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This comprehensive article explores the massive MIMO (M-MIMO) design and its associated concepts, focusing on the seamless integration requirements for Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G networks. Addressing critical aspects such as RF chain reduction, pilot contamination, cell-free MIMO, and security considerations, this article delves into the intricacies of M-MIMO in the evolving landscape of B5G. Moreover, the emerging MIMO concepts in this article include AI-enabled M-MIMO three-dimensional beamforming, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, visible light communication, and THz spectrum utilization. This review highlights the challenges and open research issues, including Narrow Aperture Antenna Nodes, Plasmonic Antenna Arrays, Integrated Sensing with M-MIMO, and the application of federated learning in M-MIMO systems. By examining these cutting-edge developments, this article aims to advance knowledge in the field and inspire future research directions in the exciting realm of B5G and 6G networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic pollution has aroused up to intimidating level around the globe and has become a focal point for researchers. However, data regarding the effects of microplastics on structure and function of filamentous fungal species is very scarce. Fungi have made a prominent mark in the area of heavy metals’ bioremediation. This study attempts to check the influence of microplastic pollutants on Hg2+ uptake potential of metal-resistant Aspergillus flavus at laboratory scale under pre-optimized conditions. A. flavus showed a remarkable potential of remediating simulated wastewater, i.e., 100% Hg2+ reduction was achieved at 25 mg/L of the added metal in 15 days of incubation. On higher concentrations like 75 and 100 mg/L, A. flavus showed almost negligible reduction of Hg2+ but this strain was able to tolerate Hg2+ up to 200 mg/L. Polystyrene microbeads at a concentration of 100 mg/L reduced the metal uptake potential of A. flavus up to 21%. Polystyrene microparticles might have formed aggregates on fungal mycelia blocking the attachment sites for heavy metals. Our findings will be helpful in designing an efficient bioremedial system mediated by the pollution-resistant microflora. More research is required to check the possible effects of microplastic pollutants on the fungal mycelia to exploit their maximum potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Women and those with younger onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD) are typically diagnosed later and face unique situations and challenges. This essay aims to raise awareness of the difficulties in diagnosing YOPD and the need for a personalised approach to care for women with YOPD. Methods: Two professional women with YOPD (academic physiotherapist and practicing dentist) and a female neurologist (clinician academic) came together to write a narrative essay on their personal experience and perspectives in relation to women and YOPD. Results: The essay outlines how the experience of diagnosis is likened to a complex puzzle box with many interlocking components that are hidden and difficult to solve. The concerns of the women about their identity, work, family and the future, with most supports targeting those that are older and retired are outlined. Conclusion: It is concluded that YOPD is a complex puzzle to solve, but can be done by understanding all the intricate interlocking components of the puzzle and combined with greater awareness could lead to earlier diagnosis and the delivery of successful person‐centred care. Patient or Public Contribution: People with lived experience were involved in the essay conception and writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High Impedance Fault (HIF) detection in distribution networks is challenging for protection engineers, mainly because HIFs possess unique characteristics, including non-linearity, asymmetry, randomness, and relatively low fault current levels compared to the feeder load current. In this regard, the study proposes an approach to detect HIFs in a radial distribution feeder based on the spectrum analysis of current signals at the substation bus. The proposed method comprises two stages: signal decomposition and feature extraction. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is utilized for signal decomposition, followed by feature extraction. These features are subsequently used as input to an artificial neural network (ANN) to distinguish HIF from non-HIF events, such as linear and non-linear load switching, capacitor bank switching, and transformer energization. The proposed method's efficacy is rigorously evaluated under various dynamic conditions, demonstrating that the method can detect and differentiate HIFs from non-fault events with a high detection rate and high accuracy of 99.3%, irrespective of the HIF location and fault resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to check the corrosive impact of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) on mild steel coupons in solid and liquid media under two variable nutritional conditions. The bacterial species for the experimental trials was isolated from buried corroded metallic installment and found motile, Gramnegative, non-spore former and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. The corrosive impact of SRB on steel coupons was performed in water as liquid medium and the processed clay as the solid medium without and with the provision of Postgate B medium. After 60 days of anaerobic incubation, corrosion rate (CR) and average percent weight loss (APWL) of the steel pieces were calculated. Higher CR and APWL were observed in the liquid medium (water) than in the solid medium (clay). The CR and APWL in water were 249 ± 2 μg dm-2 d-1 and 4.16 ± 0.25 %, respectively, while the corresponding figures for CR and APWL in clay were 108 ± 2 and 1.88 ± 0.29, respectively. In addition, the CR and APWL were higher in the presence of Postgate B medium compared to the medium without it. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analyses reveals the presence of FeS in the corrosion product. Our findings of this study will be helpful for devising corrosion-protecting strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research, discusses the prevalence of cognitive impairment among older adults and the associated risk factors. The study was conducted in Sulaimani governorate in Iraq and involved 400 older adults living in urban areas. The researchers used various tools to assess cognitive function, physical functional capacity, depressive symptoms, visual acuity, and hearing acuity. The study found that the prevalence of cognitive impairment in the examined community was 31.25%, and identified several risk factors such as age, gender, employment status, socioeconomic level, education, hearing and visual acuity, functional impairment, marital status, and depressive symptoms. The article emphasizes the importance of addressing and modifying these risk factors through public health interventions to reduce the prevalence of cognitive impairment. [Extracted from the article]

Antiviral therapies are integral in the fight against SARS‐CoV‐2 (i.e. severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the causative agent of COVID‐19. Antiviral therapeutics can be divided into categories based on how they combat the virus, including viral entry into the host cell, viral replication, protein trafficking, post‐translational processing, and immune response regulation. Drugs that target how the virus enters the cell include: Evusheld, REGEN‐COV, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, bebtelovimab, sotrovimab, Arbidol, nitazoxanide, and chloroquine. Drugs that prevent the virus from replicating include: Paxlovid, remdesivir, molnupiravir, favipiravir, ribavirin, and Kaletra. Drugs that interfere with protein trafficking and post‐translational processing include nitazoxanide and ivermectin. Lastly, drugs that target immune response regulation include interferons and the use of anti‐inflammatory drugs such as dexamethasone. Antiviral therapies offer an alternative solution for those unable or unwilling to be vaccinated and are a vital weapon in the battle against the global pandemic. Learning more about these therapies helps raise awareness in the general population about the options available to them with respect to aiding in the reduction of the severity of COVID‐19 infection. In this 'A Guide To' article, we provide an in‐depth insight into the development of antiviral therapeutics against SARS‐CoV‐2 and their ability to help fight COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to identify the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practices at the secondary school level in Pakistan that described the practices and their outcomes in various school aspects in Pakistan. The study analyzed the existing monitoring and evaluation practices at the secondary school level in Pakistan, to identify the gaps in existing monitoring and evaluation practices and to propose a strategy for bridging the gaps in the existing monitoring and evaluation system to enhance the operations of secondary schools in Pakistan. The principals’ opinions were gathered through a questionnaire while Regional Directors were interviewed to verify and cross-check the opinions of principals. Concurrent triangulation research design of mixed methods was used to take the qualitative and quantitative data for analysis to reach the conclusions. The population of the study consists of 12 Regional Directors (RDs), and 186 secondary school principals of Federal Govt Educational Institutions (FGEI) Cantonments and Garrisons (C/G). Census sampling technique was used and all the population of 12 RDs, and 186 principals of FGEI (C/G) Pakistan were taken as samples of the study. Validity of research tools were carried out through field experts while reliability was checked through Cronbach Alpha. The collected data were analyzed by the latest (version 2024) of SPSS. Mean and standard deviation were used as descriptive statistics while Chi-square was used as inferential statistics to check the significance of the statements. Interviews were conducted for 12 RDs for in-depth understanding and the interviews’ data were analyzed theme-wise through thematic analysis. The major findings revealed that the existing M&E practices in majority of the schools are traditional and are carried out without using any M&E model, emerging technology and independent body of external evaluators. In majority of the institutions only internal evaluation is conducted due to insufficient financial, material and human resources therefore, the existing M&E practices have low reliability and objectivity. Findings of the current study revealed that there is a need of M&E framework, using technologies, independent body of external evaluators. On the basis of the results of the study, a monitoring and evaluation model was proposed at the secondary school level so that it could include all the proposed equipment in the existing M&E system to improve the quality of academics, administration, infrastructure, physical facilities, and co-curricular activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aging of the global population has increased the demand for primary care of older adult's health disorders. As the first point of contact for healthcare, primary care services should be accessible and adaptable to the needs of older people. This study aims to assess the age-friendliness of healthcare services at the primary healthcare centers (PHCCs) in Sulaimani Governorate, Iraq. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study included all 87 PHCCs in Sulaimani governorate (61 centers in Sulaimani city, 16 in Raparin Administration, and 10 in Garmyan Administration). In each of these health facilities, data were collected regarding the physical, architectural, and clinical age-friendliness of these centers. A modified age-friendly PHCCs toolkit was used as a tool for assessing the PHCCs, and then a scoring system was utilized to estimate the overall friendliness of the PHCCs. Results: The Sulaimani governorate selected 13 out of 87 PHCCs (14.9%) to be agefriendly; all of them were in Sulaimani city. However, this study found that only 3 out of 87 (3.4%) centers were in the range of the WHO age-friendly recommendations with a score of >75%, while 64 (73.6%) centers were partially age-friendly with a score of 50-74% and 20 (23%) centers were not age-friendly with a score <50%. Conclusion: Only 3.4% of PHCCs in Sulaimani Governorate were age-friendly, and most of the centers were partially age-friendly. Geriatric doctors and geriatric nurses were not recruited, and geriatric training programs for medical staff were not satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with a backward-propagation technique was used to predict the power generation of the Photovoltaic (PV) module in weather conditions of Baghdad city-Iraq. Experiment tests were investigated in the summer of 2022. Three weather parameters, including: (solar radiation, ambient temperature, and wind speed), the output electrical characteristics of the PV module (voltage, current, power), and module temperature (were measured. Therefore, the dataset of the ANN system consists of four input and one output parameter. Furthermore, the structure of ANN includes a single hidden layer with a backward propagation technique. The main goal of this study was to optimize the number of neurons in the training process. The evaluation of the ANN model depended on the determination coefficient (R) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). The obtained results show that the architecture of ANN is appropriate for predicting the power generated from the PV module. The developed ANN model has good accuracy. Where the MSE is 0.002747 at epoch 9 in the model. Furthermore, the R is recorded as 0.99078, 0.98254, 0.99125, and 0.99005 for training, testing, validation, and all respectively in the proposed model. In addition, the optimization number of neurons in the hidden layer gave sufficient accuracy without referring to the choice of the number of neurons by using the trial-and-error method that most researchers relied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving reliability and power quality in Radial Distribution Systems (RDS) is of large significance to ensure the provision of electricity within a reliable and acceptable standard to consumers with increasing load requirements. An Optimal Capacitor Placement (OCP) technique is used in the present work to achieve the highest power quality and system reliability in a balanced manner at the same time. The proposed technique has been tested with 69 typical IEEE RDS buses using the Improved Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (IBPSO) algorithm. The proposed algorithm shows a high ability to find the best location and size of injected capacitors inside the RDS to implement a single-objective function for minimization of Active Power Loss (APL). The simulation results obtained from the MATLAB environment show that the OCP technique has a significant potential to enhance RDS reliability, bus voltage, and loss reduction as compared to other previous work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating Renewable Energy (RE) into Distribution Power Networks (DPNs) is a choice for efficient and sustainable electricity. Controlling the power factor of these sources is one of the techniques employed to manage the power loss of the grid. Capacitor banks have been employed to control phantom power, improving voltage and reducing power losses for several decades. The voltage sag and the significant power losses in the Iraqi DPN make it good evidence to be a case study proving the efficiency enhancement by adjusting the RE power factor. Therefore, this paper studies a part of the Iraqi network in a windy and sunny region, the Badra-Zurbatya-11 kV feeder, in the Wasit governorate. A substation of hybrid RE sources is connected to this feeder to compensate for the low voltage and high power losses within three different electricity demand conditions: low, medium, and high. The results are compared with a case when an optimum capacitor placement is applied. By using the CYME 9 software for analysis, the research shows the benefits of adding RE to the grid. The results have approved the hybrid RE penetration benefits as the power losses are reduced in low, medium, and high scenarios by 36.26%, 43%, and 48.4%, respectively, besides the voltage sag elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]