Uni and Simplex Optimization for the Spectrophotometric Determination of Erythromycin ethylsuccinate Drug via Charge-Transfer Complex Formation

Charge transfer complex formation method has been applied for the spectrophotometric determination of erythromycin ethylsuccinate, in bulk sample and dosage form. The method was accurate, simple, rapid, inexpensive and sensitive depending on the formed charge- transfer complex between cited drug and, 2,3-Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p- benzoquinone (DDQ) as a chromogenic reagent. The formed complex shows absorbance maxima at 587 nm against reagent blank. The calibration graph is linear in the ranges of (10 - 110) µg.mL-1 with detection limit of 0.351µg.mL-1. The results show the absence of interferences from the excipients on the determination of the drug. Therefore the proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of erythromycin ethylsuccinate in pharmaceutical preparations. Keywords: Simplex, Spectrophotometric, Erythromycin ethylsuccinate , Charge- transfer

Improving the Performance of Constructed Wetland Microbial Fuel Cell (CW- MFC) for Wastewater Treatment and Electricity Generation

ركزت هذه الدراسة على إداء المسطحات المائية الصناعية المدمجة مع خلية الوقود المايكروبية في معالجة المياه الملوثة وتوليد الطاقة الكهربائية. في هذه الدراسة تم استخدام نوعين من الاقطاب; الفولاذ المقاوم للصدأ و كَرافيت. تم تنظيم الاقطاب الكهربائية في ثلاثة مجاميع. في التنظيم الأول القطبين الموجب والسالب كانا عبارة عن صفيحة من الكَرافيت، في التنظيم الثاني القطب السالب كان عبارة عن صفيحة مشبكة من الفولاذ المقاوم للصدأ أما القطب الموجب فكان عبارة عن صفيحتين من الفولاذ المقاوم للصدأ. أما في التنظيم الثالث فالقطب السالب كان عبارة عن صفيحة مشبكة من الفولاذ المقاوم للصدأ في حين القطب الموجب كان عبارة عن صفيحة من الكَرافيت. ان أعلى طاقة تم الحصول عليها هي (9 Mw/m3) كانت من التنظيم الثالث. بعد مرور 10 أيام من بدء التشغيل، كانت افضل نسبة لإزالة المتطلب الكيمائي للأوكسجين (COD) كانت 70% وقد تم الحصول عليها من التنظيم الثاني. إن تأثير درجة الحرارة قد تمت دراسته ايضاً، حيث تم إختبار توليد الطاقة الكهربائية من التنظيم الثالث في درجات حرارة 30،35 و40 درجة مئوية وإن أفضل نتيجة ((80 Ma/m3 كانت في درجة حرارة 40 درجة مئوية. في هذه الأنظمة الثلاثة تم السماح للطحالب بالنمو حتى تزود هذه الأنظمة بالأوكسجين اللازم لعملية الاختزال.The current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless steel mesh (SSMa) and the cathode was a couple of stainless steel plain (SSPc). The anode in the third CW-MFC unit was stainless steel mesh (SSMa) and the cathode was graphite plate (GPc). It was found that the maximum performance for electricity generation (9 mW/m3) was obtained in the unit with stainless steel mesh as anode and graphite plate as cathode. After 10 days of operation, the best result for COD removal (70%) was obtained in the unit with stainless steel mesh as anode and stainless steel plain as cathode. The effect of temperature was also investigated. The performance of unit operation for electricity generation was tested at three values of temperature; 30, 35 and 40oC. The best result was obtained at 40oC, at which the current density obtained was 80 mA/m3. A culture of Algae could grow in the unit in order to supply the cathodic region with oxygen

System for Visually Disabled through Wearables Utilizing Arduino and Ultrasound

Blindness and other vision impairment is on the rise with more than 2.2 billion people worldwide are affected including children, elder persons, pregnant women, chronically ill and disabled persons who experience difficulties in mobility and being independent. Some of the conventional assistances like usage of white cane or a guide dog lacks the ability to cater all the needs of the blind people. The present research outlines a wearable system with Arduino and ultrasound equipment to improve the walking ability of the persons with vision impairment. From the use of the proposed system, there is the potentiality of detecting obstacles in real time and also determine the location hence minimizing the dependence on other help. The system consists of two wearable components: a glove and a belt which contain ultrasonic sensors, GPS module and GSM module and a vibration motor. The glove senses the objects that are in front of the user while the belt detects stairs or any other raised ground. The method used here was the development and calibration of these components separately then brought together to form a coherent entire system where all the component was precise and reliable. The findings show that the proposed system is successful to identify obstacles on its path before the user comes close to them and gives out alerts through sound and touch. GPS and GSM modules provide an extra layer of security to the kids by allowing a tracking of their location in real time

Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Based on Symptoms and Face Recognition

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has various effects on language, speech, and communication of individuals. When ASD is detected in the earlier stages of life, especially in childhood, there would be many identifiers that would aid in the strategizing of the right therapeutic plan at the right time period. Human faces have important markers that would aid in the identification of ASD through the analyzation of facial features and eye contact. There are other Artificial Intelligence-aided means of detection of ASD through the studying of various symptoms and finding patterns. In this research, we developed two systems that would aid in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children, one of which uses a transfer-learning-based face detection framework. And the other system uses a decision-tree-based system to identify Autism in chlidren based on symptoms. Various machine learning and deep learning techniques were applied

Knowledge, attitude and practice of long acting reversible hormonal contraception (LARHC) among women in urban upper Egypt

Background: The current study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of long acting reversible hormonal contraception (LARHC) among women in urban upper Egypt.Methods: A cross sectional study which included 902 married women, in the reproductive age, attending the outpatient clinics (Gynecology and family planning) of: 1-Assiut University Maternity Hospital, 2- Sohag University Hospital, and 3-Gehina General Hospital (MOH hospital) with current or previous use of any method of LARHC methods. A Questionnaire file was designed to assay knowledge attitude and practice of clients towards contraceptive methods. All data collected from clients reviewed separately to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of women towards contraceptive methods.Results: The most popular contraceptive method is COCs followed by IUD then DMPA. 99% of studied sample heard with good description about different types of LARHC. 54.9% of studied sample most popular/famous LARHC DMPA, most sources of information on LARHC were, Hospital, Relative/friends and health workers. 94.24% of the studied sample were in favor to use of LARHC, 94.2% of them agree to take a space between births, about 55.4% of them were health child and 61% comfortable lifestyle benefit from birth spacing, 33% of studied sample were maternal health, 68% of them were think/prefer to use implants, 64.5% of them didn’t pregnant while breastfeeding. 11% of sample women never used any contraception before and most reasons for not using contraception are fear of side effects, desire for more children, irregular sexual relationship, and husband opposition. Only 16.6 % of studied sample used LARHC before and most of them used DMPA, however 3 women who used DMPA get pregnant while using it.Conclusions: There is a good level of knowledge between upper Egypt women about LARHC methods

Optimization of water-cement ratio in concrete contains recycled polypropylene (PP) plastic waste

Recently, the use of recycled plastic waste in civil engineering applications has been increased. This paper aims to investigate the effect of water-cement ratio on the compressive strength of concrete that contents 2.5 % polypropylene (PP) as plastic waste. Two references concrete mixes were prepared. The first mix had a water-cement ratio of 0.45 with 2.5% plastic waste, the second mix with 0.45 water cement ratio but without plastic waste. Three concrete mixes with water cement ratios of (0.5, 0.4, and 0.3) were also used as parametric study cases. The results indicated that decreasing the water-cement ratio from 0.45 to 0.4 increases the compressive strength by 20.2%. Also, the compressive strength increases by 36.2% with decreasing of water cement ratio from 0.45 to 0.3. While the compressive strength decreases by 12% with the increase of water-cement ratio from 0.45 to 0.5

THE GENETIC DIVERSITY OF MAIZE INBRED LINES GROWN IN IRAQ USING SIMPLE SEQUENCE RECURRENT (SSR) MARKERS

This study was conducted to determine the genetic variability among maize inbred lines grown in Iraq by using Simple Sequence Recurrent (SSR) markers. For estimating the genetic relationships, 10 SSR primers were used with 10 maize inbred lines. Two hundred and sixteen alleles (bands) with a range of 13 to 41 were identified for the SSR loci. Polymorphism information content (PIC) of the 10 SSR loci ranged from 0.60% to 100%. Primers ‘umc1566’, ‘umc1542’, and ‘umc2189’ showed the maximum PIC value; by contrast, ‘umc2225’showed the lowest PIC value. The 10 maize inbreds were clustered based on the matrix of genetic similarity using the UPGMA algorithm. Cluster analysis placed the inbreds lines in three clusters based on SSR data. The studied inbreds lines divided to groups and subgroups with cluster analysis that revealed agreement with their geographical origin. The results indicated that SSR marker has a high degree of polymorphism that allows efficient identification of maize genotypes, and this could be used in determining their heterotic groups

Adherence to Immunosuppressive Medications in Kidney Transplant Patients at Three Centers in Khartoum State, Sudan: A Cross-sectional Hospital Study

Background: Graft survival post-kidney transplantation is of paramount importance to patients and nephrologists. Nonadherence to immunosuppressive therapy can be associated with deterioration of renal function and graft rejection. This study aimed to evaluate the adherence to immunosuppressive medications in kidney transplant patients at three centers in Khartoum, Sudan. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based survey, 277 post-kidneytransplant patients were recruited. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS v.23. Our scoring method was calculated based on Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) related to immunosuppressive medications and was expressed as questions in the questionnaire; every correct answer was given one mark, then the marks were gathered and their summation was expressed. Results: Overall, 33% ,45%, and 22% of the studied participants reported high, medium, and low adherence, respectively. The major factor for nonadherence was forgetfulness affecting 36.1% of those who did not adhere. The cost of the immunosuppressive medications did not negatively affect any of the participants’ adherence (100%). However, a significant association was seen between adherence and occupational status, duration of transplantation, shortage of immunosuppressants, recognizing the name of immunosuppressant, side effect, and forgetfulness (P-values = 0.002, 0.01, 0.006 , 0.000, 0.022, and 0.000, respectively). Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association with occupational status, side effects, and forgetfulness Conclusion: Only one-third of the participants were classed as “highly adherent” to their immunosuppressant medications. Factors that can affect adherence to immunosuppressant medications were occupational status, side effects, and forgetfulness

Design, Implementation, and Kinematics of a Twisting Robot Continuum Arm Inspired by Human Forearm Movements

In this article, a soft robot arm that has the ability to twist in two directions is designed. This continuum arm is inspired by the twisting movements of the human upper limb. In this novel continuum arm, two contractor pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA) are used in parallel, and a self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) is laid between them to establish the twisting movement. The proposed soft robot arm has additional features, such as the ability to contract and bend in multiple directions. The kinematics for the proposed arm is presented to describe the position of the distal end centre according to the dimensions and positions of the actuators and the bending angle of the SBCA in different pressurized conditions. Then, the rotation behaviour is controlled by a high precision controller system

Improving the Antibacterial Activity of Ceftazidime by Inulinase Purified from Staphylococcus Aureus

Inulinase is an enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of inulin, a plant stored polysaccharide, into fructoses and fructo- oligosaccharides that have a large spectrum of applications ranging from food industry to bioethanol production and pharmacology.Eight isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from agricultural rhizosphere soil samples with isolation percentage(32%)   and screened for higher inulinase production and found that Staphylococcus aureusS3 was the best producer. Inulinase was  partially purified with ammonium sulfate at 70% saturation and the specific activity reached to (7.01)U/mg protein. Inulinase led to enhancement ceftazidime activity against the bacteria and  gram positive bacteria more sensitive than negative bacteria to combination of inulinase and ceftazidime. These finding indicate that antistaphylococcal activity of ceftazidime antibiotic has increased in the presence of inulinase enzyme and the inulinase may be useful adjuvant agent for the treatment of S. aureus infections in combination with this antibiotic