Anti-ficolin-2 Antibody: Could it be a Predictor of Proliferative Lupus Nephritis in Lupus Patients?

Background: Nephritis is a challenging domain of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There is a growing need for identification of a non-invasive marker for diagnosing and monitoring nephritis.Objective: To explore the relevance of using anti-ficolin-2 antibody (Anti-FCN2) as a biomarker for detecting lupus nephritis (LN), and its relation to renal biopsy histopathology and disease activity.Patients and Methods: Sixty SLE patients were compared to 30 apparently healthy individuals. Thirty of the patients were LN patients (documented by a recent renal biopsy). Full history, examination and laboratory investigations were done. Activity was assessed by SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score, and Anti-FCN2 titer was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA).Results: Forty-four of our SLE patients were in disease activity by SLEDAI score. Anti-FCN2 titer was significantly higher among SLE patients compared to control group (p value <0.001). It was also higher among patients with high disease activity compared to those with low disease activity and cutoff value was at 37 ng/ml (p value is <0.001). AntiFCN2 titer was significantly higher among patients with LN compared to those without LN (p value is <0.001) with best cutoff value at 72.50 ng/ml. Regarding LN patients, it was significantly higher among patients with proliferative changes than LN patients with non-proliferative changes (p value is 0.05) with best cutoff value at 155 ng/ml.Conclusion: Anti-FCN2 shows promising results as a biomarker for lupus disease activity, especially regarding LN and proliferative changes. Further longitudinal studies on larger samples are needed to confirm

Virtual Explorer: a Path Prediction Algorithm for Intelligent Transport Systems

Mobile user tracking is an important issue in wireless Network. Spatial data is used for location based services and to support traffic management. Traffic management is an important problem faced by the local authorities where they try to manage efficiently all the information gathered for traffic control. For that location and movement determination are important. This paper proposes Virtual Explorer system that detects the movement of mobile user, analyses the information collected about him and predicts his destination only by measuring the signal received from his mobile phone. If some interruption is presented in the path to the destination a notification message is sent to him to inform him about that or to propose an alternative path. This paper proposesa-path prediction algorithm that predicts the future location of the mobile user based on the user's history movement. We expect that our system help in reducing congestion on the principal roads and help in reducing the number of cars that reach certain point in the case of accident. In addition, our system can help the police to keep track the pedestrian only by collecting information from his mobile phone. Keywords: traffic management, path prediction, location based detection, received signal strengt

Modeling velocity dispersion In Gypsy site, Oklahoma

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-76).Discrepancies in interval velocities estimated from vertical well measurements made with different source central frequencies at Gypsy site could be primarily explained in terms of intrinsic attenuation. Four intervals were chosen for this study based on varying rock properties. The first interval is predominantly shale, second interval is mostly sandstone, and the third interval is made up of shale and sandstone. The fourth interval is the second and third intervals combined. The data used are acquired from three seismic sources; Full Wave Sonic (FWS), Bender log, and Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) with estimated central frequencies 10kHz, 1kHz, and 100Hz, respectively. The modeling was done using the Discrete Wavenumber (DWN) method and the Logarithmic Dispersion Relation (LDR) to calculate a constant Quality Factor (Q) that best explains the observed velocity dispersion for each of the intervals of interest. The elastic scattering component of the dispersion is negligible. Intrinsic quality factors of 54,35,28, and 30 best explain the field data for first, second, third, and fourth intervals, respectively. The identification and subsequent modeling of velocity dispersion and its components provide key information for integrated reservoir characterization and better enable the prediction of the seismic response at different frequencies.by Sami Ibrahim Alsaadan.S.M

An Empirical Investigation into the Effect of Global Oil Price on Nigeria Gross Domestic Product from (2000-2019)

Nigeria is one of the largest oil producing countries in the world, its revenue is largely dependent on crude oil sales. The country vulnerability to crude oil price fluctuations is a phenomenon that has been a reoccurring event Thus; this study aims to examine the impact of Global crude oil prices on Nigeria gross domestic product (GDP) and the economy at large. The study relied deeply on secondary data obtained from the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). The data were subjected to simple regression analysis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation to determine the effect and relationship between oil price (Independent Variable) and Nigeria GDP (dependent variables). And time series analysis was also used to examine the trend in the data set and fit a more parsimonious model that would aid forecasting of future crude oil price and GDP. The study found that Global crude oil price have a significant correlation with Nigeria gross domestic product, %58.1 of variation in Nigeria gross domestic product is attributed to fluctuation in Global crude oil price and Nigeria GDP will increase by ₦4.21bn per unit increase in crude oil price. The study thus conclude that global crude oil price has a significant impact on Nigeria GDP and its economy at large. The study among others recommend diversification of the Nigerian economy is most imperative given the economic recession in the country now and the impending take-over of the transportation industry by electric vehicles. Keywords: Oil price, Gross domestic product, Economy, Price shock, Exchange rate, Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-4-03 Publication date: February 28th 202

STEM Education Practices: Examination of the Argumentation Skills of Pre-service Science Teachers

The aim of this research is to examine the pre-service science teachers’ progress in structuring their argumentation components during the STEM education practices. In the research were worked with 9 pre-service science teachers who are 3rd grade students and took the course of 'Science Laboratory Practices' in a state university. The research is a case study. In the research, structured and unstructured activities were applied for 9 weeks. In structured practices, instructions were followed to show how simple machines are constructed. Unstructured practices were based on the design of pre-service science teachers. The data of the research is obtained through voice recordings, unstructured observation. Argumentation components were examined according to the descriptive analysis approach. As a result of analysis of obtained data; pre-service science teachers have made great progress in constructing argumentation components (claim, evidence, reasoning and rebuttal), and the average score of the rebuttal was found to be lower than the other components. The results obtained from this study demonstrate that STEM education is an effective approach to improving the argumentation skill. Argumentation takes part in engineering design processes which have great importance in STEM practices; given its major role in identifying problems, development of possible solutions and determination, evaluation and discussion of most plausible ones. Therefore argumentation approach can be included as part of STEM education. Keywords: STEM education, argumentation, science education, pre-service science teacher

Bringing Benefits and Warding off Blights in due Commandment (Analytic Study Compared with the Jordanian Law)

The study aims to highlight the benefits and blights of the due commandment (intestate law) under Jordanian law for the year (2010) in the article (279).The study came in two sections, the first one dealt with the concept of due commandment, its legitimacy, verdict and terms, in the second section, I've dealt with the persons entitled to due commandment in the Jordanian law, compared to other Arab laws, then the study concluded with a set of results and recommendations, including that the due commandment legitimate because of the interests, but they need to be reconsidered in its beneficiaries, amount and terms.