A New Method to Start Loaded Induction Motors

Three-phase induction motors have a widespread use in industry, and starting of loaded induction motors is an important matter. However, there are few studies on motor starting using variable-frequency drives (VFDs). The existing control schemes, described by these studies, have disadvantages such as dependence on derived characteristics, adjustment of settings, design of controllers, or burden of calculations on the control processor. In this paper, a simple and effective control scheme of VFDs to start loaded motors is proposed. In this scheme, there is no dependence on any characteristic, adjustment of settings, controllers, and rotor speed sensor. By this scheme, the motor is controlled to give the required acceleration rate, provided that the maximum-torque limit is not violated. Also, this leads to keep the starting current at satisfactory values. The proposed scheme is appropriate when a high starting torque is required and /or when the starting is repeated many times per hour

Determining the causes of recessive retinal dystrophy

Inherited retinal dystrophies (RDs) are a clinically heterogeneous group of eye diseases that result from mutations in more than 250 genes. Genetic diagnosis of these diseases has, until recently, been hampered by the lack of suitable technologies to perform high throughput screening. This thesis describes two different strategies for using next generation sequencing (NGS) in RD patients to find the pathogenic mutation(s) involved. In the first results chapter, a customised capture reagent (called Retinome) designed against the known retinal dystrophy genes (RetNet, June 2010) was used in NGS analysis of 20 RD families. The disease-causing mutations were identified in 12 of 20 cases (60%). These included previously reported mutations in ABCA4 (c.6088C>T, p.R2030*; c.5882G>A, p.G1961E), RDH12 (c.601T>C, p.C201R; c.506G>A, p.R169Q), PROM1 (c.1117C>T, p.R373C), GUCY2D (c.2512C>T, p.R838C), RPGRIP1 (c.3565C>T, p.R1189*), BBS2 (c.1895G>C, p.R632P) and SPATA7 (c.253C>T, p.R85*) and new mutations in CRB1 (c.2832_2842+23del), USH2A (c.12874A>G, p.N4292D), RP2 (c.884-1G>T) and ABCA4 (c.3328+1G>C). In eight cases the causative mutation could not be unambiguously identified. In the second results chapter, whole-exome NGS was performed on five RD families that had been pre-screened with the Retinome reagent. This identified mutations in three known RD genes, MFSD8 (c.1006G>C, p.E336Q; c.1394G>A, p.R465Q), C8orf37 (c.555G>A, p.W185*) and TTLL5 (c.1627G>A, p.E543K), and mutations in two potentially new RD genes, LARGE (c.2089G>T, p.V697L) and FDFT1 (c.930C>G, p.F310L). In the third results chapter, whole-exome NGS was performed, without pre-screening of known genes, in a family with atypical adult-onset RD with early macular involvement. NGS identified a mutation in a novel RD gene, DRAM2 (c.140delG, p.G47Vfs*3). Further DRAM2 screening in DNA panels identified a compound heterozygote case (c.494G>A, p.W165*; c.131G>A, p.S44N). DRAM2 was localised to the photoreceptor inner segment and retinal pigment epithelium. The relative merits of each approach are discussed. Identifying the pathogenic mutation facilitates counselling, carrier testing and may lead to a clearer prognosis. It may also influence future prospects for these families as new treatments become available

ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF CAFFEIC ACID AND 18Î’-GLYCYRRHETINIC ACID AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTY

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the antidiabetic effect of caffeic acid and 18 β -glycyrrhetinic acid against diabetic rats.Methods: In this experiment, the animals were divided into five groups. Group I: Normal rats. Group II: diabetic control rats.Group III: diabetic rats treated with 18β-glycyrrhetinic. Group IV: diabetic rats treated with caffeic acid. Group V: diabetic rats treated with 18β-glycyrrhetinic and caffeic acid. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant (TAO), catalase , and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were analyzed.Results: Fasting blood glucose and MDA were significantly increased, whereas insuline, GR, GPx, TAO, catalase , SOD were decreased significantly in diabetic rats. Though the diabetic rats treated with caffeic acid and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid individual exerts beneficial effects in all the biochemical parameters in diabetic rats. The combined treatment with caffeic acid and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid normalized all the above-mentioned biochemical parameters in diabetic rats.Conclusion: our findings demonstrated that 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and  caffeic acid either used individually or in combination to diabetic rats have an antidiabetic effect and a good antioxidant property .From the results, the combined dose of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid and caffeic acid to diabetic rats showed promising antidiabetic effect and antioxidant property compared to individual treatments.Keywords: Diabetes, Caffeic acid, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, Streptozotocin, Antioxidant

Effect of preoperative fluoroscopic guided single shot Erector Spinae Block for posterior lumbar spine surgery: A surgeon and patient prospective

Background: Posterior spinal surgery is considered one of the most painful surgeries. Erector Spinae Block is likely to produce effective pain management as it causes blockade of the dorsal rami .Objective: This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of ESPB in controlling intraoperative and POP and surgical field during lumbar spine fixation.Patients and methods: A total of 70 cases were enrolled, and they were haphazardly divided into two groups; ESPB group which comprised 35 cases who underwent the blockade technique, and the control group which included the remaining 35 cases that underwent surgery without blockade. The primary outcome was POP, while secondary outcomes involved intraoperative bleeding, and surgeon satisfaction.Results: No significant differences were detected among both groups concerning patient demographic features. Operative bed bleeding was significantly decreased in the ESPB group. Also, ESPB group expressed lower pain scores during the initial 6 hours after surgery with no difference detected between both studied groups on subsequent assessment. Surgeon satisfaction was significantly better in the ESPB group.Conclusion: ESPB appears to be safe and efficacious technique not only in decreasing POP, but also in improving operative bed bleeding, and surgeon satisfaction

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Obesity among Elderly attending Geriatric Outpatient Clinics in Mansoura City

Obesity is a major public health problem affecting all ages in both developed and developing countries. It is considered the fifth leading risk factor for deaths all over the world as about 2.8 million people die due to obesity each year directly or indirectly.  Obesity in elderly is considered one of the most serious public health challenges for all over the world. It is a complex; multifactorial disease arises from the interactions between genetic, environmental and behavioral factors together with other factors results in energy imbalance and promotes excessive fat deposition. Aim: to Determine Prevalence and Risk Factors of Obesity among Elderly attending Geriatric Outpatient Clinics in Mansoura City. Method: Descriptive, analytical, cross sectional hospital based research design was used. The study carried out on 126 elderly attending Geriatric outpatient clinics in the specialized medical hospital and general hospital in Mansoura City. Data was collected using 3 tools, socio-demographic and clinical data structured interview sheet, Health promoting Lifestyle profile II (HPLPII), Body Mass Index. Results: The results indicate that the prevalence of obesity among elderly attending Geriatric Outpatient Clinics in Mansoura City was 33.3% and there was significant relation between positive family history of obesity, unhealthy lifestyle as poor nutritional habits, and lack of physical activity, poor stress management and obesity. Conclusion: Increase awareness about obesity and healthy lifestyle is essential for elderly to prevent obesity and its complications. Keywords: Obesity, Elderly, Risk Factors, prevalence, Lifestyl

QTL Analysis for Drought Tolerance Related to Root and Shoot Traits in Barley (<em>Hordeum vulgare </em>L.)

Enhancement of drought tolerance of cultivated barley via identifying the potential and beneficial QTL alleles of wild species (H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum C. Koch) is a great target in barley breeding. Therefore, the overall objectives of the proposed study were: 1) to assess variations in shoot, root and physiological traits of BC2DH lines under control and drought stress conditions. 2) to localize and characterize the QTLs underlying drought tolerance related to shoot, root and physiological traits. Mapping was conducted using a combination of phenotypic data of three investigated years and 371 DNA markers. This investigation was done under control and drought stress conditions. Components of variance revealed a wide range of variability for majority of the investigated traits. In total, 79 putative QTLs for 15 studied traits were detected among 5,565 marker by trait combinations in the population S42 under study. They can be divided into 55 QTLs for shoot traits, 15 QTLs for root traits and 9 QTLs for physiological traits. Overall 27 (34.1 %) QTLs showed favorable effects derived from the presence of exotic alleles. Most of putative QTLs were located on chromosomes 1H, 2H, 4H and 5H. For instance, two QTLs (QWS.S42.1H and QWS.S42.4H) had favorable effects due to the presence of the exotic alleles (Hsp) that were responsible for decreasing plant wilting score by 17%. The SSR markers GMS3 [2H], HvNAM2 [2H] and M1o [4H] were associated with QTLs are likely to be dominating number of tillers/plant and number of spikes/plant and the introgressions from wild barley may increase both traits in S42 population. Also for root length, the vernalisation gene VrnH1[5H] was associated significantly with the QTL (QRL.S42.5H). The presence of exotic alleles at this marker locus led to increase root length by 9.17 % under drought conditions. For proline accumulation, the superior performance of exotic allele at marker locus MGB338 on chromosome 5H suggests a transgression effect of the exotic alleles and led to increase proline content BC2DH lines carrying Hsp alleles by 53% under drought conditions. The majority of the digenic epistatic interaction pairs which were detected in current study had favorable effects in enrich the phenotypic values of the studied traits. Interesting, these exotic QTL alleles responded favorably under drought conditions only that indicates the possibility of underlying a novel drought inducible gene. This study has highlighted the role of the exotic alleles for the detection of favorable leads for drought tolerance. Subsequently, a combinatory approach for the selection of favorable exotics alleles can be employed to develop a better shield against the adverse effects of drought.QTL-Analyse für Trockentoleranz relevante Wurzel-und Sproßmerkmale bei Gerste (Hordeum vulgare L.) Die Verbesserung der Trockentoleranz von Kulturgerste durch die Identifizierung positiver QTL-Allele von Wildgersten (H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum C. Koch) ist ein großes Ziel in der Gerstenzüchtung. Daher waren die übergeordneten Ziele der geplanten Studie: 1) Variation in Sproß, Wurzel und physiologischen Eigenschaften von BC2DH-Linien unter kontrollierten und trockengestressten Bedingungen zu beurteilen. 2) Lokalisierung und Charakterisierung QTLs bezüglich Trockentoleranz . Die Kartierung wurde unter Verwendung von phänotypischen Daten aus drei Versuchsjahren und 371 DNA-Marker durchgeführt. Die phänotypischen Daten wurden unter kontrollierten und trockenstressbedingten Bedingungen durchgeführt. Die Varianzkomponentenanalyse zeigt ein breites Spektrum an Variabilität für die Mehrheit der untersuchten Merkmale. Insgesamt konnten 79 putative QTLs für 15 untersuchte Merkmale unter 5565 Marker x Merkmal Kombination in der Gerstenpopulation S42 nachgewiesen werden. Diese könne in 55 QTLs für Sproßlmerkmale, 15 QTLs für Wurzelmerkmale und 9 QTLS für physiologische Merkmale unterteilt werden. Insgesamt 27 QTLs zeigten positive Effekte aufgrund der Anwesenheit von exotischen Allelen. Die meisten der vermutlichen QTLs wurden auf den Chromosomen 1H, 2H, 4H und 5H lokalisiert. Zum Beispiel hatten zwei QTLs (QWS.S42.1H und QWS.S42.4H) positive Effekte durch exotische Allele bezüglich verminderte Welke um 17%. Die SSR-Marker GMS2 (2H), HvNAM2(2H) und M1o(4H) sind assoziiert mit QTls bezüglich Anzahl Triebe/Pflanze und Anzahl Ähren/Pflanze und die Introgression des Wildgerstenalleles ermöglicht die Erhöhung beider Merkmale in der S42 Population. Für das Merkmal Wurzellänge und das Vernalisationsgen VrnHi[5H] ergaben sich Signifikanzen mit dem QTL (QRL.S42.5H). Die Anwesenheit des exotischen Allels an diesem Markerlocus bewirkte eine Zunahme des Wurzelwachstums um 9,17% unter Trockenstress Die Anwesenheit des exotischen Allels für Marker MGB338 auf Chromosom 5H führte zu erhöhten Prolingehalten in den Hsp-tragenden BC2DH-Linien um 53%. Die Mehrheit der epistatischen Effekte, die in dieser Studie nachgewiesen wurden, hatten positive Auswirkungen auf den phänotypischen Wert. Interessanterweise reagierten die exotischen Allele nur positiv bei trockengestressten Bedingungen, welches auf Trockenstress induzierbare Gene schließen lässt. Die Studie unterstreicht die Bedeutung von exotischen Allelen im Zusammenhang mit Trockenstress. Anschließend kann ein kombinatorischer Ansatz für die Selektion auf exotische Allele für die negativen Auswirkungen des Trockenstresses angewendet werden

Incidence of Yersinia enterocolitica in raw farm and market milk sample

Objectives: This study was applied to investigate the incidence of Yersinia enterocolitica in raw farm and market milk and studying the quality drawbacks which might happen in milk as a result of its existence.Design: Observation study.Samples: One hundred raw milk samples.Procedures: Fifty bulk tank milk (BTM), 25 individual milk &amp; 25 market milk samples were collected from various dairy farms and supermarkets in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The quality assessment of the samples began with evaluating the milk physical characteristics including color, odor, pH and the titratable acidity that reflected the hygienic quality of milk production on farm levels. Then the samples were directed for biochemical and microbiological examination with subsequent PCR approach.Results: The range of titratable acidity started from 0.11 – 0.20 % lactic acid with a mean value of 0.15 ± 0.004. While for microbiological examination of the samples by using the conventional methods of cultivation on (CIN) agar medium, 33 presumptive Yersinia isolates were recovered and intended for biochemical tests among which 5 out of these latter isolates were confirmed as Y. enterocolitica by applying PCR, through detecting the presence of 16srRNA gene. Also, this study evaluates not only the public health of consumers concerning the titratable acidity of the examined samples, but also the economic importance of these retailed samples in supermarkets; as Y. enterocolitica could be transmitted through the consumption of raw milk. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: The Y. enterocolitica incidence was 29% in the examined raw farm and market milk samples

Achieving Information Security by multi-Modal Iris-Retina Biometric Approach Using Improved Mask R-CNN

The need for reliable user recognition (identification/authentication) techniques has grown in response to heightened security concerns and accelerated advances in networking, communication, and mobility. Biometrics, defined as the science of recognizing an individual based on his or her physical or behavioral characteristics, is gaining recognition as a method for determining an individual\u27s identity. Various commercial, civilian, and forensic applications now use biometric systems to establish identity. The purpose of this paper is to design an efficient multimodal biometric system based on iris and retinal features to assure accurate human recognition and improve the accuracy of recognition using deep learning techniques. Deep learning models were tested using retinographies and iris images acquired from the MESSIDOR and CASIA-IrisV1 databases for the same person. The Iris region was segmented from the image using the custom Mask R-CNN method, and the unique blood vessels were segmented from retinal images of the same person using principal curvature. Then, in order to aid precise recognition, they optimally extract significant information from the segmented images of the iris and retina. The suggested model attained 98% accuracy, 98.1% recall, and 98.1% precision. It has been discovered that using a custom Mask R-CNN approach on Iris-Retina images improves efficiency and accuracy in person recognition