Frontal Electroencephalogram α‑Asymmetry during the Luteal Phase of the Menstrual Cycle in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that causes significant distress and interferes with normal functioning. Aim: The aim of this work was to assess the resting frontal electroencephalographic patterns in females who meet criteria for PMS and PMDD. Subjects and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted on 150 female participants, of which 145 had PMS, and 45 were control women. All cases were counseled about the procedure. Furthermore, a written consent was taken from every patient. Cases were asked about their current phase of the cycle, in order to determine cycle timing. The custom PMDD interview involved asking each woman a series of questions concerning PMDD symptoms. This structured interview was created from the DSM‑IV‑TR criteria for PMDD. Women with PMDD were asked to complete a daily symptom rating checklist for three consecutive cycles. The ensuing methods were undertaken for each patient, including history taking, general, local and fundus examination, and routine investigations, and were submitted to resting electroencephalogram (EEG) examination during both follicular and luteal phases of the cycle. Results: Seventy percent of women with PMS and 75% of women with PMDD exhibited left frontal activity at rest, during the luteal phase of the cycle (P <0.001). Conclusions: We concluded that resting luteal phase of EEG frontal asymmetry must be added to the research criteria for PMDD (DSM‑IV‑TR).Keywords: Electroencephalogram, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, premenstrual tension, premenstrual syndrome, Tanta University Hospita

Radiometric investigation of soil and beach sand in Zanzibar

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThis study presents the results of radiometric investigation of soil and beach sand in Zanzibar. The activity concentration of natural radionuclides (40K, and 232Th and 238U decay products) in beach sand and soil samples was measured in-situ using the NaI(Tl) and the MEDUSA gamma ray detectors and ex-situ using the low background HPGe detector system. The activity concentrations of 232Th, 238U and 40 K in beach sand are much lower than in soil samples, with one major exception at Kukuu. Two beach sand samples from Kukuu beach were found to have enhanced radioactivity levels due to the presence of heavy minerals. The spatial distributions maps for 40K, 238U and 232Th show large variation in soil samples for two relatively small islands. These strong variations are unexpected, that could have implications for agriculture, is one of the major outcomes of this study. The outdoor gamma dose rates obtained in beach sand and soil samples ranged from 3 to 2156 nGy h-1 and 50 to 294 nGy h-1, respectively. The highest absorbed dose rates in soil samples and beach sand are respectively 5 and 38 times higher than the average world level of 57 nGyh-1 for terrestrial doses (UNSCEAR, 2008). Apart from the Kukuu black sand samples that contain the high 238U and 232Th levels, the beach sands and soil in this study do not pose any radiological threat to the public using beaches for various activities. Based on elemental concentrations, the beach samples in the study area have been classified into four groups; silicate sand (rich in SiO2), carbonate sand (dominated with CaO), mixed sand (with high amount of CaO and SiO2) and heavy mineral sand (with high contents of Fe2O3 and TiO2. A strong correlation between SiO2, Fe2O3, TiO2, Zr, V, Ce, Nb, Hf, Y, La, and Nd show these elements are linked with high activity concentration of 232Th in the studied samples. Moreover, the high concentrations of Y, V, P2O5 and Fe2O3 in the beach sand samples may relate to high 238U activity concentration. This study set out to investigate how radiometric studies can quickly and easily provide an idea of the variation of soil type found over a large area as well as provide detailed information on a small scale such as the beach where heavy minerals were found. The in-situ laboratory measurements were supplemented by XRF and ICP-MS measurements of samples to investigate the distribution of heavy mineral sands

Effect of geometrical properties on strength of externally prestressed steel-concrete composite beams

A parametric study was carried out to investigate the structural behaviour of composite steel-concrete T-beams under different prestressing conditions. The studied parameters include different cases of loading, tendon profiles, beam spans, initial prestressing levels and different dimensions of steel sections and concrete deck. The studied beams were modelled by the finite-element software Ansys. The effect of three geometrical parameters was investigated for three different tendon profiles. It was found that straight tendon profiles are more appropriate for beams under distributed loads, whereas a draped tendon profile is more convenient for beams under concentrated loads. In addition, the ratio of the tension flange area to the compression flange area is the most effective geometrical parameter on the ultimate resistance of the studied prestressed beams. For instance, increasing this ratio from 1 to 3 resulted in increasing the additional resistance of the beam due to prestressing from 15·4 to 46·1%. For composite beams, the presence of the concrete slab prevented the lateral-torsional buckling and accordingly minimised the effect of the span. Moreover, increasing the slab thickness-to-width ratio resulted in enhancing the average increase in beam strength from 13·5 to 19·9%

Phenotypic and Genotypic Identification of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci from Different Sources

Enterococci are reservoirs for transmission of the most clinically important antimicrobial resistances such as vancomycin resistance. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the occurrence of enterococci and their respective vancomycine resistance genes (vanA and vanB) from different sources. Two hundred and twenty-four samples from chickens, turkey, fish and human urine, as well as, two types of human food including milk (raw and milk from mastitic animals) and sausage were tested for isolation of Enterococcus species. The isolates were identified morphologically and biochemically using catalase test, sodium chloride tolerance and growth at pH 9.6 and 10- 45˚C. The vancomycin resistance profile of the isolates was verified by both disc diffusion and agar dilution methods. The genotypic enterococcal identification at both genus and species levels and their vancomycine resistance genes were also ascertained using PCR amplification of the respective genes for 28 isolates. Enterococci isolation rate was 70% of the examined samples with a higher percentage of vancomycine resistance (53.5%) and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 16 to 512 µg/mL. Molecular identification of 28 enterococcal isolates revealed the dominance of E. faecalis (42.8%) and clarified a higher proportion of vanA (78.5%) and vanB (67.8%) genes. In conclusion, administration of the antimicrobials mainly vancomycin may be considered as a pronounced stress factor in the veterinary and human practices. In addition, VRE can act as a reservoir for vancomycin resistance

Ultrasonographic evaluation of fetal lung histogram versus lamellar body count in the prediction of fetal lung maturity

Objective: The current study aims to compare the ultrasonographic evaluation of fetal lung Gray-level histogram width (GLHW) ratio with an amniotic fluid lamellar body count (LBC) in the prediction of fetal lung maturity. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary University Hospital in the period between May 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. The study included pregnant women with a single fetus at ≥37 weeks of gestation scheduled for delivery by elective cesarean section (CS). Ultrasound evaluation was performed for assessment of the fetal lung to liver GLHW ratio to predict lung maturity. Lamellar body count was determined from an amniotic fluid sample obtained via amniotomy during CS. The lamellar body count for this sample was measured using a hematology analyzer. These data were further compared to Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes after delivery to assess the condition of the newborn immediately after birth, the degree of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and the need for resuscitation. Results: One hundred twenty women and their neonates were included in the study. There was a statistically significant decrease in the levels of both GLHW and LBC among those neonates that showed distressed respiration after Apgar testing as compared with those who did not show similar distress, with p-value <0.001. The Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) for LBC levels in the prediction of respiratory distress shows the best cutoff point for LBC was found at ≤20214/μL with a sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 75.47% and area under the curve (AUC) of 88.4%. The ROC curve for GLWH levels in the prediction of respiratory distress shows the best cutoff point for GLWH was found at ≤0.93 with sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 84.91% and AUC of 97.1%. Conclusions: Ultrasonographic evaluation of GLHW of the fetal lung and liver is a non-invasive, inexpensive and time-efficient test for prediction of fetal lung maturity that has higher sensitivity and specificity

Atomic coupler with two-mode squeezed vacuum state

We investigate the entanglement transfer from the two-mode squeezed state (TMS) to the atomic system by studying the dependence of the negativity on the coupling between the modes of the waveguides. This study is very important since the entanglement is an important feature which has no classical counterpart and it is the main resource of quantum information processing. We use a linear coupler which is composed of two waveguides placed close enough to allow exchanging energy between them via evanescent waves. Each waveguide includes a localized atom

A Preliminary Study on the Helminth Fauna in Necropsied Stray Cats (Felis catus) in Beni-Suef, Egypt

Stray cats play a crucial role in the epidemiology of endoparasites, particularly helminths, due to predating a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, often of veterinary and zoonotic importance. Therefore, a total of 62 stray cats were necropsied in Beni-Suef province, Egypt and examined for helminth parasites. The overall prevalence of infection was 87.0%. The recovered helminths consisted of 10 species of trematodes (Heterophyes heterophyes, Pygidiopsis summa, H. nocens, Echinochasmus liliputanus, Alaria sp., Procerovum varium, Ascocotyle sp., Haplorchis sp., Prohemistomum vivax, Euparadistomum herpestesi), five cestodes (Dipylidium caninum, Diplopylidium acanthoterta, D. nolleri, Joyeuxiella sp. and Taenia taeniaeformis), and two nematodes (Toxascaris leonina and larvae of Anisakis simplex). The most prevalent helminths were Dipylidium caninum (62.9%), Toxascaris leonina (33.8%), Diplopylidium nolleri (22.5%) and Echinochasmus liliputanus (6.45%). Thirty (48.39%) cats were co-infected by one species, 22 (35.48%) by two and three (4.84%) by more than two species. It has been found that cats aged more than 3 years were the most infected. Both male and female cats were parasitized. The infection was the most prevalent in both summer and autumn. In conclusion, veterinarians must highlight more attention towards both stray and domestic cats, as they are considered reservoir hosts for a wide host range of parasites, particularly helminths, and the zoonotic importance of such parasites should be taken on consideration

Effect of geometrical properties on strength of externally prestressed steel–concrete composite beams

A parametric study was carried out to investigate the structural behaviour of composite steel–concrete T-beams under different prestressing conditions. The studied parameters include different cases of loading, tendon profiles, beam spans, initial prestressing levels and different dimensions of steel sections and concrete deck. The studied beams were modelled by the finite-element software Ansys. The effect of three geometrical parameters was investigated for three different tendon profiles. It was found that straight tendon profiles are more appropriate for beams under distributed loads, whereas a draped tendon profile is more convenient for beams under concentrated loads. In addition, the ratio of the tension flange area to the compression flange area is the most effective geometrical parameter on the ultimate resistance of the studied prestressed beams. For instance, increasing this ratio from 1 to 3 resulted in increasing the additional resistance of the beam due to prestressing from 15·4 to 46·1%. For composite beams, the presence of the concrete slab prevented the lateral–torsional buckling and accordingly minimised the effect of the span. Moreover, increasing the slab thickness-to-width ratio resulted in enhancing the average increase in beam strength from 13·5 to 19·9%

Fractional-order controllers for stick-slip vibration mitigation in oil well drill-strings

Drillstring–borehole interaction can produce severely damaging vibrations. An example is stick–slip vibration, which negatively affects drilling performance, tool integrity and completion time, and costs. Attempts to mitigate stick–slip vibration typically use passive means and/or change the operation parameters, such as weight on bit and rotational speed. Automating the latter approach, by means of feedback control, holds the promise of quicker and more effective mitigation. The present work presents three separate fractional-order controllers for mitigating drillstring slip–stick vibrations. For the sake of illustration, the drillstring is represented by a torsional vibration lumped parameter model with four degrees of freedom, including parameter uncertainty. The robustness of these fractional-order controllers is compared with traditional proportional-integral-derivative controllers under variation of the weight on bit and the drill bit’s desired rotary speed. The results confirm the proposed controllers effectiveness and feasibility, with rapid time response and less overshoot than conventional proportional-integral-derivative controllers.This publication was made possible by an NPRP grant (NPRP10-0101–170081) from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)