Clostridioides difficile is widely recognised as one of the most common causes of healthcare-associated C. difficile infections due to the ability of spores to survive for prolonged periods in the hospital environment. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of UV-C 254 nm light in the inactivation of the spores of different C. difficile ribotypes on brain heart infusion (BHI) agar plates or in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with varying spore densities. Furthermore, the effectiveness of a sporicidal surface disinfectant against C. difficile spores was determined on different surfaces. Spore suspensions of different C. difficile strains in the range of 10⁵–10⁷ colony-forming units (CFUs) mL⁻¹ were inoculated on BHI agar plates or in PBS and exposed to UV-C light for up to 30 min. Additionally, a spore suspension of 10³–10⁵ CFUs was spread over a 1 cm² test area on different surfaces, and sporicidal surface wipes were used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The findings demonstrated that spores of C. difficile ribotypes exhibited a complete reduction in log₁₀ CFU on BHI agar plates and PBS following 20 min of exposure to a UV-C dose of 2208 mJ cm⁻². The surface wipes with sporicidal properties demonstrated efficacy in reducing the number of C. difficile spores on the Formica, stainless steel, and plastic surfaces by 2.03–3.53 log₁₀. The present study demonstrates that moist surfaces or liquids can enhance the efficacy of UV-C treatment in reducing C. difficile spores. This approach may be applicable to the surfaces of healthcare facilities and to water disinfection systems.

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a prevalent health issue among children, with potential consequences for bone health and overall well-being. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in a pediatric population and identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 children (aged 1-10 years) recruited from medical laboratories in Gharyan City, Libya, between January 2022 and June 2024. Participants were categorized based on their vitamin D levels (deficient, insufficient, adequate, or optimal). Demographic data (age, gender) and vitamin D levels were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA. Approximately half of the study participants (49.75%) exhibited vitamin D deficiency. Females had a slightly higher prevalence of deficiency (27.5%) compared to males (22.25%). Significant differences in vitamin D levels were observed across age groups. Infants under 12 months had higher levels compared to older children (36-72 months). While gender was not a significant predictor of vitamin D deficiency in our study, previous research has suggested potential gender-related disparities. The findings of this study highlight the concerning prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among children in the region. Age appears to be a significant factor influencing vitamin D status, with younger children being more susceptible to deficiency. While gender may not be a major determinant in this population. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in our study underscores the importance of promoting sun exposure, dietary intake of vitamin D-rich foods, and supplementation strategies to address this public health issue. Further research is needed to explore the underlying factors contributing to vitamin D deficiency in children

The unique characteristics of the laser beam compared to the normal light i.e. its directionality, monochromatcity, and brightness make it a very important tool in the surface engineering. The concentrated heat in the laser beam can precisely directed toward the processed region on the surface. The laser beam power, size, and scanning velocity are easily controlled during the different processing methods. Laser surface modifications of metallic materials, such as laser surface melting, laser surface alloying, and laser cladding are some of the most important methods to improve the mechanical properties of the processed layer on the surface. A pulsed Nd-YAG laser surface melted specimens of low carbon steel with a maximum power of 90W at different processing parameters. The rapid melt and resolidification of the treated layer produced a refinement in the microstructure. The original microstructure of this steel (Ferrite + Pearlite) has been transformed to new phases of martensitic and bainitic structures. The melted layer consists of the melted pool, the heat affected zone, and the substrate. The maximum hardness of the laser melted layer is more than 400 HV.

Key words:Laser surface Melting, Carbon steel, Microstructure, Microhardness

الملخص

Synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from extracts of various plant parts

and of agricultural waste is strongly affected by pH. These green synthesis

methods cconsidered simple, cost effective, ecofriendly, and biologically

effective. This brief review aimed to survey the role of pH in the green

synthesis of AgNPs using those media, with a focus on its effect on AgNPs

morphology and size. This review article revealed that the alkaline pH (9 -

10) is the optimum condition for synthesizing more stable and tiny uniform

AgNPs. In addition, according to the reviewed articles, the spherical shape is

the most dominant shape of these articles in the basic medium and the size of

these particles decreases at elevated pH values and ranged from 5-40 nm

Synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from extracts of various plant parts

and of agricultural waste is strongly affected by pH. These green synthesis

methods cconsidered simple, cost effective, ecofriendly, and biologically

effective. This brief review aimed to survey the role of pH in the green

synthesis of AgNPs using those media, with a focus on its effect on AgNPs

morphology and size. This review article revealed that the alkaline pH (9 -

10) is the optimum condition for synthesizing more stable and tiny uniform

AgNPs. In addition, according to the reviewed articles, the spherical shape is

the most dominant shape of these articles in the basic medium and the size of

these particles decreases at elevated pH values and ranged from 5-40 nm.

Harmonic function is one of an important branches of complex analysis. The first study of complex valued, harmonic mappings defined on a domain D was given by ClunIe and SheIl-Small [1]. Harmonic functions have been studied by different researchers such as Silverman [6]. In the present paper, a new class of harmonic univalent functions will be introduced. Various properties of functions belong to this class which include coefficient bounds, growth bounds, a closure property, extreme points, neighborhood and a convex combination will be obtained.

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Hill Cipher is one of the symmetric key algorithms in cryptography, we discussed Encryption

and decryption for the alphabet Arabic by Hill cipher encryption and descriptions using the

invertible matrix as a key. In this study, we introduce a new method on the Hill Cipher for the

alphabet Arabic using a rectangular matrix as a key.

The Hill cipher is considered the first encryption technology that has some

advantages in encrypting data. The aim of this research is to modify the Hill

cipher to process letters of the Arabic alphabet. We have proven the success of

the Hill encryption on letters of the Arabic alphabet and the research was

supported by a number of different examples which were then processed using

MATLAB.

Dyslexia is a distinct learning disability that is distinguished by difficulties in decoding and reading fluency, spelling as well as other cognitive skills. This research is conducted to assist learning disability by improving the skills required for children with learning disability in reading and spelling using the assistive technology AVA interactive whiteboard. The approach is by strengthening the micro skills required to improve the fundamental skills such as reading, and spelling thus facilitating the learning process. Tactile and visual modalities are the main focus in the use of the interactive whiteboard. This study aims to develop an interactive whiteboard learning prototype for students with dyslexia. A total of six children from 3 demographics (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) participated in the study. Activities improving the four micro skills were introduced in normal whiteboard and the children were exposed to the prototype AVA interactive whiteboard. Responses using Interactive whiteboard were different when compared to their performance with the normal whiteboard. The analyzed results indicated showed improvements in three of the micro skills using IWB