Evaluation of Noise Performance of Multi-Lane Highways in the State of Qatar

In recent years, a growing number of people are complaining to transportation authorities for the traffic noise as a result of increased traffic volume on the highways. Therefore, transportation authorities are actively pursuing ways to reduce the traffic noise. In recent years, quieter pavement has become one of the cost-effective ways of sustainable highway noise reduction. However, for design and construction of quieter pavements, proper and accurate noise measurement is of paramount importance for evaluating the noise level of existing pavement as well as evaluating noise level of newly constructed pavements. In this study, the variation of noise level among different lanes of existing multi-lane highways in the State of Qatar was examined. Tire-pavement noise was measured by using onboard sound intensity (OBSI) technique. OBSI test results showed that highest noise level was observed at outer lane of multilane highways. This is probably due to the pavement distress caused by the heavy vehicle travelling at the outer lane of multi-lane highways.This paper was made possible by the NPRP grant (NPRP 7-110-2-056) from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)Scopu

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ALKALI CONCENTRATIONS DURING THE REFINING PROCESS ON THE FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF SUNFLOWER AND SOYBEAN OILS

The effect of NaOH and KOH at concentrations of 12, 14 and 16 Bé° during the refining of sunflower and soybean oils on the fatty acid composition was studied using GLC technique. The quantity of linolenic, linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid as well as the USFA (unsaturated fatty acids): SFA (saturated fatty acids) ratio were measured. Only slight changes in the quantity of individual fatty acids were found particularly at higher alkali concentrations. The changes in the USFA : SFA ratio compared with crude or semirefined oil were not significant

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ALKALI CONCENTRATIONS DURING THE REFINING PROCESS ON THE OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF SUNFLOWER AND SOYBEAN OILS

The oxidative stability of bleached soybean and sunflower oils which were previously refined using NaOH and KOH at concentrations of 12, 14 and 16 Béo was studied in comparison with semirefined sunflower and crude soybean oils. Semirefined sunflower oil and crude soybean oil showed the highest stability. Oils previously refined using 12 Béo NaOH or KOH had an acceptable stability. Higher NaOH concentrations resulted in a decrease of stability

Has the Time Come to Start a Dialogue About the Role of Nutrition and Our Inner Microbiomes In Education? Teacher and Faculty Perspectives

The purpose of this study is to determine if educational professionals at the high school and college levels believe that their students should be required to complete a Health and Nutrition and/or a Microbiology course for graduation. The study used both a descriptive survey and a questionnaire as data collection instruments. The study population was comprised of 655 teachers and instructors from high schools, colleges and universities across the U.S.A.   Quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics. Qualitative analysis of open ended responses was organized into multiple themes. While all the participants strongly agreed that our nation (U.S.A.) is facing critical challenges in overcoming the new trends in obesity, diabetes, infectious diseases and other related epidemics, as well as on the role of education in solving the matters, they differ on what to do and how to prepare the current and future generations. At the college level, while over half of all the participants (61.22%) preferred to see Microbiology as a part of the graduation requirement from college, only 41.22% of the same participants felt comfortable in making Nutrition a part of the graduation requirement.  At the high school level, while 42.59% of all the participants saw no problem in including Nutrition as a part of the graduation requirement from high school, only 10.53% of the same participants felt comfortable including Microbiology as a graduation requirement from high school.  More detailed outcomes are presented in this paper. However, more participating college instructors compared to high school teachers did not think either of the topics should be mandated for graduation from high school or college; the only exception would be if these two fields of study were part of their selected academic program. Instead, this group of participants suggested making changes to existing course design and content (such as the required “health” or Biology classes), which would offer valuable additions to the existing curriculum and prepare students in health and nutrition. Finally, almost all of the participants provided various reasons and justifications for their perspectives on the matter.  The study also shows a significant role for administrators and academic leaders in this requirement process (decision making process for the curricula). Recommendations based on the findings are provided and discussed below. Keywords: General education, Nutrition, Microbiology, Human Microbiomes, Obesity, Diabetes, Illness prevention, Infectious diseases, Education, burden of disease, educational reform

Assessing the in vivo biocompatibility of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles

Molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) are high affinity synthetic receptors which show promise as imaging and therapeutic agents. Comprehensive analysis of the in vivo behaviour of nanoMIPs must be performed before they can be considered for clinical applications. This work reports the solid-phase synthesis of nanoMIPs and an investigation of their biodistribution, clearance and cytotoxicity in a rat model following both intravenous and oral administration. These nanoMIPs were found in each harvested tissue type, including brain tissue, implying their ability to cross the blood brain barrier. The nanoMIPs were cleared from the body via both faeces and urine. Furthermore, we describe an immunogenicity study in mice, demonstrating that nanoMIPs specific for a cell surface protein showed moderate adjuvant properties, whilst those imprinted for a scrambled peptide showed no such behaviour. Given their ability to access all tissue types and their relatively low cytotoxicity, these results pave the way for in vivo applications of nanoMIPs

“In small places, close to home”: urban environmental impacts on child rights across four global cities

Urban environments influence child behaviours, exposures and experiences and may affect health, development, achievement and realization of fundamental human rights. We examined the status of eleven UN Convention on the Rights of the Child articles, in a multi-case study across four global cities. Within all study cities, children experienced unequal exposure to urban environmental risks and amenities. Many violations of child rights are related to car-based transportation systems and further challenged by pressures on urban systems from rapid population increases in the context of climate change. A child rights framework provides principles for a collective, multi-sectoral re-imagination of urban environments that support the human rights of all citizens

Finding Rare, Disease-Associated Variants in Isolated Groups: Potential Advantages of Mennonite Populations

Large-scale genotyping and next-generation sequencing techniques have allowed great advances in the field of molecular genetics. Numerous common variants of low impact have been associated with many complex human traits and diseases, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Although they may exert a greater impact on risk, few rare disease variants have been found, owing to the greatly increased sample sizes that are typically necessary to demonstrate association with rarer variants. One alternative strategy is to study isolated populations, where historical bottlenecks reduce genetic diversity and some otherwise rare variants may drift to higher frequencies. Here we describe the Mennonite population settlements, considering their history of multiple bottlenecks followed by demographic expansion and a currently widespread geographical distribution. We argue that Mennonite populations are valuable partners for studies seeking genetic variants that exert a high impact on risk for a variety of common disorders, including mental illnesses

Preparation and in vivo Assessment of Nystatin-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Topical Delivery against Cutaneous Candidiasis

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained great attention for the topical treatment of skin associated fungal infection as they facilitate the skin penetration of loaded drugs. Our work deals with the preparation of nystatin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (NystSLNs) using the hot homogenization and ultrasonication method. The prepared NystSLNs were characterized in terms of entrapment efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, rheological behavior and in vitro drug release. A stability study for 6 months was performed. A microbiological study was conducted in male rats infected with Candida albicans, by counting the colonies and examining the histopathological changes induced on the skin of infected rats. The results showed that SLNs dispersions are spherical in shape with particle size ranging from 83.26±11.33 to 955.04±1.09 nm. The entrapment efficiencies are ranging from 19.73±1.21 to 72.46±0.66% with zeta potential ranging from -18.9 to -38.8 mV and shear-thinning rheological Behavior. The stability studies done for 6 months showed that nystatin (Nyst) is a good candidate for topical SLN formulations. A least number of colony forming unit/ ml (cfu/ml) was recorded for the selected NystSLN compared to the drug solution and the commercial Nystatin® cream present in the market. It can be fulfilled from this work that SLNs provide a good skin targeting effect and may represent promising carrier for topical delivery of Nyst offering the sustained release and maintaining the localized effect, resulting in an effective treatment of cutaneous fungal infection