Familial Facial Palsy: A Case Series of Six Families from the Northern State, Sudan

Familial facial palsy is uncommon, accounting only for 4–14% of Bell’s palsy cases. We report six families with single or recurrent episodes of familial facial palsy from Northern State, Sudan. The first family had two brothers with single episodes of Bell’s palsy. The index case of the second family was a 19-year-old female who and nine other members of her family had a single or recurrent episodes of Bell’s palsy. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth families had eight, five, four, and five members, respectively, who developed either single or recurrent episodes of Bell’s palsy. None of the index cases or other members of the six families who were examined showed evidence of facial swelling or fissured tongue suggestive of Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome. Literature review revealed two studies on Bell’s palsy from Sudan but no studies on familial facial palsy. The mode of inheritance was either autosomal dominant with variable penetrance or autosomal recessive. In the second family, there could be a possibility of autosomal recessive  inheritance due to increased number of cases after consanguineous marriage. Steroids remain the mainstay of treatment together with protective eye regimens. The role of physiotherapy, although widely used, is controversial. Genetic analysis is recommended and family history should be considered in patients with Bell’s palsy. Keywords: Bell’s palsy, familial facial palsy, Northern State, Suda

FEM-based study of precision hard turning of stainless steel 316L

This study aims to investigate chip formation and surface generation during the precision turning of stainless steel 316L samples. A Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to simulate the chipping process of the stainless steel but with only a restricted number of process parameters. A set of turning tests was carried out using tungsten carbide tools under similar cutting conditions to validate the results obtained from the FEM for the chipping process and at the same time to experimentally examine the generated surface roughness. These results helped in the analysis and understanding the chip formation process and the surface generation phenomena during the cutting process, especially on micro scale. Good agreement between experiments and FEM results was found, which confirmed that the cutting process was accurately simulated by the FEM and allowed the identification of the optimum process parameters to ensure high performance. Results obtained from the simulation revealed that, an applied feed equals to 0.75 of edge radius of new cutting tool is the optimal cutting conditions for stainless steel 316L. Moreover, the experimental results demonstrated that in contrast to conventional turning processes, a nonlinear relationship was found between the feed rate and obtainable surface roughness, with a minimum surface roughness obtained when the feed rate laid between 0.75 and 1.25 times the original cutting edge radius, for new and worn tools, respectively

Pramipexole protective effect on rotenone induced neurotoxicity in mice

Introduction: 
Pramipexole is a new dopaminergic drug which has been approved for PD treatment. However, we tried to find a new capacity for this drug rather than symptomatic effect. 

Materials and Methods: 
A chronic rotenone model with daily oral dose of 30mg/kg was induced in mice. Pramipexole was tried in a new approach where the treatment began in the middle of rotenone course with oral dose 1mg/kg/day of pramipexole. 

Results: 
Further analysis of behavioral tests and immunohistochemistry revealed success of pramipexole in improving the rotenone intoxicated mice. 

Conclusion: 
These results showed possible beneficial effects of pramipexole against rotenone-induced neurotoxicity

The first CCD photometric studies of the member eclipsing binary ZTFJ015003.88+534734.1 in the newly discovered young open cluster UBC 188

We present the first CCD observations of an eclipsing binary, ZTFJ015003.88+534734.1, which is a member in the open star cluster UBC 188. The observations were taken by the 1.88 m telescope at the Kottamia Astronomical Observatory (KAO) in SDSS griz bands. The latest version of the Wilson- Devinney (W-D) code was employed for photometric analysis and light curve modeling of the eclipsing binary. The results indicate that the binary system is in an over-contact configuration. The mass of the primary star (M1) is determined to be 1.293 Msun, and the mass of the secondary star (M2) is directly derived from the system's estimated mass ratio (q= M2/M1) as 0.340 times the solar mass (Msun). We investigated the color-magnitude diagram and the membership probability of the open cluster UBC 188 using the Gaia DR3 data. We determined the membership probability of the eclipsing binary ZTFJ015003.88+534734.1 using the pyUPMASK algorithm and found that its membership probability is one.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, accepted in New Astronom

Anticonvulsant activity of hydroalcoholic phoenix dactylifera fruit extract and pimpinella anisum oil in mice

Epilepsy is a group of long-term neurological disorders characterized by epileptic seizures. The present study sought to investigate the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective Activity of Hydroalcoholic Phoenix dactylifera fruit extract (HAPD) and Pimpinella Anisum Oil (PAO) against Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and Maximal Electric Shock (MES) induced a seizure in mice. Mice groups were treated with HAPD1000 mg/kg, PAO 4 ml/kg. The onset of a seizure and generalized seizure were measured, followed by Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and antioxidant enzymes assessments. The potential of these substances to induce any neurological toxicity was also evaluated by using rotarod, forced swim test and horizontal screen test. The current study demonstrates that HAPD and PAO delay onset of the seizure and generalized seizure, also elevated GABA and antioxidant enzymes level and haven’t any neurological toxicity. The current study suggests that hydroalcoholic Phoenix dactylifera extract and Pimpinella anisum oil have anticonvulsant, neuroprotective and antioxidant activity and can increase brain GABA level

Neuron Specific Enolase in Children with Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Does it Correlate with Impaired Consciousness and Disease Severity?

Background: Diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) is the leading cause of death in children with diabetes, especially when it is complicated by cerebral edema. The predictors of CNS dysfunction/injury are largely unknown. In many neurological disorders, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a marker of neuronal damage. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of serum neuron-specific enolase as a marker of neuronal damage in patients with DKA.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study with 90 DKA patients (aged 9.58 ± 2.89 years) presenting to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Children Hospital Zagazig University. Patients subjected to clinical history and examination including Glasco coma scale (GCS), blood glucose, serum electrolytes, blood PH and computed tomography of the brain for children with disturbed consciousness. Blood NSE at admission (baseline point) and after 24 hours of starting treatment of DKA (2-time points). Results: There was a significant difference between NSE level on admission and NSE level 24 hours after start of treatment. Patients with low GCS scores had higher serum NSE at baseline and 2-time points than those with normal CGS (P=0.001; P=0.053). Patients with moderate and severe DKA had higher NSE at baseline and 2-time points in comparison with those with mild DKA (P=0.001; P=0.098).Conclusions: Children with moderate to severe DKA and impaired consciousness had higher serum NSE. The high levels of NSE in patients with abnormal GCS, in the absence of cerebral edema on brain imaging indicate that NSE is a reliable marker of neuronal injury

Enhancing radial distribution system performance by optimal placement of DSTATCOM

In this paper, A novel modified optimization method was used to find the optimal location and size for placing distribution Static Compensator in the radial distribution test feeder in order to improve its performance by minimizing the total power losses of the test feeder, enhancing the voltage profile and reducing the costs. The modified grey wolf optimization algorithm is used for the first time to solve this kind of optimization problem. An objective function was developed to study the radial distribution system included total power loss of the system and costs due to power loss in system. The proposed method is applied to two different test distribution feeders (33 bus and 69 bus test systems) using different Dstatcom sizes and the acquired results were analyzed and compared to other recent optimization methods applied to the same test feeders to ensure the effectiveness of the used method and its superiority over other recent optimization mehods. The major findings from obtained results that the applied technique found the most minimized total power loss in system ,the best improved voltage profile and most reduction in costs due power loss compared to other methods

Effects of mist fractions on heat transfer characteristics in a rotating roughened cooling passage

This paper investigates the effects of the mist fractions on heat transfer characteristics applied on a rotating U-channel with inclined ribs at an angle of 45°. This study has been conducted on five different mist percentages from 1 to 5 with a 1% increment at each step, and all of the cases have been investigated for Reynolds number values of 5000, 10000, 25000 and 40000. The numerical results obtained from the application of RNG k-ε turbulence model with enhanced-wall function were in good agreement with the experimental data of the smooth and ribbed channels both with and without mist addition. Results also demonstrated a 300% increase in the flow temperature difference and a noticeable increase in Nusselt number at each bend region and at the downstream of the leading edge around 25% and 110% respectively, at high mist fraction (5%); when compared with the case where only air was used. With %5 mist addition, the convective efficiency also reaches approximately 69%

Characterization of OPC Matrix Containing Dealuminated Kaolin

The suitability of replacing Portland cement by dealuminated calcined kaolin as received waste obtained from an alum production factory through the extraction of aluminium, also by dealuminated samples treated with lime solution, is investigated. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of the samples are measured. Their pozzolanic reactivity and their surface areas were determined. The effect of replacement on  setting time,  flowability, rate of flowability loss and strength of mortars was tested and compared to control OPC samples and others containing silica fumes. It was found that the as received dealuminated kaolin and that treated with lime possess higher pozzolanic reactivity and show larger surface areas than silica fumes. The incorporation of the as received dealuminated kaolin (DK) in OPC paste accelerates the setting time; while the lime-treated samples lead to retardation. The flowability of the OPC mortar is little affected by the as received DK samples and is strongly reduced by the lime-treated one and silica fumes. The three admixtures cause strong flowability loss with time. The 56d-compressive and tensile strengths of the mortars improve with 5 and 10% OPC replacement by DK

Flow structure and heat transfer of jet impingement on a rib-roughened flat plate

The jet impingement technique is an effective method to achieve a high heat transfer rate and is widely used in industry. Enhancing the heat transfer rate even minimally will improve the performance of many engineering systems and applications. In this numerical study, the convective heat transfer process between orthogonal air jet impingement on a smooth, horizontal surface and a roughened uniformly heated flat plate is studied. The roughness element takes the form of a circular rib of square cross-section positioned at different radii around the stagnation point. At each location, the effect of the roughness element on heat transfer rate was simulated for six different heights and the optimum rib location and rib dimension determined. The average Nusselt number has been evaluated within and beyond the stagnation region to better quantify the heat transfer advantages of ribbed surfaces over smooth surfaces. The results showed both flow and heat transfer features vary significantly with rib dimension and location on the heated surface. This variation in the streamwise direction included both augmentation and decrease in heat transfer rate when compared to the baseline no-rib case. The enhancement in normalized averaged Nusselt number obtained by placing the rib at the most optimum radial location R/D = 2 was 15.6% compared to the baseline case. It was also found that the maximum average Nusselt number for each location was achieved when the rib height was close to the corresponding boundary layer thickness of the smooth surface at the same rib position