Seven naphtho-γ-pyrones from the marine-derived fungus Alternaria alternata: structure elucidation and biological properties

Eight bioactive pyrone derivatives were identified from the culture of Alternaria alternata strain D2006, isolated from the marine soft coral Denderonephthya hemprichi, which was selected as its profound antimicrobial activities. The compounds were assigned as pyrophen (1), rubrofusarin B (2), fonsecin (3), and fonsecin B (5) beside to the four dimeric naphtho-γ-pyrones; aurasperone A (6), aurasperone B (7), aurasperone C (8), and aurasperone F (9). Structures of the isolated compounds were identified on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass (EI, ESI, HRESI) data, and by comparison with the literature. Configuration of the four dimeric naphtho-γ-pyrones 6-9 was analyzed by CD spectra, exhibiting an identical stereochemistry

A hybrid approach based on personality traits for hate speech detection in Arabic social media

In recent years, as social media has grown in popularity, people have gained the ability to freely share their views. However, this may lead to users' conflict and hostility, resulting in unattractive online environments. Hate speech relates to using expressions or phrases that are violent, offensive, or insulting to a minority of people. The number of Arab social media users is quickly rising, and this is being followed by an increase in the frequency of cyber hate speech in the area. Therefore, the automated detection of Arabic hate speech has become a major concern for many stakeholders. The intersection of personality learning and hate speech detection is a relatively less studied niche. We suggest a novel approach that is focused on extracting personality trait features and using these features to detect Arabic hate speech. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is superior in terms of the macro-F1 score by achieving 82.3% compared to previous work reported in the literature

Pancreatic pseudocyst in children: a single-institute experience

Background and objectives: Pancreatic pseudocysts are rare in children, with most series describing not more than 24 patients. At Zagazig University Hospital we have managed a range of cases of this disorder and feel this experience should add to the existing experience with children. This study aimed to analyze the causes, clinical presentation, and management of symptomatic pancreatic pseudocysts treated at our institution.Patients and methods: This study included 19 children. Their ages ranged from 1 month to 17 years. All cases were diagnosed as pancreatic pseudocysts and were admitted and treated in the Pediatric Surgery Unit, Zagazig University Hospital, during the period from 1996 to 2011. The collected data included age, sex, etiology, clinical presentation, radiological information, operative data, postoperative complications, and the final outcome.Results: Twelve patients (63.2%) had a history of abdominal trauma, whereas the remaining seven patients (36.8%) had no abdominal trauma. The pseudocysts were acute in 11 patients, chronic in seven patients, and only one patient had congenital pseudocyst. Nine patients improved with expectant treatment; however, 10 patients required surgery. The surgical intervention included  cystogastrostomy for four patients, cystojejunostomy for two patients, complete excision with distal pancreatectomy in two children, and partial excision with external drainage in the remaining two patients. One patient developed postoperative wound infection, and two cases had external pancreatic fistula.Conclusion: Although spontaneous resolution of pancreatic pseudocysts occurred, more commonly, in acute, small-sized, and post-traumatic cysts, the surgical treatment of pancreatic pseudocyst is a valid, safe, effective, and satisfactory treatment, especially in complicated cases.Keywords: children, drainage, conservative treatment, pancreatic pseudocyst, pancreatitis, surgical treatmen

Using High Dimensional Computing on Arabic Language Speech to Text Classification

High-Dimensional Processing is the idea that mind register illustrations of neural activities which are not immediately related with numbers. The objective of the article is hyper- dimensional computation of data for categorization of text from two distinct speech datasets, namely the Arabic Corpus dataset and the MediaSpeech dataset with four languages (Arabic, Spanish, French, and Turkish). Through the use of an n-gram encoding scheme, hyper dimensional computing is used to conduct the analysis from the prior set of data. Using hyper dimensional computing, the MediaSpeech dataset accomplishes 100% accuracy for all 4-gram to 14-gram encoding schemes, while the Arabic Corpus dataset accomplishes 100% accuracy for 4-gram to 7-gram encoding schemes

Effect of geometrical properties on strength of externally prestressed steel-concrete composite beams

A parametric study was carried out to investigate the structural behaviour of composite steel-concrete T-beams under different prestressing conditions. The studied parameters include different cases of loading, tendon profiles, beam spans, initial prestressing levels and different dimensions of steel sections and concrete deck. The studied beams were modelled by the finite-element software Ansys. The effect of three geometrical parameters was investigated for three different tendon profiles. It was found that straight tendon profiles are more appropriate for beams under distributed loads, whereas a draped tendon profile is more convenient for beams under concentrated loads. In addition, the ratio of the tension flange area to the compression flange area is the most effective geometrical parameter on the ultimate resistance of the studied prestressed beams. For instance, increasing this ratio from 1 to 3 resulted in increasing the additional resistance of the beam due to prestressing from 15·4 to 46·1%. For composite beams, the presence of the concrete slab prevented the lateral-torsional buckling and accordingly minimised the effect of the span. Moreover, increasing the slab thickness-to-width ratio resulted in enhancing the average increase in beam strength from 13·5 to 19·9%

Tissue trauma and inflammatory response following laparoscopic versus abdominal hysterectomy: a prospective randomized clinical trial

Background: Laparoscopic surgery is associated with more favorable clinical outcome than conventional open surgery. This might be related to the magnitude of tissue trauma and tissue stress response. This study compares the intensity of tissue injury by assessing plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy compared to abdominal hysterectomy.Methods: This study was conducted at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital from May 2018 to February 2020. 74 women candidate for hysterectomy were recruited and randomized into two groups: group A included 37 cases who underwent abdominal hysterectomy, and group B included 37 cases that underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy.Results: CRP, LDH and CA125 significantly increased post-operatively in both groups. Postoperative mean serum CRP, LDH and CA125 were significantly higher in the laparotomy group (10.84±2.47, 262.21±76.77, and 13.41±2.6 respectively) compared to laparoscopy group (7.92±2.25, 148.53±43.56, 11.79±2.77 respectively) (p<0.05).Conclusions: Surgery is a significant cause of tissue injury that can be assessed by specific markers. We suggest that laparoscopic surgery causes less tissue damage as assessed by lower postoperative CRP and LDH values, which might account for the earlier recovery and reduced hospital stay in laparoscopic surgery

OH maser towards IRAS 06056+2131: polarization parameters and evolution status

We present high angular resolution observations of OH maser emission towards the high-mass star forming region IRAS 06056+2131. The observations were carried out using the UK radio interferometer array, Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) in the OH main lines at 1665- and 1667-MHz, in addition to the OH satellite line at 1720-MHz. The results of this study revealed emission in the 1665 MHz line with an estimated total intensity of $\sim 4$ Jy. We did not detect any emission from the 1667-MHz and 1720-MHz lines. The full polarization mode of MERLIN enables us to investigate the magnetic field in the OH maser region. Our results show that IRAS 06056+2131 is a highly circularly polarized source. In this transition, a Zeeman pair is identified from which a magnetic strength of $\sim -1.5$ mG is inferred. The orientation of the linear polarization vectors suggests that the magnetic field lines at the location of the OH maser emission \textbf{might be} in agreement with the orientation of the outflow thought to be associated with this source. The star forming evolutionary status of the embedded proto-stellar object is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

BIOPROCESIRANJE PRIRODNE FOSFATNE RUDE BAKTERIJOM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Phosphate ores are in high demand around the world because they are the primary raw materials used in the manufacturing of phosphatic fertilizers and other chemicals. Since the grade of the ore is gradually declining, it is becoming economically viable to mine and beneficiate numerous lower-grade deposits, and a significant number of precious minerals are discarded due to the inadequacy of new technological advances. Thus, biological processes are becoming more appealing in mineral processing due to their lower operating costs and potential applications to beneficiate low-grade complex ores through the interaction of bacteria and mineral surfaces, resulting in surface modification and mineral separation via bio-flotation. Staphylococcus aureus was supplied by the mineral bioprocessing lab, CMRDI. Bacterial adhesion measurements revealed a higher affinity for apatite than quartz. A binary mixture containing 12.5% P2O5 and 42.5% SiO2 yielded a concentrate containing 20.15% P2O5 and 33.5% SiO2. Using the bio-flotation process with Staphylococcus aureus and the optimal conditions on natural phosphate ore, a concentrate with 30.25% P2O5 was obtained from a feed containing 21.89% P2O5.Diljem svijeta velika je potražnja za fosfatnom rudom s obzirom na to da je riječ o primarnoj sirovini koja se koristi u proizvodnji fosfatnih gnojiva i drugih kemikalija. Budući da se koncentracija rude postupno smanjuje, ekonomski je sve isplativije eksploatirati i oplemenjivati brojna ležišta niže koncentracije s obzirom na to da se znatne količine korisne mineralne sirovine nedovoljno iskorištavaju zbog neadekvatnosti novih tehnologija. Stoga biološki procesi postaju sve zanimljiviji u oplemenjivanju SiO2 mineralnih sirovina zbog nižih operativnih troškova i potencijalne primjene za obogaćivanje kompleksnih ruda niskoga stupnja koncentracije, i to interakcijom bakterija i površine minerala, što rezultira površinskom modifikacijom i odvajanjem minerala putem bioflotacije. Bakteriju Staphylococcus aureus isporučio je laboratorij za bioprocesiranje minerala, CMRDI. Mjerenja bakterijske adhezije pokazala su veći afinitet za apatit nego za kvarc. Binarna smjesa koja je sadržavala 12,5 % P2O5 i 42,5 % SiO2 dala je koncentrat koji je sadržavao 20,15 % P2O5 i 33,5 % SiO2. Postupkom bioflotacije bakterijom Staphylococcus aureus pri optimalnim uvjetima na prirodnoj fosfatnoj rudi dobiven je koncentrat s 30,25 % P2O5 iz sirovine koja je sadržavala 21,89 % P2O5