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With increasing energy prices, nuclear energy concerns, climate changes, and electrical grid losses, the demand to rely on more renewable energy is growing. The majority of people currently prefer to live and work in smart environments, such as smart cities and smart institutions with an integrated smart microgrid. Energy management is a complex topic because a large amount of these smart microgrid systems rely on hybrid energy sources. As a result, a smart energy management controller needs to be created. The current research provides a new energy management control technique for a smart DC-microgrid based on a combined fuzzy logic controller (FLC) and high order sliding mode (HSMC) methods. The hybrid energy provider integrated into the DC-microgrid is made up of a battery bank, wind energy, photovoltaic (PV) energy, and tidal energy source. The new proposed intelligent control is intended to regulate source-side converters (SSCs) in order to capture the maximum energy from hybrid renewable energy sources (wind, tidal and PV) while also improving power quality in the DC-microgrid. To keep the microgrid as cost-effective as feasible, renewable energy sources are prioritized. The suggested controller offers a steady output power and sustained service. From the present simulation results under Matlab/Simulink and the comparative analysis, the proposed controller produces +1.02% wind power, +10% PV power, +100% tidal power, and +8.48% load power over intelligent fractional-order proportional–integral–derivative (PID) and more when compared to the super twisting fractional-order and PID controls. In addition, the suggested controller assures smooth output power and uninterrupted service.

Fernandoa adenophylla (Wall. ex G. Don) Steenis is traditionally used to cure various diseases and can be included as an ingredient in massage oils, which are supposed to comfort muscular tension and pain. This study was designed to assess the antinociceptive, muscle relaxant, and molecular docking properties of a novel compound, namely, (5aR,5a1R,6R,7aS,14bR,15R)15-hydroxy-7a-methyl-6-(2-methylprop-1-en-1-yl)-7,7a,14b,15-tetrahydro-5H-t-5a,15methanobenzo[g]benzo[5,6]azuleno[1,8-bc]chromene-5,9,14,16(5a1H,6H)- tetraone (peshawaraquinone), isolated from the methanolic extract of F. adenophylla in an animal model. The chemical structure of the isolated compound was elucidated using advanced spectroscopic techniques and further confirmed by XRD analysis. Compound 1 was tested against hot plate-induced noxious stimuli at various doses (2.5, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg i.p.). The muscle relaxation potency of compound 1 was evaluated in the inclined and traction test, while the open-field test was used for the determination of sedative potential. The isolated compound was also subjected to acute toxicity analysis. The compound was then subjected to molecular docking analysis to determine the exact mechanism of action. Compound 1 demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) analgesic effect in a dose-dependent manner. A noticeable muscle relaxant effect was observed with the passage of time in both experimental models. The compound 1 showed a significant (p < 0.05) sedative effect, and in an acute toxicity study, the compound 1 was devoid of any noxious effects. The docking studies showed preferential affinity for μ-opioid and GABAA receptors. Hence, the prospective antinociceptive and muscle relaxant and sedative properties are probably mediated through these two target interactions.

Global environmental changes, nuclear power risks, losses in the electricity grid, and rising energy costs are increasing the desire to rely on more renewable energy for electricity generation. Recently, most people prefer to live and work in smart places like smart cities and smart universities which integrating smart grid systems. The large part of these smart grid systems is based on hybrid energy sources which make the energy management a challenging task. Thus, the design of an intelligent energy management controller is required. The present paper proposes an intelligent energy management controller based on combined fuzzy logic and fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative (FO-PID) controller methods for a smart DC-microgrid. The hybrid energy sources integrated into the DC-microgrid are constituted by a battery bank, wind energy, and photovoltaic (PV) energy source. The source-side converters (SSCs) are controller by the new intelligent fractional order PID strategy to extract the maximum power from the renewable energy sources (wind and PV) and improve the power quality supplied to the DC-microgrid. To make the microgrid as cost-effective, the (wind and PV) energy sources are prioritized. The proposed controller ensures smooth output power and service continuity. Simulation results of the proposed control schema under Matlab/Simulink are presented and compared with the super twisting fractional-order controller.

This paper designs an intelligent energy management control for a stand alone smart DC- micro-grid using super twisting fractional order method. Based on mathematical model of the micro-grid, controllers are derived for the source side converters such as photovoltaic (PV),wind, AC grid and battery management system, and load side converters. Based on the available measured input and consumed output power, an intelligent energy management algorithm decides the appropriate mode of operation for the source and load side converters controller. All DC loads connected to the micro-grid are treated as essential loads and no load shedding can be allowed by the energy management unit. The energy management unit prioritizes the renewable energy sources (PV and wind) in order to make the micro-grid as cost effective. The performance of the proposed control scheme is compared with the integer order controller and the system is simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment for different test cases.

in this paper we designed microstrip patch antenna by using metamaterial to improve antenna bandwidth. We inserted Complementary Split Ring Resonator (CSRR) structure between the ground and patch in the substrate. We compared our design with the conventional microstrip patch antenna in point of bandwidth. We obtained bandwidth improvement by 800MHz. Simulation was obtained by using HFSS simulator

The prediction of a difficult cholecystectomy has traditionally been based on certain pre-operative clinical and imaging factors. Most of the previous literature reported small patient cohorts and have not used an objective measure of operative difficulty. The aim of this study was to develop a pre-operative score to predict difficult cholecystectomy, as defined by a validated intra-operative difficulty grading scale. Two cohorts from prospectively maintained databases of patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy were analysed: the CholeS Study (8755 patients) and a single surgeon series (4089 patients). Factors potentially predictive of difficulty were correlated to the Nassar intra-operative difficulty scale. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was then used to identify factors that were independently associated with difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy, defined as operative difficulty grades 3 to 5. The resulting model was then converted to a risk score, and validated on both internal and external datasets. Increasing age and ASA classification, male gender, diagnosis of CBD stone or cholecystitis, thick-walled gallbladders, CBD dilation, use of pre-operative ERCP and non-elective operations were found to be significant independent predictors of difficult cases. A risk score based on these factors returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.789 (95% CI 0.773–0.806, p

الملخص: أهداف البحث: بحثت هذه الدراسة العلاقة بين تناول القات وانتشار وأنماط اختلال دهون الدم بين الشباب اليمني. طرق البحث: في هذه الدراسة المستعرضة، استخدمنا طريقة أخذ العينات العنقودية العشوائية متعددة المراحل. تم الحصول على البيانات باستخدام استبانة، والقياسات البشرية وعينات الدم في حالة الصيام. كما تم استخدام معايير البرنامج الوطني الأمريكي التعليمي للكوليسترول-برنامج معالجة البالغين ٣. كما تم تحليل عينات الدم لقياس مستويات الدهون بما في ذلك مستويات الكوليسترول الكلي، والدهون الثلاثية وكوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية منخفضة الكثافة، وكوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة. النتائج: تم تسجيل ٣٦٠ من طلاب الجامعات اليمنية الذكور في الدراسة بمتوسط عمر ٢١.٤ ± ٣.٦ سنة. تم تقسيم الطلاب إلى مجموعتين؛ متناولي القات (ن = ٢٨٣) والمجموعة الضابطة (ن = ٧٧). كان معدل انتشار اختلال دهون الدم بشكل عام أعلى بشكل ملحوظ في فئة متناولي القات مقارنة مع غير متناولي القات (٨٩.٨ ٪ مقابل ٨٠.٥٪). كانت نسبة فرط كوليسترول الدم، وفرط الدهون الثلاثية في الدم، وفرط كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية منخفضة الكثافة، وفرط الدهون المختلطة في الدم أقل عند متناولي القات مقارنة بغيرهم (١٦.٦٪، و٥٨.٣٪، و١٦.٣٪، و١٠.٦٪، على التوالي، مقابل ٢٠.٨ ٪، و٦٤.٩٪، و١٨.٢٪، و٢٠.٨٪، على التوالي). كما لوحظ ارتفاع شحوم الدم المنفرد بشكل طفيف عند متناولي القات منه في غيرهم (٤٧.٧٪ مقابل ٤٤.٢ ٪). من ناحية أخرى لوحظ زيادة انتشار انخفاض كولسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة وانخفاض كولسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة المنفرد وفرط كولسترول الدم المنفرد عند فئة متناولي القات مقارنة مع فئة غير متناولي القات (٨٣ ٪، و٢٥.١٪، و٦ ٪، على التوالي، مقابل ٧٥.٣٪، و١٥.٦ ٪، وصفر ٪، على التوالي). الاستنتاجات: أظهرت هذه الدراسة ارتفاع معدل انتشار اختلال دهون الدم بين متناولي القات من الشباب اليمنيين. وكذلك انخفاض كولسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة، ثم فرط دهون الدم الثلاثية كانا أكثر أنواع الاضطرابات الدهنية عند متناولي القات. قد يكون للعوامل الوراثية، ولظروف الحرب، وقلة الحركة، ولنوع الغذاء اليمني التقليدي قليل الدهون من العوامل المحددة لهذه النتيجة. Abstract: Objectives: This study investigated the association between qat chewing and prevalence and patterns of dyslipidaemia among young Yemeni males. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used a multistage random cluster sampling method. Data were obtained using a questionnaire. Additionally, anthropometric measurements and fasting blood samples were collected. We used Program-Adult Treatment Panel III. The blood samples were analysed for lipid profile measurements including levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Results: A total of 440 Yemeni male with mean age of 21.4 ± 3.6 years were enrolled. The students were divided into the following two groups—qat chewers (n = 283) and non-qat chewers (n = 77). The overall occurrence of dyslipidaemia was significantly higher in qat chewers than that in non-qat chewers (89.8% versus 80.5%) (P < 0.05). Hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, high LDL-C level, and mixed hyperlipidaemia were lower in qat chewers than in non-qat chewers (16.6%, 58.3%, 16.3%, and 10.6%, respectively, versus 20.8%, 64.9%, 18.2%, and 20.8%, respectively). Isolated hypertriglyceridaemia was slightly higher in qat chewers than in non-qat chewers (47.7% versus 44.2%). However, the incidence of low HDL-C level, isolated low HDL-C level, and isolated hypercholesterolaemia were generally higher in qat chewers than in non-qat chewers (83%, 25.1%, and 6%, respectively, versus 75.3%, 15.6%, and 0%, respectively). Conclusion: This study showed high prevalence of dyslipidaemia among Yemeni male qat chewers. Low HDL-C level was the main lipid variable, followed by hypertriglyceridaemia. Genetic factors, war conditions, physical inactivity, and low-fat traditional Yemeni diet were considered the determinants of the study findings. الكلمات المفتاحية: اختلال دهون الدم, المنظور الدهني, انتشار, تناول القات, اليمن, Key words: Dyslipidaemia, Lipid profile, Prevalence, Qat chewing, Yemen

Multivariate standard addition method based on net analyte signal concept (SANAS) was found efficient to handle solute overlapping (direct interference) and matrix effect (indirect interference) when analyzing food additives. Aspartame, acesulfame-K, and saccharin are the most added artificial sweeteners to diet drinks and commercial sweeteners. High consumption of artificial sweeteners may end up with unwanted health consequences. Hence, accurate quantification and monitoring of artificial sweeteners is necessary for food industry. In this work, application of SANAS to quantify aspartame (ASP), acesulfame-K (ACE), and saccharin (SAC) in liquid drinks and commercial sweeteners is outlined for the first time. SANAS was workable to handle direct and indirect interferences and quantify sweeteners in commercial samples. ASP and ACE were both detected in diet drinks and sweeteners pills with recoveries of 97.4–108.4% (SD 0.5–3.4) and 101.6–103.7% (SD 0.6–4.3), respectively. SAC was only detected in commercial tablets with recoveries of 96.6–104.4 and SD 0.3–0.5. The proposed SANAS was validated against an official liquid chromatography method for sweeteners detection and a small relative error among methods was reported.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Carissa edulis (CE) (Apocynaceae) is distributed in tropical Africa and Asia and commonly used in folk medicine to treat many diseases such as headache, cough, rheumatism and fever. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective role of ethanolic extract of CE, a medicinal plant locally called "Al-Arm" in Yemen, against liver injury induced by dimethoate (DM) intoxication in male guinea pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Animals were divided randomly into 5 groups and kept at 5 animals per group. The first group was served as a control group and administered with vehicle orally; the group II administered with DM (14 mg kg-1; 1/25 LD50) orally. Animals of group III, IV and V were administered with 100 mg kg-1 of CE extract, 200 mg kg-1 of CE extract and 100 mg kg-1 Liv-52 orally half hour before DM administration, respectively. All the previous administrations were repeated daily for 21 days. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using SPSS. RESULTS The DM caused a statistically significant increase in the serum level of liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP) when compared to control animals, whereas CE and Liv-52 pre-treatment to the DM-intoxicated animals resulted in a significant normalization of the activities of enzymes. Similarly, a significant increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) level, while induced significant decreases in the activities of liver catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). In contrast, co-administration of CE and Liv-52 to DM-treated animals restored most of these biochemical parameters to nearly normal levels. Histopathological examination of intoxicated animals showed many tissues alterations such as; vasodilation, hemorrhage, cytoplasmic vacuolization, inflammation and nuclear pyknosis indicating liver damage, while the animals received CE or Liv-52 showed less pathological effects when compared to animals treated with DM alone. CONCLUSION The biochemical and histological results confirmed the hepatoprotective effect of ethanolic extract of CE against DM-induced hepatotoxicity in male guinea pigs.

In this chapter we proposed a scheduling algorithm that maximizes the spectral efficiency while reducing the feedback load. The algorithm, called joint polling and contention based feedback (JPCF) algorithm, collects channel quality information of the users either in a polling form or in a contention form. Compared to the optimal (full feedback) algorithm, the JPCF algorithm has a similar spectral efficiency and a higher system capacity, which takes into account the effect of the feedback rate. Also, the JPCF algorithm shows more reduction in feedback load compared to the DSMUDiv algorithm. One drawback of the JPCF algorithm is the high delay compared to the DSMUDiv algorithm as the average SNR decreases, which affects the performance. As the average SNR increases, the delay encountered when using the JPCF algorithm drops below the delay created by using the DSMUDiv algorithm, which improves the system performance. The work presented in this paper includes analysis of the JPCF algorithm under slow Rayleigh fading assumption. Closed-form expressions of the feedback load, system capacity and scheduling delay are also presented in this paper. Modulation Level BPSK 4-QAM 16-QAM 64-QAM Switching Threshold (dB) th = 4.8

Pandrug-resistant (PDR) K. pneumoniae refractory to conventional treatment has been reported worldwide, causing a huge burden on the healthcare system, patient safety and the economy. K. pneumoniae is a prominent opportunistic pathogen causing hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections, but is rarely associated with infective endocarditis. Currently, there are sparse data guiding the optimal regimen when commonly used antibiotics fail, notably for the treatment of endocarditis infections. Here we report our experience in treating a 40-year-old female with PDR K. pneumoniae infection of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) and right-sided infective endocarditis. Initial susceptibility testing of the incriminated pathogen showed an apparent susceptibility to colistin but the prolonged course of colistin, gentamicin and meropenem did not resolve the infection. However, the synergistic combinations of aztreonam with ceftazidime-avibactam was able to overcome resistance and clear the infection rapidly. Genome sequencing showed that the PDR K. pneumoniae isolate belongs to the international high-risk clone ST14. The isolate harbored genes encoding NDM-1, OXA-48, CTX-M-14b, SHV-28 and OXA-1, explaining resistance to all β-lactams, including carbapenems. It carried the armA gene conferring resistance to all clinically important aminoglycosides and had alterations in GyrA, ParC and MgrB, explaining resistance to ciprofloxacin and colistin.

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has affected all regions and countries with varying impacts based on infection rates and the associated fatalities. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward the COVID-19 pandemic among Saudi Arabians. Methods: The study utilized a cross-sectional research design. Web-based questionnaires’ link was sent via emails and social media and sample was 5483 respondents. Purposive sampling ensured only those participants that met the inclusion criteria. Validity and reliability were checked. Results: Most respondents, 67.9%, were aged between 18 and 35 years and highest level of education university. The findings based on the study objectives indicated a high level of knowledge about COVID-19, which indicated early detection can improve treatment by 4701 (85.7%), the disease can be treated at home 84.6%, the disease can be prevented and avoided when precautions are taken 96.8%. Moreover, 37.2% of the respondents still used herbal products to prevent and treat the disease, and 72.1% indicating immediate visit the physician when there are symptoms. Conclusion: Promoting public knowledge about COVID-19 by the Ministry of Health is paramount in defeating this disease. Providing more education and awareness for public to comply with WHO’s recommendation is recommended.

The study aimed to investigate the soil-plant relationship by looking at knowledge levels of social media users. The study examined the relationship between the users’ characteristics and their knowledge on soil-plant relationship. Online survey was designed and distributed to gather the data. The number of response was received from 383 respondents where 375 participants provided completed information and the remaining eight responses were eliminated due to quality standards. The results show most of the participants (68.8%) are moderately depend on social media to acquire knowledge on soil-plant relationship and indicated “Twitter” as the highly utilized platform followed by the “Youtube”. Meanwhile, 48.8% of the participants indicated that social media have a high impact on their knowledge-based information on soil-plant relationship and agricultural contents. Inferential analysis shows there was a significant positive relationship (p

In this paper we designed system for smart university building based on artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IOT). Our idea can be summarized in smart security system that has different sensors to detect the surrounding environment of the class room in campus which keep everyone and everything on campus safer. By using (IOT), (AI) technologies and applications and by using microcontroller programming we can make the university building safer, secure and more energy saves.

Dracaena cinnabari (D. cinnabari) is an endemic plant located in Socotra Island, Yemen. Deep red resin attained from different plant species including D. cinnabari is commonly known as dragon’s blood. In folk medicine, it is prescribed for the treatment of traumatic dermal, dental, and eye injuries as well as blood stasis, pain, and gastrointestinal diseases in humans. Numerous studies have investigated that this resinous medicine has antidiarrheal, antiulcer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wound healing, and antioxidant activity. Several phytochemicals have been isolated from D. cinnabari, including the biflavonoid cinnabarone, triflavonoids, metacyclophanes, chalcones, chalcanes, dihydrochalcones, sterols, and terpenoids. The present review highlights the structures and bioactivities of main phytochemicals isolated from D. cinnabari regarding the botany and pharmacological effects of the resin derived from this plant.

Saudi Arabia is an arid country that lacks permanent water-bodies. Saudi Arabia relies on its oil resources to operate its desalination plants to supply potable water. Paradoxically, it has the third highest per capita fresh-water consumption in the world, despite being one of the world’s driest countries. Extensive agricultural programs almost depleted the nonrenewable groundwater and deteriorated water quality. The rates of water being used by the urban population and the agricultural sector for producing crops appear to be wasteful (MEWA 2018). Efforts have been made to develop an extensive but efficient water transmission system. The water sector’s infrastructure is outdated and, in some areas, deteriorating. It is estimated that an average of 20% of distributed water remains unaccounted. The Saudi Government has streamlined the water sector’s regulatory regime through implementation of a strategic water policy. Through its water policy, it is looking at the most efficient ways to produce and regulate water. No country can be expected to try every possible solution, but in Saudi Arabia, no single solution would be adequate to address this complex issue. However, the most important step would be to bring behavior change in the society to use water economically and wisely by adopting water conservation practices.

Objectives: To assess vaccination timeliness, risk factors associated with delays and the reasons for delayed vaccinations among children below the age of 3 years in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during the period of May 2016 to August 2017. Data were obtained from parents of children under the age of 3 years using a structured questionnaire comprised of questions about sociodemographics, physical well-being of the child and the reasons that are used to justify delayed vaccinations. Vaccinations were considered delayed if they occurred more than 30 days after the time designated on the primary vaccination schedule. Logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors for vaccination delays. Results: The study included 351 children. Delayed vaccinations were observed in 85/351 (24.2%) of the sample. Delays were noted to occur most frequently for Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine (MMR), seconddose of meningococcal conjugate quadrivalent vaccine (MCV4), second dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and fourth dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in 19/125 (15.2%) of the sample. Traveling at the time of vaccination was the most common delay reason and was reported in 31/142 (21.3%) of the sample. Conclusion: Adherence to vaccination is fairly common in this part of the country. However, vaccination delays are still present and should be addressed to improve health care. Saudi Med J 2018; Vol. 39 (4): 347-353 doi: 10.15537/smj.2018.4.21473 How to cite this article: Banjari MA, Alamri AA, Algarni AY, Abualjadayel MH, Alshardi YS, Alahmadi TS. How often do children receive their vaccinations late, and why? Saudi Med J . 2018 Apr;39(4):347-353. doi: 10.15537/smj.2018.4.21473.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) requires a high percentage of ventricular pacing (%Vp) to maximize its clinical benefits. Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been shown to reduce %Vp in CRT due to competition with irregular intrinsic atrioventricular (AV) conduction. We report the results of a prospective randomized crossover trial evaluating the amount of effective CRT delivered during AF with a novel algorithm (eCRTAF).The purpose of this study was to determine whether eCRTAF increases the amount of effective CRT delivered during AF compared to a currently available rate regularization algorithm.Patients previously implanted with a cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator and with a history of AF and intact AV conduction received up to 4 weeks of control (Conducted AF Response) and up to 4 weeks of eCRTAF in a randomized sequence. The percent effective CRT (%eCRT) pacing, which excludes beats without left ventricular capture, %Vp, and mean heart rate (HR) were recorded during AF and sinus rhythm.The eCRTAF algorithm resulted in a significantly higher %eCRT during AF than control (87.8% ± 7.8% vs 80.8% ± 14.3%; P .001) and %Vp during AF than control (90.0% ± 5.9% vs 83.2% ± 11.9%; P.001), with a small but statistically significant increase in mean HR of 2.5 bpm (79.5 ± 9.7 bpm vs 77.0 ± 9.9 bpm; P.001).In a cohort of CRT patients with a history of AF, eCRTAF significantly increased %eCRT pacing and %Vp during AF with a small increase in mean HR. This algorithm may represent a novel noninvasive method of significantly increasing effective CRT delivery during AF, potentially improving CRT response.

Increasing awareness about providing the necessary care of oral health is essential for patients with a removable prosthesis. The awareness is less interested in dental disorders, being busier with the systemic ones. Planning prosthetic management should only be done after a thorough evaluation of the underlying systemic conditions because the treatment plan might vary accordingly. Previous studies have demonstrated that many systemic diseases are associated with removable prosthesis (RP) procedures. We aim to discuss the feasibility and outcomes of the removable prosthesis for medically compromised patients, including many conditions as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular, renal, hematological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal disorders and immunocompromised patients. Taking adequate care of oral hygiene practices is recommended for these patients. In addition, it is necessary to have frequent care, but short follow-up visits to make sure that the modalities are still valid for additional use, and to investigate for potential complications and adverse events. Adequate prophylaxis against some diseases might also be the only convenient solution. Therefore, proper management of the medical condition might be associated with the enhanced success of the modality with favorable outcomes and better quality of life. Making unified protocols to deal with these patients is also suggested to enhance the practice among the different clinical settings.

Statistical methods are effectively used in the evaluation of pharmaceutical formulations instead of laborious liquid chromatography. However, signal overlapping, nonlinearity, multicollinearity and presence of outliers deteriorate the performance of statistical methods. The Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) is a very popular method in the quantification of high dimensional spectrally overlapped drug formulations. The SIMPLS is the mostly used PLSR algorithm, but it is highly sensitive to outliers that also effect the diagnostics. In this paper, we propose new robust multivariate diagnostics to identify outliers, influential observations and points causing non-normality for a PLSR model. We study performances of the proposed diagnostics on two everyday use highly overlapping drug systems: Paracetamol-Caffeine and Doxylamine Succinate-Pyridoxine Hydrochloride.

Objectives: To assess the correlation between hormone receptor status (HRS) and age, and its significance as a predictor of outcome in patients with breast cancer (BC). Methods: This retrospective review was conducted on 109 patients diagnosed with BC at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Bahrain from 2010-2013. Patients were divided into 2 age groups; under and over 40 years, and were analyzed for tumor histology, lymph node status, stage, and HRS. Results: Younger patients with BC were more likely to be of higher stage, grade, and of larger size. Older women were more likely to be estrogen receptor (ER) positive (72.6% versus 55.3%), and progesterone receptor (PR) positive (71% versus 53.2%) ( p =0.03). The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 over-expression was seen more in younger women (51% versus 40%) ( p =0.2). Younger patients had higher lymph node metastases (88.6% versus 56.1%) ( p =0.0004), and higher distant metastases (26.7% versus 6.8%) ( p =0.005). The HER-2 over-expression strongly correlated with lymph node status. A total of 63.4% of lymph node positive patients had HER-2 over-expression compared with only 13.3% of lymph node negative patients ( p< 0.00001). Conclusion: Breast cancer is more aggressive and advanced in younger women, a fact that can be significantly attributed to under expression of ER and PR, and over expression of HER-2, which also correlates well with lymph node status, as a measure of aggressiveness. Further studies should evaluate the genetic profile of BC in such population to improve their outcomes. Saudi Med J 2016; Vol. 37 (1): 37-42 doi: 10.15537/smj.2016.1.13016 How to cite this article: AlZaman AS, Mughal SA, AlZaman YS, AlZaman ES. Correlation between hormone receptor status and age , and its prognostic implications in breast cancer patients in Bahrain . Saudi Med J 2016; 37: 37-42.

الملخص: أهداف البحث: تقييم مدى انتشار اختلال الدهون في الدم وأنماط مستوى الدهون والعوامل المرتبطة بذلك بين طلاب الجامعة اليمنيين. طرق البحث: أجريت هذه الدراسة -المقطعية على مجموعة من ٢٤٠ طالبا يمنيا (١١٦ ذكورا ١٢٤ إناثا) في جامعة إب. تم اختيار الطلاب بطريقة عشوائية من الكليات المختلفة للجامعة. كما تم الحصول على المعلومات الديمغرافية والسريرية من جميع المشاركين. تم جمع عينات الدم من جميع الطلاب وهم صائمون لقياس مستويات المصل لكل من الكولسترول الكلي، والدهون الثلاثية، وكوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية منخفضة الكثافة، وكوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة. تم استخدام معايير البرنامج الوطني الأمريكي التعليمي للكوليسترول – برنامج معالجة البالغين الثالث (NCEP-ATP III). النتائج: كان متوسط العمر للمشاركين ١٩.٨± ١.٨ عاما؛ من بينهم ٤٨.٣٪ من الذكور و٥١.٧٪ من الإناث. كان ٥٦.٧٪ من المشاركين ينتمون إلى المناطق الريفية. وكان ماضغي القات والمدخنين ٦٣.٣٪ و٦.٧٪ على التوالي. لم يوجد طلاب يعانون من السمنة في هذه الدراسة، ولكن كان هناك ١١.٧٪ من الطلاب يعانون من زيادة الوزن. كان معدل الانتشار العام لاختلال الدهون في الدم بين الطلاب المشاركين ٨٦.٧٪، وارتفاع الكوليسترول في الدم ٢١.٧٪، وزيادة الدهون الثلاثية في الدم ٢٣.٨٪ وزيادة كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية منخفضة الكثافة ٣١.٧٪ وانخفاض كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة ٨١.٧٪. وكانت الدهون المختلطة منتشرة عند ٨.٨٪ من الطلاب. بلغ معدل الانتشار المنعزل لكلا من ارتفاع الكوليسترول، وزيادة الدهون الثلاثية، وانخفاض كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة ١٢.٩٪، ١٥٪، و٧٠٪، على التوالي. كان اختلال الدهون في الدم مرتبطا بشكل كبير مع الجنس من الذكور، وتقدم العمر، والإقامة الحضرية، والكليات الطبية والعلوم الطبيعية. من ناحية أخرى، كان التدخين، ومضغ القات، والنشاط البدني، واستهلاك الوجبات السريعة، والفواكه والخضروات، وتناول الأسماك من العوامل غير المرتبطة باختلال الدهون في الدم. الاستنتاجات: هذه هي أول دراسة بشرية أجريت في جامعة إب خلال الحرب في اليمن. وكان اختلال الدهون في الدم منتشرا كثيرا بين الطلاب الجامعيين اليمنيين الأصحاء في مدينة إب. وكان انخفاض كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية عالية الكثافة أكثر أنواع الاختلالات الدهنية في الدم انتشارا، يليه زيادة مستويات كوليسترول البروتينات الدهنية منخفضة الكثافة. وارتبط الجنس، والعمر، ومكان الإقامة ونوع الكلية ارتباطا وثيقا باختلال الدهون في الدم. تشير هذه النتائج إلى الحاجة إلى برامج متخصصة لتحديد مستويات الدهون في الدم، لبدء برامج التدخل للحد من انتشار اختلال الدهون في الدم ومنع مضاعفاتها بين طلاب الجامعة اليمنيين. Abstract: Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of dyslipidemia and patterns of lipid profile and associated factors among Yemeni university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 240 Yemeni students (116 males and 124 females) at Ibb University. The students were randomly selected from various faculties of the university. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from all participants. Fasting blood specimens were collected from all students for measurement of serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) were used. Results: The mean age of the studied cohort was 19.8 ± 1.8 years; 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women. About 56.7% of the participants were from rural areas. Qat chewers and cigarette smokers comprised 63.3% and 6.7% of the cohort, respectively. No obese students were found in this study; however, 11.7% were overweight. The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, high LDL-C, and low HDL-C among the participating students were 86.7%, 21.7%, 23.8%, 31.7%, and 81.7%, respectively. Mixed hyperlipidemia was present in 8.8% of the students. The prevalence of isolated hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL-C was 12.9%, 15%, and 70%, respectively. Dyslipidemia was significantly associated with male sex, increasing age, urban residence, and medical and natural science faculties. In contrast, smoking, qat chewing, physical activity, and the consumption of fast food, fruits and vegetables, and fish were not significantly associated with dyslipidemia. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first human study conducted at Ibb University during wartime in Yemen. Dyslipidemia was highly prevalent among healthy Yemeni university students in Ibb city. Low HDL-C was the most prevalent type of dyslipidemia, followed by increased levels of LDL-C. Gender, age, residence, and type of faculty were also closely related to dyslipidemia. These results indicate the need for specialized programs to determine blood lipid levels and initiate intervention programs to reduce the prevalence and prevent the complications of dyslipidemia among Yemeni university students. الكلمات المفتاحية: اختلال الدهون في الدم, إب, الطلاب, ارتفاع الكوليسترول, زيادة الدهون الثلاثية في الدم, Keywords: Dyslipidemia, Hypercholesterolemia, Hypertriglyceridemia, Ibb, Students

A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets.Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall's tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere-Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis.A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p 0.001).We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty.

Background The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p 90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cardiac imaging plays an important role in diagnosis and risk stratification of various cardiac diseases. Cardiac computed tomography added a major diagnostic value and led to reducing the need for invasive cardiac measures in many cardiac conditions. Cardiac computed tomography has emerged as an accurate anatomic method for detection of coronary artery disease. The negative predictive value to exclude significant coronary artery stenosis approaches 100%. Advances in multidetector computed tomography technology improved coronary arteries imaging during a single breath hold in a wide range of coronary pathologies. Appropriate patient preparation, image acquisition, and post processing techniques to detect coronary artery stenosis and plaque are prerequisites to achieving diagnostic image quality. Cardiac computed tomography applications also include assessment of cardiac structure and function, post myocardial infarction complications, electro anatomical mapping, and delineation of the pericardium.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is one of the recent topics that received a great concern from academia and industry. However, UWB found many difficulties to be standardized due to the overlay working that made UWB an important potential interference source to many licensed and unlicensed spectrum throughout the band 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. This paper demonstrates the design of integrated triple band notched for UWB Microstrip antenna. We simulated UWB short range systems which require low power and these are built using inexpensive digital components. We proposed a compact triple band notched CPW (Co-planar Waveguide) fed Micro strip Antenna (MSA) for UWB. This band-notched antenna has rejection characteristics at 3.2 GHz (for Wi-MAX band 3.16 to 3.32 GHz), at 5.5 GHz (for WLAN 2 band—5.3 to 5.72 GHz) and at 7.9 GHz (for ITU band 7.72 GHz to 8.13 GHz). The simulation was done using IE3D simulator.

Aims: To examine the effects of the administration of CD on lipid metabolism and liver enzymes in hyperlipidemic subjects. Study design: 20 subjects were divided into two groups, each containing ten subjects. Each subject in the 1st group ingested 1g, while the subject in the 2nd group ingested 2g of CD powder as a broth suspension in a single daily dose before lunch during the follow up period of one month. Patients kept their individual diet relatively constant. Methodology: We included 20 hyperlipidemic volunteers (men; age range 20-50 years) of a total of 80 subjects. Blood samples were taken and analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), atherogenic index (AI), serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Results: The results of the present study show a significant decrease in the levels of TC, LDL-C and TG in 1g and 2g of CD administration groups by 12.6, 24.1, 17.1% and 19.9, 25.5 23.4% respectively while the level of HDL-C was significantly increased by 45.6 and 32.5% in 1g and 2g respectively. The atherogenic index (AI) was significantly decreased in 1g and 2g groups by and 47.4% and 45.5% respectively. Our results also show that, CD administration in 1g and 2g subjects causes a significant decrease in ALT and AST by 39.2, 32% and 48.5, 33.3% respectively while the level of ALP was non-significantly decreased. Conclusion: dietary supplementation with CD administration decreased serum lipid profile and liver enzymes in hyperlipidemic subjects. Therefore, it may be regarded as a useful therapy for hyperlipidemia and liver disease. However, further studies are required to compare it with other medicinal plants and with lipid lowering drugs.

Aims: To examine the protective properties of vitamin C (vitC) and E (vitE) on DM induced nephrotoxicity in male guinea pigs. Study Design:Twenty male rats were randomly grouped into four. �1 � = Control, �2 � = Vitamins (C & E) treated, �3 � = Dimethoate (DM) treated and �4 � = Vitamins treated plus DM treated.

Microstrip patch antenna (MPA) is suitable for different applications in wireless communications. MPA suffers from low gain and narrow bandwidth. In this paper we improved its bandwidth by inserting multiple slots in its ground plane. We used FR-4 substrate to design this antenna. The dimensions of this antenna are 60mm and 80mm. The dielectric constant is equal to 4.4 and the height is 1.6mm. We inserted up to 12 slots in ground plane with 1mm width. The spacing between slots is 3mm slots were arranged parallel to the feeding line. Simulation was done using HFSS simulator.

This paper focuses on the problem of sharing secret keys using Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) protocol. We consider cases where forward and feedback channels are erasure channels for a legitimate receiver (Bob) and an eavesdropper (Eve). In prior works, the wiretap channel is modeled as statistically independent packet erasure channels for Bob and Eve. In this paper, we go beyond the state-of-the-art by addressing correlated erasure events across the wiretap channel. The created randomness is shared between two legitimate parties through ARQ transmissions that is mapped into a destination set using a first-order digital filter with feedback. Then, we characterize Eve's information loss about this shared destination set, due to inevitable transmission errors. This set is then transformed into a highly secure key using privacy amplification in order to intensify and exploit Eve's lack of knowledge. We adopt two criteria for analysis and design of the system: secrecy outage probability as a measure of the secrecy quality, and secret key rate as a metric for efficiency. The resulting secrecy improvement is presented as a function of the correlation coefficients and the erasure probabilities for both channels. It is shown that secrecy improvement is achievable even when Eve has a better channel than legitimate receivers, and her channel conditions are unknown to legitimate users.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a widely used organophosphorus insecticide throughout the world inagriculture and anti-termites around homes. Silymarin is a naturally occurring substance and hasantioxidant effects. For decades, it has been used clinically in Europe for the treatment ofalcoholic liver disease and as anti-hepatotoxic agent. Therefore, the present study aimed toassess the protective and curative effect of silymarin in attenuating the CPF-inducedimmunotoxicity in rats, by measuring the level of immunoglobulin G (IgG), lymphocyteviability, neutrophil phagocytic function assay, total white blood cells count (WBC) and relativedifferential white blood cells count, as well as nitric oxide (NO) level and catalase activity. Thetreatment with CPF decreased lymphocyte viability, neutrophil phagocytic index, total whiteblood cells count, relative lymphocyte count, IgG concentration and catalase activity. On theother hand, a high level of NO was detected upon animal treatment with CPF. Interestingly,pre- and post-treatment with silymarin to CPF-treated group improved the lymphocyte viability,total white blood cells count, relative lymphocyte count, catalase activity and the NO level. Preandpost-treatment with silymarin recovered phagocytic activity of neutrophils and restored IgGlevel. In conclusion, silymarin has both protective and curative effects against CPF-inducedimmunotoxicity may be through its anti-oxidant effects.

This paper presents a modification of an existing cognitive antenna design which contains two antennas: one is a sensing that covers the band from 1 - 11 GHz and the other is a hybrid triangular reconfigurable antenna. Two antennas are combined together to create a new design which called Cognitive Antenna. The new shape of the reconfigurable antenna will affect the cognitive antenna so as to work at two different frequencies via rotation by 180°. At each rotation, the antenna takes single frequency from number of possible frequencies that sensing antenna would find.

Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with all-cause 30-day readmissions and complications in a prospective population-based cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing all-cause 30-day readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two-level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics.

Background The aims of this prospective population-based cohort study were to identify the patient and hospital characteristics associated with emergency cholecystectomy, and the influences of these in determining variations between hospitals. Methods Data were collected for consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing the performance of emergency cholecystectomy were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two-level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 4744 cholecystectomies from 165 hospitals. Increasing age, lower ASA fitness grade, biliary colic, the need for further imaging (magnetic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), endoscopic interventions (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) and admission to a non-biliary centre significantly reduced the likelihood of an emergency cholecystectomy being performed. The multilevel model was used to calculate the probability of receiving an emergency cholecystectomy for a woman aged 40 years or over with an ASA grade of I or II and a BMI of at least 25·0 kg/m2, who presented with acute cholecystitis with an ultrasound scan showing a thick-walled gallbladder and a normal common bile duct. The mean predicted probability of receiving an emergency cholecystectomy was 0·52 (95 per cent c.i. 0·45 to 0·57). The predicted probabilities ranged from 0·02 to 0·95 across the 165 hospitals, demonstrating significant variation between hospitals. Conclusion Patients with similar characteristics presenting to different hospitals with acute gallbladder pathology do not receive comparable care.

This paper considers the problem of end-end security enhancement by resorting to deliberate noise injected in ciphertexts. The main goal is to generate a degraded wiretap channel in application layer over which Wyner-type secrecy encoding is invoked to deliver additional secure information. More specifically, we study secrecy enhancement of DES block cipher working in cipher feedback model (CFB) when adjustable and intentional noise is introduced into encrypted data in application layer. A verification strategy in exhaustive search step of linear attack is designed to allow Eve to mount a successful attack in the noisy environment. Thus, a controllable wiretap channel is created over multiple frames by taking advantage of errors in Eve's cryptanalysis, whose secrecy capacity is found for the case of known channel states at receivers. As a result, additional secure information can be delivered by performing Wyner type secrecy encoding over super-frames ahead of encryption, namely, our proposed secrecy encoding-then-encryption scheme. These secrecy bits could be taken as symmetric keys for upcoming frames. Numerical results indicate that a sufficiently large secrecy rate can be achieved by selective noise addition., 11 pages, 8 figures, journal

This paper demonstrates the analysis of antenna pattern and gain for different designs of full-wave dipole antenna feeding techniques. Seven such techniques were studied and analyzed; symmetrical dual feeding in phase, symmetrical dual feeding out of phase, asymmetrical dual feeding in phase, asymmetrical dual feeding out of phase, symmetrical triple feeding in phase and symmetrical triple feeding out of phase. Symmetrical dual feeding in phase produced high gain as compared to the single and center-fed antennas. An improvement of about 3 to 3.5 dB was achieved comparing to center tap fed and off center fed. It was found that an asymmetrical dual feeding in-phase provides good performance, considering the directivity, pattern, and input impedance. A 2.46 dB gain has been attained. It was found that a symmetrical triple feeding provides an overall best performance with respect to gain, radiation pattern, beam width and input impedance.

The viscosity index (VI) and the base number (BN) of motor oils are the most important parameters to be measured in order to assess their performance and service time. Both parameters were simply obtained for virgin and recycled motor oil samples using multivariate calibration based on the FTIR data. Analysis showed that the PLS-1 has outperformed CLS and PCR for the oil parameters prediction. Five and four PLS-1 latent variables were found optimum to obtained the VI and the BN from the FTIR data; respectively. With high accuracy (99–102%) and precision (3–11%), the BN could be determined over the range 4.57–16.45 mg KOH g −1 and the VI over the range 96–153. The outputs of the PLS-1 were found comparable to those obtained by the expensive and time-consuming ASTM methods. This developed method is highly recommended for quick monitoring of the motor oil quality parameters.

In this paper, we investigate the performance of a blind adaptive modulation scheme that does not require any channel knowledge and just uses binary feedback, thereby decreasing feedback load. Retransmission of erroneous packet is not considered. In particular, we present an analytical framework for the performance evaluation of a simple wireless system in terms of receiver and transmitter structure. The system requires no knowledge of the channel and relies on a binary feedback. Slow and fast Rayleigh fading channel conditions are considered. The paper includes the derivation of the closed-form expressions of the spectral efficiency. In some cases, closed-form expression for packet error rate (PER) are derived. Our results show relatively high PER but some applications can still operate in a satisfactory fashion in these conditions, such as voice communication. Using coded modulation with high coding gain and increasing the number of blocks per time slot decrease the PER even more. An advantage of this system is that it uses a low complexity receiver, which sends binary feedback. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The removal efficiency of activated carbon Filtrasorb 400 (F-400) towards three highly used reactive dyes in the textile industry was investigated. In this work, the adsorption capacities for the anionic reactive dyes, namely; Remazol Reactive Yellow, Remazol Reactive Black and Remazol Reactive Red were determined. The adsorption capacity data showed a high removal ability for the three reactive dyes and a distinguished ability for R. Yellow. The high adsorption capacities for F-400 were attributed to the net positive surface charge during the adsorption process. Surface acidity, surface basicity, H + and OH − adsorption capacities and pH ZPC for F-400 were estimated and compared with other reported values.

In spite of the detailed studies which have proved the superiority of the quality attributes for solar dried fruits and vegetable over that of naturally dried [1-5], we have chosen in our investigation some parameters to be used as a guide to test the changes occurring for some nutrients like sugars. Another indicator has been used which was the percent ash to test the extent of contamination with sand from the surroundings. Consequently we can compare the properties and qualities of natural and solar dried fruits and vegetables to arrive at the preferred drying method. From the project results obtained for the dried fruits and vegetables using natural and solar drying, we can conclude that the mixed and indirect modes of drying were more effective than natural drying, since the final moisture contents for grapes were 12.5, 20.05 and 68.45%, respectively. The figs moisture was reduced to 23.5% using mixed mode drying and 46.9% in case of natural drying for the same period. No significant difference was noted in the case of tomatoes, while there was little significant difference between the two drying methods for onions, but the drying was higher for slices than lobes. There was a highly significant difference for percent ash between the solar dried grapes and naturally dried samples (2.95 and 12.1%, respectively). In sugar determination, the solar drying was found to alter the sugars more than natural drying. This is not surprising because the temperature inside the drying chamber was far higher (80.5°C). This study included also the sensory evaluation of the quality attributes (color, flavor and texture) of the dried samples. The fruits were presented to untrained panelists (consisting of engineers, employees, Ph.D. holders and workers from the Center for Solar Studies) who were asked to evaluate the fruits by scoring the attributes with grades ranged from 2 to 12, where 2=weakly accepted and 12=excellent quality. The data represent the relative frequency distribution × 100 (for color, flavor and texture) reported by the panelists using a hedonic scale from (1-12). Lower scores indicate poor quality (unacceptable) while higher scores indicate much better quality or highly acceptable. These data clearly indicate that the solar drying technique is much better from the sensory quality viewpoint when compared with the natural sun drying technique. Such conclusions are completely true for all samples except tomatoes, and both direct methods of drying as well as mixed mode approach of solar drying. Since negative findings were reported using the indirect approach. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this paper without tailoring to any physical channel condition or any restriction on adversary's computational resources we design a secrecy scheme with information leakage that decays at an exponential rate. The only advantage for legitimate users over eavesdropper is existence of a key source that is partially known by Eve. A key extractor based on a sampler and a Renyi extractor derives secret keys with the required entropy from this source. Encryption using this key with a general cipher maps Eve's uncertainty about the key to uncertainty about the plaintext that can also be interpreted as degradation in her channel. Using privacy amplification on top of this cipher based on inverse universal2 hashing results in information leakage with decreasing exponent that can be optimized to guarantee a higher level of secrecy.

In this paper we propose an encoding-encryption approach to take advantage of intentional noise introduced in ciphertexts for a block cipher working in CFB or CBC mode. First of all, we provide a rigorous analysis of the impacts of channel degradation on block ciphered systems. We show that the overall channel can be modeled as a Finite State Markov Chain (FSMC) with symmetric channels associated in each state, whose underlying non-coherent Shannon capacity is derived and computed. Despite Eve's efforts in modifying her linear crytanalysis given the intercepted noisy ciphertexts, there is still a non-negligible probability of having possible failures in her attack. We essentially create a wiretap channel in application layer that is a degraded version of the main channel and measure security of the system in terms of secrecy capacity and show that it depends on the deliberately introduced bit error rate. In addition, Alice can accordingly adjust cross over probability of the channel to maximize secrecy rate. This secrecy rate can be achieved by wiretap channel coding over multiple frames in application layer if the delay in system is bearable.