Evaluation of Different Beverages’ Effect on Microhardness and Surface Roughness of Different Artificial Teeth

Purpose: This study evaluated the microhardness and surface roughness of four artificial teeth type against various beverages. Materials and Methods: Conventional acrylic resin, reinforced acrylic resin, microfiller composite resin, and nanofiller composite resin teeth were used. From each group, 10 maxillary first and second molars were immersed in 5 beverages (tea, filtered coffee, cola, cherry juice, and distilled water. The test period of 24 hours appears comparable to approximately 1 month of normal beverage consumption. The test periods used in this study were arranged according to this protocol and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months of normal beverage consumptions were simulated. Vickers microhardness and surface roughness of denture teeth were measured for each test period. Results: The microhardness values significantly decreased in all beverages especially in 6th month. The surface roughness values significantly increased in all beverages especially in 3th month. There were no statistically significant differences between the beverages. Microfiller composite resin denture teeth had the highest microhardness values and the lowest surface roughness values. Conclusions: Different types of beverages consumed daily negatively affect the microhardness and surface roughness of artificial teeth. Microfiller composite resin teeth could have the ideal surface properties

A scheme for advance prediction of northeast monsoon rainfall of Tamil Nadu

Monthly means of winds. contour height and temperature of seven standard isobaric levels of ten well distributed Indian upper air stations for the months of April, June. July, August and September were subjected to correlation analysis to detect parameters that have predictive value to forecast in advance the northeast monsoon rainfall of Tamil Nadu. The period 1965-87 was taken as developmental period and 1988-94 as test period. Six predictors, out of which three were completely new, were identified. The final forecast of rainfall was obtained as the weighted average of the individual forecasts based on the six predictors by employing a screening technique different from the conventional ones. The system explained between 65-77% variation of the predict and with standard error of 13-18% and provided reasonably correct forecasts during the test period. The physical significance of the predictors has been explained based on the intensity of the subtropical anticyclone over India. The possibility of extending the study to include global parameters in the context of proven negative and significant relationship between Southern Oscillation Index (SOl) and the Indian northeast monsoon has been discussed. Scope for further studies on the topic has been spelt out.

Price Analysis and Forecasting for Bitcoin Using Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average Model

This paper investigated Bitcoin daily closing price using time series approach to predict future values for financial managers and investors. Daily data were sourced from CoinDesk, with Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) for 5 years (January 1, 2016 to May 31, 2021) extracted. Data analysis and modelling of price trend using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was carried out, and a suitable model for forecasting was proposed. Results showed that ARIMA(6,1,12) model was the most suitable based on a combination of number of significant coefficients and values of volatility, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). A two-month test window was used for forecasting and prediction. Results showed a decline in prediction accuracy as number of days of the test period increased; from 99.94% for the first 7 days, to 99.59 % for 14 days and 95.84% for 30 days. For the two-month test period, percentage accuracy was 84.75%. The study confirms that the ARIMA model is a veritable planning tool for financial managers, investors and other stakeholders; especially for short-term forecasting. It is however imperative that the influence of external factors, such as investors’/influencers’ comments and government intervention, that may affect forecasting be taken into consideration.

Impact of a multifaceted strategy in end-of-life care in a tertiary hospital: A quasi-experimental study

Objective To evaluate the impact of a multifaceted strategy for quality end-of-life care in a tertiary public hospital in Brazil. Methodology The study design was quasi-experimental. The multifaceted strategy was applied between January and June 2017, and involved training the healthcare team in end-of-life discussions, the creation and documentation of advance directives, and consultation with the team specialized in palliative care. The periods analyzed were the pre-test period (Time 1, July 2015 to June 2016) and the post-test period (Time 2, July 2017 to June 2018). Results Time 1 involved 302 deaths, with an average hospital stay of 21 days; Time 2 involved 410 deaths, with an average hospital stay of 16 days. Patients were prescribed morphine (44.04% vs. 36.3% [ p = 0.367]), methadone (9.60% vs. 4.39% [ p = 0.247]), midazolam (43.05% vs. 47.80% [ p = 0.73]), blood transfusions (31.13% vs. 24.63% [ p = 0.828]), enteral feeding (56.62% vs. 38.54% [ p = 0.59]) and antibiotic therapy (50.73% vs. 50.73% [ p = 0.435]). Conclusion This study found no changes in the end-of-life care quality indicators after the strategy was implemented. Multimodal educational strategies that develop communication skills in palliative care may enhance the quality of end-of-life care.

Effects of Heat-Killed Lactococcus lactis Strain Plasma on Skin Homeostasis-Related Genes and the Skin Microbiome among Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Double-Blind Study

Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strain plasma (LC-plasma) is a bacterial strain that activates plasmacytoid dendritic cells and induces viral resistance genes via the TLR9/MyD88 pathway. We recently showed that oral administration of LC-plasma prevents skin infection by Staphylococcus aureus, possibly by activating skin immunity. In this study, we conducted a double-blind clinical trial to investigate the effect of oral administration of heat-killed LC-plasma on the skin microbiome, gene expression in the skin, and the skin condition of healthy volunteers. Seventy healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either heat-killed LC-plasma or a placebo for eight weeks. Analysis of the skin microbiome by next-generation sequencing suggested that the alpha-diversity of the skin microbiome did not change during the test period in either group. However, the proportion of species that changed significantly during the test period was 10-fold smaller in the LC-plasma group than in the placebo group, suggesting that LC-plasma may maintain the skin microbiome. Quantitative PCR analysis indicated that tight-junction genes, such as CLDN1 and CLDN12, and the antimicrobial peptide gene BD3 were significantly up-regulated in the LC-plasma group but not in the placebo group. Our results suggest that administration of LC-plasma helps to maintain the skin microbiome and that it affects homeostasis-related genes.

Modification of the Forms of Self-Determined Regulation and Quality of Life after a Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme: Tennis-Based vs. Bicycle Ergometer-Based

Background: The objective is to analyse and compare the effects of an adapted tennis cardiac rehabilitation programme and a classical bicycle ergometer-based programme on the type of motivation towards sports practice and quality of life in patients classified as low risk after suffering acute coronary syndrome. Methods: The Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2) and Velasco’s Qualityof Life Test were applied. The sample comprised 110 individuals (age = 55.05 ± 9.27) divided into two experimental groups (tennis and bicycle ergometer) and a control group. Results: The intra-group analysis showed a significant increase between pre- and post-test results in intrinsic regulation in the tennis group and in the control group. In identified regulation, the bicycle ergometer group presented significant differences from the control group. On the other hand, in the external regulation variable, only the tennis group showed significant differences, which decreased. Significant improvements in all quality-of-life factors when comparing the pre-test period with the post-test period were only found in the experimental groups. As per the inter-group analysis, significant differences were observed in favour of the tennis group with respect to the control group in the variables of health, social relations and leisure, and work time as well as in favour of the bicycle ergometer group compared with the control group in the variables of health, sleep and rest, future projects and mobility. No significant differences were found in any of the variables between the tennis group and the bicycle ergometer group. Conclusion: It is relevant to enhance the practice of physical exercise in infarcted patients classified as low risk as it improves the forms of more self-determined regulation towards sporting practice and their quality of life.

Effect of an Increased Particulate COD Load on the Aerobic Granular Sludge Process: A Full Scale Study

High concentrations of particulate COD (pCOD) in the influent of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems are often associated to small granule diameter and a large fraction of flocculent sludge. At high particulate concentrations even granule stability and process performance might be compromised. However, pilot- or full-scale studies focusing on the effect of real wastewater particulates on AGS are scarce. This study describes a 3-month period of increased particulate loading at a municipal AGS wastewater treatment plant. The pCOD concentration of the influent increased from 0.5 g COD/L to 1.3 g COD/L, by adding an untreated slaughterhouse wastewater source to the influent. Sludge concentration, waste sludge production and COD and nutrient removal performance were monitored. Furthermore, to investigate how the sludge acclimatises to a higher influent particulate content, lipase and protease hydrolytic activities were studied, as well as the microbial community composition of the sludge. The composition of the granule bed and nutrient removal efficiency did not change considerably by the increased pCOD. Interestingly, the biomass-specific hydrolytic activities of the sludge did not increase during the test period either. However, already during normal operation the aerobic granules and flocs exhibited a hydrolytic potential that exceeded the influent concentrations of proteins and lipids. Microbial community analysis also revealed a high proportion of putative hydrolysing and fermenting organisms in the sludge, both during normal operation and during the test period. The results of this study highlight the robustness of the full-scale AGS process, which can bear a substantial increase in the influent pCOD concentration during an extended period.

Simultaneous Bayesian estimation of genetic parameters for curves of weight, feed intake and residual feed intake in beef cattle

Rate of gain and feed efficiency are important traits in most breeding programs for growing farm animals. Rate of gain (GAIN) is usually expressed over a certain age period and feed efficiency is often expressed as residual feed intake (RFI), defined as observed feed intake (FI) minus expected feed intake based on live weight (WGT) and GAIN. However, the basic traits recorded are always WGT and FI and other traits are derived from these basic records. The aim of this study was to develop a procedure for simultaneous analysis of the basic records and then derive linear traits related to feed efficiency without retorting to any approximations. A bivariate longitudinal random regression model was employed on 13,791 individual longitudinal records of WGT and FI from 2,827 bulls of six different beef breeds tested for own performance in the period from 7 to 13 months of age. Genetic and permanent environmental covariance functions for curves of WGT and FI were estimated using Gibbs sampling. Genetic and permanent covariance functions for curves of GAIN were estimated from the first derivative of the function for WGT and finally the covariance functions were extended to curves for RFI, based on the conditional distribution of FI given WGT and GAIN. Furthermore, the covariance functions were extended to include GAIN and RFI defined over different periods of the performance test. These periods included the whole test period as normally used when predicting breeding values for GAIN and RFI for beef bulls. Based on the presented method, breeding values and genetic parameters for derived traits such as GAIN and RFI defined longitudinally or integrated over (parts of) of the test period can be obtained from a joint analysis of the basic records. The resulting covariance functions for WGT, FI, GAIN and RFI are usually singular but the method presented here do not suffer from the estimation problems associated with defining these traits individually before the genetic analysis. All results are thus estimated simultaneously, and the set of parameters are consistent.

REVERSAL OF CLONIDINE-INDUCED HYPOTHERMIA BY DECAFFEINATED TEA/COFFEE EXTRACT, AND THEIR FRACTIONS IN MICE

Objective: To study the effect of decaffeinated tea extract (DTE) and decaffeinated coffee extract (DCE) and their respective fractions viz: chloroform fractions (DTCf and DCCf), ethyl acetate fractions (DTEa and DCEa), diethyl ether fractions (DTDe and DCDe) and acetone-water fractions (DTAw and DCAw) against clonidine-induced hypothermia in mice. Methods: Clonidine (0.1 mg/kg, i. p.) administered to a group of mice pretreated 30 min before with the dose of DTE or DCE or their respective fractions. Rectal temperature was measured at the time of clonidine administration and thereafter at every 30 min up to 2 h test period. Results: DTE 200 DTE 300 has significantly inhibited clonidine-induced hypothermia. Among the fractions tested, DTE fraction-DTEa 100 and 200 and DCE fractions DCDe 200 and DCAw 200 significantly (p<0.0001) reversed clonidine-induced hypothermia; the effect of DTEa was found to be more sustained. Conclusion: Both, the decaffeinated tea and coffee contain ingredients that reverse clonidine-induced hypothermia, but they are required to do so in very large doses which are not achievable with normally administered doses of decaffeinated tea or coffee.

METHOD OF DISCRETENESS SUBSTANTIATION OF QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS TESTING DURING IRON ORE RAW MATERIALS EXTRACTION

The article aims to substantiate the periodicity of the definition of the maintenance of a valuable component in faces. Information about the content of the valuable component is necessary to comply with the requirements of the enrichment complex while ensuring the process of the total cargo flow formation. Traditionally, in iron ore quarries, technical control services measure the content of the valuable component every shift, but the testing period requires determination. We aimed to justify the period of testing the quality characteristics of iron ore. To achieve the aim, we explored the quarry № 3 of the PJSC "ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih" Mining Department based on the provisions of the mining theory and using mathematical modelling and mathematical statistics methods. We developed a method of substantiating the period of testing the qualitative characteristics of the faces, which we checked based on data from the existing enterprise. Using our method, we proved the possibility of increasing the test period without losing the necessary information about the iron content and without reducing the quality characteristics of the formed final ore flow. Increasing the test period will help companies decrease costs by reducing the number of visits of technical control specialists to test the quarry face. The proposed technique can be helpful to any mining company that supports the data collection and maintain the statistical database of measurements of the valuable component content