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Background and aims: Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) can be tightly connected to metabolism syndrome (MetS) which can be counted as a metabolic indicator in the case of insulin resistance (IR). The aim of this study was to assess the potential role of these acids under oxidative stress. Material and Methods: the in vitro antioxidant activity of BCAAs was assessed using free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assays. For further check, a qRT-PCR technique was madefor detection the extent of alterations in gene expression of antioxidative enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx)) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS(-induced macrophages RAW 264.7 cell line. Additionally, BCAAs antioxidant activity was evaluated based on plasma H2O2 levels and xanthine oxidase (XO) activity in prooxidative LPS-treated mice. Results: Different concentrations of BCAAs affected on DPPH radical scavenging activity but to lesser extent than the ascorbic acid. Besides, BCAAs obviously upregulated the gene expression levels of catalases and Gpx in LPS-modulated macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line. In vivo BCAAs significantly minimized the level of plasma H2O2 as well as the activity of XO activity under oxidative stress. Conclusion: our current findings suggest that BCAAs supplementation may potentially serve as a therapeutic target for treatment of oxidative stress occurs with atherosclerosis, IR-diabetes, MetS and tumorigenesis.

Control of a conventional converter station which uses a three-phase controlled bridge for converting AC to DC and vice-versa is achieved by fast-acting control of the valve firing angles. Tap-changers which are fitted on the converter transformer provide a near constant AC voltage input to the bridge to correct relatively slow changes of AC voltage. This paper describe a modification of the conventional bridge circuit, using by-pass valves connected to tapping points on the secondary winding of the transformer. This scheme permits a wide range of voltage control with a reduction in both the harmonic generation and the reactive voltampere absorption, and possibly eliminates the need for an on-load tap-changer on the converter transformer. Experimental results on a laboratory model compare well with the predicted values.

Objectives: This study aims to sough implications of the independent and combined demographic variables of weight status, age, food habits, and physical activity on academic achievement in adolescents. Methods: The study sample consisted of 940 male students in the second secondary class; four secondary schools from Hail city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated in this study during April 2017. Weight status was assessed through body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2). Participants filled the questioner to evaluate food habits and physical activity on academic achievement. Results: The mean weight was 74.21±17.36 kg interquartile range (IQR) (45–125), while the mean height was 171.27±7.37 cm IQR (140–193). The mean BMI was 33.73 (IQR 22.0–39.8). The overall prevalence of childhood obesity was 49.6% while the prevalence of overweight was 9.04%. The mean academic score for the second secondary class was 70±9.99 IQR (44–99). BMI has endorsed negatively on academic achievement (r=−0.322, p

An approach is described in this work for detecting discomfort moments during electrical water heater daily usage. The approach employs chromatic analyzing sensors signals of electrical water heater systems for producing distinguishable mapping to characterize and identify selected discomfort moments. The preliminary results obtained indicate that it is possible to distinguish such events in a non-intrusive approach. Hot water comfort detection and classification intelligently through human behavior monitoring and analyses plays an important role in both, energy saving and energy management. The focus is on recording the discomfort situations followed by merging system outcomes with efficiency evaluation will be used to provide helpful recommendations for selecting appropriate operating strategy., Comment: 7 pages

This study aims to raise awareness amongst armored vehicles developers and manufacturers to reduce the percentage of structural weak areas from the entire vehicle design. Ballistic tests, trials and comparisons were conducted in order to demonstrate suitable solutions to improve the ballistic protection of complete armored vehicles against 7.62 x 51 mm NATO Ball DM111 high-power projectiles. In summary, the percentage of structural weak areas in the rear view of a military vehicle was reduced to over 80% in a modified design compared to the same original design. This was achieved by accurately marking the SWAs of the rear view, then applying some traditional design modifications on weld lines, seams, joints, holes and bolts resulting in an increased protection capability of the vehicle.

This this study was conducted to investigate the effect ageing/wear has on the penetration capabilities of ballistic vests, inserts and helmets by investigating the ballistic protection capabilities of the worn-out/aged samples (older than 5 years; exceeding the warranty period). The main finding was that worn-out products have constituted failure when tested for their perforation resistance according to NIJ 0108.01 at fair impact velocities. Furthermore, some of worn-out/aged products from the same batch number were re-built by “pressing” as a cost-effective solution to utilize the worn-out/aged body armor products. It was found that “re-pressing” worn-out body armor products increased the ballistic protection capabilities and could be a potential cost-effective solution for wornout/ aged products.

This study was conducted to assess the in vivo and ex vivo immunomodulatory effect of the ethanol leaves extract of Moringa peregrina in Balb/c mice. For this study, five groups of 5 Balb/c mice were given a single acute subtoxic oral dose of the ethanolic extract at 1.13, 11.30, 23.40 and 113.4 mg/kg and the immunomodulatory effect was assessed on the 6th day following the ingestion. In the (non-functional) assessment, the effect of the extract on the body weight, relative lymphoid organ weight, splenic cellularity and peripheral blood hematologic parameters were evaluated. While in the immunomodulation assessment (functional), we investigated the effect of the extract on the proliferative capacity of splenic lymphocytes and peripheral T and B lymphocytes using mitogen blastogenesis, mixed allogeneic MLR and IgM-Plaque forming cells assays. The ingestion of M. peregrina extract caused a significant increase in the body weight, weight and number of cells of spleen and lymph nodes of the treated mice. Furthermore, the count of RBCs, WBCs, platelets, hemoglobin concentration and PCV % were increased by the extract treatment in a dose-dependent manner. M. peregrina enhanced the proliferative responses of splenic lymphocytes for both T cell and B-cell mitogens. Likewise, the mixed lymphocyte reaction MLR assay has revealed a T-cell dependent proliferation enhancement in the extract treated mice. Moreover, the oral administration of M. peregrina leaves extracts significantly increased PFCs/10 6 splenocytes in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, subtoxic acute doses of M. peregrina extract demonstrated significant potential as an immunomodulatory agent even at the lowest dose of 1.13 mg/kg.

Background: Authors tend to compare the medical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with the surgical option regarding lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and related psychological morbidity.Methods: A retrospective study of (1614) patients who were managed by either transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) or medical treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) over a period of 5 years between (Sep. 2013 and Sep. 2018) carried out in Prince Hussein Urology Center at Jordanian Royal Medical Services. Patients were classified into two groups, group1 (807 patients) who get a medical option and group 2 (807 patients who underwent TURPs. A comparison between both groups according to the effect of minimizing the psychological morbidities was done over a period of 1-year follow-up after reviewing the patient’s medical records.Results: Ages of the patients for group1 and 2 were (47-68 years), (49-73 years), respectively. There were significant differences at the level of depression, anxiety and psychiatric morbidity pre-treatment between both groups p-value 0.05, but significant differences in the level of improvement after treatment between both groups and in group 2 were found, p-value

تعنى هذه الدراسة بالخطاب النقدي في الشعر الأردني، لا سيما ما يتعلق بمستوى الخطاب الفني، مسلطة الضوء على النقد الشعري لدى الشاعر الأردني، الأمر الذي يعكس الإبداع الفني والنقدي في النص الواحد، فعمدت الدراسة إلى تتبع الرأي النقدي للشاعر الأردني من خلال شعره؛ كون الغاية البحثية هي المنظوم شعرا لا المكتوب نثرا. وارتكزت الدراسة على تناول أهم القضايا النقدية التي ضمنها الشاعر الأردني أشعاره؛ كالوضوح والغموض في الشعر، واللفظ والمعنى، والقديم والجديد، والموهبة الشعرية، ... وغيرها. في محاولة للوقوف على رؤية الشاعر الأردني وفكره تجاه هذه القضايا النقدية. وكان المنهج المتبع في الدراسة المنهج الوصفي التحليلي؛ كونه الأقرب لخدمة مثل هذا النوع من الدراسات، ومما توصلت إليه هذه الدراسة: أن الشاعر الأردني على قدر كبير من الثقافة النقدية، ويظهر ذلك من تنوع القضايا النقدية التي عالجها في شعره، مما يدل على سعة اطلاعه النقدية، إلا أنه في نقده الشعري لم تكن غايته أن يؤسس لمنهجية نقدية، بل أراد له أن يكون إبداعا فنيا يعكس رؤيته الذاتية لما يعتقده ويراه تجاه القضايا النقدية المتنوعة.

The science of “Internal Ballistics” have extensively studied the pressure generated within the cartridge and clearly indicate that maximum generated pressure (Peak Pressure) is not to exceed the yield strength of the material of which the cartridge case is made of [1]. Failure to ensure this could result in catastrophic accidents that may lead to death or serious injuries. Different test standards (SAAMI, C.I.P, MIL-STD and NATO EPVAT) were established to ensure the safety of the ammunition in terms of pressure. These standards differ in many aspects from the test procedure to the equipment used to the acceptance criteria. The main motive behind this study was understanding the need to establish a scientific correlation between pressure measurements obtained by different test standards in order to save cost, time and effort as well as ensuring that a specific type of ammunition that was pressure tested according to one standard is safe to use in a specific weapon that was tested according to another. The main aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of finding a scientific correlation between the mean peak pressure values obtained by the NATO EPVAT and CIP test standards for 7.62 x 51mm NATO Ball Reference Ammunition through derived and validated equations with fixed conversion factors in order to convert “actual” Mean Peak Pressure (MPP) and Standard Deviation (SD) values obtained by NATO EPVAT test to predict those values in the C.I.P equivalent and calculate the Average Maximum Pressure (Ptmax).Thirty 7.62 x 51mm NATO BALL reference ammo were tested according to NATO EPVAT and C.I.P and the mean peak pressure conversion factor (FMPP) was found to be 0.974, while the standard deviation conversion factor (FSD) was 1.381. Both conversion factors were used to convert the MPP and SD values obtained by EPVAT testing of the reference ammunition, to their C.I.P Equivalent. These C.I.P converted values were then used to calculate (Predict) the Maximum Average Pressure Ptmax which was 3540.26 bar. Validation of this result was achieved by conducting an actual C.I.P pressure test on the same amount of reference ammunition which resulted in a Ptmax of 3422.40 bar with an error percentage between actual and predicted Ptmax of 3.54%.

Evaluating the protection level of armored materials used in vehicles is NOT sufficient in ensuring that the vehicle provides full protection against assigned threats. This is due to the fact that the design of any vehicle includes joints, overlaps, welds, bolts, etc.… that was proven buy extensive experiments to have significantly less protection capabilities compared to the main structure of the vehicle. This study focused on the Heat affected zones HAZ is particular associated with welding armored plates. In welded armored plates, the extensive heat creates an area referred to as the "Heat Affected Zones HAZ" that has significantly less ballistic protection capabilities due to the change in their microstructure, the size of the grains and their distribution and many other factors. The aim of this work was to investigate the effectivity of potential solutions implemented to overcome the reduction in the ballistic protection of the Structural Weak Areas (SWAs) from a test and evaluation point of view. Solutions investigated in this study included; Increasing the thickness of the base material reducing the heat affected zone’s size and severity, replacing the conventional welding techniques with sand blasting, gluing and ballistic coating and finally special Multi-layer overlapping techniques as a solution most suitable in Corner Joint welds. All three potential solutions have showed success in resisting the assigned threat but each with its limitations such as; increased effort, cost and weight which determine the selection of one solution technique over the other.

The rate of biodegradation of phenol by Klebsiella oxytoca strain was studied in the nutrient broth and M9 minimal medium. It was found that K. oxytoca degrade phenol at elevated phenol concentration where 75% of initial phenol concentration of 100 ppm will degrade within 72 h. This rate was increased with increasing the initial cell densities, increasing the aeration rate and increasing the time required for complete degradation. At phenol concentration above 400 ppm, the cells were unable to degrade the substrate efficiently due to the increasing concentration of phenol in the medium. The culture conditions were also showed a significant impact on the ability of these cells to remove phenol. The optimum solution pH and temperature were 6.8 and 37°C, respectively. The growth of these cells in the presence and absence of phenol was modeled and it was found that the Recatti equation best fit the growth in the absence of phenol whereas the Voltera equation accounted for the history of the cell popu...