An NMR-based metabolomic assessment of cultured cobia health in response to dietary manipulation

Commercial aquaculture feeds rely heavily on fishmeal and fish oil, which can be expensive and ecologically unsustainable. To evaluate the efficacy of reduced fishmeal diets for outgrowth, a dietary study was conducted on the finfish cobia, Rachycentron canadum. NMR-based metabolomic techniques were used to assess the effect of decreasing dietary fishmeal on the health of the cobia. Filtered serum ¹H NMR spectra analysed by principal components analysis (PCA) showed cobia fed reduced fishmeal diets were metabolically different than cobia on control diets. In particular, tyrosine and betaine increased in cobia fed reduced fishmeal diets while glucose decreased, suggesting that these cobia were not receiving the necessary nutritional components required for energy and growth. The formulated control diet contributed to enriched growth and significantly elevated lactate levels suggesting enhanced gut microflora metabolism in response to dietary components. The results show that NMR-based metabolomic analysis is a useful tool in aquaculture studies.     

Drink-driving in community sports clubs: Adopting the Good Sports alcohol management program

Throughout the developed world, community sports clubs are a high-risk setting for alcohol-impaired driving. The Good Sports program accredits community sports clubs to encourage implementation of alcohol-focussed harm-reduction and safe-transport strategies. This study tested for associations between participation in the Good Sports program and reduced rates of drink-driving amongst club members. Multilevel modelling indicated that for each season a club was in the program there was an 8% reduction in the odds of drink-driving. These findings may arise due to clubs with lower rates of alcohol use maintaining longer involvement in the program. However, the findings are also compatible with the intention of the Good Sports program to reduce the risk that club members will drive whilst alcohol impaired.     

Extraction of Siphonochilus aethiopicus Essential Oil by Steam Distillation

Siphonochilus aethiopicus is an indigenous South African plant also known as African ginger. It has often been used for its medicinal properties to treat various ailments such as flu, colds, and so forth. The research aim of this study was to optimize the process parameters of steam distillation for the extraction of oil from African ginger rhizomes. This technology is the oldest and well known for extracting essential oils due to its economic viability and the higher final oil purity. The effects of operating parameters such as extraction duration, moisture content, particle size, and temperatures between 80°C and 100°C were studied for maximum oil recovery. The oil recovery of 0.61% (w/w) was achieved after 270?min of extraction time, using 6.37% (dry) moisture content of particle size 2.4?mm–4?mm at a maximum temperature of 100°C. Fick’s first law was used to mathematically model the experimental data of this study.     

Experimental validation of a type-2 fuzzy logic controller for energy management in hybrid electrical vehicles

The aim of this paper is to present experimental validation results of an energy management system for hybrid electrical vehicles based on type-2 fuzzy logic. The energy management system (EMS) is designed by extracting knowledge from several experts using surveys. The consideration of interval type-2 fuzzy sets enables modeling the uncertainty in the answers of the experts. The validation of the EMS is performed on a real-scale heavy duty vehicle equipped with different energy sources such as batteries, fuel cell system and ultracapacitors. Experimental results are strong evidence that type-2 fuzzy logic is wide adapted for performing the energy management in hybrid electrical vehicles.     

BiFeO3 Ceramics: Processing,Electrical, and Electromechanical Properties

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃), a perovskite material, rich in properties and with wide functionality, has had a marked impact on the field of multiferroics, as evidenced by the hundreds of articles published annually over the past 10 years. Studies from the very early stages and particularly those on polycrystalline BiFeO₃ ceramics have been faced with difficulties in the preparation of the perovskite free of secondary phases. In this review, we begin by summarizing the major processing issues and clarifying the thermodynamic and kinetic origins of the formation and stabilization of the frequently observed secondary, nonperovskite phases, such as Bi₂₅FeO₃₉ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉. The second part then focuses on the electrical and electromechanical properties of BiFeO₃, including the electrical conductivity, dielectric permittivity, high‐field polarization, and strain response, as well as the weak‐field piezoelectric properties. We attempt to establish a link between these properties and address, in particular, the macroscopic response of the ceramics under an external field in terms of the dynamic interaction between the pinning centers (e.g., charged defects) and the ferroelectric/ferroelastic domain walls.     

Exploring hierarchical multidimensional data with unified views of distribution and correlation

Data analysts explore data by inspecting features such as clustering, distribution and correlation. Much existing research has focused on different visualisations for different data exploration tasks. For example, a data analyst might inspect clustering and correlation with scatterplots, but use histograms to inspect a distribution. Such visualisations allow an analyst to confirm prior expectations. For example, a scatterplot may confirm an expected correlation or may show deviations from the expected correlation. In order to better facilitate discovery of unexpected features in data, however, a combination of different perspectives may be needed. In this paper, we combine distributional and correlational views of hierarchical multidimensional data. Our unified view supports the simultaneous exploration of data distribution and correlation. By presenting a unified view, we aim to increase the chances of discovery of unexpected data features, and to provide the means to explore such features in detail. Further, our unified view is equipped with a small number of primitive interaction operators which a user composes to facilitate smooth and flexible exploration.