SMART CITY SECURITY: FACE-BASED IMAGE RETRIEVAL MODEL USING GRAY LEVEL CO-OCCURRENCE MATRIX

Nowadays, a lot of images and documents are saved on data sets and cloud servers such as certificates, personal images, and passports. These images and documents are utilized in several applications to serve residents living in smart cities. Image similarity is considered as one of the applications of smart cities. The major challenges faced in the field of image management are searching and retrieving images. This is because searching based on image content requires a long time. In this paper, the researchers present a secure scheme to retrieve images in smart cities to identify wanted criminals by using the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix. The proposed scheme extracts only five features of the query image which are contrast, homogeneity, entropy, energy, and dissimilarity. This work consists of six phases which are registration, authentication, face detection, features extraction, image similarity, and image retrieval. The current study runs on a database of 810 images which was borrowed from face94 to measure the performance of image retrieval. The results of the experiment showed that the average precision is 97.6 and average recall is 6.3., Results of the current study have been relatively inspiring compared with the results of two previous studies

Bio- and synthetic fertilizers for reducing root rot and wilt and improving growth and flowering characteristics of rose

Root rot and wilt diseases are among the most pressing obstacles to the production of rose flowers in Egypt. Isolation results showed that these diseases are mainly caused by seven soil-borne fungi. However, Fusarium roseum, Verticillium dahlia, and Rhizoctonia solani were the most pathogenic fungi against Rosa gallica and R. chinensis compared to other isolated fungi. The present study aimed to investigate the potential of some bio- and synthetic fertilizers, including seaweed extract, Rhizobacterin, NPK, and potassium silicate, as well as the chemical fungicide vitavax 200, to control root rot and wilt and improve growth and flowering traits of both R. gallica and R. chinensis. Under in vitro conditions, the highest linear growth inhibition of pathogenic fungi was achieved by seaweed extract followed by potassium silicate, at 400 ppm each. In addition, vitavax 200 at 400 ppm completely inhibited the linear growth of these fungi. The results also showed that all treatments applied in vivo significantly reduced the incidence of diseases on rose plants in both seasons, leading to an improvement in all growth and flowering parameters and an increase in the content of photosynthetic pigments, total carbohydrates, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. In this regard, seaweed extract (4 and 2 g/L) and potassium silicate (4 g/L) were the most efficient, while Rhizobacterin (2 g/L) and NPK (2 g/plant) were the least effective. However, vitavax 200 was the most effective of all the treatments used. In conclusion, the results proved the possibility of increasing the tolerance of R. gallica and R. chinensis against root rot and wilt, while improving growth and flowering characteristics by using some bio- and synthetic fertilizers

Using biocontrol agents and sodium nitrophenolate to control powdery mildew and improve the growth and productivity of marigold (Calendula officinalis L.)

In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to investigate the potential of four biocontrol agents (BCAs), namely Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Trichoderma viride, and T. harzianum, individually and in combination with sodium nitrophenolate (SN) to control marigold powdery mildew. The results showed that all treatments led to a significant inhibition in the conidial germination of Golovinomyces cichoracearum in vitro. Maximum inhibition was recorded by T. harzianum (1×109 CFU mL-1) + SN (1.5%), followed by T. viride + SN, and B. megaterium + SN at the same concentrations as follows: 83.6, 79.1, and 70.6%, respectively. While the lowest inhibition (20.4%) was recorded by P. fluorescens (1×105 CFU mL-1). In the greenhouse, all treatments applied significantly reduced the disease severity and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). The combination treatments had a better disease control response than individual treatments. Similar results were achieved in the field, where disease severity reduced to 9.2 and 10.3% in plants treated with T. harzianum + SN in the first and second seasons, respectively, compared to 40.2 and 44.1% in control in both seasons. Likewise, AUDPC reduced to 274 and 315 in plants treated with T. harzianum + SN in the first and second seasons, respectively, compared to 1207 and 1340 in control in both seasons. The treatments improved growth and productivity characteristics, as well as photosynthetic pigments, total phenolic compounds (TPC), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, while significantly reducing free proline (FP). In conclusion, BCAs applied individually or in combination with SN can be used effectively to suppress powdery mildew of marigold

Genomic landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma in Egyptian patients by whole exome sequencing

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis lead to accumulation of genetic alterations driving HCC pathogenesis. This study is designed to explore genomic landscape of HCC in Egyptian patients by whole exome sequencing. Methods: Whole exome sequencing using Ion Torrent was done on 13 HCC patients, who underwent surgical intervention (7 patients underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and 6 patients had surgical resection}. Results: Mutational signature was mostly S1, S5, S6, and S12 in HCC. Analysis of highly mutated genes in both HCC and Non-HCC revealed the presence of highly mutated genes in HCC (AHNAK2, MUC6, MUC16, TTN, ZNF17, FLG, MUC12, OBSCN, PDE4DIP, MUC5b, and HYDIN). Among the 26 significantly mutated HCC genes—identified across 10 genome sequencing studies—in addition to TCGA, APOB and RP1L1 showed the highest number of mutations in both HCC and Non-HCC tissues. Tier 1, Tier 2 variants in TCGA SMGs in HCC and Non-HCC (TP53, PIK3CA, CDKN2A, and BAP1). Cancer Genome Landscape analysis revealed Tier 1 and Tier 2 variants in HCC (MSH2) and in Non-HCC (KMT2D and ATM). For KEGG analysis, the significantly annotated clusters in HCC were Notch signaling, Wnt signaling, PI3K-AKT pathway, Hippo signaling, Apelin signaling, Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, and MAPK signaling, in addition to ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, and calcium signaling. Tier 1 and Tier 2 variants KIT, KMT2D, NOTCH1, KMT2C, PIK3CA, KIT, SMARCA4, ATM, PTEN, MSH2, and PTCH1 were low frequency variants in both HCC and Non-HCC. Conclusion: Our results are in accordance with previous studies in HCC regarding highly mutated genes, TCGA and specifically enriched pathways in HCC. Analysis for clinical interpretation of variants revealed the presence of Tier 1 and Tier 2 variants that represent potential clinically actionable targets. The use of sequencing techniques to detect structural variants and novel techniques as single cell sequencing together with multiomics transcriptomics, metagenomics will integrate the molecular pathogenesis of HCC in Egyptian patients

Hospital outpatient clinics as a potential hazard for healthcare associated infections

Summary: Healthcare acquired infections are no longer confined to the hospital environment. Recently, many reported outbreaks have been linked to outpatient settings and attributed to non-adherence to recommended infection-prevention procedures. This study was divided into two parts: The first is a descriptive cross-sectional part, to assess the healthcare personnel's knowledge and compliance with Standard Precautions (SP). The second is an intervention part to assess the role of health education on reducing the level of environmental and reusable medical equipment bacterial contamination. Assessment of the doctors’ and nurses’ knowledge and compliance with SP was performed using a self-administered questionnaire. Assessment of environmental cleaning (EC) and reusable medical equipment disinfection has been performed using aseptic swabbing method. The extent of any growth was recorded according to the suggested standards: (A) Presence of indicator organisms, with the proposed standard being <1 cfu/cm2. These include Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA), Enterococci, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) and various multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli. (B) Aerobic colony count, the suggested standard is <5 cfu/cm2. The effect of health education intervention on cleaning and disinfection had been analyzed by comparing the difference in cleaning level before and after interventional education. Good knowledge and compliance scores were found in more than 50% of participants. Primary screening found poor EC and equipment disinfection as 67% and 83.3% of stethoscopes and ultrasound transducers, respectively, were contaminated with indicator organisms. For all indicator organisms, a significant reduction was detected after intervention (p = 0.00). Prevalence of MRSA was 38.9% and 16.7%, of the total S. aureus isolates, before and after intervention, respectively. Although 27.8% of the total Enterococcus isolates were VRE before intervention, no VRE isolates were detected after intervention. These differences were significant. Development and monitoring of the implementation of infection prevention policies and training of HCP is recommended. Keywords: Standard Precautions, Multidrug resistant bacteria, Hospital environment, MRS

Development of reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification assay for avian influenza H5N1 HA gene detection

The 2006 outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt interrupted poultry production and caused staggering economic damage. In addition, H5N1 avian influenza viruses represent a significant threat to public health. Therefore, the rapid detection of H5 viruses is very important in order to control the disease. In this study, a qualitative reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assay for the detection of hemagglutinin gene of H5 subtype influenza viruses was developed. The results were compared to the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Anin vitrotranscribed RNA standard of 970 nucleotides of the hemagglutinin gene was developed and used to determine the assay sensitivity. The developed H5 RT-RPA assay was able to detect one RNA molecule within 7min, while in real-time RT-PCR, at least 90min was required. H5 RT-RPA assay did not detect nucleic acid extracted from H5 negative samples or from other pathogens producing respiratory manifestation in poultry. The clinical performance of the H5 RT-RPA assay was tested in 30 samples collected between 2014 and 2015; the sensitivity of H5 RT-RPA and real-time RT-PCR was 100%. In conclusion, H5 RT-RPA was faster than real-time RT-PCR and easily operable in a portable device. Moreover, it had an equivalent sensitivity and specificity

Association between breakthrough infection with COVID-19 and Toxoplasma gondii: a cross-sectional study

Abstract The breakthrough infection following COVID-19 vaccination has been a subject of concern recently. Evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy diminishes over time due to multiple factors related to the host, and vaccine. Coinfection with other pathogens was claimed earlier as a contributing cause for this phenomenon. Hence, we aimed to stratify the association of post-COVID-19 vaccination breakthrough coinfection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and its impact on disease severity. This cross-sectional study included 330 COVID-19-vaccinated patients confirmed by RT-PCR. They were also screened for anti- T. gondii antibodies using ELISA. Toxoplasma seropositive cases’ whole blood was screened for DNA using PCR to correlate results with COVID-19 severity. Out of 330 COVID-19 vaccinated patients with breakthrough infection, 34.5% (114 patients) showed positivity for Toxoplasma IgG by ELISA, and none of the cases was IgM positive. Eleven patients (9.6%) of the IgG-positive cases were positive by PCR. Positive PCR cases correlated positively with the Toxoplasma IgG titer (P < 0.001), and the Cutoff point was 191.5. Molecular analysis of Toxoplasma and COVID-19 severity showed that 8 (72.7%), 1 (9.1%), and 2 cases (18.2%) had mild, moderate, and severe courses of the disease, respectively, with no significant correlation. Our study reported a heightened prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis among mild cases of COVID-19 breakthrough infection. Nevertheless, a discernible correlation between latent toxoplasmosis and COVID-19 severity is lacking. Hence, implementing studies on a larger scale could provide a more comprehensive comprehension of this association

Nano-enhanced growth and resilience strategies for Pomegranate cv. Wonderful: Unveiling the impact of zinc and boron nanoparticles on fruit quality and abiotic stress management

The pomegranate fruit is an extremely popular fruit that is grown in various regions around the world. Pomegranate cv. Wonderful confronts severe abiotic stress disorders, like fruit cracking and sunburn, which decrease fruit quality. Nanoparticles offer potential for improving nutrient usage efficiency and lowering undesirable environmental repercussions. During three consecutive stages of development, namely the peak flowering stage, six weeks after peak flowering, and one month prior to harvest, magnificent pomegranate trees were subjected to separate applications of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) and boron oxide nanoparticles (B2O3NPs) at concentrations of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 parts per million (ppm). These treatments were carried out in both the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. Positive effects were observed at concentrations of 500 and 1000 ppm for ZnONPs and a concentration of 1000 ppm for B2O3NPs on the vegetative growth parameters such as shoot length, leaf area, leaves number per shoot, and canopy volume, besides, leaf chemical characteristics such as leaf chlorophyll concentration and leaf nutrient content such as of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), and boron (B). Spraying with 500 and 1000 ppm B2O3NPs reduces the percentage of fruit sunburn, cracking and increased fruiting percentage such as initial fruit set (%), fruit retention (%), total yield of fruits (kg/tree), and increasing yield (%), while fruit drop % was decreased in comparison to other treatments. In both seasons, T4 (22.37, 22.0 %) and T7 (18.74, 19.490 %) showed an increase in initial fruit set (%). Similarly, there was an increase in fruit retention (%) with T4 (33.08, 34.550 %) and T7 (29.13, 29.430 %) compared to the control. The highest yield increasing percentages were observed with T4 (98.88, 100.270 %) and T3 (66.65, 64.980 %) compared to the control. On the other hand, T4 (8.24, 8.04 %) had the lowest fruit cracking, followed by T7 (12.73, 9.9 %) in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Similarly, the lowest percentage of sunburned fruit was observed with T4 (20.47, 20.4 %) and T4 (18.43, 16.77 %) in the two seasons compared to the control. In general, our findings indicate that the application of ZnONPs and B2O3NPs on fully bloomed wonderful pomegranate trees, six weeks after full bloom, and one month prior to harvest, resulted in enhanced growth and yield. Additionally, this treatment exhibited a reduction in abiotic stress-related issues, such as fruit cracking and sunburn