EVALUATION OF THE LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED AT SOME BUS ROUTES IN BAGHDAD CITY

The public transportation system is critical in meeting the demands of the rapidly growing population and increased mobility. Thus, providing and improving public services has become an urgent need in recent years. This study aims to evaluate the level of Baghdad's public transport system using a variety of criteria, including public transport availability, and comfort level. Service level is a method used to develop transport infrastructure labels based on a specific analysis. The importance of evaluating road operational performance services to improve bus service delivery is based on the concept of service level. The relatively high performance of bus service delivery can affect the level of satisfaction of its users. The availability of public transportation is analyzed in terms of frequency, service coverage, and hours. This study assesses the level of service for five specific major bus routes in Baghdad (4, 12, 45, 61, and 113). Survey processes were used to collect data. The results indicate that all lines according to service hours were at the level of service "E". While the service frequency is within the service levels "A", "B", and "C", and transit-auto travel time is within the service levels Class "B", and "C". This study contributes to being a useful guide for developing a comprehensive plan for the level of service and improving the quality of bus service

Live single cell analysis using synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy: development of a simple dynamic flow system for prolonged sample viability

Synchrotron radiation Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (SR-microFTIR) of live biological cells has the potential to provide far greater biochemical and morphological detail than equivalent studies using dehydrated, chemically-fixed single cells. Attempts to measure live cells using microFTIR are complicated by the aqueous environment required and corresponding strong infrared absorbance by water. There is also the additional problem of the limited lifetime of the cells outside of their preferred culture environment. In this work, we outline simple, cost-effective modifications to a commercially available liquid sample holder to perform single live cell analysis under an IR microscope and demonstrate cell viability up to at least 24 hours. A study using this system in which live cells have been measured at increasing temperature has shown spectral changes in protein bands attributed to α-β transition, consistent with other published work, and proves the ability to simultaneously induce and measure biochemical changes. An additional study of deuterated palmitic acid (D31-PA) uptake at different timepoints has made use of over 200 individual IR spectra collected over ∼4 hours, taking advantage of the ability to maintain viable cell samples for longer periods of time in the measurement environment, and therefore acquire greatly increased numbers of spectra without compromising on spectral quality. Further developments of this system are planned to widen the range of possible experiments, and incorporate more complex studies, including drug-cell interaction

ICASENSE : une application de l'analyse en composantes indépendantes à l'IRM parallèle

Les récentes méthodes d'imagerie IRM parallèle (SENSE et SMASH) nécessitent une bonne connaissance de la sensibilité des antennes. Celle ci est généralement mesurée lors d'une phase de calibration, ou estimée par filtrage adaptatif spatio-temporel si l'on dispose d'une série d'acquisitions (TSENSE). Nous proposons une formulation du problème en termes de séparation aveugle de sources : une analyse en composantes indépendantes (ICA) permet alors d'extraire les informations de sensibilité des antennes à partir d'une seule acquisition. Des résultats de simulations sont présentés, démontrant l'intérêt de cette nouvelle méthode que nous nommerons ICASENSE

Phonon-assisted radiofrequency absorption by gold nanoparticles resulting in hyperthermia

It is suggested that in gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of about 5 nm sizes used in the radiofrequency (RF) hyperthermia, an absorption of the RF photon by the Fermi electron occurs with involvement of the longitudinal acoustic vibrational mode (LAVM), the dominating one in the distribution of vibrational density of states (VDOS). This physical mechanism helps to explain two observed phenomena: the size dependence of the heating rate (HR) in GNPs and reduced heat production in aggregated GNPs. The argumentation proceeds within the one-electron approximation, taking into account the discretenesses of energies and momenta of both electrons and LAVMs. The heating of GNPs is thought to consist of two consecutive processes: first, the Fermi electron absorbs simultaneously the RF photon and the LAVM available in the GNP; hereafter the excited electron gets relaxed within the GNP's boundary, exciting a LAVM with the energy higher than that of the previously absorbed LAVM. GNPs containing the Ta and/or Fe impurities are proposed for the RF hyperthermia as promising heaters with enhanced HRs, and GNPs with rare-earth impurity atoms are also brought into consideration. It is shown why the maximum HR values should be expected in GNPs with about 5-7 nm size.Comment: proceedings at the NATO Advanced Research workshop FANEM-2015 (Minsk, May 25-27, 2015). To be published in the final form in: "Fundamental and Applied NanoElectroMagnetics" (Springer Science + Business Media B.V.

The Role of Chest Imaging in Patient Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multinational Consensus Statement From the Fleischner Society.

With more than 900,000 confirmed cases worldwide and nearly 50,000 deaths during the first three months of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented healthcare crisis. The spread of COVID-19 has been heterogeneous, resulting in some regions having sporadic transmission and relatively few hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and others having community transmission that has led to overwhelming numbers of severe cases. For these regions, healthcare delivery has been disrupted and compromised by critical resource constraints in diagnostic testing, hospital beds, ventilators, and healthcare workers who have fallen ill to the virus exacerbated by shortages of personal protective equipment. While mild cases mimic common upper respiratory viral infections, respiratory dysfunction becomes the principal source of morbidity and mortality as the disease advances. Thoracic imaging with chest radiography (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) are key tools for pulmonary disease diagnosis and management, but their role in the management of COVID-19 has not been considered within the multivariable context of the severity of respiratory disease, pre-test probability, risk factors for disease progression, and critical resource constraints. To address this deficit, a multidisciplinary panel comprised principally of radiologists and pulmonologists from 10 countries with experience managing COVID-19 patients across a spectrum of healthcare environments evaluated the utility of imaging within three scenarios representing varying risk factors, community conditions, and resource constraints. Fourteen key questions, corresponding to 11 decision points within the three scenarios and three additional clinical situations, were rated by the panel based upon the anticipated value of the information that thoracic imaging would be expected to provide. The results were aggregated, resulting in five main and three additional recommendations intended to guide medical practitioners in the use of CXR and CT in the management of COVID-19

Dorsal Root Ganglia Macrophages Maintain Osteoarthritis Pain

Pain is the major debilitating symptom of osteoarthritis (OA), which is difficult to treat. In OA patients joint tissue damage only poorly associates with pain, indicating other mechanisms contribute to OA pain. Immune cells regulate the sensory system, but little is known about the involvement of immune cells in OA pain. Here, we report that macrophages accumulate in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) distant from the site of injury in two rodent models of OA. DRG macrophages acquired an M1-like phenotype, and depletion of DRG macrophages resolved OA pain in male and female mice. Sensory neurons innervating the damaged knee joint shape DRG macrophages into an M1-like phenotype. Persisting OA pain, accumulation of DRG macrophages, and programming of DRG macrophages into an M1-like phenotype were independent of Nav1.8 nociceptors. Inhibition of M1-like macrophages in the DRG by intrathecal injection of an IL4-IL10 fusion protein or M2-like macrophages resolved persistent OA pain. In conclusion, these findings reveal a crucial role for macrophages in maintaining OA pain independent of the joint damage and suggest a new direction to treat OA pain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: In OA patients pain poorly correlates with joint tissue changes indicating mechanisms other than only tissue damage that cause pain in OA. We identified that DRG containing the somata of sensory neurons innervating the damaged knee are infiltrated with macrophages that are shaped into an M1-like phenotype by sensory neurons. We show that these DRG macrophages actively maintain OA pain remotely and independent of joint damage. The phenotype of these macrophages is crucial for a pain-promoting role. Targeting the phenotype of DRG macrophages with either M2-like macrophages or a cytokine fusion protein that skews macrophages into an M2-like phenotype resolves OA pain. Our work reveals a mechanism that contributes to the maintenance of OA pain distant from the affected knee joint and suggests that dorsal root ganglia macrophages are a target to treat osteoarthritis chronic pain

Water-structuring molecules and nanomaterials enhance radiofrequency heating in biologically relevant solutions

For potential applications in nano-mediated radiofrequency cancer hyperthermia, the nanomaterial under investigation must increase the heating of any aqueous solution in which it is suspended when exposed to radiofrequency electric fields. This should also be true for a broad range of solution conductivities, especially those that artificially mimic the ionic environment of biological systems. Herein we demonstrate enhanced heating of biologically relevant aqueous solutions using kosmotropes and a hexamalonoserinolamide fullerene

Evaluation of Procalcitonin Test for Early Diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis in Tikrit Teaching Hospital

The diagnosis of neonatal infection is challenging because traditional markers of infection are often misleading instead of diagnosing. This study was conducted to determine Procalcitonin (PCT) level as an early marker for diagnosis of suspected sepsis in neonates in comparison with C-reactive protein, blood culture, total and differential white blood cell counts. From August, 2008 till March, 2009, 114 blood samples were collected from neonates (males and females) admitted to the pediatricsneonatal wards at Tikrit Teaching Hospital who were clinically suspected with sepsis as diagnosed by the physician in the hospital with any features suggestive of sepsis. The results of blood culture showed that 53 (46%) of samples were positive, of them 32 (60%) were males and 21 (40%) were females. The number of negative cases were 61 (54%), of them 31 (51%) were females and 30 (49%)were males. The results of identification showed that the most frequent bacterial isolates were Coagulase Negative Staphylococci and Nocardia spp. (22% for each), followed by Listeria monocytogenes 17%, Klebsiella pneumoniae, 9% Pseudomonas aeruginosa 6% and Staphylococcus aureus 6%, while (Citrobacter diversus, Serratia marscesens, Serratia liquifascens, Lactobacillus spp., Peptostreptococcus spp., Micrococcus spp., Streptococcus pyogenes) were frequently less isolated recording 2% for each . The antibiotics susceptibility test revealed that Gram negative isolates showed high resistance to antibiotics used in the present study. Each isolate of the Gram positive bacteria showed different pattern of resistance against the antibiotics used. Results of virulence factor showed that 85%, 100%, 100% , 100% and 62% of Gram negative isolates and 61%, 100% , 89%, 94% and 78% of Gram positive isolated produced Urease , Hemolysin, Lipase, Lecithinase and alkaline protease, respectively. Results of routine hematological tests at which the differences were statistically significant showed that 33% of culture positive cases had leucopenia, 19% of cases had leukocytosis, while the rest were in the category of normal range. For CRP, the differences were not significant among culture positive and culture negative cases. With reference to PCT test which had been measured using the immunochromatographic semi-quantitative method. The results showed that 21% of culture positive cases were with PCT level with high levels distributed among levels of PCT≥0.5 ≥2 ≥10 ng/ml. As for culture negative cases, 49% of PCT were systemic infections cannot be excluded though they were culture negative. In addition PCT results did not fit with CRP all the time since some cases recorded higher level of PCT ≥10 ng/ml despite they were negative for CRP. The comparison between results of PCT and WBC for the same performed cases showed that 68% of cases were in the category of normal WBC range, meanwhile they had high level of PCT. Only 18% were in the category of leukocytosis, and the rest of percentage were in the category of leucopenia. When PCT was compared with other routinely measured parameters used in this study, It seemed to be significantly more sensitive in sepsis diagnosis. Accordingly, we can conclude that PCT is a more sensitive marker than other traditional tests (blood culture, CRP and WBC count) that could be used in early diagnosis of bacterial sepsis in neonate