Investigation of dual–pass inclined oscillating bed solar dryer for drying of non-parboiled paddy grains

This Paper determines an experimental study of a dual-pass solar dryer with a bed tilt of 0.5° and varying the oscillating frequency of the drying chamber namely 1.25, 1.75, and 2.25 Hz for drying an agricultural produce namely non–parboiled paddy grains. The oscillations and bed tilt are provided to move the grains from entry to exit of the top bed and move down to the bottom bed and finally exit from the dryer. The new technology has been used in the solar dryer for drying agricultural produce as non–parboiled paddy grains to increase the quality and decrease the loss of the dried produce. The present dryer model was used for drying 45 kg of non–parboiled paddy grains from 19% (w.b) to the approved range of 12–14% of moisture content obtained in a single experimental day. The dried paddy grains obtained an average moisture content are 13.03, 13.22, and 13.51% at the frequency of oscillation of 1.25, 1.75, and 2.25 Hz, respectively. The maximum thermal and pick-up efficiency of the model was obtained at 1.00 p.m. in all cases. For the frequency of oscillation of 1.25, 1.75, and 2.25 Hz, the maximum dryer thermal efficiency was 44.47, 43.39, and 41.39%, respectively, and the maximum pick–up efficiency was 80.41, 79.19, and 76.21%, respectively. The optimum drying performance was obtained at the oscillating frequency of 1.75 Hz with the bed tilt of 0.5

Micromorphological study of <i>Vigna mungo</i> L. using Seaweed liquid fertilizer from <i>Hypnea musciformis</i> (Wulf.) Lamouroux.

1199-1207The effect of seaweed liquid fertilizer from the red seaweed Hypnea musciformis, on the micromorphology of Vigna mungo was studied. H. musciformis was collected from Kanyakumari (Lat.9o11’N,’Long.79o24’E) rocky coast for the present study. Different concentration (1%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) of H. musciformis liquid fertilizer and for the control experiment distilled water was used. Maximum germination percentage, growth and yield parameters, pigments, number of branches, root nodules and biochemical constituents were observed at 2% concentration of SLF. Present study revealed that the seaweed H. musciformis can be used as potential fertilizer and serve as a cost effective ecofriendliness for sustainable agriculture and environment

Influence of seaweed extract as an organic fertilizer on the growth and yield of Arachis hypogea L. and their elemental composition using SEM–Energy Dispersive Spectroscopic analysis

Objective: To investigate the effect of Seaweed Liquid Fertilizer (SLF) of the red seaweed Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen) Lamouroux (H. musciformis). on the growth, biochemical and pigment characteristics of Arachis hypogea (A. hypogea). Methods: Experiments were conducted on ground nut to study the potential red alga of H. musciformis as a biofertilizer. The seeds were sown in soil and SLF were added to soil bed in five different concentrations separately (1%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% w/v). Results: The 2% concentration of water extract showed better results of growth parameters, biochemical and pigments constitutions. Among the different concentrations of SLF investigated, the plants that received with 2% SLF showed maximum germination percentage, fresh weight, dry weight, root and shoot length, number of branches, leaf area, root nodules and content of total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and b, protein, carbohydrate and lipid were observed at 2% concentration of SLF. The leaf of 2% SLF treated A. hypogea has subjected to Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive spectroscopic analysis, it revealed that the presence of ten elements in the following order: Ca>P>N>Na>K>Mg>Mn>S>Fe>Zn in treated and Ca>N>P>Na>Mg>Mn>K>Zn>S>Fe in control plant. The data generated from study reveal that SLF of H. musciformis could be used as foliar spray at low concentration of 2% to maximize the growth and yield of A. hypogea and also increase the number of stomata in the leaf. Conclusion: It is suggested that there are considerable gains to be made in increasing yield and stabilizing the yield in environments characterized by terminal requirement for organic and by shortening crop duration nutrient management appear promising

Radiomics as a non-invasive adjunct to Chest CT in distinguishing benign and malignant lung nodules

Abstract In an observational study conducted from 2016 to 2021, we assessed the utility of radiomics in differentiating between benign and malignant lung nodules detected on computed tomography (CT) scans. Patients in whom a final diagnosis regarding the lung nodules was available according to histopathology and/or 2017 Fleischner Society guidelines were included. The radiomics workflow included lesion segmentation, region of interest (ROI) definition, pre-processing, and feature extraction. Employing random forest feature selection, we identified ten important radiomic features for distinguishing between benign and malignant nodules. Among the classifiers tested, the Decision Tree model demonstrated superior performance, achieving 79% accuracy, 75% sensitivity, 85% specificity, 82% precision, and 90% F1 score. The implementation of the XGBoost algorithm further enhanced these results, yielding 89% accuracy, 89% sensitivity, 89% precision, and an F1 score of 89%, alongside a specificity of 85%. Our findings highlight tumor texture as the primary predictor of malignancy, emphasizing the importance of texture-based features in computational oncology. Thus, our study establishes radiomics as a powerful, non-invasive adjunct to CT scans in the differentiation of lung nodules, with significant implications for clinical decision-making, especially for indeterminate nodules, and the enhancement of diagnostic and predictive accuracy in this clinical context

One time nose-only inhalation of MWCNTs: Exploring the mechanism of toxicity by intermittent sacrifice in Wistar rats

We have investigated the time-dependent effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in rats upon single inhalation exposure followed by intermittent sacrifice. The effects were monitored by analyzing the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and histopathological analysis. Cell count, neutrophils, lymphocytes, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, protein and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 4 (IL-4)) were significantly increased, while cell viability and alveolar macrophage count significantly decreased in the BALF of MWCNT-treated rats on day 1, day 7 and day 14 post-exposure, when compared to control rats. Histopathological analysis revealed inflammation, fibrosis and granuloma in the lungs of MWCNTs-treated rats on day 7 and day 14 post-exposure. We interpret that MWCNT induces inflammation, fibrosis and granuloma characterized by progressive elevation of TNF-α and IL-4. Histopathological studies further support our view and reveal the distribution of MWCNT in lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN). We conclude that MWCNT-induced pulmonary toxicity is considerable even on single exposure

Investigation of Dual&ndash;Pass Inclined Oscillating Bed Solar Dryer for Drying of Non-Parboiled Paddy Grains

This Paper determines an experimental study of dual-pass solar dryer with a bed tilt of 0.5&deg; and varying oscillating frequency of drying chamber namely 1.25, 1.75 and 2.25 Hz for drying an agricultural produce namely non&ndash;parboiled paddy grains. The oscillations and bed tilt are provided to move the grains from entry to exit of the top bed and moving down to bottom bed and finally exits from the dryer. The new technology has been used in the solar dryer for drying of agricultural produce such as non&ndash;parboiled paddy grains to increase the quality and to decrease the loss of the dried produce. The present dryer model was used for drying 45 kg of non&ndash;parboiled paddy grains from 19% (w.b) to the approved range of 12&ndash;14% of moisture content obtained in a single experimental day. The dried paddy grains obtained an average moisture content are 13.03, 13.22 and 13.51% at the frequency of oscillation of 1.25, 1.75, 2.25 Hz, respectively. The maximum thermal and pick-up efficiency of the model were obtained at 1.00 p.m. in all cases. For the frequency of oscillation of 1.25, 1.75 and 2.25 Hz, the maximum dryer thermal efficiency was 44.47, 43.39 and 41.39%, respectively, and the maximum pick&ndash;up efficiency was 80.41, 79.19 and 76.21%, respectively. The optimum drying performance was obtained at the oscillating frequency of 1.75 Hz with the bed tilt of 0.5&deg;

Burden and Risk Factors of Melioidosis in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review

This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of human melioidosis in Southeast Asia as well as to highlight knowledge gaps in the prevalence and risk factors of this life-threatening disease using available evidence-based data for better diagnosis and treatment. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used as the guideline for this review. The literature search was conducted on 23 March 2022 through two electronic databases (PubMed and Scopus) using lists of keywords referring to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus. A total of 38 articles related to human melioidosis were included from 645 screened articles. These studies were carried out between 1986 and 2019 in six Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam. Melioidosis has been reported with a high disease prevalence among high-risk populations. Studies in Thailand (48.0%) and Cambodia (74.4%) revealed disease prevalence in patients with septic arthritis and children with suppurative parotitis, respectively. Other studies in Thailand (63.5%) and Malaysia (54.4% and 65.7%) showed a high seroprevalence of melioidosis among Tsunami survivors and military personnel, respectively. Additionally, this review documented soil and water exposure, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, thalassemia, and children under the age of 15 as the main risk factors for melioidosis. Human melioidosis is currently under-reported in Southeast Asia and its true prevalence is unknown