IntroductionTo reduce the risks involved with ionising radiation exposure, typical values (TVs) and diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) have been established to help keep radiation doses ‘as low as reasonably practicable. TVs/DRLs provide standardised radiation dose metrics that can be used for comparative purposes. However, for paediatrics, such values should consider the size of the child instead of their age. This study aimed to establish and compare paediatric TVs for chest, abdomen and pelvis radiography.MethodsStudy methods followed processes for establishing paediatric DRLs as outlined by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Kerma-area product (KAP) values, excluding rejected images, were retrospectively acquired from the study institution's Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). Paediatric patients were categorised into the following weight-based groupings (5 to <15 kg, 15 to <30 kg, 30 to <50 kg, 50 to 80 kg) and stratified based on the examination that was performed (chest, abdomen, and pelvis), and where it was performed (the different X-ray rooms). Anonymised data were inputted into Microsoft Excel for analysis. Median and 3rd quartile KAP values were reported together with graphical illustrations.ResultsData from 407 X-ray examinations were analysed. For the previously identified weight categories (5 to <15 kg, 15 to <30 kg, 30 to <50 kg, 50 to 80 kg), TVs for the chest were 0.10, 0.19, 0.37 and 0.53 dGy.cm2, respectively. For the abdomen 0.39, 1.04, 3.51 and 4.05 dGy.cm2 and for the pelvis 0.43, 0.87, 3.50 and 7.58 dGy.cm2. Between X-ray rooms TVs varied against the institutional TVs by -60 to 119 % (chest), -50 to 103 % (abdomen) and -14 and 24 %% (pelvis).ConclusionTVs in this study follow established trends with patient weight and examination type and are comparable with published literature. Variations do exist between individual examination rooms and reasons are multifactorial. Given that age and size do not perfectly correlate further work should be undertaken around weight-based TVs/DRLs in the paediatric setting.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of threshing speed and feeding weights on the maize threshing machine efficiency, threshing speed of the threshing machine included 270, 470 and 570 rpm, the feeding weights of the threshing included 4, 7 and 10 kg, in the specific productivity, specific energy consumed, threshing efficiency and broken cobs. The results showed that increasing the speed of threshing unit from 270 to 470 then to 670 rpm had a significant effect on specific productivity, specific energy consumed, threshing efficiency and broken cobs. Increasing the threshing feeding weights from 4 to 7 then 10 kg led to increasing the specific productivity along with a decreasing in the specific energy consumed, threshing efficiency and broken cobs .The highest specific productivity was 7.98 kg/kw.h. The least specific energy consumed 0.127 kwh/kg at the threshing speed of 470 rpm and the feeding weights 10 kg. While the threshing efficiency was 100% with broken cobs of 0%, at 470 rpm threshing speed for all of the feeding weights.

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of the time shelling process by two levels of 30 and 40 seconds, and Sheller feeding rate with three levels of 4, 7, and 10 kg on the specific energy, specific capacity, unshelled grains, and broken kernels maize. The statistical analysis showed that increasing shelling time from 30 to 4 seconds led to a significant increase in specific capacity and broken kernels, moreover leading to a significant decrease in specific energy and unshelled grains. The increase in sheller feeding from 4 to 7 then to 10 kg, to increase specific capacity, unshelled grains, decrease in specific energy and broken kernels. The least specific energy was 0.154 kw.kW.kg-1 and the highest specific capacity was 6.66 kg/kw.h-1 with the time of shelling 40 second and feeding rate of 10 kg. Whereas that results shows there is no significant effect of the interaction between the time of shelling and sheller feeding rate in the unshelled grains and kernels.

The testicles and epididymal ducts of several mammals, such as camels, have been shown to have ADAM2 (fertilin) protein. But nothing is known about the existence of this protein in the camel's ductus deferens and male accessory glands. The current study employed immunohistochemical (IHC) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) techniques to elucidate the distribution and expression of ADAM2 in the ductus deferens and male accessory glands in dromedary camels throughout the rutting season. Samples of tissue were collected from the ductus deferens. (initial, middle and ampullary parts), prostate (corpus and disseminated part) and bulbourethral gland from eight mature male camels. IHC result revealed that ADAM2 protein localized in all parts of the ductus deferens with a strong immunoreaction in the ampullary parts. A variety of immunoreactions were recognized in the different parts of the male accessory glands. qRT-PCR results showed that ADAM2 mRNA was expressed variably in all parts of the ductus deferens and male accessory glands; the ampullary part of the vas deferens displayed the highest levels of expression (P<0.05). The current study concluded that ADAM2 is found in the ductus deferens and male accessory glands with greater expression in the ampulla and prostate glands where seminal fluids are secreted. Thus, it is believed that these organs aid in the sperm's creation of this protein before ejaculation in the female camel's genital organs.

Para llevar a cabo estudios de optimización de dosis, el fantoma de imagenología debe ser adecuado para evaluar la calidad de la imagen. El coste de los fantomas de gama alta suele ser prohibitivo, por lo que es necesario hallar un método de construcción asequible que emplee sustitutos tisulares que sean razonablemente fáciles de obtener. Se realizaron cálculos teóricos de las características radiológicas de cada uno de los pulmones, el hueso cortical y los tejidos blandos con el fin de elegir el sustituto adecuado; para ello, se eligieron el corcho, el cloruro de polivinilo (PVC) y el agua, respectivamente. La validación consistió, en primer lugar, en la medición de las unidades Hounsfield (UH) de tomografía computarizada (TC) de los tejidos de un paciente real y su posterior comparación con las anatomías correspondientes en el fantoma construido. En segundo lugar, se obtuvieron los valores de relación señal/ruido (S/R) y de relación contraste/ruido (C/R) para evaluar la calidad de las imágenes generadas a partir del fantoma construido y comparar sus tendencias con un fantoma válido utilizando diferentes parámetros de exposición (valores pico de kilovoltaje [kVp] y miliamperios por segundo [mAs]). Partiendo de los cálculos teóricos, las diferencias porcentuales exhibieron una precisión elevada en los sustitutos tisulares al simular los tejidos de un paciente real; con PVC fue de ≥ 5,78%, con corcho ≥ 4,46% y con agua ≥ 5%. La diferencia porcentual (UH de TC) entre el pulmón y el hueso cortical y sus sustitutos tisulares equivalentes fue de 10,44% y de 0,53 a 3,17%, respectivamente. Se encontraron fuertes correlaciones positivas para la S/R al variar tanto los valores de kVp (0,79) como de mAs (0,65). Por el contrario, se halló que la fuerza de correlación de los valores de la C/R era moderada al cambiar los valores de kVp (0,58) y mAs (0,53). Se ha constatado mediante las UH de TC que los materiales de nuestro fantoma asequible son una réplica de las características radiológicas de un paciente pediátrico de un año de edad, mientras que las correlaciones de la S/R y la C/R confirmaron su aplicabilidad en estudios mediante imágenes y de optimización. In order to perform chest dose optimisation studies, the imaging phantom should be adequate for image quality evaluation. Since high-end phantoms are cost prohibitive, there is a need for a low-cost construction method with fairly available tissue substitutes. Theoretical calculations of radiological characteristics were performed for each of lung, cortical bone and soft tissues in order to choose appropriate substitute, then, cork, P.V.C. (Polyvinyl Chloride) and water were chosen, respectively. Validation included, firstly, measuring CT Hounsfield Units (HU) of a real patient's tissues then compared against their corresponding anatomies in the constructed phantom. Secondly, Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values were acquired in this study to evaluate the quality of images generated from the constructed phantom, then, compare their trends with a valid phantom under different exposure parameters (kVp and mAs). From theoretical calculations, the percentage differences showed high accuracy of tissue substitutes when simulating real patient tissues; P.V.C. was ≥ 5.78%, cork was ≥ 4.46% and water ≥ 5%. The percentage difference (CT HU) between lung and cortical bone and their equivalent tissue substitutes were 10.44% and 0.53%-3.17%, respectively. Strong positive correlations were found for SNR when changing both kVp (0.79) and mAs (0.65). While the correlation strength of CNR values were found to be moderate when changing both kVp (0.58) and mAs (0.53). Our low-cost phantom approved through CT HU that their materials replicate the radiological characteristics of real one-year-old child while SNR and SNR correlations confirmed its applicability in imaging and optimisation studies.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma share common pathophysiological pathways characterized by chronic inflammation and subsequent tissue damage involving multiple body sites. Circadian rhythms are 24-h body cycles that regulate immune activity and control the magnitude of immune response based on time of day. Chronotype is a person's individual circadian phase preference, ranging from morningness to eveningness, which is known to influence the risk of cardiometabolic and mental health disease. We systematically reviewed the literature to assess the association of questionnaire-based chronotype and patients with IMID. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE and Embase identified 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, conducted in 7 countries and covering 4 IMIDs to include 15,625 IMID patients and 410,783 healthy controls. Results showed that later chronotype may be a risk factor for worse quality of life and increased symptom burden in patients with IMIDs. In addition, chronotype may be a risk factor for IMID incidence, but the direction and magnitude of this effect were not consistent across individual IMIDs. Chronotype assessment could contribute to risk stratification in patients with IMIDs. Cross-disciplinary collaboration to understand the role of circadian rhythms and chronotype in driving common inflammatory pathways could help to improve outcomes for patients with IMIDs.

Introduction and Objectives: In order to perform chest dose optimisation studies, the imaging phantom should be adequate for image quality evaluation. Since high-end phantoms are cost prohibitive, there is a need for a low-cost construction method with fairly available tissue substitutes. Materials and Methods: Theoretical calculations of radiological characteristics were performed for each of lung, cortical bone and soft tissues in order to choose appropriate substitute, then, cork, P.V.C. (Polyvinyl Chloride) and water were chosen, respectively. Validation included, firstly, measuring CT Hounsfield Units (HU) of a real patient's tissues then compared against their corresponding anatomies in the constructed phantom. Secondly, Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values were acquired in this study to evaluate the quality of images generated from the constructed phantom, then, compare their trends with a valid phantom under different exposure parameters (kVp and mAs). Results: From theoretical calculations, the percentage differences showed high accuracy of tissue substitutes when simulating real patient tissues; P.V.C. was >= 5.78%, cork was >= 4.46% and water >= 5%. The percentage difference (CT HU) between lung and cortical bone and their equivalent tissue substitutes were 10.44% and 0.53%-3.17%, respectively. Strong positive correlations were found for SNR when changing both kVp (0.79) and mAs (0.65). While the correlation strength of CNR values were found to be moderate when changing both kVp (0.58) and mAs (0.53). Conclusions: Our low-cost phantom approved through CT HU that their materials replicate the radiological characteristics of real one-year-old child while SNR and SNR correlations confirmed its applicability in imaging and optimisation studies. (C) 2023 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of using additional aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) filters on radiation dose during the adult chest x-ray examination. Adult chest phantoms without and with different slabs of animal fat were used for simulating underweight, overweight, and obese patients, respectively. Phantoms were examined without and with various levels of extra Al and Cu filtering over a range of exposure parameters. A dose area product (DAP) meter was used to measure the radiation dose. Results demonstrated that radiation doses were significantly reduced (p=0.001) when applying extra filters compared with no filters for all of the different phantom sizes. The highest reduction in radiation dosage was 38, 41, and 42 percent for underweight, overweight, and obese phantom size, respectively, by 1mm Al+0.2mm Cu. In conclusion, the use of extra filters in chest x-ray imaging provides an optimal dose reduction choice regardless of the thickness of the chest region to be radiographed. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31257/2018/JKP/2022/140206

A high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity is found in patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Many studies show improvement of lymphoid malignancies outcome with the use of anti HCV treatment in patients with HCV infection and lymphoid malignancies especially indolent B cell lymphoma.

In medical imaging, differences in patient size can cause some difficulties, particularly when it comes to choosing the optimal imaging protocol and this can influence image quality and radiation dose given to the patient. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of patient thickness on radiation dose received when undertaking abdomen x-ray examination. An adult anthropomorphic abdomen phantom was used for simulating the abdomen area of a real patient. In addition, three different layers of fat added above the phantom were utilised for simulating the different patient sizes. The phantom was imaged using different acquisition parameters and the radiation dose values were recorded. Radiation dose values increased with increasing phantom size and decreased with higher kVp values for all the different phantom sizes.

Hepatotropic virus HCV, which can infect hepatocytes, is also lymphotropic and can infect lymphocytes as well.Epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence suggests that the pathogenesis of at least a portion of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are related to HCV infection.In the last six years, the approval of the new IFN-free antiviral treatment (AVT) with DAAs revolutionized the treatment of chronic HCV infection and many studies show improvement of lymphoid malignancies associated with HCV infection upon the use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).DAAs alone can improve indolent lymphomas and DAAs combined with chemotherapy improve the outcome of more aggressive lymphomas as many studies show that patients with HCV infection and lymphoid malignancies usually presented with a higher stage, have a higher frequency of extranodal presentation and a lower response rate (RR), disease free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) compared with other patients with lymphoid malignancies without HCV infection.Moreover, a number of lymphoid malignancies had reported soon after DAAs treatment for HCV infection.This is a systematic review of DAAs and their effect on lymphoid malignancies when given either combined or without chemotherapy.In addition, the review contains all cases reported before for the development of lymphoid malignancies after DAAs treatment for HCV infection.

The advanced digital imaging systems are producing much less noise associated radiographs. Physical image quality are becoming recognizable in replacing visual human evaluating of image quality. When radiation does shows strong correlation with image quality, one can directly control image quality using dose. Thus, this study aim to explore relationship between physical image quality (taken from real patient with lung infection) and radiation quantity (or doses) and to investigate possible reduction in radiation doses. The study used public data source of plain radiographs, that contains around 160,000 x-ray images. Then filtered them according the study aim and practicality to be used in measuring signal to noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR). Strong relation between radiation dose and SNR was found, while CNR showed weak relationship with radiation dose. Very low SNR value was found to be suitable to produce visible image quality. The study concluded the possibility of utilizing physical image quality with possibility in reducing dose to the patients.

The study was aimed to investigate the light and electron microscopic structure of buccal salivary glands in the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius). Anatomically, the dromedary camel buccal glands were well-developed and were located on the lateral side of the cheek. Three parts (groups) of the buccal glands could be observed: dorsal, middle and ventral parts. Histologically, the secretory units were tubule-acinar, surrounded by myo-epithelial cells and supported by connective tissue. Whereas, the dorsal glands were purely mucous and the ventral glands were purely serous in secretion, the middle ones were muco-serous with predominant mucous cells. Ultra-structurally, the glandular cells of the serous secretory units (type I cells) contained numerous microvilli, many electron-dense secretory granules, abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. On the other hand, the mucous-secreting cells (type II cells) appeared with numerous electron-translucent supra-nuclear granules and flat basal nuclei; dilated tubules of rough endoplasmic reticulum; fewer mitochondria and Golgi bodies were also observed. The obtained results have been compared with the previous reports on salivary glands of camel and other mammalian species.

The aim of this study is to clarify the function of osteopontin (OPN) through its expression and localisation in male testis, epididymis and sperm cell of dromedary camel during rutting season. Testis and epididymis parts (caput, corpus and cauda) specimens were obtained from 8 mature male camels and semen was collected from 4 another fertile camels for sperms. OPN mRNA expression and its location was analysed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques, respectively. OPN mRNA expression was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the cauda of epididymis than other epididymal parts and testis. Immunolocalisation revealed high immunoreaction intensity in the elongated spermatids in seminiferous tubules and Leydig cells in interstitial tissue. However, a faint immunostaining was seen in spermatogonia and Sertoli cells. Along the epididymis tract, intense immunoreactivity of OPN was localised in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells with high concentration in the apical region nearby lumen and the acrosomal part of the cauda epididymal sperms. Immunofluorescence and immunochromogenic staining of OPN was detected on the acrosomal cap and neck of epididymal sperms. These findings suggested that OPN might play an important role in the sperm protection, migration and fertilisation in dromedary camels.

INTRODUCTION:Selection of optimal image acquisition protocols in medical imaging remains a grey area, the superimposed use of the Likert scale in radiological image quality evaluations creates an additional challenge for the statistical analysis of image quality data. Using a simulation study, we have trialled a novel approach to analysing radiological image quality Likert scale data. METHODS:A simulation study was undertaken where simulated datasets were generated based on the distribution of Likert scale values according to varying image acquisition protocols from a real dataset. Simulated Likert scale values were pooled in four different ways; the mean, median, mode and the summation of patient Likert scale values of which the total was assigned a categorical Likert scale value. Estimates of bias, MAPE and RMSPE were then calculated for all four pooling approaches to determine which method most accurately represented an expert's opinion. RESULTS:When compared to an expert's opinion, the method of summation and categorisation of Likert scale values was most accurate 49 times out of the 114 (43.0%) tests. The mean 28 times out of 114 (24.6%), the median 23 times out of 114 (20.2%) and the mode 17 times out of 114 (14.9%). CONCLUSION:We conclude that our method of summation and categorisation of Likert scale values is most often the best representation of the simulated data compared to the expert's opinion. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:There is scope to reproduce this simulation study with multiple observers to reflect clinical reality more accurately with the dynamic nature of multiple observers. This also prompts future investigation into other anatomical areas, to see if the same methods produce similar results.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting chemical that predisposes to reproductive toxicity due to its oxidative stress.Selenium (Se), found in cereals, fish, and meat and has antioxidant properties.The aim of this work is to investigate the harmful effect of exposure to BPA on the testes of adult male albino rats and the protective effect of Se.Material& methods: This study included 40 adult male albino rats were divided equally into 4 groups: Group I (control group) It received distilled water once daily by gastric tube for 4 weeks.Group II (Selenium group) It received 10 μg Se /kg bw/day; administered orally via gastric tube for 4 weeks.Group III (BPA group) It received 10 μg BPA /kg bw/day; administered orally via gastric tube for 4 weeks.Group IV (BPA+Se group) It received 10 μg BPA/kg bw/day followed by 10 μg Se /kg bw/day.Both administered orally via gastric tube for 4 weeks.The sections of testis were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin and Masson's Trichrome stains, Also Immunohistochemical study was done to detect BCL2.RESULTS: The study had demonstrated that BPA caused degeneration in the seminiferous epithelium and in the interstitium, dilitation and congestion of the blood vessels, and increased of the collagen fibers in the interstitium .Immunohistochemical results showed a decrease in the expression of the antiapoptotic protein (Bcl2).Selenium administration caused significant improvement in the histological structure of the testis.Conclusion: selenium protects the testis from the toxic effect of Bisphenol A.

The vertisols of the Gezira Scheme, Sudan, are characterized by high clay content low total nitrogen, organic matter and available phosphorous, high pH and poor physical properties. Cotton production depends on application of nitrogenous fertilizer at a rate of 86 kg N/ha in form of urea. Cotton yield depression and lack of response to urea were observed in Gezira. In a completely randomized block design experiments, other forms of fertilizers including Nitrophoska (NPK 18:18:5), ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN 26% N + 14% S) and ammonium sulphate (AS 21 % N + 24 % S) were tested for cotton yield promotion in Gezira in comparison with the standard fertilization practice (urea). The seed cotton yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) were higher for the tested fertilizers in comparison with the standard fertilization practice. This is mainly due to readily available form of nitrogen in the tested fertilizers for the crop uptake together with their content of more than one nutrient element necessary for the crop growth. The results obtained cast doubt about the efficiency of urea as a source of nitrogen for cotton production under the Gezira soil conditions.

Uterine adenosarcoma (UA) is an extremely rare sarcoma subtype. There has been limited evaluation of the immune microenvironment in these tumors. The objective of this study is to examine and describe the immune infiltrate and PD-1/PD-L1 expression in UA and to correlate these changes in the tumor micro-environment with the overall survival status or the disease-free survival status (DFSS), respectively. Patients (pts) treated at our center from 1982 to 2014 with UA were identified. Fifteen cases had tumor paraffin-embedded blocks available. Immunohistochemistry studies for CD3, CD8, FOXP3, CD163, PD-1 and PD-L1 (clone 22C3) were performed. Image analysis was used to assess the density (cells/mm2), except in PD-L1, where the percentage of membranous staining on tumor cells was noted. Immune infiltrate analysis median (range) density in cells/mm2 varied broadly: CD3 178 (15–802); CD8 117 (11–661); FoxP3 4.8 (0.2–82); CD163 791 (264–1861); and PD1 5 (1–65). 3 cases had rare (1%) PD-L1 tumor membranous labeling. The reports yielded that ten pts were alive, and 5 were dead. Pts who were alive had significant higher CD3 and CD8 median densities in tumors than those who were dead (p = 0.040). There was no correlation between DFSS and CD3 or CD8 median densities. Patients who had no local recurrence had significantly higher CD3 and CD8 median densities in tumors than those who had local recurrence (p = 0.040). In conclusion, this is the first report characterizing the presence of immune infiltrate and PD-1/PD-L1 expression in UA. CD3+ CD8+ T-cells density may be prognostic. The immune-responsiveness of UA needs to be further investigated in a larger study.

Within a short amount of years, urban land in Baghdad governorate increased as a result of the improvement of the economic factor of human beings, the speedy enlargement Buildings method brought many negative climate issues, for instance, the violent modification of land use and the growth UHI, which led to a decrease in vegetation cover, where influenced the temperature averages, Accordingly, we conducted the following study to find solutions, From 2008 to 2018, Landsat Information 5 and 8 were adopted in this analysis, show that urbanization is increasing rapidly as well as the impact of degrees Temperature in this change, was the source of temperature data (ECMWF) for the province of the study, and the results of the method (IDW) used for temperature mapping showed a change in the rates of temperature in urban areas, where the decline of vegetation impact on temperature rates, As well as commercial activities developed by people, which occupied some agricultural land, which led to negative results ,Several previous kinds of research show that the developed lands by humans will affect the local climate. The satellites used were Landsat 5 and 8, where the images of the study area were taken by these satellites during the study period and were entered into a program (ArcGIS) for the objective of modification and clear output. From the information obtained from the results, there is an inverse correlation between increasing urbanization and air temperature rates and positive correlation with solar radiation and wind speed. We conclude from this information that the development of green lands without good coordination will affect the local environment.

| The usage of organic acids (OAs) in poultry industry as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters has been functioning since 2006 The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of prolonged usage of single or mixture of different OAs to acidify the drinking water and monitor their effect on the broiler growth performance, water consumption, feed conversion and intestinal histomorphology. A total of 450 commercial broiler chicks (Arbor acres breed) were randomly divided into nine main groups (50 birds/each). Our results revealed that during the entire growth period, the water was supplemented with acidified water with a pH range between 2.73.7 that showed best performance results. All broilers which given acidified water showed significant improvement in final body weight (P ≤ 0.05), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and villus high: crypt depth ratio (V:C ratio) for the intestinal mucosa compared to non-treated control group (negative control). On the other hand, broiler chicks that supplied with acidified water including formic acid (pH 2.5) revealed significant reduction in all tested parameters (P≤ 0.05) however, water consumption was not affected by lowering the pH in all groups. In conclusions, our findings showed that continuous supplementation of both single and mixture of organic acids can improve the broiler growth performance.