Determination of Gossypol in Hamid and Bt (Seeni 1) Cottonseed Oil using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

This study was conducted to determine the gossypol content in Bt cottonseed (Seeni-1) oil by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with an Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) element. The wavelengths used were selected by spiking refined, bleached deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) to gossypol concentrations of 0-5% and noting the regions of maximal absorbance. Absorbance values of the wavelength regions 3700-2400 & 1900-750 cm−1 and a partial least squares (PLS) method were used to derive calibration models for Hamid cottonseed oil, Seeni-1 cottonseed oil, and gossypol-spiked RBDPO. The coefficients of determination (R2) for the calibration models were computed for the FTIR spectroscopy results against those found by using the wet chemical method AOCS method Ba 8–78. The R2 was 0.8916, 0.9581, and 0.9374 for Hamid cottonseed oil, Seeni-1 cottonseed oil, and gossypol-spiked RBDPO, respectively. The standard error (SE) of the calibration was 0.053, 0.078, and 0.062, respectively. The calibration models were validated using the cross-validation technique within the same set of oil samples. The results of FTIR spectroscopy as a useful technique determining gossypol content in crude cottonseed oil showed that there is a significant difference (p <0.05) in the amount of gossypol content in Hamid and Bt Seeni-1 cottonseed oils

Steam-Induced Coarsening of Single-Unit-Cell MFI Zeolite Nanosheets and Its Effect on External Surface Brønsted Acid Catalysis.

Commonly used methods to assess crystallinity, micro-/mesoporosity, Brønsted acid site density and distribution (in micro- vs. mesopores), and catalytic activity suggest nearly invariant structure and function for aluminosilicate zeolite MFI two-dimensional nanosheets before and after superheated steam treatment. Yet, pronounced reaction rate decrease for benzyl alcohol alkylation with mesitylene, a reaction that cannot take place in the zeolite micropores, is observed. Transmission electron microscopy images reveal pronounced changes in nanosheet thickness, aspect ratio and roughness indicating that nanosheet coarsening and the associated changes in the external (mesoporous) surface structure are responsible for the changes in the external surface catalytic activity. Superheated steam treatment of hierarchical zeolites can be used to alter nanosheet morphology and regulate external surface catalytic activity while preserving micro- and mesoporosity, and micropore reaction rates

Clinical outcomes of laparoscopic versus open appendectomy for acute appendicitis in a resource-limited setting

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of the acute abdomen; thus, appendectomy is part of most daily emergency surgical duties. It is conducted through either open or laparoscopic approach. Methods: A prospective hospital-based study compared the clinical outcomes of open versus laparoscopic appendectomy for patients with acute appendicitis in El-Mek Nimir University Hospital, Sudan. Results: A total of 550 cases of acute appendicitis were studied, of which 328 (59.6%) underwent open appendectomy surgery and 222 (39.4%) underwent laparoscopic appendectomy. The majority of the study’s population was female.Laparoscopic appendectomy generally involved a longer operation time than open appendectomy (mean duration, 42.4±12.5 vs. 29±16 minutes), lesser incidence of severe pain postoperatively (3% vs. 11%; p=0.000), shorter hospital stay (i.e., <24 hours; 96% vs.77%; p=0.000), and a higher rate of patient return to normal activities within 1 week (92% vs.15%; p=0.000). Differences in the occurrence of bleeding, wound infection, or intra-abdominal septic collection were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Both open and laparoscopic appendectomy procedures are safe for the management of acute appendicitis; however, laparoscopic appendectomy is associated with fewer complications and a faster recovery

Control of electron beam energy-spread by beam loading effects in a laser-plasma accelerator

We present experimental results from a laser wakefield electron accelerator driven by 70 TW ultrashort laser pulses in Helium and Helium-Nitrogen gaseous plasmas with two different Nitrogen concentrations, showing distinct electron-beam qualities. In order to get a clear view of the involved phenomenon, two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are performed which not only agreed with the experimental results but also provided an investigation on the evolution of accelerating structures. The experimental and simulation results depict that the beam loading effect can strongly modify the longitudinal accelerating electric field of the wake wave, imposing diametrically opposite effects on the final electron-beam qualities, especially the energy-spread, in the Helium-Nitrogen gas mixtures with different Nitrogen concentrations. In the Helium-Nitrogen-mixed plasma with a lower Nitrogen concentration (0.5%), if appropriately controlled, the beam loading effect can be employed to flatten the accelerating electric field for reducing the electron-beam energy spread. In contrast, in the Helium-Nitrogen-mixed plasmas with a higher Nitrogen concentration (5%), the accelerating electric field of the wake is locally reversed by the self-fields of the overloaded electron bunch, and the correspondingly generated negative-slope region of electric field increases the electron-beam energy-spread

Smart reference evapotranspiration using Internet of Things and hybrid ensemble machine learning approach

Reference Evapotranspiration (ET) is the cornerstone of efficient water utilization for sustainability in agriculture. The standard Penman–Montieth (PM) approach of Reference Evapotranspiration (ET), is complex due to the involvement of an extensive set of climatic conditions. The existing solutions of simplification of ET predictions are not in accordance with the Penman–Montieth approach. A hybrid ensemble machine learning approach for simplification of ET prediction is proposed using the Internet of Things(IoT) based crop field sensed climatic data. The proposed hybrid ensemble model is implemented with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and regression models. The proposed solution is unique for its utilization of flexible climatic conditions and in accordance with the standard Penman–Montieth (PM) approach. The proposed solution is able to predict daily ET from only temperature and also can adjust ET according to wind speed, humidity, and sunshine duration. The assessment of the proposed model exhibits a high coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.94 compared to 0.91 from the basic ANN model. The proposed hybrid ensemble model also exhibits a low RMSE of 0.86, MAE of 0.75 mm day−1, and MAPE of 15.05%, compared to 0.91, 0.75 mm day−1, and 20.40% from the basic ANN model. The ET predictions by the proposed hybrid ensemble model also exhibit a higher Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.917 with the ET by the Penman–Montieth (PM) approach, compared to 0.778 by the basic ANN model. The statistics reveal the accuracy and goodness of fit of the proposed hybrid ensemble machine learning model.© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Enhanced laser wakefield acceleration using dual-color relativistic pulses

In a recent article by Liet al(2019Sci. Adv.5. eaav7940), experimental results from a dual-color laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) were presented. In the present paper we, primarily, focus on detailed simulation studies of such a scheme in the self-injection and ionization injection regimes, respectively. The spatiotemporally-overlapped 30 fs dual-color laser pulses are at fundamental (FL, 800 nm, 'red') and second-harmonic (SH, 400 nm, 'blue') wavelengths. They are (a) co-propagating in an under-dense plasma, (b) relativistically intense (I> 10(18)W cm(-2)) and (c) having relatively high-energy (multi-Joule, loose focusing) and low-energy (sub-Joule, tight focusing), respectively. The basic concept of the scheme is the fact that the depletion length (L-pd) for a relativistic laser pulse in an under-dense plasma has an inverse quadratic dependence on the laser wavelength (proportional to 1/lambda(2)). Here, first by using a single FL 77 TW/30 fs laser pulse to drive a LWFA, an electron beam was accelerated up to similar to 400 MeV from a background plasma having an electron density of 10(19)cm(-3). Then, by driving the same LWFA by co-propagating 'blue' 7 TW/30 fs and 'red' 70 TW/30 fs laser pulses, the electron energy reached similar to 700-800 MeV (maximum). The simulations confirm that in such a dual-color LWFA scheme, the role of the SH laser pulse is post-accelerating electrons after a rapid depletion of the FL laser pulse in the plasma. Furthermore, the SH pulse assists the ionization-injection of the electrons which is an additional benefit of the dual-color LWFA scheme

Effect of mutation and vaccination on spread, severity, and mortality of COVID-19 disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had different waves within the same country. The spread rate and severity showed different properties within the COVID-19 different waves. The present work aims to compare the spread and the severity of the different waves using the available data of confirmed COVID-19 cases and death cases. Real-data sets collected from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science were used to perform a comparative study between COVID-19 different waves in 12 countries with the highest total performed tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 detection in the world (Italy, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Spain, India, USA, UAE, Poland, Colombia, Turkey, and Switzerland). The total number of confirmed cases and death cases in different waves of COVID-19 were compared to that of the previous one for equivalent periods. The total number of death cases in each wave was presented as a percentage of the total number of confirmed cases for the same periods. In all the selected 12 countries, Wave 2 had a much higher number of confirmed cases than that in Wave 1. However, the death cases increase was not comparable with that of the confirmed cases to the extent that some countries had lower death cases than in Wave 1, UAE, and Spain. The death cases as a percentage of the total number of confirmed cases in Wave 1 were much higher than that in Wave 2. Some countries have had Waves 3 and 4. Waves 3 and 4 have had lower confirmed cases than Wave 2, however, the death cases were variable in different countries. The death cases in Waves 3 and 4 were similar to or higher than Wave 2 in most countries. Wave 2 of COVID-19 had a much higher spread rate but much lower severity resulting in a lower death rate in Wave 2 compared with that of the first wave. Waves 3 and 4 have had lower confirmed cases than Wave 2; that could be due to the presence of appropriate treatment and vaccination. However, that was not reflected in the death cases, which were similar to or higher than Wave 2 in most countries. Further studies are needed to explain these findings

Physicochemical characteristics of Bt (Seeni-1) Vs. local hamid cultivar cotton seed oils

n investigation on physicochemical characteristics of Bt (Seeni-1) vs local Hamid cultivar (cv) cottonseed oils (CSO) was conducted. Protein in Seeni-1 seed was relatively higher than Hamid cv seed. Oil content, ash and fibre of Hamid cv were relatively higher. Ash and oil content in black (chemical delinting) and white (mechanical delinting) seed were relatively higher in Hamid cv. There were no differences between the specific gravity (sp.gr.), refractive index (R.I.) and moisture content of both oils. Free fatty acids (FFA) and iodine value (IV) in Seeni-1 were relatively higher. Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in Hamid cv oil proved to be more than Seeni-1 oil [automatically the USFA should be higher in Seeni-1]. Phosphorus content in Seeni-1 oil was lower than that of Hamid cv, whereas there was no significant difference in the peroxide value (PV)

Gum Arabic in renal disease (GARDS Study): Clinical evidence of dietary supplementation impact on progression of renal dysfunction

Administration of Gum Arabic (GA) was associated with an increase in estimated Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at three months (pre 24.64 ± 8.89 vs 26.20 ± 10.1p = 0.02). Subsequently there was no significant fall in eGFR. This translated to positive change in Δ eGFR within quarter at three months, (Δ eGFR 4.89 ml/min/year p=<0.001 vs pre) and six months (Δ eGFR 0.79 ml/min/year, p < 0.001 vs pre) compared to pre-intervention values. At 9 and 12 months although the mean Δ eGFR in quarter was negative, this rate of decline in renal function remained significantly less than prior to intervention (9 months Δ eGFR −1.27 ml/min/year, p= <0.001 vs pre, 12 months delta Δ eGFR −1.54 ml/min/year, p < 0.001 vs pre). Similarly, mean reciprocal creatinine, declined by 11% in the pre-intervention period but was no different to the pre-intervention values for the duration of intervention. In conclusion oral administration of Gum Arabic attenuates the rate of decline in renal function