A Human Body Mathematical Model Biometric Using Golden Ratio: A New Algorithm

This research provides more than 35 measurements rules derived from the perspectives of Vitruvian Man and Neufert and their basis of the golden proportion, to build a human body model on computers for the use of multimedia. The measurements are based on 25 proportional rules derived from 15 proportions given by Vitruvian Man and 29 golden proportions in Bauentwurfslehre by Ernst Neufert. Furthermore, the research will suggest two algorithms to calculate the 67 measurements with precision; assuming that the algorithms output will be used as guideline to human body modelers in simulation, gaming, plastic surgery, as well as the world of biometrics or wherever human body measurements and calculations is needed like prosthetic limbs, spatial design, and machine learning of human biometrics. Furthermore, building proportional models creates visual harmony in measurements and visual parity model. Hence, the chapter facilitates and explains for the human modeler the process of human modeling from within an algorithm. This research is an expanded work based on two published conference papers listed in the references section

Delayed intravitreal anti-vegf therapy for patients during the covid-19 lockdown: An ethical endeavor

Purpose: To assess the impact of Jordanian’s Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) lockdown on visual acuity and macular thickness in patients with macular edema receiving intravitreal injections, and to assess the ethical endeavor of lockdown among serious sight threatening conditions. Patients and Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients planned for intravitreal injections who did not complete the planned course before the lockdown (ie, before 20th of March 2020). Data included demographics, indication for the intravitreal injection, corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and central macular thickness on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) before and after the lockdown. Results: One-hundred and sixty-six eyes of 125 patients were studied, 68 (54.4%) patients were males, and the mean (± standard deviation, SD) age was 64.79 (±9.41) years. Mean (±SD) duration of delay in the planned injection was 60.97 (±24.35) days. The change in visual acuity was statistically significant for patients with diabetic macular edema (p= 0.045 improvement), patients with central retinal vein thrombosis (CRVO) (p= 0.05 deterioration), and patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (p= 0.005 deterioration). Of interest, delay of more than 2 months and the previous need for 3 or more injections were significant poor prognostic factors for visual outcome for patients with diabetic macular edema (p=0.027 and 0.045). Conclusion: The impact of delay in the scheduled intravitreal injections resulted in variable outcomes depending on the indication. Triaging the urgency of patients should be based on the indication to support the equity principle of bioethics, where those in need are prioritized against others, depending on potential adverse outcome

Prevalence of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome and Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma in Upper Egypt

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pseudoexfoliation (PXF) is a recognized risk factor for developing cataract, glaucoma and lens dislocation. PXF is also associated with increased risk of complications during cataract surgery due to poor mydriasis and zonular weakness. The aim of this study is to report the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation among Upper Egyptians attending the ophthalmology clinic of Assiut University Hospital.</p> <p>Methodology</p> <p>A retrospective, chart review study conducted in the period from February 2002 to August 2009. A total of 7738 patients aged 40 years or older attending the general ophthalmic clinics were included in this study. A detailed evaluation including ophthalmic and general history, slit lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, gonioscopy and dilated eye examination were performed. Patients with pseudoexfoliative material on the anterior lens surface and ⁄ or the pupillary margin in either or both eyes were labeled as having PXF.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of the 7738 patients included, three hundred twenty (4.14%) subjects had PXF. Mean age of PXF group was 68.15 years (SD 8.16, range 40-92 years). PXF was bilateral in 82.2% of cases. It was significantly associated with cataract, glaucoma and hearing loss. Of the PXF patients, 65% had cataract, 30.3% had glaucoma and 8.1% had hearing loss.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pseudoexfoliation appears to be a common disorder in older individuals in Upper Egypt.</p

Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B and C viruses among haemodialysis patients in Gaza strip, Palestine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and its associated risk factors among haemodialysis (HD) patients in Gaza strip was investigated using serological and molecular techniques.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of HBV among the four HD centers was 8.1%. The main risk factors were HD center (p = 0.05), history of blood transfusion (p < 0.01), and treatment abroad (p = 0.01). The overall prevalence of HCV among the four HD centers was 22%. The main risk factors were HD center (p < 0.01), time duration on HD (p < 0.01), history of blood transfusion (p < 0.01), treatment abroad (p < 0.01), and history of blood transfusion abroad (p < 0.01). Serum aminotransferases levels decreased in HD patients compared with normal population but still there was a direct association between the activity of liver enzymes and both HBV (p < 0.01) and HCV (p < 0.01) infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The much higher prevalence of Hepatitis viruses among HD patients compared to the normal population of Gaza strip indicates a causative relation between HD and hepatitis viruses transmission. Therefore extremely careful observation of preventive infection control measures is essential to limit Hepatitis viruses' transmission in HD centers.</p

Management of hepatitis C virus genotype 4: recommendations of an international expert panel.

HCV has been classified into no fewer than six major genotypes and a series of subtypes. Each HCV genotype is unique with respect to its nucleotide sequence, geographic distribution, and response to therapy. Genotypes 1, 2, and 3 are common throughout North America and Europe. HCV genotype 4 (HCV-4) is common in the Middle East and in Africa, where it is responsible for more than 80% of HCV infections. It has recently spread to several European countries. HCV-4 is considered a major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation in these regions. Although HCV-4 is the cause of approximately 20% of the 170 million cases of chronic hepatitis C in the world, it has not been the subject of widespread research. Therefore, this document, drafted by a panel of international experts, aimed to review current knowledge on the epidemiology, natural history, clinical, histological features, and treatment of HCV-4 infections

JKRW Link Prediction – A New Ensemble Technique Based on Merging Other Known Techniques in The Social Network Analysis

In this research, a new technique to improve the accuracy of the link prediction for most of the networks is proposed; it is based on the prediction ensemble approach using the voting merging technique. The new proposed ensemble called Jaccard, Katz, and Random models Wrapper (JKRW), it scales up the prediction accuracy and provides better predictions for different sizes of populations including small, medium, and large data. The proposed model has been tested and evaluated based on the area under curve (AUC) and accuracy (ACC) measures. These measures applied to the other models used in this study that has been built based on the Jaccard Coefficient, Katz, Adamic/Adar, and Preferential attachment. Results from applying the evaluation matrices verify the improvement of JKRW effectiveness and stability in comparison to the other tested models.  The results from applying the Wilcoxon signed-rank method (one of the non-parametric paired tests) indicate that JKRW has significant differences compared to the other models in the different populations at 0.95 confident interval

Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries

Jordan was late in adopting seawater and brackish water desalination as a source until the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, ongoing studies are still discussing the technical, economic, and socio-political aspects of brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination plants. In this study, the water–energy nexus was considered, in order to highlight the main challenges facing BWRO desalination. We discuss the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology, together with BWRO desalination, as an approach to compensate for ecological, financial, and social challenges in Jordan. For this purpose, the performance of nine existing BWRO desalination plants in the agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors is assessed. The water performance is assessed based on water consumption, safe yield extraction, plant recovery rate (R, %), and compliance to local and international water quality standards; the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC, kWh/m3) is taken as the main evaluation criterion to assess the energy performance of the BWRO desalination plants; and economic performance is assessed based on the overall cost of water produced per cubic meter (USD/m3). The main environmental component is the brine disposal management practice utilized by each plant. Based on this assessment, the main challenges in BWRO desalination are the unsustainable patterns of water production, mismanaged energy performance, low recovery rates, and improper brine disposal. The challenges in domestic and industrial BWRO desalination, which are completely dependent on the electricity grid, are associated with critical energy and costs losses, as reflected by the high SEC values (in the range of 2.7–5.6 kWh/m3) and high water costs per cubic meter (0.60–1.18 USD/m3). As such, the use of PV solar panels is suggested, in order to reduce the electricity consumption of the assessed BWRO plants. The installation of PV panels resulted in significantly reduced energy costs (by 69–74%) and total costs (by 50–54%), compared with energy costs from the electricity grid, over the lifetime of the assessed BWRO desalination plants

Essential oil of common sage (Salvia officinalis L.) from Jordan: assessment of safety in mammalian cells and its antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential

Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is a Mediterranean species, naturalized in many countries. In Jordan, it is used in traditional medicine as antiseptic, antiscabies, antisyphilitic, and anti-inflammatory, being frequently used against skin diseases. This study aimed the assessment of the antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential of its essential oils, and their cytotoxicity on macrophages and keratinocytes. The oils were investigated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and the antifungal activity was evaluated against yeasts, dermatophyte and Aspergillus strains. Assessment of cell viability was made by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and the in vitro anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated by measuring nitric oxide production using lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse macrophages. The main compounds of S. officinalis oils were 1,8-cineole (39.5-50.3%) and camphor (8.8-25.0%). The oils revealed antifungal activity against dermatophyte strains and significantly inhibited NO production stimulated by LPS in macrophages, without affecting cell viability, in concentrations up to 0.64 μL/mL. This is the first report addressing the in vitro anti-inflammatory potential of S. officinalis oil. These findings demonstrated that bioactive concentrations of S. officinalis oils do not affect mammalian macrophages and keratinocytes viability making them suitable to be incorporated in skin care formulations for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes