Effects of Nanoclay on Mechanical and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Bamboo/Kenaf Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites

Current work aims to study the mechanical and dynamical mechanical properties of non-woven bamboo (B)/woven kenaf (K)/epoxy (E) hybrid composites filled with nanoclay. The nanoclay-filled BK/E hybrid composites were prepared by dispersing 1 wt.% nanoclay (organically-modified montmorillonite (MMT; OMMT), montmorillonite (MMT), and halloysite nanotube (HNT)) with high shear speed homogenizer followed by hand lay-up fabrication technique. The effect of adding nanoclay on the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the hybrid nanocomposites were studied. Fractography of tensile-fractured sample of hybrid composites was studied by field emission scanning electron microscope. The dynamic mechanical analyzer was used to study the viscoelastic properties of the hybrid nanocomposites. BK/E-OMMT exhibit enhanced mechanical properties compared to the other hybrid nanocomposites, with tensile, flexural, and impact strength values of 55.82 MPa, 105 MPa, and 65.68 J/m, respectively. Statistical analysis and grouping information were performed by one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and Tukey method, and it corroborates that the mechanical properties of the nanoclay-filled hybrid nanocomposites are statistically significant. The storage modulus of the hybrid nanocomposites was improved by 98.4%, 41.5%, and 21.7% with the addition of OMMT, MMT, and HNT, respectively. Morphology of the tensile fracture BK/E-OMMT composites shows that lesser voids, microcracks and fibers pull out due to strong fiber–matrix adhesion compared to other hybrid composites. Hence, the OMMT-filled BK/E hybrid nanocomposites can be utilized for load-bearing structure applications, such as floor panels and seatbacks, whereby lightweight and high strength are the main requirements.

Comparison of Intraoral and Extraoral Digital Scanners: Evaluation of Surface Topography and Precision

The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface topography and the precision measurements of different intraoral and extraoral digital scanners. A reference model of a maxillary arch with four implant analogs was prepared and scanned by three intraoral and two extraoral scanners. The reference model was scanned fifteen times with each digital scanning system, investigating the surface topography and precision measurements for the same-arch and cross-arch measurements. The data was exported to 3D inspection and mesh-processing software (GOM Inspect, Braunschweig, Germany). Statistical analysis was performed using a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the Tukey method for pairwise comparisons. The effect of parameters on generating the surface topography was analyzed by Univariate Linear Regression Analysis. Of the scanner systems evaluated, iTero (IT) exhibited the most number of triangulation points, followed by Trios 3 Shape (TR) and Straumann Cares (SC). There were no significant differences observed in the surface topography when comparing flat and contoured surfaces, the anterior and posterior position, and interproximal areas. For the precision measurement in the same quadrant, no statistical difference was noted between intra- and extraoral scanners. However, the extraoral scanners showed substantially higher precision measurements for the cross-arch measurement. Surface topography did not correlate to precision. Rather, precision correlated with the scanning mechanism. For a quadrant scanning, both intraoral and extraoral scanners are recommended, but extraoral scanners are recommended for a full-arch scanning.

Rentabilidad de sistemas de producción de grano y forraje de híbridos de maíz, con fertilización biológica y química en trópico seco

In the spring-summer agricultural cycle of 2016, the hybrids P4082W, H565, and DK357 were evaluated with chemical and chemical + biological fertilization by means of a factorial experiment arranged in a split-plot design. In the treatments with biofertilizer the seed was inoculated with Glomus intraradices + Azospirillum brasilense; in chemical fertilization 120N-80P-80K was applied. The response variables measured were: height, diameter of the neck and number of leaves of the plant, number and weight of ears with and without bracts, weight of bracts, length and diameter of the ear, number of rows ear-1, grain weight of 5 ears of cobs, length, diameter and weight of the cobs, grain yield, fodder and dried grinding. To determine the profitability of the systems, the total cost (TC), total income (IT), and net income (IN) were calculated, and finally the gain by invested MXN peso (GIP). The statistical analysis included analysis of variance and test of comparisons of means by the Tukey method. It was found that the hybrid DK357 recorded the highest height, number of leaves, grain weight, length of ear and cob, yield of grain and forage, both “zacateado” and dried milled. The P4082W genotype obtained the highest weight of ear with and without bracts. The chemical fertilization favored the yield of forage zacateado, and in combination with the biological treatment, increased the yield of grain. The DK357 and P4082W hybrids grown with chemical and biological fertilization turned out to be profitable in the systems for the production of grain alone, forage grass and grain, and ground dried fodder.

Taguchi Optimization of Carboxymethylation Process and Effect Reaction Efficiency on Swelling Capacity

The aim of this research paper was to ascertain the optimum conditions required to economical synthesis carboxymethylated starch using experimental design technique by Taguchi for Larger-is-better and smaller-is better of reaction efficiency (RE). Orthogonal Array method was utilized in the design of the experiment which consisted of eighteen (18) runs based on three (3) independent Factors which are; Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with three concentration levels (1, 1.5, and 2.0M), Sodium monochloroacetate (SMCA) with three concentration levels (1, 1.5, and 2.0M) and Reaction Time (T) with two (2) levels (2 and 4 hours) respectively and the response is reaction efficiency (R.E). The result obtained from the experiment was interpreted using the Taguchi method of larger-is-better and smaller-is-better was apply to estimate the Response for Signal-to-Noise Ratios. The analysis showed that for larger-is-better, the optimal condition to obtain high reaction efficiency (R.E.) of 9.97%, will require NaOH at 2.0 M, SMCA at 1.0 M, at reaction period of, while for smaller-is-better, the optimal condition to obtain low reaction efficiency (RE) of 1.93 %, will required the concentration of NaOH (aq) and SMCA (aq) to be 1.5 M and 1.5 M with a reaction period (T) of 4 hours respectively. The result was also study the influence of variable SMCA (aq) and NaOH (aq) concentrations on swelling capacity (SC) at reaction time of 2 hours. The result shows that 2M NaOH is the optimum concentration for carboxymethyl starch (CMS) synthesis. .Significant difference was ascertained using Tukey method, and at 95% Confidence level.

Gaussian Fuzzy Number for STR-DNA Similarity Calculation Involving Familial and Tribal Relationships

We performed locus similarity calculation by measuring fuzzy intersection between individual locus and reference locus and then performed CODIS STR-DNA similarity calculation. The fuzzy intersection calculation enables a more robust CODIS STR-DNA similarity calculation due to imprecision caused by noise produced by PCR machine. We also proposed shifted convoluted Gaussian fuzzy number (SCGFN) and Gaussian fuzzy number (GFN) to represent each locus value as improvement of triangular fuzzy number (TFN) as used in previous research. Compared to triangular fuzzy number (TFN), GFN is more realistic to represent uncertainty of locus information because the distribution is assumed to be Gaussian. Then, the original Gaussian fuzzy number (GFN) is convoluted with distribution of certain ethnic locus information to produce the new SCGFN which more represents ethnic information compared to original GFN. Experiments were done for the following cases: people with family relationships, people of the same tribe, and certain tribal populations. The statistical test with analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows the difference in similarity between SCGFN, GFN, and TFN with a significant level of 95%. The Tukey method in ANOVA shows that SCGFN yields a higher similarity which means being better than the GFN and TFN methods. The proposed method enables CODIS STR-DNA similarity calculation which is more robust to noise and performed better CODIS similarity calculation involving familial and tribal relationships.

ANALISIS PROFIL PENGARUH BAHAN ORGANIK TERHADAP KONSENTRASI BESI FERRO DAN SERAPANNYA DI LAHAN RAWA PASANG SURUT

<p>This study aimed to determine the similarity of the characteristics of each type of organic matter in suppressing the solubility of iron in soil and absorption in plants. This research was conducted in two stages. The first stage was conducted in the greenhouse to study the effect of organic matter to iron solubility in acidic sulphate soil. The research used a factorial design with 1 control and 3 replications. The first factor was type of organic matter used, B1 = rice straw; B2 = weeds; B3 = Combination of 50% rice straw and 50% weeds. The second factor was the incubation period of organic matter I1 = 2 weeks, I2 = 4 weeks, I3 = 8 weeks, and I4 = 12 weeks. The second stage was analyzing the profiles of the type of organic matter in order to evaluate the similarity of the characteristics of each type of organic matter. Based on the profile alignment, it was found that the three types of organic matter were not aligned. The types of organic matter had different roles in suppressing the solubility of iron in soil and its absorption in plants. There is a need to do a comparative analysis with Tukey method to the three types of organic matter.</p>

Inter-application displacement of brachytherapy dose received by the bladder and rectum of the patients with inoperable cervical cancer

Background. The aim of the study was to examine on the CT basis the inter-application displacement of the positions D0.1cc, D1ccand D2ccof the brachytherapy dose applied to the bladder and rectum of the patients with inoperable cervical cancer.Patients and methods. This prospective study included 30 patients with cervical cancer who were treated by concomitant chemo-radiotherapy. HDR intracavitary brachytherapy was made by the applicators type Fletcher tandem and ovoids. For each brachytherapy application the position D0.1ccwas determined of the bladder and rectum that receive a brachytherapty dose. Then, based on the X, Y, and Z axis displacement, inter-application mean X, Y, and Z axis displacements were calculated as well as their displacement vectors (R). It has been analyzed whether there is statistically significant difference in inter-application displacement of the position of the brachytherapy dose D0.1cc, D1ccand D2ccof the bladder and rectum. The ANOVA test and post-hoc analysis by Tukey method were used for testing statistical importance of differences among the groups analyzed. The difference among the groups analyzed was considered significant if p < 0.05. Results. There are significant inter-application displacements of the position of the brachytherapy dose D0,1cc, D1ccand D2ccof the bladder and rectum. Conclusions. When we calculate the cumulative brachytherapy dose by summing up D0,1cc, D1ccand D2ccof the organs at risk for all the applications, we must bear in mind their inter-application displacement, and the fact that it is less likely that the worst scenario would indeed happen

Rothman index as a predictor for type of discharge and readmission rates in a cancer hospital: The Yale experience.

6635 Background: There is limited data on predictors of discharge (DC) and readmission (RA) for oncology inpatients. The Rothman index (RI) is a single score calculated from 26 parameters including nursing assessments, vital signs, and laboratory tests, integrated with the hospital’s electronic medical record and automatically updated when new data are entered. Scores are inversely related to patient impairment. We evaluated the role of RI in the prediction of DC types and RA rates at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale. Methods: Patients (pts) with solid tumors, length of stay longer than 24 hours, admitted between 6/1/11 and 12/31/11 were enrolled. Elective admissions were excluded. DC types were classified as home without hospice (Hm), nursing home (NH), hospice (Hp) and death (D). The RI at the time of DC was evaluated as a predictor for RA at 7 or 30 days and the type of DC. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between RI means and DC categories, followed by pair-wise contrast using the Tukey method. Results: Among the 476 admissions from 331 pts, the median age was 63 (range 21-92, 23% age 70 or older), and 55% males. The most common tumors were lung (24%) and breast (8%). The number of DCs were 313 Hm (66%), 75 NH (16%), 55 Hp (11%) and 33 D (7%). RI at DC for H, NH, Hp and D were 74, 62, 47 and 23. All comparisons among RI at DC and type of DC were significant (p < 0.05). Among the Hm pts, the rates of RA at 7 days were significantly higher for RI < 50 (45%) and 50-60 (32%) compared to 81-90 (13%) and > 90 (7%) (Table). RA rates at 30 days were also related to RI at DC, ranging from 65% in RI < 50 to 33% in RI > 90. Conclusions: RI is a useful tool in the evaluation of inpatients by providing an objective metric at the time of DC. The high correlation between RI scores and both DC type and RA rate underscores the need for a more consistent and reproducible evaluation at the time of DC and may be used by health care providers to guide disposition planning. A prospective study is being planned at our institution. [Table: see text]

Temperature Variation Analysis of a Coolant Level Using Multiple Comparisons for Green Turning Process

Tukey method of multiple comparisons was proposed to decide the adequate amount of coolant re Tukey method of multiple comparisons was proposed to decide the adequate amount of coolant required in machining and to keep the cutting temperature low simultaneously. A new coolant level, termed as "low level", was suggested and it was proved to be approximately one quarter of conventional coolant amount or "high level". "None level" was also used in the experiment to simulate the dry cutting condition. Cutting temperatures according to each different coolant level were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and Tukey method of multiple comparisons. A difference in cutting temperatures was found by ANOVA. According to the further study with Tukey method of Honestly Significant Difference (HSD), there was a temperature difference between "none level" and "low level", but no difference in temperature between "low level" and "high level".