Determination of the Potassium Content in Fruit Samples by Gamma Spectrometry to Emphasize its Health Implications

In this study, the activity concentration of 40K and its’ concentrations in 24 different types of fruits were determined using high purity germanium (HPGe) and sodium iodide scintillation (NaI) detectors. The results of the two measurements are consistent. The Maximum and minimum activities of 40K in dry samples were 750.61 ± 11.88 and 15.64 ± 0.86 Bq kg−1 in apricot and olive, respectively, while in fresh samples they were 152.27 ± 2.12 and 1.99 ± 0.11 Bq kg−1 in dates and olive, respectively. The highest and lowest potassium contents were 489.81 and 6.42 mg/100gm in fresh dates and olives, respectively.  Drupe and Tropical fruits, as a fruit family, typically had the highest level of 40K activity and potassium concentration, whereas pome fruits showed the lowest levels. Many of these commonly consumed fresh fruits with rich potassium and water contents are lowering hypertension and improving the hydration status (HS) in people's nutrition. The rate of potassium-40 and total potassium concentration intake for a single unit or portion of the fruits was calculated. &nbsp

Development of a convolutional neural network joint detector for non-orthogonal multiple access uplink receivers

We present a novel approach to signal detection for Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) uplink receivers using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) in a single-shot fashion. The defacto NOMA detection method is the so-called Successive Interference Cancellation which requires precise channel estimation and accurate successive detection of the user equipment with the higher powers. It is proposed converting incoming packets into 2D image-like streams. These images are fed to a CNN-based deep learning network commonly used in the image processing literature for image classification. The classification label for each packet converted to an image is the transmitted symbols by all user equipment joined together. CNN network is trained using uniformly distributed samples of incoming packets at different signals to noise ratios. Furthermore, let’s performed hyperparameter optimization using the exhaustive search method. Our approach is tested using a modeled system of two user equipment systems in a 64-subcarrier Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Rayleigh channel. It is found that a three-layer CNN with 32 filters of size 7×7 has registered the highest training and testing accuracy of about 81. In addition, our result showed significant improvement in Symbol Error Rate (SER) vs. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) compared to other state-of-the-art approaches such as least square, minimum mean square error, and maximum likelihood under various channel conditions. When the channel length is fixed at 20, our approach is at least one significant Figure better than the maximum likelihood method at (SNR) of 2 dB. Finally, the channel length to 12 is varied and it is registered about the same performance. Hence, our approach is more robust to joint detection in NOMA receivers, particularly in low signal-to-noise environment

Spectrophotometric Determination of Sulfanilamide in Pure and in Synthetic Sample based on Condensation Reaction Method

A new, Simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of sulfanilamide (SNA) drug in pure and in synthetic sample. This method based on the reaction of sulfanilamide (SNA) with 1,2-napthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (NQS) to form N-alkylamono naphthoquinone by replacement of the sulphonate  group of the naphthoquinone sulphonic acid by an amino group. The colored chromogen shows absorption maximum at 455 nm. The optimum conditions of condensation reaction forms were investigated by: (1) univariable method, by optimizing the effect of experimental variables; (different bases, reagent concentration, borax concentration and reaction time),     (2) central  composite design (CCD) including the effect of three experimental factors (reagent concentration, borax concentration, and reaction time). The linearity ranges of sulfanilamide are (5-30 µg.mL-1) at 455 nm with molar absorptivity (6.9568×104 - 7.0774×104 L.mol-1.cm-1), Sandell's sensitivity index (2.4753 - 2.4330 μg.cm-2) and detection limit of (0.546 – 0.536 µg.mL-1) for each procedure respectively. The results showed there are no interferences of excipients on the determination of the drug. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of sulfanilamide in pure and in synthetic sample. Keywords: Spectrophotometric determination, Sulfanilamide, Central  composite design, 1, 2-napthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (NQS)

Prostate cancer in Iran: Trends in incidence and morphological and epidemiological characteristics

Background: Prostate cancer is second most common cancer in men overall in the world, whereas it is the third most common cancer in men and the sixth most common cancer in Iran. Few studies have been conducted on the epidemiology of prostate cancer in Iran. Since ethnicity of Iranian men is different from Asian people and given the epidemiologic and demographic transition taking place in Iran, this study aimed to investigate trends of incidence and morphology of prostate cancer during 2003 - 2008 in the country. Materials and Methods: Data were collected retrospectively reviewing all new prostate cancer patients in the Cancer Registry Center of the Health Deputy for Iran during a 6-year period. Also carcinoma, NOS and adenocarcinoma, NOS morphology were surveyed. Trends analysis of incidence and morphology was by joinpoint regression. Results: During the six years a total of 16,071 cases of prostate cancer were recorded in Iran. Most were adenocarcinomas at 95.2 percent. Trend analysis of incidence (ASR) There was a significant increase incidence, with annual percentage change (APC) of 17.3 and for morphology change percentage trends there was a significant decrease in adenocarcinoma with an APC of -1.24. Conclusions: Prostate cancer is a disease of older men and the incidence is increasing in Iran. The most common morphology is adenocarcinoma this appears to be decreasing over time. Due to the changing lifestyles and the aging of the population, epidemiological studies and planning assessment of the etiology of prostate cancer and its early detection are essential

Comparing effects of beetroot juice and Mediterranean diet on liver enzymes and sonographic appearance in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized control trials

BackgroundIn both developed and developing countries, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has lately risen to the top of the list of chronic liver illnesses. Although there is no permanent cure, early management, diagnosis, and treatment might lessen its effects. The purpose of conducting the current study is to compare the effects of beetroot juice and the Mediterranean diet on the lipid profile, level of liver enzymes, and liver sonography in patients with NAFLD.MethodsIn this randomized controlled trial, 180 people with a mean age of (45.19 ± 14.94) years participated. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 73. The mean weight before intervention was (82.46 ± 5.97) kg, while the mean weight after intervention was roughly (77.88 ± 6.26) kg. The trial lasted for 12 weeks. The participants were split into four groups: control, a Mediterranean diet with beet juice (BJ + MeD), Mediterranean diet alone (MeD), and beetroot juice (BJ). The Mediterranean diet included fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, and other lean meats (without skin), sources of omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, and legumes. Beetroot juice had 250 mg of beetroot. Data analysis was done using SPSS software (version 26.0). p < 0.05 is the statistical significance level.ResultsFollowing the intervention, Serum Bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), serum cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were significantly decreased in the BJ + MeD, BJ, and MeD groups (p = 0.001). Also, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) significantly increased in the BJ + MeD, BJ, and MeD groups (p = 0.001), while decreasing in the Control group (p = 0.001).ConclusionThe research findings indicate a significant reduction in hepatic steatosis among the groups receiving beetroot juice (BJ) and beetroot juice combined with the Mediterranean diet (BJ + MeD). This suggests that beetroot juice holds potential as an effective treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults. Furthermore, the combination of beetroot juice with the Mediterranean diet showed enhanced efficacy in addressing NAFLD.Clinical trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05909631

Catalytic Performance of Calcium-Lanthanum co-doped Ceria (Ce0.85-xLa0.15CaxO2-δ) in Partial Oxidation of Methane

In this study, Ce0.85-xLa0.15CaxO2-δ was synthesized using sol-gel combustion method and appliedfor partial oxidation of methane (POM). The physicochemical properties of catalyst were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Material shows a pure cubical structure and is highly stable up to 850 °C. The performance testing indicated the conversion of CH4 is 65% and selectivity of H2 and CO are 28% and 8%, respectively. The performance indicated the catalyst has a potential to be used for partial oxidation of methane on a larger scale. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Isolation and Identification of Nocardia spp. from the local soils in diyala province

Background: Nocardia spp. belongs to the family Nocardiaceae , are obligatory aerobic, Gram-positive ,non-spore forming, and non-motile ,actinomycete that form filamentous branched cells normally are saprophytes of soil, Nocardia is a rare bacterial opportunistic known for its ability to cause a wide range of clinical diseases in humans and animal                         Objective:To using phenotypic methods from soil samples of Diyala province and study  resistance of to some antibiotic. Patients and Methods: Collected ( 50 ) soil samples from the various regions of diyala province  The samples included various ecosystems, rural areas and urban areas and culture of samples on the media trypton soya agar which containing 5μg / mL tetracycline, 50μg / ml nystatin and 5% NaCl, and diagnosed according to colonial characteristics microscopic examination, biochemical tests isolates were selected to measure their resistance to some of,   the antibiotic. Results: In the rural area had the highest positive growth. 15samples (60%) showed positive growth and 10 samples (40%).showed negative growth in as for the urban area, only two samples (8%) showed positive growth and 23 samples (92%) showed negative growth of bacterial, In this study,isolation  different types of Nocardia spp. from soil in different areas of diyala province, and used trypton soya agar (TSA) medium containing two antibiotics tetracycline and nystatin, It was the highest percentage of antibiotic resistance in against antibiotic Tobramycin which reached (38.40%) while  was the lowest percentage resistance in the antibiotic Gentamicin which reached (15.30%). Conclusion: Due to pathogenicity and species diversity of Nocardia, using phenotypic tests are essential for identification of Nocardia species. Isolation and identification of Nocardia spp. from soil of different regions can help to enhance our understanding of epidemiological and ecological of the pathogenic Nocardia species. The isolation of species  resistance to antibiotic   means that they have a predisposition to the pathogenesis of the human

Efficacy and timing of adjunctive therapy in the anti-VEGF treatment regimen for macular oedema in retinal vein occlusion:12-month real-world result

PurposeVarious combination treatment regimens have been tried to improve the short-term efficacy of intravitreal monotherapy for the treatment of macular oedema (MO) secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Our study introduces the RandOL protocol (Ranibizumab and Ozurdex with Laser photocoagulation) of initial anti-VEGF therapy, controlling recurrent non-ischaemic MO with an intravitreal steroid and applying laser therapy to non-perfused retina. We describe our 12-month follow-up experience on timing for adjunctive therapy and real-world effectiveness and safety data.MethodsA retrospective analysis was carried out on 66 consecutive treatment-naive RVO patients with MO who received our RandOL treatment regimen. Baseline visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) were compared with 12-month result.ResultsAt 12 months, 77% had significant VA improvement, 52% had ≥3-line improvement, and 15% were worse. Significant improvements in CRT were observed in 97% (baseline median CRT=531 μm (IQR 435-622) reduced to 245 μm (IQR 221-351, P<0.001) at 12 months); 76% achieved a dry fovea at 1 year. Mean number of total injections required was 5.5 (range 2-11) and 6% required ≥9 injections in 1 year. Although 70% received additional Ozurdex, 82% received ≥1 sessions of laser therapy. The BRVO subgroup achieved better VA and CRT improvement at 1 year, but small numbers limit definitive statistical conclusions.ConclusionsOur real-world results using a combination treatment protocol for RVO-related MO achieved similar desirable anatomical and visual outcomes as with a single-agent therapy with less intravitreal re-treatment rates at first year. Randomised controlled studies are needed to evaluate the role of laser and the ideal timing of combination therapy

Instructions for creating camera-ready versions of accepted papers for the Proceedings of HLTD 2011

Abstract This document contains the instructions for preparing a camera-ready manuscript for the proceedings of HLTD 2011.The document itself conforms to its own specifications, and is therefore an example of what your manuscript should look like. These instructions should be used for final versions of accepted papers. Authors are asked to conform to all the directions reported in this document. Credits This document has been adapted from the instructions for ACL-2010 proceedings drafted by Jing-Shin Chang and Regina Barzilay. Instructions for those proceedings were in turn based on the formats of earlier ACL and EACL Conference proceedings. Those versions were written by several persons, includin

Reductions in plasma endocannabinoids following bariatric surgery in morbidly obese females with impaired glucose homeostasis: a non-randomized prospective study

Reductions in plasma endocannabinoids following bariatric surgery in morbidly obese females with impaired glucose homeostasis: A non-randomized prospective study • Endocannabinoids (ECs) are bioactive lipid mediators − N-arachidonyl ethanolamine (AEA) − N-palmitoyl ethanolamine (PEA) − N-oleoyl ethanolamine (OEA) − related N-acylethanolamine (NAE) derivatives − 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG) • Endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a critical role in regulation of body weight and may have a role in aetiopathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) • Elevated circulating levels of AEA and 2-AG in obese people compared to non-obese controls of both genders • Little information available on the effects of extreme weight loss associated with bariatric surgery in relation to the ECS