Search results for: biomechanics and clinical applications

Authors: Denise Levy, Helen J. Khoury

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Nuclear technology is a controversial issue among a great share of the Brazilian population. Misinformation and common wrong beliefs confuse public’s perceptions and the scientific community is expected to offer a wider perspective on the benefits and risks resulting from ionizing radiation in everyday life. Attentive to the need of new approaches between science and society, the Nuclear Energy Museum, in northeast Brazil, is an initiative created to communicate the growing impact of the beneficial applications of nuclear technology in medicine, industry, agriculture and electric power generation. Providing accessible scientific information, the museum offers a rich learning environment, making use of different educational strategies, such as films, interactive panels and multimedia learning tools, which not only increase the enjoyment of visitors, but also maximize their learning potential. Developed according to modern active learning instructional strategies, multimedia materials are designed to present the increasingly role of nuclear science in modern life, transforming science education into a meaningful learning experience. In year 2016, nine different interactive computer-based activities were developed, presenting curiosities about ionizing radiation in different landmarks around the world, such as radiocarbon dating works in Egypt, nuclear power generation in France and X-radiography of famous paintings in Italy. Feedback surveys have reported a high level of visitors’ satisfaction, proving the high quality experience in learning nuclear science at the museum. The Nuclear Energy Museum is the first and, up to the present time, the only permanent museum in Brazil devoted entirely to nuclear science.

Keywords: nuclear technology, multimedia learning tools, science museum, society and education

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Authors: Quin Emparan, Razif Harun, Dayang R. A. Biak, Rozita Omar, Michael K. Danquah

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Cultivation of immobilized microalgae cells is on the rise for biotechnological applications. In this study, cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris was carried out in the form of suspended free-cell and immobilized cells system. NaCS-PDMDAAC capsules were used to immobilize C. vulgaris. Initially, the synthesized NaCS with C. vulgaris culture were prepared at various concentration of 5- 20% (w/v) using a 6% hardening solution (PDMDAAC) to investigate the capsules' gel stability and suitability for microalgae cells growth. Then, the capsules produced from 15% NaCS with C. vulgaris culture were furthered investigated using 5%, 10%, and 15% (w/v) of PDMDAAC solution. The capsules' gel stability was evaluated through dissolution time and loss of uniform spherical shape of capsules, while suitability for microalgae cells growth was evaluated through the optical density of microalgae. In this study, the 15% NaCS-10% PDMDAAC capsules were found to be the most suitable to sustain the capsules' gel stability and microalgae cells growth in MLA. For that reason, the C. vulgaris immobilized in the 15% NaCS-10% PDMDAAC capsules were further characterized using physicochemical analysis in terms of morphological, carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and nitrogen (N), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), zeta potential and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analyses. The results revealed that the presence of sulfonates in the synthesized NaCS and NaCS-PDMDAAC capsules without and with C. vulgaris proves that cellulose alcohol group was successfully bonded by sulfo group. Besides that, immobilized microalgae cells have a smaller cell size of 6.29 ± 1.09 µm and zeta potential of -11.93 ± 0.91 mV than suspended free-cells microalgae culture. It can be summarized that immobilization of C. vulgaris in the 15% NaCS-10% PDMDAAC capsules are relevant as a bioremediator for wastewater treatment purposes due to its suitable size of pore and capsules as well as structural and compositional properties.

Keywords: biological capsules, immobilized cultivation, microalgae, physico-chemical analysis

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Authors: Benyam Zenebe, Tesfaye Sisay, Gurja Belay, Workabeba Abebe

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Background: The prevalence and antibiogram of pathogenic E. coli strains, which cause diarrhea vary from region to region, and even within countries in the same geographical area. In Ethiopia, diagnostic approaches to E. coli induced diarrhea in children less than five years of age are not standardized. The aim of this study was to determine the involvement of pathogenic E. coli strains in child diarrhea and determine the antibiograms of the isolates in children less than 5 years of age with diarrhea at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A purposive study that included 98 diarrheic children less than five years of age was conducted at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences, TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to detect pathogenic E. coli biotypes. Stool culture was used to identify presumptive E. coliisolates. Presumptive isolates were confirmed by biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on confirmed E. coli isolates by the disk diffusion method. DNA was extracted from confirmed isolates by a heating method and subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction or the presence of virulence genes. Amplified PCR products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Data were collected on child demographics and clinical conditions using administered questionnaires. The prevalence of E. coli strains from the total diarrheic children, and the prevalence of pathogenic strains from total E. coli isolates along with their susceptibility profiles; the distribution of pathogenic E.coli biotypes among different age groups and between the sexes were determined by using descriptive statistics. Result: Out of 98 stool specimens collected from diarrheic children less than 5 years of age, 75 presumptive E. coli isolates were identified by culture; further confirmation by biochemical tests showed that only 56 of the isolates were E. coli; 29 of the isolates were found in male children and 27 of them in female children. Out of the 58 isolates of E. coli, 25 pathotypes belonging to different classes of pathogenic strains: STEC, EPEC, EHEC, EAEC were detected by using the PCR technique. Pathogenic E. coli exhibited high rates of antibiotic resistance to many of the antibiotics tested. Moreover, they exhibited multiple drug resistance. Conclusion: This study found that the isolation rate of E. coli and the involvement of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic E. coli in diarrheic children is prominent, and hence focus should be given on the diagnosis and antimicrobial sensitivity testing of pathogenic E. coli at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital. Among antibiotics tested, Cefotitan could be a drug of choice to treat E. coli.

Keywords: antibiotic susceptibility profile, children, diarrhea, E. coli, pathogenic

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Authors: Tayyaba Azim, Bibi Amina

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The increase in the popularity of opinion mining with the rapid growth in the availability of social networks has attracted a lot of opportunities for research in the various domains of Sentiment Analysis and Natural Language Processing (NLP) using Artificial Intelligence approaches. The latest trend allows the public to actively use the internet for analyzing an individual’s opinion and explore the effectiveness of published facts. The main theme of this research is to account the public opinion on the most crucial and extensively discussed development projects, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), considered as a game changer due to its promise of bringing economic prosperity to the region. So far, to the best of our knowledge, the theme of CPEC has not been analyzed for sentiment determination through the ML approach. This research aims to demonstrate the use of ML approaches to spontaneously analyze the public sentiment on Twitter tweets particularly about CPEC. Support Vector Machine SVM is used for classification task classifying tweets into positive, negative and neutral classes. Word2vec and TF-IDF features are used with the SVM model, a comparison of the trained model on manually labelled tweets and automatically generated lexicon is performed. The contributions of this work are: Development of a sentiment analysis system for public tweets on CPEC subject, construction of an automatic generation of the lexicon of public tweets on CPEC, different themes are identified among tweets and sentiments are assigned to each theme. It is worth noting that the applications of web mining that empower e-democracy by improving political transparency and public participation in decision making via social media have not been explored and practised in Pakistan region on CPEC yet.

Keywords: machine learning, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, support vector machine, Word2vec

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Authors: Masih Nikgou

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ICU nurses or intensive care nurses are highly specialized and trained healthcare personnel. These nurses provide nursing care for patients with life-threatening illnesses or conditions. They provide the experience, knowledge and specialized skills that patients need to survive and recover. Intensive care nurses (ICU) are trained to make momentary decisions and act quickly when the patient's condition changes. Their primary work environment is in the hospital in intensive care units. Typically, ICU patients require a high level of care. ICU nurses work in challenging and complex fields in their nursing profession. They have the primary duty of caring for and saving patients who are fighting for their lives. Intensive care (ICU) nurses are highly trained to provide exceptional care to patients who depend on 24/7 nursing care. A patient in the ICU is often equipped with a ventilator, intubated and connected to several life support machines and medical equipment. Intensive Care Nurses (ICU) have full expertise in considering all aspects of bringing back their patients. Some of the specific responsibilities of ICU nurses include (a) Assessing and monitoring the patient's progress and identifying any sudden changes in the patient's medical condition. (b) Administration of drugs intravenously by injection or through gastric tubes. (c) Provide regular updates on patient progress to physicians, patients, and their families. (d) According to the clinical condition of the patient, perform the approved diagnostic or treatment methods. (e) In case of a health emergency, informing the relevant doctors. (f) To determine the need for emergency interventions, evaluate laboratory data and vital signs of patients. (g) Caring for patient needs during recovery in the ICU. (h) ICU nurses often provide emotional support to patients and their families. (i) Regulating and monitoring medical equipment and devices such as medical ventilators, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, and pressure lines. (j) Assessment of pain level and sedation needs of patients. (k) Maintaining patient reports and records. As the name suggests, critical care nurses work primarily in ICU health care units. ICUs are completely healthy and have proper lighting with strict adherence to health and safety from medical centers. ICU nurses usually move between the intensive care unit, the emergency department, the operating room, and other special departments of the hospital. ICU nurses usually follow a standard shift schedule that includes morning, afternoon, and night schedules. There are also other relocation programs depending on the hospital and region. Nurses who are passionate about data and managing a patient's condition and outcomes typically do well as ICU nurses. An inquisitive mind and attention to processes are equally important. ICU nurses are completely compassionate and are not afraid to advocate for their patients and family members. who are distressed.

Keywords: nursing, intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, mobile intensive care unit, surgical intensive care unite

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Authors: Eric Muñoz de la Torre, Julián González Trinidad, Efrén González Ramírez

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Rain varies greatly in its duration, intensity, and spatial coverage, it is important to have sub-daily rainfall data for various applications, including risk prevention. However, the ground measurements are limited by the low and irregular density of rain gauges. An alternative to this problem are the Satellite Precipitation Products (SPPs) that use passive microwave and infrared sensors to estimate rainfall, as IMERG, however, these SPPs have to be validated before their application. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of the IMERG: Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurament final run V06B SPP in a semi-arid region of Mexico, using 4 automatic rain gauges (pluviographs) sub-daily data of October 2019 and June to September 2021, using the Minimum inter-event Time (MIT) criterion to separate unique rain events with a dry period of 10 hrs. for the purpose of evaluating the rainfall properties (depth, duration and intensity). Point to pixel analysis, continuous, categorical, and volumetric statistical metrics were used. Results show that IMERG is capable to estimate the rainfall depth with a slight overestimation but is unable to identify the real duration and intensity of the rain events, showing large overestimations and underestimations, respectively. The study zone presented 80 to 85 % of convective rain events, the rest were stratiform rain events, classified by the depth magnitude variation of IMERG pixels and pluviographs. IMERG showed poorer performance at detecting the first ones but had a good performance at estimating stratiform rain events that are originated by Cold Fronts.

Keywords: IMERG, rainfall, rain gauge, remote sensing, statistical evaluation

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Authors: Kherbache Mehdi

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Within the framework of the validation of the Master in business administration marketing and sales in INSIM institute international in management Blida, we get the opportunity to do a professional internship in Sonelgaz Enterprise and a thesis. The thesis deals with the integration of social networking in the communication strategy of a company. The problematic is: How communicate with social network can be a solution for companies? The challenges stressed by this thesis were to suggest limits and recommendations to Sonelgaz Enterprise concerning social networks. The whole social networks represent more than a billion people as a potential target for the companies. Thanks to research and a qualitative approach, we have identified tree valid hypothesis. The first hypothesis allows confirming that using social networks cannot be ignored by any company in its communication strategy. However, the second hypothesis demonstrates that it’s necessary to prepare a strategy that integrates social networks in the communication plan of the company. The risk of this strategy is very limited because failure on social networks is not a restraint for the enterprise, social networking is not expensive and, a bad image which could result from it is not as important in the long-term. Furthermore, the return on investment is difficult to evaluate. Finally, the last hypothesis shows that firms establish a new relation between consumers and brands thanks to the proximity allowed by social networks. After the validation of the hypothesis, we suggested some recommendations to Sonelgaz Enterprise regarding the communication through social networks. Firstly, the company must use the interactivity of social network in order to have fruitful exchanges with the community. We also recommended having a strategy to treat negative comments. The company must also suggest delivering resources to the community thanks to a community manager, in order to have a good relation with the community. Furthermore, we advised using social networks to do business intelligence. Sonelgaz Enterprise can have some creative and interactive contents with some amazing applications on Facebook for example. Finally, we recommended to the company to be not intrusive with “fans” or “followers” and to be open to all the platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In for example.

Keywords: social network, buzz, communication, consumer, return on investment, internet users, web 2.0, Facebook, Twitter, interaction

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Authors: Simona Perga, Chiara Beltramo, Floriana Fruscione, Isabella Martini, Federica Cavallo, Federica Riccardo, Paolo Buracco, Selina Iussich, Elisabetta Razzuoli, Katia Varello, Lorella Maniscalco, Elena Bozzetta, Angelo Ferrari, Paola Modesto

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Introduction: Human and canine melanoma have common clinical, histologic characteristics making dogs a good model for comparative oncology. The identification of specific genes and a better understanding of the genetic landscape, signaling pathways, and tumor–microenvironmental interactions involved in the cancer onset and progression is essential for the development of therapeutic strategies against this tumor in both species. In the present study, the differential expression of genes in spontaneously occurring canine melanoma and in paired normal tissue was investigated by targeted RNAseq. Material and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from 17 canine malignant melanoma (CMM) samples and from five paired normal tissues stored in RNA-later. In order to capture the greater genetic variability, gene expression analysis was carried out using two panels (Qiagen): Human Immuno-Oncology (HIO) and Mouse-Immuno-Oncology (MIO) and the miSeq platform (Illumina). These kits allow the detection of the expression profile of 990 genes involved in the immune response against tumors in humans and mice. The data were analyzed through the CLCbio Genomics Workbench (Qiagen) software using the Canis lupus familiaris genome as a reference. Data analysis were carried out both comparing the biologic group (tumoral vs. healthy tissues) and comparing neoplastic tissue vs. paired healthy tissue; a Fold Change greater than two and a p-value less than 0.05 were set as the threshold to select interesting genes. Results and Discussion: Using HIO 63, down-regulated genes were detected; 13 of those were also down-regulated comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Eighteen genes were up-regulated, 14 of those were also down-regulated comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Using the MIO, 35 down regulated-genes were detected; only four of these were down-regulated, also comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Twelve genes were up-regulated in both types of analysis. Considering the two kits, the greatest variation in Fold Change was in up-regulated genes. Dogs displayed a greater genetic homology with humans than mice; moreover, the results have shown that the two kits are able to detect different genes. Most of these genes have specific cellular functions or belong to some enzymatic categories; some have already been described to be correlated to human melanoma and confirm the validity of the dog as a model for the study of molecular aspects of human melanoma.

Keywords: animal model, canine melanoma, gene expression, spontaneous tumors, targeted RNAseq

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Authors: Zineb Kassab, Nassima El Miri, A. Aboulkas, Abdellatif Barakat, Mounir El Achaby

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Recently, more attention has been given to biopolymers with a focus on sustainable development and environmental preservation. Following this tendency, the attempt has been made to replace polymers derived from petroleum with superior biodegradable polymers (biopolymers). In this context, biopolymers are considered potential replacements for conventional plastic materials. However, some of their properties must be improved for better competitiveness, especially regarding their mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. Bio-nanocomposite technology using nanofillers has already been proven as an effective way to produce new materials with specific properties and high performances. With the emergence of nanostructured bio-composite materials, incorporating elongated rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) has attracted more and more attention in the field of nanotechnology. This study is aimed to develop bio-composite films of biopolymer matrices [Carboxymethyle cellulose (CMC), Starch (ST), Chitosan (CS) and Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)] reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) using the solution casting method. The CNC were extracted at a nanometric scale from lignocellulosic fibers via sulfuric acid hydrolysis and then characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), confocal microscopy, infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic force and transmission electron microscopies (AFM and TEM) techniques. The as extracted CNC were used as a reinforcing phase to produce a variety of bio-composite films at different CNC loading (0.5-10 wt %) with specific properties. The rheological properties of film-forming solutions (FFS) of bio-composites were studied, and their relation to the casting process was evaluated. Then, the structural, optical transparency, water vapor permeability, thermal stability and mechanical properties of all prepared bio-composite films were evaluated and studied in this report. The high performances of these bio-composite films are expected to have potential in biomaterials or packaging applications.

Keywords: biopolymer composites, cellulose nanocrystals, food packaging, lignocellulosic fibers

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Authors: Ashok K. Gupta

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Over the past few decades, since the bio-engineering revolution, autologous cell therapy (ACT) has become a rapidly evolving field. Currently, this form of therapy has broad applications in modern medicine and plastic surgery, ranging from the treatment/improvement of wound healing to life-saving operations. A study was conducted on 50 patients having to disfigure, and deform post burn scars and was treated by injection of extracted, refined adipose tissue grafts with their unique stem cell properties. To compare the outcome, a control of 20 such patients was treated with conventional skin or soft-tissue flaps or skin grafting, and a control of 10 was treated with more advanced microsurgical techniques such as Pre-fabricated flaps/pre laminated flaps / free flaps. Assessment of fat volume and survival post- follow up period was done by radiological aid, using MRI and clinically (Survival of the autograft and objective parameters for scar elasticity were evaluated skin elasticity parameters 3 to 9 months postoperatively). Recently, an enzyme that is involved in collagen crosslinking in fibrotic tissue, lysyl hydroxylase (LH2), was identified. This enzyme is normally active in bone and cartilage but hardly in the skin. It has been found that this enzyme is highly expressed in scar tissue and subcutaneous fat; this is in contrast to the dermis, where the enzyme is hardly expressed. Adipose tissue-derived stem cell injections are an effective method in the treatment of various extensive post-burn scar deformities that makes it possible to re-create the lost sub-dermal tissue for improvement in the function of involved joint movements.

Keywords: adipose tissue-derived stem cell injections, treatment of various extensive post-burn scar deformities, re-create the lost sub-dermal tissue, improvement in function of involved joint movements

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Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan

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The rapid growth of data in various domains has created a pressing need for effective methods to transform this data into meaningful knowledge. In this era of big data, mathematical and statistical innovations play a crucial role in unlocking insights and facilitating informed decision-making in data analytics. This abstract aims to explore the transformative potential of these innovations and their impact on converting raw data into actionable knowledge. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature, this research investigates the cutting-edge mathematical and statistical techniques that enable the conversion of data into knowledge. By evaluating their underlying principles, strengths, and limitations, we aim to identify the most promising innovations in data analytics. To demonstrate the practical applications of these innovations, real-world datasets will be utilized through case studies or simulations. This empirical approach will showcase how mathematical and statistical innovations can extract patterns, trends, and insights from complex data, enabling evidence-based decision-making across diverse domains. Furthermore, a comparative analysis will be conducted to assess the performance, scalability, interpretability, and adaptability of different innovations. By benchmarking against established techniques, we aim to validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed mathematical and statistical innovations in data analytics. Ethical considerations surrounding data analytics, such as privacy, security, bias, and fairness, will be addressed throughout the research. Guidelines and best practices will be developed to ensure the responsible and ethical use of mathematical and statistical innovations in data analytics. The expected contributions of this research include advancements in mathematical and statistical sciences, improved data analysis techniques, enhanced decision-making processes, and practical implications for industries and policymakers. The outcomes will guide the adoption and implementation of mathematical and statistical innovations, empowering stakeholders to transform data into actionable knowledge and drive meaningful outcomes.

Keywords: data analytics, mathematical innovations, knowledge extraction, decision-making

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Authors: Dawid Sołoducha, Tomasz Borowski, Agata Markowska-Szczupak, Aneta Wesołowska, Marian Kordas, Rafał Rakoczy

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Many studies report varied effects of the magnetic field in medicine, but applications are still missing. Also, essential oils (EOs) were historically used in healing therapies, food preservation and the cosmetic industry due to their wound healing and antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity. Unfortunately, the chemical characterization of EOs activates its antibacterial action only at a fairly high concentration. They can cause skin reactions, e.g., irritation (irritant contact dermatitis) or allergic contact dermatitis; therefore, they should always be used with caution. However, the administration of EOs to achieve the desired antimicrobial activity and stability with long-term medical usage in low concentration is challenging. The aim of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of commercial Pinus sylvestris L. essential oil from Polish company Avicenna-Oil® under Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) at f = 1 – 50 Hz. The novel construction of the magnetically assisted self-constructed reactor (MAP) was applied for this study. The chemical composition of essential pine oil was determined by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Model bacteria Escherichia coli K12 (ATCC 25922) was used. Different concentrations of pine oil was prepared: 100% 50%, 25%, 12.5% and 6.25%. The disc diffusion and MIC test were done. To examine the effect of essential pine oil and rotating magnetic field RMF on antibacterial performance agar plate method was used. Pine oil consist of α-pinene (28.58%), β-pinene (17.79%), δ-3-carene (14.17%) and limonene (11.58%). The present study indicates the exposition to the RMF, as compared to the unexposed controls causing an increase in the efficacy of antibacterial properties of pine oil. We have shown that the rotating magnetic fields (RMF) at a frequency, f, between 25 Hz to 50 Hz, increase the antimicrobial efficiency of oil at lower than 50% concentration. The new method can be applied in many fields e.g. aromatherapy, medicine as a component of dressing, or as food preservatives.

Keywords: rotating magnetic field, pine oil, antimicrobial activity, Escherichia coli

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Authors: Tiffanie-Marie Borg, Yasmin Zeinolabediny, Nima Heidari, Ali Noorani, Mark Slevin, Angel Cullen, Stefano Olgiati, Alberto Zerbi, Alessandro Danovi, Adrian Wilson

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Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a critical cause of disability globally. In recent years, there has been growing interest in non-invasive treatments, such as intra-articular injection of micro-fragmented fat (MFAT), showing great potential in treating OA. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), originating from pericytes of micro-vessels in MFAT, can differentiate into mesenchymal lineage cells such as cartilage, osteocytes, adipocytes, and osteoblasts. Secretion of growth factor and cytokines from MSCs have the capability to inhibit T cell growth, reduced pain and inflammation, and create a micro-environment that through paracrine signaling, can promote joint repair and cartilage regeneration. Here we have shown, for the first time, data supporting the hypothesis that women respond better in terms of improvements in pain and function to MFAT injection compared to men. Historically, women have been underrepresented in studies, and studies with both sexes regularly fail to analyse the results by sex. To mitigate this bias and quantify it, we describe a technique using reproducible statistical analysis and replicable results with Open Access statistical software R to calculate the magnitude of this difference. Genetic, hormonal, environmental, and age factors play a role in our observed difference between the sexes. This observational, intention-to-treat study included the complete sample of 456 patients who agreed to be scored for pain (visual analogue scale (VAS)) and function (Oxford knee score (OKS)) at baseline regardless of subsequent changes to adherence or status during follow-up. We report that a significantly larger number of women responded to treatment than men: [90% vs. 60% change in VAS scores with 87% vs. 65% change in OKS scores, respectively]. Women overall had a stronger positive response to treatment with reduced pain and improved mobility and function. Pre-injection, our cohort of women were in more pain with worse joint function which is quite common to see in orthopaedics. However, during the 2-year follow-up, they consistently maintained a lower incidence of discomfort with superior joint function. This data clearly identifies a clear need for further studies to identify the cell and molecular biological and other basis for these differences and be able to utilize this information for stratification in order to improve outcome for both women and men.

Keywords: gender differences, micro-fragmented adipose tissue, knee osteoarthritis, stem cells

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Authors: Akram Boubakri, Fethi Choubani, Tan Hoa Vuong, Jacques David

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Nowadays, microwave hyperthermia is considered as an effective treatment for the malignant tumors. This microwave treatment which comes to substitute the chemotherapy and the surgical intervention enables an in-depth tumor heating without causing any diseases to the sane tissue. This technique requires a high precision system, in order to effectively concentrate the heating just in the tumor, without heating any surrounding healthy tissue. In the hyperthermia treatment, the temperature in cancerous area is typically raised up to over 42◦C and maintained for one hour in order to destroy the tumor sufficiently, whilst in the surrounding healthy tissues, the temperature is maintained below 42◦C to avoid any damage. Metamaterial lenses are widely used in medical applications like microwave hyperthermia treatment. They enabled a subdiffraction resolution thanks to the amplification of the evanescent waves and they can focus electromagnetic waves from a point source to a point image. Metasurfaces have been used to built metamaterial lenses. The main mechanical advantages of those structures over three dimensional material structures are ease of fabrication and a smaller required volume. Here in this work, we proposed a metasurface based lens operating at the frequency of 6 GHz and designed for microwave hyperthermia. This lens was applied and showed good results in focusing and heating the tumor inside a breast tissue with an increased and maintained temperature above 42°C. The tumor was placed in the focal distance of the lens so that only the tumor tissue will be heated. Finally, in this work, it has been shown that the hyperthermia area within the tissue can be carefully adjusted by moving the antennas or by changing the thickness of the metamaterial lenses based on the tumor position. Even though the simulations performed in this work have taken into account an ideal case, some real characteristics can be considered to improve the obtained results in a realistic model.

Keywords: focusing, hyperthermia, metamaterial lenses, metasurface, microwave treatment

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Authors: Kang-Hsien Li

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Along with global industries in using technology to enhance the application, make the study drawn more close to the people’s behavior and produce data analysis, extended out from the mental accounting of prospect theory, this paper provides the marketing and financial applications in the field of exploration and discussions with the future. For the foreseeable future, the payment behavior depends on the form of currency, which affects a variety of product types on the marketing of marketing strategy to provide diverse payment methods to enhance the overall sales performance. This not only affects people's consumption also affects people's investments. Credit card, PayPal, Apple pay, Bitcoin and any other with advances in technology and other emerging payment instruments, began to affect people for the value and the concept of money. Such as the planning of national social welfare policies, monetary and financial regulators and regulators. The expansion can be expected to discuss marketing and finance-related mental problems at the same time, recent studies reflect two different ideas, the first idea is that individuals affected by situational frames, not broad impact at the event level, affected by the people basically mental, second idea is that when an individual event affects a broader range, and majority of people will choose the same at the time that the rational choice. That are applied to practical application of marketing, at the same time provide an explanation in the financial market under the anomalies, due to the financial markets has varied investment products and different market participants, that also highlights these two points. It would provide in-depth description of humanity's mental. Certainly, about discuss mental accounting aspects, while artificial intelligence application development, although people would be able to reduce prejudice decisions, that will also lead to more discussion on the economic and marketing strategy.

Keywords: mental accounting, behavior economics, consumer behaviors, decision-making

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Authors: Taurino S. R. Neto, Epitácio D. S. Neto, Flávio Signorelli, Gustavo G. M. Balbi, Alex H. Higashi, Mário Luiz R. Monteiro, Eloisa Bonfá, Danieli C. O. Andrade, Leandro C. Zacharias

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Purpose: To perform a multimodal evaluation, including the use of Optical Coherence Angiotomography (OCTA), in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) without ocular complaints and to compare them with healthy individuals. Methods: A complete structural and functional ophthalmological evaluation using OCTA and microperimetry (MP) exam in patients with PAPS, followed at a tertiary rheumatology outpatient clinic, was performed. All ophthalmologic manifestations were recorded and then statistical analysis was performed for comparative purposes; p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 104 eyes of 52 subjects (26 patients with PAPS without ocular complaints and 26 healthy individuals) were included. Among PAPS patients, 21 were female (80.8%) and 21 (80.8%) were Caucasians. Thrombotic PAPS was the main clinical criteria manifestation (100%); 65.4% had venous and 34.6% had arterial thrombosis. Obstetrical criteria were present in 34.6% of all thrombotic PAPS patients. Lupus anticoagulant was present in all patients. 19.2% of PAPS patients presented ophthalmologic findings against none of the healthy individuals. The most common retinal change was paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) (3 patients, 5 eyes), followed by drusen-like deposits (1 patient, 2 eyes) and pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy (1 patient, 1 eye). Systemic hypertension and hyperlipidaemia were present in 100% of the PAPS patients with PAMM, while only six patients (26.1%) with PAPS without PAMM presented these two risk factors together. In the quantitative OCTA evaluation, we found significant differences between PAPS patients and controls in both the superficial vascular complex (SVC) and deep vascular complex (DVC) in the high-speed protocol, as well as in the SVC in the high-resolution protocol. In the analysis of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters, the PAPS group had a larger area of FAZ in the DVC using the high-speed method compared to the control group (p=0.047). In the quantitative analysis of the MP, the PAPS group had lower central (p=0.041) and global (p<0.001) retinal sensitivity compared to the control group, as well as in the sector analysis, with the exception of the inferior sector. In the quantitative evaluation of fixation stability, there was a trend towards worse stability in the PAPS subgroup with PAMM in both studied methods. Conclusions: PAMM was observed in 11.5% of PAPS patients with no previous ocular complaints. Systemic hypertension concomitant with hyperlipidemia was the most commonly associated risk factor for PAMM in patients with PAPS. PAPS patients present lower vascular density and retinal sensitivity compared to the control group, even in patients without PAMM.

Keywords: antiphospholipid syndrome, optical coherence angio tomography, optical coherence tomography, retina

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Authors: Prince S. Campbell, Janine B. Adams, Melusi Thwala, Opeoluwa Oyedele, Paula E. Melariri

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Schistosomiasis, often known as bilharzia, is a parasitic water-borne disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosomiasis infection and prevention have been found to be influenced by a range of socio-cultural risk factors, including human characteristics (e.g., gender, age, education, knowledge, attitude, and practices), as well as environmental and economic elements. Lack of awareness of the disease may also contribute to an individual's tendency to participate in behaviours or activities that heighten their susceptibility to infection. The current study assessed the community knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on schistosomiasis and implemented an educational intervention following pre-test interviews. A cross-sectional quasi-experimental research design was used in this quantitative study. Pre- and post-intervention interview format surveys were conducted using a structured questionnaire, targeting individuals aged 18–65 years residing within 5 km of select water bodies. The questionnaire contained 54 close-ended questions about schistosomiasis causes, transmission, and clinical symptoms and the participants were interviewed face-to-face in their homes. Data was captured on Question Pro and analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 365 (2019) and R (version 4.3.1) software. Overall, 380 individuals completed the pre and post-intervention assessments; 194 and 185 were males (51.1%) and females (48.7%), respectively. A notable 91.3% of participants did not know about schistosomiasis in the pre-intervention phase; however, the mean post-intervention test score (9.4 ± 1.4) for knowledge among participants was higher than the pre-intervention test score (2.2 ± 2.1) indicating a good and improved knowledge of schistosomiasis among the participants. Furthermore, the paired samples t-test results demonstrated that the increase in knowledge levels was statistically significant (p<0.001). Also, the post-intervention improvement of both practice (p<0.001) and attitude (p<0.001) levels was statistically significant. A positive correlation (r=0.23, p<0.001) was found between knowledge and attitude in the pre-intervention stage. Knowledgeable participants had a more positive attitude towards obtaining medical assistance and disease prevention. Moreover, attitudes and practices correlated negatively (r=-0.13, p=0.013) post-intervention; hence, those with positive attitudes did not engage in risky water-related practices, which was the desired outcome. The educational intervention had a favourable impact on the KAP of the study population as the majority were able to recall the disease aetiology, symptoms, transmission pattern, and preventative measures three months post-intervention. Nevertheless, previous research has suggested that participants were unable to recall information about the disease following the intervention. Consequently, research should prioritize behavioural modification strategies that may result in a more persistent outcome in terms of the participants' knowledge, which could ultimately contribute to the development of long-term positive attitudes and practices.

Keywords: educational intervention, knowledge, attitudes and practices, schistosomiasis

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Authors: Ravija Gunawardana, Banuka Athuraliya

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Machine learning has emerged as a powerful tool for disease diagnosis and prediction. The use of machine learning algorithms has the potential to improve the accuracy of disease prediction, thereby enabling medical professionals to provide more effective and personalized treatments. This study focuses on developing a machine-learning model for disease prediction using symptoms and X-ray images. The importance of this study lies in its potential to assist medical professionals in accurately diagnosing diseases, thereby improving patient outcomes. Respiratory diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and chest X-rays are commonly used in the diagnosis of these diseases. However, accurately interpreting X-ray images requires significant expertise and can be time-consuming, making it difficult to diagnose respiratory diseases in a timely manner. By incorporating machine learning algorithms, we can significantly enhance disease prediction accuracy, ultimately leading to better patient care. The study utilized the Mask R-CNN algorithm, which is a state-of-the-art method for object detection and segmentation in images, to process chest X-ray images. The model was trained and tested on a large dataset of patient information, which included both symptom data and X-ray images. The performance of the model was evaluated using a range of metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. The results showed that the model achieved an accuracy rate of over 90%, indicating that it was able to accurately detect and segment regions of interest in the X-ray images. In addition to X-ray images, the study also incorporated symptoms as input data for disease prediction. The study used three different classifiers, namely Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbor and Support Vector Machine, to predict diseases based on symptoms. These classifiers were trained and tested using the same dataset of patient information as the X-ray model. The results showed promising accuracy rates for predicting diseases using symptoms, with the ensemble learning techniques significantly improving the accuracy of disease prediction. The study's findings indicate that the use of machine learning algorithms can significantly enhance disease prediction accuracy, ultimately leading to better patient care. The model developed in this study has the potential to assist medical professionals in diagnosing respiratory diseases more accurately and efficiently. However, it is important to note that the accuracy of the model can be affected by several factors, including the quality of the X-ray images, the size of the dataset used for training, and the complexity of the disease being diagnosed. In conclusion, the study demonstrated the potential of machine learning algorithms for disease prediction using symptoms and X-ray images. The use of these algorithms can improve the accuracy of disease diagnosis, ultimately leading to better patient care. Further research is needed to validate the model's accuracy and effectiveness in a clinical setting and to expand its application to other diseases.

Keywords: K-nearest neighbor, mask R-CNN, random forest, support vector machine

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Authors: Syeda Fahria Hoque Mimmi

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Many new and promising treatments for reducing or diminishing the adverse effects of microorganisms are being discovered day by day. On the other hand, the dairy industry is accelerating the economic wheel of Bangladesh. Considering all these facts, new thoughts were developed to isolate milk proteins by the present experiment for opening up a new era of developing natural antibiotics from milk. Lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein with multifunctional properties, is crucial to strengthening the immune system and also useful for commercial applications. The protein’s iron-binding capacity makes it undoubtedly advantageous to immune system modulation and different bacterial strains. For fulfilling the purpose, 4 of raw and 17 of commercially available milk samples were collected from different farms and stores in Bangladesh (Dhaka, Chittagong, and Cox’s Bazar). Protein quantification by nanodrop technology has confirmed that raw milk samples have better quantities of protein than the commercial ones. All the samples were tested for their antimicrobial activity against 18 pathogens, where raw milk samples showed a higher percentage of antibacterial activity. In addition to this, SDS-PAGE (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate–Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis) was performed to identify lactoferrin in the milk samples. Lactoferrin was detected in 9 samples from which 4 were raw milk samples. Interestingly, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholera, Staphylococcus aureus, and enterotoxigenic E. coli significantly displayed sensitivity against lactoferrin collected from raw milk. Only Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumonia, Enterococcus faecalis, and ETEC (Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli) were susceptible to lactoferrin obtained from a commercial one. This study suggested that lactoferrin might be used as the potential alternative of antibiotics for many diseases and also can be used to reduce microbial deterioration in the food and feed industry.

Keywords: alternative of antibiotics, commercially available milk, lactoferrin, nanodrop technology, pathogens, raw milk

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Doni Dermawan

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Modern sports competition as a consequence of the increase in the value of the business and entertainment in the field of sport has been demanding athletes to always have excellent physical endurance performance. Physical exercise is done in a long time, and intensive may pose a risk of muscle tissue damage caused by the increase of the enzyme creatine kinase. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) is an essential amino acid that is composed of leucine, isoleucine, and valine which serves to maintain muscle tissue, keeping the immune system, and prevent further loss of coordination and muscle pain. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a kind of leguminous plants that are rich in Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) where every one gram of protein pea contains 82.7 mg of leucine; 56.3 mg isoleucine; and 56.0 mg of valine. This research aims to develop Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) from pea extract is applied in dosage forms Gel PVP Kinesio Tape technology using Ultrasound-assisted Extraction. The method used in the writing of this paper is the Cochrane Collaboration Review that includes literature studies, testing the quality of the study, the characteristics of the data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, and clinical trials as well as recommendations for further research. Extraction of BCAA in pea done using ultrasound-assisted extraction technology with optimization variables includes the type of solvent extraction (NaOH 0.1%), temperature (20-250C), time (15-30 minutes) power (80 watt) and ultrasonic frequency (35 KHz). The advantages of this extraction method are the level of penetration of the solvent into the membrane of the cell is high and can increase the transfer period so that the BCAA substance separation process more efficient. BCAA extraction results are then applied to the polymer PVP (Polyvinylpyrrolidone) Gel powder composed of PVP K30 and K100 HPMC dissolved in 10 mL of water-methanol (1: 1) v / v. Preparations Kinesio Tape Gel PVP is the BCAA in the gel are absorbed into the muscle tissue, and joints through tensile force then provides stimulation to the muscle circulation with variable pressure so that the muscle can increase the biomechanical movement and prevent damage to the muscle enzyme creatine kinase. Analysis and evaluation of test preparation include interaction, thickness, weight uniformity, humidity, water vapor permeability, the levels of the active substance, content uniformity, percentage elongation, stability testing, release profile, permeation in vitro and in vivo skin irritation testing.

Keywords: branched chain amino acid, BCAA, Kinesio tape, pea, PVP gel, ultrasound-assisted extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Dejene Ermias Mekango, Mussie Alemayehu, Gebremedhin Berhe Gebregergs, Araya Abrha Medhanye, Gelila Goba

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Background: Maternal near miss (MNM) can be used as a proxy indicator of maternal mortality ratio. There is a huge gap in life time risk between Sub-Saharan Africa and developed countries. In Ethiopia, a significant number of women die each year from complications during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period. Besides, a few studies have been performed on MNM, and little is known regarding determinant factors. This study aims to identify determinants of MNM among women in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: a case-control study in hospital found in Tigray region, Ethiopia was conducted from January 30 - March 30, 2016. The sample included 103 cases and 205 controls recruited from women seeking obstetric care at six public hospitals. Clients having a life-threatening obstetric complication including haemorrhage, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, dystocia, infections, and anemia or clinical signs of severe anemia in women without haemorrhage were taken as cases and those with normal obstetric outcomes were considered as controls. Cases were selected based on proportional to size allocation while systematic sampling was employed for controls. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Binary and multiple variable logistic regression (odds ratio) analyses were calculated with 95% CI. Results: The largest proportion of cases and controls was among the ages of20–29 years, accounting for37.9 %( 39) of cases and 31.7 %( 65) of controls. Roughly 90% of cases and controls were married. About two-thirds of controls and 45.6 %( 47) of cases had gestational age between 37-41 weeks. History of chronic medical conditions was reported in 55.3 %(57) of cases and 33.2%(68) of controls. Women with no formal education [AOR=3.2;95%CI:1.24, 8.12],being less than 16 years old at first pregnancy [AOR=2.5; 95%CI:1.12,5.63],induced labor[AOR=3; 95%CI:1.44, 6.17], history of Cesarean section (C-section) [AOR=4.6; 95%CI: 1.98, 7.61] or chronic medical disorder[AOR=3.5;95%CI:1.78, 6.93], and women who traveled more than 60 minutes before reaching their final place of care[AOR=2.8;95% CI: 1.19,6.35] all had higher odds of experiencing MNM. Conclusions: The Government of Ethiopia should continue its effort to address the lack of road and health facility access as well as education, which will help reduce MNM. Work should also be continued to educate women and providers about common predictors of MNM like the history of C-section, chronic illness, and teenage pregnancy. These efforts should be carried out at the facility, community, and individual levels. The targeted follow-up to women with a history of chronic disease and C-section could also be a practical way to reduce MNM.

Keywords: maternal near miss, severe obstetric hemorrhage, hypertensive disorder, c-section, Tigray, Ethiopia

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Authors: S. Koul, Joshua Adedamola

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Currently, the global concerning fact about electromagnetic pollution (EMP) is that it not only adversely affects human health but rather projects the malfunctioning of sensitive equipment both locally and at a global level. The market offers many incumbent technologies to solve the issues, but still, a processable sustainable material solution with acceptable limits for GHG emission is still at an exploratory stage. The present work offers a sustainable material solution with a wide range of processability in terms of a polymeric resin matrix and shielding operational efficiency across the electromagnetic spectrum, covering both ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiations. The present work offers an in-situ synthesized conducting polyaniline (PANI) in the presence of the hybrid dual dopant system with tuned conductivity and high shielding efficiency between 89 to 92 decibels, depending upon the EMI frequency range. The conductive polymer synthesized in the presence of a hybrid dual dopant system via the in-situ emulsion polymerization method offers a higher surface resistance of 1.0 ohms/cm with thermal stability up to 2450C in their powder form. This conductive polymer with a hybrid dual dopant system was used as a filler material with different polymeric thermoplastic resin systems for the preparation of conductive composites. Intrinsically Conductive polymeric (ICP) composites based on hybrid dual dopant systems were prepared using melt blending, extrusion, and finally by, compression molding processing techniques. ICP composites with hybrid dual dopant systems offered good mechanical, thermal, structural, weathering, and stable surface resistivity properties over a period of time. The preliminary shielding behavior for ICP composites between frequency levels of 10 GHz to 24GHZ offered a shielding efficiency of more than 90 dB.

Keywords: ICP, dopant, EMI, shielding

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Efri Mardawati, Ronny Purwadi, Made Tri Ari Penia Kresnowati, Tjandra Setiadi

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EFB are mainly composed of cellulose (≈ 43%), hemicellulose (≈ 23%) and lignin (≈20%). The palm oil empty fruit bunches (EFB) is the lignosellulosic waste from crude palm oil industries mainly compose of (≈ 43%), hemicellulose (≈ 23%) and lignin (≈20%). Xylan, a polymer made of pentose sugar xylose and the most abundant component of hemicellulose in plant cell wall. Further xylose can be used as a raw material for production of a wide variety of chemicals such as xylitol, which is extensively used in food, pharmaceutical and thin coating applications. Currently, xylose is mostly produced from xylan via chemical hydrolysis processes. However, these processes are normally conducted at a high temperature and pressure, which is costly, and the required downstream processes are relatively complex. As an alternative method, enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan to xylose offers an environmentally friendly biotechnological process, which is performed at ambient temperature and pressure with high specificity and at low cost. This process is catalysed by xylanolytic enzymes that can be produced by some fungal species such as Aspergillus niger, Penicillium crysogenum, Tricoderma reseei, etc. Fungal that will be used to produce crude xylanase enzyme in this study is T. Viride ITB CC L.67. It is the purposes of this research to study the influence of pretreatment of EFB for the enzymatic hydrolysis process, optimation of temperature and pH of the hydrolysis process, the influence of substrate and enzyme concentration to the enzymatic hydrolysis process, the dynamics of hydrolysis process and followingly to study the kinetics of this process. Xylose as the product of enzymatic hydrolysis process analyzed by HPLC. The results show that the thermal pretreatment of EFB enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis process. The enzymatic hydrolysis can be well approached by the Michaelis Menten kinetic model, and kinetic parameters are obtained from experimental data.

Keywords: oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), xylose, enzymatic hydrolysis, kinetic modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 389

Authors: Y. P. Wang, J. K. Chen, C. H. Lee, G. H. Huang, M. C. Wang, S. W. Chen, Y. T. Kuan, H. C. Lin, C. Y. Huang, W. H. Liang, W. C. Lin, H. C. Yu

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The hi-tech industries in the Science Park at southern Taiwan were heavily damaged by a strong earthquake early 2016. The financial loss in this event was attributed primarily to the automated stocker system handling fully processed products, and recovery of the automated stocker system from the aftermath proved to contribute major lead time. Therefore, development of effective means for protection of stockers against earthquakes has become the highest priority for risk minimization and business continuity. This study proposes to mitigate the seismic response of the stockers by introducing viscous fluid dampers in between the ceiling and the top of the stockers. The stocker is expected to vibrate less violently with a passive control force on top. Linear damper is considered in this application with an optimal damping coefficient determined from a preliminary parametric study. The damper is small in size in comparison with those adopted for building or bridge applications. Component test of the dampers has been carried out to make sure they meet the design requirement. Shake table tests have been further conducted to verify the proposed scheme under realistic earthquake conditions. Encouraging results have been achieved by effectively reducing the seismic responses of up to 60% and preventing the FOUPs from falling off the shelves that would otherwise be the case if left unprotected. Effectiveness of adopting a viscous fluid damper for seismic control of the stocker on top against the ceiling has been confirmed. This technique has been adopted by Macronix International Co., LTD for seismic retrofit of existing stockers. Demonstrative projects on the application of the proposed technique are planned underway for other companies in the display industry as well.

Keywords: hi-tech industries, seismic protection, automated stocker system, viscous fluid damper

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Edison E. Haro, Akindele G. Odeshi, Jerzy A. Szpunar

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Hybrid bio-composites are developed for use in protective armor through positive hybridization offered by reinforcement of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with Kevlar short fibers and palm wood micro-fillers. The manufacturing process involved a combination of extrusion and compression molding techniques. The mechanical behavior of Kevlar fiber reinforced HDPE with and without palm wood filler additions are compared. The effect of the weight fraction of the added palm wood micro-fillers is also determined. The Young modulus was found to increase as the weight fraction of organic micro-particles increased. However, the flexural strength decreased with increasing weight fraction of added micro-fillers. The interfacial interactions between the components were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the size, random alignment and distribution of the natural micro-particles was evaluated. Ballistic impact and dynamic shock loading tests were performed to determine the optimum proportion of Kevlar short fibers and organic micro-fillers needed to improve impact strength of the HDPE. These results indicate a positive hybridization by deposition of organic micro-fillers on the surface of short Kevlar fibers used in reinforcing the thermoplastic matrix leading to enhancement of the mechanical strength and dynamic impact behavior of these materials. Therefore, these hybrid bio-composites can be promising materials for different applications against high velocity impacts.

Keywords: hybrid bio-composites, organic nano-fillers, dynamic shocking loading, ballistic impacts, energy absorption

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: I. Oikonomou, I. Lappa, D. Daferera, C. Kanakis, L. Kiokakis, K. Skordilis, A. Avramouli, E. Kalli, C. Pappas, P. A. Tarantilis, E. Skotti

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Grape seeds are waste products of wineries and often referred to as an important agricultural and industrial waste product with the potential to be used in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic applications. In this study, grape seed oil from traditional Ionian varieties was examined for the determination of the quality and the characteristics of each variety. Initially, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, after transesterification. Furthermore, other quality parameters of the grape seed oils were determined by Spectroscopy techniques, UV-Vis and Raman included. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of the oil was measured by 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays and their antioxidant capacity expressed in Trolox equivalents. K and ΔΚ indices were measured in 232, 268, 270 nm, as an oil quality index. The results indicate that the air-dried grape seed total oil content ranged from 5.26 to 8.77% w/w, which is in accordance with the other grape seed varieties tested in similar studies. The composition of grape seed oil is predominated with linoleic and oleic fatty acids, with the linoleic fatty acid ranging from 53.68 to 69.95% and both the linoleic and oleic fatty acids totaling 78-82% of FAMEs, which is analogous to the fatty acid composition of safflower oil. The antioxidant assays ABTS and DPPH scored high, exhibiting that the oils have potential in the cosmetic and culinary businesses. Above that, our results demonstrate that Ionian grape seed oils have prospects that can go further than cosmetic or culinary use, into the pharmaceuticals industry. Finally, the reclamation of grape seeds from wineries waste stream is in accordance with the bio-economy strategic framework and contributes to environmental protection.

Keywords: antioxidant capacity, fatty acid methyl esters, grape seed oil, GC-MS

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Authors: Koustav Pal, Indranil Das

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In recent times, perovskite and double perovskite (DP) systems attracts lot of interest as they provide a rich material platform for studying emergent functionalities like near-room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) insulators, exchange bias (EB), magnetocaloric effects, colossal magnetoresistance, anisotropy, etc. These interesting phenomena emerge because of complex couplings between spin, charge, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom in these systems. Various magnetic phenomena such as exchange bias, spin glass, memory effect, colossal magneto-resistance, etc. can be modified and controlled through antisite (B-site) disorder or controlling oxygen concentration of the material. By controlling oxygen concentration in SrFe0.5Co0.5O3 – δ (SFCO) (δ ∼ 0.3), we achieve intrinsic exchange bias effect with a large exchange bias field (∼1.482 Tesla) and giant coercive field (∼1.454 Tesla). Now we modified the B-site by introducing 10% iridium in the system. This modification give rise to the exchange bias field as high as 1.865 tesla and coercive field 1.863 tesla. Our work aims to investigate the effect of oxygen deficiency and B-site effect on exchange bias in oxide materials for potential technological applications. Structural characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to determine crystal structure and particle size. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to identify valence states of the ions. Magnetic analysis revealed that oxygen deficiency resulted in a large exchange bias due to a significant number of ionic mixtures. Iridium doping was found to break interaction paths, resulting in various antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic surfaces that enhance exchange bias.

Keywords: coercive field, disorder, exchange bias, spin glass

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Authors: L. Bammou, M. Belkhaouda R. Salghi, L. Bazzi, B. Hammouti

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Steel and steel-based alloys of different grades steel are extensively used in numerous applications where acid solutions are widely applied such as industrial acid pickling, industrial acid cleaning and oil-well acidizing. The use of chemical inhibitors is one of the most practical methods for the protection against corrosion in acidic media. Most of the excellent acid inhibitors are organic compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulphur. The use of non-toxic inhibitors called green or eco-friendly environmental inhibitors is one of the solutions possible to prevent the corrosion of the material. These advantages have incited us to draw a large part of program of our laboratory to examine natural substances as corrosion inhibitors such as: prickly pear seed oil, Argan oil, Argan extract, Fennel oil, Rosemary oil, Thymus oil, Lavender oil, Jojoba oil, Pennyroyal Mint oil, and Artemisia. In the present work, we investigate the corrosion inhibition of steel in 1 M HCl by junipers extract using weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The result obtained of junipers extract (JE) shows excellent inhibition properties for the corrosion of C38 steel in 1M HCl at 298K, and the inhibition efficiency increases with increasing of the JE concentration. The inhibitor efficiencies determined by weight loss, Tafel polarisation and EIS methods are in reasonable agreement. Based on the polarisation results, the investigated junipers extract can be classified as mixed inhibitor. The calculated structural parameters show increase of the obtained Rct values and decrease of the capacitance, Cdl, with JE concentration increase. It is suggested to attribute this to the increase of the thickness of the adsorption layer at steel surface. The adsorption model obeys to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The adsorption process is a spontaneous and exothermic process.

Keywords: corrosion inhibition, steel, friendly inhibitors, Tafel polarisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 522

Authors: S. Wakim, M. Nemer, B. Zeghondy, B. Ghannam, C. Bouallou

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Designing the optimal heat exchanger is still an essential objective to be achieved. Parametrical optimization involves the evaluation of the heat exchanger dimensions to find those that best satisfy certain objectives. This method contributes to an enhanced design rather than an optimized one. On the contrary, topology optimization finds the optimal structure that satisfies the design objectives. The huge development in metal additive manufacturing allowed topology optimization to find its way into engineering applications especially in the aerospace field to optimize metal structures. Using topology optimization in 3d heat and mass transfer problems requires huge computational time, therefore coupling it with CFD simulations can reduce this it. However, existed CFD models cannot be coupled with topology optimization. The CFD model must allow creating a uniform mesh despite the initial geometry complexity and also to swap the cells from fluid to solid and vice versa. In this paper, a porous media approach compatible with topology optimization criteria is developed. It consists of modeling the fluid region of the heat exchanger as porous media having high porosity and similarly the solid region is modeled as porous media having low porosity. The switching from fluid to solid cells required by topology optimization is simply done by changing each cell porosity using a user defined function. This model is tested on a plate and fin heat exchanger and validated by comparing its results to experimental data and simulations results. Furthermore, this model is used to perform a material reallocation based on local criteria to optimize a plate and fin heat exchanger under a constant heat duty constraint. The optimized fin uses 20% fewer materials than the first while the pressure drop is reduced by about 13%.

Keywords: computational methods, finite element method, heat exchanger, porous media, topology optimization

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Authors: Aziz Ikhlef

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Most of multi-slices CT scanners are built with detectors composed of scintillator - photodiodes arrays. The photodiodes arrays are mainly based on front-illuminated technology for detectors under 64 slices and on back-illuminated photodiode for systems of 64 slices or more. The designs based on back-illuminated photodiodes were being investigated for CT machines to overcome the challenge of the higher number of runs and connection required in front-illuminated diodes. In backlit diodes, the electronic noise has already been improved because of the reduction of the load capacitance due to the routing reduction. This translated by a better image quality in low signal application, improving low dose imaging in large patient population. With the fast development of multi-detector-rows CT (MDCT) scanners and the increasing number of examinations, the clinical community has raised significant concerns on radiation dose received by the patient in both medical and regulatory community. In order to reduce individual exposure and in response to the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) which suggests that all exposures should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), every manufacturer is trying to implement strategies and solutions to optimize dose efficiency and image quality based on x-ray emission and scanning parameters. The added demands on the CT detector performance also comes from the increased utilization of spectral CT or dual-energy CT in which projection data of two different tube potentials are collected. One of the approaches utilizes a technology called fast-kVp switching in which the tube voltage is switched between 80kVp and 140kVp in fraction of a millisecond. To reduce the cross-contamination of signals, the scintillator based detector temporal response has to be extremely fast to minimize the residual signal from previous samples. In addition, this paper will present an overview of detector technologies and image chain improvement which have been investigated in the last few years to improve the signal-noise ratio and the dose efficiency CT scanners in regular examinations and in energy discrimination techniques. Several parameters of the image chain in general and in the detector technology contribute in the optimization of the final image quality. We will go through the properties of the post-patient collimation to improve the scatter-to-primary ratio, the scintillator material properties such as light output, afterglow, primary speed, crosstalk to improve the spectral imaging, the photodiode design characteristics and the data acquisition system (DAS) to optimize for crosstalk, noise and temporal/spatial resolution.

Keywords: computed tomography, X-ray detector, medical imaging, image quality, artifacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 271