Reference ranges and reproducibility studies for right heart myocardial deformation by feature tracking cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

Feature tracking of the right heart on cardiac MRI is a novel and promising technique for the measurement of right heart myocardial strain. We present here the reference ranges for right ventricular longitudinal strain and strain rate, as well as peak strain of the right atrium within a cohort of 100 healthy individuals recruited from the UK.We present data on the reproducibility of these feature tracking techniques and explore relationship between strain and baseline demographic parameters

Impact of loading capability on optimal location of renewable energy systems distribution networks

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. A distribution system's network reconfiguration is the process of altering the open/closed status of sectionalizing and tie switches to change the topological structure of distribution feeders. For the last two decades, numerous heuristic search evolutionary algorithms have been used to tackle the problem of network reconfiguration for time-varying loads, which is a very difficult and highly non-linear efficiency challenge. This research aims to offer an ideal solution for addressing network reconfiguration difficulties in terms of a system for power distribution, to decrease energy losses, and increase the voltage profile. A hybrid Genetic Archimedes optimization technique (GAAOA) has also been developed to size and allocate three types of DGs, wind turbine, fuel cell and PV considering load variation. This approach is quite useful and may be used in many situations. This technique is evaluated for loss reduction and voltage profile on a typical 33-bus radial distribution system and a 69-bus radial distribution system. The system has been simulated using MATLAB software. The findings suggest that this approach is effective and acceptable for real-time usage

Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Antimicrobial Polymers Based on the Inclusion of Polyethylene Glycol/TiO2 Nanocomposites in Cyclodextrin as Drug Carriers for Sulfaguanidine

Polymers and their composites have recently attracted attention in both pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a versatile polymer extensively used in medicine. Herein, three novel PEG-based polymers that are pseudopolyrotaxane (PEG/α-CD) (1), titania–nanocomposite (PEG/TiO2NPs) (2), and pseudopolyrotaxane–titania–nanocomposite (PEG/α-CD/TiO2NPs) (3), were synthesized and characterized. The chemical structure, surface morphology, and optical properties of the newly materials were examined by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, SEM, and UV–Vis., respectively. The prepared polymers were used as drug carriers of sulfaguanidine as PEG/α-CD/Drug (4), PEG/TiO2NPs/Drug (5), and PEG/α-CD/TiO2NPs/Drug (6). The influence of these drug-carrying formulations on the physical and chemical characteristics of sulfaguanidine including pharmacokinetic response, solubility, and tissue penetration was explored. Evaluation of the antibacterial and antibiofilm effect of sulfaguanidine was tested before and after loading onto the prepared polymers against some Gram-negative and positive bacteria (E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)), as well. The results of this work turned out to be very promising as they confirmed that loading sulfaguanidine to the newly designed polymers not only showed superior antibacterial and antibiofilm efficacy compared to the pure drug, but also modified the properties of the sulfaguanidine drug itself

Control and Performance of Micro-Grids Under Extreme Gust Wind Scenarios

\u2014A micro-grid consisting of a 300kW wind turbine and a 40kW photovoltaic array is investigated under extreme operating gust (EOG) wind scenarios. The micro-grid is connected to the 380-V utility through a utility-side converter using natural-frame control, which provides a constant voltage of the DC link between the micro-grid and utility. The impact of the extreme gust wind variations on the micro-grid performance is studied for variable speed wind energy system equipped with a squirrel-cage induction generator. The Hurghada city, Red Sea, Egypt is taken as a case study for the wind speed profile. A detailed model of extreme gust-wind speed variation is implemented and simulated using PSIM commercial software package, based on climate characteristics of Hurghada city. The indirect rotor field oriented control (FOC) method is implemented to the generator-side converter to keep the system stable under the extreme gust wind conditions and to control the squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG) speed for maximum power-point tracker (MPPT) regime. Power quality of the utility-side converter in terms of operation at different power factors, voltage value and THD are verified

Antibacterial and Insecticidal Activities of the Revived Azoanthrols

<p>Anthrone tautomerized predominantly, under the reaction conditions, into anthrol and involved in the azo coupling reaction with aryl diazonium chloride to give the corresponding azo dye. UV-Vis experiments have supported the tautomerization of anthrone and the presence of the azo dye products in the hydrazone form. Aryl amines with broad biological applications have been involved to increase the utility of the obtained products. Preliminary antibacterial activity resulted in compounds <b>7a,d</b> which showed the lowest MIC values of 0.2 and 0.1 × 10⁻³ µg/mL against <i>Enterococcus feacalis</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i>, respectively. Furthermore, the insecticidal activity of the nominated compounds <b>7a,b</b> against the adults of vine mealybug, <i>Planococcusficus</i> (Signoret), showed LC₅₀ values of 152.22 and 216.12 mg/mL, respectively.</p