Assessment of health risk associated with natural gamma dose rate levels and isodose mapping of Jordan

ABSTRACT

As a pioneering study in Jordan, an extensive measurement for external gamma dose rate (GDR) was conducted. A portable gamma radiation detector was used to perform these measurements at 1?m above the soil surface. A geographical positioning system Garmin was used to record a total of 823 measured points. The GDRs’ measurement ranged from 35 to 470?nGy?h^?1 giving a mean value of 90?nGy?h^?1, which was found to be one and half times higher than the world average of 59?nGy?h^?1. The lowest mean GDR 72?nGy?h^?1 was found in the Albalqa governate, while the highest mean GDR 131?nGy?h^?1 was found to be for the Alkarak governate. The mean annual effective dose was found to be 0.551?mSv, which is higher than the world average value of 0.48?mSv. This is a pivotal study evaluating the risks associated with GDR levels in Jordan that were the relative excess lifetime cancer risk, the mean collective effective dose, the mean weighted GDR and the mean lifetime dose that are 2.24?×?10^?3, 5538manSv?y^?1, 0.531?mSv and 39?mSv, respectively. The cosmic rays mean GDR was determined to be 20?nGy?h^?1. This study focuses on constructing GDRs’ baseline data in Jordan, which will be used to determine the possible change in the natural radiation due to other human activities in the future. ArcGIS software was employed to generate an isodose map to characterise exposure rates caused by GDR in Jordan.     

Propionic Anhydride Modification of Cellulosic Kenaf Fibre Enhancement with Bionanocarbon in Nanobiocomposites

The use of chemical modification of cellulosic fibre is applied in order to increase the hydrophobicity, hence improving the compatibility between the fibre and matrix bonding. In this study, the effect of propionic anhydride modification of kenaf fibre was investigated to determine the role of bionanocarbon from oil palm shell agricultural wastes in the improvement of the functional properties of bionanocomposites. The vinyl esters reinforced with unmodified and propionic anhydride modified kenaf fibres bio nanocomposites were prepared using 0, 1, 3, 5 wt% of bio-nanocarbon. Characterisation of the fabricated bionanocomposite was carried out using FESEM, TEM, FT-IR and TGA to investigate the morphological analysis, surface properties, functional and thermal analyses, respectively. Mechanical performance of bionanocomposites was evaluated according to standard methods. The chemical modification of cellulosic fibre with the incorporation of bionanocarbon in the matrix exhibited high enhancement of the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, for approximately 63.91%, 49.61% and 54.82%, respectively. The morphological, structural and functional analyses revealed that better compatibility of the modified fibre–matrix interaction was achieved at 3% bionanocarbon loading, which indicated improved properties of the bionanocomposite. The nanocomposites exhibited high degradation temperature which signified good thermal stability properties. The improved properties of the bionanocomposite were attributed to the effect of the surface modification and bionanocarbon enhancement of the fibre–matrix networks.     

A Characterization of Generalized Derivations on Prime Rings

Let R be a noncommutative prime ring, U be the left Utumi quotient ring of R, and k, m, n, r be fixed positive integers. If there exist a generalized derivation G and a derivation g (which is independent of G) of R such that [G(x^m)xⁿ + xⁿg(x^m), x^r]_k = 0, for all x ∈ R, then there exists a ∈ U such that G(x) = ax, for all x ∈ R. As a consequence of the result in the present article, one may obtain Theorem 1 in Demir and Argaç [10 Demir, Ç., Argaç, N. (2010). A result on generalized derivations with Engel conditions on one-sided ideals. J. Korean Math. Soc. 47(3):483–494.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]].     

Correlation between carbon nanotube microstructure and their catalytic efficiency towards the p-coumaric acid degradation

Pristine and annealed multi-walled C nanotubes are preliminarily tested as catalysts towards the degradation of p-coumaric acid with better performances than the widely used activated carbon. In order to clarify the origin of their different catalytic efficiency, the samples are analysed by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoemission, reflection electron energy loss and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Chemical composition, mass density, bonding configurations and threefold- to fourfold-coordinated carbon bonding ratios are determined. The comparative discussion of the results obtained leads to attribute the higher catalytic activity of the pristine nanotubes to their larger sp²/sp³ carbon bonding fraction and greater amount of oxygen containing functional groups.     

Approximating the relationship among the degree of the reaction forces and the nodes on footprint during a stance phase

This study examined the foot biomechanics that are utilized when foot is in contact with the ground during a stance phase. The purpose of the study was to investigate the normalized ground reaction forces that impacted certain sections and points on the footprint, and to identify patterns in the degrees to which these forces occurred. Foot was modeled in such a manner that a vertex represented a bone and an edge represented a joint, and a graph that depicted the foot was created. Twelve nodes were marked on the footprint and these were linked together to create a gait path. By fusing the graph and the gait path and by manipulating the mathematical models, a profile for an ideal bipedal walking locomotion was developed. A male subject performed bipedal walking through a force plate system in order to obtain the profile that reflected actual bipedal walking. The actual and the proposed profiles were compared and there were significant similarities between the two profiles, with both exhibiting an double-bump pattern. It is therefore viable that the approximation techniques proposed in this work may provide an alternative means over the application of a force plate system to generate a profile for bipedal walking. However, the accuracy and reliability of the results yielded from this technique need further investigation.     

Practical High-Throughput Method to Screen Compounds for Anthelmintic Activity against Caenorhabditis elegans

In the present study, we established a practical and cost-effective high throughput screening assay, which relies on the measurement of the motility of Caenorhabditis elegans by infrared light-interference. Using this assay, we screened 14,400 small molecules from the “HitFinder” library (Maybridge), achieving a hit rate of 0.3%. We identified small molecules that reproducibly inhibited the motility of C. elegans (young adults) and assessed dose relationships for a subset of compounds. Future work will critically evaluate the potential of some of these hits as candidates for subsequent optimisation or repurposing as nematocides or nematostats. This high throughput screening assay has the advantage over many previous assays in that it is cost- and time-effective to carry out and achieves a markedly higher throughput (~10,000 compounds per week); therefore, it is suited to the screening of libraries of tens to hundreds of thousands of compounds for subsequent evaluation and development. The present phenotypic whole-worm assay should be readily adaptable to a range of socioeconomically important parasitic nematodes of humans and animals, depending on their dimensions and motility characteristics in vitro, for the discovery of new anthelmintic candidates. This focus is particularly important, given the widespread problems associated with drug resistance in many parasitic worms of livestock animals globally.     

A study on the (2 + 1)‐dimensional KdV4 equation derived by using the KdV recursion operator

We derive a new ( 2 + 1)‐dimensional Korteweg–de Vries 4 (KdV4) equation by using the recursion operator of the KdV equation. This study shows that the new KdV4 equation possess multiple soliton solutions the same as the multiple soliton solutions of the KdV hierarchy, but differ only in the dispersion relations. We also derive other traveling wave solutions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interaction of α radiation with iron-doped n-type silicon

Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements were carried out on low-doped n-silicon before and after irradiation with 5.48 MeV α particles at room temperature with a fluence of 10¹⁰ α particles/cm². The DLTS measurements on the samples identified three electron levels E₁, E₂ and E₃ before irradiation. The deep-levels characteristic studies include emission rate signatures, activation energies, defect concentrations and capture cross sections. It was found that all pre-existing defects decreased their amplitudes during irradiation. The decrease in activation energy of level E₃ and noticeable suppression of level E₁ was also observed after irradiation. It was clearly seen that the composite peak E₃ (combination of E₂ and E₃) was successfully resolved after irradiating with α particles. α-irradiation is seen to lead a significant suppression of the iron interstitial defect, and without causing any change in its room temperature annealing characteristics.     

A Lottery-based pricing scheme for peer-to-peer networks

Users in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks tend to exploit the maximum resources they are able to obtain, offering minimum resources in response. This behavior undermines the goal of P2P systems in spreading files through the network and imposes the concept of free-riding. In this paper we propose a Lottery-based pricing mechanism to enhance the sharing level in P2P networks and help increase the number of objects disseminated. The scheme is an extension of the traditional micropayment mechanism. Our scheme provides higher payoff for peers who contribute to the P2P network and higher cost for peers who act selfishly and choose not to share resources. We present simulation results to demonstrate the performance of the proposed mechanism.     

Multicomponent domino protocol for the stereoselective synthesis of novel pyrrolo[3,2-c]quinolinone hybrid heterocycles

A series of structurally intriguing novel pyrrolo[3,2-c]quinolinone heterocyclic hybrids have been synthesized for the first time via a one-pot multicomponent domino reaction sequence that involves a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and two subsequent annulation steps. Baylis-Hillman adducts derived from various substituted benzaldehyde and methyl acrylate in presence of DABCO were used as a dipolarophiles, while the 1,3-dipole components were azomethine ylides, formed in situ from isatin derivatives and l-phenylalanine. The reaction generated five new bonds, three new rings and four contiguous stereocenters, which were created with full diastereomeric control.