Physical Character Research Articles

Formulation of Flakes Bran Flour Substitution with Fortified Zinc for Fertile-Age Women

<p>There are about 32.9% Indonesian women susceptive to obesity and free radical exposure. Free radicals are resistible to Zn-cofactors and a-tocopherols. The aims of this study was to make flakes formulations with zinc fortification, then analyze the physical and chemical character of flakes (hardness and color degree), and analyze carbohydrate, protein, fat, zinc, and α-tocopherol. The experimental design used for this study was a complete randomized design. The results showed the best formulas that substitution by bran was 25 % and fortified seng was 118,9 mg. The chemical properties of the best formulas should has increased the levels of protein, fat, and Zinc. One serving (55g) of flakes has 208,4 Kal; 3,38 g protein; 0,27 g fat; 48,12 g carbohydrate ; 1,89 mg seng; and 3,53mg α-tocopherol.</p>

CONTRIBUTIONS OF SEED PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERS OF VARIOUS SORGHUM GENOTYPES (SORGHUM BICOLOR [L.] MOENCH.) TO DAMAGED SEED INDUCED BY WEEVIL (SITOPHILUS SP.) DURING STORAGE

Contributions of Seed Physical and Chemical Characters of Various Sorghum Genotypes (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench.) to Damaged Seed Induced by Weevil (Sitophilus sp.) During Storage. The percentage of damaged seeds due to feeding by Sitophilus sp. during storage varied among sorghum genotypes (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench.). Some researchers reported that the difference was influenced by the physical and chemical characters of the seed grains. This study aimed to determine the contribution of seed physical and chemical characters and their effect model on the percentage of damaged seeds due to weevil attack during storage. Measurement of damaged seeds was carried out on 34 sorghum genotypes after they were stored for four months under storage temperatures of 26 ºC and 18 ºC. Physical characters included seed hardness, weights of a thousand grains, pericarp thickness, and seed volume. Chemical characters of seeds included lipid, protein, carbohydrate, and tannin contents. Results of the study indicate that contribution of physical and chemical characters of sorghum seeds and their effect model on the percentage of damaged seeds due to weevil attack was different among storage under temperature of 26 ºC and under temperatures of 18 ºC.

Studies on twist bent core zinc (II) methacrylate supramolecular columnar hexagonal phase mesogen derived from azobenzene moiety and its photo luminescent behaviours

A class of Zn(II) polymethacrylate mesogen was tailored with photoluminescent property as well as high thermal stability by wrapping the Zn(II) metal in polymethacrylate mesogenic core. The versatile thermal stability of the mesophase was accounted by long chain terminal alkoxy groups and jacketed Zn(II) metal core. The extended stable mesophase with rise in temperature was achieved by excellent coordination between the supramolecular ligand with that of metal core. The Schiff base was prepared by treating (1-bromo (4-dodecyloxy azobenzene)) with octadecyl amine in ethanolic medium. The Schiff base obtained was polymerised with methacrylic acid (MA) in presence of AIBN as free radical initiator. The supramolecular mesogenic ligand (PMA-L) was further complexed with Zn(II) acetate in 1:1 M ratio. The Zn(II) supramolecular mesogen was extensively characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and FT-IR. The mesomorphic behaviour was studied by XRD diffractogram, DSC, POM. The Zn(II) supramolecular exhibits columnar phase transition due the molecular stacking in disc shape. The disc shape mesophase of the Zn(II) supramolecular mesogen was achieved by sandwich pattern of metal core between two organic ligands arrangement. The photo physical character of the Zn(II)polymeric mesogen was studied by absorption and fluorescence spectral method.

Tree management at Boulevard landscape of Alam Sutera Serpong, a new city area in Tangerang

Alam Sutera is an integrated area in Serpong, Tangerang. Alam Sutera has various of green open space areas. One of the greenery open spaces is streetscape, which consists of many trees species with various characters, shape, age and specific maintenance. The objective of this paper were to carry out tree road analysis and to describe the evaluation results on tree management including recommendation for tree management. The International Tress Evaluation Method (ISTEM) was used as assessment approach in order to know the trees valuation. Some physical trees characters such as diameter of the breast height (dBH), trees quality condition, tree class and constanta of price unit were considered in this valuation. Based on the results, a lot of tree pests, diseases and a bit mechanical damage were found in boulevard landscape. Tree pests and diseases such as termites, caterpillars, caterpillars sac, aphids, ants, fungi, powdery mildew, leaf rust and stem cancer were controlled mechanically, physicall, biological, quarantine, cultivation techniques and by using an environmental friendly chemical pesticide. On the other hand, trees that suffered mechanical damage due to vandalism, scratches, cuts, and broken branches should be maintained with proper management. The physical damage affected the visual appearance and aesthetics of the road trees.

Development of the Markovian model for the life cycle of a project’s benefits

This study has improved the standard P5 (Personnel, planet, profit, process, product), which has already been widely applied globally in the practice of project management. However, the standard P5 provides a scheme of the life cycle of projects’ benefits, which makes it possible to represent the lifecycle processes only at the qualitative level. In order to pass to the quantitative estimates, it has been proposed to apply the Markovian chain that maps a phenomenological representation of complex systems without considering their physical character. We have constructed a cognitive Markovian model of the life cycle of a project’s benefits using the communications between the states of the project system. The cognitive structure of the life cycle is similar to a directed graph where vertices indicate the state of the system, and links are the communications between them. We have proposed an approach to determining transitional probabilities based on the evaluation of communications, taking into consideration the time costs to perform operations in the form of rules. The character of communications between states s→j in the Markovian chain defines the magnitude of transition probabilities π sj . The time costs required for each state are divided into five intervals π sj : {0} – no costs; {0.01–0.1} – insignificant time costs; {0.1–0.3} – the lowest level of time costs; {0.3–0.7} – average time costs; {0.7–1.0} – the largest time costs. The logic of choosing values for conditional transition probabilities in the Markovian chain makes it possible to determine data for the simulation of the trajectory of the life cycle of projects’ benefits in the coordinates of the probabilities of states of the system and steps. It has been shown that the application of the Markovian chains is rational in order to represent the life cycle of projects’ benefits. An analysis was performed to determine a certain level of technological maturity of the project environment (organization), which corresponds to the totality of values for transition probabilities. We have studied the influence of the level of technological maturity of the project environment (organization) on the projects’ efficiency. Another example of the implementation of the project aimed at forming the positive image of an educational establishment by applying the frontal information communication via television, the press, by taking part in mass political activities, has also revealed positive estimation. The probability distribution at the beginning of the project (V1) and upon its completion (V2) differs significantly. The implementation of the project increased the magnitudes of probabilities of states p7 (Benefit) and p8 (Additional benefit). At the beginning of the project: р7 (V1) +р8 (V2) =0.14+0.05=0.19. Upon implementation of the project: р7 (V1) +р8 (V2) =0.22+0.08=0.30. The evaluation of this project aimed at positive image formation of an educational establishment showed that the results obtained do not contradict the hypothesis about the possibility of applying the Markovian chains to determine the characteristics of the life cycle of a project’s benefits

Аналіз особливостей моделей оптичних транспортних мереж

. Features of construction of models of optical transport networks are considered. It is noted that the models have common features: a hierarchical level structure, where each level has an independent set of functions, which are independent of other levels; presence of physical level; the formation of paths of physical and virtual characters; levels of interaction with the user of the transport network. The difference between SDH and ATM transport models is in that the SDH network transport resource is provided to the user continuously, regardless of the information flow with the fixed transmission speed, while the transport resources of the ATM network are provided to the user only when the presence of a flow of information load. It has been substantiated that among the three networks: SDH ATM and OTN-OTH, only the OTN-OTH network model can provide the largest transport resource. It has been determined that the Ethernet network provides high-quality digital services, despite the relatively cheap solution for the transport of multimedia traffic to user terminals.

Shared graves: Empire and trauma in Nadeem Aslam’s The Wasted Vigil

ABSTRACTBritish Pakistani author Nadeem Aslam published his third novel, The Wasted Vigil, in 2008. Set in post-9/11, this novel traces Afghanistan’s turbulent past as a nation caught in the crosshairs of conflicts between global powers. Read as “world literature”, The Wasted Vigil maps the connection between violence wrought by an emergent American hegemony in Afghanistan during the Cold War and the resultant emergence of extremist groups, leading to the post-9/11 invasion. This article frames The Wasted Vigil within current debates in the field of trauma studies that problematize the Euro-American-centric approach to trauma emerging from non-western conflict zones. It argues that through the representation of a recalcitrant and omnipresent cultural trauma that is unaccounted for by contemporary media frames and embodied in this novel by both the physical landscape and Afghan characters of various backgrounds, Aslam succeeds in highlighting the impact of the US presence in Afghanistan during the Cold War.

Trailing pulses self-focusing for ultrasonic-based damage detection in thick plates

Abstract Ultrasonic detection is one of the most commonly used methods in nondestructive testing. Trailing pulses that can be observed in plates and cylindrical rods are a list of longitudinal ultrasonic waves. However, the complexity of trailing pulses brings challenges for ultrasonic–based nondestructive testing. In this paper, a trailing pulses self-focusing method for damage detection in thick plates is proposed by utilizing physical characters of trailing pulses. Firstly, the characteristics of trailing pulses are analyzed by theoretical derivation. Then, three steps of trailing pulses self-focusing method including correlation filtering, energy envelope screening and defect matching are introduced. After that, the trailing pulses of single defect can be focused and the accurate positions of defects can be obtained as well. Finally, a prospective application of trailing pulses, which uses ultrasound phased array (UPA) for nondestructive testing, is discussed. The experiment is carried out on an aluminum plate with a remarkable thickness, which illustrates the effectiveness of the method.

Pemodelan Tinggi Muka Air Gambut Berdasarkan Sifat Fisik Lahan Gambut

Lahan gambut di Indonesia cukup luas yaitu sekitar 7% dari luas daratan Indonesia. Beberapa tantangan terutama berkaitan dengan perubahan penggunaan lahan dialami oleh gambut di Indonesia. Pemanfaatan lahan gambut berdasarkan peraturan dapat dilakukan pada ekosistem gambut berfungsi budidaya yang biasanya disertai dengan pembangunan kanal untuk menurunkan tinggi muka air (TMA). Oleh karena itu pengamatan TMA harus dilakukan untuk meminimalkan dampak pemanfaatan lahan gambut. Untuk menghemat waktu dan biaya maka perlu adanya suatu model yang dapat menduga kedalaman muka air gambut berdasarkan sifat-sifat fisik gambut. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu mencari model estimasi TMA dengan menggunakan sifat fisik lahan gambut sebagai upaya pencegahan terjadinya kebakaran gambut. Model aproksimasi terbaik dipilih dengan menggunakan Kriteria Informasi Akaike dengan koreksi sampel kecil (AICc). Studi ini memperoleh satu confidence set of model yang terdiri dari empat model dengan bobot isi (0-50 cm), kadar serat (50-100 cm) and kedalaman gambut sebagai predictor model. Hasil model juga menunjukkan kesesuaian dengan data pengukuran TMA di lapangan yang ditunjukkan oleh RMSE sebesar 16.2 cm dan R2=81%. Dari penelitian ini, tinggi muka air tanah gambut kritis untuk deteksi dini kebakaran hutan adalah pada kedalaman 74 cm. Oleh karena itu, kondisi TMA gambut harus dijaga lebih dangkal dari kedalaman kritis, jika tidak kebakaran gambut akan lebih mudah terjadi.

Google Earth as a Powerful Tool for Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Applications: A Review

Google Earth (GE), a large Earth-observation data-based geographical information computer application, is an intuitive three-dimensional virtual globe. It enables archaeologists around the world to communicate and share their multisource data and research findings. Different from traditional geographical information systems (GIS), GE is free and easy to use in data collection, exploration, and visualization. In the past decade, many peer-reviewed articles on the use of GE in the archaeological cultural heritage (ACH) research field have been published. Most of these concern specific ACH investigations with a wide spatial coverage. GE can often be used to survey and document ACH so that both skilled archaeologists and the public can more easily and intuitively understand the results. Based on geographical tools and multi-temporal very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, GE has been shown to provide spatio-temporal change information that has a bearing on the physical, environmental, and geographical character of ACH. In this review, in order to discuss the huge potential of GE, a comprehensive review of GE and its applications to ACH in the published scientific literature is first presented; case studies in five main research fields demonstrating how GE can be deployed as a key tool for studying ACH are then described. The selected case studies illustrate how GE can be used effectively to investigate ACH at multiple scales, discover new archaeological sites in remote regions, monitor historical sites, and assess damage in areas of conflict, and promote virtual tourism. These examples form the basis for highlighting current trends in remote sensing archaeology based on the GE platform, which could provide access to a low-cost and easy-to-use tool for communicating and sharing ACH geospatial data more effectively to the general public in the era of Digital Earth. Finally, a discussion of the merits and limitations of GE is presented along with conclusions and remaining challenges.

English

English

Computational design of transformables

AbstractWe present a computational approach to designing transformables, physical characters that can shape‐shift to take on vastly different forms. The design process begins with a morphological description of an input character and a target object that it should transform into. Guided by a set of objectives that model the core attributes of desirable transformable designs, optimized embeddings are interactively generated. Intuitively, embeddings represent tightly folded character configurations that fit within the target object. From any feasible embedding, skin meshes are then generated for each body part of the character. The process for generating these 3D models is based on a segmentation of the target object, which is achieved through a growth‐based model applied to a multiple level set representation of the transformable. A set of transformation‐aware post‐processing algorithms ensure the feasibility of the final designs. Building on this technical core, our computational design system provides many opportunities for users to inject their intuition and personal preferences into the process of creating transformables, while shielding them from tasks that are challenging and tedious. As a result, they can intuitively explore the vast space of design possibilities. We demonstrated the effectiveness of our computational approach by creating a variety of transformable designs, three of which we fabricate.

Rheological properties of corn stover slurries during fermentation by Clostridium thermocellum

BackgroundMilling during fermentation, termed cotreatment, has recently been proposed as an alternative to thermochemical pretreatment as a means to increase the accessibility of lignocellulosic biomass to biological attack. A central premise of this approach is that partial solubilization of biomass changes the slurry’s physical properties such that milling becomes more impactful and more feasible. A key uncertainty is the energy required to mill partially fermented biomass. To inform both of these issues, we report rheological characterization of small-particle, corn stover slurries undergoing fermentation by Clostridium thermocellum.ResultsFermented and unfermented corn stover slurries were found to be shear-thinning and well described by a power law model with an exponent of 0.10. Plastic viscosity of a slurry, initially at 16 wt.% insoluble solids, decreased as a result of fermentation by a factor of 2000, with the first eightfold reduction occurring in the first 10% of carbohydrate conversion. Large amplitude oscillatory shear experiments revealed only minor changes to the slurry’s rheological fingerprint as a result of fermentation, with the notable change being a reduction in the critical strain amplitude needed for the onset of nonlinearity. All slurries were found to be elastoviscoplastic, with the elastic/viscous crossover at roughly 100% strain amplitude.ConclusionsWhereas prior biomass rheology studies have involved pretreated feedstocks and solubilization mediated by fungal cellulase, we report results for feedstocks with no pretreatment other than autoclaving and for solubilization mediated by C. thermocellum. As observed in prior studies, C. thermocellum fermentation results in a dramatic decrease in viscosity. The magnitude of this decrease, however, is much larger starting with unpretreated feedstock than previously reported for pretreated feedstocks. LAOS measurements provide a detailed picture of the rheological fingerprint of the material. Viscosity measurements confirm the hypothesis that the physical character of corn stover slurries changes dramatically during fermentation by C. thermocellum, and indicate that the energy expended on overcoming slurry viscosity will be far less for partially fermented corn stover than for unfermented corn stover.

Flaxseed oil as a protective agent against bisphenol-A deleterious effects in male mice

BackgroundFlaxseed oil is one of the most vital oils that contain a high content of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) recognized as a high-quality nutrition for health benefits. In addition, a source of vitamin E and β-carotene has a positive health effect in a variety of pathologies. The goal of the present work was to investigate the protecting character of flaxseed oil against bisphenol-A deleterious effects in male mice. Animals were gavaged with BPA for 28 successive days. They were orally administered flaxseed oil either before, with, or after treatment of BPA. DNA damage was evaluated in the liver, testes, and bone marrow cells using comet and micronucleus assays. Liver and testes histopathological examination as well as sperm physical characters were also investigated.ResultsThe results showed that BPA induced a significant raise in DNA damage that obviously appear in the increase of tail length, tail DNA percentage, and tail moment in the liver and testes. In addition, there was an increase in the frequency of micronuclei in bone marrow cells. Liver and testes histopathological alterations and sperm count and motility significant comedown were seen in male mice exposed to BPA as well. Conversely, flaxseed oil oral administration through the three regimens of treatment effectively attenuated the abovementioned effects. Moreover, administration of flaxseed oil before BPA treatment was the best protocol in the attenuation of BPA toxic effects.ConclusionsFlaxseed oil successfully attenuated the BPA genotoxicity, sperm defects, and histological alterations in male mice that may be referred to its antioxidant property.

Hyperspectral prediction model of soil nutrient content in the loess hilly-gully region, China.

Rapid and accurate estimation of soil nutrient content based on hyperspectral data is an optimal method for the monitoring of soil nutrient and inversion of soil physical and chemical characters. The relationship between soil nutrient content and spectral reflectance was analyzed with soil samples being collected from the loess hilly-gully region of northern Shaanxi Province. The prediction models of the content of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and total potassium were constructed by the combination of three techniques, including partial least squares (PLS), multiple linear regression (MLR), and support vector machine (SVM). Then, the optimal model was selected by comparison analysis. The results showed good correlations between the content of soil nutrients and spectral reflectance in visible region (400-760 nm) and near infrared region (760-1100 nm). The maximum values of correlation coefficient located in both spectral regions. The SPA-SVM model had the best applicability and highest inversion accuracy for the contents of all soil nutrients, with simple and efficient modeling process. Our results provided a reference for applying machine learning algorithm in the construction of hyperspectral prediction model of soil nutrient content in the loess hilly-gully region.

How People with Low Vision Achieve Magnification in Digital Reading.

Digital reading displays provide opportunities for enhancing accessibility of text for low vision. How are these displays used by people in their daily lives? Subjects responded to an online survey concerning their vision history, reading technology, display preferences, and reading habits. Here, we report on findings concerning acuity and magnification. The survey asked subjects to arrange a text passage for typical reading and to report viewing distance, screen dimensions, and the number of characters per line. Seventy-five adult subjects (most with early-onset low vision, few with central field loss) completed all survey questions relevant to the analysis of acuity and magnification. Mean acuity was .92 logMAR (range, 0.1 to 1.6), and mean age was 44.8 years (range, 18 to 71 years). Twelve normally sighted controls reported the same information while viewing the passage on cell phones, tablets, and computers. The controls had a mean viewing distance of 38.7 cm and a mean x-height of 1.38 mm. For all three types of devices, angular x-height was 0.21° (close to laboratory estimates of the critical print size for reading). Low vision subjects showed decreasing viewing distance and increasing print size with larger values of logMAR acuity. Most of the low vision subjects achieved their desirable magnification by a combination of reduced viewing distance and increased physical letter size. The majority (54 of 75) relied more on letter-size magnification. Relative to the controls, regression analysis revealed that a typical low vision subject with logMAR acuity of 1.0 reduced viewing distance by a factor of 2.8 and enlarged physical print size by a factor of 6. Our survey shows that people with a wide range of acuities are engaged in digital reading. Our subjects achieved desirable magnification primarily by enlarging physical character size and to a lesser extent by reducing viewing distance.

Character of Traditional Street: An Overview of Physical Components Associated with Building, Landscape and Street Pattern in Royal Town

Streets are the most ubiquitous public spaces, serving a multitude of functions which tied to an extremely narrow range of historical, geographical and cultural settings. Streets record and determine the history of city form, more than any other element of the urban infrastructure. It has attributors in making it a successful street with its own unique identity. However, in the present situation these attributes are almost eroded by the uncontrolled development and modernity. Streets in Malaysia’s royal town are no exception from this issue. This paper attempts to review the attributes of the physical components in contributing to street character of Kuala Kangsar, the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. The study covers a thorough literature review of physical components and its elements to determine the most important components captured. From this in-depth review, the study managed to identify three prominent physical components which strongly influenced the physical character of street in royal town. The study reveals that building, landscape and street pattern are the most extrusive components among others. These physical components will create physical qualities such as attractiveness, visibility, permeability, legibility, human scale and safety in creating street characters that symbolize the historical and cultural context. Therefore, establishing these attributes help to preserve the unique and invaluable historical heritage that has become the identity of the place.

An Analytical Study on Pippalyasava

Pippalyasava is one of the important and common preparation used by practitioners for various ailments. Lot of references are available regarding Pippalyasava in classics and are abundant in market. As a part of study Pippalyasava is prepared and observed for 6 months also these samples were subjected to following analytical parameters like organoleptic characters, physical characters, chemical characters and TLC during 2nd month and 6th month to ensure the quality of the prepared sample.

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF IN VITRO TRANSDERMAL PATCH DICLOFENAC SODIUM USING CHITOSAN POLYMER AND POLYVINYL ALCOHOL CROSS-LINKED TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE SODIUM

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate diclofenac sodium patches using chitosan (Ch) and polyvinyl (PVA) alcohol cross-linked tripolyphosphate sodium (TPP) to increased transdermal permeation of the drug from the matrix system across rabbit skin.Materials and Methods: The chemical characterization of diclofenac sodium was done by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry. Formulation of diclofenac sodium patches using solvent evaporation method with cross-link technique. Evaluation of physical character of the film includes organoleptic observation, weight test, thickness, % moisture absorption, fold resistance, interaction between materials used Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and active substance levels. The drug release was determined using Franz diffusion cells in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4).Results: The result of physiochemical parameters of the transdermal patch were found satisfactory. Formula F1, F2, F3, and F4 produce patches with fine texture, F5 and F6 formulas produce patches with coarse texture. Formula F1, F2, F5, and F6 are flexible and fulfill the multiplier test requirements, while the F3 and F4 formulas are not flexible and do not meet the multiplier test requirements. The patch weight, thickness, and drug content were uniform. The release of patches with following the zero-order release. The optimal formula with the total sodium diclofenac released as much as 17.89 μg, the release flux of 89.42 μg/cm²/h of permeation time of 10 h and the moisture absorption rate of 1.07±0.193. The FTIR data of rabbit skin indicated Ch and PVA alcohol cross-linked TPP increase transdermal permeation of diclofenac sodium in the stratum corneum.Conclusion: The diclofenac sodium can be prepared by cross-linked method, resulted in a better discharge profile.

A crystallographic study on the growth of Laves phase MgZn2 during the solidification process of Zn–Mg alloy under a high magnetic field

To date, much work has been done to clarify the physical and chemical characters of the prototypical Laves phase MgZn2. However, there are few studies aiming at its growth during the solidification process, especially under a high magnetic field (HMF). In this work, binary Zn-4.8 wt% Mg alloy was solidified under different uniform HMFs to investigate the growth of the MgZn2 phase from a crystallographic point of view. The results show that a typical primary MgZn2 crystal has an elongated hexagonal prism-like shape, which prefers growing along the direction and is bound by the $$ \{ 10\bar{1}0\} $$ side facets, irrespective of whether the HMF is applied. Without the HMF, the morphology, size and distribution of the primary MgZn2 crystals are varied in the specimen. When a sufficiently strong HMF is applied, the microstructure becomes homogeneous: All the primary MgZn2 crystals are medium-sized and distributed uniformly throughout the specimen. Meanwhile, they align horizontally, i.e., with the long axis perpendicular to the HMF. A crystallographic analysis indicates that (i.e., c-axis) is the preferred magnetization direction of the primary MgZn2 crystals that orients perpendicular to the HMF. In addition, the non-equilibrium eutectic MgZn2 crystals exhibit the same preferred orientation feature as that of the primary ones.