Technological Advances in Infant Formula Ingredients

The best source of nutrients for babies is breast milk. However, the baby formula offers a crucial alternative to nursing when it is not practical or viable to meet the growing child’s nutritional needs. Bovine milk has traditionally been used as a primary component in baby formula production. It is then prepared with additional nutrients and bioactive substances to resemble the makeup of human breastmilk closely. Bovine-based baby formula is the most accessible type of formula, but it is not appropriate for all newborns; thus, alternatives, including those based on caprine milk, soy, and rice protein, are becoming more readily available. The composition of baby formula made from soy, rice, caprine milk, and cow’s milk is thoroughly examined in this chapter. In addition, we cover the literature that is currently available on nutrient bio-accessibility and features of protein functioning that are pertinent to baby formula

Experimental study of slow sand filtration for the treatment of various wastewaters in tropical environment

Wastewater treatment by slow sand filtration is a biological process which consists in filtering wastewater through a porous media. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of this biotechnology under tropical climate. Three sand filters were monitored at ONAS (Cambérène wastewater treatment plant in Dakar, Senegal). The filters were built with local materials, and were constituted with a feeding tank of approximately 180 litters, a column (two meters high and 30-25 cm diameter). The filters were filled with sand (75 cm), gravel (25 cm) and wastewater (90 cm). The results showed that with sand of d10 equal to 0.58 mm and flow rate of 0.05 m/h, the filtration cycle was relatively long for the first run with pretreated wastewater. At the level of the primary settling tank, with flow a rate of 0.08 m/h, the removal rates were about 12.75%, 16.31%, 12.92%, 5.45%, 7.09% and 10.50% for TSS, COD, BOD5, nitrogen phosphorus and faecal coliforms respectively. At the level of the clarifier, with a filtration of 0.15 m/h, the removals were 1.4% for TSS, 1.84% for COD, 1.09% for BOD5 11.38% for nitrogen, 5.18% for phosphorus and 1.74% of faecal coliforms.Keywords: Flow rate; filtration cycle, removal; sand filtration; tropical climate, wastewater

Classifying Soil Type Using Radar Satellite Images

The growth of the crop is dependent on soil type, apart from atmospheric and geo-location characteristics. As of now, there is no direct and cost free method to measure soil property or to classify soil type. In this work, we proposed a machine learning model to classify soil type using Sentinel-1 satellite radar images. Further, the developed classifier achieved 72.17% F1-score classifying sandy, free and clayish on a set of 65003 data points collected over one year (from Oct 2018 to Sep 2019) over 14 corn parcels near Ourique, Portugal

Characterization of the oral fungal microbiota in smokers and non-smokers

This study aimed to assess the effect of smoking on the biodiversity of the oral fungal microbiota of healthy young subjects, using an improved culture method that assesses both total and pathogenic viable fungi. Forty individuals (20 smokers and 20 non‐smokers) were selected. All individuals presented fungal growth (100% for molds and 92.5% for yeasts), a prevalence higher than previously reported. The most commonly occurring molds were Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Cladosporium sp. Smokers presented significantly higher levels of yeasts and pathogenic molds than did non‐smokers. No differences in fungal prevalence and diversity were observed in smokers and non‐smokers following a 30‐wk observation period. In conclusion, tobacco smoking may alter the oral mycobiota and facilitate colonization of the oral cavity with yeasts and pathogenic molds. The effect of chronic fungal colonization on the oral health of tobacco smokers cannot be neglected

Growth and yield of five irrigated spring wheat varieties as influenced by seeding rate in Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh

Farmers in Bangladesh are always seeking an optimal seed rate to reduce production costs and increase wheat yield. The Wheat Research Centre (WRC) of Bangladesh has developed new wheat varieties over several years. To reduce production costs and obtain higher grain yield (GY) from these varieties, optimum seeding rates are needed. In this context, a two-year field experiment was conducted with five newly released wheat varieties (‘BARI Gom 24’, ‘BARI Gom 25’, ‘BARI Gom 26’, ‘BARI Gom 27’ and ‘BARI Gom 28’) and three seeding rates (100, 120 and 140 kg ha─1). These treatments were performed under irrigation in the WRC research field in Northern Bangladesh to determine the optimum seeding rates for these varieties. Significantly higher GY (p≤0.05) was obtained with a seeding rate of 140 kg ha─1 for all varieties, compared to other rates. A seeding rate less than the recommended rate (120 kg ha─1) for all varieties failed to produce comparable GY in both years. Among all varieties, ‘BARI Gom 26’ had the highest GY while ‘BARI Gom 25’ had the lowest GY in both years. Although the interaction effect of variety and seeding rate on GY did not vary significantly (p≤0.05) in both years, surplus GY was 467 and 233 kg ha─1, respectively for ‘BARI Gom 24’, 63 and 75 kg ha─1 for ‘BARI Gom 25’, 81 and 93 kg ha─1 for ‘BARI Gom 26’, 23 and 66 kg ha─1 for ‘BARI Gom 27’, and 152 and 220 kg ha─1 for ‘BARI Gom 28’ in the first and second year when seeded at 140 kg ha─1. For the same seed rate, the GY of ‘BARI Gom 24’ increased by 5.3 to 9.6% and that of ‘BARI Gom 28’ increased from 2.8 to 5% over the two years. Therefore, a seeding rate of 140 kg seed ha─1 is recommended for ‘BARI Gom 24’ and ‘BARI Gom 28’, while the current recommended rate (120 kg ha─1) should be continued for the other three varieties when grown under irrigation on the Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh

CENTRO DE PARTO NORMAL COMO ESTRATÉGIA DE INCENTIVO AO PARTO NORMAL: ESTUDO DESCRITIVO

Recientemente se verificó un esfuerzo gubernamental para reducir las tasas de cesariana en el sector público y cualificar la asistencia al parto normal. Así, se crearon los Centros de Parto Normal (CPN) destinados al acompañamiento de nacimientos fisiológicos, a cargo de enfermeras obstétricas. Este estudio descriptivo tuvo como objetivo caracterizar a las parturientas en cuanto a la edad materna, historia obstétrica, condiciones del parto y del recién-nacido en un CPN, en la ciudad de São Paulo. Se utilizaron datos secundarios de registros de nacimientos atendidos por enfermeras obstétricas y se analizaron 1.860 registros de partos ocurridos en julio y agosto de 2001. Los resultados indican: edad media de 23,7 años; 44,4% de nulíparas; 79,0% de partos normales; peso medio de los recién-nacidos de 3.174g; Apgar ≥7 en el primer y quinto minutos en 93,7% y 99,1% de los recién nacidos, respectivamente. Se concluyó que la atención al parto hecha por enfermeras obstétricas es importante para valorar la fisiología del parto y nacimiento, con indicadores obstétricos y neonatales de calidad.Tem-se verificado um esforço governamental para reduzir as taxas de cesariana no setor público e qualificar a assistência ao parto normal. Assim, foram criados Centros de Parto Normal (CPN) destinados ao acompanhamento de nascimentos fisiológicos, a cargo de enfermeiras obstétricas. Este estudo descritivo teve como objetivo caracterizar as parturientes quanto à idade materna, história obstétrica, condições do parto e do recémnascido em um CPN, na cidade de São Paulo. Utilizaram-se dados secundários de registros de nascimentos assistidos por enfermeiras obstétricas. Foram analisados 1.860 registros de partos ocorridos em julho e agosto de 2001. Os resultados indicam: idade média de 23,7 anos; 44,4% de nulíparas; 79,0% de partos normais; peso médio dos recém-nascidos de 3.174 g; índice de Apgar ≥7 no primeiro e quinto minutos em 93,7% e 99,1% dos recémnascidos, respectivamente. Concluiu-se que a assistência prestada por enfermeiras obstétricas em CPN vai ir ao encontro da valorização da fisiologia do parto e nascimento, com indicadores neonatais e obstétricos de qualidade

Comparative study of nonlinear properties of EEG signals of a normal person and an epileptic patient

Background: Investigation of the functioning of the brain in living systems has been a major effort amongst scientists and medical practitioners. Amongst the various disorder of the brain, epilepsy has drawn the most attention because this disorder can affect the quality of life of a person. In this paper we have reinvestigated the EEGs for normal and epileptic patients using surrogate analysis, probability distribution function and Hurst exponent. Results: Using random shuffled surrogate analysis, we have obtained some of the nonlinear features that was obtained by Andrzejak \textit{et al.} [Phys Rev E 2001, 64:061907], for the epileptic patients during seizure. Probability distribution function shows that the activity of an epileptic brain is nongaussian in nature. Hurst exponent has been shown to be useful to characterize a normal and an epileptic brain and it shows that the epileptic brain is long term anticorrelated whereas, the normal brain is more or less stochastic. Among all the techniques, used here, Hurst exponent is found very useful for characterization different cases. Conclusions: In this article, differences in characteristics for normal subjects with eyes open and closed, epileptic subjects during seizure and seizure free intervals have been shown mainly using Hurst exponent. The H shows that the brain activity of a normal man is uncorrelated in nature whereas, epileptic brain activity shows long range anticorrelation.Comment: Keywords:EEG, epilepsy, Correlation dimension, Surrogate analysis, Hurst exponent. 9 page

Comparative Assessment of a Novel Photo‐Anthropometric Landmark‐Positioning Approach for the Analysis of Facial Structures on Two‐Dimensional Images

Positioning landmarks in facial photo‐anthropometry (FPA) applications remains today a highly variable procedure, as traditional cephalometric definitions are used as guidelines. Herein, a novel landmark‐positioning approach, specifically adapted for FPA applications, is introduced and, in particular, assessed against the conventional cephalometric definitions for the analysis of 16 landmarks on ten frontal images by two groups of examiners (with and without professional knowledge of anatomy). Results showed that positioning reproducibility was significantly better using the novel method. Indeed, in contrast to the classic approach, very low landmark dispersions were observed for both groups of examiners, which were usually below the strictest clinical standards (i.e., 0.575 mm). Furthermore, the comparison between the two groups of examiners highlighted higher dispersion consistencies, which supported a higher robustness. Thus, the use of an adapted landmark‐positioning approach proved to be highly advantageous in FPA analysis and future work in this field should consider adopting similar methodologies

Classifying Soil Type Using Radar Satellite Images

The growth of the crop is dependent on soil type, apart from atmospheric and geo-location characteristics. As of now, there is no direct and costfree method to measure soil property or to classify soil type. In this work, we proposed a machine learning model to classify soil type using Sentinel-1 satellite radar images. Further, the developed classifier achieved 72.17% F1-score classifying sandy, free and clayish on a set of 65003 data points collected over one year (from Oct 2018 to Sep 2019) over 14 corn parcels near Ourique, Portugal