Peanut hull flour as dietary fiber in whole wheat bread

Peanut hull flour (PHF) was substituted for 0, 4, and 8% of the wheat flour in a formulation for whole wheat bread. Carboxymethyl cellulose and wheat gluten were added to all treatments to produce loaves with volume comparable to that of bread made with white wheat flour. The bread was produced, baked, and tested to determine the effect of PHF on some of its chemical components, physical characteristics, and organoleptic attributes. Bread with 8% PHF had a higher and bread with 4% had a lower Hardness value than bread with 0% PHF. As the length of storage time was increased, hardness of the bread increased. Addition of PHF affected cohesiveness but not elasticity of the bread. However, both properties of the bread decreased as the period of storage was extended to 6 days. The presence of PHF caused a darkening of the outer crust and the crumb of the bread. Bread with 8% PHF was darker than bread with 4% PHF. The crumb was lighter than the crust of bread containing a given percentage of PHF. Bread with 4% PHF had a higher loaf volume than bread with 0% PHF, while bread with 8% PHF had a lower loaf volume. As the level of PHF was increased, the amount of moisture, ash, crude fiber, and neutral detergent fiber was increased. On the other hand, the amount of crude protein, ether extract, and carbohydrate was decreased as the percentages of PHF was increased. Aflatoxins were not detected in the PHF. The sensory panel indicated that the presence of PHF affected some of the quality attributes of the bread. When the panel compared samples of bread with the three levels of PHF content to an imaginary loaf of ideal whole grain bread, the following general findings were apparent. In relation to the ideal bread, PHF at one or more levels caused the bread to possess a less smooth surface, have decreased moistness and graininess, exhibit a softer crumb, and be less preferred. Likewise, PHF at one or more levels caused the bread to be more gritty and sticky and have a harder crust than the ideal loaf. PHF does seem to have potential as a source of dietary fiber when added to whole wheat bread. A 4% level of PHF should yield bread with more acceptable physical attributes than an 8% level of PHF. However, the panel indicated samples of bread with 4 and 8% PHF level were not different from each other when compared with an ideal loaf of whole grain bread

Development of Piezoresistive Tactile Sensors and a Graphical Display System for Minimally Invasive Surgery and Robotics

Development of Piezoresistive Tactile Sensors and a Graphical Display System for Minimally Invasive Surgery and Robotics Masoud Kalantari, PhD Concordia University, 2013 This PhD work presents a new tactile and feedback systems for minimally invasive surgery (MIS)and robotics. The thesis is divided into two major sections: the tactile sensing system, and the graphical display system. In the tactile sensing system, piezoresistive materials are used as measuring elements. The first part of the thesis is focused on the theoretical modeling of piezoresistive sensing elements, which are semiconductive polymer composites. The model predicts the piezoresistive behavior in semiconductive polymer composites, including their creep effect and contact resistance. A single force sensing resistor (FSR) is, then, developed by using the semiconductive polymer composite materials. The developed FSR is used in the structure of a novel tactile sensor as the transduction element. The developed tactile sensor is designed to measure the difference in the hardness degree of soft tissues. This capability of the sensor helps surgeons to distinguish different types of tissues involved in the surgery. The tactile sensor is integrated on the extremity of a surgical tool to provide tactile feedback from the interaction between surgical instruments and the tissue during MIS. Mitral valve annuloplasty repair by MIS is of our particular interest to be considered as a potential target for the use of the developed tactile sensor. In the next step, the contact interaction of the tactile sensor with soft tissues is modelled, parametrically. Viscoelastic interaction is considered between the tactile sensor and atrial tissue in annuloplasty mitral valve repair; and a parametric solution for the viscoelastic contact is achieved. In addition to the developed sensor, a novel idea regarding measuring the indentation rate, in addition to measuring force and displacement is implemented in a new design of an array tactile sensor. It is shown that the indentation-rate measurement is an important factor in distinguishing the hardness degree of tissues with viscoelastic behaviour. The second part of the thesis is focused on the development of a three-dimensional graphical display that provides visual palpation display to any surgeon performing robotic assisted MIS. Two matrices of the developed piezoresistive force sensor are used to palpate the tissue and collect the tactile information. The collected data are processed with a new algorithm and graphically rendered in three dimensions. Consequently, the surgeon can determine the presence, location, and the size of any hidden superficial tumor/artery by grasping the target tissue in a quasi-dynamic way

Determination of the Mutagenicity Potential of Supermint Herbal Medicine by Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis in Rat Hepatocytes

Purpose: The increasing use of herbal drugs and their easy availability have necessitated the use of mutagenicity test to analyze their toxicity and safety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxicity of Supermint herbal medicine in DNA breakage of rat hepatocytes in comparison with sodium dichromate by single cell gel electrophoresis technique or comet assay. Methods: Hepatocytes were prepared from male wistar rats and were counted and kept in a bioreactor for 30 minutes. Then cells were exposed to the Supermint herbal medicine at doses of 125, 250 and 500 μl/ml. Buffer 4 (incubation buffer) and sodium dichromate were used as negative and positive control for one hour respectively. Then cell suspension with low melting point agarose were put on precoated slides and covered with agarose gel. Then lysing, electrophoresis, neutralization and staining were carried out. Finally the slides were analyzed with fluorescence microscope. The parameter under this analysis was the type of migration which was determined according to Kobayashi pattern. Results: With increased dose of Supermint herbal medicine the DNA damage was slightly increased (P<0001). Conlusion: In overall compared to the positive control significant differences is observed which convinced that the crude extract of Supermint in vitro did not have mutagenic effect

Effect of Occupational Vibration on Visual Pathway Measured by Visual Evoked Potentials

Purpose: To study the possible effects of vibration on visual pathway using visual evoked potentials.Patients and Methods: Fifty workers from a textile factory segment with machinery creating high levels of vibration were selected. The laborers had at least 6 years of experience in the factory segment where high vibrating machines were operating. The amplitude and latency of visual evoked potential, P100 peak was recorded for these selected workers and 50 age and sex matched controls from other sections of the factory. Results The mean age was 27.5 ± 1.741 and 27.28 ± 1.641 in the case and control groups respectively. There was a statistically significant higher latency of the visual evoked potential, P100 peak in the case group compared to the control group (P &lt; 0.001). No significant difference regarding the amplitude of visual evoked potential, P100 peak was observed between the two groups (P = 0.89).Conclusion: Occupational vibration might have adverse effects on visual system, mainly visual pathway, causing increased latency of VEP; P100 peak measured using visual evoked potentials.keywords: Vibration; Visual Pathways; Evoked Potentials, Visual

Fuzzy Goal Programming Model to Rolling Performance Based Budgeting by Productivity Approach (Case Study: Gas Refiner-ies in Iran)

This research presents a mathematical model for performance-based budgeting and combines it with rolling budget for increased flexibility. The model has been designed by Chebyshev's goal programming technique with fuzzy approach. The parameters or coefficients of the model are derived by measuring the productivity of the organizations considering eight criteria. Data for calculating productivity indicators were collected from gas refineries of Iran in 2011–2015 and analysed by Excel and GAMS software. Then, the model was tested for determining the 2016 budget of those refineries. The model was solved by LINGO software by linking it to Excel. The solution of the model reduced 0.68% of the total refinery's budget compared with the actual budgets for 2016, which is higher than the annual budget of some of the companies in this group.</span

Specifying the Concept of Sadness in the Holy Qur’an: A Qualitative Analysis

Introduction: Sadness is the most important natural emotion of human beings. The feeling of sadness is experienced throughout the private and public life of mankind. Therefore, the present study aimed to explain the concept of grief by referring to the Holy Qur’an. Methods: This study was conducted through qualitative content analysis method. From among the Qur’anic concepts relevant to sadness, which were collected from the whole Qur’an, 60 concepts were selected via targeted sampling for analysis. Results: From the analysis of the Qur’anic concepts of sadness, six main categories including “physiology”, “psychology”, “emotion”, “spirituality”, “remedy”, and “consequences” emerged. Conclusion: According to the results, it can be inferred that sadness in the Holy Qur’an is a multidimensional concept and various structures have been used to explain it. That is why all human beings, with respect to the high incidence of depression and sadness, have to pay more attention to this concept, and for being treated, they must accept that all things in the universe occur under God’s lordship

A New Approach for Modeling Piezoresistive Force Sensors Based on Semiconductive Polymer Composites

Semiconductive polymer composites are used in a wide range of sensors and measurement devices. This paper discusses the development of a model and a new theoretical formulation for predicting piezoresistive behavior in semiconductive polymer composites, including their creep behavior and contact resistance. The relationship between electrical resistance and force applied to the piezoresistive force sensor can be predicted by using the proposed theoretical formulation. In order to verify the proposed formulation, the piezoresistive behavior of Linqstat, a carbon-filled polyethylene, was modeled mathematically. In addition, some experimental tests, such as thermo gravitational analysis and SEM, have been performed on Linqstat to find the volume fraction and size of carbon particles, which are essential for modeling. In addition, on a fabricated force sensor using Linqstat, a force versus resistance curve was obtained experimentally, which verified the validity and reliability of the proposed formulation

Bionomics and phylo-molecular analysis of Leishmania species isolated from human lesions using ITS1 genes in north-east of Iran

Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Leishmania species. The identification of parasite species and the type of disease is beneficial for treatment and preventive modalities. Leishmania tropica and L. major have been reported as the main etiological agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran. The incidence of zoonotic CL has increased and different in distinct loci of Iran. Hence, we perused the Leishmania species and its genetic traits in the North East of Iran. The investigation was conducted on 200 positive smears prepared from patients’ lesions suffering from CL referred to the health care centers of northeastern provinces in Iran from 2013 to 2019. The obtained positive microscopy samples were divided to score the ranges from + 1 to + 6, of them 40 smears exhibited low-parasitemia. Leishmania species analyzed using PCR–RFLP, genetic diversity indices evaluation, phylogenetic analysis, and sequencing comparison with other species in the GeneBank based on ITS1 gene. The isolated L. major strains were similar to other Iranian isolates in this region. Pairwise fixation index (FST) index was statistically significant in different L. major populations and showed the genetic differences in pairwise population of different geographical locations of Iran. The current study confirmed an old pattern endemicity of zoonotic CL in North-east of Iran. Therefore, in order to assess the hybrid formation, more epidemiological, ecological, and gene polymorphism studies are needed to understand the pathogenic role of Leishmania species in Iran.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe