Optimisation of POME biodiesel with isobutanol additive to cater UN sustainable development goal on affordable and clean energy

Biodiesel is a suitable alternative to solve global pollution and declining non-renewable resources. This aligns with the sustainable climate goals and policies to cater to SDG 7. Sustainable technology and solutions have to be fostered. The higher blends of biodiesel will result in engine performance and emissions degradation. Therefore, this research aims to improve the engine performance and emissions of diesel engines operating with B20 POME biodiesel and isobutanol. The Central Composite Design (CCD) model was used to construct the RSM model to determine the optimised condition of the engine testing. Engine performance and emissions of diesel engines were tested on the Yanmar TF120M at 50 % load. Six fuel samples, diesel, B20 Palm Oil Methyl Ester (POME) biodiesel blended fuel, and another four B20 POME biodiesel blends added with 5–20 % in volume percentage of isobutanol, were tested. The optimised RSM obtained a desirability of 0.7. The optimal conditions for the engine testing were at 1868 rpm and a 10 % isobutanol additive percentage. The brake power, BSFC, and BTE of the B95IBU5 and B90IBU10 show an improvement compared to the B20. The exhaust emission shows the lowest CO emission for B90IBU10 at 50 % load. The lowest NOx emission was obtained by B95IBU5 and B90IBU10, with an improvement of 1.8 % and 2.4 %, respectively. Therefore, from this study, it can be concluded that a lower percentage of isobutanol additive of 5–10 % is a promising additive for biodiesel blended fuels

Analysis of protein-coding genetic variation in 60,706 humans

Large-scale reference data sets of human genetic variation are critical for the medical and functional interpretation of DNA sequence changes. We describe the aggregation and analysis of high-quality exome (protein-coding region) sequence data for 60,706 individuals of diverse ethnicities generated as part of the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC). This catalogue of human genetic diversity contains an average of one variant every eight bases of the exome, and provides direct evidence for the presence of widespread mutational recurrence. We have used this catalogue to calculate objective metrics of pathogenicity for sequence variants, and to identify genes subject to strong selection against various classes of mutation; identifying 3,230 genes with near-complete depletion of truncating variants with 72% having no currently established human disease phenotype. Finally, we demonstrate that these data can be used for the efficient filtering of candidate disease-causing variants, and for the discovery of human “knockout” variants in protein-coding genes

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

Synthesis, characterization and biological activity of a Schiff base derived from o-amino benzoic acid and its Co(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) complexes

Equimolar amounts of imidazoleacetophenone and 2-aminobenzoic acid were combined together and the Schiff base 4(1H-imidazole-yl)acetophenoneanthranilic acid was prepared as a new bidentate complexing agent. The synthesized ligand was reacted with cobalt(II), cadmium(II), and nickel(II) ions yielding air stable complexes. For quantification and characterization purposes, elemental analysis, infrared spectra, electronic spectra, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and mass spectra studies were carried out on the obtained complexes and ligand. Thermogravimetric analysis and magnetic susceptibility measurements were also used for characterization. The ligand IR spectrum showed that the ligand acts as a bidentate coordinates to the metal ions through the nitrogen and oxygen atoms.Measurements of magnetic susceptibility for Ni(II) and Co(II) complexes were found to be 3.4 and 3.8 B.M., respectively, in the range normal for the octahedral geometry. The conductivity measurements revealed that the chelates are non-electrolytes. An in vitro antimicrobial investigation was also carried out for the free ligand and its metal complexes against a number of bacterial and fungal strains, to assess their antimicrobial properties by diffusion technique. Antimicrobial activity of the prepared complexes showed higher activity than the free ligand

Three Decades of Groundwater Drought Research: Evolution and Trends

In most parts of the world, groundwater is the main source of their water supply, particularly during periods of drought when surface water is scarce. As a result, groundwater drought is among the most worrying problems of our time. In order to shed light on the diversity of scientific productions related to this theme, this analysis was conducted on 151 publications, 76 sources, and 469 authors using version 4.3.1 of Rstudio’s Bibliometrix tool. The clusters and keyword occurrence analysis reveals a research trend towards the use of advanced technologies and a more holistic approach that takes into account the complexity of hydrological systems. The use of drought indices to characterize and monitor groundwater drought, as well as satellite products and their assimilation into Land Surface Models are among the adopted solutions. This was endorsed through a summary of the five most cited publications in this field. The results also highlighted the performance of Chinese institutions in analyzing the various aspects related to this topic, as well as a lack of international collaboration between research structures. In conclusion, this study has enabled us to present the evolution and trends in scientific research and helped to specify the main emerging themes and future areas of research related to groundwater drought

A Summary Analysis of Groundwater Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Anthropic Activities in the Haouz Region, Morocco

The Haouz aquifer is undergoing climatic aridity and anthropic pressure largely related to the agricultural sector. In this study, special attention was given to the main factors that have a direct impact on the fluctuations of the piezometric level (PL). Different statistical analyses (cross-correlations, PCA, cascading analysis) of the relationship between these factors were applied here. The results identify three distinct groundwater operating systems. The first is manifested in areas dominated by groundwater irrigation. The correlation is insignificant between the PL and surface water (R ≤ ±0.3). The natural balance of the water cycle is then disturbed causing a pronounced deficit in the PL. The second system is perceptible in areas dominated by irrigation from surface water, while the third system is noticeable in Bour areas, cultivated in rainfed mode. For both systems, the hydrological cycle is preserved, and the contribution of surface water to groundwater recharge is noticeable (±0.4 ≤ R ≤ ±1). Drought transfer between the water cycle components occurs in a cascading process for both systems. These results can help decision-makers to identify the risks related to groundwater vulnerability to climatic variability and overexploitation in the Haouz region, allowing for the promotion of efficient groundwater management

Evaluation of the GPM-IMERG Precipitation Product for Flood Modeling in a Semi-Arid Mountainous Basin in Morocco

International audienceA new precipitation dataset is provided since 2014 by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite constellation measurements combined in the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) algorithm. This recent GPM-IMERG dataset provides potentially useful precipitation data for regions with a low density of rain gauges. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the near real-time product (IMERG-E) compared to observed rainfall and its suitability for hydrological modeling over a mountainous watershed in Morocco, the Ghdat located upstream the city of Marrakech. Several statistical indices have been computed and a hydrological model has been driven with IMERG-E rainfall to estimate its suitability to simulate floods during the period from 2011 to 2018. The following results were obtained: (1) Compared to the rain gauge data, satellite precipitation data overestimates rainfall amounts with a relative bias of +35.61% (2) In terms of the precipitation detection capability, the IMERG-E performs better at reproducing the different precipitation statistics at the catchment scale, rather than at the pixel scale (3) The flood events can be simulated with the hydrological model using both the observed and the IMERG-E satellite precipitation data with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient of 0.58 and 0.71, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the GPM-IMERG-E precipitation estimates can be used for flood modeling in semi-arid regions such as Morocco and provide a valuable alternative to ground-based precipitation measurements

Gaya Belajar Anak-Anak Dengan Pendekatan Games Edukasi Di Masa Pandemi Covid-19; Studi Kasus di Desa Pucuk Kec. Pucuk Kab. Lamongan Jawa Timur

Covid-19 telah membawa dampak serius dalam dunia Pendidikan. Selama pandemic siswa belajar dengan sistem pembelajaran daring. Banyak siswa yang merasakan kejenuhan dalam belajar. Oleh karena itu diperlukan pendekatan belajar yang menyenangkan siswa, yaitu dengan game edukasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gaya belajar siswa dengan pendekatan games edukasi pada siswa Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Ma'arif Nadhatul Ulama Desa Pucuk, Kabupaten Lamongan. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dengan pendekatan normative empiris. Sampel penelitiannya adalah siswa kelas 5 Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Ma'arif Nadhatul Ulama Desa Pucuk, Kabupaten Lamongan tahun pembelajaran 2020/2021. Metode yang digunakan untuk pengumpulan data adalah kuesioner dan wawancara. Data yang terkumpul dianalisis menggunakan analisis deskriptif. Hasil penelitian pada siswa kelas 5 Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Ma'arif Nadhatul Ulama Desa Pucuk, Kabupaten Lamongan menunjukkan bahwa (1) 47.3% siswa memiliki gaya belajar dominan berupa visual, 63.9% siswa memiliki gaya belajar dominan berupa auditori, dan 83.3% siswa memiliki gaya belajar dominan berupa kinestetik.  Dapat disimpulkan bahwa gaya belajar siswa kelas 5 Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Ma'arif Nadhatul Ulama Desa Pucuk, Kabupaten Lamongan cenderung memiliki gaya belajar kinestetik – auditori. (2) Para guru yang mengajar menanggapi keberkesanan dari kegiatan penyuluhan gaya belajar siswa dengan pendekatan games edukasi dan sepakat tentang pentingnya mengetahui gaya belajar siswa agar dapat menerapkan metode dan pendekatan pembelajaran yang efektif dan efisien, di antaranya melalui pendekatan games edukasi

Prevalence of depression and anxiety among IIUM pre-clinical medical students during COVID 19 pandemic

Given the tough nature of studying medicine, medical students are at higher risk of developing mental health-related issues such as depression and anxiety than the general public. The worries about what the future holds, lack of social interactions due to shifting towards online learning, and being confined inside the house for a long period of time due to government-imposed lockdown, might negatively affect medical students’ state of mind. This study was done to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) preclinical medical students during COVID-19. A cross sectional study involving Year 1 (n=77) and Year 2 (n=81) medical students of IIUM was conducted from July till August 2020, and they were recruited to answer a self-administered online survey. This study was done in accordance with terms stipulated by the institutional ethical committee (Research ID: 735). The Generalized Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7) and Well Being Index (WHO-5) scores were used to assess the level of anxiety and depression among the students respectively. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). From 158 respondents, 27.8% of the students experienced depression, while 86.7% of the students flagged symptoms of anxiety. In accordance with this outcome, the concern about their physical well-being, social relationship and ffectiveness of online learning during this pandemic crisis are among the factors that might contribute to the increase of depression and anxiety among the students. This study has concluded that IIUM medical students showed an increased risk of suffering from depression and anxiety during COVID-19 era. It is highly suggested that proper interventions such as university support group online gathering, interactive online learning and gamification, and promotion of online counselling be administered in order to preserve good mental health of medical students during this pandemi