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The ability of the ancient Egyptians to preserve the human body through embalming has not only fascinated people since antiquity, but also has always raised the question of how this outstanding chemical and ritual process was practically achieved. Here we integrate archaeological, philological and organic residue analyses, shedding new light on the practice and economy of embalming in ancient Egypt. We analysed the organic contents of 31 ceramic vessels recovered from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara1,2. These vessels were labelled according to their content and/or use, enabling us to correlate organic substances with their Egyptian names and specific embalming practices. We identified specific mixtures of fragrant or antiseptic oils, tars and resins that were used to embalm the head and treat the wrappings using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses. Our study of the Saqqara workshop extends interpretations from a micro-level analysis highlighting the socio-economic status of a tomb owner3–7 to macro-level interpretations of the society. The identification of non-local organic substances enables the reconstruction of trade networks that provided ancient Egyptian embalmers with the substances required for mummification. This extensive demand for foreign products promoted trade both within the Mediterranean8–10 (for example, Pistacia and conifer by-products) and with tropical forest regions (for example, dammar and elemi). Additionally, we show that at Saqqara, antiu and sefet—well known from ancient texts and usually translated as ‘myrrh’ or ‘incense’11–13 and ‘a sacred oil’13,14—refer to a coniferous oils-or-tars-based mixture and an unguent with plant additives, respectively.

KP167 is a novel hypoxia-activated prodrug (HAP), targeting cancer cells via DNA intercalating and alkylating properties. The single agent and radiosensitizing efficacy of KP167 and its parental comparator, AQ4N, were evaluated in 2D and 3D cultures of luminal and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines and compared against DNA damage repair inhibitors. 2D normoxic treatment with the DNA repair inhibitors, Olaparib or KU-55933 caused, as expected, substantial radiosensitization (sensitiser enhancement ratio, SER

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are overexpressed in various tumor types including prostate cancer and considered a potential target for therapeutic intervention. 4-(Diethylamino)benzaldehyde (DEAB) has been extensively reported as a pan-inhibitor of ALDH isoforms, and here, we report on the synthesis, ALDH isoform selectivity, and cellular potencies in prostate cancer cells of 40 DEAB analogues; three analogues (14, 15, and 16) showed potent inhibitory activity against ALDH1A3, and two analogues (18 and 19) showed potent inhibitory activity against ALDH3A1. Significantly, 16 analogues displayed increased cytotoxicity (IC50 = 10-200 μM) compared with DEAB (>200 μM) against three different prostate cancer cell lines. Analogues 14 and 18 were more potent than DEAB against patient-derived primary prostate tumor epithelial cells, as single agents or in combination treatment with docetaxel. In conclusion, our study supports the use of DEAB as an ALDH inhibitor but also reveals closely related analogues with increased selectivity and potency.

Plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems is a growing environmental concern, as it has the potential to harm ecology, imperil aquatic organisms and cost ecological damage. Although rivers and other freshwater environments are known to play an important role in carrying land-based plastic trash to the world's seas, riverine ecosystems are also directly impacted by plastic pollution. A detailed understanding of the origin, movement, fate, and effects of riverine plastic waste is critical for better quantifying worldwide plastic pollution transport and effectively reducing sources and dangers. In this review, we emphasize the current scientific state of plastic debris in rivers, as well as the existing knowledge gaps, providing a basic overview of plastics and the types of polymers commonly found in rivers and the threat they bring to aquatic ecosystems. We also go through the origins and fates of riverine plastics, as well as the mechanisms and factors that affect plastic debris transit and spatiotemporal variation. We give an overview of riverine plastic transport monitoring and modeling activities, as well as examples of typical values from throughout the world. Finally, we discuss what the future holds for riverine plastic research.

An extracellular polymer was isolated from the culture liquid of Bacillus subtilis EGP5QL12 with the yield of 5,6 g/L. On the basis of the data of thin layer chromatography, colorimetric analyses and FTIR spectroscopy, it was established that the polymer is poly-γ- glutamic acid (PGA). PGA is widely used in medicine, cosmetology and the food industry due to its ability to bind water and metal ions. To assess the biotechnological potential of the isolated polymer and predict the possibilities of its application in various fields of the national economy, it is necessary to analyze the characteristic spectral features that make it possible to establish its secondary structure. The isolated PGA preparation was analyzed by circular dichroism spectroscopy at various pH values. According to the results of this study, it was found that the polymer forms predominantly β-structures with a low proportion of irregular structures and α-helices, which gives it a high potential for creating hydrogels and composite materials.

The longitudinal individual response profiles could exhibit a mixture of two or more phases of increase or decrease in trend throughout the follow up period, with one or more unknown transition points usually referred to as breakpoints or change points. The existence of such unknown point disturbs the sample characteristics, so the detection and estimation of these points is crucial. Most of the proposed statistical methods in literature, for detecting and estimating change points, assume distributional assumption that may not hold. A good alternative in this case is to use a robust approach which is the quantile regression model. There are trials in the literature to deal with quantile regression models with a change point. These trials ignore the within subject dependence of longitudinal data. In this paper we propose a mixed effect quantile regression model with a change point to account for dependence structure in the longitudinal data. Fixed effect parameters, in addition to the location of the change point, are estimated using profile estimation method. The stochastic approximation EM algorithm is proposed to estimate the fixed effect parameters exploiting the link between asymptotic Laplace distribution and the quantile regression. In addition, the location of the change point is estimated using the usual optimization methods. A simulation study shows that the proposed estimation and inferential procedures perform reasonably well in finite samples. The practical use of the proposed model is illustrated using a COVID-19 data. The data focus on the effect of global economic and health factors on the monthly death rate due to COVID-19 during from the 1st of April 2020 till the 31st of April 2021.

The present study was conducted at the Experimental Farm, Fac., Environ. Agric., Sci., Arish Univ., during successive summer seasons of 2018 and 2019, to screening twenty one genotypes of tomato as well as Galaxy 040 F1 as check to high temperature under North Sinai conditions. The analyses of variance for all studied traits revealed that mean squared of genotypes were highly significant under high average day/night-time temperature (34.6 oC and 23.9 oC, respectively) of two seasons. The studied lines CLN 1621F, Rio Grande and CLN2514A were the best for floral traits. However, the superior genotypes for fruit set percentage were CLN2026D and Rio Grande. Results of screening revealed that CLN2514A was the best for no. fruits/plant, CLN2413D and CLN1466EA for average fruit weight and CLN1621F for fruit yield /plant (2.84 kg). The highest content of proline recorded by CLN1621F and CLN3125L. Tomato genotypes ranked based on cumulative score to tolerant, moderately tolerant, moderately sensitive and sensitive groups. The clustering pattern of tomato entries grouped into five clusters. The clusters 1, 3 and 4 consisted of three genotypes, whereas the clusters 2 and 5 involved nine and four ones, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed that first two components participating 81.3% of total variability. The highest contribution towards total variability in PC1 and PC2 reflected by no. pollen grains/anther, pollen viability%, branches/plant, fruit set%, fruit yield/plant, average fruit weight, no. seeds/fruit and proline content traits, suggesting that these traits might be taken in concern for successful selection of tomato genotypes under high temperature.

Six parental lines of indeterminate tomato were used in half diallel model to study performance, degree of heterosis and combining ability.This study was conducted at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Environmental Agriculture Sciences, Arish University during two successive seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. Results revealed that the parental lines IRS-43-2, VR-6 and VL-5-4 exhibited the best values for most studied characters,however the cross combinations IRS-43-2 x VR-6, IR-44-2 x VR-6 and VR-6 x VL-5-4 were the best among the crosses.Hybrid vigour was observed in many traits, the significant positive heterosis over the check hybrid was detected in all characters and the highest values were reflected by the crosses VR-6 x VL-5-4 for growth traits and IRS-43-2 x VR-6 for early yield, total yield and Vit. C content. Variances of combining ability and genetic components revealed that additive gene action played the main role in the inheritance of fruit set percentage, total yield plant-1, average fruit weight, fruit shape and Vit. C. Based on GCA effects, the good combiner was Vl-5-4, for growth traits; IRS-43-2 and VR-6 for early yield, total yield, number of locules, and Vit. C. The highly significant positive values of SCA effects observed in crosses VR-6 x VL-5-4 for growth traits and Vit. C; IRS-43-2 x VL-5-4 for early yield; and IR-44-1 x VL-7-4 for total yield and average fruit weight. Three promising crosses (IRS-43-2 x VR-6; IR-44-2 x VR-6; VR-6 x VL-5-4) could be used commercially as local hybrids after testing in multi locations and seasons.

Mitoxantrone (MTX)- induced cardiotoxicity is a clinical concern that is limiting its use. The aim of this paper, therefore, was to investigate the subchronic administration of MTX plus nonspecific/specific inhibitors of CYP450/2E1, to assess the extent of oxidative-induced injury by measuring levels of oxidative cardiac and injury biomarkers in mice and to evaluate the effects of CYP2E1 on caspase 3 activity and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (NRF-2).Mice (n = 32) were divided into four treatment groups of eight: control, MTX, MTX + 4-methlypyrazole (4MP) and MTX + disulfiram (Disf). After 6 weeks of treatments, blood and heart samples were collected.Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) analysis of MTX-treated plasma samples revealed several metabolites with different retention times. Cardiac antioxidant enzymes and creatine kinase (CK) levels were not significantly different among the groups. However, cardiac troponin and caspase 3 activity were significantly raised, with increased CYP2E1 expressions and reduced NRF-2 expression. Tissue damage was observed in all the treatment groups, including MTX, leading to the conclusion that MTX-induced cardiotoxicity was mediated by CYP2E1 activity, which initiated caspase 3 production, and decreased NRF-2 expression.Therefore, agents that inhibit CPY2E1 expression might attenuate MTX-induced cardiotoxicity by increasing NRF-2 expression.

In this paper, a switchable bandstop to allpass filter using cascaded transmission line SIW resonators is proposed. The switchable filter is performed by the switchable cascaded transmission line SIW resonators using discrete PIN diodes. Therefore, it can be used for rejecting any unwanted frequencies in the communication systems. The proposed filter design is operated in K-band and targeted for millimeter wave front end system for 5G telecommunication. Two filter designs with different orientation (design A and B) are investigated for the best performance and compact size. As a result, design B is the best by giving a maximum attenuation of 39.5 dB at 26.4 GHz with the layout size of 33×30 mm.

Altres ajuts: This research was funded by Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, grant number 2019- 2018/18/03 and by UoB International Development Fund Scheme PhD, grant code studentship to E.B. R.J. is a recipient of a PIF predoctoral fellowship from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A3 (ALDH1A3) has recently gained attention from researchers in the cancer field. Several studies have reported ALDH1A3 overexpression in different cancer types, which has been found to correlate with poor treatment recovery. Therefore, finding selective inhibitors against ALDH1A3 could result in new treatment options for cancer treatment. In this study, ALDH1A3-selective candidates were designed based on the physiological substrate resemblance, synthesized and investigated for ALDH1A1, ALDH1A3 and ALDH3A1 selectivity and cytotoxicity using ALDH-positive A549 and ALDH-negative H1299 cells. Two compounds (ABMM- 15 and ABMM-16), with a benzyloxybenzaldehyde scaffold, were found to be the most potent and selective inhibitors for ALDH1A3, with IC50 values of 0.23 and 1.29 μM, respectively. The results also show no significant cytotoxicity for ABMM-15 and ABMM-16 on either cell line. However, a few other candidates (ABMM-6, ABMM-24, ABMM-32) showed considerable cytotoxicity on H1299 cells, when compared to A549 cells, with IC50 values of 14.0, 13.7 and 13.0μM, respectively. The computational study supported the experimental results and suggested a good binding for ABMM- 15 and ABMM-16 to the ALDH1A3 isoform. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that benzyloxybenzaldehyde might be considered a promising scaffold for further drug discovery aimed at exploiting ALDH1A3 for therapeutic intervention.

A halophilic bacterial strain, EG1HP4QL, was isolated from a salt sample from Lake Qarun, Fayoum Province, Egypt. Morphological, physiological, biochemical, and phylogenetic analyses indicated that the strain belonged to the genus Halobacillus. Strain EG1HP4QL produced an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), with production peaking (5.9 g L−1) during growth on medium S-G containing 2% (w/v) sucrose at 35 °C (pH 8.0). The EPS had significant emulsifying activity (E24 %) against kerosene (65.7 ± 0.8%), o-xylene (64.0 ± 1%), and sunflower oil (44.7 ± 0.5%). The composition of the EPS included two polymers—a negatively charged and a neutral one (~ 3:1)—in which mannose and glucose were the main neutral monosaccharide constituents. Strain EG1HP4QL was able to utilize crude oil (35.3%) as the sole carbon source within 12 days. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of heavy metals [Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II)] for strain EG1HP4QL were 1.0, 2.0, 2.0, 2.5, and 5 mM, respectively.

Halomonas ventosae RU5S2EL, a halophilic Gram-negative bacterium isolated from salt sediments of lake Elton (Russia), was cultivated and the lipopolysaccharide was extracted by the Westphal procedure. The O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) was obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide and was studied by sugar analysis along with 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, including 1H,1H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, 1H,13C HSQC, and HMBC experiments as well as Smith degradation. The OPS was found to consist of branched pentasaccharide repeating units of the following structure.

This study describes the fabrication and characterization of PVP and PVP/La thin films from a mixture of high molecular weight polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and (1, 2, and 3)% lanthanum chloride using an electrospinning process on glass and silicon. It includes an N- type (Si) (111) substrate at room temperature. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis reveals fibers with an average diameter in the range of 125-250 nm. The mean fiber diameter decreases with increasing concentration (La). The optical energy gap was determined from the analysis of the transmission spectrum in the UV-visible region. The optical gap (Eg) gradually decreases from 4 eV to 3.64 eV for undoped PVP films due to the increase in La ion content at 3%, which determines the feasibility of using these obtained fibers in the manufacturing process. PVP/La nanofibers as detectors.

Marshlands in arid and semi-arid areas are considered constantly changing environments due to unsecured water supplies as a result of high evapotranspiration and limited and highly variable rainfall. Classification of marshlands in these regions and mapping of their land cover is not an easy task and maps need to be upgraded frequently. Satellites provide enormous amounts of information and data for the continuous monitoring of changes. The aim of this paper is to introduce an approach using multispectral satellite imagery that was adopted to classify and monitor the Al Hammar Marsh (Iraq) over several years and to suggest a relationship between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), using Landsat 8 data with a resolution of 30 m × 30 m, validated with Sentinel-2 datasets at 10 m × 10 m. Six land cover classes were used: (1) open water, (2) dry area, (3) dense vegetation, (4) medium-density vegetation, (5) sparse vegetation, and (6) wet soil. Three indices, NDWI, NDMI, and NDVI, were chosen for the automatic classification of each pixel and the creation of a time series of land cover maps. The proposed method can efficiently classify and monitor marshlands and can be used to study different marshlands by adjusting the thresholds for NDVI, NDMI, and NDWI. Overall, the correlation for all classes (R) between Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 is about 0.78. Thus, this approach will help to preserve marshes through improved water management.

For six strains of halophilic bacteria, nitrogen fixation ability, production of phytohormones and siderophores, the solubilization of phosphates, and heavy metal resistance were revealed.

According to the physiological-morphological and molecular-biological characteristics, the halophilic representative of archaea strain-isolate from the saltworks of lake Karun (Egypt) was identified as Haloterrigena saccharevitans EG3QL57. The ability of H. saccharevitans EG3QL57 to utilize oil with an efficiency of 27.4%, resistance to the presence of concentrations of up to 5 mm of heavy metals in the growth medium is shown. It is shown that when the growth conditions of microorganisms are optimized, they produce up to 2.3 g/l of exopolysaccharides (EPS).

Based on biochemical and phylogenetic analyses, isolated from a salt sample from Lake Qarun (Egypt) a halophilic strain EG1QL3 was identified as Chromohalobacter salexigens. The abilities of EG1QL3 to produce an extracellular polysaccharide, degrade oil, and resist to heavy metals were revealed.

Human exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2 ) is increasing. An internal source of nano-TiO2 is represented by titanium-based orthopedic and dental implants can release nanoparticles (NPs) upon abrasion. Little is known about how the size of NPs influences their interaction with cytoskeletal protein networks and the functional/homeostatic consequences that might follow at the implant-bone interface with regard to osteoblasts. We investigated the effects of size of anatase nano-TiO2 on SaOS-2 human osteoblast-like cells exposed to clinically relevant concentrations (0.05, 0.5, 5 mg/L) of 5 and 40 nm spherical nano-TiO2 . Cell viability and proliferation, adhesion, spread and migration were assessed, as well as the orientation of actin and microtubule cytoskeletal networks. The phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (p-FAKY397 ) and the expression of vinculin in response to nano-TiO2 were also assessed. Treatment with nano-TiO2 disrupted the actin and microtubule cytoskeletal networks leading to morphological modifications of SaOS-2 cells. The phosphorylation of p-FAKY397 and the expression of vinculin were also modified depending on the particle size, which affected cell adhesion. Consequently, the cell migration was significantly impaired in the 5 nm-exposed cells compared to unexposed cells. The present work shows that the orientation of cytoskeletal networks and the focal adhesion proteins and subsequently the adhesion, spread and migration of SaOS-2 cells were affected by the selected nano-TiO2 in a size dependent manner. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 2582-2593, 2018.

Scaffolds functionalized with nanodiamond particles (nDP) hold great promise with regard to bone tissue formation in animal models. Degradation of the scaffolds over time may leave nDP within the tissues, raising concerns about possible long-term unwanted effects. Human SaOS-2 osteoblast-like cells and U937 monoblastoid cells were exposed to five different concentrations (0.002-2 mg/L) of nDP (size range: 2.36-4.42 nm) for 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by impedance-based methods. The differential expression of stress and toxicity-related genes was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) super-array, while the expression of selected inflammatory and cell death markers was determined by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Furthermore, the expression of osteogenic genes by SaOS-2 cells, alkaline phosphatase activity and the extracellular calcium nodule deposition in response to nDP were determined in vitro. Cells responded differently to higher nDP concentrations (≥0.02 mg/L), that is, no loss of viability for SaOS-2 cells and significantly reduced viability for U937 cells. Gene expression showed significant upregulation of several cell death and inflammatory markers, among other toxicity reporter genes, indicating inflammatory and cytotoxic responses in U937 cells. Nanodiamond particles improved the osteogenicity of osteoblast-like cells with no evident cytotoxicity. However, concentration-dependent cytotoxic and inflammatory responses were seen in the U937 cells, negatively affecting osteogenicity in co-cultures. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1697-1707, 2018.

Rutile and anatase titanium dioxide TiO2 nanostructures has been prepared successfully by hydrothermal technique. Also Rutile and anatase TiO2/n-Si heterojunction detector (HJ) has been fabricated. Hall Effect measurements confirmed that prepared films are n-type. The optical absorption spectra showed the prepared films have peak absorption in UV region. TiO2/n-Si heterojunction had exhibited diode-like rectifying I-V behaviour in the dark as well as under the illumination. Ideality factor greater than 2 and rectification factor for Rutile TiO2/n-Si HJ is equal 32.0961 higher than anatase TiO2/n-Si HJ. Photodetetor based on rutile TiO2/n-Si HJ showed higher responsivity and incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) than photodetector based on anatase TiO2/n-Si HJ. Photodetetor based on rutile TiO2/n-Si HJ has responsivity is 69.11Amp/W at 570 nm and IPCE is 21.2%at 370nm and 1.38% at 570nm. For the purpose of investigating the impacts of TiO2 crystal phase upon the performance of the device despite the fact that rutile has a lower band gap compared to anatase, rutile exhibits better photovoltaic activity due to its higher specific surface area.

The moderately halophilic strain Salinivibrio sp. EG9S8QL was isolated among 11 halophilic strains from saline mud (Emisal Salt Company, Lake Qarun, Fayoum, Egypt). The lipopolysaccharide was extracted from dried cells of Salinivibrio sp. EG9S8QL by the phenol–water procedure. The OPS was obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide and was studied by sugar analysis along with 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, including 1H,1H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, 1H,13C HSQC, and HMBC experiments. The OPS was found to be composed of linear tetrasaccharide repeating units of the following structure: →2)-β-Manp4Lac-(1→3)-α-ManpNAc-(1→3)-β-Rhap-(1→4)-α-GlcpNAc-(1→, where Manp4Lac is 4-O-[1-carboxyethyl]mannose.

T-cell immunoglobulin mucin 3 (TIM-3) is a transmembrane protein that plays an important role in several autoimmune diseases. The relationship between TIM-3 and excessive immune responses in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is still unknown. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between the expression of TIM-3 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with ITP and the disease severity. The frequency of lymphocyte and monocyte subsets and their TIM-3 expression were evaluated in patients with acute ITP (n = 45) and in healthy control (n = 20) using flow cytometry. Based on bleeding severity, patients were classified into 3 subgroups as mild (n = 12), moderate (n = 25), and severe (n = 8) bleeding. T-helper lymphocytes was found to be significantly decreased in the severe bleeding group compared to the mild and moderate bleeding groups, while CD56high natural killer (NK) cells were significantly expanded in severe bleeding group. In contrast, classical, intermediate, and nonclassical monocytes, natural killer T lymphocyte (NKT), and CD56dim NK cells showed no significant changes among different patient groups. This alteration of lymphocyte and monocyte subsets was associated with significant decrease in TIM-3 expression on CD56high NK cells, T-helper lymphocytes, NKT cells, and nonclassical monocytes in patients with ITP compared to the controls. Lower level of TIM-3 was found in severe bleeding group compared to mild and moderate bleeding groups. These results indicate that TIM-3 may be involved in the pathogenesis of ITP which subsequently can represent an opportunity for new therapeutic plan, moreover. This may have a prognostic value for disease severity.

Nano-sized undoped and Sc-doped SrTi 0.7 Fe 0.3 O 3 samples were prepared using the complex precursor route. The prepared photcatalysts were characterized using XRD, diffuse reflectance and XPS. The prepared samples have cubic perovskite-like phase structure. Sc doping leads to increasing both the cubic lattice parameter and unit cell volume and also decreasing the band gap values. The lowest band gap was detected for 10 mole% Sc doped SrTi 0.7 Fe 0.3 O 3 (1.58 eV). A matrix effect analysis was applied to correlate the photo detoxification of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in the visible light to the irradiation time, initial levels of AFB 1 , amount of catalysts and pH. The average crystallite size of the samples is in the range of 13–21 nm. Sc doping played an important role in the photocatalytic degradation of AFB 1 by SrTi 0.7 Fe 0.3 O 3 in visible light. About 88.2% removal of aflatoxin B 1 was achieved by 10 mole% Sc doped SrTi 0.7 Fe 0.3 O 3 sample within 120 min in visible light, which is higher than that of undoped, 1 or 5 mole% Sc doped SrTi 0.7 Fe 0.3 O 3 . The intermediates formed in the detoxification of AFB 1 was proved using GC/MS.

Microwave imaging is an emerging technology in the medical application which have similar functions as X-ray, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Computed Tomography scan (CT scan). In designing a microwave imaging system for medical application, it can use a monostatic radar approach by transmitting a Gaussian pulse (with an ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency). In this system, eight antennas are required with the support of RF switches. Thus, it is important to get the best performance of UWB RF switch in this application. Therefore, this paper presents the performance analysis of four different RF switch topologies (Design 1, 2, 3 and 4) using discrete PIN diode in SC-79 package. The design was based on single pole double throw (SPDT) switch. As result, Design 2 is the best topology after considering the tradeoff between isolation and return loss performances. Based on the three cascaded SPDT switches of Design 2, the insertion loss was less than -2 dB and return loss was more than -10 dB. Meanwhile, the isolation bandwidth (at the minimum isolation of -20 dB) was from 0.5 to 3.7 GHz (with 3.2 GHz bandwidth), hence, it could be us

Background More than 40% of patients with non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) have multi-vessel disease with the rate of in-hospital emergent bypass surgery ranging from 11–13%. So, rapid scoring is critical for optimum management even before P2Y12 loading. Purpose We aimed to determine the role of QRS dispersion at emergency department, as a simple and rapid sign, in predicting coronary anatomy complexity and in-hospital outcome. Methods 192 (126 males, age 57.4±6.8 years) patients with NSTEMI and QRS duration Results Using Spearman's rank correlation, SYNTAX score was found to be positively correlated with admission HR (r 0.54, p value 33 were done for variables with significant correlation. By multivariate logistic regression, male gender (OR 5.042, 95% CI 1.633 –15.567, p value 0.005), admission HR >80 bpm (OR 1.088, 95% CI 1.024 –1.157, p value 0.017) and QRS dispersion >20ms (OR 1.020, 95% CI 1.003 –1.037, p value 0.02) were independent predictors of SYNTAX score >33 (table). Patients with QRS dispersion >20 ms had in-hospital higher Killip class (P Binary logistic regression for prediction of SYNTAX score >33 Variables Univariate analysis Multivariate analysis OR (95% CI) P value OR (95% CI) P value Age >61 (years) 1.337 (1.019–4.392) 0.015 0.953 (0.878–1.033) 0.242 Male gender 4.851 (2.014–5.301) 0.001 5.042 (1.633–15.567) 0.005 HR >80 (bpm) 3.945 (1.706–6.953) 0.002 1.088 (1.024–1.157) 0.017 QRS dispersion >20 (ms) 2.911 (0.617–13.738) 0.013 1.020 (1.003–1.037) 0.02 QTc dispersion >53 (ms) 6.101 (1.926–19.323) 0.002 2.378 (1.890–2.561) 0.043 Maximum HsTnT >1105 (ng/L) 3.837 (0.236–8.965) 0.004 2.785 (2.501–3.012) 0.034 Grace Score >112 (points) 7.122 (0.632–12.216) Conclusion In NSTEMI, QRS dispersion was positively correlated with SYNTAX score and a cut-off value of 20 ms independently predicted SYNTAX score >33. Regarding in-hospital outcome, QRS dispersion >20 ms was associated with in-hospital higher Killip class, recurrent ischemia, serious ventricular arrhythmias and higher GRACE score

This paper presents a novel design for a triple band electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures that provides three band gaps, with operating frequency of below 10 GHz, while the ordinary mushroom like EBG structure gives only one band gap. Complexity reduction (reduce the number of unit cells and Vias) was achieved by replacing each four cells of the Mushroom like EBG by the one of double slotted type EBG (DSTEBG) or triple side slotted EBG (TSSEBG). The Mushroom like EBG was further modified by increasing its size and inserting the slots to gain more capacitance and inductance which resulted into triple band stop.The new designs wer compared with bandwidths expressed by other EBGs and -20 dB cut-off frequencies. The size of EBG element and the gap between EBG elements, and slot width were investigated to analyse their effect on the transmission response. The structures were designed from 2.54 mm Rogers RT/Duroid 6010 substrate with relative permittivity of 10.2 and loss tangent of 0.0023. Among the investigated EBGs, the single band mushroom like EBG and the triple band of the TSSEBG demonstrated better bandwidth and lower resonance frequency performance, whereas the DSTEBG showed larger bandwidth for the first and third band. The proposed EBGs could be useful in the antenna design and other microwave circuits.

The focus of this study is incorporating construction sectors within the concept of sustainable building, which essentially concerns resource management as well as waste management. It is evident that building construction is one of the largest consuming activities of non-renewable resources and natural materials worldwide. Simultaneously, enormous amounts of construction and demolition waste are generated as construction works expand to meet the increasing demand. This is not only considered an economic loss, but also an accelerating environmental threat. Therefore, it has become crucial for construction waste management to evolve away from the long practiced traditional methodology, which has been proven economically and ecologically inefficient, toward sustainable alternatives that prioritize waste recovery over disposal. Within this context, this study addresses the management of construction waste by selecting case studies of actual construction projects and scrutinizing their waste management data. The study took place at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, where all selected projects conform to the U.S. Green Building Council standards. Thus, the study works on estimating the financial and environmental returns attained by recycling construction waste from such projects. By utilizing the results from the data analysis, the study eventually sets a statistical paradigm with field-based values for typical construction projects to be followed as a guide, indicating how much cost can be saved, and how much landfill volume can be relieved when material waste is recycled. Thereby, the study serves to enhance the sustainable management of construction waste by maximizing the returns of construction waste recovery.

Chemical and organic fertilizers are limit factors of crops growth. A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive summer seasons (2011 and 2012) at the Demonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Omdurman Islamic University (Fitaihab). The objective of the study was to investigate on the effect of chemical and organic fertilizers on growth and yield of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). Two varieties namely Bulk (V1 – local) and Omshiback (V2- improved) were used to assess their performance in respect to application of chemical and organic fertilizers. Chemical fertilizer involved 0, 40, 80 kg N/fed and 40 N + 40 kg P2O5/fed, whereas fermented organic fertilizers were 2 ton chicken manure/fed and 3 ton cattle manure/fed. The experiment was designed in a split-plot design with four replications. The findings of the study reveal that, among the two varieties, there were no significant differences between them for all studied parameters (plant height, number of nodes/plant, number of leaves/plant, leaf area, number branches/plant, plant dry weight and yield of dry calyces), except number of nodes/plant during the 1st season, when V1 significantly exceeded V2 for this parameter. Meanwhile, application of chemical and organic fertilizers significantly affected only number of leaves/plant only during the 1st season, when both F1 and F2 treatments obtained the significantly higher mean of this parameter as compared to the other treatments.

The effect of tempering temperature on corrosion of AISI 1045 steel in sodium chloride environment were investigated by means of weight loss measurement (WLM), optical metallography microscopy (OMM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at an interval of 15 days for the period of 90 days. The results showed that corrosion of the tempered steel samples increases with increase in tempering temperatures. The corrosion rate values are between (0.0004-0.0015) g/mm²/yr for control sample which peaked on day 45, (0.0002-0.0007) g/mm²/yr for 250 o C tempered sample which peaked on day 30, (0.0003-0.0008) g/mm²/yr for 350 o C tempered sample which peaked on day 30, (0.0003-0.0012) g/mm²/yr for 450 o C tempered sample which peaked on day 30 and (0.0003-0.0013) g/mm²/yr for 550 o C tempered sample which peaked on day 30. The result obtained showed that control samples were more susceptible to corrosion in NaCl environment than tempered samples. The least tempered (250 °C) samples have better corrosion resistance than other tempered samples, which revealed that, it is best to be used in this medium compared to other tempered samples and control sample. Keywords : Tempering, AISI 1045 steel, Corrosion, NaCl environment