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Abstract Preoperative identification of intracranial meningiomas with aggressive behaviour may help in choosing the optimal treatment strategy. Radiomics is emerging as a powerful diagnostic tool with potential applications in patient risk stratification. In this study, we aimed to compare the predictive value of conventional, semantic based and radiomic analyses to determine CNS WHO grade and early tumour relapse in intracranial meningiomas. We performed a single-centre retrospective analysis of intracranial meningiomas operated between 2007 and 2018. Recurrence within 5 years after Simpson Grade I-III resection was considered as early. Preoperative T1 CE MRI sequences were analysed conventionally by two radiologists. Additionally a semantic feature score based on systematic analysis of morphological characteristics was developed and a radiomic analysis were performed. For the radiomic model, tumour volume was extracted manually, 791 radiomic features were extracted. Eight feature selection algorithms and eight machine learning methods were used. Models were analysed using test and training datasets. In total, 226 patients were included. There were 21% CNS WHO grade 2 tumours, no CNS WHO grade 3 tumour, and 25 (11%) tumour recurrences were detected in total. In ROC analysis the best radiomic models demonstrated superior performance for determination of CNS WHO grade (AUC 0.930) and early recurrence (AUC 0.892) in comparison to the semantic feature score (AUC 0.74 and AUC 0.65) and conventional radiological analysis (AUC 0.65 and 0.54). The combination of human classifiers, semantic score and radiomic analysis did not markedly increase the model performance. Radiomic analysis is a promising tool for preoperative identification of aggressive and atypical intracranial meningiomas and could become a useful tool in the future.

The research aims to propose an educational approach inspired by Montessori's method using motor games to develop sensory motor skills in children aged (5-6) years, and to identify the impact of using Montessori's method with motor games in developing some cognitive sensory motor skills for children. The experimental method was used with the matched group design. The sample represented children from the Braum Al-Amal Nursery in Basra, who were selected to take the Haywood test to measure cognitive sensory motor abilities. It was concluded that Montessori's method using motor games contributed to the development of sensory motor skills and helped in enhancing overall and partial visual perception for children. The child learned about parts of the body, distinguished between body sides, and helped in enhancing balance and spatial awareness. The method also aided in teaching the child how to determine location. It was recommended to benefit from the Montessori method in developing motor and cognitive abilities, and to introduce specific courses for preschool teachers in teaching the Montessori method. Key words: Montessori method, motor games, sensory motor perception, preschool education, teaching methods

Since that hydroquinoline and acridine compounds serve as the fundamental building blocks for the synthesis of many different pharmaceuticals, they are among the most significant classes of chemical compounds that attract the interest of numerous researchers and pharmacologists. Therefore, in this research, The Hantzch reaction was used to prepare these types hydroquinoline and acridine derivatives of compounds, through the reaction of a number substituted benzaldehyde with demidone and α-β diketone substitutes by refluxed with sodium acetate in the presence of iodine and a 1-sulfo-4-(3-(Ferricoxide-Silicondioxide nanopowdertrioxisilyl)propyl) piperazinum-1,4-diphosphate as a catalyst to form 7,7- dimethyl -4,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives which is represented by compounds (1-12) or in the same way by react benzaldehyde substitutes react with demidone and 4-isopropyl cyclohexanone 1-one to form acridin derivatives represented by compounds (13 -17). All product compound are characterized using 1H-NMR spectra and the results confirmed the structures.

Background Ageing is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is linked to several alterations in cardiac structure and function, including left ventricular hypertrophy and increased cardiomyocyte volume, as well as a decline in the number of cardiomyocytes and ventricular dysfunction, emphasizing the pathological impacts of cardiomyocyte ageing. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are promising as a cellular therapeutic source due to their minimally invasive surgical approach and remarkable proliferative ability. Aim This study is the first to investigate the outcomes of the systemic transplantation of DPSCs in a D-galactose (D-gal)-induced rat model of cardiac ageing. Methods. Thirty 9-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly assigned into three groups: control, ageing (D-gal), and transplanted groups (D-gal + DPSCs). D-gal (300 mg/kg/day) was administered intraperitoneally daily for 8 weeks. The rats in the transplantation group were intravenously injected with DPSCs at a dose of 1 × 106 once every 2 weeks. Results The transplanted cells migrated to the heart, differentiated into cardiomyocytes, improved cardiac function, upregulated Sirt1 expression, exerted antioxidative effects, modulated connexin-43 expression, attenuated cardiac histopathological alterations, and had anti-senescent and anti-apoptotic effects. Conclusion Our results reveal the beneficial effects of DPSC transplantation in a cardiac ageing rat model, suggesting their potential as a viable cell therapy for ageing hearts.

Abstract Objective Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has become standard treatment in acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO). However, optimal blood pressure (BP) management following successful recanalization remains unclear. We aim to investigate the association of strictly achieving BP targets of ≤160/90 mmHg with the extent of neuronal loss and functional outcome. Methods In patients prospectively enrolled in the Gutenberg‐Stroke‐Study (May 2018–November 2019), BP was measured half‐hourly for 24 h following MT. Based on achieving BP target of ≤160/90 mmHg, patients with successful recanalization of LVO were divided into “low‐BP” group (BP ≤ 160/90 mmHg) or “high‐BP” group (BP > 160/90 mmHg). Neuronal loss was quantified by serum‐based measurement of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) after three days. BP groups and association of BP parameters with sNfL were investigated by correlation analyses and multiple regression modeling. Results Of 253 enrolled patients (mean age 73.1 ± 12.9 years, 53.4% female), 165 met inclusion criteria. 21.2% (n = 35) strictly achieved “low‐BP” target. “low‐BP” was associated with unfavorable functional outcome at 90‐day follow‐up (aOR [95%CI]: 5.88 [1.88–18.32], p = 0.002) and decreased health‐related quality of life (mean EQ‐5D‐index 0.45 ± 0.28 vs 0.63 ± 0.31, p = 0.009). sNfL levels were increased in “low‐BP” patients (median [IQR] 239.7 [168.4–303.4] vs 118.8 [52.5–220.5] pg/mL, p = 0.026). Hypotensive episodes were more frequent in the “low‐BP” group (48.6% vs 29.2%, p = 0.031). sNfL level could identify patients who had experienced hypotensive episodes with high discriminative ability (AUC [95%CI]: 0.68 [0.56–0.78], p = 0.007). Interpretation Strict BP control (≤160/90 mmHg) within 24 h following successful recanalization of LVO by MT is associated with increased neuronal injury, displayed by higher sNfL levels, and poorer functional outcome, potentially indicating hypotension‐induced neuronal loss during post‐MT phase.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are typically prescribed to relieve inflammation and pain. The first two selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors were approved for commercialization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 1998 and May 1999, respectively. Part of the reason coxibs, or selective COX-2 inhibitors, were developed was the expectation that they would be less harmful than conventional NSAIDs. The potential harm that conventional NSAID use may cause to the kidneys is widely recognized. There is a remote possibility of serious kidney toxicity, nevertheless. Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate how celecoxib affects renal function in the elderly. Conclusion: As the primary treatment for pain and fever, NSAIDs decrease the inflammatory response triggered by COX enzymes, exposing individuals to dangerous and detrimental adverse consequences on the kidney. Recommendations: Physicians should be informed that patients with normal or impaired renal function have been linked to substantial or potentially fatal renal failure while using celecoxib for a short period of time. Celecoxib should not be taken by patients who have severe renal disease.

Knowledge management is one of the latest administrative concepts because of its human and intellectual capital, and it represents the basis on which project management and development are based and the basis of competitive advantage in construction companies. This is what causes managers and building experts to light and attention to managing knowledge to improve performance and better practicing the construction industry. However, many construction companies, especially medium and small enterprises, still do not effectively manage knowledge, with much lost financial burden and waste much experience, information, and knowledge without realizing the importance of lost knowledge and also what it takes to redefine lost knowledge. Therefore This paper aims to study the role provided by knowledge management to improve the performance of construction companies by reviewing the relationship between knowledge management and improving the performance of construction companies in the light of the available literature and previous studies using the descriptive analytical approach to stand on two main axes for any knowledge system applied in The two construction companies are: the effective supporting factors in the knowledge management systems, and the second is the obstacles facing the implementation of the current knowledge management systems. The result of the study is that supporting the culture of knowledge management, support from senior management, supporting information technology, and training continuous of employees are among the most important critical success factors shown by previous field studies. The obstacles differ according to the work environment and place of study. The research hypothesis was confirmed, which is that knowledge management improves the performance of construction companies, as it affects project performance, affecting project performance, company performance, employee performance, and knowledge effectiveness within the company. This research is the nucleus for decision-makers and those working to develop the performance of construction companies and the setters of strategies and knowledge systems to improve performance and achieve the required final output in the construction industry. تعد إدارة المعرفة من أحدث المفاهيم الإدارية لما تضمنته من رأس مال بشري وفكري ويمثل الأساس الذي يرتكز عليه تقدم إدارة المشروعات وتطورها وأساس الميزة التنافسية في شركات البناء. هذا ما يجعل المدراء وخبراء البناء يلقون الضوء والاهتمام لإدارة المعرفة لأجل تحسين الأداء وممارسة أفضل لصناعة البناء. ولكن لا يزال الكثير من شركات البناء بخاصة المتوسطة والصغيرة لا تفعل دور إدارة المعرفة بشكل فاعل مما يكبدها الأعباء المإلىة الكثيرة الضائعة وتهدر الكثير من الخبرات والمعلومات والمعرفة دون إدراك لأهمية المعرفة المفقودة وأيضا ما يتطلبه الأمر لأجل إعادة تعريف المعرفة المفقودة. لذا تهدف هذه الورقة البحثية إلى دراسة الدور الذي تقدمه إدارة المعرفة بغية تحسين أداء شركات البناء وذلك من مراجعة العلاقة بين إدارة المعرفة وتحسين أداء شركات البناء في ضوء الأدبيات المتاحة والدراسات السابقة باستخدام المنهج التحليلي الوصفي من أجل الوقوف على محورين أساسيين لأي نظام معرفي يطبق في شركات البناء وهما: العوامل الفاعلة الداعمة في أنظمة إدارة المعرفة، والثاني هو المعوقات التي تواجه تطبيق الأنظمة الحإلىة لإدارة المعرفة. اثمرت الدراسة إلى أن دعم ثقافة إدارة المعرفة ودعم الإدارة العليا لها ودعم تكنولوجيا المعلومات والتدريب المستمر للموظفين من أهم عوامل النجاح الحاسمة التي أظهرتها الدراسات الميدانية السابقة. وتختلف المعوقات باختلاف بيئة العمل ومكان الدراسة. وتم تأكيد فرضية البحث وهي أن إدارة المعرفة تحسن من أداء شركات البناء، حيث تؤثر على أداء المشروع وأداء الشركة وأداء الموظفين وأيضا الفاعلية المعرفية داخل الشركة. ويعد هذا البحث هو نواه لمتخذي القرار والعاملين على تطوير أداء شركات البناء وواضعي الإستراتيجيات ونظم المعرفة من أجل تحسين الأداء وتحقيق المطلوب من الناتج النهائي في صناعة البناء.

Invasive dental procedures, such as wisdom teeth removal, have been identified as potential triggers for vascular events due to the entry of oral bacteria into the bloodstream, leading to acute vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. This study presents the case of a 27-year-old healthy male who developed ischemic stroke resulting from bacteremia after undergoing wisdom teeth extraction. Initially, the patient experienced fever and malaise, which were followed by right-sided hemiplegia. Diagnostic imaging, including a CT scan, identified a subacute infarction in the posterior crus of the left internal capsule, and MRI findings indicated inflammatory changes in the masticatory muscles. Further investigations involving biopsies of the masticatory muscles, along with blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples, confirmed bacterial meningitis with associated vasculitis. Notably, oral bacteria linked to periodontitis, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Tannerella forsythia, and Parvimonas micra, were found in the biopsies and microbiological analyses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case showing that bacteremia following dental procedures can lead to such severe neurological outcomes. This case underscores the importance of recognizing bacteremia-induced vasculitis in patients presenting with neurological symptoms post-dental procedures, emphasizing the broader implications of oral infections in such pathologies.

Abstract As the enthusiasm surrounding Deep Learning grows, both medical practitioners and regulatory bodies are exploring ways to safely introduce image segmentation in clinical practice. One frontier to overcome when translating promising research into the clinical open world is the shift from static to continual learning. Continual learning, the practice of training models throughout their lifecycle, is seeing growing interest but is still in its infancy in healthcare. We present Lifelong nnU-Net, a standardized framework that places continual segmentation at the hands of researchers and clinicians. Built on top of the nnU-Net—widely regarded as the best-performing segmenter for multiple medical applications—and equipped with all necessary modules for training and testing models sequentially, we ensure broad applicability and lower the barrier to evaluating new methods in a continual fashion. Our benchmark results across three medical segmentation use cases and five continual learning methods give a comprehensive outlook on the current state of the field and signify a first reproducible benchmark.

Coleus forskohlii (Willd.) Briq. is a medicinal herb of the Lamiaceae family. It is native to India and widely present in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of Egypt, China, Ethiopia, and Pakistan. The roots of C. forskohlii are edible, rich with pharmaceutically bioactive compounds, and traditionally reported to treat a variety of diseases, including inflammation, respiratory disorders, obesity, and viral ailments. Notably, the emergence of viral diseases is expected to quickly spread; consequently, these data impose a need for various approaches to develop broad active therapeutics for utilization in the management of future viral infectious outbreaks. In this study, the naturally occurring labdane diterpenoid derivative, Forskolin, was obtained from Coleus forskohlii. Additionally, we evaluated the antiviral potential of Forskolin towards three viruses, namely the herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), hepatitis A virus (HAV), and coxsackievirus B4 (COX-B4). We observed that Forskolin displayed antiviral activity against HAV, COX-B4, HSV-1, and HSV-2 with IC50 values of 62.9, 73.1, 99.0, and 106.0 μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, we explored the Forskolin’s potential antiviral target using PharmMapper, a pharmacophore-based virtual screening platform. Forskolin’s modeled structure was analyzed to identify potential protein targets linked to its antiviral activity, with results ranked based on Fit scores. Cathepsin L (PDB ID: 3BC3) emerged as a top-scoring hit, prompting further exploration through molecular docking and MD simulations. Our analysis revealed that Forskolin’s binding mode within Cathepsin L’s active site, characterized by stable hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, mirrors that of a co-crystallized inhibitor. These findings, supported by consistent RMSD profiles and similar binding free energies, suggest Forskolin’s potential in inhibiting Cathepsin L, highlighting its promise as an antiviral agent.

Today's world is plagued with water shortages, especially in developing countries. The problem is made worse by increasing water demands and decreasing rainfall occurrences in arid and semi-arid areas. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to be a viable solution for this issue, as it can augment existing water supplies in the long term. This study aimed to identify suitable areas for RWH using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, combined with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques. This study has been carried out in the Al-Qalamoun Basin, the western part of Syria, which has not been studied for rainwater harvesting before. To fill this gap, a potential RWH map was created in the Al-Qalamoun Basin using nine factors, which are land use and land cover (LULC), soil texture, slope, rainfall, curve number (CN), stream order, distance to faults, distance to roads, and distance to residential areas. All thematic layers were allocated appropriate weights and combined using the weighted Overlay process (WOP) in ArcGIS 10.8 to produce a RWH map of the study area. The findings indicated that about 18.1% of the total study area was classified as most suitable and suitable for RWH. Validation of the RWH map with the existing dams indicated that the methodology adopted in this study had a high capacity to identify sites suitable for RWH. The study presents a useful and inexpensive tool for decision-makers to avoid unsuitable sites and focus on the most suitable sites for constructing dams.

Abstract Background We evaluated the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in a group of patients with suspicion of ovarian cancer recurrence. It is considered a diagnostic dilemma, particularly in the 2 years following first-line therapy. CA125 serum levels computed tomography (CT) and other modalities are used during routine follow-up. These traditional modalities could provide a significant number of false-negative or equivocal results even in the presence of elevated CA125 levels. So the performance of 18F-FDG-PET/CT is essential for the optimal diagnosis of recurrence and treatment planning. Results Studying PET/CT behaviour in the detection of ovarian cancer recurrence, 18F-FDG-PET/CT had an accuracy of 98% with sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 100%, respectively. 18F-FDG-PET/CT had a PPV of 100% and NPV of 83%. While studying the CA125 level (> 35 U/ml) to detect the ovarian cancer recurrence during patient follow-up, the CA125 level had an accuracy of 50% with a sensitivity ratio and specificity ratio of 47% and 80%, respectively. CA-125 level had a PPV of 95% and NPV of 14%. In comparison between conventional CT and PET/CT studies, the PET/CT diagnosed local tumor recurrence in 16 patients (32%), while CT scan diagnosed local tumor recurrence in only 3 patients (6%), and PET/CT detected peritoneal recurrence in 34 patients (68%). CT scan found peritoneal deposits in 11 patients (22%), also the PET/CT showed suspicious abdominal LNS in 22 patients (44%) while, CT scan showed suspicious abdominal LNS in 4 patients (8%), and PET/CT showed suspicious pelvic LNS in 16 patients (32%). CT scan showed suspicious pelvic LNS in 7 patients (14%). PET/CT detected distant organ metastases in 18 patients (36%). CT scan detected distant organ metastasis in only 8 patients (16%). Comparison between CT and PET/CT in 32 follow-up cases for the detection of local tumor recurrence, peritoneal deposits, suspicious abdominal/pelvic LNs and distant organ metastasis. There was a statistically significant difference between CT and PET/CT the end results (p

Solar thermal is a kind of renewable energy that converts solar radiation to heat using a concentrator that concentrates the heat in the focal point. The receiver is located in the focal and transfers heat to the flowed water, rising the water temperature beyond boiling. To harvest the most solar efficiency, a dual tracking system is used that tracks the sun during the daytime. This paper proposes implementing Arduino Uno dual axis tracking system for the solar parabolic concentrator dish. The tracking system is controlled and managed by using an Arduino microcontroller and light sensors. The proposed system has been installed in the city of Erbil and the testing results showed the success of the proposed system in which the dual tracking system tracked the sun precisely and the concentrator with the help of the receiver raised the flowed water to the desired temperature.

Key Clinical Message Illustrating F‐quad helix with extension arms that simultaneously expand maxillary arch and rotate its central incisor adjacent to the alveolar cleft while aligning palatally ectopic canines. Incisor rotation occurred before alveolar grafting, while canine traction was performed after alveolar grafting. The construction of this appliance is shown in detail.

Users and buildings guarantee the sustainability of any built environment. Thus, monitoring user satisfaction is as important as monitoring energy consumption. The traditional method of user satisfaction assessment costs a lot of money, effort, and time, which are barriers to its frequent occurrence. The objective of this research is to take advantage of smart initiatives to develop a user satisfaction assessment model that evaluates user satisfaction simply and continuously. The model investigates the ability of the time parameter to monitor user satisfaction and building performance. The study examines the correlation between time and overall satisfaction in three government buildings, through a mixed quantitative and qualitative method using questionnaires and walkthrough. It was found that time spent in the building significantly contributes to user satisfaction (ρ = 0.473, and ρ = 0.521) for total and waiting time respectively. The proposed model overcomes the constrains of the previous methods and predicts user satisfaction with 60 % accuracy.

During the past few decades, rare earth elements (REEs) have gained enormous attention in geochemical studies worldwide as a result of their important role in the manufacturing of high-tech equipment. REEs in river sediment have been widely used for provenance determination and in geochemical studies of continental crust, rock and sediment environments, and anthropogenic pollution. This study aims to elucidate the origin and tectonic setting of Little Zab River Basin (LZRB) sediments by examining 23 fluvial sediment samples of rare earth elements (REEs) collected from both the primary river and the inter-sub-basin regions during the rainy or high-flow season. The ICP-MS method was employed to analyze all samples to identify and assess the compositions of REEs. A fraction of the river sediments, smaller than 2 mm, which is more representative and more homogeneous, was used to carry out geochemical analysis. REE concentrations in the Little Zab River (LZR) and the upper parts of the LZRB were generally higher than those in the lower parts. The concentration of REEs in nearly all samples was lower than that of the North American Shale Composite (NASC), and the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), except for the sub-basin sediment Sbs2, which was higher than these references; also, the sediment sample Zrs4 was slightly higher than NASC. Light rare earth elements (LREEs) display enrichment relative to heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) with a range between 7.15 μg/g and 12.37 μg/g for LZR samples and between 5.95 μg/g and 13.03 μg/g for the sub-basin samples. The REE discrimination diagrams, along with the chondrodite-normalized pattern of the studied sediments, confirm that the sediment is predominantly sourced from the alkaline basaltic unit of the late Cretaceous Walsh group of an arc tectonic affinity.

Abstract Background Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a challenging clinical problem in medicine that needs collaboration of various diagnostic techniques to establish the accurate diagnosis. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients who presented themselves with FUO. Our study included 40 patients with FUO who underwent PET/CT examination and their results were compared to the results of laboratory, histopathological, microbiological investigations and/or response to therapy. Results The final diagnosis included malignancy in 20 patients (50%), infectious causes in 7 patients (17.5%) and non-infectious inflammatory causes in 6 patients (15%). Fever resolved without diagnosis in 4 patients (10%), while no definite diagnosis was reached in 3 patients (7%). PET/CT successfully contributed to diagnosis of 35 out of 40 patients with diagnostic accuracy of 87.5%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PET/CT in our study were 93.5%, 66.7%, 90.6% and 75%, respectively. Conclusion PET/CT is a useful tool to investigate and diagnose the cause of FUO. It provides information that can guide the treatment strategy of the patients.

Vulnerability evaluation to determine more susceptible to contamination regions has played a significant role in urban planning and resources management. Our study is the first study comes to use the DRASTIC model assessing the vulnerability areas of the Laylan sub-basin. An extra aim is to prove the integration between DRASTIC and the geographical information system for risk estimation of groundwater discrimination. Seven DRASTIC factors have been utilized to maintain the groundwater quality in the study area. These parameters were prepared and analyzed using geographical information system software. Each parameter was got a weight according to its importance. The sum of these parameters produced a final map showing the areas of vulnerability in the region. The final map contains five vulnerability zones distributed in the Laylan sub-basin. The northern and northwestern parts of Laylan sub-basin were characterized as very high and high vulnerability; whilst the central part was dominated as very low and low vulnerability.

Background CAD/CAM has considerably transformed the clinical practice of dentistry. In particular, advanced dental materials produced via digital technologies offer unquestionable benefits, such as ideal mechanical stability, outstanding aesthetics and reliable high precision. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has promoted new innovations, especially in the field of biomedicine. Aims The aim of this study is to analyze the fracture resistance of implant-supported 3D-printed temporary crowns relative to milled crowns by compression testing. Methods The study sample included 32 specimens of temporary crowns, which were divided into 16 specimens per group. Each group consisted of eight maxillary central incisor crowns (tooth 11) and eight maxillary molar crowns (tooth 16). The first group (16 specimens) was 3D printed by a mask printer (Varseo, BEGO, Bremen, Germany) with a temporary material (VarseoSmile Temp A3, BEGO, Bremen, Germany). The second group was milled with a millable temporary material (VitaCAD Temp mono-color, Vita, Bad Säckingen, Germany). The two groups were compression tested until failure to estimate their fracture resistance. The loading forces and travel distance until failure were measured. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 24.0. We performed multiple t tests and considered a significance level of p Results The mean fracture force of the printed molars was 1189.50 N (±250.85) with a deformation of 1.75 mm (±0.25). The milled molars reached a mean fracture force of 1817.50 N (±258.22) with a deformation of 1.750 mm (±0.20). The printed incisors fractured at 321.63 N (±145.90) with a deformation of 1.94 mm (±0.40), while the milled incisors fractured at 443.38 N (±113.63) with a deformation of 2.26 mm (±0.40). The milled molar group revealed significantly higher mechanical fracture strength than the 3D-printed molar group (PConclusion Within the limits of this in vitro investigation, printed and milled temporary crowns withstood masticatory forces and were safe for clinical use.

Abstract Objective Diabetes mellitus causes deterioration in the body, including serious damage of the oral cavity related to salivary gland dysfunction, characterised by hyposalivation and xerostomia. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) represent a promising therapy source, due to the easy, minimally invasive surgical access to these cells and their high proliferative capacity. It was previously reported that the trophic support mediated by these cells can rescue the functional and structural alterations of damaged salivary glands. However, potential differentiation and paracrine effects of hDPSCs in diabetic-induced parotid gland damage have not been investigated. Our study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of intravenous transplantation of hDPSCs on parotid gland injury in a rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes. Methods Thirty Sprague–Dawley male rats were randomly categorised into three groups: control, diabetic (STZ), and transplanted (STZ + hDPSCs). The hDPSCs or the vehicles were injected into the rats’ tail veins, 7 days after STZ injection. Fasting blood glucose levels were monitored weekly. A glucose tolerance test was performed, and the parotid gland weight, salivary flow rate, oxidative stress indices, parotid gland histology, and caspase-3, vascular endothelial growth factor, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, neuronal nitric oxide synthase, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and tetrahydrobiopterin biosynthetic enzyme expression levels in parotid tissues were assessed 28 days post-transplantation. Results Transplantation of hDPSCs decreased blood glucose, improved parotid gland weight and salivary flow rate, and reduced oxidative stress. The cells migrated to the STZ-injured parotid gland and differentiated into acinar, ductal, and myoepithelial cells. Moreover, hDPSCs downregulated the expression of caspase-3 and upregulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, likely exerting pro-angiogenic and anti-apoptotic effects and promoting endogenous regeneration. In addition, the transplanted cells enhanced the parotid nitric oxide-tetrahydrobiopterin pathway. Conclusions Our results showed that hDPSCs migrated to and survived within the STZ-injured parotid gland, where functional and morphological damage was prevented due to the restoration of normal glucose levels, differentiation into parotid cell populations, and stimulation of paracrine-mediated regeneration. Thus, hDPSCs may have potential in the treatment of diabetes-induced parotid gland injury.

Objective: We sought to report our experience of repairing acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) over 21 years during in-hours versus out-of-hours before and after the establishment of specialized aortic service and rota. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients who had ATAAD repair between November 1998 and December 2019 in our center. In-hours were defined as 08:00 to 19:59 hours and out of hours were defined as 20:00 to 07:59 hours. Results: A total of 286 patients underwent repair of ATAAD. Eighty operations took place during the prerota period (43 operations in hours, 37 out of hours) and 206 operations during the specialized rota period (110 in hours, 96 out of hours). There was no difference in 30-day mortality between the in-hours and out-of-hours groups in either the prerota (23.3% vs 32.4%; P = .36) or specialized rota periods (11.6% vs 11.5%; P = .94). Mean number of cases per year increased by 83% between the prerota and specialized rota periods. Thirty-day mortality reduced in both the in-hours (23.3% vs 11.6%) and out-of-hours (32.4% vs 11.5%) groups since introduction of the specialized aortic rota. Conclusions: Outcomes in repair of ATAAD during in-hours and out-of-hours periods are similar when operated on in a specialized unit with a dedicated aortic team. This emphasizes the current global trend of service centralization without particular attention to time of day to operate on such critical cohort patients.

Iraq, including the investigated watershed, has endured destructive floods and drought due to precipitation variability in recent years. Protecting susceptible areas from flooding and ensuring water supply is essential for maintaining basic human needs, agricultural production, and industry development. Therefore, locating and constructing storage structures is a significant initiative to alleviate flooding and conserve excessive surface water for future growth. This study aims to identify suitable locations for Runoff Harvesting (RH) and dam construction in the Hami Qeshan Watershed (HQW), Slemani Governorate, Iraq. We integrated in situ data, remotely sensed images, and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approaches for site selection within the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) environment. A total of ten criteria were employed to generate the RH suitability maps, including topographic position index, lithology, slope, precipitation, soil group, stream width, land cover, elevation, distance to faults, and distance to town/city. The weights of the utilized factors were determined via Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The resulting RH maps were validated through 16 dam sites preselected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (MAWR). Findings showed that the WLC method slightly outperformed AHP regarding efficiency and exhibited a higher overall accuracy. WLC achieved a higher average overall accuracy of 69%; consequently, it was chosen to locate new multipurpose dams for runoff harvesting in the study area. The overall accuracy of the 10 suggested locations in HQW ranged between 66% and 87%. Two of these sites align with the 16 locations MAWR has recommended: sites 2 and 5 in the northwest of HQW. It is noteworthy that all MAWR dam sites were situated in medium to excellent RH zones; however, they mostly sat on ineffective geological localities. It is concluded that a careful selection of the predictive factors and their respective weights is far more critical than the applied methods. This research offers decision-makers a practical and cost-effective tool for screening site suitability in data-scarce rugged terrains.

Hydro-based morphological models are representations of the terrain related to the flow or storage of water in the landscape. However, their application in the context of an integrated environmental assessment has been scarcely explored in the literature, despite the well-known importance of water for ecosystems and land use planning. Here, we derive the HAND and TWI models, which present solid conceptual bases based on water–landscape relationships from digital terrain models. We aim to present these models as useful representations in the environmental assessment of watersheds as they are relatively easy to generate and interpret. To this end, we applied these models in a Brazilian watershed and evaluated their spatial and reciprocal occurrence in the hydrological landscape through geographic entities and their spatial relationships with other landscape elements such as land use. We argue that HAND and TWI are simple hydrological-based models with robust premises that can reveal intrinsic relationships between relief parameters and water, providing new perspectives for the environmental assessment of small watersheds. Their outcomes have tremendous implications for land management initiatives. Our results show that geometric signatures of the TWI appeared through all the structural units of the hydrological landscape. The plateau areas were most prone to water accumulation/soil saturation, followed by floodplains, hillslopes, and ecotones. Thus, there is a tendency for the greatest geometric signatures of water accumulation/soil saturation entities to be located near the higher-order channels as well as the greatest geometric signatures of the floodplains. Agriculture and planted forests increased with distance, while the areas occupied by forest remnants tended to decrease within a range of up to 50 m from channels. However, they were also found within 50 m around the springs, whereas open fields, urban areas, and water bodies remained stable. We argue that HAND and TWI are simple hydrological-based models with robust premises that can reveal intrinsic relationships between the relief parameters and water, providing new perspectives for the environmental assessment of small watersheds whose outcomes have tremendous implications for land management initiatives.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has worldwide individual and socioeconomic consequences. Chest computed tomography has been found to support diagnostics and disease monitoring. A standardized approach to generate, collect, analyze, and share clinical and imaging information in the highest quality possible is urgently needed. We developed systematic, computer-assisted and context-guided electronic data capture on the FDA-approved mint LesionTM software platform to enable cloud-based data collection and real-time analysis. The acquisition and annotation include radiological findings and radiomics performed directly on primary imaging data together with information from the patient history and clinical data. As proof of concept, anonymized data of 283 patients with either suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from eight European medical centers were aggregated in data analysis dashboards. Aggregated data were compared to key findings of landmark research literature. This concept has been chosen for use in the national COVID-19 response of the radiological departments of all university hospitals in Germany.

Abstract Background The purpose of the presented investigation is to evaluate the resulting torque on loaded 3D printed springs using different coil thickness and length. Methods Specimens were designed and printed using the 3D printer MAX (Asiga, Sydney, Australia) with 3D printable, experimental, flexible material (Code:BM2008, GC, Tokyo, Japan). The specimens were divided into three groups according to spring coil design. Control group (n = 18), length group (n = 19) and thickness group (n = 22). Groups were tested using a Sauter Machine for torque calculation (DB, Grindelwald, Switzerland) in conjunction with a universal testing machine (Zwick Z010, Ulm, Germany) for clock-wise and anti-clockwise testing. Statistical analysis was performed using the Steel–Dwass test to compare median values of the three groups in both testing directions (p

Background: Ageing is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is linked to several alterations in cardiac structure and function, including left ventricular hypertrophy and increased cardiomyocyte volume, as well as a decline in the number of cardiomyocytes and ventricular dysfunction, emphasizing the pathological impacts of cardiomyocyte ageing. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are promising as a cellular therapeutic source due to their minimally invasive surgical approach and remarkable proliferative ability. Aim: This study is the first to investigate the outcomes of the systemic transplantation of DPSCs in a D-galactose (D-gal)-induced rat model of cardiac ageing. Methods. Thirty 9-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly assigned into three groups: control, ageing (D-gal), and transplanted groups (D-gal + DPSCs). D-gal (300 mg/kg/day) was administered intraperitoneally daily for 8 weeks. The rats in the transplantation group were intravenously injected with DPSCs at a dose of 1 × 106 once every 2 weeks. Results: The transplanted cells migrated to the heart, differentiated into cardiomyocytes, improved cardiac function, upregulated Sirt1 expression, exerted antioxidative effects, modulated connexin-43 expression, attenuated cardiac histopathological alterations, and had anti-senescent and anti-apoptotic effects. Conclusion: Our results reveal the beneficial effects of DPSC transplantation in a cardiac ageing rat model, suggesting their potential as a viable cell therapy for ageing hearts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTObjective: Evaluation of the analgesic efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided pterygopalatine fossa (PPF) block in patients undergoing maxillofacial cancer surgeries under general anesthesia.Methods: Forty-eight patients scheduled for maxillofacial cancer surgeries enrolled in the study were randomly allocated into group (A): ultrasound-guided bilateral PPF block using local anesthetic; and group (B): ultrasound-guided bilateral PPF injection with saline. Our primary outcome was assessing postoperative analgesia using visual analog scale and the amount of nalbuphine used for rescue analgesia.We recorded the operative field’s quality, end-tidal sevoflurane concentration, the total amount of nitroglycerin used to achieve the target mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 60–65 mmHg, the frequency of propranolol usage, emergence time and Aldrete score.Results: The VAS score was significantly lower in group A than group B until the 18th postoperative hour (P

Objective:The purpose of this study was to compare the production time for indirect digitally and laboratory-produced orthodontic bonding trays.Methods:Orthodontic study casts were used in this study (n=40). The specimens were equally and randomly divided. In the digitally produced indirect bonding tray (DIBT) group (n=20), the brackets were set virtually using the Orthoanalyzer program (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) to produce an indirect bonding tray that was virtually designed and 3D printed using VarseoWax® Splint material with a Varseo S 3D printer (Bego, Bremen, Germany). In the laboratory-produced indirect bonding tray (LIBT) group, the brackets were adhesively bonded to the study casts in the dental laboratory (Danube Private University, Krems, Austria), and a transfer bonding silicone tray was manufactured.Results:The t-test results showed a significant difference between the passive time during the production of DIBTs (153.8±32.8 min) and LIBTs (7 min). However, the active production time was 13.6±0.8 min for DIBTs and 17.7±1.9 min for LIBTs. Every individual process step in both groups was measured in minutes, and statistical analysis was performed.Conclusion:The total production time, including active working and passive non-working time, was higher for DIBTs than for LIBTs. However, the actual active production time for DIBTs was shorter than that for LIBTs. Within the study limitations, the digital planning and production of indirect orthodontic trays can be considered a time-efficient production method.

Article accepted. The article will be published here soon. Pending final quality checks.

تشكل الكفاءات العملية مفتاح التنمية، اذا ما احسن استثمارها في اماكن مناسبة فهي محور (التجديد الحضاري)، والعراق لديه من الكفاءات العلمية التي اثبتت درجة مؤهلاتها وتفوقها في كل المحافل العلمية ، ولكن ما تشهده المنظومة الاجتماعية من حالات العنف بصورة مختلفة ادت الى ترك هذه الكفاءات المجتمع العلمي الأكاديمي العراقي وسبب التعطيل الإجباري لهم والخروج من سوق العمل اما بالقتل والاغتيال أو بالتهجير ، مما ترتب عليه خسارة صافي فرص النهوض التنموية واتساع الفجوة العلمية بين العراق والدول المتقدمة. لذا فإن دراسة مشكلة عودة الكفاءات العلمية هي من المشاكل المهمة التي تواجه العراق اليوم، فلابد من دراسة هذه المشكلة من خلال أبعادها الاقتصادية والعلمية والسياسية والاجتماعية، وما هي الأسباب الحقيقية التي تقف وراءها وكذلك لابد من تحديد المشكلات الرئيسة التي تواجه عودة الكفاءات العلمية العراقية، وما هي الحلول والمقترحات الجذرية لهذه المشكلة، لذا تسعى هذه الدراسة لبناء استراتيجية المحافظة على هذه الكفاءات باتخاذ مجموعة من الاجراءات اللازمة وذلك للتعزيز من قدراتها العلمية والثقافية بمد الجسور بين الكفاءات العلمية المتواجدة في المؤسسات الاجتماعية والمقيمون في الخارج، ورسم سياسات اقتصادية واجتماعية وعلمية محفزة ومشجّعة لأصحاب الكفاءات العلمية والأدبية والفكرية والفنية للعودة لخدمة بلدهم باعتبار أن الإنسان أثمن رأسمال وإن البلاد التي لا تحترم علماءها ومبدعيها سيصيبها الموت البطيء والتخلف.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of toothpastes used for oral health by acting as antimicrobial against biofilm formations. Different types of toothpastes were selected, including those were made of natural materials and others with artificial chemicals using herbal additives. Five tooth pastes (Lacalut®, Paradontax®, Colgate®, Miswak®, Sanino®) were used on microbiota spectrum of spp. Bacteria (s. mutans, s. viridans) obtained by swab plaque accumulated in teeth from different patients over a period of 2021, the exclusion criteria from the investigation were patients receiving concurrent antibiotic treatment for any purpose. This research was conduct in central environmental laboratory at Baghdad University. Each toothpaste is diluted with distilled water to prepare 0.2 and 0.3 concentrations. The estimation of bacterial spectrum was performed in qualitative manner using standard methods for microbiological inoculation tissue plate culture (TPC)were performed (for bacterial presence) and quantitative qualification of the subjects by, Elisa instrument. It was found that toothpaste which contains natural materials is particularly effective in improving oral health and reducing the incidence of gingivitis caused by microbial bacterial presence. This revealed that the naturally occurrence of different groups of organic compounds flavonoids and phenolic acids (esters), are responsible for many of the biological activities against oral bacteria.

Background: Mitochondrial DNA-depletion syndromes (MDDS) usually present with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, such as weakness, hypotonia, developmental delay, and/or seizures, and are categorized as myopathic, encephalomyopathic, hepatocerebral, or multisystemic. The condition is typically fatal in infancy and early childhood although some with the myopathic variant have survived to their teenage years and some with the SUCLA2 encephalomyopathic variant have survived into adulthood. There is currently no curative treatment for any form of MDDS. Case Presentation: A female patient born at 37 weeks presented with intrauterine growth restriction, the infant was found to have jaundice, cataract, and metabolic diseases were suspected. Patient's liver enzymes continued to measure twice as high for the patient's age and the patient presented with mild cholestasis. At the age of 2 months, the patient was brought back by the parents because of fever, persistent crying, poor oral intake, and bloody stool. The following observations were noted: progressive liver failure, severe coagulopathy, ascites associated with the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Then, a homozygous variant c.763-766dup p.(Phe256*) in DGUOK was discovered. Conclusion: We report a novel homozygous variant c.763_766dup p.(Phe256*) mutation discovered in the DGUOK gene (OMIM: 601465), causing fatal progressive liver failure in a three-month-old Saudi infant of asymptomatic consanguineous parents. This genotype is associated with a severe clinical presentation, and the infant died at the age of 3 months. [JBCGenetics 2020; 3(1.000): 36-40]

This paper investigates service provisions in community languages offered by Manchester City Council and agencies working alongside to find out whether there is an explicit language policy in Manchester, how such a policy is formulated, how it functions, and how it is reflected in education. Data was collected through interviews with different personnel in MCC, focus group discussions with community language speakers, and the websites of various government agencies. The results show that there is an implicit rather than explicit language policy in Manchester. There exists also a language hierarchy in Manchester’s language policy whereby some community languages are given precedence over others, depending on the numerical strength of speakers. The results also show that there is usually a sort of articulation between the micro and macro-levels of language policy in multilingual contexts, which is evident in Manchester, particularly in the role that supplementary schools play in filling the gap in teaching community languages in mainstream schools.

This study deals with the vegetation change in Kuwait from 1974 compared to recent vegetation map and their capabilities on trapping mobile sand, dust and carbon dioxides (Co2). The average cost of one cubic meter removal of encroached sand around infrastructures in Kuwait is 1.32 USD. The capability of trapping sand is much higher for Haloxylon sp. than Stipagrostis sp. by 100%. The areas that were covered by Haloxylon in 1974 lose recently 4385 km2 for the benefits of Stipagrostis causing the formation of a new mobile sand corridor. The total estimated annual cost for the vegetation change is 35,429,379 USD obtained from the costs of sand encroachment, CO2 consumption loss and solar energy efficiency loss. Rehabilitation for areas that were occupied with large size canopy vegetation will surely cause a decrease in the aeolian activities and air temperature, lower the albedo and increase the precipitation and solar energy production.

BACKGROUND: Early surgical management of complete atrioventricular (AV) canal defect is the optimal treatment option. Since the published evidence on outcomes is inconclusive, we retrospectively studied the outcomes of patients in our institution. OBJECTIVE: Study outcomes of complete AV canal repair. DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive. SETTINGS: Single institute. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Medical records of patients under 2 years of age who underwent complete AV canal repair from January 2004 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pre- and postoperative morbidity and mortality. SAMPLE SIZE: 140 patients. RESULT: The median (IQR) age at the time of surgery was 5.4 (3.9-8.2) months. Down syndrome was diagnosed in 98 (70%) of patients. AV valve regurgitation was found preoperatively in 129 (92%) and postoperatively in 135 (96%) patients. There was a significant association between preoperative pulmonary hypertension and the development of pulmonary hypertension in the postoperative period (P=.04). Thirty-three patients needed reoperation. Arrhythmia was found in 19 patients, 16 of whom required pacemaker insertion. Seven patients died (5%). CONCLUSION: The presence of preoperative and postoperative AV valve regurgitation was common in this cohort but did not significantly affect patient survival. Our findings suggest an acceptable outcome for repair of complete AV septal defect with few complications postoperatively. LIMITATION: Retrospective in single institute. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.

One of the most critical processes for the long-term management of groundwater resources is Groundwater Potential Zonation (GWPZ). Despite their importance, traditional groundwater studies are costly, difficult, complex, and time-consuming. This study aims to investigate GWPZ mapping for the Al-Qalamoun region, in the Western part of Syria. We combined the Multi-Influence Factor (MIF) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to estimate the GWPZ. The weight and score factors of eight factors were used to develop the GWPZ including drainage density, lithology, slope, lineament density, geomorphology, land use/land cover, rainfall, and soil. According to the findings, about 46% and 50.6% of the total area of the Al-Qalamoun region was classified as suitable for groundwater recharge by the AHP and MIF methods, respectively. However, 54% and 49.4% of the area was classified as having poor suitability for groundwater recharge by the AHP and MIF methods, respectively. These areas with poor suitability can be utilized for gathering surface water. The validation of the results showed that the AHP and MIF methods have similar accuracy for the GWPZ; however, the accuracy and results depend on influencing factors and their weights assigned by experts.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare between contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CE CT) and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the detection of extranodal involvement in lymphoma and to correlate between SUVmax of the extranodal lesion and the hottest LN. One hundred patients with pathologically proven lymphoma underwent whole body 18F-FDG PET/CT and CECT scans. Images were compared regarding the ability of detection of extranodal lymphomatous sites. Kappa agreement was applied to find the degree of agreement between both modalities. Pearson’s correlation was used for correlating SUVmax of the extranodal lesions and hottest LN. The degree of FDG uptake was correlated with histopathological type. Results There was a poor agreement between PET/CT and CECT in the detection of extranodal sites (k = 0.32). There was a significant positive moderate correlation between SUVmax of the extranodal lesions and hottest LN (r = 0.45). PET/CT study resulted in up staging of 10% and down staging of 5% of cases. Conclusion In lymphoma staging, FDG PET/CT enables more detection of extranodal involved sites that show normal morphology at CECT. It differentiates lymphomatous infiltration from benign causes of increased FDG uptake with subsequent proper disease staging.

Abstract Background The quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SR/MAs) depends on the extent of the methods used. We investigated the methodological steps used by authors of SR/MAs of clinical trials via an author survey. Methods We conducted an email-based cross-sectional study by contacting corresponding authors of SR/MAs that were published in 2015 and 2016 and retrieved through the PubMed database. The 27-item questionnaire was developed to study the methodological steps used by authors when conducting a SR/MA and the demographic characteristics of the respondent. Besides the demographic characteristics, methodological questions regarding the source, extraction and synthesis of data were included. Results From 10,292 emails sent, 384 authors responded and were included in the final analysis. Manual searches were carried out by 69.2% of authors, while 87.3% do updated searches, 49.2% search grey literature, 74.9% use the Cochrane tool for risk of bias assessment, 69.8% assign more than two reviewers for data extraction, 20.5% use digital software to extract data from graphs, 57.9% use raw data in the meta-analysis, and 43.8% meta-analyze both adjusted and non-adjusted data. There was a positive correlation of years of experience in conducting of SR/MAs with both searching grey literature (P = 0.0003) and use of adjusted and non-adjusted data (P = 0.006). Conclusions Many authors still do not carry out many of the vital methodological steps to be taken when performing any SR/MA. The experience of the authors in SR/MAs is highly correlated with use of the recommended tips for SR/MA conduct. The optimal methodological approach for researchers conducting a SR/MA should be standardized.