From Circular to Linear? Assessing the Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Steel and Plastic Beer Kegs

In the craft brewing industry, kegging solutions have changed dramatically in recent years. While steel kegs once dominated the draught beer market, single-use plastic kegs have increased in popularity due to their convenience, especially in the craft brewing sector. With the increasing importance of the circular economy and the introduction of policies in Europe to move away from single-use plastic systems, this study aims to assess and compare the sustainability of conventional steel and single-use plastic kegs. The environmental and economic performance are assessed through life cycle assessment and life cycle costing approaches. The results suggest that steel kegs have better environmental performance and life cycle costs. However, these are limited to the local markets, and with larger distances, plastic kegs may become the better option due to their lower weight, suggesting that both kegs are useful in certain situations. This is especially important in countries that have long distances between breweries and their markets. The importance of extending the lifetime of the keg fleet is also highlighted to improve the environmental performance as the results are influenced by the assumption on the lifetime of the steel kegs. To improve the environmental performance of plastic kegs, efficient closed-loop recycling systems should be developed. Careful decision-making is needed to ensure that more sustainable packaging options are chosen for draught beer and that sustainability aspects be taken into account beyond convenience.

Is Oral Contrast Beneficial for Visualization of the Appendix in Low-Weight Children?Les produits de contraste par voie orale sont-ils utiles pour visualiser l’appendice chez les enfants de petit poids?

Purpose: It has been shown that oral contrast does not improve the diagnostic accuracy of Computed Tomography (CT) for appendicitis in pediatric patients; however, the cohorts in these studies were not stratified by weight or body mass index. The purpose of this study is to assess the benefit of oral contrast administration for identifying the appendix in younger children in the lower weight quartile. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study comprised 100 patients (2–10 years) in lower weight quartile who had intravenous contrast-enhanced CT of the abdomen and pelvis, 37 of which with oral contrast, and 63 without. A pediatric radiologist and a pediatric radiology fellow independently assessed whether the appendix was visualized or not. In case of discrepancy, an additional pediatric radiologist was the “tie-breaker.” Chi-squared test was used to compare the proportion of visualized appendix between the groups (with and without oral contrast). Inter-rater reliability was determined using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Results: There was no significant difference in the visualization of the appendix between the group with oral contrast and without ( P = 1). The Cohen Kappa coefficients were .33 (.05, .62) and .91 (.73, 1.00) for the “no oral” and “oral” groups, respectively, yielding evidence of a difference ( P = .007). Conclusions: There was no significant difference in the visualization of the appendix using CT with or without oral contrast in low-weight pediatric patients. The inter-rater reliability, however, was significantly higher in the group given oral contrast. Additional studies assessing the value of oral contrast for the sole indication of appendicitis may provide clearer results.

Pengaruh Ransum Basal Dan Feed Additive yang Berbeda Terhadap Bobot, Persentase Karkas Dan Recahan Karkas Ayam Broiler

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of different basal diet and feed additive on the percentage of carcass and component parts of broilers. This research has been conducted for four months (June to September 2020) at State Polytechnic of Agriculture Kupang. A total of 264 one-day old chicks were distributed to 24 pens (11 birds/pen).The experiment was designed using a 2 x 4 factorial design with 8 tretment combinations and three replications for each treatment. The treatments were control (0% sago) (P0), control (0% sago) + avyzime 0,10 % and phyzyme 0,05% (P1), control (0% sago) + allzime 0,05% (P2), control (0% sago) + synbiotic probio FMplus 40 mL/L drinking water (P3), Diet containing 10% sago (P4), Diet containing 10% sago + allzyme 0,10 % and phyzyme 0,05% (P5), Diet containing 10% sago + allzyme 0,05% (P6) and Diet containing 10% sago + synbiotic probio FMplus 40 mL/L drinking water (P7). The result shows that type of basal diet (TBD) and feed additive (FA) affect (P < 0,05) the carcass weight but it did not afect (P>0,05) carcass percentage of broiler chickens. Except for thigh, TBD did not affect (P>0,05) on component parts of carcass. Feed additive had no effect (P>0,05) on carcass component, with the exception of thigh. Interaction between TBD x FA was significant (P<0,05) only for weight and percentage of carcass and back percentage of broilers. Broilers fed basal diet A plus Allzyme SSF-E had lower weight and percentage of carcass and also back percentage than other treatment diets. To sum up,, 1) basal diet B produced higher carcass weight than basal diet A; 2) supplementation of Allzyme SSF-E on basal diet A reduced the weight and percentage of broiler carcass.

Observation of hyaloid artery remnants in premature infants

AIM: To observe the hyaloid artery remnants in the eyes of premature infants. METHODS: This retrospective study recruited premature infants who consecutively attended the Tongji Hospital for retinopathy of prematurity screening from May 2018 to November 2018. The binocular indirect ophthalmoscope was used for examination. RESULTS: In total, 60 cases were pulled for data analysis. The cases were categorized as having the following condition: hyaloid artery remnants positive or hyaloid artery remnants negative. It was showed that the remnants positive group had significant lower gestational age and birth weight than those of the negative group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in gender, labor presentation and retinopathy of prematurity between the two groups (P>0.05). The hyaloid artery remnants completely regressed in all the follow-up cases. The range of disappearing time of hyaloid artery remnants was 37-44wk of corrected gestational age. CONCLUSION: The hyaloid artery remnants in preterm infants are most likely to be physiological residues. Younger or lower weight premature infants will have higher positive detection rates of hyaloid artery remnants. It seems like co-existence with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has no significant association with the detection of hyaloid artery remnants. When the corrected gestational age extends over 43wk, if the hyaloid artery remnants don’t regress, there is a possibility of pathological changes, and appropriate interventions should be selected according to the severity of the lesions.

Toward Polymeric and Polymer Composites Impeller Fabrication

Impellers are referred to as a core component of turbomachinery. The use of impellers in various applications is considered an integral part of the industry. So, increased performance and the optimization of impellers have been the center of attention of a lot of studies. In this regard, studies have been focused on the improvement of the efficiency of rotary machines through aerodynamic optimization, using high-performance materials and suitable manufacturing processes. As such, the use of polymers and polymer composites due to their lower weight when compared to metals has been the focus of studies. On the other hand, methods of the manufacturing process for polymer and polymer composite impellers such as conventional impeller manufacturing, injection molding and additive manufacturing can offer higher economic efficiency than similar metal parts. In this study, polymeric and polymer composites impellers are discussed and conclusions are drawn according to the manufacturing methods. Studies have shown promising results for the replacement of polymers and polymer composites instead of metals with respect to a suitable temperature range. In general, polymers showed a good ability to fabricate the impellers, however in more difficult working conditions considering the need for a substance with higher physical and mechanical properties necessitates the use of composite polymers. However, in some applications, the use of these materials needs further research and development.

Corrosion resistance of surface-conditioned 301 and 304 stainless steels by salt spray test

The corrosion rate of surface-conditioned 301 and 304 stainless steels (SS) was determined by salt spray test in a controlled accelerated corrosive medium (9.5 L of pure distilled water + 500 g NaCl). By surface conditioning via mechanical attrition treatment, a gradient-structured layer was firstly generated on the surface of the samples before the salt spray test. The corrosion rate was determined by the weight loss before and after the salt spray test. Compared to the untreated 301 SS sample with a weight loss of 0.15 g, the surface-conditioned samples treated for 300 s and 1200 s experienced a lower weight loss of 0.04 and 0.02 g, respectively. A similar reduction in weight loss was achieved for 304 SS sample when treated for 5, 10, and 20 mins.

Clean Single-Valued Polylogarithms

We define a variant of real-analytic polylogarithms that are single-valued and that satisfy ''clean'' functional relations that do not involve any products of lower weight functions. We discuss the basic properties of these functions and, for depths one and two, we present some explicit formulas and results. We also give explicit formulas for the single-valued and clean single-valued version attached to the Nielsen polylogarithms Sn,2(x), and we show how the clean single-valued functions give new evaluations of multiple polylogarithms at certain algebraic points.

Replacement of Conventional Concrete by Light Weight Concrete

Lightweight concrete (LWC) allows for larger spans, fewer piers, and longer bridge designs due to its lower weight and improved durability. Because superstructures with broader shoulders or additional lanes may be improved without requiring extensive work on the substructure, LWC is a particularly desirable construction material at the moment. The goal of this research was to determine the density (unit weight), splitting tensile strength, and elastic modulus of LWC mixtures under various curing circumstances in order to gain a better knowledge of LWC qualities that are critical for long-lasting and costeffective buildings. The researchers also looked at the relationship between the results of the fast chloride permeability test and the outcomes of other tests and the Werner probe surface resistance test to see if the latter may be used to forecast the permeability of LWC mixtures because it is faster and more convenient. Keywords: Light weight aggregate, pumice, compressive strength, density,

Insomnia with physiological hyperarousal is associated with lower weight: a novel finding and its clinical implications

Previous studies on the association of insomnia with body mass index (BMI) have been controversial. Physiological hyperarousal, the key pathological mechanism of insomnia, may be an important reason for different findings. We explored whether insomnia with physiological hyperarousal measured by the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is associated with body-weight differences. A total of 185 normal sleepers and 440 insomniacs were included in this study. Insomnia was defined by standard diagnostic criteria with symptoms lasting ≥6 months. All subjects underwent one night of laboratory polysomnography followed by a standard MSLT. We used the median MSLT value (i.e., ≥14 min) to define physiological hyperarousal. BMI was based on measured height (cm) and weight (kg) during the subjects’ sleep laboratory visit. BMI > 25 kg/m2 was defined as overweight, while BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 was defined as underweight. After controlling for confounders, the odds of lower weight rather than overweight were significantly increased among insomnia patients with increased MSLT: insomnia with MSLT 14–17 min and MSLT > 17 min increased the odds of lower weight by approximately 89% (OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.00–4.85) and 273% (OR = 3.73, 95% CI 1.51–9.22) compared with normal sleepers, respectively. In contrast, insomnia in patients with MSLT 11–14 min and 8–11 min was not different from normal sleepers in terms of body weight. Insomnia associated with physiological hyperarousal, the most severe phenotype of chronic insomnia, is associated with higher odds of lower weight and underweight compared with normal sleepers. This is a novel finding consistent with previous physiologic data and has significant clinical implications.

The Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BX62 Alone or in Combination with Chitosan on the Qualitative Characteristics of Fresh-Cut Apples during Cold Storage

In order to explore whether beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB) could prolong the shelf life and improve the quality of fresh-cut apples, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BX62, which was isolated from traditional fermented yak yogurt, and chitosan (CT), were applied to fresh-cut apples, subsequently stored at 4 °C. On days 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8, apple slices were taken for physicochemical, microbiological analysis, and sensory evaluation. The results showed that apple slices coated with L. plantarum BX62 (8 log CFU/mL) presented lower weight loss and browning rate, higher DPPH scavenging capacity, and achieved more effective inhibition of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities compared to the control samples. The application of CT alone or in combination with L. plantarum BX62 resulted in a significant reduction in aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), aerobic psychrophilic bacterial (APB), yeast and molds (YAMs) counts (2.31 log CFU/g for AMB, 2.55 for APB, and 1.58 for YAMs). In addition, L. plantarum BX62 coated apples showed acceptable sensory properties in terms of color, flavor, taste, texture, and overall visual quality during 8 d of storage. On this basis, L. plantarum BX62 could be used as an excellent bio-preservative to extend the shelf life and improve the quality of fresh-cut apples.