The use of special stains in liver biopsy interpretation: Implications for the management of liver disease in Nigeria

Context: The evaluation of a liver biopsy requires the use of stains other than routine hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) to highlight many important features.Aims: Most Nigerian Histopathology Departments do not routinely perform special stains (personal communication by authors). This study aims to re‑evaluate a set of liver biopsies which has been diagnosed solely on H and E stains by performing a standard set of special stains on them.Settings and Design: This is a retrospective analysis.Materials and Methods: The formalin fixed paraffin embedded blocks of liver biopsies reported in two histopathology laboratories between 2008 and 2013 were retrieved. These were stained with H and E and the following standard special stains for liver tissue histology – Perl’s Prussian blue, reticulin, Sirius red, Shikata orcein, and periodic acid‑Schiff with diastase. The stained slides were re‑analyzed.Statistical Analysis Used: No formal statistical analysis was performed, but results are summarized and tabulated by summary statistics, where appropriate.Results: Seventy‑four liver biopsy paraffin blocks were received in the laboratories. Fifty‑three (71.6%) were suitable for analysis out of which 51 (68.9%) had their clinical details retrievable. In 29 cases (56.9%), Perl’s stain was positive for iron pigment within the hepatocytes with 17 (58.6%) of these being Grade 1, 7 (24.1%) Grade 2, and 5 (17.2%) Grade 3. Shikata orcein revealed hepatitis B viral surface antigen in 15 (29.4%) of the cases while copper‑associated protein was demonstrable in 6 (11.8%) of the cases. The discovery of stainable iron implies some degree of disturbance of iron metabolism, and a Grade 3 stainable iron requires investigation for genetic hemochromatosis. The demonstration of copper‑associated proteins suggests biliary disease in a noncirrhotic liver which also requires further investigation.Conclusion: This study confirms the need to routinely perform special stains in reporting liver biopsies to fully investigate and manage patients and their relatives.Keywords: Biliary disease, iron overload, liver biopsy, special stain

A New Analytical Model for SIM–OFDM Contradicts the Previously Claimed Features

The Subcarrier Index Modulation OFDM (SIM–OFDM) appeared in 2009 promising a –3 dB transmitted power reduction without affecting the system performance. Therefore, it became an attractive choice to upgrade the communication systems with researchers’ increasing interest. Despite the research efforts in SIM–OFDM field, there was no in-depth investigation for such transmitted power reduction or the system’s performance. The claimed power reduction relies on probabilistic assumptions that were not validated considering system operation concepts. This paper provides a new analytical model that characterizes the actual SIM–OFDM behavior. The contribution of this model is the inclusion of the majority condition in the derivation of 1’s pmf which modifies the 1’s pmf into a complex nonlinear function that is always higher than 1/2. The new pmf effect upon the power reduction, synchronization, and the overall Bit Error Rate (BER) is investigated. The new analytical model shows that the –3 dB power reduction cannot be achieved. Also, no successful synchronization can be established unless extra subcarrier is added that will create a frame like communication system. Such scheme increases BER if the carrier is falsely detected creating a Frame Error Rate (FER) which might lead to serious problem

Geomorphic Indicators of Folds Lateral Growth Using Satellite Images: Sulaimaniyah Vicinity in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Visual interpretation of satellite images is a very significant technique to recognize and interpret structural features, which indicate lateral growth of folds, the origin of folds, and dating of folds using the exposure dating method. In this study, Landsat 8 (ESSRI) and Google Earth images are used to recognize structural features at Pira Magroon, Surdash, and Azmar anticlines in the Sulaimaniyah vicinity, Kurdistan Region, north of Iraq. The mentioned anticlines are outstanding geomorphological and structural features in the Sulaimaniyah vicinity. The recognized and interpreted structural features include: en-echelon folding, domes, and Neotectonic indication. All these features are discussed in detail with many images to show the discussed cases, most of the interpreted data and presented figures are never mentioned previously

Upgrading SIM–OFDM Using a Threshold for Correct Operation with Analytical Proofs

A new upgrade to the SIM–OFDM is suggested to solve a critical problem that crashes the system even over noiseless channel. This problem is the interference of the zeros at the IFFT output with the BOOK\u27s zeros that confuses the receiver during demodulation which leads to BER accumulation. The suggested solution is to use a threshold to differentiate the data carried by the BOOK from the IFFT\u27s symbols. The new system is called Threshold SIM–OFDM (TSIM–OFDM). The mathematical analysis of TSIM–OFDM proves it operates normally and meets the theoretical bounds. The TSIM–OFDM preserves the probability of 1 equal to 1/2. This preservation comes from the direct connection of the ON/OFF switching bits to the subcarrier which overrides the majority condition. This new switching technique simplifies the system operation resulting in higher transmission speed and increased spectral and power efficiency. A simple approach to derive the BER for the SIM–OFDM is presented which proves that the SIM–OFDM will never reach zero BER level unlike the TSIM–OFDM. The simulation results show that the TSIM–OFDM BER reaches zero level and the output power is almost half of the OFDM. Adding the threshold will increase the transmitted power slightly and tends to decrease with the increase of IFFT length

Biometric Template Protection based on Hill Cipher Algorithm with Two Invertible Keys

The security of stored templates has become an important issue in biometric authentication systems this because most of the biometric attacks target the biometric database beside the difficulty of issuing the templates again. Thus, to protect the biometric templates it must be encrypted before storing in database. In this paper we proposed an efficient encryption method based on two invertible and random keys to enhance and overcome the weakness of hill cipher algorithm the keys generated using upper triangular matrices with Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) using two large and random encryption keys. The proposed encryption method provides sufficient security and protection for the biometric templates from attacks, where the experimental results showed high efficiency comparing with the traditional Hill Cipher and existing methods

Integrating Coding and Artificial Intelligence in English Language Teaching: A Study at Cihan University-Duhok

Coding and language acquisition are highly valued in the present world, not only in the educational system but also in daily life and earning a living. In terms of Artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Deep Learning, etc., coding is becoming more and more integrated into daily life. Applying coding to increase the visualization of English learning by smart systems employing AI in the classroom, in the context of English Language Teaching (ELT), may have a significant influence on how students learn. Any civilization needs language to facilitate social interaction because it allows people to communicate their ideas, opinions, and feelings to others while also advancing their knowledge. English is a language that everyone may use to communicate with one another. As a result of the growing tendency of linguistic globalization, bilingualism is becoming a fairly common phenomenon in today\u27s world. This paper will investigate the potential effects of coding on undergraduate students\u27 academic performance and English language comprehension. It tries to assess both levels of learning English and vocabulary by coding using the survey data by SPSS. Additionally, it will make an effort to link the teacher\u27s study level and outside-the-classroom teaching methods. A thorough literature review has been done and a research gap has been found. Then for the study, 60 undergraduate students from the Department of English, Cihan University- Duhok were chosen, and they were requested to take a pre-test to gauge their level of English proficiency. Additionally, the faculty were picked to gauge how easy it was for the students to grasp the language. After introducing coding and smart systems into the learning process, a post-test was conducted, and the outcomes were evaluated. The AI and smart system in the ELT can enhance the way and interest of learning. This study has led to the conclusion that coding can be added to ELT to enhance learning

A new route for the synthesis of La-Ca oxide supported on nano activated carbon via vacuum impregnation method for one pot esterification- transesterification reaction

Advanced carbon nanorod promoted binary CaO-La2O3 system with improved physical properties, tailored surface morphology and chemistry were developed in vacuum-impregnating methods. The nanostructured catalyst (CaO–La2O3/AC nanocatalyst) was prepared to convert high FFA waste cooking oil into biodiesel via one step esterification-transesterification reaction. The novel catalyst was characterized by FTIR, SEM, XRD, TGA, BET, TPD-CO2 and TPD-NH3. The high catalytic activity of the nanocatalyst was mainly depends on the high acid and basic density of active sites that contributed from the synergic effect between mesoporous carbon and binary metallic system, which allowed more occurrence of simultaneous esterification-transesterification process of high FFA waste oil without additional pretreatment step. Result showed maximum 98.6±0.5% with acid value 0.4±0.5 mg KOH/g of triglyceride conversion under optimal condition at 3% of catalyst, methanol:oil ratio of 16:1, 100 °C within 4h of reaction. Furthermore, bi-metallic catalyst with stable carbon nanorod support capable to maintained high reusability with high FAME yield (> 98%) with low acid value (<0.5 mg KOH/g) for 5 cycles

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTION IN WOMEN AND THE PRESENCE OF CARDIOLIPIN AND PHOSPHOLIPID ANTIBODIES

IgG and IgM cardiolipin and phospholipid antibodies were measured, by an ELISA technique, in the sera of patients with toxoplasmosis. Immunological methods for autoantibodies had been applied by ELISA. Regarding Anti-cardiolipin it was revealed that 24.7% of toxoplasmosis cases versus 0% of control group showed significant positive result (P=0.0412) . Whereas, 12.5% of toxoplasmosis patients and 12% of healthy controls had anti-cardiolipin antibodies, with no significant differences (P=0.554) between these two groups

Effect of Steel Fibers, Polypropylene Fibers and/ or Nanosilica on Mechanical Properties of Self-Consolidating Concrete

This research concerned studying the combined effect of using nano-silica and/ or hybrid fibers on key mechanical properties of self-consolidating concrete SCC. A comprehensive experimental work has been carried out, using steel fiber (SF) with volume fraction (0, 0.5% and 1.5%), polypropylene fiber (PPF) (0%, 0.05% and 0.15%) and SiO2 nanoparticles (0%, 2% and 4%) by weight of powdered material (silica fume- Sf ) with constant w/c ratio (0.48) to produce eleven different mixtures and tested at different ages (7, 28 and 90 days). Results showed that adding fibers adversely affect SCC workability and thus more dosage of super plasticizer (SP) should be added to stay within the standard limits. comparable to conventional concretes, the presence of steel fibers with SCC provide slight increase in compressive strength at 28 days, (up to 11%), while significant enhancement in tensile properties were observed (up to 24% and 32% for splitting and flexural strength respectively). Polypropylene or hybrid fibers however, provide lower enhancement compared with steel fibers. In contrast, implementation of nanosilica leads to significant improvement in concrete strengths particularly at 4% dosage. Combined effect of 4% nanosilica and 1.5% of steel fibers provide the superior hardening effect on the flexural performance compared with softening effect provided by other added dosages. Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) images confirm the matrix densification effect due to nanosilica adding. Flexural strength of SCCs without nanosilica was generally higher than splitting testing results. This fact does not change even with the presence of nanosilica and/ or fibers