Exact implicit Solution of Nonlinear Heat Transfer in Rectangular Straight Fin Using Symmetry Reduction Methods

In this paper, the exact implicit solution of the second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation which governing heat transfer in rectangular fin is obtained using symmetry reduction methods. General relationship among the temperature at the fin tip, the temperature gradient at the fin base, the mode of heat transfer, and the fin parameters and ℰ is obtained. Some numerical examples are discussed and it is shown that the temperature of fin increases when approaching from the heat source. The relationship between the fin efficiency and the temperature of fin tip is obtained for any value of the mode of heat transfer . The relationship between the fin efficiency and both the parameter and ε the temperature gradient at the fin base is obtained. To our best knowledge, solutions obtained in this paper are new

Accumulation of Trace Metals, Petroleum Hydrocarbons, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine Copepods from the Arabian Gulf

In this study, zooplankton samples were collected from the coastal waters of Qatar during winter and summer 1998 to assess the impact of growing industrialization on the bioaccumulation of trace metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in copepods, the dominant zooplankton group and main food for fish in the Arabian Gulf

Multi-Objective Task Scheduling Approach for Fog Computing

Despite the remarkable work conducted to improve fog computing applications’ efficiency, the task scheduling problem in such an environment is still a big challenge. Optimizing the task scheduling in these applications, i.e. critical healthcare applications, smart cities, and transportation is urgent to save energy, improve the quality of service, reduce the carbon emission rate, and improve the flow time. As proposed in much recent work, dealing with this problem as a single objective problem did not get the desired results. As a result, this paper presents a new multi-objective approach based on integrating the marine predator’s algorithm with the polynomial mutation mechanism (MHMPA) for task scheduling in fog computing environments. In the proposed algorithm, a trade-off between the makespan and the carbon emission ratio based on the Pareto optimality is produced. An external archive is utilized to store the non-dominated solutions generated from the optimization process. Also, another improved version based on the marine predator’s algorithm (MIMPA) by using the Cauchy distribution instead of the Gaussian distribution with the levy Flight to increase the algorithm’s convergence with avoiding stuck into local minima as possible is investigated in this manuscript. The experimental outcomes proved the superiority of the MIMPA over the standard one under various performance metrics. However, the MIMPA couldn’t overcome the MHMPA even after integrating the polynomial mutation strategy with the improved version. Furthermore, several well-known robust multi-objective optimization algorithms are used to test the efficacy of the proposed method. The experiment outcomes show that MHMPA could achieve better outcomes for the various employed performance metrics: Flow time, carbon emission rate, energy, and makespan with an improvement percentage of 414, 27257.46, 64151, and 2 for those metrics, respectively, compared to the second-best compared algorithm

Novel Thiazole Derivatives of Medicinal Potential: Synthesis and Modeling

This paper reports on the synthesis of new thiazole derivatives that could be profitably exploited in medical treatment of tumors. Molecular electronic structures have been modeled within density function theory (DFT) framework. Reactivity indices obtained from the frontier orbital energies as well as electrostatic potential energy maps are discussed and correlated with the molecular structure. X-ray crystallographic data of one of the new compounds is measured and used to support and verify the theoretical results

Klason Method: An Effective Method for Isolation of Lignin Fractions from Date Palm Biomass Waste

Klason lignin extraction method is one of the robust techniques for isolation of lignin from lignocellulosic palm biomass waste for future production of High Value Chemicals (HVCs). To elucidate the mechanism of hemicellulose and cellulose glycosidic bond distraction, lignocellulos

Estimating Combustion Kinetics of UAE Date Palm tree Biomass using Thermogravimetric Analysis

Palm tree consists of different parts among which are the leaflet, rachis and fibers. All these parts constitute lignocellulose biomass components capable of producing value added end products. A kinetic study of thermal decomposition of UAE date palm tree of phoenix dicteylifera species was carried out using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) at heating rates 10 oC/min, 15 oC/min and 20 oC/min. Most of the lignocellulose material decomposed between 300 oC and 650 oC at each heating rate. The rachis decomposed in three phases while the leaflet and fibers decomposed in two phases. The apparent activation energies increased from 54 to 476 kJ/mol, 55 to 458 kJ/mol and 84 to 329 kJ/mol for leaflet, rachis and fibers, respectively for conversion ranging from 10-% to 80-%. Results from this study are fundamental in optimizing operational conditions of a reactor for production of furfural, levulunic acid, dihydroeugenol, DHE and 2,6-dimethoxy-4-propyl phenol, DMPP as high value chemicals. Key words: UAE Palm tree biomass, Thermogravimetric analysis, Combustion kinetics, Activation energ

Sustainable International Parks in Egypt: Suggested Criteria for Design

Parks contributes to physical and mental well-being because they provide visitors with opportunities for recreation, education about nature, culture and social interactions. Parks also reduce pollution and effects of climate change in big cities and increase the local property values, and provide safe open spaces for social activities. Parks in developing countries face many challenges in terms of maintenance and availability of resources, especially international parks. To overcome these challenges, the concept of sustainability should be integrated in designing international parks to ensure the wise use of materials, energy, and water resources. This paper aims to suggest a group of criteria that can be used in designing and developing sustainable international parks. The proposed criteria have been classified into various categories related to energy, soil, water, materials and cultural diversity. The analytical methodology aimed to investigate a number of sustainable landscape systems in order to deduce criteria for sustainable international parks. The weights of the proposed criteria have been determined by using the inductive methodology though conducting a questionnaire directed to specialists in urban design, proposing a set list of design criteria for sustainable parks landscape design in developing countries

Clostridium perfringens associated with dairy farm systems show diverse genotypes

Clostridium perfringens is a bacterial species of importance to both public and animal health. Frequently found in food system environments, it presents a risk to food animal health such as dairy herds, and may cross contaminate associated ingredients or food products, with potential to cause sporadic and outbreaks of disease in human populations, including gastroenteric illness. In this study, we characterized C. perfringens isolated from bovine, caprine, and ovine dairy farm systems (n = 8, 11 and 4, respectively). Isolates were phenotypically screened for antimicrobial sensitivity profiling, and subjected to whole genome sequencing to elucidate related genetic markers, as well as examine virulence gene markers, mobile genetic elements, and other features. Both toxin type A and type D isolates were identified (78 % and 22 % of isolates, respectively), including 20 novel sequence types. Resistance to clindamycin was most prevalent among antibiotics screened (30 %), followed by erythromycin (13 %), then penicillin and tetracycline (4 %), although an additional 3 isolates were non-susceptible to tetracycline. Most isolates harboured plasmids, which mobilised virulence markers such as etx, cpb2, and resistance markers tetA(P), tetB(P), and erm(Q), on conjugative plasmids. The presence of type D isolates on caprine farms emphasizes the need for control efforts to prevent infection and potential enterotoxemia. Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (cpe) was not identified, suggesting lower risk of gastrointestinal illness from contaminated foods, the presence of other virulence and antimicrobial resistance markers suggests farm hygiene remains an important consideration to help ensure food safety of associated dairy foods produced

Longitudinal changes in peri-papillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in patients with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion

Background: Associations between retinal venous occlusion (RVO), elevated intraocular pressure, and glaucoma have been reported. Further investigations into structural alterations in the fellow eyes of individuals with unilateral RVO have revealed that the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer is thinner than in healthy eyes, suggesting that there may be systemic risk factors common to both RVO and glaucoma. We aimed to evaluate changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFLT) among individuals with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Methods: This prospective observational study recruited 30 individuals (60 eyes) with newly diagnosed unilateral BRVO and macular edema, and a control group of 30 healthy individuals (30 eyes) with no abnormalities on fundus examination or concurrent systemic comorbidities. After baseline measurements, the participants were reassessed at 6, 12, and 24 months by measuring global and sectoral pRNFLT using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Results: The mean age and sex distributions were comparable between the patient and control groups (both P > 0.05). When compared to fellow eyes, global and sectoral pRNFLT in eyes with BRVO were significantly higher at baseline (all P < 0.05). Over time, pRNFLT decreased dramatically, and by the conclusion of the two-year follow-up, there was a significant reduction from baseline in the affected eyes (all P < 0.05). Likewise, affected eyes experienced a significant improvement in best-corrected distance visual acuity and central macular thickness over the two-year follow-up (both P Less than or equal to 0.001). Comparing the global and all-sector pRNFLT of fellow eyes in the patient group with those of normal eyes in the control group, there were no significant differences at any visit, except in the temporal sector, which revealed a significant reduction in pRNFLT at 24 months in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral BRVO (P = 0.02).   Conclusions: Patients with unilateral BRVO experienced a significant reduction in pRNFLT in the affected eyes and, to a lesser extent, in the fellow eyes, compared with that of the control arm, suggesting that they are prone to retinal nerve fiber layer damage. The reduction in pRNFLT in the normal fellow eyes of patients with BRVO may be attributed to age or concurrent systemic comorbidities. Further studies with long follow-up periods are required to shed light on the etiology of functional and structural changes in both the retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell complex in the normal and affected eyes of patients with unilateral BRVO

Discovery of a novel cytokine signature for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in young Arab children in Qatar

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication and the occurrence of stereotyped and repetitive behaviors. Several studies have reported altered cytokine profiles in ASD and hence may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers of the disorder. This study aims to identify diagnostic biomarkers for ASD in a well-defined study cohort in Qatar.MethodsWe measured the protein levels of 45 cytokines in the plasma samples of age- and gender-matched children (2–4 years) with ASD (n = 100) and controls (n = 60) using a Luminex multiplex assay. We compared the differences in the levels of these cytokines between the two study groups and then fitted the significantly altered cytokines into a logistic regression model to examine their diagnostic potential for ASD.ResultsWe found elevated levels of IFN-γ, FGF-2, IL-1RA, and IL-13 and reduced levels of eotaxin, HGF, IL-1 alpha, IL-22, IL-9, MCP-1, SCF, SDF-1 alpha, VEGFA, and IP-10 in the plasma of children with ASD compared to controls. Furthermore, we observed that elevated levels of IFN-γ (odds ratio (OR) = 1.823; 95% (confidence interval) CI = 1.206, 2.755; p = 0.004) and FGF-2 (OR = 2.528; 95% CI = 1.457, 4.385; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased odds of ASD, whereas reduced levels of eotaxin (OR = 0.350; 95% CI = 0.160, 0.765; p = 0.008) and HGF (OR = 0.220; 95% CI = 0.070, 0.696; p = 0.010) were significantly associated with lower odds of ASD relative to controls. The combination of these four cytokines revealed an area under the curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.829 (95% CI = 0.767, 0.891; p < 0.001), which demonstrates the diagnostic accuracy of the four-cytokine signature.ConclusionsOur results identified a panel of cytokines that could discriminate between children with ASD and controls in Qatar. In addition, our findings support the predominance of a Th1 immune phenotype in ASD children and emphasize the need to validate these results in larger populations