Leveraging SmallSat Technology at NOAA for Space Weather Observations

Space weather observations is a strategic priority for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u27s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS). In 2023, NOAA NESDIS established the Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) to manage NESDIS\u27 space weather satellite portfolio. SWO is formulating a new Space Weather Next (SW Next) program under the joint NOAA/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Weather Observations Programs Division. The SW Next program will provide critical space weather data products, making observations from a variety of orbits and utilizing diverse platforms and sensors. The SW Next program reference architecture is expected to include a mix of NOAA-operated observatories, NOAA-provided instruments on partners\u27 missions, and commercial data sources. The feasibility of this architecture is facilitated by SmallSat technologies and business models. As previously bespoke science observatories evolve towards more manufacturable and commercially available solutions, SW Next will be ready to capitalize on the opportunity

MURCS association: a case report

MURCS association is a rare developmental disorder that affects females. The acronym MURCS stands for Mullerian, Renal, Cervicothoracic Somite abnormalities. It appears to occur randomly (Sporadic) with a frequency of 1 in 50.000 females. In this paper, we present a two-year-old girl with typical features of this syndrome in association with right deviation of anorectal canal, subglottic stenosis and unilateral oblique inguinal hernia.. Keywords: MURCS, congenital torticolis, anorectal- canal, abnormalities. Egypt. J. Hum. Genet Vol. 8 (2) 2007: pp. 219-22

Predictors of Long-term Disability in Multiple Sclerosis: Real World Data from a Cohort of Egyptian Patients

Background: Specification of prognostic factors in multiple sclerosis (MS) is crucial for clinicians to guide therapeutic protocols. This study aimed to identify demographic, clinical, and radiological factors associated with disability on a long-term basis in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted on patients with RRMS and SPMS with a disease duration of at least 10 years. Demographic, clinical, and radiological parameters were collected from the medical records.Results: During the study period, 217 patients were recruited with a mean disease duration of 14.9 ± 4.6 (range: 10-35) years. Regression analysis revealed that age (B = 0.071, CI: 0.00-0.132, P = 0.025), male sex (B = –0.825, CI: –1.444 to –0.206, P = 0.009), duration between first 2 attacks (B = -0.007, CI: -0.015-0.000, P = 0.037), and involvement of pyramidal (B = 0.754, CI: 0.051-1.457, P = 0.036) or cerebellar domains (B = 1.355, CI: 0.542-2.168, P = 0.001) at disease onset were the only parameters that had an independent effect on EDSS.Conclusion: Predictors of long-term disability in our cohort were closely similar, but not typically identical to predictors reported in the literature. Age, male sex, short duration between first 2 relapses pyramidal and cerebellar affection were the strongest predictors of disability in patients with RRMS and SPMS

" Employing recent scientific developments as an input to enrich the field of woodworks"

The research revolves around modern scientific developments and their impact on contemporary wooden crafts. Relying on modern sciences in art enables the artist to reveal the secrets of the world, through a new art that differs from the previous arts, from which the researcher divided the role of science and its impact on art into two sections. The first section is represented in the various forms of art that cooperate with modern technology as a medium to produce artworks, which are multi-form arts that include the use of computers to produce artworks. The second section deals with the use of science in art and includes practices that have used the study of science as art, such as bio art, the use of genetic engineering in art, the use of modern raw materials technology in art, and the use of photography in art, as it helps open methods for a creative vision because of its philosophies, as well as helps develop the visions of the wooden crafts.The aim of the research is to shed light on the importance of modern scientific developments in influencing art in general and the field of woodwork in particular, and to identify new forms of art that were based on modern science, and to propose new approaches based on modern scientific developments to enrich contemporary woodwork.The research reached a set of results and recommendations Such as the possibility of taking advantage of the characteristics of the materials, The possibility of relying on the results of science to create unconventional artifacts, by relying on original intellectual sources, and the research was able to clarify the impact of scientific developments in the presentation of many creative ideas

Diagnosis of Middle Atmosphere Climate Sensitivity by the Climate Feedback Response Analysis Method

We present a new method to diagnose the middle atmosphere climate sensitivity by extending the Climate Feedback-Response Analysis Method (CFRAM) for the coupled atmosphere-surface system to the middle atmosphere. The Middle atmosphere CFRAM (MCFRAM) is built on the atmospheric energy equation per unit mass with radiative heating and cooling rates as its major thermal energy sources. MCFRAM preserves the CFRAM unique feature of an additive property for which the sum of all partial temperature changes due to variations in external forcing and feedback processes equals the observed temperature change. In addition, MCFRAM establishes a physical relationship of radiative damping between the energy perturbations associated with various feedback processes and temperature perturbations associated with thermal responses. MCFRAM is applied to both measurements and model output fields to diagnose the middle atmosphere climate sensitivity. It is found that the largest component of the middle atmosphere temperature response to the 11-year solar cycle (solar maximum vs. solar minimum) is directly from the partial temperature change due to the variation of the input solar flux. Increasing CO2 always cools the middle atmosphere with time whereas partial temperature change due to O3 variation could be either positive or negative. The partial temperature changes due to different feedbacks show distinctly different spatial patterns. The thermally driven globally averaged partial temperature change due to all radiative processes is approximately equal to the observed temperature change, ranging from 0.5 K near 70 km from the near solar maximum to the solar minimum

Prevalence of selective IgA deficiency in a sample of Egyptian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Background: Selective Immunoglobulin A deficiency (SIgAD) is known to be one of the most frequent primary immunodeficiency diseases. Several studies worldwide confirm the increased frequency of this disease among type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), yet this has not been studied in Egypt.Objective: This work aimed to define the prevalence of SIgAD among Egyptian patients with T1DM.Patients and Methods: Fifty patients with T1DM were compared to fifty apparently healthy individuals. Serum levels of IgA, IgG, and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were measured by Nephelometry to all participants.Results: The mean age of the diabetic group was 24.5 ± 5.3 years. Thirty out of fifty patients with T1DM (60%) were diagnosed as SIgAD with, female predominance (66.7% of SIgAD). We also found a significant relationship between SIgAD and diabetic ketoacidosis (P-value<0.001). Serum IgA levels were positively correlated to IgG and IgM. Conclusion: The current study displays 60% prevalence of SIgAD among adult Egyptians with T1DM, which is higher than stated in other countries

Association of Angiopoietin-Like Protein-8 Gene Variant (Rs2278426 (C/T)) in a Cohort of Egyptian Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Objective: This study was conducted to reveal the association of ANGPTL8 gene variant (Rs2278426 (C/T)) withmetabolic syndrome in a cohort of Egyptian patients. Materials and methods: This study is a case control study that included 150 patients with metabolic syndrome and 150 healthy control subjects. All subjects were submitted to history taking and thorough physical examination and laboratory analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted and ANGPTL8 gene SNP (rs2278426) was detected by 5’ nuclease assay. The tested genotypes included homozygous genotypes for C allele (CC), homozygous genotypes for T allele (TT) and heterozygous genotypes (CT). Results: A total of 300 subjects were included in the study; group 1 included 150 patients with metabolic syndrome. 21.3% were males and 78.7% were females, and group 2 had 150 healthy subjects. 17.3% were males, and 82.7% were females. In the current study, the metabolic syndrome group showed dysregulation of lipids and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with a statistically significant increase in body anthropometric measures. There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of the heterozygous genotype (C/T) relative to the wild-type genotype (C/C) in each of the two tested groups (p = 0.287 and 0.245 in the metabolic syndrome and control groups, respectively). Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference in the genotype distribution of ANGPTL8 gene variant (Rs2278426) genotypes between the metabolic syndrome and control groups. The homozygous recessive genotype for T allele (TT) was not detected in both tested groups

Signaling mechanisms of a water soluble curcumin derivative in experimental type 1 diabetes with cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Curcumin exhibits anti-diabetic activities, induces heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and is an inhibitor of transcriptional co-activator p300. A novel water soluble curcumin derivative (NCD) has been developed to overcome low invivo bioavailability of curcumin. We evaluated the effect of the NCD on signaling mechanisms involved in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and studied whether its action is mediated via inducible HO-1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats were divided into controls, controls receiving NCD, diabetic, diabetic receiving NCD, diabetic receiving pure curcumin, diabetic receiving HO inhibitor, zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP IX) and diabetic receiving NCD and ZnPP IX. NCD and curcumin were given orally. After 45 days, cardiac physiologic parameters, plasma glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin (GHb), HO-1 gene expression and HO activity in pancreas and cardiac tissues were assessed. Gene expression of p300, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2A and MEF2C) were studied. RESULTS: NCD and curcumin decreased plasma glucose, GHb and increased insulin levels significantly in diabetic rats. This action may be partially mediated by induction of HO-1 gene. HO-1 gene expression and HO activity were significantly increased in diabetic heart and pancreas. Diabetes upregulated the expression of ANP, MEF2A, MEF2C and p300. NCD and curcumin prevented diabetes-induced upregulation of these parameters and improved left ventricular function. The effect of the NCD was better than the same dose of curcumin

Plasma-neutral interactions in the lower thermosphere-ionosphere : The need for in situ measurements to address focused questions

The lower thermosphere-ionosphere (LTI) is a key transition region between Earth's atmosphere and space. Interactions between ions and neutrals maximize within the LTI and in particular at altitudes from 100 to 200 km, which is the least visited region of the near-Earth environment. The lack of in situ co-temporal and co-spatial measurements of all relevant parameters and their elusiveness to most remote-sensing methods means that the complex interactions between its neutral and charged constituents remain poorly characterized to this date. This lack of measurements, together with the ambiguity in the quantification of key processes in the 100-200 km altitude range affect current modeling efforts to expand atmospheric models upward to include the LTI and limit current space weather prediction capabilities. We present focused questions in the LTI that are related to the complex interactions between its neutral and charged constituents. These questions concern core physical processes that govern the energetics, dynamics, and chemistry of the LTI and need to be addressed as fundamental and long-standing questions in this critically unexplored boundary region. We also outline the range of in situ measurements that are needed to unambiguously quantify key LTI processes within this region, and present elements of an in situ concept based on past proposed mission concepts.Peer reviewe