The stability and stabilization of infinite dimensional Caputo-time fractional differential linear systems

We investigate the stability and stabilization concepts for infinite dimensional time fractional differential linear systems in Hilbert spaces with Caputo derivatives. Firstly, based on a family of operators generated by strongly continuous semigroups and on a probability density function, we provide sufficient and necessary conditions for the exponential stability of the considered class of systems. Then, by assuming that the system dynamics is symmetric and uniformly elliptic and by using the properties of the Mittag-Leffler function, we provide sufficient conditions that ensure strong stability. Finally, we characterize an explicit feedback control that guarantees the strong stabilization of a controlled Caputo time fractional linear system through a decomposition approach. Some examples are presented that illustrate the effectiveness of our results.publishe

Pilot-Scale Investigation of Forward/Reverse Osmosis Hybrid System for Seawater Desalination Using Impaired Water from Steel Industry

This paper was focused on the investigation of a forward osmosis- (FO-) reverse osmosis (RO) hybrid process to cotreat seawater and impaired water from steel industry. By using this hybrid process, seawater can be diluted before desalination, hence reducing the energy cost of desalination, and simultaneously contaminants present in the impaired water are prevented from migrating into the product water through the FO and RO membranes. The main objective of this work was to investigate on pilot-scale system the performance of the combined FO pretreatment and RO desalination hybrid system and specifically its effects on membrane fouling and overall solute rejection. Firstly, optimization of the pilot-scale FO process to obtain the most suitable and stable operating conditions for practical application was investigated. Secondly, pilot-scale RO process performance as a posttreatment to FO process was evaluated in terms of water flux and rejection. The results indicated that the salinity of seawater reduced from 35000 to 13000 mg/L after 3 hrs using FO system, while after 6 hrs it approached 10000 mg/L. Finally, FO/RO system was tested on continuous operation for 15 hrs and it was demonstrated that no pollutant was detected neither in draw solution nor in RO permeate after the end of operating time

MONITORING OF PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN RIVER NILE WATER FROM EGYPT BY SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION FOLLOWED BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY AND GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY–MASS SPECTROSCOPY

Solid-phase extraction (SPE), gas chromatography electron capture detector (GC-ECD) and gas chromatography nitrogen-phosphorous detector (GC-NPD) and gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) were applied for trace-level de-termination of 20 pesticides in river nile water. Samples were collected from March to October 2003 from different sites located in Greater Cairo, Egypt. First, extrac-tion by on-site solid-phase extraction of 1 liter from field and laboratory spiked and unspiked (raw river water) samples using poly-divinyl benzene-N-vinyl pyrolidine cartridge based sorbent. Next, water extracts were subject of analysis by GC-ECD and GC-NPD. Next, selected samples that were positive to GC-ECD or GC-NPD were analyzed by GC-MS in order to improve the determination of detected pesti-cides. Recoveries from laboratoy spiked samples were > 85% for 16 of the 20 com-pounds with % relative standard deviation (% RSD) in the 5 to 10 % range. The lowest recoveries were for aldrin, 52 % and prothiofos, 48 %. A similar trend was observed with p,p-DDE and p,p-DDT values. Field spike results also indicated high % recovery for most of the target compounds. Values were > 85% for 12 of the 20 analytes, as was the case in laboratory spikes, Aldrin, 54 % and prothiofos, 55 % yielded the lowest values. Overall field spike recovery reproducibility was lower since % RSDs were higher, 15-40 %. Overall results indicated a relatively high de-gree of accuracy and precision could be achieved for most of the target compounds by methods applied in present study

Five Bivalve Species from the Recently Discovered Coral Reef in the Marine Coastal Waters of Iraq

In the present report five bivalve species are newly recorded from the recently discovered coral reef in the coastal waters of Iraq, North West Arabian Gulf. The bivalves were inhabit a hard coral substratum as well as sand and mud substrata, at depth ranging from 7-10 m. The region is characterized by high temperature subtropical climate (temperature range: 14-34 C˚). The identified mulluscan bivalves namely Chlamys livida, Pinna bicolor, Malvifundus normalis, Barbatia decussate, and Lithophaga robusta. All the present specimens bivalves were living animals and they classified according to morphological characteristics. Specimens were deposited at the Genetic Legacy Laboratory and Museum of the Marine Science Center/ University of Basrah

Moringa Oleifera Leaves in Broiler Diets: Effect on Chicken Performance and Health

Moringa products have a wide range of applications in agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical processes. Moringa leaves have a relatively high crude protein content which varies from 25% to 32%. A high proportion of this protein is potentially available for digestion due to a high proportion of pepsin soluble nitrogen (82-91 %) and low proportion (1-2%) of acid detergent insoluble protein.Determination of chemical composition was evaluated in Moringa Leaves then Five iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric experimental broiler diets were formulated as MOL0%, MOL5%, MOL10%, MOL15% and MOL20%, respectively and supplemented to broilers (10 chicks in each concentration) for 42 day. After 42nd day, chemical analysis of lipid profile(triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and vLDL), and haematological analysis(Hb, RBC, PCV, MCV, MCHC, Plt, MPV, PCT, PDW, WBC, LYM, MON, GRA) were recorded. Also tissue sampling from Bursa, Spleen, and Thymus were collected and preserved in 10 % formalin for histopathological examination. The obtained values were statistically analysed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) The chemical composition was determined in Moringa oleifera leaves, were ash, crude fiber, crude lipids, crude protein, total sugars, reducing sugar and non-reducing sugars. The highest effect of supplementation of moringa oleifera poultry diets on body weight of broiler, were 2293, 2318 and 2391gm, of treatments (10, 15 and 20% of MOL), respectively. Also, the more effective treatment were 20% of MOL of blood biochemical, lipid profile (triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and vLDL) and haematological parameters (HB, RBCs, Plt and WBCs), comparing with normal diets, histopathology of Bursa, Thymus, and Spleen showed improvement and hyperactivity in 15% and 20% MOL. Therefore, it is recommended to add Moringa oleifera at 15% and 20% in broiler diets to improve performance and health. Keywords: Broiler, Diets, Performance, Moring

Hypoxic-Ischemig Encephalopathy in Term Neonates: Early Biochemical Indicators

Abstract: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) after perinatal asphyxia is a condition in which serum concentrations of brain-specific biochemical markers may be elevated. Neuro-protective interventions in asphyxiated newborns require early indicators of brain damage to initiate therapy. Our aim is to investigate serum concentration of brain-specific biochemical markers, as early biochemical indicators of neonatal asphyxia. The study was carried out at the Neurology, Pediatric and Clinical Pathology Department, Zagazig and Al-Azhar Universities Hospitals. It was conducted on 30 infants with perinatal asphyxia. We examined brain-specific creatinekinase (CK-BB), protein S-100 and neurospecific enolase (NSE) in cord blood and at 2,6,12 and 24 h afterbirth. At 2 h afterbirth, median (quartiles) serum CK-BB concentration was 16.0 U/L in infants with mild HIE and 36 U/L in infants with moderate HIE and 46.5 U/L in infants with "severe HIE. Serum protein S-100 2 h afterbirth was 2.9 ug/L in asphyxiated infants with mild HIE, 3.9 ug/L in infants with moderate HIE and 17.9 ug/L in infants with severe HIE while no significant difference was detectable in serum neuro-specific enolase between infants with mild, moderate and severe HIE 2 h and 6 h afterbirth. A combination of serum protein S-100 (cutoff value, 8.5 ug/L) and CK-BB (cutoff value, 18.8 U/L) 2 hr after birth had the highest predictive value (83%) and specificity (95%) of predicting moderate and severe HIE. Cord blood pH (cutoff value, < 6.9) and cord blood base deficit (cutoff value, > 17mM/L) increase the predictive values of protein S-100 and CK-BB. We conclude that elevated serum concentrations of CK-BB and protein S-100 reliably indicate moderate and severe HIE as early as 2 h afterbirth

Pattern of Young and Old Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis (YORA and EORA) Among a Group of Egyptian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differs depending on the age of disease onset. The differences between EORA and YORA are important because they have clinical and therapeutic implications. Method 1185 patients were ranked after classification according to age at onset of the disease into YORA I (16–40 years), YORA II (41–60 years) and EORA >60 years. All patients groups were compared, based on disease duration, disease activity, severity parameters and drug history. Results YORA I included 298 patients, 28.85% were males, with mean age of 29.4 ± 6 years and disease duration 4 ± 3.3 y, YORA II included 539 patients, 33.77% males, age 49.7 ± 6.1 y and disease duration 6.5 ± 5.6 y. EORA included 348 RA patients 40.5% males, age 67.1 ± 6.6 y, disease duration 9.95 ± 7.2 y. Activity was increased in EORA compared to YORA I and YORA II, while severity decreased in EORA. ESR, CRP and degree of anemia were higher in EORA. RF titer was higher in YORA. Small joints of the hands and feet were more involved in YORA, while, large joints in EORA. Rheumatoid nodules were increased in YORA I than EORA P = 0.04. Polymyalgia rheumatica was exclusively present in EORA group 25 patients 7.2%. Methotrexate was used in both YORA and EORA, with a higher mean of dosage in YORA than EORA. Multiple DMARDs in EORA was 57.9%, and biologics in 0.8% was which was significantly lower compared with YORA I, 86.3% and 1.7%, with P = 0.001. Conclusion EORA has more active and less disabling and affects more males than YORA. The use of biologic therapy and combination DMARD therapy was less in EORA

Novel Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration Implementation of K-Means Clustering on FPGAs: Comparative Results with GPPs and GPUs

K-means clustering has been widely used in processing large datasets in many fields of studies. Advancement in many data collection techniques has been generating enormous amounts of data, leaving scientists with the challenging task of processing them. Using General Purpose Processors (GPPs) to process large datasets may take a long time; therefore many acceleration methods have been proposed in the literature to speed up the processing of such large datasets. In this work, a parameterized implementation of the K-means clustering algorithm in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is presented and compared with previous FPGA implementation as well as recent implementations on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and GPPs. The proposed FPGA has higher performance in terms of speedup over previous GPP and GPU implementations (two orders and one order of magnitude, resp.). In addition, the FPGA implementation is more energy efficient than GPP and GPU (615x and 31x, resp.). Furthermore, three novel implementations of the K-means clustering based on dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR) are presented offering high degree of flexibility to dynamically reconfigure the FPGA. The DPR implementations achieved speedups in reconfiguration time between 4x to 15x

CAUSES AND MANAGEMENT OF VIRAL EYE INFECTION

Introduction: The eye is a fascinating organ for several reasons. It is not only have a composite structure, however it is considered an immune-privileged organ. The anatomy of the eye is composed of the anterior and posterior parts, the line of division is posterior to the lens. The anterior chamber lies within the anterior segment and is an immuneprivileged anatomical location, this is due to the fact that the T-cell response in this area is suppressed This protects the eye from potentially destructive immune attacks however it also makes defence against infectious agents challenging, particularly where T-cell responses are critical for immunological defence. Viruses could get into the eye by direct inoculation, or through haematogenous or neuronal spread. The diagnoses of viral eye infections are usually clinical one, helped by taking a thorough history and performing ophthalmic examination. But in challenging cases the lab tests are essential. In this review, we will discuss the most recent evidence regarding Causes and management of viral eye infection Aim of work: In this review, we will discuss the most recent evidence regarding Causes and management of viral eye infection Methodology: We did a systematic search for Causes and management of viral eye infection using PubMed search engine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Google Scholar search engine (https://scholar.google.com). All relevant studies were retrieved and discussed. We only included full articles. Conclusions: A wide range of of viruses can affect the eye and cause viral eye infections, either as a primary infection or reactivation. Some affect the eye directly while the others indirectly but may still manifest with eye disease. One virus may affect several parts of the eye, while different viruses may cause the same eye disease. This could complicate the clinical diagnosis of viral eye disease, but the lab tests like PCR and antibody tests could assist in challenging cases where there may be diagnostic dilemma. The HIV epidemic has had an huge impact on ophthalmology clinics, this is because the virus can cause different eye diseases, and the associated decrease in cell-mediated immunity makes the person highly susceptible to opportunistic viral eye infections, sometimes with severe morbidity. There could be other viruses that may affect the eye that we did not discuss. Key words: Causes, management, viral eye infection

The providers of health services in Lebanon: a survey of physicians

BACKGROUND: Emerging from civil distress carries with it major challenges to reforming a health system. One such challenge is to ensure an adequate supply of competent human resources. The objective of this study was to assess the supply of physicians in Lebanon in 1998, with an assessment of their practice patterns and capacity building. METHODS: Lists of members of physician's associations were examined to determine the number of physicians in Lebanon and their geographical distribution. A self-administered survey targeted 388 physicians (5%) randomly stratified by the five regions of Lebanon. Some 377 providers reported information on their demographic profile, practice patterns and development. Further, information on continuing education activities was acquired. RESULTS: In Lebanon, the overall physician-to-population ratio was 248 per 100, 000, characterized by an evident maldistribution at the intracountry regional level. Physicians worked 38 hours per week examining on average 21 patients per day, with an average time of 30 minutes spent per visit. They also reported spending 11% of their time waiting for patients. Respondents reported a very wide range of income, with 90% earning less than USD 2,000 per month. Moreover, the continuing education profile revealed a total of 43.7 hours per year, similar to that required for board certification in many developed countries. Conference attendance was the dominant continuing education activity (95% of respondents) and consumed most of the time allotted for continuing education, reported at 32 hours per year. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Various economic indicators point to an oversupply of physicians in Lebanon and a poor allocation of their time for capacity building. Therefore, it is crucial for decision-makers to closely monitor the increasing supply of providers and institute appropriate intervention strategies, taking into consideration appropriate provision of good-quality services and ensuring that continuing education activities are well established, organized and monitored