Características físicas y químicas de jabones de tocador fabricados a partir de aceite de semilla de albaricoque y estearina de palma.

The objective of the present work was to use apricot kernel oil with palm stearin in toilet soap-making. Apricot kernel oil was obtained from apricot kernel seed (Prunus armeniaca) through hydraulic pressing (12000lb/in2). Kernel contained 43.3% oil. The fatty acids of apricot kernel oil had high oleic acid (81.73%) while, the major of the fatty acid in palm stearin was palmitic acid (55.17%). Eight of the toilet soap samples were prepared from apricot kernel oil, palm kernel oil and palm stearin at different ratios. The structure of soap samples nº1 and 8 were sticky and with bad physical properties. On the other hand, the physical characteristics of blends nos 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 had firm consistency and creamy lather while, in soap nº 7, its were moderatement; i. e. medium hard makeup with fairly lather. After storage (6 months) on a shelf at room temperature, all soaps (nº1-8) were declined in their moisture content. On contrary, the total fatty acids of the same samples were augmented at different ratios during storage. Physical characteristics of soap samples nos 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were increased after the storage time (6 months), their consistencies were very firm with creamy lather and reducement in their erosion from handwashing ratios was observed. It can be recommended that apricot kernel oil can be used in the manufacturing of toilet soap until ratio 50% of the fatty blend (the blend was bear palm stearin).El objetivo del presente trabajo fue el uso del aceite de semilla de albaricoque con estearina de palma en la fabricación de jabón de tocador. El aceite de semilla de albaricoque (Prunus armeniaca) se obtuvo por presión hidráulica (12000lb/in2), y la semilla contenía el 43.3% de aceite. Los ácidos grasos del aceite de semilla de albaricoque tenían altos contenidos de ácido oleico (81.73%) mientras, el ácido graso mayoritario en la estearina de palma fue el ácido palmítico (55.17%). Se prepararon ocho muestras de jabón de tocador a partir de aceite de semilla de albaricoque, aceite de semilla de palma y estearina de palma en diferentes proporciones. La estructura de las muestras de los jabones nº1 y 8 fueron viscosas y blandas con malas propiedades físicas. Por otro lado, las características físicas de las mezclas nos 2, 3, 4, 5 y 6 tuvieron una consistencia firme y espuma cremosa, mientras en el jabón nº 7 fueron moderadas, esto es dureza intermedia con espuma adecuada. Después del almacenamiento (6 meses) en estantería a temperatura ambiente, todos los jabones (nº 1-8) disminuyeron su contenido en humedad. Por el contrario, los ácidos grasos totales de las mismas muestras aumentaron en diferente proporción durante el almacenamiento. Las características físicas de las muestras de jabones nos 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 y 7 mejoraron después del tiempo de almacenamiento (6 meses), su consistencia fue muy firme con espuma cremosa y se observó una reducción en el desgaste en función del número de lavados. Se recomienda el uso del aceite de semilla de albaricoque en la fabricación de jabones de tocador hasta una proporción del 50% de la mezcla grasa (la mezcla fue estearina de palma corriente)

Effect of different microencapsulation materials on stability of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 20174

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different microencapsulation materials on the stability of probiotic bacterium (Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 20174). Microencapsulation methods with alginates were carried out using sodium chloride, canola oil, olive oil, and chitosan. The recorded data showed that the encapsulated probiotic bacterium was more stable compared with free cells. Olive oil capsules recorded the highest stability at pH 2 after incubation period of 24h with stability up to 0.00004%. Olive oil and chitosan capsules showed stability with high concentration of bile salts (0.5%) with stability percent of 82 and 65% respectively, after 2 h of incubation. Sodium chloride and chitosan capsules gave the best stability percent of 0.026 and 0.00005%, respectively, at heat treatment up to 65°C for 30 min. Storage treatment at 4°C for 17 days reduced the stability of all capsule types, whereas sodium chloride and chitosan capsule showed stability percent up to 59 and 56%, respectively.Keywords: Microencapsulation, Lactobacillus plantarum, olive oil and alginat

EFFECT OF STRAIN, SEASON AND BREEDER'S AGE ON SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS FOR LAYER DEAD EMBRYO

The effect of breederʼs strain (Hy-line Brown and Hy-line White W36) flock aged (28, 36, 46, 55, 66 weeks of age) and breeding season on some physiological measurements in egg, demand organs, dead supply organs and lymphoid organs were examined. At each age, 10 unhatched eggs from each genotype were examined on embryo weight percentage, Chorioallotoic  weight %, albumen pH %, yolk pH %, residual yolk %, pectoral  muscles weight %, hatch muscles weight %, heart, liver, lunges, spleen, burse weight percentage. There was a significant difference between layer breeder genotypes for lunges weight percentage the brown was higher (0.84) than the white (0.62). The breeding season had a significant effect on heart, liver, lunges weight percentages in winter higher than summer but yolk pH and residual yolk the summer higher than the winter. Breeder's age significant effect on embryo weight percentage, Chorioallotoic weight %, albumen pH %, yolk pH%, residual yolk %, hatch muscles weight % heart, liver, lunges and burse weight percentage.  It could be observed that the genetic differences among layer breeder strain and age of breeders can affect the hatchery performance. Additionally, handling of hatching eggs and incubation management can play a major role to overcome numerous hatching problems. In turn, increasing the production of table eggs and achieves the balance between supply and demand of that strategic commodity in Egyptian market

Coal and biomass co-pyrolysis in a fluidized-bed reactor: Numerical assessment of fuel type and blending conditions

Co-pyrolysis is one of the most promising options for using coal and biomass because coal is low in hydrogen and biomass can supplement the hydrogen content to make a more valuable and reactive product gas. The mixture of coal and biomass is prepared, with the mass ratio of biomass varying between 0 and 100%. Due to limitations in experimental methods, the data points measured in these studies are coarse and therefore, insufficient for kinetic energy analysis and model comparison. Therefore, a mathematical model has been proposed to combine a study of the influence of experimental parameters with different materials to understand better the effect of these parameters on pyrolysis with the rigorous control of experimental conditions in terms of precision and repeatability. The advantages of mathematical modelling co-pyrolysis make it possible to design a reaction scheme capable of describing this phenomenon and extracting kinetic parameters, making it possible to compare fuels, which can be used for the simulation of this process in thermal power plants. The experimental analysis of measured co-pyrolysis data was taken from literature work to validate the proposed model. The numerical model results are in good agreement with the experimental data for co-pyrolysis. The most significant degree of synergetic effects on the product yields was observed at 600 °C and a biomass blending ratio of 70 wt%. Furthermore, the improvement of char reactivity also identifies the synergies in co-pyrolysis

A System Dynamics Approach for Hospital Waste Management in a City in a Developing Country: The Case of Nablus, Palestine

Hospitals and health centers provide a variety of healthcare services and normally generate hazardous waste as well as general waste. General waste has a similar nature to that of municipal solid waste and therefore could be disposed of in municipal landfills. However, hazardous waste poses risks to public health, unless it is properly managed. The hospital waste management system encompasses many factors, i.e., number of beds, number of employees, level of service, population, birth rate, fertility rate, and not in my back yard (NIMBY) syndrome. Therefore, this management system requires a comprehensive analysis to determine the role of each factor and its influence on the whole system. In this research, a hospital waste management simulation model is presented based on the system dynamics technique to determine the interaction among these factors in the system using a software package, ithink. This model is used to estimate waste segregation as this is important in the hospital waste management system to minimize risk to public health. Real data has been obtained from a case study of the city of Nablus, Palestine to validate the model. The model exhibits wastes generated from three types of hospitals (private, charitable, and government) by considering the number of both inpatients and outpatients depending on the population of the city under study. The model also offers the facility to compare the total waste generated among these different types of hospitals and anticipate and predict the future generated waste both infectious and non-infectious and the treatment cost incurred

Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries

Childhood malnutrition is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally1. Undernourished children are more likely to experience cognitive, physical, and metabolic developmental impairments that can lead to later cardiovascular disease, reduced intellectual ability and school attainment, and reduced economic productivity in adulthood2. Child growth failure (CGF), expressed as stunting, wasting, and underweight in children under five years of age (0�59 months), is a specific subset of undernutrition characterized by insufficient height or weight against age-specific growth reference standards3�5. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, or underweight in children under five is the proportion of children with a height-for-age, weight-for-height, or weight-for-age z-score, respectively, that is more than two standard deviations below the World Health Organization�s median growth reference standards for a healthy population6. Subnational estimates of CGF report substantial heterogeneity within countries, but are available primarily at the first administrative level (for example, states or provinces)7; the uneven geographical distribution of CGF has motivated further calls for assessments that can match the local scale of many public health programmes8. Building from our previous work mapping CGF in Africa9, here we provide the first, to our knowledge, mapped high-spatial-resolution estimates of CGF indicators from 2000 to 2017 across 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 99 of affected children live1, aggregated to policy-relevant first and second (for example, districts or counties) administrative-level units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the ambitious World Health Organization Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40 and wasting to less than 5 by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and progress exist across and within countries; our maps identify high-prevalence areas even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning interventions that are adapted locally and in efficiently directing resources towards reducing CGF and its health implications. © 2020, The Author(s)

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations