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The widespread bacterial contamination caused by foodborne pathogens has continuously driven the development of advanced and potent food antimicrobial agents. In this study, two novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) named KTA and KTR were obtained by modifying a natural AMP, Leg2, from chickpea storage protein legumin hydrolysates. They were further predicted to be stable hydrophobic cationic AMPs of α-helical structure with no hemolytic toxicity by several online servers. Moreover, the AMPs exerted superior antibacterial activity against two representative Staphylococcus aureusstrains thanks to the increased hydrophobicity and positive charge, with minimum inhibition concentration value (4.74–7.41 μM) significantly lower than that of Leg2 (>1158.70 μM). Further, this study sought to elucidate the specific antimicrobial mechanism against Gram-positive bacteria. It was found that the electrostatic interactions of the AMPs with peptidoglycan were vital for peptide activity in combating Gram-positive bacteria. Subsequently, the cell membrane of S. aureuscells was irreversibly disrupted by increasing permeability and impairing membrane components, which led to the massive release of intracellular substances and eventual cell death. Overall, this work demonstrated that KTA and KTR were active against Gram-positive bacteria via peptidoglycan targeting and membrane-disruptive mechanisms and paved the way for expanding their application potential to alleviate food contamination.

Antibacterial materials are urgently needed to combat bacterial contamination, growth, or attachment on contact surfaces, as bacterial infections remain a public health crisis worldwide. Here, a novel ultrasound-assisted method is utilized for the first time to fabricate oxidative chlorine-loaded AH@PBAT/PBF-Cl films with more superior grafting efficiency and rechargeable antibacterial effect than those from conventional techniques. The films remarkably inactivate 99.9999% Escherichia coliand Staphylococcus aureuscells, inducing noticeable cell deformations and mechanical instability. The specific antibacterial mechanism against E. coliused as a model organism is unveiled using several cell envelope structural and functional analyses combined with proteomics, peptidoglycomics, and fluorescence probe techniques. Film treatment partially neutralizes the bacterial surface charge, induces oxidative stress and cytoskeleton deformity, alters membrane properties, and disrupts the expression of key proteins involved in the synthesis and transport of the lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan, indicating the cell envelope as the primary target. The films specifically target lipopolysaccharides, resulting in structural impairment of the polysaccharide and lipid A components, and inhibit peptidoglycan precursor synthesis. Together, these lead to metabolic disorders, membrane dysfunction, structural collapse, and eventual death. Given the films’ antibacterial effects via the disruption of key cell envelope components, they can potentially combat a wide range of bacteria. These findings lay a theoretical basis for developing efficient antibacterial materials for food safety or biomedical applications.

AbstractPreviously, pig production was not covered in the Jordan University of Science and Technology’s (JUST) veterinary curriculum due to Jordan being a predominantly Muslim country, with few graduates practicing outside the Middle East. However, pig production, management, and health (PPMH) education is increasingly recognized as needed to meet the requirements to obtain European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) accreditation. This study assessed the introduction of pig-related teaching into JUST’s veterinary curriculum and student perceptions of this content. A teaching intervention consisted of lectures, group sessions, and a virtual reality (VR) tour of a pig production (PP) unit. To ascertain participants’ level of understanding of PPMH, perceptions of different teaching styles, and changes in perception and understanding of the topics, they answered a survey before and after the intervention. Students’ knowledge of PP, husbandry, and perceived importance of PP awareness increased significantly, with 90% (n= 17) agreeing that the intervention improved comprehension of the areas mentioned. Participants’ interest in PPMH learning increased, with 75% (n= 14) stating they would want to learn more about the topic. VR was significantly ranked the most useful in terms of learning (p= .029), and all participants stated the VR tour had a positive impact on their learning experience. Based on the findings, the focus of pig-related teaching in settings with limited awareness because of sociocultural reasons should be directed toward student-led exercises, group work, and use of technology such as VR. As a result of this intervention, blended PP has now been introduced to the JUST veterinary curriculum.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a challenging polygenic disease because the genes that cause PCa remain largely elusive and are affected by several causal factors. Consequently, research continuously strives to identify a genetic marker which could be used as an indicator to predict the most vulnerable (i.e., predisposed) segments of the population to the disease or for the gene which may be directly responsible for PCa. To enhance the genetic etiology of PCa, this research sought to discover the key studies conducted in this field using data from the main journal publication search engines, as it was hoped that this could shed light on the main research findings from these studies, which in turn could assist in determining these genes or markers. From the research highlighted, the studies primarily used two kinds of markers: short tandem repeats or single-nucleotide polymorphisms. These markers were found to be quite prevalent in all the chromosomes within the research carried out. It also became apparent that the studies differed in both quantity and quality, as well as being conducted in a variety of societies. Links were also determined between the degree and strength of the relationship between these markers and the occurrence of the disease. From the studies identified, most recommended a larger and more diverse survey for the parameters which had not been studied before, as well as an increase in the size of the community (i.e., the population) being studied. This is an indication that work in this field is far from complete, and thus, current research remains committed toward finding genetic markers that can be used clinically for the diagnosis and screening of patients with PCa.

Throughout the world, antidepressants (AD) and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) are the commonly prescribed psychopharmacological agents for treating patients with co-morbid mental health problem and sexual dysfunction (SD). The serotonergic and noradrenergic ADs, although effective, are not without any SD adverse-effects, especially erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is a failure to obtain a satisfactory erection for rewarding sexual coitus during the phases of male's sexual arousal. It is recognized as an important reason why non-adherence to treatment was observed in patients who were on AD. AD intervention caused remission to some of the pre- treatment psychopathology of ED. However, in many patients, AD potentially magnified the unwanted sexual sideeffects. This made the situation challenging for the mental health professional. These challenges are based on the complexity of ED, its etiology and the associated risk factors, which further add to its AD side-effect. The neuro-psychopharmacological basis for AD treatment selection was deliberated. Bio-psycho-social interventions are recommended at two pivotal stages. Firstly, a step should be taken for proper assessment (e.g. detailed history, psychosocial and laboratory investigations); and identify few modifiable risk factors for ED and associated mental health issues. Secondly, with guidance of an algorithm pathway, a practical intervention should include strategies such as dose reduction, augmentation or changing to an AD with lesser or no sexual adverse-effects. It is recommended that bupropion and mirtazepine to be prescribed when patients develop adverse sexual effects with serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) and tricyclic antidepressant (TCA). Few suggestions which may be borne in mind are revising sexual scripts and improving sexual techniques, life-style modifications, psychotherapy and other nonpharmacological approaches which may be beneficial to both patients and their partners.

The density, viscosity and refractive index of aqueous solutions of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH), piperazine (PZ) and their aqueous blends are determined at several temperatures (303.15 to 333.15K). All these measured physicochemical properties decreases with an increase in temperature. The density data is used to calculate the coefficient of thermal expansion and excess molar volume of all aqueous binary and ternary solutions. The coefficient of thermal expansion increases with increase in temperatures and concentrations. The negativity of excess molar volume for all the aqueous solution decreased with increase in temperature. Each physical property is correlated with temperature by least square method and the corresponding coefficients for each property are presented. The prediction values from correlations for the physical properties are in good agreement with the experimental values.

Gears have numerous practical applications. It is an essential element for power transmission. It is used to increase or decrease the speed or change the direction of a power resource. When gears are operating, it will develop high stress concentration on the contact tooth surface. In practice most gear teeth fail due to surface contact, which is the most common failure. Selecting the ideal material for a gear tooth is significant for the purpose of operating gear system. This review study will increase additional understanding of ceramic functional graded materials (FGMs) and their applications and how these materials can solve the gear tooth surface problem. This study gives evidence that FGM is able to enhance the microstructure, mechanical properties of the gear and gives better hardness between two tooth surfaces. The conclusion will suggest a solution for the problem of contact surfaces in the gear tooth, by using functional graded materials. In the structure of FGM, the metal phase will provide strength to the gear tooth and the ceramic phase will augment the heat and wear resistance.

In-situ methanolysis of Jatropha curcas had been investigated at various reaction temperatures along with reaction time. Increasing reaction temperature enhanced the yield of biodiesel and shortened the reaction completion. According to shrinking core model, the mechanism of in-situ methanolysis of Jatropha curcas was chemical reaction control with the first-order reaction. The constant of the first-order reaction rate in the range of 5.15×10-9 to 8.78×10-9 m·s-1 and Arrhenius activation energy of 22.66 kJ⋅mol-1 were obtained.

The frequent usage of cationic dyes is in the textile and leather industries. However, they are not only utilized during the dying process, but also they are recovered at the end of the process. Hence, the removal of dye from huge quantity of wastewater is necessary. In this paper methylene blue as a cationic dye have been extracted successfully into an ionic liquid namely 1-hexyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, abbreviated as [HMIM][TF2N]. To investigate the feasibility of using (IL) to dye removal from aqueous solutions batch experiments were performed under different process conditions like initial dye concentration, pH and temperature. Also adsorption data were analyzed using isotherms models and was found to conform to the principle of Lagmuir model with good correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.9896).

One of the major problems in petroleum industry is wax precipitation and deposition. The component’s compositional and structural analysis of the crude oils is key factors to be studied to mitigate wax formation and precipitation tendency for the betterment of the crude oil flowability. In this work, the compositions and structures of two Malaysian and Sudanese crude oil samples were determined to investigate their effects on wax precipitation. The GC/MS was used to analyze hydrocarbon components. For this work, high pressure micro differential scanning calorimetry (HPμDSC) is used to determine the wax crystallization point and solubility curve. Results showed a linear relationship between wax appearance temperature (WAT) and weight percentage of component in the crude oil having > 14 carbon atoms. In addition, the effect of temperature on the amount of wax precipitation has also been investigated. Keywords: N-paraffin, Wax appearance temperature, Wax precipitation, High pressure micro differential scanning calorimetry

An analysis on the void fraction measurement for binary phase gas-liquid dielectric materials inside an Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) sensor has been performed on the tomogram images by using different thresholding techniques. The analysis is pertinent to improve the accuracy of the application of thresholding technique for void fraction measurements in pipelines and reactors since the currently available information is limited in terms of accuracy. This preliminary investigation was performed to evaluate the accuracy of three different thresholding algorithms: Otsu’s, Niblack’s and Kuo’s Method based on the void fraction measurement for a binary phase oil-air system. The experimental and image processing analysis enables one to determine the optimal threshold method by selecting the threshold algorithm which produces the highest accuracy and consistency in the void fraction measurement as compared to the actual value.

Friction welding is now well established as one of the most economical and highly productive methods in joining similar and dissimilar metals. It is widely used in automotive and aerospace industrial applications. Friction welding is often the only viable alternative in this field to overcome the difficulties encountered in joining the materials with widely varying physical characteristics. This process employs a machine that is designed to convert mechanical energy into heat at the joint to weld using relative movement between workpieces, without the use of electrical energy or heat from other sources. This review deals with the fundamental understanding of the process. The focus is on the mechanism of friction welding, types of relative motions of the process, influence of parameters, heat generation in the process, understanding the deformation, microstructure and the properties of similar and dissimilar welded materials.

The CD4+ lymphocyte is a major target of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). CD4+ T-lymphocyte measures have been used to predict the risk of HIV-1— related complications in diverse populations, to guide management decisions, and to define cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To examine the role of CD4+ measures in the management and epidemiologic monitoring of HIV-1 infection, we evaluated current literature regarding the accuracy and precision of CD4+ measures and the use of these and other prognostic measures in the care of HIV-1—infected persons. Several studies have reported wide intraindividual and interindividual variability in the absolute CD4+ count, which can detract from its clinical usefulness. Approaches to address this variability include the following: drawing specimens at a similar time of the day; monitoring CD4+ percent that has less variability; following a meticulous laboratory technique; using serial tests to guide management decisions; and retesting after efforts to eliminate transient treatment and clinical factors that can affect the CD4+ count. The expense and limited availability of CD4+ measures also present barriers to widespread use. Other laboratory and clinical factors offer additional prognostic information and have an evolving role in management decisions. CD4+ measures have an important role in HIV-1 clinical care, research, and disease surveillance, but strategies are required to address problems with variability, expense, and availability.(Arch Intern Med. 1994;154:1561-1573)

Surgical procedures involving sharing of the airway between the anaesthetist and surgeon, such as bronchoscopy, microlaryngeal surgery and tracheal resection impose special problems on the anaesthetist. The surgeon requires unre stricted surgical access, whereas the anaesthetist must ensure adequate and safe pulmonary ventilation and anaesthesia.

Fish has been known as a source of nonoccupational mercury exposure to fish-consuming population groups. In this study, hair samples collected from fishermen and their families residing in an industrialized area in Penang and a nonindustrialized area in Terengganu were analyzed for mercury by neutron activation. The range, arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and median of the mercury concentrations for the groups in Penang and in Terengganu were 0.45–16.68, 3.61, 3.49, and 2.96 and 6.79–18.31, 12.08, 11.69, and 12.05 mg/kg, respectively. Somewhat lower values than from the Penang group were found in a group from Selangor consisting mainly of office workers. The group in Penang took about 40–100 g of fish/d, whereas the group in Terengganu consumed twice as much. This shows that hair mercury levels depend on a fish consumption pattern, and not on the location of the population. The levels of mercury found in this study were similar to those reported by other workers for fish-consuming population groups worldwide.

The shear strength and microstructural characteristics of the spot brazed titanium and nickel base metal was evaluated in this study with and without addition of 71Ag-28Cu-1Mg filler metal at the interfacial region of titanium and nickel. Welding current was varied in a range of 1.0 to 4.0 kA in order to understand the influence of welding current over the final properties of the joints. The strength of the joints was assessed using a shear test mode, and the microstructure was studied using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Results indicated that the strength of Ti/Ag alloy/Ni joints is higher than that of Ti/Ni joints when welding current in the range of 2.5 to 4.0 kA was applied. The absence of porosity in the joint and enlargement of the weld nugget significantly improves the bonding strength of the spot brazed joint. This observation is due to dissolution of the 71Ag-28Cu-1Mg filler, which results in diffusion of Ti and Ni into the molten filler, thus the molten filler can effectively wet the Ti and Ni substrate during spot brazing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-core thermal neutron flux distribution was determined using measurement and simulation methods for the Malaysian's PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP). In this work, online thermal neutron flux measurement using Self Powered Neutron Detector (SPND) has been performed to verify and validate the computational methods for neutron flux calculation in RTP calculations. The experimental results were used as a validation to the calculations performed with Monte Carlo code MCNP. The detail in-core neutron flux distributions were estimated using MCNP mesh tally method. The neutron flux mapping obtained revealed the heterogeneous configuration of the core. Based on the measurement and simulation, the thermal flux profile peaked at the centre of the core and gradually decreased towards the outer side of the core. The results show a good agreement (relatively) between calculation and measurement where both show the same radial thermal flux profile inside the core: MCNP model over estimation with maximum discrepancy around 20% higher compared to SPND measurement. As our model also predicts well the neutron flux distribution in the core it can be used for the characterization of the full core, that is neutron flux and spectra calculation, dose rate calculations, reaction rate calculations, etc.

It has been demonstrated that composites are lightweight, fatigue resistant and easily melded, a seemingly attractive alternative to metals. However, there has been no widespread switch from metals to composites in the automotive sector. This is because there are a number of technical issues relating to the use of composite materials that still need to be resolved including accurate material characterization, manufacturing and joining process. The total of 36 specimens have been fabricated using the fibre-glass and resin (epoxy) with a two different geometries (circular and corrugated) each one will be filled with five types of filler (Rice Husk, Wood Chips, Aluminium Chips, Coconut Fibre, Palm Oil Fibre) all these type will be compared with empty Tubes for circular and corrugated in order to comprehend the crashworthiness parameters (initial failure load, average load, maximum crushing load, load ratio, energy absorption, specific energy absorption, volumetric energy absorption, crushing force efficiency and crush strain relation) which are considered very sufficient parameters in the design of automotive industry parts. All the tests have been done using the "INSTRON Universal machine" which is computerized in order to simply give a high precision to the collection of the results, along with the use of quasi-static load to test and observe the behaviour of the fabricated specimens.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including one about the death of auctioneer Jean Lefevre, another on the service received by an individual from the Oriental Rug Advisory and Trading Services, and the V-form Uzbek embroideries.

A dot enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using 50-kD outer-membrane proteins (OMPs) of Salmonella typhi was compared with the Widal test for the serodiagnosis of typhoid fever in 109 febrile children admitted to a hospital in an endemic area. In the culture-positive typhoid group, the initial dot EIA was positive in 40 of 42 cases and the initial Widal test was positive in 41. In the culture-negative clinical typhoid group, both the dot EIA and the Widal test were positive in 17 of 18 cases. In the nontyphoidal fever group, the dot EIA was negative in all of 49 cases and the Widal test was negative in 44. With culture used as the gold standard, the dot EIA is as sensitive as the Widal test (95% vs. 98%), has a similar high negative predictive value (96% vs. 98%), and is more specific (75% vs. 67%). In addition, the dot EIA offers the advantages of simplicity, speed, early diagnosis, economy, and flexibility (i.e., other diagnostic tests can be conducted simultaneously).