Effectiveness of Green Roofs and Green Walls on Energy Consumption and Indoor Comfort in Arid Climates

Increased urbanization have many negative effects on human well-being, city infrastructure, electricity usage and the increase of indoor temperatures. A solution may be to retrofit existing buildings, with implementing a vegetated layer to roofs and walls, this may enhance building performance, reduce consumption and improve indoor comfort. Cities with tall buildings may be more adequate to implement a green-wall as it have more area to make impact. This paper examines the energy reduction advantages of adding greenery on buildings in the hot arid climate of Egypt by considering three typical types of residential buildings in the city of Cairo as a case study. Designbuilder software was selected to stimulate the buildings chosen in this research. The results shows that an extensive soil thickness of 15cm performs better in the arid climates. electricity consumption for the base case is 52 kWh/m2 annually when used a traditional external envelop and dropped to 43 kWh/m2 when a vegetated layer added to the whole building (roof & wall), annual electricity consumption reduced by 17% to 25% per annum when added a vegetated layer. In addition to enhancing the indoor thermal comfort by 3 PMV values and indoor air temperature by 5°C

Cellular Cytotoxicity and Epigenetic Alteration in RP1 and RASSF1A Genes as Response for Anticancer Capabilities of Some Probiotic Bacteria in Breast Cancer

This study aimed to assess the anti-proliferative capabilities of the three probiotic strains on breast cancer (MCF7) and test their anticancer capabilities on RP1 and RASSF1A Genes. Three probiotics bacterial strains: Lactobacillus casei ss. casei (LC 1093), Lactobacillus delbreuckii ss. bulgaricus LD (1102) and Bifidobacterium bifidum (BB 1334) were tested for their anti-proliferative capabilities on cell lines via trypan blue test and MTT assay. Their anti-methylation activities were tested using methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Results revealed that Lactobacillus casei strain achieved the highest percentage of cancer cell death. The effects of these strains on the methylation status of RASSF1A and RB1 promotor regions in breast cancer cells were tested. The unmethylation-specific primers of both genes were able to generate a defined band. The methylation patterns were reshaped when compared to the untreated MCF7 cell line showing the epigenetic delaying mechanism of the probiotic cell free filtrate by interfering the methylation mechanism of breast cancer on two tested genes

007 Khaled Amrouni et.al,2015-Poster of Petrographic Methods: Integrated Quantitative and Qualitative Petrographic and Diagenetic Methods to define Carbonate Outcrop and Reservoir...

The petrographic and diagenetic lab work of the Cyrenaican Miocene carbonate rocks northeast Libya involves an intensive study of 503 hand samples and their thin sections. 148 samples of the measured field section A1 of 74m thick were selected at 0.5 m intervals and then prepared to be studied. Proper thin sections preparation required insertion of some dyes and chemical treatments. Blue dye was inserted into the epoxy of all thin sections to enhance porosity identification. Alizarin Red-S stain was used to distinguish between calcite and dolomite minerals, and potassium ferricyanide stain was used to differentiate ferroan from non-ferroan carbonate minerals. For the petrographic work, a three part thin section description scheme was established and followed. It includes: 1) quantitative analysis, 2) qualitative analysis, and 3) diagenetic process and their paragenetic sequence. The quantitative part involved determining the type and percentage of grains/fossils, matrix, cement, and pores. The qualitative studies rock textures (fabrics and grain size), sedimentary structures (primary and secondary), and trace fossils. Diagenetic processes includes micritization, dissolution/leaching (pore creations), cementation (pore destruction), compaction (mechanical and chemical), and neomorphism (recrystallization, inversion, and replacement). Through the cross cutting relationship the paragenetic sequence were defined by putting each diagenetic event in its proper relative time order of occurrence. The most important final products of these integrated petrographic and diagenetic methods are curves that define vital reservoir rocks characterizations such as high/low porosity zones and their types, high/low cement zones and their types, grain dominated versus mud dominated zones, high/low diagenetically affected zones and type of diagenesis, bio-zones, dolomite versus calcite zones, carbonate texture curves, dolomite types and zones, and a chart of the paragenetic sequence of the diagenetic events and their processes. In addition, the depositional and diagenetic reservoir properties are interpreted in the sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic context of the studied Cyrenaican Miocene sequence to determine the extent at which the relative sea level changes and tectonics could control the carbonate reservoir properties

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

Single phase grid connected current source inverter: Mitigation of oscillating power effect on the grid current

Although voltage source inverters (VSIs) are the most common DC-AC grid-tied converters, current source inverters (CSIs) are considered to be promising candidate, thanks to their low THD voltages/currents and inherent short-circuit proof. The natural oscillating power at the DC-link creates the main CSI's single phase application challenge. Hardware based solutions to this problem exhibits additional cost, components and size. Traditional software based solutions detect the oscillating power effect from a second harmonic component in the DC-link current; hence modify the carrier signal to mitigate the oscillation effect on the grid current. Those solutions are characterised mainly by excessive computational burden in addition to poor tracking. In this paper, a Proportional Resonant (PR) controller, tuned at the third harmonic, is utilized to minimize the oscillating power effect from the grid side, and hence acts as a harmonic cancellator (HC). The proposed technique features: (i) simple implementation, (ii) easy tuning, and (iii) superior steadystate elimination. In addition to simulation, experimental setup is implemented to validate the proposed technique effectiveness.Qatar National Research FundScopu

An enhanced performance IPT based battery charger for electric vehicles application

World-wide scientists/engineers were motivated to research in the area of renewable energy resources and to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Hence, electric and hybrid vehicles have won the attention of many researchers and vehicles manufacturers. Electric vehicle requires a charging system having a high degree of reliability and robustness and to run maintenance-free. This brings the inductive power transfer (IPT) systems to play a significant role in electric vehicle battery chargers applications. IPT system has proved its capability to be a safe, convenient, and efficient electric vehicle battery charger through its features, such as operating in a harsh environment, high efficiency at reasonable power levels, and decreasing equipment maintenance through operating without any mechanical contacts. This paper presents an enhanced performance IPT system, which is particularly suitable for electric vehicle battery charging application. The proposed system is slightly affected by the small tolerance between sender (track coil) and receiver (pickup coil). Relation between application, transformer configuration selection, and power converter controller is discussed in details. The proposed system effectiveness is investigated, in addition to simulation, by an experimental set-up.Qatar National Research FundScopu

A modular multilevel DC-DC converter with self-energy equalization for DC grids

Medium-/High Voltage DC grids are interesting for the integration of renewable energy sources. DC-DC conversion systems are highly needed for the development of DC grids. Recently, Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is the most promising technology for medium-/high-voltage applications, but employing the conventional MMC with DC output voltage leads to diversion in the Submodule (SM) capacitor voltages, that is energy drift. This paper proposes a modified modular multilevel DC-DC converter with self-energy equalization, which ensures successful DC-DC conversion with balanced capacitors voltages. In the modified topology, clamping Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) are employed in each arm to enable parallel-connection of the capacitors in the same arm. During the operation (equalization period), the parallel-connected upper capacitors are connected to the parallel-connected lower capacitors in each leg through a small limiting inductor to transfer energy between the arms to ensure balanced capacitor voltages. The proposed configuration, along with the operational concepts, mathematical analysis, and design, are presented. Finally, simulation and experimental results are presented for validation.Scopu