way in women with cesarean sections. Methods: This study included 40 patients, with ASA I and II, defer to elective caesarean section with spinal anesthesia distributed into 2 groups, this is regarding to the anesthetic solution volume used: Group I (4 mL) and Group II (3 mL). In both groups, the local anesthetic used was hyperbaric bupivacaine (10 mg/2 mL) associated with sufentanil (5 µg/1 mL). In Group I, to obtain a volume of 4 mL, 1 mL of 0.9% physiological solution was added. Results: Expectancy, highest level of sensory block, degree, and time to reversion of motor block were similar in the two groups; the duration of analgesia was extended in Group I, with a significant difference in association to Group II. Adverse effects often happened in a comparable way in the two groups. The absence of maternal cardio circulatory alterations and neonatal repercussions was recorded. Conclusion: Hyperbaric bupivacaine in a 10 mg dose associated with sufentanil in a 5 µg dose, with a volume of 4 mL, was more effective than the same association in a smaller volume (3 mL), giving better intraoperative and post-operative analgesia lacking maternal-fetal consequences. Keywords: Spinal anesthetics, hyperbaric bupivacaine, cesarean section, subarachnoid, Citation: Al-Sahhaf L.N.M, Saeed M.R.M, Ibrahim B.H. Use of the Hyperbaric Bupivacaine Association (10 mg) to Different Adjuvants in Spinal Anesthesia in operation for Caesarean Section. AJMS 2023; 9 (2): 47. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7951885

Traditional medicine is a global practice and depends on locally available natural resources and indigenous knowledge. Animals and their products have been used in the preparation of traditional remedies in various cultures since time immemorial. This study aimed to identify and document traditional medicinal sources from animals and associated indigenous knowledge in Assosa Districts, Benshangul Gumuz region, western Ethiopia, from September 2019 to July 2020 to ensure sustainable utilization of natural resources and biodiversity. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect ethnozoological information with regard to animals used for medicinal purposes, parts used, ingredients added, ailments treated, method of preparation, mode of administration, dosage and duration of treatment, and the mechanisms of knowledge transfer. A total of 38 animal species were used as medicine to treat over 35 different kinds of human diseases including anatomical, physiological, psychological, and spiritual ailments and veterinary treatment. Over 15 animal species were found to score fidelity level (FL) more than 50%, of which the skin of Crocuta crocuta used for the treatment of evil eye had the highest FL (n = 35, 92.1%), followed by the blood of Sus scrofa domestica for treatment of stomach illness (n = 32, FL∼84.2%), the milk of Equus asinus to treat cough and eye disease (n = 28, Fl∼73.7%). The study area harbors diverse medicinal animals that represent key medical alternatives for local communities. The documentation of this indigenous knowledge of animal-derived medicine and the practice helps in developing strategies for conservations of biological diversities.

Melatonin is a pleiotropic signaling molecule that reduces the adverse effects of abiotic stresses, and enhances the growth and physiological function of many plant species. Several recent studies have demonstrated the pivotal role of melatonin in plant functions, specifically its regulation of crop growth and yield. However, a comprehensive understanding of melatonin, which regulates crop growth and yield under abiotic stress conditions, is not yet available. This review focuses on the progress of research on the biosynthesis, distribution, and metabolism of melatonin, and its multiple complex functions in plants and its role in the mechanisms of metabolism regulation in plants grown under abiotic stresses. In this review, we focused on the pivotal role of melatonin in the enhancement of plant growth and regulation of crop yield, and elucidated its interactions with nitric oxide (NO) and auxin (IAA, indole-3-acetic acid) when plants are grown under various abiotic stresses. The present review revealed that the endogenousapplication of melatonin to plants, and its interactions with NO and IAA, enhanced plant growth and yield under various abiotic stresses. The interaction of melatonin with NO regulated plant morphophysiological and biochemical activities, mediated by the G protein-coupled receptor and synthesis genes. The interaction of melatonin with IAA enhanced plant growth and physiological function by increasing the levels of IAA, synthesis, and polar transport. Our aim was to provide a comprehensive review of the performance of melatonin under various abiotic stresses, and, therefore, further explicate the mechanisms that plant hormones use to regulate plant growth and yield under abiotic stresses.

Objectives To identify the potential opportunities and risks around future UK regulatory reform of medical devices. Design A mixed methods approach, comprising a rapid literature review, one-to-one, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, a multidisciplinary stakeholder workshop, and a post-workshop survey. Setting United Kingdom. Participants 32 key stakeholders across the medical device sector were identified both from the public and private sectors. Results Opportunities relating to regulatory independence were identified, including the potential to create and implement a regulatory framework that ensures availability of medical devices; innovation and investment potential; and safety to the citizens of the UK. The most significant risks identified included threats to the safety of individual patients and the wider health system arising from the delay in awaiting regulatory approval due to the shortage of approved bodies; and reduced competitiveness of UK market and device manufacturers. Recommendations were identified to mitigate risks, centred on harnessing broader cross-sector collaborations, promoting patient and public partnership, and maximizing international engagement. Conclusions The UK’s medical device sector is at a time-critical juncture to construct a regulatory framework to navigate its exit of Europe and respond to Europe's transition to new medical device regulations whilst also addressing the ongoing demand for rapid approval for new devices in response to the global pandemic. Investment, capacity-building, and international engagement will play a central role in mitigating risks and maximizing opportunities for medical device regulation.

هدَف هذا البحث إلى تقويم كتب قراءتي للصفوف الثلاثة الأولى في المرحلة الابتدائية من منظور مأثوراتي، وقد اتبعت الباحثة المنهج الوصفي، أما عينة البحث فقد تكونت من ثلاثة كتب هي: كتاب قراءتي للصف الأول وعدد صفحاته (١١٠) صفحات، وعدد موضوعاته (68) موضوعا، وكتاب قراءتي للصف الثاني وعدد صفحاته (١٢٠) صفحة، وعدد موضوعاته(43) موضوعا، وكتاب قراءتي للصف الثالث وعدد صفحاته (١٤٣) صفحة وعدد موضوعاته (٥٦) موضوعا. وصممت الباحثة قائمة فيها المأثورات الدينية والأدبية والشعبية وأنواعها، ثم عرضتها على مجموعة من الخبراء للتأكد من صدقها، وحسبت الثبات وباستعمال معادلة هولستي بطريقتين: الأولى: حللت محتوى الكتب المستهدفة، ثم اعادت تحليلها بنفسها مرة ثانية وبفارق زمني(21) يوماً وكان معامل الثبات 86%، والثانية: استعانت بخبير له الدراية في تحليل المحتوى واعطت له عينة عشوائية بنسبة50% من المادة المحللة، وكان معامل الثبات 84%، وقد استعملت الباحثة النسبة المئوية بوصفها وسيلة احصائية، ووصلت إلى نتائج عدة منها: المأثورات الأدبیة أكثر الأنواع وروداً، وتنوعاً، وقد كان ضعف الاهتمام واضحاً بالمأثورات الدینیة و المأثورات الشعبية. وفي ضوء ما أسفرت عنه نتائج الدراسة أوصت الباحثة بتوصيات عدة منها: مراعاة التوازن والشمول بين مجالات المأثورات عامة في كتب قراءتي للصفوف الثلاثة الأولى في المرحلة الابتدائية بطريقة تؤدي لتكامل المعرفة للتلامذة، وقدمت مقترحات للدراسات المستقبلية، منها: إجراء دراسة على المرحلة المتوسطة في تقويم كتب اللغة العربية وفقا لمنظور مأثوراتي.

Access control (AC) policies are a set of rules administering decisions in systems and they are increasingly used for implementing flexible and adaptive systems to control access in today’s internet services, networks, security systems, and others. The emergence of the current generation of networking environments, with digital transformation, such as the internet of things (IoT), fog computing, cloud computing, etc., with their different applications, bring out new trends, concepts, and challenges to integrate more advanced and intelligent systems in critical and heterogeneous structures. This fact, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, has prompted a greater need than ever for AC due to widespread telework and the need to access resources and data related to critical domains such as government, healthcare, industry, and others, and any successful cyber or physical attack can disrupt operations or even decline critical services to society. Moreover, various declarations have announced that the world of AC is changing fast, and the pandemic made AC feel more essential than in the past. To minimize security risks of any unauthorized access to physical and logical systems, before and during the pandemic, several AC approaches are proposed to find a common specification for security policy where AC is implemented in various dynamic and heterogeneous computing environments. Unfortunately, the proposed AC models and metamodels have limited features and are insufficient to meet the current access control requirements. In this context, we have developed a Hierarchical, Extensible, Advanced, and Dynamic (HEAD) AC metamodel with substantial features that is able to encompass the heterogeneity of AC models, overcome the existing limitations of the proposed AC metamodels, and follow the various technology progressions. In this paper, we explain the distinct design of the HEAD metamodel, starting from the metamodel development phase and reaching to the policy enforcement phase. We describe the remaining steps and how they can be employed to develop more advanced features in order to open new opportunities and answer the various challenges of technology progressions and the impact of the pandemic in the domain. As a result, we present a novel approach in five main phases: metamodel development, deriving models, generating policies, policy analysis and assessment, and policy enforcement. This approach can be employed to assist security experts and system administrators to design secure systems that comply with the organizational security policies that are related to access control.

The present study focuses on evidence of varicose veins (VV) in subjects on different parameters like occupations, gender, and smoking habits etc. in the City of Mosul, Iraq. A quantitative study was performed at Mosul Teaching Hospital between November 2019 and February 2020. Total sample size was 1052 in numbers. Subjects were mainly among different occupations like Nurses, address, Policemen, and teachers. Selected subjects were physically examined on general parameters who agreed to engage in this study. The rate of overall VV prevalence among different occupational backgrounds in the City of Mosul was found to be 200/1052 (19%). It was observed that the percentage of men (49%) and women (51%) and the mean age of the participants was (39.1+3.1). The entire study analyses the effects of various parameters like obesity (BMI), gender, age, smoking habit, and alcohol consumption etc on prevalence of VV. Additionally study also concludes that more occupational standing which has significant contributions in prevalence of VV can be prevented by sitting or walking at frequent intervals whenever is appropriate. So, by improving clinical practices the incidences of vascular diseases may be reduced.

Objective: Physical exercise has been shown to protect against a wide range of degenerative and life-threatening illnesses. Men in Mosul are more physically active than women, according to recent research. The goal of this research was to find out if the women value exercise and whether there are any obstacles in their way. Methods: The research included 400 female participants were chosen from university of Mosul, Iraq, all between the ages of 25 and 60. Physical activity-related questions were answered by women, and comments on the advantages and disadvantages of exercise were evaluated by them. Results showed that 70% of those who took part in the research did not engage in any physical activity. Physical, psychological, and social health advantages, environmental and personal obstacles, and timelessness were the perceived benefits and hurdles to exercise in order of importance. Conclusion: To some degree, the attitudes of Mosulian women toward exercising may be explained by the findings. Further research using bigger samples is required. Keywords: Women, Exercise, Health benefits

Eman Mostafa Nassef,1 Hemmat Ahmed Elabd,2 Hala Mohamed Elzomor,2 Basma Mohamed Mohamed Ali El Nagger,2 Amira Shahin Ibrahim,2 Amal Hussein Ibrahim,1 Hend Gamal Kotb,1 Donia Ahmed Hassan,3 Rasha Elsayed Mohamed Abd ElAziz,4 Eman El Sayed Mohamed3 1Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; 2Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; 3Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; 4Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, EgyptCorrespondence: Eman Mostafa Nassef, Internal medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, Tel +201098002232, Email nassef.eman@yahoo.comBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common systemic inflammatory disease. Collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) is a unique gene product able to reduce collagen deposition. The present study aimed to assess CTHRC1 level in RA patients and to uncover its relation to clinical, laboratory and radiological findings.Methods: The study included 60 adult RA patients. In addition, there were 60 control subjects who included patients with osteoarthritis (n = 20) and reactive arthritis (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 20). Serum CTHRC1 levels were assessed by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Disease activity was calculated using the Disease Activity Score (DAS28-CRP). Radiological damage was evaluated using the Simple Erosion Narrowing Score (SENS).Results: There was significantly higher serum CTHRC1 levels in RA patients when compared to OA, ReA and control groups [median (IQR): 4.66 (1.68– 11.7) versus 1.88 (1.14– 2.94), 1.55 (0.98– 3.15) and 1.14 (0.85– 1.3) mg/dL, respectively, p < 0.001]. There was significantly higher CTHRC1 levels in patients with higher disease activity [median (IQR): 2.23 (1.4– 4.73) versus 6.55 (4.66– 12.0) mg/dL, p = 0.004]. Patients with higher SENS had significantly higher CTHRC1 [median (IQR): 1.99 (1.4– 4.66) versus 9.75 (4.39– 12.63) mg/dL, p < 0.001] and DAS28 [median (IQR): 4.25 (2.9– 5.2) versus 5.4 (4.65– 5.8), p = 0.01].Conclusion: Serum CTHRC1 levels are related to disease severity and radiological affection in RA patients.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, CTHRC1

The diagnosis of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) turns out to be necessary because of their relatively high cost of operation and maintenance. Wind turbines are hard-to-access structures, and they are often located in remote areas. Therefore, a remote diagnosis (e-diagnosis) is required. This paper proposes an alternative approach for the e-diagnosis of a WECS based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and frequency analysis of the aero generator stator currents. To validate this approach, real-time hardware in the loop (HIL) is used to simulate in real-time the mathematical model of the induction generator on the OPAL-RT OP5600 platform to generate the stator currents and the rotor speed. The DWT is applied to the current signal, to generate the DWT signal, which has a huge number of points that are not supported for direct transmission by the Arduino Mega RobotDyn because of its limited sample time. The absolute values of the DWT peak points (MDWT) are sent as point’s packages form to the diagnosis station via the ESP8266 integrated Wi-Fi board of the Arduino Mega RobotDyn to monitor the SCIG states and determine the number of broken bars.

The success of machine learning (ML) techniques in the formerly difficult areas of data analysis and pattern extraction has led to their widespread incorporation into various aspects of human life. This success is due in part to the increasing computational power of computers and in part to the improved ability of ML algorithms to process large amounts of data in various forms. Despite these improvements, certain issues, such as privacy, continue to hinder the development of this field. In this context, a privacy-preserving, distributed, and collaborative machine learning technique called federated learning (FL) has emerged. The core idea of this technique is that, unlike traditional machine learning, user data is not collected on a central server. Nevertheless, models are sent to clients to be trained locally, and then only the models themselves, without associated data, are sent back to the server to combine the different locally trained models into a single global model. In this respect, the aggregation algorithms play a crucial role in the federated learning process, as they are responsible for integrating the knowledge of the participating clients, by integrating the locally trained models to train a global one. To this end, this paper explores and investigates several federated learning aggregation strategies and algorithms. At the beginning, a brief summary of federated learning is given so that the context of an aggregation algorithm within a FL system can be understood. This is followed by an explanation of aggregation strategies and a discussion of current aggregation algorithms implementations, highlighting the unique value that each brings to the knowledge. Finally, limitations and possible future directions are described to help future researchers determine the best place to begin their own investigations.

Reporting guidelines are structured tools developed using explicit methodology that specify the minimum information required by researchers when reporting a study. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) reporting guidelines that address potential sources of bias specific to studies involving AI interventions has the potential to improve the quality of AI studies, through improvements in their design and delivery, and the completeness and transparency of their reporting. With a number of guidance documents relating to AI studies emerging from different specialist societies, this Review article provides researchers with some key principles for selecting the most appropriate reporting guidelines for a study involving an AI intervention. As the main determinants of a high-quality study are contained within the methodology of the study design rather than the intervention, researchers are recommended to use reporting guidelines that are specific to the study design, and then supplement them with AI-specific guidance contained within available AI reporting guidelines.