Deep learning model for thorax diseases detection

Despite the availability of radiology devices in some health care centers, thorax diseases are considered as one of the most common health problems, especially in rural areas. By exploiting the power of the Internet of things and specific platforms to analyze a large volume of medical data, the health of a patient could be improved earlier. In this paper, the proposed model  is based on pre-trained ResNet-50  for diagnosing thorax diseases. Chest x-ray images are cropped to extract the rib cage part from the chest radiographs. ResNet-50 was re-train on Chest x-ray14 dataset where a chest radiograph images are inserted into the model to determine if the person is healthy or not. In the case of an unhealthy patient, the model can classify the disease into one of the fourteen chest diseases. The results show the ability of ResNet-50 in achieving impressive performance in classifying thorax diseases

Overlapped hierarchical clusters routing protocol for improving quality of service

The rapid development in communications and sensors technologies make wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as essential key in several advanced applications such as internet of things (IoT). The increasing demands on using WSNs required high quality of services (QoS) because most WSNs applications have critical requirements. This work aims to offer a routing protocol to improve the QoS in WSNs, taking in consideration its ability to prolong the lifetime of the network, optimize the utilization of the limited bandwidth available, and decrease the latency that accompanies the packets transmitted to the gateway. The proposed protocol is called overlapped hierarchical cluster routing protocol (OHCRP). OHCRP is compared with the traditional routing protocols such as SPEED, and THVR. The results show that OHCRP reduces latency effectively and achieve high energy conservation, which lead to increase the network lifetime and insure network availability

Effect of Chemical Treatments for Cellulosic Plants on Some Macro Minerals

We treated barley straw with sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide and urea to improve the nutrition efficiency. Some macro minerals “calcium, potassium and phosphor were measured. No effect for chemical treatments on Ca, K and P (%). Potassium content (%) was 0.033, 0.038, 0.042 and 0.035 for untreated straw or treated with NaOH, NH4OH and Urea. Phosphor content (%) was 0.6, 0.65, 0.89 and 0.82, while calcium (%) was 0.90, 0.95, 0.88 and 0.93 for untreated straw or treated with NaOH, NH4OH and Urea respectively. In conclusion: No effects for treated straw with NaOH, NH4OH or urea on macro minerals like Ca, K and P and in respectively for other minerals. Key word: Chemical treated straw, calcium, potassium, phosphor, macro elements

Relationship between type II diabetes mellitus and Helicobacter pylori infection in Erbil city

Background and objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by the increase in blood glucose due to insulin resistance or deficiency of insulin. The subjects are more likely to be prone to infection. So, it could be correlated with Helicobacter pylori infection, which means that gastrointestinal inflammation might be affected by uncontrolled glycemic level. This study aimed to examine the correlation of type II diabetes and infection of gastrointestinal in order to illustrate such complication of diabetes mellitus apart from others. Methods: A total of 64 persons from Erbil city participated in this cross-sectional study. They were divided into two groups, each group involving 32 persons. The cases group included those suffering from type II diabetes and were selected by simple random sampling method. The other group included those not possessing any types of disease including diabetes mellitus. Examination of Helicobacter pylori, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), besides measuring blood pressure and body mass index were performed for all individual subjects in both groups. Chi-Square and unpaired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: There was a 59% positively Helicobacter pylori in diabetes group whereas there was a 31% positively Helicobacter pylori in non-diabetes mellitus. The difference between the rates of Helicobacter pylori in both groups was statistically significant (P <0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in diabetics was significantly higher than the non-diabetics

Preliminary selection and evaluation of fungicides and natural compounds to control grey mold disease of rose caused by Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea es un hongo patógeno de las plantas que causa la enfermedad del moho gris del rosal (Rosa indica L.). La búsqueda de estrategias de control nuevas y alternativas respetuosas con el medio ambiente, en lugar de los productos químicos peligrosos, para diferentes enfermedades de los cultivos es un paso crucial y saludable para hacer frente a los retos actuales del cambio climático. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la eficacia de diferentes extractos botánicos y agentes de biocontrol (biopesticidas) junto con diferentes fungicidas contra B. cinerea en condiciones in vitro. Se utilizaron tres concentraciones diferentes, a saber, 100, 200 y 300 ppm de cinco fungicidas, a saber, Acrobate, Melody, Cabrio top, Antracol y oxicloruro de cobre, extractos botánicos de ocho plantas Dhatura, Jengibre, Aak, Neem y Cebolla, en tres dosis diferentes de 5, 10 y 15%, El estudio de la incidencia de la enfermedad% de moho gris en el cultivo de rosas en la región muestra que la región de Hyderabad tiene un máximo (60%) de incidencia de la enfermedad en comparación con la región de Tandojam (40%). Entre los fungicidas, el Cabrio top redujo significativamente el crecimiento lineal de colonias (31 mm) de B. cinerea a una concentración de 300 ppm. Entre los productos botánicos, el extracto de la planta de neem mostró significativamente el menor crecimiento de colonias (23,33 mm), seguido de la planta de jengibre (25 mm) y la planta de dhatura (26 mm). La mayor concentración de fungicidas y las dosis más altas (15%) de extractos botánicos resultaron significativamente eficaces para controlar el patógeno B. cinerea. Among biopesticides, Fusarium solani appeared prominent in reducing colony growth (25.16 mm) of the pathogen but the difference was not significant 300 with most of the tested biocontrol agents. La recomendación en este estudio es la alta capacidad de los extractos botánicos y agentes de biocontrol en la reducción del crecimiento de moho gris, considerando potencialmente su uso en lugar de fungicidas sintéticos y mayor seguridad para el ecosistema.Campus Ic

A Combined Use of Rhizobacteria and Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Effects of Drought Stress in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Less nutrient availability and drought stress are some serious concerns of agriculture. Both biotic and abiotic stress factors have the potential to limit crop productivity. However, several organic extracts obtained from moringa leaves may induce immunity in plants under nutritional and drought stress for increasing their survival. Additionally, some rhizobacterial strains have the ability to enhance root growth for better nutrient and water uptake in stress conditions. To cover the knowledge gap on the interactive effects of beneficial rhizobacteria and moringa leaf extracts (MLEs), this study was conducted. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the effectiveness of sole and combined use of rhizobacteria and MLEs against nutritional and drought stress in wheat. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) (10(8) CFU ml(-1)) was inoculated to wheat plants with and without foliar-applied MLEs at two different concentrations (MLE 1 = 1:15 v/v and MLE 2 = 1:30 v/v) twice at 25 and 35 days after seed sowing (50 ml per plant) after the establishment of drought stress. Results revealed that Pa + MLE 2 significantly increased fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), lengths of roots and shoot and photosynthetic contents of wheat. A significant enhancement in total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins, calcium, potassium, phosphate, and nitrate contents validated the efficacious effect of Pa + MLE 2 over control-treated plants. Significant decrease in sodium, proline, glycine betaine, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxide (POD) concentrations in wheat cultivated under drought stress conditions also represents the imperative role of Pa + MLE 2 over control. In conclusion, Pa + MLE 2 can alleviate nutritional stress and drought effects in wheat. More research in this field is required to proclaim Pa + MLE 2 as the most effective amendment against drought stress in distinct agroecological zones, different soil types, and contrasting wheat cultivars worldwide.Peer reviewe

Lipid profile of Hyperlipidemic mice induced by dexamethasone treated with 105 herbals oil mixture

Background: Lipid profile is a panel of blood tests that serves as an initial broad medical screening tool for abnormalities in lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides.  Objective: This study estimates the activity of mixture of three herbal seed oil on the lipid profile of hyperlipidemic mice induced by glucocorticoid drug.This mixture 105 composed of: 30% Petroselinumcrispum, 35% Lepidiumsativumand 35% Eruca sativa seed oil. Patients and Methods: The study was conductedusing 30 Swiss albino mice of 4 weeks age, which were divided into three equal groups. First group treated with dexamethasone drug, the second group treated with dexamethasone plus oil mixture,while the third group served as control. Results: It showed that the  mixture [105] had the activity to decrease the lipid profile of hyperlipidemic mice induced by dexamethasone after treatment with 7,14, 21 days. Conclusion: Petroselinumcrispum, Lepidiumsativumand Eruca sativa seed oil have activity to decrease the levels of  lipid profile in dexamethasone –induced hyperlipidemia mice

Using chitosan nanoparticles and N-acetyl thiazolidine 4-carboxylic acid for olive trees efficiency raising, improving fruits properties and oil quality

Abstract Recently exposure of olive trees to many stresses particularly oil varieties led to decline in the olive yield. The target of the study is to improve vegetative growth and increase olive fruits quality as well as the fruit oil % and oil quality by applying chitosan nanoparticles (CHNPs) and N-acetyl thiazolidine 4-carboxylic acid (N-ATCA) under the conditions of Egypt. The experiment was carried out in the seasons of 2021 and 2022 on Arbosana olive trees 8 years old and 4×6 m apart the trees sprayed three times on 15th Sept., 1st Oct. and 15th Oct. with (CHNPs at 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm), (N-ATCA at 50, 100 and 150 ppm) and a combination between them and evaluate the vegetative growth of trees, fruit physiochemical characteristics, and oil properties during both study seasons. The application of CHNPs and N-ATCA and a combination of them led to increasing leaf area, total chlorophyll and proline content also increment fruit weight, flesh weight, oil color and oil % moreover improving the quality of produced oil. The improvement in growth, fruit quality, oil % and oil quality, were associated with increasing concentrations of CHNPs, N-ATCA and a combination of them especially (CHNPs at 1500 ppm + N-ATCA at 100 ppm and CHNPs at 1500 ppm + N-ATCA at 150 ppm). Spraying (CHNPs at 1500 ppm + N-ATCA at 150 ppm) is recommended to improve the tree growth, fruit quality, oil % and quality of Arbosana olive

On-demand cell-autonomous gene therapy for brain circuit disorders

Several neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by intermittent episodes of pathological activity. Although genetic therapies offer the ability to modulate neuronal excitability, a limiting factor is that they do not discriminate between neurons involved in circuit pathologies and “healthy” surrounding or intermingled neurons. We describe a gene therapy strategy that down-regulates the excitability of overactive neurons in closed loop, which we tested in models of epilepsy. We used an immediate early gene promoter to drive the expression of Kv1.1 potassium channels specifically in hyperactive neurons, and only for as long as they exhibit abnormal activity. Neuronal excitability was reduced by seizure-related activity, leading to a persistent antiepileptic effect without interfering with normal behaviors. Activity-dependent gene therapy is a promising on-demand cell-autonomous treatment for brain circuit disorders

INFLUENCE OF FEEDING CORN IMPURITIES ON RUMEN BACTERIA AND FERMENTATION CHARACTERISTICS OF SHEEP

This study was aimed to determine the effect of replacing treated and untreated corn impurities with urea instead of wheat bran on rumen bacteria and fermentation of Awassi lambs. Five levels of treated and untreated corn impurities as 44:0%, 32:11%, 20:22%, 10:32% and 0:39% bran:impurities in a 2×5 factorial experiment/ Completely Randomized Design using forty lambs with an initial weight of 27.45 ± 2.16kg and 4-5 months old. Individual feeding was used for 70 days and rumen fluid was sampled at 0, 3, 6h after morning feeding. Results showed an increasing (p<0.05) rumen pH at zero time especially corn impurities treated with urea and increasing (p<0.05) rumen ammonia at zero time and 3h after feeding with highly significant (p<0.01) increased at 6h, and superiority increased of volatile fatty acids (VFA's) for urea treated corn impurities (P<0.05) at zero time and after 3h of feeding, similar results for rumen bacterial count at zero time, 3h and 6h after morning feeding for two dilutions × 107 and × 109 Cfu/ml for impurities treated with urea. In conclusion, it is possible to use corn impurities instead of wheat bran, preferably treated with urea for positive increase rumen fermentation and total bacterial count in sheep