Solutions to a system of Yang-Baxter matrix equations

In this article, we take a system, $XAX=BXB$, $XBX=AXA$, of Yang-Baxter type matrix equations that ``generalizes" the matrix Yang-Baxter equation. We completely characterize the case when $A,B$ are orthogonal idempotents

Full term delivery of a Harlequin ichthyosis baby: a case report

Harlequin ichthyosis (HI) is one of the most severe and rare autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI), characterized by severe hyperkeratosis, extensive fissuring and a variable degree of cutaneous malformations. Here we report a case of 22 years old female patient in her first pregnancy. The baby was born at 39 weeks of gestation from non-consanguineous parents. At birth the baby had thick skin with deep fissures. The baby was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and survived for 11 days

EFFECT OF RENNIN INHIBITORS AND ANGIOTENSIN II RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS ON LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY IN RENOVASCULAR HYPERTENSIVE RATS

Objective: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy involves numerous structural adaptations that may lead to ventricular dysfunction and eventually, heart failure. Particular emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms that govern the development of hypertrophy and may lead to maladaptive structural changes resulting in adverse cardiac events. This study investigates the effectiveness of Valsartan (Val) which is an angiotensinII receptor antagonist and Aliskiren (Ali) which is a direct rennin inhibitor in the treatment of cardiac remodeling resulted from renovascular hypertension, particularly left ventricular hypertrophy, and to address the molecular mechanisms underlying them.Methods: 24 male albino rats were randomly divided into 4 main groups (n=6 each), normal control rats (N), hypertensive control rats (HC), Val treated hypertensive rats (Val, 8 mg/kg/day orally) and Ali treated hypertensive rats (Ali, 25 mg/kg/day orally).Results: At the end of 4 weeks HC rats showed enhanced hypertrophic response (higher heart weight/body weight ratio) and dyslipidemia (lower high density lipoprotein "HDL-c" and higher triacyl glycerol "TAG") and a significant deletion of antioxidant enzymes in comparison with N group. The β myosin heavy chain "βMHC", regulator of calcineurin-1 "RCAN1", nuclear factor kappa B "NFκB" and inducible nitric oxide synthase "iNOS" was markedly elevated. While, α myosin heavy chain "αMHC" was markedly decreased as compared with N group. On the other hand Val treated hypertensive rats and Ali treated hypertensive rats showed a significant decrease in heart weight/body weight ratio, improved lipogram pattern and higher levels of antioxidant enzymes. While, cardiac β-MHC, RCAN-1, NFκB and iNOS were significantly decreased as compared with HC group. Both Val treated hypertensive rats and Ali treated hypertensive rats showed a significant increase in α-MHC, compared with HC groupConclusion: The results reported in this study suggested that chronic untreated hypertension induced a pathological hypertrophy. Administration of the Val or Ali individually exerted beneficial effects regarding the improved lipogram pattern and anti-oxidant enzymes levels, as well as cardiac hypertrophy and highlights the role of Val and Ali as a promising therapeutic strategy for hypertension and LV hypertrophy.Â

Operating of Gasoline Engine Using Naphtha and Octane Boosters from Waste as Fuel Additives

Fuel quality is an important indicator for the suitability of alternative fuel for the utilization in internal combustion (IC) engines. In this paper, light naphtha and fusel oil have been introduced as fuel additives for local low octane gasoline to operate a spark ignition (SI) engine. Investigated fuel samples have been prepared based on volume and denoted as GN10 (90% local gasoline and 10% naphtha), GF10 (90% local gasoline and 10% fusel oil), and GN5F5 (90% local gasoline, 5% naphtha and 5% fusel oil) in addition to G100 (Pure local gasoline). Engine tests have been conducted to evaluate engine performance and exhaust emissions at increasing speed and constant wide throttle opening (WTO). The study results reveal varying engine performance obtained with GN10 and GF10 with increasing engine speed compared to local gasoline fuel (G). Moreover, GN5F5 shows higher brake power, lower brake specific fuel consumption, and higher brake thermal efficiency compared to other investigated fuel samples over the whole engine speed. The higher CO and CO2 emissions were obtained with GN10 and GF10, respectively, over the entire engine speed and the minimum CO emissions observed with GN5F5. Moreover, the higher NOx emission was observed with pure local gasoline while the lowest was observed with GF10. On the other hand, GN5F5 shows slightly higher NOx emissions than GF10, which is lower than GN10 and gasoline. Accordingly, GN5F5 shows better engine performance and exhaust emissions, which can enhance the local low gasoline fuel quality using the locally available fuel additives. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Funding: This project has been funded by King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under project number RSP‐2021/167

Chitinase production by Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11774 and its effect on biocontrol of Rhizoctonia diseases of potato

Stem canker and black scurf of potato, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, can be serious diseases causing an economically significant damage. Biocontrol activity of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11774 against the Rhizoctonia diseases of potato was investigated in this study. Chitinase enzyme was optimally produced by B. subtilis under batch fermentation conditions similar to those of the potato-growing soil. The maximum chitinase was obtained at initial pH 8 and 30 °C. In vitro, the lytic action of the B. subtilis chitinase was detected releasing 355 μg GlcNAc ml−1 from the cell wall extract of R. solani and suggesting the presence of various chitinase enzymes in the bacterial filtrate. In dual culture test, the antagonistic behavior of B. subtilis resulted in the inhibition of the radial growth of R. solani by 48.1% after 4 days. Moreover, the extracted B. subtilis chitinase reduced the growth of R. solani by 42.3% when incorporated with the PDA plates. Under greenhouse conditions, application of a bacterial suspension of B. subtilis at 109 cell mL−1 significantly reduced the disease incidence of stem canker and black scurf to 22.3 and 30%, respectively. In addition, it significantly improved some biochemical parameters, growth and tubers yield. Our findings indicate two points; firstly, B. subtilis possesses a good biocontrol activity against Rhizoctonia diseases of potato, secondly, the harmonization and suitability of the soil conditions to the growth and activity of B. subtilis guaranteed a high controlling capacity against the target pathogen

Utilization of additive from waste products with gasoline fuel to operate spark ignition engine

Impacts of blending fusel oil with gasoline on fuel combustion have been investigated experimentally in the current research to evaluate engine performance improvement and exhaust emission. Tested fuel include F10, F20 (10% and 20% of fusel oil by volume) and pure gasoline as baseline fuel have been used to operate 4-cylinder SI engine at increasing engine speed and constant throttle valve of 45%. The present results reveal a shorter combustion duration and better engine performance with F10 over engine speeds with maximum value of 33.9% for the engine brake thermal efficiency. The lowest BSFC of 251 g/kW h was recorded at 3500 rpm engine speed also with F10. All blended fuel have almost similar COVIMEP. Less NOx emission was measured with F10 at 4500 engine speed compared to gasoline. However, CO emissions reduced while higher CO2 was observed with introducing fusel oil in the blend. Moreover, HC emission increased an average by 11% over speed range and the highest value was achieved with 10% fusel oil addition compared to 20% and pure gasoline. Accordingly, higher oxygen content of fusel oil and octane number contribute to improve combustion of fuel mixture. © 2022, The Author(s).King Saud University, KSUThis Project is funded by King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030