Simultaneous recovery of metals and degradation of organic species: Copper and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T)

In mixed wastewater streams, the presence of metal ions can retard the destruction of organic contaminants and the efficiency of recovery of the metal is reduced by the presence of organic species. The reduction in the efficiency of these methods is due to the formation of complexes between the organic species and the metal ions in solution. Results are presented for copper - 2,4,5-T system in which both effects occur. A photolytic cell alone can achieve the complete degradation of 2,4,5-T, in the presence of TiO2 or H2O2, at pH 3.5. The addition of Cu(II) ions, however, retard the degradation of 2,4,5-T and complete mineralization of 2,4,5-T was not achieved and the system also leaves Cu(II) ions in solution. An electrolytic cell alone can be used to recover copper in pH range 1.5 – 4.5 but is not capable of achieving complete disappearance of 2,4,5-T by anodic oxidation. A combined photolytic – electrolytic system is capable of achieving simultaneous destruction of 2,4,5-T and recovery of copper from mixed wastewater streams at pH 3.5. The percentage destruction of 2,4,5-T and the recovery of copper can be increased further by using a combined photolytic and an activated carbon concentrator cell system. This system can achieve the simultaneous recovery of copper and the degradation of 2,4,5-T without the use of an additional oxidants or catalysts.Pakistan High Commissio

Comparative Study on the Proximate and Mineral Contents of the Seed and Pulp of Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa)

Proximate composition and mineral content of the seed and pulp of sugar apple (Annona squaumosa) was investigated. On dry weight (DW) bases, the pulp contain significantly (p < 0.05) higher amount of moisture (70 ± 1.83%), ash (7.5 ± 1.29%), crude fibre (46 ± 2.5%) and solublecarbohydrate (30.30 ± 2.02%) compared to the respective values of 42.50 ± 1.29%, 2.50 ± 0.20%, 36.30 ± 2.00% and 12.60 ± 1.80% for seeds. The crude protein contents did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) difference between the seeds (4.4 ± 0.72%) and the pulp (4.4 ± 1.03%). On the other hand, crude lipid (44 ± 3.06%) and calculated energy (464 kcal/100g) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher for the seeds than the corresponding values (11.5 ± 2.08%; 246 kcal/100g) for pulp. Mineral elements concentrations were low except for Ca in both samples and Mg for pulp. Nutrient densities were low for most elements other than Ca, Mg (for pulp), Fe and Zn, which were > 100%.Key words: Annona squamosa, Fruits, Proximate, Minerals, nutrient density

Pilot-scale spinning and sucrose-tetra-aldehydes-crosslinking of feather-derived protein fibers with improved mechanical properties and water resistance

Pliable and water-resistant protein fibers from feathers were developed via continuous one-step spinning and crosslinking using sucrose-tetra-aldehydes. Though flexible protein fibers from feathers were developed, poor wet stability and low tenacity still limit the large and high-end applications of feather-derived fibers. Despite that saccharide aldehydes are considered as an efficient and sustainable crosslinker, substantial concerns such as generation of formaldehyde, high consumption of modifiers, loss of mechanical properties, yellowing, and decline in dyeability of fibers, exist after crosslinking. In this work, we controlled structures of crosslinkers and incorporated disaccharide-tetra-aldehydes into a continuous wet-spinning line. No formaldehyde was generated in the whole process. Protein fibers with controlled aldimine crosslinkages had not only a 92% tenacity retention after immersed in water for 1 week but also a substantial increase in mechanical properties. The dry and wet tenacity of feather-derived fibers was 120% and 90% of wool, respectively. Moreover, crosslinking from disaccharide-tetra-aldehydes retained the color of fibers and minimized the consumption of amine groups, the dyeing sites, on keratin. No toxicity was introduced by crosslinking. This work promotes resource recovery from poultry wastes, decreases the reliance of fiber industry on petroleum-based products, and diminishes environmental impact of fiber industries

Workers' relational identification with supervisors influences safety behaviour in construction projects

Purpose: This research aims to examine the influence of workers' identification with their supervisors on safety behaviour in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: Employing the job demands–resources theory, this research tested the relationships among relational identification as a personal resource, respectful engagement as a job resource, employee safety voice as a positive work behaviour and safety behaviour as the outcome. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse 120 quantitative data collected using a questionnaire survey. Findings: Relational identification, which reflects workers' identification with their supervisors, is a significant predictor of safety behaviour. Furthermore, respectful engagement and employee safety voice sequentially mediate the relationship between relational identification and safety behaviour. Research limitations/implications: The internalisation of safety norms, values and practices in construction projects is contingent on the identification of workers with their supervisors. Originality/value: Safety behaviour of workers is a significant predictor of safety performance in construction projects. Research on numerous antecedents of safety behaviour points out that leadership is a significant predictor of construction workers' safe behaviour. Contributing to research on construction safety leadership, this research found that leader-subordinate relationship is key to make construction workers more psychologically ready to internalise the importance of safety behaviours at work

Convert index trading to option strategies via LSTM architecture

AbstractIn the past, most strategies were mainly designed to focus on stocks or futures as the trading target. However, due to the enormous number of companies in the market, it is not easy to select a set of stocks or futures for investment. By investigating each company's financial situation and the trend of the overall financial market, people can invest precisely in the market and choose to go long or short. Moreover, how to determine the position size of the transaction is also a problematic issue. In the past, many money management theories were based on the Kelly criterion. And they put a certain percentage of their total funds into the market for trading. Nonetheless, three massive problems cannot be overcome. First, futures are leveraged transactions, and extra funds must be deposited as margin. It causes that the position size is hard to be estimated by the Kelly criterion. The second point is that the trading strategy is difficult to determine the winning rate in the financial market and cannot be brought into the Kelly criterion to calculate the optimal fraction. Last, the financial data are always massive. A big data technique should be applied to resolve this issue and enhance the performance of the framework to reveal knowledge in the financial data. Therefore, in this paper, a concept of converting the original futures trading strategy into options trading is proposed. An LSTM (long short-term memory)-based framework is proposed to predict the profit probability of the original futures strategy and convert the corresponding daily take-profit and stop-loss points according to the delta value of the options. Finally, the proposed framework brings the results into the Kelly criterion to get the optimal fraction of options trading. The final research results show that options trading is closer to the optimal fraction calculated by the Kelly criterion than futures trading. If the original futures trading strategy can profit, the benefits after converting to options trading can be further superior

Wearable contact lens biosensors for continuous glucose monitoring using smartphones

Low-cost, robust, and reusable continuous glucose monitoring systems that can provide quantitative measurements at point-of-care settings is an unmet medical need. Optical glucose sensors require complex and time-consuming fabrication processes, and their readouts are not practical for quantitative analyses. Here, a wearable contact lens optical sensor was created for the continuous quantification of glucose at physiological conditions, simplifying the fabrication process and facilitating smartphone readouts. A photonic microstructure having a periodicity of 1.6 μm was printed on a glucose-selective hydrogel film functionalized with phenylboronic acid. Upon binding with glucose, the microstructure volume swelled, which modulated the periodicity constant. The resulting change in the Bragg diffraction modulated the space between zero- and first-order spots. A correlation was established between the periodicity constant and glucose concentration within 0–50 mM. The sensitivity of the sensor was 12 nm mM–1, and the saturation response time was less than 30 min. The sensor was integrated with commercial contact lenses and utilized for continuous glucose monitoring using smartphone camera readouts. The reflected power of the first-order diffraction was measured via a smartphone application and correlated to the glucose concentrations. A short response time of 3 s and a saturation time of 4 min was achieved in the continuous monitoring mode. Glucose-sensitive photonic microstructures may have applications in point-of-care continuous monitoring devices and diagnostics at home settings

Dose Prediction with Deep Learning for Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy: Model Adaptation to Different Treatment Planning Practices

This work aims to study the generalizability of a pre-developed deep learning (DL) dose prediction model for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for prostate cancer and to adapt the model to three different internal treatment planning styles and one external institution planning style. We built the source model with planning data from 108 patients previously treated with VMAT for prostate cancer. For the transfer learning, we selected patient cases planned with three different styles from the same institution and one style from a different institution to adapt the source model to four target models. We compared the dose distributions predicted by the source model and the target models with the clinical dose predictions and quantified the improvement in the prediction quality for the target models over the source model using the Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) of 10% to 100% isodose volumes and the dose-volume-histogram (DVH) parameters of the planning target volume and the organs-at-risk. The source model accurately predicts dose distributions for plans generated in the same source style but performs sub-optimally for the three internal and one external target styles, with the mean DSC ranging between 0.81-0.94 and 0.82-0.91 for the internal and the external styles, respectively. With transfer learning, the target model predictions improved the mean DSC to 0.88-0.95 and 0.92-0.96 for the internal and the external styles, respectively. Target model predictions significantly improved the accuracy of the DVH parameter predictions to within 1.6%. We demonstrated model generalizability for DL-based dose prediction and the feasibility of using transfer learning to solve this problem. With 14-29 cases per style, we successfully adapted the source model into several different practice styles. This indicates a realistic way to widespread clinical implementation of DL-based dose prediction

Development of polymeric nanocomposite (Xyloglucan-co-Methacrylic acid/Hydroxyapatite/SiO 2 ) scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications—In-vitro antibacterial, cytotoxicity and cell culture evaluation

Advancement and innovation in bone regeneration, specifically polymeric composite scaffolds, are of high significance for the treatment of bone defects. Xyloglucan (XG) is a polysaccharide biopolymer having a wide variety of regenerative tissue therapeutic applications due to its biocompatibility, in-vitro degradation and cytocompatibility. Current research is focused on the fabrication of polymeric bioactive scaffolds by freeze drying method for nanocomposite materials. The nanocomposite materials have been synthesized from free radical polymerization using n-SiO2 and n-HAp XG and Methacrylic acid (MAAc). Functional group analysis, crystallinity and surface morphology were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. These bioactive polymeric scaffolds presented interconnected and well-organized porous morphology, controlled precisely by substantial ratios of n-SiO2. The swelling analysis was also performed in different media at varying temperatures (27, 37 and 47 °C) and the mechanical behavior of the dried scaffolds is also investigated. Antibacterial activities of these scaffolds were conducted against pathogenic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Besides, the biological behavior of these scaffolds was evaluated by the Neutral Red dye assay against the MC3T3-E1 cell line. The scaffolds showed interesting properties for bone tissue engineering, including porosity with substantial mechanical strength, biodegradability, biocompatibility and cytocompatibility behavior. The reported polymeric bioactive scaffolds can be aspirant biomaterials for bone tissue engineering to regenerate defecated bone

Contact lenses for color blindness

Color vision deficiency (color blindness) is an inherited genetic ocular disorder. While no cure for this disorder currently exists, several methods can be used to increase the color perception of those affected. One such method is the use of color filtering glasses which are based on Bragg filters. While these glasses are effective, they are high cost, bulky, and incompatible with other vision correction eyeglasses. In this work, a rhodamine derivative is incorporated in commercial contact lenses to filter out the specific wavelength bands (≈545–575 nm) to correct color vision blindness. The biocompatibility assessment of the dyed contact lenses in human corneal fibroblasts and human corneal epithelial cells shows no toxicity and cell viability remains at 99% after 72 h. This study demonstrates the potential of the dyed contact lenses in wavelength filtering and color vision deficiency management