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This article demonstrates how different cooling rates and precipitation hardening affected the mechanical properties of AA2024. Three impact test samples were chosen. Solution heat treatment was conducted at 500 °C for 2 hrs., followed by quenching in three different quenching media (Sunflower Oil, Sesame Oil, and Corn Oil). As a result, the Sunflower Oil showed the lowest shock absorption rate; hence, it was chosen as the quenching medium for this study. Consequently, all samples of tensile, hardness, and impact tests were solution heat treated at 500 °C for 2 hours, then quenched in Sunflower Oil to room temperature and artificially aged at temperatures of 180°C for 1,2,4 hour, 195°C for 1, 2, 4 hour, and 210°C for 1,2,4 hour. Considerable improvements in strength and hardness were observed while decreasing the ductility Due to the production of finely dispersed grains. Precipitation hardening at 180°C for 1 hour was the overall optimum achievement, which enhanced the UTS by 28.7% to 579 MPa, compared to the as-received sample with UTS 450 MPa. While annealing has reduced the UTS by 32.7% to 303 MPa.

Computer-aided interpreting(CAI) systems are software applied to one or more stages of interpreting tasks, which can directly promote the work of interpreters and improve the interpreting quality. Until now, studies on CAI in simultaneous interpretation(SI) have been limited, primarily focusing on the design and development of manual extraction models. Moreover, what’s particularly noteworthy is the lack of thorough investigation into the development of fully automated CAI models for extracting terms (SI difficulties) and other related aspects. Based on the experimental research of existing ones, this study puts forward some new methods based on automatic speech recognition(ASR) and develops a CAI system–InterpretSIMPLE with user-friendly interface, which implements automatic retrieval and display of terms (pre-imported), numbers, etc. as well as other functions specialized for conference interpreters. Through the setting of three-line label control and underline panel control, the system realizes the attention allocation and positioning of the source text content at different levels. One-click import of commonly-used Excel glossary gives simple operation with no additional format conversion. Terminologies and numbers are displayed below the corresponding position while displaying the source text, so that interpreters could locate and solve these recognized SI difficulties. Through the “exact matching” or “partial matching” setting, it could meet the personalized requirements of terms matching. The experiment shows that after the system receives text information from Tencent Cloud, the real-time display rate of the pre-imported glossary reaches 98.92%. The research results could provide references for the research and development of in-process automated CAI tools.

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted traditional education systems worldwide, prompting a rapid shift to online platforms and the emergence of innovative teaching strategies. This paper critically reviews the extensive body of research on post-COVID-19 education, focusing on the practical and feasible solutions proposed to maintain and enhance educational continuity. The review categorizes and examines studies on various approaches, including simulation-based training, project-based learning, and hybrid models, highlighting their effectiveness during and after the pandemic. Special attention is given to the role of information technology, the challenges faced by educators and students, and the importance of mental health support in the new educational landscape. The findings suggest that while digital tools such as virtual reality and 3D environments show promise, their implementation remains limited, particularly in resource-constrained settings. The study also identifies a significant gap in empirical research on these innovations in the post-pandemic era. Furthermore, the paper highlights the need for systemic changes in curriculum design, educator training, and policy development to address the long-term impacts of the pandemic on education. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, offering insights into how educational institutions can better prepare for future crises.

Mansour A Mahmoud,1 Alnada Ibrahim,2 Fawaz Alharbi,3 Ali Mohammed Alalawi,4 Faris Alnezary,1 Ahmed Aldafiri,3 Yaser Alahmadi,1 Sultan Othman Alolayan,1 Sultan S Althaqfan,1 Mohammed M Alsultan,5 Safaa Omer,6 Musaad B Alsahly7 1Department of Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O.Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia; 3AlHaram Hospital, Ministry of Health, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Clinical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 7College of Medicine, Department of Physiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Alnada Ibrahim, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia, Email alaibrahim@pnu.edu.sa Mansour A Mahmoud, Department of Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, AL-Madinah Al-Munawara, Saudi Arabia, Email mammm.99@gmail.comObjective: To investigate public uptake, attitudes and the safety of the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccination.Methods: This was a cross-sectional web-based survey study. A self-administered questionnaire was prepared from a literature search and information about COVID-19 available at various resources. The developed questionnaire was validated for readability by experts and refined in light of the feedback received from the experts and the final version was prepared. The reliability of the questionnaire was 0.7 which shows an acceptable level of scale internal consistency. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS software (version 25).Results: A total of 513 participants completed the survey, including 311 (60.6%) women and 202 (39.4%) men. The mean age was (31.5± 12.8) years. It was found that 493 (96.1%) took the first and second doses of COVID-19 and 376 (73.3%) suffered from side effects, of these 14% (56/376) reported the side effects to the health authorities. The most common side effects were fatigue (51.5%), fever (42.3%), headache (39.5%), and injection site pain (37.6%). Half of the participants (50.5%) had a positive attitude towards COVID-19 preventive measures. Females had higher odds of experiencing side effects than males OR (95% CI); 2.002 (1.312– 3.056). Individuals living in urban areas had lower odds of experiencing side effects than those living in rural areas OR (95% CI); 0.364 (0.142– 0.933).Conclusion: Vaccine uptake was massive and side effects due to the COVID-19 vaccine were common but minor. The majority of the participants had positive attitudes towards recommended COVID-19 preventive measures. Being female and living in rural areas were associated with experiencing side effects.Keywords: COVID-19, safety, uptake

Abstract We surveyed the performance of ponatinib, as salvage therapy, in a real-world setting of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP). Among 55 consecutive patients (median age 49 years) with relapsed/refractory CML-CP, 35 (64%) had failed ≥3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), 35 (64%) were pre-treated with nilotinib, and 14 (28%) harbored ABL1T315I. At start of ponatinib (median dose 30 mg/day), 40 patients were already in complete hematologic (CHR), 4 in complete cytogenetic (CCyR), 3 in major molecular (MMR) remission, while 8 had not achieved CHR (NR). Ponatinib improved the depth of response in 13 (33%), 3 (75%), 2 (66%), and 4 (50%) patients with CHR, CCyR, MMR, and NR, respectively (p = 0.02). At a median follow-up of 42 months, 13 (23%) deaths, 5 (9%) blast transformations, and 25 (45%) allogeneic transplants were recorded. Five/10-year post-ponatinib survival was 77%/58% with no significant difference when patients were stratified by allogeneic transplant (p = 0.94), ponatinib-induced deeper response (p = 0.28), or a post-ponatinib ≥CCyR vs CHR remission state (p = 0.25). ABL1T315I was detrimental to survival (p = 0.04) but did not appear to affect response. Prior exposure to nilotinib was associated with higher risk of arterial occlusive events (AOEs; 11% vs 0%; age-adjusted p = 0.04). Ponatinib starting/maintenance dose (45 vs 15 mg/day) did not influence either treatment response or AOEs. Our observations support the use of a lower starting/maintenance dose for ponatinib in relapsed/refractory CML-CP but a survival advantage for deeper responses was not apparent and treatment might not overcome the detrimental impact of ABL1T315I on survival. The association between prior exposure to nilotinib and a higher risk of post-ponatinib AOEs requires further validation.

Abstract Background Individuals with a Prior Cancer History (PCH) are often excluded from clinical trials. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that prior cancer history does not present adverse outcomes on cancer patients. The evidence on the survival of brain cancer patients in this regard remains widely unknown. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study to estimate the prevalence and impact of prior cancer on survival of patients diagnosed with brain cancer. Data of patients who were diagnosed with brain cancer as their first or second primary malignancy between 2000 and 2019 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to ensure comparable baseline characteristics among the patients. Survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan–Meier method, as well as multivariate Cox proportional hazard and multivariate competing risk models. Results Out of 42 726 patients, 1189 (2.78%) had PCH. Genitourinary (40.4%), Breast (13.6%), Hematologic and Lymphatic (11.4%), and Gastrointestinal malignancies (11.3%) were the most common types of prior cancer. PCH served as a significant risk factor for Overall Survival (OS) (Adjusted Hazard Ratio [AHR] 1.26; 95% CI [1.15–1.39]; p

Objective This paper aims to report our experience of developing, implementing, and evaluating myHealthE (MHE), a digital innovation for Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which automates the remote collection and reporting of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) into National Health Services (NHS) electronic healthcare records. Methods We describe the logistical and governance issues encountered in developing the MHE interface with patient-identifiable information, and the steps taken to overcome these development barriers. We describe the application's architecture and hosting environment to enable its operability within the NHS, as well as the capabilities needed within the technical team to bridge the gap between academic development and NHS operational teams. Results We present evidence on the feasibility and acceptability of this system within clinical services and the process of iterative development, highlighting additional functions that were incorporated to increase system utility. Conclusion This article provides a framework with which to plan, develop, and implement automated PROM collection from remote devices back to NHS infrastructure. The challenges and solutions described in this paper will be pertinent to other digital health innovation researchers aspiring to deploy interoperable systems within NHS clinical systems.

Cancer is a leading cause of death globally. The majority of cancer cases are only diagnosed in the late stages of cancer due to the use of conventional methods. This reduces the chance of survival for cancer patients. Therefore, early detection consequently followed by early diagnoses are important tasks in cancer research. Gene expression microarray technology has been applied to detect and diagnose most types of cancers in their early stages and has gained encouraging results. In this paper, we address the problem of classifying cancer based on gene expression for handling the class imbalance problem and the curse of dimensionality. The oversampling technique is utilized to overcome this problem by adding synthetic samples. Another common issue related to the gene expression dataset addressed in this paper is the curse of dimensionality. This problem is addressed by applying chi-square and information gain feature selection techniques. After applying these techniques individually, we proposed a method to select the most significant genes by combining those two techniques (CHiS and IG). We investigated the effect of these techniques individually and in combination. Four benchmarking biomedical datasets (Leukemia-subtypes, Leukemia-ALLAML, Colon, and CuMiDa) were used. The experimental results reveal that the oversampling techniques improve the results in most cases. Additionally, the performance of the proposed feature selection technique outperforms individual techniques in nearly all cases. In addition, this study provides an empirical study for evaluating several oversampling techniques along with ensemble-based learning. The experimental results also reveal that SVM-SMOTE, along with the random forests classifier, achieved the highest results, with a reporting accuracy of 100%. The obtained results surpass the findings in the existing literature as well.

Shewasoor sub-Basin represents one of the hydrogeological sub-basins of the Lower Zab River and covers an area of 160 km². It is located between longitude (44º 31' 23.9" – 44º 37' 75") and latitudes (35º 45' 28.9"–35º 48' 59"). The basin is bounded from the north and northeast by the Taqtaq anticline and Chamchamal anticline represents the western and southwest boundaries, while the southeast boundary is a surface water divide with the Al- Khassah River sub-basin. The groundwater distribution levels and movement maps show that the water depths range between 414-862 m a.s.l, and it moves in line with the movement of water surface drainage, as it moves from the east, southeast, south, and southwest (recharge areas) towards the northwest regions, while the water depths vary from the ground level between relatively deep in the southwestern part to medium and shallow in the rest of the parts. An evaluation of the hydraulic characteristic and groundwater recharge by two techniques of the water balance for aquifers of the study area has been carried out. The results showed that the hydraulic properties, transmissivity value ranges between 5.6 - 169 m²/day, the hydraulic conductivity values range between 0.67 - 5.1 m/day, and the storage coefficient values, ranging from the lowest value (0.0013) to the highest value (0.27). The results reflected that the types of the aquifers are unconfined and semi-confined as well as heterogeneous and anisotropic. after analyzing and calculating the climatological parameters of Koya meteorological station as the nearest station to the Shewassor area, showed the water surplus is equal to 333.94 mm which represent 53.8% of the annual rainfall value (628.3mm) and the surface water is equal to 138.5mm as a runoff. 199.44mm (31.74%) out of the annual rainfall is percolated to recharge the aquifers of Shewasoor, while water table fluctuation method WTF showed there are two zones of specific yield in the study area and the groundwater recharge is 232.06mm, so can be said that the 215.8mm is the average of the groundwater recharge in Shewasoor sub-basin. Finally, and by using the groundwater flow net analyzing technique that the amount of groundwater discharged from the study area is about 12 million m3 (MCM) and the renewal groundwater storage is 19.42 million m3 (MCM), which means there is 7.39 million m3 is groundwater can be invested as a safe investment.

Abstract Background Dry spells are serious obstacles to rainfed agriculture in Sahelian countries. Various water harvesting techniques are used by farmers to reduce the impact of climate variability, but are not sufficient in the case of a prolonged drought lasting 2–3 weeks. The farmers believe supplemental irrigation is a good way to adapt rainfed agriculture to dry spells. In this study, we evaluated the food contribution and profitability of supplemental irrigation of rainfed crops comparing various farm ponds that collect runoff water from the surrounding landscape. Methods We analyzed the contribution of supplemental irrigation to food security and compared the profitability of different types of ponds constructed by farmers in northern Burkina Faso. Human cereal requirement was used as indicators to analyze the contribution of supplemental irrigation to food security. The criteria for analyzing the profitability of the selected ponds were gross margin (GM), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP). Results Our results show that the additional yield of corn obtained with supplemental irrigation makes it possible to meet the monthly cereal needs of at least 17 people and generates an additional GM of FCFA 178,483 (US$ 309.26) compared to no irrigation. The estimate of the NPV, from IRR and PBP showed that the profitability of supplemental irrigation in 15 agricultural seasons varies between the type of ponds constructed. Conclusions Given the up-front cost and the farmers’ lack of resources, the ponds require a subsidy or a credit policy to facilitate the adoption of supplemental irrigation in Sahelian countries. However, the irrigation strategies to optimize agricultural income remain a field of research to be explored.

The Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly affected economic and health systems around the world. This paper aims to assess household access to basic foods and health care and food security attainment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Burkina Faso. We use the COVID-19 High-Frequency Phone Survey 2020 panel data supported by the World Bank and conducted by Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INSD). The pooled multinomial logistic, the panel logistic, and the panel ordered logistic regressions are used to analyse the access to basic foods, the access to health care and the food security of the households, respectively. The results show that during COVID-19, female-headed households, poor households and farm households remain the most vulnerable in terms of access to basic foods, health services and food insecurity. Furthermore, the results indicate that households living outside the capital, particularly in the other urbans, experience fewer difficulties obtaining basic foods than those residing in the capital and are also unlikely to experience food insecurity. For more effective policy responses to the COVID-19 or similar shocks, the interventions should focus on household socioeconomic conditions and distinguish between urban and rural areas.

Hypertension is a significant public health concern in Saudi Arabia, affecting 28.6% of the population. Despite the availability of effective treatments, optimal blood pressure control is not always achieved, highlighting the need for effective management strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of home, compared to clinic, blood pressure measurements for managing hypertension in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The study included 85 adults undergoing antihypertensive treatment. Home blood pressure measurements were obtained during the day and the evening using automated oscillometric sphygmomanometers, whereas clinic measurements were taken during clinic hours. Home blood pressure readings were significantly lower than clinic blood pressure readings, with mean differences of 20.4 mmHg and 4.1 mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressures (r = 0.549, p < 0.001) and a weak correlation between the daytime home and clinic systolic blood pressures (r = 0.218, p < 0.05). This study provides insight into the applicability of home blood pressure monitoring, which may aid in the development of more effective hypertension management strategies, particularly the use of morning home blood pressure monitoring to aid treatment decisions through telehealth medicine.

Multiple myeloma is a heterogeneous clonal malignant plasma cell disorder, which remains incurable despite the therapeutic armamentarium’s evolution. Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) can bind simultaneously to the CD3 T-cell receptor and tumor antigen of myeloma cells, causing cell lysis. This systematic review of phase I/II/III clinical trials aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of BsAbs in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). A thorough literature search was performed using PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and major conference abstracts. A total of 18 phase I/II/III studies, including 1283 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Among the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting agents across 13 studies, the overall response rate (ORR) ranged between 25% and 100%, with complete response/stringent complete response (CR/sCR) between 7 and 38%, very good partial response (VGPR) between 5 and 92%, and partial response (PR) between 5 and 14%. Among the non-BCMA-targeting agents across five studies, the ORR ranged between 60 and 100%, with CR/sCR seen in 19–63%, and VGPR in 21–65%. The common adverse events were cytokine release syndrome (17–82%), anemia (5–52%), neutropenia (12–75%), and thrombocytopenia (14–42%). BsAbs have shown promising efficacy against RRMM cohorts with a good safety profile. Upcoming phase II/III trials are much awaited, along with the study of other agents in concert with BsAbs to gauge response.

The CRISPR-Cas system has evolved into a cutting-edge technology that has transformed the field of biological sciences through precise genetic manipulation. CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease is evolving into a revolutionizing method to edit any gene of any species with desirable outcomes. The swift advancement of CRISPR-Cas technology is reflected in an ever-expanding ecosystem of bioinformatics tools designed to make CRISPR/Cas9 experiments easier. To assist researchers with efficient guide RNA designs with fewer off-target effects, nuclease target site selection, and experimental validation, bioinformaticians have built and developed a comprehensive set of tools. In this article, we will review the various computational tools available for the assessment of off-target effects, as well as the quantification of nuclease activity and specificity, including web-based search tools and experimental methods, and we will describe how these tools can be optimized for gene knock-out (KO) and gene knock-in (KI) for model organisms. We also discuss future directions in precision genome editing and its applications, as well as challenges in target selection, particularly in predicting off-target effects.

Objective Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been used during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic because of its reported anti-viral activity. This study examined the association of chronic HCQ use with the incidence and complications of COVID-19. Methods This retrospective cohort study included adults with rheumatoid arthritis and/or systemic lupus erythematosus who visited rheumatology clinics in three tertiary hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between January 2019 and December 2020. Patients were categorized into two groups based on HCQ use. Data were obtained from the electronic health record and by interviews with patients. The primary study objective was the incidence of COVID-19 and its complications from March 2020 to February 2021. Results Almost 11% of the study cohort was positive for COVID-19, and the incidence of COVID-19 was similar between HCQ users (11.11%) and nonusers (10.86%). Disease complication rates were similar in the study arms, and they mainly included fever, dry cough, fatigue, and breathing difficulty. Conclusions This study revealed no significant association between chronic HCQ use and the incidence of COVID-19, and disease complications were similar in the study arms.

Background Lockdown during the pandemic has had significant impacts on public mental health. Previous studies suggest an increase in self-harm and suicide in children and adolescents. There has been little research on the roles of stringent lockdown. Aims To investigate the mediating and predictive roles of lockdown policy stringency measures in self-harm and emergency psychiatric presentations. Method This was a retrospective cohort study. We analysed data of 2073 psychiatric emergency presentations of children and adolescents from 23 hospital catchment areas in ten countries, in March to April 2019 and 2020. Results Lockdown measure stringency mediated the reduction in psychiatric emergency presentations (incidence rate ratio of the natural indirect effect [IRRNIE] = 0.41, 95% CI [0.35, 0.48]) and self-harm presentations (IRRNIE = 0.49, 95% CI [0.39, 0.60]) in 2020 compared with 2019. Self-harm presentations among male and looked after children were likely to increase in parallel with lockdown stringency. Self-harm presentations precipitated by social isolation increased with stringency, whereas school pressure and rows with a friend became less likely precipitants. Children from more deprived neighbourhoods were less likely to present to emergency departments when lockdown became more stringent, Conclusions Lockdown may produce differential effects among children and adolescents who self-harm. Development in community or remote mental health services is crucial to offset potential barriers to access to emergency psychiatric care, especially for the most deprived youths. Governments should aim to reduce unnecessary fear of help-seeking and keep lockdown as short as possible. Underlying mediation mechanisms of stringent measures and potential psychosocial inequalities warrant further research.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disease characterized by enzymatic degradation of the cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) causing joint pain and disability. There is no disease-modifying drug available for the treatment of OA. An ideal drug is expected to stop cartilage ECM degradation and restore the degenerated ECM. The ECM primarily contains type II collagen and aggrecan but also has minor quantities of other collagen fibers and proteoglycans. In OA joints, the components of the cartilage ECM are degraded by matrix-degrading proteases and hydrolases which are produced by chondrocytes and synoviocytes. Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4 and 5 (ADAMTS5) are the major collagenase and aggrecanase, respectively, which are highly expressed in OA cartilage and promote cartilage ECM degradation. Current studies using various in vitro and in vivo approaches show that natural compounds inhibit the expression and activity of MMP-13, ADAMTS4, and ADAMTS5 and increase the expression of ECM components. In this review, we have summarized recent advancements in OA research with a focus on natural compounds as potential therapeutics for the treatment of OA with emphasis on the prevention of cartilage ECM degradation and improvement of joint health.

ABSTRACT Transcriptional regulators that integrate cellular and environmental signals to control cell division are well known in bacteria and eukaryotes, but their existence is poorly understood in archaea. We identified a conserved gene (cdrS) that encodes a small protein and is highly transcribed in the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. The cdrS gene could not be deleted, but CRISPR interference (CRISPRi)-mediated repression of the cdrS gene caused slow growth and cell division defects and changed the expression of multiple genes and their products associated with cell division, protein degradation, and metabolism. Consistent with this complex regulatory network, overexpression of cdrS inhibited cell division, whereas overexpression of the operon encoding both CdrS and a tubulin-like cell division protein (FtsZ2) stimulated division. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-DNA sequencing (ChIP-Seq) identified 18 DNA-binding sites of the CdrS protein, including one upstream of the promoter for a cell division gene, ftsZ1, and another upstream of the essential gene dacZ, encoding diadenylate cyclase involved in c-di-AMP signaling, which is implicated in the regulation of cell division. These findings suggest that CdrS is a transcription factor that plays a central role in a regulatory network coordinating metabolism and cell division. IMPORTANCE Cell division is a central mechanism of life and is essential for growth and development. Members of the Bacteria and Eukarya have different mechanisms for cell division, which have been studied in detail. In contrast, cell division in members of the Archaea is still understudied, and its regulation is poorly understood. Interestingly, different cell division machineries appear in members of the Archaea, with the Euryarchaeota using a cell division apparatus based on the tubulin-like cytoskeletal protein FtsZ, as in bacteria. Here, we identify the small protein CdrS as essential for survival and a central regulator of cell division in the euryarchaeon Haloferax volcanii. CdrS also appears to coordinate other cellular pathways, including synthesis of signaling molecules and protein degradation. Our results show that CdrS plays a sophisticated role in cell division, including regulation of numerous associated genes. These findings are expected to initiate investigations into conditional regulation of division in archaea.

In the light of the world’s technological development in the construction field and the continuous need to apply high-efficiency building materials because old methods are no longer used after the advent of the solutions characterized by fast applications and maximum protection in addition to reducing costs and increasing the sustainability of the establishment and its design age. The lightweights of various installations are an urgent need to decrease the dead loads. Therefore, this study is a local focus on replacing the normal coarse aggregate with lightweight coarse aggregate (claystone (bonza), rubber, thermostone and polystyrene) in various volumetric ratios of (25, 50 and 75) % in addition to a preparation of reference mix. For the purpose of identifying and studying the important specifications the new concrete which contributes to the self-load reduction of the concrete by reducing the total density of the mixture, models of cylinders and standard prisms were prepared, to evaluate the compressive strength and the splitting tensile strength respectively. In addition to that the modulus of rupture and the unit weight, where carried out. The tests results indicated a drop in the mechanical properties of the concrete with increase in the lightweight coarse aggregate, mechanical properties values: compressive strength, rupture modulus, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength were between (10.66-28.99) MPa (1.122-3.372) MPa, (3.606-6.83) MPa and (20.101-25.874)MPa compared with a reference mixes (38.44MPa), (3.969MPa), (10.476MPa) and (26.940)MPa respectively for mixes of (25, 50 and75)% with different light coarse aggregate , also the values of an oven-dry density were between (1665.5-2287.58)kg/m3 compared with reference mixes (2426.41kg/m³). The best concrete mix was (M7, M10) of low density (1598.4 kg/m3) and (1580.4) kg /m3 and the compression strength within the permissible limits (15.47) MPa.

Abstract Background Alcohol use has been identified as a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline. However, some patterns of drinking have been associated with beneficial effects. Methods and Results To clarify the relationship between alcohol use and dementia, we conducted a scoping review based on a systematic search of systematic reviews published from January 2000 to October 2017 by using Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO. Overall, 28 systematic reviews were identified: 20 on the associations between the level of alcohol use and the incidence of cognitive impairment/dementia, six on the associations between dimensions of alcohol use and specific brain functions, and two on induced dementias. Although causality could not be established, light to moderate alcohol use in middle to late adulthood was associated with a decreased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Heavy alcohol use was associated with changes in brain structures, cognitive impairments, and an increased risk of all types of dementia. Conclusion Reducing heavy alcohol use may be an effective dementia prevention strategy.

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation is an emerging environmental hazard and has detrimental effects on plant growth and development. Salicylic acid (SA) is a well-known plant growth regulator that can initiate various molecular pathways to ameliorate Cd toxicity. The experiment was executed to scrutinize the mediatory role of SA to accelerate the defensive mechanism of mung bean in response to Cd stress. Mung bean plants were exposed to 0, 5, 10 and 15 mg Cd kg-1 of soil. Exogenous application of SA 0, 10-6 and 10-3 M was added prior flowering. Results exhibited that Cd stress considerably reduced the growth-related attributes i.e. shoot length, root length, fresh and dry biomass, total soluble protein, total amino acids, relative water contents and photosynthetic pigments. Cadmium stress showed a significant increase in antioxidants levels such as peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), ascorbic acid (AsA), and catalase (CAT) and promoted the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. However, exogenously applied SA significantly improved plant biomass and photosynthetic pigments under Cd stress. Moreover, SA improved the defensive system by enhancing antioxidants’ activities under the increasing concentration of Cd stress. Furthermore, SA reduced the Cd uptake, membrane damage and, H2O2 and MDA accumulation. The study's findings concluded that exogenous-applied SA enhanced plant growth, promoted the antioxidant activities, and reduced the oxidative damage in mung bean seedlings under Cd stress.

The present study was conducted for eight wells that are distributed in A’alam subdistrict in Salah al-Din province to assess the groundwater quality in this area. Water samples from these wells were taken during three months periods, one sample per month. Some physical and chemical properties of the water samples were tested by conducting on-site and laboratory tests. The water temperatures of the wells were recorded to assess its relationship with many properties of the water, including basal. The results indicated that the water of the studied wells was warm during the study period, and its temperature range was (19-24) ° C. The pH was measured and also its values were in the range (7.44-8.4). The values of total dissolved solids exceeded the permissible limits, with a minimum value of (1930) mg/L which is higher than the permissible limit in the drinking water relating to the Iraqi standard and the specifications of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), (1000) mg/L. This increase led to a significant increase in the electrical conductivity values, which reached its lowest recorded value of (3940) microsmins/cm, which is above the permissible limit (1500) microsmins/cm. The concentration of chloride ion, which is in the range (482.7-1053) mg/L and sulfur ions, which recorded its lowest value (411) mg/L, and also this exceeded the permissible limits for both ions (250) mg/L according to the Iraqi standard and WHO standards. The study covered all the studied wells water, and its depth are found in the range (80-160) meters, which is very hard water, with a concentration of (180) mg/L. The results indicate that the water was permanently exposed to pollution and is far from optimal for most of the time. Geographic information systems (GIS) were used to produce spatial maps of the study area showing the distribution of the characteristics studied, thus providing a future database for the region, which could be used to diagnose pollution wherever it would be found.

Self-healing is the capability of materials to repair themselves after the damage has occurred, usually through the interaction between molecules or chains. Physical and chemical processes are applied for the preparation of self-healing systems. There are different approaches for these systems, such as heterogeneous systems, shape memory effects, hydrogen bonding or covalent–bond interaction, diffusion, and flow dynamics. Self-healing mechanisms can occur in particular through heat and light exposure or through reconnection without a direct effect. The applications of these systems display an increasing trend in both the R&D and industry sectors. Moreover, self-healing systems and their energy storage applications are currently gaining great importance. This review aims to provide general information on recent developments in self-healing materials and their battery applications given the critical importance of self-healing systems for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In the first part of the review, an introduction about self-healing mechanisms and design strategies for self-healing materials is given. Then, selected important healing materials in the literature for the anodes of LIBs are mentioned in the second part. The results and future perspectives are stated in the conclusion section.

The present research aimed to evaluate contamination levels of soil by heavy metals. Eight sites were selected for the collection of soil samples. The soil samples analyzed for eight heavy metals namely As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn by using ICP-MS technology. The spatial distribution patterns of environmental assessment factors and indices were drawn using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which is gives understanding for the geographical distribution of contamination levels in the area. The heavy metals contamination assessed by using several environmental factors and indices: Contamination Factor, Degree of Contamination, Pollution load Index, Enrichment Factor, Geo-accumulation Index, Nemerow Index. The environmental factors and indices showed that the soil was moderate to heavily contaminated by studied heavy metals. The EF values indicated that the metals Pb, Cr, Co, Cu, and Zn were enriched from natural sources, while the metals As, Cd, and Ni were enriched from anthropogenic sources.

Lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced universities to migrate entirely to eLearning to deliver classes. Students have found themselves using either synchronous, asynchronous, or mixed mode learning methods based on their universities' preferences. Many studies that investigated difficulties during the lockdown have been mainly concerned about technical difficulties. The reports lacked the investigation of differences among students' groups, with a few exceptions that highlighted differences among male and female students. Moreover, existing studies were found to focus on singular dimensions (TAM, IS success model, etc.). This study perceives that students, based on the various groups they belong to, can show different levels of perceptions towards determinants that influence the usage of eLearning. This study investigated differences among students in terms of determinants from TRI, TAM, and IS success model. A total of 915 participants from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia reported their perceptions. The findings reported in this study showed significant differences among participants, in particular, among groups of gender, age, country, and eLearning mode. It is noticeable that participants who used the asynchronous mode of eLearning gave more weight to information quality, system quality, service quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, innovation, optimism, satisfaction, and intention to use. Meanwhile, participants who used the synchronous mode experienced more discomfort. It could be said that the significant differences between the usage of synchronous and asynchronous modes should be considered for better quality of online learning.

Abstract Background Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), together with other control measures, have reduced the burden of falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan countries, including Sudan. Sudan adopted ACT in 2004 with a remarkable reduction in mortality due to falciparum malaria. However, emergence of resistance to the first-line treatment artesunate and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (AS/SP) has created new challenges to the control of malaria in Sudan. A search for an alternative drug of choice for treating uncomplicated malaria has become inevitable. The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacies of dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine (DHA–PPQ) and AS/SP in an area of unstable transmission in Blue Nile State, Sudan in 2015–16. Methods A total of 148 patients with uncomplicated malaria were recruited in the study from November 2015 to end of January 2016. Seventy-five patients received DHA–PPQ while 73 received AS/SP. Patients were monitored for clinical and parasitological outcomes following the standard WHO protocol for a period of 42 days for DHA–PPQ and 28 days for AS/SP; nested PCR (nPCR) was performed to confirm parasite re-appearance from day 7 onwards. Results Fifty-five patients completed the DHA–PPQ arm protocol with success cure rate of 98.2% (95% CI 90.3–100%) and one late clinical failure 1.8% (95% CI 0.0–9.7%). The AS/SP showed adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) of 83.6% (95% CI 71.9–91.8%), early treatment failure was 1.6% (95% CI 0.0–8.8%) and late parasitological failure (LPF) was 14.8% (95% CI 7–26.2%). The respective PCR uncorrected LPF was 20%. Conclusion DHA–PPQ is an efficacious ACT and candidate for replacement of first-line treatment in Sudan while AS/SP showed high treatment failure rate and must be replaced.

Background and Objectives: Pleuropulmonary (PP) involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, limited data are available regarding lung complications in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the current study were to determine the prevalence of PP manifestations and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 419 patients diagnosed at a tertiary center over a 12.5-year period. The frequency of pulmonary manifestations was recorded based on combined results from chest X-rays, pulmonary function tests, and high-resolution computed tomography scan of the chest. Results: The overall frequency of lung involvement was 25.8%. Pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung disease were the most common abnormalities (36%, 35%, and 23%, respectively). The presence of comorbid illness (odds ratio [OR]: 3.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.02–5.1), male gender (OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3–4.24), and the presence of extra-articular manifestations of RA (ExRA) (OR: 2.35; 95% CI: 0.4–4.01) were predictive of lung involvement. Conclusions: Pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung disease were the most common abnormalities seen in RA patients. The presence of comorbidity, male gender, and ExRA was significantly associated with lung involvement.

Background Although it is well established that heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of hypertension, the risk associated with low levels of alcohol intake in men and women is unclear. Methods and Results We searched Medline and Embase for original cohort studies on the association between average alcohol consumption and incidence of hypertension in people without hypertension. Random‐effects meta‐analyses and metaregressions were conducted. Data from 20 articles with 361 254 participants (125 907 men and 235 347 women) and 90 160 incident cases of hypertension (32 426 men and 57 734 women) were included. In people drinking 1 to 2 drinks/day (12 g of pure ethanol per drink), incidence of hypertension differed between men and women (relative riskwomen vs men=0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.67–0.93). In men, the risk for hypertension in comparison with abstainers was relative risk=1.19 (1.07–1.31; I2=59%), 1.51 (1.30–1.76), and 1.74 (1.35–2.24) for consumption of 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5 or more standard drinks per day, respectively. In women, there was no increased risk for 1 to 2 drinks/day (relative risk=0.94; 0.88–1.01; I2=73%), and an increased risk for consumption beyond this level (relative risk=1.42; 1.22–1.66). Conclusions Any alcohol consumption was associated with an increase in the risk for hypertension in men. In women, there was no risk increase for consumption of 1 to 2 drinks/day and an increased risk for higher consumption levels. We did not find evidence for a protective effect of alcohol consumption in women, contrary to earlier meta‐analyses.

Background: Dementia is a prevalent condition, affecting 5–7% of people aged 60 years and older, and a leading cause of disability in people aged 60 years and older globally. We aimed to examine the association between alcohol use disorders and dementia risk, with an emphasis on early-onset dementia (1·7) in sensitivity analyses on dementia case definition (including Alzheimer's disease) or older study populations. Also, alcohol use disorders were significantly associated with all other risk factors for dementia onset (all p

Background: Although it is well established that heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of hypertension, little is known about the effect of a reduction of alcohol intake on blood pressure. We aimed to assess the effect of a reduction in alcohol consumption on change in blood pressure stratified by initial amount of alcohol consumption and sex in adults. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MedLine, Embase, CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov from database inception up to July 13, 2016, for trials investigating the effect of a change of alcohol consumption on blood pressure in adults using keywords and MeSH terms related to alcohol consumption, blood pressure, and clinical trials, with no language restrictions. We also searched reference lists of identified articles and published meta-analyses and reviews. We included full-text articles with original human trial data for the effect of a change of alcohol consumption on blood pressure in adults, which reported a quantifiable change in average alcohol consumption that lasted at least 7 days and a corresponding change in blood pressure. We extracted data from published reports. We did random-effects meta-analyses stratified by amount of alcohol intake at baseline. All meta-analyses were done with Stata (version 14.1). For the UK, we modelled the effect of a reduction of alcohol consumption for 50% of the population drinking more than two standard drinks per day (ie, 12 g pure alcohol per drink). Findings: 36 trials with 2865 participants (2464 men and 401 women) were included. In people who drank two or fewer drinks per day, a reduction in alcohol was not associated with a significant reduction in blood pressure; however, in people who drank more than two drinks per day, a reduction in alcohol intake was associated with increased blood pressure reduction. Reduction in systolic blood pressure (mean difference −5·50 mm Hg, 95% CI −6·70 to −4·30) and diastolic blood pressure (–3·97, −4·70 to −3·25) was strongest in participants who drank six or more drinks per day if they reduced their intake by about 50%. For the UK, the results would translate into more than 7000 inpatient hospitalisations and 678 cardiovascular deaths prevented every year. Interpretation: Reducing alcohol intake lowers blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner with an apparent threshold effect. Implementation of effective alcohol interventions in people who drink more than two drinks per day would reduce the disease burden from both alcohol consumption and hypertension, and should be prioritised in countries with substantial alcohol-attributable risk. Funding: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Background : Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is rare and can be challenging to diagnose. Limited data is available from the Middle Eastern region, especially Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a retrospective study that looked at all the patients diagnosed with IPF between 2007 and 2012 at two tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia. We collected the demographical, clinical, laboratory and radiological data from the patients′ medical records. Medications administered and 1 year survival was also assessed. Results : Between 2007and 2012, 134 IPF patients were identified. Their baseline characteristics (Mean ± SD) included: age 64 ± 13 years, body mass index 29 ± 8 kg/m 2 , FEV 1 56 ± 15 percent of predicted, FVC 53 ± 13 percent of predicted, FEV 1 /FVC 0.81 ± 0.09, total lung capacity 75 ± 13 percent of predicted, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide 57 ± 15 percent of predicted, on home oxygen at presentation 71 (53%), mean ejection fraction 0.50 ± 0.07, mean pulmonary artery systolic pressure (via echocardiogram) 40 + 22 mmHg, presentation mean S pO2 92 ± 7%, presentation 6-min walk distance 338 ± 64 m and lowest S pO2 during 6-min walk test 88 ± 5%. Patients were predominantly female (56%), and 42% of patients had diabetes and were active smokers. The IPF patients′ frequency of hospital admission (n = 99) was 2.4 ± 1.7 per year and duration of hospital stay (n = 99) was 17.4 ± 23.8 days. Overall 1 year survival in all IPF patients was good, 93% (124) patients remained alive after 1 year. Conclusions : In Saudi Arabia, IPF patients tended to be slightly older and the disease progression was somewhat slower than reported IPF cohorts in other populations. They had frequent hospital admissions and a long hospital length of stay. The influence of genetics and co-morbid diseases on the incidence and outcome of IPF should be explored further.

The Annual and monthly averages of rainfall and temperature of the tow tikrit and baiji meteorological stations showed that the general annual rainfall is (185) mm. The maximum rainfall is 35.5 mm in January and the minimum is (0.0) mm in august while the general monthly averages of temperature ranging between (8.7 C° in January - 36.5 C° in july ). After calculating the potential evapotranspiration values PE by thornthwait method then derive the values of water surplus WS in order to determined the amount of water that permeates to the groundwater level for each zone in the basin. After the main elements was selected depending by equations that has been developed for each zone as follows : 26 % of rainfall permeates to replenish the groundwater in the basin when the zone A lack o opportunity to allow infiltration of rainfall to the groundwater level for both A and B zones are based on monthly averages of whole surveillance period ( 1989 – 2009 ). The soil moisture amount (SM) is 25 mm for the zone A and 75 mm for each of A and B zones. When we search in the years that exceeds the general annual averages of rainfall ( 185 ) mm , founded that there are (9) years beyond the mentioned averages and account for about (43 %) of surveillance period where the general annual average equal to (242.39) mm and maximum monthly average of the rainfall is ( 41.86) mm in march and lowest average is (0.0) mm in july and august. Depending on these years mentioned, the water surplus for both zones C and B , showed that an increase about ( 29.93) mm from the average of annual rainfall equal to (242.39) mm and (12.34 %) from the rainfall permeates to fed the groundwater in B zone. 7 % adopted as a surface runoff from the rainfall equal to (16.96) mm and the ratio groundwater recharge in C zone is equal to (12.97 ) mm. The variation in groundwater values of recharge along the basin ( A,B and C ) is only a reflection for the type and texture of the deposits on the hand and varying depths, simple differences in topography and evolution of surface water drainage especially in the western part of C zone on the other hand . while the demonstrating convergence of inventories renewed values for the three zones although they have different area and water depths pervasive in all of them but the justification for this approach the increase in area of zones A , B and C, accompanied by decreasing values of deep water permeates for each zone must be noted here that the opportunity to renew stocks of ground water for both B and C amounting to 42 % of the prospect for renewed stocks of water in the zone A as well as the presence of large quantities of leaked water from the liquefaction and sewage water in zone A .

The demand for portable electronic devices has increased rapidly during the past decade, and has driven a concordant growth in battery production. Since their development as a commercial energy storage solution in the 1990s, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted significant attention in both science and industry due to their long cycle life, high energy density, low self-discharge rate, and high working voltage. Production of LIBs requires large amounts of a polymeric binder-commonly polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF)-for processing and performance purposes. However, since this material is petrochemically-derived, it is far from "green"or sustainable. On the other hand, polymers and their building blocks are found widely throughout nature and can be renewably sourced from biomass at low cost; therefore, replacing PVDF with biomass-derived binders is a promising approach to reduce the environmental footprint of LIBs. Additionally, polymer binders play a critical role in next-generation battery performance. For instance, silicon (Si) is a promising high-capacity anode material for LIBs because of its high theoretical capacity (4200 mA h g-1), low working potential, and high abundance in Earth's crust. However, its huge volume change during charge/discharge tends to result in a shortened cycle life, since conventional binders interact only weakly with silicon's native surface and cannot maintain long-term integrity of the electrode. Naturally derived polymers have found better success in this role due to their high structural advantages. In this review, we summarize recent developments in silicon anode binders derived from various biomass sources, with a focus on polymer properties and their effect on battery performance. We propose various perspectives based on our own assessment of these works, and provide a brief commentary on the future outlook of the field.