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Introduction: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare type of thyroid cancer and the main treatment is surgery. The extent of surgery depends on the spread of tumour and often involves thyroidectomy and neck dissection. Recurrent or metastasis tumour can be detected with raising calcitoninand there are various options of treatment. Methods: This was a retrospective study of MTC over seven years in a tertiary cancer centre which evaluated the treatment outcome and the non-surgical options available in recurrent and metastatic tumours. Results: Among the 601 thyroid cancers, 34 patients (5.3%) were MTC, of which 29 were studied. Majority were women, below 60 years, were diagnosed with fine needle aspiration cytology of thyroid nodule or nodes and had raised calcitonin value (Ctn). The value of Ctn was correlated with tumour burden rather than extent (p=0.7). Recurrence was seen in 35% and all patients with locoregional recurrence had curative surgery whereas metastatic patients were offered palliative treatment. Acceptance of palliative treatment was less due to financial burden. The five year overall survival for nonmetastatic disease was 89.4 % and for patients with metastatic disease at presentation was 54.7 %. Conclusion: The incidence of medullary thyroid carcinoma is low compared to the differentiated thyroid carcinoma. The main treatment is surgery and other treatment options are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission and prevalence of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) are affected by a variety of natural and socio-economic environmental factors. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the non-stationary and spatially varying associations between various environmental factors and HFMD risk. We collected HFMD surveillance cases and a series of relevant environmental data from 2013 to 2021 in Xi'an, Northwest China. By controlling the spatial and temporal mixture effects of HFMD, we constructed a Bayesian spatiotemporal mapping model and characterized the impacts of different driving factors into global linear, non-stationary and spatially varying effects. The results showed that the impact of meteorological conditions on HFMD risk varies in both type and magnitude above certain thresholds (temperature: 30 °C, precipitation: 70 mm, solar radiation: 13000 kJ/m2, pressure: 945 hPa, humidity: 69%). Air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2) showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with the risk of HFMD, while other air pollutants (O3, SO2) showed nonlinear fluctuations. Moreover, the driving effect of increasing temperature on HFMD was significant in the 3-year period, while the inhibitory effect of increasing precipitation appeared evident in the 5-year period. In addition, the proportion of urban/suburban/rural area had a strong influence on HFMD, indicating that the incidence of HFMD firstly increased and then decreased during the rapid urbanization process. The influence of population density on HFMD was not only limited by spatial location, but also varied between high and low intervals. Higher road density inhibited the risk of HFMD, but higher night light index promoted the occurrence of HFMD. Our findings further demonstrated that both ecological and socioeconomic environmental factors can pose multiple driving effects on increasing the spatiotemporal risk of HFMD, which is of great significance for effectively responding to the changes in HFMD epidemic outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case report describes a novel and unique combination of both electromagnetic and electrohydraulic focused extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) and extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy (EMTT) for accelerated healing in a calcaneus epiphyseal fracture with delayed healing in an adolescent Parkour athlete. After a 2.5m jump, the 14-year-old experienced significant heel pain, however avoided telling his parents. After eight weeks, the initial imaging using ultra low dose weight-bearing cone beam CT (WBCT) revealed a calcaneus non-union situation adjacent to the open calcaneal physis. To improve and accelerate bony healing substantially, we chose to apply both combined focused electromagnetic (Storz Ultra, Storz Medical AG, Tägerwillen, CH) and focused electrohydraulic (MTS, Konstanz, Germany) ESWT in a fractioned fashion plus EMTT (Storz Magnetolith, Tägerwillen, CH) in five consecutive weekly sessions while allowing the patient to fully weight bear. The follow-up WBCT after six weeks revealed a near to total healing of the delayed union and being pain-free. Notably, combination therapy with focused ESWT and EMTT did not result in early closure of the calcaneal epiphysis. We conclude that combined focused electromagnetic and electrohydraulic ESWT and EMTT facilitate bony healing in adolescent calcaneal apophyseal fractures without any adverse effects on the open physis. Evidence level IV (case report). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background LIBRETTO-001 is an ongoing, global, open-label, phase I/II study of selpercatinib in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. We report interim patient-reported outcomes in patients with RET fusion–positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods Patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 3.0 at baseline (cycle 1, day 1), approximately every other 28-day cycle until cycle 13, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Data were evaluated through cycle 13 as few patients had reached later time points. A change of ≥10 points from baseline in domain scores was considered clinically meaningful. Results Among 253 selpercatinib-treated patients, 239 were categorized into subgroups by prior therapy: treatment-naïve (n = 39), one prior line of therapy (n = 64), or two or more prior lines of therapy (n = 136). The QLQ-C30 was completed by >85% of patients at each time point. Most patients overall and in each subgroup maintained or improved in all health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains during treatment. The percentage of patients who experienced clinically meaningful improvements ranged from 61.1% to 66.7% for global health status, 33.3% to 61.1% for dyspnea, and 46.2% to 63.0% for pain. The 61.1% of patients with improved dyspnea had two or more prior lines of therapy; median time to first improvement was 3.4 months. At the first postbaseline evaluation (cycle 3), 45.9% of all patients reported a ≥10-point reduction in pain. Conclusion In this interim analysis, the majority of patients with RET fusion–positive NSCLC remained stable or improved on all QLQ-C30 subscales at each study visit, demonstrating favorable HRQoL as measured by the QLQ-C30 during treatment with selpercatinib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumour M2‐pyruvate kinase (TUM2‐PK) is up‐regulated in many human cancers. This study was to evaluate the clinical value of serum TUM2‐PK in early‐stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. A total of 162 consecutive early‐stage NSCLC patients were enrolled and followed up after tumour resection. Serum TUM2‐PK level was detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in NSCLC patients, 50 benign pulmonary disease patients and 102 healthy controls. The TUM2‐PK level in NSCLC patients was higher than that of healthy controls (P <.001) and benign pulmonary disease patients (P <.001). A threshold of 30 U/mL could be used to diagnose early‐stage NSCLC with 71.6% sensitivity and 98.0% specificity. The 5‐year overall survival rate in patients with high TUM2‐PK level was lower than that of patients with low TUM2‐PK level (P =.009). Multivariable Cox regression showed that high TUM2‐PK level was an independent risk factor for overall survival (HR = 2.595, 95% CI: 1.231‐5.474, P =.012). High serum TUM2‐PK level could be a potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of early‐stage NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to study potential energy and vibrational frequencies of a non-linear molecule (C522) using semi-experimental and MNDO-PM3 method, the geometric space shape for molecule was calculated through the initial and final matrix which includes the bonds lengths and the angle between bonds, surface angles and the charge of each atom in the molecules and from the curve of potential energy for molecule and depending on the change of the bond length (C15—C6) (C2—O3) (C15—F18) (C13—N12) (C14—H29) (C6═C1) (C2═O23) of the molecules versus the energy values obtained, and the total energy for molecules at equilibrium state was (-3915.10178 eV) and at equilibrium distance for each bond (1.53 Aͦ), (1.37 Aͦ), (1.35 Aͦ), (1.48 Aͦ), (1.10 Aͦ), (1.34 Aͦ) and (1.21 Aͦ) respectively and from the potential energy curve, the dissociation energies were calculated for each bond are (5.69258 eV), (2.45383 eV), (5.90738 eV), (4.41122 eV), (7.53398 eV), (7.56607 eV) and (8.41981 eV) respectively. In addition, the energy values of the molecular orbitals are calculated including highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) and the energy gap for molecular (Egap) was equal to (7.38 eV). The vibrational frequencies of the molecule were also calculated when the vibrational frequencies for molecule at equilibrium state of vibration and the basic vibration modes were equal to 90 vibration mode.

Polar response particles have been at the center of lively debates in the recent and not so recent literature. One of these debates concerns the syntax of these particles, in particular whether they are pure sentential proforms or involve ellipsis. This paper examines the syntax of the French polar response particles oui, non, and si in embedded contexts. On the basis of these particles’ sensitivity to finiteness, obviation, and antilogophoricity in embedded clauses, it argues that they are better analyzed as remnants of ellipsis.

Abstract Upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding is a common emergency and life threatening condition. During the last three decades, many factors have been evolved that might change the incidence, age of presentation, site of bleeding and the outcome of patients with non variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding. This study aimed to assess the profile and the mode of presentation of the patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding and to assess the etiology and the effect of different factors (demographic, mode of presentation and the treatment options) on the patient's outcome. This observational prospective study was carried out from May 2008 to October 2014 in Basrah Teaching Hospital. All adult patients who were presented with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding were included. All the demographic, clinical and treatment modalities in addition to the mortality rate and complications data were collected and analyzed. A total of 238 patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding were included in this study, 161 (67.6 %) patients were males and 77 (32.3 %) were females. The mean age was 50.62±17.06. Hematemesis was the commonest presentation in 125 (52.5%) followed by melena in 81 (34.03%). Duodenal ulcer was the commonest cause in 99 (41.59%) patients followed by erosive gastritis in 37 (15.5%) patients. The most common treatment modality was the medical treatment used in 186 (78.15%) patients which was successful in 179 (96.23%) with relatively low complications and rebleeding rates. Interventional endoscopy was used for 40 (16.8%) and was successful in 38 (95%) with 2 (5%) patients developed rebleeding. Surgery was done for 12 (5.04%) patients and was successful in 8(66.6%) and it was associated with highest rate of mortality (33.3%). Concerning the factors that might affect the outcome, there was a statistically significant effect of mode of treatment (odd ratio 6.42, p=0.03) and smoking (odd ratio 5.86, p=0.047) on the rate of development of complications. The mode of treatment had a statistically significant effect on mortality rate (odd ratio 20.24 p=0.001). The use of aspirin and/or NSAID affects significantly the rebleeding rate (odd ratio 7.4 p=0.025). In conclusion, the profile of our patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding was not greatly different from that of surrounding Middle East countries. We found that peptic ulcer disease was the commonest cause for which medical treatment was the most successful mode of treatment. Among many known risk factors, the mode of treatment and smoking were the factors that increase the complication rate. The mode of treatment was the only factor that affects the mortality rate. Use of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs influenced the rebleeding rate.

Background Y chromosome deletions (YCDs) in azoospermia factor (AZF) region are associated with ab- normal spermatogenesis and may lead to azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. Assisted reproductive tech- nologies (ART) by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and testicular sperm extraction (TESE) are com- monly required for infertility management of patients carrying YCDs. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of YCDs, to find the most frequent variant in infertile men candidate for ART and to compare YCD distribution with a control fertile group. The semen parameters, hormonal profiles and ART outcomes of the infertile group were studied. Materials and Methods This case-control study consisted of 97 oligozoospermic or non-obstructive azoospermic (NOA) infertile men, who had undergone ART, as the case group and 100 fertile men as the control group. DNA samples were extracted from blood samples taken from all 197 participants and YCDs were identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of eight known sequence-tagged sites. The chi-square test was used to compare the mean values of hormone and sperm parameters between the two groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results No YCD was detected in the control group. However, 20 out of 97 (20.6%) infertile men had a YCD. AZFc, AZFbc and AZFabc deletions were detected in 15 (75%), four (20%) and one (5%) YCD-positive patients. No fer- tilization or clinical pregnancy was seen following ICSI in this sub-group with YCD. The mean level of FSH was significantly higher in the group with YCD (28.45 ± 22.2 vs. 4.8 ± 3.17 and 10.83 ± 7.23 in YCD-negative patients with and without clinical pregnancy respectively). Conclusion YCD is frequent among NOA men and YCD screening before ART and patient counseling is thus strongly recommended.

In this paper we study the stability of one non-linear autoregressive model with hyperbolic triangle function polynomial with hyperbolic tangent function (singular point and it's stability conditions and the stability of the limit cycle) by using the local linearization approximation method and we apply this theory results by using some of examples to explain that.

In this paper, we have discussed and investigated two nonlinear extended PR-CG method which use function and gradient values. The two new methods involve the standard CG-methods and have the sufficient descent and globally convergence properties under certain conditions. We have got some important numerical results by comparing the new method with Wu and Chen PRCG-(2010) method in this field.

Background: One of the most important goals of physical education teachers and sport trainers is to increase the amount of learning and performance of motor skills of students and athletes in the shortest time, with the lowest cost and energy, and the highest level of motor skills learning. Therefore, teachers and sport coaches should use the best methods to learn and practice for better results. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of motivational self-talk on the performance and learning of skills of throwing a tennis ball from the top of the shoulders with the use of the non-dominant hand in 10-year old male students. Methods: For this purpose, 40 male students (average age of 10. 17 ± 0.51) volunteered to participate in this study as the research sample and were randomly divided to 2 groups of 20 (motivational self-talk group and control group). In the acquisition phase, the subjects were trained continuously during 5 sessions for 5 days (6 blocks of 10 attempts per session) and on the next day, they performed a retention test with 10 attempts. To illustrate the difference between groups, independent samples t-test was used, while one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the scores of each group at each phase of study. Results: The results of the statistical methods showed that both groups improved at the acquisition stage and there was a significant difference between the groups at the acquisition stage (P < 0.001). In other words, results were in favor of the motivational self-talk group (P < 0.001). In the retention phase, there was a significant difference between the 2 groups, and this advantage was in favor of the motivational self-talk group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In general, it is suggested for sports teachers and trainers to use motivational self-talk for improvement of various skills.

Distribution of non-timber forest products in an environment submitted to strong anthropogenic pressures in the periphery of the Classified Forest of Haut-Sassandra (Central-West Côte d'Ivoire). The population of the Classified Forest Haut-Sassandra (FCHS) regularly uses Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) for several purposes. Unfortunately, the degradation of natural ecosystems observed in recent decades in and around the FCHS following the different crises experienced by Ivory-Coast has modified the availability of certain NTFP. For a sustainable exploitation of these NTFP, this study evaluates the ecological and human factors which could affect the distribution of six NTFP deemed to have priority around the FCHS. To achieve this aim, investigations and field surveys were conducted in 11 villages along the FCHS. In order to see the links between the different factors identified, a multiple factor analysis was carried out and then supplemented by tests of frequency analysis. The results indicate that Ricinodendron heudelotii, Irvingia gabonensis, Entandrophragma angolense and Milicia excelsa occur in all types of environment and at various distances from the villages. One species, Neuropeltis acuminata is forest-dependent and Laccosperma secundiflorum occurs exclusively in the shallows. The latter two species are likely to disappear from the village territory due to the intensification of anthropogenic activities observed in recent decades in the area.

Caries development is associated with shifts in the oral biofilm microbiota and primarily linked to frequent simple carbohydrate consumption. Different nutritional ingredients can either promote or prevent caries development. To investigate their effect on the oral biofilm microbiota in situ, eleven study participants underwent 3- month-long dietary phases with regular diet (PI), additional frequent sucrose (PII), milk and yoghurt (PIII) and rich in dietary fiber (PIV) intake, then returning to their regular diet (PV). Oral biofilm was sampled and analyzed applying 16S rRNA Illumina Miseq sequencing. Additionally, the effect on the enamel was analyzed measuring enamel surface roughness with laser-scanning microscopy. The beta-diversity results showed that the microbiota in all the following phases differed significantly from PI and that the microbial community in PII was significantly different from all other phases. The abundance of the genus Streptococcus fluctuated over the course of the five phases with a significant increase in PII (p=0.01), decreasing in PIII and PIV (PIII and PIV vs. PII: p<0.00001) and increasing again towards PV. Other taxa showed varying fluctuations of their abundances, in PV returning approximately to the levels of PI. In conclusion, while elevated sucrose consumption favoured caries-promoting non-mutans streptococci, frequent milk and yoghurt intake caused a significant decrease in the abundance of these microbial taxa and in addition reduced enamel surface roughness. These results indicate that modulations of the oral biofilm microbiota can be attained even in adults through dietary changes and corresponding recommendations can be made for the prevention of caries development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-stress test is the most widely used test to assess fetal status. The presence of beat-to-beat variability is reassuring while its absence is not reassuring. Methods: In this single-blind clinical trial, 213 pregnant women with gestational age of 37 - 41 weeks were randomly allocated into three groups (auditory intervention for mother, auditory intervention for fetus, and control), each containing 71 subjects. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD test and Kruskal-Wallis test. In addition, paired t-test was used to compare each group before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed a significant difference among the three groups regarding beat-to-beat variability of fetal heart rate in the second 10 minutes of the test (P = 0.006). Besides, the results of Tukey HSD test indicated that this difference was significant between the control group and auditory intervention for mother group (P = 0.004). Moreover, the results of t-test showed a significant difference in beat-to-beat variability of fetal heart rate between the first and the second 10 minutes of the test in both groups of auditory intervention for mother (P < 0.001) and for fetus (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Since beat-to-beat variability of the fetal heart rate is indicator of fetal health, music intervention can be used to increase the number of accelerations and reduce false positive results in NST.

There have been several attempts to optimise fluid flow manifolds; these, however, have shown are limited and further investigation into the efficiency of these systems is needed. This work focuses on improving the distribution manifolds efficacy in outflow division, i.e. attaining the same flow rate per each exit port of the manifold. Water has been selected to be the working fluid. A numerical investigation utilising CFD (by ANSYS Fluent R16.2) analysis into two-dimensional, incompressible, and turbulent flow has been carried out to resolve the flow manifold problem using two turbulence modelling, Standard k-ε and RNG k-ε, approaches. Four values of flow rate have been considered, which are specified by the Reynolds numbers 101×103, 202×103, 303×103, and 404×103. These values correspond to the fluid inlet velocities 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m/s, respectively. The manifold configuration is defined by the given area ratio (total cross-sectional area for laterals /header cross-sectional area). Three values of area ratio are considered; these are 0.703125, 0.84375, and 0.984375. The results indicate that the flow uniformity has a reverse proportional relationship with the fluid flow rate and area ratio for all manifold arrangements. However, there is no significant effect of the flow rate increase on flow mal-distribution. Also, the use of RNG k-ε model has shown higher values of the non-uniformity coefficient than those obtained by the Standard k-ε model. The outcomes of this analysis have been compared with experimental data and a good agreement among them has been found.

Abrar A Abdul-Salam*, Jasim M Salman@ & Salam N Asfar# *MB, ChB, FICMS Anesthesiology, Al-Sadir Teaching Hospital, Basrah. @MB, ChB, DA, FICMS, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Basrah College of Medicine. #MB, ChB, MSc, Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Basrah, College of Medicine, Basrah, IRAQ. Abstract From the time when succinylcholine(scoline) introduced to clinical anesthesia, intravenous route of administration of the drug has been broadly practiced. Severe bradycardia and arrhythmias may from time to time produced by single or frequent doses. The mechanism of bradycardia caused by succinylcholine administration has not been completely explained, it has been found that succinylcholine produce a unpredictable effects on the sinoatrial node. In our hospital , a second dose of succinylcholine is usually used for short surgical procedures that required good relaxation like anorectal surgery and orthopedic manipulation under anesthesia. This study aimed to discuss the conditions under which bradycardia appear during general anesthesia with oxygen, propofol, scoline, halothane, along with the use of second dose of scoline and assess the need for atropine to prevent this effect. Fifty patients aged between 20-50 years of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I were included in this study, anesthesia was induced with propofol, scoline, along with oxygen halothane mixture, then 2nd dose of scoline was given 10 minutes later. Frequent pulse rate were recorded. There was considerable decrease in pulse rate of the patients after the 2nd dose of succinylcholine, 36% of the patients developed bradycardia (pulse rate below 60), and the mean reduction in pulse rate was (23±13 beats/min). However there is no need for the use of atropine since all of the patients return to normal rates (60-100 beats/min) within 1 minute spontaneously. Conclusion: It has been found that the use of scoline in one dose produce decrease in pulse rate but not reach to the bradycardia level, while the uses of another dose will result in significant reduction in pulse rate that can reach to the level of bradycardia. All patients return to normal level of pulse rate within 1 minute, therefore, there is no need to use atropine neither preoperatively nor after developing of bradycardia since it's a self limiting phenomenon.

IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF STEM CELL MARKERS CD44, CD166 AND ALDH1A1 IN NON-NEOPLASTIC POLYPS OF THE COLON IN SAMPLE OF IRAQI PATIENTS Nawal M Abdullah*, Mustafa M Ibraheem@ & Basim Sh Ahmed# *MB,ChB, MSc, Assist. Prof., Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Basrah. @MB,ChB, MSc, PhD, Assist. Prof., Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Al-Mustansiryah. #MB,ChB, FICMS, Assist. Prof. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Al-Mustansiryah, IRAQ. Abstract The aim of this retrospective study on tissue specimens of benign colorectal polyps is to evaluate the significance of IHC markers CD44, CD 166 and ALDH1A1 expression in non-neoplastic (Juvenile and Hamartomatous) polyps and their association with different clinicopathological parameters & to compare their expression in benign polyps with that of normal colonic tissue . Seventy cases enrolled in the study including benign polyps (juvenile & hamartomous polyps) & benign looking colonic tissue obtained from archive of histopathology unit in Gastroenterology and Hepatology hospital in Baghdad Medical City and histopathology unit in Al-Sadder Teaching Hospital in Basrah city for the period Sept. 2015 to Dec. 2016. Four micrometer sections were obtained from formalin fixed paraffin-embedded blocks treated IHC with CD44, CD166 and ALDH1A1 tumor markers. Majority of polyps were juvenile, no difference regarding gender distribution. The common location was rectum/rectosigmoidal region. CD166, CD44 and ALDH1A1 showed high expression regarding age, gender and location in benign tumors when compared with healthy looking tissue. In conclusion, colorectal polyps are critical clinical entity and many of them are a precursors to malignant diseases so colonoscopy is essential screening test, polypectomy and follow up is mandatory for patients with colorectal polyps even if they are benign.

Recently the subject of energy-efficient is very important in cognitive radio (CR), especially during spectrum sensing, since the large energy consumption (EC) cost, produces a restriction in their implementation especially in devices with limited power, i.e battery. In these design, energy detector consumes a significant part of energy during spectrum sensing to detect the activity of the primary user (PU). In this paper, we investigated a method for improving EC in two scenarios: non-cooperative and cooperative. The idea behind the improvement is based on sensing the spectrum with low-density samples. The optimization concept for reducing EC through controlling the number of frequency samples to be sensed is illustrated as well as the probability of detection in both scenarios. To evaluate the proposed method a comparison is made between the proposed method and censoring method. The performance of energy detection system is evaluated in AWGN and Rayleigh fading channels. The simulation results show that in non-cooperative scenario at Eb/No equal 10 dB, and for sensing ratio equal 50%, EC decreases by 50% and 46% with sma loss in of detection probability of 5% in AWGN channel and 12% in Rayleigh channel. In cooperative scenario, the results show that as the number of cognitive users (CU) increased the average EC per user decreased with an improvement in probability of detection. In case of sensing ratio 50%, the EC is decreased by 43.6% as compared with censoring method.

The aim of this paper is to design a proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivative neural (NFOPIDN) controller by modifying and improving the performance of fractional order PID (FOPID) controller through employing the theory of neural network with cognitive optimization techniques for the differential - drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system in order to follow a pre-defined trajectory. In this paper a cognitive bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA) has been utilized to find and tune the parameters of the proposed (NFOPIDN) controller and then find the optimal torque control signals for the differential - drive WMR. The simulation results show that the proposed controller can give excellent performance in terms of compared with other works (minimized tracking error for Ranunculoid-curve trajectory, smoothness of torque control signals obtained without saturation state and no sharp spikes action as well as minimum number of memory units needed for the structure of the proposed NFOPIDN controller).

The objective of this study is to analyse the efficiency of non-profit sports clubs and identify the perceptions of their directors with regards to the stakeholders that exert the greatest influence over club efficiency levels. In order to analyse the efficiency of these clubs, we made recourse to the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. We also applied the Mann-Whitney test, to identify whether there are significant differences between efficient and non-efficient clubs with regards to the influence held by their stakeholders. We thus report that the majority of clubs operate efficiently. Both the efficient and the non-efficient clubs classify the club managers, members, sponsors, fans and athletes as the most important stakeholders to their efficiency levels. The results convey how there are no significant differences among the management team perceptions on the role of stakeholders in attaining club efficiency. The study also details the respective procedures that inefficient clubs should adopt in order to approximate the efficiency frontier.

The editor of an Arabic translation from the Greek sometimes encounters difficulties when the original is no longer extant and the translator has failed to understand certain passages fully. This is the case with geographical or astronomical terms in Galen's commentary on Hippocrates' Airs, waters and places. Here the astronomer Ptolemy is explained as being "the king of Egypt", and the translator himself is to be blamed for the faux pas, not a later copyist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this potential – study, the non – thermal atmospheric pressure plasma is utilized for the neutral – eradication of water contaminants. In the air ambient region, plasma induced reactive species, like as O H • , O (O 2 −), H 2 O 2 ( O H • + O H •) & NO x are performed for the oxidative and reductive transformation of A s I I I (H 3 AsO 3) to A s V (H 2 As O 4 −) & Fe 3 O 4 ( F e 3 + ) (C-GIO) to Fe 2 O 3 ( F e 2 + ). Whereas, the H 2 O 2 & NO x are quantified maximum (max.) in water, which is 144.24 & 111.82 μM, respectively. In the absence of plasma and plasma with C-GIO, the A s I I I was more eradicated, which is 64.01 and 100.00%. While, the C – GIO (catalyst) synergistic enhancement was performed and proved by the neutral – degradation of CR. Also, the A s V adsorbed on C-GIO adsorption capacity q max and redox-adsorption yield were evaluated, which are 1.36 mg/g and 20.80 g/kWh, respectively. In this research, the waste material (GIO) was recycled, modified, and utilized for the neutral – eradication of water contaminates, which are organic (CR) and inorganic ( A s I I I ) toxicants by the controlling of H and O H • under the interaction of plasma with catalyst (C-GIO). However, in this research, plasma can't adopt the acidic, which is controlled by the C-GIO via RONS. Moreover, in this eradicative study, various water pH alignments were performed, from neutral to acidic & neutral & base for toxicants removal. Furthermore, according to WHO norms, the arsenic level was reduced to 0.01 mg/l for environmental safety. The kinetic and isotherm studies were followed by the mono and multi-layer adsorption was performed on the surface of C – GIO beads, which is estimated by the fitting of rate limiting constant R2 ≈ 1. Furthermore, the C-GIO was examined several characterizations alignments, such as crystal, surface, functional, elemental composition, retention time, mass spectrum, and elemental oriented properties. Overall, the suggested hybrid system is an eco-friendly pathway for the natural – eradication of contaminants, such as organic and inorganic compounds via waste material (GIO) recycling, modification, oxidation, reduction, adsorption, degradation, and neutralization phenomenon. [Display omitted] • Developed hybrid system for neutral-eradication of pollutants by cold-plasma jet. • In water, plasma cannot adopt acidic behavior its controlled by catalyst (C-GIO). • Potential redox studies, As(III) to As(V) and Fe3+ to Fe2+ were investigated. • Catalyst (C-GIO) synergistically proved the CR degradation when compared to plasma. • Waste material recycled, and reduced As(III) (WHO) with potentially for eco-safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In quality control assume that the distribution of their process output is normal. The definition and estimation of (pci) indices are usually based on the assumption that the production process under normal distribution. But, in most practical cases this assumption is not valid and the distribution of the quality characteristics may follow non-normal distributions such as Weibull ,Lognormal , and Exponential distribution). One can see the difference between the non-normal process capability indices and the normal process capability indices by overlooking its theoretical distributions .This paper provides a decision on how to calculate the process capability indices for normal and find process capability indices another step transformation data by (Box – Cox( and Johnson transformation and comparison between two methods.

This paper presents a comparison between two nonlinear PID controllers, the first is the Neural based controller and the second is the nonlinear fractional order PID controller (FOPID) for a trajectory tracking control of a non-holonomic two wheeled mobile robots (2-WMR). A modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) has been proposed in this work to tune the parameters of the nonlinear FOPID controller to design the controller so that the 2-WMR follows exactly a predefined continuous track. The kinematic model of a differential drive 2-WMR has been derived to simulate the behavior of the 2-WMR and it is used in the design and simulations of the proposed FOPID controller. From simulation and results, it can be seen that the efficiency of the proposed nonlinear FOPID controller outperforms the nonlinear integer order PID controller; this is proved by the minimized tracking error and the speed control signals obtained.

The goal of this paper is to design a proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivativeneural (NFOPIDN) controller by modifying and improving the performance of fractional order PID (FOPID) controller through employing the theory of neural network with optimization techniquesfor the differential wheeled mobile robotmulti-input multi-output (MIMO) systemin order to follow a desired trajectory. The simplicity and the ability of fast tuning are important features of the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) attracted us to use it to find and tune the proposed non-linear fractional order proportional-integral-derivative neural controller’s parameters and then find the best velocity control signals for the wheeled mobile robot. The simulation results show that the proposed controller can give excellent performance in terms of compared with other works (minimized mean square error equal to 0.131 for Eight-shaped trajectory and equal to 0.619 for Lissajous- curve trajectory as well as minimum number of memory units needed for the structure of the proposed NFOPIDN controller (M=2 for Eight-shaped trajectory and M=4 for Lissajous- curve trajectory) with smoothness of linear velocity signals obtained between (0 to 0.5) m/sec.

في هذا البحث, استخدمنا طريقة الثلمة التكعيبية غير متعددة الحدود لحل منظومة مكونة من معادلتين فولتيرا التكاملية غير الخطية من النوع الثاني وقد استخدمنا برنامج matlab14 لحل النظام. وأخيرا، قدمنا العديد من الأمثلة التوضيحية لإظهار فعالية ودقة هذه الطريقة.

Non-farm activities have been generally considered as important strategy for overcoming credit constraints faced by rural households as well as for reducing poverty through income effect. This paper employs binary probit and average treatment effect to estimate the impact of participation in non-farm activities on adoption of improved cassava and beans varieties in South-Kivu, DR Congo. Results showed on one hand that the participation rate in non-farm activities in South-Kivu was 38% and 52.1% respectively for crafts and small businesses. On the other hand, the rate of adoption of new cassava and beans varieties were 14 and 28% respectively. Factors affecting the adoption rate were gender, education, household size, the presence of non-farm activities, household assets in terms of livestock owned, market access and access to the information on new technologies. These results demonstrate the tendency of rural households to include the practice of non-farm activities among their strategies for survival and diversify their sources of income or supplement farm income. Results of this study indicate a positive relationship between engagement of rural households in non-farm activities and their propensity to adopt improved varieties. There is still a huge gap between potential adoption rate and actual rate of adoption for cassava and beans improved varieties in the study area. Therefore, actors involved in the development of the agricultural sector have to be aware of the importance of these factors even when they are working for the promotion of purely agricultural activities.

Although still neglected in legal writings, the 2014 agreement on illicit drugs between the FARC and the Colombian Government deserves attention for a number of reasons, including that it was conceived as an essential part of the broader strategy for peace in Colombia, as well as because of its aim of eradicating illicit crops. Starting with some remarks on the Colombian ‘drug war’ and the policy and legal arguments for classifying the Colombian armed conflict as a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), the paper will then proceed with an analysis of the main reasons behind the drafting of a partial agreement on illicit drugs between the FARC and Colombia in 2014. Next, the paper will address the relevant sections and enforcement mechanisms for putting the provisions of the agreement into effect. An assessment of how the 2014 agreement has addressed the issue of drug trafficking and the issues concerning drug related crimes will also be considered. The paper will conclude with the lessons to be drawn from the new Agreement on illicit drugs.

Drought stress impact photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, and may reduce the overall production capacity of plants. Since exogenous application of salicylic acid (SA) can partially alleviatebe increased the negative effects tolerance of drought stress by improve the metabolism pathways and increase the net photosynthesison plant photosynthesis and metabolism, the main objective of this study was to clarify the roles of SA in enhancing 28 days tobacco (Nicotiana rustica Basmas) tolerance to drought stress (50% FC). The results indicated that foliar application of SA (0.5 mM) influenced negatively net CO2 assimilation rate and stomatal conductance and led to reduction of shoot and root dry masses. In contrast, the stress did not reduce significantly the maximal quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII). This that can be explained by enhancement of efficiency for dissipation of excess photon energy in the PSII antenna, determined as non-photochemical quenching, and consequently further protection of PSII from photodamage. Thus, under more drought stress, the reduction of photosynthesis of tobacco plants was due mainly to reduction of stomatal conductance. Under water-deficient conditions, plants showed an increase in chlorophyll a and amino acids concentrations in the leaves when treated with SA while this change for net photosynthesis was negligible. Our results indicated showed that the foliar application of SA had no ameliorative effect on tobacco growth under drought stress, because its effect on elevation of transpiration rate did not increase net photosynthesis under drought condition.

The main goal of this study is to report experimental evidence about the accumulative fatigue damage behavior of CK35 steel alloy at room temperature and zero main stress (R = -1) . A non-linear accumulative damage model based on static and dynamic deflection is proposed, considering the loading sequence into account and the constant S-Ncurve. Satisfactory predictions of cumulative fatigue life have been observed when applying the proposed model to the two block loading sequence. Comparison between LDR and proposed model has been made. It was found that LDR can underestimate the fatigue damage and the proposed model showed good agreement with the experimental results. A non-linear damage model seems to be a proper choice for predicting the cumulative fatigue two block loading histories.

Desertification is recognized as the land degrada - tion in arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid zones, as a result from multiple anthropogenic impacts such as unsustainable natural resources management and land-use. In this context, the plant cover displays a crucial role due its capacity of soil protection against both terrestrial runoff and high rates of rain infiltration. In Brazil, the desertification has reached mainly the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest ( STDF ) biome, natively known as Caatinga, in which the major drivers are related to the historical severe deforestation and livestock expansion. In face of this alarming scenario, there is no or few information about direct effects driven by desertifica - tion, particularly those related to the floristic composition of affected areas or affected potentially areas. Herein, the aim was to assess the desertification effects on vegetation composition within three sites in the Brazilian semiarid zone. In order to ensure unbiased comparisons, the three sampling sites presented similar topographical, pedological and climate conditions, localized at distinctive municipality from Paraíba State, Northeastern region, Brazil. In each site, two contrasting situations were sampled, - desertified and non-desertified environments. These environments were previously selected though satellite images, using the NDVI technique, for identification of vegetation biomass level. In field, the floristic composition was surveyed by transect method, covering a patch of 50m x 4m delimitated with me - tric tape. In these perimeters, it was identified the specie and botanical family of each plant, richness (S) and abundance (N) of tree with DBH ≥ 10 cm. Posteriorly, it was calculated the Shannon’s diversity (H’) and Piellou ́s evenness (J’) by Primer software (open access). Non-parametric univariate (U test) and multivariate (nMDS) analysis were performed to verify differences in the vegetational variables (S, N, H’ and J’) and to demonstrate dissimilarities patterns (relative abundance) for the contrasting environments, respectively. In total, twenty-six plant species were identified, belonging to thirteen families. Of this set, seventeen species (65%) were exclusive of non-desertified areas and only two species were exclusive of desertified areas. U test showed that the both richness and diversity of plants species differed signi - ficantly between the two analyzed environments. Using a subset of 10 species most common in two environments, the nMDS discriminated three groups of plants: i) species asso - ciated to non-desertified areas ( Anadenanthera columbrina, Bauhinia cheilantha and Tabebuia impetiginosa ), ii) species related to desertified areas ( Aspidosperma pyrifolium, Jatropha molissima, Mimosa tenuiflora and Pilosocereus gouneleii ) and iii) species with high density in both environments ( Croton sonderianus, Piptadenia stipulacea e Poincianella pyrami - dalis ). Dominant species in the non-desertified areas are restricted to the environments better preserved of Caatinga, which cannot to support strong degradation condition, whereas the species most common in the desertified areas are recognized as pioneer for the biome. Occurring to the two environments, such species harbors high capacity of settlement to the either impacted or preserved environments coupled to a strong resistance and resilience to disturbance (e.g. log and burn). Finally, the results obtained pointed out that the desertification triggered pervasive changes on the vegetational components (richness and diversity) and floristic composition of the Caatinga biome, suggesting also that human-induced disturbances were determinants to the establishment of the different environments.

Three different formulae of oil-in-water emulsions were made. The ratios of the oil phases used were 20, 25 and 30 % whereas two surfactants were used in different proportions and their ratios were fixed at 5 % concentration. The obtained results revealed that the prepared emulsions were compounded only with surfactants blends at hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values equal to 9.65, 10.72 and 11.79, respectively. Emulsions prepared at hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values equal to 5.37, 6.44, 7.51, 8.58, 12.86 and 13.93 were rejected. The results revealed that the identification of the most stable emulsion assign optimum surfactants blend and right oil phase concentration, which equal to 25 %. Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values of the optimum surfactant blend, which is equal to 10.185 represents the actual intrinsic hydrophilic-lipophilic balance value of emulsions under examination. This method was verified for validity and reproducibility by applying it for three complex formulae of oil-in-water emulsions contain active constituents. The obtained results revealed that the prepared emulsions were compounded at the same hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values that were previously mentioned. Optimum surfactants blend, right oil phase concentration and actual intrinsic hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of the complex formulae were assigned. These results confirm validity and reproducibility of the method. The results also indicated that the emulsion prepared with different concentrations of oil phases has the same calculated hydrophilic-lipophilic balance value, which is equal to 9.236. The calculated hydrophilic-lipophilic balance was not affected by concentration of the oil phase and the emulsion with optimum surfactants blend was the one exhibited highest measured conductivity value at room temperature, which were 59.4 and 51.1 and 68.80 μS/cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]