Development of an Instrumentation System for a Laboratory Model Food Product Dryer

To achieve optimal dryer performance, the process parameters required for both the optimization and control of the drying process must be made available via the instrumentation system. A few works have been reported on the development of instrumentation systems for handling drying system parameters. Out of which, some are deficient in the number of drying process parameters that can be handled, while others are unreliable and inaccurate. Therefore, there is the need to develop a microcontroller-based instrumentation system that can monitor, measure, control, display and store the main drying process parameters and sample weight with a high degree of reliability and accuracy. In this study, the sensors were selected based on system specifications and interfaced with the microcontroller. The codes for controlling, logging and displaying of drying parameters were developed and installed on the microcontroller. When tested at steady-state conditions, the system yielded satisfactory results with maximum control and detection errors being 2.0% and 1.8% for the temperature and sample weight, respectively. The developed system can be used for efficient computation of both the dry and wet basis sample moisture content values and also detect the set sample weight. Keywords— Dryer, Drying parameters, Instrumentation system, Moisture content, Sensor

An Alternative Electrode System for Monitoring Belousov-Zhabotinsky Chemical Oscillations

The capability of copper-platinum (Cu/Pt) electrode system as a BelousovZhabotinsky (BZ) chemical oscillation monitor was compared with that of the normally used SCE/Pt electrode system, by testing it on three BZ systems, which were obtained by varying the oscillator in the combination bromate, oscillator and malonic acid. The oscillators, used separately, were cerium(IV), manganese(II) and ferroin [iron (II)-1,10- phenanthroline complex].Cu/Pt electrode gave essentially identical values of oscillation characteristics (oscillation period, peak potential, induction period, peak width) except peak potentials. This indicated that the Cu/Pt electrode system would be more useful than the SCE/Pt electrode system (which had chloride leakage problem), in electrical applications of chemical oscillations, such as electrical switches, which would depend only on the on/off frequency

Efficacy and effectiveness of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine versus artesunate-mefloquine in falciparum malaria: an open-label randomised comparison.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-based combinations are judged the best treatments for multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Artesunate-mefloquine is widely recommended in southeast Asia, but its high cost and tolerability profile remain obstacles to widespread deployment. To assess whether dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a suitable alternative to artesunate-mefloquine, we compared the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and effectiveness of the two regimens for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum in western Myanmar (Burma). METHODS: We did an open randomised comparison of 3-day regimens of artesunate-mefloquine (12/25 mg/kg) versus dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (6.3/50 mg/kg) for the treatment of children aged 1 year or older and in adults with uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Rakhine State, western Myanmar. Within each group, patients were randomly assigned supervised or non-supervised treatment. The primary endpoint was the PCR-confirmed parasitological failure rate by day 42. Failure rates at day 42 were estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN27914471. FINDINGS: Of 652 patients enrolled, 327 were assigned dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (156 supervised and 171 not supervised), and 325 artesunate-mefloquine (162 and 163, respectively). 16 patients were lost to follow-up, and one patient died 22 days after receiving dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine. Recrudescent parasitaemias were confirmed in only two patients; the day 42 failure rate was 0.6% (95% CI 0.2-2.5) for dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and 0 (0-1.2) for artesunate-mefloquine. Whole-blood piperaquine concentrations at day 7 were similar for patients with observed and non-observed dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine treatment. Gametocytaemia developed more frequently in patients who had received dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine than in those on artesunate-mefloquine: day 7, 18 (10%) of 188 versus five (2%) of 218; relative risk 4.2 (1.6-11.0) p=0.011. INTERPRETATION: Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a highly efficacious and inexpensive treatment of multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria and is well tolerated by all age groups. The effectiveness of the unsupervised treatment, as in the usual context of use, equalled its supervised efficacy, indicating good adherence without supervision. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a good alternative to artesunate-mefloquine

Innovative prefabricated modular structures – an Overview and life cycle energy analysis

Speed of construction and improved environmental performance are two critical concerns which modern construction industry pays a significant amount of attention on. Employing innovative prefabricated modular structures is one key strategy used to achieve these goals. However, there is an absence of detailed scientific research or case studies dealing with the potential environmental benefits of prefabrication, particularly in the areas of embodied energy savings resulting from waste reduction and improved efficiency of material usage. This paper gives a brief overview of prefabricated modular structures and aims to quantify the embodied energy of modular prefabricated steel and timber multi-residential buildings in order to determine whether this form of construction provides improved environmental performance over conventional concrete construction methods. A case study was carried out on an eight-storey, 3943 m2 multi-residential building. It was found that a steel-structured prefabricated system resulted in a significantly reduced material consumption of up to 78% by mass compared to conventional concrete construction. However, the prefabricated steel building resulted in an increase (~50%) in embodied energy compared to the concrete building. This form of construction has the potential to contribute significantly towards improved environmental sustainability in the construction industry

Ground-coupled cooling in Hanoi

The energy required for space cooling could be reduced by using ground as a heat sink depending on the weather conditions and the ground characteristics. In this paper the theoretical performance of a closed loop ground coupled cooling system for a commercial building in Hanoi has been investigated as an alternative to the conventional air-to-air cooling system. A theoretical computational model for the prediction of the cooling system performance has been developed. It was found that the ground-coupled cooling system performs better (approximately 30% energy saving) than a conventional air-to-air cooling system

Effect of soy on bone turn-over markers in men with type 2 diabetes and hypogonadism – a randomised controlled study

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with increased risk of fractures. Soy supplementation has been shown to have a beneficial effect on bone turnover markers (BTM) in postmenopausal women. However, the effect of soy supplementation on BTM in T2DM and particularly in men is unclear. We performed an analysis of a randomized double blind parallel study of 200 men with T2DM treated with soy, either with or without isoflavones. Outcome measures were type I collagen crosslinked beta C-telopeptide (βCTX), and type 1 procollagen-N-propeptide (P1NP). The men, with a total testosterone <12 nmol/L, were treated with 15 g soy protein containing 66 mg of isoflavones (SPI) or 15 g soy protein alone without isoflavones (SP) daily for three months. There was a 15% reduction in βCTX after three months of SPI compared to SP supplementation. There was no significant difference in P1NP with either SPI or SP supplementation. There was a significant linear correlation between the reduction in βCTX in the SPI group with the reduction in HbA1c (r2 = 0.42; p = 0.04) and HOMA-IR (r2 = 0.54; p = 0.02). Our study indicates that there was a significant reduction in bone resorption following 3 months of SPI supplementation that correlated with an improvement of glycemic control in men with T2DM

A Study On Perception Of Illness And Health Seeking Behaviour Among Community In Selected Villages In Samarahan District

In order to determine the health seeking behaviour and perception of illness among 4 selected villages in Samarahan, a cross-sectional study was conducted. The selected villages were Kampung Tanjong Bundong (39), Kampung Baru (39), Kampung Niup (41) and Kampung Tanjong Parang (38). Perception score was calculated based on a questionnaire consisting of 11 questions, ranging from balanced diet, physical activity, immunization, antenatal follow-up, pap smear, breast self examination, promiscuity, alcohol intake, substance abuse, cigarette smoking and perception on general health. The second part of the questionnaire was on health seeking behaviour on traditional medicine practices, vitamin intake, treatment preference and beliefs. Results showed that 76 respondents (48.4%) preferred government health centres and 48 (30.6%) respondents self-medicate while others preferred going to private clinics, pharmacy or traditional medication. The majority of the respondents (108) took traditional medicine comprising of herbal medicine (36.3%), medicinal oil (15.3%) or medicinal plants (14%). Of the total, 89 respondents (56.7%) believed that illness is due to causes other than microorganisms. A total of 121 (77.1%) respondents believed that seeking health treatment is only necessary when one is unwell. When the perception scores were tabulated, 104 respondents (66.2%) had good perception on health. It was noted that those taking vitamin supplements had better perception than those not taking (χ=9.81, df = 1, p=0.002). Males were also noted to be more likely to believe that illness is due to causes other than microorganisms. Results of this study may help to shed some light on improving health seeking behaviour among the community. This is because although the perception of health may be good, their health seeking behaviour may still be affected by cultural influence of traditional beliefs and practice