Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in a Conflict Area: A Cross-Sectional Study in South Kordofan, Sudan.

Background: The UN General Assembly recognised the human right to water and sanitation through the sixth SDG in 2010. South Kordofan, a state in southern Sudan, faces WASH challenges due to conflict, geographical factors, and inadequate services, impacting over 600,000 residents. Such conflicts are well known for spreading diseases and disrupting WASH-related practices among displaced individuals.

PLASMA EXPRESSION LEVELS OF MICRORNA-21 MIGHT HELP IN THE DETECTION OF HCV PATIENTS COMPLICATED BY HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA.

Objective: To investigate the ability of the estimated plasma gene-expression levels of microRNA (miR)-21 and 126 to define patients suspected to have hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with complicated hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: Patients with uncomplicated (U-HCV) or complicated HCV underwent clinical and ultrasonographic (US) evaluations and assessment for the computerized hepatorenal index, hepatic steatosis index and fibrosis indices. Blood samples were obtained for estimation of serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and plasma expression levels of miR-21 and miR-126 using the quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Spontaneous Heterotopic Pregnancy: A Case Report of a Rare and Critical Obstetric Condition.

Heterotopic pregnancy is defined as the concurrent presence of both an intrauterine pregnancy and an extrauterine (typically ectopic) pregnancy. This report presents the case of a 36-year-old female patient who presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain. A comprehensive evaluation, including transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound imaging, revealed a heterotopic pregnancy at an estimated gestational age of six weeks and two days.

Enhancing intraoral radiographic technique: introducing "Nallan's Lines".

Background: Intraoral radiography remains the most widely employed dental radiographic technique for producing geometrically accurate images with minimal distortion and magnification. Despite its common use in the dental office, incorrect projection geometry can be challenging leading to image distortions. To mitigate these inaccuracies specific radiographic landmarks on the face are utilized during periapical radiography.

Validation of energy valley optimization for adaptive fuzzy logic controller of DFIG-based wind turbines.

This study presents a novel optimization algorithm known as the Energy Valley Optimizer Approach (EVOA) designed to effectively develop six optimal adaptive fuzzy logic controllers (AFLCs) comprising 30 parameters for a grid-tied doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) utilized in wind power plants (WPP). The primary objective of implementing EVOA-based AFLCs is to maximize power extraction from the DFIG in wind energy applications while simultaneously improving dynamic response and minimizing errors during operation. The performance of the EVOA-based AFLCs is thoroughly investigated and benchmarked against alternative optimization techniques, specifically chaotic billiards optimization (C-BO), genetic algorithms (GA), and marine predator algorithm (MPA)-based optimal proportional-integral (PI) controllers.