Prediction of Temperature Difference across Thermoacoustic Stack through Artificial Neural Network Technique

This study involved the application of artificial neural network (ANN) as a new approach for thermoacoustic refrigerators to predict the temperature difference across the stack under some operating conditions. One ANN model for a standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerator, had been developed based on the experimental data from other literature. Temperature difference across the stack was chosen as a response to the input parameters, mean pressure and frequency in the proposed ANN model. A multi-layer feed-forward neural network with a back propagation algorithm had been proposed for predicting the temperature difference across the stack of the thermoacoustic refrigerator. This proposed ANN model has three layers with configuration 2-12-1, namely, input layer with two neurons representing the two operating parameters, one hidden layer with an optimal 12 hidden neurons, and output layer with one neuron representing the temperature difference across the stack, as response. The high ability of ANN for data prediction was proven in this study through achieving an average prediction error of 0.2% and a regression coefficient (R) of 0.99979 during testing phase. This research work provides a new approach based on ANN technique to solve complex thermoacoustic problems with linear or nonlinear nature through either modeling, optimization or system identification

A multiscale cavity method for sublinear-rank symmetric matrix factorization

We consider a statistical model for symmetric matrix factorization with additive Gaussian noise in the high-dimensional regime where the rank $M$ of the signal matrix to infer scales with its size $N$ as $M = o(N^{1/10})$. Allowing for a $N$-dependent rank offers new challenges and requires new methods. Working in the Bayesian-optimal setting, we show that whenever the signal has i.i.d. entries the limiting mutual information between signal and data is given by a variational formula involving a rank-one replica symmetric potential. In other words, from the information-theoretic perspective, the case of a (slowly) growing rank is the same as when $M = 1$ (namely, the standard spiked Wigner model). The proof is primarily based on a novel multiscale cavity method allowing for growing rank along with some information-theoretic identities on worst noise for the Gaussian vector channel. We believe that the cavity method developed here will play a role in the analysis of a broader class of inference and spin models where the degrees of freedom are large arrays instead of vectors

Assessment of apical leakage of different endodontic sealers -In vitro study

Aim: The aim of this prospective study was to assess in vitro the comparison between apical leakage of Apexit Plus (calcium hydroxide based), Roth 801 (Zinc oxide eugenol based) and Perma Evolution (epoxy resin based) sealers in lateral condensation technique using linear dye leakage penetration method.Material and methods: In this study 70 freshly extracted maxillary central incisors and canines with straight root canals were used. Teeth were decoronated and step back root canal preparation using Gates Glidden drill and stainless steel hand K files was performed with size 45 being the master apical cone. After preparation, the teeth were randomly divided into 5 groups. Three groups with 20 teeth for experimental and two groups with 5 teeth as positive and negative control. Obturation was done with lateral condensation in three groups with Roth 801, Apexit plus and Perma Evolution sealers. The obturated specimens were then stored in 2% Basic fuchsin dye for 72 hours. After splitting the teeth longitudinally, each tooth has been placed on a standardized scaled paper under the microscope and digital images have been captured by this microscope. Then the digital images were processed by Analyzing Digital Image software.Results: The results showed that Roth 801 sealer leaked significantly higher than both Apexit plus and Perma Evolution sealers (p < 0.05) and no statically significant difference has been found between Apexit plus and Perma Evolution sealers (p > 0.05).Conclusion: According to the methodology proposed and based on the results of this study, it may be concluded that Roth 801 showed the most leakage but Perma Evolution and Apexit plus showed similar sealing ability. However, further in vivo studies requirement should be done to find the best root canal filling material

Differential biofilm formation and chemical disinfection resistance of Escherichia coli on stainless steel and polystyrene tissue culture plate

Background: Biofilms are aggregates of microbial cells enclosed in an extracellular polymeric substance and attached to surfaces. Biofilm formation and its resistance to antimicrobials is becoming a serious challenge in food industries and hospital settings. The aim of this work was to study the formation of biofilm by E. coli on Stainless steel (SS) and Polystyrene Tissue Culture Plate (TCP) at 10 and 27°C, and also to assess the action Hydrogen Peroxide (HP), Para Acetic Acid (PAA), Sodium Hypochlorite (SH) and mixture of PAA + SH disinfectants against the biofilm.  Methods: 200 µL of 108 suspension of E. coli ATCC 29922 was inoculated on the SS and into the wells of TCP, incubated at 10 and 27°C for 24, 48 72 and 168 hours. Biofilm developed at each incubation hour above was quantified by bead-vortex method followed by agar plating. The action of disinfectants was tested on 168 hours biofilm. The surfaces were exposed to the disinfectants and incubated at 27°C for 10 minutes, followed by deactivation for 5 minutes. Cells that resisted disinfectants action were vortexed and enumerated by agar plating.  Results: From the results E. coli developed higher biofilm on SS than TCP at 72 hours and 27°C. After disinfection, HP was the most effective with log reduction value of 1.11 followed by PAA (1.07), then PAA + SH (1.04) while SH was the least (0.92).  Conclusions: The result of this work showed that HP and PAA can be good disinfectants against E. coli biofilm.

Solar Chimney Power Plants: A Mini Review

The main investigations of a novel solar thermal application known as SCPP are summarized in this paper. It is a method of producing electricity from solar energy that relies on the fact that air rises when it is heated. An adequate position within a tall chimney can be utilized to position a turbine to turn it, creating an updraft that can be used to generate power. This system\u27s specifications, design, construction, and use are all covered in the paper along with experimental and analytical research related to it. It also emphasizes the development and execution of SCPP programs

Proteomic analysis of morphologically changed tissues after prolonged dexamethasone treatment

Prolonged dexamethasone (Dex) administration leads to serious adverse and decrease brain and heart size, muscular atrophy, hemorrhagic liver, and presence of kidney cysts. Herein, we used an untargeted proteomic approach using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for simultaneous identification of changes in proteomes of the major organs in Sprague-Dawley (SD rats post Dex treatment. The comparative and quantitative proteomic analysis of the brain, heart, muscle, liver, and kidney tissues revealed differential expression of proteins (n = 190, 193, 39, 230, and 53, respectively) between Dex-treated and control rats. Functional network analysis using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA revealed significant differences in regulation of metabolic pathways within the morphologically changed organs that related to: (i) brain-cell morphology, nervous system development, and function and neurological disease; (ii) heart-cellular development, cellular function and maintenance, connective tissue development and function; (iii) skeletal muscle-nucleic acid metabolism, and small molecule biochemical pathways; (iv) liver-lipid metabolism, small molecular biochemistry, and nucleic acid metabolism; and (v) kidney-drug metabolism, organism injury and abnormalities, and renal damage. Our study provides a comprehensive description of the organ-specific proteomic profilesand differentially altered biochemical pathways, after prolonged Dex treatement to understand the molecular basis for development of side effects

Metabolomic Effects of Liraglutide Therapy on the Plasma Metabolomic Profile of Patients with Obesity

Background: Liraglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP1RA), is a well-established anti-diabetic drug, has also been approved for the treatment of obesity at a dose of 3 mg. There are a limited number of studies in the literature that have looked at changes in metabolite levels before and after liraglutide treatment in patients with obesity. To this end, in the present study we aimed to explore the changes in the plasma metabolomic profile, using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) in patients with obesity. Methods: A single-center prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 mg liraglutide therapy in twenty-three patients (M/F: 8/15) with obesity, mean BMI 40.81 ± 5.04 kg/m2, and mean age of 36 ± 10.9 years, in two groups: at baseline (pre-treatment) and after 12 weeks of treatment (post-treatment). An untargeted metabolomic profiling was conducted in plasma from the pre-treatment and post-treatment groups using LC-HRMS, along with bioinformatics analysis using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA). Results: The metabolomics analysis revealed a significant (FDR p-value ≤ 0.05, FC 1.5) dysregulation of 161 endogenous metabolites (97 upregulated and 64 downregulated) with distinct separation between the two groups. Among the significantly dysregulated metabolites, the majority of them were identified as belonging to the class of oxidized lipids (oxylipins) that includes arachidonic acid and its derivatives, phosphorglycerophosphates, N-acylated amino acids, steroid hormones, and bile acids. The biomarker analysis conducted using MetaboAnalyst showed PGP (a21:0/PG/F1alpha), an oxidized lipid, as the first metabolite among the list of the top 15 biomarkers, followed by cysteine and estrone. The IPA analysis showed that the dysregulated metabolites impacted the pathway related to cell signaling, free radical scavenging, and molecular transport, and were focused around the dysregulation of NF-κB, ERK, MAPK, PKc, VEGF, insulin, and pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling pathways. Conclusions: The findings suggest that liraglutide treatment reduces inflammation and modulates lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the drug’s multifaceted impact on overall metabolism in patients with obesity