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Objectives Kidney diseases are considered silent killers due to the lack of well-defined symptoms. Public knowledge about chronic kidney disease (CKD) management has been shown to decrease the risk of CKD onset and progression to end-stage renal disease and renal failure. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of kidney function, CKD symptoms, etiology, prevention and treatment in the general population.Methods A cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire was conducted in Jordan to assess public knowledge of CKD. Public knowledge of CKD was assessed using a questionnaire consisting of 32 knowledge questions, including risk factors, symptoms, treatment, protective measures and kidney function. The knowledge level was classified according to the total score: poor (0–50%), intermediate (51–70%) and good/high (71–100%). Multiple regression analysis was performed to compare knowledge scores (KS) and predict associations with the participants’ baseline characteristics.Results The level of knowledge about CKD among the 2181 participants was intermediate. The KS was significantly higher among participants with health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and heart problems, first-degree relatives working in the medical field, majors relevant to health, married, employed, highly educated, high-income and smokers. The main sources of knowledge about CKD were health professionals, TV shows, books and magazines. Multiple regression analysis showed an association between KS and age, sex, functional status, educational level and field, income, smoking status, having a family member/spouse work in the medical field, and knowledge source.Conclusions The public level of knowledge about CKD management is greatly influenced by participants’ health and social factors. Thus, improving public knowledge and perception through education and the media will significantly reduce CKD prevalence and incidence.

The comparison between natural and synthetic composites based on molybdate for the sorption and separation of Gd(III) from Eu(III) and Y(III) was studied. Calcium magnesium molybdate (CaMgMo) and dolomite molybdate (dolomite-Mo) composites have been prepared using the co-precipitation technique and characterised using different analytical tools such as XRD, ATR, SEM, TGA and DTA. The sorption studies applied on Gd(III), Eu(III) and Y(III) by batch technique include the effect of shaking time and pH on sorption efficiency. The data reveal that CaMgMo has higher sorption efficiency than the dolomite-Mo composite at all times and pH values. The distribution coefficients at different pHs have order: Gd(III)>>Eu(III)>Y(III) on both prepared composites. The saturation capacity of two prepared composites towards studied cations has sequence order; Gd(III) >> Eu(III) > Y(III). Reaction kinetics obeys the pseudo-2nd-order model. Binary and tertiary systems data confirm that the CaMgMo composite has high separation factors for Gd(III) at different pHs. The real sample applications prove that CaMgMo and dolomite-Mo are excellent composites for the capture of Gd(III) and Y(III) from high-grade monazite (HGM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sorption of certain lanthanides from aqueous solutions is the focus of this work using antimony oxide (Sb2O5) sorbent. Sb2O5 sorbent was prepared using the precipitation technique, and it has been described using several analytical methods such as Fourier-transformed infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The sorption data were collected on Y(III), Ce(III), and Gd(III) including the effects of pH, shaking time, initial metal concentrations, and temperature. The results revealed that saturation capacity has values of (30.6, 27.5, and 24.1 mg/g) for Y(III), Ce(III), and Gd(III), respectively. The sorption of the studied cations is dependent on pH. The reaction kinetics obeyed the pseudo-2nd-order model, and thermodynamics was endothermic and spontaneous. Sorption isotherms are more relevant to a Langmuir isotherm, whose monolayer capacity values are 27.9, 23.2, and 19.8 mg/g for Y(III), Ce(III), and Gd(III), respectively. The real sample applications illustrate the superiority of antimony oxide sorbent in the removal of Y(III), Ce(III), and Gd(III) from high-grade monazite (HGM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examined reducing the hazardous effects of Sr(II) and Co(II) using a sodium-based purolite C100 cation exchange adsorbent. The sorption behaviour of Sr(II) and Co(II), including the impact of time, pH, initial concentrations, and temperature. The results reveal that purolite C100 has a fast equilibrium time and follows pseudo-2nd-order kinetics. The saturation capacity has high values of 190.5 and 182.1 mg g−1 for Sr(II) and Co(II), respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model is more applicable than other isotherm models. Negative Gibbs energy values demonstrated the excellent feasibility and spontaneity of the sorption process. Positive enthalpy readings indicate that this process was endothermic. Positive entropy values demonstrated that the disorder between the solid and liquid phases was enhanced during adsorption. Desorption of Sr(II) and Co(II) from the loaded purolite C100 was done by KCl (99.2%) and CaCl2 (99.3%), respectively. The recycling results indicated that the purolite C100 should be reused for repeated sorption-desorption regeneration cycles up to 14 cycles, with a low reduction in the uptake percentage. The excellent recycling results reveal the applicability of the purolite C100 to be used as an effective cation exchange adsorbent for the sorption of Sr(II) and Co(II) from aqueous media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the foremost vegetable crops in Iraq and worldwide. Faba bean has also become a traditional food in different parts of the world, with cultivations mainly for their proteinrich pods. Faba beans sustain several fungal pathogen infections, which lead to considerable yield losses. Among these, the leaf spot disease is more prominent and considerably impacts the quality and quantity of faba bean production. In Iraq, the leaf spot disease has emerged as a significant problem in bean fields caused by several pathogens. In the presented work, sizable efforts focused on isolating and identifying fungal pathogens of the leaf spot disease in faba beans at the Basrah Governorate, Iraq. The study might also be the first report on the fungal species Exserohilum rostratum as a true pathogen of faba bean leaf spot disease in Iraq. The morphological and molecular diagnoses identified the pathogen by applying the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene. Searching the sequenced PCR products used the NCBI-BLAST website. The results proved a 99% similarity to the known fungus E. rostratum, with an eventual submission to NCBI under the gene accession number LC769969. The pathogenicity experiment materialized following Koch's hypotheses to confirm the causative agent. The presented findings revealed the potential pathogenicity of this microbe on the aerial parts of the faba bean (V. faba L.) for the first time in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemistry of 3-acetylquinoline has attracted increased attention in both synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry. The present review summarizes the published data on the synthesis of 3-acetylquinoline derivatives and their reactions, including reactions involving and not involving the acetyl group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of MRI as a sustainable diagnostic modality, global accessibility to its services has revealed a wide discrepancy between populations—leaving most of the population in LMICs without access to this important imaging modality. Several factors lead to the scarcity of MRI in LMICs; for example, inadequate infrastructure and the absence of a dedicated workforce are key factors in the scarcity observed. RAD‐AID has contributed to the advancement of radiology globally by collaborating with our partners to make radiology more accessible for medically underserved communities. However, progress is slow and further investment is needed to ensure improved global access to MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The insurance industry has undergone significant transformations due to the rapid advancement of information technology (IT); This paper explores the multifaceted impact of IT on the insurance sector, covering various aspects such as customer experience, operational efficiency, risk assessment, and data security. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and industry trends, this paper highlights the ways in which IT has revolutionized insurance processes and business models. " Additionally, this paper delves into the paradigm shift brought about by Insurtech startups, which leverage the convergence of IT and insurance to offer innovative solutions like peer-to-peer insurance and usage-based coverage. These startups are reshaping industry dynamics and compelling traditional insurers to adopt digital innovations to remain competitive. Furthermore, the regulatory landscape and compliance considerations arising from technological disruption are explored. The challenges of navigating data privacy compliance and the collaborative efforts between regulators and industry players in shaping technological policies are discussed. Ethical considerations related to IT-driven insurance are also examined, emphasizing the importance of maintaining transparency, fairness, and accountability in decision-making. Ultimately, this research paper underscores the pivotal role of IT in shaping the insurance industry's future, As technology continues to evolve, insurers that strategically integrate IT tools are better positioned to provide innovative, customer-centric solutions while enhancing operational efficiency, risk assessment accuracy, and data security, By embracing IT-driven transformations, insurers can navigate challenges, tap into opportunities, and maintain a competitive edge in the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of the insurance sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Basrah Journal of Science / Magallat Al-Barat Li-L-ulum is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Inducing puberty in hypogonadal patients enables achieving normal final adult height and healthy bone mass accrual and improves fertility potential. Reliable availability and access to medicines remain a challenge around the world, particularly in low-income countries.Aim: We aimed to describe the availability/access to medications used for inducing and maintaining puberty in centers within the Arab region.Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a link to an online questionnaire, which was emailed to paediatric endocrinologists in the Arab region. The questionnaire consisted of three questions related to the availability of various forms of sex hormones.Results: 99 physicians from 16 countries participated in the study. The commonest available form of estrogen was conjugated estrogen (29% of centers), followed by ethinylestradiol (26%). Depot estradiol was available in 11 centers, while topical estrogen preparations of gel and patches were available in 6 and 10 centers, respectively. Medroxy progesterone was available in 26% of the centers, followed by norethisterone (24%). The combined forms of oral and transdermal patches of estrogen/progesterone were available in 35% and 9% of centers, respectively. Intramuscular testosterone (Sustanon) was the most commonly available preparation of testosterone, followed by the depot injection (Nebido), oral testosterone, and testosterone gel and cream.Conclusions: We report the first available data on medications used for puberty induction and maintenance in paediatric hypogonadism in the Arab region. Recommended preparations for this purpose are not widely available. Creating an essential list of medications used in paediatric endocrinology disorders might improve availability, access, and consequently practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the dayside of August 25–26, 2018 (main phase, MP of the storm), we unveiled the storm time effects on the latitudinal distribution of ionospheric total electron content (TEC). We used 17 and 19 Global Positioning System receivers in American and Asian‐Australian sectors, respectively. Also, we employed a pair of magnetometers in each sector to unveil storm time effects on vertical E × B upward directed inferred drift velocity in the F region ionosphere. Also used is NASA Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite airglow instrument to investigate storm time changes in neutral composition, O/N2 ratio. In this investigation, we corrected the latitudinal offset found in the works of Younas et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA027981). Interestingly, we observed that a double‐humped increase (DHI) seen at a middle latitude station (MGUE, ∼22°S) after the MP on the dayside in American sector (Younas et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA027981) did straddle ∼23.58°N and ∼22°S. On August 25, 2018, storm commencement was evident in Sym‐H (∼−8 nT) around 18:00 UT. It later became intensified (∼−174 nT) on August 26 around 08:00 UT. During storm's MP (after the MP), fountain effect operation was significantly enhanced (inhibited) in Asian‐Australian (American) sector. Middle latitude TEC during MP got reduced in American sector (13:00 LT–15:40 LT) compared to those seen in Asian‐Australian sector (13:00 LT–15:40 LT). The northern equatorial peak (∼25 TECU) seen at IHYO (14:00 LT) after MP in the American sector is higher when compared with that (∼21 TECU) seen at PPPC (11:40 LT) during MP in Asian‐Australian sector. Plain Language Summary: The double‐humped increase (DHI) that was reported at a single location in a middle latitude (Younas et al. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA027981) did straddle the American middle, low and equatorial ionosphere. We suspected that a surge in an ongoing storm‐time equatorward neutral wind that was proportional to UcosI around 17:00 UT–18:00 UT is responsible for the DHI after the main phase. A clear longitudinal difference in ionization production and chemical loss at all latitudes between the American and Asian‐Australian sector was observed Key Points: A double‐humped increase that have been reported at middle latitude station on the dayside of the main phase in American sector straddled ∼23.580°N and ∼220°SFountain effect operation in the low latitudes was significantly enhanced in Asian‐Australian sectorFountain effect operation in the low latitudes was inhibited in American sector [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data stored in the cloud are susceptible to an array of threats from hackers. This is because threats, hackers and unauthorized access are not supported by the cloud service providers as implied. This study improves user privacy in the cloud system, using privacy with non-trusted provider (PNTP) on software and platform as a service model. The subscribers encrypt the data using user's personal Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) symmetric key algorithm and send the encrypted data to the storage pool of the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) via a secure socket layer. The AES performs a second encryption on the data sent to the cloud and generates for the subscriber a key that will be used for decryption of previously stored data. The encryption and decryption keys are managed by the key server and have been hardcoded into the PNTP system. The model was simulated using the Stanford University multimedia dataset and benchmarked with a Privacy with Trusted cloud Provider (PTP) model using encryption time, decryption time and efficiency (brute force hacking) as parameters. Results showed that it took a longer time to access the user files in PNTP than in the PTP system. The brute force hacking took a longer time (almost double) to access data stored on the PNTP system. This will give subscribers a high level of control over their data and increase the adoption of cloud computing by businesses and organizations with highly sensitive information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present work aims to investigate the influence of CO2 laser spot welding (LSW) parameters on welding profile and mechanical properties of lap joint of AISI 321 thin sheet metals, and analyze the welding profile numerically by finite element (FE) method. Design/methodology/approach: The weld carried out using 150 W CO2 continues wave laser system. The impact of exposure time and laser power on the welding profile was investigated using an optical microscope. Microhardness and tensile strength tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the joint. Ansys software was utilized to simulate the welding profile numerically. Findings: The results revealed that 2 s exposure time and 50 W power have led to uniform welding profile and highest shear force (340 N), lower hardness gradient across the heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ). Finite element (FE) analysis of the welding profile showed good agreement with experimental analysis. Research limitations/implications: The selection of laser spot welding parameters for thin sheet metal was critical due to the probability of metal vaporisation with extra heat input during welding. Practical implications: Laser welding of AISI 321 steel is used in multiple industrial sectors such as power plants, petroleum refinement stations, pharmaceutical industry, and households. Thus, selecting the best welding parameters ensures high-quality joint. Originality/value: The use of CO2 laser in continuous wave (CW) mode instead of pulse mode for spot welding of thin sheet metal of AISI 321 austenitic stainless steel consider a real challenge because of the difficulty of control the heat input via proper selection of the welding parameters in order to not burn the processed target. Besides, the maintenance is easier and operation cost is lower in continuous CO2 than pulse mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to assess microstructures and mechanical properties of annealed and un-annealed Al-Li alloys (AA8090) and provide valid information regarding influence of anisotropy on tensile properties, fatigue lives. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology included investigating the influence of annealing on grain size, tensile strength and fatigue lives of AA8090. Optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were utilized to analyse the crystallographic texture. Findings: The results showed that the un-annealed alloy exhibited much finer grain structure in three directions, namely longitudinal (L) rolling direction, L-45° and Long transverse (LT) combined with stronger crystallographic texture. Regarding to mechanical properties, un-annealed alloy presented superior tensile strength with strong anisotropic behaviour. L and LT grains direction showed highest tensile strength value of 550 MPa and L-45° showed lowest tensile strength value of 420 MPa. Results of fatigue test revealed that annealed Al-Li alloy has lower fatigue lives with high influence of test direction on fatigue properties. Higher variation in fatigue life to failure links with un-annealed alloy over annealed alloy. Examination of fractured surface showed that the morphology of fractured surface is a mixture of ductile and brittle fractures in both annealed and un-annealed alloys with more brittle behaviour in un-annealed alloy. Research limitations/implications: The main challenge of this work is the determination of the test direction (test angle in respect to rolling direction), which is necessary to provide correct information regarding mechanical properties. Further study of low cycle fatigue can be done in future, which will be an excellent indication to mechanical properties of this alloy since it provides more understanding to the behaviour of the material and better comprehend crack propagation and strain stress concentration. Practical implications: AA8090 alloy is an important candidate for aerospace and aircraft industries. Influence of annealing heat treatment and rolling direction on mechanical properties of AA8090 alloy provides more accurate information to the manufacturers who deal with this alloy. Originality/value: This study is affording a significant information regarding the effect of annealing and anisotropic behaviour on mechanical properties of AA8090. To our knowledge, there are few reports that study this combination of factors on AA8090 alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nanocrystalline thin films of PbS with both thickness (400 and 600)nm have been prepared successfully by chemical bath deposition technique on glass and Si substrates. The structure and morphology of these films were studied by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope. It shows that the structure is polycrystalline and the average crystallite size has been measured. The optical parameters of the prepared films as absorption, transmittance, reflectance, optical energy gap, and absorption coefficient were found as affected by varying the thickness. The optical measurement showed that (PbS) films have an allowed direct energy gap (Eg) and that decreases with thickness increasing. The photoconductive measurement gives the positive photoconductive for PbS thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dermatophytes, which are the common causative agents of superficial infection on the human skin called dermatophytosis that can be treated by various antifungal drugs. Nanoparticles composed of such drugs have many benefits. A new form called xerogel of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) was prepared and tested against dermatophytes. Methods: Xerogel consists of Ag-NPs and ZnO-NPs was prepared. Characteristics of chemical composition, surface morphology, and nanoparticle size were determined. Antidermatophytic action of prepared xerogel was investigated against Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton verrucosum. Results: The new preparation exhibited satisfactory character of xerogel nanoparticles. Trichophyton mentagrophytes showed more susceptibility to xerogel with lower minimum inhibitory concentration than T. verrucosum. Conclusions: Xerogel nanoparticles composed of Ag and ZnO were successfully prepared. They had antidermatophytic action in specific concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]