Design of Compact Dual-band Fractal Monopole Antenna with Virtually Extended Ground Plane

Achieving a particular response to serve multiple wireless applications is regarded as the primary demand in our modern age because of the considerable development of the communication devices. In this paper, a compact monopole antenna with reduced ground plane has been suggested to meet the requirements of the dual-band WLAN applications. The antenna miniaturization has been carried out in employing two techniques. Initially, the fractal geometry has been applied to the antenna radiating element. Two-sided Koch fractal curves up to the third iteration have been used to increase the path of electrical current on the surface of the radiating element which is in the form of a square with dimensions. To gain more miniaturization, the antenna ground plane has been further reduced by using different lengths of two open-ended parallel stubs to form a virtually extended ground plane. This supportive technique has been adopted as a tuning means to control the path of the electrical currents exciting the resulting resonances. The proposed antenna and has been printed on an FR-4 substrate with a thickness of 1.6 mm and 4.4 relative dielectric constant and is fed by 50-ohm microstrip feed line. The resulting antenna dimensions are of about 19.1 mm × 19.1 mm. A parametric study has been carried out, and the results reveal that the proposed antenna offers a dual-band performance with a considerable ratio of resonant frequencies covering the existing 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN applications, besides many other communication services

Need for recovery amongst emergency physicians in the UK and Ireland: A cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVES: To determine the need for recovery (NFR) among emergency physicians and to identify demographic and occupational characteristics associated with higher NFR scores. DESIGN: Cross-sectional electronic survey. SETTING: Emergency departments (EDs) (n=112) in the UK and Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: Emergency physicians, defined as any registered physician working principally within the ED, responding between June and July 2019. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: NFR Scale, an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that assesses how work demands affect intershift recovery. RESULTS: The median NFR Score for all 4247 eligible, consented participants with a valid NFR Score was 70.0 (95% CI: 65.5 to 74.5), with an IQR of 45.5-90.0. A linear regression model indicated statistically significant associations between gender, health conditions, type of ED, clinical grade, access to annual and study leave, and time spent working out-of-hours. Groups including male physicians, consultants, general practitioners (GPs) within the ED, those working in paediatric EDs and those with no long-term health condition or disability had a lower NFR Score. After adjusting for these characteristics, the NFR Score increased by 3.7 (95% CI: 0.3 to 7.1) and 6.43 (95% CI: 2.0 to 10.8) for those with difficulty accessing annual and study leave, respectively. Increased percentage of out-of-hours work increased NFR Score almost linearly: 26%-50% out-of-hours work=5.7 (95% CI: 3.1 to 8.4); 51%-75% out-of-hours work=10.3 (95% CI: 7.6 to 13.0); 76%-100% out-of-hours work=14.5 (95% CI: 11.0 to 17.9). CONCLUSION: Higher NFR scores were observed among emergency physicians than reported in any other profession or population to date. While out-of-hours working is unavoidable, the linear relationship observed suggests that any reduction may result in NFR improvement. Evidence-based strategies to improve well-being such as proportional out-of-hours working and improved access to annual and study leave should be carefully considered and implemented where feasible

Identification of MAMP-Responsive Plasma Membrane-Associated Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana Following Challenge with Different LPS Chemotypes from Xanthomonas campestris

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are recognized as microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) responsible for eliciting defense-related responses and while the effects have been well-documented in mammals, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the mechanism of perception in plant systems and recognized structural moieties within the macromolecular lipoglycan structure. Thus, identification of the LPS plasma membrane (PM) receptor(s)/receptor complex in Arabidopsis thaliana through proteomics will contribute to a deeper understanding of induced defense responses. As such, structurally characterized LPS chemotypes from Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) wild-type 8004 (prototypical smooth-type LPS) and mutant 8530 (truncated core with no O–chain) strains were utilized to pre-treat A. thaliana plants. The associated proteomic response/changes within the PM were compared over a 24 h period using mass spectrometry-based methodologies following three variants of LPS-immobilized affinity chromatography. This resulted in the identification of proteins from several functional categories, but importantly, those involved in perception and defense. The distinct structural features between wild-type and mutant LPS are likely responsible for the differential changes to the proteome profiles, and many of the significant proteins were identified in response to the wild-type Xcc LPS where it is suggested that the core oligosaccharide and O-chain participate in recognition by receptor-like kinases (RLKs) in a multiprotein complex and, notably, varied from that of the mutant chemotype

Diadegma semiclausum as a Possible Factor for the Horizontal Transmission of Microsporidial Disease of Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella L.

Abstract: A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that Diadegma semiclausum is one of the factors involved in horizontal transmission of the microsporidial disease of the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella L. Results showed that 41 % of the larvae exposed to presumably microsporidia contaminated the adult D. semiclausum died before pupation, and all of the dead larvae were observed to have abundant microsporidia spores. None of the DBM larvae in the control treatment died before pupation. The microsporidia spores were detected on the body of the parasitoid adults (D. semiclausum) of both sexes, indicating that the parasitoid get contaminated with spores during eclosion or host finding bout. The spores were also detected within parasitoid’s body (abdomen) of both sexes, and within the sex organ of the adult parasitoid female. This suggests that parasitoid is infected with the disease during immature stages. The presence of spores within female sex organ (plus ovipositor) could explain why many larvae died before pupation as the parasitoid oviposition (parasitism) behaviour indirectly transmit the disease spore to the host (DBM) larvae. Key words: Microsporidia, Diadegma semiclausum, Plutella xylostella, horizontal transmissio

Isolation and purlfkation of B-lactemase from proteus mairbilis local isolates 4TF and 20TF

Proteus mirabilis ? -lactamase of local isolates number 4TF represent karkh side and 20TF represent rusafa side of Baghdad were extracted and purified 23.17, 25.23 fold with yield of 36.66 %, 37.5% and specific activity 11.8, 12.6 of unit/ mg protein by DEAE –cellulose and Sepharose 4B (respectively ).Molecular weight of both enzyme was about 35500 Dalton determined by gel filtration. The study indicated that the isoelectric point of purified ? -lactamase that extracted from isolate number 4TF and 20TF was 5.4

ICMA: an integrated cardiac modeling and analysis platform.

ICMA, a software framework to create 3D finite element models of the left ventricle from cardiac ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, has been made available as an open-source code. The framework is hardware vendor independent and uses spe

Microspheres with 2D rGO/Alginate Matrix for Unusual Prolonged Release of Cefotaxime

A synergistic interaction between reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and a biodegradable natural polymer, sodium alginate, was developed to create unique microspheres with protruding spiky features at the surface (spiky microspheres) that act as a super encapsulation and sustained release system for the highly effective antibiotic cefotaxime. Three forms of microspheres, namely alginate (Alg), alginate-cefotaxime (Alg-CTX), and alginate-cefotaxime-reduced graphene (Alg-CTX-rGO) composites, were prepared using calcium chloride as a cross-linking agent. The microspheres were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction to investigate their pores, roughness, surface morphology, functional groups, phase formation, purity, and structural properties. The membrane diffusion method was employed to determine the release profile of Cefotaxime from the fabricated microspheres. The antibacterial activities of CTX solution, Alg microspheres, Alg-CTX microspheres, and Alg-CTX-rGO microspheres were investigated against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) using the agar diffusion method on Muller–Hinton agar. The prepared samples exhibited excellent results, suggesting their potential for enhanced antibiotic delivery. The results demonstrated the potential of the microsphere 2D rGO/alginate matrix for enhancing cefotaxime delivery with an unusual, prolonged release profile

Multilevel HRM systems and intermediating variables in MNCs: longitudinal case study research in Middle Eastern settings

This paper uses longitudinal case studies of HR reform within privatised Jordanian undertakings, with French parent companies, to analyse HRM knowledge transfer across geographical and ‘psychic’ boundaries, following business acquisitions in an emerging Middle Eastern economy. It does this by paying attention to organisational information and control mechanisms utilised by multinational companies (MNCs). The findings indicate that, when working across transcultural settings, MNC managers who pay attention to the intermediating influences of how the parties build common understanding and learn to work together affect the success of inter-unit knowledge transfer