An Analysis of Bubble Plumes in Unstratified Stagnant Water

Multiphase flows are ubiquitous in nature and engineering scenarios; examples include volcanic eruption, cloud formation, land reclamation and subsea oil well blowout. In these flows, one or more heterogeneous materials is/are transported by a turbulent carrier fluid (fluid, hereafter). Their interactions, as embodied in the fluid velocities, determine the final fate and transport of the heterogeneous materials. This dissertation investigates how turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is created and injected into surrounding fluid by the rising bubbles in an air-water bubble plume. This analogue flow shares many similar fluid mechanical properties with oil well blowout plumes whose knowledge is important in disaster management. A comprehensive experimental program using acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) and planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) has been carried out to measure fluid velocities inside the time-steady two-phase plume. Radial profiles of diffusion of TKE and turbulent dissipation rate are reported for the first time. From the fluid-phase TKE budget, it is found that approximately 55-60% of the total work done by bubbles is used to create turbulence in the carrier fluid. Results on the auto-spectral density function of velocity fluctuations reveal a -8/3 spectral slope instead of the classic Kolmogorov-Richardson value of -5/3, suggesting a fundamental difference in spectral energy transfer in this two-phase ow when compared to other simple boundary-layer shear flows, such as a singe-phase jet. This is supported by the subgrid scale (SGS) dissipation computed from the PIV data where it can be seen that the direction of energy cascade is always forward for a simple jet whereas it can be backward for the two-phase plume. On the other hand, a data interpolation method based on first-order autoregressive processes is developed to replace faulty or missing data in a time series of turbulent velocities. The method is shown to preserve both spectral slopes and energies of frequency components, for the range of slopes between -7/6 to -8/3. Further, the classical sample and hold interpolation is shown to be the limiting behavior of a first-order autoregressive process and therefore has theoretical underpinnings hitherto unknown in the literature

Mutation update for the SATB2 gene

SATB2-associated syndrome (SAS) is an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder caused by alterations in the SATB2 gene. Here we present a review of published pathogenic variants in the SATB2 gene to date and report 38 novel alterations found in 57 additional previously unreported individuals. Overall, we present a compilation of 120 unique variants identified in 155 unrelated families ranging from single nucleotide coding variants to genomic rearrangements distributed throughout the entire coding region of SATB2. Single nucleotide variants predicted to result in the occurrence of a premature stop codon were the most commonly seen (51/120=42.5%) followed by missense variants (31/120=25.8%). We review the rather limited functional characterization of pathogenic variants and discuss current understanding of the consequences of the different molecular alterations. We present an expansive phenotypic review along with novel genotype-phenotype correlations. Lastly, we discuss current knowledge on animal models and present future prospects. This review should help provide better guidance for the care of individuals diagnosed with SAS

The association of Shift Work and Effort-Reward Imbalance with Gastrointestinal Symptoms among Female Nurses

Background: Shift work impacts workers' health, mainly by disrupting the circadian rhythm, and gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances are among the health effects of shift work. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the association between shift work, work stress, and GI disturbance among nurses. Methods: In July 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Dammam Medical Complex, Saudi Arabia. A total of 250 nurses were selected through convenience sampling from several departments. They completed a validated questionnaire, which included questions about their demographic data, GI symptoms, and effort-reward imbalance (ERI). Work stress was classified into two groups based on the ERI ratio. GI symptoms were categorized into three indices: total, upper, and lower GI. The sampling plan was designed to cover most of the shifts in the included departments throughout nonspecified dates. The daytime nurses' group was selected from the same hospital as a comparison group to the shift workers. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. The associations were assessed using the Chi-squares and analysis of variance. Results: Work stress among nurses, as measured by the ERI scale, was strongly associated with both upper and lower GI symptoms, with odds ratios of 5.7 (CI: 3.3-7.9) and 2.2 (CI: 1.8-4.3), respectively. The total GI symptom score of the shift workers was greater than that for the daytime workers, with means of 7.8 ± 6.9 and 5.4 ± 5.1, respectively (P = 0.005). Multivariable regression analysis showed that ERI was associated with both lower and upper GI symptoms after adjusting for shift work and years on the job. Conclusions: Shift work was associated with the high prevalence of GI symptoms. Stress (ERI) increased the risk for GI disturbance. Controlling work stress is necessary because it affects nurses' physical and social health, as well as their performances at work and the quality of care they provide

Estimation of Mode I Fracture of U-Notched Polycarbonate Specimens Using the Equivalent Material Concept and Strain Energy Density

Polycarbonate (PC) has a wide range of applications in the electronic, transportation, and biomedical industries. In addition, investigation on the applicability to use PC in superstrate photovoltaic modules is ongoing research. In this paper, PC is envisioned to be used as a material for structural components in renewable energy systems. Usually, structural components have geometrical irregularities, i.e., notches, and are subjected to severe mechanical loading. Therefore, the structural integrity of these components shall consider fracture analysis on notched specimens. In this paper, rectangular PC specimens were machined with straight U-notches having different radii and depths. Eight different notch radii with a depth of 6.0 mm were tested. In addition, three notch depths with a radius of 3.5 mm were considered. Quasi-static fracture tests were performed under displacement-controlled loading with a speed of 5 mm/min. Digital image correlation technique was used to capture the strain fields for un-notched and notched specimens. It was assumed that fracture occurs at the onset of necking. The equivalent material concept (EMC) along with the strain energy density criterion (SED) were employed to estimate the fracture load. The EMC-SED combination is shown to be an effective and practical tool for estimating the fracture load of U-notched PC specimens

The coordinated action of VCP/p97 and GCN2 regulates cancer cell metabolism and proteostasis during nutrient limitation

VCP/p97 regulates numerous cellular functions by mediating protein degradation through its segregase activity. Its key role in governing protein homoeostasis has made VCP/p97 an appealing anticancer drug target. Here, we provide evidence that VCP/p97 acts as a regulator of cellular metabolism. We found that VCP/p97 was tied to multiple metabolic processes on the gene expression level in a diverse range of cancer cell lines and in patient-derived multiple myeloma cells. Cellular VCP/p97 dependency to maintain proteostasis was increased under conditions of glucose and glutamine limitation in a range of cancer cell lines from different tissues. Moreover, glutamine depletion led to increased VCP/p97 expression, whereas VCP/p97 inhibition perturbed metabolic processes and intracellular amino acid turnover. GCN2, an amino acid-sensing kinase, attenuated stress signalling and cell death triggered by VCP/p97 inhibition and nutrient shortages and modulated ERK activation, autophagy, and glycolytic metabolite turnover. Together, our data point to an interconnected role of VCP/p97 and GCN2 in maintaining cancer cell metabolic and protein homoeostasis

Awareness level of parents toward antibiotics those are prescribed to their children in al-dammam city

Background: Misuse of antibiotics is worldwide problem and annoying pediatricians. This misuses result in the increase the prevalence of one of global health problem which is antibiotic Resistance. Many studies mentioned that misusing of antibiotics is related to antibiotic resistance. The main reason of antibiotics misuse is low public awareness towards antibiotics indications. Also, patient's knowledge and practice with the antibiotic like self-prescription is common in developing countries. The antibiotics prescribed from private pharmacies are given to parents and parents are responsible to give medications to their children. So, we need to increase parents' awareness toward antibiotics usage to decrease the incidence of antibiotic resistance. Objective: To evaluate the parents' level of awareness towards antibiotics those prescribed to their children in At Dammam city Saudi Arabia. Methods: Questionnaire based on cross-sectional study. Questionnaires filled by parents whom have children less than 12 years old in public places randomly in the period from October to November 2018. The questionnaires has two parts: the first part is containing social-demographic data. While the second part: LIP of parents towards antibiotics. Data entering and analysis by SPSS. Results: Questionnaires have been distributed to 450 parents, most in participants were aged 20-29 . years old, the vast majority of participants have misconception regarding the antibiotics indications and (40%) of participants chose that antibiotics use for fever, (22%) for cough and (21%) do not know. Regarding parents' attitude toward antibiotics, (71.3%) have used antibiotics for their children but fortunately, Majority of the participants believe that their children don't need to antibiotics every time when they are sick (70%). in addition, Most of the. participants believe that antibiotics may harm the children (60%) Conclusion: Level of awaraness of parents in Dammam city is moderately acceptable. We can expect antibiotics resistance to happen among new generation in Al-Dammam city if there is no enough campaigns to increase the awareness and to fill the gap

ATP6V0C variants impair vacuolar V-ATPase causing a neurodevelopmental disorder often associated with epilepsy

The vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) is an enzymatic complex that functions in an ATP-dependent manner to pump protons across membranes and acidify organelles, thereby creating the proton/pH gradient required for membrane trafficking by several different types of transporters. We describe heterozygous point variants in ATP6V0C, encoding the c-subunit in the membrane bound integral domain of the V-ATPase, in 27 patients with neurodevelopmental abnormalities with or without epilepsy. Corpus callosum hypoplasia and cardiac abnormalities were also present in some patients. In silico modeling suggested that the patient variants interfere with the interactions between the ATP6V0C and ATP6V0A subunits during ATP hydrolysis. Consistent with decreased V-ATPase activity, functional analyses conducted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed reduced LysoSensor fluorescence and reduced growth in media containing varying concentrations of CaCl2. Knockdown of ATP6V0C in Drosophila resulted in increased duration of seizure-like behavior, and the expression of selected patient variants in Caenorhabditis elegans led to reduced growth, motor dysfunction, and reduced lifespan. In summary, this study establishes ATP6V0C as an important disease gene, describes the clinical features of the associated neurodevelopmental disorder, and provides insight into disease mechanisms