Search results for: acid number

Authors: Nantakrit Yodpijit, Teppakorn Sittiwanchai

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The number of older adults is rising rapidly. The world’s population becomes aging. Falls is one of common and major health problems in the elderly. Falls may lead to acute and chronic injuries and deaths. The fall-prone individuals are at greater risk for decreased quality of life, lowered productivity and poverty, social problems, and additional health problems. A number of studies on falls prevention using fall detection system have been conducted. Many available technologies for fall detection system are laboratory-based and can incur substantial costs for falls prevention. The utilization of alternative technologies can potentially reduce costs. This paper presents the new design and development of a wearable-based fall detection system using an Accelerometer and Gyroscope as motion sensors for the detection of body orientation and movement. Algorithms are developed to differentiate between Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and falls by comparing Threshold-based values with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Results indicate the possibility of using the new threshold-based method with neural network algorithm to reduce the number of false positive (false alarm) and improve the accuracy of fall detection system.

Keywords: aging, algorithm, artificial neural networks (ANN), fall detection system, motion sensorsthreshold

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Authors: Bandari Shanker, Alfunsa Prathiba

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The influence of viscous dissipation on MHD Casson 3-D fluid flow in two perpendicular directions past a linearly stretching sheet in the presence of a chemical reaction is explored in this work. For exceptional circumstances, self-similar solutions are obtained and compared to the given data. The enhancement in the values Ecert number the temperature boundary layer increases. Further, the current findings are observed to be in great accord with the existing data. In both directions, non - dimensional velocities and stress distribution are achieved. The relevant data are graphed and explained quantitatively in relation to changes in the Casson fluid parameter as well as other fluid flow parameters.

Keywords: viscous dissipation, 3-D Casson flow, chemical reaction, Ecert number

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Afshin Shahbazi, Hadi Shadi Naghadeh, Ahmad Khodadadi Darban

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In the Magnetically Assisted Chemical Separation (MACS) process, tiny ferromagnetic particles coated with solvent extractant are used to selectively separate radionuclides and hazardous metals from aqueous waste streams. The contaminant-loaded particles are then recovered from the waste solutions using a magnetic field. In the present study, Cyanex272 or C272 (bis (2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid) coated magnetic particles are being evaluated for the possible application in the extraction of Thorium (IV) from nuclear waste streams. The uptake behaviour of Th(IV) from nitric acid solutions was investigated by batch studies. Adsorption of Thorium (IV) from aqueous solution onto adsorbent was investigated in a batch system. Adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetic studies of Thorium (IV) onto nanoparticles coated Cyanex272 were carried out in a batch system. The factors influencing Thorium (IV) adsorption were investigated and described in detail, as a function of the parameters such as initial pH value, contact time, adsorbent mass, and initial Thorium (IV) concentration. Magnetically Assisted Chemical Separation (MACS) process adsorbent showed best results for the fast adsorption of Th (IV) from aqueous solution at aqueous phase acidity value of 0.5 molar. In addition, more than 80% of Th (IV) was removed within the first 2 hours, and the time required to achieve the adsorption equilibrium was only 140 minutes. Langmuir and Frendlich adsorption models were used for the mathematical description of the adsorption equilibrium. Equilibrium data agreed very well with the Langmuir model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 48 mg.g-1. Adsorption kinetics data were tested using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion models. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the chemical adsorption was the rate-limiting step.

Keywords: Thorium (IV) adsorption, MACS process, magnetic nanoparticles, Cyanex272

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Authors: Lin Meng, Xi Lu, Haibo Wang, Yong Song, Lili Cao, Wenfang Song, Yong Hu

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China has abundant heavy oil resources, and thermal recovery is the main recovery method for heavy oil reservoirs. However, high energy consumption, high carbon emission and high production costs make heavy oil thermal recovery unsustainable. It is urgent to explore a replacement for developing technology. A low Carbon and cost technology of heavy oil recovery, chemical viscosity-reduction in layer (CVRL), is developed by the petroleum exploration and development research institute of Sinopec via investigated mechanisms, synthesized products, and improved oil production technologies, as follows: (1) Proposed a cascade viscous mechanism of heavy oil. Asphaltene and resin grow from free molecules to associative structures further to bulk aggregations by π - π stacking and hydrogen bonding, which causes the high viscosity of heavy oil. (2) Aimed at breaking the π - π stacking and hydrogen bond of heavy oil, the copolymer of N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl) acryl amide and 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid was synthesized as a viscosity reducer. It achieves a viscosity reduction rate of>80% without shearing for heavy oil (viscosity < 50000 mPa‧s), of which fluidity is evidently improved in the layer. (3) Synthesized hydroxymethyl acrylamide-maleic acid-decanol ternary copolymer self-assembly plugging agent. The particle size is 0.1 μm-2 mm adjustable, and the volume is 10-500 times controllable, which can achieve the efficient transportation of viscosity reducer to enriched oil areas. CVRL has applied 400 wells until now, increasing oil production by 470000 tons, saving 81000 tons of standard coal, reducing CO2 emissions by 174000 tons, and reducing production costs by 60%. It promotes the transformation of heavy oil towards low energy consumption, low carbon emissions, and low-cost development.

Keywords: heavy oil, chemical viscosity-reduction, low carbon, viscosity reducer, plugging agent

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Authors: Abdullah Al Faruque, Ram Balachandar

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Series of laboratory tests were carried out to study the extent of scour caused by a three-dimensional wall jets exiting from a square cross-section nozzle and into a non-cohesive sand beds. Previous observations have indicated that the effect of the tailwater depth was significant for densimetric Froude number greater than ten. However, the present results indicate that the cut off value could be lower depending on the value of grain size-to-nozzle width ratio. Numbers of equations are drawn out for a better scaling of numerous scour parameters. Also suggested the empirical prediction of scour to predict the scour centre line profile and plan view of scour profile at any particular time.

Keywords: densimetric froude number, jets, nozzle, sand, scour, tailwater, time

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Authors: Joana PaScoa Pinheiro, David Goncalves Ferreira, Filipe Ramos, Joaquim Soares Do Brito, Samuel Martins, Marco Sarmento

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Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic was identified in January 2020 in China, in the city of Wuhan. The increase in the number of cases over the following months was responsible for the restructuring of hospitals and departments in order to accommodate admissions related to COVID-19. Essential services, such as trauma, had to readapt to maintain their functionality and thus guarantee quick and safe access in case of an emergency. Objectives: This study describes the impact of COVID-19 on a Level III Trauma Center and particularly on the clinical management of hospitalized patients with spine injuries. Study Design & Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study whose results were obtained through the medical records of patients with spine injuries who underwent surgical intervention in the years 2019 and 2020 (period from March 1st to December 31st). A comparison between the two groups was made. In the study patients with injuries in the context of trauma were included who underwent surgery in the periods previously described. Patients hospitalized with a spine injury in a non-traumatic context and/or were not surgically treated were excluded. Results: In total, 137 patients underwent trauma spine surgery of which 71 in 2019 (51.8%) were without significant differences in intergroup comparisons. The most frequent injury mechanism in 2019 was motor vehicle crash (47.9%) compared to 2020 which was of a person falling from a height between 2-4 meters (37.9%). Cervical trauma was reported to be the most frequent spine injury in both years. There was a significant decrease in the need for intensive care in 2020, 51.4% vs 30.3%, p = .015 and the number of complications was also lower in 2020 (1.35% vs 0.98%), including the number of deaths, being the difference marginally significant. There were no significant differences regarding time for presentation to surgery or in the total days of hospitalization. Conclusions: The restructuring made in the trauma unit at a Level III Trauma Center in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic was effective, with no significant differences between the years of 2019 vs 2020 when compared with the time for presentation to surgery or the number of days of hospitalization. It was also found that lockdown rules in 2020 were probably responsible for the decrease in the number of road traffic accidents, which justifies a significant decrease in the need for intensive care as well as in the number of complications in patients hospitalized in the context of spine trauma.

Keywords: trauma, spine, impact, covid-19

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Ahmed Hamzi, Bryan Norman

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Having scribes help document patient records in electronic health record systems can improve hospitalists’ productivity. But hospitals need to determine the optimum number of scribes to hire to maximize scribe cost effectiveness. Scribe attendance uncertainty due to planned and unplanned absences is a primary challenge. This paper presents simulation and analytical models to determine the optimum number of scribes for a hospital to hire. Scribe staffing practices vary from one context to another; different staffing scenarios are considered where having extra attending scribes provides or does not provide additional value and utilizing on-call scribes to fill in for potentially absent scribes. These staffing scenarios are assessed for different scribe revenue ratios (ratio of the value of the scribe relative to scribe costs) ranging from 100% to 300%. The optimum solution depends on the absenteeism rate, revenue ratio, and desired service level. The analytical model obtains solutions easier and faster than the simulation model, but the simulation model is more accurate. Therefore, the analytical model’s solutions are compared with the simulation model’s solutions regarding both the number of scribes hired and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, an Excel tool has been developed to facilitate decision-makers in easily obtaining solutions using the analytical model.

Keywords: hospitalists, workload, optimization cost, economic analysis

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Authors: Karim Hrratha, Khaled Essalahb, Christophe Morellc, Henry Chermettec, Salima Boughdiria

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Among the carbon-carbon bond formation types, allylation of active methylene compounds with cyclic Baylis-Hillman (BH) alcohols is a reliable and widely used method. This reaction is a very attractive tool in organic synthesis of biological and biodiesel compounds. Thus, in view of an insistent and peremptory request for an efficient and straightly method for synthesizing the desired product, a thorough analysis of various aspects of the reaction processes is an important task. The product afforded by the reaction of active methylene with BH alcohols depends largely on the experimental conditions, notably on the catalyst properties. All experiments reported that catalysis is needed for this reaction type because of the poor ability of alcohol hydroxyl group to be as a suitable leaving group. Within the catalysts, several transition- metal based have been used such as palladium in the presence of acid or base and have been considered as reliable methods. Furthemore, acid catalysts such as BF3.OEt2, BiX3 (X= Cl, Br, I, (OTf)3), InCl3, Yb(OTf)3, FeCl3, p-TsOH and H-montmorillonite have been employed to activate the C-C bond formation through the alkylation of active methylene compounds. Interestingly a report of a smoothly process for the ability of 4-imethyaminopyridine(DMAP) to catalyze the allylation reaction of active methylene compounds with cyclic Baylis-Hillman (BH) alcohol appeared recently. However, the reaction mechanism remains ambiguous, since the C- allylation process leads to an unexpected product (noted P1), corresponding to a direct allylation instead of conjugate allylation, which involves the most electrophilic center according to the electron withdrawing group CO effect. The main objective of the present theoretical study is to better understand the role of the DMAP catalytic activity as well as the process leading to the end- product (P1) for the catalytic reaction of a cyclic BH alcohol with active methylene compounds. For that purpose, we have carried out computations of a set of active methylene compounds varying by R1 and R2 toward the same alcohol, and we have attempted to rationalize the mechanisms thanks to the acid–base approach, and conceptual DFT tools such as chemical potential, hardness, Fukui functions, electrophilicity index and dual descriptor, as these approaches have shown a good prediction of reactions products.The present work is then organized as follows: In a first part some computational details will be given, introducing the reactivity indexes used in the present work, then Section 3 is dedicated to the discussion of the prediction of the selectivity and regioselectivity. The paper ends with some concluding remarks. In this work, we have shown, through DFT method at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory that: The allylation of active methylene compounds with cyclic BH alcohol is governed by orbital control character. Hence the end- product denoted P1 is generated by direct allylation.

Keywords: DFT calculation, gas phase pKa, theoretical mechanism, orbital control, charge control, Fukui function, transition state

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Authors: M. L. Mangena, N. Mokoena, K. Rashamuse, M. G. Tlou

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Tertiary alcohol ester (TAE) hydrolases are a group of esterases (EC 3.1.1.-) that catalyze the kinetic resolution of TAEs and as a result, they are sought-after for the production of optically pure tertiary alcohols (TAs) which are useful as building blocks for number biologically active compounds. What sets these enzymes apart is, the presence of a GGG(A)X-motif in the active site which appears to be the main reason behind their activity towards the sterically demanding TAEs. The genome of Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psm) comprises a multitude of genes that encode esterases. We therefore, hypothesize that some of these genes encode TAE hydrolases. In this study, Psm was screened for TAE hydrolase activity using the linalyl acetate (LA) plate assay and a positive reaction was observed. As a result, the genome of Psm was screened for esterases with a GGG(A)X-motif using the motif search tool and two potential TAE hydrolase genes (PsmEST1 and 2, 1100 and 1000bp, respectively) were identified, PsmEST1 was amplified by PCR and the gene sequenced for confirmation. Analysis of the sequence data with the SingnalP 4.1 server revealed that the protein comprises a signal peptide (22 amino acid residues) on the N-terminus. Primers specific for the gene encoding the mature protein (without the signal peptide) were designed such that they contain NdeI and XhoI restriction sites for directional cloning of the PCR products into pET28a. The gene was expressed in E. coli JM109 (DE3) and the clones screened for TAE hydrolase activity using the LA plate assay. A positive clone was selected, overexpressed and the protein purified using nickel affinity chromatography. The activity of the esterase towards LA was confirmed using thin layer chromatography.

Keywords: hydrolases, tertiary alcohol esters, tertiary alcohols, screening, Pseudomonas syringae pv., maculicola genome, esterase activity, linalyl acetate

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Authors: F. Z. Benabid, F. Zouai, N. Kharchi, D. Benachour

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A HDPE/ZnO nano composites have been successfully performed using the co-mixing. The ZnO was first co-mixed with the stearic acid then added to the polymer in the plastograph. The nano composites prepared with the co-mixed ZnO were compared to those prepared with the neat TiO2. The nano composites were characterized by different techniques as the wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The micro and nano structure/properties relationships were investigated. The present study allowed establishing good correlations between the different measured properties.

Keywords: exfoliation, ZnO, nano composites, HDPE, co-mixing

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Authors: Shahram Nowrouzieh, Abbas Rezaei Asl, Mohamad Ali Jafari

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Cotton, as a strategic crop, plays an important role in providing human food and clothing need, because of its oil, protein, and fiber. Iran has been one of the largest cotton producers in the world in the past, but unfortunately, for economic reasons, its production is reduced now. One of the ways to reduce the cost of cotton production is to expand the mechanization of cotton harvesting. Iranian farmers do not accept the function of cotton harvesters. One reason for this lack of acceptance of cotton harvesting machines is the number of field losses on these machines. So, the majority of cotton fields are harvested by hand. Although the correct setting of the harvesting machine is very important in the cotton losses, the morphological properties of the cotton plant also affect the performance of cotton harvesters. In this study, the effect of some cotton morphological properties such as the height of the cotton plant, number, and length of sympodial and monopodial branches, boll dimensions, boll weight, number of carpels and bracts angle were evaluated on the performance of cotton picker. In this research, the efficiency of John Deere 9920 spindle Cotton picker is investigated on five different Iranian cotton cultivars. The results indicate that there was a significant difference between the five cultivars in terms of machine harvest efficiency. Golestan cultivar showed the best cotton harvester performance with an average of 87.6% of total harvestable seed cotton and Khorshid cultivar had the least cotton harvester performance. The principal component analysis showed that, at 50.76% probability, the cotton picker efficiency is affected by the bracts angle positively and by boll dimensions, the number of carpels and the height of cotton plants negatively. The seed cotton remains (in the plant and on the ground) after harvester in PCA scatter plot were in the same zone with boll dimensions and several carpels.

Keywords: cotton, bract, harvester, carpel

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Authors: Wen-Ting Wang, Wei-An Tsai, Rong-Hong Hsieh

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Long term taking high fat diet can lead to over production of energy, result in accumulation of body fat, dyslipidemia and increased lipid metabolism in the body. Over metabolism of lipid results in excessive reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress, may also cause mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. Krill oil, fish oil and linseed oil are good sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The present study investigated the effect of high fat diet and various oil rich of n-3 fatty acids on mitochondrial function and cell membrane composition. Six-weeks old male Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 8 groups including: control group, high fat diet group, low dosage and high dosage krill oil group, low dosage and high dosage fish oil group, and low dosage and high dosage linseed oil group. After 12 weeks of experimental period, the low dosage krill oil, fish oil group and linseed oil group with different dosage prevented mitochondrial dysfunction caused by high fat diet. The supplementation of different oils increased plasma, erythrocyte and mitochondrial n-3/n-6 ratio and further increased the proportion of PUFA in erythrocyte and mitochondrial membrane. It also decreased serum triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. However, there was no significant change in serum total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), biomarker of liver function, glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and plasma malonadialdehyde (MDA) concentration when compared with high fat diet group. The supplementation of different sources of n-3 PUFA can maintain mitochondrial function and modulate cell membrane fatty acid composition in high fat diet conditions, and there is a positive relationship between mitochondrial function and mitochondrial membrane composition.

Keywords: fish oil, linseed oil, mitochondria, n-3 PUFA

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Authors: Vishakha Kaim, Mookan Natarajan, Sandeep Kaur-Ghumaan

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Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements present on earth’s crust and considered to be the simplest element in existence. It is not found naturally as a gas on earth and thus has to be manufactured. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of sources, i.e., water, fossil fuels, or biomass and it is a byproduct of many chemical processes. It is also considered as a secondary source of energy commonly referred to as an energy carrier. Though hydrogen is not widely used as a fuel, it still has the potential for greater use in the future as a clean and renewable source of energy. Electrocatalysis is one of the important source for the production of hydrogen which could contribute to this prominent challenge. Metals such as platinum and palladium are considered efficient for hydrogen production but with limited applications. As a result, a wide variety of metal complexes with earth abundant elements and varied ligand environments have been explored for the electrochemical production of hydrogen. In nature, [FeFe] hydrogenase enzyme present in DesulfoVibrio desulfuricans and Clostridium pasteurianum catalyses the reversible interconversion of protons and electrons into dihydrogen. Since the first structure for the enzyme was reported in 1990s, a range of iron complexes has been synthesized as structural and functional mimics of the enzyme active site. Mn is one of the most desirable element for sustainable catalytic transformations, immediately behind Fe and Ti. Only limited number manganese complexes have been reported in the last two decades as catalysts for proton reduction. Furthermore, redox reactions could be carried out in a facile manner, due to the capability of manganese complexes to be stable at different oxidation states. Herein are reported, four µ2-thiolate bridged manganese complexes [Mn₂(CO)₆(μ-S₂N₄C₁₄H₁₀)] 1, [Mn₂(CO)7(μ- S₂N₄C₁₄H₁₀)] 2, Mn₂(CO)₆(μ-S₄N₂C₁₄H₁₀)] 3 and [Mn₂(CO)(μ- S₄N₂C₁₄H₁₀)] 4 have been synthesized and characterized. The cyclic voltammograms of the complexes displayed irreversible reduction peaks in the range - 0.9 to -1.3 V (vs. Fc⁺/Fc in acetonitrile at 0.1 Vs⁻¹). The complexes were catalytically active towards proton reduction in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid as seen from electrochemical investigations.

Keywords: earth abundant, electrocatalytic, hydrogen, manganese

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Authors: Ping-Ben Liu, Chien-Chou Tseng

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The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the lift coefficient and dynamic behaviors of cavitating flow around a two-dimensional Clark Y hydrofoil at 8° angle of attack, cavitation number of 0.8, and Reynolds number of 7.10⁵. The flow field is investigated numerically by using a vapor transfer equation and a modified turbulence model which applies the filter and local density correction. The results including time-averaged lift/drag coefficient and shedding frequency agree well with experimental observations, which confirmed the reliability of this simulation. According to the variation of lift coefficient, the cycle which consists of growth and shedding of cavitation can be divided into three stages, and the lift coefficient at each stage behaves similarly due to the formation and shedding of the cavity around the trailing edge.

Keywords: Computational Fluid Dynamics, cavitation, turbulence, lift coefficient

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Authors: Petros Gkotsis, Giorgos Stratidis, Manassis Mitrakas, Anastasios Zouboulis

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This study investigates the use of original and pre-polymerized iron (Fe) reagents compared to the commonly applied polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulant for surface water treatment. Applicable coagulants included both ferric chloride (FeCl₃) and ferric sulfate (Fe₂(SO₄)₃) and their pre-polymerized Fe reagents, such as polyferric sulfate (PFS) and polyferric chloride (PFCl). The efficiency of coagulants was evaluated by the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and suspended solids (SS), which were determined in terms of reducing the UV absorption at 254 nm and turbidity, respectively. The residual metal concentration (Fe and Al) was also measured. Coagulants were added at five concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mg/L) and three pH values (7.0, 7.3 and 7.6). Experiments were conducted in a jar-test device, with two types of synthetic surface water (i.e., of high and low organic strength) which consisted of humic acid (HA) and kaolin at different concentrations (5 mg/L and 50 mg/L). After the coagulation/flocculation process, clean water was separated with filters of pore size 0.45 μm. Filtration was also conducted before the addition of coagulants in order to compare the ‘net’ effect of the coagulation/flocculation process on the examined parameters (UV at 254 nm, turbidity, and residual metal concentration). Results showed that the use of PACl resulted in the highest removal of humics for both types of surface water. For the surface water of high organic strength (humic acid-kaolin, 50 mg/L-50 mg/L), the highest removal of humics was observed at the highest coagulant dosage of 5 mg/L and at pH=7. On the contrary, turbidity was not significantly affected by the coagulant dosage. However, the use of PACl decreased turbidity the most, especially when the surface water of high organic strength was employed. As expected, the application of coagulation/flocculation prior to filtration improved NOM removal but slightly affected turbidity. Finally, the residual Fe concentration (0.01-0.1 mg/L) was much lower than the residual Al concentration (0.1-0.25 mg/L).

Keywords: coagulation/flocculation, iron and aluminum coagulants, metal salts, pre-polymerized coagulants, surface water treatment

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Authors: Mohammad Mahmoud Mandurah

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The existence of InfoMiracles in scripture is evidence that the scripture has a divine origin. It is also evidence to the existence of God. An InfoMiracle is an information-based miracle. The basic component of an InfoMiracle is a piece of information that could not be obtained by a human except through a divine channel. The existence of a sufficient number of convincing InfoMiracles in a scripture necessitates the existence of the divine source to these InfoMiracles. A mathematical equation is developed to prove that the Qur’an has a divine origin, and hence, prove the existence of God. The equation depends on a single variable only, which is the number of InfoMiracles in the Qur’an. The Qur’an is rich with InfoMiracles. It is shown that the existence of less than 30 InfoMiracles in the Qur’an is sufficient proof to the existence of God and that the Qur’an is a revelation from God.

Keywords: InfoMiracle, God, mathematical proof, miracle, probability

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Authors: Terry Liang Khin Teo, Sun Woh Lye, Kai Lun Brendon Goh

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As applied to dynamic monitoring situations, the prevailing approach to situation awareness (SA) assumes that the relevant areas of interest (AOI) be perceived before that information can be processed further to affect decision-making and, thereafter, action. It is not entirely clear whether this is the case. This study seeks to investigate the monitoring of dynamic objects through matching eye fixations with the relevant AOIs in boundary-crossing scenarios. By this definition, a match is where a fixation is registered on the AOI. While many factors may affect monitoring characteristics, traffic simulations were designed in this study to explore two factors, namely: the number of inbounds/outbound traffic transfers and the number of entry and/or exit points in a radar monitoring sector. These two factors were graded into five levels of difficulty ranging from low to high traffic flow numbers. Combined permutation in terms of levels of difficulty of these two factors yielded a total of thirty scenarios. Through this, results showed that changes in the traffic flow numbers on transfer resulted in greater variations having match limits ranging from 29%-100%, as compared to the number of sector entry/exit points of range limit from 80%-100%. The subsequent analysis is able to determine the type and combination of traffic scenarios where imperfect matching is likely to occur.

Keywords: air traffic simulation, eye-tracking, visual monitoring, focus attention

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Authors: V. Konjik, J. Schwartz, R. Sandhoff, M. Mack

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The rising number of multi-resistant pathogens demands the development of new antibiotics in order to reduce the lethal risk of infections. Here, we investigate roseoflavin, a vitamin B2 analogue which is produced by Streptomyces davawensis and Streptomyces cinnabarinus. We consider roseoflavin to be a 'Trojan horse' compound. Its chemical structure is very similar to riboflavin but in fact it is a toxin. Furthermore, it is a clever strategy with regard to the delivery of an antibiotic to its site of action but also with regard to the production of this chemical: The producer cell has only to convert a vitamin (which is already present in the cytoplasm) into a vitamin analog. Roseoflavin inhibits the activity of Flavin depending proteins, which makes up to 3.5 % of predicted proteins in organisms sequenced so far. We sequentially knocked out gene clusters and later on single genes in order to find the ones which are involved in the roseoflavin biosynthesis. Consequently, we identified the gene rosB, coding for the protein carrying out the first step of roseoflavin biosynthesis, starting form Flavin mononucleotide. Here we show, that the protein RosB has so far unknown features. It is per se an oxidoreductase, a decarboxylase and an aminotransferase, all rolled into one enzyme. A screen of cofactors revealed needs of oxygen, NAD+, thiamine and glutamic acid to carry out its function. Surprisingly, thiamine is not only needed for the decaboxylation step, but also for the oxidation of 8-demethyl-8-formyl Flavin mononucleotide. We had managed to isolate three different Flavin intermediates with different oxidation states, which gave us a mechanistic insight of RosB functionality. Our work points to a so far new function of thiamine in Streptomyces davawensis. Additionally, RosB could be extremely useful for chemical synthesis. Careful engineering of RosB may allow the site-specific replacement of methyl groups by amino groups in polyaromatic compounds of commercial interest. Finally, the complete clarification of the roseoflavin biosynthesis opens the possibility of engineering cost-effective roseoflavin producing strains.

Keywords: antibiotic, flavin analogue, roseoflavin biosynthesis, vitamin B2

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Authors: Okike Benjamin, Garba E. J. D.

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The researcher has developed a new encryption technique known as Merged Irregular Transposition Cipher. In this cipher method of encryption, a message to be encrypted is split into parts and each part encrypted separately. Before the encrypted message is transmitted to the recipient(s), the positions of the split in the encrypted messages could be swapped to ensure more security. This work seeks to develop a model by considering the split number, S and the average number of characters per split, L as the message under consideration is split from 2 through 10. Again, after developing the model, the error level in the model would be determined.

Keywords: merged irregular transposition, error level, model estimation, message splitting

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Authors: Mahbobeh Bozhmehrani, Afshin Farah Bakhsh

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Nanoparticles with PbS core of 12 nm and shell of approximately 3 nm were synthesized at PbS:ZnS ratios of 1.01:0.1 using Merca Ptopropionic Acid as stabilizing agent. PbS/ZnS nanoparticles present a dramatically increase of Photoluminescence intensity, confirming the confinement of the PbS core by increasing the Quantum Yield from 0.63 to 0.92 by the addition of the ZnS shell. In this case, the synthesis by microwave method allows obtaining nanoparticles with enhanced optical characteristics than those of nanoparticles synthesized by colloidal method.

Keywords: Pbs/Zns, quantum dots, colloidal method, microwave

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Authors: Md Kamruzzaman, Lyazid Djenidi, R. A. Antonia

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This paper reports an experimental investigation of the energy spectrum of turbulent velocity fields at low Reynolds numbers ( Rλ ) in grid turbulence. Hot wire measurements are carried out in grid turbulence with subjected to a 1.36:1 contraction of the wind tunnel. Three different grids are used: (i) large square perforated grid (mesh size 43.75 mm), (ii) small square perforated grid (mesh size 14 and (iii) woven mesh grid (mesh size 5mm). The results indicate that the energy spectrum at small Rλ does not follow Kolmogorov’s universal scaling. It is further found that the critical Reynolds number,Rλ,ϲ below which the scaling breaks down is around 25.

Keywords: energy spectrum, Taylor microscale, Reynolds number, turbulent kinetic energy, decay exponent

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Authors: Tony Jehi, Sujatha Rajaram, Nader majzoub, Joan Sabate

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Aging significantly increases the incidence of various cardiometabolic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). To combat CVD and its associated risk factors, it is imperative to adopt a healthy dietary pattern that is rife with beneficial nutrient and non-nutrient compounds. Unsaturated fats, specifically n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), have cardio-protective effects; the opposite is true for saturated fatty acids. What role, if any, does the biomarker of fatty acid intake (specific fatty acids in the erythrocyte) play in predicting cardiometabolic risk among the elderly, a population highly susceptible to increased mortality and morbidity from CVD risk factors, remains unclear. This was a secondary analysis of the Walnuts and Healthy Aging Study. Briefly, elderly (n=192, mean age 69 y) participants followed their usual diet and were randomized into two groups to either eat walnuts daily or abstain from eating walnuts for a period of 2 years. The purpose was to identify potential associations between erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and cardiometabolic risk factors (body weight, blood pressure, blood lipids, and fasting glucose). Erythrocyte n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with total cholesterol (ß = -3.83; p= 0.02), triglycerides (ß = -7.66; p= <0.01), and fasting glucose (ß = -0.19; p=0.03). Specifically, erythrocyte ALA (ß= -1.59; P = 0.04) and DPA (ß= -0.62; P=0.04) were inversely associated with diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose, respectively. N-6 PUFAs were positively associated with systolic blood pressure (ß=1.10; P=0.02). Mono-unsaturated fatty acids were positively associated with TAG (ß = 4.16; P=0.03). Total saturated fatty acids were not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factors. No association was found between any erythrocyte fatty acid and body weight. In conclusion, erythrocyte n-3 PUFA may be used as a biomarker to predict the cardiometabolic risk among healthy elders, providing support for the American Heart Association guidelines for including n-3 PUFA for preventing CVD.

Keywords: cardiometabolic diseases, erythrocyte fatty acids, elderly, n-3 PUFA

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Authors: Liudmila Garzanova, Lidia Ananyeva, Olga Koneva, Olga Ovsyannikova, Oxana Desinova, Mayya Starovoytova, Rushana Shayahmetova, Anna Khelkovskaya-Sergeeva

Abstract:

Objectives. There is very few data on changes of the musculoskeletal manifestations (artritis, arthralgia, muscle weakness, etc.) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) on rituximab (RTX) therapy. The aim of our study was to assess the severity of the musculoskeletal involvement in SSc patients (pts) and its changes during RTX therapy. Methods. Our study included 103 pts with SSc. The mean followup period was 12.6±10.7 months. The mean age was 47±12.9 years, female-87 pts (84%), the diffuse cutaneous subset of the disease had 55 pts (53%). The mean disease duration was 6.2±5.5 years. All pts had interstitial lung disease (ILD) and were positive for ANA, 67% of them were positive for antitopoisomerase-1. All patients received prednisolone at a dose of 11.3±4.5 mg/day, immunosuppressants at inclusion received 47% of them. Pts received RTX due to the ineffectiveness of previous therapy for ILD. The cumulative mean dose of RTX was 1.7±0.6 grams. Arthritis was observed in 22 pts (21%), arthralgias in 47 pts (46%). Muscle weakness was observed in 17 pts (17%). Tendon friction rubs was established in 7 pts (7%). The results at baseline and at the end of the follow up are presented in the form of mean values. Results. There was an improvement of all outcome parameters and musculoskeletal manifestations on RTX therapy. There was a decrease in the number of pts with arthritis from 22 (21%) to 10 (9%), a decrease in the number of pts with arthralgias from 47 (46%) to 31 (30%). The number of pts with muscle weakness decreased from 17 (17%) to 7 (7%). The number of pts with tendon friction rubs decreased from 7 (7%) to 3 (3%). The creatine phosphokinase decreased from 365.5±186 to 70.8±50.4 (p=0.00006). The C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased from 23.2±31.3 to 8.62±7.4 (p=0.001). The dose of prednisolone was reduced from 11.3±4.5 to 9.8±3.5 mg/day (p=0.0004). Conclusion. In our study, musculoskeletal involvement was detected in almost half of the patients with SSc-ILD. There was an improvement of musculoskeletal manifestations despite a small cumulative dose of RTX. We also managed to reduce the dose of glucocorticosteroids. The improvement of musculoskeletal manifestations was accompanied by a decrease in laboratory parameters - creatine phosphokinase and CRP. RTX is effective option for treatment of musculoskeletal manifestations in SSc.

Keywords: arthritis, musculoskeletal involvement, systemic sclerosis, rituximab

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Authors: Svetlana V. Topolyanskaya, Tatyana A. Eliseeva, Olga N. Vakulenko, Leonid I. Dvoretski

Abstract:

Introduction: Limited data are available on osteoporosis in centenarians. Therefore, we evaluated bone mineral density in long-living patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: 202 patients hospitalized with CAD were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The patients' age ranged from 90 to 101 years. The majority of study participants (64.4%) were women. The main exclusion criteria were any disease or medication that can lead to secondary osteoporosis. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: Normal lumbar spine BMD was observed in 40.9%, osteoporosis – in 26.9%, osteopenia – in 32.2% of patients. Normal proximal femur BMD values were observed in 21.3%, osteoporosis – in 39.9%, and osteopenia – in 38.8% of patients. Normal femoral neck BMD was registered only in 10.4% of patients, osteoporosis was observed in 60.4%, osteopenia in 29.2%. Significant positive correlation was found between all BMD values and body mass index of patients (p < 0.001). Positive correlation was registered between BMD values and serum uric acid (p=0.0005). The likelihood of normal BMD values with hyperuricemia increased 3.8 times, compared to patients with normal uric acid, who often have osteoporosis (Odds Ratio=3.84; p = 0.009). Positive correlation was registered between all BMD values and body mass index (p < 0.001). Positive correlation between triglycerides levels and T-score (p=0.02), but negative correlation between BMD and HDL-cholesterol (p=0.02) were revealed. Negative correlation between frailty severity and BMD values (p=0.01) was found. Positive correlation between BMD values and functional abilities of patients assessed using Barthel index (r=0,44; p=0,000002) and IADL scale (r=0,36; p=0,00008) was registered. Fractures in history were observed in 27.6% of patients. Conclusions: The study results indicate some features of BMD in long-livers. In the study group, significant relationships were found between bone mineral density on the one hand, and patients' functional abilities on the other. It is advisable to further study the state of bone tissue in long-livers involving a large sample of patients.

Keywords: osteoporosis, bone mineral density, centenarians, coronary artery disease

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Authors: J. Alvarez Muñoz, Dominguez Lepe J. A.

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A suitable mixing time of the concrete, allows form a homogeneous mass, quality that leads to greater compressive strength and durability. Although there are recommendations as ASTM C94 standard these mention the time and the number of minimum and maximum speed for a ready-mix concrete of good quality, the specific behavior that would have a concrete mixed on site to variability of the mixing time is unknown. In this study was evaluated the behavior a design of mixture structural of f´c=250 kg/cm2, elaborate on site with limestone aggregate in warm sub-humid climate, subjected to different mixing times. Based on the recommendation for ready-mixed concrete ASTM C94, different times were set at 70, 90, 100, 110, 120, 140 total revolutions. A field study in which 14 works were observed where structural concrete made on site was used, allowed to set at 24 the number of revolutions to the reference mixture. For the production of concrete was used a hand feed concrete mixer with drum speed 28 RPM, the ratio w/c was 0.36 corrected, with a slump of 5-6 cm, for all mixtures. The compressive strength tests were performed at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. The most outstanding results show increases in resistance in the mixtures of 24 to 70 revolutions between 8 and 17 percent and 70 to 90 revolutions of 3 to 8 percent. Increasing the number of revolutions at 110, 120 and 140, there was a reduction of the compressive strength of 0.5 to 8 percent. Regarding mixtures consistencies, they had a slump of 5 cm to 24, 70 and 90 rpm and less than 5 cm from 100 revolutions. Clearly, those made with more than 100 revolutions mixtures not only decrease the compressive strength but also the workability.

Keywords: compressive strength, concrete, mixing time, workability

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Jae Moon Lee

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In general, algorithms to find continuous k-nearest neighbors have been researched on the location based services, monitoring periodically the moving objects such as vehicles and mobile phone. Those researches assume the environment that the number of query points is much less than that of moving objects and the query points are not moved but fixed. In gaming environments, this problem is when computing the next movement considering the neighbors such as flocking, crowd and robot simulations. In this case, every moving object becomes a query point so that the number of query point is same to that of moving objects and the query points are also moving. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the existing algorithms focused on location based services how they operate under gaming environments.

Keywords: flocking behavior, heterogeneous agents, similarity, simulation

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Authors: Larry Turkish

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Introduction: The NBA is an example of mediocrity and this will be evident in the following paper. The study examines and evaluates the characteristics of the NBA champions. As divisions and playoff teams increase, there is an increase in the probability that the champion originates from the mediocre category. Since it’s inception in 1947, the league has been mediocre and continues to this day. Why does a professional league allow any team with a less than 50% winning percentage into the playoffs? As long as the finances flow into the league, owners will not change the current algorithm. The objective of this paper is to determine if the regular season has meaning in finding an NBA champion. Statistical Analysis: The data originates from the NBA website. The following variables are part of the statistical analysis: Rank, the rank of a team relative to other teams in the league based on the regular season win-loss record; Winning Percentage of a team based on the regular season; Divisions, the number of divisions within the league and Playoff Teams, the number of playoff teams relative to a particular season. The following statistical applications are applied to the data: Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, Analysis of Variance, Factor and Regression analysis. Conclusion: The results indicate that the divisional structure and number of playoff teams results in a negative effect on the winning percentage of playoff teams. It also prevents teams with higher winning percentages from accessing the playoffs. Recommendations: 1. Teams that have a winning percentage greater than 1 standard deviation from the mean from the regular season will have access to playoffs. (Eliminates mediocre teams.) 2. Eliminate Divisions (Eliminates weaker teams from access to playoffs.) 3. Eliminate Conferences (Eliminates weaker teams from access to the playoffs.) 4. Have a balanced regular season schedule, (Reduces the number of regular season games, creates equilibrium, reduces bias) that will reduce the need for load management.

Keywords: alignment, mediocrity, regression, z-score

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Authors: Scott Nielsen, Luca Longanesi, Chris Chuck

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Palm oil is obtained from the flesh and kernel of the fruit of oil palms and is the most productive and inexpensive oil crop. The global demand for palm oil is approximately 75 million metric tonnes, a 29% increase in global production of palm oil since 2016. This expansion of oil palm cultivation has resulted in mass deforestation, vast biodiversity destruction and increasing net greenhouse gas emissions. One possible alternative is to produce a saturated oil, similar to palm, from microbes such as oleaginous yeast. The yeasts can be cultured on sugars derived from second-generation sources and do not compete with tropical forests for land. One highly promising oleaginous yeast for this application is Metschnikowia pulcherrima. However, recent techno-economic modeling has shown that cell lysis and standard lipid extraction are major contributors to the cost of the oil. Typical cell disruption techniques to extract either single cell oils or proteins have been based around bead-beating, homogenization and acid lysis. However, these can have a detrimental effect on lipid quality and are energy-intensive. In this study, a vortex separator, which produces high sheer with minimal energy input, was investigated as a potential low energy method of lysing cells. This was compared to four more traditional methods (thermal lysis, acid lysis, alkaline lysis, and osmotic lysis). For each method, the yeast loading was also examined at 1 g/L, 10 g/L and 100 g/L. The quality of the cell disruption was measured by optical cell density, cell counting and the particle size distribution profile comparison over a 2-hour period. This study demonstrates that the vortex separator is highly effective at lysing the cells and could potentially be used as a simple apparatus for lipid recovery in an oleaginous yeast process. The further development of this technology could potentially reduce the overall cost of microbial lipids in the future.

Keywords: palm oil substitute, metschnikowia pulcherrima, cell disruption, cell lysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Essang Anwana Onuntuei, Chinyere Blessing Azunwoke

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The study aimed to probe how well cyber law operates worldwide, and then draw a logical conclusion on Nigeria’s experience using a deductive reasoning approach. With a purposive or structured sampling technique, seventy-eight countries (thirteen countries each from six continents of the world) were selected as sample size. The methods used for analysing the data include the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson product-moment correlation and regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis methods respectively. At a two-tailed test of 0.05 confidence level, the results of findings established that about 23.74 (F calculated) which is > 2.23 (F critical) claimed the total cyber-attacks and malware types vary significantly. Also, at a two-tailed confidence level test of 0.05, 0.75 (F calculated) is < 1.7 (F critical), and the P-value = 0.73 to establish significantly that cybercrime legislation does not vary statistically. More so, the calculated value (tcalculated) = 7.305 is < table value (tcritical) = 12.05 at a two-tailed test of 0.05 to imply that electronic transactions law does not statistically impact the total number of cyber-attacks. The result also proved that Consumer Privacy and Protection law does not statistically impact the total number of cyber-attacks as the calculated value (tcalculated) = 6.21 < table value (tcritical) = 20.82 at a two-tailed test of 0.05. In addition, the calculated value (tcalculated) = 7.97 < table value (tcritical) = 14.76 at a two-tailed test of 0.05 implied that Privacy and Data Protection law does not statistically impact the total number of cyber-attacks worldwide. The calculated value (tcalculated) = 5.75 < table value (tcritical) = 12.65 at a two-tailed test of 0.05 to prove that cybercrime law does not statistically impact the total number of cyber-attacks. Finally, the calculated value (tcalculated) = 6.21 < table value (tcritical) = 20.82 at a two-tailed test of 0.05 concludes that combined multiple cyber laws do not significantly impact the total number of cyber-attacks worldwide. Recommendations were made based on the results of findings from the study.

Keywords: Cybercrime Legislation, Cyber Attacks, Consumer Privacy and Protection Law, Detection, Electronic Transaction Law, Prevention, Privacy and Data Protection Law, Prohibition, Prosecution

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Authors: Ji Eun Shin, Byung Ho Jung, Dong Hoon Lim

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It is almost impossible to store or analyze big data increasing exponentially with traditional technologies. Hadoop is a new technology to make that possible. R programming language is by far the most popular statistical tool for big data analysis based on distributed processing with Hadoop technology. With RHadoop that integrates R and Hadoop environment, we implemented parallel multiple regression analysis with different sizes of actual data. Experimental results showed our RHadoop system was much faster as the number of data nodes increases. We also compared the performance of our RHadoop with lm function and big lm packages available on big memory. The results showed that our RHadoop was faster than other packages owing to paralleling processing with increasing the number of map tasks as the size of data increases.

Keywords: big data, Hadoop, parallel regression analysis, R, RHadoop

Procedia PDF Downloads 421