Baylisascaris procyonis is a helminth parasite of raccoons Procyon lotor and represents a health concern in paratenic hosts, including humans and diverse domestic and wildlife species. In North America the helminth is expanding its geographic range. To better understand patterns of infection in the Ozark region of the USA, raccoons (n = 61) were collected in 2013-2014 from five counties in Missouri and Arkansas, USA and necropsied. We documented B. procyonis in all surveyed locations. The overall prevalence of B. procyonis was 44.3 % (95 % CI = 31.9 - 57.4) and was significantly higher in females than males. There were also significant differences in prevalence among raccoons sampled north and south of the Missouri River. Mean intensity was 9.9 (CI = 5.44 - 17.22), and parasites were highly aggregated among hosts such that approximately 20 % of hosts harbor 90 % of parasites. These levels of parasitism indicate that B. procyonis is common in the region and its impacts on paratenic hosts could be qualitatively similar to effects observed in other localities.
Rehabilitation robots are widely recognized as vital for restoring motor function in patients with lower-limb impairments. A Modified Fractional-Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative (MFOPID) controller is proposed to improve trajectory tracking of a 2-DoF Lower Limb Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robot (LLRER). The classical FOPID is augmented with a modified control formulation by which steady-state error is reduced and the transient response is sharpened. Controller gains and fractional orders were tuned offline using a hybrid metaheuristic Improved Elk Herd Optimization hybridized with Grey Wolf and Multi-Verse Optimization algorithms (IElk-GM) so that exploration and exploitation are balanced. Superiority over the classical FOPID
... Show MoreThis research explores the use of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) as a conductive medium for sodium ions in sodium‐ion batteries, presenting a possible alternative to traditional lithium‐ion battery technology. The researchers prepare SPEs with varying molecular weight ratios of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and sodium tetrafluoroborate (NaBF4) using a solution casting method with dimethyl formamide as the solvent. Through optical absorbance measurements, we identified the PAN:NaBF4 (80:20) SPE composition as having the lowest energy band gap value (4.48 eV). This composition also exhibits high thermal stability based on thermogravimetric analysis results.
This study describes the preparation of new series of tetra-dentate N2O2 dinuclear complexes (Cr3+, Co2+, Cu2+) of the Schiff base derived from condensation of 1-Hydroxy-naphthalene-2-carbaldehyde with 2-amino-5-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole. The structures of the ligands were identified using IR, UV-Vis , mass, elemental analysis and 1H-NMR techniques. All prepared complexes have been characterized by conductance measurement, magnetic susceptibility, electronic spectra, infrared spectrum, theromgravimatric analysis (TGA) and metal analysis by atomic absorption. From stoichiometry of metal to ligand and all measurements show a octahedral geometry proposed for all
... Show MoreBackground: Raoultella planticola is a developing pathogen that can infect both humans and animals. Raoultella spp. commonly colonize the gastrointestinal and upper respiratory systems. It usually causes pneumonia, bile tract infections, and bacteremia. Aim: In this study, the anticancer activity of an isolated brown pigment of a Raoultella planticola isolate was tested in vitro. Methods: The laboratory examination included culturing in brain-heart infusion broth, conducting biochemical tests, using the automatic VITEK2 Compact for bacterial isolate identification, performing the MTT assay to evaluate the cytotoxic effect on both the mammary cancer cell line (AMN3) and normal rat fibroblast (REF), and utilizing enzyme-linked i
... Show MorePrevious experimental studies have suggested that hot mixed asphalt (HMA) concrete using hydrated lime (HL) to partially replace the conventional limestone dust filler at 2.5% by the total weight of all aggregates showed an optimum improvement on several key mechanical properties, fatigue life span and moisture susceptibility. However, so far, the knowledge of the thermal response of the modified asphalt concrete and thermal influence on the durability of the pavement constructed are still relatively limited but important to inform pavement design. This paper, at first, reports an experimental study of the tensile fatigue life of HMA concrete mixes designed for wearing layer application. Tests were conducted under three different temperatur
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Green biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles from
This study involved the effect of the aqueous extracts of two plants, Origanum vulgare L.(1), Trigonella Foenum Graecum L. (Fenugreek) seeds(2) on the growth of cancer cell lines. Rhabdomyo sarcomas (RD) of human cell line and female intestine cells of Albino mice (L20B) in vitro System. These extracts were compared with the known anticancer drug Cis-platinum(Cis-Pt) as a positive control. The phytochemical tests were used for screening the active compounds in plants. The inhibition activity assay was used as a parameter of the cytotoxic effect of these extracts. Cancer cell lines were treated with four concentrations of Cis-platin, 31.25, 62.5, 125 and 250 ?g/ml for 72 hour exposure time. The same concentrations were used for the other ext
... Show MoreThis study aimed to identidy the role of a professional social worker practice specialist in the field of social care for Corona patients, in light of some demographic variables such as (gender, marital status, economic status,), through a field study at the Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs. A random sample of (50) social workers in the Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs in various places affiliated with the ministry was chosen. a questionnaire developed by the researcher about the role of the social worker in the field of social care for Corona patients was administered to the study sample to collect the needed data. The results showed that there is a positive statistically significant correlation relationship at the level (0.01) between
... Show MoreThe high bounce activity according to the fosbery way is regarded as of the difficult sports concerning its way of training and perfection due to hard technique of its performance on one hand and because it depends on the player’s ability to overcome body weight resistance against the gravity. In addition to the strong ability to control the body posture when leaving the land and flying over the barrier. This activity needs to high plosion power at the moment of bouncing and this plosion depends on the period of bouncing, so the two researchers aimed to use a mechanical bouncing platform and an electronic one through several training by one foot and both feet in different directions and positions in order to reduce the time of bouncing an
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