Reduction of Langelier index of cooling water by electrolytic treatment with stainless steel electrode

The efficiency of electrolytic treatment in reducing the Langelier saturation index (LSI) of the cooling water from a cooling tower of a textile industry was investigated. Sacrificial anodes were employed which prevent obnoxious chlorine generation. A series of batch experiments using stainless steel electrodes were conducted with 4 different current densities (5, 7, 10 and 15 A/m2) and 6 different electrolysis times (20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 min). The use of 7 A/m2 for 50 min electrolysis time yielded a satisfactory efficiency in reducing the LSI index from 2.57 to zero, indicating that the treated water was of sufficient quality to be reused in the cooling process

CHARACTERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA FROM TRADITIONAL THAI FERMENTED SAUSAGES

Lactic acid bacteria from traditional Thai fermented sausages were characterized. The fermented sausages were mainly produced from minced pork/beef or pork/beef liver. Sixty five strains were isolated from 12 samples collected from the central and northeastern parts of Thailand. The strains were identified by conventional morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical tests as well as by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The isolates were identified as Weissella cibaria/kimchii (5), W. confusa (3), Pediococcus pentosaceus (20), P. acidilactici (2), Lactobacillus fermentum (3), L. brevis (4), L. farciminis (4), L. plantarum (23), and L. sakei (1). Some of these species have not been previously isolated from Thai fermented sausages. The inhibition tests against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus showed that 5 isolates could inhibit the growth of B. cereus and 2 of them could also inhibit S. aureus. The isolates were identified as W. confusa (1), P. acidilactici (1), L. plantarum (3). Three strains identified as L. plantarum and one as Weissella spp. could produce diacetyl

ACLRO: An Ontology for the Best Practice in ACLR Rehabilitation

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)With the rise of big data and the demands for leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare requires more knowledge sharing that offers machine-readable semantic formalization. Even though some applications allow shared data interoperability, they still lack formal machine-readable semantics in ICD9/10 and LOINC. With ontology, the further ability to represent the shared conceptualizations is possible, similar to SNOMED-CT. Nevertheless, SNOMED-CT mainly focuses on electronic health record (EHR) documenting and evidence-based practice. Moreover, due to its independence on data quality, the ontology enhances advanced AI technologies, such as machine learning (ML), by providing a reusable knowledge framework. Developing a machine-readable and sharable semantic knowledge model incorporating external evidence and individual practice’s values will create a new revolution for best practice medicine. The purpose of this research is to implement a sharable ontology for the best practice in healthcare, with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) as a case study. The ontology represents knowledge derived from both evidence-based practice (EBP) and practice-based evidence (PBE). First, the study presents how the domain-specific knowledge model is built using a combination of Toronto Virtual Enterprise (TOVE) and a bottom-up approach. Then, I propose a top-down approach using Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry ontologies that adheres to the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO)’s framework. In this step, the EBP, PBE, and statistic ontologies are developed independently. Next, the study integrates these individual ontologies into the final ACLR Ontology (ACLRO) as a more meaningful model that endorses the reusability and the ease of the model-expansion process since the classes can grow independently from one another. Finally, the study employs a use case and DL queries for model validation. The study's innovation is to present the ontology implementation for best-practice medicine and demonstrate how it can be applied to a real-world setup with semantic information. The ACLRO simultaneously emphasizes knowledge representation in health-intervention, statistics, research design, and external research evidence, while constructing the classes of data-driven and patient-focus processes that allow knowledge sharing explicit of technology. Additionally, the model synthesizes multiple related ontologies, which leads to the successful application of best-practice medicine

The Impact of Information Technology on Patient Engagement and Health Behavior Change: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Advancements in information technology (IT) and its increasingly ubiquitous nature expand the ability to engage patients in the health care process and motivate health behavior change. Objective: Our aim was to systematically review the (1) impact of IT platforms used to promote patients' engagement and to effect change in health behaviors and health outcomes, (2) behavior theories or models applied as bases for developing these interventions and their impact on health outcomes, (3) different ways of measuring health outcomes, (4) usability, feasibility, and acceptability of these technologies among patients, and (5) challenges and research directions for implementing IT platforms to meaningfully impact patient engagement and health outcomes. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were searched for studies published from 2000 to December 2014. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the included papers, and potentially relevant studies were retrieved and assessed for eligibility based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 170 articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed in detail. Overall, 88.8% (151/170) of studies showed positive impact on patient behavior and 82.9% (141/170) reported high levels of improvement in patient engagement. Only 47.1% (80/170) referenced specific behavior theories and only 33.5% (57/170) assessed the usability of IT platforms. The majority of studies used indirect ways to measure health outcomes (65.9%, 112/170). Conclusions: In general, the review has shown that IT platforms can enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes. Few studies addressed usability of these interventions, and the reason for not using specific behavior theories remains unclear. Further research is needed to clarify these important questions. In addition, an assessment of these types of interventions should be conducted based on a common framework using a large variety of measurements; these measurements should include those related to motivation for health behavior change, long-standing adherence, expenditure, satisfaction, and health outcomes. [JMIR Med Inform 2016;4(1):e1

Turbidity and COD Reduction of Textile Wastewater by Electrocoagulation

Abstract The efficiency of electrocoagulation in treating textile wastewater was investigated in this study. The textile wastewater was originated from dyeing and finishing activities which involved mostly direct and disperse dyes. Five different current densities were applied (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 A·m -2 ) and for each current density, electrocoagulation time of 5, 10, 15 and 20 min were tried. The electrochemical technique showed satisfactory efficiency for turbidity removal of 85-95% and 95% for direct dyes and disperse dyes, respectively. Even though the visual appearance of water became desirable, the total dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were not significantly reduced by the electrocoagulation process

BACTERIOCIN-LIKE ACTIVITY FROM WEISSELLA CONFUSA AND PEDIOCOCCUS ACIDILACTICI ISOLATED FROM TRADITIONAL THAI FERMENTED SAUSAGES

Bacteriocin-like activity (BLA) was screened in 133 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional Thai fermented sausages. The inhibition assay against the test organisms showed that eight out of 133 isolates (CP1-15, CP2-11, CP3-1, CP7-3, CP10-3, CP11-6, CP14-1 and CP14-4) suppressed the growth of Bacillus cereus and four (CP1-15, CP7-3, CP14-2 and CP14-3) suppressed the growth of Staphylococcus aureus but none could suppress the growth of Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. The isolates with the highest activity against the two Gram positive test strains (CP3-1 for B. cereus and CP7-3 for S. aureus) were further investigated for the effect of heat treatment at different pH values and for combined effects of dual mixtures. The increase in heating temperature (between 65 and 100 \ub0C) and time (between 5 and 60 min) significantly decreased BLA, while the changes in pH (between 4 and 6) had little effect. When the filtrates of the two isolates were mixed, BLA seemed to be synergistic against each test strain. Regression equations were obtained by fitting the experimental percent inhibition data with second-order polynomial equations. The simulated data agreed well with the experimental data within 10 % when the filtrates were incubated at 65 \ub0C for 5, 15, 30 and 60 min and at 80 \ub0C for 5, 15 and 30 min. The isolates CP3-1 and CP7-3, which had an antagonistic effect against the two strains of Gram positive foodborne bacteria, were formerly identified as Weissella confusa and Pediococcus acidilactici, respectively. It is the researcher\u92s belief that this is the first report on BLA from W. confusa against B. cereus

Finite Element Analysis for Thermoforming Process of Starch/ Biodegradable Polyester Blend

The objective of this work is to study the behaviour during sheet thermoforming process of a Tapioca starch-biodegradable polyester (EnpolTM) blend with the mixing ratio of 50:50 by weight. The mechanical behavior of the material extruded in the form of thin sheet was studied by means of compression tests with varying strain rates at temperatures ranging from between 363 K to 393 K. The Elastic–Perfectly Plastic material model was used to capture the compressive deformation behavior of the material. It was found that the model described reasonably well the behavior of the material and the 2D Finite element simulation with Elastic–Plastic material model gave good representation of the real thermoforming process

Defluoridation of drinking water using a new flow column-electrocoagulation reactor (FCER) - Experimental, statistical, and economic approach.

A new batch, flow column electrocoagulation reactor (FCER) that utilises a perforated plate flow column as a mixer has been used to remove fluoride from drinking water. A comprehensive study has been carried out to assess its performance. The efficiency of fluoride removal (R%) as a function of key operational parameters such as initial pH, detention time (t), current density (CD), inter-electrode distance (ID) and initial concentration (C0) has been examined and an empirical model has been developed. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation of the influence of the EC process on morphology of the surface of the aluminium electrodes, showed the erosion caused by aluminium loss. A preliminary estimation of the reactor's operating cost is suggested, allowing for the energy from recycling of hydrogen gas hydrogen gas produced amount. The results obtained showed that 98% of fluoride was removed within 25 min of electrolysis at pH of 6, ID of 5 mm, and CD of 2 mA/cm(2). The general relationship between fluoride removal and operating parameters could be described by a linear model with R(2) of 0.823. The contribution of the operating parameters to the suggested model followed the order: t > CD > C0 > ID > pH. The SEM images obtained showed that, after the EC process, the surface of the anodes, became non-uniform with a large number of irregularities due to the generation of aluminium hydroxides. It is suggested that these do not materially affect the performance. A provisional estimate of the operating cost was 0.379 US $/m(3). Additionally, it has been found that 0.6 kW/m(3) is potentially recoverable from the H2 gas

Iron removal, energy consumption and operating cost of electrocoagulation of drinking water using a new flow column reactor

The goal of this project was to remove iron from drinking water using a new electrocoagulation (EC) cell. In this research, a flow column has been employed in the designing of a new electrocoagulation reactor (FCER) to achieve the planned target. Where, the water being treated flows through the perforated disc electrodes, thereby effectively mixing and aerating the water being treated. As a result, the stirring and aerating devices that until now have been widely used in the electrocoagulation reactors are unnecessary. The obtained results indicated that FCER reduced the iron concentration from 20 to 0.3 mg/L within 20 min of electrolysis at initial pH of 6, inter-electrode distance (ID) of 5 mm, current density (CD) of 1.5 mA/cm2, and minimum operating cost of 0.22 US $/m3. Additionally, it was found that FCER produces H2 gas enough to generate energy of 10.14 kW/m3. Statistically, it was found that the relationship between iron removal and operating parameters could be modelled with R2 of 0.86, and the influence of operating parameters on iron removal followed the order: C0>t>CD>pH. Finally, the SEM (scanning electron microscopy) images showed a large number of irregularities on the surface of anode due to the generation of aluminium hydroxides