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Background: The role of the voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) in the follow-up of children with posterior urethral valves (PUVs) post-ablation has been considered a standard practice. The urethral ratio and gradient of change have proven to be useful. Objectives: We aimed to review the role of the ‘ideal’ ratio on predicting residual PUV post-ablation. Methods: A systematic review of the PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases was performed (April 2019). The search terms included ‘Urethral Ratio and Posterior urethral valve ablation’. All cited reference lists were further evaluated for additional inclusive studies. Results: Eleven studies were identified, of which nine were relevant to the topic. Case reports, comments and adult and animal studies were excluded, leaving four studies for critical review. In total, 338 patients were assessed. The control group consisted of 167 age-matched, male children. Study regions included India and Australia. The ages ranged from 15 days to 3.4 years. Ablation methods included the use of a resectoscope with cutting diathermy, cold knife or Bugbee electrode. The mean urethral ratios in the control group ranged from 1.04 to 1.73. The suggested predictive urethral cut-off ratios recommended include 2.2 ( p = 0.001), 2.5–3 and 3.5. Conclusion: Although the precise cut-off ratio could not be clearly defined in this review, a urethral ratio less than a range of 2.2–3.5 has proven to be a beneficial predictor of ablation success and should thus be incorporated into standard VCUG reporting templates in the follow-up of PUVs in male children in resource-limited settings.

In this paper, the effect of skew angle on reinforced concrete skew bridge decks is presented by using the grillage analogy. The actual deck system of the bridge is represented by an equivalent grillage of longitudinal and transverse beams. A span 26m of simply supported bridge deck is taken as the case study to obtain the values of the bending moment' s distribution versus span length for the one type of skewness and the results are compared against the moments of the right deck span of the bridge. The analysis results were based (BS5400) dead and live loads using Structural Analysis program (SAP2000). The analysis provided useful information about the variation of moments and shear forces with respect to change in skewness. It is concluded that in skew bridge deck, the bending moment is decreased, but torsional moments and shear forces are increased by increasing the skew angle. It is noticed that the maximum bending moment at skew angle 55o, by 76% in comparison with zero skew angle. On the other hand the maximum torsional moment increases for the same skew angle (55o) more than five times than with zero skew angles.

Introduction Morphology and mechanic properties of impacted cancellous bone are affected by carrier substances which provide high local concentrations of antibiotics. Methods Bone chips were taken from the femoral head of 6–7 months old piglets. One half was thermodisinfected and the other remained native. Ten specimens each were mixed with Herafill® antibiotic pellets and a control group of each 10 specimens respectively was examined. The cancellous bone was impacted according to Exeter technique and the implants were cemented. The distribution of the particles and the pores were defined with three dimensional computertomographic scan and shear force resistance was measured until failure. Results Shear force resistance was not measured significantly less for thermodisinfected (2.7 Nm) compared with native bone (3.5 Nm) and addition of antibiotic pellets reduced shear force resistance in both groups since this was significant for the native group. The average pore volume of the native bone specimens appeared significant smaller compared to the thermodisinfected group (p = 0.011) and the pore volume showed a negative correlation with shear force resistance (p = 0.044). Pore volume around the pellets was found significantly increased and it appeared smaller for native bone. The number of pellets located next to the implant showed a negative correlation with shear force resistance (p = 0.034) and the negative correlation increased for pellets below the tip of the shaft model (p = 0.024). Conclusion Adding antibiotic pellets to native and thermodisinfected impacted cancellous bone increased pore volume since the area around the pellets showed increased porosity which correlated with reduced shear force resistance. Computertomographic three dimensional measurement of porosity might predict shear force resistance of impacted cancellous bone and improve impaction of bone grafting intraoperatively.

Introduction Good osteointegration of implants requires sufficient primary stability. Aim of this study was to examine the influence of screw fixation on the primary stability of press-fit cups. Methods Two press-fit acetabular cups were tested with regard to the influence and number of screws and their primary stability. Results For the relatively thin-walled Allofit®-S cup, an influence of the number of screws on the different forms of movement could be demonstrated. Conclusions We see a clear influence of the cup wall thickness on the elastic deformability and accordingly on the primary stability of the examined cups.

Little is known about T-cell responses during acute coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). We measured T-cell interferon gamma (IFN-{gamma}) responses to spike 1 (S1), spike 2 (S2), nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) SARS-CoV-2 antigens using the T-SPOT(R) Discovery SARS-CoV-2 assay, a proven EliSPOT technology, in 114 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients and assessed their association with clinical disease phenotype. T-SPOT(R) Discovery SARS-CoV-2 responses were detectable within 2 days of a positive PCR and did not correlate with vaccination status or symptom duration. Higher responses to S1 protein associated with a higher symptom burden, and serum IL-6 levels. Despite treatment with dexamethasone this subgroup was also at greater risk of requiring continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in the days following sampling. Higher T-cell responses measured using T-SPOT(R) Discovery SARS-CoV-2 associate with progressive disease in acute COVID-19 disease and may have utility as a prognostic biomarker that should be evaluated in larger cohorts.

Little is known about T-cell responses during acute coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). We measured T-cell interferon gamma (IFN-γ) responses to spike 1 (S1), spike 2 (S2), nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) SARS-CoV-2 antigens using the T-SPOT® Discovery SARS-CoV-2 assay, a proven EliSPOT technology, in 114 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients and assessed their association with clinical disease phenotype. T-SPOT® Discovery SARS-CoV-2 responses were detectable within 2 days of a positive PCR and did not correlate with vaccination status or symptom duration. Higher responses to S1 protein associated with a higher symptom burden, and serum IL-6 levels. Despite treatment with dexamethasone this subgroup was also at greater risk of requiring continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in the days following sampling. Higher T-cell responses measured using T-SPOT® Discovery SARS-CoV-2 associate with progressive disease in acute COVID-19 disease and may have utility as a prognostic biomarker that should be evaluated in larger cohorts.

Following surgical Achilles tendon reconstruction surgery, there is a distinct trend towards an early and faster rehabilitation protocol to avoid muscle atrophy. However, this procedure involves the risk of a higher complication rate. In order to reduce the occurrence of re-ruptures and pathological tendon extensions, a tendon reconstruction with the highest possible primary stability is desirable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if augmentation using synthetic polyester tapes (QuadsTape™) could provide greater primary stability in case of different tendon suture techniques. 90 tendons of the superficial toe flexor of pigs were divided into 9 groups. The reconstruction method was combined using the factors suture technique (Kessler and Bunnell), augmentation (non-augmented and augmented with QuadsTape™) and defect type (end-to-end and 10 mm gap). The biomechanical measurements were performed on a material testing machine and consisted of a creep test, a cyclic test and a tear-off test. This study compared creep strain, ultimate load failure, maximum stress and stiffness. Irrespective of the type of defect involved, augmentation of the tendon sutures led to a significant increase of the maximum force (not augmented: 82.30 ± 25.48 N, augmented: 135.73 ± 30.69 N, p 0.001) and the maximum stress (not augmented: 2.26 ± 0.83 MPa, augmented: 4.13 ± 1.79 MPa, p 0.001). Furthermore, there was a non-significant increase in stiffness and no significant differences were observed with respect to creep strain. Augmentation of Achilles tendon reconstruction using QuadsTape™ increases composite strength and stiffness in the in vitro model, thus potentially contributing to the feasibility of early rehabilitation programs. Biological factors still need to be investigated in order to formulate appropriate indications.

Introduction Demographic change and demand for high quality of life lead to increasing implantation numbers. Aim of this study was to compare the Plasmafit® cup to Allofit® and Plasmacup®. Methods The study included 174 patients who had received 33 Plasmacup®, 68 Allofit® and 73 Plasmafit® cup implants. These were reviewed postoperatively, after 6 months control and after 12 months. Results No significant progressive migration could be discovered in any of the cup systems. At each follow-up the cups showed nearly constant values. Conclusions All examined acetabular cups showed excellent migration behavior within the first 12 postoperative months.

The purpose of this study was to check the concept of the cementless Metha® short hip stem in order to find out whether proximal physiological load transfer can be achieved. Fourty-three patients were included. Epidemiological factors were established. The Harris Hip Score was determined and measurement of bone mass density as well as osteodensitometric and radiological measurements was carried out pre-operatively, post-operatively, and after six, 12, 24, and 36 months. Harris Hip Score improved from 55.9 ± 12.4 pre-operatively to 94.8 ± 8.2 after 36 months (p

Objectives The study aimed to assess the relationship between coffee intake, obstructive sleep apnea risk (OSA), and glycemic control among patients with diabetes mellitus. Results There were 110 patients with diabetes and 96 healthy control subjects (matched for age and sex) attending a diabetes center زinTabuk, Saudi Arabia during the period from June 2018–October 2019. Stop-Bang questionnaire was used to assess OSA risk, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale to investigate daytime sleepiness. OSA risk and daytime sleepiness were higher among patients with diabetes compared to controls (4.34 ± 1.61 vs. 2.86 ± 1.24, and 8.31 ± 4.40 vs. 6.39 ± 3.70 respectively, P 0.05). Women with diabetes were younger with short duration since the diagnosis of diabetes and consumed less coffee compared to men, P

Robust hand gesture recognition is a critical ingredient of many human-computer interaction applications. Recently, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) models have been widely applied to solve different computer vision problems. However, few researchers have applied DNNs to recognize static hand gestures. In this paper, an approach is proposed that leverages the recent progress on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and uses deep-learning-based strategy to recognize 24 hand gestures from the American Sign Language (ASL). This approach is built on recently released small CNNs architectures to leverage their high accuracy rate, maintaining small model size and the feasibility to deploy on resource constrained-devices. Here, the architectures of SqueezeNet and MobileNets for both RGB and depth images are utilized, and a late-fusion strategy to concatenate features from both RGB and depth modalities is performed. Also, an effective encoding of depth images as rendered RGB images is proposed to handle depth data with CNNs, and thus improve recognition performance. Experiments are executed on a challenging publicly available American Sign Language – Finger Spelling (ASL-FS) dataset acquired by an RGB-D camera to evaluate the proposed architecture. Results show that the proposed approach achieves higher average accuracy, outperforming all previous methods, and has great feasibility to apply the models on resource-constrained devices and embedded visual applications.

Background The resultant hip force causes a varus torque which must be compensated by a shear force couple depending on the stem alignment of the prosthesis. Since the prosthesis is substantially less flexible than the bone, the interior of the femur is stiffened over the entire prosthesis length. The present study thus aims at analyzing short-stem prostheses for its elastic bending characteristics, considering inappropriate valgus alignment of the prosthetic stem. Methods Five short stem prostheses were implanted each in synthetic femora in a standardized manner – in neutral and valgus stem alignments. Bending movements were recorded applying a tilting torque MX of ±3.5 Nm in medio-lateral direction. Variance analyses and Friedman tests were used. A P-value Findings Bending movements b1-b6 showed significant differences (P Interpretation Regarding the elastic bending behavior we see a relevant influence of the stems´ design. We conclude that the short-stem principle does not necessarily require the shortest possible prosthesis but rather a long and thin extending stem tip to optimize the lever ratios, ensuring a more physiological bending behavior of the femur. In addition, without sufficient anchoring of the prosthesis, the valgus stem alignment could favor tilting of the implant and should therefore be avoided.

Mit der steigenden Anzahl von Endoprothesentragern wird die Revision von Huftendoprothesen weiter zunehmen. Die Rekonstruktion ossarer Defekte mit allogenen Knochen ermoglicht die Wiederherstellung eines knochernen Lagers und verbessert die langfristige Verankerung und die Resultate. Eine ausreichende Primarstabilitat des gewahlten Konstrukts ist Voraussetzung fur ein gutes klinisches Ergebnis und die langfristige ossare Integration, ebenso wie ein guter Kontakt des implantierten Knochens zum Knochenlager. Die Knochentransplantation kann zu einem „Down-Grading“ eines knochernen azetabularen Defekts beitragen und die Verwendung eines groseren Stutzimplantats vermeiden. Auch bei der Rekonstruktion femoraler Defekte kann die Knochentransplantation das Knochenlager verbessern und die Implantation eines kleineren Schafts ermoglichen, allerdings sind der Indikationsstellung bei sehr ausgepragten Defektzonen Grenzen gesetzt. Aufgrund der guten langfristigen Ergebnisse der modularen Revisionsschafte hat sich das „Impaction-Bone-Grafting“ im Bereich des Schaftes nicht generell etabliert.

All-optical signal regeneration have been the active research area since last decade due to evolution of nonlinear optical signal processing. Existing all-optical signal regeneration techniques are agitated in producing low Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10−10 at below than −10 dBm power received. In this paper, a new all-optical signal regeneration technique is developed by using phase sensitive amplification and designed optical phase locked signal mechanism. The developed all-optical signal regeneration technique is tested for different 10 Gb/s Differential Phase Shift Keying degraded signals. It is determined that the designed all-optical signal regeneration technique is able to provide signal regeneration with noise mitigation for degraded signals. It is analyzed that overall, for all degraded test signals, average BER of 10−13 is achieved at received power of −14 dBm. The designed technique will be helpful to enhance the performance of existing signal regeneration systems in the presence of severe noise by providing minimum BER at low received power.

Recent research on hand detection and gesture recognition has attracted increasing interest due to its broad range of potential applications, such as human-computer interaction, sign language recognition, hand action analysis, driver hand behavior monitoring, and virtual reality. In recent years, several approaches have been proposed with the aim of developing a robust algorithm which functions in complex and cluttered environments. Although several researchers have addressed this challenging problem, a robust system is still elusive. Therefore, we propose a deep learning-based architecture to jointly detect and classify hand gestures. In the proposed architecture, the whole image is passed through a one-stage dense object detector to extract hand regions, which, in turn, pass through a lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN) for hand gesture recognition. To evaluate our approach, we conducted extensive experiments on four publicly available datasets for hand detection, including the Oxford, 5-signers, EgoHands, and Indian classical dance (ICD) datasets, along with two hand gesture datasets with different gesture vocabularies for hand gesture recognition, namely, the LaRED and TinyHands datasets. Here, experimental results demonstrate that the proposed architecture is efficient and robust. In addition, it outperforms other approaches in both the hand detection and gesture classification tasks.

Stress shielding may lead to aseptic loosening which is a common reason for implant failure. An established method to identify implants with risk of implant failure caused by aseptic loosening is to measure early migration of the stem with the “Ein Bild Roentgen Analyse” femoral component analysis (EBRA-FCA). Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the migration of a cementless short stem prosthesis via EBRA-FCA to predict the future performance. A total collective of 71 patients were treated with a cementless short hip stem prosthesis. Indications for surgery were primary coxarthrosis, dysplasia coxarthrosis or femoral head necrosis. After surgery, the patients were followed-up immediately after 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months and X-ray images for EBRA-FCA measurements were taken. Axial caudal migration as well as the varus/valgus tilting of the prosthesis was determined. Possible influencing factors like BMI, age, diagnosis, gender or Harris Hip Score (HHS) on the migration of the stem were assessed. HHS increased significantly direct postoperatively (p

The study aimed to test the impact of the use of training strategies Modern on improving the performance of employees in company's Sudanese industrial public shareholding. Implementing is it on the Kenana Sugar Company. Questionnaire was to collect data design has been distributed 73 questionnaires to different age and social groups. It has led the data analysis of a number of conclusions, which contribute the process of using modern methods in training on improving efficiency. The use of technology in the training process helps improve the performance of level training programs in line with the objectives of the company's goals. This study concluded that a number of recommendations including the need for the industrial public shareholding companies to provide more attention and support to adopt clear strategies for training As well as the need to diversify, the training programs provided to its members. , And different approaches in training, and also need to focus on the use of modern technology as the basis for the implementation of its training programs in order to improve the performance of employees in these companies, and the need for advance planning of the training process to identify training needs to improve personnel performance where levels.

Introduction and Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has emerged as a significant global health concern. Patients who had failed previous TB treatment, relapsed after treatment, contacted known MDRTB patients or defaulted during previous treatment, and HIV patients are considered to be suspected and at high risk for developing drug resistant TB specially MDR-TB. However, there is little data available on the prevalence and trends of MDR tuberculosis in national level but luck of it in Mogadishu is our main concern. Methodology: This was a crosssectional, descriptive study involving all suspected MDR TB patients attended at the Mogadishu three Tb centers. Results: A total of 138 cases of suspected MDRTB patients were included in the study. Of these, 70 patients (51%) had rifampicin resistant-TB. Of the 138 study participants, 94 (68.62%) were between 21 - 40 years old that indicates the dominance of productive age group (21 - 40 years). Previous Tuberculosis treatment has been noted to be a major risk factor for development of multidrug resistance tuberculosis. MDR-TB prevalence is significantly higher in male than female patients. Conclusion and Interpretation: The prevalence of Rifampicin resistance among these high risk groups was significant. The high association of previous TB treatment to MDR-TB might be explained due to inappropriate anti-tubercular regimens, sub-optimal drugs, inadequate or irregular drug supply, unsatisfactory patient or clinician compliance, lack of supervision of treatment and absence of infection control measures in healthcare facilities. As the prevalence of MDRTB is high and yet the cases remain un-isolated in the community we recommend the MOH/NTP and funding agencies to facilitate establishment of MDRTB management centers earlier in Mogadishu in order to treat the MDRTB case otherwise it might Amplify of the incidence of this Emerging Disease.

The purpose of this study was to examine potential differences between patients under and over 60 years who underwent a total short hip stem arthroplasty in a 24-month follow-up in a clinical setting. Sixty seven patients were included in this prospective study and divided in two groups. In the younger cohort 39 patients ≤ 59 years and in the older cohort 28 patients ≥ 60 years were included. Clinical and radiological examinations of the patients took place preoperatively, postoperatively and after 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. The Harris Hip Score (HHS) was raised as clinical examination. Changes of bone mass density (BMD), stress shielding, reactive lines, spot welds and sclerosing were examined as radiological analysis. The HHS improved from 53.6 ± 8.2 preoperative to 93.2 ± 9.6 in the younger cohort and for the older cohort from 57.6 ± 14.8 to 94.1 ± 7.6 after 24 months. BMD growth was detectable in regions of interest (ROI) 3 and 6 for both groups. Different results between the cohorts could only be detected in ROIs 4 and 5. The older cohort showed a loss of BMD of 5.95% in ROI 4 and 3.17% in ROI 5 after 24 months, whereas the younger cohort showed no loss of BMD in both ROIs. No significant differences or any influences of osseointegration and clinical outcome of the short hip stem for both groups were detectable. Lower losses (ROIs 1 and 2) and higher growths (ROIs 3, 4, 5) were discovered in younger patients and the HHS improved in both groups. Reasons for this result could be age, sex or the level of activity of the patients, but in both groups the short hip stem shows comparable results in clinical as well as in radiological examination. We conclude that the short hip stem seems to be an adequate treatment also for older patients.

Background A norovirus maintains its viability, infectivity and virulence by its ability to replicate. However, the biological mechanisms of the process remain to be explored. In this work, the NanoLuc™ Luciferase gene was used to develop a reporter-tagged replicon system to study norovirus replication. Methods The NanoLuc™ Luciferase reporter protein was engineered to be expressed as a fusion protein for MNV-1 minor capsid protein, VP2. The foot-and-mouth disease virus 2A (FMDV2A) sequence was inserted between the 3'end of the reporter gene and the VP2 start sequence to allow co-translational 'cleavage' of fusion proteins during intracellular transcript expression. Amplification of the fusion gene was performed using a series of standard and overlapping polymerase chain reactions. The resulting amplicon was then cloned into three readily available backbones of MNV-1 cDNA clones. Results Restriction enzyme analysis indicated that the NanoLucTM Luciferase gene was successfully inserted into the parental MNV-1 cDNA clone. The insertion was further confirmed by using DNA sequencing. Conclusion NanoLuc™ Luciferase-tagged MNV-1 cDNA clones were successfully engineered. Such clones can be exploited to develop robust experimental assays for in vitro assessments of viral RNA replication.

This study discussed capital budgets and their role in rationalizing investment decisions in commercial banks' branches in El Fasher town with an objective of highlighting the importance of using capital budgets rationalizing investment decisions in commercial banks' branches in the study area and explaining to what extent the working staff in the above mentioned banks aware that using capital budgets will lead to rationalizing investment decisions as well as possessing enough knowledge could be depended on to prepare and implement capital budgets on scientific bases. The Study depended on primary sources to acquire the related data using comprehensive survey method due to the limited population size which consist of the all working forces in commercial banks' branches in the study area (50) and a questionnaire was used for this purpose. The Study depended also on secondary sources such as books, sand internet to acquire additional data. Statistical methods, namely frequency tables, percentages and Chi-Square were used to manipulate the data and testing the reach hypotheses. The obtained results revealed that investment decisions consider as one of commercial banks' branches managers’ major tasks in the study area, and these branches always identify different investment alternatives then choosing the best one. Additionally, Investment diversification is considered one of fundamental banks policies in order to minimize risk associated with these investments. Chi-Square test analysis revealed that the working forces in these branches aware that the process of investment decisions is considered one of commercial banks' branches managers’ major tasks, and they aware of the importance of using the capital budgets rationalizing investment decisions tasks, additionally, thy possess enough knowledge that could be depended on to prepare and implement capital budgets on scientific bases, all at 0.05 significant level. the study recommends that it is important to support capital budgeting culture, be sure of the soundness of investment alternative chosen; building the banks' working forces capacities in fields of using capital budgets rationalizing investment, and sharing of the staff at different division and departments in the process of investment decisions.

This study discuss the issue of the knowledge economy and its role in achieving competitive advantage in the Developing Countries, by considering that organizations existence in an economy based on knowledge and how to achieve competitive advantage through what is available has a distinctive resources for this economy and how it can create this distinction effective facilitation of knowledge available in the organization .aimed to identify and define concepts related to knowledge and how to identify best techniques for the effective management of knowledge. The problem of study represented on role the knowledge economy to achieve competitive advantages and to identify reality knowledge economy to achieved advantages .• The research arrival many of results the most important knowledge considered crucial to achieve comprehensive development in today's world and represents the information and communications technology, and modern science and technology as a technology Nano technology and biotechnology and space technology and other basic tools to achieve progress through the knowledge-based economy and about the real shift towards the best use of natural and physical resources. This includes the fundamental foundation of human development and basic-based economic and social development. The recommendations of study including the importance for focusing on scientific research related to the knowledge economy. Increasing procedures sticks the spending provision for the promotion of scientific research and innovation. It should

Earthquake engineers are typically faced with the challenge of safely and economically designing structures in highly uncertain seismic environments. Yield strength demand spectra provide basic information for the seismic design of structures and take nonlinear behavior into account. The designed structures, however, must be checked for seismic performance through dynamic analysis. Design-response spectra compatible earthquake motions (DRSCEM) are commonly used for this purpose. Because DRSCEM are strongly affected by the assigned phase characteristics, in this paper, we simulate realistic earthquake motion phase based on a stochastic process that modifies fractional Brownian motion (fBm). The parameters that control this process were determined via regression equations as functions of the earthquake magnitude and epicenter distance, which were obtained through a regression analysis that was performed on data from a database of recorded ground motions. After validating the efficiency of the modeled phase spectrum, large numbers of DRSCEMs were simulated with which several ductility demand spectra were obtained. By statistically analyzing these results, a rigorous yield seismic coefficient demand spectrum is proposed.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in magnetic thin films with low coercivity is desirable for magnetic memory devices. It has been found that a (111)-oriented or textured Pt seed layer can enhance PMA and is, therefore, commonly utilized in spintronic structures. We grow (111)-oriented Pt epitaxial films via off-axis sputtering on various substrates and investigate the optimal substrate and orientation for high quality, epitaxial growth. Our results show that Pt(111) epitaxial films grow remarkably well on MgAl2O4(001) with an exceptionally narrow X-ray diffraction rocking curve. This high-quality seed layer is found to promote epitaxial growth of Pt/Co50Fe50/Pt trilayers with strong PMA comparable to many repeats of the magnetic multilayers reported previously. In addition, the Pt seed layer enhances the maximum thicknesses of Co50Fe50 that can still maintain PMA up to 1.07 nm.Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in magnetic thin films with low coercivity is desirable for magnetic memory devices. It has been found that a (111)-oriented or textured Pt seed layer can enhance PMA and is, therefore, commonly utilized in spintronic structures. We grow (111)-oriented Pt epitaxial films via off-axis sputtering on various substrates and investigate the optimal substrate and orientation for high quality, epitaxial growth. Our results show that Pt(111) epitaxial films grow remarkably well on MgAl2O4(001) with an exceptionally narrow X-ray diffraction rocking curve. This high-quality seed layer is found to promote epitaxial growth of Pt/Co50Fe50/Pt trilayers with strong PMA comparable to many repeats of the magnetic multilayers reported previously. In addition, the Pt seed layer enhances the maximum thicknesses of Co50Fe50 that can still maintain PMA up to 1.07 nm.

Aquilaria crassna (agarwood) has been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat vomiting, rheumatism, asthma, cough and inflammation. Despite the wide range of ethno-pharmacological use of agarwood, its anti-angiogenic effect has not previously been evaluated through systematic studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to prepare essential oils extracts from the stem bark of A. crassna native to Malaysia, and determine their anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic activities. Stem bark samples were extracted with 80% ethanol and hydrodistillation methods. The resulting essential oils from both extraction approaches were subjected for cytotoxic activity using four cancer cell lines and one normal cell line. Hydrodistilled essential oils displayed significant cytotoxic effect against HCT 116 cells with the lowest IC50 value calculated (28.0 ± 1.5 μg/mL). Furthermore, we have investigated the effect of hydrodistilled essential oils (active extract) on angiogenesis in vitro and ex vivo, and found that essential oils directly inhibited tube formation after plating endothelial cells on matrigel. In addition, essential oils caused significant inhibition of microvessels outgrowth of rat aortic ring assay in a dose-dependent manner (P

This research paper aims to study the impact of electronic banking services on customer satisfaction at Sudanese banks. Questionnaires were designed by the researchers. Data and information have been collected and analyzed from the internet users in the Sudanese banks clients. The study found that there are statistical significant differences of electronic services provided by the Sudanese banks on customer satisfaction. The study attempted to explain the various means of electronic banking services which might lead to the customer satisfaction.This paper showed that the banking services over the internet has a positive impact on customer satisfaction. This study recommended that the bank management should focus on spreading the knowledge of the electronic banking services to the customers. This study emphasized the importance of the electronic banking services and recommended that the bank management should spread the technological awareness among current and prospective customers, and develop suitable infrastructure for electronic banking services in the Sudanese banking sector.

Acute transverse myelitis is the leading cause of non-compressive myelopathy, linking the clinical presentation with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may aid in proper stratification of patients improving management, we aimed to study the correlation between the clinical presentation of acute transverse myelitis with MRI findings. This cohort, hospital-based study conducted at Alshaab Teaching Hospital, Sudan among patients with acute transverse myelitis, Participants signed a written informed consent then the clinical presentation was recorded and followed including symmetry and extent of the lesion, site of lesion, sensory involvement. Correlation between various clinical presentations and MRI findings was done. The ethical committee of Alshaab Teaching Hospital approved the research, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for data analysis. Out of 100 patients infections was observed in 25%, and autoimmunity in 8%, involvement of more than three segments of the spinal cord was commoner among patients with symmetrical and complete presentation, no significant difference was evident between patients with symmetrical and complete presentation, compared to partial asymmetrical presentation regarding the site of spinal cord involvement on MRI. Complete and symmetrical presentation are commonly associated with more than three segments involvement of the spinal cord, no significant difference was found between complete symmetrical presentation and partial asymmetrical presentation regarding the site of involvement on MRI.

Two-dimensional crystals are an important class of materials for novel physics, chemistry, and engineering. Germanane (GeH), the germanium-based analogue of graphane (CH), is of particular interest due to its direct band gap and spin-orbit coupling. Here, we report the successful co-deposition growth of CaGe2 films on Ge(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and their subsequent conversion to germanane by immersion in hydrochloric acid. We find that the growth of CaGe2 occurs within an adsorption-limited growth regime, which ensures stoichiometry of the film. We utilize in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) to explore the growth temperature window and find the best RHEED patterns at 750 {\deg}C. Finally, the CaGe2 films are immersed in hydrochloric acid to convert the films to germanane. Auger electron spectroscopy of the resulting film indicates the removal of Ca and RHEED patterns indicate a single-crystal film with in-plane orientation dictated by the underlying Ge(111) substrate. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the resulting films are indeed germanane. Ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that the grain size of the germanane is on the order of a few micrometers, being primarily limited by terraces induced by the miscut of the Ge substrate. Thus, optimization of the substrate could lead to the long-term goal of large area germanane films., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures

This research examined the Household food security of the internally displaced persons in Abou Shock IDPs Camp, North Darfur State – Western Sudan. Data were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from a total 140 of respondents who were selected using multi-stage, stratified sampling technique. Secondary data were obtained from published materials like journals, books and other relevant materials. Data were analyzed using a set of statistical tools such as percentage and frequency tables. Additionally, the Chi-Square technique was used to test whether there is a significant difference or not with respect to be food secured or non-secured and the following socio- demographic and economic variables relating to household head: sex, marital status, family size the educational level, food relief received by household, the number of IDP household members earning money and the number of domestic animals the IDP household owned. The results achieved revealed that %47.8 of the IDP households consumed less than adequate food. Further, the IDPs household food security status in the study area was determined by food relief received by household; the family size; the household ownership of domestic animals, and the number of household members earning money. Accordingly, to increase food consumption at the IDPs households, emphasis must be placed on creating employment opportunities that will increase the number of paid workers among its members, enabling them to possess small domestic animals such as goats, sheep, and poultry either through revolving fund or direct free of charge support.

Background: Gender differences among patients with the acute coronary syndrome is still being debated, no research has been done on gender inequality among coronary syndrome patients in Sudan. Objectives: To study gender differences in presentation, management, and outcomes of acute coronary syndrome in Sudan. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive longitudinal study was conducted in Omdurman Teaching Hospital between July 2014 and August 2015. Patients were invited to sign a written informed consent form, were interviewed and examined by a physician, and then followed during their hospital stay. Information collected includes coronary risk factors, vital signs, echocardiography findings, arrhythmias, heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and death. The Ethical Committee of Omdurman Teaching Hospital approved the research. Results: A total of 197 consecutive acute coronary syndrome patients were included, 43.1% were females. A significant statistical difference was evident between males and females regarding the type of acute coronary syndrome, its presentation, and time of presentation to the hospital, smoking, and receipt of thrombolysis (P < 0.05). No differences were found with regard to age, hypertension, diabetes, family history of myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, and in-hospital acute coronary complications (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Women were less likely to receive thrombolytic therapy, present with chest pain, and diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. No gender differences were found in acute coronary syndrome risk factors apart from smoking, which was more common in males, and there were no differences between males and females as regards in-hospital complications.

Background Closing-wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) is successful for the treatment of medial osteoarthritis with varus malalignment. Preoperative risk factors for HTO failure are still controversial. The aim of this study was to elucidate the outcome and assess the influence of risk factors on long term HTO survival. Methods 199 patients were retrospectively studied with a mean follow-up period of 9.6 years after HTO. HTO failure was defined as the need for conversion to TKA. Survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. Knee function was evaluated by the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score. HTO-associated complications were also assessed. Univariate, multivariate, and logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the influence of age, gender, BMI, preoperative Kellgren-Lawrence osteoarthritis grade, and varus angle on HTO failure. Results 39 complications were recorded. Thus far, 36 HTOs were converted to TKA. The survival of HTO was 84% after 9.6 years. Knee function was considered excellent or good in 64% of patients. A significant preoperative risk factor for HTO failure was osteoarthritis, Kellgren-Lawrence grade >2. Conclusion HTO provides good clinical results in long-term follow-up. Preoperative osteoarthritis Kellgren-Lawrence grade >2 is a significant predictive risk factor for HTO failure. Results of HTO may be improved by careful patient selection. Complications associated with HTO should not be underestimated.

Introduction Silicone injection is a common procedure in cosmetic surgery. Granuloma formation and migration are the most commonly observed complications. Case presentation We report an unusual case of avascular necrosis of the hip in a 41-year-old woman from Thailand presenting with hip pain. Subcutaneous nodules were observed in the clinical examination. A pelvic X-ray revealed necrosis of the right femoral head and histological analysis of the punctuated nodules showed a reaction of foreign body granulomas. During surgical treatment with a hip replacement solitary silicone cysts were removed. Conclusions This case report emphasizes that orthopedic surgeons treating patients with necrosis of the hip joint in combination with palpable granulomas in the gluteal region have to be aware of silicone augmentation and its potential complications before planning a hip replacement.