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Abstract Background The burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in high-risk pediatric patients remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to characterize pediatric RSV cases from January 2019 to December 2022 and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on RSV burden and RSV-related outcomes. In addition, examining factors influencing RSV-related hospitalization. Methods This is a retrospective study that included pediatric patients (aged 14 and below) who presented at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with RSV infection identified using real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA. Results A total of 885 RSV cases were reported; (56.05%) were males and (43.95%) were females with a median age of 24 months [interquartile range (IQR): 11–60]. 534 (60.34%) required hospitalization. As for RSV seasonality, there was a significant increase in RSV prevalence following the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating from 205 cases in 2019 to 425 cases in 2022. The increase in 2022 was evident in January and persisted from September to December, reaching its peak during the months of October (20.70% − 88 cases) and November (32.00% − 136 cases). About (27.12%) of RSV infected children were medically free patients. Symptomatic patients exhibited various clinical manifestations, with ventilation necessary in (13.11%) of cases. Further analysis revealed significant changes in RSV-related outcomes post-COVID-19, including a decrease in hospitalization rates, an increase in medically free patients, and a lower need for ventilation (p

Objective: To assess the diagnostic efficacy of integrating B-mode and color Doppler capabilities of ultrasound (US) to establish a robust standalone diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of ureteric stones as an alternative to non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (NCCT). Methods: A total of 140 consecutive patients diagnosed with ureteric stones using NCCT were enrolled. On the same day, US in both B-mode and Color Doppler was performed by an experienced radiologist who was blinded to the NCCT scan results. The diagnostic rate of US for stone detection was recorded. Additionally, baseline patient and stone characteristics were analyzed for their association with the accuracy of stone detection using US. Results: US exhibited a high sensitivity of 91.43%, detecting 128 out of 140 stone foci. Notably, ureteric stones in the proximal and uretero-vesical junction (UVJ) segments were readily identifiable compared to those in the pelvic region (p = 0.0003). Additionally, hydronephrosis enhanced the US's ability to detect stones (p < 0.0001). Conversely, abdominal gases and obesity adversely affected US capabilities (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.009, respectively). Stone side, size, and density showed no statistically significant impact (p > 0.05). Conclusions: US with its color Doppler capabilities could serve as a reliable and safe alternative imaging modality in the diagnostic work up of patients with ureterolithiasis. Factors including stone location, Hydronephrosis, weight and abdominal gases significantly influenced its accuracy.

This study investigated the physicochemical properties of the interaction of indomethacin and copper chloride using the electrical conductance measurement in methanol, ethanol, and their binary mixture with water at room temperature (298.15 K), to determine the solvation behavior, redox behavior, and kinetics. The association parameters were computed using the Fuoss-Hsia-Fernández-Prini and Fuoss-Shedlovsky models. The standard Gibbs energy for association (ΔGoA), Walden product (Λoηo), and hydrodynamic radii (RH) were calculated to study the interaction of indomethacin and copper chloride. On the other hand, cyclic voltammetry examines the electrochemical redox behavior of copper chloride using a gold electrode and its interactions with indomethacin. Results showed changes in peak potentials and currents density in the presence of indomethacin, indicating alterations in redox behavior and reaction rates. Overall, this research can be valuable in understanding the electrochemical properties and potential applications of indomethacin and copper chloride, as well as in developing new drugs or therapeutic agents, which could have has implications in various fields, including drug development, electrochemistry, and materials science.

Nowadays, secret information is susceptible to numerous hacks while being shared through traditional correspondence channels. Unlike other methods of securing data, steganography offers the most comprehensive security. Several algorithms have been developed to determine the optimal embedding capacity of every pixel to enhance steganography techniques. Concealing secret bits is not the only challenging aspect of this operation; improving the embedding capacity of secret data is also important, as is maintaining an acceptable visual quality after concealment. A new framework is proposed for concealing a secret text in the spatial domain by partitioning the host image into some non-overlapping blocks and classifying each block as edged or smooth using the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). Different WOA objective functions can be utilized to determine each pixel’s embedding capacity based on its intensity. For smooth blocks, the fitness function (with low objective values) is used, and for edge blocks, the cost function (with high objective values) is used instead. Additionally, several combinations of scanning order and starting point for each block in the host image are determined to reduce embedding distortion. WOA can be used to determine the best combination of them. Minimum replacement error (MRE) and compensated grayscale changes (CGSC) modules further reduce embedded distortion and artifacts. Accordingly, the recommended technique produces a peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 62.44 dB, compared to 43.15 dB using the benchmark algorithm Multiple Pixel-value Adjustment (MPA) with an encoding function algorithm. Due to its superior performance, the recommended framework outperforms existing frameworks.

The limitations of Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) such as high-power dissipation, short channel effects, and high lithography has prompted scientists to look forward to alternatives. Many nanotechnologies were emerged and still in the competition such as Fin Field-Effect Transistor (FinFET), Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor (CNFET), Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA). QCA is a new nanoelectronics technology used a new method for calculations and it is a promising technology in terms of power dissipation. In QCA, circuit complexity is depending on cell count, area and latency. For commercial purposes a universal gate is necessary, this gate can be used alone to design any Boolean function, where in CMOS technology, the NAND or NOT gates have the ability to be a universal gate. The dominant gates in QCA are the majority gate with inverter where QCA circuits cannot be designed using only a universal gate. Because the structure of the gate is important in QCA, this paper introduces a new low complexity singular block that can be used as a universal block. The proposed block can be used to form AND, OR, NOT, Exclusive-OR (XOR) and Multiplexer (MUX). So, this block not just used to design any circuit but also it can be used to form other important functions XOR and MUX to build large circuits in an optimum form.

In this paper, a new peak average power and time reduction (PAPTR) based on the adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) strategy is used in order to improve both the time reduction and PAPR value reduction for the SLM OFDM and the conventional genetic algorithm (GA) SLM-OFDM. The simulation results demonstrate that the recommended AGA technique reduces PAPR by about 3.87 dB in comparison to SLM-OFDM. Comparing the suggested AGA SLM-OFDM to the traditional GA SLM-OFDM using the same settings, a significant learning time reduction of roughly 95.56% is achieved. The PAPR of the proposed AGA SLM-OFDM is enhanced by around 3.87 dB in comparison to traditional OFDM. Also, the PAPR of the proposed AGA SLM-OFDM is roughly 0.12 dB worse than that of the conventional GA SLM-OFDM.

Polyphenols have a variety of phenolic hydroxyl and carbonyl functionalities that enable them to scavenge many oxidants, thereby preserving the human redox balance and preventing a number of oxidative stress-related chronic degenerative diseases. In our ongoing investigation of polyphenol-rich plants in search of novel molecules, we resumed the investigation of Lawsonia inermis L. (Lythraceae) or henna, a popular ancient plant with aesthetic and therapeutic benefits. The leaves’ 70% aq acetone extract was fractionated on a Diaion HP-20 column with different ratios of H2O/an organic solvent. Multistep gel chromatographic fractionation and HPLC purification of the Diaion 75% aq MeOH and MeOH fractions led to a new compound (1) along with tannin-related metabolites, benzoic acid (2), benzyl 6′-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), and ellagic acid (4), which are first isolated from henna. Repeating the procedures on the Diaion 50% aq MeOH eluate led to the first-time isolation of two O-glucosidic ellagitannins, heterophylliin A (5), and gemin D (6), in addition to four known C-glycosidic ellagitannins, lythracin D (7), pedunculagin (8), flosin B (9), and lagerstroemin (10). The compound structures were determined through intensive spectroscopic investigations, including HRESIMS, 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D (1H–1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) NMR, UV, [α]D, and CD experiments. The new structure of 1 was determined to be a megastigmane glucoside gallate; its biosynthesis from gallic acid and a β-ionone, a degradative product of the common metabolite β-carotin, was highlighted. Cytotoxicity investigations of the abundant ellagitannins revealed that lythracin D2 (7) and pedunculagin (8) are obviously more cytotoxic (tumor specificity = 2.3 and 2.8, respectively) toward oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (HSC-2, HSC-4, and Ca9-22) than normal human oral cells (HGF, HPC, and HPLF). In summary, Lawsonia inermis is a rich source of anti-oral cancer ellagitannins. Also, the several discovered polyphenolics highlighted here emphasize the numerous biological benefits of henna and encourage further clinical studies to profit from their antioxidant properties against oxidative stress-related disorders.

About three million Muslims are traveling annually to Makkah in Saudi Arabia to perform the rituals of Hajj (i.e. the pilgrimage), the fifth pillar of Islam. It requires the pilgrims to move to several holy sites while performing the Hajj ritual, including Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah sites. However, pilgrims spend most of their time in prepared tent-camps at the Mina site during the days of Hajj. Among the challenges that the organizers face in the Hajj is the distribution of pilgrims over the camps of Mina while considering a range of constraints, which is considered a real-world optimization problem. This paper introduces a hyper-heuristic approach to optimize the distribution process of pilgrims over Mina tent-camps in an efficient manner, named the hyper-heuristic Mina tents distribution algorithm (HyMTDA). The proposed algorithm, iteratively, selects one heuristic among four predefined low-level heuristics to produce a new solution; thereafter the late move acceptance strategy is applied as a judgment to accept or reject the new solution. The performed simulations show that the proposed HyMTDA can effectively explore the search space and avoid falling into local minima during the iterations process. Moreover, comparisons show that HyMTDA outperforms other heuristic algorithms in the literature in terms of solution quality and convergence rate.

In this paper, a new physical layer authenticated encryption (PLAE) scheme based on the multi-parameter fractional Fourier transform–Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MP-FrFT-OFDM) is suggested for secure image transmission over the IoT network. In addition, a new robust multi-cascaded chaotic modular fractional sine map (MCC-MF sine map) is designed and analyzed. Also, a new dynamic chaotic biometric signature (DCBS) generator based on combining the biometric signature and the proposed MCC-MF sine map random chaotic sequence output is also designed. The final output of the proposed DCBS generator is used as a dynamic secret key for the MPFrFT OFDM system in which the encryption process is applied in the frequency domain. The proposed DCBS secret key generator generates a very large key space of 22200. The proposed DCBS secret keys generator can achieve the confidentiality and authentication properties. Statistical analysis, differential analysis and a key sensitivity test are performed to estimate the security strengths of the proposed DCBS-MP-FrFT-OFDM cryptosystem over the IoT network. The experimental results show that the proposed DCBS-MP-FrFT-OFDM cryptosystem is robust against common signal processing attacks and provides a high security level for image encryption application.

The demand for cybersecurity is growing to safeguard information flow and enhance data privacy. This essay suggests a novel authenticated public key elliptic curve based on a deep convolutional neural network (APK-EC-DCNN) for cybersecurity image encryption application. The public key elliptic curve discrete logarithmic problem (EC-DLP) is used for elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman key exchange (EC-DHKE) in order to generate a shared session key, which is used as the chaotic system’s beginning conditions and control parameters. In addition, the authenticity and confidentiality can be archived based on ECC to share the EC parameters between two parties by using the EC-DHKE algorithm. Moreover, the 3D Quantum Chaotic Logistic Map (3D QCLM) has an extremely chaotic behavior of the bifurcation diagram and high Lyapunov exponent, which can be used in high-level security. In addition, in order to achieve the authentication property, the secure hash function uses the output sequence of the DCNN and the output sequence of the 3D QCLM in the proposed authenticated expansion diffusion matrix (AEDM). Finally, partial frequency domain encryption (PFDE) technique is achieved by using the discrete wavelet transform in order to satisfy the robustness and fast encryption process. Simulation results and security analysis demonstrate that the proposed encryption algorithm achieved the performance of the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of quality, security, and robustness against noise- and signal-processing attacks.

The current study reviews the effect of blood flow characteristics through stenosis during angioplasty, considering that blood is a steady, Newtonian fluid with a steady and incompressible, these vessels are purified by the use of catheters. The engineering of the arterial part is a tube with overlapping stenosis in the lumen of the arteries of the patient, causing a defect in the cardiovascular system, was built Mathematically for the movement of physiological fluid representing blood in the gap between two eccentric tubes (eccentric - ring flows), where the inlet tube is a uniform solid representing the moving catheter while the other is a tapered cylindrical tube representing the artery with intervening stenosis. The problem was analyzed to find the axial velocity approximate solution.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Immersion and Watsu® therapy protocols on children with cerebral palsy. Gross motor function (GMF), spasticity (MAS), and Quality of Life (QoL) parameters of twenty-three children (age: 7.5±2.8, BMI: 17±3.7) were measured. Subjects received Watsu® therapy and Immersion protocols in Watsu-Immersion (W-I, n=12) and Immersion-Watsu (I-W n=11) groups in different periods based on a crossover design. The subjects received sessions for 30 minutes twice a week during 10-week experimental periods. The results were investigated with independent sample t-test and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, which showed that there was no evidence of carryover effects in GMFM 88 and QoL. In contrast, Watsu® improved GMFM 88 (p

The balance between therapy effectiveness and economic efficiency in chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) becomes more confusing. This single-center open label randomized controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine in chronic ITP patients against other affordable second-line treatments. It is registered under number (NCT03229746) at Clinical Trials.gov. 120 patients were recruited and randomly allocated to three arms of hydroxychloroquine, vincristine, and azathioprine equally. Platelet counts of more than 100 × 109/L were interpreted as complete response (CR), while response (R) was determined as platelet counts ranging from 30 × 109/L to less than 100 × 109/L with the doubling of the pretreatment platelet count. Overall response (OR) was defined to include both CR and R. Patients were monitored every 6 weeks for a total of 24 weeks. The population baseline characteristics regarding age, sex, duration of the disease, baseline platelets count, and presence of antinuclear antibodies ANA or antiplatelet antibodies were similar among tested groups. There was a significant difference in the overall response between hydroxychloroquine (80.6%) and azathioprine (55.9%) (p-value

الملخص: داء الشعيات البطني، أحد أسباب اضطرابات اللفائفي الأعوري، وعادة ما يتم التفكير فيه عند استبعاد الحالات السريرية الأخرى الأكثر شيوعا. داء الشعيات هو اضطراب جرثومي نادر ينجم عن أنواع الإكتينوميسات. نقدم جنديًا سعوديًا يبلغ من العمر ٣٨ عاما تعرض لألم في الحفرة الحرقفية اليمنى لأربعة أيام. بدأ هذا الألم على شكل طعن تدريجيا. بناء على الفحص السريري للمريض والموجات فوق الصوتية للبطن، تم إجراء عملية استئصال الزائدة الدودية. وأظهر الفحص النسيجي داء الشعيات الزائدي مع تضخم اللمفاوية، واحتقان المصلية والبكتيريا الخيطية في تجويف الزائدة الدودية. تم علاج المريض بالأموكسيسيلين. وأظهرت الأشعة المقطعية مع الصبغة للبطن، وأظهر التصوير بالرنين المغناطيسي ارتفاع سماكة جدار الأعور ٤.٣ × ٢.٩ سم. خضع المريض أخيرا لاستئصال اللفائفي الأعوري بمساعدة التنظير مع مفاغرة اللفائفي القولوني. أظهر التقرير النسيجي مواد غذائية متكلسة في الرتج مع التهاب مزمن دون داء الشعيات التي كان يمكن علاجها والقضاء عليها من خلال العلاج بالمضادات الحيوية السابقة. Abstract: Abdominal actinomycosis, one of the causes of ileocaecal disorders, is usually considered when other more common clinical conditions have been excluded. Actinomycosis is a rare infectious bacterial disorder caused by the Actinomyces species. We present the case of a 38-year male Saudi soldier who presented with pain in the right iliac fossa since 4 days prior to presentation. This stabbing pain started gradually. Based on clinical examination and abdominal ultrasound findings, an appendectomy was performed. Histological examination revealed appendicular actinomycosis with lymphoid hyperplasia, serosa congestion, and filamentous bacteria in the appendicular lumen. The patient was treated with amoxicillin. During follow-up, contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 4.3 × 2.9 cm thickened caecal wall. Thereafter, the patient underwent laparoscope-assisted ileocaecal resection with ileocolic anastomosis. The histological report revealed calcified food material in the diverticulum, with chronic inflammation without actinomycosis, which may have been eradicated by the previous antibiotic treatment. الكلمات المفتاحية: البطن الحاد, وجع بطن, داء الشعيات, استئصال الزائدة الدودية, استئصال اللفائفية, Keywords: Acute abdomen, Abdominal pain, Actinomycosis, Appendectomy, Caecum actinomycosis, Ileocaecal resection

Securing transmission of information between legitimate transmitter and receiver sides is a great challenge for mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers in recent years. This paper aims at achieving three goals. The first of them is to introduce a novel fractional order two dimensional (2D) map having very complex chaotic behavior and distinct large positive values of Lyapunov exponents over wide range of parameters, compared with other 2D maps in literature. Secondly, a new reliable secure encryption scheme combining the associated chaotic pseudo-orbits of the proposed map with the advantages of elliptic curves in public key cryptography is suggested, for first time, and applied to colored images. The hybrid scheme is capable to confirm reliable secret keys exchange in addition to highly obscure and hide transmitted information messages. Finally, a thorough mathematical analysis of security performance and evaluation of encryption scheme immunity against all possible attacks are carried out and proved its efficiency and robustness.

Abstract Objectives Pediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a rare condition, but inappropriate diagnosis and management may lead to devastating outcome with loss of vision and lifelong handicap. Dandy criteria are used for diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in adult, but these criteria cannot be applied in all pediatric patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic criteria and outcome of management of IIH in pediatric patients. Methods Nineteen patients with IIH and age less than 16 years old have been evaluated for the diagnostic criteria and outcome of management. The patients were classified according to the secondary sexual criteria into adolescent IIH and pediatric IIH. Full neurological and ophthalmological evaluation was completed in all patients. The patients were managed and followed up for a mean period of 12 ± 8.6 months at Zagazig University hospitals or Kingdom Hospital in the time period from 2009 to 2018. Results Nineteen patients (16 females and 3 males) had been diagnosed and treated with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, their age is between 4 and 15 years, and the patients have been divided into two groups. Group I (pediatric IIH) involved 9 patients (6 females and 3 males), and their age is ranging between 4 and 9 years with mean age 5.56 ± 1.9 years while group II (adolescent IIH) involved 10 patients, all of them are females and their age ranges between 12 and 15 years with mean age 13.5 ± 1.3. Diagnostic criteria of the patients are papilledema, symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension, and elevated CSF opening pressure with normal MRI. Headache, delayed school performance, and sixth nerve palsy are the most common clinical finding in the patients of group I while headache is the most common presenting symptom in group II. Anemia and otitis media are the most common associated risk factors in group I while obesity and female gender were the most common associated risk factors in group II. The minimum value for opening pressure in group I is 180 mmH2O while the minimum value in group II is 250 mm. 16 patients improved after the first lumbar puncture and drainage of CSF; two patients improved after repeated lumbar puncture while lumbo-peritoneal shunt was inserted for two patients, both of them were in group II. Recurrence was diagnosed in four patients (21%), one of them (11.1%) was in group I while three of them (30%) were in group II. Conclusion Pediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension can be classified into two subtypes: pediatric type and adolescent type according to the secondary sexual criteria. Modified Dandy criteria can be applied for the diagnosis of adolescent type, but pediatric type is not associated with obesity, has no female predominance, and usually responds to the initial lumbar puncture with a low rate of recurrence.

In the current study, new benzimidazole-based 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives have been synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR, MS, and elemental analysis. The final compounds were screened for cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231, SKOV3, and A549 cell lines and EGFR for inhibitory activities. Compounds 10 and 13 were found to be the most active against all the tested cell lines, comparable to doxorubicin, and exhibited significant inhibition on EGFR kinase, with IC50 0.33 and 0.38 μM, respectively, comparable to erlotinib (IC50 0.39 μM). Furthermore, these two compounds effectively suppressed cell cycle progression and induced cell apoptosis in MDA-MB-231, SKOV3, and A549 cell lines. The docking studies revealed that these compounds showed interactions similar to erlotinib at the EGFR site. It can be concluded that the synthesized molecules effectively inhibit EGFR, can arrest the cell cycle, and may trigger apoptosis and therefore, could be used as lead molecules in the development of new anticancer agents targeting EGFR kinase.

Quadrature Spatial Modulation (QSM) is a high spectral efficiency Multiple-Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technique used to improve the spectral efficiency of wireless communication systems. The main concept of QSM is to extend the spatial constellation of the conventional Spatial Modulation (SM) in both the in-phase and quadrature components of the data symbol. In this paper, because QSM-based on Interleaving Division Multiplexing (IDM) has not been introduced in the literature as a multiple antenna system, we introduced a novel scheme, called QSM system based on Interleaving Division Multiplexing (QSM-IDM). The antenna sets are also applied to a spreader, before being used to assign an antenna number for information transmission. Analysis and simulations for a flat fading channel show that the proposed QSM-IDM method significantly outperforms the original QSM system with the same data rate, while maintaining a relatively acceptable complexity. The obtained simulation results show that the conducted analysis yields significant improvements for the accuracy of the proposed scheme, with satisfactory complexity. Keywords: Interleaver Division Multiplexing (IDM), Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), Spatial Modulation (SM), Quadrature Spatial Modulation (QSM)

An environmentally friendly non-thermal DC plasma reduction route was adopted to reduce Ag+ ions at the plasma–liquid interface into silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) under statistically optimized conditions for biological and photocatalytic applications. The efficiency and reactivity of AgNPs were improved by statistically optimizing the reaction parameters with a Box–Behnken Design (BBD). The size of the AgNPs was chosen as a statistical response parameter, while the concentration of the stabilizer, the concentration of the silver salt, and the plasma reaction time were chosen as independent factors. The optimized parameters for the plasma production of AgNPs were estimated using a response surface methodology and a significant model p < 0.05. The AgNPs, prepared under optimized conditions, were characterized and then tested for their antibacterial, antioxidant, and photocatalytic potentials. The optimal conditions for these three activities were 3 mM of stabilizing agent, 5 mM of AgNO3, and 30 min of reaction time. Having particles size of 19 to 37 nm under optimized conditions, the AgNPs revealed a 82.3% degradation of methyl orange dye under UV light irradiation. The antibacterial response of the optimized AgNPs against S. aureus and E. coli strains revealed inhabitation zones of 15 mm and 12 mm, respectively, which demonstrate an antioxidant activity of 81.2%.

Pyrazoles and pyrazolones constitute a group of organic compounds that have various medical applications such as antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidants. Pyrazolones can exist in different isomeric forms (CH, NH, OH) due to keto-enol, lactam-lactim and imine-enamine tautomerism. Determination of the most stable tautomeric form is thus important for understanding their biological roles at the molecular level. We performed a theoretical investigation of the structural and antioxidant properties of three synthetic pyrazolones (1–3), one synthetic pyrazole (4), one natural pyrazole (5) and two engineered hydroxyl derivatives of 1 (7, 8) and of 5 (9, 10) using the density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory in gas phase and in methanol (using the polarizable continuum model). It is found that substituents and solvents may influence the relative stability of pyrazolone isomers and that the CH tautomer is typically the least stable. Vertical ionization potentials, vertical electron affinities and X–H bond dissociation energies (X = C, N, O, S) are calculated for the global minimum structures and compared with those of the standard antioxidant flavonoid quercetin (6). Calculations predict that compounds 1 and 5 have antioxidant activity similar to 6 and that their mono and dihydroxyl derivatives (7–10) are more efficient antioxidants. Results also indicate that compounds 1–10 preferably interact with free radicals adopting the H atom transfer rather than the sequential electron transfer proton transfer mechanism. The study gives insight into the structural requirements for the design of highly efficient antioxidants. Keywords: Pyrazoles, Pyrazolones, Natural pyrazole, Tautomerism, DFT calculations, Antioxidants, Structural design

Background: Influenza vaccine hesitancy is a major problem worldwide, with significant public health consequences. We aimed to determine the prevalence of influenza vaccine hesitancy and the effect of vaccine awareness campaigns on vaccine acceptance among three groups (parents, adult patients, and healthcare workers [HCWs]) at King Abdulaziz Medical City, a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was conducted during the 2015–2016 winter season. Participants anonymously completed a validated questionnaire on influenza vaccine hesitancy. Results: Of the 300 study participants, 17% (n = 51) expressed vaccine hesitancy. The most common reasons given for vaccine refusal were: “It doesn’t have any positive effect or benefit” (n = 11 [21%]), “I don’t need it because I’m healthy” (n = 9 [17%]), and “I think it causes serious side effects” (n = 7 [13%]). The most common sources of information about the vaccine were awareness campaigns (98/267 [36%]) and medical staff (98/267 [36%]). One hundred and sixty-three [54%] respondents knew that the effect of the influenza vaccine lasts up to 1 year. There was no significant relationship between education level and receiving influenza vaccination. The study showed that confidence towards the Saudi Ministry of Health and medical doctors among three groups of participants was very high; 97% of adults, 95% of parents, and 93% of HCWs expressed trusted information provided to them by the Ministry of Health, and 97% of adults, 99% of parents, and 90% of HCWs trusted their physicians’ information. Conclusion: Influenza vaccine hesitancy was low at KAMC. The most common reason for vaccine refusal was believing that it had no positive effect and that it is unnecessary. The most common sources of information for influenza vaccine were awareness campaigns and medical staff. Participants had high levels of trust in both the Saudi Ministry of Health and doctors. Keywords: Influenza, Vaccination, Prevalence, Vaccine hesitancy, Trust, Saudi

This paper proposed an enhanced system for securing sensitive text-data on personal computer benefitting from the combination of both techniques: cryptography and steganography. The system security is generated by involving RSA cryptography followed by video based steganography as two sequential layers to insure best possible security gaining the advantages from both. The study modeled the system and implemented it to be tested to explore the relation between security, capacity and data dependency. The experimentations covered testing securing data within 15 different size videos showing interesting results. The research gave enhancement to capacity vs. security, as enforced unavoidable tradeoff. The work uniqueness is presented in showing different measures allowing the user and application to be the decision maker to choose. The tests provided all possibilities of accepting security of 1-LSB, 2-LSB, and 3-LSB methods detailing their effects on the cover video. The main outcome proved applicability to be adopting 3-LSB approach to give acceptable security with practical capacity preferred making 3-LSB winning among 1-LSB and 2-LSB techniques.

An efficient and ecofriendly method for the synthesis of disubstituted 5-aminopyrimidines from vinyl azides and urea or thiourea was developed. This reaction proceeds under microwave irradiation conditions in the presence of water as a solvent. The remarkable features of this new protocol are high conversion, short reaction times, cleaner reaction profiles and straightforward procedure.

When we communicate with others, we often repeat aspects of each other's communicative behavior such as sentence structures and words. Such behavioral alignment has been mostly studied for speech or text. Yet, language use is mostly multimodal, flexibly using speech and gestures to convey messages. Here, we explore the use of alignment in speech (words) and co-speech gestures (iconic gestures) in a referential communication task aimed at finding labels for novel objects in interaction. In particular, we investigate how people flexibly use lexical and gestural alignment to create shared labels for novel objects and whether alignment in speech and gesture are related over time. The present study shows that interlocutors establish shared labels multimodally, and alignment in words and iconic gestures are used throughout the interaction. We also show that the amount of lexical alignment positively associates with the amount of gestural alignment over time, suggesting a close relationship between alignment in the vocal and manual modalities.

An Anton Par Model 55 densimeter was used to measure the densities of copper sulphate solutions in H2O and EtOH–H2O at 298.15 K, 303.15 K, 308.15 K, and 313.15 K. The acquired information was used to ascertain the apparent molar volumes, limiting partial molar volumes, and transfer partial molar volumes of copper sulphate. These computed parameters were utilized to decipher the solute–solute and solute–solvent interactions of copper sulphate in an aqueous ethanol solution. The ion solvation behavior of copper sulphate in water and aqueous ethanol over the range of 298.15–313.15 K was studied using the electrical conductivity principle. The Kraus–Bray and Shedlovsky models of conductivity were used to analyze the obtained conductance data. From the obtained data, the limiting molar conductance λ°m, association constant KA, energy of activation of the rating process (Ea), and related thermodynamic parameters were determined. The Walden product (λ°mη0) was determined. The standard thermodynamic parameters of association (ΔG°A, ΔH°A) were calculated and discussed. Increased ion–solvent and solvent–solvent interactions are indicated by limiting molar conductance values with an increasing amount of ethanol. The negative ΔG°A values indicate that the association processes in all of the studied systems are spontaneous processes. The negative estimation of (ΔH°A) demonstrates that the association processes is exothermic in nature.

Follow-up surveys of the blood parasites of the livestock and their possible vectors are recommended to assess their distribution and infection rates in different areas in Egypt and to plan control measures against their vectors. By this study, the authors have completed a comprehensive survey of the extent of Trypanosoma evansi infection in North-West Egypt from November 2014 to October 2015, using blood film examination and RoTat1.2 PCR-based assay. The present study was carried out in the frame of PROCAMED project, supported by the European Union (ENPI-Joint operational Programme of the Mediterranean Basin-IEVP-CT). Historical data of our previous and the present survey have shown that trypanosomiasis in this particular area is constant and not subject to change over time. In addition, the present study has clarified that T. evansi is endemic in this area due to the interaction of a wide range of factors and features of the host which determine patterns of trypanosomiasis, and its distribution coincides with the distribution of vectors.

The main objective of this work is to enhance the processing performance of the recently introduced video codec H. 265/HEVC. Since most of the computations of H. 265/HEVC still occur in the motion estimation engine which is inherited from its predecessor H.264/AVC, we propose a bit-shrinking approach with a modified logic functionality to design an efficient and simplified block matching unit that replaces the already used Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) unit. The hardware complexity of the proposed unit itself is reduced and the number of its generated output bits are reduced as well which in turn simplifies all the subsequent units of motion estimation. The hardware complexity, the consumed power and the processing delay of the motion estimation engine are therefore reduced significantly with only marginal deterioration in both the bit-rate and the peak-signal-to-noise-ratios (PSNR) of the tested High Definition (HD) and Ultra-high Definition (UHD) H.265/HEVC compressed videos. We simulate our design using HM16.6 and perform system logic synthesis using Synopsys’s Design Compiler, targeting ASIC, for evaluation purposes.

The aim of this work was to investigate the photophysical behavior of polystyrene solutions under the effect of different solvents at different concentrations .Testband at 262 nm. There was no effect of solvents and concentration on the position of the maximum absorption wavelength. The data show that a strong dependence between absorbance intensity and concentration. Polystyrene in chloroform, cyclohexane and dichloromethane showed fluorescence monomer emission at 296nm. Excimer emissions were recorded for polystyrene in chloroform, cyclohexane, dichloromethane and tetrahydrofuran at 307nm, 325nm, 327nm and 330nm respectively. Solvents have effect on the fluorescence quantum yield magnitude, where highest value of it had been recorded in cyclohexane (55%)

Background: Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) remains an area of active clinical research with little data about effect of (VAP) on outcome among patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Materials and methods: A prospective study included patients with COPD exacerbation requiring endotracheal intubation for more than 48 h. Clinical assessment and Quantitative culture done for all patients for the occurrence of VAP. Results: Out of one hundred fifty two patients 92 patients (60.5%) were with VAP diagnosis. Their mean age was 56.1 ± 15.02 (38 cases developed early while 54 cases developed late VAP). Forty eight cases were discharged (54%) while 44 cases (46%) died. In comparing mean age of both groups 45.08 ± 15.52 and 57.41 ± 16.34 with P value 0.003. Prolonged use of antibiotics, re-intubation and steroid use are possible risk factors for VAP with significant P values 0.03, 0.001, 0.05 respectively. Age above vs. below 60 showed adjusted odds ratio 5.33; 95% confidence interval 1.59–7.83 with P value 0.007. Early vs. late VAP, and prolonged use of antibiotics vs. none showed significant odds ratio 0.32; 95% CI 0.13–0.76, odds ratio 2.85; 95% CI 1.07–7.59 with P values 0.01, 0.04 respectively. Conclusions: Old age, late onset VAP, re-intubation and prolonged use of antibiotics were predictors of mortality in VAP patients with AECOPD.