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Microwave technique used in chemical reactions in order to save energy and increase the conversion with lower temperature due to hot spots created within the catalyst. Microwave power increase reaction rate and increased the reaction conversion compared with conventional techniques. ZSM-5 (10) catalysts cracking experiments performed with and without nitrogen injection. The experiments achieved with various microwave irradiation (750-1250) W, preheating temperatures (150 - 250 ˚C) and space velocities (2 and 6 l/hr). The best result of cracking reaction conversion is (77.6%). The cracking is facilitated due to re-activation effect of nitrogen on acid sites of the catalyst.

In this study, copper was removed from an aqueous solution through electromembrane extraction (EME), a new approach that utilises a two-chamber electrochemical cell. It consists of two electrodes (stainless steel cathode and graphite anode) and a solid liquid membrane (SLM). SLM is composed of supporting polypropylene membrane impregnated with1-octanol as an organic solvent and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (DEHP) as a carrier. The effects of process parameters such as applied voltage, pH and copper concentration on the removal of copper were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimise these parameters and their interactions. Results indicated that pH has the major effect on the removal of copper, followed by applied voltage. The squared interaction term in the RSM model has the highest contribution (70.5%), followed by the linear term, thereby confirming the significant interaction among the variables. The optimum conditions include an applied voltage of 60V, pH of 5.18 and initial copper concentration of 5 ppm, which yield to a removal efficiency of 80% after 6 hours of operation. The findings demonstrate the use of electromembrane extraction as an efficient method for the removal of heavy metals and provide valuable insights for future application to other environmental and water treatment processes.

Abstract The current study involves a synthesis of a composite of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) with a chromium dopant to yield (Cr/NiONPs). Synthesis of nickel oxide was performed by the co-precipitation method. The synthesis of the composite was conducted by the impregnation method. FTIR, EDX, SEM, and XRD were used to characterize the synthesized materials. The synthesised materials’ point zero charges (PZC) were performed using the potentiometric titration method. The obtained results show that the PZC for neat nickel oxide was around 5, and it was around 8 for Cr/NiONPs. The adsorption action of the prepared materials was examined by applying them to remove Reactive Red 2 (RR2) and Crystal Violate (CV) dyes from solutions. The outcomes demonstrated that Cr/NiONPs were stronger in the removal of dyes than NiONPs. Cr/NiONPs achieved 99.9% removal of dyes after 1 h. Adsorption isotherms involving Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were also conducted, and the outcomes indicated that the most accurate representation of the adsorption data was offered by Langmuir adsorption isotherms. Additionally, it was discovered that the adsorption characteristics of the NiONPs and Cr/NiONPs correspond well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Each of the NiONPs and Cr/NiONPs was reused five times, and the results display that the effectiveness of the removal of RR2 dye slightly declined with the increase in reuse cycles; it lost only 5% of its original efficiency after the 5 cycles. Generally, Cr/NiONPs showed better reusability than NiONPs under the same conditions.

In this work, an innovative approach is proposed for three-dimensional (3D) organ volume reconstruction from a single planar X-ray, namely X2V network. Such capability holds pivotal clinical potential, especially in real-time image-guided radiotherapy, computer-aided surgery, and patient follow-up sessions. Traditional methods for 3D volume reconstruction from X-rays often require the utilization of statistical 3D organ templates, which are employed in 2D/3D registration. However, these methods may not accurately account for the variation in organ shapes across different subjects. Our X2V model overcomes this problem by leveraging neural implicit representation. A vision transformer model is integrated as an encoder network, specifically designed to direct and enhance attention to particular regions within the X-ray image. The reconstructed meshes exhibit a similar topology to the ground truth organ volume, demonstrating the ability of X2V in accurately capturing the 3D structure from a 2D image. The effectiveness of X2V is evaluated on lung X-rays using several metrics, including volumetric Intersection over Union (IoU). X2V outperforms the state-of-the-art method in the literature for lungs (DeepOrganNet) by about 7-9% achieving IoU’s between 0.892-0.942 versus DeepOrganNet’s IoU of 0.815-0.888.

Abstract The fate of cadmium at the Muharram Aisha wastewater treatment plant in Karbala governorate, Iraq was studied using the TOXCHEM model. Cadmium, a known carcinogen, and is considered one of the most dangerous heavy metals and high concentrations, greater than permissible limits, were found in the treated wastewater. The plant operates using an activated sludge system and this was modeled via TOXCHEM with a sensitivity analysis carried out on the extended aeration system. Prior to analysis, the model was calibrated and validated for cadmium, with the adjustments leading to a mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (R) of 0.0001 and 0.81, respectively. The mass balance of cadmium in the Muharram Aisha treatment plant was found to be 4832.44 g/day (37.1726%) in the treated wastewater and 8164.52 g/day (62.804%) in the sludge, which indicated that the mix liquor suspended solid (MLSS) was the most sensitive factor. The sensitivity to cadmium was analyzed via MLSS in the extended aeration system and the results o indicated that the higher the MLSS concentration (mg/L), the greater the removal of cadmium in the treated wastewater. It was found that increasing the MLSS through a biological treatment method reduced the concentration of cadmium without the need for additional of any (potentially harmful) chemical treatments. The plant was subsequently operated for a period of 5 months with the MLSS increased from 1500 to 4500 mg/L, and this reduced the concentration of cadmium in the wastewater from 0.36 to 0.01 mg/L as a consequence. This research demonstrates how the novel application of TOXCHEM can be a useful tool in the reduction of heavy metal contamination in the environment.

H2S is one of the principal odor gases released from sewer networks and understanding the rate of H2S release into sewer air space and ventilation to the atmosphere is crucial for preventing or minimizing odor and corrosion issues in sewer systems. TOXCHEM model was used to simulate the fate of H2S gas in roads for this study. The model was calibrated for the spring and summer seasons and validated for the remainder of the seasons. The predicted behavior showed good correlation to measurements on real samples following statistical analysis, with R2, R, and RMSE results between (0.93–0.97), (0.8–0.82), and (0.000438–0.000838), respectively. A sensitivity study was performed to assess the effect of various pH values, drop heights, tailwater depths, stream widths, and sewer ventilation rate levels. The results showed that the emissions concentrations for winter, spring, summer, and autumn reached 3500, 5044, 6425, and 4045 ppm respectively. All the emissions levels from this DS can be considered hazardous, and this was particularly evident during the summer months. This study has helped to clarify the fate and emission of hydrogen sulfide gas at the DS by simulation using a TOXCHEM model. HIGHLIGHTS The drop structure can substantially increase the emission of hydrogen sulfide from the liquid phase to the air phase.; Discussion of the most important factors that contribute to the emission of H2S gas in the drop structures.; Determination of the amount of hydrogen sulfide gas emission in the sulfate-rich wastewater.; The use of the TOXCHEM model to simulate the emission of hydrogen sulfide gas in the drop structure.;

Abstract Background: Among inpatients, peer-comparison of prescribing metrics is challenging due to variation in patient-mix and prescribing by multiple providers daily. We established risk-adjusted provider-specific antibiotic prescribing metrics to allow peer-comparisons among hospitalists. Methods: Using clinical and billing data from inpatient encounters discharged from the Hospital Medicine Service between January 2020 through June 2021 at four acute care hospitals, we calculated bimonthly (every two months) days of therapy (DOT) for antibiotics attributed to specific providers based on patient billing dates. Ten patient-mix characteristics, including demographics, infectious disease diagnoses, and noninfectious comorbidities were considered as potential predictors of antibiotic prescribing. Using linear mixed models, we identified risk-adjusted models predicting the prescribing of three antibiotic groups: broad spectrum hospital-onset (BSHO), broad-spectrum community-acquired (BSCA), and anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Anti-MRSA) antibiotics. Provider-specific observed-to-expected ratios (OERs) were calculated to describe provider-level antibiotic prescribing trends over time. Results: Predictors of antibiotic prescribing varied for the three antibiotic groups across the four hospitals, commonly selected predictors included sepsis, COVID-19, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, malignancy, and age >65 years. OERs varied within each hospital, with medians of approximately 1 and a 75th percentile of approximately 1.25. The median OER demonstrated a downward trend for the Anti-MRSA group at two hospitals but remained relatively stable elsewhere. Instances of heightened antibiotic prescribing (OER >1.25) were identified in approximately 25% of the observed time-points across all four hospitals. Conclusion: Our findings indicate provider-specific benchmarking among inpatient providers is achievable and has potential utility as a valuable tool for inpatient stewardship efforts.

This paper addresses the development of a stereo vision-based obstacle avoidance system using MOOS-IvP for small and medium-sized Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). Existing methods predominantly rely on optical sensors such as LiDAR and cameras to discern maritime obstacles within the short- to mid-range distances. Nonetheless, conventional cameras encounter challenges in water conditions that curtail their effectiveness in localizing obstacles and planning paths. Furthermore, LiDAR has limitations regarding angular resolution and identifying objectness due to data sparsity. To overcome these limitations, our proposed system leverages a stereo camera equipped with enhanced angular resolution to augment situational awareness. The system employs recursive estimation techniques to ascertain the position and dimensions of proximate obstacles, transmitting this information to the onboard control unit, where MOOS-IvP behaviour-based software produces navigation decisions. Through the real-time fusion of data obtained from the stereo vision system and navigational data, the system is able to achieve Enhance Situational Awareness (ESA) and facilitate well-informed navigation decisions. Developing a state-of-the-art maritime object detection technique, the system adeptly identifies obstacles and swiftly responds via a vision integration protocol. During field tests, our system proves the efficacy of the proposed ESA approach. This paper also presents a comprehensive analysis and discussion of the results derived from deploying the proposed system on the Suraya Surveyor USV platform across numerous scenarios featuring diverse obstacles. The results from these various scenarios demonstrate the system’s accurate obstacle detection capabilities under challenging conditions and highlight its significant potential for safe USV operations.

This paper was aimed to study the efficiency of forward osmosis (FO) process as a new application for the treatment of wastewater from textile effluent and the factors affecting the performance of forward osmosis process. The draw solutions used were magnesium chloride (MgCl2), and aluminum sulphate (Al2 ( SO4)3 .18 H2O), and the feed solutions used were reactive red, and disperse blue dyes. Experimental work were includes operating the forward osmosis process using thin film composite (TFC) membrane as flat sheet for different draw solutions and feed solutions. The operating parameters studied were : draw solutions concentration (10 – 90 g/l), feed solutions concentration (5 – 30 mg/l), draw solutions flow rate (10 – 50 l/hr), feed solutions flow rate (20-60 l/hr), constant pressure and temperature were maintained at 0.5 bar and 30ºC respectively. And includes operating the forward osmosis process using cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane as flat sheet for different draw solutions and feed solutions. The operating parameters studied were : draw solutions concentration (10 – 90 g/l), and feed solutions concentration (5 – 30 mg/l), constant temperature at 30ºC. It was found that water flux increases with increasing draw solution concentration, and feed solution flow rate and decreases with increasing draw solution flow rate and feed solution concentration for TFC and CTA. It was found MgCl2 given water flux larger than Alum. And also found that reactive red given water flux larger than disperse blue. The experiments also show that CTA membrane gives higher water flux than TFC membrane for forward osmosis operation. The increase in water flux for CTA is about 12.85% than TFC.

Physiological status and litter size can indeed have a significant impact on ewes' ‎hematological parameters, which are essential indicators of their health. Therefore, this study ‎examined the hematological profiles of ewes during pregnancy with single and twins in the ‎Awassi ewes. The present study involved 232 ewes in good health and at sexual maturity. ‎Among them, 123 ewes had single pregnancies, while 109 ewes had twin pregnancies. The age ‎range of the ewes included in the study was between 3.5 and 4.5 years. Hematological tests ‎were conducted on the sheep's blood samples promptly following collection. The findings ‎demonstrated variations in hematological parameters among pregnant ewes, with differences ‎based on litter size. Ewes carrying twin pregnancies exhibited significantly higher levels of ‎red blood corpuscular, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin ‎concentration during pregnancy. In comparison to single-pregnant ewes, Awassi ewes with ‎twin pregnancies displayed elevated counts of white blood cells, lymphocytes, granulocytes, ‎and granulocyte percentage compared to ewes with single pregnancies. Awassi ewes with twin ‎pregnancies also exhibited a strong positive correlation with the leukocytes and erythrocytes ‎constituents. In conclusion, these findings indicate that litter size significantly influences ‎hematological parameters, highlighting the importance of considering the physiological status ‎and litter size as indicators of ewes' health. The findings have practical implications in sheep ‎breeding and reproduction, as they can be utilized to enhance the diagnosis, prognosis, and ‎treatment of related conditions‎.

In cooling water systems, cooling towers play a critical role in removing heat from the water. Cooling water systems are commonly used in industry to dispose the waste heat. An upward spray cooling water systems was especially designed and investigated in this work. The effect of two nanofluids (Al2O3/ water, black carbon /water) on velocity and temperature distributions along reverse spray cooling tower at various concentrations (0.02, 0.08, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 wt.%) were investigated, beside the effect of the inlet water temperature (35 ,40, and 45 ͦ C) and water to air flow ratio (L/G) of 0.5, 0.75, and 1. The best thermal performance was found when the working solution contained 0.1 wt.% for each of Al2O3 and black carbon nanoparticles, with a maximum drop in temperature drops (i, e. range) of (16 ͦ C) and (20 ͦ C), respectively. The temperature of the tower's outlet water was decreased as the inlet working fluid increased, and the thermal efficiency declined with the increasing of the L/G by about 5%. However, the drop in the outlet temperature caused by the nanofluid is more than that of pure water at every point by about 6 ͦ C.

The emission and fate of methyl mercaptan from the residential complex treatment plant (RCTP) moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) process in the city of Al-Hur in Karbala governorate in Iraq were studied using the TOXCHEM 4.1 model. The release of odorous sulfur compounds from treatment plants harms workers and the surrounding area. Methyl mercaptan, in particular, is responsible for odors similar to rotten cabbage. The sensitivity analysis for the methyl compounds in the MBBR system was conducted based on the following factors: a large thick biofilm layer, the specific surface area of media, media fill fraction, and aeration flowrate. The model was validated via RMSE and R, which showed the model outputs are representatives of real-world observations. Degradation and emission were shown to be the two most important processes in the system. During the summer (32 °C) and winter (12 °C), about 13 and 10%, 2 and 4%, 0.5 and 1%, and 85 and 85% were emitted into the atmosphere, discharged with effluent, sorbed into sludge, and biodegraded, respectively. The overall concentrations of CH4S emitted in summer and winter were 1.78 and 1.38 ppm, respectively. Operating the MBBR system with a thick biofilm layer, a large specific surface area of media, a greater media fill fraction, and a low aeration rate contributed significantly to the decomposition of methyl mercaptan and thus decreased emission into the atmosphere. Finally, the TOXCHEM simulation accurately predicts the fate of CH4S and the emissions inherent to the MBBR system. The manipulation of the operating factors led to the improvement of the system and the reduction of methyl mercaptan gas emissions without the need to add units and chemical additives. HIGHLIGHTS The methyl mercaptan emitted by a full-scale MBBR WWTP was studied.; Aeration tank and equalization basin emitted the highest CH4S concentrations.; TOXCHEM modeling was used to calculate the distribution of CH4S around the WWTP.; CH4S concentrations exceeded the threshold limit at this plant.; CH4S emission was affected by the following three main factors: biodegradation, absorption by the sludge, and stripping.;

Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) yields high resolution images with a large number of extremely small objects. Target objects have large spatial displacements throughout consecutive frames. This nature of WAMI images makes object tracking and detection challenging. In this paper, we present our deep neural network-based combined object detection and tracking model, namely, Heat Map Network (HM-Net). HM-Net is significantly faster than state-of-the-art frame differencing and background subtraction-based methods, without compromising detection and tracking performances. HM-Net follows object center-based joint detection and tracking paradigm. Simple heat map-based predictions support unlimited number of simultaneous detections. The proposed method uses two consecutive frames and the object detection heat map obtained from the previous frame as input, which helps HM-Net monitor spatio-temporal changes between frames and keep track of previously predicted objects. Although reuse of prior object detection heat map acts as a vital feedback-based memory element, it can lead to unintended surge of false positive detections. To increase robustness of the method against false positives and to eliminate low confidence detections, HM-Net employs novel feedback filters and advanced data augmentations. HM-Net outperforms state-of-the-art WAMI moving object detection and tracking methods on WPAFB dataset with its 96.2% F1 and 94.4% mAP detection scores, while achieving 61.8 % mAP tracking score on the same dataset. This performance corresponds to an improvement of 2.1% for F1, 6.1% for mAP scores on detection, and 9.5% for mAP score on tracking over state-of-the-art.

Accurate prediction of path loss is essential for the design and optimization of wireless communication networks. Existing path loss prediction methods typically suffer from the trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency. In this paper, we present a deep learning based approach with clear advantages over the existing ones. The proposed method is based on the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) technique to predict path loss map of a target area from the satellite image or the height map of the area. The proposed method produces the path loss map of the entire target area in a single inference, with accuracy close to the one produced by ray tracing simulations. The method is tested at 900MHz transmission frequency; the trained model and source codes are publicly available on a Github page.

The study of Fenton’s oxidation and degradation of Direct Blue 2 (DB2) as the commercial azo dye in synthetic aqueous solution has been accomplished. The optimum oxidative degradation reaction conditions were achieved as follows: pH = 3.50, [H2O2] = 1.1×10-3 M, [Fe2+] = 1.0×10-4 M for [DB 2] = 1.0×10-4 M. Under optimal conditions, 80% of decolouration efficiency was carried out within 15 min of reaction. An engagement between the kinetics of the colour removal rates (ln k2) versus Lazo bond was carried out at the different pH levels. The colour removal rate was increased with decreasing of Lazo bond, in the order of pH: 3.5 > 5.0 > 2.5. The second-order kinetic model provided the best correlation of the data. Effects of various inorganic anions (such as Cl–, SO42-, CO32-, etc.) was studied to enhance the oxidation efficiency of Fenton reaction. Advanced oxidation technologies were developed in this study especially with dealing with contaminated textile wastewater over the use of chemical treatment.

Background: Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is frequently encountered in premature infants. Optimal management of PDA remains undefined. We aim to assess the national trend for PDA ligation over 18 years and evaluate mortality and associated morbidities. Methods: We used data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and KID of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) from 1998 to 2015. All infants with gestational age 24–32 weeks and birth weight

In this study, the catalyst activity of Fe2O3 supported on Graphene for Iraqi gas oil oxidation desulfurization (ODS) by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was investigated. The prepared catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation for ferric nitrate as a Fe2O3 precursor while Graphene represented as catalyst support. The synthesized catalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, and EDS analysis. The experiments were designed according to three-level for three variables by Box-Behnken experimental design; Stirring time, catalyst dosage and temperature while the sulfur removal efficiency acts as experiment response. Catalyst activity was studied by ODS reaction for Iraqi gas oil (sulfur content 9400 ppm) at temperature range (40-60 ºC), stirring time (160-240 minutes) and catalyst dosage (0.5-2.5 g), the results show maximum sulfur removal efficiency 90% at stirring time, catalyst dosage and temperature 240 min, 1.5 g, and 60 ºC, respectively. ANOVA analysis shows the important effect of each independent variable on sulfur removal efficiency (response) as following influential order; stirring time, reaction temperature and catalyst dosage. Kinetics calculation showed that the ODS reaction obeys pseudo first-order reaction with reaction rate constant equal 1.0837, 1.5893, and 2.5053 at temperature 40, 50, and 60 ºC, respectively, while activation energy equal 36.26 kJ/mol. Copyright © 2020 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Path loss prediction is essential for network planning in any wireless communication system. For cellular networks, it is usually achieved through extensive received signal power measurements in the target area. When the 3D model of an area is available, ray tracing simulations can be utilized; however, an important drawback of such an approach is the high computational complexity of the simulations. In this paper, we present a fundamentally different approach for path loss distribution prediction directly from 2D satellite images based on deep convolutional neural networks. While training process is time consuming and completed offline, inference can be done in real time. Another advantage of the proposed approach is that 3D model of the area is not needed during inference since the network simply uses an image captured by an aerial vehicle or satellite as its input. Simulation results show that the path loss distribution can be accurately predicted for different communication frequencies and transmitter heights.

Background: The Harmonic scalpel (HS) has been proven to be an effective, efficient, and safe instrument for dissection and hemostasis in both open and laparoscopic surgical procedures. The primary use of the HS in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been for the division of the cystic artery and liver bed dissection. Advancements in the Harmonic scalpel blade tip now provide for the reliable ultrasonic division and closure of the cystic duct. Objectives: This study was planned to compare the clips and cautery (CC) method of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) versus LC using HS as regard to the safety and efficacy for symptomatic gallstone disease. Patients and methods: This is a prospective study conducted in Baghdad Teaching Hospital/ 1st Surgical Unit at the Medical City, done on (120) patients within the period between1st October 2010 and 1st October 2011 who underwent LC for symptomatic gallstone disease. These patients have been classified into two groups Group A included 60 patients who underwent the (CC) method, and Group B included 60 patients done by (HS) method. The intraoperative and postoperative parameters were collected including duration of operation, intraoperative blood loss, gallbladder perforation rate, postoperative pain, and complications. Results: HS provides a shorter operative duration than CC (34.85±6.2 min vs. 49.75±9.49 min, respectively, p=0.0001), with a significant less incidence of gallbladder perforation (6.6% vs. 20%; p= 0.032). There was no statistical difference in the conversion rate between both groups. The amount of postoperative drainage is significantly less in HS (37.98±17.25 vs. 49.18±22.65 ml; p = 0.003). No postoperative bile leak was encountered in HS, but it occurred in 3.3% of patients in CC. Visual analog scale (VAS) for pain severity in HS at 24 hours postoperative was (3.95±0.74 vs. 4.94±1.34, p=0.0001). Conclusion: HS provides a complete hemobiliary stasis and is a safe alternative to standard clipping of cystic duct and artery. It provides a shorter operative duration, less incidence of gallbladder perforation, less operative blood loss, less postoperative pain, and less rate of conversion to open cholecystectomy.

ABSTRACT Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) experience accelerated loss of bone mineral density, which is often accompanied by increased vascular calcification. These disturbances can be attenuated by therapies for inflammation, such as the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor infliximab. Calciprotein particles (CPP) are circulating colloidal aggregates of calcium and phosphate together with the mineral‐binding protein fetuin‐A, which have emerged as potential mediators of vascular calcification. The precise origins of serum CPP are unclear, but bone turnover may be an important source. In this longitudinal observational study, we studied patients with CID undergoing treatment with infliximab to assess the temporal relationship between bone turnover and circulating CPP. Ten patients with active CID receiving infliximab induction therapy and an additional 3 patients with quiescent CID on maintenance infliximab therapy were studied for 8 weeks with repeated measures of bone turnover markers as well as CPP (calciprotein monomers [CPM], primary CPP [CPP‐I], and secondary CPP [CPP‐II]). Therapeutic response was appraised using validated disease activity scores. At baseline, those with active CID had elevated markers of bone resorption and suppressed bone formation markers as well as higher CPM and CPP‐I compared with those with quiescent CID. In responders, there was an early but transient reduction in resorption markers by week 1, but a more sustained increase in bone formation markers compared with non‐responders at week 8. This was accompanied by reductions in CPM (β = −6.5 × 103 AU [95% CI −11.1, −1.8], p = 0.006) and CPP‐I (β = −23.4 × 104 particles/mL [95% CI −34.8, −11.9], p

The cloud point technique was effectively utilized for extraction and pre-concentration of nickel(II) in urine samples before measurement by UV-Vis spectrophotometer and AAS techniques. The metal response to a para-aminophenol (PAP) reagent in a non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 medium was to form the Ni-PAP complex. The adopted concentration for PAP, concentration of Triton X-114, pH effect and water bath temperature, incubation time, salt effect, and interference effects were all optimized. The calibration curve was linear over the range of (0.0625–1.25) mg L–1 with a correlation coefficient r2 of 0.9682 for the UV-Vis spectrophotometer at a λmax of 629 nm. The limit of detection was 0.005 mg/L. The relative standard deviation for six replicates was 1.07%. This method was applied successfully to determine copper (II) concentrations in 44 urine samples of occupational worker samples as determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and FAAS techniques.

Sajid Ali,1 Muhammad Tahir Khan,2 Khan Anwar Sheed,3 Muhammad Mumtaz Khan,4 Fariha Hasan11Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan; 2Department of Bioinformatics and Biosciences, Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan; 3Provincial TB Reference Laboratory, Provincial TB Control Program, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; 4Department of Microbiology, University of Haripur, Haripur, PakistanBackground: Spoligotyping is a reproducible, reverse hybridization approach for genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Molecular typing of MTBC is helpful for understanding and controlling tuberculosis epidemics.Methods: Spoligotyping was performed on 166 clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) collected from 25 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Results were compared to SITVIT2, an online database developed by the Institut Pasteur de la Guadeloupe, France.Results: Spoligotyping results showed that 145 strains (88%) displayed known patterns while 21 (12%) were new. Lineage 3/Central Asian strain (L3/CAS) was the predominant family (73%, χ2=19.9, P=0.001), followed by L2/Beijing (5.4%) and L4 (4.2%). L3/CAS1-Delhi was the major sublineage (82%) among the L3/CAS family (χ2=664, P=0.0001). Analysis showed that the majority of the clinical isolates with an unknown pattern had an evolutionary link with the L3/CAS strain, and nine (5.4%) of the unknown strains were epidemiologically linked and were tentatively named L3/CAS-KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that L3/CAS is the predominant lineage of MTB, widely distributed in different areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Spoligotyping patterns of some clinical isolates could not be matched to other reported patterns in an international database. Other tools, such as mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit–variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR), will be helpful in future investigations into the epidemiological characteristics of clinical isolates in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.Keywords: spoligotyping, VNTR, L3/CAS, genotyping, molecular characterization, genetic diversity

Optimal network planning for wireless communication systems requires the detailed knowledge of the channel parameters of the target coverage area. Channel parameters can be estimated through extensive measurements in the environment. Alternatively, ray tracing simulations can be done if the 3D model of the environment is available. One drawback of ray tracing simulations is the high computational complexity; therefore, ray tracing is not suitable for real-time coverage optimization. In this paper, we present a deep convolutional neural network-based approach to estimate channel parameters (specifically, path loss exponent and standard deviation of shadowing) directly from 2D satellite images. While deep learning methods require high computational resources for training and large amount of training data, once trained, the network can make predictions fast. Also, unlike the ray tracing simulations, there is no need for 3D model generation, and therefore, it can be applied easily using the images obtained from satellites or aerial vehicles. These make the proposed method a computationally efficient and reliable alternative to ray tracing simulations. The experimental results show that path loss exponent and large-scale shadowing factor at 900 MHz can be correctly classified by 88% and 76% accuracy, respectively.

Objective: We aimed to define indication of Hartmann procedure (HP) under emergency conditions, analyze, and present in which cases this procedure should be used. Methods: The patients who underwent emergency surgery for colorectal cancer were analyzed. Rates of mortality, overall, and disease-free survival of the patients were evaluated. The colostomy closure rate, operative mortality, and surgical complications of the secondary operation performed after the HP were also assessed. Results: Fifty-seven patients who underwent HP were included in the study. The indications were obstruction (n = 37) or perforation (n = 20). The post-operative mortality and morbidity rates were 21.1% and 63.2%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates for all patients were 54%, 49%, and 45%. Conclusion: HP can be a life-saving procedure in cases of high risk, emergency colorectal disease. Surgeons create a temporary stoma as a part of this procedure that is generally closed with a second operation. However, it is not possible to close the stoma in some cases, and the potential physical and emotional issues related to the stoma should be a part of the surgeon’s considerations.

The present work provides to treat real oily saline wastewater released from drilling oil sites by the use of electrocoagulation technique. Aluminum tubes were utilized as electrodes in a concentric manner to minimize the concentrations of 113400 mg TDS/L, 65623 mg TSS/L, and the ions of 477 mg HCO3/L, 102000 mg Cl/L and 5600 mg Ca/L presented in real oily wastewater under the effect of the operational parameters (the applied current and reaction time) by making use of the central composite rotatable design. The final concentrations of TDS, TSS, HCO3, Cl, and Ca that obtained were 93555 ppm (17.50%), 11011 ppm (83.22%), 189ppm (60.38%), 80000ppm (22%), and 4200 ppm (25%), respectively, under the optimum values of the operational parameters (1.625 Amps and 40 min). In spite of the low removal percentages of some pollutants, the present study proved the ability of this novel designed reactor for treating high saline real oily wastewater in accordance with the operational parameters. This prove the capability of the use of it as a pre-treatment of other conventional methods.

This study investigates the implementation of Taguchi design in the estimation of minimum corrosion rate of mild-steel in cooling tower that uses saline solution of different concentration. The experiments were set on the basis of Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array. The runs were carried out under different condition such as inlet concentration of saline solution, temperature, and flowrate. The Signal-to- Noise ratio and ANOVA analysis were used to define the impact of cooling tower working conditions on the corrosion rate. A regression had been modelled and optimized to identify the optimum level for the working parameters that had been founded to be 13%NaCl, 35ᴼC, and 1 l/min. Also a confirmation run to establish the precision of the Taguchi design for optimization the corrosion rate in cooling tower with high reliability. The contour plot had been applied to understand how it can be in finding the relation between the corrosion rate and the working parameters of the cooling tower.

The nucleon momentum distributions (NMD) and elastic electron scattering form factors of the ground state for some 1f-2p-shell nuclei, such as 58Ni, 60Ni, 62Ni, and 64Ni isotopes have been calculated in the framework of the coherent fluctuation model (CFM) and expressed in terms of the weight function lf(x)l2 . The weight function (fluctuation function) has been related to the nucleon density distribution (NDD) of the nuclei and determined from the theory and experiment. The NDD is derived from a simple method based on the use of the single particle wave functions of the harmonic oscillator potential and the occupation numbers of the states. The feature of the long-tail behavior at high momentum region of the NMD’s has been obtained by both the theoretical and experimental weight functions. The calculated elastic electron scattering form factors for considered isotopes are in reasonable agreement with those of experimental data throughout all values of momentum transfer q.

Pneumococcal neuraminidase is a key enzyme for sequential deglycosylation of host glycans, and plays an important role in host survival, colonization, and pathogenesis of infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. One of the factors that can affect the activity of neuraminidase is the amount and position of acetylation present in its substrate sialic acid. We hypothesised that pneumococcal esterases potentiate neuraminidase activity by removing acetylation from sialic acid, and that will have a major effect on pneumococcal survival on mucin, colonization, and virulence. These hypotheses were tested using isogenic mutants and recombinant esterases in microbiological, biochemical and in vivo assays. We found that pneumococcal esterase activity is encoded by at least four genes, SPD_0534 (EstA) was found to be responsible for the main esterase activity, and the pneumococcal esterases are specific for short acyl chains. Assay of esterase activity by using natural substrates showed that both the Axe and EstA esterases could use acetylated xylan and Bovine Sub-maxillary Mucin (BSM), a highly acetylated substrate, but only EstA was active against tributyrin (triglyceride). Incubation of BSM with either Axe or EstA led to the acetate release in a time and concentration dependent manner, and pre-treatment of BSM with either enzyme increased sialic acid release on subsequent exposure to neuraminidase A. qRT-PCR results showed that the expression level of estA and axe increased when exposed to BSM and in respiratory tissues. Mutation of estA alone or in combination with nanA (codes for neuraminidase A), or the replacement of its putative serine active site to alanine, reduced the pneumococcal ability to utilise BSM as a sole carbon source, sialic acid release, colonization, and virulence in a mouse model of pneumococcal pneumonia.

Background: The Harmonic scalpel (HS) has been proven to be an effective, efficient, and safe instrument for dissection and hemostasis in both open and laparoscopic surgical procedures. The primary use of the HS in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been for the division of the cystic artery and liver bed dissection. Advancements in the Harmonic scalpel blade tip now provide for the reliable ultrasonic division and closure of the cystic duct. Objectives: This study was planned to compare the clips and cautery (CC) method of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) versus LC using HS as regard to the safety and efficacy for symptomatic gallstone disease. Patients and methods: This is a prospective study conducted in Baghdad Teaching Hospital/ 1st Surgical Unit at the Medical City, done on (120) patients within the period between1st October 2010 and 1st October 2011 who underwent LC for symptomatic gallstone disease. These patients have been classified into two groups Group A included 60 patients who underwent the (CC) method, and Group B included 60 patients done by (HS) method. The intraoperative and postoperative parameters were collected including duration of operation, intraoperative blood loss, gallbladder perforation rate, postoperative pain, and complications. Results: HS provides a shorter operative duration than CC (34.85±6.2 min vs. 49.75±9.49 min, respectively, p=0.0001), with a significant less incidence of gallbladder perforation (6.6% vs. 20%; p= 0.032). There was no statistical difference in the conversion rate between both groups. The amount of postoperative drainage is significantly less in HS (37.98±17.25 vs. 49.18±22.65 ml; p = 0.003). No postoperative bile leak was encountered in HS, but it occurred in 3.3% of patients in CC. Visual analog scale (VAS) for pain severity in HS at 24 hours postoperative was (3.95±0.74 vs. 4.94±1.34, p=0.0001). Conclusion: HS provides a complete hemobiliary stasis and is a safe alternative to standard clipping of cystic duct and artery. It provides a shorter operative duration, less incidence of gallbladder perforation, less operative blood loss, less postoperative pain, and less rate of conversion to open cholecystectomy.

Exposure of the distal esophagus can be achieved by a wide variety of surgical approaches. The standard procedure is mostly by laparoscopy. In cases where laparoscopy is relatively contraindicated, thoracoscopy is preferred. In this case, exposure of the distal esophagus from the aorta, heart and lung is technically challenging using thoracoscopy in the right lateral decubitus position. Surgery in the prone position for esophageal cancer has been successfully described in previous literature. We present our experience with left-sided thoracoscopy in the prone position in three patients with benign distal esophageal pathologies. This approach provided a much better exposure of the distal esophagus and enabled a successful surgery to be done in all patients with less manipulation of the lung.

This work was carried to study the capability of activated alumina from bauxite compared with activated carbon adsorption capability to reduce the color content from Al-Hilla Textile Company wastewater. Six dyes were studied from two types(reactive and dispersed) namely (blue, red, yellow) from wastewater and aqueous solutions. Forty eight experiments were carried out to study the effect of various initial conditions (bed height, flow rate, initial concentration, pH value, temperature, and competitive adsorption) on adsorption process. The results showed that the adsorption process using activated carbon insured a good degree of color reduction reaching (99.7%) and was better than activated bauxite which reached (95%).