Statistical optimization as a powerful tool for indole acetic acid production by Fusarium oxysporum

Crop production is challenged in our world by increasing food demands, decrease natural resource bases and climatic change. Nowadays plant growth regulators works like fertilizers in increasing plant growth production efficiency and needed to produce in large industrial scale. Fermentation condition and medium constituents can significantly affect on the product production and designing an acceptable fermentation medium is critical importance. In this paper Fusarium sp. could be considered as promising indole-3-acetic acid producers with the ability to improve the production using statistical methods. The results showed that fermentation type, incubation temperature and L-tryptophan were the most influencing parameters on the production. Maximum IAA production by Fusarium oxysporum was 300.4 mg/l obtained under the fermentation conditions: temperature at 25oC, incubation period 5 days, pH 7, inoculums size 2%, shaking rate at 150 rpm and medium constituents: Glucose 40 g/l, yeast extract 3 g/l, L-tryptophan 1 g/l, KH2PO4 2 g/l, NaNO3 4 g/l, MgSO4·7H2O 0.1 g/l with regression analysis (R2) 99.67% and 2.12-fold increase in comparison to the production of the original level (142 mg/l). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.101234

Deep learning model for thorax diseases detection

Despite the availability of radiology devices in some health care centers, thorax diseases are considered as one of the most common health problems, especially in rural areas. By exploiting the power of the Internet of things and specific platforms to analyze a large volume of medical data, the health of a patient could be improved earlier. In this paper, the proposed model  is based on pre-trained ResNet-50  for diagnosing thorax diseases. Chest x-ray images are cropped to extract the rib cage part from the chest radiographs. ResNet-50 was re-train on Chest x-ray14 dataset where a chest radiograph images are inserted into the model to determine if the person is healthy or not. In the case of an unhealthy patient, the model can classify the disease into one of the fourteen chest diseases. The results show the ability of ResNet-50 in achieving impressive performance in classifying thorax diseases

Synthesis and Characterization of Poly-Methacrylic Acid Grafted Chitosan-Bentonite Composite and its Application for Heavy Metals Recovery

Poly-methacrylic acid grafted chitosan-bentonite nanocomposite (MACB) was synthesized by g-irradiation polymerization. The nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MACB nanocomposite was employed for the adsorption of mercury, cadmium and lead ions from aqueous solution. The effect of various parameters such as pH, contact time, metal ion concentration and temperature on the adsorption of metal ions onto MACB nanocomposite was investigated. The experimental results indicated that the order of adsorption capacity of MACB nanocomposite for metal ions was as follows: Hg2+ > Pb2+ > Cd2+. The data indicating that the adsorption of the latter ions onto MACB nanocomposite followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Equilibrium adsorption isotherm fitted the Langmuir model for Hg2+ ions and the adsorption of Cd2+ ions better fit the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption of Pb2+ ions followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Keywords: hydrogel; nanocomposites; clay; chitosan; ?-ray irradiation; Metal uptak

A high-speed microturbine PMA-SYnRg emulation using power hardware-in-the-loop for wind energy conversion systems

In this paper, a high-speed microturbine (MT) permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance generator (PMa-SynRG) real-time emulation based on linear impedance regulator (LIR) using power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) for wind energy generation tests is presented. The LIR is designed without any feedback control loop for reshaping the s-domain performances of the current filter along with the converter inside the PMa-SynRG emulated system. The PHIL platform not only provides a method for eliminating the high cost of using real renewable energy hardware but also it enables the developers to create new, rapid, and reliable controllers for renewable energy testing. This platform can be used in investigating the performance of energy system under various conditions even if the generator prototype is not yet developed or unavailable. PMa-SynRG mathematical model is emulated in the real-time using PHIL platform while the output voltage of the proposed emulator imitates the generated voltage through the simulated model. In addition, a voltage source converter is employed as a voltage amplifier for imitating the PMa-SynRG performance when supplying nonlinear/linear loads. In this paper, the proportional-integral resonant (PIR) controller is utilized at the voltage control loop for tracking the distorted output reference signal voltage. In order to investigate the performance of the proposed PMa-SynRG emulator, it has been simulated and compared with MATLAB/SIMULINK environment

Optimization of kojic acid production conditions from cane molasses using Plackett-Burman design

Fungal synthesis of kojic acid has gained more interest in these days as an alternative way to chemical synthetic. The aspect of the microbial fermentation process is to develop a suitable culture medium to obtain the maximum amount of kojic acid using statistical methods. In this study; different selected three isolates of Aspergillus flavus (No 1, 2 and 3) were screened for their ability to produced kojic acid and the isolate No 3 was the highest kojic acid producer one. The capability of A. flavus No 3 to produce kojic acid was improved using Plackett-Burman design. From ten different agro-industrial wastes cane molasses recorded the highest kojic acid productivity with 2.24 g/l-1 day-1 and was the most effective parameter plays a crucial role in Plackett-Burman design. Maximum kojic acid production (24.65 g/l) by A. flavus (No. 3) obtained under the fermentation conditions: incubation temperature at 25oC, incubation time 9 days, pH 3, inoculum size 0.5%, shaking rate at 150 rpm and medium constituents: Cane molasses 60 g/l, yeast extract 7 g/l, KH2PO4 2 g/l, ZnSO4·7H2O 100 µg/l and MgSO4·7H2O 1 g/l with regression analysis (R2) 99.45% and 2.33-fold increase in comparison to the production of the original level (10.6 g/l). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.121151

CPS Attacks Mitigation Approaches on Power Electronic Systems with Security Challenges for Smart Grid Applications: A Review

This paper presents an inclusive review of the cyber-physical (CP) attacks, vulnerabilities, mitigation approaches on the power electronics and the security challenges for the smart grid applications. With the rapid evolution of the physical systems in the power electronics applications for interfacing renewable energy sources that incorporate with cyber frameworks, the cyber threats have a critical impact on the smart grid performance. Due to the existence of electronic devices in the smart grid applications, which are interconnected through communication networks, these networks may be subjected to severe cyber-attacks by hackers. If this occurs, the digital controllers can be physically isolated from the control loop. Therefore, the cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in the power electronic systems employed in the smart grid need special treatment and security. In this paper, an overview of the power electronics systems security on the networked smart grid from the CP perception, as well as then emphases on prominent CP attack patterns with substantial influence on the power electronics components operation along with analogous defense solutions. Furthermore, appraisal of the CPS threats attacks mitigation approaches, and encounters along the smart grid applications are discussed. Finally, the paper concludes with upcoming trends and challenges in CP security in the smart grid applications

Synthesis and antitumor testing of certain new fused triazolopyrimidine and triazoloquinazoline derivatives

AbstractNew series of 1,2,4-triazolopyrimidine and 1,2,4-triazoloquinazoline derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antitumor activity. Compounds 6, 11, 26, 29, 41, 44, 48, 49 and 58 were tested as antitumor agents by the use of DNA-binding assay on TLC-plates, colorimetric assay for the degree of DNA-binding (Methyl green-DNA displacement assay), evaluation of antineoplastic activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in mice, and finally modulation of apoptosis. 5-Flurouracil, vitamin C and ethidium bromide were used as positive controls in these techniques. Compound 26 proved to be the most active member of these series as antitumor agent with IC50 value of 47±1. Several characteristic features were observed to be essential for activity such as the morpholine group and the phenylazo group, in addition the electron-withdrawing groups favor the activity than the electron-donating ones

Enhancement the removal capacity of heavy metals from aqueous solution using different aquatic organisms

151-162The Eichhornia sp had high ability for bioremoval of Pb and Cd (97.15 and 97.48%) during 15 min with some ultrastructure changes of the leaf such as, ruptured or disappeared plasma membrane, swollen mitochondria and malformation chloroplast and some anatomical studies; thickness of upper epidermis and mesophyll decreased with presences number of raphide crystals in treated leaf but it not found in untreated plants. It was noticed that treated with Pb was more effect on histological leaf than treated with Cd. While, Gelidium pectinatum had highest efficiency for removal of Cd but during 0.5 hr. The bioremoval efficiency of lead by Gelidium pectinatum increased with Epichlorohydrin 1 from 28.84 to 90.18 % during 240 min contact time and from 77.34 in raw (untreated) algae to 99.58% in case of cadmium during the same contact time

Clinical and histopathological responses to bee venom phonophoresis in treating venous and diabetic ulcers: a single-blind randomized controlled trial

IntroductionChronic venous and diabetic ulcers are hard to treat that cause patients long time of suffering as well as significant healthcare and financial costs.PurposeThe conducted study was to evaluate the efficacy of bee venom (BV) phonophoresis on the healing of chronic unhealed venous and/or diabetic foot ulcers Also, to compare the healing rate of diabetic and venous ulcers.MethodologyThe study included 100 patients (71 males and 29 females) with an age range of 40-60 years' old who had chronic unhealed venous leg ulcers of grade I, grade II, or diabetic foot ulcers with type II diabetes mellitus. They randomly assigned into four equal groups of 25: Group A (diabetic foot ulcer study group) and group C (venous ulcer study group) who both received conservative treatment of medical ulcer care and phonophoresis with BV gel, in addition to group B (diabetic foot ulcer control group) and group D (venous ulcer control group) who both received conservative treatment of medical ulcer care and received ultrasound sessions only without BV gel. Wound surface area (WSA) and ulcer volume measurement (UVM) were used to assess the ulcer healing pre-application (P0), post-6 weeks of treatment (P1), and after 12 weeks of treatment (P2). In addition to Ki-67 immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the cell proliferative in the granulation tissue of ulcers pre-application (P0) and after 12 weeks of treatment (P2) for all groups.ResultsThis research revealed a statistical significance improvement (p ≤ 0.0) in the WSA, and UVM with no significant difference between study groups after treatment. Regarding Ki-67 immunohistochemistry showed higher post treatment values in the venous ulcer group in comparison to the diabetic foot ulcer group.ConclusionBee venom (BV) provided by phonophoresis is effective adjuvant treatment in accelerating venous and diabetic foot ulcer healing with higher proliferative effect on venous ulcer.Clinical trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT05285930

Stop Turning a Blind Eye: Tobacco Smoking Among Egyptian Patients With Schizophrenia

Background: Patients with schizophrenia have considerably higher rates of mortality than general population. Multiple factors may play a role in this. Despite being a major preventable cause of death, smoking is usually overlooked when dealing with patients with schizophrenia. Understanding the pattern of smoking, its severity, and the reasons to quit might be helpful in managing patients with schizophrenia and decreasing the mortality gap.Subjects and Methods: The study included smokers divided into two groups; the first included 346 patients with schizophrenia while the second group had 150 smokers with no mental illness. Both groups were assessed and compared regarding sociodemographic variables, pattern of smoking, severity of nicotine dependence, and motivation to quit smoking.Results: Earlier age of starting to smoke, higher number of cigarettes per day, and lower dependency scores were noted in patients with Schizophrenia. Positive correlation was found between positive symptoms and severity of dependence. Specific positive symptoms were correlated to number of cigarettes per day and time before first cigarette. Patients with Schizophrenia showed a significant difference in intrinsic reasons to quit (health concerns and self-control), which were also positively correlated to their positive symptoms score. Linear regression analysis for predictors of FTND score revealed that only age, sex, and schizophrenia were significant predictors of FTND score.Conclusion: Patients with schizophrenia smoke at earlier ages and smoke more cigarettes per day, yet, have less severe dependence than non-schizophrenic counterparts. Positive symptoms play a role in their smoking pattern and severity. Health concerns and self-control are their main motives to quit smoking