Activity

Porous-permeable structures with magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow have a lot of applications in various disciplines of engineering. Transport of ferro-fluid in magnetic field has attained more focus in recent years. In this work, an analysis is accomplished to investigate the MHD transport of in-compressible viscid ferro-fluid (electrically conductive) amid two movable porous-permeable plates (PPP). Here asymptotic method is then selected to solve the model. In this study, the effects of diverse considerable parameters and constraints like surface permeability, Reynold’s factor, and Hartmann’s factor are elaborated in details.Agricultural intensification is a threat to terrestrial ecosystems around the world. Agricultural areas, especially monocultures, create homogenous landscapes for wildlife. However, certain crops, such as sugarcane, are harvested in phases, creating a mosaic of fields in different stages of growth. We investigated changes in avian communities across four different sugarcane growth stages emerging, short, medium and tall sugarcane, as well as control sites that represented native savanna habitat in northeast Eswatini prior to conversion to agriculture. GSH order In total, we sampled nine sites in sugarcane fields (at different growth stages) and three in native savanna. We conducted bird counts at 5-week intervals along 200m line transects over both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. We recorded a total of 124 bird species belonging to 58 families. Bird species richness and diversity were higher in savannas compared to any stages of growth in sugarcane. In contrast, functional beta diversity and uniqueness were higher in sugarcane than in savanna. Community composition was also different between the two land-uses. While there was overlap in bird species composition between different sugarcane growth stages, there was high beta diversity and high turnover between sites, indicative of the high temporal and spatial variability in bird communities in sugarcane fields. We demonstrated that the spatial and temporal variability created by the different growth stages of sugarcane promotes the occurrence of species with different traits, which may contribute to ecosystem functioning and promote the conservation of bird species as sugarcane fields can provide resource complementation for species with different needs.Our study investigated whether the chemical intensity and weight yield of essential oil fraction of Zingiber officinale roscoe was significantly affected by variety, maturity stage or cultivated location in Sri Lanka. Two varieties, Rangoon and Siddha planted in two geographical locations of Sri Lanka were harvested at three maturity stages. Chinese variety was studied as the control. Study revealed that the ginger essential oil (GEO) weight yield decreased with increasing maturity stage. Maturity stage and location of cultivation was significantly affecting GEO weight yield while chemical intensities were significantly affected by maturity stage only. Variety factor was not significantly affecting any of the dependent variables. Interaction effects between factors suggested that Siddha and Rangoon were the best varieties to cultivate in Sri Lanka. Best time to harvest rhizomes was at 5 months maturity for any tested variety. 13 major compounds were identified in Siddha while 12 major compounds were identified in Rangoon. It was suggested that variety Siddha was better than Rangoon from its antibacterial chemical profile and composition.The aims of this study were to survey the current storage condition of pasteurized milk in Oman and to evaluate its physicochemical and microbiological stability. The results of the statistical survey indicated that 50% of the total outlets surveyed were in violation in terms of providing the conditions for storing pasteurized milk, where grocery stores formed the majority of those outlets in violation. The results of physicochemical and microbiological tests of samples, which were stored at temperatures of 5 °C and 8 °C for a period of 12 days from the date of production, indicated that the characteristics of pasteurized milk were not affected during the storage period, and their results were consistent with the standard specifications of pasteurized milk. Therefore, extending the shelf-life of pasteurized milk stored at 5 °C for a period of 9 days from the date of production is considered safe.

Ulcerative colitis (UC), characterized by chronic inflammation and its recurrence in the large intestine, is well known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Suitable biomarkers specific for UC are poorly understood till date. We aimed to discover novel serum biomarkers for UC and identify good indicators that reflected the severity of UC.

Serum samples were obtained from out-patients with IBD (n = 101) and healthy volunteers (HVs, n = 101). Serum proteins were subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis. After electrophoresis, proteins in the gel were identified by mass spectrometry. Further, the protein concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Based on the results, correlations between the serum levels of these proteins and the disease activity index scores for UC were statistically evaluated.

HPLC showed that chromatograms of serum proteins from HVs apparently differed from those of patients with IBD. Eleven protein bands, which were different in their protein concentrations from those in HVs, were separated by SDS-PAGE accordingly. Among them, complement C3 (c-C3) and α

-macroglobulin (α

-MG), with high protein scores, were identified by mass spectrometry. The serum concentration of c-C3 in patients with IBD was higher than that in HVs. However, the level of α

-MG in patients with IBD was significantly lower than that in HVs. Hence, the serum levels of c-C3 and α

-MG could be good indicators of the severity of UC.

Serum c-C3 and α

-MG are suitable biomarkers for monitoring the condition of patients with UC.

Serum c-C3 and α2-MG are suitable biomarkers for monitoring the condition of patients with UC.