Proposed Algorithm for Extracting Association Rule Depend on Closed Frequent Itemset (EACFI)

Association rules are important one of data mining activities. All algorithms of association rule mining consist of finding frequency of itemsets, which satisfy a minimum support threshold, and then compute confidence percentage for each k-itemsets to construct strong association rules’. Some of these association rules are not important because the extracted knowledge from their is found in other. Hence we proposed algorithm to construct only important association rules by depend on closed frequent itemset. An itemset is closed if one of its immediate supersets has the same support as the itemset. Finding these closed frequent itemsets can be of a great help to purge a lot of itemsets that are not needed to find association rules. So that aid to reduce execution time and work space of algorithm and end the algorithm at any level of k-itemset, without construct all K-itemset

Anodyne therapy versus exercise therapy in improving the healing rates of venous leg ulcer

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the best physical therapy program to increase wound healing rates in patients suffering from venous leg ulcer.Methods: Forty patients who had venous leg ulcer for more than 4 weeks and not respondent well to medical treatment. Patients were classified into 4 equal groups 10 of each, Group (1): received 40 minute of monochromatic infrared energy (MIRE), Group (2): received 40 minutes of exercise program consisted of stretching and resisted exercise (RE), Group (3): received 20 minutes of exercise in addition to 20 minutes of resisted exercise (MIRE/RE), and group (4): control group which received conventional therapy of the ulcer. All groups received treatment 5days per week for 12days. Measurements of ulcer surface area and PUSH scale were conducted before treatment, post 6 days of treatment, and after 12 days of treatment.Results: The one way analysis of variance was used to compare ulcer surface area and PUSH score which revealed that both treatment groups (MIRE and RE) had significant (P< 0.05) decrease in ulcer surface area and PUSH scale after 6 and 12days post application of treatment. On the other hand, the combination of MIRE and RE showed a highly significant decrease in ulcer surface area and PUSH score when compared with control or with individual treatment.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that combination of MIRE to RE is more effective than individual treatment to enhance the healing rate of venous ulcer of the leg.

Influence of Oscillating Packing Instrument on Microhardness of Bulk-Fill Composite: In Vitro Study

AIM: This study aimed to assess Vickers microhardness of Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill composite that was packed manually and using oscillating packing device. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two different packing techniques were applied on Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill composite. For each packing technique, ten specimens (6 mm in diameter and 4 mm height) were prepared using a black-shaded Teflon mold. The resin was inserted in a bulk increment either packed manually or using Compothixo oscillating device and then light-cured for 40 s. Microhardness was analyzed at the top and the bottom surfaces. RESULTS: Overall, for both packing techniques, microhardness decreased significantly with the increase of depth. Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill composite when packed either manually or using oscillating device, did not show significant difference neither at the top surfaces of both applied techniques nor at the bottom surfaces of both applied techniques. CONCLUSION: Different packing techniques did not influence the microhardness of Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill composite. &nbsp

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Enhancing Learning Experience of General Chemistry Using Pre-designed Podcasts and Flipped Classroom Methodology

Introductory courses such as General Chemistry I, General Physics General Biology and I need special attention as students taking these courses are usually in their first year of the university. In addition to the language barrier for most of them, they also face other difficulties if these elementary courses are taught traditionally. Changing the routine method of teaching of these courses is therefore mandated. In this regard, podcasting of chemistry lectures was used as an add-on to the traditional and non-traditional methods of teaching chemistry to science and non-science students. Podcasts refer to video files that are distributed in a digital format through the Internet using personal computers or mobile devices. The pedagogical strategy is another way of identifying podcasts. Three distinct teaching approaches are evident in the current literature and include receptive viewing, problem-solving, and created video podcasts. Originally, podcasting was the name given to audio files played on Apple’s iPod portable media player. The digital format and dispensing of video podcasts have stabilized over the past eight years, the type of podcasts vary considerably according to their purpose, the degree of segmentation, pedagogical strategy, and academic focus. In this regard, the whole syllabus of “General Chemistry I” course was developed as podcasts, which were delivered to students throughout thesemester. Students used the podcasted files extensively during their studies, especially as part of their preparations for exams. Feedback of students strongly supported the idea of using podcasting as it reflected its effect on the overall understanding of the subject and a consequent improvement of their grades

المكونات الكيميائية للزيت العطري المستخلص من الأجزاء الهوائية لنبات المرار (Centaurium pulchellum) وخصائصها البيولوجية المحتملة

ازداد مؤخرا الاهتمام العالمي بالنباتات الطبية المستخدمة في الطب الشعبي باعتبارها مصدراً مهماً للمركبات الطبيعية، ذات الأنشطة البيولوجية المختلفة، ودورها في اكتشاف وتطوير عقاقير جديدة. ومن بين النباتات الطبية المستخدمة في الطب الشعبي في سوريا نبات Centaurium pulchellum، والمعروف محلياً باسم المرار. جمعت الأجزاء الهوائية لنبات المرار من منطقة جبلية في محافظة اللاذقية-سوريا، وتم الحصول على الزيت العطري باستخدام جهاز كليفنجر بمردود بلغ (0.88%)، وقد نتج عن تحليل الزيت العطري المتحصل عليه من خلال تقانة GC-MS، تحديد (75) مركب تمثل (99.56%) من إجمالي الزيت، وكانت المركبات الرئيسية المحددة في الزيت العطري: β-Damascenone (13.18%)، Ledol (10.73%)، Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (8.42%)، (E)-Verbenol (6.37%). أظهر تحليل GC-MS في هذا العمل للمرة الأولى سيطرة المركبات التربينية على محتوى الزيت العطري للأجزاء الهوائية لنبات المرار، والتي تمتلك أنشطة بيولوجية متنوعة، ويبرز أهميته كعقار نباتي محتمل للاستفادة منه في التطبيقات الدوائية والغذائية، ويشجع لإجراء المزيد من الأبحاث على هذا النبات لتطوير مستحضرات صيدلانية نباتيه جديده