Choosing the optimum material for making a bicycle frame

This paper presents the results obtained following the Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations on a bike frame made of 3 different materials, Al6061, Carbon Fiber and Ti6Al4V, in order to identify the optimum material for the manufacture of the respective frame. The parts of the frame made of Al6061, Ti6Al4V will be joined using the WIG method (wolfram inert gas). Considering the results obtained and following the experiments we can see that the optimum material for making the bike frame is Ti6Al4V, but the main impediment for the large-scale use of the material is the high cos

Características físico-químicas y antioxidantes del aceite de semillas de Neocarya macrophylla

This study examined the physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activities of oils extracted from gingerbread plum kernels grown in two different areas (Niger and Guinea). The oil contents were found to be significantly different (P ≤ 0.05); 56% and 60% for gingerbread plum kernels originated from Niger (GPKN) and guinea (GPKG), respectively. GPKG showed the highest levels for physical parameters such as iodine, saponification, free fatty acid, acid and peroxide values when compared with GPKN. The major monounsaturated fatty acid in both GPKN and GPKG was oleic acid (42.46 and 41.43%, respectively) while the polyunsaturated fatty acids consisted of linoleic and arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid was at higher levels (17.67 and 21.72% in GPKN and GPKG, respectively) than those in common vegetable oils. Results from antioxidant activity essays showed that GPKG is more active than GPKN in DPPH radical scavenging, β-carotene and phenolic contents while GPKN showed the highest values for reducing power and flavonoid. Of the 11 sterol compounds found in this study, 24-hydroxy-24-methyl cholesterol, clerosterol and sitosterol accounted for 68.5% and 66.33% in GPKN and GPKG, respectively. Finally, all tocopherol vitamers (except γ-tocopherol) were present in GPKN and GPKG with α-tocopherol being the main element in both samples.En este estudio se examinaron las características físico-químicas y actividad antioxidante de los aceites de semilla de Neocarya macrophylla procedentes de dos regiones distintas, Níger y Guinea. Los contenidos grasos de las dos semillas resultaron ser significativamente (P ≤ 0.05) diferentes: 56% para las semillas procedentes de Níger (GPKN) y 60% para las de Guinea (GPKG). El aceite de semillas de Guinea mostraba valores de parámetros químicos tales como índices de iodo, saponificación, peróxidos, y acidez, más elevados que el aceite de semillas de Níger. El ácido oleico resultó ser el ácido graso mono-insaturado más abundante en ambos casos (42.26% para el aceite de Níger y 41.42% para el de Guinea), mientras que los ácidos grasos poli-insaturados predominantes resultaron ser los ácidos linoleico y araquidódico. Los niveles de ácido araquidónico (17.68% para GPKN y 21.72% para GPKG) resultaron más elevados que los encontrados en otros aceites vegetales comunes. El aceite de GPKG demostró mayor capacidad de eliminación de radicales (ensayo de la difenil picrilhidrazina), así como mayores contenidos de β-caroteno y fenoles, mientras que el de GPKN mostró mayor poder reductor y contenido de flavonoides. De los 11 esteroles detectados, 24-hidroxi-24-metil colesterol, colesterol y sitosterol representaban el 68.5% y el 66.33% para los aceites de GPKN y GPKG respectivamente. Por último, todos los tocoferoles (excepto γ-tocoferol) estaban presentes en los dos aceites, siendo α-tocoferol el más abundante

Anthropometric indices of Gambian children after one or three annual rounds of mass drug administration with azithromycin for trachoma control.

BACKGROUND: Mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin, carried out for the control of blinding trachoma, has been linked to reduced mortality in children. While the mechanism behind this reduction is unclear, it may be due, in part, to improved nutritional status via a potential reduction in the community burden of infectious disease. To determine whether MDA with azithromycin improves anthropometric indices at the community level, we measured the heights and weights of children aged 1 to 4 years in communities where one (single MDA arm) or three annual rounds (annual MDA arm) of azithromycin had been distributed. METHODS: Data collection took place three years after treatment in the single MDA arm and one year after the final round of treatment in the annual MDA arm. Mean height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height z scores were compared between treatment arms. RESULTS: No significant differences in mean height-for-age, weight-for-age or weight-for-height z scores were found between the annual MDA and single MDA arms, nor was there a significant reduction in prevalence of stunting, wasting or underweight between arms. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not provide evidence that community MDA with azithromycin improved anthropometric outcomes of children in The Gambia. This may suggest reductions in mortality associated with azithromycin MDA are due to a mechanism other than improved nutritional status

Low Prevalence of Conjunctival Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in a Treatment-Naïve Trachoma-Endemic Region of the Solomon Islands

Trachoma is endemic in several Pacific Island states. Recent surveys across the Solomon Islands indicated that whilst trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) was present at levels warranting intervention, the prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) was low. We set out to determine the relationship between chlamydial infection and trachoma in this population. We conducted a population-based trachoma prevalence survey of 3674 individuals from two Solomon Islands provinces. Participants were examined for clinical signs of trachoma. Conjunctival swabs were collected from all children aged 1-9 years. We tested swabs for Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) DNA using droplet digital PCR. Chlamydial DNA from positive swabs was enriched and sequenced for use in phylogenetic analysis. We observed a moderate prevalence of TF in children aged 1-9 years (n = 296/1135, 26.1%) but low prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-intense (TI) (n = 2/1135, 0.2%) and current Ct infection (n = 13/1002, 1.3%) in children aged 1-9 years, and TT in those aged 15+ years (n = 2/2061, 0.1%). Ten of 13 (76.9%) cases of infection were in persons with TF or TI (p = 0.0005). Sequence analysis of the Ct-positive samples yielded 5/13 (38%) complete (>95% coverage of reference) genome sequences, and 8/13 complete plasmid sequences. Complete sequences all aligned most closely to ocular serovar reference strains. The low prevalence of TT, TI and Ct infection that we observed are incongruent with the high proportion of children exhibiting signs of TF. TF is present at levels that apparently warrant intervention, but the scarcity of other signs of trachoma indicates the phenotype is mild and may not pose a significant public health threat. Our data suggest that, whilst conjunctival Ct infection appears to be present in the region, it is present at levels that are unlikely to be the dominant driving force for TF in the population. This could be one reason for the low prevalence of TT observed during the study

Internet of Things data management in the cloud for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices

The use of wearable sensors and their connectivity to Internet offers significant benefits for storing sensing data that could be utilized intelligently for multiple purpose applications such as for monitoring purposes in healthcare domain. This work presents an Internet of Things (IoT) gateway service taking advantage of modern mobile devices and their capabilities to communicate with wearable Bluetooth low energy (BLE) sensors so data could be forwarded to the cloud on the fly and on real time. The service transforms a mobile platform (such as a smartphone) to a gateway allowing continuous and fast communication of data that is forwarded from the device to the cloud on demand or automatically for an automated decision making. Its features include (a) use of an internal processing mechanism for the BLE sensor signals and defines the way in which data is send to the cloud, (b) dynamic service as it has the ability to recognize new BLE sensors properties by easily adapting the data model according to a dynamic schema and (c) universal BLE devices capability that are registered automatically and are monitored on the fly while it keeps historical data that could be integrated into meaningful business intelligence. Building upon principles of service oriented design, the service takes full advantage of cloud services for processing potential big data streams produced by an ever increasing number of users and sensors. The contribution of this work is on the IoT data transmission rate that is averagely calculated to 128 milliseconds and in the experimental section we discuss that this is significantly low for real time data

Choosing the optimum material for making a bicycle frame

This paper presents the results obtained following the Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations on a bike frame made of 3 different materials, Al6061, Carbon Fiber and Ti6Al4V, in order to identify the optimum material for the manufacture of the respective frame. The parts of the frame made of Al6061, Ti6Al4V will be joined using the WIG method (wolfram inert gas). Considering the results obtained and following the experiments we can see that the optimum material for making the bike frame is Ti6Al4V, but the main impediment for the large-scale use of the material is the high cos