Effect of Obesity on Females Hormones among patients attended Dr. Elsir Fertility Center 2017

المقدمة : هنالك زيادة متطردة في عدد الاشخاص المصابين بزيادة الوزن والسمنة في كل العالم. تعتبر السمنة احدى العوامل المؤدية للامراض المزمنة كارتفاع ضغط الدم ومرض السكري. أيضا تتسبب السمنة في مدى الخصوبة خاصة لدى النساء في عمر الانجاب. ولذلك هدفت هذه الدراسة الى ايجاد علاقة بين السمنة ومستوى هرمونات الانوثة بمركز د. السر للخصوبة بالخرطوم طرق البحث: تعتبر هذه الدراسة وصفية مقطعية وشملت كل النساء اللاتي ترددن على مركز الخصوبة في الفترة من يناير الى ديسمبر 2017 . عدد المترددات كان حوالي 500 ولكن بعد تطبيق عوامل الاقصاء والضم تم اختيار 111 فقط. المعلومات الشخصية والاجتماعية مثل العمر والسكن والعمل تم استخلاصها من الملف الخاص بكل مريضة. أيضا تم تسجيل القياسات الجسدية من ملف المريضات وتم تقسيم المشاركات حسب كتلة الجسم الى مجموعة زيادة الوزن والسمنة ومجموعة النساء الطبيعيات . مستوى الهرمونات(هرمون الجسم الاصفرو الهرمون المحفز للحويصلات والهرمون المثبط لقتاة مولريان وهلرمون الرضاعة) تم استخراجها من نتائج المعمل الخاصة بكل مريضة. تم ادخال البيانات وتحليلها بواسطة برنامج حزم الأحصاء الاجتماعي . ايضا تم اجراء المقارنة في مستوى الهرمونات الانثوية بين مجموعتي الدراسة باستخدام اختبار تي للطلاب. مستوى العلاقة المعنوية تم اعتبارها اقل من 0.05 النتائج: نسبة الاصابة بزيادة الوزن والسمنة وسط المشاركات كانت حوالي 82% . هنالك علاقة معنوية احصائيا بين مستوى الهرمونات الانثوية وكتلة الجسم . هنالك فرق معنوى احصائيا في مستوى هرموني الجسم الاصفر والمحفز للحويصلات بين مجموعتي الدراسة . لايوجد فرق معنوي احصائيا في مستوى هرمون الضاعة بين المجموعتين. الخلاصة: هنالك نسبة مرتفعة لزيادة الوزن والسمنة وسط المشاركات في البحث. هنالك اثر واضح لزيادة الوزن والسمنة ومستوى الهرمونات الانثوية مما قد يفسر العلاقة بين زيادة الوزن والسمنة والعقم. انقاص الوزن وممارسة الرياضة قد تكون احدى الوسائل لعلاج السمنة لدى النساء المصابات بالسمنة مما قد يقلل من خطر الاصابة بالعقم

Hepatoprotective Effect of Royal Jelly Against Cisplatin-Induced Biochemical, Oxidative Stress, Anti-Oxidants And Histopathological Abnormalities

The study aimed to evaluate the changes of liver functions, oxidative stress, anti-oxidants and histopathological investigations in Cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity and the royal jelly ameliorative effects. The forty male mice were divided into 4 groups. The first group was control, Group II: animals were received royal jelly (150 mg/kg), Group III: animals were received cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg body weight of Cisplatin once every 2 days), group IV: animals were received the royal jelly + Cisplatin, for 10 days. At the end of experiment Blood was collected and analyzed for blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Albumin. The Liver samples were stored for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant and catalase (CAT) activities and another hepatic tissues were processed for histopathology. Cisplatin given to mice induced a marked hepatic injuries, characterized with a significant increase in serum ALT, AST and MDA and lower albumin, total antioxidant, and CAT activities. In the groups that were administered royal jelly in association with cisplatin, improvement was observed in oxidative stress parameter (MDA), other hepatic biochemical parameters, and histopathological examinations with royal jelly being more effective. The results obtained suggested that royal jelly significantly attenuated the cisplatin-hepatotoxicity, because it act as free radical scavenger and lipid peroxidation inhibitor. Keywords: Cisplatin; Royal jelly; Antioxidants; Hepatotoxicit

Reconfiguration technique for Optimization of the Photovoltaic array output power under partial shading conditions

A partial shading condition is a case under which the PV array is exposed to many problems such as losses of the output power of the PV array, and the PV array has more than one maximum power point (MPP), which makes it so difficult to track the MPP. This paper presents the effect of different partial shading patterns on PV array characteristics and the effect on the output power of the PV array, and provides a comparative literature review on methods to mitigate these effects and the drawbacks of these methods. It also proposed a new reconfiguration strategy that increases the output power of the PV array by 13.8 % from the total power under shadow condition, and a new technique for enhancing the output power of the PV array by 20 % of the total power under fully illumining conditions by controlling the switch matrix between the photovoltaic array and adaptive batteries bank. This paper gives a solution for the problem of the difficulty of tracking the MPP, because the proposed strategy makes only one MPP. The simulation was carried out by using MATLAB Simulink under different shading patterns.Citation: Mohamed, A. M., Saafan, S. M., Attalla, A. M., and Elgohary, H. (2018). Reconfiguration technique for Optimization of the Photovoltaic array output power under partial shading conditions. Trends in Renewable Energy, 4, 111-124. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2018.4.2.006

Current Policies throughout the Nation for Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) Installation

With increased interest in Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) use across the United States, including in Illinois, it is necessary to provide a comprehensive analysis for PHB application nationwide, including current control standards, practice experience, and concerns in all states. Thus, using the official documents of each state and additional information obtained by reaching out to several state engineering staff, this study compiled laws applicable to dark signals and standards, practices, and transportation department concerns regarding PHBs in each state. It was determined that 37 out of 50 states specifically regulate the maneuvers of drivers at dark signals according to statements in law. Forty-one states have implemented PHB use, and three states have made a distinction between traffic signals and PHBs related to driver treatment during a dark condition. In addition, the impedances that prevent PHBs from larger-scale application were obtained. Based on this review, the PHB can be characterized as a widely used device that still poses substantial concerns due primarily to its unique nature. Illinois plans to utilize the information provided in this report to inform policy and focus PHB application in locations where they will be most effective and properly address existing safety concerns.IDOT-R27-SP39Ope

Dosimetric Study of Tissue Heterogeneity Correction for Breast Conformal Radiotherapy

Introduction: Heterogeneity correction is an important parameter in dose calculation for cancer patients where it may be cause inaccuracy in dose calculation as a result of different densities of patients. This study studied the impact of dose calculation of breast cancer patients with and without heterogeneity correction. Material and Methods: Twenty breast cancer patients were treated with Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy(3DCRT). Dose calculations were performed using two modes: Fast Photon mode for homogeneity and Fast Photon Effective Path length for heterogeneity with two photon energies. Monitor Units(MU), Modulation Factor, Dose Volume Histograms(DVH) and quality indices were used to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity correction on dose calculation and investigate the mechanism of this effect in the low and high energies. Results: Heterogeneity correction compared to without it showed significant reduction in MU and modulation factor at 6MVand 10MV (

Suppressive efficiency of Kojic acid from Aspergillus tamarii MM11 against HepG-2 cell line derived from human liver cancer

Purpose: To evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of Kojic acid (KOJIC ACID) from Aspergillus tamarii MM11 against HepG-2 cell line derived from human liver cancer.Methods: The crude extract of A. tamarii MM11 was dissolved in a mixture of CH2Cl2/MeOH (85:15) and separation was done using silica gel chromatography using gradient size exclusion chromatograph. The non-polar oily fractions were subjected to gas chromatography-mass  spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis. Kojic acid structure was identified by x-beam crystallography and spectroscopic methods. Total antioxidant properties of KOJIC ACID were evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) against ascorbic acid as a reference. The cytotoxic activity of KOJIC ACID from A. tamarii MM11 was investigated on the human cell line of liver cancer (HepG-2) using a sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay based on a cell density determination by the measurement of cellular protein content.Result: Highly bioactive Kojic acid was isolated as the main product. A. tamarii MM11 Kojic acid showed good antioxidant activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentration of IC50 at concentrations of 10.34 compared to 6.79 μg/mL for ascorbic acid. Kojic acid also showed good cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 cell line of human liver cancer with IC50 at 6.20 compared to 3.25 μg/mL of reference drug doxorubicin.Conclusion: Kojic acid produced naturally from A. tamarii MM11 shows good antioxidant and cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 cell line derived from  human liver cancer. These findings suggest that Kojic acid can be therapeutically used as an antitumor drug after further in vivo studies. Keywords: Aspergillus tamarii, Secondary metabolites, Kojic acid, Anticancer, Liver cance

Enabling Technology Maturation in Carbon Capture: The Role of a University Based Power Plant as a Test Facility

The Abbott Power Plant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) provides a unique facility for testing carbon capture, utilization, and energy storage technologies. This combined heat and power (CHP) facility supplies power and electricity for the needs of the UIUC campus. Despite being an operational plant, Abbott Power Plant is actively engaged in a variety of projects. These projects range in technology readiness level (TRL) and demonstrate the ability of the plant to couple field research with operational excellence. While the plant is a fossil asset (e.g., coal and natural gas boilers), it is connected through the campus grid to renewables. This connectivity provides the ability to evaluate how new technologies (e.g., capture, utilization, and energy storage) respond to variations in the grid due to the increased penetration of variable renewables. Because the plant is located on the UIUC campus, it is also engaged in educational activities at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The ability of the plant to couple operational excellence with research and development (R&D) and education makes it an important asset for the evaluation of new technologies.U.S. Department of Energy ; DE-FE0031600, DE-FE0031592, DE-FE0026588, DEFE00031588Ope

An overview of the utilisation of microalgae biomass derived from nutrient recycling of wet market wastewater and slaughterhouse wastewater

Microalgae have high nutritional values for aquatic organisms compared to fish meal, because microalgae cells are rich in proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. However, the high cost for the commercial production of microalgae biomass using fresh water or artificial media limits its use as fish feed. Few studies have investigated the potential of wet market wastewater and slaughterhouse wastewater for the production of microalgae biomass. Hence, this study aims to highlight the potential of these types of wastewater as an alternative superior medium for microalgae biomass as they contain high levels of nutrients required for microalgae growth. This paper focuses on the benefits of microalgae biomass produced during the phycore-mediation of wet market wastewater and slaughterhouse wastewater as fish feed. The extraction techniques for lipids and proteins as well as the studies conducted on the use of microalgae biomass as fish feed were reviewed. The results showed that microalgae biomass can be used as fish feed due to feed utilisation efficiency, physiological activity, increased resistance for several diseases, improved stress response, and improved protein retention