Background: The occurrence of seizures in bacterial meningitis is important, as it has been reported to increase the risk of complications; however, its frequency and predictors are not well studied yet. Objective: To assess the frequency, clinical, and biochemical predictors of seizures in children with acute bacterial meningitis. Method: A cross-sectional study recruited confirmed acute bacterial meningitis cases based on positive CSF culture and sensitivity among children aged 2 months to 15 years admitted to the Central Child Teaching Hospital emergency department in Iraq. Patients were divided into two groups based on seizure at presentation time. Demographic characteristics [age, gender, residence, duration of fever and disease, presenting complaints and antibiotic intake]; hematological [WBC, neutrophils] Lymphocyte, N/L ratio, packed cell volume, platelets, blood sugar, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indices were compared between groups. Results: Seizures had a frequency of 18% among the 122 children and were significantly higher in younger cases with female predominance. By multivariate analysis and odds ratio (OR), predictors for seizure were as follows: CSF lymphocytes (OR=0.25, 95%CI=0.08–0.26), lethargy (OR=8.15, 95%CI=1.03-68.65), headache (OR=0.09, 95%CI=0.02-0.45), neck stiffness (OR=0.07, 95% CI=0.01-0.61) and poor feeding (OR=4.8, 95%CI=1.21–18.97). Conclusions: CSF lymphocytes reliably predicted seizure with good sensitivity and specificity of 75% and 73%. Lethargy and poor feeding had the highest odds as clinical predictors of seizures. Together, those results can help with risk stratification and allocate resources for high-risk cases to improve patient outcomes
The influence of Cr3+ doping on the ground state properties of SrTiO3 perovskite was evaluated using GGA-PBE approximation. Computational modeling results infered an agreement with the previously published literature. The modification of electronic structure and optical properties due to Cr3+ introducing into SrTiO3 were investigated. Structural parameters assumed that Cr3+ doping alters the electronic structures of SrTiO3 by shifting the conduction band through lower energies for the Sr and Ti sites. Besides, results showed that the band gap was reduced by approximately 50% when presenting one Cr3+ atom into the SrTiO3 system and particularly positioned at Sr sites. Interestingly, substituting Ti site by Cr3+ led to eliminating the band ga
... Show MoreHuman beings are starting to benefit from the technology revolution that witness in our time. Where most researchers are trying to apply modern sciences in different areas of life to catch up on the benefits of these technologies. The field of artificial intelligence is one of the sciences that simulate the human mind, and its applications have invaded human life. The sports field is one of the areas that artificial intelligence has been introduced. In this paper, artificial intelligence technology Fast-DTW (Fast-Dynamic Time Warping) algorithm was used to assess the skill performance of some karate skills. The results were shown that the percentage of improvement in the skill performance of Mai Geri is 100%.
Abstract: The development of highly sensitive sensors has become an efficient field of research. In this work, an ArF Excimer laser of 193 nm with a maximum pulse energy of 275 mJ, 15 ns pulse duration and a repetition rate of 1 Hz is utilized to form a Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) of three different morphologies (nanochains, contours, grooves) on surface of CR39 polymer at a fluence range above the ablation threshold (250 mJ/cm2). The laser ablated polymer surface is then Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) activated by deposition of a gold layer of 30 nm thickness. The capability of the produced substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering is evaluated through thiophenol as an analyte molecule. It is observ
... Show MoreBackground: Surface treatment of machined dental zirconia for enhancement of the adhesion to resin cement, using Er,Cr:YSGG Laser. Materials and Methods: Total number of 42 zirconia disc specimens (9 mm diameter, and 2 mm height) was sintered according to the manufacturer instruction. They are divided into six groups, each group of seven samples. Laser groups (Experiment parameters) were depend on laser total irradiation time, pulse duration, and power. Group (A): 20 sec., 60 µs pulse duration. Group (B): 30 sec., 60 µs pulse duration. Group (C): 40 sec., 60 µs pulse duration. Group (D): 20 sec., 700 µs pulse duration. Group (E): 30 sec., 700 µs pulse duration, with different powers used (1, 1
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Paraffin wax is utilized for the heat storage applications taking advantage from the high stored latent heat during the phase change (from solid to fluid) period. What isn't right with this procedure is that the wax has a little heat transfer rate because of its low thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity improvement of the paraffin wax has been examined utilizing nano-material with high thermal conductivity. In the recent study, (Al2O3) nanoparticles with weights of 1, 2, and 3% of the paraffin wax were added to the paraffin wax. The Iraqi paraffin wax accessible at the local markets was utilized as a phase change material (PCM).
Many properties of the
... Show Morethis work, a simple method was used to prepare the MnO2 nanoparticles. These nanoparticles then were characterized by several techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The results showed that the diffraction peak of MnO2 nanoparticles was similar to that of standard data. The images of AFM and SEM indicated that the MnO2 nanorods were growing from the MnO2 nano spherical shape. PVA-pentaerythritol/MnO2 nanocomposite films were fabricated by evaporating casting method. The dielectric constant and loss tangent of P-Ery/MnO2 films were measured between 10 kHz and 1 MHz using LCR. As the content of MnO2 increased, the dielectric constant
... Show MoreWith the increase in industry and industrial products, quantities of waste have increased worldwide, especially plastic waste, as plastic pollution is considered one of the wastes of the modern era that threatens the environment and living organisms. On this basis, a solution must be found to use this waste and recycle it safely so that it does not threaten the environment. Therefore, this research used plastic waste as an improvement material for clay soil. In this research, two types of tests were conducted, the first of which was a laboratory test, where the undrained shear strength (cohesion), compression index (Cc), and swelling index (Cr) of the improved and unimproved soils were calculated (plastic was added in pr
... Show MoreThe legal nature of the Build-Operate-Transfer-Ownership Contract (B.O.T) The Build, Operate, and Transfer of Ownership Contract (BOT) has emerged as the most successful and safest method for involving the private sector in public sector services. The major infrastructure projects that are built through the BOT contract are no longer financed by the state and its budget, but the private sector has played a major role in financing These projects, especially developing countries that need to establish infrastructure or modernize their existing infrastructure, especially in the areas of transport, communications, services, electricity, water ..... and other public utilities.
The use of silicon carbide is increasing significantly in the fields of research and technology. Topological indices enable data gathering on algebraic graphs and provide a mathematical framework for analyzing the chemical structural characteristics. In this paper, well-known degree-based topological indices are used to analyze the chemical structures of silicon carbides. To evaluate the features of various chemical or non-chemical networks, a variety of topological indices are defined. In this paper, a new concept related to the degree of the graph called "bi-distance" is introduced, which is used to calculate all the additive as well as multiplicative degree-based indices for the isomer of silicon carbide, Si2
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