Effect of Potassium Chloride on Physical and Optical Properties of Polystyrene

Composite materials are used in many industries such: solar cells, optoelectronic device elements, light emitting diodes, aircraft, military and car industry. In this paper, effect of potassium chloride on physical and optical properties of polystyrene has been studied to use the new material in many applications. The physical properties showed that the absorption of composite to water increases with increase time of the submerging in the water. Also, diffusion coefficient increases with increase the potassium chloride concentrations. The optical properties was measured in wavelength range from 200nm to 800nm. The experimental results showed that absorbance of polystyrene increases with increase  the potassium chloride concentrations. The optical constants (absorption coefficient, energy band gap, extinction coefficient, refractive index and real and imaginary parts of dielectric constants) are increasing with increase the potassium chloride concentrations. Keywords: optical properties, composites, physical properties, potassium chloride

Sludge Bed Granules' Growth in the HUASB Reactor Treating High Strength Industrial Wastewater

The development of anaerobic sludge granules in a hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (HUASB) reactor in terms of granular size and solids content was observed. After appropriate pre-treatment of the palm oil mill effluent (POME), it was continuously fed to the HUASB reactor under room temperature condition (27°C).  Particle size analysis and solids content examination were conducted for 196 days. A volatile solid ratio was ranging from 0.36 to 0.51 which was quite low, and granules particle size of less than 1 mm diameter was reported during the operating period. Results obtained in this study indicated that sludge bed development based on the sludge particle size distribution and the volatile solid ratio, was quite slow due to the bulk solids that entering the reactor resulting in certain inhibition of the anaerobes’ activity. It has been concluded that anaerobic wastewater treatment process in anaerobic reactors such as the HUASB reactor, can be significantly affected by the organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time applied to the reactor and the wastewater characteristics

Antimalarial use in managing COVID-19 in the context of Glucose-6-Phosphate-Dehydrogenase G6PD deficiency

BackgroundThe use of certain medications in G6PD deficient patients can trigger an oxidative stress which can lead to haemolytic anaemia. Recently, in a few countries, Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine; drugs that are indicated for prevention and treating malaria have been used in the management of COVID-19 patients. Evidently, the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine can cause negative impact to the haemolytic status of COVID-19 G6PD deficient patients.AimsThe aim of this mini review was to provide an overview of the use of antimalarial agents in the management of COVID-19 G6PD deficient patients.Methods We conducted a review of the literature that has examined the use of antimalarial agents in the management of COVID-19 G6PD deficient patients.Results Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been found to exhibits an antiviral activity against several viral infections including human coronaviruses. Many countries have implemented the use of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine in managing COVID-19 patients. However, according to published case reports, the use of Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been shown to worsen the haemolytic status in G6PD deficient patients.ConclusionCOVID‐19 infection can trigger severe acute haemolytic crisis in G6PD‐deficient patients which can be worsened by chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Thus, physicians should be aware to this possible adverse event particularly in countries with high prevalence of G6PD deficiency

Aflatoxin Total and Microbial Contamination of Grains, Oil Seeds, Yam Chips and Fish Sold in Maiduguri Market

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites of fungus Aspergillus flavus and closely related species that infects severalagricultural commodities. The consumption of contaminated commodities adversely affects the health of humansand animals and also a cause of significant economic losses to producers. This study surveyed the aflatoxincontamination level of cowpea, maize, melon, groundnut, yam chips and fish sold in Maiduguri metropolis.Samples from each product (250 g) were bulked and thoroughly mixed using coning and quartering method to geta representative sample for analysis. Laboratory observations were carried out regarding microbial analysis,proximate composition and aflatoxin content. Samples for aflatoxin detection were classified into three; unsortedsamples, sorted samples and sorted/washed dried samples. Fish had the highest bacterial load 2.48 x 106 cfu/ml andAspergillus species were found to be the predominant fungi identified. Maize and groundnut with moisture contentof 5.63 and 5.62 had the highest total aflatoxin contamination (320.51 μg/kg and 236.3 μg/kg respectively) both inthe unsorted group. Total aflatoxin reduction of (58.82 - 99.99%) was observed in all the sorted samples andsorted/washed dried samples. It can be concluded that commonly sold food in Maiduguri had fungal and Aflatoxincontamination. Food should undergo several rounds of sorting to remove discoloured grains and grains that showsevidence(s) of deterioration to reduce the ingestion of food contaminated with aflatoxin

Two bigrams based language model for auto correction of Arabic OCR errors

In Optical character recognition (OCR), the characteristics of Arabic text cause more errors than in English text.In this paper, a two bi-grams based language model that uses Wikipedia's database is presented.The method can perform auto detection and correction of non-word errors in Arabic OCR text, and auto detection of real word errors. The method consists of two parts: extracting the context information from Wikipedia's database, and implement the auto detection and correction of incorrect words.This method can be applied to any language with little modifications.The experimental results show successful extraction of context information from Wikipedia's articles. Furthermore, it also shows that using this method can reduce the error rate of Arabic OCR text

Drone’s node placement algorithm with routing protocols to enhance surveillance

Flying ad-hoc network (FANET) is characterized by key component features such as communication scheme, energy awareness, and task distribution. In this research, a surveillance space considering standard petroleum pipe was created with three drones viz: drone 1 (D1), master drone (DM), and drone 2 (D2) to survey as FANET. DM aggregate packets from D1, D2 and communicate with the static ground control station (SGCS). The starting point of the three drones and their trajectories during deployment were calculated and simulated. Selection of DM, D1, and D2 was done using battery level before take-off. Simulation results show take-off time difference which depends on the distance of each drone to the SGCS during deployment. D1 take-off first, while DM and D2 followed after 0.0704 and 0.1314 ms respectively. The position-oriented routing protocols results indicated variation of information flow within time notch due to variation in the density of the transmitted packets. Packets delivery periods are 0.00136×103 sec, 0.00110×103 sec, and 0.00246×103 sec for time notch 1, 2, and aggregating time notch respectively. From the results obtained, two algorithms were used successfully in deploying the drone

Nova aplicação do azul de tripano para superfície ocular: redefinindo corantes vitais

Different applications of trypan blue (TB) for intraocular surgery have been reported, with very high levels of safety and efficacy. We describe the use of TB as an alternative vital dye for staining the ocular surface to assess the integrity of superficial cell layers of the cornea and the surface environment. This facilitates the diagnosis of various ocular surface disorders, including screening for dry eye disease (DED) among refractive and cataract patients. TB staining properties are different from fluorescein and both are stable in a solution, so that a double staining technique is introduced.Diferentes aplicações do azul de tripano (AT) foram descritas para cirurgia intraocular, com elevados patamares de eficácia e segurança. Neste relato, é descrito a aplicação do AT como corante vital para superfíce ocular, de modo a estudar a integridade das células da superfície corneana e conjuntival na superfície ocular. Tal abordagem permite um diagnóstico mais sensível de desordens da superfície ocular, destacando-se disfunção lacrimal ou síndrome do olho seco. O AT tem propriedades distintas da fluoresceína, com a qual se mantém estável em solução permitindo a técnica de coloração dupla que é introduzida.Instituto de Olhos Renato AmbrósioCorneal Tomography and Biomechanics Study GroupDoheny Eye InstitutePrice Vision GroupUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Radon Activity Concentration Measurements in the Water Collected from the Lower Zab River in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

This study aims to assess radon levels in the water of the Lower Zab River. Knowing the radon concentrations is crucial for understanding the potential risks to human health and implementing protective measures. ARAD7-H2O detector has been used to measure the radon concentration in 28 water samples from the Lower Zab River in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Results show that the radon activity concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 4 Bq.L−1, with an average of 0.61 Bq.L−1, and the resulting annual effective dose (AED) varied from 0.137 to 60.06 Sv.y−1, with an average of 12.08 Sv.y−1. The average radon concentration and AED in the measured samples are below the reference levels recommended by the ICRP and the World Health Organization. Consequently, the LZR water is suitable for human consumption and use and does not present any health hazards related to radon exposure

Artificial intelligence-assisted tools for redefining the communication landscape of the scholarly world

The flood of research output and increasing demands for peer reviewers have necessitated the intervention of artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly publishing. Although human input is seen as essential for writing publications, the contribution of AI slowly and steadily moves ahead. AI may redefine the role of science communication experts in the future and transform the scholarly publishing industry into a technology-driven one. It can prospectively improve the quality of publishable content and identify errors in published content. In this article, we review various AI and other associated tools currently in use or development for a range of publishing obligations and functions that have brought about or can soon leverage much-demanded advances in scholarly communications. Several AI-assisted tools, with diverse scope and scale, have emerged in the scholarly market. AI algorithms develop summaries of scientific publications and convert them into plain-language texts, press statements, and news stories. Retrieval of accurate and sufficient information is prominent in evidence-based science publications. Semantic tools may empower transparent and proficient data extraction tactics. From detecting simple plagiarism errors to predicting the projected citation impact of an unpublished article, AI’s role in scholarly publishing is expected to be multidimensional. AI, natural language processing, and machine learning in scholarly publishing have arrived for writers, editors, authors, and publishers. They should leverage these technologies to enable the fast and accurate dissemination of scientific information to contribute to the betterment of humankind

Microstructural and microchemical characterization of valorized cola nitida pod wastes

The inherent environmental effects of the accumulated kola nut pod waste products have become a subject of discussion among many researchers. The need then arises for their alternative use as nutraceutical bioproducts. The physical and chemical analytical techniques are often required for the standardization of these bioproducts in order to determine and maintain their quality characteristics. The dataset presented in this study provided information on the chemical profile, physisorption and thermo-analytical screening of Cola nut pod extracts. Six sets of physicochemical methods were employed to characterize the phenolic extracts. The result obtained clearly revealed the presence of two-hundred and fifty-five phenolic bioactive. Also presented was the thermal stability, morphological and microstructural surface area configuration of the Cola nitida pod extracts. The information obtained from this study could be used in determining the quality of food wastes bioproducts in nutria-pharmaceutical applications