RAINFALL RATE CONVERSION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA COUNTRIES

The knowledge of 1-minute rainfall rate distribution is very important in order for the prediction of rainfall attenuation at any location. Due to the availability of 1-minute rainfall rate data is limited, conversion of rainfall rate distribution over a long integration time into the distribution for 1-minute is needed. Therefore several rainfall rate conversion methods were proposed.     

Bechtold-Jacobs generalized model for shift scheduling with extraordinary overlap

In constructing working shifts, the classical Dantzig (Operation Research 2:339–341, 1954) set covering model uses a great number of variables which makes computation very complicated for some cases that incorporate a high degree of break-placement flexibility. Bechtold and Jacobs (Management Science 36:1339–1351, 1990) proposed an implicit model under the assumption that there is no extraordinary overlap, which considerably reduced the number of variables. In this paper we give a generalization that is valid without this hypothesis by adding a minimal set of constraints. Also, in some cases where there is extraordinary overlap we reduce our constraint set to a subset with the same number or less than that of Bechtold and Jacobs. I. Addou’s current address is Département de Mathématiques et Statistique, Université de Montréal, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C2J7; e-mail: addou@dms.umontreal.ca.     

Quantitative and physical evaluation of patchouli essential oils obtained from different sources of Pogostemon cablin

Patchouli essential oil can be obtained from fresh, dried and fermented plant material. It is a highly valuable product in the fragrance industry and its quality changes depending upon raw material age and oil storage. In this work, patchouli essential oils derived from different treatments have been subjected to GC-FID quantitative analysis using an internal standard (ISTD) method with response factors (RF). Samples were obtained from i) fresh plants; ii) hydrodistillation of one year mature and fermented plants; iii) hydrodistillation of one year mature plants; iv) commercial products from Indonesia and Malaysia. Linear Retention Indices (LRI) for both polar and non-polar GC-MS analyses were also measured as a tool for qualitative analysis towards a homologous series of C7-C30 n-alkanes. The results obtained confirmed that, in all samples, patchouli alcohol was the main volatile constituent, with higher amount in lab-scale produced oils, compared with commercial samples. Other major compounds, in lab oils and commercial samples respectively, were: delta-guaiene, alpha-guaiene, pogostol, seychellene and alpha-patchoulene. Another 36 compounds were also found.     

A Machine Learning Model for the Prognosis of Pulseless Electrical Activity during Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is characterized by the disassociation of the mechanical and electrical activity of the heart and appears as the initial rhythm in 20–30% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases. Predicting whether a patient in PEA will convert to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is important because different therapeutic strategies are needed depending on the type of PEA. The aim of this study was to develop a machine learning model to differentiate PEA with unfavorable (unPEA) and favorable (faPEA) evolution to ROSC. An OHCA dataset of 1921 5s PEA signal segments from defibrillator files was used, 703 faPEA segments from 107 patients with ROSC and 1218 unPEA segments from 153 patients with no ROSC. The solution consisted of a signal-processing stage of the ECG and the thoracic impedance (TI) and the extraction of the TI circulation component (ICC), which is associated with ventricular wall movement. Then, a set of 17 features was obtained from the ECG and ICC signals, and a random forest classifier was used to differentiate faPEA from unPEA. All models were trained and tested using patientwise and stratified 10-fold cross-validation partitions. The best model showed a median (interquartile range) area under the curve (AUC) of 85.7(9.8)% and a balance accuracy of 78.8(9.8)%, improving the previously available solutions at more than four points in the AUC and three points in balanced accuracy. It was demonstrated that the evolution of PEA can be predicted using the ECG and TI signals, opening the possibility of targeted PEA treatment in OHCA.     

Genotype-phenotype correlation of SMN locus genes in spinal muscular atrophy patients from India

Spinal muscular atrophy has been classified into four groups based on the age of onset and clinical severity of the disease. Homozygous deletion in SMN1 gene causes the disease but the clinical severity may be modified by copy number of homologous gene SMN2 as well as the extent of deletion at SMN locus. In the view of scarcity of genotype and phenotype correlation data from India, this study has been undertaken to determine that correlation in SMA patients by using the SMN and NAIP genes and two polymorphic markers C212 and C272 located in this region. Two to four alleles of the markers C212 and C272 were observed in normal individuals. However, majority of Type I patients showed only one allele from both markers whereas in Type II and III patients, 2-3 alleles were observed. The SMN2 copy number in our type III patients showed that patients carry 3-5 copies of SMN2 gene. Our results suggest that extent of deletions encompassing H4F5, SMN1, NAIP and copy number of SMN2 gene can modify the SMA phenotype, thus accounting for the different clinical subtypes of the disease.     

Fatty Acid Profile and Antioxidant Capacity of Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum L.): Effect of Origin and Fruit Component

In the present work, the influence of geographical location on the fatty acid profiles, antioxidant potential, as well as cytotoxicity of edible dabai fruit fractions (kernel, skin, and pulp) were analyzed. The fatty acid profiles were determined by Gas Chromatography (GC), and the antioxidant activity was quantified with free 2,2-diphenyl-1-picr/ylhdrazyl, while the cytotoxicity was assessed by the brine shrimp lethality test. The results showed that the samples from Sibu, Serian, and Kapit geographical locations had a high content of the saturated fatty acids, ranging from 46.63% to 53.31% in the three fractions. The highest mono-saturated fatty acids (MUFA) content was found in Sibu. Serian and Kapit kernel fractions MUFA, however, ranged from 21.2% to 45.91%. No fatty acid composition was detected in Bentong and Kanowit. The fatty acid composition and DPPH free radical scavenging antioxidant activity of dabai were statistically independent using a multivariate analysis in different localities in Malaysia. The skin fraction had a more appreciable antioxidant potential and toxicity level than the pulp and kernel fractions. The highest antioxidant activity (EC₅₀ 198.76 ± 1.06 µg/mL) with an LC₅₀ value of 1387.22 µg/mL was obtained from the Sibu skin fraction. Therefore, the fatty acid composition, antioxidant, as well as cytotoxicity analyses of the extracts from different localities indicated that “geographical location” remarkably influenced fatty acid composition, antioxidant activity, and toxicity.     

Simulations of solitary waves of RLW equation by exponential B-spline Galerkin method

In this paper,an approximate function for the Galerkin method is composed using the combination of the exponential B-spline functions.Regularized long wave equation(RLW)is integrated fully by using an exponential B-spline Galerkin method in space together with Crank–Nicolson method in time.Three numerical examples related to propagation of single solitary wave,interaction of two solitary waves and wave generation are employed to illustrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the method.Obtained results are compared with some early studies.     

Hybrid erbium-doped fiber laser-pressure sensor utilizing ring cavity

This paper presents a hybrid erbium-doped fiber laser-pressure sensor system (HEDFL-PS) in a ring cavity configuration. The fiber laser sensor utilized an intracavity Bragg grating as pressure transducer and reflector. The HEDFL-PS can be used as a single wavelength high power laser or a high pressure sensor. The HEDFL-PS was tested using a shock tube facility and was able to measure up to 10 bar of static pressure. The sensor system shows solid linear response with sensitivity of 0.125 nm/bar and is stable over 30 min with negligible variation in output power and wavelength.     

Effect of high temperature on reduction-controlling reaction rate of agricultural waste chars and coke with steelmaking slag

In the present research, mechanical and thermal properties of high-density polyethylene/wood flour were improved by incorporating nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) and antioxidant (Irganox B225) in the compound. Design of experiments was carried out to optimize composition among nine compounds and to investigate the effect of nanoclay and antioxidant (0–5 phr) and (0–0.4 phr), respectively. The results of mechanical tests showed approximately 24% increase in the tensile strength of compounds containing 2.5 and 5.0 part per hundred (phr) of the nanoclay in the composite compared with the same samples without nanoclay. The tensile modulus of composites increased 7.3% by increasing the level of nanoclay from 0 to 2.5 phr. However, a further increase in the nanoclay content led to a 4.3% decrease in tensile modulus. Evaluation of the thermal oxidation stability of samples confirmed that the thermal oxidation of composites decreased with increasing nanoclay from 0 to 5.0 phr and increased significantly with the addition of the antioxidant.

     

Assessment of heavy metals pollution in Sudanese harbours along the Red Sea Coast

The levels of some heavy metals in sediments of two harbours along the Sudanese Coast of the Red Sea were examined and reported for the first time. A total of thirty-six surface sediment samples were collected from Port-Sudan and Sawakin harbours. Part of each sample was partitioned into five fractions with grain-size ranges of 1000–500, 500–250, 250–125, 125–63 and less than 63 μm. The Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb concentration in bulk samples and sub-samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The spatial distribution pattern of heavy metal content of crustal origin in the sediments is more uniform in Port-Sudan harbour than in Sawakin harbour. The granulometric normalization revealed that some sites in Port-Sudan harbour and one site in Sawakin harbour have been exposed to different levels of heavy metal contamination, which probably originated from ships, industrial and domestic activities.