A systematical characterization of teo2–v2o5 glass system using boron (Iii) oxide and neodymium (iii) oxide substitution: Resistance behaviors against ionizing radiation

This study aimed to performan extensive characterization of a 74.75TeO2–0.25V2O5–(25 - x)B2O3-xNd2O3 glass system with (x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mol%) for radiation shielding properties. Linear and mass attenuation coefficients were determined using Phy-X PSD software and compared with the simulation using Monte Carlo software MCNPX (version 2.7.0). Half value layer, mean free path, tenth value layer, effective atomic number, exposure buildup factor, and energy absorption buildup factors of VTBNd0.0, VTBNd0.5, VTBNd1.0, and VTBNd1.5 glasses were determined, respectively. The results showed that boron (III) oxide and neodymium (III) oxide substitution has an obvious impact on the gamma ray attenuation properties of the studied glasses. It can be concluded that the VTBNd1.5 sample with the highest content of neodymium (III) oxide (1.5 mol%) is the superior sample for shielding of gamma radiation in the investigated energy range. © 2021 by the authors

Role of cellular senescence and NOX4-mediated oxidative stress in systemic sclerosis pathogenesis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by progressive fibrosis of skin and numerous internal organs and a severe fibroproliferative vasculopathy resulting frequently in severe disability and high mortality. Although the etiology of SSc is unknown and the detailed mechanisms responsible for the fibrotic process have not been fully elucidated, one important observation from a large US population study was the demonstration of a late onset of SSc with a peak incidence between 45 and 54 years of age in African-American females and between 65 and 74 years of age in white females. Although it is not appropriate to consider SSc as a disease of aging, the possibility that senescence changes in the cellular elements involved in its pathogenesis may play a role has not been thoroughly examined. The process of cellular senescence is extremely complex, and the mechanisms, molecular events, and signaling pathways involved have not been fully elucidated; however, there is strong evidence to support the concept that oxidative stress caused by the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species may be one important mechanism involved. On the other hand, numerous studies have implicated oxidative stress in SSc pathogenesis, thus, suggesting a plausible mechanism in which excessive oxidative stress induces cellular senescence and that the molecular events associated with this complex process play an important role in the fibrotic and fibroproliferative vasculopathy characteristic of SSc. Here, recent studies examining the role of cellular senescence and of oxidative stress in SSc pathogenesis will be reviewed

Distribution of Spoligotyping Defined Genotypic Lineages among Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Clinical Isolates in Ankara, Turkey

Background: Investigation of genetic heterogeneity and spoligotype-defined lineages of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates collected during a three-year period in two university hospitals and National Tuberculosis Reference and Research Laboratory in Ankara, Turkey. Methods and Findings: A total of 95 drug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates collected from three different centers were included in this study. Susceptibility testing of the isolates to four major antituberculous drugs was performed using proportion method on Löwenstein–Jensen medium and BACTEC 460-TB system. All clinical isolates were typed by using spoligotyping and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. Seventy-three of the 95 (76.8%) drug resistant M. tuberculosis isolates were isoniazid-resistant, 45 (47.4%) were rifampicin-resistant, 32 (33.7%) were streptomycinresistant and 31 (32.6%) were ethambutol-resistant. The proportion of multidrug-resistant isolates (MDR) was 42.1%. By using spoligotyping, 35 distinct patterns were observed; 75 clinical isolates were grouped in 15 clusters (clustering rate of 79%) and 20 isolates displayed unique patterns. Five of these 20 unique patterns corresponded to orphan patterns in th

In Silicon Monte Carlo Simulation Trials for Investigation of V2O5 Reinforcement Effect on Ternary Zinc Borate Glasses: Nuclear Radiation Shielding Dynamics

In the current study, promising glass composites based on vanadium pentoxide (V2O5)- doped zinc borate (ZnB) were investigated in terms of their nuclear-radiation-shielding dynamics. The mass and linear attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, mean free path, tenth-value layer, effective atomic number, exposure-buildup factor, and energy-absorption-buildup factor were deeply simulated by using MCNPX code, Phy-X PSD code, and WinXcom to study the validation of ZBV1, ZBV2, ZBV3, and ZBV4 based on (100−x)(0.6ZnO-0.4B2O3)(x)(V2O5) (x = 1, 2, 3, 4 mol%) samples against ionizing radiation. The results showed that attenuation competencies of the studied glasses slightly changed while increasing the V2O5 content from 1 mol% to 4 mol%. The domination of ZnO concentration in the composition compared to B2O3 makes ZnO substitution with V2O5 more dominant, leading to a decrease in density. Since density has a significant role in the attenuation of gamma rays, a negative effect was observed. It can be concluded that the aforementioned substitution can negatively affect the shielding competencies of studied glasses. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Characteristics of Different Systems for the Solar Drying of Crops

Solar dryers are used to enable the preservation of agricultural crops, food processing industries for dehydration of fruits and vegetables, fish and meat drying, dairy industries for production of milk powder, seasoning of wood and timber, textile industries for drying of textile materials. The fundamental concepts and contexts of their use to dry crops is discussed in the chapter. It is shown that solar drying is the outcome of complex interactions particular between the intensity and duration of solar energy, the prevailing ambient relative humidity and temperature, the characteristics of the particular crop and its pre-preparation and the design and operation of the solar dryer

ANNULATION REACTIONS OF 4-METHOXY-2-PYRONE WITH VARIOUS ACTIVE METHYL COMPOUNDS

Some phenolic biphenyl compounds have been synthesised via the annulation reactions of 4-methoxy-2- pyrone with various active methyl compounds

Do mature business processes lead to improved performance? : a review of literature for empirical evidence

There is a considerable number of maturity models proposed for business processes or BPM, but their exact contribution or impact on business performance is unclear. In order to better understand the state of the research on the relation between the use of business process maturity models (BPMMs) and business performance and to identify opportunities for future research, we conducted a systematic literature review. We searched the studies between the years 1990 and 2014 in established digital libraries. Out of 2899 studies retrieved initially, we selected 62 studies to provide a list of BPMMs referenced in the academic literature and 7 studies within this set to thoroughly review the evidence provided for the relation between higher maturity leading to higher business performance. We found that while several BPMMs were proposed in the last decade, the number of empirical studies that reveal the effect of using these maturity models on a firm’s performance is scarce - even for the most referenced BPMMs. We propose that future research should be directed towards empirical studies in the form of longitudinal case studies and surveys to better demonstrate the validity and usefulness of BPMMs and thereby foster a wider adoption of these models in practic