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Global interest in groundwater resource management is significant, with petrochemical industrialization identified as a potential source of groundwater pollution. Petrochemical industrial processes cause significant impacts on groundwater quality through the discharging of highly contaminated waste with oil and chemicals. This study aims to determine the impact of the heavy petrochemical industrial city of Jubail Saudi Arabia on groundwater quality and identify special sources of pollution using a statistical approach. Samples from 47 groundwater wells were collected and analyzed for 23 indicators, mainly chlorinated hydrocarbons, 1,1-olefin hydrocarbons, vinyl chlorides, 1,1,2-trichloroethylene and chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, and benzene. The results were compared with permissible standard limits to identify the level of exceedance. The results showed an exceedance in the concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons, total petroleum hydrocarbons, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1-trichloroethane, and vinyl chloride more than ten times above the permissible limits of these concentrations. The study revealed the high impact of the petrochemical industries on groundwater quality. Since the current monitoring program depends only on annual sampling of groundwater, there has been a recommendation to install an online groundwater monitoring system to conserve water quality and achieve sustainable management.

Abstract In the face of the escalating global energy demand, the challenge lies in enhancing the extraction of oil from low-pressure underground reservoirs. The conventional artificial gas lift method is constrained by the limited availability of high-pressure gas for injection, which is essential for reducing hydrostatic bottom hole pressure and facilitating fluid transfer to the surface. This study proposes a novel ‘smart gas’ concept, which involves injecting a gas mixture with an optimized fraction of CO2 and N2 into each well. The research introduces a dual optimization strategy that not only determines the optimal gas composition but also allocates the limited available gas among wells to achieve multiple objectives. An extensive optimization process was conducted to identify the optimal gas injection rate for each well, considering the limited gas supply. The study examined the impact of reducing available gas from 20 to 10 MMSCFD and the implications of water production restrictions on oil recovery. The introduction of smart gas resulted in a 3.1% increase in overall oil production compared to using natural gas. The optimization of smart gas allocation proved effective in mitigating the decline in oil production, with a 25% reduction in gas supply leading to only a 10% decrease in oil output, and a 33% reduction resulting in a 26.8% decrease. The study demonstrates that the smart gas approach can significantly enhance oil production efficiency in low-pressure reservoirs, even with a substantial reduction in gas supply. It also shows that imposing water production limits has a minimal impact on oil production, highlighting the potential of smart gas in achieving environmentally sustainable oil extraction. Furthermore, the implementation of the smart gas approach aligns with global environmental goals by potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to the broader objective of environmental sustainability in the energy sector.

Abstract The aim of this research is to investigate the development model of entrepreneurship in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage. The current research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of this research includes employees and experts in the national industry of refining petroleum products as many as 951 people, which was considered to be 274 people using Cochran's formula. Sampling was done by cluster random sampling. The collection tool in this research includes a researcher-made questionnaire derived from the qualitative method. The variable of entrepreneurial development includes 4 dimensions of innovation, risk-taking, pioneering and aggressive competition, and the variable of entrepreneurial development includes 3 dimensions of human orientation, environment orientation, and general indifference. The reliability of the research was checked and confirmed using Cronbach's alpha criterion in SPSS software. AMOS software was used to fit the conceptual model of the research. The findings of the research showed that there is a positive and significant effect between the components and dimensions of entrepreneurship development in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage, and the model has a good fit. Extended Abstract Introduction During the past few years, governments have seriously encouraged entrepreneurship because it benefits the people and the country. People, before starting a business, must have technology capital, necessary facilities to produce goods, suitable workforce, suitable spirit and balanced psychological conditions for success in entrepreneurship. Knowing the needs of entrepreneurs and businesses that need support, it seems that the government is in the best position to determine policy and design programs aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship. The government can cause entrepreneurship through policy implementation in ministries and institutions (Sharifzade et al, 2016). In today's world, the development of entrepreneurship has become a key policy and entrepreneurship has become the most strategic and economic tool of advanced societies. Economic growth and development of countries depends on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, the development of entrepreneurship is necessary to achieve economic development and progress of countries (Zali & Razavi, 2016). Thus, developing entrepreneurship and promoting entrepreneurial culture in the country is a serious economic, social and political necessity (Gholipor et al, 2020). Innovations created by entrepreneurs are strategic factors in economic development and key factors in the business cycle. However, existing evidence shows that growth does not go hand in hand with nature conservation and there is an increasing need for environmental responsibility in entrepreneurship or, in the other word, environmental entrepreneurship (Shirkhani & Karimi, 2018). Therefore, the researcher is trying to answer the question: what is the presentation of the entrepreneurial development model in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage? Theoretical Framework Entrepreneurship Development The development of entrepreneurship as a macro strategy in a society requires increasing or improving perceptions, tendencies and entrepreneurial behavior at all individual, team, organizational, industry, etc. levels; especially at the national level. In recent years, many countries have put the development of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities on their agenda. But the answer to the question why in some countries, entrepreneurial perceptions, tendencies and behaviors are more than others, is rooted in the important social, cultural and economic factors of society, including national values ​​and culture, government policies and programs, education system, legal institutions, innovation system, financial markets and labor market flexibility (Enayati et al, 2015). Environmental damage The concept of vulnerability is often used in social sciences and there is no agreement on the definition of vulnerability in environmental sciences. Anyway, the concept of environmental vulnerability usually includes biophysical, social and economic aspects. Biophysical factors include geological, geographical and climatic factors; and socio-economic aspects include the inherent resistance of the system to damage, and adaptive capacity (Denner et al, 2015). Zare et al, (2023) investigated the identification of factors affecting the weakening of entrepreneurship in university graduates of Payam Noor universities in Tehran province. The output of the research is to emphasize the strengthening of four variables, including the individual and personal capabilities and qualifications of the graduates, strengthening the educational elements related to the development of entrepreneurship in the university, strengthening the government's support conditions (facilitation, support and encouragement), and finally intervention in the six effective environments on academic entrepreneurship. Sarafzari et al, (2022) investigated the impact of green innovation on green organizational entrepreneurship. The results of this analysis showed that green innovation has a significant effect on green organizational entrepreneurship in the industry, mining and trade organization of Fars province. Green managerial innovation has a significant effect on green organizational entrepreneurship in the industry, mining and trade organization of Fars province. Green product innovation has a significant impact on green organizational entrepreneurship in Fars province industry, mining and trade organization. Research methodology The current research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of this research includes employees and experts in the national industry of refining petroleum products as many as 951 people, which was considered to be 274 people using Cochran's formula. Sampling was done by cluster random sampling. The collection tool in this research includes a researcher-made questionnaire derived from the qualitative method. The variable of entrepreneurial development includes 4 dimensions of innovation, risk-taking, pioneering and aggressive competition, and the variable of entrepreneurial development includes 3 dimensions of human orientation, environment orientation, and general indifference. The reliability of the research was checked and confirmed using Cronbach's alpha criterion in SPSS software. Research findings AMOS software was used to fit the conceptual model of the research. The findings of the research showed that there is a positive and significant effect between the components and dimensions of entrepreneurship development in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage, and the model has a good fit. Conclusion The current research was conducted with the aim of presenting the entrepreneurship development model in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage. The results of this research are consistent with the results of Zare et al, (2023), Sarafzari et al, (2022), Fatemi (2022), Mahmudi Khamiri Pur et al, (2022), Daneshniya et al, (2021), Keikha & Purkarimi (2021), Yarmohammadi & Mahmudi Kordi (2020), Sanaeepour & Jafari Moghaddam (2020), and (Ranjbar & Heydari (2017). Daneshniya et al, (2021) showed that a total of 27 main concepts can be expressed as obstacles to the development of entrepreneurship in Iran; so that 10 concepts of political environment, cultural, legal, educational, technology, government structure, macroeconomic, financial environment, geographical environment and production structure are causal conditions categorized with two categories of institutional and economic factors. 7 concepts of efficiency, opportunism, creativity, risk-taking, need for success, desire for independence, and power-seeking of entrepreneurs were identified with the category of entrepreneurs' characteristics and the background conditions of lack of entrepreneurship development. In addition, 7 concepts of creating a legal framework, drawing special policies, developing infrastructure, creating culture, providing special services, connecting with industry and financial aid, with the category of the role of the government, and as the intervening conditions of the lack of entrepreneurship development; and finally, 3 concepts of reducing economic growth, increase in poverty and income inequality, and decrease in employment rate are the consequences of lack of development of entrepreneurship in Iran. The current research has a good capability in terms of the number of identified factors. According to the present research, the following suggestions are presented: 1) Holding in-service trainings in the form of various workshops in order to teach managers to prevent environmental damage. 2) Managers and assistants should be fully informed about the development of entrepreneurship in the national oil refining industry with the approach of preventing environmental damage and most of them should be taken into consideration. 3) Paying attention to managers' managerial abilities by providing continuous evaluation research workshops.

Abstract Introduction HBV infection is a significant concern in dialysis patients, influenced by various factors. This study aims to investigate the impact of serum uric acid levels on the immunogenicity of hepatitis Bvaccination in dialysis patients. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 125 hemodialysis patients. Prior to dialysis, assessments were made for uric acid, vitamin D, HBsAg, andHBsAb. Patients were divided into two groups based on uric acid levels: high level (≥ 6.5 mg/dl) and low level ( 10). In patients with low uric acid, 1 (7.7%) had low HBsAb and 12 (92.3%) had high HBsAb (> 10). There was no statistically significant difference inHBsAb between the two groups. The immune response of HBsAb and uric acid did not show significance based on demographic variables and laboratory results. Conclusion This study found no correlation between uric acid levels and the immunogenicity of hepatitis B vaccination in hemodialysis patients. However, it is important to note that the group with low serum uric acid was very small compared to the other group and this may have influenced these results. Further studies with larger patient populations are needed to provide more conclusive evidence in this area.

هدفت هذه الدراسة التعرف على أثر استخدام استراتيجية البنتاجرام في تعلم بعض المسكات بالمصارعة الحرة لدى الطلاب، وتم استعمال المنهج التجريبي، حيث اجرت الدراسة على عينة بلغت 40 طالبا مسجلين لمساق المصارعة، حيث تم اختيار العينة بالطريقة العمدية، وتم اعداد برنامج تعليمي باستعمال انموذج (استراتيجية) البنتاجرام. وعليه تم الاستنتاج: استراتيجية البنتاجرام حقق الاهداف التعليمة وساعد في تعلم بعض المسكات بالمصارعة الحرة للطلاب، وتم التوصية: اعتماد استراتيجية البنتاجرام لأنه حقق الاهداف التعليمة وساعد في تعلم بعض المسكات بالمصارعة الحرة للطلاب.

Educators, including English Language Teaching practitioners, acknowledge the influence of collaborative learning on students’ learning experiences, as demonstrated by numerous studies conducted in diverse contexts. This research, however, keeping instructional innovation, students’ collaborative engagement, language learning and classroom dynamics especially in the context of an Arab university where such studies are limited, examines the effect of a collaborative learning intervention program on EFL students’ English learning and social interactions in terms of teamwork, peer learning, and social intelligence. To achieve the study objective, the quasi-experimental design with two groups (experimental and control) was employed. The study was applied to a sample of prep-year university students who were randomly divided into two groups: control and experimental. While the experimental group studied English using collaborative learning skills, the control group studied following traditional ways of teaching. Both groups were assessed using a pre-and post-test (performance test) and an assessment card (social learning). In addition, teachers were interviewed about their views on how collaborative learning can strengthen EFL students’ social learning success. The result revealed statistically significant differences between the scores of the control and experimental groups in favor of the later, indicating that the intervention program highly helped students improve their English learning skills and enrich their social interaction. Finally, the interview analysis highlighted the ways to enhance EFL students' language learning and social interaction through group projects, discussion groups and debates, role-playing and simulations, diverse collaborative learning practices, and effective teacher facilitation. The findings imply that collaborative learning could be a potential treatment to help EFL learners enrich their social learning experience and success. Further research on collaborative learning’s extended impacts, teacher readiness, diverse assessment methods, and gender disparities are recommended to address the limitations of the current study.

Efficient grid synchronization is crucial for integrating renewable energy sources and Flexible AC Transmission systems (FACTs) into power grids. This paper addresses the challenges faced by Synchronous Reference Frame Phase-Locked Loops (SRF-PLLs) in harmonic-polluted grids and proposes a novel solution employing Moving Average Filters (MAFs). The conventional MAF-PLL with a fundamental period window size provides harmonic rejection but slows down the dynamic response. To enhance MAF-PLL performance under harmonic-polluted grid conditions, we introduce a Variable Window Size (VWS) MAF. The proposed VWS-MAF adapts its window size based on the dominant frequency of oscillation in the dq frame, determined using Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT). The proposed method ensures minimum window size, based on grid conditions, which improves the dynamic response while maintaining harmonic rejection capabilities. The proposed method offers improved adaptability and promising performance in elimination of integer harmonics, DC offset, interharmonics, and negative sequence component. Simulation and experimental studies are presented that demonstrate the effectiveness of VWS-MAF, positioning it as a noteworthy advancement in PLL technology for robust grid synchronization.

Forecasting crowd congestion is a critical aspect of crowd management, particularly in dynamic and densely populated areas, such as urban centers, events, or pilgrimage sites. In this paper, we proposed the first crowd congestion forecasting framework for the pilgrimage of Umrah. We addressed the crowd congestion forecasting problem by clustering the crowd flow trajectory in Masjid Al-Haram (Great Mosque) in the city of Makkah into six zones. The framework consists of two main components: 1) Ensemble forecasting model that aims at forecasting the crowd density of Masjid Al-Haram and its six zones, and 2) decision making algorithm that aims at keeping the crowd density at an acceptable level, and recommends updating the crowd flows when the forecasted crowd density exceeds the crowd density threshold. We built the ensemble learning model in three phases. In the first phase, we selected and evaluated different learning base models, including ARIMA, Sequence to Sequence (Seq2Seq) learning, M-1D-CNN-LSTM, and DeepSTN. In the second phase, the best three models, which performed well in the first phase, are selected to build the stacked ensemble model. The latter is validated using the walk-forward technique in the third phase. To evaluate the framework, we built a crowd dataset based on two temporal properties: 1) hourly context and 2) daily context. We evaluated the three phases of the ensemble forecasting model. In the first phase, DeepSTN performs the best by achieving a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.281. The results also indicate that DeepSTN is the best fit for five zones, and one variant of Seq2Seq, named Seq2Seq2b is the best fit for one zone under Mean Square Error (MSE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). Under MAE, DeepSTN and Seq2Seq2b, each of which is the best choice for three zones. In the second phase, the stacked ensemble achieves a MAE of 0.257. In the third phase, the stacked ensemble model is validated using the walk forward technique, which allows to reduce the MAE to 0.253. Although this framework focuses on Umrah, it can be customized for other use cases that involve crowd congestion forecasting.

Crowd management is crucial for countries and organizations as it can lead to severe consequences or serious safety concerns. Most of the existing research focus on addressing limited crowd management issues, namely crowd counting, density estimation, localization, and behavior monitoring. Furthermore, the generated incidents’ alerts are mostly not interpretable and remediable. Therefore, there is no comprehensive solution that addresses all these issues. This research proposes a comprehensive intelligence-based crowd management framework that employs anomaly rules to monitor, predict, and detect crowd accidents and help in providing quick response. The suggested crowd intelligence framework addresses all crowd management issues. The use case chosen for this framework is the management of crowds of pilgrims in Umrah Holy event. The proposed framework is then implemented and evaluated with respect to efficiency, scalability, interpretability, remediability, and the number of false positive, true positive, and false negative alerts. In addition, the suggested framework is compared with other recent related work in terms of supporting crowd management issues. The design of the proposed framework and implementation are then fine-tuned in light of the evaluation results. The results and findings of this research can be extended to manage crowds at any event.

Abstract The scale of migraine and its impact on the lives of patients in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries may be underestimated by healthcare professionals and the public and unmet needs in the provision of migraine medical care may exist. This article reports the key outcomes from a meeting of migraine specialists and their patients organised by the Emirates Neurology Society to learn more about the patient diagnosis and treatment journey and the extent to which migraine affects daily life. Patient stories indicate that the burden of migraine is underestimated, migraine is not generally recognised as a disease, delayed and incorrect diagnoses are common, and that achieving symptom control is often more a question of good luck rather than good management. Disease awareness campaigns are recommended to elevate societal understanding of migraine and reduce stigma toward patients affected by migraine. Recommendations for an improved healthcare system experience for patients affected by migraine include education initiatives targeting patients and physicians as well as initiatives to address gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of migraine.

The historic house of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa, Al Ain (Abu Dhabi, UAE) belongs to the World Heritage Cultural Sites. The courtyard and two rooms include mudbrick archaeological remains that are preserved in showcases for public display. The building lies in a hot desert climate and needs air conditioning to be comfortable. This paper is concerned with indoor showcases and their compatibility with the indoor climate. Sometimes, misting for condensation is generated on the glass panes for the temperature and humidity contrast between the room climate and the showcases that are embedded in the floor. When misting occurs, the remains cannot be viewed. This paper investigates indoor glass misting, the exchanges of heat and moisture between archaeological remains, showcases and rooms, and the results after a year of environmental monitoring. An aim is to assess the potential risks for the preservation of the remains, recognizing the frequency and severity of the conditions for condensation. Another aim is to discuss mitigation methodologies to avoid glass misting, e.g., (i) reducing the room cooling; (ii) raising the glass pane temperature with electrical devices; (iii) increasing air exchanges between showcases and rooms; (iv) adopting a combination of these methodologies.

The research aims to know the impact of audit committees on free cash flow. The research sample included (15) companies listed on the Iraqi Stock Exchange for the banking sector during the period extending from (2012 - 2021). The research was based on the use of a model for measuring audit committees (independence, size, number Meetings, financial experience, ownership), and that audit committees are a dummy variable, giving the value (1) if the arithmetic mean exceeds three of the five mentioned measures, this indicates the strength of the committee, and giving (0) otherwise indicates the weakness of the committee, while it was Measuring free cash flow through the measurement model of (Kieso et al., 2020), and this research relied on applied practical testing of the relationships deduced in the theoretical side of the current study, The actual data collected from the financial statements of the Iraqi banks, the research sample, was relied upon to determine the extent of the influence of audit committees on free cash flow in the private banks, the research sample. The statistical analysis program, which is SPSS, was used. Upon examination, the research concluded that there is A positive and significant effect of audit committees on the level of free cash flow, meaning that the stronger the audit committees, the greater the free cash flow. One of the most important recommendations of the research is that Iraqi companies should pay great attention to more effective audit committee mechanisms, given their role in strengthening the supervisory and oversight role over bank departments, which in turn is reflected in the financial performance of all banks. There is also the need for companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange to provide adequate information about free cash flow and voluntary disclosure of it, as this disclosure provides important information for all parties that have interests and goals related to the company, as well as educating investors about the importance of the information it provides about free cash flow and the role of this information. In giving investors an idea of the profits and gains they can obtain when investing in these companies, as well as educating creditors about the company’s ability to meet its obligations. It is necessary to disclose in the financial statements of banks at the end of the fiscal year sufficient information related to the characteristics of the audit committees in terms of the number of members, the number of independent members in the committee, as well as the financial or accounting experience of the committee members, the number of committee meetings during the year, and the ownership of the committee members.

Abstract The adjustable structures and remarkable physicochemical properties of 2D monoelemental materials, such as silicene and germanene, have attracted significant attention in recent years. They can be transformed into silicane (SiH) and germanane (GeH) through covalent functionalization via hydrogen atom termination. However, synthesizing these materials with a scalable and low‐cost fabrication process to achieve high‐quality 2D SiH and GeH poses challenges. Herein, groundbreaking 2D SiH and GeH materials with varying compositions, specifically Si0.25Ge0.75H, Si0.50Ge0.50H, and Si0.75Ge0.25H, are prepared through a simple and efficient chemical exfoliation of their Zintl phases. These 2D materials offer significant advantages, including their large surface area, high mechanical flexibility, rapid electron mobility, and defect‐rich loose‐layered structures. Among these compositions, the Si0.50Ge0.50H electrode demonstrates the highest discharge capacity, reaching up to 1059 mAh g−1 after 60 cycles at a current density of 75 mA g−1. A comprehensive ex‐situ electrochemical analysis is conducted to investigate the reaction mechanisms of lithiation/delithiation in Si0.50Ge0.50H. Subsequently, an initial assessment of the c‐Li15(SixGe1‐x)4 phase after lithiation and the a‐Si0.50Ge0.50 phase after delithiation is presented. Hence, this study contributes crucial insights into the (de)lithiation reaction mechanisms within germanane‐silicane alloys. Such understanding is pivotal for mastering promising materials that amalgamate the finest properties of silicon and germanium.

Background: The Alanya region on Turkey’s southern coast has become an important destination for German retirement migration. Objective: Identify research studies on German retirement migration to Turkey which deal with the life situation, the motives, the handling of critical life situations in the context of retirement migration, and the reasons for return migration. Methods: The researcher conducted a qualitative systematic literature review from January 2021 to May 2021 in MEDLINE, CINAHL Complete, and APA PsychInfo. Results: Eleven studies on German and European retirement migration to Turkey were included after a critical assessment based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Motives for retirement migration are climatic, scenic, cultural advantages and the lower cost of living in Turkey. Conclusion: It has been found that most of the studies are thematically narrowly defined, detailed studies deal with and describe the development of retirement migration in a more general way.

The influences of oak inclusion into the diet of ruminants on performance, feed digestibility, milk production and blood metabolites are reviewed herein. Oak as an alternative and available feed are being utilized in many parts of the world, especially in areas suffering from a shortage of feed ingredients. It is evident that different oak species have different impacts on various animal species. Oak fed at low levels in the diet may not affect digestibility, but when they are fed at high level may lead to lessen the digestibility of dry matter. Adding oak products may improve the daily milk yield of goats. Feeding oak acorns and leaves to growing goat kids might not been accompanied by significant improvement in daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, while when feeding adult sheep on high level of dietary oak, it may result in lowered daily weight gain. Different oak species produce different amounts of tannins, which after ingestion by animals, act to form complexes with the proteins of diet, this may lead to lower digestibility of nutrients or may beneficially affect to positive flow of amino acids into abomasum and small intestine by reducing the protein degradability in the rumen. Thus, the extent of the impact of dietary oak on ruminants’ performance depends on the species of both animals and oak, and the level of oak being used in the diet.

Abstract The leishmanin skin test was used for almost a century to detect exposure and immunity to Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis, a major neglected tropical disease. Due to a lack of antigen used for the intradermal injection, the leishmanin skin test is no longer available. As leishmaniasis control programs are advancing and new vaccines are entering clinical trials, it is essential to re-introduce the leishmanin skin test. Here we establish a Leishmania donovani strain and describe the production, under Good Laboratory Practice conditions, of leishmanin soluble antigen used to induce the leishmanin skin test in animal models of infection and vaccination. Using a mouse model of cutaneous leishmaniasis and a hamster model of visceral leishmaniasis, soluble antigen induces a leishmanin skin test response following infection and vaccination with live attenuated Leishmania major (LmCen -/- ). Both the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells are necessary for the leishmanin skin test response. This study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale production of leishmanin antigen addressing a major bottleneck for performing the leishmanin skin test in future surveillance and vaccine clinical trials.

Background: In pursuing improving healthcare quality and enhancing efficiency, public hospitals in Iran have undergone numerous reforms over the past two decades. This study aimed to assess the efficiency of all public hospitals in Iran from 2012 to 2016.Methods: This study was conducted as a quantitative and descriptive-analytical research project. The authors employed an innovative approach called Extended Data Envelopment Analysis (Extended-DEA), a modification of conventional DEA, to assess the technical efficiency and productivity of 568 public hospitals. They obtained nationally representative data from official annual health reports. The data were analyzed using GAMS software version 24.3.Results: The study found that the average efficiency score for all hospitals was 0.733. Among all the hospitals, 10.1% were deemed efficient, while 2.68% had low-efficiency scores below 0.2. The Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) showed improvement in 49.3% of hospitals and remained unchanged at 2.3%. In comparison, 48.2% of hospitals experienced a regression in productivity from 2015 to 2016. On average, the MPI was 1.07 throughout the analysis.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that there is a need for increased efforts to improve the efficient utilization of resources in public hospitals. It highlights the importance of developing appropriate policy solutions and tools to address these efficiency challenges. In particular, one proposed strategy is the merger of small-sized district hospitals to establish larger and more efficient hospitals in different geographical regions across the country.

The objective of this study was to develop two simple and selective visible spectrophotometric methods for the determination of antihistamine drug triprolidine hydrochloride (TRH) in the capsules. The methods were based on the formation of ion-pair complexes between TRH and two dyes, namely, bromocresol green (BCG) and bromophenol blue (BPB). The produced ion-pair complexes were measured at 415 and 410 nm for BCG and BPB methods, respectively. Beer’s law was applicable in the concentration ranges of 2.50-15.0 μg mL-1 TRH for both methods. The molar absorptivity values were found to be 2.12 × 104 and 2.07 × 104 L mol-1 cm-1 for the BCG method and BPB method, respectively, and the Sandell’s sensitivity values were 0.0149 and 0.0152 μg cm-2. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated and found to be 0.29 and 0.86 μg mL-1 for the BCG method and 0.31 and 0.95 μg mL-1 for the BPB method. The methods were applied successfully for TRH determination in bulk drug and in the capsules.

Objectiv(s): This study aimed to explore the experiences of health care providers working in health centers during the Covid-19 disease using a phenomenological method. Methods: A qualitative study using phenomenological method was conducted on a sample of health care staff in Hamedan, Iran. Inclusion criteria were physicians and health care providers involved with individuals with or suspected of having corona virus disease. Exclusion criteria were concealment of information in the interviewee or his / her unwillingness to participate in the research. The sampling method was purpose full and continued until data saturation (30 people). In-depth and semi-structured interviews were used to collect information. The average interview time was 40-60 minutes. Data were analyzed using the Colaizzi method. Results: The findings indicated 4 main themes, 9 categories and 59 sub-categories. The main themes included negative emotions, positive emotions, self-efficacy, and health system problems. Sub-themes included psychological responses, lack of good outlook, unappreciative system, altruism, voluntary work, social self-efficacy, individual self-efficacy, violations of instructions, and equipment supply problems. Conclusion: The present study showed that health service providers experienced inappropriate mental, emotional and occupational conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results obtained from this study can be used to formulate support and strategies for emerging epidemics.

The sliding window method is a road network screening approach commonly used for identifying black spots. Previous studies have indicated that the selection of window length significantly impacts the black spot identification process. This research proposes a new method that optimizes the sliding window framework by examining its characteristics. The optimization methodology employed in this study is as follows: Firstly, the road is segmented, and for each segment, different scenarios of window lengths are chosen using the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise algorithm. Next, a Safety Performance Function is developed to calculate the predicted and expected number of crashes, as well as the Potential Safety Improvement, for each window movement across all selected scenarios within the segment. Subsequently, the average differences are calculated using the analysis of variance, and the window length with the lowest dispersion of difference values from the mean is identified as the optimal length for each segment. The case study yielded noteworthy results, indicating that the utilization of the sliding window with optimal lengths led to the identification of 122 high-risk black spot-candidates. These points exhibit a higher crash density, effective length, and greater value in quantitative evaluation tests compared to the results obtained using windows with common fixed lengths.

الأهداف: تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى بيان مفهوم شرط تسوية المنازعات متعدد الوسائل، ومعرفة تطبيقاته ومدى إلزاميته. من المعلوم أن المنازعات، لا سيما المنازعات الهندسية، يتم فضها من خلال هذا الشرط ضمن عدد واسع من العقود النموذجية الهندسية، ومنها عقد الكتاب الأحمر من عقود فيديك المطبق في مشاريع وزارة الأشغال العامة والإسكان الأردنية. المنهجية: لقد اتبعت الدراسة المنهج التحليلي المقارن، من خلال تحليل النصوص القانونية ذات العلاقة في الدراسة مستعينين بذلك بآراء الفقه على المستوى العربي والأجنبي وكذلك أحكام القضاء. النتائج: توصلت الدراسة إلى أن شرط تسوية المنازعات متعدد الوسائل يعد شرطاً ملزماً إعمالاً لمبدأ سلطان إرادة الأطراف، على أن يراعى في تطبيقه التسلسل الوارد فيه والذي يقودنا إلى تسوية النزاع بعيداً عن أروقة القضاء شرط تسوية المنازعات متعدد الوسائل، شرط ملزم وبالترتيب الوارد فيه. الأمر الذي يعني ضرورة تدخل المشرع الأردني بإضافة فقرة لنص المادة (109) من قانون أصول المحاكمات المدنية على أن يكون هذا الدفع من الدفوع الشكلية الواجب التطرق إليها قبل الدخول في الموضوع ولو لم يتضمن الشرط مستوى التحكيم؛ استجابة لإرادة الأطراف حتى لا تكون الدعوى سابقة لأوانها. الخلاصة: إن شرط تسوية المنازعات متعدد الوسائل شرط ملزم وبالترتيب الوارد فيه، حتى وإن لم يتضمن شرط التحكيم، مما يعني وجوب إثارته من قبل أحد الأطراف ابتداءً قبل الدخول بموضوع الدعوى.

Introduction: Internet of things (IoT) compose of million of devices connected together over the internet. IoT plays a vital role now a days and especially in future, the most of the monitoring and data collection. The data should be secure while collection and as well in the process of transferring till the destination whether Service Organization Control (SOC) or to cloud for storage. In this paper, a secure IoT based intelligent monitoring system is proposed.Methods: An intelligent IoT station that interacts via cellular connection to relay data to the cloud is constructed using the Waspmote platform. The algorithm is injected to automatically filter and only keep the new data for transfer to avoid redundancy. The advanced encryption standard (AES) 256-bit method is enabled for onboard data encryption and then the generated cipher text is transmitted. The encrypted data is then stored over the cloud to ensure privacy. Moreover, the mobile application (mApp) is developed to be installed on handheld devices for calling the secure data from the cloud, decrypting it, and displaying it as per user input, whether real-time or historical.Results and Discussion: The encryption algortihm helps in securing the proposed monitoring system from brute force, man in the middle, phishing, spoofing, and denial of service (DoS) attacks. The results of the real testbed experimentation demonstrate the complexity evaluation and reliability of IoT monitoring systems with end-to-end data security in terms of encryption algorithm delay and data rate, respectively.

Despite the widespread use of the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) continues to be a global burden. Vaccination has been proposed to prevent and treat tuberculosis (TB) infection, and several of them are in different phases of clinical trials. Though vaccine production is in progress but requires more attention. There are several TB vaccines in the trial phase, most of which are based on a combination of proteins/adjuvants or recombinant viral vectors used for selected MTB antigens. In this review, we attempted to discuss different types of TB vaccines based on the vaccine composition, the immune responses generated, and their clinical trial phases. Furthermore, we have briefly overviewed the effective delivery systems used for the TB vaccine and their effectiveness in different vaccines.

IntroductionMedical educators strive to improve their curricula to enhance the student learning experience. The use of high-fidelity simulation within basic and clinical medical science subjects has been one of these initiatives. However, there is paucity of evidence on using simulation for teaching pharmacology, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region, and the effectiveness of this teaching modality, relative to more traditional ones, have not been sufficiently investigated. Accordingly, this study compares the effects of high-fidelity simulation, which is designed in alignment with adult and experiential learning theories, and traditional case-based tutorial sessions on the performance and perception of undergraduate Year 2 medical students in pharmacology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.MethodsThis study employed a convergent mixed methods approach. Forty-nine medical students were randomly assigned to one of two groups during the 16-week pharmacology course. Each group underwent one session delivered via high-fidelity simulation and another via a case-based tutorial. A short multiple-choice question quiz was administered twice (immediately upon completion of the respective sessions and 5 weeks afterwards) to assess knowledge retention. Furthermore, to explore the students' perceptions regarding the two modes of learning delivery (independently and in relation to each other), an evaluation survey was administered following the delivery of each session. Thereafter, the iterative joint display analysis was used to develop a holistic understanding of the effect of high-fidelity simulation in comparison to traditional case-based tutorial sessions on pharmacology learning in the context of the study.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in students' knowledge retention between high-fidelity simulation and case-based tutorial sessions. Yet, students expressed a greater preference for high-fidelity simulation, describing the corresponding sessions as more varied, better at reinforcing learning, and closer to reality. As such, the meta-inferences led to expansion of the overall understanding around students' satisfaction, to both confirmation and expansion of the systemic viewpoint around students' preferences, and lastly to refinement in relation to the perspective around retained knowledge.ConclusionHigh-fidelity simulation was found to be as effective as case-based tutorial sessions in terms of students' retention of knowledge. Nonetheless, students demonstrated a greater preference for high-fidelity simulation. The study advocates caution in adapting high-fidelity simulation, where careful appraisal can lend itself to identifying contexts where it is most effective.

BackgroundStroke is a significant global cause of mortality and long-term disability, potentially influenced by infections that heighten systemic inflammation and thrombotic events. The full impact of influenza vaccination on stroke remains uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between influenza immunization and stroke incidence.MethodsWe searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), case–control, and cohort studies published in PubMed/Medline, Cochrane-Central-Register-of-Controlled-Trials (CENTRAL), and Embase until 5 December 2022, and identified articles investigating the effect of influenza vaccine on stroke occurrence. All articles were screened by two independent reviewers. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the risk of stroke occurrence in vaccinated vs. unvaccinated individuals. The random-effects model was used in all statistical analyses.ResultsAmong the 26 articles meeting our criteria, 10 were retrospective cohort studies, 9 were case–control studies, 3 were prospective cohort studies, 3 were RCTs and 1 case-series. Overall, the studies showed a significant decrease in the risk of stroke incidence/hospitalization among vaccinated patients (OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.77–0.86], p = 0.00001). Furthermore, studies showed flu vaccine decreases the occurrence of mortality among stroke patients (OR = 0.50, 95% CI [0.37–0.68], p = 0.00001). Sub-group analysis revealed significant protective effect for patients with specific comorbidities including atrial fibrillation (OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.57–0.81], p = 0.0001), diabetes (OR = 0.76, 95% CI [0.66–0.87], p = 0.0001), Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 0.70, 95% CI [0.61–0.81], p = 0.00001), and hypertension (OR = 0.76, 95% CI [0.70–83], p = 0.00001).ConclusionThe current meta-analysis further supports prior findings that influenza vaccination reduces stroke risk, particularly in patients with comorbidities. Guidelines should promote vaccination for at-risk individuals.

We report a case of chest wall resection for painful chest wall nonunion, 5 years after traumatic flail chest and a first attempt at surgical treatment. The decision was made to perform surgery again after 2 years of unsuccessful well-conducted analgesic treatment. During surgery, we found the same sites of pseudarthrosis and decided to perform parietectomy of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs. A Gore-Tex patch was used to bridge the gap created by the resection. In immediate postoperative care, the patient’s pain was quickly and sufficiently eased by stage 1 and 2 pain killers. The results of bone samples taken from the pseudarthrosis sites all found Propionibacterium acnes. Five months after surgery, the patient had considerable improvement in pain sensations. Computed tomography showed healing of ribs, the plate in place, and no sign of complications.

To study the effect of docking on some blood parameters, 12 Karadi lambs were docked at birth and reared by their dams till weaning, and 12 weaned intact Karadi lambs were bought from the market. Following weaning, the docked (16.83±1.522kg) and intact (19.92± 0.748kg) lambs were distributed equally into 3 treatment groups to be slaughtered at 20, 30 and 40kg. The findings demonstrated that the overall mean of serum total protein, urea, creatinine, glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, LDL and HDL were 5.50±0.13 g/dl, 30.56±1.39, 0.79±0.05, 63.61±3.48, 30.51±3.81, 51.87±4.12, 20.29±2.83 and 34.73±3.53mg/dl, respectively. It seems that docked lambs had numerically higher serum total protein, glucose and triglyceride, and lower serum urea, creatinine, cholesterol, LDL and HDL than intact lambs. Also it was shown that an increase in live body weight resulted in a decrease in LDL, VLDL, triglyceride and cholesterol, and an increase in total protein and HDL. It can be concluded that docking has no effect on studied traits.

Two breeds of goats are native to Kurdistan region- Iraq, namely mountainous black goat is raised mainly for meat and milk production, and Meriz which is raised primarily for hair beside meat and milk. The two breeds were exposed over a long period of time to the vigorous and sever semi-dry conditions, drought, feed shortage and prevailing diseases. Hence their adaptation to such conditions was at the expense of important economic traits. From the limited work available for both breeds, it seems that Meriz characterized by smaller size than did black goat, and daily gain in weight is rather low for the two breeds being 0.068-0.140 kg. it seems that black goat in particular have a potential for improvement of milk yield because display over whelming range (127-189 L.). In general, fertility and prolificacy are rather low in black goat and an improvement of the reproductive performance was achieved by hormonal treatment and /or flushing and studies on semen traits revealed that bucks are seasonal breeders especially in Meriz. However, the two breeds are not well characterized and much work is needed to explore the potential of those breeds for economic traits.

To study the influence of castration and slaughter weight, 24 weaned kids from each of Black goat and Meriz kids were divided equally into two groups, the first was castrated, while the second was left intact, and all were fed individually and slaughtered at 15, 20 and 25kg. Results revealed that the overall mean of daily gain (DG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), Dressing percentage (DP), rib eye area (REA) and fat thickness (FT) averaged respectively 0.073±0.003kg, 6.062±0.32kg/kg, 41.17±0.35%, 10.05±0.40 cm2 and 0.33±0.04mm. It seems that breed had no significant effect on DG and DP. Black goat had significantly higher FCR, REA and FT than Meriz kids, and intact kids had significantly (P

Conciliationism is one of the famous approaches to the epistemic challenge of peer disagreement. However, this approach faces many problems, the most important of which is skepticism: an agent ought to suspend judgment about any belief over which she encounters peer disagreement. Ghazaleh Hojjati in “Conciliationist Approach to the Challenge of Religious Disagreement,” tried to answer this problem relying on the non-instrumental (or synchronic) reasons. In this article, I scrutinize and examine this answer proposed by Hajati. After comparing non-instrumental reasons in empirical sciences, on the one side, and in religion and philosophy, on the other side, I try to show that although in empirical sciences, non-instrumental reasons are independent and impartial, non-instrumental reasons in religious issues will probably be biased and non-independent. Nonetheless, a conciliationist asserts that the sides of disagreement are rational to keep their opinions only when using independent and impartial non-instrumental reasons. Hence, it seems that Hojjati’s response cannot refute the skepticism resulting from conciliationism in religious (or philosophical) debates.

Abstract Background Toxoplasmosis, an important zoonotic disease, is caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Camels are one of several host species for T. gondii parasites and play an important role in the transmission of T. gondii to humans. Objectives The present study aimed to describe the seroprevalence of T. gondii in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) from three provinces (Fars, Bushehr and Hormozgan), southern Iran first for this host. Methods A total of 180 serum samples were analysed for the presence of anti‐Toxoplasma IgG antibodies using the enzyme‐linked immune‐sorbent assay. Results Our results showed an overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in 15% of animals. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in sera of 27 of 180 dromedary camels from Fars, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces, southern Iran. Age or the gender of the camel did not significantly affect the seroprevalence (p > 0.05). There was no significant association between herd‐level seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and abortion history, province location residence, history of animal keeping and history of contact with other animals (p > 0.05). Conclusions The results of this study showed the presence of T. gondii antibodies among camels in Southern Iran, which could be a public health concern. According to the prevalence of T. gondii infection in camel, the implementation of control measures to reduce infection in both definitive and intermediate hosts is needed.

It was previously reported that crocin, a water-soluble carotenoid isolated from the Crocus sativus L. (saffron), has protective effects on cardiac cells and may neutralize and even prevent the formation of excess number of free radicals; however, functional mechanisms of crocin activity have been poorly understood. In the present research, we aimed to study the functional mechanism of crocin in the heart exposed to oxidative stress. Accordingly, oxidative stress was modeled in vitro on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and in vivo in mice using cellular stressors. The beneficial effects of crocin were investigated at cellular and molecular levels in HUVECs and mice hearts. Results indicated that oral administration of crocin could have protective effects on HUVECs. In addition, it protects cardiac cells and significantly inhibits inflammation via modulating molecular signaling pathways TLR4/PTEN/AKT/mTOR/NF-κB and microRNA (miR-21). Here we show that crocin not only acts as a direct free radical scavenger but also modifies the gene expression profiles of HUVECs and protects mice hearts with anti-inflammatory action under oxidative stress.

In this review article attempt is made to present a comprehensive on growth and development of small ruminants (sheep and goat) using allometric growth coefficient of carcass composition (lean, fat and bone) and non-carcass components (edible and non-edible organs organs). It seems that allometry coefficient (b) for bone is precocious (b

The green and efficient three-component reaction between aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes, β-ketoesters (ethyl acetoacetate and ethyl benzoylacetate) and hydroxylamine hydrochloride in water and under natural sunlight leads to the formation of various derivatives of 4-arylidene-isoxazole-5(4H)-ones. In this reaction, natural sunlight was used outdoors as a green, cheap, clean, available, safe and non-toxic source of energy. The reactions were carried out in Damghan under sunlight. In this synthetic method using sunlight, the heterocyclization reaction was performed with simple tools and without the use of special equipment. In this three-component reaction, 4-arylidene-isoxazole-5(4H)-ones were synthesized in a range of 17-40 minutes and with yields ranging from 89-97%. The advantages of this suitable and green method can be mentioned abundant sunlight or low-energy visible light as an energy source, no environmental pollution, very mild reaction conditions, simplicity of the reaction method, easy separation, no use of organic solvents and catalysts. Some compounds were tested for antibacterial activity using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by disk diffusion method. Some synthesized compounds have good antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity of synthesized heterocycles is higher against Escherichia coli.

Background. Tobacco use is the fifth risk factor for non-communicable diseases in Iran. This study aimed to analyze the policies and measures of tobacco control in Iran in the last four decades (1983-2021). Methods. The present study is a retrospective policy analysis that used a case study plan based on the Walt and Gilson triangle policy analysis framework to examine the content of tobacco control policies in Iran. Data were collected using tobacco use policies and legal documents and analyzed using documentary analysis. MAXQDA 11 software was used to categorize and analyze the findings. Results. The policies include setting prices and taxes on tobacco to reduce demand; protecting the public from second-hand smoke; controlling the composition of tobacco products; setting regulations on the disclosure of information about tobacco packaging and labeling; educating the public about the dangers of tobacco use; advertising, promotion, and financial support of tobacco; setting measures to encourage smoking cessation and reduce the demand and dependence on tobacco; banning illegal tobacco product trading; banning youngsters from tobacco trading; financially supporting the practical alternatives such as economic activities and research; setting monitoring and evaluation systems; and enhancing the exchange of information. Conclusion. Strengthening the government's tobacco control capacity and formulating a clear and coherent national tobacco control strategy and roadmap, including a mechanism for practical cross-sectoral cooperation between different actors, can reduce conflicts of interest between the actors involved and determine the country's current and future tobacco control policies.

Abstract Isavuconazole is a triazole with broad-spectrum antifungal activity. In this post-hoc analysis of two prospective clinical trials (VITAL and SECURE), the safety and efficacy of isavuconazole in patients aged ≥ 65 years with invasive fungal diseases were evaluated. Patients were divided into two subgroups (≥ 65 and

Objective: 1. To explore the feasibility of a rapid transformation from face to face to virtual simulation and its impact on the simulation process 2. To explore the efficacy of a rapid transformation from face to face to virtual simulation and its impact on the simulation process. Methods: The simulation process (preparation, pre-briefing, simulation, and debriefing) was investigated for feasibility and efficacy from the perspective of the educators and students. This study took place very early in the pandemic, thus highlighting the speed at which it needed to be conducted and acknowledging the limitations of technology at the time. The faculty (n = 3) involved in the virtual simulation experiment and year one medical students(n = 61) were invited to participate in the study voluntarily. The module chosen for this study was the Introduction to the Practice of Medicine, where the students were introduced to the concept of patient safety using simulation-based education. The “Little Room of Horrors” – is a simulation based educational session emphasising the importance of patient safety. Students were taken into a simulated medical ward that demonstrated common hospital-based errors. The learners were timed and asked to identify and document as many patient safety hazards as possible. The semi structured questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results: The Educator's perspective reflected that virtual simulation was technologically dependent and had limitations during debriefing but was also a sustainable and portable standardised process. The student's perspective revealed that the objectives were met, and the session helped them support the theory previously learned. The average rating was 4.09 on a 5-point scale. Innovation: When resources of the simulation center like space, mannikins, and faculty cannot be accessed for reasons like social distancing during a pandemic, virtual simulation was developed and used as a feasible alternative for our students without impacting the learning objectives. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the use of virtual simulation as a valuable option for teaching when face to face simulation is challenging or not possible.

A library of N-benzylpyridinium-based compounds, 7a-j and 8a-j, was designed and synthesised as potential acetylcholinesterase) AChE (inhibitors. An in vitro assay for the synthesised compounds showed that most compounds had significant AChE inhibitory activities at the nanomolar and submicromolar levels. The benzyl (8a) and fluoro (8b) derivatives were the most active, with IC50 values ≤56 nM. Compound 7f, which had a benzyl moiety, showed the highest potency among all the target compounds, with an IC50 value of 7.5 ± 0.19 nM against AChE, which was higher than that of the activities of tacrine (IC50 = 30 ± 0.2 nM) and donepezil (IC50 = 14 ± 0.12 nM). Compounds with vanillin moieties exhibited antioxidant activity. Among the tested compounds, four derivatives (7f, 7 g, 8f, and 8 g) exhibited superior AChE inhibitory activity, with Ki values of 6–16 nM, which were potent in the same range as the approved drug, donepezil. These compounds showed moderate antioxidant activities, as indicated by the results of the ABTS assay.

Background: The pathophysiology of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) is poorly understood, making the disease difficult to properly diagnose and treat. Endovascular venous stenting has emerged as an effective non-invasive treatment option for a select cohort of IIH patients with venous sinus stenosis and elevated venous sinus pressure gradient. Unfortunately, current methods of determining patient eligibility for stenting treatment depend on highly invasive and insufficient measurement methods such as venous manometry, which can only measure pressure gradients and not other components of the complex 3D hemodynamic environment. Thus, there is a need for a non-invasive methodology for determining the 3D flow environment of the dural venous sinuses. Objective: To develop a novel method of non-invasive, patient-specific computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation of venous sinus hemodynamics for evaluating stenting eligibility. Method: A patient with IIH and elevated sinus pressure gradient underwent MR venography, phase-contrast MR venography, and venous manometry. Patient-specific dural venous anatomy was segmented from the MR venography to construct 3D models of the venous sinuses. 3D transient patient-specific computational fluid dynamic simulations were conducted using flow velocities measured with phase-contrast MR venography as boundary conditions. Results: Successful computational simulations were completed, allowing for the calculation of the spatio-temporal evolution of blood flow through the dural venous sinuses, and the quantitative examination of pressure gradients. Calculated pressure gradients from CFD were validated against venous manometry with an error of only ∼5%. Conclusions: We have successfully developed time-resolved, patient-specific 3D computational simulations of the dural venous sinuses without assumptions at the boundary conditions for the first time. The methodology can accurately and non-invasively measure venous pressure gradients. This preliminary study serves as a proof of concept for our method to be used as a diagnostic tool for determining venous stenting eligibility, as well as a tool for advancing the general understanding of IIH pathophysiology. Statement of Significance: The pathophysiology of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) is poorly understood making the disease difficult to properly diagnose and treat. Endovascular venous stenting has emerged as an effective non-invasive treatment option for a select cohort of IIH patients with venous sinus stenosis and elevated venous sinus pressure gradient. Our work provides a method for noninvasively determining eligibility for venous sinus stenting, avoiding costly and invasive venous manometry.

ABSTRACT TcdA and TcdB are known as the major virulence attributes of Clostridioides difficile. Hence, neutralizing the TcdA and TcdB activities can be considered as an efficient therapeutic approach against C. difficile infection (CDI). In this work, we utilized phage display technique to select single-chain fragment variable (scFv) fragments as recombinant antibodies displayed on the surface of phages, which specifically target native TcdA, or TcdB (nTcdA and nTcdB), and their recombinant C-terminal combined repetitive oligopeptide (CROP) domains (rTcdA and rTcdB). After three rounds of biopanning, abundance of phage clones displaying high reactivity with TcdA or TcdB was quantified through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, selected scFvs were characterized by cell viability and neutralization assays. The gene expression of immunological markers, IL-8 and TNF-α, was examined in treated Caco-2 cells by RT-qPCR. The epitopes of neutralizing scFvs were also identified by molecular docking. Totally, 18 scFv antibodies (seven for TcdA and 11 for TcdB) were identified by ELISA. Among selected scFvs, two clones for TcdA (rA-C2, A-C9) and three clones for TcdB (rB-B4, B-F5, B-F11) exhibited the highest neutralizing activity in Caco-2 and Vero cells. Moreover, the cocktail of anti-TcdA and anti-TcdB antibodies notably decreased the mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-8 in Caco-2 cells. Molecular docking revealed that the interaction between scFv and toxin was mostly restricted to CROP domain of TcdA or TcdB. Our results collectively provided more insights for the development of neutralizing scFvs against C. difficile toxins using phage display. Further research is needed to meticulously evaluate the potential of scFvs as an alternative treatment for CDI using animal models and clinical trials. IMPORTANCE Targeting the major toxins of Clostridioides difficile by neutralizing antibodies is a novel therapeutic approach for CDI. Here, we report a panel of new anti-TcdA (rA-C2, A-C9) and anti-TcdB (rB-B4, B-F5, and B-F11) recombinant antibody fragments (scFvs) isolated from Tomlinson I and J libraries using phage display technique. These scFv antibodies were capable of neutralizing their respective toxin and showed promise as potential therapeutics against TcdA and TcdB of C. difficile in different in vitro models. In addition, in silico analysis showed that at least two neutralization mechanisms, including inhibiting cell surface binding of toxins and inhibiting toxin internalization can be proposed for the isolated scFvs in this work. These findings provide more insights for the applicability of specific scFvs toward C. difficile toxins at in vitro level. However, further research is required to evaluate the potential application of these scFvs as therapeutic agents for CDI treatment in clinical setting.

Summary: Background: The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019. Methods: We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. Findings: In 2019, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease accounted 1.59%, 36.17%, 54.71%, 0.09%, 6.84%, 0.60% of overall new IMIDs cases, respectively. The ASR of IMIDs showed substantial regional and global variation with the highest in High SDI region, High-income North America, and United States of America. Throughout human lifespan, the age distribution of incident cases from six IMIDs was quite different. Globally, incident cases of IMIDs increased with an AAPC of 0.68 and the ASR decreased with an AAPC of −0.34 from 1990 to 2019. The incident cases increased across six IMIDs, the ASR of rheumatoid arthritis increased (0.21, 95% CI 0.18, 0.25), while the ASR of asthma (AAPC = −0.41), inflammatory bowel disease (AAPC = −0.72), multiple sclerosis (AAPC = −0.26), psoriasis (AAPC = −0.77), and atopic dermatitis (AAPC = −0.15) decreased. The ASR of overall and six individual IMID increased with SDI at regional and global level. Countries with higher ASR in 1990 experienced a more rapid decrease in ASR. Interpretation: The incidence patterns of IMIDs varied considerably across the world. Innovative prevention and integrative management strategy are urgently needed to mitigate the increasing ASR of rheumatoid arthritis and upsurging new cases of other five IMIDs, respectively. Funding: The Global Burden of Disease Study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project funded by Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2022QN38).

To investigate the effect of castration and live body weight at slaughter on fatty acid composition, a total of 48 entire male kids (24 Meriz and 24 Black goat) were selected at weaning (90-120 days of age) and weighing 10.99 and 11.21kg, respectively from commercial goat farm were used. After an adaptation period for a week, the kids of both breeds were randomly divided in to two groups, the first was castrated, whereas the second groups were left intact, and then were allocated to be slaughtered at 15,20 and 25kg live body weight. All kids were placed in individual pens and fed concentrate diet and weighed at weekly interval. After slaughtering and chilling the carcass for 24h fed. The L. dorsi muscle was removed from each carcass and utilized for fatty acid composition. Results obtained revealed that saturated fatty acids (SFAs)have the highest contribution, followed by poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and mono -unsaturated fatty acid (MUSFs). Kids goat had a significantly (p

Abstract In mesenchymal cell motility, several migration patterns have been observed, including directional, exploratory and stationary. Two key members of the Rho-family of GTPases, Rac and Rho, along with an adaptor protein called paxillin, have been particularly implicated in the formation of such migration patterns and in regulating adhesion dynamics. Together, they form a key regulatory network that involves the mutual inhibition exerted by Rac and Rho on each other and the promotion of Rac activation by phosphorylated paxillin. Although this interaction is sufficient in generating wave-pinning that underscores cellular polarization comprised of cellular front (high active Rac) and back (high active Rho), it remains unclear how they interact collectively to induce other modes of migration detected in Chinese hamster Ovary (CHO-K1) cells. We previously developed a six-variable (6V) reaction–diffusion model describing the interactions of these three proteins (in their active/phosphorylated and inactive/unphosphorylated forms) along with other auxiliary proteins, to decipher their role in generating wave-pinning. In this study, we explored, through computational modeling and image analysis, how differences in timescales within this molecular network can potentially produce the migration patterns in CHO-K1 cells and how switching between migration modes could occur. To do so, the 6V model was reduced to an excitable 4V spatiotemporal model possessing three different timescales. The model produced not only wave-pinning in the presence of diffusion, but also mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) and relaxation oscillations (ROs). Implementing the model using the Cellular Potts Model (CPM) produced outcomes in which protrusions in the cell membrane changed Rac–Rho localization, resulting in membrane oscillations and fast directionality variations similar to those observed experimentally in CHO-K1 cells. The latter was assessed by comparing the migration patterns of experimental with CPM cells using four metrics: instantaneous cell speed, exponent of mean-square displacement ( $$\alpha$$ α -value), directionality ratio and protrusion rate. Variations in migration patterns induced by mutating paxillin’s serine 273 residue were also captured by the model and detected by a machine classifier, revealing that this mutation alters the dynamics of the system from MMOs to ROs or nonoscillatory behaviour through variation in the scaled concentration of an active form of an adhesion protein called p21-Activated Kinase 1 (PAK). These results thus suggest that MMOs and adhesion dynamics are the key mechanisms regulating CHO-K1 cell motility.

A human adult’s skeleton is made up of 206 bones that perform a variety of vital biological tasks like safeguarding the internal organs and preserving vital nutrients. Bone fractures in adult’s particularly in athletes can lead to minor sports injuries or even potentially fatal ones for which a sports injury specialist may be needed for treatment. The traditional methods of bone fracture detection are costly and time consuming and may leads to in-accurate results due to fault in the diagnostic machines. On the other hand, machine learning methods have found widespread use in bone fracture detection using X-ray or MRI images. However, all such methods haven’t any proper security mechanism to athlete data that leads to theft, fraud and misuse of sensitive information. Therefore, with the correct fracture detection processes there also exists a strong security measure to stop unauthorized people from accessing or changing the data. In this research a hybrid model based on blockchain and deep learning has been proposed to diagnose the bone fractures as well as protection of the confidential data of the athletes. The key steps of the proposed work are data collection, blockchain based data security and transformation, feature extraction through Capsule Network, final classification using Visual Transformer based transfer learning. From the experimental evaluation and comparison with the state-of-the-art methods, it has been observed that the performance of the proposed work is excellent in terms of accuracy, with the value of 95.01%, 94.04 and 96.25% on different dataset respectively.

Synchronization is a critical aspect of integrating renewable energy sources and inverter-based power plants into the electrical grid. Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) are widely used for this purpose, providing rapid and accurate phase and frequency estimation. In PLLs, the Moving Average Filter (MAF) is commonly employed to extract the fundamental grid voltage component, particularly in the presence of harmonic distortions. Traditional PLLs with a full-cycle time-window MAF perform well in grids with sinusoidal voltage waveforms and DC offsets. However, this approach sacrifices the speed of dynamic response due to the extended time window. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to address this trade-off. Our method involves reducing the MAF’s time window to one cycle by incorporating a delay operator, effectively reducing model complexity and runtime by 50%. Through comprehensive simulations and experimental scenarios, we demonstrate the practical advantages of the proposed method. Comparison of the proposed approach is provided with existing algorithms in the literature, which illustrate its effectiveness in terms of mitigating PLL oscillations in the presence of DC offsets and other non-ideal grid conditions while achieving a 50% improvement in the execution speed. Therefore, the contribution of this paper is in the field of grid synchronization by providing a balanced solution that enhances dynamic response without compromising DC-offset rejection. The proposed method can improve the stability and efficiency of grid-connected systems involving renewable energy sources and inverter-based power plants.

Abstract Background The development of titanium claw plates has made rib osteosynthesis easy to achieve and led to a renewed interest for this surgery. We report the management of patients referred to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a referral center for surgical rib fracture fixation (SRFF) after chest trauma. Methods We performed a retrospective observational cohort study describing the patients’ characteristics and analyzing the determinants of postoperative complications. Results From November 2013 to December 2016, 42 patients were referred to our center for SRFF: 12 patients (29%) had acute respiratory failure, 6 of whom received invasive mechanical ventilation. The Thoracic Trauma Severity Score (TTSS) was 11.0 [9–12], with 7 [5–9] broken ribs and a flail chest in 92% of cases. A postoperative complication occurred in 18 patients (43%). Five patients developed ARDS (12%). Postoperative pneumonia occurred in 11 patients (26%). Two patients died in the ICU. In multivariable analysis, the Thoracic Trauma Severity Score (TTSS) (OR = 1.89; CI 95% 1.12–3.17; p = 0.016) and the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II without age (OR = 1.17; CI 95% 1.02–1.34; p = 0.024) were independently associated with the occurrence of a postoperative complication. Conclusion The TTSS score appears to be accurate for determining thoracic trauma severity. Short and long-term benefit of Surgical Rib Fracture Fixation should be assessed, particularly in non-mechanically ventilated patients.

Abstract Objectives Different drugs have different effects on the prognosis of patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different drug regimens on patients with COVID-19, hospitalized in Sanandaj city. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 660 patients with COVID-19, hospitalized in the Tohid, Kowsar and Besat hospitals located Sanandaj (Kurdistan Province, Iran) were studied from February 2020 to February 2021 with clinical symptoms and positive test results. Results The results of multivariate regression analysis showed the days of hospitalization for patients who had received the drug regimen 2 (Interferons (ReciGen/Ziphron) or Interferon Vectra (lopinavir/ritonavir)) was 1.92 times higher than those who had received the drug regimen 1 (hydroxychloroquine group or a combination of chloroquine and azithromycin) while a significant association was observed (OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.16–3.16, P = 0.011). Also, the hospitalization in ICU was longer in patients treated by the drug regimen 2 (Interferons (ReciGen/Ziphron) or Interferon Vectra (lopinavir/ritonavir)) (OR = 4.63, 95% CI: 1.80–11.82, P = 0.001), however, drug regimens did not show a significant effect on mortality and use of ventilator in patients (P > 0.05). Conclusion The study results showed the drug regimens 2 and 5 increased the days of hospitalization and hospitalization in ICU, respectively, while the other drug regimens had no significant effect on mortality and use a ventilator in the studied patients and none of the drug regimens had an effect on reducing mortality compared to other ones.

In the field of online commerce, customer reviews have great importance because they significantly influence the profits of a business. Most consumers on the internet rely on reviews to help them make decisions about what to buy because they provide a reliable way to read other people's opinions about a specific product. Since a company's reputation and profitability are directly impacted by the reliability of its online reviews, some business owners pay spammers to create fake reviews. The creation of fake reviews that influence consumers' purchase decisions is a persistent and detrimental problem. Therefore, developing techniques to help companies and customers to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent reviews are still an important but challenging task. As a result, this paper provides a survey on various machine learning techniques are proposed to deal with the problem of detecting fake reviews, as well as the performance of different techniques in spam review classification, and determine the features, strengths, and weaknesses of those methods that may require more development.

Al Ain, near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is characterized by hot desert climate with high temperatures, aridity, and almost no rain. Several truncated earthen walls were discovered at the historic house of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa, a component of the World Heritage Cultural Sites. These remains are preserved in situ, outdoors, protected in glass showcases for public display. As this situation is not documented in the literature, the local Authority has requested to study the showcase environment to optimize conservation. The solar radiation and the projected shades have been modeled over one year; the temperature and humidity inside and outside the showcases, as well as the moisture content, have been measured to assess the potential preservation risks. The paper presents the results, i.e., the direct solar radiation generates extreme conditions of greenhouse effect with extremely high temperatures and forces evaporation from the remains. During the night, the excess moisture condenses on the inner surface of the glass panes, forming large drops that affect viewing and are dangerous for conservation. The repetition of evaporation–condensation cycles accumulates soluble salts on the remains. The paper discusses mitigation strategies (e.g., shading, ventilation, and cooling, to reduce the greenhouse effect) to improve conservation and fruition.

Art education is one among the fundamental subjects for elementary school students, because it contributes to assembling learners’ personalities and developing their technical skills. For this reason, this research comes, which aims to understand the effect of the task groups’ strategy in developing the performance of elementary school students in art education. to realize the goal of the research, the researcher put the subsequent hypotheses: -There is not any statistically significant difference at the amount (5%) between the typical many students between the experimental group that studied consistent with the strategy of task groups and therefore the control group that studied in keeping with the same old method that they obtained per the appliance of the observation form afterwards, and to verify the validity of the hypothesis, the researcher applied his experience On the 2 groups and using the achievement test (T-test), it had been concluded that the experimental group that studied with the task strategy excelled in its skill performance in step with the observation form prepared by the researcher, that the researcher recommends using the task strategy for its impact on developing technical skills