Clostridioides difficile is an emerging pathogen of One Health significance. Its highly variable genome contains mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as transposons and prophages that influence its biology. Systematic deletion of each genetic element is required to determine their precise role in C. difficile biology and contribution to the wider mobilome. Here, Tn5397 (21 kb) and ϕ027 (56 kb) were deleted from C. difficile 630 and R20291, respectively, using allele replacement facilitated by CRISPR-Cas9. The 630 Tn5397 deletant transferred PaLoc at the same frequency (1 × 10⁻⁷

Free water surface constructed wetlands (FSCWs) can be used to complement conventional waste water treatment but removal efficiencies are often limited by a high ratio of water volume to biofilm surface area (i.e. high water depth). Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) consist of floating matrices which can enhance the surface area available for the development of fixed microbial biofilms and provide a platform for plant growth (which can remove pollutants by uptake).  In this study the potential of FTWs for ammoniacal nitrogen (AN) removal was evaluated using experimental mesocosms operated under steady-state flow conditions with ten different treatments (two water depths, two levels of FTW mat coverage, two different plant densities and

Background: Radioactive iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in treating patients with hyperthyroidism. An ablative dose is preferred by a number of endocrinologists, and, a fixed dose protocol seems to be better than a calculated dose in real practice.

Objective: To check for hypothyroidism in hyperthyroid patients one year after RAI therapy, comparing between the results of high ablative versus usual dosages of RAI-131.

 Methods:  This study included 174 hyperthyroid patients, 101 males and 73 females, divided into 2 groups, the first consisted of 162 patients given a usual fixed dose of RAI while the second consisted of 12 patients given a high fixed ablati

Abstract

            Rayleigh distribution is one of the important distributions used for analysis life time data, and has applications in reliability study and physical interpretations. This paper introduces four different methods to estimate the scale parameter, and also estimate reliability function; these methods are Maximum Likelihood, and Bayes and Modified Bayes, and Minimax estimator under squared error loss function, for the scale and reliability function of the generalized Rayleigh distribution are obtained. The comparison is done through simulation procedure, t

The purpose of this research was to evaluate rice husk functionalized with Mg-Fe-layered double hydroxide (RH-Mg/Fe-LDH) as an adsorbent for the removal of meropenem antibiotic (MA) from an aqueous solution. Several batch experiments were undertaken using various conditions. Based on the results, the optimal Mg/Fe-LDH adsorbent with a pH of 9 and an M2+/M3+ ratio of 0.5 was associated with the lowest particle size (specifically. 11.1 nm). The Langmuir and Freundlich models were consistent with the experimental isotherm data (R2 was 0.984 and 0.993, respectively), and MA’s highest equilibrium adsorption capacity was 43.3 mg/g. Additionally, the second-order model was consistent with the adsorption kinetic results.

Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a widespread Nontraditional Machining (NTM) processes for manufacturing of a complicated geometry or very hard metals parts that are difficult to machine by traditional machining operations. Electrical discharge machining is a material removal (MR) process characterized by using electrical discharge erosion. This paper discusses the optimal parameters of EDM on high-speed steel (HSS) AISI M2 as a workpiece using copper and brass as an electrode. The input parameters used for experimental work are current (10, 24 and 42 A), pulse on time (100, 150 and 200 µs), and pulse off time (4, 12 and 25 µs) that have effect on the material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and wear ratio (WR). A

 A dynamic analysis method has been developed to investigate and characterize embedded delamination on the dynamic response of composite laminated structures. A nonlinear finite element model for geometrically large amplitude free vibration intact plate and delamination plate analysis is presented using higher order shear deformation theory where the nonlinearity was introduced  in the Green-Lagrange sense. The governing equation of the vibrated plate were derived using the Variational approach. The effect of different orthotropicity ratio, boundary condition and delamination size on the non-dimenational fundamental frequency and frequency ratios of plate for different stacking sequences are studied. Finally th