Can deficit irrigations be an optimum solution for increasing water productivity under arid conditions? A case study on wheat plants

Water scarcity is of growing concern in many countries around the world, especially within the arid and semi-arid zones. Accordingly, rationalizing irrigation water has become an obligation to achieve the sustainable developmental goals of these countries. This may take place via using deficit irrigation which is long thought to be an effective strategy to save and improve water productivity. The current study is a trial to evaluate the pros and cons of using 50 and 75 % of the irrigation requirements (IR) of wheat (deficit irrigations) versus 100 %IR, while precisely charting changes in wheat growth parameters, antioxidant enzymes in plant shoots and the overall nutritional status of plants (NPK contents). Accordingly, a field experiment was conducted for two successive seasons, followed a split-plot design in which deficit irrigations (two irrigations to achieve 50 % of the irrigations requirements (IR), three irrigations to attain 75 % IR, and four irrigations to fulfill 100 % IR) were placed in main plots while four different studied wheat cultivars were in subplots. Results obtained herein indicate that deficit irrigations led to significant reductions in growth parameters and productivity of all wheat cultivars, especially when using 50 % IR. It also decreased NPK contents within plant shoots while elevated their contents of proline, peroxidase, and catalase enzymes. On the other hand, this type of irrigation decreased virtual water content (VWC, the amount of water used in production on ton of wheat grains). Stress tolerance index (STI), and financial revenues per unit area were also assessed. The obtained values of grain productivity, STI, VWC and financial revenues were weighted via PCA analyses, and then introduced in a novel model to estimate the efficiency of deficit irrigations (ODEI) whose results specified that the overall efficiency decreased as follows: 50 %IR < 75 %IR < 100 %IR. In conclusion, deficit irrigation is not deemed appropriate for rationalizing irrigation water while growing wheat on arid soils

PLASMONIC NANOLITHOGRAPHY MACHINE (PLM)

The Plasmonic Nanolithography Machine (PLM) is a prototype that adopts near field maskless plasmonic nanolithography to achieve 45 nm line widths at 45 nm half pitch. A plasmonic lens floating on a hydrodynamic air bearing rides on a disc with about a 35-mm radius writable substrate surface. A UV laser is used to excite surface plasmons in the lens, which, in turn, expose resist on the disk. The disc spins at nominally 1000 RPM and the lens traverses it in the radial direction. The machine linearly moves the lens across the disk. The traverse length is 42.4 mm, the alignment time is less than one minute, and the average traverse speed is 5 µm/s. The PLM’s traverses the lens with a resolution of less than 5 nm and an angular error of less than 1 µrad. The PLM is composed of a base and carriage. Two Halbach linear array motors move the carriage in the radial direction. The advantage of using the Halbach linear array is that it provides smooth contactless linear motion that is directly proportional to the current applied without generating much heat. Vacuum preloaded air bearings are used to carry the carriage at a 5-micron flying height on diamond-turned surfaces located on the base. The air bearings have high angular stiffness, which makes them a good choice to reduce pitch and yaw errors. Eddy current dampers are used on the PLM to provide the necessary damping during the carriage motion. The main advantage of these dampers is that they provide a smooth linear damping that is directly proportional to the carriage speed. At 5 µm/s carriage speed, the dampers provide about 4.28 mN damping force. The PLM has many piezoelectric actuators that align and adjust the distance between the plasmonic lens and a pre-focusing lens that focuses the UV laser on the plasmonic lens. Also, capacitance gauges are used on the tailor-made pre-focusing flexure to determine the pre-focusing position. The PLM has built-in interferometers. Their functions are to monitor the vibration of the plasmonic lens during the writing process so its position may be controlled. The carriage motion is constrained by two Hall-effect limit switches that provide a contactless means to stop the writing process when necessary. Also, there are pressure limit switches to monitor the pressure of the air bearings’ air supply, and when triggered they stop the process and give an alarm to the user

Prevalence and trends of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors in the State of Qatar, 2013-2017.

Millions of lives around the world are being saved annually through blood transfusion. However, blood transfusion is among the essential vehicles for transmitting infections. The overall prevalence of Transfusion Transmissible Infections among blood donors differs around the world, reflecting the variation in the prevalence of these infections. This study aims to assess the prevalence and trends of Transfusion Transmissible Infections among blood donors in Qatar. This is a cross-sectional study utilizing donation records of 5 years from January 2013 to December 2017. We included in the study results for all screening and confirmatory tests for Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Human T-lymphotropic Virus-I/II, Syphilis and Malaria. Among the 190,509 donations received at the donation centre during the study period, about 91% of donations were received from males and 9% from females. The overall positivity rate for all tests was 1.87, 2.23, 1.78, 2.31, 2.67% for the years 2013 through 2017, with an increasing yearly trend by 6% each year. The overall positivity rates for Hepatitis C Virus, Human T-lymphotropic Virus-I/II, Hepatitis B Virus, Syphilis and Malaria (2013-2017) were 0.60, 0.18, 0.30, 0.43 and 0.20%, respectively. The overall positivity rate of all tests combined for the Transfusion Transmissible Infections demonstrated a gradually increasing trend from 2013 to 2017. However, the trend for each infection (Hepatitis C Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, Syphilis and Malaria) was fluctuating except for Human T-lymphotropic Virus-I/II, which was increasing. Supporting the development of effective prevention and control strategies requires further comprehensive investigations for better estimation of the burden of these infections.The authors gratefully acknowledge the Blood Donation Center at HMC for their support

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Lineage 3 as Causative Agent of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Eastern Sudan1.

Pathogen-based factors associated with tuberculosis (TB) in eastern Sudan are not well defined. We investigated genetic diversity, drug resistance, and possible transmission clusters of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains by using a genomic epidemiology approach. We collected 383 sputum specimens at 3 hospitals in 2014 and 2016 from patients with symptoms suggestive of TB; of these, 171 grew MTBC strains. Whole-genome sequencing could be performed on 166 MTBC strains; phylogenetic classification revealed that most (73.4%; n = 122) belonged to lineage 3 (L3). Genome-based cluster analysis showed that 76 strains (45.9%) were grouped into 29 molecular clusters, comprising 2-8 strains/patients. Of the strains investigated, 9.0% (15/166) were multidrug resistant (MDR); 10 MDR MTBC strains were linked to 1 large MDR transmission network. Our findings indicate that L3 strains are the main causative agent of TB in eastern Sudan; MDR TB is caused mainly by transmission of MDR L3 strains

Interactive Effects of Immunoglobulin Gamma and Human Leucocyte Antigen Genotypes on Response to Interferon Based Therapy of Hepatitis C Virus

AIM: We examined the role that immunoglobulin GM 23 and KM allotypes—genetic markers of γ and κ chains, respectively—play in response to treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egyptian patients.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 120 persons who had responded to HCV treatment and 125 with persistent HCV infection were genotyped for the presence of GM23 and KM determinants. HLA –C genotyping was also done.RESULTS: Association of GM 23+ and KM3 was significantly associated with non response to treatment (P < 0.0001). Individuals who lacked this GM genotype (but were positive for KM1,2 and 3) were likely to respond to treatment (P=0.045). Association of heterozygous GM23 (+/-) with KM 1,2 and 3 or KM3 alone was significantly associated with SVR (P = 0.001) and (P = 0.0001) respectively. Particular combinations of HLA and GM genotypes were associated significantly with the response to HCV treatment. The combination of HLAC2C2 and GM23+ was associated with persistence of infection (P = 0.027) while the association of HLAC2C2 and heterozygous GM23+/- was associated with SVR (P = 0.001).The association of HLAC1C1 and heterozygous GM23+/- was significantly associated with SVR (P = 0.001) and also subjects with HLA C1/C2 and heterozygous GM23+/- were likely to respond to treatment (P = 0.003) while subjects with HLA C1/C2 and GM23+ show tendency to resist to treatment (P = 0.0001).CONCLUSION: Our results didn’t support a role for KM allotypes, GM23 allotype plays a role in the persistence of HCV infection in the presence or absence of KM1,3. Interaction between certain GM and HLA-C genotypes may favor adequate response to interferon based therapies

A Four Element mm-Wave MIMO Antenna System with Wide-Band and High Isolation Characteristics for 5G Applications

In this article, we propose a light weight, low profile Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna system for compact 5th Generation (5G) mmwave devices. Using a RO5880 substrate that is incredibly thin, the suggested antenna is made up of circular rings stacked vertically and horizontally on top of one another. The single element antenna board has dimensions of 12 × 12 × 0.254 mm3 while the size of the radiating element is 6 × 2 × 0.254 mm3 (0.56λ0 × 0.19λ0 × 0.02λ0). The proposed antenna showed dual band characteristics. The first resonance showed a bandwidth of 10 GHz with a starting frequency of 23 GHz to an ending frequency point of 33 GHz followed by a second resonance bandwidth of 3.25 GHz ranging from 37.75 to 41 GHz, respectively. The proposed antenna is transformed into a four element Linear array system with size of 48 × 12 × 0.254 mm3 (4.48λ0 × 1.12λ0 × 0.02λ0). The isolation levels at both resonance bands were noted to be >20 dB which shows high levels of isolation among radiating elements. The MIMO parameters such as Envelope Correlation Co-efficient (ECC), Mean Effective Gain (MEG) and Diversity Gain (DG) were derived and were found to be in satisfactory limits. The proposed MIMO system model is fabricated and through validation and testing of the prototype, the results were found to be in good agreement with simulations

The molecular characterisation of Escherichia coli K1 isolated from neonatal nasogastric feeding tubes

Background: The most common cause of Gram-negative bacterial neonatal meningitis is E. coli K1. It has a mortality rate of 10–15%, and neurological sequelae in 30– 50% of cases. Infections can be attributable to nosocomial sources, however the pre-colonisation of enteral feeding tubes has not been considered as a specific risk factor. Methods: Thirty E. coli strains, which had been isolated in an earlier study, from the residual lumen liquid and biofilms of neonatal nasogastric feeding tubes were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and 7-loci multilocus sequence typing. Potential pathogenicity and biofilm associated traits were determined using specific PCR probes, genome analysis, and in vitro tissue culture assays. Results: The E. coli strains clustered into five pulsotypes, which were genotyped as sequence types (ST) 95, 73, 127, 394 and 2076 (Achman scheme). The extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) phylogenetic group B2 ST95 serotype O1:K1:NM strains had been isolated over a 2 week period from 11 neonates who were on different feeding regimes. The E. coli K1 ST95 strains encoded for various virulence traits associated with neonatal meningitis and extracellular matrix formation. These strains attached and invaded intestinal, and both human and rat brain cell lines, and persisted for 48 h in U937 macrophages. E. coli STs 73, 394 and 2076 also persisted in macrophages and invaded Caco-2 and human brain cells, but only ST394 invaded rat brain cells. E. coli ST127 was notable as it did not invade any cell lines. Conclusions: Routes by which E. coli K1 can be disseminated within a neonatal intensive care unit are uncertain, however the colonisation of neonatal enteral feeding tubes may be one reservoir source which could constitute a serious health risk to neonates following ingestion

Microwave brain imaging system to detect brain tumor using metamaterial loaded stacked antenna array

In this paper, proposes a microwave brain imaging system to detect brain tumors using a metamaterial (MTM) loaded three-dimensional (3D) stacked wideband antenna array. The antenna is comprised of metamaterial-loaded with three substrate layers, including two air gaps. One 1 x 4 MTM array element is used in the top layer and middle layer, and one 3 x 2 MTM array element is used in the bottom layer. The MTM array elements in layers are utilized to enhance the performance concerning antenna's efficiency, bandwidth, realized gain, radiation directionality in free space and near the head model. The antenna is fabricated on cost-effective Rogers RT5880 and RO4350B substrate, and the optimized dimension of the antenna is 50 x 40 x 8.66 mm3. The measured results show that the antenna has a fractional bandwidth of 79.20% (1.37-3.16 GHz), 93% radiation efficiency, 98% high fidelity factor, 6.67 dBi gain, and adequate field penetration in the head tissue with a maximum of 0.0018 W/kg specific absorption rate. In addition, a 3D realistic tissue-mimicking head phantom is fabricated and measured to verify the performance of the antenna. Later, a nine-antenna array-based microwave brain imaging (MBI) system is implemented and investigated by using phantom model. After that, the scattering parameters are collected, analyzed, and then processed by the Iteratively Corrected delay-multiply-and-sum algorithm to detect and reconstruct the brain tumor images. The imaging results demonstrated that the implemented MBI system can successfully detect the target benign and malignant tumors with their locations inside the brain. 2022, The Author(s).This research work is supported by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) research Grant DIP-2020-009.Scopu

Smear Microscopy for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Eastern Sudan.

BACKGROUND: In Sudan, tuberculosis diagnosis largely relies on clinical symptoms and smear microscopy as in many other low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the positive predictive value of a positive sputum smear in patients investigated for pulmonary tuberculosis in Eastern Sudan. METHODS: Two sputum samples from patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis were investigated using direct Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining and light microscopy between June to October 2014 and January to July 2016. If one of the samples was smear positive, both samples were pooled, stored at -20°C, and sent to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL), Germany. Following decontamination, samples underwent repeat microscopy and culture. Culture negative/contaminated samples were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: A total of 383 samples were investigated. Repeat microscopy categorized 123 (32.1%) as negative, among which 31 were culture positive. This increased to 80 when PCR and culture results were considered together. A total of 196 samples were culture positive, of which 171 (87.3%), 14 (7.1%), and 11 (5.6%) were M. tuberculosis, M. intracellulare, and mixed species. Overall, 15.6% (57/365) of the samples had no evidence of M. tuberculosis, resulting in a positive predictive value of 84.4%. CONCLUSIONS: There was a discordance between the results of smear microscopy performed at local laboratories in the Sudan and at the NRL, Germany; besides, a considerable number of samples had no evidence of M. tuberculosis. Improved quality control for smear microscopy and more specific diagnostics are crucial to avoid possible overtreatment