A Study on the Correlation between Change in the Geometrical Dimension of a Free-Falling Molten Glass Gob and Its Viscosity

To produce flawless glass containers, continuous monitoring of the glass gob is required. It is essential to ensure production of molten glass gobs with the right shape, temperature, viscosity and weight. At present, manual monitoring is common practice in the glass container industry, which heavily depends on previous experience, operator knowledge and trial and error. This results in inconsistent measurements and consequently loss of production. In this article, a multi-camera based setup is used as a non-invasive real-time monitoring system. We have shown that under certain conditions, such as keeping the glass composition constant, it is possible to do in-line measurement of viscosity using sensor fusion to correlate the rate of geometrical change in the gob and its temperature. The correlation models presented in this article show that there is a strong correlation, i.e., 0.65, between our measurements and the projected viscosity.

Effect of water salinity on survival and osmotic level of larval (Zoea Stage) of mud crabs Scylla tranquebarica

Mud crab of the genus Scylla are considered one of the most sought-after seafood today. This crab species has high quality and delicious aging growth rate and encourage expansion in the aquaculture sector especially in Southeast Asian Countries. However, salinity changes will cause changes in organisms osmotic pressure, and every aquatic biota has an optimal salinity range for survival. The study focuses on evaluating the effect of water salinity on the survival and osmotic levels of the purple mud crab, larvae of Scylla tranquebarica at the zoea stage. The LC50 assessment was performed in 10 different level of water salinity (0; 5; 10; 15; 20; 25; 30; 35, 40, and 50 ppt). Each treatment involved 20 ind./L of newly hatched crabs and being observed for 24 h in 10 different water salinity using 1 L volume glass container. The number of crab’s mortality were taken for each salinity regime. Larval behavior monitored during experiment. Meanwhile, the measurement of osmotic level was carried out at the salinity of 25, 30, and 35 ppt. The result shows that mud crab larvae exhibit any tolerance on the low salinity ranged from 0-10 ppt and the salinity of > 40 ppt. On the other hand, mud crab larvae were still able to survive at the salinity ranged from 20-40 ppt for more than 24 hours. The trend of the osmotic level of mud crab to survive is by hypo osmotic to iso osmotic.

A Survey of of interval training on the expression of ICAM, VCAM and galectin-3 proteins in the heart tissue of asthmatic rats

Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease whose inflammatory processes are involved in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction, and increases the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. This study was designed to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of interval training on some of the effective factors in atherosclerosis in heart tissue of asthmatic rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 15 rats were randomly divided into three groups of sham, asthma, and asthmatic-interval training. The model of asthma was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 1 ml ovalbumin for 2 weeks, and then asthmatic-interval training rats for 8 weeks participated in interval training. During the training protocol period, twice weekly intraperitoneal injections of ovalbumin 1 ml, and were placed into a glass container exposed to 5% ovalbumin spray. 48 hours after the last training session, the rats were anesthetized and their hearts were ejected. The levels of proteins expression of ICAM, VCAM, and galectin-3 were measured by immunohistochemistry, and western blotting, respectively. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA in SPSS at the significant level α=0.05. Results: The results of this study showed that the expression of ICAM (P=0.001), VCAM (P=0.001), and galectin-3 (P=0.001) was significantly increased in heart tissue of asthma rats. Whereas, interval training decreased the expression of ICAM (P=0.001), VCAM (P=0.001), and galectin-3 (P=0.01) proteins in the asthmatic-interval training group compared to the asthma group. Conclusions: It seems that, interval training is effective in preventing atherosclerosis in patients with asthma.

Development and Utilization of a Model System to Evaluate the Potential of Surface Coatings for Protecting Grapes from Volatile Phenols Implicated in Smoke Taint

Due to the increasing frequency of wildfires in recent years, there is a strong need for developing mitigation strategies to manage the impact of smoke exposure of vines and occurrence of ‘smoke taint’ in wine. One plausible approach would be to prevent or inhibit the uptake of volatile phenols from smoke into grape berries in the vineyard. In this study we describe a model system we developed for evaluating under controlled conditions the effectiveness of a range of surface coatings (including existing horticultural sprays) for reducing/preventing the uptake of volatile phenols and their subsequent conversion to phenolic glycosides. Grapes were coated with the materials to be tested and then exposed to gaseous phenols, via evaporation from an aqueous solution, in a semi-closed glass container. Analysis of volatile phenols and their glycosidic grape metabolites demonstrated that the treatments typically did not provide any significant protection; in fact, some resulted in higher concentrations of these compounds in the grapes. The highest concentrations of volatile phenols and their glycosides were observed after application of oily, hydrophobic materials, suggesting that these materials may enhance the adsorption or transfer of volatile phenols into grape berries. Therefore, it is important to consider the types of sprays that are being applied in the vineyard before and during smoke events to prevent the potential of exacerbating the uptake of smoke compounds by grape berries.

Mode Bifurcation on Contact Line Dynamics at Oil/Water Interface Depending on the Contact Line Length

The motion of the contact line at the oil/water interface caused by chemical reactions is well known as a typical example of artificial active matter in the field of nonlinear science. When water (containing trimethylstearylammonium chloride) and nitrobenzene (containing iodide anion) phases are in contact, the regulated traveling-wave patterns appear along the inner wall of the glass container. In this study, we demonstrate a new dynamical mode of the contact line, an up-and-down motion, which becomes dominant with the decrease in the size of a glass tube, and the probability of occurrence is extremely high when the diameter of the glass tube is below 1 mm. A physicochemical model of the contact line motion that incorporates the spatiotemporal variation of the surfactant concentration on a glass surface is proposed, and its effect on the wettability of oil/water phases on the walls of the glass tubes is studied. The present model can reproduce the mode bifurcation of the dynamical motion depending on the inner diameter of the glass tubes.

New Clone of Sesenduk (FRIMsrp001)

The clone was produced from a breeding attempt on pioneer indigenous species of Endospermum diadenum. Seeds from the tree were collected and then were propagate and germinated in FRIM’s nursery. The selection process continued for the progeny which has possessed vigorous growth among others. A bud from the plant was successfully tissue-cultured, which multiplied and developed roots in glass container. The clone was planted in year 1996 at Kepong Botanical Garden (FRIM’s KBG) and Kampung Jawa plantation plots in FRIM. The seedlings of the clone were able to grow and survive at open site. Several trees of the planted clone from these areas have been cut for timber testing for its basic properties as well as for product development. The wood of the clone trees possessed good physical and mechanical properties and acceptable wood colour (yellow to white colour). The trees were able to achieve 30cm in diameter and 24m in height of straight bole in 10 years after planting provided that the soil at the plantation site is well-nurtured. Short rotation of planting, practiced for the clone is suitable for forest plantation and sustainable supply of raw material either for solid furniture industry or wood-based industry.

Viability of seeds of some tropical tree species during storage

For most forest species the irregularity of fruiting, low seed production and spatial distribution of trees, make it impossible to supply seeds to meet seedling production programs. On the other hand, to prevent subsequent years of low production and maintain seed viability, it is necessary to adopt adequate storage procedures. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to evaluate the influence of water content and storage conditions on the physiological potential of seeds of Colubrina glandulosa Perkins (Rhamnaceae), Chloroleucon dumosum (Benth.) G.P. Lewis (Fabaceae), Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong (Fabaceae), Mimosa bimucronata (DC.) O. Kuntze (Fabaceae) and Sapindus saponaria L. (Sapindaceae), which are native tree species in tropical forests in South America. The seeds were placed in paper packaging and glass packaging and stored in a laboratory environment (uncontrolled), during storage periods of zero (recently harvested), three, six, nine, 12 and 15 months. For each storage period, the water content and physiological potential of the seeds were evaluated. The design was entirely randomized with four repetitions of 25 seeds. The germination (G) and germination uniformity (U) data were subjected to analysis of variance in a 2 x 6 factorial arrangement (two types of packaging x six storage periods), and application of polynomial regression. Seeds of Colubrina glandulosa, Chloroleucon dumosum, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Mimosa bimucronata and Sapindus saponaria, packed in paper packaging or glass packaging, and stored under uncontrolled conditions of natural environment, presented higher G and U, in the storage period of 15 months. The physiological potential of the seeds can be maintained for a long time, as long as they are packed in a glass container with an adequate initial water content. With a water content of 8.2, 8.1, 7.9, 8.4% and 12.1%, the seeds of Colubrina glandulosa, Chloroleucon dumosum, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Mimosa bimucronata and Sapindus saponaria, respectively, maintain the viability during storage. Therefore, the solution to store these seeds would be to rigorously dry them, and then use waterproof packaging. It is recommended that for the storage of seeds of these tree species, they are previously packaged in glass containers

Validation of a Novel Ultrasound Simulation Model for Teaching Foundation-Level Ultrasonography Skills to Veterinary Students

Veterinary ultrasonography is a complex, advanced skill requiring repetitive exposure and supervision to gain competence. Consequently, newly graduated veterinarians are underprepared and lack the resources to achieve basic ultrasound proficiency upon graduation. Ultrasound simulation has been proposed as an adjunct educational tool for teaching entry-level ultrasound skills to student veterinarians. The objectives of this multicentric prospective observational cohort study were to describe the development of a novel ultrasound training model, establish model construct and face validity, and seek participant feedback. The model was constructed using three-dimensional silicone shapes embedded in ballistics gel within a glass container. A novice cohort of 15 veterinary students and 14 expert participants were prospectively enrolled in the study. Each cohort underwent training and assessment phases using a simulation model. Participants were asked to (a) determine shape location, (b) identify shape type using a shape bank, and (c) measure shape axes using the caliper tool. Time for each phase was recorded. Anonymous post-participation survey feedback was obtained. For most shapes (4/6), experts performed significantly better than novices in identifying shape type and location. Generally, no significant difference was found in mean axis shape measurements between cohorts or compared to the true mean axis measurements. No significant difference was found in scan time for either phase. This study’s results support the validation of this ultrasound simulation model and may demonstrate early evidence for its use as a training tool in the veterinary curriculum to teach entry-level ultrasound skills.