Hybrid techniques to enhance solar thermal: the way forward

Solar is one of the pillars for clean and environment friendly energy. The drawback of the solar is the interruption during the night and cloudy and rainy weather. This paper presents the author’s experience on enhancing the solar thermal systems by integration techniques with either other energy resources or thermal energy storages (TES). The present works includes the hybrid solar drying through integration with thermal backup unit. The experimental results on hybrid drying showed enhancement of 64.1% for Empty Fruit Bunch, and 61.1% for chili pepper, compared with open solar mode drying. Secondly, solar water heating was proved to be sufficient to supply hot water during the day and night time by integration with TES. The experimented system was able to maintain the water hot up to the next morning. On large scale and industrial application, experimental results on modified inclined solar chimney had shown enhancement via integration with wasted flue gas. By this technique, the system was developed to operate 24 hours a day. The efficiency was enhanced by 100% in case of hybrid operation compared with solar mode operation. The research results are demonstrating that the integration techniques can contribute effectively in enhancing the performance of the thermal solar systems.The author acknowledges Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS for providing the financial, technical and logistic support to execute the solar hybrid program. The program is sponsored under many internal research funds, e.g. STIRF no. 24/07.08, STIRF no. 44/08.09, URIF 19/2012 and URIF 22/2013. Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia is acknowledged for providing the research fund of the solar hybrid drying program under PRGS scheme

The application of dynamic self-organised multilayer network inspired by the Immune Algorithm for weather signals forecast

Neural network architecture called Dynamic Self-organised Multilayer Network Inspired by the Immune Algorithm is proposed for the prediction of weather signals. Two sets of experiments have been implemented. The simulation results showed slight improvement achieved by the proposed network when using the average results of 30 simulations. For the second set of experiments, the simulation results indicated that there is no significant improvement over the first set of experiments. Since clustering methods have been widely used in different applications of data mining, the adaption of unsupervised learning in the proposed network might serve these different applications, for example, medical diagnostics and pattern recognition for big data. The structure of the proposed network can be modified for clustering tasks by changing the back-propagation algorithm in the output layer. This can extend the application of the proposed network to scientifically analyse different types of big data

Remove Chemical Contaminants from Potable Water by Household Water Treatment System

The Main aim of the present study is to manufacture "Low- Cost Water Filter" for purification water and are designed for small water capacity, using readily available material and environmentally friendly such as kaolin clay, and jute fibers. A number of household treatment systems are readily available in the market. They are differing mainly in make and water purification mechanisms utilized. Most of the available household treatment devices are costly and hence there is a need to come up with cheap or affordable treatment technologies. This research was carried out to determine the efficiency of Kaolin-jute fibers filters in improving water impurities. Types of filters that were used during this study are: Filter 1, build with mixing ratio 85% kaolin clay, and 15% jute fibers, Filter 2: 80% kaolin clay, and 20% jute fibers, Filter 3, 75% kaolin clay, and 25% jute fibers. Effectiveness of these filters in decreasing chemical parameters like Hydrogen Ion Concentration (pH), Chloride (Cl), Calcium (Ca), Total Hardness (T.H), Magnesium (Mg), Alkalinity (ALK), Sulfates (SO4), Sodium (Na), and Potassium (K), were 8.7%, 71.54%, 70.5%, 70.5%, 80.7%, 77.9%, 85.5%, 71.64%, and 69.6% respectively. Kaolin-jute fibers filters can produce enough drinking and cooking water for a family of small members due to their flow rates. These filters may be considered for treating contaminated water at household scale in rural areas and places where water is taken directly from the source without treatment

Types of the Fiber Glass-Mat on Fatigue Characteristic of Composite Materials at Constant Fiber Volume Fraction: Experimental Determination

The aim of this work is to study the influence of the type of fiber glass mat on fatigue behavior of composite material which is manufactured from polyester and E-glass (woven roving, chopped strand mat (CSM)) as a laminate with a constant fiber volume fraction (VF) of 33%. The results showed that the laminates reinforced with E-glass (woven roving) [0/90, ±45.0/90] and [0/90, CSM, 0/90] have lower fatigue strength than the laminates reinforced with E-glass [0/90]3,[CSM]3 and [CSM, 0/90, CSM] although they had different tensile strength; the best laminate was [0/90]3

Antiglycation and Antioxidant Activities and HPTLC Analysis of Boswellia sacra Oleogum Resin: The Sacred Frankincense

Purpose: To evaluate antiglycation and antioxidant activities as undertake HPTLC analysis of Boswellia sacra resin.Methods: Sub-fractionation of the crude methanol extract of Hougari regular (HR) grade resin of Boswellia sacra was carried out by vacuum liquid chromatography. Free radical scavenging and antiglycation activities of sub-fractions were characterized in order to assess their anti-aging properties. Furthermore, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of Boswellia sacra resins was also carried out.Results: Polar fractions of the extract obtained exhibited the highest antiglycation activity while nonpolar fractions showed more than 50 % inhibition in superoxide anion scavenging assay. Scavenging activity of reactive oxygen species results indicate that non-polar sub-fractions showed > 50 % inhibition, except Shabi frankincense (SF) oil which showed 33 % inhibition. Dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) fraction, 40 % dichloromethane (CH2Cl2)/n-hexane sub-fraction, and SF oil showed moderate activity in di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, HPTLC analysis indicates the presence of 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) and 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) along with some other terpenoids.Conclusion: Various sub-fractions of Boswellia sacra exert effective antiglycation and antioxidant activities. The extracts should be studied further for possible formulation into pharmaceutical products.Keywords: Frankincense, Boswellia sacra, Terpenoids, HPTLC, Antioxidant, Antiglycatio

Advanced Artificial Neural Network Classification for Detecting Preterm Births Using EHG Records

Globally, the rate of preterm births are increasing, thus resulting in significant health, development and economic problems. Current methods for the early detection of such births are inadequate. Nevertheless, there has been some evidence that the analysis of uterine electrical signals, collected from the abdominal surface, could provide an independent and easier way to diagnose true labour and detect when preterm delivery is about to occur. Using advanced machine learning algorithms, in conjunction with Electrohysterography signal processing, numerous studies have focused on detecting true labour several days prior to the event. However, in this paper, the Electrohysterography signals have been used to detect preterm births. This has been achieved using an open dataset, which contains 262 records for women who delivered at term and 38 who delivered prematurely. Several new features from Electromyography studies have been utilized, as well as feature-ranking techniques. Features are ranked to determine their discriminative capabilities in detecting term and preterm records. Seven different artificial neural networks were then used to identify these records. The results illustrate that the Radial Basis Function Neural Network classifier performed the best, with 85% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 90% area under the curve and a 17% mean error rate

INFLUENCE OF ANNEALING ON THE STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIUM OXIDE THIN FILMS PREPARED USING THERMAL EVAPORATION IN A VACUUM METHOD

In the work, the structures and the optical parameters were studied for In2O3 thin films Before and after annealing at different temperatures (400 and 500 ) thin films were prepared on glass substrate by by vacuum thermal evaporation. The X-Ray diffraction showed that In2O3, In2O3 Plasticizedthin films which were prepared to have a polycrystalline cubic structure. The most preferential orientation is along the (321) direction for all deposited In2O3 films. Some parameters of the films were calculated as the average grain size and the dislocation density. Optical properties measurement transmittance (T) of the film shows that they have high transmittance (82.7%) is obtained for at annealing 500 . The optical properties such as absorption coefficient (α) using the transmittance measurement from an UV-vis spectrophotometer, with a range of wavelength (300-1100) nm. And also calculated energy gap for thin films. and also calculated energy gap for thin films, the result has been shown that the optical energy gap increasing with increasing annealing

Molecular surveillance of Theileria parasites of livestock in Oman

Background: Theileriosis is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases of livestock in the Arabian Peninsula, and causes high rates of mortality and morbidity in sheep and cattle. However, there is a paucity of information on the distribution of Theileria spp. over the whole region and their impact on different hosts. The present study carried out a country-wide molecular survey for Theileria spp. of livestock in Oman across four governorates. The aim of the survey was to define the prevalence of Theileria spp. in cattle, sheep and goats, highlight risk factors for infection and identify the main tick species involved in parasite transmission. Material and methods: A total of 2020 animals were examined in the survey consisting of sheep [n = 592], goats [n = 981] and cattle [n = 447]. All three species were raised and co-grazed on the same farms. Theileria parasites were detected using PCR-RFLP and RLB of the 18S rRNA gene. Cloning and sequencing of the 18S rRNA was carried out on 11 T. lestoquardi isolates from Ash-Sharqiyah, and Ad-Dhahira governorates, and phylogenetic relationships were inferred using additional sequences of T. lestoquardi, T. annulata and T. ovis available in GenBank. Results: Theileria spp. prevalence was 72.3%, 36.7% and 2.7% among cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. Strong similarity in results was obtained using RLB and PCR-RFLP for detection of Theileria spp. however, RLB detected a higher rate of mixed infection than PCR-RFPL (P < 0.001). Theileria annulata was the only parasite detected in cattle, while sheep and goats carried T. ovis, T. lestoquardi and T. annulata as well as Theileria spp. OT1. Of the four Theileria spp. detected in small ruminants, overall T. ovis was most prevalent (sheep [33.4%], goats [2.0%]), whereas T. lestoquardi was less prevalent (sheep [22.0%], goats [0.5%]). A large proportion of infected sheep (19%) carried mixed infection of T. ovis and T. lestoquardi. However, single T. lestoquardi infections (3.0%) were less prevalent than T. ovis infections (14.5%). Risk of Theileria spp. infection was significantly higher for exotic breeds, relative to native breeds, of cattle (p = 0.00002) and sheep (p = 0.005). Phylogenetic analysis placed T. lestoquardi in Oman in the same clade as other T. lestoquardi strains isolated from the same regional area (Iraq and Iran). The main tick species, identified on the examined animals, Hyalomma anatolicum, was widely distributed and was found in all of the surveyed governorates. Conclusion: Theileria spp. are widespread in Oman with variable prevalence detected in different regions. Two economically important hosts, cattle and sheep are at high risk from virulent T. annulata and T. lestoquardi, respectively. The survey indicates extensive exposure to ticks and transmission of infection that has a significant economic impact. The higher prevalence of T. lestoquardi as mixed rather than single infection requires further investigation

Evaluation of Protective Activity of Curcumin in Reducing Methotrexate Induced Liver Cells Injury: An Experimental Study on Iraqi White Domestic Rabbits

المقدمة: إصابات خلايا الكبد والخلل في وظائفةمنالمشاكل الشائعة في الممارسات الطبية. معظم العقاقير شائعة الاستخدام من الممكن ان تؤدي الى التهاب الكبد او خلل في وظائفة، مثلا المضادات الحيوية، مسكنات الالم مثل الباراسيتامول وغيرة، الأدوية المضادة للسرطان، تناول الكحول، والمواد الكيميائية السامة الأخرى المستخدمة في الصناعة. على الرغم من أن الميثوتريكسيت هو عامل  فعال مضاد للسرطان، فهو كذلك يستخدم على نطاق واسع في علاج العديد من الحالات غير السرطانية كالأمراض الجلدية والروماتيزملانة مضاد للمناعة. الكركميحتوي على مجموعة متنوعة من المواد الطبيعية مع خصائص مضادة للأكسدة قوية وفعالة في مكافحة الإجهاد التأكسدي الناجم عن تناول الميثوتريكسيت. الهدف من الدراسة: أولا لمعرفة تأثير دواء الميثوتريكست على انسجة الكبد، وثانيا دراسة النشاط الوقائي لمادة الكركم في الحد من تاثير هذا الدواء على انسجة الكبد. المواد والطرق: تمت الدراسة على الارانب البيضاء العراقية وقد تم فصل الحيوانات عشوائيا إلى ثلاث مجموعات. مجموعة السيطرة، مجموعة ميثوتريكسيت، ومجموعة الكركم. النتائج: أثبتت نتائج مستويات البيليروبينوإنزيمات الكبد في مصل الدم والفحوصات النسيجية على انسجة الكبد عن التهاب الكبد الحاد نتيجة تأثير علاج الميثوتريكسيت، وتشير البتائج عن توليد الأكسجين التفاعلي (روس)، ونقص في آليات الدفاع المضادللأكسدة. الاستنتاج: أثبتت الدراسة ان لمادة الكركم تأثير مضاد للاكسدة وباستطاعتة التقليل من التاثيرات الجانبية لدواء الميثوتريكسيت على انسجة الكبد. التوصية: توصي الدراسة باستخدام مادة الكركم في الممارسة السريرية وخاصة للمرض الذين يستخدمون العلاجات الكيمياويةكونة مكمل غذائي وكونةمادة طبيعية ومضاد قوي للاكسدة. الكلمات مفتاحيه: الميثوتريكست، الكركم، سمية الخلايا الكبديه.Background: Hepatotoxicity is a common problem in medical practice, most of the commonly used drugs are potentially hepatotoxic. Although Methotrexate is a hepa- toxic drug, it is widely used in the treatment of many cancerous and non-cancerous conditions because of its cytotoxic and immunosuppressant activity. Curcumin con- tains a variety of natural substances with antioxidant properties, it is widely used in  folk medicine.Antioxidant activity of Curcumin can reduce liver cell injury induced by Methotrexate administration. Objective: The research aims to study the methotrexate hepatoxicity on rabbits, and the hepatoprotective activity of Curcumin. Materials and Methods: Thirty white domestic rabbits were bought from animal market and grouped randomly into three groups; control group received intraperitoneal normal saline, methotrexate group received 6.5 mg/Kgm body weight intraperitoneal methotrexate, and curcumin group received oral Curcumin in addition to intraperitoneal methotrexate. Results: The study showed abnormal liver function tests, INR, liver tissues oxida- tive markers, and liver cell injury on histopathology in Methotrexate group, and normal findings in Curcumin groups. Conclusion: It is concluded that the Methotrexate is a hepatotoxic drug. The results also shoe that the concomitant administration of Curcumin reduced hepatotoxicity. Recommendation: It is recommended to use of Curcumin in clinical practice as a food supplement to patient receiving methotrexate to reduce hepatotoxicity