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Abstract This paper reports on a tunable transmission frequency characteristics-based metamaterial absorber of an X band sensing application with a fractional bandwidth. Tunable resonator metamaterial absorbers fabricated with dielectric surface have been the subject of growing attention of late. Absorbers possess electromagnetic properties and range modification capacity, and they have yet to be studied in detail. The proposed microstructure resonator inspired absorber with triple fractional band absorption consists of two balanced symmetrical vertical patches at the outer periphery and a tiny drop hole at two edges. Experimental verification depicted two absorption bands with single negative (SNG) characteristics for two resonances, but double negative (DNG) for single resonance frequency. The mechanism of sensing and absorption was analyzed using the transmission line principle with useful parameter analysis. Cotton, a hygroscopic fiber with moisture content, was chosen to characterize the proposed absorber for the X band application. The electrical properties of the cotton changed depending on the moisture absorption level. The simulation and the measured absorption approximately justified the result; the simulated absorption was above 90% (at 10.62, 11.64, and 12.8 GHz), although the steady level was 80%. The moisture content of the cotton (at different levels from 0 to 32.13%) was simulated, and the transmission resonance frequency changed its point in two significant ranges. However, comparing the two adopted measurement method and algorithm applied to the S parameter showed a closer variation between the two resonances (11.64 and 12.8 GHz) which signified that a much more accurate measurement of the cotton dielectric constant was possible up to a moisture content of 16.1%. However, certain unwanted changes were noted at 8.4–8.9 GHz and 10.6–12.4 GHz. The proposed triple-band absorber has potential applications in the X band sensing of moisture in capsules or tablet bottles.

Oxidation behavior of tretinoin (TRN) was evaluated using anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques in Britton-Robinson (B-R) pH 7. The glassy carbon (GC) electrode was used to deposit the compound (TRN) into its surface to record a well-defined oxidation peak at 0.75 V in the presence of Ag/AgCl reference electrode and a Pt counter electrode. Some analytical parameters were studied to obtain the best oxidation signal, for example; buffer solution, pH, accumulation potential and time, amplitude, frequency, scan rate and convection rate. The high sensitivity anodic peak was obtained using B-R, pH 7, 40 s accumulation time, −0.6 V accumulation potential, 50 mV amplitude, 20 Hz frequency, 350 mV s−1 scan rate, and 1000 rpm. These parameters were chosen as optimum conditions for the continued experiments. The analytical performance of the used technique was evaluated using the study of repeatability, stability, recovery, calibration curve and detection limit. Repeatability and stability was monitored for 5 × 10−6 mol L−1 of TRN to give 0.24% relative standard deviation (RSD%) for eighth anodic measurements, while the stability was been very well for 80 min. The calibration curve was studied over the range of 1 × 10−6–1 × 10−5 mol L−1 (n = 6), yielded, a linear relationship between concentrations and anodic current for TRN. A detection limit (LOD) was calculated to be 7.5 × 10−9 mol L−1 (2.25 ppb), while a quantification limit (LOQ) was yielded 2.49 × 10−8 mol L−1 (7.47 ppb). Anodic stripping voltammetry method was developed and applied for the determination of TRN in the human urine and plasma samples.

Late in 2019, several cases of infection with a new strain of coronavirus were reported in China. This new strain was later officially named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the World Health Organization (WHO). This new virus (SARS-CoV2-) mainly affects the respiratory system and causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The first case of COVID-19 was reported to the WHO on December 31st, 2019, and the virus has spread dramatically in many countries worldwide. On March 11th, 2020, the WHO declared that COVID-19 had affected most of the world, and many deaths were linked to COVID-19. Unfortunately, there is no available treatment for COVID-19, and there is no available vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Thus, preventive methods are the only way to limit the spread of the virus. Preventive actions have been taken by many countries, such as travel bans, closing borders and working from home. Saudi Arabia was one of the countries that took very early precautionary actions in the belief that these actions are the best way to fight the virus. Therefore, we present the actions that were taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fight the new viral pandemic.

Genetic material is the most important component of cells because it contains the genetic information; hence any disruption to the structure chromosome of cells could lead to very bad results. Genotoxicity use to evaluate the safety of any chemical compounds on genetic materials. Artificial food flavoring additive are chemical substances to produce specific placebo effects added to foods but impart specific flavor to it. The present study evaluates the genotoxic effect of artificial food flavoring additive on structure of chromosomes at three different concentrations (50%, 100%and 150%) on both bone marrow cells and spleen cells in mice for fourteen successive days. It was found that artificial food flavoring additive at concentration (50% and 100%) show not significant increase in total chromosomal aberration in both bone marrow cells and spleen cells when compare to negative control (p>0.05) meanwhile at concentration 150% it causes a significant increase when compare to negative control (p

Background: In addition to diet restriction and physical activity, diabetes mellitus is managed by the chronic use of medications that require appropriate storage conditions to maintain their stability and effectiveness. However, there is a lack of information regarding patients’ knowledge of medication storage and practices in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the diabetics’ knowledge about medication storage requirements and to evaluate the impact of antidiabetic medications storage on the blood glucose levels. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional in the form of an interviewer-guided interview using a close-ended questions. The study was conducted among patients diagnosed with diabetes at diabetic clinics of public hospitals and other diabetic specialized clinics in Hail region of Saudi Arabia, over a period of four months between January to April 2019. Results: A total of 501 completed questionnaires were returned. Of the respondents, 51.5% were males and 48.5% were females. Of the total participants 52.7% never achieved normal blood glucose range, which was associated with health literacy and medication storage knowledge. Almost half of the participants stored the medication correctly and others have poor knowledge and practice of medication storage, of whom 7.8% always store their medicines in their cars. Conclusion: Almost half of the participants lack the knowledge of appropriate storage conditions of diabetes medications, which was shown to have a significant association with blood glucose levels. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Storage, Knowledge, Anti-diabetic, Saudi Arabia

Background and Aim: Glucagon plays a significant role in glucose homeostasis by controlling hepatic glucose output in terms of both hypoglycemic and normoglycemic conditions. This study aimed to determine the amount and intensity of insulin and glucagon in addition to estimating the relationship between α- and β-cells for two animals, camel and buffalo. Materials and Methods: Twenty fresh pancreas samples were collected from 10 buffalo and 10 camel adults immediately after slaughter from AL-Kut abattoir, Al- Kut, Iraq. Hematoxylin and eosin staining technique and the immunohistochemistry technique were used. Results: The histological results, for both animals, showed the cells of the pancreatic islet could be differentiated from the exocrine cells by their paler appearance. The pancreatic islets were round, oval, and irregular shaped. In the camel, the pancreatic islets had a larger diameter than that in the buffalo. The average diameter of β-cells and their percentage was higher than those of the α-cells in the camel. In the buffalo, glucagon-immunoreactive cells were found in abundance with high intensity, whereas insulin-immunoreactive cells were more prominent with high intensity in the camel. In both animals, the α-cells and glucagon-immunoreactive cells were distributed on the peripheries of the pancreatic islets, whereas the β-cells were distributed throughout the pancreatic islets. Conclusion: The study inferences that these differences may be due to the differences in the environment of the animals which affect the structures of body organs.

Polarization-insensitive metamaterial absorbers (MMAs) are currently attracting a great deal of interest throughout the optical region. These kinds of MMAs can be used as energy harvesting, thermal imaging, plasmonic sensor, magnetic imaging, light trapping, optical modulator, and can help to decipher an inherence for the field. Here, a polarization-insensitive ultrathin MMA has been proposed with an extensive incident angular stability for the optical region with a sandwiched three-layer structure. Tungsten (W) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) have been chosen as materials for their various advantages in the optical spectrum with higher temperature stability. The design simulated with the finite integration technique (FIT), and validation of the simulated data is assured with the interference theory model (ITM). Underlying physics of the absorption characteristics and performance of the structure are immensely explained. The design acquired an average absorption of 96.7% from 380nm to 700nm and 96.61% for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarization. It has a peak absorption of 99.99% at 498.25nm, and over 99% from 460nm to 540nm, due to a very good impedance match with plasmonic resonance characteristics. For both TE and TM mode, it has wide angular independence up to 60°, which can be used for solar cell and solar thermo-photovoltaics (STPV). The various parametric sweep also analyzed for acquiring the geometric shape with a wide bandwidth to find resonance wavelength. As the MMA shifts its resonance wavelength with the change of its dielectric thickness, it can be used as an optical sensor. Changing dielectric in a Pyrex will enable the structure to be used as a light detector. Such outstanding absorption properties render the proposed MMA a successful candidate for the optical wavelength applications mentioned above.

Background and Objectives: On March 11, the World Health Organization stated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a global pandemic; the rapid and extended spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant cause of concern for face-to-face university study. This study investigated the knowledge and awareness of chemical engineering students in Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU) in Jordan about respiratory protective measures against COVID-19.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed using a multi-stage random sampling technique conducted from April 21–28, 2020. The data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to BAU's chemical engineering students, with 179 responders completed the survey correctly. The data were analyzed statistically using the SPSS program. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first measured the student's general knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic, while the second focused on the respiratory protection methods against COVID-19; it was structured to assess the student's knowledge about the suitable types of masks and respirators used in COVID-19 prevention, their detailed mechanism of action and filtration process type, their production materials, and finally how the student's knowledge affects choosing a proper preventive method.Results: The study found moderate awareness among engineering students about COVID-19 causative agent, effective preventive masks/respirators used, and the mask's viral blockage mechanisms. A total of 89 respondents (49.7%) pointed to the correct best protective mask, i.e., N95 mask. On the other hand, 119 respondents (66.5%) believed that a surgical mask is the best protective mask. The study also showed differences in knowledge between different academic years; the knowledge about respirators, masks, and their action mechanism among senior students in the last three academic years was better than the younger students with a P-value of 0.047 for knowledge about respirator used for protection against coronavirus disease and the P-value of 0.028 for knowledge of the comparisons between the N95 and surgical mask. On the other hand, the study showed a lack of awareness of the most suitable mask types used in pandemics and the appropriate use method.Conclusions: The study found that chemical engineering students in Al-Balqa university were moderately knowledgeable regarding COVID-19 respiratory preventive methods; these results provided an overview of each student's community's knowledge level. Therefore, efforts are needed to improve public awareness through comprehensive educational campaigns to increase students' knowledge, attitude, and practice.

This investigation investigates the structural behavior of slender reinforced concrete RC containing different RCA replacement portions in addition to the slenderness effect. To perform this, eight (8) slender RC columns with two main types of transverse reinforcement (ties and spiral reinforcement) and three recycled coarse aggregate RCA replacement percentages (25, 50, and 100%) were modeled and subjected to axial concentric loading. The gathered experimental results are monitored and analyzed to better estimate the structural characteristics of the RC slender column (The ultimate carrying load, first cracking load, load-displacement curve, and load-strain response). The results showed that replacing NCA with (25, 50, and 100%) of RCA reduced the ultimate capacity of tied RC columns by (13.41, 14.07, and 23.33%), respectively, and reduced their first cracking load values by (19.64, 15.96, 22.50%), respectively. The reduction in ultimate load capacity and the first cracking load were (4.10, 17.33, 22.63%) and (12.26, 23.15, 25.00%) for spirally RC columns, respectively. Spiral transverse reinforcement slightly increases the carrying load capacity compared to tie reinforcement. It delays the fast propagation of the first cracking load, furthers the effect of spiral reinforcement in improving the deformation capacity, reducing the longitudinal and lateral mid-height strains, and developing the flexural stiffness of the load-displacement curve.

This piece provides an overview of an experimental program that tests the structural performance of slender recycled aggregate RAC columns that are externally restrained by carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP composite system). To demonstrate that the CFRP strengthening system is one of the recommended effective techniques for making up for the reduction in load-carrying capacity caused by the use of 100% RCA in combination with the slenderness of column specimens, eight slender circular RC columns were modeled and tested. To more accurately predict the structural features of the RC thin column (the ultimate carrying weight, first cracking load, load-displacement curve, and load-strain response), the findings from experiments have been analyzed and monitored. The findings indicated that the type of transverse reinforcement and the amount of external strengthening impact the degree of improvement in column performance. The strength for the tied RC columns with 100% RCA confined by (25, 50, and 100) % CFRP increased by 5.5, 44.97, and 112.85%, respectively, compared to control columns with no CFRP confinement. Similar strength improvements are seen in spirally RC columns with 100% RCA and the same external confinement coverage ratio: 10.32, 42.81, and 113.51%.

The worldwide prevalence of asthma in children is variable. The different epidemiological definitions of asthma, the use of various methods of measurement, and the environmental variations between countries are responsible for such different prevalence rates. This study has been performed to identify the prevalence/risk factors of asthma in Saudi children/adolescents in Rabigh. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey has been conducted using the validated Arabic version of the “International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire”. Data on the sociodemographic characteristics of participants and risk factors of asthma have also been collected. Three hundred and forty-nine Children/adolescents with an age range of 5–18 years have been randomly selected for an interview from public places and houses in different regions of Rabigh City. The prevalence rates of physician-diagnosed asthma, any wheezing, and wheezing in the last 12 months among children/adolescents (mean age: 12.22 ± 4.14 years) have remarkably increased in association with the rapidly developing industrialization of Rabigh from previously recorded rates of 4.9%, 7.4%, and 6.4% in the only study that has previously been conducted in Rabigh in 1998 to 31.5%, 23.5%, and 14.9%, respectively. The univariate analysis has detected some significant risk factors for asthma. However, in younger aged children (5–9 years), allergic rhinitis, associated chronic illnesses, and viral respiratory infection-induced wheezing have remained significant risk factors of any wheezing. Drug allergy, exposure to dust, and viral respiratory infection-induced wheezing have persisted as significant risk factors for wheezing in the last 12 months. Eczema in the family, exposure to perfumes/incense, and viral respiratory infection-induced wheezing have remained as significant risk factors of physician-diagnosed asthma. The results of this survey should be useful in future targeted preventive plans/measures with special attention to improving air quality to limit the progressive increase in asthma prevalence in Rabigh, as well as in other similar industrial communities.

Abstract Solar energy is one of the ambient sources where energy can be scavenged easily without pollution. Intent scavenging by the solar cell to recollect energy requires a state-of-the-art technique to expedite energy absorption to electron flow for producing more electricity. Structures of the solar cell have been researched to improve absorption efficiency, though most of them can only efficiently absorb with narrow-angle tolerance and polarization sensitivity. So, there is a strong demand for broadband absorption with minimal polarization sensitivity absorber, which is required for effective solar energy harvesting. In this paper, we proposed a new Split Hexagonal Patch Array (SHPA) shape metamaterial absorber with Double-negative (DNG) characteristics, which will provide a wide absorption band with low polarization sensitivity for solar spectrum energy harvesting. The proposed new SHPA shape consists of six nano-arms with a single vertical split which with arrowhead symmetry. This arm will steer electromagnetic (EM) resonance to acquire absolute negative permittivity and permeability, ensuring DNG property. This DNG metamaterial features analyzed based on the photoconversion quantum method for maximum photon absorption. The symmetric characteristics of the proposed structure enable the absorber to show polarization insensitivity and wide incident angle absorption capabilities. Simulated SHPA shows a visible and ultraviolet (UV) spectrum electromagnetic wave absorption capacity of more than 95%. The quantum method gives an advantage in the conversion efficiency of the absorber, and the numerical analysis of the proposed SHPA structure provides absorbance quality for THz regime energy harvesting through solar cell or photonic application.

Abstract: Fluoroquinolones drugs are an important class of wide spectrum antibacterial agents, and active against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, are divided into four generations. Collateral damage is a term used to refer to ecological adverse effects of antibiotic therapy, occurring as drug-resistant organisms and the unwanted development of colonization or infection with multidrug-resistant organisms. This damage is mostly related to levofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. Aim: The aim of the current study was to compare the incidence of collateral damage between two quinolone antibiotic derivatives (ciprofloxacin and Levofloxacin) and evaluate the activity of lactobacillus to reduce the collateral damage. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out on 100 patients. Administration of ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin each alone or in combination with lactobacillus, the character of diarrhea and grade of diarrhea was studied before and after 10 days of administration each dosing protocol. Results: there are a significant increase in the incidence of diarrhea for all groups when compare between before and after treatment diarrhea, Number of patients with diarrhea in group 1 after finish the treatment was not significantly higher when compared with group 2 (p>0.05) meanwhile number of patients with diarrhea in group 4 after finish the treatment was significantly lower when compared with group 3 (p>0.05). Conclusion; The use of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin associated with incidence of collateral damage represented as diarrhea and levofloxacin is the least risk of this damage, and using of lactobacillus with levofloxacin was better results than the other three groups.

Cherubism is an autosomal dominant, very rare benign fibro-osseous lesion, with an estimation of only 300 cases have been reported worldwide. Cherubism is characterized clinically by bilateral symmetrical self-limiting jaw enlargement starts in the childhood or early teens.Mandible is mostly affected although maxilla and zygomatic bones may be involved but to a lower extent), and is associated with tooth displacement and severe malocclusion. Histopathologically, it is indistinguishable from giant cell lesions therefore the clinical manifestations of the disease remain the Gold Stone.

Background: Effective treatment for Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is under intensive research. Nigella sativa oil (NSO) is a herbal medicine with antiviral and immunomodulatory activities, and has been recommended for the treatment of COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of NSO treatment in patients with COVID-19. Methods: All adult patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms presented to King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were recruited for an open label randomized clinical trial (RCT). They were randomly divided into control or treatment groups, with the latter receiving 500 mg NSO (MARNYS® Cuminmar) twice daily for 10 days. Symptoms were daily monitored via telecommunication. The primary outcome focused on the percentage of patients who recovered (symptom-free for 3 days) within 14-days. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04401202). Results: A total of 173 patients were enrolled for RCT. The average age was 36(±11) years, and 53 % of patients were males. The control and NSO groups included 87 and 86 patients respectively. The percentage of recovered patients in NSO group (54[62 %]) was significantly higher than that in the control group (31[36 %]; p = 0.001). The mean duration to recovery was also shorter for patients receiving NSO (10.7 ± 3.2 days) compared with the control group (12.3 ± 2.8 days); p = 0.001. Conclusions: NSO supplementation was associated with faster recovery of symptoms than usual care alone for patients with mild COVID-19 infection. These potential therapeutic benefits require further exploration with placebo-controlled, double-blinded studies.

There are limited data about neurological manifestations in pediatric COVID-19 patients from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia. This study was performed to identify characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 cases with neurologic involvement hospitalized at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Saudi Arabia. This retrospective cross-sectional study included hospitalized patients aged 0–19 years with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 from April 2020 to February 2022. The required data were retrieved from patients’ medical records. Ninety-four cases were included. The median ages of the studied group, those with neurological manifestations, and those without neurologic manifestations, were 6.5, 11.0, and 5.0 years, respectively. Neurological manifestations occurred in 29 COVID-19 patients (30.9%) with headache and decreased consciousness being the most common recorded manifestations in 8.5% and 6.4% of patients, respectively. Specific neurological manifestations were rare, as only two infants developed encephalopathy with fatal outcome. Most patients with and without neurological manifestations survived. Neuroimaging abnormalities were detected in 8 cases with neurological manifestations. Neurological manifestations were common in 31% of hospitalized pediatric COVID-19 cases. However, most of the neurological manifestations were mild and nonspecific, with headache being the most common one. Specific neurological manifestations were rare; however, pediatric COVID-19 patients, particularly young infants, were at risk of developing severe encephalopathy with fatal outcome.

Abstract Background Caffeine containing energy drinks (EDs) are heavily consumed, particularly among young adults. The number of reports of caffeine intoxication from caffeinated EDs and problems related to caffeine dependence and withdrawal is increasing. The objective was to assess the knowledge and perceived beneficial effects of EDs consumers, to assess consumption patterns and determine the adverse effects experienced by different EDs consumer groups residing in Saudi Arabia. Methods An observational cross-sectional study with data from a randomly selected Saudi population was conducted during the period of January 15th, 2015, to April 15th, 2015, using a pre-tested 43-item questionnaire. The data were obtained and collected using interview questionnaires. Sociodemographic characteristics and data on EDs consumption patterns, the level of awareness among study subjects, and the purported benefits and reported adverse effects of EDs were collected. Frequency, percentage, and arithmetic means were calculated using Chi-square and ANOVA tests, and data with p

It is an undeniable fact that heritage buildings are a valuable asset for society, it reveals their achievements over the years. Therefore, the need to conserve built heritage has become an increasingly urgent case to experts and the community, they exploit any possible tool to achieve this aim. However, the concept of heritage conservation has completely changed due to the new technologies and inventions which opened up new opportunities to the conservation process of built heritage. This paper focuses on the theoretical parametric approach in generating digital heritage models which will help in the restoration and reconstruction process. A library of parametric heritage models will be designed from architectural books and historic scripts which will then be embedded in a new plug-in for BIM software. This new plug-in will provide multiple solutions for historical buildings which facing certain problems while using manual modelling methods in restoration and reconstruction processes, it will also automate the modelling process by using parametric modelling techniques. Keywords: Built heritage, Conservation, Digital heritage models, New plug-in, Parametric approach

Abstract In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the use of the discrete Hartley transform (DHT) for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). Previous studies have not reported an improvement in bit error rate (BER) when using a DHT-based OFDM without substantial complexity increase due to the fact that the DHT cannot diagonalize a circulant channel matrix but rather produces a unique structured matrix that has only a main diagonal and anti-diagonal. In this paper, the coupling between symmetric carriers is exploited by introducing a frequency-domain subcarrier diversity receiver for DHT-based OFDM systems. The proposed simple receiver structure takes advantage of the coupling to enhance the BER performance of the DHT-OFDM system by increasing the diversity gain between subcarriers. A detailed statistical and performance analysis of the system is presented, in which closed-form expressions of the average BER were derived. The proposed system performance was compared to the conventional discrete Fourier transform OFDM (DFT-OFDM), the generalized DHT-OFDM, and the DHT-precoded OFDM systems in terms of average BER and peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). The proposed DHT-OFDM system outperforms the generalized DHT-OFDM system by 12 dB and outperforms the conventional DFT-OFDM and the DHT-precoded OFDM systems by 17 dB at an average BER of 10−5. In terms of PAPR, the proposed DHT-OFDM system suffers from an approximately 5.5, 2, and 1 dB increase in PAPR when compared to the DHT-precoded OFDM, the conventional DFT-OFDM, and the generalized DHT-OFDM systems, respectively.

The universal filtered multi-carrier (UFMC) technique has been proposed as a prominent waveform candidate for fifth generation (5G) communication techniques. However, UFMC systems exhibit a high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which causes serious degradation in the performance of the system. Therefore, this paper puts forward an effective hybrid PAPR reduction method to reduce the high PAPR of the UFMC system. The proposed hybrid scheme consists of a combination of precoding and non-linear companding techniques (NLCTs). A comparative analysis of the performance of different precoding methods, NLCTs, and hybrid methods are investigated in terms of the cumulative distribution function of the PAPR and the bit error rate (BER). The simulation results show that the proposed hybrid UFMC system has better PAPR reduction performance compared to conventional NLC and precoded UFMC systems. Moreover, the BER analysis of the UFMC system verifies that the proposed hybrid technique shows better BER performance compared to conventional companding techniques.

Background: Modern pain neuroscience has revolutionized our understanding about pain, including the role of central sensitization in amplifying pain experiences with increased neuronal response to central nervous system stimuli. During external upper and lower limb perturbation, it has been shown that Chronic low back pain (CLBP) was associated with longer reflex response latencies of trunk muscles. One theoretic but rarely examined possibility for longer reflex latencies is related to modulated somatosensory information processing. Objectives: The objective of the study was to compare the somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP) parameters of the right median and left tibial nerves between patients with nonspecific and specific CLBP. Materials and Methods: The study includes 102 CLBP patients, clinically and radiologically confirmed and divided into two groups: 48 patients with nonspecific pathology and 54 patients with specific pathology. During this SSEP study the right median and left tibial nerves of all patients were examined. Recorded parameters include the latency and amplitudes. Results: The means of the latencies of all the SSEP waves of the right median and left tibial nerves were only significant in the peripheral SSEP waves in the upper and lower limbs (N9 and N10, respectively) and highly significant in cortical right median N20 SSEP wave. Regarding the central sensory conduction time values, both in the median and tibial SSEP study, The significant differences was noted only in the median nerve SSEP study. Regarding the means of the amplitudes of differently studied SSEP components of the right median and left tibial nerves, it was only significant in the peripheral SSEP (N9) wave of the right median nerve and in the subcortical and cortical (P37 and N45) waves in the tibial nerve SSEP study. Conclusions: Results showed a significantly higher SSEP amplitude and latency in nonspecific CLBP patients as compared to their counterpart CLBP patients. This could reflect a higher excitability of sensory cortex and sensory pathways in patients with nonspecific CLBP as compared to their counterpart patients.

In the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling pathway, phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6) maintains a critical balance of the intracellular concentration of cGMP by catalyzing it to 5′ guanosine monophosphate (5′-GMP). To gain insight into the mechanistic impacts of the PDE6 somatic mutations that are implicated in cancer and retinitis pigmentosa, we first defined the structure and organization of the human PDE6 heterodimer using computational comparative modelling. Each subunit of PDE6αβ possesses three domains connected through long α-helices. The heterodimer model indicates that the two chains are likely related by a pseudo two-fold axis. The N-terminal region of each subunit is comprised of two allosteric cGMP-binding domains (Gaf-A & Gaf-B), oriented in the same way and interacting with the catalytic domain present at the C-terminal in a way that would allow the allosteric cGMP-binding domains to influence catalytic activity. Subsequently, we applied an integrated knowledge-driven in silico mutation analysis approach to understand the structural and functional implications of experimentally identified mutations that cause various cancers and retinitis pigmentosa, as well as computational saturation mutagenesis of the dimer interface and cGMP-binding residues of both Gaf-A, and the catalytic domains. We studied the impact of mutations on the stability of PDE6αβ structure, subunit-interfaces and Gaf-cGMP interactions. Further, we discussed the changes in interatomic interactions of mutations that are destabilizing in Gaf-A (R93L, V141 M, F162 L), catalytic domain (D600N, F742 L, F776 L) and at the dimer interface (F426A, F248G, F424 N). This study establishes a possible link of change in PDE6αβ structural stability to the experimentally observed disease phenotypes. Keywords: Somatic mutations, Cancer, Retinitis pigmentosa, Nitric oxide (NO), Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), Phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6)

Background: Current guidelines for the management of childhood wasting primarily focus on the provision of therapeutic foods and the treatment of medical complications. However, many children with wasting live in food-secure households, and multiple studies have demonstrated that the etiology of wasting is complex, including social, nutritional, and biological causes. We evaluated the contribution of household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and the consumption of specific food groups to the time to recovery from wasting after hospital discharge. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the Childhood Acute Illness Network (CHAIN) cohort, a multicenter prospective study conducted in six low- or lower-middle-income countries. We included children aged 6–23 months with wasting (mid-upper arm circumference [MUAC] ≤ 12.5 cm) or kwashiorkor (bipedal edema) at the time of hospital discharge. The primary outcome was time to nutritional recovery, defined as a MUAC > 12.5 cm without edema. Using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, study site, HIV status, duration of hospitalization, enrollment MUAC, referral to a nutritional program, caregiver education, caregiver depression, the season of enrollment, residence, and household wealth status, we evaluated the role of reported food insecurity, dietary diversity, and specific food groups prior to hospitalization on time to recovery from wasting during the 6 months of posthospital discharge. Findings: Of 1286 included children, most participants (806, 63%) came from food-insecure households, including 170 (13%) with severe food insecurity, and 664 (52%) participants had insufficient dietary diversity. The median time to recovery was 96 days (18/100 child-months (95% CI: 17.0, 19.0)). Moderate (aHR 1.17 [0.96, 1.43]) and severe food insecurity (aHR 1.14 [0.88, 1.48]), and insufficient dietary diversity (aHR 1.07 [0.91, 1.25]) were not significantly associated with time to recovery. Children who had consumed legumes and nuts prior to diagnosis had a quicker recovery than those who did not (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.21 [1.01,1.44]). Consumption of dairy products (aHR 1.13 [0.96, 1.34], p = 0.14) and meat (aHR 1.11 [0.93, 1.33]), p = 0.23) were not statistically significantly associated with time to recovery. Consumption of fruits and vegetables (aHR 0.78 [0.65,0.94]) and breastfeeding (aHR 0.84 [0.71, 0.99]) before diagnosis were associated with longer time to recovery. Conclusion: Among wasted children discharged from hospital and managed in compliance with wasting guidelines, food insecurity and dietary diversity were not major determinants of recovery.

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in quarantine/lockdown measures in most countries. Quarantine may create intense psychological problems including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) especially for the vulnerable critically developing children/adolescents. Few studies evaluated PTSD associated with infectious disasters but no Saudi study investigated PTSD associated with COVID-19 in children/adolescents. This study was undertaken to screen for PTSD in children/adolescent in Saudi Arabia to identify its prevalence/risk factors during COVID-19 pandemic and its quarantine. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted after 2 months form start of quarantine for COVID-19 pandemic utilizing the original English version and an Arabic translated version for the University of California at Los Angeles Brief COVID-19 Screen for Child/Adolescent PTSD that can be parent-reported or self-completed by older children/adolescents. Participants (Saudi citizens/non-Saudi residents) were approached online via social media. Results Five hundred and thirty seven participants were enrolled. The participants were 262 boys and 275 girls with a mean age of 12.25±3.77 years. Symptoms of no, minimal, mild and potential PTSD were identified in 15.5%, 44.1%, 27.4% and 13.0% of children/adolescents, respectively. The age, gender, school grade, and residence were not predictive of PTSD symptoms. Univariate analysis of risk factors for PTSD revealed that work of a close relative around people who might be infected was significantly different between groups of PTSD symptoms, but this difference disappeared during multivariate analysis. Children/adolescents of Saudi citizens had significantly lower median total PTSD score than children/adolescents of expatriate families (p = 0.002). Conclusion PTSD associated with the COVID-19 and its resultant quarantine shouldn’t be overlooked in different populations as it is expected in a considerable proportion of children/adolescents with variable prevalence, risk factors and severity. Parents/healthcare providers must be aware of PTSD associated with COVID-19 or similar disasters, so, they can provide children/adolescent with effective coping mechanisms.

In Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals. To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view. The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in Baghdad hospitals. Physicians are satisfied with clinical pharmacists' recommendations regarding their prescriptions, and their availability for consultation. However, they are dissatisfied with or unaware of the unconventional services that are not directly related to the medical prescription. Junior physicians are more appreciative of the clinical pharmacist's role than senior physicians.

Today many people suffering from health problems like dysfunction in lungs and cardiac. These problems often require surveillance and follow up to save a patient's health, besides control diseases before progression. For that, this work has been proposed to design and developed a remote patient surveillance system, which deals with 4 medical signs (temperature, SPO2, heart rate, and Electrocardiogram ECG. An adaptive filter has been used to remove any noise from the signal, also, a simple and fast search algorithm has been designed to find the features of ECG signal such as Q,R,S, and T waves. The system performs analysis for medical signs that are used to detected abnormal values. Besides, it sends data to the Base-Station with a data block (ECG signals) that contains the problem. In addition, it generates an alarm to the physicians via ringing up mobile and SMS to overcome the internet disconnected. Also, the system has been designed to achieve precision, low cost, and low energy consumption. Three types of sensors has been used in this work, ECG, SPo2, and temperature sensors. Also, a sim800L GSM module has been used for communications, the main controller in this work is ESP32 unit.

Lake Sawa located in Southwest Iraq is a unique natural landscape and without visible inflow and outflow from its surrounding regions. Investigating the environmental and physical dynamics and the hydrological changes in the lake is crucial to understanding the impact of hydrological changes, as well as to inform planning and management in extreme weather events or drought conditions. Lake Sawa is a saltwater lake, covering about 4.9 square kilometers at its largest in the 1980s. In the last decade, the lake has dried out, shrinking to less than 75% of its average size. This contribution focuses on calculating the bank erosion and accretion of Lake Sawa utilizing remote sensing data captured by Landsat platforms (1985–2020). The methodology was validated using higher-resolution Sentinel imagery and field surveys. The outcomes indicated that the area of accretion is significantly higher than erosion, especially of the lake’s banks in the far north and the south, in which 1.31 km2 are lost from its surface area. Further analysis of especially agricultural areas around the lake have been performed to better understand possible reasons causing droughts. Investigations revealed that one possible reason behind droughts is related to the rapid increase in agriculture areas surrounding the lake. It has been found that the agriculture lands have expanded by 475% in 2020 compared to 2010. Linear regression analysis revealed that there is a high correlation (69%) between the expanding of agriculture lands and the drought of Lake Sawa.

The pumping station became widely used in many fields. Free surface vortices at intakes of pumps are not favorable. It may cause noise, excessive vibration, damage to the pumping structure, reduction in efficiency and flow for hydro-turbines, etc. One of the important problems encountered during the pump intake design is the depth of submergence and other design parameters to avoid strong free-surface vortices formation. This study aims to compute the critical submergence depth with some geometrical and hydraulic limitations by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) package. The mathematical model was validated with a laboratory model that had been conducted. The model of three intake pipes was investigated under five different submergence depth (S), three different spaces between intake pipes (b), and five different suction velocities (v). The results showed the best operation cases when the space between intake pipes (b) equal to 4D, the submergence depth of water is equal or greater than 1.25 from the bell mouth diameter of intake pipe (D), and the suction velocity less than 2 m/s. The worst case was when the space between the suction pipe (b) was (2D), in this case, the vortex appeared at submergence depth (S/D = 2) with suction velocity 3 m/s.

Background: Severe asthma is a serious condition with a significant burden on patients' morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Some biological therapies targeting the IgE and interleukin-5 (IL5) mediated pathways are now available. Due to the lack of direct comparison studies, the choice of which medication to use varies. We aimed to explore the beliefs and practices in the use of biological therapies in severe asthma, hypothesizing that differences will occur depending on the prescribers’ specialty and experience. Methods: We conducted an online survey composed of 35 questions in English. The survey was circulated via the INterasma Scientific Network (INESNET) platform as well as through social media. Responses from allergists and pulmonologists, both those with experience of prescribing omalizumab with (OMA/IL5) and without (OMA) experience with anti-IL5 drugs, were compared. Results: Two hundred eighty-five (285) valid questionnaires from 37 countries were analyzed. Seventy-on percent (71%) of respondents prescribed biologics instead of oral glucocorticoids and believed that their side effects are inferior to those of Prednisone 5 mg daily. Agreement with ATS/ERS guidelines for identifying severe asthma patients was less than 50%. Specifically, significant differences were found comparing responses between allergists and pulmonologists (Chi-square test, p

Highly plastic soils exhibit unfavorited properties upon saturation, which produce different defects in engineering structures. Attempts were made by researchers to proffer solutions to these defects by experimenting in practical ways. This included various materials that could possibly improve the soil engineering properties and reduce environmental hazards. This paper investigates the strength behavior of highly plastic clay stabilized with brick dust. The brick dust contents were 10%, 20%, and 30% by dry weight of soil. A series of linear shrinkage and unconfined compression tests were carried out to study the effect of brick dust on the quantitative amount of shrinkage experienced by highly plastic clay and the undrained shear strength. The effect of curing on soil shear strength was included in this paper. It was found that the critical behavior of highly plastic soil can be mitigated by mixing with 20% or 30% of brick dust. The undrained shear strength of highly plastic clay mixed with brick dust increased with the increase of brick dust content up to 20%. It was affected by the curing period. The best improvement was achieved when the optimum content of brick dust was 20%. Finally, seven days of curing improved the undrained shear strength with over 100%.

Patients diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) are still treated with toxic multi-agent chemotherapy and as many as 25-50% of patients relapse. To understand disease pathology and to uncover novel targets for therapy, Whole-Exome Sequencing (WES) of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK)+ ALCL was performed as well as Gene-Set Enrichment Analysis. This revealed that the T-cell receptor (TCR) and Notch pathways were the most enriched in mutations. In particular, variant T349P of NOTCH1, which confers a growth advantage to cells in which it is expressed, was detected in 12% of ALK+ and ALK- ALCL patient samples. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NPM-ALK promotes NOTCH1 expression through binding of STAT3 upstream of NOTCH1. Moreover, inhibition of NOTCH1 with γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs) or silencing by shRNA leads to apoptosis; co-treatment in vitro with the ALK inhibitor Crizotinib led to additive/synergistic anti-tumour activity suggesting this may be an appropriate combination therapy for future use in the circumvention of ALK inhibitor resistance. Indeed, Crizotinib-resistant and sensitive ALCL were equally sensitive to GSIs. In conclusion, we show a variant in the extracellular domain of NOTCH1 that provides a growth advantage to cells and confirm the suitability of the Notch pathway as a second-line druggable target in ALK+ ALCL.

In this research, an attempt has been made to study the effect of replacing all normal-weight aggregate “NWA” by lightweight aggregate “LWA” (having a volume equal to 60% of the volume of normal-weight aggregate) on the behaviour of layered steel fibrous self-compacting reinforced concrete slabs with various volume fractions of steel fiber under uniform area load using fine sand technique. The experimental work consists of two groups “NWA” and “LWA,” each group consists of three slab specimens (having an aspect ratio equal to the golden ratio, i.e., 1.618), the thickness of each slab is divided into two equal layers, the top layer is free from steel fibers, while the steel fibers exist only in the bottom layer with three volume fractions (0%, 0.4%, and 0.8%). Ultimate uniform load of the slabs decreases with the increase in steel fiber content, while the percentage of decrease in the bulk density remains rather constant. It was also found that the ultimate uniform load of the slabs in each group is significantly improved with increasing steel fiber content, and the percentage of this improvement is higher in lightweight concrete “LWC” than in normal-weight concrete “NWC” Finally, it was noticed that when steel fiber increased, the flexural strength of slabs increased higher than shear strength; therefore, the mode of failure has been changed from bending to shear mode for slabs of both groups “NWC” and “LWC.”

The presence of protein structures with atypical folds in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) is rare and may result from naturally occurring knots or crystallographic errors. Proper characterisation of such folds is imperative to understanding the basis of naturally existing knots and correcting crystallographic errors. If left uncorrected, such errors can frustrate downstream experiments that depend on the structures containing them. An atypical fold has been identified in P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (PfDHFR) between residues 20–51 (loop 1) and residues 191–205 (loop 2). This enzyme is key to drug discovery efforts in the parasite, necessitating a thorough characterisation of these folds. Using multiple sequence alignments (MSA), a unique insert was identified in loop 1 that exacerbates the appearance of the atypical fold-giving it a slipknot-like topology. However, PfDHFR has not been deposited in the knotted proteins database, and processing its structure failed to identify any knots within its folds. The application of protein homology modelling and molecular dynamics simulations on the DHFR domain of P. falciparum and those of two other organisms (E. coli and M. tuberculosis) that were used as molecular replacement templates in solving the PfDHFR structure revealed plausible unentangled or open conformations of these loops. These results will serve as guides for crystallographic experiments to provide further insights into the atypical folds identified.

This paper reports, a metasurface absorber which is U-joint loaded Double Split O shaped with a square split patch at the center and Double Negative (DNG) property. The proposed absorber shows significant absorption for potential applications like radar signal absorption and satellite communication, remote sensing, RF shielding. The vertical U joint and split O mutually creates substantial resonance and expedite by the center square patch, to cover two consecutive X and Ku band absorption peaks at 11.56 GHz with 82.31%, 12.27 GHz with 98.91% and 14.19 GHz with 97.79%. Besides, balanced geometrical shape with insensitivity polarization for TE and TM mode wave propagation enhances the robustness and tunability of the structure. The absorption mechanism analyzed and discussed with the Finite Integration Technique (FIT). Characterization of S-parameter executed with an established method for dielectric property extraction and finally compared the proposed absorber with existing literature. Keywords: Metamaterial, Absorber, DNG, Wideband, Ku band

A complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) based metamaterial is designed and investigated in this paper for microwave applications with effective medium ratio. This CSRR is the modification of the conventional split-ring resonator. Three square split-ring resonators (SSRR) are interconnected with a strip line as well as two splits in three square split-ring resonators are applied to increase the electrical length and coupling effect. The CSRR has an impact on the extraction of effective permittivity, permeability, and refractive index. The dimension of the designed unit cell is 5.5 × 5.5 mm2 that is printed on FR4 material. An 18 × 20 array structure is also investigated in this paper. The unit cell has a double negative region of 6.34–7.39 GHz and 8.20–9.98 GHz with effective negative refractive index region of 4.23–7.32 GHz and 7.40–10.0 GHz. The effective medium ratio is 8.0, which implies the effectiveness and compactness of the proposed CSSR design. The compact size, effective parameters, and effective medium ratio rate represent the suitability of the proposed metamaterial for practical C band microwave applications. Keywords: Metamaterial, SRR, EMR, C band, Microwave

Objective To study the efficacy, safety, and feasibility of angioplasty and drug-eluting stents (DESs) in the treatment of vertebral artery stenosis. Patients and methods The study was carried out on 20 patients (17 patients with vertebral artery endovascular stenting and three patients with angioplasty alone). The success rate, perioperative complications, and long-term effectiveness were evaluated. Results A total of 17 DESs were implanted and three patients with angioplasty alone. The success rate was 100%. The degree of stenosis decreased from 78.25±10.17 to 11.50±7.45% (P

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a leading country worldwide in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which alone can explain 73% of mortality in the country. In response to the heavy burden of NCDs, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), in collaboration with other government entities, developed a healthy food strategy (HFS) aimed at enhancing healthy lifestyles and reducing the intake of salt, sugar, saturated fatty acids (SSF) and trans fatty acids (TFA). The objectives of the HFS, to facilitate consumers’ identification of SSF and reduce the SSF and TFA content in food items, were addressed in collaboration with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors of the food industry. These reforms included voluntary and mandatory schemes to display nutrition information in food and beverage establishments, display allergens on food menus, encourage the adoption of front of pack nutrient labels (FoPNLs) on food products, ban the use of partially hydrogenated oils and establish limits for sodium composition in breads and selected food products. This manuscript contextualizes the HFS and presents the results of monitoring initiatives undertaken by the SFDA to assess compliance with these reforms.

Objective This study highlights the protective effects of montelukast on myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury induced by cardiopulmonary bypass during valve replacement surgery. Methods A total of 60 patients with valvular disease undergoing elective valve surgery were enrolled in this randomized single-blinded study. Participants were divided into two main groups: Montelukast-treated group consisted of 30 patients who were given 10 mg montelukast sodium (Singulair®, MSD, USA) tablet, once daily at bedtime for 3 days before valve surgery. Control group consisted of 30 patients who underwent valve surgery without taking montelukast tablets. Blood samples were collected at following times (T0; T1 before aortic cross clamp; T2 after aortic cross clamp; and T3 24 h after the surgery), for measuring several inflammatory markers. Ejection fraction (EF) was measured before surgery and three months after surgery. Pulmonary functions were measured before and after the surgery in both study groups. Results There were significant increase in the levels of TNF-a, IL-6, a2 macroglobulin/creatinine ratio and CTnI, in the control group compared to the montelukast-treated group among different study times, (P < 0.05). In addition, the EF was significantly higher in the montelukast-treated group after the valve surgery, (P < 0.05). Levels of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC ratio where significantly higher in the montelukast-treated group than the control group, (P < 0.05). Conclusion This study shows the benefits of using pre-surgical montelukast supplement in ameliorating the inflammatory process in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass during valve replacement surgery. Keywords montelukast, mitral and aortic valve replacement surgery, ischemia reperfusion injury, interleukin-6, cardiac troponin 1, tumor necrotic factor-alpha, alpha 2 macroglobulin/creatinine, ejection fraction, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio

New acyclonucleoside analogs tethered by a 1,2,4-triazole scaffold were synthesized through the condensation of 4-amino-5-(2-phenyleth-1-yl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione (2) with benzaldehyde followed by the alkylation of the resulting Schiff base (3)with 2-bromoethanol, 3-chloropropanol and/or 3-chloropropan-1,2-diol. Voltammetric studies were carried out for the analysis of 1 × 10−6 mol L−1 of the newly synthesized acyclonucleoside analogs (4–6) using square wave-adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SW-AdSV). The sharp voltammetric peak and high reduction current were recorded using a Britton–Robinson B–R pH 10 buffer at Ep = −1250 mV on the hanging mercury drop surface (HMDE) and Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Several experimental conditions were studied, such as the supporting electrolytes, the pH, and the accumulation time, as well as the potential, the scan rate, the frequency and the step potential for 4-benzylideneamino-5-(2-phenyleth-1-yl)-3-[(2,3-dihydroxyprop-1-yl)thio]-1,2,4-triazole (6). The analytical performance of the voltammetric technique was investigated through the analysis of the calibration curve, the detection limit, the recovery and the stability. The voltammetric analytical applications were evaluated by the recovery of compound (6) in the urine and plasma samples. The HPLC technique was also applied for the separation of compound (6) from interference using a C-18 (5 μm) column with UV detection at 254 nm.

Abstract Objectives To investigate the potential efficacy of Nigella sativa (NS) oil supplementation on the outcomes of patients with mild Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Trial design Prospective, two-arm, parallel-group, randomised (1:1 allocation ratio), open-label, controlled, exploratory phase II clinical trial of oral NS oil in patients with mild COVID-19. Participants Inclusion Criteria: - Patients with mild COVID19 (defined as upper respiratory tract infection symptoms in the absence of clinical or radiological signs of pneumonia). - Adult (18 - 65 years old). - Written informed consent by the patient (or legally authorized representative) prior to initiation of any study procedures. - All patients should understand and agree to comply with planned study procedures. - Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) from throat swab. Exclusion Criteria: - Patients with pneumonia or severe illness requiring admission to intensive care unit. - Severe chronic kidney disease (i.e. estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] < 30 mL / min ) or end stage renal disease requiring dialysis - Severe chronic liver disease (Alanine transaminase [AlT] or Aspartate transaminase [AST] > 5 times the upper limit of normal). - Pregnancy or breast feeding. - Anticipated transfer within 72 hours to another hospital that is not a study site. - Allergy to the study medication The trial is currently conducted on patients recruited from King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Intervention and comparator Intervention group: Nigella sativa oil (MARNYS® Cuminmar) 500 mg softgel capsules, one capsule orally twice daily for 10 days plus standard of care treatment (antipyretic, antitussive). Comparator group: standard of care treatment. Main outcomes Proportion of patients who clinically recovered (defined as 3 days of no symptoms) within 14 days after randomisation. Randomisation Patients will be randomly assigned to treatment or control groups in a 1:1 ratio using a computer-generated randomization scheme (Random permuted blocks of 10) developed using the web-based program: http://www.randomization.com . Blinding (masking) No blinding. Numbers to be randomised (sample size) Up to 200 eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either treatment or control groups. Trial Status Protocol version 1, as of July 14, 2020. Recruitment was started on May 21, 2020. The intended completion date is December 31, 2020. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04401202 . Date of trial registration: May 26, 2020. Full protocol The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest of expediting dissemination of this material, the familiar formatting has been eliminated; this letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.

Nowadays, renewable energy is being used increasingly because of the global warming and destruction of the environment. Therefore, the studies are concentrating on gain of maximum power from this energy such as the solar energy. A sun tracker is device which rotates a photovoltaic (PV) panel to the sun to get the maximum power. Disturbances which are originated by passing the clouds are one of great challenges in design of the controller in addition to the losses power due to energy consumption in the motors and lifetime limitation of the sun tracker. In this paper, the neuro-fuzzy controller has been designed and implemented using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board for dual axis sun tracker based on optical sensors to orient the PV panel by two linear actuators. The experimental results reveal that proposed controller is more robust than fuzzy logic controller and proportional-integral (PI) controller since it has been trained offline using Matlab tool box to overcome those disturbances. The proposed controller can track the sun trajectory effectively, where the experimental results reveal that dual axis sun tracker power can collect 50.6% more daily power than fixed angle panel. Whilst one axis sun tracker power can collect 39.4 % more daily power than fixed angle panel. Hence, dual axis sun tracker can collect 8 % more daily power than one axis sun tracker.

In this paper, a new algorithm called the virtual circle tangents is introduced for mobile robot navigation in an environment with polygonal shape obstacles. The algorithm relies on representing the polygonal shape obstacles by virtual circles, and then all the possible trajectories from source to target is constructed by computing the visible tangents between the robot and the virtual circle obstacles. A new method for searching the shortest path from source to target is suggested. Two states of the simulation are suggested, the first one is the off-line state and the other is the on-line state. The introduced method is compared with two other algorithms to study its performance.

Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis (IHPS) is one of the most common surgical conditions of the newborn. It occurs at a rate of 1–4 per 1000 live births. Males are affected more often with a 4:1 male-to-female ratio. Risk factors for IHPS include family history, gender, younger maternal age, being a first-born infant, and maternal feeding patterns. The classic presentation of IHPS is nonbilious, projectile vomiting in a full-term neonate who is between 2 and 8 weeks old. Premature infants are diagnosed with IHPS later than term or post-term infants. The authors are reporting a case of IHPS in a 7 month old female baby weighing 3.8 kg presented with nonbilious vomiting, where history, examination and investigations support the diagnosis and Ramstedt's pyloromyotomy was performed. The case history is presented and discussed.

The histological observations of this study which conducted on nasal cavity of black Iraqi goat revealed that the nasal cavity consisted of three regions (vestibular, respiratory and olfactory(.The vestibular region was narrow zone, lined with (non keratinized) stratified squamous epithelium, and its propria submucosa contained serous glands and blood vessels.The respiratory region was lined with ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelia with goblet cells. The vascular propria submucosa had mucous glands, which were positive to periodic acdic shieff and Alcian blue stains. The olfactory region was lined with thick pseudostratified columnar epithelium devoid of goblet cells and contained, the propria submucosa serous simple acinus Alcian positive glands (Bowman's glands) and numerous nerve bundles. The histological results concluded that the nasal cavity of black Iraqi goat was good adaptive tooled for hot dusty environment.

Genomics and genome screening are proving central to the study of cancer. However, a good appreciation of the protein structures coded by cancer genes is also invaluable, especially for the understanding of functions, for assessing ligandability of potential targets, and for designing new drugs. To complement the wealth of information on the genetics of cancer in COSMIC, the most comprehensive database for cancer somatic mutations available, structural information obtained experimentally has been brought together recently in COSMIC-3D. Even where structural information is available for a gene in the Cancer Gene Census, a list of genes in COSMIC with substantial evidence supporting their impacts in cancer, this information is quite often for a single domain in a larger protein or for a single protomer in a multiprotein assembly. Here, we show that over 60% of the genes included in the Cancer Gene Census are predicted to possess multiple domains. Many are also multicomponent and membrane-associated molecular assemblies, with mutations recorded in COSMIC affecting such assemblies. However, only 469 of the gene products have a structure represented in the PDB, and of these only 87 structures have 90-100% coverage over the sequence and 69 have less than 10% coverage. As a first step to bridging gaps in our knowledge in the many cases where individual protein structures and domains are lacking, we discuss our attempts of protein structure modelling using our pipeline and investigating the effects of mutations using two of our in-house methods (SDM2 and mCSM) and identifying potential driver mutations. This allows us to begin to understand the effects of mutations not only on protein stability but also on protein-protein, protein-ligand and protein-nucleic acid interactions. In addition, we consider ways to combine the structural information with the wealth of mutation data available in COSMIC. We discuss the impacts of COSMIC missense mutations on protein structure in order to identify and assess the molecular consequences of cancer-driving mutations.

INTRODUCTION:Accelerating progress in reducing child deaths is needed in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal child mortality target. This will require a focus on vulnerable children-including young children, those who are undernourished or with acute illnesses requiring hospitalization. Improving adherence to inpatient guidelines may be an important strategy to reduce child mortality, including among the most vulnerable. The aim of our assessment of nine sub-Saharan African and South Asian hospitals was to determine adherence to pediatric inpatient care recommendations, in addition to capacity for and barriers to implementation of guideline-adherent care prior to commencing the Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Cohort study. The CHAIN Cohort study aims to identify modifiable risk factors for poor inpatient and post discharge outcomes above and beyond implementation of guidelines. METHODS:Hospital infrastructure, staffing, durable equipment, and consumable supplies such as medicines and laboratory reagents, were evaluated through observation and key informant interviews. Inpatient medical records of 2-23 month old children were assessed for adherence to national and international guidelines. The records of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were oversampled to reflect the CHAIN study population. Seven core adherence indicators were examined: oximetry and oxygen therapy, fluids, anemia diagnosis and transfusion, antibiotics, malaria testing and antimalarials, nutritional assessment and management, and HIV testing. RESULTS:All sites had facilities and equipment necessary to implement care consistent with World Health Organization and national guidelines. However, stockouts of essential medicines and laboratory reagents were reported to be common at some sites, even though they were mostly present during the assessment visits. Doctor and nurse to patient ratios varied widely. We reviewed the notes of 261 children with admission diagnoses of sepsis (17), malaria (47), pneumonia (70), diarrhea (106), and SAM (119); 115 had multiple diagnoses. Adherence to oxygen therapy, antimalarial, and malnutrition refeeding guidelines was >75%. Appropriate antimicrobials were prescribed for 75% of antibiotic-indicative conditions. However, 20/23 (87%) diarrhea and 20/27 (74%) malaria cases without a documented indication were prescribed antibiotics. Only 23/122 (19%) with hemoglobin levels meeting anemia criteria had recorded anemia diagnoses. HIV test results were infrequently documented even at hospitals with universal screening policies (66/173, 38%). Informants at all sites attributed inconsistent guideline implementation to inadequate staffing. CONCLUSION:Assessed hospitals had the infrastructure and equipment to implement guideline-consistent care. While fluids, appropriate antimalarials and antibiotics, and malnutrition refeeding adherence was comparable to published estimates from low- and high-resource settings, there were inconsistencies in implementation of some other recommendations. Stockouts of essential therapeutics and laboratory reagents were a noted barrier, but facility staff perceived inadequate human resources as the primary constraint to consistent guideline implementation.

In this research, four steel beams were fabricated and tested to understand the influence of their strengthening (by using carbon fiber) with various span lengths on load deflection, load-strain, and ultimate load responses. All tested beams have the same cross-sectional area, and they are all strengthened by using intermediate stiffeners and cover steel plate at top flange to insure that failure will occur at the bottom flange. The tested steel beams are divided into two groups according to their clear span lengths 1400 and 1900 mm, and each group is subdivided into two beam cases based on whether they are strengthened by carbon fiber or not. From this study, it was found that the load deflection and load-strain curves for the beams strengthened by carbon fiber are stiffer than the original beams (without carbon fiber) with similar clear span lengths (this behavior was more obvious with smaller lengths). Moreover, the load deflection and load-strain responses have shown that beams became stiffer when the effective length is reduced (with and without carbon fiber), and this behavior was more apparent with the beams strengthened by carbon fiber. On the contrary, from the results of ultimate load of the beams, it can be concluded that the percentage of increase in ultimate load for the beam strengthened by carbon fiber is increased with the decrease in its span length. One could also conclude that when the effective length decreases, the ultimate load was increased and the percentage of this increasing is magnified with the presence of carbon fiber.