Genesis of the hydrothermal gold system in the kibaran metallogenic province (D.R.Congo): A review for the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt.

The Twangiza-Namoya Gold Deposit within the Kibaran Belt of the Democratic Republic of the Congo represents a crucial manifestation of the hydrothermal gold system. This review investigates its intricate origin and the subsequent metallogenic evolution that has shaped its present-day characteristics and offers a systematic categorization based on its deposition processes and geotectonic settings. The findings reveal that the gold deposits are predominantly derived from sedimentary fluid sources. Within this vast metallogenic province, two stages of gold deposition have been constrained: (a) the early-stage formation related to the accretion of Rodinia assembly with subduction-collisional event where diagenesis cemented the syngenetic pyrite carbonaceous sediments and (b) the later stage deposition related to the continent-collisional event during the last stage of Rodinia supercontinent amalgamation. Previous isotopic investigations, with a particular emphasis on pyrite sulfur isotopes on both host rocks and vein-bearing sulfides, have been instrumental in tracing the origins of gold-bearing fluids in the study region. The isotopic variance in the four deposits: Twangiza (-5.2 % to +3 %, avg. -0.3 %), Kamituga (-0.6 % to -0.9.1 %, avg. -5%), Lugushwa (+3.0 % to -18.4 %), and Namoya, on the southernmost end, has a vast range but with much heavier isotope compositions, ranging between +1.3 % and to +22.6 %, with an average of +12.2 %. The data predominantly points to the sedimentary origins of ore fluids in the Twangiza-Namoya Gold belt, highlighting the pivotal role of sedimentary processes in shaping the metallogenic landscape of the region. The fluids inclusions depicted the deposits to be formed from H2O-Nacl-H2O with abundant CH4 and N2 ore-forming fluid, moderate temperature (350-500 °C), and low salinity. The overall results confirm the genetic style of the Twangiza-Namoya Gold Belt to be an orogenic gold-style deposit that was emplaced during the early Neoproterozoic era in low greenschist facies terrain.

Optimization of Phloretin-loaded Nanospanlastics for Targeting of FAS/SREBP1c/AMPK/ OB-Rb Signaling Pathway in HFD-induced Obesity.

OBJECTIVES: Obese patients are at increased risk for CVD, which is the main cause of premature death and has been a major cause of disability and ill health in recent years. PTN, a natural dihydrochalcone flavonoid, has a variety of pharmacological characteristics. This article aimed to prepare PTN-NSLs to evaluate their anti-obesity activity. METHODS: Morphology, Particle size, zeta potential, UV-vis, entrapment efficiency, FT-IR spectra, and an in vitro release study of PTN-NSLs were described. PTN-NSLs were also tested for their anti-obesity properties in obese rats. The LD50 of PTN-NSLs was calculated, as was the 1/20 LD50 prepared for the treatment of obese rats. Also, the level of glycemic, oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers were estimated in the obese rat's model. RESULTS: The synthesized PTN-NSLs were uniform, spherically shaped, and well dispersed with no aggregation noted, with a size range of 114.06 ± 8.35 nm. The measured zeta potential value of PTN-NSLs was -32.50.8 mv. Also, the UV spectra of PTN and PTN-NSLs have strong absorption at 225 and 285 nm. Also, the LD50 of PTN-NSLs was found to be 2750 mg/kg.b.w. Moreover, administrating obese rats with PTN-NSLs resulted in improved glycemic features as well as GSH, SOD, GPx, GR, IL10, TBARs, and IL-6 levels, as well as attenuated FAS, SREBP1c, AMPK, ACO, CPT1, and OB-Rb gene expression. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of PTN-NSLs significantly attenuated the levels of glycemic, oxidative stress, and inflammatory biomarkers. The biochemical and PCR findings are aided by histological investigations. Also, the present findings imply that PTN-NSLs might be a promising pharmacological tool for the treatment of obesity-related diseases.

Evaluation of the Oil Recovery Potential and Cost Implication Analysis of Alternative ASP Formulations for Sandstone and Carbonate Reservoirs.

This study explores alternative chemical agents to enhance oil recovery in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, aiming to address limitations in alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. Existing ASP methods face technical and environmental challenges, prompting research into alternative chemical agents. However, there are limited field deployments of these alternative chemical agents due to high costs, and ternary combinations of these agents remain unexplored. The study investigates a combination of organic alkali, amino acid-based surfactant/surface-active ionic liquid, and biopolymer. Comparative analysis with conventional ASP formulations reveals promising results. Organic alkali and biopolymer combination mitigates the adverse effects of inorganic alkalis on partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, enhancing the oil recovery potential. A unit technical cost (UTC) calculation showed that despite higher chemical costs per incremental barrel of oil, the alternative ASP formulations demonstrate comparable costs due to reduced facility cost. Cost-effectiveness will improve with incorporation of factors such as environmental friendliness and reduced preflush requirements. Mass production of these agents could further enhance the economic feasibility. Therefore, this study reveals that careful cost-benefit analysis, the development of low-concentration formulations, and mass production of these chemical agents could facilitate the implementation of these alternatives, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and enabling ASP flooding in challenging reservoir conditions.

Intact non-communicating rudimentary horn pregnancy in a patient with a history of two cesarean sections: A case report.

This article reports a case of an unruptured rudimentary horn viable pregnancy at 18 weeks of gestation. The diagnosis was missed at two previous cesarean sections and on a second-trimester ultrasound scan of the index pregnancy. The condition is extremely rare, life-threatening and difficult to diagnose. This case report highlights the importance of checking the anatomy of the uterus and appendages during cesarean section.

Spatiotemporal convolutional long short-term memory for regional streamflow predictions.

Rainfall-runoff (RR) modelling is a challenging task in hydrology, especially at the regional scale. This work presents an approach to simultaneously predict daily streamflow in 86 catchments across the US using a sequential CNN-LSTM deep learning architecture. The model effectively incorporates both spatial and temporal information, leveraging the CNN to encode spatial patterns and the LSTM to learn their temporal relations. For training, a year-long spatially distributed input with precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature for each day was used to predict one-day streamflow. The trained CNN-LSTM model was further fine-tuned for three local sub-clusters of the 86 stations, assessing the significance of fine-tuning in model performance. The CNN-LSTM model, post fine-tuning, exhibited strong predictive capabilities with a median Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.62 over the test period. Remarkably, 65% of the 86 stations achieved NSE values greater than 0.6. The performance of the model was also compared to different deep learning models trained using a similar setup (CNN, LSTM, ANN). An LSTM model was also developed and trained individually to predict for each of the stations using local data. The CNN-LSTM model outperformed all the models which was trained regionally, and achieved a comparable performance to the local LSTM model. Fine-tuning improved the performance of all models during the test period. The results highlight the potential of the CNN-LSTM approach for regional RR modelling by effectively capturing complex spatiotemporal patterns inherent in the RR process.

Social networking and fear of missing out (FOMO) among medical students at University of Khartoum, Sudan 2021.

BACKGROUND: With students becoming more involved in the internet and social networking sites, they become more prone to their consequences. This study focuses on measuring the social networking intensity and the fear of missing out among the medical students of University of Khartoum, then examining the association between them. METHODS: Facility-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum University between January and March 2021. A total of 333 students were selected by simple random sampling. Data was collected from the participants using a structured self-administered questionnaire that involved the social networking intensity (SNI) scale and fear of missing out (FOMO) scale. The data was analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 26. RESULTS: Moderate positive correlation between social networking intensity and fear of missing out was found (p-value < 0.01). Of the total participants; 51 participants (15.4%) experienced low SNI and low FOMO. Another 78 participants (23.6%) had moderate SNI and moderate FOMO and only 16 Participants (4.8%) showed high SNI and high FOMO. There were no significant differences in SNI or FOMO scores among the different socio-demographic variables, except for the SNI score which was positively correlated to the monthly income. CONCLUSION: An association between SNI and FOMO was found. SNI was not affected by socio-demographic factors except for the monthly income.

BAO-Ag-NPs as Promising Suppressor of ET-1/ICAM-1/VCAM-1 Signaling Pathway in ISO-induced AMI in Rats.

OBJECTIVES: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the most prevalent cause of myocardial fibrosis and the leading cause of mortality from cardiovascular disease. The goal of this work was to synthesize Balanites aegyptiaca oil-silver nanoparticles (BAO-Ag-NPs) and evaluate their cardioprotective effect against ISO-induced myocardial infarction in rats, as well as their mechanism. METHODS: BAO was isolated, and the unsaturated fatty acids were estimated. BAO-Ag-NPs was prepared, LD50 was calculated to evaluate its cardioprotective activity against ISO (85 mg/kg)- induced AMI. Different doses of BAO-Ag-NPs (1/50 LD50; 46.6 mg/kg.b.w and 1/20 LD50; 116.5 mg) were received to the rats. RESULTS: The total fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids generated by BAO were 909.63 and 653.47 mg/100 g oil, respectively. Oleic acid methyl ester, 9-Octadecenoic acid methyl ester, and 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid methyl ester were the predominant ingredients, with concentrations of 107.6, 243.42, and 256.77 mg/100 g oil, respectively. According to TEM and DLS examinations, BAO-Ag-NPs have a size of 38.20±2.5 nm and a negative zeta potential of -19.82 ± 0.30 mV, respectively. The LD50 of synthesized BAO-Ag-NPs is 2330 mg. On the other hand, BAO-Ag-NPs reduce myocardial necrosis by lowering increased BNP, cTnI, CK-MB, TC, TG, MDA, MMP2, TGF-ß1, PGE2, and IL-6 levels. Furthermore, BAO-Ag-NPs inhibit the expression of ET-1, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 genes. BAO-Ag-NPs given to ISO-treated rats enhance HDL-C, CAT, and GSH levels when compared to the ISO-treated group of rats. Histopathological findings suggested that BAO-Ag-NPs enhance cardiac function by increasing posterior wall thickness in heart tissues. CONCLUSION: BAO-Ag-NPs protect against AMI in vivo by regulating inflammation, excessive autophagy, and oxidative stress, as well as lowering apoptosis via suppression of the ET-1, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 signaling pathways.

Structure Activity Relationship and Molecular Docking of Some Quinazolines Bearing Sulfamerazine Moiety as New 3CLpro, cPLA2, sPLA2 Inhibitors.

The current work was conducted to synthesize several novel anti-inflammatory quinazolines having sulfamerazine moieties as new 3CLpro, cPLA2, and sPLA2 inhibitors. The thioureido derivative 3 was formed when compound 2 was treated with sulfamerazine. Also, compound 3 was reacted with NH2-NH2 in ethanol to produce the N-aminoquinazoline derivative. Additionally, derivative 4 was reacted with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, ethyl chloroacetate, and/or diethyl oxalate to produce quinazoline derivatives 5, 6, and 12, respectively. The results of the pharmacological study indicated that the synthesized 4-6 and 12 derivatives showed good 3CLpro, cPLA2, and sPLA2 inhibitory activity. The IC50 values of the target compounds 4-6, and 12 against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease were 2.012, 3.68, 1.18, and 5.47 µM, respectively, whereas those of baicalein and ivermectin were 1.72 and 42.39 µM, respectively. The IC50 values of the target compounds 4-6, and 12 against sPLA2 were 2.84, 2.73, 1.016, and 4.45 µM, respectively, whereas those of baicalein and ivermectin were 0.89 and 109.6 µM, respectively. The IC50 values of the target compounds 4-6, and 12 against cPLA2 were 1.44, 2.08, 0.5, and 2.39 µM, respectively, whereas those of baicalein and ivermectin were 3.88 and 138.0 µM, respectively. Also, incubation of lung cells with LPS plus derivatives 4-6, and 12 caused a significant decrease in levels of sPLA2, cPLA2, IL-8, TNF-α, and NO. The inhibitory activity of the synthesized compounds was more pronounced compared to baicalein and ivermectin. In contrast to ivermectin and baicalein, bioinformatics investigations were carried out to establish the possible binding interactions between the newly synthesized compounds 2-6 and 12 and the active site of 3CLpro. Docking simulations were utilized to identify the binding affinity and binding mode of compounds 2-6 and 12 with the active sites of 3CLpro, sPLA2, and cPLA2 enzymes. Our findings demonstrated that all compounds had outstanding binding affinities, especially with the key amino acids of the target enzymes. These findings imply that compound 6 is a potential lead for the development of more effective SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors and anti-COVID-19 quinazoline derivative-based drugs. Compound 6 was shown to have more antiviral activity than baicalein and against 3CLpro. Furthermore, the IC50 value of ivermectin against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease was revealed to be 42.39 µM, indicating that it has low effectiveness.

A decision tree model for accurate prediction of sand erosion in elbow geometry.

Erosion of piping components, e.g., elbows, is a hazardous phenomenon that frequently occurs due to sand flow with fluids during petroleum production. Early prediction of the sand's erosion rate (ER) is essential for ensuring a safe flow process and material integrity. Some models have been applied to determine the ER of the sand in the literature. However, these models have been created based on specific data to require a model for application to wide-range data. Moreover, the previous models have not studied relationships between independent and dependent variables. Thus, this research aims to use machine learning techniques, namely linear regression and decision tree (DT), to predict the ER robustly. The optimum model, the DT model, was evaluated using various trend analysis and statistical error analyses (SEA) techniques, namely the correlation coefficient (R). The evaluation results proved proper physical behavior for all independent variables, along with high accuracy and the DT model robustness. The proposed DT method can accurately predict the ER with R of 0.9975, 0.9911, 0.9761, and 0.9908, AAPRE of 5.0%, 6.27%, 6.26%, and 5.5%, RMSE of 2.492E-05, 6.189E-05, 9.310E-05, and 5.339E-05, and STD of 13.44, 6.66, 8.01, and 11.44 for the training, validation, testing, and whole datasets, respectively. Hence, this study delivers an effective, robust, accurate, and fast prediction tool for ER determination, significantly saving the petroleum industry's cost and time.

Development of a Novel Surfactant-Based Viscoelastic Fluid System as an Alternative Nonpolymeric Fracturing Fluid and Comparative Analysis with Traditional Guar Gum Gel Fluid.

Surfactant-based viscoelastic (SBVE) fluids have recently gained interest from many oil industry researchers due to their polymer-like viscoelastic behaviour and ability to mitigate problems of polymeric fluids by replacing them during various operations. This study investigates an alternative SBVE fluid system for hydraulic fracturing with comparable rheological characteristics to conventional polymeric guar gum fluid. In this study, low and high surfactant concentration SBVE fluid and nanofluid systems were synthesized, optimized, and compared. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and counterion inorganic sodium nitrate salt, with and without 1 wt% ZnO nano-dispersion additives, were used; these are entangled wormlike micellar solutions of cationic surfactant. The fluids were divided into the categories of type 1, type 2, type 3, and type 4, and were optimized by comparing the rheological characteristics of different concentration fluids in each category at 25 °C. The authors have reported recently that ZnO NPs can improve the rheological characteristics of fluids with a low surfactant concentration of 0.1 M cetyltrimethylammonium bromide by proposing fluids and nanofluids of type 1 and type 2. In addition, conventional polymeric guar gum gel fluid is prepared in this study and analyzed for its rheological characteristics. The rheology of all SBVE fluids and the guar gum fluid was analyzed using a rotational rheometer at varying shear rate conditions from 0.1 to 500 s-1 under 25 °C, 35 °C, 45 °C, 55 °C, 65 °C, and 75 °C temperature conditions. The comparative analysis section compares the rheology of the optimal SBVE fluids and nanofluids in each category to the rheology of polymeric guar gum fluid for the entire range of shear rates and temperature conditions. The type 3 optimum fluid with high surfactant concentration of 0.2 M cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and 1.2 M sodium nitrate was the best of all the optimum fluids and nanofluids. This fluid shows comparative rheology to guar gum fluid even at elevated shear rate and temperature conditions. The comparison of average viscosity values under a different group of shear rate conditions suggests that the overall optimum SBVE fluid prepared in this study is a potential nonpolymeric viscoelastic fluid candidate for hydraulic fracturing operation that could replace polymeric guar gum fluids.

Effect of the ethnic, profession, gender, and social background on the perception of upper dental midline deviations in smile esthetics by Chinese and Black raters.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the perception of upper dental midline deviation on the attractiveness of a smile among raters from different ethnicities, professions, genders, and ages and measure to what extent the presence or absence of the associated smiling structures influence the raters' evaluations. METHODS: A male subject (26 years of age) with adequate smile characteristics was selected by 3 experienced orthodontists, and 561 raters from 2 different ethnic groups (281 Chinese raters and 280 Black raters) rated the subject's smile after the subject's upper dental midline was digitally altered from 0 to 5 mm using a 5-point Likert scale on 12 smile photographs divided into two groups: group 1, in the presence of smile related structures, two-thirds of the nose, lips, and chin (NLC), and group 2, in the absence of smile related structures, the lips only (L). RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the two ethnicities, in 2 mm and 4 mm in-group NLC and 5 mm in-group L, as well as the raters' profession to each midline shift of both groups (NLC) and (L) for both ethnicities except for 0 mm. Regarding the role of associated smile structures, the smile photos were observed in the presence of smile-associated structures, and in its absence (NLC × L), statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found when the deviation was 5 mm among the Chinese raters; in 1 mm, and 4 mm among the Black raters. Among different genders, statistical differences were only reported (p < 0.05) for Chinese raters for 5 mm in NLC, while statistical differences were observed for 2 mm and 3 mm in NLC for Black raters. For age categories, differences were observed (p < 0.05) for 4 mm, 5 mm in NLC and 4 mm, and 5 mm in L for Chinese raters, while 5 mm in NLC and 1 mm in L for Black raters. CONCLUSION: Perception of the upper dental midline deviations was influenced by the factors of ethnicity, profession, presence or absence of smile-associated structures, as well as the gender and age of the raters.

BAAE-AgNPs Improve Symptoms of Diabetes in STZ-induced Diabetic Rats.

OBJECTIVES: Nanoparticles can be employed to improve the therapeutic activity of natural products. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a serious health condition that has spread like a "modern pandemic" worldwide. In the present study, we developed silver nanoparticles, Ag-NPs, with an aqueous extract from Balanites aegyptiaca to investigate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in STZ-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: Aqueous extracts of Balanites aegyptiaca seeds (BAAE) were used in the synthesis of BAAE-AgNPs, which were characterized using FTIR and TEM. Different doses of BAAE-AgNP (1/50 LD50; 29.4 mg/kg b.w. and 1/20 LD50: 73.5 mg/kg b.w.) were administered to STZ-induced diabetic rats to evaluate their potential antidiabetic activity. RESULTS: FTIR spectral data indicated the presence of flavonoids and polyphenols in BAAEAgNPs. The size of the BAAE-AgNPs, determined by TEM examination, was 49.33 ± 7.59 nm, with a zeta potential of +25.37. BAAE-AgNPs were characterized by an LD50 value of 1470 mg/kg b.w. In diabetic rats, the daily oral administration of both doses of BAAE-AgNPs (29.4 and 73.5 mg/kg b.w.) for 12 weeks resulted in a significant improvement in body weight, insulin homeostasis, HbA1c, HDL-C, MDA, and pancreatic SOD, CAT, and GSH. They reduced plasma glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This treatment also resulted in a significant decrease in pancreatic IL-6, p53, and TNF-α in diabetic rats. Furthermore, BAAE-AgNPs down-regulated pancreatic TGF-ß1 and Akt gene expression in diabetic rats and resulted in a significant decrease in the regulation of hepatic GLUT-2, as well as an increase in the regulation of hepatic GK and pancreatic B-cl2 gene expression. The histopathological results obtained indicated that BAAEAgNPs improved pancreatic tissue metabolism by enhancing antioxidant enzymes, suppressing inflammatory cytokines, and scavenging free radicals. CONCLUSION: The findings implied that similar to the glibenclamide-treated groups, in the BAAEAgNPs treated group, the compromised antioxidant status normalized in STZ-induced diabetes. By scavenging free radicals, BAAE-Ag-NPs protected against lipid peroxidation while reducing the risk of complications from diabetes. Compared to the daily dose of 29.4 mg, the impact was more prominent at 73.5 mg.

Chitosan Surface-Modified PLGA Nanoparticles Loaded with Cranberry Powder Extract as a Potential Oral Delivery Platform for Targeting Colon Cancer Cells.

Nutraceutical cranberry powder extract (CBPE) has distinct polyphenols inhibiting colon cancer growth and proliferation. However, its oral therapeutic efficacy is hindered because of its low permeability. This study aims to formulate chitosan surface-modified PLGA nanoparticles (CS-PLGA NPs) for encapsulating CBPE and modulating its release rate, permeation, cell targeting, and, therefore, its cytotoxicity. A full 23 factorial design is employed to scrutinize the effect of lactide/glycolide ratio, PLGA weight, and stabilizer concentrations on entrapment efficiency percentage (EE%), particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ZP). The optimum formula (F4) shows spherical particles with a relatively high EE% (72.30 ± 2.86%), an appropriate size of 370.10 ± 10.31 nm, PDI; 0.398 ± 0.001, and ZP; -5.40 ± 0.21 mV. Alongside the ATR-FTIR outcomes, the chitosan surface-modified formula (CS-F4) demonstrates a significant increase in particle size (417.67 ± 6.77 nm) and a shift from negative to positive zeta potential (+21.63 ± 2.46 mV), confirming the efficiency of surface modification with chitosan. The intestinal permeability of F4 and CS-F4 is significantly increased by 2.19- and 3.10-fold, respectively, compared to the CBPE solution, with the permeability coefficient (Papp) being 2.05 × 10-4 cm/min and 2.91 × 10-4 cm/min, for F4 and CS-F4, respectively, compared to the CBPE solution, 9.36 × 10-5 cm/min. Moreover, CS-F4 evidences significant caspase-3 protein level expression stimulation and significant inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3) protein expression levels, confirming the superiority of CS-F4 for targeting HT-29 cells. Briefly, CS-PLGA NPs could be regarded as a prosperous delivery system of CBPE with enhanced permeation, cell targeting, and antitumor efficacy.

In vitro evaluation of dental color stability using various aesthetic restorative materials after immersion in different drinks.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the demands for restorations have increased considerably; thus, improvements and modifications have been made in dental composite technologies especially using materials that have been claimed to improve color stability. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of various solutions on the color stability of different restorative materials in vitro study. METHODS: This study used three types of esthetic restorative materials. The samples comprised 45 discs, including 15 micro-hybrids, 15 nano-hybrids, and 15 glass ionomers). These discs were immersed in various beverages an hour a day for one month at room temperature. The color stability was measured using a spectrophotometer before/after immersion (days 7 and 30). RESULTS: We realized a significant difference in color change with Coca-Cola and tea-milk solution after seven days and 30 days (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found in the samples immersed in DM after seven days and 30 days (p > 0.05). The highest value of lightness (∆L) and stainability (∆a) was seen in micro-hybrid after 30 days of immersion in tea-milk solution (- 12.16 ± 1.74 and 11.4 ± 3.82, respectively), while most samples had a positive ∆b value. CONCLUSION: After one month, the tea-milk solution affected the color stability of all used restorative materials. In addition, micro-hybrid had higher color stability than nano-hybrid and glass ionomer.

An end-end deep learning framework for lesion segmentation on multi-contrast MR images-an exploratory study in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) engenders traumatic necrosis and penumbra-areas of secondary neural injury which are crucial targets for therapeutic interventions. Segmenting manually areas of ongoing changes like necrosis, edema, hematoma, and inflammation is tedious, error-prone, and biased. Using the multi-parametric MR data from a rodent model study, we demonstrate the effectiveness of an end-end deep learning global-attention-based UNet (GA-UNet) framework for automatic segmentation and quantification of TBI lesions. Longitudinal MR scans (2 h, 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, and 60 days) were performed on eight Sprague-Dawley rats after controlled cortical injury was performed. TBI lesion and sub-regions segmentation was performed using 3D-UNet and GA-UNet. Dice statistics (DSI) and Hausdorff distance were calculated to assess the performance. MR scan variations-based (bias, noise, blur, ghosting) data augmentation was performed to develop a robust model.Training/validation median DSI for U-Net was 0.9368 with T2w and MPRAGE inputs, whereas GA-UNet had 0.9537 for the same. Testing accuracies were higher for GA-UNet than U-Net with a DSI of 0.8232 for the T2w-MPRAGE inputs.Longitudinally, necrosis remained constant while oligemia and penumbra decreased, and edema appearing around day 3 which increased with time. GA-UNet shows promise for multi-contrast MR image-based segmentation/quantification of TBI in large cohort studies.

A review of the holy Quran listening and its neural correlation for its potential as a psycho-spiritual therapy.

Since its revelation over 14 centuries ago, the Holy Quran is considered as scriptural divine words of Islam, and it is believed to promote psycho-spiritual therapeutic benefits to its reciter and/or listener. In this context, the listening of rhythmic Quranic verses among Muslims is often viewed as a form of unconventional melodic vocals, with accompanied anecdotal claims of the 'Quranic chills' pleasing effect. However, compared to music, rhythm, and meditation therapy, information on the neural basis of the anecdotal healing effects of the Quran remain largely unexplored. Current studies in this area took the leads from the low-frequency neuronal oscillations (i.e., alpha and theta) as the neural correlates, mainly using electroencephalography (EEG) and/or magnetoencephalography (MEG). In this narrative review, we present and discuss recent work related to these neural correlates and highlight several methodical issues and propose recommendations to progress this emerging transdisciplinary research. Collectively, evidence suggests that listening to rhythmic Quranic verses activates similar brain regions and elicits comparable therapeutic effects reported in music and rhythmic therapy. Notwithstanding, further research are warranted with more concise and standardized study designs to substantiate these findings, and opens avenue for the listening to Quranic verses as an effective complementary psycho-spiritual therapy.

Vanin 1 Gene Role in Modulation of iNOS/MCP-1/TGF-ß1 Signaling Pathway in Obese Diabetic Patients.

Introduction: Cysteamine, a powerful endogenous antioxidant, is produced mostly by the vanin-1 with pantetheinase activity. With regard to glycemic, inflammatory, and redox factors, the current study sought to evaluate the association between the expression of the vanin-1 gene, oxidative stress, and inflammatory and iNOS signaling pathway in obese diabetic patients. Methods: We enrolled 67 male subjects with an average age of 53.5 ± 5.0 years, divided into 4 groups according to the WHO guideline. We determined their plasma levels of glucose, insulin, IRI, HbA1c, TC, TG, HDL-C, TNF- α, MCP-1, TGF-ß1, SOD, CAT, and TBARs, as well as expression of the iNOS and Vanin1 genes. Results: Overweight and obese class I and II diabetics had significantly higher levels of plasma glucose, insulin, HbA1c, TNF-α, MCP-1, TGF-ß1, CAT, and TBAR as well as iNOS and vanin-1 gene expression compared to healthy control individuals. In addition, as compared to healthy control individuals, overweight obese class I and II diabetics' plasma HDL-C levels and blood SOD activity were significantly lower. In addition, ultrasound and computed tomography showed that the presence of a mild obscuring fatty liver with mild hepatic echogenicity appeared in overweight, class I and II obese diabetic patients. Conclusion: These findings provide important information for understanding the correlation between Vanin 1 and glycemic, inflammatory, and redox factors in obese patients. Furthermore, US and CT analysis were performed to visualize the observed images of fatty liver due to obesity.

A Novel ZnO Nanoparticles Enhanced Surfactant Based Viscoelastic Fluid Systems for Fracturing under High Temperature and High Shear Rate Conditions: Synthesis, Rheometric Analysis, and Fluid Model Derivation.

Surfactant-based viscoelastic (SBVE) fluids are innovative nonpolymeric non-newtonian fluid compositions that have recently gained much attention from the oil industry. SBVE can replace traditional polymeric fracturing fluid composition by mitigating problems arising during and after hydraulic fracturing operations are performed. In this study, SBVE fluid systems which are entangled with worm-like micellar solutions of cationic surfactant: cetrimonium bromide or CTAB and counterion inorganic sodium nitrate salt are synthesized. The salt reagent concentration is optimized by comparing the rheological characteristics of different concentration fluids at 25 °C. The study aims to mitigate the primary issue concerning these SBVE fluids: significant drop in viscosity at high temperature and high shear rate (HTHS) conditions. Hence, the authors synthesized a modified viscoelastic fluid system using ZnO nanoparticle (NPs) additives with a hypothesis of getting fluids with improved rheology. The rheology of optimum fluids of both categories: with (0.6 M NaNO3 concentration fluid) and without (0.8 M NaNO3 concentration fluid) ZnO NPs additives were compared for a range of shear rates from 1 to 500 Sec-1 at different temperatures from 25 °C to 75 °C to visualize modifications in viscosity values after the addition of NPs additives. The rheology in terms of viscosity was higher for the fluid with 1% dispersed ZnO NPs additives at all temperatures for the entire range of shear rate values. Additionally, rheological correlation function models were derived for the synthesized fluids using statistical analysis methods. Subsequently, Herschel-Bulkley models were developed for optimum fluids depending on rheological correlation models. In the last section of the study, the pressure-drop estimation method is described using given group equations for laminar flow in a pipe depending on Herschel-Bulkley-model parameters have been identified for optimum fluids are consistency, flow index and yield stress values.

Sustainable Machining of Mg-9Al-1.4Zn Foam Used for Temporary Biomedical Implant Using Cryogenic Cooling.

In this study, the drilling performance of biodegradable grade Mg-9Al-1.4Zn alloy reinforced with hollow thin-walled Al2O3 microspheres is inspected under different coolant environments such as dry, Almag® mineral oil, and liquid nitrogen. Drilling experiments were carried out using titanium aluminum nitride PVD coated and uncoated K10 tools on varying volume fractions of magnesium syntactic foams (5%, 10%, and 15%) reinforced with hollow Al2O3 microspheres. Test results showed a 30-60% higher thrust force generated with liquid nitrogen drilling in comparison to dry and oil-based drilling while cutting higher volume fraction foams. Higher microsphere volume fractions of syntactic foam recorded higher machining forces, which is roughly a 200% increase as the volume fraction raised to 15%. The performance of TiAlN PVD tool coating is reflected through a reduction in thrust forces by 20% during cryogenic drilling. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigation of cryogenic-machined bore surfaces showed minimal drilling-induced surface defects compared to dry and Almag® mineral oil conditions. A three-dimensional, thermo-mechanical finite element-based model for drilling Mg-9Al-1.4Zn syntactic foam using AdvantEdgeTM is developed for different sustainable lubrication conditions. Surface finish (Ra) showed a 45-55% improvement during cryogenic drilling of 15% syntactic foams with minimized subsurface damages compared to dry and wet cutting conditions. The higher the volume fraction, the higher the surface roughness (Ra) and thrust force under cryogenic machining.

A reservoir bubble point pressure prediction model using the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) technique with trend analysis.

The bubble point pressure (Pb) could be obtained from pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) measurements; nonetheless, these measurements have drawbacks such as time, cost, and difficulties associated with conducting experiments at high-pressure-high-temperature conditions. Therefore, numerous attempts have been made using several approaches (such as regressions and machine learning) to accurately develop models for predicting the Pb. However, some previous models did not study the trend analysis to prove the correct relationships between inputs and outputs to show the proper physical behavior. Thus, this study aims to build a robust and more accurate model to predict the Pb using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and trend analysis approaches for the first time. More than 700 global datasets have been used to develop and validate the model to robustly and accurately predict the Pb. The proposed ANFIS model is compared with 21 existing models using statistical error analysis such as correlation coefficient (R), standard deviation (SD), average absolute percentage relative error (AAPRE), average percentage relative error (APRE), and root mean square error (RMSE). The ANFIS model shows the proper relationships between independent and dependent parameters that indicate the correct physical behavior. The ANFIS model outperformed all 21 models with the highest R of 0.994 and the lowest AAPRE, APRE, SD, and RMSE of 6.38%, -0.99%, 0.074 psi, and 9.73 psi, respectively, as the first rank model. The second rank model has the R, AAPRE, APRE, SD, and RMSE of 0.9724, 9%, -1.58%, 0.095 psi, and 13.04 psi, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed ANFIS model is validated to follow the correct physical behavior with higher accuracy than all studied models.