Recovery of Xanthan Gum from Palm Oil-Based Fermentation Broth by Diafiltration with Flat Polysulfone Microfiltration (MF) Membrane

Xanthan gum recovery from palm oil-based broth by diafiltration was carried out using flat microfiltration (MF) membrane. Optimization of process parameters such as transmembrane pressure (TMP), crossflow velocity (CFV), ionic strength (IS) and diafiltration factor (DF) was performed by Taguchi method using signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of larger-the-better criterion yielding the following optimum conditions: level 1, level 2, level 3, and level 2, respectively, corresponding to Xanthan recovery of 68 %. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed the significance of TMP on providing a driving force for Xanthan’s transmembrane transport (XTT), whereas little effect of DF indicated the evidence of sieving action by cake layer on XTT, which was also responsible for complete rejection of oil indicated by the absence of fatty acid component in permeate upon GC-MS analysis. On the contrary, better XTT was observed during MF operation on zero-oil broth due to absence of oily cake layer rendering CFV more effective

Collagen wrapping and local platelet-rich fibrin do not improve the survival rates of ACL repair with dynamic intraligamentary stabilization: a retrospective case series after ≥5 years postoperatively.

PURPOSE Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair has been recommended as a treatment principle for ACL tears. Several authors have advocated a potential role for primary repair techniques in the ACL decision tree. However, long-term results have been controversial. This study aims to determine the survival of the primarily repaired ACL after dynamic intraligamentary stabilization (DIS) with and without augmentation. METHODS Between 2014 and 2019, 102 patients with isolated proximal ACL ruptures underwent DIS repair within 21 days from injury and were available for follow-up either clinically or telephonically after ≥5 years postoperatively. In 45 cases, DIS repair was augmented with collagen fleece wrapping, platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) or both. Failure was defined as traumatic re-rupture or conversion to ACL reconstruction. The patients being available for physical examination underwent a.-p. stability measurement with a KT-1000 device. Functional outcome was measured with the IKDC, Tegner and Lysholm scores. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Log-Rank Test and Binominal logistic regression were performed. RESULTS After a minimum 5-year follow-up, 71/102 (69.6%) DIS repairs were not re-reptured and clinically and/or subjectively stable. Augmentation did not improve survival rates (p = 0.812). The identified factors influencing failure were a younger age and a pre-injury Tegner activity level of ≥7. 95.7% of those patients with an intact ACL repair had normal or near normal knee function based on the IKDC scoring system. CONCLUSIONS The 5-year overall survival rate of DIS was 69.6%. Collagen fleece wrapping and local PRF application did not improve survival. Patients not suffering failure of repair demonstrated high satisfaction. Nevertheless, the results are inferior to those of established ACL reconstruction procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Case series, Level IV

Tensile property of melt mixing co-polypropylene with waste polymer at different composition ratios

In order to implement economical way of managing unwanted substances, waste polymer (WP) can be recycled instead of throwing it away. It can be reused via "sink-float" technique and mixed with another binder like co-polypropylene (co-PP) to enhance the mechani-cal properties of the material. This is because co-PP is a bit softer but has better impact strength, much tougher and more durable than polypropylene (PP). Two materials underwent injection moulding with 170°C temperature to produce dog bone samples for tensile test. The test started with 10% up until 80% of WP content mixed with co-PP. Tensile test speed used for this experiment was 5mm/s. Stress vs. strain graph was obtained from the test and the modulus of elasticity was obtained by using the stress over strain formula. The stress versus strain result for the composite with WP is lower than that of co-PP, proving that WP is more brittle compared to the more elastic co-PP. Morphological analysis of surface structure based on Optical Microscope (OM) indicates that co-PP has smooth surface while WP has a rough surface

Effect of piezoelectric fan mode shape on the heat transfer characteristics

Piezoelectric fans with their low noise and power consumption, are an effective means of enhancing heat transfer and is a viable alternative to the natural convection process. Several studies have been extensively carried out at the fundamental resonance mode. In this work, three-dimensional numerical studies on the effect of first, second and third mode shapes driven at frequency and the tip amplitude of the first mode are accomplished to investigate their effects on the heat transfer characteristics. The experimental and numerical model of the first mode shows a reasonably good agreement between them. The results showed that the increase in the mode number decreased the induced air flow velocity on the top of the heated surface, thus impeding the cooling capabilities at higher mode number. The vibrating blade of the first mode produced a pair of asymmetric vortex of opposite circulation around front and the back the piezofan tip, which disappear with the increase of mode number. It is thus established from this work that higher mode of vibrations is ineffective and therefore the fundamental resonance mode is suggested for all practical piezofan applications

Gender authorship trends in spine research publications - Research across different countries from 1976 to 2020.

•Gender trends in authorship showed an increase in female authors from 1976 to 2020.•In 2020, Europe had the highest and Asia the lowest proportion of female authors.•The Netherlands had the highest proportion of women and Japan the lowest

Gender-sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision making (ROAD) to support WiF2

The Gender-Sensitive Risks and Options Assessment for Decision Making (ROAD) to Support WiF-2 (ROAD migration project), a partnership coordinated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Australian National University, American University Beirut, Lincoln University, and University of Dhaka, evaluated the ILO-DFID Partnership Programme on Fair Recruitment and Decent Work for Women Migrant Workers in South Asia and the Middle East (Work in Freedom, Phase 2 project [WiF-2]), which operated from 2018 to 2023. The WiF-2 project specifically aimed “to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and forced labour of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries (TCLFI) of South Asia and Arab States” (ToC WiF-2)

Tyre Safety Performance on Asphalt Pavement in Malaysia Climate - Analysis through Finite Element Method

Interaction characteristics between tyre and asphalt pavement surface are one of the important aspects that need to be taken into consideration in maintaining the safety of driving through increasing the effectiveness of tyre and optimizing the possibility of skidding, especially during hydroplaning conditions. Lower quality of tyres in terms of tyre life, bad tyre rethreading, low tyre material quality plus lack of awareness by road users can be considered the main factors in occurrence of car accidents in Malaysia. The study is done on the contact performance between tyre surface and asphalt pavement in hot and humid Malaysia climate, with the application of Finite-Element Method. In maintaining or increasing the safety features of tyre, several parameters such as rotational speed, vehicle weight, tyre-road contact friction will be studied through computer simulation. It is estimated that increment of loading, surface contact between tyre and road pavement will increase, thus increasing the frictional contact. It is shown that effective frictional characteristic is needed, where traction, braking, life of tyre can be optimize

Depression and anxiety in social media: Jordan case study

The expression "social media" refers to a software-based platform developed for users’ benefit. People use it to gain social power, market their products, conduct online business, and share information and ideas. This digital ecosystem has become helpful in various ways, but research indicates that it does not come for free. Addiction, depression, and anxiety are some of the adverse conditions discussed in many studies. The purpose of this study is to mark if there is a relationship between using social media networks and the numbering of people with anxiety or depression. Also, by addressing the need to learn more about what makes people use social networks and how that use affects anxiety and depression in Arabic-speaking users in Jordan, we can help people from different cultures understand each other better. This research uses TAM, telepresence, and survey data from 1050 people, mainly from Jordan. The research looks at how the usage of social media is related to supposed usefulness, supposed ease of use, trust, social influence, age, gender, level of education, marital status, the time spent on the internet, preferred social media network, and perceived usefulness of SNS. AMOS 20 methods of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and machine learning (ML), such as SMO, ANN, random forest, and the bagging reduced error pruning tree (RepTree), were used to test the proposed model hypotheses. According to the results, the researchers found high correlations between social network usage and depression and anxiety. The use of social networking sites is also affected by how useful they are seen to be, how easy they are to use, trust, social influence, and telepresence. Also, the moderator's age, gender, level of education, marital status, amount of time spent on the internet, experience with the internet, and favorite social networks all affect how they plan to use social networks

Evaluating the influence of security considerations on information dissemination via social networks

This study investigates the factors that influence the sharing of information on social media platforms and examines the effects of perceived security, perceived privacy, and user awareness on users' trust in social media platforms, as well as the moderating effects of age, gender, educational attainment, and internet proficiency on information sharing. The study collected data from 837 social media users in Jordan and analyzed them using structural equation modeling (SEM), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and machine learning (ML) methods. The findings of the study indicate that perceived security, perceived privacy, and user awareness all have a significant impact on users' trust in social media platforms. Trust, in turn, has a significant impact on the amount of information shared on these platforms. Also, the findings of this study provide valuable insights into the dynamics of information sharing on social networks. This knowledge will be of interest to managers, policymakers, and developers of social media platforms. In addition, the findings of the study also have implications for the privacy and security of social media users. For example, social media users can be more careful about the information they share on social media platforms, and they can take steps to protect their privacy