Computed tomography for the prediction of oesophageal variceal bleeding:A surrogate or complementary to the gold standard?

In this editorial we comment on the in-press article in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal endoscopy about the role of computed tomography(CT)for the prediction of esophageal variceal bleeding.The mortality and morbidity are much increased in patients with chronic liver diseases when complicated with variceal bleeding.Predicting the patient at a risk of bleeding is extremely important and receives a great deal of attention,paving the way for primary prophylaxis either using medical treatment including carvedilol or propranolol,or endoscopic band ligation.Endoscopic examination and the hepatic venous pressure gradient are the gold standards in the diagnosis and prediction of variceal bleeding.Several non-invasive laboratory and radiological examinations are used for the prediction of variceal bleeding.The contrast-enhanced multislice CT is a widely used non-invasive,radiological examination that has many advantages.In this editorial we briefly comment on the current research regarding the use of CT as a non-invasive tool in predicting the variceal bleeding.

Performance Assessment of a Real PV System Connected to a Low-Voltage Grid

The generation of photovoltaic(PV)solar energy is increasing continuously because it is renewable,unlimited,and clean energy.In the past,generation systems depended on non-renewable sources such as oil,coal,and gas.Therefore,this paper assesses the performance of a 51 kW PV solar power plant connected to a low-voltage grid to feed an administrative building in the 6th of October City,Egypt.The performance analysis of the considered grid-connected PV system is carried out using power system simulator for Engineering(PSS/E)software.Where the PSS/E program,monitors and uses the power analyzer that displays the parameters and measures some parameters such as current,voltage,total power,power factor,frequency,and current and voltage harmonics,the used inverter from the type of grid inverter for the considered system.The results conclude that when the maximum solar radiation is reached,the maximum current can be obtained from the solar panels,thus obtaining the maximum power and power factor.Decreasing total voltage harmonic distortion,a current harmonic distortion within permissible limits using active harmonic distortion because this type is fast in processing up to 300 microseconds.The connection between solar stations and the national grid makes the system more efficient.

COVID-19 mortality paradox(United States vs Africa):Mass vaccination vs early treatment

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)mortality rate in 55 African countries is almost 4.5 times lower than in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)despite Africa having over 4.2 times more people.This mortality paradox is also evident when comparing Nigeria,a heavily populated,poorly vaccinated and weakly mandated country to Israel,a small,highly vaccinated and strictly mandated country.Nigeria has almost 4 times lower COVID mortality than Israel.In this Field of Vision perspective,I explain how this paradox has evolved drawing upon my academic,clinical and social experience.Since April 2020,I’ve developed and been using the Egyptian immune-modulatory Kelleni’s protocol to manage COVID-19 patients including pediatric,geriatric,pregnant,immune-compromised and other individuals suffering from multiple comorbidities.It’s unfortunate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is still evolving accompanied by more deaths.However in Africa,we’ve been able to live without anxiety or mandates throughout the pandemic because we trust science and adopted early treatment using safe,and effective repurposed drugs that have saved the majority of COVID-19 patients.This article represents an African and Egyptian tale of honor.

A Distributionally Robust Optimization Scheduling Model for Regional Integrated Energy Systems Considering Hot Dry Rock Co-Generation

Hot dry rock(HDR)is rich in reserve,widely distributed,green,low-carbon,and has broad development potential and prospects.In this paper,a distributionally robust optimization(DRO)scheduling model for a regionally integrated energy system(RIES)considering HDR co-generation is proposed.First,the HDR-enhanced geothermal system(HDR-EGS)is introduced into the RIES.HDR-EGS realizes the thermoelectric decoupling of combined heat and power(CHP)through coordinated operation with the regional power grid and the regional heat grid,which enhances the system wind power(WP)feed-in space.Secondly,peak-hour loads are shifted using price demand response guidance in the context of time-of-day pricing.Finally,the optimization objective is established to minimize the total cost in the RIES scheduling cycle and construct a DRO scheduling model for RIES with HDR-EGS.By simulating a real small-scale RIES,the results show that HDR-EGS can effectively promote WP consumption and reduce the operating cost of the system.

Optimization of Cooperative RelayingMolecular Communications for Nanomedical Applications

Recently,nano-systems based on molecular communications via diffusion(MCvD)have been implemented in a variety of nanomedical applications,most notably in targeted drug delivery system(TDDS)scenarios.Furthermore,because the MCvD is unreliable and there exists molecular noise and inter symbol interference(ISI),cooperative nano-relays can acquire the reliability for drug delivery to targeted diseased cells,especially if the separation distance between the nano transmitter and nano receiver is increased.In this work,we propose an approach for optimizing the performance of the nano system using cooperative molecular communications with a nano relay scheme,while accounting for blood flow effects in terms of drift velocity.The fractions of the molecular drug that should be allocated to the nano transmitter and nano relay positioning are computed using a collaborative optimization problem solved by theModified Central Force Optimization(MCFO)algorithm.Unlike the previous work,the probability of bit error is expressed in a closed-form expression.It is used as an objective function to determine the optimal velocity of the drug molecules and the detection threshold at the nano receiver.The simulation results show that the probability of bit error can be dramatically reduced by optimizing the drift velocity,detection threshold,location of the nano-relay in the proposed nano system,and molecular drug budget.

The impact of foot reflexology on fatigue and sleep quality in school-aged children undergoing hemodialysis

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology on fatigue and sleep quality in school-aged children receiving hemodialysis.Methods:A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was utilized.Thirty children of ages 6-12 undergoing in-center hemodialysis were recruited.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)and Inventory of Fatigue Symptom(IFS)scales were administered at baseline.Participants then received 30 min of foot reflexology massage before hemodialysis sessions 3 days per week for 12 weeks.Posttest administration of the sleep and fatigue scales occurred after the intervention period.Results:Reflexology massage led to significant improvements in sleep quality components,including duration(0%-30%normal sleepers),efficiency(0%-50%>85%),latency(50%-0%>60 min),disturbances,and daytime dysfunction.The mean PSQI score decreased from 18.2 to 9.7(P<0.05).Fatigue severity substantially decreased,with the mean IFS score improving from 105.7 to 64.1(P<0.05).Conclusion:Foot reflexology is an effective nursing intervention for reducing fatigue and improving sleep quality in children on hemodialysis,warranting integration into routine care.

New Antenna Array Beamforming Techniques Based on Hybrid Convolution/Genetic Algorithm for 5G and Beyond Communications

Side lobe level reduction(SLL)of antenna arrays significantly enhances the signal-to-interference ratio and improves the quality of service(QOS)in recent and future wireless communication systems starting from 5G up to 7G.Furthermore,it improves the array gain and directivity,increasing the detection range and angular resolution of radar systems.This study proposes two highly efficient SLL reduction techniques.These techniques are based on the hybridization between either the single convolution or the double convolution algorithms and the genetic algorithm(GA)to develop the Conv/GA andDConv/GA,respectively.The convolution process determines the element’s excitations while the GA optimizes the element spacing.For M elements linear antenna array(LAA),the convolution of the excitation coefficients vector by itself provides a new vector of excitations of length N=(2M−1).This new vector is divided into three different sets of excitations including the odd excitations,even excitations,and middle excitations of lengths M,M−1,andM,respectively.When the same element spacing as the original LAA is used,it is noticed that the odd and even excitations provide a much lower SLL than that of the LAA but with amuch wider half-power beamwidth(HPBW).While the middle excitations give the same HPBWas the original LAA with a relatively higher SLL.Tomitigate the increased HPBWof the odd and even excitations,the element spacing is optimized using the GA.Thereby,the synthesized arrays have the same HPBW as the original LAA with a two-fold reduction in the SLL.Furthermore,for extreme SLL reduction,the DConv/GA is introduced.In this technique,the same procedure of the aforementioned Conv/GA technique is performed on the resultant even and odd excitation vectors.It provides a relatively wider HPBWthan the original LAA with about quad-fold reduction in the SLL.

Fabrication of PMMA nanocomposite biomaterials reinforced by cellulose nanocrystals extracted from rice husk for dental applications

The primary objective of global studies is to develop the properties and durability of polymers for various applications.When it comes to dental disability,denture base materials must have sufficient mechanical and tribological performance in order to withstand the forces experienced in the mouth.This work aims to investigate the effects of the addition of low content of cellulose nanocrystals(CNC)on the mechanical and tribological performance of the polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)nanocomposites.Different weight percent of CNC(0,0.2,0.4,0.6,and 0.8 wt%)were added to the PMMA matrix followed by ball milling to evenly distribute the nanoparticles reinforced phase in the matrix phase.The findings emphasize the significant impact of CNC integration on the performance of PMMA nanocomposites.By increasing the content of the CNC nanoparticles,the mechanical properties of PMMA were improved.In addition,the tribological outcomes demonstrated a significant reduction in the friction coefficient besides an enhancement in the wear resistance as the weight percentage of nanoparticles increased.The surface of the worn samples was investigated by utilizing SEM to identify the wear mechanisms corresponding to the different compositions.In addition,a finite elment model(FEM)was developed to ascertain the thickness of the worn layer and the generated stressed on the surfaces of the nanocomposite throughout the friction process.

Enhancing Mild Cognitive Impairment Detection through Efficient Magnetic Resonance Image Analysis

Neuroimaging has emerged over the last few decades as a crucial tool in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease(AD).Mild cognitive impairment(MCI)is a condition that falls between the spectrum of normal cognitive function and AD.However,previous studies have mainly used handcrafted features to classify MCI,AD,and normal control(NC)individuals.This paper focuses on using gray matter(GM)scans obtained through magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)for the diagnosis of individuals with MCI,AD,and NC.To improve classification performance,we developed two transfer learning strategies with data augmentation(i.e.,shear range,rotation,zoom range,channel shift).The first approach is a deep Siamese network(DSN),and the second approach involves using a cross-domain strategy with customized VGG-16.We performed experiments on the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative(ADNI)dataset to evaluate the performance of our proposed models.Our experimental results demonstrate superior performance in classifying the three binary classification tasks:NC vs.AD,NC vs.MCI,and MCI vs.AD.Specifically,we achieved a classification accuracy of 97.68%,94.25%,and 92.18%for the three cases,respectively.Our study proposes two transfer learning strategies with data augmentation to accurately diagnose MCI,AD,and normal control individuals using GM scans.Our findings provide promising results for future research and clinical applications in the early detection and diagnosis of AD.

The Early Basilica Church, El-Ashmonein Archaeological Site, Minia, Egypt: Geo-Environmental Analysis and Engineering Characterization of the Building Materials

El-Ashmonein is a significant archaeological site with different buildings from various eras. Between the villages of El-Idara and El-Ashmonein are there mains of Hermopolis, one of the ancient Egyptian metropolis capitals of the fifteenth century of Upper Egypt, called the hare. The buildings in this archaeological site are exposed to many causes of destruction and damage. The remaining structures and granite free standing columns in this area are suffered from plenty of geo-environmental and geotechnical problems. The main objectives of this study are 1) to assess the current state of preservation of this important archaeological site, especially the basilica church with its free standing huge columns, 2) to analyze the different actions which cause the destruction of the archaeological site, in particular the old flash floods and earthquakes, and 3) to identify the geochemical and engineering properties of the construction materials of the granitic columns and other limestone structures of the basilica church by using different kind of sophisticated analytical and diagnostic tools and methods. The multi-criteria analysis allowed the integration of several elements for mapping the vulnerable zones. Results revealed that about 80% of the study area was exposed to high and medium old floods vulnerability because of the vicinity to the Nile River. The structural and non-structural measures recommended in this research will help the decision makers and planners to effectively develop strategies for future site management, intervention retrofitting and rehabilitation of this unique archaeological site.

Impact of Surface Water and Groundwater Pollutions on Irrigated Soil, El Minia Province, Northern Upper Egypt

Current research has been focused on heavy metals pollution in surface water and groundwater and effect on irrigated soil from El Minia Province, north Upper Egypt. Concentration of heavy metals (e.g., As, Co, Hg, Ni, Se, Cd and Cr) in surface water, groundwater and irrigated soil samples is most significantly affected by leachate of many pollutants as the factories, agricultural activities, urban and natural processes. Microbiological parameters and microscopic investigations are revealed that some localities are common by micro-organisms, which are unsuitable for drinking waters.

Self-Medication among Adults in Minia, Egypt: A Cross Sectional Community-Based Study

Self-medication may be associated with side effects and increases the chance of drug interactions and also affects the adherence to treatment and quality of life. This study aims at determining the pattern of self-medication, identifying knowledge, attitude and self-reported practices concerning the usage of the drugs and identifying demographic factors that could influence self-medication practices among the general population in El-Minia, Egypt. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 randomly selected adults using a multi-stage random sampling technique. Data were collected by using a structured interview questionnaire. Respondents who had practiced some sort of self-medication during the past month were 73% of the sample. The commonest cause of self-medication, illness, was perceived as minor (59.7%). The most common perceived illness for self-medication was common cold (90.6%). Older respondents (>40 years) were about twice more likely to practice self-medication than younger ones. Similarly, professionals in their work were 3.4 times more likely to practice self-medication than unemployed individuals. Self-medication is a relatively frequent problem in Minia and interventions at different levels are required.

Currently Married Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Minia Governorate, Egypt: Profile and Determinants

Background: Understanding the magnitude of unmet contraceptive need and the underlying determinants will help the programs and services to respond effectively. Aim: Identify the prevalence and determinants of unmet contraceptive need among married women in the childbearing period in Minia Governorate. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was done among married women of child bearing age (18 - 49 years). Total 534 study participants were selected randomly and interviewed by using pretested structured questionnaire. Results: Overall level of unmet need was 12.7%. Women age > 35 years old were about three times (adjusted OR = 2.88, 95% CI: 1.13 - 7.35) more likely to have unmet need for family planning compared to younger women. Women who had more children (adjusted OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.04 - 1.67), more female offspring (adjusted OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.09 - 1.65), and women whose partner had non-supportive attitude towards family planning (adjusted OR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.53 - 5.72) were more likely to have unmet need. Conclusion: The prevalence of unmet need of family planning among women in Minia Governorate remains high. Therefore, family planning programs that cover the older woman’s need for limiting and that focus on couples could be useful in reducing the rate of unmet need.

Men’s Perception of Domestic Violence, Rural Minia, Egypt

Background: Domestic violence is an important prevalent, yet hidden and ignored health concern with significant impact on women’s health and wellbeing. This research was guided by the belief that men could play a role in preventing domestic violence as the majority of domestic violence is perpetrated by men. Aim: To assess attitudes of men towards domestic violence and factors affecting violence supportive attitude. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study conducted in a rural area, Minia District, 2015. A systematic random sample was used. An interview-administered questionnaire was used including questions related to violence supportive environments, and opinion of men of causes and existence of domestic violence within families. Gender equity score (GES) was applied. Results: A total of 440 males participated. 57.3% of the participants reported that domestic violence was sometimes justified and needed in certain cases, and nearly two third (69%) of them practiced violence against their wives mostly in the form of physical one (64%). Small proportion of males reported high support for gender equity (7%). The study identified reasons for domestic violence, as perceived by men: The commonest was marital disputes (48.9%), followed by financial problems (36.4%) and social and economic disparity between the spouses (12.7%). Regarding the effect of violence on families, 30.9% of males reported that it led to lack of proper education. Conclusion and Recommendations: There is a tendency to describe this community as abusive. There is a need for development of relevant and culturally sensitive domestic violence education/prevention program in rural Egypt.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease:New nomenclature and approach with hot debate

An international panel recently proposed an update to the terminology and diagnostic criteria for fatty liver disease.The experts proposed a change in the nomenclature from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)to metabolic(dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).This single-letter change,we believe,heralds the dawn of a new era in clinical practice and in clinical and basic research as well.The new nomenclature with the easily applicable approach has stimulated the enthusiasm of the researchers worldwide,resulting in a large number of publications over the past two years.Several recent studies have provided tremendous evidence of the superiority of the MAFLD criteria over the NAFLD criteria.Many studies in different geographic areas of the world including the United States,Europe,and Asia on a large number of patients proved that the utility of MAFLD criteria was higher than that of the NAFLD criteria in different aspects of fatty liver diseases.Consequently,many societies,physician and nurse groups,health stakeholders,representatives of regulatory sciences,and others endorsed the new nomenclature.Here we highlight the endorsement of the new name by different societies and groups and the outcome of different studies on the new nomenclature in addition to a short discussion of the debate by some experts.

Non-pulmonary involvement in COVID-19:A systemic disease rather than a pure respiratory infection

During the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),diagnosis was difficult due to the diversity in symptoms and imaging findings and the variability of disease presentation.Pulmonary manifestations are reportedly the main clinical presentations of COVID-19 patients.Scientists are working hard on a myriad of clinical,epidemiological,and biological aspects to better understand SARS-CoV-2 infection,aiming to mitigate the ongoing disaster.Many reports have documented the involvement of various body systems and organs apart from the respiratory tract including the gastrointestinal,liver,immune system,renal,and neurological systems.Such involvement will result in diverse presentations related to effects on these systems.Other presentations such as coagulation defects and cutaneous manifestation may also occur.Patients with specific comorbidities including obesity,diabetes,and hypertension have increased morbidity and mortality risks with COVID-19.

Clinical profile,etiology,management and outcome of empyema thoracis associated with COVID-19 infection:A systematic review of published case reports

Objective:To explore the clinical features,diagnosis,etiology,treatment,and outcomes of COVID-19 related empyema.Methods:Using PRISMA statement,a systematic search of relevant case reports published between December 2019 and April 2023 was performed through seven databases.The collected data included demographics,clinical manifestations,diagnostic findings,treatment,and outcomes.Results:Thirty-six case reports were identified with 43 cases of empyema.The included cases had a median age of 55 years(range:12-78 years)and 79.1%(34/43)were males.The majority of cases presented during hospitalization for management of acute COVID-19 infection(29/43,67.4%)and Charlson comorbidity index<3(40/43,93.0%).Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most commonly isolated microorganism from the pleural fluid(9/43,20.9%)and 16.3%of the cases(7/43)had polymicrobial infections.Chest drainage was performed in all cases while surgery was indicated in 24 cases(55.8%).The most common complication of COVID-19-related empyema was broncho-pleural fistula(2/43,4.7%).The mortality rate was 23.3%(10/43).Sepsis and/or multi-organ failure were the most commonly reported causes of death.On univariate analysis,no statistically significant risk factor for mortality was identified.Conclusions:COVID-19-associated empyema has a variety of predisposing factors,time of presentation,clinical features,and causative organisms.Invasive or minimally invasive surgical procedures are performed more frequently than isolated chest drainage.Empyema in COVID-19 patients worsens their prognosis and can lead to serious complications.

Analytical Models of Concrete Fatigue:A State-of-the-Art Review

Fatigue failure phenomena of the concrete structures under long-term low amplitude loading have attractedmore attention.Some structures,such as wind power towers,offshore platforms,and high-speed railways,may resist millions of cycles loading during their intended lives.Over the past century,analytical methods for concrete fatigue are emerging.It is concluded that models for the concrete fatigue calculation can fall into four categories:the empirical model relying on fatigue tests,fatigue crack growth model in fracture mechanics,fatigue damage evolution model based on damage mechanics and advanced machine learning model.In this paper,a detailed review of fatigue computing methodology for concrete is presented,and the characteristics of different types of fatigue models have been stated and discussed.

Split-n-Swap: A New Modification of the Twofish Block Cipher Algorithm

Securing digital data from unauthorized access throughout its entire lifecycle has been always a critical concern.A robust data security system should protect the information assets of any organization against cybercriminal activities.The Twofish algorithm is one of the well-known symmetric key block cipher cryptographic algorithms and has been known for its rapid convergence.But when it comes to security,it is not the preferred cryptographic algorithm to use compared to other algorithms that have shown better security.Many applications and social platforms have adopted other symmetric key block cipher cryptographic algorithms such as the Advanced Encryption Standard(AES)algorithm to construct their main security wall.In this paper,a new modification for the original Twofish algorithm is proposed to strengthen its security and to take advantage of its fast convergence.The new algorithm has been named Split-n-Swap(SnS).Performance analysis of the new modification algorithm has been performed using different measurement metrics.The experimental results show that the complexity of the SnS algorithm exceeds that of the original Twofish algorithm while maintaining reasonable values for encryption and decryption times as well as memory utilization.A detailed analysis is given with the strength and limitation aspects of the proposed algorithm.

VeriFace:Defending against Adversarial Attacks in Face Verification Systems

Face verification systems are critical in a wide range of applications,such as security systems and biometric authentication.However,these systems are vulnerable to adversarial attacks,which can significantly compromise their accuracy and reliability.Adversarial attacks are designed to deceive the face verification system by adding subtle perturbations to the input images.These perturbations can be imperceptible to the human eye but can cause the systemtomisclassifyor fail torecognize thepersoninthe image.Toaddress this issue,weproposeanovel system called VeriFace that comprises two defense mechanisms,adversarial detection,and adversarial removal.The first mechanism,adversarial detection,is designed to identify whether an input image has been subjected to adversarial perturbations.The second mechanism,adversarial removal,is designed to remove these perturbations from the input image to ensure the face verification system can accurately recognize the person in the image.To evaluate the effectiveness of the VeriFace system,we conducted experiments on different types of adversarial attacks using the Labelled Faces in the Wild(LFW)dataset.Our results show that the VeriFace adversarial detector can accurately identify adversarial imageswith a high detection accuracy of 100%.Additionally,our proposedVeriFace adversarial removalmethod has a significantly lower attack success rate of 6.5%compared to state-of-the-art removalmethods.