Type 2 Diabetes Risk Prediction Using Deep Convolutional Neural Network Based-Bayesian Optimization

Diabetes mellitus is a long-term condition characterized by hyperglycemia. It could lead to plenty of difficulties. According to rising morbidity in recent years, the world’s diabetic patients will exceed 642 million by 2040, implying that one out of every ten persons will be diabetic. There is no doubt that this startling figure requires immediate attention from industry and academia to promote innovation and growth in diabetes risk prediction to save individuals’ lives. Due to its rapid development, deep learning (DL) was used to predict numerous diseases. However, DL methods still suffer from their limited prediction performance due to the hyperparameters selection and parameters optimization. Therefore, the selection of hyper-parameters is critical in improving classification performance. This study presents Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that has achieved remarkable results in many medical domains where the Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA) has been employed for hyperparameters selection and parameters optimization. Two issues have been investigated and solved during the experiment to enhance the results. The first is the dataset class imbalance, which is solved using Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) technique. The second issue is the model's poor performance, which has been solved using the Bayesian optimization algorithm. The findings indicate that the Bayesian based-CNN model superbases all the state-of-the-art models in the literature with an accuracy of 89.36%, F1-score of 0.88.6, and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) of 0.88.6.     

Process for producing high octane gasoline having lower benzene content and distillation end point with its environmental effect of engine exhaust emissions

In this research, a process is discussed for upgrading reformate and power former in Iraq’s Al-Doura refinery, by reducing the amount of benzene in the gasoline product with simultaneous reduction in the gasoline’s ASTM distillation end point. The process consists of fractionation of the reformate and power former to recover that fraction (90–180°C) of hydrocarbons. This was directly used as gasoline without further conversion. The heavy bottom fraction (180°C—EBP) consisting of the aromatic and non-aromatic hydrocarbons was recovered and used as antiknock additives to gasoline. The other fraction with (IBP—90°C) was used as feedstock to producing benzene by solvent extraction. The reformate and power former fractions (90–180°C) are blended with light straight run naphtha at ratio (75: 25) to producing gasoline as well as Al Doura gasoline. It was found that the amount of benzene was reduced from 1.41 wt % in the original pool to 1.37 and 1.31 in the alternative products. Engine emissions were also reduced when using the alternative products compared with original pool product.     

Dioxins and furans in the Jordanian environment. Part 2: Levels of PCDD and PCDF in human milk samples from Jordan

Thirty individual human milk samples were gathered from five main towns in Jordan. They were mixed to six pooled samples and analyzed for PCDD and PCDF. All examined samples were contaminated with 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDD (3.2-96.0 ng/kg fat) and OctaCDD (29.0-147 ng/kg fat). The calculated TEQ (BGA)-values range between 0.26 and 60.32 ng TEQ/kg fat, which are all above the calculated tolerable concentration of 0.19 ng TEQ/kg milk fat.     

CORROSION FATIGUE OF STEEL IN VARIOUS AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract— Corrosion fatigue of three steels namely: AISI 1018, AISI 4340 and 17–7 PH stainless steel are investigated in various environments. Testing mediums chosen are natural seawater, polluted sea water from an industrial site, drinking tap water produced by desalination process, 4% sodium chloride tap water solution and a laboratory air environment. Results obtained for the three steels are consistent in pointing out that pollutants in seawater do not contribute to an acceleration of corrosion fatigue. The aggressiveness of drinking water is attributed to its chemical instability, low alkalinity and bicarbonate content.     

Salvage Chemotherapy with Cisplatin,Ifosfamide, and Paclitaxel in Aggressive Variant of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Significant progress has been achieved in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, results in patients with aggressive variant prostate cancer (AVPC) have been disappointing. Here, we report retrospectively collected data from intensively pretreated AVPC patients (n = 17; 88.2% visceral metastases; 82% elevation of neuroendocrine markers) treated with salvage chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, ifosfamide, and paclitaxel (TIP). At the interim analysis, 60% of patients showed radiographic response or stable disease (PFS = 2.5 months; OS = 6 months). In men who responded to chemotherapy, an OS > 15 months was observed. Preclinical analyses confirmed the high activity of the TIP regimen, especially in docetaxel-resistant prostate cancer cells. This effect was primarily mediated by increased cisplatin sensitivity in the emergence of taxane resistance. Proteomic and functional analyses identified a lower DNA repair capacity and cell cycle machinery deficiency to be causative. In contrast, paclitaxel showed inconsistent effects, partially antagonizing cisplatin and ifosfamide in some AVPC models. Consequently, paclitaxel has been excluded from the TIP combination for future patients. In summary, we report for the first time the promising efficacy of TIP as salvage therapy in AVPC. Our preclinical data indicate a pivotal role for cisplatin in overcoming docetaxel resistance.     

Clinically Relevant KCNQ1 Variants Causing KCNQ1-KCNE2 Gain-of-Function Affect the Ca2+ Sensitivity of the Channel

Dominant KCNQ1 variants are well-known for underlying cardiac arrhythmia syndromes. The two heterozygous KCNQ1 missense variants, R116L and P369L, cause an allelic disorder characterized by pituitary hormone deficiency and maternally inherited gingival fibromatosis. Increased K⁺ conductance upon co-expression of KCNQ1 mutant channels with the beta subunit KCNE2 is suggested to underlie the phenotype; however, the reason for KCNQ1-KCNE2 (Q1E2) channel gain-of-function is unknown. We aimed to discover the genetic defect in a single individual and three family members with gingival overgrowth and identified the KCNQ1 variants P369L and V185M, respectively. Patch-clamp experiments demonstrated increased constitutive K⁺ conductance of V185M-Q1E2 channels, confirming the pathogenicity of the novel variant. To gain insight into the pathomechanism, we examined all three disease-causing KCNQ1 mutants. Manipulation of the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration prior to and during whole-cell recordings identified an impaired Ca²⁺ sensitivity of the mutant KCNQ1 channels. With low Ca²⁺, wild-type KCNQ1 currents were efficiently reduced and exhibited a pre-pulse-dependent cross-over of current traces and a high-voltage-activated component. These features were absent in mutant KCNQ1 channels and in wild-type channels co-expressed with calmodulin and exposed to high intracellular Ca²⁺. Moreover, co-expression of calmodulin with wild-type Q1E2 channels and loading the cells with high Ca²⁺ drastically increased Q1E2 current amplitudes, suggesting that KCNE2 normally limits the resting Q1E2 conductance by an increased demand for calcified calmodulin to achieve effective channel opening. Our data link impaired Ca²⁺ sensitivity of the KCNQ1 mutants R116L, V185M and P369L to Q1E2 gain-of-function that is associated with a particular KCNQ1 channelopathy.     

Influence of microbial processes on the operation of a cold store in a shallow aquifer: impact on well injectivity and filter lifetime

In this study, the operation of a cold store, located in 30??0?m depth in the North German Basin, was investigated by direct counting of bacteria and genetic fingerprinting analysis. Quantification of microbes accounted for 1 to 10??0⁵ cells per ml fluid with minor differences in the microbial community composition between well and process fluids. The detected microorganisms belong to versatile phyla Proteobacteria and Flavobacteria. In addition to routine plant operation, a phase of plant malfunction caused by filter clogging was monitored. Increased abundance of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria indicated a change in the supply of electron acceptors, however, no changes in the availability of electron acceptors like nitrate or oxygen were detected. Sulfur- and iron-oxidizing bacteria played essential roles for the filter lifetimes at the topside facility and the injectivity of the wells due to the formation of biofilms and induced mineral precipitations. In particular, sulfur-oxidizing Thiothrix generated filamentous biofilms were involved in the filter clogging.     

An innovative,high-efficiency silver/silica nanocomposites for direct absorption concentrating solar thermal power

Using of nanofluids in the concentrating direct absorption solar collectors has the potential of reducing thermal losses because of the excessive temperature of the absorbing surface in the conventional solar collectors. However, increasing the concentration ratio of solar radiation must be followed by increasing the volume fraction of the nanoparticles, which, in turn, has the drawbacks of increasing the settlement and agglomeration rates of the nanoparticles. In this study, we have suggested using the plasmonic nanofluids for volumetric absorption in the concentrated solar power applications because of the less volume fraction of the plasmonic nanoparticles that are required to harvest the concentrated solar radiation. The interaction of concentrated solar radiation with different morphologies of silver nanoparticles coated by silica shell has been computationally studied. Then, the finite element method has been implemented to determine the photo-thermal conversion efficiency for silver nanosphere and nanoplates with a silica shell. Silver nanoparticles coated by silica exhibit a promising potential because of their distinct characteristics. The silica shell is transparent to the visible and near-infrared radiation bands; it also consolidates the intensity of the localized plasmon resonance and so the absorption characteristics, besides its protective role. A high-efficiency low concentration nanofluid has been designed using blended morphologies of Ag nanospheres and nanoprisms with silica-coating–based nanofluid for full-spectrum absorption characteristics. The suggested nanofluid exhibits a promising performance at a volume fraction of 0.0075 wt% where the volumetric solar collector efficiency exceeds 75% under the solar concentration ratio of 50.