Search results for: viscosity index improver

Authors: Radwa El Shorbagy, Alaa El Din Balbaa, Khaled Ayad, Waleed Reda

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Introduction: Ankle sprain is a common lower limb injury that is complicated by high recurrence rate. The cause of recurrence is not clear; however, changes in motor control have been postulated. Objective: to determine the contribution of proximal hip strategy to dynamic postural control in patients with recurrent ankle sprain. Methods: Fifteen subjects with recurrent ankle sprain (group A) and fifteen healthy control subjects (group B) participated in this study. Abductor-adductors as well as flexor-extensor hip musculatures control was abolished by fatigue using the Biodex Isokinetic System. Dynamic postural control was measured before and after fatigue by the Biodex Balance System Results: Repeated measures MANOVA was used to compare between and within group differences, In group A fatiguing of hip muscles (flexors-extensors and abductors-adductors) increased overall stability index (OASI), anteroposterior stability index (APSI) and mediolateral stability index (MLSI) significantly (p= 0.00) whereas; in group B fatiguing of hip flexors-extensors increased significantly OASI and APSI only (p= 0.017, 0.010; respectively) while fatiguing of hip abductors-adductors has no significant effect on these variables. Moreover, patients with ankle sprain had significantly lower dynamic balance after hip muscles fatigue compared to the control group. Specifically, after hip flexor-extensor fatigue, the OASI, APSI and MLSI were increased significantly than those of the control values (p= 0.002, 0.011, and 0.003, respectively) whereas fatiguing of hip abductors-adductors increased significantly in OASI and APSI only (p=0.012, 0.026, respectively). Conclusion: To maintain dynamic balance, patients with recurrent ankle sprain seem to relay more on the hip strategy. This means that those patients depend on a top to down instead of down to top strategy clinical relevance: patients with recurrent ankle sprain less efficient in maintaining the dynamic postural control due to the change in motor strategies. Indicating that health care providers and rehabilitation specialists should treat CAI as a global/central and not just as a simple local or peripheral injury.

Keywords: ankle sprain, fatigue hip muscles, dynamic balance

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Authors: Dhananjay W. Bansod, Santosh Phad

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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) are major contributing factors to the disease burden in the world as well as in India. With a growing proportion of older persons in India gives rise to several challenges. With the advancement of age, elderly is exposed to various kinds of health problems more specifically NCDs. Therefore, an effort has been made to examine the prevalence of NCDs among older persons and its treatment-seeking behaviour, also it is tried to explore the association between the NCDs and its effect on the overall wellbeing of older persons. Data used from “Building Knowledge Base of Population Ageing Survey” conducted in 2011 in seven states of India. Six chronic diseases used (non-communicable diseases) namely Arthritis, Hypertension, Cataract, Diabetes, Asthma and Heart diseases to understand the issues related to NCDs. Also seen the effect of NCDs on the wellbeing of the elderly, the subjective well-being consists of nine questions from which SUBI score generated for mental health status, which ranges from 9 to 27. This Index indicates that lower the score better is the mental health status. Further, this index modified and generated three categories of Better (9-15), Average (16-20) and Worse (21-27). The reliability analysis is carried out with the coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) of the scale was 0.8884. The result shows that Orthopedic / musculoskeletal ailments involving arthritis, rheumatism and osteoarthritis are the most common type of ailment followed by hypertension. Two-thirds of the elderly reported suffering from at least one chronic ailment. Most chronic illness conditions received some form of treatment and mainly depend on public health facilities. Financial insecurity is the primary obstruction in seeking treatment for most of the chronic ailments which typically require a longer duration of medication and repeated medical consultations, both having significant economic implications. According to SUBI index, only 15 per cent of the elderly are in Better mental health status, and one-third of the elderly are with the worse score. Elderly with the ailments like Cataract, Asthma and Arthritis have worse mental health. It depicts that the burden of disease is more among the elderly and it is directly affecting the overall wellbeing of older persons.

Keywords: NCD, well-being, older person, India

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Authors: Kensuke Otsuyama

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The United Nation World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Sendai, Japan, in 2015 and priorities for actions until 2030 were adopted for the next 15 years. Although one of these priorities is to ‘build back better’, there is neither a consensus definition of better recovery, nor indicators to measure better recovery. However, the community is considered as a key driver of recovery nowadays, and participation is a key word for effective recovery. In order to understand more about participatory community recovery, the author investigated recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJET) in Kesennuma, a severely affected city. The research sought to: 1) Identify the elements that contribute to better recovery at the community level, and 2) analyze the role of community volunteers for disaster risk reduction for better recovery. A Participatory Community Recovery Index (PCRI) was created as a tool to measure community recovery. The index adopts seven primary indicators and 20 tertiary indicators, including: socio-economic aspect, housing, health, environment, self-organization, transformation, and institution. The index was applied to nine districts in Kesennuma city. Secondary and primary data by questionnaire surveys with local residents’ organization leaders and interviews with crisis management department officials in city government were also obtained. The indicator results were transformed into scores among 1 to 5, and the results were shown for each district. Based on the result of PCRI, it was found that the s Local Social Welfare Council played an important role in facilitating better recovery, enhancing community volunteer involvement to allow elderly residents to initiate local volunteer work for more affected single-living elderly people. Volunteers for the elderly by the elderly played a crucial role to strengthen community bonding in Kesennuma. In this research, the potential of community volunteers and inter-linkage with DRR activities are discussed.

Keywords: recovery, participation, the great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, community volunteers

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Authors: I. M. Sujaul, M. A. Sobahan, A. A. Edriyana, F. M. Yahaya, R. M. Yunus

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This study was carried out to investigate the adverse effect of industrial waste water on surface water quality in Gebeng industrial estate, Pahang, Malaysia. Surface water was collected from 6 sampling stations. Physico-chemical parameters were characterized based on in-situ and ex-situ analysis according to standard methods by American Public Health Association (APHA). Selected heavy metals were determined by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS). The result reveled that the concentration of heavy metals such as Pb, Cu, Cd, Cr and Hg were high in samples. The result showed that the value of Pb and Hg were higher in the wet season in comparison to dry season. According to Malaysia National Water Quality Standard (NWQS) and Water Quality Index (WQI) all the sampling station were categorized as class IV (highly polluted). The present study reveled that the adverse effects of careless disposal of wastes and directly discharge of effluents affected on surface water quality. Therefore, the authorities should implement the laws to ensure the proper practices of waste water management for environmental sustainability around the study area.

Keywords: water, heavy metals, water quality index, Gebeng

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Authors: Getachew Belay Kassahun

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Background: Aspartate aminotransferase to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) currently becomes a biomarker for screening liver fibrosis since liver biopsy procedure is invasive and variation in pathological interpretation. Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute recommends establishing age, sex and environment specific reference interval for biomarkers in a homogenous population. The current study was aimed to derive community based reference interval of APRI aged between 12 and 60 years old in Mekelle city Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia. Method: Six hundred eighty eight study participants were collected from three districts in Mekelle city. The 3 districts were selected through random sampling technique and sample size to kebelles (small administration) were distributed proportional to household number in each district. Lottery method was used at household level if more than 2 study participants to each age partition were found. A community based cross sectional in a total of 534 study participants, 264 male and 270 females, were included in the final laboratory and data analysis but around 154 study participants were excluded through exclusion criteria. Aspartate aminotransferase was analyzed through Biosystem chemistry analyzer and Sysmix machine was used to analyze platelet. Man Whitney U test non parametric stastical tool was used to appreciate stastical difference among gender after excluding the outliers through Box and Whisker. Result: The study appreciated stastical difference among gender for APRI reference interval. The combined, male and female reference interval in the current study was 0.098-0.390, 0.133-0.428 and 0.090-0.319 respectively. The upper and lower reference interval of males was higher than females in all age partition and there was no stastical difference (p-value (<0.05)) between age partition. Conclusion: The current study showed using sex specific reference interval is significant to APRI biomarker in clinical practice for result interpretation.

Keywords: reference interval, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio Index, Ethiopia, tigray

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Authors: Tiziana Pepe, Gerardo Manfreda, Adriana Ianieri, Aniello Anastasio

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The sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources is among the most important objectives of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Currently, Europe imports about 65% of its fish products, indicating that domestic production does not meet consumer demand. Despite the availability of numerous commercially significant fish species, European consumption is concentrated on a limited number of products (e.g., sea bass, sea bream, shrimp). Many native species, present in large quantities in the Mediterranean Sea, are little known to consumers and are therefore considered ‘fishing by-products’. All the data presented so far indicate a significant waste of local resources and the overexploitation of a few fish stocks. It is therefore necessary to develop strategies that guide the market towards sustainable conversion. The objective of this work was to valorize underutilized fish species of the Mediterranean Sea through a multidisciplinary approach. To this end, three fish species were sampled: Atlantic Horse Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), Bogue (Boops boops), and Common Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus). Nutritional properties (water %, fats, proteins, ashes, salts), physical/chemical properties (TVB-N, histamine, pH), and rheological properties (color, texture, viscosity) were analyzed. The analyses were conducted on both fillets and processing by-products. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was extracted from the muscle of each species. The mtDNA was then sequenced using the Illumina NGS technique. The analysis of nutritional properties classified the fillets of the sampled species as lean or semi-fat, as they had a fat content of less than 3%, while the by-products showed a higher lipid content (2.7-5%). The protein percentage for all fillets was 22-23%, while for processing by-products, the protein concentration was 18-19% for all species. Rheological analyses showed an increase in viscosity in saline solution in all species, indicating their potential suitability for industrial processing. High-quality and quantity complete mtDNA was extracted from all analyzed species. The complete mitochondrial genome sequences were successfully obtained and annotated. The results of this study suggest that all analyzed species are suitable for both human consumption and feed production. The sequencing of the complete mtDNA and its availability in international databases will be useful for accurate phylogenetic analysis and proper species identification, even in prepared and processed products. Underutilized fish species represent an important economic resource. Encouraging their consumption could limit the phenomenon of overfishing, protecting marine biodiversity. Furthermore, the valorization of these species will increase national fish production, supporting the local economy, cultural, and gastronomic tradition, and optimizing the exploitation of Mediterranean resources in accordance with the CFP.

Keywords: mtDNA, nutritional analysis, sustainable fisheries, underutilized fish species

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Authors: Augustine Okolie, Johannes Müller, Mirjam Kretzchmar

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We adopt a maximum-likelihood framework to estimate parameters of a stochastic susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model with contact tracing on a rooted random tree. Given the number of detectees per index case, our estimator allows to determine the degree distribution of the random tree as well as the tracing probability. Since we do not discover all infectees via contact tracing, this estimation is non-trivial. To keep things simple and stable, we develop an approximation suited for realistic situations (contract tracing probability small, or the probability for the detection of index cases small). In this approximation, the only epidemiological parameter entering the estimator is the basic reproduction number R0. The estimator is tested in a simulation study and applied to covid-19 contact tracing data from India. The simulation study underlines the efficiency of the method. For the empirical covid-19 data, we are able to compare different degree distributions and perform a sensitivity analysis. We find that particularly a power-law and a negative binomial degree distribution meet the data well and that the tracing probability is rather large. The sensitivity analysis shows no strong dependency on the reproduction number.

Keywords: stochastic SIR model on graph, contact tracing, branching process, parameter inference

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Authors: Zarmina Gillani, Nuzhat Huma, Aysha Sameen, Mulazim Hussain Bukhari

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Whey is an excellent food ingredient owing to its high nutritive value and its functional properties. However, composition of whey varies depending on composition of milk, processing conditions, processing method, and its whey protein content. The aim of this study was to prepare a whey powder from raw whey and to determine the influence of different processing temperatures (160 and 180 °C) on the physicochemical, functional properties during storage of 180 days and on whey protein denaturation. Results have shown that temperature significantly (P < 0.05) affects the pH, acidity, non-protein nitrogen (NPN), protein total soluble solids, fat and lactose contents. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher foaming capacity (FC), foam stability (FS), whey protein nitrogen index (WPNI), and a lower turbidity and solubility index (SI) were observed in whey powder processed at 160 °C compared to whey powder processed at 180 °C. During storage of 180 days, slow but progressive changes were noticed on the physicochemical and functional properties of whey powder. Reverse phase-HPLC analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of temperature on whey protein contents. Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin is followed by α-lacalbumin, casein glycomacropeptide (CMP/GMP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Keywords: whey powder, temperature, denaturation, reverse phase, HPLC

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Authors: Abir Touati, Syed Jawad Hussain, Farid Touati, Ammar Bouallegue

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Although there has been a growing interest in the hybrid free-space optical link and radio frequency FSO/RF communication system, the current literature is limited to results obtained in moderate or cold environment. In this paper, using a soft switching approach, we investigate the effect of weather inhomogeneities on the strength of turbulence hence the channel refractive index under Qatar harsh environment and their influence on the hybrid FSO/RF availability. In this approach, either FSO/RF or simultaneous or none of them can be active. Based on soft switching approach and a finite state Markov Chain (FSMC) process, we model the channel fading for the two links and derive a mathematical expression for the outage probability of the hybrid system. Then, we evaluate the behavior of the hybrid FSO/RF under hazy and harsh weather. Results show that the FSO/RF soft switching renders the system outage probability less than that of each link individually. A soft switching algorithm is being implemented on FPGAs using Raptor code interfaced to the two terminals of a 1Gbps/100 Mbps FSO/RF hybrid system, the first being implemented in the region. Experimental results are compared to the above simulation results.

Keywords: atmospheric turbulence, haze, hybrid FSO/RF, outage probability, refractive index

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Authors: Binyam Teferi

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Numerical and theoretical analysis of mixed convection flow of magneto- hydrodynamics micropolar fluid with stretching capillary in the presence of thermal radiation, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, and heat generation/ absorption have been studied. The non-linear partial differential equations of momentum, angular velocity, energy, and concentration are converted into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations which can be solved numerically. The dimensionless governing equations are solved by using Runge Kutta fourth and fifth order along with the shooting method. The effect of physical parameters viz., micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, thermal buoyancy parameter, concentration buoyancy parameter, Hartmann number, spin gradient viscosity parameter, microinertial density parameter, thermal radiation parameter, Prandtl number, Eckert number, heat generation or absorption parameter, Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter on flow variables viz., the velocity of the micropolar fluid, microrotation, temperature, and concentration has been analyzed and discussed graphically. MATLAB code is used to analyze numerical and theoretical facts. From the simulation study, it can be concluded that an increment of micropolar parameter, Hartmann number, unsteadiness parameter, thermal and concentration buoyancy parameter results in decrement of velocity flow of micropolar fluid; microrotation of micropolar fluid decreases with an increment of micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, microinertial density parameter, and spin gradient viscosity parameter; temperature profile of micropolar fluid decreases with an increment of thermal radiation parameter, Prandtl number, micropolar parameter, unsteadiness parameter, heat absorption, and viscous dissipation parameter; concentration of micropolar fluid decreases as unsteadiness parameter, Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter increases. Furthermore, computational values of local skin friction coefficient, local wall coupled coefficient, local Nusselt number, and local Sherwood number for different values of parameters have been investigated. In this paper, the following important results are obtained; An increment of micropolar parameter and Hartmann number results in a decrement of velocity flow of micropolar fluid. Microrotation decreases with an increment of the microinertial density parameter. Temperature decreases with an increasing value of the thermal radiation parameter and viscous dissipation parameter. Concentration decreases as the values of Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter increases. The coefficient of local skin friction is enhanced with an increase in values of both the unsteadiness parameter and micropolar parameter. Increasing values of unsteadiness parameter and micropolar parameter results in an increment of the local couple stress. An increment of values of unsteadiness parameter and thermal radiation parameter results in an increment of the rate of heat transfer. As the values of Schmidt number and unsteadiness parameter increases, Sherwood number decreases.

Keywords: thermal radiation, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, heat absorption/ generation, similarity transformation

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Authors: Jesha Faye T. Librea, Leslie Joy L. Diaz

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Fuel-derived rice husk ash (fRHA) is a waste material from industries employing rice husk as a biomass fuel which, on the downside, causes disposal and environmental problems. To mitigate this, the fRHA was evaluated for use in other applications such as a pozzolanic material for the construction industry. In this study, the assessment of the potential of fRHA as pozzolanic supplementary cementitious material was conducted by determining the chemical and physical properties of fRHA according to ASTM C618, evaluating the fineness of the material according to ASTM C430, and determining its pozzolanic activity using Luxan Method. The material was found to have a high amorphous silica content of around 95.82 % with traces of alkaline and carbon impurities. The retained carbon residue is 7.18 %, which is within the limit of the specifications for natural pozzolans indicated in ASTM C618. The fineness of the fRHA is at 88.88 % retained at a 45-micron sieve, which, however, exceeded the limit of 34 %. This large particle size distribution was found to affect the pozzolanic activity of the fRHA. This was shown in the Luxan test, where the fRHA was identified as non-pozzolan due to its low pozzolanic activity index of 0.262. Thus, further processing must be done to the fRHA to pass the required ASTM fineness, have a higher pozzolanic activity index, and fully qualify as a pozzolanic material.

Keywords: rice husk ash, pozzolanic, fuel-derived ash, supplementary cementitious material

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Authors: Armel Zacharie Ekoa Bessa, Annick Kwewouo Janpou

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Sediments collected along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean in Africa were analyzed by geochemical proxies such as the ICP-MS technique to determine their heavy metal contamination and related ecological risks. Several metals were selected and show a decreasing trend: Fe > Mn > Ni > Cu > Co > Zn > Cr > Cd. Several pollution indices have been calculated, including the enrichment factor (EF), whose values are generally higher than 1. 5; the geo-accumulation index (I-geo), with values of some elements (Co, Ni and Cu) in the sediments of the study area being higher than 0, and other metals (Zn, Cr, Fe and Mn) being lower than 0; the contamination factor (CF), where the values of all the selected elements are between 1 and 3; and the pollution load index (PLI), where the values in almost all the study sites are higher than 1. These results show moderate contamination of the investigated sediments with heavy metals. The potential ecological risk assessment (Eri and RI) suggests that this part of the African coast is a low to a slight risk area. Statistical analyses indicate that heavy metals have shown fairly similar trends with anthropogenic and natural sources. This study shows that this coastal area is not highly concentrated in heavy metals and reveals that the Atlantic coast of Africa would be moderately polluted by the metals studied, with a low to moderate ecological risk.

Keywords: heavy metals, pollution, atlantic ocean, sediments

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Authors: Punit Kumar, Niraj Kumar

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The influence of transverse surface roughness on EHL characteristics has been investigated numerically using an extensive set of full EHL line contact simulations for shear-thinning lubricants under pure sliding condition. The shear-thinning behavior of lubricant is modeled using Carreau viscosity equation along with Doolittle-Tait equation for lubricant compressibility. The surface roughness is assumed to be sinusoidal and it is present on the stationary surface. It is found that surface roughness causes sharp pressure peaks along with reduction in central and minimum film thickness. With increasing amplitude of surface roughness, the minimum film thickness decreases much more rapidly as compared to the central film thickness.

Keywords: EHL, Carreau, shear-thinning, surface roughness, amplitude, wavelength

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Authors: Shadia Al-Bahlani, Ruqaya Al-Rashdi, Shadia Al-Sinawi, Maya Al-Bahri

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Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer, which is defined by the absence of Estrogen (ER), Progesterone (PR) and Human epidermal growth factor (Her-2) receptors. The calpain system plays an important role in many cellular processes including apoptosis, necrosis, cell signaling and proliferation. The role of clapins in pathogenesis and tumor progression has been studied in certain cancer types; however, its definite role is not yet established in breast cancer especially in the TNBC subtype. Objectives: This study aims to measure calpain-1 expression and correlate this measurement with the proliferating/apoptotic index as well with the prognostic factors in TNBC patients’ tissue. Materials and Methods: Thirty nine paraffin blocks from patients diagnosed with TNBC were used to measure the expression of calpain-1 and Ki-67 (proliferating marker) proteins using immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis was assessed morphological and biochemically using conventional Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining method and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediate dUTP nick and labeling (TUNEL) assay respectively. Data was statistically analyzed using Pearson X2 test of association. Results: Calpain-1 content was visualized in the nucleus of the TNBC cells and its expression varied from low to high among the patients tissue. Calpain expression showed no significant correlation with the proliferating/apoptotic index as well with the clinicopathological variables. Apoptotic counts quantified by H&E staining showed significant association with the apoptotic TUNEL assay, validating both approaches. Conclusion: Although calpain-1 expression showed no significant association with the clinical outcome, its variable level of expression might indicate a hidden role in breast cancer tissue. Larger number of samples and different mode of assessments are needed to fully investigate such role. Exploring the involvement of calpain-1 in cancer progression might help in considering it as a biomarker of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, calpain, apoptosis, prognosis

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Authors: M. Guemmadi, A. Ouibrahim

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This numerical investigation aims to evaluate how a viscoelastic lubricant described by a generalized Maxwell model, affects the pressure distribution, the load capacity and thermal effect in a journal bearing lubrication. We use for the purpose the CFD package software completed by adapted user define functions (UDFs) to solve the coupled equations of momentum, of energy and of the viscoelastic model (generalized Maxwell model). Two parameters, viscosity and relaxation time are involved to show how viscoelasticity substantially affect the pressure distribution, the load capacity and the thermal transfer by comparison to Newtonian lubricant. These results were also compared with the available published results.

Keywords: journal bearing, lubrication, Maxwell model, viscoelastic fluids, computational modelling, load capacity

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Authors: Atiq Uz Zaman

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Sustainable waste management is one of the major global challenges that we face today. A poor waste management system not only symbolises the inefficiency of our society but also depletes valuable resources and emits pollutions to the environment. Presently, we extract more natural resources than ever before in order to meet the demand for constantly growing resource consumption. It is estimated that around 71 tonnes of ‘upstream’ materials are used for every tonne of MSW. Therefore, resource recovery from waste potentially offsets a significant amount of upstream resource being depleted. This study tries to measure the environmental benefits of global waste management systems by applying a tool called the Zero Waste Index (ZWI). The ZWI measures the waste management performance by accounting for the potential amount of virgin material that can be offset by recovering resources from waste. In addition, the ZWI tool also considers the energy, GHG and water savings by offsetting virgin materials and recovering energy from waste. This study analyses the municipal solid waste management system of 172 countries from all over the globe and the population covers in the study is 3.37 billion. This study indicates that we generated around 1.47 billion tonnes (436kg/cap/year) of municipal solid waste each year and the waste generation is increasing over time. This study also finds a strong and positive correlation (R2=0.29, p = < .001) between income (GDP/capita/year) and amount of waste generated (kg/capita/year). About 84% of the waste is collected globally and only 15% of the collected waste is recycled. The ZWI of the world is measured in this study of 0.12, which means that the current waste management system potentially offsets only 12% of the total virgin material substitution potential from waste. Annually, an average person saved around 219kWh of energy, emitted around 48kg of GHG and saved around 38l of water. Findings of this study are very important to measure the current waste management performance in a global context. In addition, the study also analysed countries waste management performance based on their income level.

Keywords: global performance, material substitution; municipal waste, resource recovery, waste management, zero waste index

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Authors: Ayalew Yimam Ali

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The T-shaped microchannel is used to mix both miscible or immiscible fluids with different viscosities. However, mixing at the entrance of the T-junction microchannel can be difficult mixing phenomena due to micro-scale laminar flow aspects with the two miscible high-viscosity water-glycerol fluids. One of the most promising methods to improve mixing performance and diffusion mass transfer in laminar flow phenomena is acoustic streaming (AS), which is a time-averaged, second-order steady streaming that can produce rolling motion in the microchannel by oscillating a low-frequency range acoustic transducer and inducing an acoustic wave in the flow field. The newly developed 3D trapezoidal, triangular structure spine used in this study was created using sophisticated CNC machine cutting tools used to create microchannel mold with a 3D trapezoidal triangular structure spine alone the T-junction longitudinal mixing region. In order to create the molds for the 3D trapezoidal structure with the 3D sharp edge tip angles of 30° and 0.3mm trapezoidal, triangular sharp edge tip depth from PMMA glass (Polymethylmethacrylate) with advanced CNC machine and the channel manufactured using PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) which is grown up longitudinally on the top surface of the Y-junction microchannel using soft lithography nanofabrication strategies. Flow visualization of 3D rolling steady acoustic streaming and mixing enhancement with high-viscosity miscible fluids with different trapezoidal, triangular structure longitudinal length, channel width, high volume flow rate, oscillation frequency, and amplitude using micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) techniques were used to study the 3D acoustic streaming flow patterns and mixing enhancement. The streaming velocity fields and vorticity flow fields show 16 times more high vorticity maps than in the absence of acoustic streaming, and mixing performance has been evaluated at various amplitudes, flow rates, and frequencies using the grayscale value of pixel intensity with MATLAB software. Mixing experiments were performed using fluorescent green dye solution with de-ionized water in one inlet side of the channel, and the de-ionized water-glycerol mixture on the other inlet side of the T-channel and degree of mixing was found to have greatly improved from 67.42% without acoustic streaming to 0.96.83% with acoustic streaming. The results show that the creation of a new 3D steady streaming rolling motion with a high volume flowrate around the entrance was enhanced by the formation of a new, three-dimensional, intense streaming rolling motion with a high-volume flowrate around the entrance junction mixing zone with the two miscible high-viscous fluids which are influenced by laminar flow fluid transport phenomena.

Keywords: micro fabrication, 3d acoustic streaming flow visualization, micro-particle image velocimetry, mixing enhancement.

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Authors: Rajlakshmi Banerjee, Sujoy Banerjee

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The prevalence of malnutrition, as the most common cause of morbidity and mortality increases with old age, especially in developing countries like India, because of many factors out of which dentate status is one. It affects diet, nutritional status and general health due to reduced chewing ability and poor food choices. Aim and Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nutritional status, dietary intake on the Oral Health-related Quality of life (OHRQoL) of elderly edentulous complete denture wearing patients and to know whether they are at a higher risk of malnutrition. The objective was to assess the need to include dietary and nutritional counselling during Prosthodontic rehabilitation of elderly edentulous patients. Materials and method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 elderly denture wearing patients above 60 yrs of age from Nagpur, Maharashtra. The majority of study subjects (60%) were between the age group 60 and 75 years. Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) Questionnaire was used to assess nutritional status and General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire was used to determine the Oral health related Quality of life of these patients.Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data using SPSS version 21. Results: Among the assessed subjects, nearly 80% of them had total scores of GOHAI between 12 and 57 which require ‘needed dental care.’ As per MNA, 10.5% had adequate nutrition, 70 % were at risk of malnutrition, and remaining 19.5 % of subjects were malnourished. There was a significant correlation between GOHAI and MNA scores. A strong association was found between mean GOHAI and MNA scores and thereby nutritional status and OHRQOL.Conclusion: The use of conventional dentures increases the risk of malnutrition in the elderly due to inability to eat and chew food properly and therefore severely affecting the quality of life. Dietary analysis and counselling should be strictly incorporated into geriatric treatment planning during Prosthetic rehabilitation.

Keywords: general oral health assessment index, General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI), nutritional assessment, mini-nutritional assessment, Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA), quality of life

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Authors: Ferruh Taspinar, Gulce K. Seyyar, Gamze Kurt, Eda O. Okur, Emrah Afsar, Ismail Saracoglu, Betul Taspinar

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Overweight and obesity has been associated with postural balance. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between body composition and balance. One hundred and thirty two young adults (58 male, 74 female) were included in the study. Mean age of participants were found as 21.21±1.51 years. Body composition (body mass index, total body fat ratio, total body muscle ratio) and balance (right anterior, right postero-medial, right postero-lateral, left anterior, left postero-medial, left postero-lateral) were evaluated by Tanita BC-418 and Y balance test, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between the parameters. Significance level in statistical analysis was accepted as 0.05. According to results, no correlation was found between body mass index and balance parameters. There was negative correlation between total body fat ratio and balance parameters (r=0.419-0.509, p˂0.05). On the other hand, positive correlation was found between total body muscle ratio and balance parameters (r=0.390-0.494, p˂0.05). This study demonstrated that body fat and muscle ratio affects the balance. Body composition should be considered in rehabilitation programs including postural balance training.

Keywords: balance, body composition, body mass, young adults

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Authors: Anele Horn, Amanda Van Eeden

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The emphasis on the challenges posed by continued urbanisation, especially in developing countries has resulted in urban sprawl often researched and analysed in metropolitan urban areas, but rarely in small and medium towns. Consequently, there exists no comparative instrument between the proportional extent of urban sprawl in metropolitan areas measured against that of small and medium towns. This research proposes an Urban Sprawl Index as a possible tool to comparatively analyse the extent of urban sprawl between cities and towns of different sizes. The index can also be used over the longer term by authorities developing spatial policy to track the success or failure of specific tools intended to curb urban sprawl. In South Africa, as elsewhere in the world, the last two decades witnessed a proliferation of legislation and spatial policies to limit urban sprawl and contain the physical expansion and development of urban areas, but the measurement of the successes or failures of these instruments intending to curb expansive land development has remained a largely unattainable goal, largely as a result of the absence of an appropriate measure of proportionate comparison. As a result of the spatial political history of Apartheid, urban areas acquired a spatial form that contributed to the formation of single-core cities with far reaching and wide-spreading peripheral development, either in the form of affluent suburbs or as a result of post-Apartheid programmes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (1995) which, in an attempt to assist the immediate housing shortage, favoured the establishment of single dwelling residential units for low income communities on single plots on affordable land at the urban periphery. This invariably contributed to urban sprawl and even though this programme has since been abandoned, the trend towards low density residential development continues. The research area is the Western Cape Province in South Africa, which in all aspects exhibit the spatial challenges described above. In academia and popular media the City of Cape Town (the only Metropolitan authority in the province) has received the lion’s share of focus in terms of critique on urban development and spatial planning, however, the smaller towns and cities in the Western Cape arguably received much less public attention and were spared the naming and shaming of being unsustainable urban areas in terms of land consumption and physical expansion. The Urban Sprawl Index for the Western Cape (USIWC) put forward by this research enables local authorities in the Western Cape Province to measure the extent of urban sprawl proportionately and comparatively to other cities in the province, thereby acquiring a means of measuring the success of the spatial instruments employed to limit urban expansion and inefficient land consumption. In development of the USIWC the research made use of satellite data for reference years 2001 and 2011 and population growth data extracted from the national census, also for base years 2001 and 2011.

Keywords: urban sprawl, index, Western Cape, South Africa

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Authors: Moses Oghenenyoreme Eyankware, Christian Ogubuchi Ede

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Groundwater is the principal source for various uses in this study area. The quality and availability of groundwater depend on rock formation within the study area. To effectively study the quality of groundwater, 24 groundwater samples were collected. The study was aimed at investigating the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater, and additionally its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. The following parameters were analyzed using the American Public Health Association standard method: pH, turbidity, Ec, TDS, Mg2+, SO42-, NO3¯, Cl-, HCO3¯, K+, Na2+ and Ca2+. Results obtained from Water Quality Index revealed that the groundwater sample fell within good water quality that implies that groundwater is considered fit for drinking purposes. Deduced results obtained from irrigation indices revealed that Permeability Index (PI), Soluble Sodium Percentage (SSP), Sodium Percentage (Na %), Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Kelly Ratio (KR), Magnesium Hazard (MH) ranges from 0.00 to 0.01, 4.04 to 412.9, 0.63 to 257.7, 0.15 to 2.34, 0.09 to 2.57 and 6.84 to 84.55 respectively. Findings from Total hardness revealed that groundwater fell within soft, moderately hard and hard categories. Estimated results obtained from CSMR, RI and LSI showed that groundwater showed corrosion tendency, salinization influenced groundwater at certain sampling points and chloride and sulfate unlikely to interfere with natural formation film.

Keywords: water, quality, suitability, anthropogenic, Nigeria

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Authors: Sam Derakhshan Deilami, Iain N. Kings, Lynne E. Macaskie, Brajendra K. Sharma, Anthony V. Bridgwater, Joseph Wood

Abstract:

This paper reports the application of a bacteria-supported palladium catalyst to the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of pyrolysis bio-oil, towards producing an upgraded transport fuel. Biofuels are key to the timely replacement of fossil fuels in order to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and depletion of non-renewable resources. The process is an essential step in the upgrading of bio-oils derived from industrial by-products such as agricultural and forestry wastes, the crude oil from pyrolysis containing a large amount of oxygen that requires to be removed in order to create a fuel resembling fossil-derived hydrocarbons. The bacteria supported catalyst manufacture is a means of utilizing recycled metals and second life bacteria, and the metal can also be easily recovered from the spent catalysts after use. Comparisons are made between bio-Pd, and a conventional activated carbon supported Pd/C catalyst. Bio-oil was produced by fast pyrolysis of beechwood at 500 C at a residence time below 2 seconds, provided by Aston University. 5 wt % BioPd/C was prepared under reducing conditions, exposing cells of E. coli MC4100 to a solution of sodium tetrachloropalladate (Na2PdCl4), followed by rinsing, drying and grinding to form a powder. Pd/C was procured from Sigma-Aldrich. The HDO experiments were carried out in a 100 mL Parr batch autoclave using ~20g bio-crude oil and 0.6 g bio-Pd/C catalyst. Experimental variables investigated for optimization included temperature (160-350C) and reaction times (up to 5 h) at a hydrogen pressure of 100 bar. Most of the experiments resulted in an aqueous phase (~40%) and an organic phase (~50-60%) as well as gas phase (<5%) and coke (<2%). Study of the temperature and time upon the process showed that the degree of deoxygenation increased (from ~20 % up to 60 %) at higher temperatures in the region of 350 C and longer residence times up to 5 h. However minimum viscosity (~0.035 Pa.s) occurred at 250 C and 3 h residence time, indicating that some polymerization of the oil product occurs at the higher temperatures. Bio-Pd showed a similar degree of deoxygenation (~20 %) to Pd/C at lower temperatures of 160 C, but did not rise as steeply with temperature. More coke was formed over bio-Pd/C than Pd/C at temperatures above 250 C, suggesting that bio-Pd/C may be more susceptible to coke formation than Pd/C. Reactions occurring during bio-oil upgrading include catalytic cracking, decarbonylation, decarboxylation, hydrocracking, hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenation. In conclusion, it was shown that bio-Pd/C displays an acceptable rate of HDO, which increases with residence time and temperature. However some undesirable reactions also occur, leading to a deleterious increase in viscosity at higher temperatures. Comparisons are also drawn with earlier work on the HDO of Chlorella derived bio-oil manufactured from micro-algae via hydrothermal liquefaction. Future work will analyze the kinetics of the reaction and investigate the effect of bi-metallic catalysts.

Keywords: bio-oil, catalyst, palladium, upgrading

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Authors: Sudip Kumar Kundu, Charu Singh

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The climatic condition over Indian region is highly dependent on monsoon. India receives maximum amount of rainfall during southwest monsoon. Indian economy is highly dependent on agriculture. The presence of flood and drought years influenced the total cultivation system as well as the economy of the country as Indian agricultural systems is still highly dependent on the monsoon rainfall. The present study has been planned to investigate the flood and drought years for the north-west Himalayan region from 1951 to 2014 by using area average Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data. For this investigation the Normalized index (NI) has been utilized to find out whether the particular year is drought or flood. The data have been extracted for the north-west Himalayan (NWH) region states namely Uttarakhand (UK), Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to find out the rainy season average rainfall for each year, climatological mean and the standard deviation. After calculation it has been plotted by the diagrams (or graphs) to show the results- some of the years associated with drought years, some are flood years and rest are neutral. The flood and drought years can also relate with the large-scale phenomena El-Nino and La-Lina.

Keywords: IMD, rainfall, normalized index, flood, drought, NWH

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Authors: Grygorii Kostromin, Vladyslav Povoroznyuk

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Chronic venous diseases (CVD) are one of the common, though controversial problems in medicine. It is generally accepted that this pathology predominantly occurs in women. The issue of excessive weight as a risk factor for CVD is still considered debatable. To the author's best knowledge, today in Ukraine, there are barely any studies that describe the relationship between CVD and obesity. Our study aims to determine the association between age, body composition, obesity and CVD in postmenopausal women. The study was conducted in D. F. Chebotarev Institute of Gerontology, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. We have examined 96 postmenopausal women aged 46-85 years (mean age – 66.19 ± 0.96 years), who were divided into two groups depending on the presence of CVD. The women were examined by vascular surgeons. For the diagnosis of CVD, we used clinical, anatomic and pathophysiologic classifications. We also performed clinical, ultrasound and densitometry examinations. We found that the CVD frequency in postmenopausal women increased with age (from 72% in those aged 45-59 years to 84% in those aged 75-89 years). A significant correlation between the total fat mass and age was determined in postmenopausal women with CVD. We also observed a significant correlation between the lower extremities’ fat mass and age in both examined groups. A significant correlation between body mass index and age was determined only in postmenopausal women without CVD.

Keywords: chronic venous disease, risk factors, age, obesity, postmenopausal women

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Authors: Shivi Agarwal, Trilok Mathur

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This paper proposes the method to measure the total factor productivity (TFP) change by credibility theory for fuzzy input and output variables. Total factor productivity change has been widely studied with crisp input and output variables, however, in some cases, input and output data of decision-making units (DMUs) can be measured with uncertainty. These data can be represented as linguistic variable characterized by fuzzy numbers. Malmquist productivity index (MPI) is widely used to estimate the TFP change by calculating the total factor productivity of a DMU for different time periods using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The fuzzy DEA (FDEA) model is solved using the credibility theory. The results of FDEA is used to measure the TFP change for fuzzy input and output variables. Finally, numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed method to measure the TFP change input and output variables. The suggested methodology can be utilized for performance evaluation of DMUs and help to assess the level of integration. The methodology can also apply to rank the DMUs and can find out the DMUs that are lagging behind and make recommendations as to how they can improve their performance to bring them at par with other DMUs.

Keywords: chance-constrained programming, credibility theory, data envelopment analysis, fuzzy data, Malmquist productivity index

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Authors: Wuon-Shik Kim, Hyoung-Min Choi, Jeonggeon Woo, Sun Jung Kwon, SeungHee Lee

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The research on attentional engagement (AE) in movies using physiological signals is rare and controversial. Therefore, whether physiological responses can be applied to evaluate AE in actual movies is unclear. To clarify this, we measured electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram (EEG) of 16 Japanese university students as they watched the American movie Iron Man. After the viewing, we evaluated the subjective AE and affection levels for 11 film content segments in Iron Man. Based on self-reports for AE, we selected two film content segments as stimuli: Film Content 9 describing Tony Stark (the main character) flying through the night sky (with the highest AE score) and Film Content 1, describing Tony Stark and his colleagues telling indecent jokes (with the lowest score). We divided these two content segments into two time intervals, respectively. Results indicated that the Film Content by Interval interaction for HR was significant, at F (1, 11)=35.64, p<.001, η2=.76; while HR in Film Content 1 decreased, that of in Film Content 9 increased. In Film Content 9, the main effects of the Interval for respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) (F (1, 11)=5.91, p<.05, η2=.35) and for the attention index of EEG (F (1, 11)=5.23, p<.05, η2=.37) were significant. The increase in the RSA was significant (p<.05) as well, whereas that of the EEG attention index was nearly significant (p=.069). In conclusion, while RSA increases, HR decreases when people direct their attention toward normal films. However, while paying attention to a film evoking excitement, HR as well as RSA can increase.

Keywords: attentional engagement, electroencephalogram, movie, respiratory sinus arrhythmia

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Authors: Mohamed Ali Alrabib

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This paper introduces a paleoenvironmental and hydrocarbon show in this well was identified in the interval of Dembaba formation to the Hassaona formation was poor to very poor oil show. And from palaeoenvironmental analysis there is neither particularly good reservoir nor source rock have been developed in the area. Recent palaeoenvironment work undertakes that the sedimentary succession in this area comprises the Upper Paleozoic rock of the Carboniferous and Permian and the Mesozoic (Triassic) sedimentary sequences. No early Paleozoic rocks have been found in this area, these rocks were eroding during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian time. During Latest Permian and earliest Triassic time evidence for major marine transgression has occurred. From depths 5930-5940 feet, to 10800-10810 feet, the TAI of the Al Guidr, the Bir Al Jaja Al Uotia, Hebilia and the top varies between 3+ to 4-(mature-dry gas). This interval corporate the rest part of the Dembaba Formation. From depth 10800- 10810 feet, until total sediment depth (11944 feet Log) which corporate the rest of the Dembaba and underlying equivalents of the Assedjefar and M rar Formations and the underlying Indeterminate unit (Hassouna Formation) the TAI varies between 4 and 5 (dry gas-black& deformed).

Keywords: paleoenveronments, thermail index, carboniferous, Libya

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Authors: Munkhtuul G., Bolortsetseg Z., Lutzul M., Sugar N., Nyamdorj D., Nomundari B., Zesemdorj O., Erdenebayar N., Lkhagvasuren T. S., Munkhbayarlakh S., Bayasgalan T. Uurtuya S. H.

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Background: Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels are observed in metabolic and cardiovascular conditions as an early predictor of metabolic syndrome (MS). Hyperuricemia, characterised by high uric acid levels in serum, increases the risk of developing MS by 1.6 times. Being overweight and obese significantly contributes to developing MS and cardiovascular disorders. In Mongolia, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is reaching 48.8% among individuals aged 15 to 49 years, indicating a potential surge in the incidence of MS, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus, and gout.Objective: This study aimed to determine the SUA levels in men diagnosed with MS and investigate the factors influencing these levels.Methods: A total of 119 men aged 30-60, who underwent preventive examinations and resided in Ulaanbaatar city, were included in the study. The criteria established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) were employed to define metabolic syndrome. Hyperuricemia was defined as SUA levels ≥7 mg/dL. Dietary intake was evaluated through the 24-hour recall method.Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of MS among the participants was 42.9% (n=51), with hyperuricemia observed in 16.8% (n=20) of the individuals. Among men diagnosed with MS, 21.3% (n=10) exhibited hyperuricemia. The mean SUA levels were as follows: 4.7±0.8 mg/dL in the healthy group, 5.9±1.1 mg/dL in men without MS but presenting central obesity, and 6.2±1.3 mg/dL in men with MS. After adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI), a positive correlation was observed between SUA levels and triglycerides (β=0.93) as well as lipid accumulation product (LAP) (β=0.92) in men with MS. In the central obesity group, SUA levels exhibited a positive correlation with triglycerides (β=0.91), visceral adiposity index (VAI) (β=0.73), LAP (β=0.92), and cardiometabolic index (CMI) (β=0.69). The risk of hyperuricemia increased by 3.29 times with elevated triglycerides and 3.53 times with an increased LAP.Conclusion: The findings indicate that abdominal fat accumulation, as indicated by elevated triglyceride levels and LAP, is associated with increased SUA levels in men with MS. However, no significant relationship was observed between SUA levels and dietary intake.

Keywords: central obesity, obesity, triglycerides, hyperuricemia

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Authors: Marzieh Bakhtiary Noodeh, Mahla Zabet

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Attempts have been carried out to enhance the anticorrosion properties as well as edge coverage of an automotive electrocoating using the nano silica particles. To this end, the automotive electrocoating was reinforced with the nano silica particles at various weight fractions. The electrocoats were applied on the surface of punched edge followed by curing at 160⁰C for 20 min. The effects of nano silica particles on the rheological properties, influencing edge coverage were studied by a RMS (Rheometric Mechanical Spectrometer) technique. The anticorrosion properties were studied by a salt-spray test. The results obtained revealed that nano silica particles can significantly enhance the edge coverage by increasing minimum melt viscosity of electrocoats. It was shown that using 4 wt% nano silica particles, both anticorrosion properties and edge coverage of the electrocoats were significantly improved.

Keywords: nano silica, electrocoat, edge coverage, anticorrosion

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Authors: Vera Karla S. Caingles, Glen A. Lorenzo

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Soil, as the main material of landslides, plays a vital role in landslide assessment. An efficient and accurate method of doing an assessment is significantly important to prevent damage of properties and loss of lives. The study has two phases: to establish an empirical correlation of the residual soil thickness with the slope angle and to investigate the geotechnical characteristics of residual soil. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to establish the slope map and to program sampling points for field investigation. Physical and index property tests were undertaken on the 20 soil samples obtained from the area with Pliocene-Pleistocene geology and different slope angle in Kibawe, Bukidnon. The regression analysis result shows that the best fitting model that can describe the soil thickness-slope angle relationship is an exponential function. The physical property results revealed that soils contain a high percentage of clay and silts ranges from 41% - 99.52%. Based on the index properties test results, the soil exhibits a high degree of plasticity and expansion but not collapsible. It is deemed that this compendium will serve as primary data for slope stability analysis and deterministic landslide assessment.

Keywords: collapsibility, correlation, expansiveness, landslide, plasticity

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