Properties and Microstructure of Treated Coal Bottom Ash as Cement Concrete Replacement

Sustainable construction is a rapidly growing area of research focused on using industrial waste to replace Portland cement in concrete. This approach not only reduces CO2emissions from cement production but also serves as an effective way to diminish the environmental impact of concrete production. This study aims to investigate the properties of Coal Bottom Ash (CBA) after undergoing two different treatments: flotation and burning. It also evaluates the impact of CBA as a cement replacement in concrete with different replacement percentages (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Chemical analysis of CBA has revealed that it can be classified as a pozzolanic material due to its high content of silicates, aluminates, and iron oxides. The microstructure of CBA showed a porous, angular, and irregular surface with many voids. The findings of this study revealed that the optimum mix was 10% CBA, resulting in a 2% increase in compressive strength compared to the control mix after 56 days of curing. Additionally, the study evaluated the effects of sulfate and chloride on concrete. It was found that the mix with the burning treatment showed an overall increase in strength, while the flotation treatment did not reach the control mix's strength in any of the curing periods. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that CBA has significant potential as a cement replacement material, and the burning treatment showed improvement in concrete's overall properties compared to the raw material in terms of mechanical and chemical properties while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the environment. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-04-08 Full Text: PD

Malaria Parasitemia during delivery

Objectives:  The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of plasmodium falciparum infection in parturient women in Central Sudan where malaria transmission is mesoendemic. The purpose of this paper is to find out the prevalenceof malaria parasitemia and the risk of anemia among parturient women and to suggest appropriate strategies to lower their prevalence rates. Methods:  This prospective study was conducted at Medani Teaching Hospital, Sudan a tertiary regional referral center, during the period January 1997 through to December 1997. All cases were admitted during labor to the delivery room and were clinically suspected to have malaria. History, examination and investigations were carried out on all patients. Results: The total number of patients enrolled in this study was 550, amounting to 14.9% of all women (N=3,687) who delivered during the study period. The prevalence of malaria parasitemia was 58.9% (N=550) while prevalence of anemia (defined as hemoglobulin   ….9.0 g/dl) was 24.1% the mean hemoglobuin levels in patients with positive and negative malaria parasitemia was 9.72+ 1.62 and 9.85+ 1.60 g/dl. Statistically the difference in the mean hemoglobulin level was not significant, t=0.879, A significant negative correlation between parasite count in maternal blood and hemoglobulin level of the mother, was observed, where r=0.121 (P=0.032). out of 17 (3.3%) patients who had used chloroquine tablets for prophylaxis, 11patients still had positive parasitemia. Although there was a higher parasite count in those 11 patients, statistically the difference was not significance where P< 0.0

Effect of different microencapsulation materials on stability of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 20174

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different microencapsulation materials on the stability of probiotic bacterium (Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 20174). Microencapsulation methods with alginates were carried out using sodium chloride, canola oil, olive oil, and chitosan. The recorded data showed that the encapsulated probiotic bacterium was more stable compared with free cells. Olive oil capsules recorded the highest stability at pH 2 after incubation period of 24h with stability up to 0.00004%. Olive oil and chitosan capsules showed stability with high concentration of bile salts (0.5%) with stability percent of 82 and 65% respectively, after 2 h of incubation. Sodium chloride and chitosan capsules gave the best stability percent of 0.026 and 0.00005%, respectively, at heat treatment up to 65°C for 30 min. Storage treatment at 4°C for 17 days reduced the stability of all capsule types, whereas sodium chloride and chitosan capsule showed stability percent up to 59 and 56%, respectively.Keywords: Microencapsulation, Lactobacillus plantarum, olive oil and alginat

Design of very compact Combline Band-Pass Filter for 5G applications

NoIn this paper, a compact microstrip band-pass filter (BPF) covering the 3.4 to 3.8 GHz spectrum bandwidth for 5G wireless communications is presented. The planar filter uses three resonators, each terminated by a via to hole ground at one end and a capacitor at the other end with 50 Ω transmission line impedances for input and output terminals. The coupling between the lines is adjusted to resonate at the centre frequency with third-order band-pass Butterworth properties. The proposed combline filter is designed on an alumina substrate with a relative dielectric constant of 9.8 and a very small size of 9×5×1.2 mm3. The proposed filter is simulated and optimized using CST microwave studio software.European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant EP/E022936/

A New Sutureless Illuminated Macular Buckle Designed for Myopic Macular Hole Retinal Detachment

Purpose. To report the anatomic and visual results of a new sutureless illuminated macular buckle designed for patients with macular hole retinal detachment related to high myopia (MMHRD). Design. Prospective nonrandomized comparative interventional trial. Methods. Twenty myopic eyes of 20 patients (mean age, 51.4 years; range, 35–65 years) presenting with MMHRD with a posterior staphyloma, in whom the new buckle was used, were evaluated. The buckle used was assembled from a 5 mm wide sponge and a 7 mm wide silicone tire; it was fixed utilizing the sterile topical adhesive Histoacryl Blue (B Braun, TS1050044FP) which polymerizes in seconds upon being exposed to water-containing substances. The primary outcomes measured included aided visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings. The mean follow-up period was 6 months. Results. Postoperatively, the MH closure was identified by OCT in 8 (40%) eyes. The mean BCVA increased from 0.11 to 0.21 (p<0.005). The axial length of the eyes included decreased from 30.5 mm preoperatively to 29.8 mm (p=0.002) postoperatively. Conclusion. Preparation of the new sutureless macular buckle is simple and easy. Illumination of the terminal part of the buckle ensures proper placement. Histoacryl Blue is effective in fixing the buckle in its place for at least 6 months with no reported intra- or postoperative complications

Use of radiographic and histologic scores to evaluate cats with idiopathic megacolon grouped based on the duration of their clinical signs

Since the duration of clinical signs could be used to identify cases of chronic constipation, in addition, prolonged duration is often associated with irreversible changes. Thus, the main objective of this study was to determine whether the duration of clinical signs of idiopathic megacolon in cats affected their diagnosis and prognosis after treatment. Medical records of cats that either had confirmed megacolon for an unknown cause (cat patients) or with normal bowels (control cats) were reviewed. Cat patients were grouped based on the duration of their clinical signs (constipation/obstipation) to cats &lt;6 months and ≥6 months. For all feline patients, abdominal radiographs (for colonic indexes) and resected colon specimens (for histology) were assessed vs. control cats. Treatment applied to cat patients was also evaluated. Cat patients were older (p = 0.0138) and had a higher maximum colon diameter (MCD; mean 41.25 vs. 21.67 mm, p &lt; 0.0001) and MCD/L5L ratio (1.77 vs. 0.98, p &lt; 0.0001) than controls. Compared to cats with &lt;6 months, cats ≥6 months showed a higher MCD (43.78 vs. 37.12 mm, p &lt; 0.0001) and MCD/L5L ratio (1.98 vs. 1.67, p &lt; 0.0001). Histologically, increased thickness of the smooth muscularis mucosa (54.1 vs. 22.33 μm, p &lt; 0.05), and inner circular (743.65 vs. 482.67 μm, p &lt; 0.05) and outer longitudinal (570.68 vs. 330.33 μm, p &lt; 0.05) smooth muscular layers of the muscularis externa was noted only in cat patients with ≥6 months compared to controls. Similarly, fewer ganglion cells (0.93 vs. 2.87, p &lt; 0.005) and more necrotized myocytes (2.25 vs. 0.07, p &lt; 0.005) were observed in cats with ≥6 months. In contrast to &lt;6 months, the majority of cats (94.4%) with ≥6 months duration did not show any response to medical treatment and therefore underwent surgery with favorable results. In conclusion, this study suggests that the duration of clinical signs should be considered in conjunction with maximal colon scores to evaluate cats for idiopathic megacolon and determine the level of treatment. Functional abnormalities of the colonic smooth muscles may be a possible cause of idiopathic megacolon in cats

Assessment of Ceruloplasmin, Hemopexin, and Haptoglobin in Asthmatic Children

BACKGROUND: Ceruloplasmin (Cp), haptoglobin, and hemopexin play a role in iron homeostasis and may function to modulate the systemic inflammatory response and be involved in tissue repair. We hypothesized that these proteins could be biological markers for bronchial asthma that reflect the involvement of iron oxidative stress in asthma pathogenesis. AIM: Evaluation of serum levels of proteins involved in iron homeostasis (Cp, hemopexin, and haptoglobin) in asthmatic children and their correlation to pulmonary functions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty moderate to severe persistent asthmatic children aged 6–13 years were included (30 during attacks and 30 in-between attacks). Thirty healthy matched controls were also recruited. All children were subjected to history taking, clinical evaluation and assessment of complete blood picture, serum levels of Cp, haptoglobin, hemopexin, and total IgE. Pulmonary function tests were assessed for all patients. RESULTS: Serum Cp and haptoglobin were significantly elevated in asthmatic children between attacks (448.04 ± 386.79), (993.33 ± 554.56) compared to controls (168.42 ± 13.46), (473.33 ± 350.3), (p = 0.0002, p &lt; 0.0001) and to asthmatics during exacerbations (288.8 ± 219.6), (620 ± 467.86), (p = 0.014, p = 0.006). Serum hemopexin was significantly higher in asthmatics between attacks (509.33 ± 341.51) compared to controls (296.67 ± 158.38) (p &lt; 0.003) but no significant difference compared to acute exacerbations (477.33 ± 396.6). No significant correlations were found between any of the assessed protein levels and pulmonary functions. Hemoglobin concentration was significantly higher among stable asthmatics compared to acute exacerbation and control groups. CONCLUSION: Cp, haptoglobin, and hemopexin can be used as a panel of non-invasive biomarkers that reflect the involvement of iron oxidative stress in asthma pathogenesis

Prosopis juliflora leave extracts induce cell death of MCF-7, HepG2, and LS-174T cancer cell lines

Prosopis juliflora (P. juliflora) is a widespread phreatophytic tree, which belongs to the Fabaceae family. The goal of the present study is to investigate the potential anti-cancer effect of P. juliflora leave extracts and to identify its chemical composition. For this purpose, MCF-7 (breast), HepG2 (liver), and LS-174T (colorectal) cancer cell lines were cultivated and incubated with various concentrations of P. juliflora leave extracts, and its impact on cell viability, proliferation, and cell cycle stages was investigated. P. juliflora leave extracts induced concentration-dependent cytotoxicity against all tested cancer cell lines. The calculated IC50 was 18.17, 33.1 and 41.9 μg/ml for MCF-7, HePG2 and LS-174T, respectively. Detailed analysis revealed that the cytotoxic action of P. juliflora extracts was mainly via necrosis but not apoptosis. Moreover, DNA content flow cytometry analysis showed cell-specific anti-proliferative action and cell cycle stages arrest. In order to identify the anti-cancer constituents of P. juliflora, the ethyl extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major constituents identified in the ethyl extracts of P. juliflora leaves were hydroxymethyl-pyridine, nicotinamide, adenine, and poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). In conclusion, P. juliflora ethyl acetate extracts have a potential anti-cancer effect against breast adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and colorectal adenocarcinoma, and is enriched with anti-cancer constituents

Recent developments of reconfigurable antennas for 4G and 5G wireless communications: A survey

YesReconfigurable antennas play important roles in smart and adaptive systems and are the subject of many research studies. They offer several advantages such as multifunctional capabilities, minimized volume requirements, low front-end processing efforts with no need for a filtering element, good isolation, and sufficient out-ofband rejection; these make them well suited for use in wireless applications such as fourth generation (4G) and fifth generation (5G) mobile terminals. With the use of active materials such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), varactor or p-i-n (PIN) diodes, an antenna’s characteristics can be changed through altering the current flow on the antenna structure. If an antenna is to be reconfigurable into many different states, it needs to have an adequate number of active elements. However, a large number of high-quality active elements increases cost, and necessitates complex biasing networks and control circuitry. We review some recently proposed reconfigurable antenna designs suitable for use in wireless communications such as cognitiveratio (CR), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), ultra-wideband (UWB), and 4G/5G mobile terminals. Several examples of antennas with different reconfigurability functions are analyzed and their performances are compared. Characteristics and fundamental properties of reconfigurable antennas with single and multiple reconfigurability modes are investigated.European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424