Monomorium ant's trail pheromones: Glandular source, optimal concentration, longevity and specificity

Ashraf Mohamed Ali Mashaly 한국응용곤충학회 2010 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.13 No.1

Many ants use pheromone trails to organize collective foraging. Trail pheromones are produced from different glandular sources and they may be specific to a single species or shared by a number of species. I investigated the source of trail pheromones in three Monomorium ant species: Monomorium niloticum (Emery), M. najrane (Collingwood & Agosti) and M. mayri (Forel). I also examined the optimal concentration,longevity and specificity of the pheromones. M. niloticum and M. najrane secrete trail pheromone from their venom glands, whereas M. mayri secrete trail pheromone from its Dufour's gland. The optimum concentration was 1.0 and 0.1 gaster equivalent (GE)/30 cm trail in M. niloticum, 1.0 GE in M. najrane and 5.0 GE in M. mayri. Longevity of the optimal concentration was about one day for all species. There is no species specificity among the three species of Monomorium in their trail pheromone.

Integrated Magnetic Core Switching Cell AC-AC Converters

Ashraf Ali Khan,Honnyong Cha,Hafiz Furqan Ahmed,Heung-Geun Kim 전력전자학회 2015 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2015 No.6

The switching cell (SC) direct PWM ac-ac converters solve the commutation problem of traditional direct PWM ac-ac converters in a very effective way. The magnetic components of the SC ac-ac converters consist of two coupled inductors and an AC inductor. In order to make the SC ac-ac converters more useful and practical, this paper presents the integration of magnetic components in these converters in one magnetic core. The proposed integration method can significantly improve the power density of the SC ac-ac converters. In addition the cost of magnetic components and inductor coils can be reduced. In order to prove the validity of the proposed integration scheme a 600 W prototype inductor is built and tested.

An Investigation of Cloud Computing and E-Learning for Educational Advancement

Ali, Ashraf,Alourani, Abdullah International Journal of Computer ScienceNetwork S 2021 International journal of computer science and netw Vol.21 No.11

Advances in technology have given educators a tool to empower them to assist with developing the best possible human resources. Teachers at universities prefer to use more modern technological advances to help them educate their students. This opens up a necessity to research the capabilities of cloud-based learning services so that educational solutions can be found among the available options. Based on that, this essay looks at models and levels of deployment for the e-learning cloud architecture in the education system. A project involving educators explores whether gement Systems (LMS) can function well in a collaborative remote learning environment. The study was performed on how Blackboard was being used by a public institution and included research on cloud computing. This test examined how Blackboard Learn performs as a teaching tool and featured 60 participants. It is evident from the completed research that computers are beneficial to student education, especially in improving how schools administer lessons. Convenient tools for processing educational content are included as well as effective organizational strategies for educational processes and better ways to monitor and manage knowledge. In addition, this project's conclusions help highlight the advantages of rolling out cloud-based e-learning in higher educational institutions, which are responsible for creating the integrated educational product. The study showed that a shift to cloud computing can bring progress to educational material and substantial improvement to student academic outcomes, which is related to the increased use of better learning tools and methods.

Sedimentation assisted preparation of ground particles of silica monolith and their C18 modification resulting in a chromatographic phase of improved separation efficiency

Ali, Ashraf,Ali, Faiz,Cheong, Won Jo Elsevier 2017 Journal of chromatography Vol.1525 No.-

<P>The sedimentation procedure has been adopted in production of ground silica monolith particles to improve chromatographic separation efficiency of the resultant phase. First, silica monolith particles have been successfully prepared in a large scale by a sol-gel process followed by grinding. The particles after calcination were separated by sedimentation into three zones using an Imhoff sedimentation cone. The particles of the bottom zone were derivatized with a C18 ligand and end-capped. The sedimentation process was found to not only eliminate troublesome minute particles but also narrow down the particle size distribution. The resultant phase was packed in glass lined stainless steel micro-columns. The average number of theoretical plates (N) of the columns for a test mixture was 47,000 and 29,300 for the 300 and 150 mm columns (1 mm internal diameter), corresponding to 157,000/m and 195,000/m, respectively. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Quality of Life among Iranian Infertile Women in Postmenopausal Period: A Cross-sectional Study

( Ashraf Direkvand-moghadam ),( Ali Delpisheh ),( Ali Montazeri ),( Kourosh Sayehmiri ) 대한폐경학회 2016 대한폐경학회지 Vol.22 No.2

Objective: Infertility has a significant impact on a women``s quality of life (QOL). Infertile women face with physical and mental challenges during their postmenopausal period. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the QOL among Iranian infertile women in the postmenopausal period using a valid and reliable instrument. Methods: In this cross-sectional study both snowball and social networking methods were used for sampling. Two demographic and QOL questionnaire were used for data collection. The QOL questionnaire includes 41 items which measure the QOL in five dimensions: socioeconomic, mental health, religiousness, physical health and future imagining. Data analyzed was carried out in IBM SPSS ver. 20.0 using descriptive statistic, x² test, and Fisher test. A P value of 0.01 or less was considered significant. Results: Overall 211 eligible participants were studied. Some participants obtained full score on socioeconomic, religiousness, physical health and future imagining dimensions of QOL but none on the mental health dimension of the QOL. Only, 6.6% of study participants have a good QOL. There was a significant relationship between age and financial provider whit status of QOL. Conclusion: Most Iranian infertile women in the postmenopausal period have poor or moderate QOL. Therefore, improving the QOL among these women should be considered. (J Menopausal Med 2016;22:108-113)

A Highly Reliable and High-Efficiency Quasi Single-Stage Buck–Boost Inverter

Khan, Ashraf Ali,Cha, Honnyong,Ahmed, Hafiz Furqan,Kim, Juyong,Cho, Jintae Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2017 IEEE transactions on power electronics Vol. No.

<P>To regulate an output ac voltage in inverter systems having wide input dc voltage variation, a buck-boost power conditioning system is preferred. This paper proposes a novel high-efficiency quasi single-stage single-phase buck-boost inverter. The proposed inverter can solve current shoot-through problem and eliminate PWM dead time, which leads to greatly enhanced system reliability. It allows bidirectional power flow and can use MOSFET as switching device without body diode conducting. The reverse recovery issues and related loss of the MOSFET body diode can be eliminated. The use of MOSFET contributes to the reduction of switching and conduction losses. Also, the proposed inverter can be operated with simple pulse width modulation (PWM) control and can be designed at higher switching frequency to reduce the volume of passive components. The detailed experimental results are provided to show the advantages of the proposed inverter. Efficiency measurement shows that using simple PWM control the proposed inverter can obtain peak efficiency of 97.8% for 1.1-kW output power at 30-kHz switching frequency.</P>

Factors Associated with Early Adverse Events after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Subsequent to Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Yasser Ali Kamal, M.Sc.,Yasser Shaban Mubarak, M.D.,Ashraf Ali Alshorbagy, M.D. 대한흉부외과학회 2016 Journal of Chest Surgery (J Chest Surg) Vol.49 No.3

Background: A previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may affect the outcomes of patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The objective of this study was to compare the early in-hospital postoperative outcomes between patients who underwent CABG with or without previous PCI. Methods: The present study included 160 patients who underwent isolated elective on-pump CABG at the department of cardiothoracic surgery, Minia University Hospital from January 2010 to December 2014. Patients who previously underwent PCI (n=38) were compared to patients who did not (n=122). Preoperative, operative, and early in-hospital postoperative data were analyzed. The end points of the study were in-hospital mortality and postoperative major adverse events. Results: Non-significant differences were found between the study groups regarding preoperative demographic data, risk factors, left ventricular ejection fraction, New York Heart Association class, EuroSCORE, the presence of left main disease, reoperation for bleeding, postoperative acute myocardial infarction, a neurological deficit, need for renal dialysis, hospital stay, and in-hospital mortality. The average time from PCI to CABG was 13.9±5.4 years. The previous PCI group exhibited a significantly larger proportion of patients who experienced in-hospital major adverse events (15.8% vs. 2.5%, p=0.002). On multivariate analysis, only previous PCI was found to be a significant predictor of major adverse events (odds ratio, 0.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.71; p=0.01). Conclusion: Previous PCI was found to have a significant effect on the incidence of early major adverse events after CABG. Further large-scale and long-term studies are recommended.

Effect of baffle configuration on performance of batch stirred vessel

Basheer Ashraf Ali,Lister Herington Falleiro 한국화학공학회 2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.39 No.5

Crystallization is often carried out in batch stirred vessels. However, it is difficult to obtain uniform crystalsize distribution (CSD), as it strongly depends on prevailing flow field operating conditions. This is adversely affectedby the geometry of stirred vessels. Hence in this work, CFD simulations were performed to investigate flow field, mixingand crystallization phenomena in a stirred vessel. The performance of the stirred vessel was compared with drafttube baffled stirred vessel. The flow field was quantified through liquid circulation and vorticity. The mixing was analyzedthrough macromixing time in the stirred vessel. The solubility data, nucleation, and growth kinetics were integratedwith CFD through a user-defined function (UDF) to predict crystallization phenomena. The predicted resultswere validated with experimental data available in the literature. The effects of seed mass, size and temperature on CSDwere investigated and optimum conditions [750 gm (seed mass); 500 m (seed size); 308 K (temperature)] for favourablecrystal growth were identified. The performance of the proposed baffled stirred vessel was found to be significant,and it supports enhancing flow field, mixing and crystallization process.

Diagnostic Value of Protein Ki67 (MIB-1) in Atypical Pap Smears of Postmenopausal Women

Fakhrjou, Ashraf,Dastranj-Tabrizi, Ali,Ghojazadeh, Morteza,Ghorashi, Sona,Velayati, Atefeh,Piri, Reza,Vahedi, Amir,Sayyah-Melli, Manizhe,Smaeili, Heydar-Ali,Bonakdari, Amir,Halimi, Monireh,Naghavi-Beh Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.8

Background: Atrophic epithelium of cervix sampled from postmenopausal women may mimic high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Papanicolaou-stained (Pap) smears. Ki-67 (MIB-1) protein presents on proliferating cells, and percentage of cells with positive nuclei provides a reliable tool for rapid evaluation of the growth fraction. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of protein Ki67 staining in atypical pap smears of postmenopausal women. Methods: In a case-control setting, pap smears of 75 women with an atypical pap smear (case group) and 75 with normal pap smears (controls) were obtained before and after estrogen treatment. Afterward, samples were exposed to the monoclonal antibody Ki-67 (MIB-1) and the immunohistochemically demonstrated Ki-67+ cells were compared. Results: Mean ages of cases and controls were $60.4{\pm}4.5$ and $59.9{\pm}4.3$ years respectively (P=0.50). There was one (2.7%) positive Ki-67 specimen in the case group, without any positive Ki-67 specimen in the control group (P=0.50). Conclusions: Measurement of proliferative activity index in Pap smears restrained with MIB1 is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method for excluding negatives. This would imply that it might allow a substantial reduction of diagnostic estrogen courses and subsequent Pap smears in postmenopausal women with atypical findings.

A New Reliable Three-Phase Buck-Boost AC–AC Converter

Khan, Ashraf Ali,Cha, Honnyong,Ahmed, Hafiz Furqan IEEE 2018 IEEE transactions on industrial electronics Vol.65 No.2

<P>This paper proposes a new bidirectional direct pulse width modulation (PWM) three-phase buck-boost ac–ac converter. It requires six switches and three inductors and can provide wide range buck-boost voltage operation. It has high reliability due to no short-circuit and open-circuit risks in the converter. Therefore, it solves the commutation problem without using lossy snubber circuits, soft commutation strategies, and coupled inductors. It can be designed with metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) without their body diodes conducting, which eliminate reverse recovery issues and losses of body diodes. In addition, to reduce the ripples in input and output voltages and currents, the proposed converter can be operated with a PWM strategy-II. The PWM strategy-II is a type of interleaved PWM strategy with dead- and overlap-times operating modes. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed converter extensive analysis followed by detailed experimental results are provided.</P>