A user preference modelling method for the assessment of visual complexity in building façade

This work aims to provide a method to assess the perceptual impact of visual complexity of building facades. The research identifies three variables that incorporate the effect of visual complexity. These variables are the number of design elements and the variation in their position and colour. It introduces the concepts of vertices and corners as atomic indicators on which the physical measurement of the three variables is built. The study designs an experiment, which involves measuring visual complexity and its variables in images of building facades using image-processing techniques, collecting participant's' characteristics and reactions towards the images through an online questionnaire and statistically analysing the relationships between these measures and the reactions and characteristics of participants. The research offers a quantitative lens on the effect of visual complexity as a comprehensive phenomenon on preferences. The study demonstrates that the three variables can be systematically measured, and shows that participants have common visual reactions toward the aspects of visual complexity in images of building facades. This uniformity is confirmed by a regression model, which provides an adequate fit of the three variables as independent variables and preference as a dependent variable. It offers an objective method to assess visual complexity in images of building facades according to common optimal values of the three variables as guidelines to evaluate the design of building facades. These optimal values correspond to the average of the highest rates of the preferences of residents. Planning authorities and design firms can use this method as an objective way to evaluate design alternatives based on the preferences of residents

Factors Influencing the Auditor’s Detection and Reporting of Tax Efficient Supply Chain Management

In this paper, while emphasizing on the importance of applying the concept of supply chain management in the service sector, its application in the tax process of the country was discussed and discussed. At first, two tax identification and tax information processing chains were defined. Then, based on the experiences and principles governing the supply chain management in the automotive industry, the tax supply chain development model was proposed. Taxation is an important financial instrument of financial policy instruments because it is one of the important sources of revenue for the general budget of the state, which is the basis for the design and planning of fiscal policy. Accordingly, the main aim of the research is to state and analyze the factors that influence the auditor's discovery of tax evasion practices determining them by a group of factors divided into four groups commensurate with the nature of the external audit. The first group includes the factors related to the auditor. The second group includes the factors related to the management of the company. The third group includes the factors related to the professional publications. The fourth group includes religious and social factors. To the objectives of the study, the researchers designed a questionnaire for the purpose of collecting data and distributing them to the target sample of the research which were auditors of accounts in Iraqi audit firms and companies. To analyze the data of the study and test the hypotheses of the research, a number of tests were used in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study reached to several conclusions, the most important of which is that the process of discovering tax evasion practices by the auditor is influenced by several factors which reflect the following arrangement according to the effect: factors related to the management of the company, as well as the auditor, as well as factors related to professional issues, in addition to the absence of influence of religious and social factors. The research ends with a number of recommendations, the most important of which are: the necessity of taking care of the scientific and practical rehabilitation of the auditors so as to improve their performance, the need to seek the issuance and updating of Iraqi professional standards and their revision and development, the need to seek the issuance and revision of Iraqi professional standards and to revise and develop them in accordance with the changing requirements of auditing, and finally issuing a local audit standard and guide for financial fraud, including tax evasion practices

A Cross-Sectional Study of Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and its Association with Steroid Responsiveness in Iraqi Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

Background: Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS)is associated with serious complications and financial burdens. Studies reported increased urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) levels in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the uNGAL potential to distinguish SRNS from steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in Iraqi children. Patients and Methods: Children with SRNS (n=31) and SSNS (n=32) were recruited from Babylon Hospital for Maternity and Pediatrics from March to June 2022. Patients' data included demographics, clinical characteristics, and urinary lab tests. The uNGAL concentrations were measured via a commercially available ELISA kit. Results: A significantly higher uNGAL median (p-value<0.001) was noted in the SRNS group (median [IQR] = 131.512 [30.28] ng/mL) than in the SSNS group (88.45 [41.6] ng/mL). The correlation between uNGAL levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was negative (Spearman's rho coefficient = − 0.599, p<0.001). The discriminatory power ofuNGAL to discern SRNS from SSNS was significantly high (AUC=0.899, p<0.0001) with a sensitivity of 87.1% and specificity of 87.5% at an optimal cut-off value of 111.091 ng/mL. Conclusion: uNGAL is associated with a reliable discriminatory strength to distinguish, noninvasively, children with SRNS from those with SSNS.   Received: Jan. 2023 Accepted: Jul, 2023 Published: Oct.202

Exploring the potential of offline cryptography techniques for securing ECG signals in healthcare

In the research, a software for ECG signal based on Chaos encryption based on C#-programmed and Kit of Microsoft Visual Studio Development was implemented. A chaos logic map (ChLMp ) and its initial value are utilized to create Level-1 ECG signal based on Chaos encryption bit streams. A ChLMp, an initial value, a ChLMp bifurcation parameter, and two encryption level parameters are utilized to create level-2 ECG signal based on Chaos encryption bit streams. The level-3 ECG signal based on Chaos encryption software utilizes two parameters for the level of encryption, a permutation mechanism, an initial value, a bifurcation parameter of the level of encryption, and a ChLMp. We assess 16-channel ECG signals with great resolution utilizing encryption software. The level-3 ECG signal based on Chaos encryption program has the slowest and most reliable encryption speed. The encryption effect is superior, according to test findings, and when the right decoding parameter is utilized, the ECG signals may be completely recovered. The high resolution 16-channel ECG signals (HRMCECG) won't be recovered if an invalid input parameter occurred, such as a 0.00001% initial point error, which will result in chaotic encryption bit streams

Spectrum of Pituitary disorders: A retrospective study from Basrah, Iraq [version 2; referees: 2 approved]

Background: Pituitary disorders spectrum includes a wide variety of diseases.This study aimed at a comprehensive description of such disorders for patients from  Faiha Specialized Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Center (FDEMC) in Basrah (Southern Iraq). Methods: Retrospective data analysis of FDEMC for the period from January 2012 through June 2017. We included all patients with pituitary disorders who have MRI pituitary. Results: The pituitary disorders were more common among women. Those with macroadenoma were older than those with microadenoma with nearly equal gender prevalence of macroadenoma. Pituitary adenoma constituted the bulk of pituitary disorders in this registry (67.2%). Growth hormone secreting adenoma were the commonest adenoma seen in 41.0% followed by clinically non-functioning pituitary adenoma(NFPA)in 31.4% and prolactinoma in 26.9%. About 64.8% of pituitary adenoma was macroadenoma. Macroadenoma was seen in 73.4 % of growth hormone secreting adenoma, 61.2% in NFPA and 62.0% of prolactinoma (of them six were giant prolactinoma) Conclusion: Pituitary adenoma constituted the bulk of pituitary disorders in Basrah, growth hormone secreting adenoma is the commonest adenoma followed by NFPA and prolactinoma due to referral bias. A change  in  practice of pituitary adenoma treatment is needed

Nutritional evaluation of the children and teenagers at the diagnosis time of acute leukemia

Acute leukemia is the most cancer has frequency in children, Malnutrition is one of the common complications of children with cancer, and malnutrition has been identified as a significant factor in treatment tolerance, increased morbidity, poor prognosis, reduced quality of life, and higher healthcare expenses. The study aimed at assessing the nutritional status of children with acute leukemia at diagnosis time before chemotherapy, assess the prevalence of malnutrition in acute leukemia groups compared to healthy groups and find any association between malnutrition and demographic factors such as gender and socioeconomic level. A case-control study was conducted in Karbala city, The case data was collected from Imam Al-Hussain Oncology and Hematology center and a control group was collected from primary health centers in Karbala city. The data was collected over a period of approximately 3 months starting from 2nd January 2022 to the 5th April 2022. The study sample included 140 children (70 cases and 70 controls) whose ages were from (2 to 14) years, The study used convenient sampling (non-random sampling technique) to choose the case and control groups via direct interviews and physical examination

Determination of Novel Anti-Cancer Agents by Targeting OGG1 Enzyme Using Integrated Bioinformatics Methods

The 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) enzyme is a key DNA glycosylase mediating the excision of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) from DNA molecule to the start base excision repair pathway. The OGG1 glycosylase function depletion has been seen to obstruct pathological conditions such as inflammation, A3 T-cell lymphoblastic acute leukemia growth, and neurodegenerative diseases, thus warranting OGG1 as an attractive anti-cancer enzyme. Herein, we employed several drug libraries intending to screen non-toxic inhibitory molecules against the active pocket of the enzyme that achieved stable binding mode in dynamics. Two anti-cancer compounds ([O-]C1=C(CC2=CC=CC=C2)SC(=[N+]1CC(=O)NC3=NC=C(CC4=CC=CC=C4)S3)S and CCCN(CCC)[S]-(=O)(=O)C1=CC=C(C=C1)C(=O)NNC2=NC3=CC=C(Br)C=C3C(=N2)C4=CC=CC=C4) from Selleckchem.com were identified to occupy the active pocket of OGG1 and bind with greater affinity than Control TH5487. The binding affinity of Top-1 is &minus;11.6 kcal/mol while that of Top-2 is &minus;10.7 kcal/mol in contrast to TH5487 Control (&minus;9 kcal/mol). During molecular dynamic simulations versus time, the said compounds are tightly held by the enzyme with no minor structural deviations reported except flexible loops in particular those present at the N and C-terminal. Both the compounds produced extensive hydrophobic interactions with the enzyme along with stable hydrogen bonding. The docking and molecular dynamics simulations predictions were further validated by molecular mechanics with generalized Born and surface area solvation (MM/GBSA) and Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA), and WaterSwap binding energies that validated strong binding of the compounds to the enzyme. The MM/GBSA binding free energy for Top-1 complex is &minus;28.10 kcal/mol, Top-2 complex is &minus;50.14 kcal/mol) and Control is &minus;46.91 kcal/mol while MM/PBSA value for Top-1, Top-2 and Control is &minus;23.38 kcal/mol, &minus;35.29 kcal/mol and &minus;38.20 kcal/mol, respectively. Computational pharmacokinetics support good druglike candidacy of the compounds with acceptable profile of pharmacokinetics and very little toxicity. All these findings support the notion that the compounds can be used in experiments to test their anti-cancer activities

A new model for viscosity prediction for silica-alumina-MWCNT/Water hybrid nanofluid using nonlinear curve fitting

One of the most crucial concerns is improving industrial equipment's ability to transmit heat at a faster rate, hence minimizing energy loss. Viscosity is one of the key elements determining heat transmission in fluids. Therefore, it is crucial to research the viscosity of nanofluids (NF). In this study, the effect of temperature (T) and the volume fraction of nanoparticles (φ) on the viscosity of the silica-alumina-MWCNT/Water hybrid nanofluid (HNF) is examined. In this study, a nonlinear curve fitting is accurately fitted using MATLAB software and is used to identify the main effect, extracting the residuals and viscosity deviation of these two input variables, i.e., temperature (T = 20 to 60 °C) and volume fraction of nanoparticles (φ = 0.1 to 0.5 %). The findings demonstrate that the viscosity of silica-alumina-MWCNT/ Water hybrid nanofluid increases as the φ increases. In terms of numbers, the μnf rises from 1.55 to 3.26 cP when the φ grows from 0.1 to 0.5 % (at T = 40 °C). On the other hand, the μnf decreases as the temperature was increases. The μnf of silica-alumina-MWCNT/ Water hybrid nanofluid reduces from 3.3 to 1.73 cP when the temperature rises from 20 to 60 °C (at φ = 0.3 %). The findings demonstrate that the μnf exhibits greater variance for lower temperatures and higher φ

Privacy-Preserving Mobility Model and Optimization-Based Advanced Cluster Head Selection (P2O-ACH) for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), due to the fast-moving mobile nodes, the topology changes frequently. This dynamically changing topology produces congestion and instability. To overcome this issue, privacy-preserving optimization-based cluster head selection (P2O-ACH) is proposed. One of the major drawbacks analyzed in the earlier cluster-based VANETs is that it creates a maximum number of clusters for communication that leads to an increase in energy consumption which reflects in a degradation of the performance. In this paper, enhanced rider optimization algorithm (ROA)-based CH selection is performed and that optimally selects the CH so that effective clusters are created. By analyzing this, the behavior of the bypass rider’s CH is chosen, and this forms the optimized clusters, and during the process of transmission, privacy-preserving mobility patterns are used to secure the network from all kinds of malfunctions which are performed by the new vehicle blending and migration process. The proposed P2O-ACH is simulated using NS-2, and for performance analysis, two scenarios are taken, which contain a varying number of vehicles and varying speeds. For a varying number of vehicles and speeds, the considered parameters are energy efficiency, energy consumption, network lifetime, packet delivery ratio, packet loss, network latency, network throughput, and routing overhead. From the results, it is understood that the proposed method performed better when compared with earlier work, such as GWO-CH, ACO-SCRS, and QMM-VANET