Half-moon Shape Research Articles

A gastronomic product specific to the Caucasus region culinary: Khinkali (ხინკალი) & Hinkal

In this research paper, the characteristics of khinkali and hinkal, which are a type of food specific to the Caucasus region, were examined within the context of Turkish and Georgian culinary cultures. The qualitative research method was adopted in the research and the purposive sampling technique was preferred. Face-to-face interviews were held in Artvin and Tbilisi with a total of ten participants, five of whom fulfilled the condition of preparing in Turkish and Georgian cuisines. At the end of the interviews, the data obtained from the participants were interpreted by conducting content analysis. This type of called “hinkal” in Turkish cuisine and “khinkali” in Georgian cuisine. The common features of product consist of “being a traditional product, learning the preparation at an early age, preparing the dough in similar ways, being widely consumed in cold winter months, having 5-6 pieces per portion on average, taking care to prepare it during holidays, serving it to guests, preparing it with family members, and laborious and time-consuming nature of preparation”. The most obvious differences between khinkali and hinkal are that they are folded in a half-moon shape in Turkish cuisine, roasted beef is used as a filling and consumed with pickles, whereas in Georgian cuisine they are folded as a bundle, ground beef is used as the stuffing, and it is consumed with either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages by sprinkling black pepper on it. In the study, it was concluded that both product types should be considered as gastronomic products. Besides, it was thought that determining common and different aspects by conducting similar studies on Turkish and Georgian cuisines, which have interacted with each other throughout history, would contribute to the relevant literature.

Introducing an innovative surgical technique: gluteal turnover flap for posterior vaginal wall reconstruction: a case series

Four patients with rectal cancer required reconstruction of a defect of the posterior vaginal wall. All patients received neoadjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy, followed by an en bloc (abdomino)perineal resection of the rectum and posterior vaginal wall. The extent of the vaginal defect necessitated closure using a tissue flap with skin island. The gluteal turnover flap was used for this purpose as an alternative to conventional more invasive myocutaneous flaps (gracilis, gluteus, or rectus abdominis). The gluteal turnover flap was created through a curved incision at a maximum width of 2.5 cm from the edge of the perineal wound, thereby creating a half-moon shape skin island. The subcutaneous fat was dissected toward the gluteal muscle, and the gluteal fascia was incised. Thereafter, the flap was rotated into the defect and the skin island was sutured into the vaginal wall defect. The contralateral subcutaneous fat was mobilized for perineal closure in the midline, after which no donor site was visible.The duration of surgery varied from 77 to 392 min, and the hospital stay ranged between 3 and 16 days. A perineal wound dehiscence occurred in two patients, requiring an additional VY gluteal plasty in one patient. Complete vaginal and perineal wound healing was achieved in all patients. The gluteal turnover flap is a promising least invasive technique to reconstruct posterior vaginal wall defects after abdominoperineal resection for rectal cancer.

Numerical simulation of flow-induced vibration of a circular cylinder close to a free surface at low Reynolds number

The flow-induced vibration of a two-degree-of-freedom cylinder near a free surface at low Reynolds number (Re = 200) is numerically investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method and a free-surface model. The effects of the Froude number and submergence depth on the characteristics of the flow field and cylinder vibration are discussed. With the approach of the free surface, the wake behind the cylinder interacts with the free surface, resulting in a switch in the vortex shedding mode and the fluctuation of the free surface, which in turn affects the vibration of the cylinder. Additionally, a decrease in the normalized submergence depth h ∗ results in a decrease in the transverse amplitude of vibration and an increase in the streamwise amplitude. The topology of the cylinder vibration trajectory changes from a curve of eight to a teardrop, half-moon, or ellipse shape and gradually loses symmetry. Seven characteristic parameters are extracted from the trajectory of the cylinder, among which the amplitude of the vibration frequency and the phase difference of the vibration in different directions mainly affect the symmetry and topological structure of the trajectory.

Record field in a 10 mm-period bulk high-temperature superconducting undulator

A 10 mm-period, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) undulator consisting of 20 staggered-array GdBa2Cu3O7−x (GdBCO) bulk superconductors has been fabricated and tested successfully. Each GdBCO disk was machined into a half-moon shape with micro-meter accuracy and shrink-fitted into a slotted oxygen-free copper disk which provided pre-stress and effective conduction-cooling. The HTS undulator prototype, consisting of GdBCO disks, copper disks, and CoFe poles fitted in a long copper shell, was field-cooled magnetized in fields of up to 10 T at 10 K. An undulator field of 2.1 T in a 4 mm magnetic gap was obtained. This field is the largest reported yet for the same gap and period length and exceeds the target value of 2 T for the meter-long HTS undulator scheduled for the hard x-ray I-TOMCAT beamline in the Swiss Light Source 2.0. We have demonstrated that bulk superconductor based undulators can provide significantly improved performance over alternative technologies.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Path Tracking Based on the Optimal Fuzzy Controller with Multiple Performance Indexes

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are increasingly being used in missions involving submarine cable detection, underwater archaeology, pipeline inspection, military reconnaissance, and so on. It is very important to realize AUV path tracking to accomplish these missions. In this paper, a fuzzy controller based on the established kinematic and dynamic models of AUV systems is presented to solve the AUV path-tracking problem. In order to design the fuzzy controller to exhibit good performance, we select the path length, smoothness, and cross-track position error as the multiple optimization performance indexes for the fuzzy controller. We propose the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to determine the parameters of the membership functions. Different scenarios are presented to test the performance of the proposed algorithm, including the straight line, sine curve, half-moon shape, Archimedean spiral, and practical paths. The results are given to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the fuzzy controller with the optimization of multiple performance indexes.

Drying of Melons in a Solar Tunnel Dryer: The Effect of Ascorbic Acid Solution on Drying Kinetics and Color Parameters

This study aims to present the performance of the solar tunnel dryer, which is required for the drying of two different types of melon with and without pretreatment. The solar tunnel dryer used in the study was built at Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Department of Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Engineering. The dryer consists of a flat plate solar collector, drying tunnel, solar cell module and a small axial fan. During the drying process, solar radiation, drying air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity were measured continuously in different parts of the dryer. At the same time, the mass loss of the melon slices was measured every two hours during the drying period. On the other hand, colour measurements were made on untreated and pre-treated melon slices, fresh and after drying, before and after the trials. Fresh melon samples were washed with tap water, and cut in half with a knife, the core in the middle was removed and sliced by hand in a half-moon shape without peeling before pre-treatment. 1% ascorbic acid was applied to the fruits as a pretreatment. After the preparations, the solar tunnel drying behaviour of untreated and pretreated sliced melon samples was investigated. Drying characteristic curves were evaluated according to five different mathematical models. In this study, it was determined that the L*, a* and b* values of melon varieties were preserved without pretreatment. The lowest total color change was observed in the bleached samples in both types of melon samples.

Searching for the mechanisms involved in Antimonium crudum action on macrophage – Leishmania interaction in vitro

Searching for the mechanisms involved in Antimonium crudum action on macrophage – Leishmania interaction in vitro

Numerical analysis of thermal-hydraulic performance of fully developed turbulent flow in heat exchanger tube with Half Moon inserts

This paper presents the numerical analysis of heat transfer characteristics of working fluid in a circular tube with inserted Half-Moon shape roughness. The Half-Moon (HM) shape roughness is specially used to upgrade the heat transfer rate in circular tubes along the length. In the present paper, we have a circular tube of length L = 1500 mm, Inner diameter Din = 30 mm and Outer diameter Do = 35 mm. The Half-Moon roughness varied with an interpolated number of holes in the range from 2 to 3 and pitch space between the HM roughness. In a circular tube, the working fluid is arranged for the Reynolds number in the category of 4000 to 32,000 and solved by the Renormalization model in Ansys fluent 14.0. In this study, we found that the heat transfer rate enhanced by a sufficient amount complained about the thermal performance of the circular tube.

Conidiobolus lunulus, a new entomophthoralean species isolated from leafcutter ants

ABSTRACT Entomophthoralean fungi with pathogenic abilities to infect social insects are rare. Here, we describe a fungus isolated from leafcutter ants. Morphologically, the fungus has spherical primary conidia and two types of microconidia: one with the same shape as the primary conidia and another with an elliptical to half-moon shape. The fungus also produces villose conidia known previously only from Conidiobolus coronatus. A multilocus phylogenetic analysis was performed with nuc rDNA sequences from three regions (28S, 18S, and internal transcribed spacer [ITS]). Our isolates are distinguished as a new species, described here as Conidiobolus lunulus, and is more closely related to C. brefeldianus than to C. coronatus, despite the greater morphological resemblance to the latter. Morphological differences, unique phylogenetic placement, and isolation from an altogether new host support this finding. This is the first record of an entomophthoralean species isolated from leafcutter ants.

Persistent Currents in Half-Moon Polariton Condensates

We create exciton-polariton condensates in half-moon shapes by the non-resonant optical excitation of GaAs-based cylindrical pillar microcavities. In this geometry, the π-jump of the phase of the c...

Effect of nozzle spacing in the formation of primary and secondary deposits in multi-nozzle inertial impactors part I: Experimental study

Particle deposits in an inertial impactor stage can be classified as primary or secondary. The primary deposits are directly downstream of each nozzle. Secondary deposits can be in the form of a halo around the primary deposit or of straight-lines between adjacent nozzles. Certainly, these additional secondary deposits lead to a deviation from the theoretical efficiency curve in which only a single primary deposit existed and was considered.The jet-to-jet interaction in multi-nozzle inertial impactors and the formation of secondary deposits has been analyzed and quantified as a function of the distance between nozzles and the Reynolds number. This work has been studied experimentally (Part I) and numerically (Part II), using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis to provide insight into the physical mechanisms for the formation of the secondary deposits and to support the experimental results.This paper provides detailed experimental impactor collection efficiency curves for impactor plates with 3 nozzles spaced in the range of 2.5W to 8W, where W is the nozzle diameter, and Reynolds numbers between 465 and 2210, which quantify the effects of the jet-to-jet interactions and the magnitude of the primary and secondary deposits. From the experimental results it may be concluded that the jet-to-jet interactions can produce four non-ideal effects: premature primary deposits with a half-moon shape, straight-line deposits between nozzles, nozzle plate deposits between nozzle exits (losses), and dispersion of the halo deposits.The secondary deposits and premature primary deposits reduce the slope of the efficiency curve, and/or displace the √Stk50 towards smaller values and/or generate tails at the low end. All of which result in the collection of small particles that otherwise would be collected at another stage with a lower cut point. With respect to the design criteria, to avoid the formation of the additional deposits generated by jet-to-jet interactions (premature primary deposits, straight-line and nozzle plate deposits), the nozzle-to-nozzle spacings have to be larger than 4W and/or the impactor should work at low Re (in this work Re≤465), even at 2.5W spacing.

Hemodynamics and Wall Mechanics after Surgical Repair of Aortic Arch: Implication for Better Clinical Decisions

Graft repair of aortic coarctation is commonly used to mimic the physiological aortic arch shape and function. Various graft materials and shapes have been adopted for the surgery. The goal of this work is to quantitatively assess the impact of graft materials and shapes in the hemodynamics and wall mechanics of the restored aortic arch and its correlation with clinical outcomes. A three-dimensional aortic arch model was reconstructed from magnetic resonance images. The fluid–structure interaction (FSI) analysis was performed to characterize the hemodynamics and solid wall mechanics of the repaired aortic arch. Two graft shapes (i.e., a half-moon shape and a crescent one) were considered. Material choices of the aortic arch repair included three commonly used graft materials (i.e., polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) synthetic graft, CorMatrix extracellular matrix, and pulmonary homograft) as well as one native tissue serving as a control. The pathological hemodynamic parameters, in terms of the percentage area of low wall shear stress (WSS), high oscillatory shear index (OSI), and high relative residence time (RRT), were quantified to be associated with potential clinical outcomes. Results have shown that the peak von Mises stress for the aortic arch repaired by the crescent graft was 76% less than that of the half-moon graft. Flow disturbance and recirculation were also minimized with the crescent graft. Moreover, pathological hemodynamic parameters were significantly reduced with the crescent graft. The graft material mismatch with the surrounding tissue aggregated the stress concentration on the aortic wall, but had minimal impact on flow dynamics. The present work demonstrated the role and importance of the graft geometry and materials on hemodynamics and wall mechanics, which could guide optimal graft decisions towards better clinical outcomes.

Trans-mediastinal herniation of bulla: Semilunar sign

Trans-mediastinal herniation of lung is seen occasionally but herniation of bulla across the mediastinum is rare. We report two cases with trans-mediastinal herniation of bullae leading to an unusual line appearing near the mediastinum. We propose the name ‘Semilunar sign’for this radiological sign because of its resemblance to the half-moon shape.

Blood‐flow streams in the fetal inferior vena cava: experimental animal study using ultrasound contrast agent

Blood‐flow streams in the fetal inferior vena cava: experimental animal study using ultrasound contrast agent

Numerical Simulation of Unsteady Heat Transfer in a Half-Moon Shape Enclosure with Variable Thermal Boundary Condition for Different Nanofluids

A half-moon shape enclosure which has a very wide range of practical applications in heat transfer is introduced for the first time in this article. The heat transfer is analyzed introducing different commercially available nanofluids such as water–Al2O3, water–Cu, water–TiO2 in this half-moon enclosure. A variable thermal boundary condition is assigned to the model, and the finite-element method is used for the numerical solution of the problem. The effect of solid volume fraction φ, along with a wide range of Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 105–107), are evaluated in various dimensionless times τ. The performance of the shape is described by using streamfunctions, isotherms, charts, and related graphs. It is found that heat transfer in the cavity can be enhanced up to 30% by to the presence of nanoparticles.

Fetal Adrenal Gland in the Second Half of Gestation: Morphometrical Assessment with 3.0T Post-Mortem MRI

BackgroundThe morphometry of fetal adrenal gland is rarely described with MRI of high magnetic field. The purpose of this study is to assess the normal fetal adrenal gland length (AL), width (AW), height (AH), surface area (AS) and volume (AV) in the second half of gestation with 3.0T post-mortem MRI.Methods and FindingsFifty-two fetal specimens of 23–40 weeks gestational age (GA) were scanned by 3.0T MRI. Morphological changes and quantitative measurements of the fetal adrenal gland were analyzed. Asymmetry and sexual dimorphism were also obtained. The shape of the fetal adrenal gland did not change substantially from 23 to 40 weeks GA. The bilateral adrenal glands appeared as a ‘Y’, pyramidal or half-moon shape after reconstruction. There was a highly linear correlation between AL, AW, AH, AS, AV and GA. AW, AH, AS and AV were larger for the left adrenal gland than the right. No sexual dimorphism was found.ConclusionsOur data delineated the normal fetal adrenal gland during the second half of gestation, and can serve as a useful precise reference for anatomy or in vivo fetus.

Nail anatomy

The nail unit comprises the nail plate, the surrounding soft tissues, and their vasculature and innervation based upon the distal phalanx. The nail plate is a laminated keratinized structure lying on the nail matrix (15-25%), the nail bed with its distal onychodermal band (75-85%), and the hyponychium at its free edge. The distal part of the matrix, the lunula characterized by its half-moon shape, can be observed in some digits. The nail plate is embedded by the proximal and lateral folds. From the proximal nail fold, the cuticle (also known as the eponychium), adheres to the superficial surface of the proximal nail plate. The nail unit possesses a complex and abundant vascular network to ensure adequate blood supply. Finally, both the periungual soft tissues and the nail folds are innervated. The shapes, structure, and inter-relationships of these tissues are factors in the way nails present with disease and how we understand and manage those diseases. In particular, an understanding of the surgical anatomy is important for those undertaking diagnostic or curative operations on the nail. With this knowledge, the most appropriate surgery can be planned and the patient can be provided with accurate and clear guidance to enable informed consent.

Chromosome Information Service (CIS), XIX

The spatial chromatin organisation and molecular interactions within and between chromatin domains and chromosome territories (CTs) are essential for fundamental processes such as replication, transcription and DNA repair via homologous recombination. To analyse the distribution and interaction of whole CTs, centromeres, (sub)telomeres and ~100-kb interstitial chromatin segments in endopolyploid nuclei, specific FISH probes from Arabidopsis thaliana were applied to 2–64C differentiated leaf nuclei. Whereas CTs occupy a distinct and defined volume of the nucleus and do not obviously intermingle with each other in 2–64C nuclei, ~100-kb sister chromatin segments within these CTs become more non-cohesive with increasing endopolyploidy. Centromeres, preferentially located at the nuclear periphery, may show ringor half-moon like shapes in 2C and 4C nuclei. Sister centromeres tend to associate up to the 8C level. From 16C nuclei on, they become progressively separated. The higher the polyploidy level gets, the more separate chromatids are present. Due to sister chromatid separation in highly endopolyploid nuclei, the centromeric histone variant CENH3, the 180-bp centromeric repeats and pericentromeric heterochromatin form distinct subdomains at adjacent but not intermingling positions. The (sub)telomeres are frequently associated with each other and with the nucleolus and less often with centromeres. The extent of chromatid separation and of chromatin decondensation at subtelomeric chromatin segments varies between chromosome arms. A mainly random distribution and similar shapes of CTs even at higher ploidy levels indicate that in general no substantial CT reorganisation occurs during endopolyploidisation. Non-cohesive sister chromatid regions at chromosome arms and at the (peri)centromere are accompanied by a less dense chromatin conformation in highly endopolyploid nuclei. The authors discussed the possible function of this conformation in comparison to transcriptionally active regions at insect polytene chromosomes.

Interphase chromatin organisation in Arabidopsis nuclei: constraints versus randomness

The spatial chromatin organisation and molecular interactions within and between chromatin domains and chromosome territories (CTs) are essential for fundamental processes such as replication, transcription and DNA repair via homologous recombination. To analyse the distribution and interaction of whole CTs, centromeres, (sub)telomeres and ~100-kb interstitial chromatin segments in endopolyploid nuclei, specific FISH probes from Arabidopsis thaliana were applied to 2-64C differentiated leaf nuclei. Whereas CTs occupy a distinct and defined volume of the nucleus and do not obviously intermingle with each other in 2-64C nuclei, ~100-kb sister chromatin segments within these CTs become more non-cohesive with increasing endopolyploidy. Centromeres, preferentially located at the nuclear periphery, may show ring- or half-moon like shapes in 2C and 4C nuclei. Sister centromeres tend to associate up to the 8C level. From 16C nuclei on, they become progressively separated. The higher the polyploidy level gets, the more separate chromatids are present. Due to sister chromatid separation in highly endopolyploid nuclei, the centromeric histone variant CENH3, the 180-bp centromeric repeats and pericentromeric heterochromatin form distinct subdomains at adjacent but not intermingling positions. The (sub)telomeres are frequently associated with each other and with the nucleolus and less often with centromeres. The extent of chromatid separation and of chromatin decondensation at subtelomeric chromatin segments varies between chromosome arms. A mainly random distribution and similar shapes of CTs even at higher ploidy levels indicate that in general no substantial CT reorganisation occurs during endopolyploidisation. Non-cohesive sister chromatid regions at chromosome arms and at the (peri)centromere are accompanied by a less dense chromatin conformation in highly endopolyploid nuclei. We discuss the possible function of this conformation in comparison to transcriptionally active regions at insect polytene chromosomes.

Follow-up to “Central and Peripheral Corneal Iron Deposits After Implantation of a Small-aperture Corneal Inlay for Correction of Presbyopia”

To describe central and peripheral corneal iron deposition after implantation of the AcuFocus corneal inlay (ACI 7000, AcuFocus Inc) for the surgical correction of presbyopia.Patients who underwent inlay implantation between September 2006 and May 2007 and displaying corneal iron deposits were enrolled in the study.Eighteen (56%) eyes of 32 patients developed corneal iron deposition within 36 months after corneal inlay implantation. One (5.5%) eye had a central spot-like iron deposition only, 10 (55.5%) eyes had formation of deposits in a half-moon shape in the inferior cornea parallel to the outer margin of the inlay or a complete circular ring formation, and 7 (39%) eyes demonstrated deposits in both areas. The median interval between implantation and diagnosis of corneal iron deposition was 18 ± 9 months.Corneal iron deposition can develop in different shapes after implantation of the small-aperture ACI 7000. Alterations in tear film thickness, its composition, and corneal epithelial basal cell storage, resulting from changes in corneal topography, may be contributing factors for these specific iron depositions.