Synthesis of some novel sulfonyl ester derivatives derived from d-mannitol

AbstractThe preparation of sulfonate-derivatives of d-mannitol i.e. 1,2:3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-3,4-di-O-p-toluenesulfonate-d-mannitol (3a), 1,2:3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-3,4-di-O-methanesulfonate-d-mannitol (3b), and 1, 2:3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-3,4-di-O-trifluoromethanesulfonate-d-mannitol (3c) is described. Full characterization and methodologies of these sulfonate-d-mannitol derivatives have been described as well

Effects of Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Gestational Weight Gain on Low Birth Weight in Omani Infants : A case-control study

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain and low birth weight (LBW) in babies born to a sample population of Omani women. Methods: A case-control study was carried out among deliveries registered between 1st May 2010 and 30th April 2011 at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. A case was defined as a woman who delivered a low birth weight baby (<2,500 g); a control was a woman delivering a baby weighing between 2,500 and 4,000 g. A random selection of 150 cases and 300 controls was carried out using the hospital information system. Maternal, pre-natal, and delivery data were extracted from the mothers’ follow-up cards. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were executed to examine the association between pre-pregnancy maternal BMI and LBW. Results: The percentage of underweight mothers (BMI <18.5) was higher among the cases compared to the controls (17.3% versus 6%; P <0.001). The proportion of mothers with less-than-recommended weight gain was also higher among the cases compared to the controls (57.7% versus 33%; P <0.001). After adjustment for potential confounders, infants of underweight mothers had more than twice the risk of LBW compared to those of mothers with normal weight (odds ratio = 2.27; 95% confidence interval 1.09–4.71). Conclusion: Underweight Omani women as well as women with less-than-recommended gestational weight gain were at higher risk of delivering LBW babies. Maternal health promotion programmes should be directed towards improving mothers’ nutrition before and during pregnancies

Palladate precatalysts for the formation of C-N and C-C bonds

A series of imidazolium-based palladate precatalysts has been synthesized and the catalytic activity of these air- and moisture-stable complexes evaluated as a function of the nature of the imidazolium counterion. These precatalysts can be converted under catalytic conditions to Pd-NHC species capable of enabling the Buchwald-Hartwig aryl amination and the alpha-arylation of ketones. Both reactions can be carried out efficiently under very mild operating conditions. The effectiveness of the protocol was tested on functionality-laden substrates

Handling Class Imbalance In Direct Marketing Dataset Using A Hybrid Data and Algorithmic Level Solutions

Class imbalance is a major problem in machine learning. It occurs when the number of instances in the majority class is significantly more than the number of instances in the minority class. This is a common problem which is recurring in most datasets, including the one used in this paper (i.e. direct marketing dataset). In direct marketing, businesses are interested in identifying potential buyers, or charities wish to identify potential givers. Several solutions have been suggested in the literature to address this problem, amongst which are data-level techniques, algorithmic-level techniques and a combination of both. In this paper, a model is proposed to solve imbalanced data using a Hybrid of Data-level and Algorithmic-level solutions (HybridDA), which involves oversampling the minority class, undersampling the majority class, and additionally, optimising the cost parameter, the gamma and the kernel type of Support Vector Machines (SVM) using a grid search. The proposed model perfomed competitively compared with other models on the same dataset. The dataset used in this work are real-world data collected from a Portuguese marketing campaign for bank-deposit subscriptions and are available from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Machine Learning Repository

Exploring Feature-Level Duplications on Imbalanced Data Using Stochastic Diffusion Search

One of the computer algorithms inspired by swarm intelligence is stochastic diffusion search (SDS). SDS uses some of the processes and techniques found in swarm to solve search and optimisation problems. In this paper, a hybrid approach is proposed to deal with real-world imbalanced data. The proposed model involves oversampling the minority class, undersampling the majority class as well as optimising the parameters of the classifier, Support Vector Machine (SVM). The proposed model uses Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) to perform the oversampling and the agents of a swarm intelligence technique, SDS, to perform an `informed' undersampling on the majority classes. In addition to comparing the agents-led undersampling with random undersampling, the results are contrasted against other best known techniques on nine real-world datasets. Moreover, the behaviour of SDS agents in this context is also analysed

An experimental investigation of the effect of defect shape and orientation on the burst pressure of pressurised pipes

The burst pressure of commonly used ductile steel pipes in oil and gas industries, i.e. X52 and X60, is measured under internal pressure loading. The pipes were machined with circular and boxed defects at different orientations to simulate actual metal loss defects. Defect shapes and orientations were investigated in detail to study how they affect the failure behaviour of interacting defects. The experimental burst pressure results were compared with those obtained using existing analytical methods from Design Codes. Comparison of the results showed conservatism in the existing analytical methods which may potentially lead to unnecessary plant shutdowns and pipe repairs. The outcome of the experimental tests revealed that the shapes of the defects have very small influence on the defect interaction behaviour. The burst tests interestingly showed that the defect orientation has an important effect on defect interaction. Defects oriented in the hoop and diagonal directions showed no defect interaction even when spaced by a distance of one wall thickness, while defects oriented in the longitudinal directions showed that defects interact even when the spacing is up to six wall thickness but the interaction fades away for defects spaced at longer distances

Social Awareness and Safety Assistance of COVID-19 based on DLN face mask detection and AR Distancing

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has forced major countries to apply strict policy toward society. People must wear a facemask and always keep their distance from each other's to avoid virus contamination. Government employ officers to monitor citizen and warn them if not wearing a face mask. The warning message also spread through SMS and social media to ensure people about safety and awareness. This paper aims to provide face mask detection using the Deep Learning Network(DLN) and warning system through video stream input from CCTV or images then analyzed. If people not wearing a mask are detected, they will alert them through the speaker and remind them about a penalty. AR distancing very useful to give position toward violator location based on the detected person in a certain area. The system is designed to work intelligently and automatically without human intervention. With the accuracy of 99% recognition, it's expected that the system can help the government to increase people awareness toward the safety of themselves and people around them

Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Aqueous Extract of Carthamus oxycantha M.Bieb. Against Antibiotics Resistant Bacteria

اصبحت البكتيريا المقاومة للمضادات الحيوية مشكلة عالمية نتيجة للاستخدام غير المبرمج للمضادات الحيوية مما أدى إلى ظهور سلالات بكتيرية مقاومة للعديد من المضادات الحيوية، أو لجميع المضادات الحيوية المتاحة. تعد النباتات مصدر جيد للأيضات الأولية والثانوية التي لها دور رئيسي في اختزال نترات الفضة إلى دقائق الفضة النانوية silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). تم  في الدراسة الحالية إنتاج هذه الجسيمات النانوية باستخدام المستخلص المائي لنبات  القرطم حاد الشوك Carthamus oxycantha M.Bieb كمواد مختزلة لنترات الفضة. وامكن التحقق من تكون دقائق الفضة النانوية بواسطة تغير لون مزيج التفاعل من الاصفر الى البني الغامق  بسبب مايسمى بظاهرة surface plasmon resonance . ووصفت تلك الدقائق النانوية AgNPs بواسطة التحليل الطيفي للأشعة فوق البنفسجيةUv-Vis spectrophotometer، حيث سجلت قمة الطيف عند الطول الموجي 425 نانومتر. وفحصت هذه الدقائق ايضا باستخدام طيف الاشعة تحت الحمراء Fourier Transformation –infrared (FTIR) لغرض تحديد المجاميع الفعالة للمستخلص النباتي التي اسهمت في تكوين دقائق الفضة النانوية. ووجد أن البروتينات والفينولات لها دور رئيسي في تكوين تلك الدقائق النانوية. ومن اجل معرفة احجام واشكال تلك الدقائق النانوية فقد فحصت بالمجهر الالكتروني الماسح Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) وسجلت الدراسة الحالية بان أحجام تلك الدقائق تراوحت بين 50-80 نانومتر وذات اشكال كروية. تم اختبار الفعالية المضادة للبكتيريا المدروسة المقاومة المعدودة لبعض المضادات الحيوية(MDR)، والمقاومة للعديد من المضادات الحيوية (XDR)، والبكتيريا المقاومة لجميع المضادات الحيوية المعروفة (PAN) وبتراكيز تراوحت بين 1000-63 ميكروغرام / مل. أظهرت النتائج وجود اختلافات معنوية مابين التراكيزفي تثبيطها للبكتريا المدروسة ، كما أظهرت البكتريا المختبرة اختلافات معنوية في حساسيتها لدقائق الفضة النانوية. وبينت النتائج إلى وجود علاقة طرديةبين نوع المقاومة البكتيرية للمضادات الحيوية ومقاومتها لـتلك الدقائق ، فالبكتريا  Enterobacter cloacae EN2 كانت البكتيريا الأكثر مقاومة لـ AgNPs في هذه الدراسة   وهي في نفس الوقت كانت مقاومة لجميع المضادات الحيوية (PAN) ، بينما سجلت Escherichia coli E11 أكثر أنواع البكتيريا حساسية لـ AgNPs ومقاومتها لـ 3 مضادات حيوية فقط. الاستخدام غير المبرمج للمضادات الحيوية ، مما يؤدي إلى سلالات بكتيرية مقاومة للكثيرالمضادات الحيوية ، أو جميع المضادات الحيوية المتاحة. النباتات هي مصدر جيد للابتدائي والمستقلبات الثانوية التي لها دور رئيسي في تقليل نترات الفضة إلى الفضةالجسيمات النانوية (AgNPs). تم إنتاج هذه الجسيمات النانوية باستخداممستخلص مائي من Carthamus oxycantha M.Bieb. يمكن التحقق من ذلك عن طريق تغيير اللونمن محلول رد الفعل من الأصفر إلى البني الداكن بسبب إثارةرنين البلازمون السطحي. تميزت AgNPs بواسطة التحليل الطيفي للأشعة فوق البنفسجية ، حيثالذروة المسجلة عند 425 نانومتر. تم إجراء تحويل فورييه تحت الأحمر (FTIR) إلىتحديد المجموعة النباتية الفعالة التي تساهم في تكوين AgNPS وكانوجدت أن البروتينات والفينولات لها دور رئيسي في تكوين تلكالجسيمات النانوية. تميزت أشكال وأحجام AgNPs المركبة عن طريق المسحمجهر إلكتروني (SEM) مع نطاق 50-80 نانومتر في الحجم وكروي في الأشكال.تم اختبار النشاط المضاد للبكتيريا من AgNPs ضد البكتيريا المقاومة للأدوية المتعددة(MDR) ، ومقاومة المضادات الحيوية للغاية (XDR) ، والبكتيريا المقاومة للأدوية (PAN) ،تم إجراء بتركيزات تتراوح بين 1000-63 ميكروغرام / مل. وأظهرت النتيجة أنتركيزات 1000-125 ميكروغرام / مل تمنع جميع السلالات البكتيرية المختبرة باستثناء S1Antibiotics resistant bacteria have become a global problem as a result of the unprogrammed use of antibiotics, resulting in bacterial strains resistant to many antibiotics, or to all available antibiotics. Plants are a good source of primary and secondary metabolites that have a major role in reducing silver nitrate to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The production of these nanoparticles were carried out by using aqueous extract of Carthamus oxycantha M.Bieb. This can be verified by color change of the reaction solution from yellow to dark brown because of the excitation of the surface plasmon resonance. AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, where they recorded the peak at 420 nm. Fourier Transformation-infrared (FTIR) was conducted to identify the effective plant group that contributes to the formation of AgNPs and it was found that proteins and phenols have the major role in the formation of those nanoparticles. Shapes and sizes of the synthesized AgNPs were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with a range of 50-80nm in size and spherical in shapes. Antibacterial activity of AgNPs were tested against Multi-Drug Resistant bacteria (MDR), Extremely antibiotics Resistant (XDR), and Pan drug-resistant (PAN) bacteria, was done in concentrations ranging from 1000-63 µg/ml. The results showed that there were significant variations between the concentrations, the tested bacteria also showed significant differences in its sensitivity to AgNPs. The results recorded a proportional relation between the type of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and it's resistant to AgNPs, therefore the most resistant bacteria to AgNPs in this study Enterobacter cloacae EN2 was resistant to all antibiotics (PAN), while Escherichia coli E11 recorded was the most sensitive bacteria to AgNPs and its resistant only to 3 antibiotics. unprogrammed use of antibiotics, resulting in bacterial strains resistant to manyantibiotics, or to all available antibiotics. Plants are a good source of primary andsecondary metabolites that have a major role in reducing silver nitrate to silvernanoparticles (AgNPs). The production of these nanoparticles were carried out by usingaqueous extract of Carthamus oxycantha M.Bieb. This can be verified by color changedof the reaction solution from yellow to dark brown because of the excitation of thesurface plasmon resonance. AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, whererecorded peak at 425 nm. Fourier Transformation-infrared (FTIR) was conducted toidentify the effective plant group that contributes to the formation of AgNPS and it wasfound that proteins and phenols have the major role in the formation of thosenanoparticles. Shapes and sizes of synthesized AgNPs were characterized by ScanningElectron Microscope (SEM) with a range of 50-80nm in size and spherical in shapes.Antibacterial activity of AgNPs were tested against Multi-Drug Resistant bacteria(MDR), Extremely antibiotics Resistant (XDR), and Pandrug-resistant (PAN) bacteria,was done in concentrations ranging from 1000-63 µg/ml. The result showed that theconcentrations from 1000-125 µg/ml inhibited all tested bacterial strains except the S1strai

Steganography and Cryptography Techniques Based Secure Data Transferring Through Public Network Channel

من المعلوم انه غالبا ما يتم مهاجمة البيانات المنقولة عبر شبكة الانترنيت ملايين المرات في اليوم الواحد. ولمعالجة هذه المشكلة، تم اقتراح طريقة آمنة تقوم بتأمين البيانات المنقولة عبر الشبكة. الطريقة المقترحة تعتمد تقنيتين لضمان النقل الآمن للرسالة المنقولة. اذ يتم تشفير الرسالة كخطوة أولى، ثم يتم إخفاؤها في غلاف فيديو معين. تقنية التشفير المقترحة هي خوارزمية تشفير انسيابية (RC4) لزيادة سرية الرسالة، وكذلك تحسين خوارزمية تضمين البتات الأقل أهمية (LSB) لتوفير مستوى أمان إضافي. يأتي تحسين طريقة الـ LSB التقليدية من خلال استبدال الاختيار المتسلسل المعتمد سابقا في طريقة الاختيار العشوائي لكل من الإطارات والبكسل من خلال استخدام مفتاحين عشوائيين سريين على التوالي. لذا، تبقى الرسالة المخفية محمية حتى إن تم اختراق الكائن المخفي(stego) لأن المهاجم سيكون غير قادر على معرفة الإطارات والبكسلات الحقيقية التي تتضمن كل جزء من أجزاء الرسالة السرية بالإضافة إلى صعوبة إعادة بناء الرسالة بشكل صحيح. النتائج المتحصلة من البحث تشير إلى أن الطريقة المقترحة توفّر أداءً جيدًا وفقا لمقاييس التقييم المعتمدة عند مقارنتها بعدد كبير من الطرق السابقة ذات الصلة بهذا النوع من الاعمال.Attacking a transferred data over a network is frequently happened millions time a day. To address this problem, a secure scheme is proposed which is securing a transferred data over a network. The proposed scheme uses two techniques to guarantee a secure transferring for a message. The message is encrypted as a first step, and then it is hided in a video cover.  The proposed encrypting technique is RC4 stream cipher algorithm in order to increase the message's confidentiality, as well as improving the least significant bit embedding algorithm (LSB) by adding an additional layer of security. The improvement of the LSB method comes by replacing the adopted sequential selection by a random selection manner of the frames and the pixels with two secret random keys. Therefore, the hidden message remains protected even if the stego-object is hacked because the attacker is unable to know the correct frames and pixels that hold each bit of the secret message in addition to difficulty to successfully rebuild the message. The results refer to that the proposed scheme provides a good performance for evaluation metric that is used in this purpose when compared to a large number of related previous methods