Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of New 1,2- and 1,4-Bis(N’-Substituted Thioureido)benzene Derivatives

Synthesis of two series of 1,2- and 1,4-bis(thioureido)benzene derivatives was accomplished by the treatment of corresponding alkanoyl/aroyl chlorides with potassium thiocyanate in dry acetone to afford the respective isothiocyanates as intermediates. The latter were treated in situ with 1,2- and 1,4-diaminobenzene, respectively, to afford the title compounds in high yields. A total of sixteen new compounds are reported herein. The structures of the products were confirmed by spectroscopic techniques (IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectrometry), elemental analysis and in case of 1d, by X-ray diffraction technique. All the synthesized compounds were also subjected to antibacterial bioevaluation against ten different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterialstrains using levofloxacin as the standard drug and were shown to possess promising activities.KEYWORDS Bis(thioureido)benzene, antibacterial activity, crystal structure

FedDP: A privacy-protecting theft detection scheme in smart grids using federated learning

In smart grids (SGs), the systematic utilization of consumer energy data while maintaining its privacy is of paramount importance. This research addresses this problem by energy theft detection while preserving the privacy of client data. In particular, this research identifies centralized models as more accurate in predicting energy theft in SGs but with no or significantly less data protection. Current research proposes a novel federated learning (FL) framework, namely FedDP, to tackle this issue. The proposed framework enables various clients to benefit from on-device prediction with very little communication overhead and to learn from the experience of other clients with the help of a central server (CS). Furthermore, for the accurate identification of energy theft, the use of a novel federated voting classifier (FVC) is proposed. FVC uses the majority voting-based consensus of traditional machine learning (ML) classifiers namely, random forests (RF), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and bagging classifiers (BG). To the best of our knowledge, conventional ML classifiers have never been used in a federated manner for energy theft detection in SGs. Finally, substantial experiments are performed on the real-world energy consumption dataset. Results illustrate that the proposed model can accurately and efficiently detect energy theft in SGs while guaranteeing the security of client data

Mitigation of Seismic Deformation of Anchored Quay Wall by Compacting

The anchored quay walls or bulkheads are commonly used in coastal areas. Previous studies on the seismic behavior of these quay walls have shown a significant effect of the liquefaction on the performance of the walls. Considerable length of an anchored sheet pile wall in Rajaii port, Iran, has been embedded in liquefiable sand. This study tries to clarify failure mechanism of the wall during earthquake and to identify more effective zone for improvement of the wall stability. Numerical modeling by DIANA software and physical modeling by shake table were presented. Results show that the main reason for extensive deformation of the system is the liquefaction of the soil adjacent to the root of the wall. The compaction of this zone improves the performance of the system and prevents large displacements. The mitigation plan was proven by comparison among the measured results, including the final shape, displacements and excess pore water pressure ratio

UTILIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL WASTES FOR IMPROVING GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF COLLAPSIBLE SOIL

At the present time the disposal of industrial wastes has become a challenge for most countries. This research aims to study the effect of mixing the industrial textile sludge on geotechnical properties of collapsible soil. The experimental program studies the effect of textile wastes on Atterberg limits, collapse potential, compaction, CBR, and shear strength parameters. The percentages of textile wastes mixed with soil are 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 %. The results indicated that the collapse potential of untreated soil is significantly decreased from about 11% to 2.6% at 24% of textile sludge. Shear test results show an increase in cohesion and decrease in the internal friction angle. For Atterberg limits there was an increase in liquid limit. For Compaction results, it is noticed a decrease in maximum dry density and an increase in optimum moisture content. CBR values for all samples indicates the suitability of using soil and soil-sludge mixtures only in subgrade layer of pavement. It was found that the reuse of textile sludge with collapsible soils considers an economic method to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the soil, in addition, it could be considered as sustainable management of textile sludge which leads to a reduction in the consumption of natural resources and preserves the surrounding environment through decreasing the retention of these wastes to a minimu

Seatbelts and road traffic collision injuries

Modification of seatbelts and their legislation played an important role in reducing morbidity and mortality of occupants in road traffic collisions. We aimed to review seatbelt development, its mechanism of action and its effects. Seatbelts reduce injury by preventing the occupant from hitting the interior parts of the vehicle or being ejected from the car. We have made a linear regression correlation between the overall seatbelt compliance and road traffic death rates in 46 high income countries to study the relationship between seatbelt use and mortality. There was a very highly significant negative correlation between the seatbelt compliance and road traffic death rates (R = - 0.77, F = 65.5, p < 0.00001). Seatbelt-related injuries include spinal, abdominal or pelvic injuries. The presence of a seatbelt sign must raise the suspicion of an intra-abdominal injury. These injuries can be reduced if seatbelts were applied correctly. Although seatbelts were recognized as an important safety measure, it still remains underused in many countries. Enforcement of seatbelt usage by law is mandatory so as to reduce the toll of death of road traffic collisions

Design of 8 7 8 Slot Array Antenna based on Inverted Microstrip Gap Waveguide

In this paper we present the design of a high efficiency corporate-fed 8 7 8 slots array antenna in the 60-GHz band. The antenna is built using four unconnected layers — bed of nails, which works as Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC), PCB microstrip feeding networks, groove waveguide cavity and radiation slots layer on the top. The designed antenna shows a relative bandwidth of 14.63% with input reflection coefficient better than -15 dB and an overall efficiency larger than 70% with about 26.5 dBi simulated gain between 57 and 66 GHz

Jaundice: a basic review

Jaundice is a complex disease. Jaundice is actually the high bilirubin level in the body. Yellowing of skin, mucous membranes and skin are common presentations of jaundice. Jaundice has various variants including pre-hepatic jaundice (due to hemolysis of red blood cells), hepatic jaundice (due to defect in capture, conjugation and excretion of bilirubin by liver) and post hepatic jaundice (due to the obstruction of extra hepatobiliary system). The causes of various variants of Jaundice is either acquired or congenital. High plasma bilirubin level can cause various manifestations involving satiety, gastrointestinal bleeding, diarrhea, anemia, edema, weight-loss and can be fatal because it can cause psychosis, lethargy, seizures, coma or even death. High bilirubin level can help in the diagnosis of Jaundice. Differential diagnosis of various variants of Jaundice can be carried out on the basis of bilirubin level (conjugated and unconjugated), ultrasonography and other radiological techniques. The proper management of Jaundice is high water intake and low fat diet. The primary effective treatment for pre-hepatic jaundice and neonatal physiological jaundice is phototherapy. Infusion of immunoglobulins is also used for treatment of pre-hepatic jaundice. Proper nutrition, steroids and immunosuppressant are used for treatment of hepatic jaundice. The treatment for post hepatic jaundice is decompression and surgery

IMPACT OF MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA ON STUDENTS’ ACCULTURATION

This research aimed to study the effect of exposure to Multicultural environment of educational institutions on the acculturation of its students. The study puts forth many types of research that show the positive effects of intergroup contact between groups of diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultural heritages in reducing prejudice and negative stereotyping towards the out-group. This study investigated whether or not the Internationalization process of the International Islamic University, Malaysia, with a multicultural environment, helps its students to, accept the differences that other cultures bring, be comfortable with differences and also seek diversity of contact. The study employed Miville-Guzman Universality – Diversity Scale, (M-GUDS-S) to collect data by survey method from 400 IIUM undergraduate students selected using Quota sampling. 200 of them were first-year students and the rest were fourth-year students. The result indicated that the multicultural environment at IIUM does lead to Acculturation among students. It showed that the fourth year students were significantly more appreciative of and comfortable with differences. However, in terms of seeking diversity of contact, there was no significant difference between first-year and fourth-year students. Based on the findings it has been suggested that if efforts are made to establish optimal conditions for positive intergroup contact to take place, intergroup prejudice can be reduced and problems of coexistence in the Muslim countries and communities can thus be addressed