Search

The study aimed to fortify milk prepared for the manufacture of yogurt with different concentrations of aqueous extract of black seed to develop non-traditional therapeutic dairy products with health benefits.Yogurt was produced from whole milk fortified with 0%, 1% and 2% of aqueous extract of black seed, which represent as C, T1 and T2 , treatments respectively. The results indicated that the fortified yogurt treatments maintained a moisture content close to that of the control treatment (C), while after 21 days of storage at a temperature of (5±1) 0 C, a slight decrease in the moisture content was observed for all treatments.No significant differences were observed in the pH value and the total acidity of all the studied treatments immediately after manufacturing.An improvement was observed in the values of the rheological tests that included testing the viscosity and water retention capacity of T1 treatment compared to the control treatment (C).The process of fortification with the aqueous extract also led to a variation in the total numbers of the starter bacteria, as the treatments T1 and T2 excelled in the growth and activity of lactic acid bacteria compared with the control treatment (C), while the results showed that the yogurt treatments fortified by the aqueous extract were free of coliform bacteria, Psychrophiles bacteria, yeasts and molds, starting from one day after manufacture until the expiry of the 21-day storage period.The results of sensory evaluation also indicated the superiority of the yogurt treatments fortified with aqueous extract, especially the T1 treatment with a concentration of 1%, as it obtained the highest scores and excelled in all sensory attributes compared with the control treatment (C).

Trajectory tracking of wheeled mobile robot is the most interesting and important subject in robotic systems field. In this paper, a four mecanum wheeled mobile robot (FMWMR) has been considered. This type was considered because it is the most famous holonomic type of wheeled mobile robot (WMR). The main purpose of this work is to design a new hybrid controller for the trajectory tracking of FMWMR based on the kinematic model. The proposed controller consists of Tilt-Integral-Derivative (TID) controller tuned parameters with neural network as well as social spider optimization i.e., (TID-NN-SSO) which is applied on the kinematic model of the FMWMR. The forward and inverse kinematic equations were derived. The TID controller was used for computing the controlled signals which are the angular velocities of each wheel while the neural network (NN) and social spider optimization (SSO) were to compute the parameters of TID controller. MATLAB/Simulink programing was implemented to simulate the results. A comparative study between TID-NN-SSO and TID controller tuned parameters by using particles swarm optimization (TID-PSO) was conducted. The results of the mean square errors (MSE) in (x and y) coordinates as well as the orientation error obtained from TID–NN-SSO are (2.105*10−4 m, 1.025*10−4 m, 0.0815 rad) and they are less than the MSE that was obtained from TID-PSO which are (0.00567 m, 0.0356 m, 1.22 rad/s). This indicates that TID–NN-SSO is more efficient than TID-PSO.

Mechanical and thermal properties of composites, consisted of unsaturated polyester resin, reinforced by different kinds of natural materials (Orange peels and Date seeds) and industrial materials (carbon and silica) with particle size 98 µm were studied. Various weight ratios, 5, 10, and 15 wt. % of natural and industrial materials have been infused into polyester. Tensile, three-point bending and thermal conductivity tests were conducted for the unfilled polyester, natural and industrial composite to identify the weight ratio effect on the properties of materials. The results indicated that when the weight ratio for polyester with date seeds increased from 10% to 15%, the maximum Young’s modulus decreased by 54%. When the weight ratio was 5%, the maximum Young’s modulus, yield stress and ultimate tensile stress occurred in the polyester with date seeds. The results of tensile and flexural tests showed that the natural composite material has a higher strength than the industrial material. While the results of flexural tests manifested that the maximum improvement in the flexural strength is obtained for orange peels at 5 wt. %, where the maximum increasing percentage is 153.4% than pure polyester. The thermal conductivity of orange peels decreased to the half value when the weight ratio increased from 10% to 15%. The thermal conductivity for polyester with orange peels was greater than the thermal conductivity of polyester with date seeds with maximum percentage occurred at weight ratio 10% is 14.4%, but the thermal conductivity of the industrial composite material was higher than the natural composite material. Finally, the date seeds composite was a good insulator and it had a reduced heat transfer rate in comparison to the rest of the samples, also the maximum variation of temperature with time occurred in date seeds composite.

To correlate aqueous humor soluble CD44 (sCD44) concentration, visual field loss, and glaucoma risk factors in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.Aqueous samples were obtained by paracentesis from normal and glaucoma patients who were undergoing elective surgery and analyzed for sCD44 concentration by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.In normal aqueous (n=124) the sCD44 concentration was 5.88+/-0.27 ng/mL, whereas in POAG aqueous (n=90) the sCD44 concentration was 12.76+/-0.66 ng/mL, a 2.2-fold increase (P0.000001). In POAG patients with prior successful filtration surgery (n=13), the sCD44 concentration was decreased by 43% to 7.32+/-1.44 (P=0.001) in comparison with POAG patients without filtration surgery; however, the sCD44 concentration in the prior successful filtration subgroup with no medications and normal intraocular pressure was 12.62+/-3.81 (P=0.05) compared with normal. The sCD44 concentration of normal pressure glaucoma patients was 9.19+/-1.75 ng/mL, a 1.6-fold increase compared with normal (P=0.02). Race and intraocular pressure pulse amplitude were significant POAG risk factors in this cohort of patients. In both normal and POAG patients with mild and moderate visual field loss, sCD44 concentration was greater in African Americans than in whites (P=0.04).sCD44 concentration in the aqueous of POAG patients correlated with the severity of visual field loss in all stages in white patients and in mild to moderate stages in African American patients. sCD44 concentration in aqueous is a possible protein biomarker of visual field loss in POAG.

Purpose To determine whether bimatoprost is hydrolyzed to its free acid after topical application in humans in vivo. Design Prospective, masked, and vehicle controlled. Participants Thirty-one eyes of 31 patients with cataracts. Methods Beginning 7 days before scheduled cataract surgery, one eye of each patient was treated with bimatoprost 0.03% or vehicle once daily, with the last drop administered 2 to 12 hours before anterior chamber paracentesis before cataract surgery. In a masked fashion, aqueous humor specimens were assayed for bimatoprost and its free acid by high-pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Main outcome measure Detection of the free acid of bimatoprost in aqueous humor. Results Aqueous humor concentrations of the free acid of bimatoprost were 22.0±7.0 nmol/l (mean ± standard error of the mean, n = 12) and 7.0±4.6 nmol/l (n = 8) at 2 and 12 hours, respectively, and below the limit of detection after vehicle (n = 10). Concentrations of bimatoprost (amide) were 5.7±1.4 and 1.1±0.4 nmol/l at 2 and 12 hours, respectively, and undetectable after vehicle. Conclusion After topical application of bimatoprost in humans, a sufficient concentration of its free acid, a potent FPprostanoid receptor agonist, is found in the aqueous humor to account for its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.