Editorial Comment for Sandhu et al.

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140372/1/end.2012.0411.pd

Influence of alpha linolenic acid on the motility, viability, antioxidant activity and fertility of frozen-thawed New Zealand white rabbit buck semen

[EN] Freezing and thawing processes result in production and accumulation of high concentrations of reactive oxygen species that are detrimental to spermatozoal motility and fertility. Therefore, supplementation of exogenous source of antioxidants to freezing diluent is crucial. The aim of the present study was to investigate for the first time whether supplementation of semen diluent with alpha linolenic acid (ALA) can improve motility, viability, membrane integrity, antioxidant status and fertility of post-thaw rabbit spermatozoa. Semen was collected and pooled from fifteen New Zealand white rabbit bucks. Semen samples were diluted with a tris-citrate-glucose (TCG) extender supplemented with ALA (0, 50, 75 and 100 μmol). Then, extended rabbit semen was cooled at 5°C and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. After thawing, spermatozoal quality parameters (individual motility %, viability %, osmotic resistance %, and acrosome integrity %), antioxidant activity (SOD, CAT, and GSH activities), lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) and fertility (conception and kindling rates) were evaluated. Results revealed that supplementation of rabbit semen extender with 50 μmol ALA significantly (P<0.05) increased spermatozoal characteristics including motility (56.54%), viability (60.01%), acrosome status (72.66%) and membrane integrity (59.13%). The activity of semen antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GSH) showed a significant improvement with a marked decrease in lipid peroxidation. Moreover, the conception (73.30%) and kindling (70.00%) rates were significantly (P<0.05) higher in does inseminated with thawed semen treated with 50 μmol ALA in comparison with other concentrations (0, 75 and 100 μmol). In summary, supplementation of rabbit semen extender with 50 μmol ALA improved motility, viability, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, antioxidant enzymes activity and fertility of post-thaw rabbit spermatozoa. Our findings suggested that higher concentrations of ALA are detrimental to post-thaw characteristics of New Zealand white rabbit buck spermatozoa. To achieve better results, the semen freezing extender should be supplemented with ALA at lower concentrations, especially 50 μmol.El-Shahat, KH.; Fadl, AM.; Abdelnaby, EA. (2022). Influence of alpha linolenic acid on the motility, viability, antioxidant activity and fertility of frozen-thawed New Zealand white rabbit buck semen. World Rabbit Science. 30(3):219-226. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2022.1704221922630

Bio-H2 conversion of wastewater via hybrid dark/photo fermentation reactor

Hydrogen energy is a clean source for liveliness betterthan fossil fuel that has hazardous effects on the environmentand atmosphere. Food wastes and organics in the sewage sludgeare a promising sustainable and renewable source for hydrogenproduction where amalgamation of waste treatment and energyproduction would be more than one benefit expressed intreatment of organic pollutants and energy generation.Discovering biohydrogen production from industrialwastewater by dark and photo fermentation was the main aimof this paper. The biogas produced was composed of H2 andCO2, and the maximum H2 content was 25.94%. This ratio wasachieved at batch configuration system and initial pH 6.2 withstarch concentration 15 g/l. Cause of using dark fermentationeffluent (DFE) was used as substrate for A Rhodobactercapsulatus strain and a clostridium culture were cultivated toproduce hydrogen under different light-dark cycles. Acetic andbutyric acids decreased due to first and second photo stages by21.9% and 4.1 % respectively. Maximum hydrogen yield was470.9 ml H2/mol VFAs

Resiliency of Smart Power Meters to Common Security Attacks

AbstractThe development of Smart Grid power systems is gaining momentum in many countries leading to massive deployment of smart meters to realize the envisioned benefits. However, there are several concerns among the consumer communities and the service providers with respect to information security when it comes to the deployment of smart meters. This paper attempts to address the main challenge related to smart grid information security by examining the resiliency of smart meters to security threats and attacks. Several common information security attacks are being used to study their impact on the performance of smart meters in a controlled laboratory environment. Results obtained showed drastic effect on the functionality of smart meters and their associated data gathering servers

Comparative analysis of common full scale reactors for dry anaerobic digestion process

Organic solid wastes are produced with large amount wherever there are human activities. However, improper treated organic wastes made them as sources of diseases. On the other hand, these fractions contain nutrients and energy, so they have also valuable resources. As a result, exploring their potential as an energy source can be accomplish via anaerobic digestion process, in which, organics converted into hydrogen, methane and/or ethanol. Therefore, this manuscript introduces an overview of the common applied types of reactor that can handle these types of wastes in their solid state and recover them in term of biogas, as well as, stabilize the produced digestate to bio-fertilizers by compositing approach. A comparison also listed to demonstrate the optimum operational conditions and expected amount of biogas from each type

Cognitive Radio for Smart Grid with Security Considerations

In this paper, we investigate how Cognitive Radio as a means of communication can be utilized to serve a smart grid deployment end to end, from a home area network to power generation. We show how Cognitive Radio can be mapped to integrate the possible different communication networks within a smart grid large scale deployment. In addition, various applications in smart grid are defined and discussed showing how Cognitive Radio can be used to fulfill their communication requirements. Moreover, information security issues pertained to the use of Cognitive Radio in a smart grid environment at different levels and layers are discussed and mitigation techniques are suggested. Finally, the well-known Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is integrated with the Cognitive Radio part of a smart grid communication network to protect against unauthorized access to customer’s data and to the network at large

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR] as a promising prognostic marker in critically Ill septic patients

Background: NLR is advantageous in regard to simplicity, low cost, and availability compared to many other previously proposed biomarkers, which makes it promising for diagnostic clinicians. Several studies have reported that the NLR is useful in various clinical situations.Objective: To determine whether NLR obtained from complete blood count (CBC) and with simple calculation can be used to predict mortality in patients with sepsis and septic shock in the ICU in comparison with intensive care unit (ICU) severity scores.Patients and methods: This prospective trial was carried out on 84 ICU cases with severe sepsis, who were admitted to Specialized Medical Hospital ICUs from June 2020 to June 2021.Results: There was statistically significantly higher systolic blood pressure (mmHg), mean arterial pressure, rate pressure product *10^3, EF, INR, RBS, PH, HCO3, L *10^3, platelet count, CRP on admission, ABACHEII score, SOFA score on admission, duration of hospital stay (days), and a statistically significantly lower age (years), diastolic blood pressure (mmHg), heart rate, respiratory rate (RR), GCS, serum creatinine (mg/dl), serum albumin, serum bilirubin, Na, K, total leucocytic count *10^3, N *10^3, in group B NLR &gt;10 vs. group A NLR≤ 10.Conclusion: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is a cheap and rapidly available predictor of sepsis and has shown a significant correlation with other relatively expensive and non-rapidly existing markers of inflammation and sepsis with comparable efficacy with ICU severity scores [SOFA and APACHE II]

Thermobonded 3D nonwoven wool structures

The aims of this study were to form uncompressed thermobonded 3D wool nonwoven shell structures in one continuous process, and to study the controlling factors that govern this process. Lack of bonding between wool fibres and between wool and thermoplastic fibres was attributed to the wool fibre's low surface energy because of the lipids on the outer surface of wool fibres (epicuticle). To overcome this problem, three different surface treatments were investigated; chlorination, Hercosett and plasma. The purpose of these treatments was to raise the surface energy of wool fibres by bond scission and the introduction of new functional polar groups and ablation of the outer lipid layer or membrane. For thermobonding with wool fibres, low melting nylon fibres were chosen because of their high polarity and chemical compatibility with wool fibres. SEM, BSM and ESEM imaging techniques as well as tensile strength testing for single fibres, pair bonded samples and 3D nonwoven shells were used to assess the samples. Results have shown that it is possible to thermobond wool and nylon fibres as 3D shell structures, given that wool fibres are treated appropriately and the bonding temperature is controlled properly. Moreover, it has been found that, for pair bonded samples, the wrapping angle and the bonding angle have significant effects on the tensile strength and number of bonding points. Hercosett treated wool fibres yielded the strongest bonds with nylon fibres followed by plasma, chlorinated and untreated fibres.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceEducation Bureau in London, UKGBUnited Kingdo

Robot-Assisted Retroperitoneal Partial Nephrectomy: Technique and Perioperative Results

Growing evidence supports the use of nephron-sparing techniques for the management of appropriately selected renal masses up to 7-cm. Compared with the surgical standard of open partial nephrectomy, minimally invasive approaches have demonstrated equivalent cancer control with reduced patient morbidity. Robot assistance has the potential to provide patients and physicians greater access to minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery. We describe a robot-assisted retroperitoneal approach for the management of posterior renal masses. Our early results suggest reduced perioperative morbidity with the ability to manage more complex tumors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90442/1/end-2E2010-2E0481.pd

Metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland, a case report

The thyroid gland is a known but an unusual site for metastatic tumors from various primary sites. Despite the fact that it is one of the largest vascular organs in the body, clinical and surgical cases have given an incidence of 3 % of secondary malignances of the organ. Nevertheless, thyroid metastases are not an exceptional finding at autopsy, they are encountered in 2 % to 24 % of the patients with malignant neoplasm. Soft tissue sarcomas metastatic to the thyroid are extremely rare as the majority of thyroid metastasis are caused by tumors of the kidneys, lungs, mammary glands, ovaries , and colon or by melanomas. We report a case of 22-years-old woman with right leg rhabdomyosarcoma metastatic to the thyroid gland