Processing Impact on Nutritional, Antinutritional, and Phytochemical of Fenugreek Seeds (Trigonella Foenum-Graecum L.)

Phytate and tannin are more pronounced antinutrients limiting the nutritional quality of fenugreek. The impact of roasting (130±5°C for 7 minutes), soaking (12 hrs. at room temperature) and germination (72 hrs. at 25°C) on bioactive compounds (polyphenol and antioxidant activity), nutritional and anti-nutritional compounds (phytate and tannin) in Fenugreek were studied. Experimental data were analyzed using the software GenStat 12th Edition. Protein increased significantly (p<0.05) during roasting, soaking, and germination whereas fat decreased significantly. Iron and calcium increased during roasting whereas decreased during soaking and germination. Maximum reduction of phytate (54.55%) and tannin (66.73%) were found when fenugreek seeds were germinated (72 hours). The reduction percentage of antinutrients by soaking (12 hours) and roasting (130±5⁰C for 7 mins) was found to be a lesser effective method compared to germination. All the treatments had a significant (p<0.05) impact on their bioactive components. Phenolic content increased significantly (p<0.05) during roasting, soaking, and germination. Antioxidant activity (IC50=1.28mg dm/ml) was found to be high in the germinated samples as compared to raw, roasted, and soaked samples. Hence, Germination of fenugreek seeds for 72 hours is concluded as the most effective and promising method for the reduction of antinutrients and increasing the nutritional components, phytochemicals, and antioxidant properties.

Numerical Study of the Influence of Coupling Interface Emissivity on Aerogel Metal Thermal Protection Performance

For aerogels in metal thermal protection system (MTPS), radiative heat transfer will participate in the thermal transport process. Therefore, the influence of the emissivity of the coupling interface between metal and aerogels on thermal insulation performance is considered an important research focus. In this paper, CFD numerical simulation is performed to study the influence of emissivity on the performance with different extinction coefficients at different boundary temperatures. The finite volume method and the discrete ordinate method are used to solve the govern equations. The results show that when the boundary temperatures are 600 K and 2100 K, the extinction coefficient is 50 m−1, and the reduction percentage of the effective thermal conductivity with an emissivity of 0.2 can be up to 47.5% and 69.8%, compared to the system with an emissivity of 1. Thus, the reduction in emissivity has a good effect on the thermal insulation performance of the MTPS at a higher boundary temperature for materials with small extinction coefficients.

Surfactant Enhanced Bioremediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils Using Alkyl Polyglucoside

Bioremediation is an efficient and environmentally friendly method for the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils. This study investigated the effects of biosurfactant alkyl polyglycosides (APG) on enhanced biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Three soil samples were contaminated with two different grades of crude oil (medium and Light). Alkyl polyglucoside was synthesised and subjected to FTIR for comfirmation of the product before it was applied in the remediation of contaminated soil. The alkyl polyglucoside is used as a treatment regime in the remediation of the hydrocarbon contamination in the three soil samples. Results of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) before remediation with bio-surfactant showed that samples contaminated with medium crude for Eneka, Ozuoba and Rukpokwu were 15744.00 mg/kg, 11359.00 mg/kg and 11470.00 mg/kg respectively and after remediation reduced to 4276.00 mg/kg, 4265.00 mg/kg, and 3205.00 mg/kg, showing a reduction percentage of 72.84%, 62.44% and 72.05% respectively. Soil samples contaminated with light crude showed result of TPH of 11339.00 mg/kg, 10662 mg/kg and 10226 mg/kg and after remediation reduced to 2981 mg/kg, 3879 mg/kg, and 4245 mg/kg respectively showing a reduction percentage of 73.71%, 63.62 % and 58.49% respectively. The enhanced efficiency of the bio-surfactant at degrading total petroleum hydrocarbons was achieved as a result of the increased solubility thus improving the bioavailability of the hydrocarbons due to the action of the alkyl polyglucoside.

Active tremor control in human-like hand tremor using fuzzy logic

<span>Tremor<span>is the vibration in sinusoidal orientation that is experienced regularly by a person with Parkinson’s disease (PD), which disturbs their daily activities. One solution that may be used to counter this tremor effect is by developing an active tremor control system in LabVIEW for linear voice coil actuator (LVCA), where the system uses proportional (P) controller and various types of fuzzy logic controller (FLC) as a hybrid controller to reduce tremor vibration. From this research, it can be concluded that the best controller for tremor reduction is the P+FLC 1^st set of rules, compared to P+FLC 2^nd set of rules, and P controller only, with the highest percentage of 88.39% of tremor reduction with the actual tremor vibration of PD patients as the reference result. The P+FLC 2^nd set of rules has the highest percentage of tremor reduction with a value of 86.81%, whereas P controller only has the highest tremor reduction percentage of 67.10%. This percentage of tremor reduction is based on the power spectral density (PSD) values, in which it represents the intensity of the tremor vibration. This experimental study can be used as an initial step for researchers and engineers to design and develop an anti-tremor device in the future.</span></span>

Influence of DC Electric Field on the Propane-Air Diffusion Flames and NOx Formation

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of a direct current (DC) electric field on the combustion behavior of a co-flow propane diffusion flame. The flame length and NOx emission were observed and measured. The electric field enhances the combustion process of propane diffusion flame by causing the movement of ions and molecules in the flame, resulting in a change in the shape of the flame. The flame heights decrease with an increase in the applied voltage and polarity, a more dominant effect to be observed with a positive DC electric field. However, for the applied negative polarity, the inner-cone of the propane diffusion flame is shifted by the electric field. Drastic reduction in the NOx emission is observed with an increase in the applied DC voltage and polarity. In the existing system, the reduction percentage of NOx is within the range of 55 to 78%.

Effect of wound healing in gels containing tinctures of Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves

Background Alnus glutinosa (L) is a widespread medicinal plant on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves tincture has an anti-inflammatory effect on the diseases of the throat, intestines, in rheumatism and gout. Water extracts from collective fruit, leaves and bark are used for gargling in stomatitis and gum bleeding. The purpose of the research was to establish wound healing activity of gels based on alcohol extracts from Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves on the model of a surface full flap skin wound on laboratory animals. Methods Regenerating action of new drugs (gels) based on tinctures of Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves was studied on a model of planar full-layer skin wound in laboratory animals. Wounds were treated daily with gels applied to complete healing. The wound area was measured planometrically to assess the effectiveness of drugs and then the percentage of area reduction was calculated. Regenerative action of the gels developed was compared to widely used in medical practice 4% Dexpanthenol Gel and Reparef-2 Ointment. 15 g of Reparef-2 Ointment contains 1200 mg of bien and 75 mg of dioxidine. Results Wound healing activity of gels containing tinctures of Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves based on 30% and 60% alcohol as to the rate of healing and the area of wounds epithelialization has been proved. Wound area treated with the gel based on Alnus glutinosa (L) extract containing 60% alcohol on day 13 of the experiment decreased by 95.59% ± 0.9% (p ≤ 0.05); based on the tincture containing 30% alcohol - by 92.93% ± 1.11%. Medicinal preparations with proved wound healing activity were compared: Reparef-2 Ointment (reduction percentage of wound area on day 13 of the experiment made 92.24% ± 2.21%) and Dexpanthenol Gel (reduction percentage of wound area on day 13 of the experiment made 83.09% ± 3.41%). Compared with the control group the gel based on 60% tincture of Alnus glutinosa (L) leaves showed a decrease in the epithelialization period by 29.5%; based on 30% tincture - by 24.6%; Reparef-2 Ointment - by 23.6% and Dexpanthenol Gel - by 13.8%. Conclusions The results of this study showed that the developed gels based on Alnus glutinosa (L) have a regenerating action and can be used to treat wound processes taking into account previously established antimicrobial activity.

The effectivity of red algae as biosorben to reduce the effect of laboratory wastewater

The research on laboratory wastewater treatment using Eucheuma cottoni as biosorbent was carried out to find the right composition of wastewater and algae that is effective in reducing the pollutant contained in the laboratory wastewater. The dosages of biosorbent were varied with 100 gr, 200 gr, and 300 gr were added into 1000 ml of wastewater mixed with 1000 ml of sea water. Chemical parameters such as pH, COD and NH3 and physical parameters such as odor, color, turbidity were analyzed and in accordance with contact time parameters of H1 (1 hour), H2 (12 hours) and H3 (24 hours). The percentage of pollutant reduction in wastewater was calculated by comparing the value before treatment with the value after treatment to get the right composition of the biosorbent to get the highest reduction percentage. The percentage of pollution reduction in the value of each parameter, showed that the third treatment with 300 gr of biosorbent was the most effective condition in reducing the pollutant contained in laboratory wastewater with the final outcomes were pH 6.67 COD 74.67 mg / L, NH3 0.731 mg / L, scale 1 color 40 PtCo and turbidity 37.6 NTU. The results are in accordance with Wastewater Quality standards Permen LH No. 5 of 2014.

Simulation of Crude Oil Transportation with Drag Reduction Agents Using k-ϵ and k-ω Models

This work explores the possibility of using Newtonian turbulence k−ϵ and k−ω models for modelling crude oil flow in pipelines with drag reduction agents. These models have been applied to predict the friction factor, pressure drop and the drag reduction percentage. The simulation results of both models were compared with six published experimental data for crude oil flow in pipes with different types of drag reduction agents. The velocity near the wall was determined using the log law line of Newtonian fluid equation and by changing the parameter ΔB to achieve an excellent agreement with experimental data. Simulated data for k−ϵ model shows better agreement with most experimental data than the k−ω turbulence model.

Cottonseed Kernel Powder as a Natural Health Supplement: An Approach to Reduce the Gossypol Content and Maximize the Nutritional Benefits

Cottonseed is one of the important by-products of the cotton crop. Researchers claim that cottonseed with less than 0.45% of gossypol is quite good for human consumption and animal feeding because it is a rich source of protein, edible oil, and energy. Total and free gossypols are the influencing parameters that reduce the edible nature of the cottonseed. In the present work, multiple quadratic regression models have been prepared to predict the reduction in the free and total gossypol percent. This response surface method (RSM)-based approach was applied to investigate the combined effect between input parameters such as acetone level, time of extraction, liquid-to-solid ratio (LSR), and the number of extraction cycles, whereas output responses are free and total gossypol reduction percentage. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) has been performed to determine the highly significant parameter. The optimum combination of input parameters was determined using the RSM-based desirability approach, and confirmatory experiments were performed to validate the combination. Results revealed that the number of extraction cycles and liquid-to-solid ratio significantly affects the reduction of free and total gossypol levels. The values of r-square were found above 0.9, which indicates that the developed models are suitable and reliable for predicting free and total gossypol reduction percentage.

Measurement of the Active Toxoplasma Retinochoroiditis Lesion Size During the Disease Course With Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Retrospective Image Analysis

Purpose To measure the lesion size reduction in eyes with active toxoplasma retinochoroiditis during the disease course with swept- source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the chorioretinal lesion size in a group of 14 eyes with a single active toxoplasma retinochoroiditis lesion.SS-OCTA was performed at the baseline and follow -up in all eyes. The 6x6 mm choriocapillaris slab images were evaluated with an image analysis (Matlab). The number of black and white pixels in a 1500µm-diameter circle centered on each active lesion was counted at the time of baseline examination and at the first follow-up visit when the chorioretinal scar formation was noticed. Results Fourteen eyes with a single active toxoplasmosis retinochoroiditis lesion were included. Ten patients were female and three,male. Mean age was 29.1 ± 14.9 years. Active lesions were at the macula in five eyes, at the periphery in six eyes and juxtapapillary in three eyes. At the initial examination lesion area was observed as an area with a decreased flow signal on SS-OCTA.There was perilesional capillary disruption in superficial and deep capillary plexi together with a diffuse capillary network attenuation and non-detectable flow signal zones in the choriocapillaris slabs. In addition to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and azithromycine combination oral corticosteroids were only co-administered in five (35%) eyes with macular involvement. The chorioretinal scar formation was observed in four to 16 weeks. At the time of inactivity, original lesion was diminished in size when compared to its baseline in all study eyes (p = 0.001) with a mean black pixel reduction percentage of 21.8%. The reduction was 15.4% in eyes with macular lesion, 31.6% with peripheral lesions and 18.1% with juxtapapillary lesions (p = 0.001, p = 0.032, p = 0.028, p = 0.043, respectively). Visual acuity was correlated with black pixel reduction percentage in eyes with macular lesion (r = 0.56, p < 0.001). Conclusion Active toxoplasma retinochoroiditis lesion size diminished with the healing process as expected and this could be monitorized with an OCTA based image analysis technique. Macular lesions showed less reduction in lesion size despite the addition of oral corticosteroids in contrast to peripheral and juxtapapillary lesions.