Improving the voltage quality of Abu Hummus network in Egypt

In this paper the performance of the electrical network of Egypt is studied by considering a small part on the network (Abu Hummus city). The transmission network of Abu Hummus city was created for 66 kV, 11 kV, and 0.4 kV in the digital simulation and electrical network calculation (DIgSILENT power factory software) to study the voltage profiles. The load flow operational analysis was performed to obtain the voltage magnitudes at every bus bar. The voltage magnitudes in 11 kV and 0.4 kV networks were 10% to 15% less than the nominal value due to overloading off the transmission lines and the voltage magnitudes in 66 kV was within permissible limits. By using automatic tap-changing transformer or Static VAR System, the main idea of this paper is to obtain the voltage profiles at every bus bar to improve the voltage quality of the networks, so as to achieve better voltage profiles on the low voltage side without much effect on high voltage side under various operating conditions

Phytochemistry and Ethnopharmacology of Some Medicinal Plants Used in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The majority of Kurds inhabit a region that includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. This review shows that the traditional medicine is still used by Kurdish peoples and underlines the medicinal value of a great number of plants used locally. The medicinal uses include the treatment of a variety of diseases, ranging from simple stomach-ache to highly complicate male and female disorders; even sexual weakness and kidney stones are treated by plants. The majority of the plants that are used are for curing gastro-intestinal disorders and inflammation, followed by urinary tract disorders, skin burns, irritations and liver problems. In the last part of this paper, we also report the first results of our ongoing research project on the constituents of some uninvestigated Kurdish medicinal plants. The C-glycosylflavone embinin, the α-methylene acyl derivative 6-tuliposide A, and the iridoids aucubin and ajugol were isolated for the first time from Iris persica, Tulipa systole and Verbascum calvum, respectively. These plants are traditionally used against inflammation, pain, and skin burns

Descriptive study of the species Limnophora Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 (Diptera:Muscidae) in Iraq – Kerbala

The current study was conducted during the year 2020 in some areas of the holy Kerbala governorate with the aim of diagnosing some species of insects of environmental and biological importance and knowing their distribution and the time of occurrence during seasons. The results showed that the species Limnophora obsignata (Rondani, 1866) (Muscidae: Coenosiinae) was recorded for the first time in Iraq. It was found that throughout the study period, this species was more frequently found in river habitats and seasons with moderate temperatures and humidity (spring and autumn). The external appearance of this species was described, as well as the anatomy of the male reproductive system of the samples

Urban Growth Prediction Using Cellular Automata Markov: A Case Study Using Sulaimaniya City in the Kurdistan Region of North Iraq

Many cities in the Kurdistan Region have witnessed a rapid change in land use during the last two decades. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing have been broadly utilized to monitor and detect urban growth prediction. In this paper, three Landsat TM 5 and one Landsat 8 of Sulaimaniya city were used to identify and develop an urban growth map for 1991, 1998, 2006 and 2014. A supervised classification approach was applied; in order to predict urban growth, the Markov chain and CA-Markov models were used. The result demonstrates that validation of CA-Markov to forecast 2006 land cover map is ineffective in reasonably predicting land coverage for this time period; however this model had significant validation for the year 2014 and also has a good forecast power for 2024. Keywords Land Use Change/Cover, Urban Growth Prediction, Supervised Classification, Markov Chain, CA-Markov, Validation

Applying Best Practices for The Prevention of Surgical Site Infection (SSI) and Reducing Risk Factors for Patients: Meta-Analysis Theoretical Review

This study aimed at providing a comprehensive range of evidence-based recommendations for interventions to be applied during the pre-, intra- and postoperative periods for the prevention of the surgical site infection SSI, while also considering aspects related to resource availability and values and preferences. An initial search identified more than 200 titles published in 2006-2017 as relevant for data extraction, the researchers dealt with the extracted information included study design and methodology, reported cumulative incidence and post-surgical time until onset of SSI, and odds ratios and associated variability for all factors considered in univariate and/or multivariable analyses. And then the study recommended the best producers for reducing the risk factors for patients by conducting the findings of the meta-analysis theoretical review. Keywords: Surgical Site Infection, Risk Factors, Best Practices, Patient

The Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Epidural Anesthesia for Lower Urinary Tract Surgeries

Abstract Background: Epidural anesthesia is a safe and inexpensive technique with the advantage of providing surgical anesthesia and prolonged postoperative pain relief. It is also an effective treatment of operative pain as it blunts autonomic, somatic and endocrine responses. This study showed the effect of adding dexmedetomidine to epidural bupivacaine in anesthesia for lower urinary tract surgeries, with respect to onset of action, potency, duration of the block and the total dose of bupivacaine consumption during surgery as well hemodynamic changes

Natural Products Modulating Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) as Potential COVID-19 Therapies

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a potentially fatal multisystemic infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, viable therapeutic options that are cost effective, safe and readily available are desired, but lacking. Nevertheless, the pandemic is noticeably of lesser burden in African and Asian regions, where the use of traditional herbs predominates, with such relationship warranting a closer look at ethnomedicine. From a molecular viewpoint, the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the crucial first phase of COVID-19 pathogenesis. Here, we review plants with medicinal properties which may be implicated in mitigation of viral invasion either via direct or indirect modulation of ACE2 activity to ameliorate COVID-19. Selected ethnomedicinal plants containing bioactive compounds which may prevent and mitigate the fusion and entry of the SARS-CoV-2 by modulating ACE2-associated up and downstream events are highlighted. Through further experimentation, these plants could be supported for ethnobotanical use and the phytomedicinal ligands could be potentially developed into single or combined preventive therapeutics for COVID-19. This will benefit researchers actively looking for solutions from plant bioresources and help lessen the burden of COVID-19 across the globe.We appreciate the support and resource provided by staff and postgraduate members of the Center for Advanced Medical Research and Training (CAMRET), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. DU acknowledges the postgraduate scholarship awarded to him (CAMRET/ 2019/MSc/SCH003) by CAMRET. NC-M. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI-GER/ 28076/2017). The work was also supported by Taif University Researchers Supporting Program (Project number: TURSP-2020/93), Taif University, Saudi Arabia

Quantitative cross-species extrapolation between humans and fish: The case of the anti-depressant fluoxetine

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Fish are an important model for the pharmacological and toxicological characterization of human pharmaceuticals in drug discovery, drug safety assessment and environmental toxicology. However, do fish respond to pharmaceuticals as humans do? To address this question, we provide a novel quantitative cross-species extrapolation approach (qCSE) based on the hypothesis that similar plasma concentrations of pharmaceuticals cause comparable target-mediated effects in both humans and fish at similar level of biological organization (Read-Across Hypothesis). To validate this hypothesis, the behavioural effects of the anti-depressant drug fluoxetine on the fish model fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) were used as test case. Fish were exposed for 28 days to a range of measured water concentrations of fluoxetine (0.1, 1.0, 8.0, 16, 32, 64 μg/L) to produce plasma concentrations below, equal and above the range of Human Therapeutic Plasma Concentrations (HTPCs). Fluoxetine and its metabolite, norfluoxetine, were quantified in the plasma of individual fish and linked to behavioural anxiety-related endpoints. The minimum drug plasma concentrations that elicited anxiolytic responses in fish were above the upper value of the HTPC range, whereas no effects were observed at plasma concentrations below the HTPCs. In vivo metabolism of fluoxetine in humans and fish was similar, and displayed bi-phasic concentration-dependent kinetics driven by the auto-inhibitory dynamics and saturation of the enzymes that convert fluoxetine into norfluoxetine. The sensitivity of fish to fluoxetine was not so dissimilar from that of patients affected by general anxiety disorders. These results represent the first direct evidence of measured internal dose response effect of a pharmaceutical in fish, hence validating the Read-Across hypothesis applied to fluoxetine. Overall, this study demonstrates that the qCSE approach, anchored to internal drug concentrations, is a powerful tool to guide the assessment of the sensitivity of fish to pharmaceuticals, and strengthens the translational power of the cross-species extrapolation