Search results for: InSAR phase unwrapping

Authors: Pradeep G. Siddheshwar, K. M. Lakshmi

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The present study deals with weakly non-linear stability analysis of Rayleigh-Benard-Brinkman convection in nanoliquid-saturated porous enclosures. The modified-Buongiorno-Brinkman model (MBBM) is used for the conservation of linear momentum in a nanoliquid-saturated-porous medium under the assumption of Boussinesq approximation. Thermal equilibrium is imposed between the base liquid and the nanoparticles. The thermophysical properties of nanoliquid are modeled using phenomenological laws and mixture theory. The fifth-order Lorenz model is derived for the problem and is then reduced to the first-order Ginzburg-Landau equation (GLE) using the multi-scale method. The analytical solution of the GLE for the amplitude is then used to quantify the heat transport in closed form, in terms of the Nusselt number. It is found that addition of dilute concentration of nanoparticles significantly enhances the heat transport and the dominant reason for the same is the high thermal conductivity of the nanoliquid in comparison to that of the base liquid. This aspect of nanoliquids helps in speedy removal of heat. The porous medium serves the purpose of retainment of energy in the system due to its low thermal conductivity. The present model helps in making a unified study for obtaining the results for base liquid, nanoliquid, base liquid-saturated porous medium and nanoliquid-saturated porous medium. Three different types of enclosures are considered for the study by taking different values of aspect ratio, and it is observed that heat transport in tall porous enclosure is maximum while that of shallow is the least. Detailed discussion is also made on estimating heat transport for different volume fractions of nanoparticles. Results of single-phase model are shown to be a limiting case of the present study. The study is made for three boundary combinations, viz., free-free, rigid-rigid and rigid-free.

Keywords: Boungiorno model, Ginzburg-Landau equation, Lorenz equations, porous medium

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Authors: Shubhita Mathur, Ritika Kar Bahal, Priyanka Chauhan, Anil K. Tyagi

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis, is a major cause of mortality. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only licensed vaccine available for protection against tuberculosis confers highly variable protection ranging from 0%-80%. Thus, novel vaccine strains need to be evaluated for their potential as a vaccine against tuberculosis. We had previously constructed a triple gene mutant of M. tuberculosis (MtbΔmms), having deletions in genes encoding for phosphatases mptpA, mptpB, and sapM that are involved in host-pathogen interaction. Though vaccination with Mtb∆mms strain induced protection in the lungs of guinea pigs, the mutant strain was not able to control the hematogenous spread of the challenge strain to the spleens. Additionally, inoculation with Mtb∆mms resulted in some pathological damage to the spleens in the early phase of infection. In order to overcome the pathology caused by MtbΔmms in the spleens of guinea pigs and also to control the dissemination of the challenge strain, MtbΔmms was genetically modified by disrupting bioA gene to generate MtbΔmmsb strain. Further, in vivo attenuation of MtbΔmmsb was evaluated, and its protective efficacy was assessed against virulent M. tuberculosis challenge in guinea pigs. Our study demonstrates that Mtb∆mmsb mutant was highly attenuated for growth and virulence in guinea pigs. Vaccination with Mtb∆mmsb mutant generated significant protection in comparison to sham-immunized animals at 4 and 12 weeks post-infection in lungs and spleens of the infected animals. Our findings provide evidence that deletion of genes involved in signal transduction and biotin biosynthesis severely attenuates the pathogen and the single immunization with the auxotroph was able to provide significant protection as compared to sham-immunized animals. The protection imparted by Mtb∆mmsb fell short in comparison to the protection observed in BCG-immunized animals. This study nevertheless indicates the importance of attenuated multiple gene deletion mutants of M. tuberculosis in generating protection against tuberculosis.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, BCG, MtbΔmmsb, bioA, guinea pigs

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Authors: Min Chang Shin, Byung Hun Jeong, Jeong Sik Han, Jung Hoon Park

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In modern times, as flight speeds have increased due to improvements in aircraft and missile engine performance, thermal loads have also increased. Because of the friction heat of air flow with high speed on the surface of the vehicle, it is not easy to cool the superheat of the vehicle by the simple air cooling method. For this reason, a cooling method through endothermic heat is attracting attention by using a fuel that causes an endothermic reaction in a high-speed vehicle. There are two main ways of cooling the fuel through the endothermic reaction. The first is physical heat absorption. When the temperature rises, there is a sensible heat that accompanies it. The second is the heat of reaction corresponding to the chemical heat absorption, which absorbs heat during the fuel decomposes. Generally, since the decomposition reaction of the fuel proceeds at a high temperature, it does not achieve a great efficiency in cooling the high-speed flight body. However, when the catalyst is used, decomposition proceeds at a low temperature thereby increasing the cooling efficiency. However, when the catalyst is used as a powder, the catalyst enters the engine and damages the engine or the catalyst can deteriorate the performance due to the sintering. On the other hand, when used in the form of pellets, catalyst loss can be prevented. However, since the specific surface of pellet is small, the efficiency of the catalyst is low. And it can interfere with the flow of fuel, resulting in pressure loss and problems with fuel injection. In this study, we tried to maximize the performance of the catalyst by preparing a hollow fiber type pellet for zeolite ZSM-5, which has a higher amount of heat absorption, than other conventional pellets. The hollow fiber type pellet was prepared by phase inversion method. The hollow fiber type pellet has a finger-like pore and sponge-like pore. So it has a higher specific surface area than conventional pellets. The crystal structure of the prepared ZSM-5 catalyst was confirmed by XRD, and the characteristics of the catalyst were analyzed by TPD/TPR device. This study was conducted as part of the Basic Research Project (Pure-17-20) of Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Keywords: catalyst, endothermic reaction, high-speed vehicle cooling, zeolite, ZSM-5

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Authors: Prasanna Belur, P. R. Ashwini, Sampath Charanyaa, I. Regupathi

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Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) are one of the richest and cheapest sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) such as Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The health benefits conferred by n-3 PUFA upon consumption, in the prevention and treatment of coronary, neuromuscular, immunological disorders and allergic conditions are well documented. Natural refined Indian Sardine oil generally contain about 25% (w/w) n-3 PUFA along with various unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in the form of mono, di, and triglycerides. Having high concentration of n-3 PUFA content in the glyceride form is most desirable for human consumption to avail maximum health benefits. Thus, enhancing the n-3 PUFA content while retaining it in the glyceride form with green technology is the need of the hour. In this study, refined Indian Sardine oil was subjected to selective hydrolysis by Candida antartica lipase to enhance n-3 PUFA content. The degree of hydrolysis and enhancement of n-3 PUFA content was estimated by determining acid value, Iodine value, EPA and DHA content (by Gas Chromatographic methods after derivitization) before and after hydrolysis. Various reaction parameters such as pH, temperature, enzyme load, lipid to aqueous phase volume ratio and incubation time were optimized by conducting trials with one parameter at a time approach. Incubating enzyme solution with refined sardine oil with a volume ratio of 1:1, at pH 7.0, for 60 minutes at 50 °C, with an enzyme load of 60 mg/ml was found to be optimum. After enzymatic treatment, the oil was subjected to refining to remove free fatty acids and moisture content using previously optimized refining technology. Enzymatic treatment at the optimal conditions resulted in 12.11 % enhancement in Degree of hydrolysis. Iodine number had increased by 9.7 % and n-3 PUFA content was enhanced by 112 % (w/w). Selective enhancement of n-3 PUFA glycerides, eliminating saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from the oil using enzyme is an interesting preposition as this technique is environment-friendly, cost effective and provide natural source of n-3 PUFA rich oil.

Keywords: Candida antartica, lipase, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, sardine oil

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Authors: Fariba Tadayon, Elmira Hassanlou, Hasan Bagheri, Mostafa Jafarian

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Heavy metals are released into water, plants, soil, and food by natural and human activities. Lead has toxic roles in the human body and may cause serious problems even in low concentrations, since it may have several adverse effects on human. Therefore, determination of lead in different samples is an important procedure in the studies of environmental pollution. In this work, an ultrasonic assisted-ionic liquid based-liquid-liquid microextraction (UA-IL-DLLME) procedure for the determination of lead in zucchini, pomegranate, and lettuce has been established and developed by using flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). For UA-IL-DLLME procedure, 10 mL of the sample solution containing Pb2+ was adjusted to pH=5 in a glass test tube with a conical bottom; then, 120 μL of 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro phosphate (CMIM)(PF6) was rapidly injected into the sample solution with a microsyringe. After that, the resulting cloudy mixture was treated by ultrasonic for 5 min, then the separation of two phases was obtained by centrifugation for 5 min at 3000 rpm and IL-phase diluted with 1 cc ethanol, and the analytes were determined by FAAS. The effect of different experimental parameters in the extraction step including: ionic liquid volume, sonication time and pH was studied and optimized simultaneously by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) employing a central composite design (CCD). The optimal conditions were determined to be an ionic liquid volume of 120 μL, sonication time of 5 min, and pH=5. The linear ranges of the calibration curve for the determination by FAAS of lead were 0.1-4 ppm with R2=0.992. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) for lead was 0.062 μg.mL-1, the enrichment factor (EF) was 93, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for lead was calculated as 2.29%. The levels of lead for pomegranate, zucchini, and lettuce were calculated as 2.88 μg.g-1, 1.54 μg.g-1, 2.18 μg.g-1, respectively. Therefore, this method has been successfully applied for the analysis of the content of lead in different food samples by FAAS.

Keywords: Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, Central composite design, Food samples, Flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

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Authors: Giulia Magi Meconi, Nicholas Ballard, José M. Asua, Ronen Zangi

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Experimental and computational studies are combined to elucidate the adsorption proprieties of ionic and nonionic surfactants on hydrophobic polymer surface such us poly(styrene). To present these two types of surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene), commonly utilized in emulsion polymerization, are chosen. By applying quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring it is found that, at low surfactant concentrations, it is easier to desorb (as measured by rate) ionic surfactants than nonionic surfactants. From molecular dynamics simulations, the effective, attractive force of these nonionic surfactants to the surface increases with the decrease of their concentration, whereas, the ionic surfactant exhibits mildly the opposite trend. The contrasting behavior of ionic and nonionic surfactants critically relies on two observations obtained from the simulations. The first is that there is a large degree of interweavement between head and tails groups in the adsorbed layer formed by the nonionic surfactant (PEO/PE systems). The second is that water molecules penetrate this layer. In the disordered layer, these nonionic surfactants generate at the surface, only oxygens of the head groups present at the interface with the water phase or oxygens next to the penetrating waters can form hydrogen bonds. Oxygens inside this layer lose this favorable energy, with a magnitude that increases with the surfactants density at the interface. This reduced stability of the surfactants diminishes their driving force for adsorption. All that is shown to be in accordance with experimental results on the dynamics of surfactants desorption. Ionic surfactants assemble into an ordered structure and the attraction to the surface was even slightly augmented at higher surfactant concentration, in agreement with the experimentally determined adsorption isotherm. The reason these two types of surfactants behave differently is because the ionic surfactant has a small head group that is strongly hydrophilic, whereas the head groups of the nonionic surfactants are large and only weakly attracted to water.

Keywords: emulsion polymerization process, molecular dynamics simulations, polymer surface, surfactants adsorption

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Authors: Yi-Chiang Huang, Hsu-Feng Lee, Yu-Chao Tseng, Wen-Yao Huang

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Proton exchange membranes as a key component in fuel cells have been widely studying over the past few decades. As proton exchange, membranes should have some main characteristics, such as good mechanical properties, low oxidative stability and high proton conductivity. In this work, trifluoromethyl groups had been introduced on polymer backbone and phenyl side chain which can provide densely located sulfonic acid group substitution and also promotes solubility, thermal and oxidative stability. Herein, a series of novel sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbon polyelectrolytes was synthesized by polycondensation of 4,4''''-difluoro-3,3''''- bis(trifluoromethyl)-2'',3''-bis(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1,1':4',1'':4'',1''':4''',1''''-quinquephenyl with 2'',3''',5'',6''-tetraphenyl-[1,1':4',1'': 4'',1''':4''',1''''-quinquephenyl]-4,4''''-diol and post-sulfonated was through chlorosulfonic acid to given sulfonated polymers (SFC3-X) possessing ion exchange capacities ranging from 1.93, 1.91 and 2.53 mmol/g. ¹H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy were applied to confirm the structure and composition of sulfonated polymers. The membranes exhibited considerably dimension stability (10-27.8% in length change; 24-56.5% in thickness change) and excellent oxidative stability (weight remain higher than 97%). The mechanical properties of membranes demonstrated good tensile strength on account of the high rigidity multi-phenylated backbone. Young's modulus were ranged 0.65-0.77GPa which is much larger than that of Nafion 211 (0.10GPa). Proton conductivities of membranes ranged from 130 to 240 mS/cm at 80 °C under fully humidified which were comparable or higher than that of Nafion 211 (150 mS/cm). The morphology of membranes was investigated by transmission electron microscopy which demonstrated a clear hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase separation with spherical ionic clusters in the size range of 5-20 nm. The SFC3-1.97 single fuel cell performance demonstrates the maximum power density at 1.08W/cm², and Nafion 211 was 1.24W/cm² as a reference in this work. The result indicated that SFC3-X are good candidates for proton exchange membranes in fuel cell applications. Fuel cell of other membranes is under testing.

Keywords: fuel cells, polyelectrolyte, proton exchange membrane, sulfonated polymers

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Authors: James Pinfold

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The MoEDAL (Monopole and Exotics Detector at the LHC) experiment deployed at IP8 on the Large Hadron Collider ring was the first dedicated search experiment to take data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2010. It was designed to search for Highly Ionizing Particle (HIP) avatars of new physics such as magnetic monopoles, dyons, Q-balls, multiply charged particles, massive, slowly moving charged particles and long-lived massive charge SUSY particles. We shall report on our search at LHC’s Run-2 for Magnetic monopoles and dyons produced in p-p and photon-fusion. In more detail, we will report our most recent result in this arena: the search for magnetic monopoles via the Schwinger Mechanism in Pb-Pb collisions. The MoEDAL detector, originally the first dedicated search detector at the LHC, is being reinstalled for LHC’s Run-3 to continue the search for electrically and magnetically charged HIPs with enhanced instantaneous luminosity, detector efficiency and a factor of ten lower thresholds for HIPs. As part of this effort, we will search for massive l long-lived, singly and multiply charged particles from various scenarios for which MoEDAL has a competitive sensitivity. An upgrade to MoEDAL, the MoEDAL Apparatus for Penetrating Particles (MAPP), is now the LHC’s newest detector. The MAPP detector, positioned in UA83, expands the physics reach of MoEDAL to include sensitivity to feebly-charged particles with charge, or effective charge, as low as 10-3 e (where e is the electron charge). Also, In conjunction with MoEDAL’s trapping detector, the MAPP detector gives us a unique sensitivity to extremely long-lived charged particles. MAPP also has some sensitivity to long-lived neutral particles. The addition of an Outrigger detector for MAPP-1 to increase its acceptance for more massive milli-charged particles is currently in the Technical Proposal stage. Additionally, we will briefly report on the plans for the MAPP-2 upgrade to the MoEDAL-MAPP experiment for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). This experiment phase is designed to maximize MoEDAL-MAPP’s sensitivity to very long-lived neutral messengers of physics beyond the Standard Model. We envisage this detector being deployed in the UGC1 gallery near IP8.

Keywords: LHC, beyond the standard model, dedicated search experiment, highly ionizing particles, long-lived particles, milli-charged particles

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Authors: Mohamed Khiatine, Amal Medjnoun, Ramdane Bahar

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The North Algeria is a highly seismic zone, as evidenced by the historical seismicity. During the past two decades, it has experienced several moderate to strong earthquakes. Therefore, the geotechnical engineering problems that involve dynamic loading of soils and soil-structure interaction system requires, in the presence of saturated loose sand formations, liquefaction studies. Bejaia city, located in North-East of Algiers, Algeria, is a part of the alluvial plain which covers an area of approximately 750 hectares. According to the Algerian seismic code, it is classified as moderate seismicity zone. This area had not experienced in the past urban development because of the different hazards identified by hydraulic and geotechnical studies conducted in the region. The low bearing capacity of the soil, its high compressibility and the risk of liquefaction and flooding are among these risks and are a constraint on urbanization. In this area, several cases of structures founded on shallow foundations have suffered damages. Hence, the soils need treatment to reduce the risk. Many field and laboratory investigations, core drilling, pressuremeter test, standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetrometer test (CPT) and geophysical down hole test, were performed in different locations of the area. The major part of the area consists of silty fine sand , sometimes heterogeneous, has not yet reached a sufficient degree of consolidation. The ground water depth changes between 1.5 and 4 m. These investigations show that the liquefaction phenomenon is one of the critical problems for geotechnical engineers and one of the obstacles found in design phase of projects. This paper presents an analysis to evaluate the liquefaction potential, using the empirical methods based on Standard Penetration Test (SPT), Cone Penetration Test (CPT) and shear wave velocity and numerical analysis. These liquefaction assessment procedures indicate that liquefaction can occur to considerable depths in silty sand of harbor zone of Bejaia.

Keywords: earthquake, modeling, liquefaction potential, laboratory investigations

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Authors: Aya M. H. Eissa, Ayman H. A. Mahmoud

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When it comes to energy efficient thermal regulation system, natural systems do not only offer an inspirational source of innovative strategies but also sustainable and even regenerative ones. Using biomimetic design an energy efficient thermal regulation system can be developed. Although, conventional design process methods achieved fairly efficient systems, they still had limitations which can be overcome by using parametric design software. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to apply and assess the efficiency of heat regulation strategies inspired from termite mounds in residential buildings’ thermal regulation system. Parametric design software is used to pave the way for further and more complex biomimetic design studies and implementations. A hot arid region is selected due to the deficiency of research in this climatic region. First, the analysis phase in which the stimuli, affecting, and the parameters, to be optimized, are set mimicking the natural system. Then, based on climatic data and using parametric design software Grasshopper, building form and openings height and areas are altered till settling on an optimized solution. Finally, an assessment of the efficiency of the optimized system, in comparison with a conventional system, is determined by firstly, indoors airflow and indoors temperature, by Ansys Fluent (CFD) simulation. Secondly by and total solar radiation falling on the building envelope, which was calculated using Ladybug, Grasshopper plugin. The results show an increase in the average indoor airflow speed from 0.5m/s to 1.5 m/s. Also, a slight decrease in temperature was noticed. And finally, the total radiation was decreased by 4%. In conclusion, despite the fact that applying a single bio-inspired heat regulation strategy might not be enough to achieve an optimum system, the concluded system is more energy efficient than the conventional ones as it aids achieving indoors comfort through passive techniques. Thus demonstrating the potential of parametric design software in biomimetic design.

Keywords: biomimicry, heat regulation systems, hot arid regions, parametric design, thermal comfort

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Authors: Rekha M. Y., Punith Kumar, Anshul Kamboj, Chandan Srivastava

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Coatings plays an important role in providing protection for a substrate and in improving the surface quality. Graphene/graphene oxide (GO) using in coating systems provides an environmental friendly solution towards protection against corrosion. Issues such as, lack of scale, high cost, low quality limits the practical application of graphene/GO as corrosion resistant coating material. One other way to employ these materials for corrosion protection is to incorporate them into coatings that are conventionally used for corrosion protection. Due to the extraordinary properties of graphene/GO, it has been demonstrated that the coatings containing graphene/GO are more corrosion resistant than pure metal/alloy coatings. In the present work, Cr-graphene and SnZn-GO composite coatings were investigated in enhancing the corrosion resistant property when compared to pure Cr coating and pure SnZn coating respectively. All the coatings were electrodeposited over mild-steel substrate. Graphene and GO were synthesized by electrochemical exfoliation method and modified Hummers’ method respectively. In Cr coatings, the microstructural study revealed that the addition of formic acid in the coatings reduced the number of cracks in the coatings. Further addition of graphene in Cr coating enhanced the Cr coating’s morphology. Chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were also embedded in the as-deposited Cr and Cr-graphene coatings to enhance the adhesion of the coating, to improve the surface finish and to increase the corrosion resistant property of the coatings. Diffraction analysis revealed that the addition of graphene also altered the texture of the Cr coatings. In SnZn alloy coatings, the morphological and topographical characterization revealed that the relative smoothness and compactness of the coatings increased with increase in the addition of GO in the coatings. The microstructural investigation revealed large-scale segregation of Zn-rich and Sn-rich phases in the pure SnZn coating. However, in SnZn-GO composite coating the uniform distribution of Zn phase in the Sn-rich matrix was observed. This distribution caused the early and uniform formation of ZnO, which is the corrosion product, yielding better corrosion resistance for the SnZn-GO composite coatings as compared to pure SnZn coating. A significant improvement in corrosion resistance in terms of reduction in corrosion current and corrosion rate and increase in the polarization resistance was observed in Cr coating containing graphene and in SnZn coatings containing GO.

Keywords: coatings, corrosion, electrodeposition, graphene, graphene-oxide

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Authors: Jinchen Cao, Tiantian Du

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As waxy crude oil is easy to crystallization and deposition in the pipeline wall, it causes pipeline clogging and leads to the reduction of oil and gas gathering and transmission efficiency. In this paper, a mesoscopic scale dissipative particle dynamics method is employed, and constructed four pipe wall models, including smooth wall (SW), hydroxylated wall (HW), rough wall (RW), and single-layer graphene wall (GW). Snapshots of the simulation output trajectories show that paraffin molecules interact with each other to form a network structure that constrains water molecules as their nucleation sites. Meanwhile, it is observed that the paraffin molecules on the near-wall side are adsorbed horizontally between inter-lattice gaps of the solid wall. In the pressure range of 0 - 50 MPa, the pressure change has less effect on the affinity properties of SS, HS, and GS walls, but for RS walls, the contact angle between paraffin wax and water molecules was found to decrease with the increase in pressure, while the water molecules showed the opposite trend, the phenomenon is due to the change in pressure, leading to the transition of paraffin wax molecules from amorphous to crystalline state. Meanwhile, the minimum crystalline phase pressure (MCPP) was proposed to describe the lowest pressure at which crystallization of paraffin molecules occurs. The maximum number of crystalline clusters formed by paraffin molecules at MCPP in the system showed NSS (0.52 MPa) > NHS (0.55 MPa) > NRS (0.62 MPa) > NGS (0.75 MPa). The MCPP on the graphene surface, with the least number of clusters formed, indicates that the addition of graphene inhibited the crystallization process of paraffin deposition on the wall surface. Finally, the thermal conductivity was calculated, and the results show that on the near-wall side, the thermal conductivity changes drastically due to the occurrence of adsorption crystallization of paraffin waxes; on the fluid side the thermal conductivity gradually tends to stabilize, and the average thermal conductivity shows: ĸRS(0.254W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.249W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.218W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.188W/(m·K)).This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the transport efficiency and heat transfer characteristics of waxy crude oil in terms of wall type, wall roughness, and MCPP.

Keywords: waxy crude oil, thermal conductivity, crystallization, dissipative particle dynamics, MCPP

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Authors: Nabil Abu-Heakal, Ismail Abo-Ghanema, Basma Hamed Merghani

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The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of seasonal variations in Egypt on hematological parameters, reproductive and metabolic hormones of Egyptian buffalo-cows. This study lasted one year extending from December 2009 to November 2010 and was conducted on sixty buffalo-cows. Group of 5 buffalo-cows at estrus phase were selected monthly. Then, after blood sampling through tail vein puncture in the 2nd day after natural service, they were divided in two samples: one with anticoagulant for hematological analysis and the other without anticoagulant for serum separation. Results of this investigation revealed that the highest atmospheric temperature was in hot summer 32.61±1.12°C versus 26.18±1.67°C in spring and 19.92±0.70°C in winter season, while the highest relative humidity % was in winter season 43.50±1.60% versus 32.50±2.29% in summer season. The rise in temperature-humidity index from 63.73±1.29 in winter to 78.53±1.58 in summer indicates severe heat stress which is associated with significant reduction in total red blood cell count (3.20±0.15×106), hemoglobin concentration (8.83±0.43 g/dl), packed cell volume (30.73±0.12%), lymphocytes % (40.66±2.33 %), serum progesterone hormone concentration (0.56±0.03 ng/mll), estradiol17-B concentration (16.8±0.64 ng/ml), triiodothyronin (T3) concentration (2.33±0.33 ng/ml) and thyroxin hormone (T4) concentration (21.66±1.66 ng/ml), while hot summer resulted in significant increase in mean cell volume (96.55±2.25 fl), mean cell hemoglobin (30.81±1.33 pg), total white blood cell count (10.63±0.97×103), neutrophils % (49.66±2.33%), serum prolactin hormone (PRL) concentration (23.45±1.72 ng/ml) and cortisol hormone concentration (4.47±0.33 ng/ml) compared to winter season. There was no significant seasonal variation in mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). It was concluded that in Egypt there was a seasonal variation in atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, temperature humidity index (THI) and the rise in THI above the upper critical level (72 units), which, for lactating buffalo-cows in Egypt is the major constraint on buffalo-cows' hematological parameters and hormonal secretion that affects animal reproduction. Hence, we should improve climatic conditions inside the dairy farm to eliminate or reduce summer infertility.

Keywords: buffalo, climate change, Egypt, physiological parameters

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Authors: Muhammet Şahal, Oğuz Köklü

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As statistical thinking and problem-solving processes have become increasingly important, teachers need to be more rigorously prepared with statistical knowledge to teach their students effectively. This study examined preservice mathematics teachers' development of statistical investigation projects using data and exploratory data analysis tools, following a design-based research perspective and statistical investigation cycle. A total of 26 pre-service senior mathematics teachers from a public university in Turkiye participated in the study. They formed groups of 3-4 members voluntarily and worked on their statistical investigation projects for six weeks. The data sources were audio recordings of pre-service teachers' group discussions while working on their projects in class, whole-class video recordings, and each group’s weekly and final reports. As part of the study, we reviewed weekly reports, provided timely feedback specific to each group, and revised the following week's class work based on the groups’ needs and development in their project. We used content analysis to analyze groups’ audio and classroom video recordings. The participants encountered several difficulties, which included formulating a meaningful statistical question in the early phase of the investigation, securing the most suitable data collection strategy, and deciding on the data analysis method appropriate for their statistical questions. The data collection and organization processes were challenging for some groups and revealed the importance of comprehensive planning. Overall, preservice senior mathematics teachers were able to work on a statistical project that contained the formulation of a statistical question, planning, data collection, analysis, and reaching a conclusion holistically, even though they faced challenges because of their lack of experience. The study suggests that preservice senior mathematics teachers have the potential to apply statistical knowledge and techniques in a real-world context, and they could proceed with the project with the support of the researchers. We provided implications for the statistical education of teachers and future research.

Keywords: design-based study, pre-service mathematics teachers, statistical investigation projects, statistical model

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Authors: V. Mani Rathnam, Giridhar Madras

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Fossil fuels are depleting rapidly as the demand for energy, and its allied chemicals are continuously increasing in the modern world. Therefore, sustainable renewable energy sources based on non-edible oils are being explored as a viable option as they do not compete with the food commodities. Oils such as castor oil are rich in fatty acids and thus can be used for the synthesis of biodiesel, bio-lubricants, and many other fine industrial chemicals. There are several processes available for the synthesis of different chemicals obtained from the castor oil. One such process is the transesterification of castor oil, which results in a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters. The main products in the above reaction are methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. To separate these compounds, supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) was used as a green solvent. SCCO₂ was chosen as a solvent due to its easy availability, non-toxic, non-flammable, and low cost. In order to design any separation process, the preliminary requirement is the solubility or phase equilibrium data. Therefore, the solubility of a mixture of methyl ricinoleate with methyl 10-undecenoate in SCCO₂ was determined in the present study. The temperature and pressure range selected for the investigation were T = 313 K to 333 K and P = 10 MPa to 18 MPa. It was observed that the solubility (mol·mol⁻¹) of methyl 10-undecenoate varied from 2.44 x 10⁻³ to 8.42 x 10⁻³ whereas it varied from 0.203 x 10⁻³ to 6.28 x 10⁻³ for methyl ricinoleate within the chosen operating conditions. These solubilities followed a retrograde behavior (characterized by the decrease in the solubility values with the increase in temperature) throughout the range of investigated operating conditions. An association theory model, coupled with regular solution theory for activity coefficients, was developed in the present study. The deviation from the experimental data using this model can be quantified using the average absolute relative deviation (AARD). The AARD% for the present compounds is 4.69 and 8.08 for methyl 10-undecenoate and methyl ricinoleate, respectively in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. The maximum solubility enhancement of 32% was observed for the methyl ricinoleate in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. The highest selectivity of SCCO₂ was observed to be 12 for methyl 10-undecenoate in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate.

Keywords: association theory, liquid mixtures, solubilities, supercritical carbon dioxide

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Authors: Saikat Datta

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Incompressible laminar time-varying flow is investigated over a rounded backward-facing step for a triangular piston motion at the inlet of a straight channel with very high acceleration, followed by a slow deceleration experimentally and through numerical simulation. The backward-facing step is an important test-case as it embodies important flow characteristics such as separation point, reattachment length, and recirculation of flow. A sliding piston imparts two successive triangular velocities at the inlet, constant acceleration from rest, 0≤t≤t0, and constant deceleration to rest, t0≤tKeywords: laminar boundary layer separation, rounded backward facing step, separation bubble, unsteady separation, unsteady vortex flows

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Authors: Farzaneh Badinlou, Reza Kormi-Nouri, Monika Knopf, Kamal Kharazi

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Research into long-term memory has demonstrated that the richness of the knowledge base cues in memory tasks improves retrieval process, which in turn influences learning and memory performance. The present research investigated the idea that adding cues connected to knowledge can affect memory performance in the context of action memory in children. In action memory studies, participants are instructed to learn a series of verb–object phrases as verbal learning and experience-based learning (learning by doing and learning by observation). It is well established that executing action phrases is a more memorable way to learn than verbally repeating the phrases, a finding called enactment effect. In the present study, a total of 410 students from four grade groups—2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th—participated in this study. During the study, participants listened to verbal action phrases (VTs), performed the phrases (SPTs: subject-performed tasks), and observed the experimenter perform the phrases (EPTs: experimenter-performed tasks). During the test phase, cued recall test was administered. Semantic relational cues (i.e., well-integrated vs. poorly integrated items) were manipulated in the present study. In that, the participants were presented two lists of action phrases with high semantic integration between verb and noun, e.g., “write with the pen” and with low semantic integration between verb and noun, e.g., “pick up the glass”. Results revealed that experience-based learning had a better results than verbal learning for both well-integrated and poorly integrated items, though manipulations of semantic relational cues can moderate the enactment effect. In addition, children of different grade groups outperformed for well- than poorly integrated items, in flavour of older children. The results were discussed in relation to the effect of knowledge-based information in facilitating retrieval process in children.

Keywords: action memory, enactment effect, knowledge-based cues, school-aged children, semantic relational cues

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Authors: I-Hui Hsieh, Yu-Hsuan Hu

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The powerful effect of music is often associated with changes in physiological responses such as heart rate and respiration. Previous studies demonstrate that Mayer waves of blood pressure, the spontaneous rhythm occurring at 0.1 Hz, corresponds to a progressive crescendo of the musical phrase. However, music contain dynamic changes in temporal and spectral features. As such, it remains unclear which aspects of musical structures optimally affect synchronization of cardiovascular rhythms. This study investigates the independent contribution of spectral pattern, temporal pattern, and dissonance level on synchronization of cardiovascular rhythms. The regularity of acoustical patterns occurring at a periodic rhythm of 0.1 Hz is hypothesized to elicit the strongest coherence of cardiovascular rhythms. Music excerpts taken from twelve pieces of Western classical repertoire were modulated to contain varying degrees of pattern regularity of the acoustic envelope structure. Three levels of dissonance were manipulated by varying the harmonic structure of the accompanying chords. Electrocardiogram and photoplethysmography signals were recorded for 5 minutes of baseline and simultaneously while participants listen to music excerpts randomly presented over headphones in a sitting position. Participants were asked to indicate the pleasantness of each music excerpt by adjusting via a slider presented on screen. Analysis of the Fourier spectral power of blood pressure around 0.1 Hz showed a significant difference between music excerpts characterized by spectral and temporal pattern regularity compared to the same content in random pattern. Phase coherence between heart rate and blood pressure increased significantly during listening to spectrally-regular phrases compared to its matched control phrases. The degree of dissonance of the accompanying chord sequence correlated with level of coherence between heart rate and blood pressure. Results suggest that low-level auditory features of music can entrain coherence of autonomic physiological variables. These findings have potential implications for using music as a clinical and therapeutic intervention for regulating cardiovascular functions.

Keywords: cardiovascular rhythms, coherence, dissonance, pattern regularity

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Authors: Marianna Maiaru, Gregory M. Odegard, Josh Kemppainen, Ivan Gallegos, Michael Olaya

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Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are typically used in applications that require long-term mechanical integrity at elevated temperatures. CMCs are usually fabricated using a polymer precursor that is initially polymerized in situ with fiber reinforcement, followed by a series of cycles of pyrolysis to transform the polymer matrix into a rigid glass or ceramic. The pyrolysis step typically generates volatile gasses, which creates porosity within the polymer matrix phase of the composite. Subsequent cycles of monomer infusion, polymerization, and pyrolysis are often used to reduce the porosity and thus increase the durability of the composite. Because of the significant expense of such iterative processing cycles, new generations of CMCs with improved durability and manufacturability are difficult and expensive to develop using standard Edisonian approaches. The goal of this research is to develop a computational process-modeling-based approach that can be used to design the next generation of CMC materials with optimized material and processing parameters for maximum strength and efficient manufacturing. The process modeling incorporates computational modeling tools, including molecular dynamics (MD), to simulate the material at multiple length scales. Results from MD simulation are used to inform the continuum-level models to link molecular-level characteristics (material structure, temperature) to bulk-level performance (strength, residual stresses). Processing parameters are optimized such that process-induced residual stresses are minimized and laminate strength is maximized. The multiscale process modeling method developed with this research can play a key role in the development of future CMCs for high-temperature and high-strength applications. By combining multiscale computational tools and process modeling, new manufacturing parameters can be established for optimal fabrication and performance of CMCs for a wide range of applications.

Keywords: digital engineering, finite elements, manufacturing, molecular dynamics

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Authors: Walid A. M. Ghoneim, Hamdy A. Ashour, Asmaa E. Abdo

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In this paper, linear analysis of a Switched Reluctance Generator (SRG) model is applied on the most common configurations (4/2, 6/4 and 8/6) for both conventional short-pitched and fully-pitched designs, in order to determine the optimum stator/rotor pole angles at which the maximum output voltage is generated per unit excitation current. This study is focused on SRG analysis and design as a proposed solution for renewable energy applications, such as wind energy conversion systems. The world’s potential to develop the renewable energy technologies through dedicated scientific researches was the motive behind this study due to its positive impact on economy and environment. In addition, the problem of rare earth metals (Permanent magnet) caused by mining limitations, banned export by top producers and environment restrictions leads to the unavailability of materials used for rotating machines manufacturing. This challenge gave authors the opportunity to study, analyze and determine the optimum design of the SRG that has the benefit to be free from permanent magnets, rotor windings, with flexible control system and compatible with any application that requires variable-speed operation. In addition, SRG has been proved to be very efficient and reliable in both low-speed or high-speed applications. Linear analysis was performed using MATLAB simulations based on the (Modified generalized matrix approach) of Switched Reluctance Machine (SRM). About 90 different pole angles combinations and excitation patterns were simulated through this study, and the optimum output results for each case were recorded and presented in detail. This procedure has been proved to be applicable for any SRG configuration, dimension and excitation pattern. The delivered results of this study provide evidence for using the 4-phase 8/6 fully pitched SRG as the main optimum configuration for the same machine dimensions at the same angular speed.

Keywords: generalized matrix approach, linear analysis, renewable applications, switched reluctance generator

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Authors: Shahzad M. A. Basra, Shahid Iqbal, Irfan Afzal, Hafeez-ur-Rehman

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Quinoa a facultative halophyte crop plant is a new introduction in Pakistan due to its superior nutritional profile and its abiotic stress tolerance, especially against salinity. Present study was conducted to explore halophytic behavior of quinoa. Four quinoa genotypes (A1, A2, A7 and A9) were evaluated against high salinity (control, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM). Evaluation was made on the basis of ionic analysis (Na+, K+ and K+: Na+ ratio in shoot) and root- shoot fresh and dry weight at four leaf stage. Seedling growth i.e. fresh and dry weight of shoot and root increased by 100 mM salinity and then growth decreased gradually with increasing salinity level in all geno types. Mineral analysis indicated that A2 and A7 have more tolerant behavior having low Na+ and high K+ ¬concentration as compared to A1 and A9. Same geno types as above were also evaluated against high salinity (control, 10, 20, 30, and 40 dS m-1) in pot culture during 2012-13. It was found that increase in salinity up to 10 dS m-1 the plant height, stem diameter and yield related traits increased but decreased with further increase in salinity. Same trend was observed in ionic contents. Maximum grain yield was achieved by A7 (100 g plant-1) followed by A2 (82 g plant-1) at salinity level 10 dS m-1. Next phase was carried out through field settings by using salt tolerant geno types (A2 and A7) at Crop Physiology Research Area Farm (non saline soil as control)/ Proka Farm (salt affected with EC up to 15 dS m-1), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and Soil Salinity Research Institute, Pindi Bhtiaan (SSRI) Farm (one normal as control and two salt affected fields with EC values up to 15 and 30 dS m-1) during 2013-14. Genotype A7 showed maximum growth and gave maximum yield (3200 kg ha-1) at Proka Farm which was statistically at par to the values of yield obtained on normal soils of Faisalabad. Geno type A7 also gave maximum yield 2800 kg ha-1 on normal field of Pindi bhtiaan followed by as obtained (2340) on salt problem field (15 dS m-1) of same location.

Keywords: quinoa, salinity, halophyte, genotype

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Authors: Phill-Seung Jung, Dae-Yeon Kim

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Objectives: In young, especially nulliparous women, it is not easy to decide on excisional therapy for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). We aimed to evaluate how effective topical imiquimod is in the treatment of high-grade CIN so that excisional therapy can be avoided in young women. Methods: Patients with CIN were allocated to this pilot study. They did not want excisional therapy and agreed with topical imiquimod therapy, which required once-a-week hospital visit for 8 weeks for the application of imiquimod to the cervix by a gynecologic oncologist. If the lesion got worse during treatment, it was decided to convert imiquimod therapy to excisional therapy. Results: A total of 36 patients with a median age of 29 years (range, 22–41 years) agreed to receive topical imiquimod therapy. Of these, 32 patients (88.9%) were positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR HPV). Twenty-five patients (69.4%) had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), and 11 (30.6%) had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) on their initial LBC. Twenty-eight patients underwent punch biopsy, which showed CIN 1 in 7 (19.4%), CIN 2 in 11 (30.6%), and CIN 3 in 10 (27.8%) patients. Twenty patients finished the 8-week imiquimod therapy. Among them, 14 patients had CIN 2 or 3, and 6 patients had CIN 1. HR HPV was positive in 12 patients. On the last examination, 14 patients (70.0%) had negative intraepithelial lesions, 3 (15.0%) had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, and 1 (5.0%) had LSIL. Two patients had persistent HSIL: 1 patient underwent loop electrosurgical excision procedure, resulting in CIN 3 with positive resection margin, and the other patient underwent punch biopsy, resulting in intermediate cells and restarted imiquimod therapy. Only 7 patients were negative for HR HPV. Conclusions: This study showed that topical imiquimod therapy was effective for the treatment of high-grade CIN, with a histologic regression rate of 85.7% (14/20) and HPV eradication rate of 25.0% (8/32). Based on our findings, topical imiquimod therapy might have a successful therapeutic effect in young women with CIN 2-3 so that they can avoid excisional therapy. In addition, it could be a more reassuring treatment option for CIN 1 than just follow-up after few months. To confirm its efficacy, a phase II study with larger cohort would be needed.

Keywords: Imiquimod, Cervical Intraepthelial Neoplasia, Cervical Dysplasia, Human Papillomavirus

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Authors: Sunethra Jayathilake, Vathsala Jayasuriya-Illesinghe, Kerstin Samarasinghe, Himani Molligoda, Rasika Perera

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In Sri Lanka, postnatal care in the state hospitals is provided by different professional categories: Midwifery trained registered nurses (MTRNs), Registered Nurses (RNs) who do not have midwifery training, doctors and midwives. Even though four professional categories provide postnatal care to mothers and newborn babies, they are not aware of their own tasks and responsibilities in postnatal care. Particularly MTRN’s role in the postnatal unit is unclear. The current study aimed to identify nurses’ (both MTRN and RNs) perception on MTRN’s tasks and responsibilities in postnatal care. This is a descriptive cross sectional study using postal survey. All nurses who were currently working in postnatal units at five selected tertiary care hospitals in the Western Province at that time were invited to participate in the study. Accordingly, the pre evaluated self-administered questionnaire was sent to 201 nurses (53 MTRNs and 148 RNs) in the study setting. The number of valid return questionnaire was 166; response rate was 83%. Respondents rated the responsibility of four professional categories: MTRN, RN, doctor and midwife whether they are 'primarily responsible', 'responsible in absence' and 'not responsible', for each of 15 postnatal (PN) tasks which were previously identified from focus group discussions with care providers during the first phase of the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20; descriptive statistics were calculated. Out of the 15 PN tasks, 13 were identified as MTRNs’ primary responsibilities by 71%-93% of respondents. The respondents also considered six (6) tasks out of 15 as primary responsibility of both MTRN and RN, seven (7) tasks as primary responsibility of MTRN, RN and doctor and the remaining two (2) tasks were identified as the primary responsibility of MTRN, RN and midwife. All 15 PN tasks overlapped with other professional categories. Overlapping tasks may create role confusion leading to conflicts among professional categories which affect the quality of care they provide, eventually, threaten the safety of the client. It is recommended that an official job description for each care provider is needed to recognize their own professional boundaries for ensuring safe, quality care delivery in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: overlapping, postnatal, responsibilities, tasks

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Authors: P. Annapurna, Cecil Ross, Sudhir Krishna, Sweta Srivastava

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Irradiation plays a pivotal role in cervical cancer treatment, however some tumors exhibit resistance to therapy while some exhibit relapse, due to better repair and enhanced resistance mechanisms operational in their cells. The present study aims to understand the signaling mechanism operational in resistance phenotype and in the present study we report the role of Rho GTPase associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling in cervical carcinoma radio-resistance. ROCK signaling has been implicated in several tumor progressions and is important for DNA repair. Irradiation of spheroid cultures of SiHa cervical carcinoma derived cell line at 6Gy resulted in generation of resistant cells in vitro which had better clonogenic abilities and formed larger and more colonies, in soft agar colony formation assay, as compared to the non-irradiated cells. These cells also exhibited an enhanced motility phenotype. Cell cycle profiling showed the cells to be blocked in G2M phase with enhanced pCDC2 levels indicating onset of possible DNA repair mechanism. Notably, 3 days post-irradiation, irradiated cells showed increased ROCK2 translocation to the nucleus with enhanced protein expression as compared to the non-irradiated cells. Radio-sensitization of the resistant cells was enhanced using Y27632, an inhibitor to ROCK signaling. The treatment of resistant cells with Y27632 resulted in increased cell death upon further irradiation. This observation has been confirmed using inhibitory antibodies to ROCK1/2. Result show that both ROCK1/2 have a functional contribution in radiation resistance of cervical cancer cells derived from cell lines. Interestingly enrichment of stem like cells (Hoechst negative cells) was also observed upon irradiation and these cells were markedly sensitive to Y27632 treatment. Our results thus suggest the role of ROCK signaling in radio-resistance in cervical carcinoma. Further studies with human biopsies, mice models and mechanistic of ROCK signaling in the context of radio-resistance will clarify the role of this molecule further and allow for therapeutics development.

Keywords: cervical carcinoma, radio-resistance, ROCK signaling, cancer treatment

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Authors: Muhammad Ather Nadeem, Bilal Ahmad Khan, Tasawer Abbas

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Nanoherbicides utilize nanotechnology to enhance the delivery of biological or chemical herbicides using combinations of nanomaterials. The aim of this research was to examine the efficacy of chitosan nanoparticles containing MCPA herbicide as a potential eco-friendly alternative for weed control in wheat crops. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and ultraviolet absorbance were used to analyze the developed nanoparticles. The SEM analysis indicated that the average size of the particles was 35 nm, forming clusters with a porous structure. Both nanoparticles of fluroxyper + MCPA exhibited maximal absorption peaks at a wavelength of 320 nm. The compound fluroxyper +MCPA has a strong peak at a 2θ value of 30.55°, which correlates to the 78 plane of the anatase phase. The weeds, including Chenopodium album, Lathyrus aphaca, Angalis arvensis, and Melilotus indica, were sprayed with the nanoparticles while they were in the third or fourth leaf stage. There were seven distinct dosages used: doses (D0 (Check weeds), D1 (Recommended dose of traditional herbicide, D2 (Recommended dose of Nano-herbicide (NPs-H)), D3 (NPs-H with 05-fold lower dose), D4 ((NPs-H) with 10-fold lower dose), D5 (NPs-H with 15-fold lower dose), and D6 (NPs-H with 20-fold lower dose)). The chitosan-based nanoparticles of MCPA at the prescribed dosage of conventional herbicide resulted in complete death and visual damage, with a 100% fatality rate. The dosage that was 5-fold lower exhibited the lowest levels of plant height (3.95 cm), chlorophyll content (5.63%), dry biomass (0.10 g), and fresh biomass (0.33 g) in the broad-leaved weed of wheat. The herbicide nanoparticles, when used at a dosage 10-fold lower than that of conventional herbicides, had a comparable impact on the prescribed dosage. Nano-herbicides have the potential to improve the efficiency of standard herbicides by increasing stability and lowering toxicity.

Keywords: mortality, visual injury, chlorophyl contents, chitosan-based nanoparticles

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Authors: Edgar Gasafi, Robert Pardemann, Linus Perander

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For the production of lithium carbonate or hydroxide out of lithium bearing ores, a thermal activation (calcination/decrepitation) is required for the phase transition in the mineral to enable an acid respectively soda leaching in the downstream hydrometallurgical section. In this paper, traditional processing in Lithium industry is reviewed, and opportunities to reduce energy consumption and improve product quality and recovery rate will be discussed. The conventional process approach is still based on rotary kiln calcination, a technology in use since the early days of lithium ore processing, albeit not significantly further developed since. A new technology, at least for the Lithium industry, is fluidized bed calcination. Decrepitation of lithium ore was investigated at Outotec’s Frankfurt Research Centre. Focusing on fluidized bed technology, a study of major process parameters (temperature and residence time) was performed at laboratory and larger bench scale aiming for optimal product quality for subsequent processing. The technical feasibility was confirmed for optimal process conditions on pilot scale (400 kg/h feed input) providing the basis for industrial process design. Based on experimental results, a comprehensive Aspen Plus flow sheet simulation was developed to quantify mass and energy flow for the rotary kiln and fluidized bed system. Results show a significant reduction in energy consumption and improved process performance in terms of temperature profile, product quality and plant footprint. The major conclusion is that a substantial reduction of energy consumption can be achieved in processing Lithium bearing ores by using fluidized bed based systems. At the same time and different from rotary kiln process, an accurate temperature and residence time control is ensured in fluidized-bed systems leading to a homogenous temperature profile in the reactor which prevents overheating and sintering of the solids and results in uniform product quality.

Keywords: calcination, decrepitation, fluidized bed, lithium, spodumene

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Authors: Sheraz Gul

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The requirements for progressing a compound to clinical trials is well established and relies on the results from in-vitro and in-vivo animal tests to indicate that it is likely to be safe and efficacious when testing in humans. The typical data package required will include demonstrating compound safety, toxicity, bioavailability, pharmacodynamics (potential effects of the compound on body systems) and pharmacokinetics (how the compound is potentially absorbed, distributed, metabolised and eliminated after dosing in humans). If the desired criteria are met and the compound meets the clinical Candidate criteria and is deemed worthy of further development, a submission to regulatory bodies such as the US Food & Drug Administration for an exploratory Investigational New Drug Study can be made. The purpose of this study is to collect data to establish that the compound will not expose humans to unreasonable risks when used in limited, early-stage clinical studies in patients or normal volunteer subjects (Phase I). These studies are also designed to determine the metabolism and pharmacologic actions of the drug in humans, the side effects associated with increasing doses, and, if possible, to gain early evidence on their effectiveness. In order to reach the above goals, we have developed a pre-clinical high throughput Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion–Toxicity (ADME–Toxicity) panel of assays to identify compounds that are likely to meet the Lead and Candidate compound acceptance criteria. This panel includes solubility studies in a range of biological fluids, cell viability studies in cancer and primary cell-lines, mitochondrial toxicity, off-target effects (across the kinase, protease, histone deacetylase, phosphodiesterase and GPCR protein families), CYP450 inhibition (5 different CYP450 enzymes), CYP450 induction, cardio-toxicity (hERG) and gene-toxicity. This panel of assays has been applied to multiple compound series developed in a number of projects delivering Lead and clinical Candidates and examples from these will be presented.

Keywords: absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion–toxicity , drug discovery, food and drug administration , pharmacodynamics

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Authors: A. Durgadevi, S. Pushpavanam

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For the past several decades, CO2 levels have been dramatically increasing in the atmosphere due to the man-made emissions such as fossil fuel-fired power plants. With the increase in CO2 emissions, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased resulting in global warming. This shows the need to study different ways to capture the emitted CO2 directly from the exhausts of power plants or atmosphere. There are several ways to remove CO2, such as absorption into a liquid solvent, adsorption into a solid, cryogenic separation, permeation through membranes and photochemical conversion. In most industries, the absorption of CO2 in chemical solvents (in absorption towers) is used for CO2 capture. In these towers, the mass transfer along with chemical reactions take place between the gas and liquid phase. This helps in the separation of CO2 from other gases. It is important to understand these processes in detail. These flow patterns are difficult to maintain in large scale industrial absorbers. So to get accurate information controlled gas-liquid absorption experiments are carried out in milli-channels in this work under controlled atmosphere. The absorption experiments of CO2 in varying concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution are carried out in T-junction glass milli-channels with a circular cross section (inner diameter of 2mm). The gas and liquid flow rates are controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC) and a Harvard syringe pump respectively. The slug flow in the channel is recorded using a camera and the videos are analysed. The gas slug of pure CO2 is found to decrease in size along the length of the channel due to absorption of gas in the liquid. This is also captured with the model developed and the mass transfer characteristics are studied. The pressure drop across the channel is determined by sum of the pressure drops from the gas slugs and the liquid plugs. A dimensionless correlation for the mass transfer coefficient is developed in terms of Sherwood number and compared with the existing correlations in the literature. They are found to be in close agreement with each other. In this case, due to the presence of chemical reaction, the enhancement of mass transfer is obtained. This is quantified with the help of an enhancement factor.

Keywords: absorption, enhancement factor, mass transfer coefficient, Sherwood number

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Authors: Cesar Augusto Hoil Rosas, José Luis Vázquez Burgos, José Juan Carbajal Hernandez

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White fish (Chirostoma estor estor) is an endemic species that habits in the Patzcuaro Lake, located in Michoacan, Mexico; being an important source of gastronomic and cultural wealth of the area. Actually, it have undergone an immense depopulation of individuals, due to the high fishing, contamination and eutrophication of the lake water, resulting in the possible extinction of this important species. This work proposes a new computational model for monitoring and assessment of critical environmental parameters of the white fish ecosystem. According to an Analytical Hierarchy Process, a mathematical model is built assigning weights to each environmental parameter depending on their water quality importance on the ecosystem. Then, a development of an advanced system for the monitoring, analysis and control of water quality is built using the virtual environment of LabVIEW. As results, we have obtained a global score that indicates the condition level of the water quality in the Chirostoma estor ecosystem (excellent, good, regular and poor), allowing to provide an effective decision making about the environmental parameters that affect the proper culture of the white fish such as temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. In situ evaluations show regular conditions for a success reproduction and growth rates of this species where the water quality tends to have regular levels. This system emerges as a suitable tool for the water management, where future laws for white fish fishery regulations will result in the reduction of the mortality rate in the early stages of development of the species, which represent the most critical phase. This can guarantees better population sizes than those currently obtained in the aquiculture crop. The main benefit will be seen as a contribution to maintain the cultural and gastronomic wealth of the area and for its inhabitants, since white fish is an important food and economical income of the region, but the species is endangered.

Keywords: Chirostoma estor estor, computational system, lab view, white fish

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Authors: Taha Anjamrooz, Sareh Rajabi, Hasan Mahmmud, Ghassan Abulebdeh

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Water availability, as well as water demand, are not uniformly distributed in time and space. Numerous extra-large water diversion projects are launched in Amazon to alleviate water scarcities. This research utilizes statistical analysis to examine the temporal and spatial features of 40 extra-large water diversion projects in Amazon. Using a network analysis method, the correlation between seven major basins is measured, while the impact analysis method is employed to explore the associated economic, environmental, and social impacts. The study unearths that the development of water diversion in Amazon has witnessed four stages, from a preliminary or initial period to a phase of rapid development. It is observed that the length of water diversion channels and the quantity of water transferred have amplified significantly in the past five decades. As of 2015, in Amazon, more than 75 billion m³ of water was transferred amidst 12,000 km long channels. These projects extend over half of the Amazon Area. The River Basin E is currently the most significant source of transferred water. Through inter-basin water diversions, Amazon gains the opportunity to enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 5%. Nevertheless, the construction costs exceed 70 billion US dollars, which is higher than any other country. The average cost of transferred water per unit has amplified with time and scale but reduced from western to eastern Amazon. Additionally, annual total energy consumption for pumping exceeded 40 billion kilowatt-hours, while the associated greenhouse gas emissions are assessed to be 35 million tons. Noteworthy to comprehend that ecological problems initiated by water diversion influence the River Basin B and River Basin D. Due to water diversion, more than 350 thousand individuals have been relocated, away from their homes. In order to enhance water diversion sustainability, four categories of innovative measures are provided for decision-makers: development of water tradeoff projects strategies, improvement of integrated water resource management, the formation of water-saving inducements, and pricing approach, and application of ex-post assessment.

Keywords: sustainability, water trade-off projects, environment, Amazon

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