Evaluation of electric and magnetic fields distribution and SAR induced in 3D models of water containers by radiofrequency radiation using FDTD and FEM simulation techniques

In this study, two software packages using different numerical techniques FEKO 6.3 with Finite-Element Method (FEM) and XFDTD 7 with Finite Difference Time Domain Method (FDTD) were used to assess exposure of 3D models of square, rectangular, and pyramidal shaped water containers to electromagnetic waves at 300, 900, and 2400 MHz frequencies. Using the FEM simulation technique, the peak electric field of 25, 4.5, and 2 V/m at 300 MHz and 15.75, 1.5, and 1.75 V/m at 900 MHz were observed in pyramidal, rectangular, and square shaped 3D container models, respectively. The FDTD simulation method confirmed a peak electric field of 12.782, 10.907, and 10.625 V/m at 2400 MHz in the pyramidal, square, and rectangular shaped 3D models, respectively. The study demonstrated an exceptionally high level of electric field in the water in the two identical pyramid shaped 3D models analyzed using the two different simulation techniques. Both FEM and FDTD simulation techniques indicated variations in the distribution of electric, magnetic fields, and specific absorption rate of water stored inside the 3D container models. The study successfully demonstrated that shape and dimensions of 3D models significantly influence the electric and magnetic fields inside packaged materials; thus, specific absorption rates in the stored water vary according to the shape and dimensions of the packaging materials.Comment: 22 pages, 30 figures and 2 table

A Firefly-inspired method for protein structure prediction in lattice models

We introduce a Firefly-inspired algorithmic approach for protein structure prediction over two different lattice models in three-dimensional space. In particular, we consider three-dimensional cubic and three-dimensional face-centred-cubic (FCC) lattices. The underlying energy models are the Hydrophobic-Polar (H-P) model, the Miyazawa–Jernigan (M-J) model and a related matrix model. The implementation of our approach is tested on ten H-P benchmark problems of a length of 48 and ten M-J benchmark problems of a length ranging from 48 until 61. The key complexity parameter we investigate is the total number of objective function valuations required to achieve the optimum energy values for the H-P model or competitive results in comparison to published values for the M-J model. For H-P instances and cubic lattices, where data for comparison are available, we obtain an average speed-up over eight instances of 2.1, leaving out two extreme values (otherwise, 8.8). For six M-J instances, data for comparison are available for cubic lattices and runs with a population size of 100, where, a priori, the minimum free energy is a termination criterion. The average speed-up over four instances is 1.2 (leaving out two extreme values, otherwise 1.1), which is achieved for a population size of only eight instances. The present study is a test case with initial results for ad hoc parameter settings, with the aim of justifying future research on larger instances within lattice model settings, eventually leading to the ultimate goal of implementations for off-lattice models

Price-and-verify: a new algorithm for recursive circle packing using Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this record Packing rings into a minimum number of rectangles is an optimization problem which appears naturally in the logistics operations of the tube industry. It encompasses two major difficulties, namely the positioning of rings in rectangles and the recursive packing of rings into other rings. This problem is known as the Recursive Circle Packing Problem (RCPP). We present the first dedicated method for solving RCPP that provides strong dual bounds based on an exact Dantzig–Wolfe reformulation of a nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear programming formulation. The key idea of this reformulation is to break symmetry on each recursion level by enumerating one-level packings, i.e., packings of circles into other circles, and by dynamically generating packings of circles into rectangles. We use column generation techniques to design a “price-and-verify” algorithm that solves this reformulation to global optimality. Extensive computational experiments on a large test set show that our method not only computes tight dual bounds, but often produces primal solutions better than those computed by heuristics from the literature.Federal Ministry of Education and Researc

The environmental contaminant DDE fails to influence the outcome of sexual differentiation in the marine turtle Chelonia mydas.

In many turtles, the temperature experienced during the middle of egg incubation determines the sex of the offspring. The implication of steroid sex hormones as the proximate trigger for sex determination opens the possibility that endocrine-disrupting contaminants may also influence the outcome of sexual differentiation. In this study we investigate the potential effects of DDE (a common DDT metabolite) on sexual differentiation of Chelonia mydas (green sea turtle). Four clutches of eggs collected from Heron Island, Queensland, Australia, were treated with DDE at the beginning of the thermosensitive period for sexual determination. An incubation temperature of 28 degrees C or less produces male hatchlings in this species, whereas 30 degrees C or more produces female hatchlings. Dosed eggs were consequently incubated at two temperatures (27.6 degrees C and 30.4 degrees C) on the upper and lower boundaries of the sex determination threshold for this species. DDE, ranging from 3.3 to 66.5 microg, was dissolved in 5, 10, and 25 microl ethanol and applied to eggshells above the embryo. Less than 2.5 ng/g DDE was present in eggs prior to dosing. Approximately 34% of the applied DDE was absorbed in the eggs, but only approximately 8% of applied DDE was found in embryos. Thus, treated eggs, corrected for background DDE, had up to 543 ng/g DDE. The sex ratio at these doses did not differ from what would be expected on consideration of temperature alone. Incubation time, hatching success, incidence of body deformities, hatching size, and weight were also within the limits of healthy developed hatchlings. This indicates that the eggs of C. mydas in the wild with concentrations of DDE less than 543 ng/g should produce hatchlings with relatively high hatching success, survival rate, and normally differentiated gonads

The Counterpart Principle of Analogical Support by Structural Similarity

We propose and investigate an Analogy Principle in the context of Unary Inductive Logic based on a notion of support by structural similarity which is often employed to motivate scientific conjectures

Comparison of metal bioaccumulation in crop types and consumable parts between two growth periods

A high proportion of populations in most developing countries live below the poverty line and those near refuse grounds resort to dumpsite farming to grow food. Consequently, high levels of waste‐derived contaminants are found in crops consumed by these people. This study investigates the extent to which crops cultivated on the Mbale dumpsite (Uganda) were contaminated by 11 metals and 2 non‐metals: iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), selenium (Se), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As). We investigated how element bioaccumulation in crops was influenced by the growth period (short‐ and long‐term crop maturity). The short‐term crops were Zea mays and Amaranthus cruentus, whereas the long‐term crops were Manihot esculenta, Colocasia esculenta, Musa acuminata, Carica papaya, Coffea arabica, and Saccharum officinarum. Results showed that nine metals were present at concentrations above World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO) food safety recommendations and hence may pose health risks to consumers. In this study, leaves contained higher metal concentrations than other analyzed consumable parts. Pb and Co were found at higher concentrations in leaves of short‐term crops than in long‐term crops. Among short‐term crops, only Z. mays seeds contained permissible metal concentrations by WHO/FAO standards. The growth period was also found to influence metal bioaccumulation in crop types. Pb, Co, Fe, Al, and Cu concentrations were significantly higher in the short‐term crops than in long‐term crops, while Mn, Ni, and Cr concentrations were higher in long‐term crops than in short‐term crops. Overall, public awareness about the health risks associated with consuming short‐term leafy crops grown on dumpsites should be improved to reduce toxic metal exposure. While implementing such a campaign, the food supply of individuals whose survival depends on such crops should not be jeopardized. Therefore, farmers need alternative farming areas outside dumpsites. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1056–1071. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)

Effectiveness of Surgery for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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