Evaluation of the Compatibility between the Contemporary Additions and the Historical Buildings

The adaptive reuse of a historical building may require new additions to replace the demolished parts or accommodate the repurposed function. If this addition belongs to modern architecture, it is necessary to study the relationship between this new addition and the historical building in terms of its compatibility with the building without dissonance or distortion. The aim of the research is to identify recommendations for using contemporary addition. It focuses on the external formal characteristics of the addition (length, width, height, form, materials, color, open ratio and its Rhythm, and transparency). This process will be done by surveying architects who support the contrasting approach to determine the weight of external formal characteristics. It will also evaluate case studies regarding the degree of Compatibility between contemporary additions and Historical Buildings. Through analytical and comparative study, an assessment method will be developed based on points of similarity and contrast between an addition and a Historical Building

Real-time Anomaly Detection and Localization in Crowded Scenes

In this paper, we propose a method for real-time anomaly detection and localization in crowded scenes. Each video is defined as a set of non-overlapping cubic patches, and is described using two local and global descriptors. These descriptors capture the video properties from different aspects. By incorporating simple and cost-effective Gaussian classifiers, we can distinguish normal activities and anomalies in videos. The local and global features are based on structure similarity between adjacent patches and the features learned in an unsupervised way, using a sparse autoencoder. Experimental results show that our algorithm is comparable to a state-of-the-art procedure on UCSD ped2 and UMN benchmarks, but even more time-efficient. The experiments confirm that our system can reliably detect and localize anomalies as soon as they happen in a video

Negative Correlation between Fetuin-A and Indices of Vascular Disease in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients with and without Lupus Nephritis

Introduction: Fetuin-A, a systemic calcification inhibitor, has been negatively related to vascular calcification (VC) and cardiovascular mortality. In this study we investigated the association between fetuin-A levels and atherosclerotic vascular complications in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with and without lupus nephritis (LN). Methods: We recruited 20 SLE patients without LN, 20 SLE patients with LN and 20 healthy controls. We determined serum creatinine, lipid profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), calcium, phosphate and fetuin-A levels, and calculated the calcification risk index (CRI) and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) for all subjects. Vascular disease burden was assessed by quantification of carotid artery intima-media-thickness (IMT) and the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Results: Fetuin-A levels were significantly lower in LN patients (0.47 ± 0.1 g/L) compared to SLE patients without LN (0.54 ± 0.1 g/L) and both were significantly lower than controls (0.78 ± 0.2 g/L). CRI was significantly higher in LN patients (89.1 ± 12.1 mg/L) compared to SLE patients without LN (67.2 ± 9.3 mg/L) and both were significantly higher than controls (34.2 ± 6.2 mg/L). Peripheral arterial disease (ABI < 0.9) was significantly more common in LN patients (55%) compared to SLE patients without LN (30%) as well as controls (0%). Fetuin-A levels showed significant negative correlations with serum creatinine, hsCRP, CRI, IMT and ABI in SLE patients with and without LN. Conclusion: Fetuin-A levels were decreased in SLE patients with and without LN and negatively correlated with vascular complications. This suggests a potentially important role for fetuin-A deficiency as marker of vascular disease in SLE patients with and without LN. Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Fetuin-A; Lupus nephritis; SLE; Vascular Calcification

Modification of bacterial cell membrane to accelerate decolorization of textile wastewater effluent using microbial fuel cells: role of gamma radiation

The aim of the present work was to increase bacterial adhesion on anode via inducing membrane modifications to enhance textile wastewater treatment in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). Real textile wastewater was used in mediator-less MFCs for bacterial enrichment. The enriched bacteria were pre-treated by exposure to 1 KGy gamma radiation and were tested in MFC setup. Bacterial cell membrane permeability and cell membrane charges were measured using noninvasive dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The results show that pre-treatment using gamma radiation resulted in biofilm formation and increased cell permeability and exopolysaccharide production; this was reflected in both MFC performance (average voltage 554.67 mV) and decolorization (96.42%) as compared to 392.77 mV and 60.76% decolorization for non-treated cells. At the end of MFC operation, cytotoxicity test was performed for treated wastewater using a dermal cell line, the results obtained show a decrease in toxicity from 24.8 to 0 (v/v%) when cells were exposed to gamma radiation. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed an increase in exopolysaccharides in bacterial consortium exposed to increasing doses of gamma radiation suggesting that gamma radiation increased exopolysaccharide production, providing transient media for electron transfer and contributing to accelerating MFC performance. Modification of bacterial membrane prior to MFC operation can be considered highly effective as a pre-treatment tool that accelerates MFC performance

Missing the guidewire: an avoidable complication

Central venous catheterization is an imperative tool in the critically ill patient to administer fluids, medications and for monitoring the central venous pressure. This procedure is associated with a variety of complications, some of which can be life threatening. In this brief report, we are addressing one of the rare complications of central venous catheterization which is missing the guidewire. We also described several precautions to avoid this complication as well as modifications in the guidewire to prevent its escape

Concomitant acute right ventricular infarction and ischemic cerebrovascular stroke; possible explanations

Concomitant acute myocardial infarction and ischemic cerebrovascular accidents has been rarely reported in the literature. In this report, we are describing a 48 year old male patient who presented with acute infero-posterior and right ventricular transmural myocardial infarction followed within one hour with massive cerebral infarction and deep coma. The patient succumbed to cardiogenic shock and fatal ventricular arrhythmias resistant to aggressive resuscitative efforts. This association can best be described as "cardio-cerebral infarction". The authors suggest that there exist a possible relationship between both pathologies rather than being just a mere coincidence. Explanations for this association are thoroughly explored and discussed. Early recognition of such cases is important and determines the patient's further management and prognosis. This report aims to sensitize readers to this rare and critical scenario and highlights the necessity of further research for the ideal management of this situation

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds as unconventional nutritional source

The composition of roselle seed from oil, protein, ash, fiber, fatty acids and amino acids was determined and compared in three cultivars in order to use it as an unconventional nutritional source. Aswan cv. occupies the highest significant rank in protein (31.51), oil (23.70) and fiber (4.87%) contents. Aswan and Sewa cvs. had the highest significant unsaturated fatty acid composition, especially oleic and linoleic acids, with oleic acid having values of 36.22 and 33.34% and linoleic acid, 14.95 and 15.10% values. Protein of Aswan cv. had the highest significant values of seven essential amino acids and four non-essential amino acids, especially lysine and phenylalanine.Key words: Amino acids, fatty acids, nutrition, oil, protein, roselle, unconventional crops

Isolation and biochemical characterization of a novel antimicrobial agent produced by Streptomyces violaceusniger isolated from Yemeni soil

Background: Infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria present daily challenges to infectious disease physicians in hospitals throughout the world and these pathogens are spreading into the community. The development of new antibacterial agents to combat worsening antibiotic resistance is still a priority area in anti-infective research.Methods: The experiments were carried out to search for new natural antibiotics through isolation of various Streptomyces strains from different soil samples from Yemen and studying the antimicrobial effects of metabolites that produced. In the same time, the toxicological and biochemical effects of the extracted antibiotic on animals were studied.Results: Streptomyces violaceusniger, was isolated from Yemeni soil sample produced active metabolite that was designated faqihmycin has substantial antimicrobial potential against different microbial species. Investigations into the possible mode of action of faqihmycin revealed that it affects cell wall synthesis and intracellular macromolecule contents of the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis. Toxicity studies of faqihmycin confirmed the hepatotoxicity of faqihmycin, there is no strong evidence to suggest that it is nephrotoxic.Conclusions: Further studies with Faqihmycin are needed in order to elucidate its detailed mechanism of action on bacterial cells, as well as studies with Faqihmycin with different doses in order to determine its potential therapeutic use.

Optimal accommodation and management of high renewable penetration in distribution systems

The paper presents a new bi-level optimisation framework for optimal accommodation and operational management of wind power generation and battery energy storage system (BESS) simultaneously, aiming to maximise the renewable hosting capacity of distribution networks. A new objective function is suggested comprising of annual energy loss in feeders, reverse power flow into the grid, non-utilised BESS capacities, round-trip conversion losses of BESSs and node voltage deviation subjected to various system security constraints. An artificial-intelligence-based optimal management of BESS is proposed for effective control of high-renewable power generation. Due to the high investment and running costs of BESS, minimum storage capacity has been ensured in planning stage. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed model, it is implemented on a benchmark test distribution system of 33-bus. Besides, various test cases are investigated and compared, which shows that the proposed optimisation model is promising