Fractal Behavior in the Clarification Process of Cane Sugar Production

Cane sugar production is an important industrial process. One of the most important steps in cane sugar production is the clarification process, which provides high-quality, concentrated sugar syrup crystal for further processing. To gain fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical processes associated with the clarification process and help design better approaches to improve the clarification of the mixed juice, we explore the fractal behavior of the variables pertinent to the clarification process. We show that the major variables in this key process all show persistent long-range correlations, for time scales up to at least a few days. Persistent long-range correlations amount to unilateral deviations from a preset target. This means that when the process is in a desired mode such that the target variables, color of the produced sugar and its clarity degree, both satisfy preset conditions, they will remain so for a long period of time. However, adversity could happen, in the sense that when they do not satisfy the requirements, the adverse situation may last quite long. These findings have to be explicitly accounted for when designing active controlling strategies to improve the quality of the produced sugar

Proceedings of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008

This volume contains full papers presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, between September 4th and 6th, 2008.FC

Functional Foods and their Implications for Health Promotion

Functional Foods and Their Implications for Health Promotion presents functional foods, from raw ingredients to the final product, providing a detailed explanation on how these foods work and an overview of their impact on health. The book presents the functions of food against disease and discusses how healthier foods can be produced. Broken into four parts, the book presents a deep dive into plant-derived functional foods, dairy foods, marine food and beverages. The book includes case studies, applications, literature reviews and coverage of recent developments. Intended for nutritionists, dieticians, food technologists, as well as students and researchers working in nutrition, dietetics, and food science, this book is sure to be a welcomed resource

Variation of Soil Structure in the Foot and Toe Slopes of Mt. Vukan, East-central Serbia

This paper presents the variation of soil structure along the foot and toe slopes of Mt. Vukan, East-Central Serbia. The analysis of aggregate size distribution and structure indices were conducted by means of soil units, characteristic soil horizons and elevation differences along the study area. Soils of Great Field located at different elevations were found to have significant variation in ASD and soil structure indices. Topsoil horizon of Eutric Cambisols have higher MWD after dry sieving, but at the same time it has the highest variation in MWD after wet sieving, indicating low water stability, which is opposite to the coefficient of aggregability. We share an opinion that change in MWD better depicts soils structure stability to water. The results of correlation analysis indicated that clay content is correlated more to structure indices compared with SOM content. SOM is significantly correlated with ASD and soil structure indices only in Calcomelansols, whereas the significant correlation of clay content and soil structure is more evident in Eutric Cambisols and Non-calcaric Chernozems, compared with other soil units. Soil structure variation along the lowest chain of Catena might be strong, and that it has to be analyzed from the point of view of soil unit and their corresponding soil horizons

IMPACT OF GRAZING ON SOIL ORGANIC MATTER AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A FLUVISOL IN NORTWEST SERBIA

The effects of long-term (>20 yr) grazing on the selected physical properties of a non carbonated silty-clay Fluvisols were studied in the region of the Kolubara Valley, Northwest Serbia. Two adjacent land-use types (native deciduous forest and natural pasture soils converted from forests for more than 20 years) were chosen for the study. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from three sites at each of the two different land-use types from the depths of 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm. In relation to the soil under native forest, soil organic matter content, total porosity and air-filled porosity were significantly reduced after long-term of grazing. The bulk density (0.99–1.48 g cm–3) and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (6.9.10–2–3.2.10–4 cm s–1) were significantly lower in forest compared to the adjacent pasture (ex-forest) soil (1.49–1.55 g cm–3 and 3.4.10–4–5.5.10–4 cm s–1, respectively). In addition, forest had significantly lower dry mean weight diameter (7.0–9.2 mm) and greater wet mean weight diameter (2.0–2.6 mm) for 0–45 cm depth compared with the pasture (8.8–9.4 mm and 1.8–2.3 mm, respectively). The decrease of soil organic matter content and reduction in aggregate stability under long-term grazing rendered the soil more susceptible to compaction. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that removal of permanent vegetation in the conversion process from forest areas to pasture land may lead to loss of soil productivity and serious soil degradation. Obviously, there is a need for greater attention to developing sustainable land use practices in management of these ecosystems to prevent further degradation of pasture soils in the region

An Evaluation of Medication Safety related Communications in the Patient Healthcare Pathway in Kuwait

Background: Patient safety is a recognised public health issue. When post-market medication safety information emerges, the benefits and risks of the medication concerned are usually evaluated by drug regulatory agencies. The outcomes of such pharmacovigilance activities are communicated to the public, patients and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). The aim of these medication safety communications might vary from improving the intended recipients’ knowledge or attitudes to outlining specific actions to be followed by them. However, it is currently recognised that sharing medication-related information does not improve patients’ safety on its own if not accompanied by an accurate implementation of these recommendations in clinical practice. Despite their importance in protecting patient safety and subsequently affecting public health, no previous study was found to have evaluated or described the process of creating and disseminating medication safety communications by the Kuwaiti drug regulatory agency. Equally, no study was found to have investigated the impact of or the factors affecting the implementation of regulatory-related medication safety communications in Kuwait. Therefore, this thesis aimed to address these gaps in knowledge by evaluating medication safety communications in the patient healthcare pathway in Kuwait. Methods: This multiphase study was preceded by a systematic literature review of the factors affecting HCPs’ implementation of regulatory-related medication safety communications, using a narrative synthesis approach. Following the systematic review, multiphase research was initiated. This consisted of three phases, each of which focused on a specific stakeholder group involved in the process of medication safety communication. Phase 1 involved Kuwait Drug and Food Control (KDFC), an administration within the Ministry of Health (MOH), as the regulatory agency responsible for pharmacovigilance activities. This was a convergent mixed-methods study. Data collection in this phase included documents produced by KDFC or issued to KDFC relating to medication safety and three face-to-face interviews with KDFC employees involved in pharmacovigilance activities. Documents were analysed using a descriptive quantitative approach and a framework analysis technique. Phase 2 focused on healthcare professionals working in MOH hospitals in Kuwait. This phase was an exploratory mixed-methods study, where focus group discussions were conducted followed by the distribution of an online survey. The focus group discussions were analysed using a thematic analysis technique. In the second part of this phase, an online survey was developed based on Phase 1, the focus group discussions and the systematic literature review. Survey data analysis included descriptive analysis (frequency and percentile) and statistical analysis including principal component analysis (PCA) and the Kruskal–Wallis H test, which was followed by a post hoc analysis of variables that had significant results. Other statistical tests applied included Fisher’s exact test, the Mann–Whitney U Test, and multivariate regression analysis. Participants’ answers to open-ended survey questions were analysed using a conventional content analysis technique. Phase 3 was an interpretive phenomenology study. This phase involved semi-structured phone interviews with six female patients of childbearing age who used a valproate-related medication for epilepsy or migraine. These patients had been prescribed the valproate-related medication in one of six secondary hospitals and one specialist neurology hospital within the MOH hospitals. An interpretive phenomenological analysis technique was applied to analyse the transcripts. Results: The results of the systematic literature review indicated that the factors affecting HCPs’ implementation of medication safety communications occur at multiple levels. These levels included the sources or senders of the safety information (delays in the delivery of medications safety communications), healthcare institutions (hospitals’ position and interpretations of the recommendations), the HCPs (knowledge of the content of medications safety communications), and the patients and/or their carers (willingness to use the medication concerned). Phase 1 revealed a lack of legislation and a pharmacovigilance-specific policy. Results from Phase 2 reflected poor knowledge of the concept of medication safety communications within the context of pharmacovigilance and a lack of familiarity with the tools used by KDFC to communicate emerging medication information among HCPs. In the survey, although the majority of HCPs who responded were aware of the teratogenicity of VRM (65.1%, (n = 110/169)), only 2.6% had responded correctly to the statements of the VRM KDFC recommendations. More than half of the participants (57%) reported changing their practice to accommodate at least one intended KDFC recommendation. Providing female patients with written information (37.2%) and counselling female patients about contraceptive use (37.2%) were the most reported intended changes in practice. The most reported barriers to implementation included not having the capacity in terms of time and/or the infrastructure to implement the recommendations (33.8%). Four themes originating from patient interviews included (1) the timeline of the patient’s experience (2) varied knowledge and perception with valproate use, (3) patient’s expectations from HCPs and (4) experiences and preferences towards medication safety communications. Conclusion: Medication safety communications are essential tools for disseminating information related to medication safety updates to HCPs, patients and the public. This research identified challenges at the level of the sender (KDFC) and the intended recipients (HCPs and patients) that could reduce the ability of KDFC’s medication safety communications to reach clinical practices. The first step in increasing their reach is to adapt electronic methods for disseminating such information. Involving stakeholders, such as HCPs and patients, in evaluating the clarity and understandability of KDFC’s medication safety communications should be the focus of future research