This paper presents the methodology for estimating the temperature in moist air, known as dry-bulb temperature, using Piezoelectric over Silicon-On-Nothing (PSON) ScAlN pMUTs based on Short-Time ...Fourier Transform (STFT). A digital signal processing technique is proposed for the Time-of-Flight (ToF) estimation based on STFT with the estimated ToF value used to compute the ultrasonic speed of sound. Experimental results presented here report a mean accuracy of 95% in the estimated dry-bulb temperature. This is a very positive outcome towards the usage of the proposed signal processing algorithm along with standard PSON pMUTs for sensing temperature in a moist environment.
In M-ary, Gray coded DPSK, and FSK with differential phase detection the bit error probability is usually approximated by the symbol error probability divided by the number of bits in a symbol. This ...approximation is known to be excellent for PSK with large signal-to-noise ratios in a Gaussian channel. In other cases this approximation may be questionable. Here we compute the exact values of bit error probability for DPSK and FSK in Gaussian, Rayleigh, and Rician channels. We also compute the relative error involved in this approximation. The conclusion is that except for very low values of signal-to-noise ratio the approximation is good for all channels.< >
The effects of drying temperature (120 °C to 200 °C) on drying characteristics of black tea leaves using superheated steam dryer (SHS) were investigated. It was observed that increased drying ...temperature caused higher drying rate that helped to shorten drying times. The effective diffusivities of moisture transfer in SHS ranged between 2.30 × 10
and 3.90 × 10
m
/s within the temperature range tested. The effective diffusivities were correlated by Arrhenius relationship with Arrhenius constant and activation energy estimated at 1.07 × 10
m
/s and activation energy 12.34 kJ/mol, respectively. Increased in drying temperature and time significantly decreased the brightness (*L) of tea leaves from 26.34 to 22.66 and TPC from 87.93 to 42.39 mg/g. However, comparison to commercial black tea showed that SHS dried-tea leaves exhibited better colour attribute and 91.4% higher in phenolic content.
The integrin alpha(v)beta3 functions in both cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, and has reported roles in platelet aggregation, immune function, tissue repair, tumour invasion, ...angiogenesis and uterine receptivity. The aim of this study was to use immunohistochemistry to describe the vascular and glandular expression of integrin alpha(v)beta3 in formalin fixed, paraffin embedded endometrium obtained from women with (n = 29) and without (n = 24) endometriosis. The results showed a significant increase in the percentage of vessels expressing alpha(v)beta3 in the endometrium of women with endometriosis compared with controls (P = 0.0001). This difference was more pronounced in the secretory phase (P = 0.001) than the proliferative phase (P = 0.016). There was no correlation between vascular alpha(v)beta3 expression and the endothelial cell proliferation index (P > 0.05). Vascular sprouts were not observed in any of the 53 endometrial tissues obtained from women with or without endometriosis throughout the menstrual cycle. Results from semi-quantitative scoring of gland immunostaining showed that neither controls (P = 0.3329) nor the endometriosis group (P = 0.2260) had any significant changes in terms of alpha(v)beta3 expression between the different stages of the menstrual cycle. There was also no difference in glandular alpha(v)beta3 expression between women with and without endometriosis (P = 0.4302). These results provide evidence for increased endometrial angiogenesis in women with endometriosis compared with controls, and suggest that glandular expression of alpha(v)beta3 is not related to uterine receptivity per se.
Kedondong is an underutilized fruit cultivated in a small scale in Malaysia and it contains nutrients that can be preserved through drying. The dried product can be sold as a premium fruit snack that ...could generate revenue for the producer. We studied the drying of peeled and unpeeled kedondong fruits using hot air (60-80°C). This study aims to investigate the drying kinetics (drying rates and effective diffusivities) of kedondong fruits and model the drying curves using thin layer models. Ten thin layer models were employed and solved using non-linear regression. Drying kinetics showed that only falling rate periods were observed, which implied that internal diffusion was the dominant mechanism for moisture release. Mathematical models showed that Modified Hii et al. (I) and (II) models were able to predict the drying curve well with the highest R2 (0.9992-0.9999), the lowest RMSE (8.0 x 10-4 - 2.5 x 10-3) and the lowest χ2 (4.0 ×10-5 - 2.0 x 10-4). Peeled samples showed higher effective diffusivities (average 3.2 x 10-11 m2/s) than unpeeled samples (average 2.7 x 10-11 m2/s). The activation energy was lower in peeled samples (25.8 kJ/mol) as moisture diffusion could occur more easily than unpeeled samples (32.1 kJ/mol). Results from this study provide kinetic information that can be used in scaling up of dryer and optimizing dryer performances.
Abstract
Yellow mealworm (
Tenebrio Molitor
) was reported containing 24.3 to 27.6% protein content. However, public acceptance is still relatively low as many tend to reject it as a source of food. ...Hence, studies were carried out to incorporate dried mealworm powder into a standard butter cake mixture formulation. Yellow mealworms were dried using an air ventilated oven at 80°C. The dried mealworms were then ground into powder and added in a standard butter cake formulation (0%, 5% and 10%). Baking was carried out in a convective oven at 140°C for 30 minutes. Moisture content, colour, texture and protein content were analysed. The effective diffusivity values of the cake samples varied from 4.46 × 10
-11
m
2
/s to 4.72 × 10
-11
m
2
/s. Significant observations were recorded for the
L
*
and
b
*
values obtained among the cake samples. The firmness of the cake increased while the springiness decreased as addition of the mealworm powder was increased. An increase in protein content was observed from 5.99% to 11.12% with the addition of mealworm powder in the cake formulation.
CENP-B is a constitutive centromere DNA-binding protein that is conserved in a number of mammalian species and in yeast. Despite this conservation, earlier cytological and indirect experimental ...studies have provided conflicting evidence concerning the role of this protein in mitosis. The requirement of this protein in meiosis has also not previously been described. To resolve these uncertainties, we used targeted disruption of the Cenpb gene in mouse to study the functional significance of this protein in mitosis and meiosis. Male and female Cenpb null mice have normal body weights at birth and at weaning, but these subsequently lag behind those of the heterozygous and wild-type animals. The weight and sperm content of the testes of Cenpb null mice are also significantly decreased. Otherwise, the animals appear developmentally and reproductively normal. Cytogenetic fluorescence-activated cell sorting and histological analyses of somatic and germline tissues revealed no abnormality. These results indicate that Cenpb is not essential for mitosis or meiosis, although the observed weight reduction raises the possibility that Cenpb deficiency may subtly affect some aspects of centromere assembly and function, and result in reduced rate of cell cycle progression, efficiency of microtubule capture, and/or chromosome movement. A model for a functional redundancy of this protein is presented.
Field studies were carried out to determine the impact of mass human treatment with ivermectin on the survival of anthropophagic mosquitoes of the Anopheles punctulatus complex (Diptera: Culicidae), ...the vectors of lymphatic filariasis and malaria in Papua New Guinea. In a village where mass treatment had been given, using 400 micrograms/kg ivermectin plus 6 mg/kg diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC), we performed pre- and post-treatment collections of freshly blood-engorged mosquitoes from the same nine bedrooms. All blood-fed mosquitoes collected less than 4 days after mass treatment died within 9 days, whereas 67% of those collected before treatment survived for >9 days. Comparison (using the log-rank test) of the survival curves for mosquitoes collected (i) before treatment, (ii) <4 days after treatment, and (iii) 28 days after treatment, showed the survival rate of group (ii) to be significantly lower than the other two (X2 = 176, df = 2, P < 0.0001). Pre- and post-treatment all-night landing catches showed no reduction in human biting rates in the experimental village. In another village, where people were mass treated with ivermectin (400 micrograms/kg) only, the survival rates of freshly blood-engorged An.punctulatus collected from bedroom resting-sites less than 1 day after treatment, were compared to similar collections carried out at the same time in a nearby village where people were not treated with ivermectin. The 48-h survival rate for the ivermectin-treated village was 31% compared to 94% for the other; this difference was highly significant (X2 = 32.42, df = 1, P < 0.0001). Mosquitoes fed 2 months post-treatment with DEC or collected 38 days post-treatment with ivermectin had normal survival rates. We conclude that the duration of the systemic lethal effect of ivermectin on mosquitoes is insufficient to be of epidemiological significance in filariasis control programmes that are based on biannual and annual single-dose treatments, but might reduce vectorial capacity sufficiently to block epidemics of dengue or even malaria.
Abundance of anophelines in 10 villages in the Wosera area of Papua New Guinea was monitored during 1990-1993. Of 85,197 anophelines collected in 1,276 paired indoor and outdoor landing catches, ...40.4% were Anopheles koliensis Owen, 36.7% An. punctulatus Donitz, 14.3% An. karwari (James), 4.9% An. farauti s.l. Laveran, 3.1% An. longirostris Brug, and 0.7% An. bancroftii Giles. Maps of average indoor biting rates were produced using a Bayesian conditional autoregressive model which allowed for heterogeneities in sampling effort over time and space. Differences in spatial distributions among species were observed among and within villages and were related to the distribution of larval habitats and vegetation. Abundance of An. punctulatus and An. koliensis decreased with distance from the main waterway and probably from a sago swamp forest at 6 villages in North Wosera. Abundance of An. punctulatus was associated negatively with those of An. farauti s.l., An. longirostris, and An. bancroftii. The latter 3 species also had relatively low ratios of indoor-to-outdoor biting rates, and earlier biting times than An. punctulatus. Human blood indices of at least 0.79 were observed for all species except An. bancroftii. Abundance of all 6 species was correlated temporally with recent rainfall, but An. koliensis, An. karwari, and An. longirostris showed greater temporal variability than the other species. An. punctulatus and An. koliensis tended to occur together in time and space (index of association, I 0.85). Weaker associations were seen between An. farauti s.l. and An. longirostris (I = 0.44) and An. koliensis and An. karwari (I = 0.34). The most frequently collected species occurred together and were concentrated near the Amugu river; the remaining species tended to occur together but in different parts of the Wosera area
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