Critical Care Nurses’ Knowledge and Practice Regarding Administration of Total Parenteral Nutrition at Critical Care Areas in Egypt

Background: Critical care nurses are responsible for administering total parenteral nutrition that affects on critically ill patient general condition. Nurses must know proper constituents  of each solution and should be expert in calculating the dose of medication to prevent errors. Each nurse should be aware of indications, action, contraindications, adverse reactions  and  interactions of  each parenteral solution.  Moreover, nurses monitor  patients for  any negative signs of a change in condition, administer medication, and develop a plan of action for patients care. Aim of the study: to assess critical care nurses ' knowledge and practices regarding total parenteral nutrition. Research Design: A descriptive exploratory design was utilized in this study. Research questions: the following two research questions were formulated ;a)what the nurses know about the administration of total parenteral nutrition?, b) what are the practices the nurses perform while administering the total  parentral nutrition. Setting: The study was carried out at different Critical Care units at Menofiya and Benha University Hospitals, in Egypt. Sample: A sample of convenience of 80 nurses from different critical care units with a minimum one year of experience were included in the present study. Tools of data collection: Two tools were used to collect data; the first tool has two parts ;part one is background data sheet that included gender, age, years of experience, educational level and area of work. part two was total parenteral nutrition knowledge questionnaire that was designed by researcher to assess knowledge regarding indication, contraindication,   and nursing measures  towards total parenteral nutrition. The second tool was  total parenteral nutrition observational checklist that was designed to assess nurses practices while administering. Results:The current study findings revealed that critical care nurses have got low knowledge and practice scores with  significant correlations between years of experience and their level of knowledge and practice regarding total parenteral nutrition. Conclusion: it can be concluded that critical care nurses have inadequate knowledge and practice regarding total parenteral nutrition. Recommendations: Carrying out educational programs about nursing management of total parenteral nutrition complications and training on total parenteral nutrition administration. Key words: Critical Care Nurses ' knowledge , Nurses practice, Total parenteral nutrition

Efficient Feature Selection and ML Algorithm for Accurate Diagnostics

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed in numerous optimization, prediction and classification problems. This has endeared them for application in fields such as computer networks and medical diagnosis. Although these machine learning algorithms achieve convincing results in these fields, they face numerous challenges when deployed on imbalanced dataset. Consequently, these algorithms are often biased towards majority class, hence unable to generalize the learning process. In addition, they are unable to effectively deal with high-dimensional datasets. Moreover, the utilization of conventional feature selection techniques from a dataset based on attribute significance render them ineffective for majority of the diagnosis applications. In this paper, feature selection is executed using the more effective Neighbour Components Analysis (NCA). During the classification process, an ensemble classifier comprising of K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN), Naive Bayes (NB), Decision Tree (DT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) is built, trained and tested. Finally, cross validation is carried out to evaluate the developed ensemble model. The results shows that the proposed classifier has the best performance in terms of precision, recall, F-measure and classification accuracy

Parameter Estimation of Modified Double-Diode and Triple-Diode Photovoltaic Models Based on Wild Horse Optimizer

The increase in industrial and commercial applications of photovoltaic systems (PV) has a significant impact on the increase in interest in studying the improvement of the efficiency of these systems. Estimating the efficiency of PV is considered one of the most important problems facing those in charge of manufacturing these systems, which makes it interesting to many researchers. The difficulty in estimating the efficiency of PV is due to the high non-linear current–voltage characteristics and power–voltage characteristics. In addition, the absence of ample efficiency information in the manufacturers’ datasheets has led to the development of an effective electrical mathematical equivalent model necessary to simulate the PV module. In this paper, an application for an optimization algorithm named Wild Horse Optimizer (WHO) is proposed to extract the parameters of a double-diode PV model (DDM), modified double-diode PV model (MDDM), triple-diode PV model (TDM), and modified triple-diode PV model (MTDM). This study focuses on two main objectives. The first concerns comparing the original models (DDM and TDM) and their modification (MDDM and MTDM). The second concerns the algorithm behavior with the optimization problem and comparing this behavior with other recent algorithms. The evaluation process uses different methods, such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for accuracy and statistical analysis for robustness. Based on the results obtained by the WHO, the estimated parameters using the WHO are more accurate than those obtained by the other studied optimization algorithms; furthermore, the MDDM and MTDM modifications enhanced the original DDM and TDM efficiencies

Cryopreservation of rabbit semen: impacts of permeable and non-permeable mixture of cryoprotectant, male group individuality, freezing rate, semen package size and antioxidant bovine serum albumin on rabbit semen freezability

[EN] In the present study, three experiments were designed to identify the most appropriate technique for freezing rabbit semen. Experiment 1 aimed to determine the optimal levels of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) contents in freezing medium and their effects on individual bucks. Semen ejaculates for each buck (n=15 bucks) were mixed and split into three portions for extension with a freezing medium containing varying concentrations of DMSO (0.75, 1.0, and 1.4 M). Diluted semen samples were packaged in 0.25 mL straws and suspended above liquid nitrogen (LN) for 10 min, then dipped in LN. A few days after freezing, post-thaw semen evaluation was assessed, and according to the results, six bucks and an extender containing 0.75 M of DMSO were used for experiments 2 and 3. In experiment 2, the pooled semen from 6 bucks was divided into two portions for packaging in two straw sizes (0.25 and 0.50 mL). Each straw size was divided into five groups and suspended at different heights above LN (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm) for 10 minutes before being preserved in LN. In experiment 3, the pooled semen was divided into four portions for dilution with freezing medium containing different concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA; 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mg/mL). Semen samples were packaged in a 0.50 mL straw and suspended 10 min, 4 cm above LN for freezing. Pre-freezing and post-thawing, semen samples were evaluated for semen quality. Results showed that the extender containing 0.75 M DMSO had higher significant values for post-thaw sperm motility, longevity, acrosome integrity and sperm plasma membrane permeability. Bucks individuality had significant effects on post-thaw motility, acrosome and sperm plasma membrane integrity. A significant interaction was recorded between DMSO concentrations and bucks individuality on sperm longevity. Semen package sizes had no significant effects on the evaluated parameters. Semen was frozen at 2 and 4 cm above LN had significantly better post-thaw quality. BSA at concentrations 5 and 7.5 mg/mL improved recovery rates of acrosome integrity and sperm membrane permeability. DMSO 0.75 M and freezing 4 cm above LN seem to be more adequate for rabbit semen cryopreservation. The appropriate level of DMSO differs between bucks, as the post-thaw sperm longevity is affected. BSA enhanced acrosome and sperm membrane integrity. Results obtained will need further investigation to be confirmed in the field.Mohammed, KM.; Darwish, GM.; Rawash, ZM.; Taha, AM. (2022). Cryopreservation of rabbit semen: impacts of permeable and non-permeable mixture of cryoprotectant, male group individuality, freezing rate, semen package size and antioxidant bovine serum albumin on rabbit semen freezability. World Rabbit Science. 30(3):227-238. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2022.1730322723830

An Overview of QT Dispersion Finding in Cardiac Patients,Review Article

Background: QT duration represents the time of the whole summated electric cardiac ventricular activity involving stepwise depolarization followed by repolarization. There has been a long history of using the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify ventricular repolarization problems. The 1960s were a turning point for precise mathematical methodologies. It has been customary in clinical practice to use only the QT interval and the polarity and shape of the T wave when evaluating cardiac repolarization using an electrocardiogram (ECG). This terminology, such as "non-specific ST segment and T wave variations are widely used. An earlier theory on interlead disparities in QTI length was resurrected in a 1990 report by the group led by Professor John Campbell. The "QT dispersion" range of durations was proposed as a measure of ventricular recovery time spatial dispersion. Objective: Determine the relevance of QTd in prediction of myocardial and its severity. Conclusion: For cardiac patients, QTd is an easy-to-use, rapid, affordable, and helpful tool for helping with study interpretation, clinical management, and therapeutic orientation

Exploiting the S-Iteration Process for Solving Power Flow Problems: Novel Algorithms and Comprehensive Analysis

In recent studies, the competitiveness of the Newton-S-Iteration-Process (Newton-SIP) techniques to efficiently solve the Power Flow (PF) problems in both well and ill-conditioned systems has been highlighted, concluding that these methods may be suitable for industrial applications. This paper aims to tackle some of the open topics brought for this kind of techniques. Different PF techniques are proposed based on the most recently developed Newton-SIP methods. In addition, convergence analysis and a comparative study of four different Newton-SIP methods PF techniques are presented. To check the features of considered PF techniques, several numerical experiments are carried out. Results show that the considered Newton-SIP techniques can achieve up to an eighth order of convergence and typically are more efficient and robust than the Newton–Raphson (NR) technique. Finally, it is shown that the overall performance of the considered PF techniques is strongly influenced by the values of parameters involved in the iterative procedure

The Value of Serum Nestin in Monitoring the Effects of Surgery and Chemotherapy in Female Breast Cancer Patients: A Comparison with Serum CA15.3

Background: Traditional tumor markers such as cancer antigen 15.3 (CA15.3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) exhibit limited clinical utility in breast cancer due to their lack of sensitivity and specificity, particularly for detecting low-volume tumors. Other serum markers, such as nestin, may offer more promise. This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of serum nestin and CA15.3 in breast cancer patients.Method: This case-control study enrolled 80 normal control females and 80 females with breast cancer. Serum samples were collected from both control and breast cancer groups. The serum nestin and CA15.3 levels were measured in all samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.Results: The serum levels of nestin and CA15.3 were found to be significantly elevated in the breast cancer patient group compared with the control group. Preoperative serum nestin levels exceeding 9.9 ng/ml demonstrated a substantial odds ratio of 27 (confidence interval: 4.57-159.67; P = 0.0003). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, serum nestin exhibited the highest significant area under the curve at 85.2% (P < 0.001), followed by serum CA15.3 at 70% (P = 0.021). Post-surgery serum nestin levels significantly decreased compared with pre-surgery levels (P = 0.045).Conclusion: Serum nestin outperforms serum CA15.3 in diagnosing breast cancer patients. Elevated serum nestin levels may represent a significant risk factor for the development of breast cancer. Furthermore, serum nestin can monitor the effects of surgery, whereas none of the assessed biomarkers exhibit a significant role in monitoring the effects of chemotherapy on breast cancer patients