Methods for predicting properties and tailoring salt solutions for industrial processes

An algorithm developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory accurately and quickly predicts thermodynamic properties of concentrated aqueous salt solutions. This algorithm is much simpler and much faster than other modeling schemes and is unique because it can predict solution behavior at very high concentrations and under varying conditions. Typical industrial applications of this algorithm would be in manufacture of inorganic chemicals by crystallization, thermal storage, refrigeration and cooling, extraction of metals, emissions controls, etc

Methods of Malaria Prevention in Ghana, Africa: An Exhaustive Literature Review

Ghana, Africa is currently listed among the top fifteen malaria burdened countries across the globe (WHO, 2019). While developed nations around the world have deemed malaria of no concern, third world countries continue to battle rising case and mortality rates each year. The purpose of this literature review is to determine which method of prevention proves most effective against malaria transmission and why recognized prevention methods are lacking in accessibility to the residents of Ghana. Peer-reviewed primary sources published between the years of 2015 and 2021 were utilized in this study. In order to be considered for review, sources located needed to include Ghana, malaria, and mosquito control. The result of this study found that not one malaria prevention method reigns superior amongst others. Additionally, prevention measures remain readily accessible to all residents in Ghana; however, consistent and continued use of these measures remains a sizable issue. A combination of prevention methods alongside measures to ensure continued use is vital in order to effectively reduce and eradicate malaria in Ghana

The collectivity of British alcohol consumption trends across different temporal processes : a quantile age‐period‐cohort analysis

Background and aims UK alcohol consumption per capita has fallen by 18% since 2004 while the alcohol‐specific death rate has risen by 6%. Inconsistent consumption trends across the population may explain this. Drawing on the theory of the collectivity of drinking cultures and age‐period‐cohort analyses, we tested whether consumption trends are consistent across lighter and heavier drinkers for three temporal processes: (i) the life course, (ii) calendar time, (iii) successive birth cohorts. Design Sex‐specific quantile age‐period‐cohort regressions using repeat cross‐sectional survey data. Setting Great Britain, 1984‐2011. Participants Adult (18+) drinkers responding to 17 waves of the General Lifestyle Survey (total N=175,986). Measurements Dependent variable: The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th and 99th quantiles of the logged weekly alcohol consumption distribution (excluding abstainers). Independent variables: seven age groups (18‐24, 25‐34 … 65‐74, 75+), five time periods (1984‐1988 … 2002‐2006, 2008‐2011) and 16 five‐year birth cohorts (1915‐1919 … 1990‐1994). Additional control variables: ethnicity and UK country. Findings Within age, period and cohort trends, changes in consumption were not consistently in the same direction at different quantiles of the consumption distribution. When they were, the scale of change sometimes differed between quantiles. For example, consumption among women decreased by 18% (CI95: ‐32% ‐ ‐2%) but increased by 11% (CI95: 2% ‐ 21%) at the median and by 28% (CI95: 19%‐38%) at the 99th quantile, implying consumption fell among lighter drinkers and rose among heavier drinkers. This type of polarised trend also occurred between 1984‐1988 and 1996‐2000 for men and women. Age trends showed collectivity but cohort trends showed a mixture of collectivity and polarisation. Conclusions Countervailing alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related harm trends in the UK may be explained by lighter and heavier drinkers having different period and cohort trends as well as by the presence of cohort trends that mean consumption may rise in some age groups while falling in others

Timing is everything: Drivers of interannual variability in blue whale migration.

Blue whales need to time their migration from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds to avoid missing peak prey abundances, but the cues they use for this are unknown. We examine migration timing (inferred from the local onset and cessation of blue whale calls recorded on seafloor-mounted hydrophones), environmental conditions (e.g., sea surface temperature anomalies and chlorophyll a), and prey (spring krill biomass from annual net tow surveys) during a 10 year period (2008-2017) in waters of the Southern California Region where blue whales feed in the summer. Colder sea surface temperature anomalies the previous season were correlated with greater krill biomass the following year, and earlier arrival by blue whales. Our results demonstrate a plastic response of blue whales to interannual variability and the importance of krill as a driving force behind migration timing. A decadal-scale increase in temperature due to climate change has led to blue whales extending their overall time in Southern California. By the end of our 10-year study, whales were arriving at the feeding grounds more than one month earlier, while their departure date did not change. Conservation strategies will need to account for increased anthropogenic threats resulting from longer times at the feeding grounds

Susceptibility of Eucalyptus Species and Clones to Red Gum Lerp Psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei, (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in Mbizi Forest Plantation, Tanzania

Glycaspis brimblecombei is a sap-sucking insect that feeds on Eucalypts. The pest is native to Australia. The nymph feeds on eucalypt leaves and secretes honeydew with which they construct a waxy cover (called a lerp) around themselves. This cover is whitish and conical in shape and shelters the insects until the adult stage. The insect is considered a serious pest that causes leaf discoloration, severe leaf drop, twig dieback and some tree mortality on some Eucalyptus species. In October 2016, the red gum lerp psyllid was recorded for the first time in Mbizi forest plantation in Tanzania infesting Eucalyptus camaldulensis and different Eucalyptus clones. A study was conducted to determine the susceptibility of Eucalypt germplasm to the insect pest. Results showed that E. camaldulensis was more infested followed by GC 514, GC 167, GC 584, GC 15, GC 785 clones while GC 940 was the least infested. Eucalyptus grandis was not infested. Stakeholders can be able to use the susceptibility grouping of the Eucalyptus germplasm to determine what to plant in areas of red gum lerp psyllid infestation. Similar research work should be carried in all major host tree growing areas to determine susceptibility groups for the areas

Exploring the Roles of Social Participation in Mobile Social Media Learning: A Social Network Analysis

Social media is increasingly becoming an essential platform for social connectivity in our daily lives. The availability of mobile technology has further fueled its importance – making it a ubiquitous tool for social interaction. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate roles of social participation in this field. Thus, the study investigates roles of social participation in mobile social media learning using the “ladder of participation and mastering.” Participants were students taking an educational technology course in a local university. The study was conducted in a four-month period. Data was collected from discussions while learning among the students a social media platform, Facebook groups, on mobile devices. The data was analyzed using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL. Data was analyzed based on egocentric networks, betweeness centrality, and closeness centrality. The findings revealed that there are four roles of social participation in mobile social media, which are: (i) lurkers; (ii) gradually mastering members/passive members; (iii) recognized members; and (iv) coaches. The findings also indicated that over the course of four months, learners can inter-change roles of social participation – becoming more central or less central in learning discussions. As a result, a roles of social participation continuum for mobile social media learning is proposed. Future research could be conducted in other fields to investigate whether the continuum produced could be used to understand the relationship between mobile social media learning and social participation roles

Hepatitis B and C virus infections and liver function in AIDS patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg

Background: Impaired liver function tests and co-infection with hepatitis viruses in AIDS patients are common in western countries.Objective: To assess liver function and prevalence of co-infection with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in AIDS patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.Design: A prospective study.Setting: Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.Patients: One hundred consecutive patients with AIDS admitted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.Results: There were 52 males and 48 females aged 16 to 54 years (mean + SD: 34.6 + 7.5 years). The results of laboratory test were as follows: LFTs: bilirubin 11.8 (+15.6) ìmol/ l; AST: 79.6 (±116.6) iu/L; alkaline phosphatase: 204.3 (±237.4) iì/L; albumin: 23.9 (±6.2) g/l; CD4+ Iymphocytes: 141.5 (±168.6) ìl; CD8+: 666.9 (±618.3) ìl; HBV - HbsAg: 6 (6%); HbsAg + eAg: 3 (3%); previous disease (Anti HBs and/or anti HBc): 35%, HCV: 1(1%).Conclusion: Liver function tests were impaired in the majority of patients with AIDS (93%) in our setting. Evidence of previous and present HBV infection was present in 41%. This is different from what is observed in western countries (90-95%). The results also suggest that patients here acquired HBV infection while still immuno competent. HCV infectionwas rare

Hepatitis C infection at a tertiary hospital in South Africa: Clinical presentation, non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis, and response to therapy

Background. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that leads to chronic liver disease, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality.Objectives. To describe the demographic characteristics and clinical presentation of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. The aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and the fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4) were assessed for prediction of liver fibrosis.Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 87 records of patients who presented to the liver clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa, from January 2007 to December 2016. Patients’ records were reviewed and analysed using SPSS statistical software version 24. Convenience sampling was used.Results. The patients’ mean (standard deviation (SD)) age was 52.6 (12.3) years. Fifty-four percent were female. Hepatitis C virus genotype 5 was exclusively found in blacks (p<0.001), constituting 60.3% of infections in this ethnic group and 48.7% in the cohort, followed by genotype 1 (21.8%), genotype 3 (15.4%), genotype 4 (10.3%) and mixed-genotype infections (3.8%). Genotype 5 patients were older (mean (SD) age 56.7 (9.8) years) than genotype 1 (46.3 (11.4) years) and genotype 3 (42 (9.8) years) (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). The receiver operating characteristic curve for METAVIR F0 v. APRI (cut-off <0.7) showed a moderate correlation, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.349 (p=0.002), sensitivity of 78.8%, specificity of 70.6% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 63.2%. METAVIR F4 v. APRI (cut-off ≥1.5) showed an AUC of 0.881 (p=0.001) with sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 93% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 67%. METAVIR F0 v. FIB-4 (cut-off <1.45) showed a moderate correlation, with an AUC of 0.332 (p=0.021), sensitivity of 78.3%, specificity of 53.8% and an NPV of 73.7%. METAVIR F4 v. FIB-4 (cut-off >3.25) had a strong correlation, with an AUC of 0.952 (p<0.001), sensitivity of 63.6%, specificity of 100% and a PPV of 100%. Early virological response (EVR) was found to predict sustained virological response (SVR) to therapy (odds ratio 27.8; 95% confidence interval 2.8 - 274.3; p=0.004).Conclusions. Compared with other genotypes, genotype 5 was predominant in our cohort, particularly in older age groups. Moreover, APRI and FIB-4 scores correlated significantly with advanced fibrosis in HCV patients. Finally, EVR during therapy was found to determine SVR