Concentration and Exposure Assessment of Mercury in Commercial Fish and Other Seafood Marketed in Oman

The results of this study present analytical data of the mercury levels in several fish and shellfish species to create awareness among individuals of the risks associated with consuming fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury concentrations varied from a mean of 0.02 mg/kg in Indian mackerel to 0.19 mg/kg in shark in both fresh and frozen fish, from 0.02 mg/kg in sardines to 0.18 mg/kg in skipjack tuna in canned fish, and from 0.02 mg/kg in Indian mackerel to 0.79 mg/kg in shark in dried fish. Shellfish contained a slightly higher amount of mercury than fresh or frozen fish with a mean of 0.09 mg/kg. Trophic position, followed by habitat, was the most important factors for variability in mercury concentrations in fish and shellfish. The maximum safe weekly intake (MSWI) values of mercury were significantly higher for herbivores than for carnivores. The MSWI value for total mercury in the case of consuming most (72%) fish species was more than 5 kg; however, the MSWI value was never more than 5 kg in most (66%) shellfish species. Risks were identified upon consumption of 120 g of dried shark when exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intake threshold (1.6 μg/kg) for methylmercury. Therefore, fish‐eating populations should reduce the quantity of dried shark to efficiently diminish the exposure to mercury.     

The fate of indigenous microbiota, starter cultures, Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua and Staphylococcus aureus in Danish raw milk and cheeses determined by pyrosequencing and quantitative real time (qRT)-PCR

The purpose of this work was to study the bacterial communities in raw milk and in Danish raw milk cheeses using pyrosequencing of tagged amplicons of the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rDNA and cDNA. Furthermore, the effects of acidification and ripening starter cultures, cooking temperatures and rate of acidification on survival of added Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua and Staphylococcus aureus in cheeses at different stages of ripening were studied by pyrosequencing and quantitative real time (qRT)-PCR. A high diversity of bacterial species was detected in raw milk. Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus were the main bacteria detected in raw milk and cheeses. Bacteria belonging to the genera Brevibacterium, Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Weissella, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus were also detected in both 16S rDNA and cDNA obtained from raw milk and cheeses. E. coli, which was added to milk used for production of some cheeses, was detected in both DNA and RNA extracted from cheeses at different stages of ripening showing the highest percentage of the total sequence reads at 7 days of ripening and decreased again in the later ripening stages. Growth of E. coli in cheeses appeared to be affected by the cooking temperature and the rate of acidification but not by the ripening starter cultures applied or the indigenous microbiota of raw milk. Growth of L. innocua and S. aureus added to milks was inhibited in all cheeses at different stages of ripening. The use of 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and qRT-PCR allows a deeper understanding of the behavior of indigenous microbiota, starter cultures and pathogenic bacteria in raw milk and cheeses.     

A dynamic cross-layer routing protocol for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

A new cross-layer routing protocol, named Dynamic Packet Guidance (DPG), is introduced for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). Simulation results show that DPG is quite useful for usage in dense networks of mobile nodes, with medium-to-high speeds, and low-to-medium load. In these scenarios, DPG provides a superior performance compared to several well-known ad hoc routing protocols. The low end-to-end delay and smaller overhead that DPG achieves in such scenarios positively impacts the scalability of MANETs and reduces the energy requirements of nodes in such networks. DPG also shows immunity to failing nodes, as it operates consistently almost independently of failing nodes up to a certain ratio.     

Development of nanoimprinted InP QDs decorated polyaniline solar cell with conversion efficiency 3%

Organic–inorganic hybrid materials received considerable attention due to promising industrial applications. The originality of novel chemical recipes, allowing incorporation of well-defined nanoparticle structures into complex hybrid architectures, opens new possibilities for multidisciplinary fields and in particular in optoelectronic devices. The rate of non-radiative recombination and energy transfer through a hybrid inorganic/organic nanocomposite is mainly governing the ability of charge transfer from semiconductor quantum dots to conjugated polymers. Herein, we report that the electron–hole non-radiative recombination in polymer can be constricted by funneling the diffusion of exciton by engineering a proper morphology of a hybrid nanostructure. InP quantum dots have been selected due to their efficient exciton generation and polyaniline as a conjugated polymer for its potency to suppress non-radiative recombination by restraining exciton diffusion. The hole transfer was monitored via bi-exponential kinetic model and time of flight method. The conversion efficiency of the prepared films increased from 0.23% to 3.1% when the thickness is increased from 14 nm to 157 nm.     

Evaluation of fitness of design in urban historical context: From the perspectives of residents

Historic city cores in many countries either fell into neglect or suffered from harmful developments. Due to a variety of reasons, conservation projects failed to preserve socio– cultural assets of historic environments. One of these reasons is that experts who involve in the development of historical context completely disregard the communities in such historic areas or their inhabitants. This paper looks into residents’ preferences on infill design projects as part of urban development in historical contexts. It aims to investigate preference ratings of those residents who live in urban historical context in terms of the quality of new infill design and its relationship to the historical surroundings. This research attempts to evaluate the best design strategies from the point view of the residents as well as the effects of cognitive properties on their preferences. Methodologically, a case study approach was adopted with 204 residents as participants in this survey. The contributive elements that are essential to the quality of fitness are identified through quantitative analysis. The findings of this research indicate that the most preferred design strategies are “Literal Replication” and “Invention within Style” from the perspective of the residents, who prefer, to a greater degree, new buildings in historical context replicating something from their surroundings. These findings are useful to experts and major organisations to conduct successful infill development, with consideration of the perceptions of the residents on the changes in their historical context.     

Structure and optical properties of nanocrystalline NiO thin film synthesized by sol–gel spin-coating method

NiO thin film was prepared by sol–gel spin-coating method. This thin film annealed at T = 600 °C. The structure of NiO thin film was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical properties of the deposited film were characterized from the analysis of the experimentally recorded transmittance and reflectance data in the spectral wavelength range of 300–800 nm. The values of some important parameters of the studied films are determined, such as refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), optical absorption coefficient (α) and band energy gap (E_g). According to the analysis of dispersion curves, it has been found that the dispersion data obeyed the single oscillator of the Wemple–DiDomenico model, from which the dispersion parameters and high-frequency dielectric constant were determined. In such work, from the transmission spectra, the dielectric constant (_∞), the third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾, volume energy loss function (VELF) and surface energy loss function (SELF) were determined.     

Experimentally validated analytical modeling of diesel exhaust HC emission rate

Supercharged diesel engines are a key source of hazardous regulated emissions that have been extensively modelled, yet without explainable mathematical trends. The present paper demonstrates the analytical modeling of the percentage of unburned Hydrocarbon and the HC emission rate in four-stroke diesel engines for trucks. The study presents as well the analytical modeling of the supercharged air density. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted on these developed models. The study shows that the average percentage of deviation of the simulated results from the corresponding freeway cycles field data on the percentage of unburned Hydrocarbon and the HC emission rate is 10.6% and 4%, respectively. The corresponding coefficient of determination is 70% and 83%, respectively. The relative error of the developed models of the percentage of unburned Hydrocarbon and the HC emission rate is 10.6% and 2%, respectively. The study demonstrates with 99% coefficient of determination that the average percentage of deviation of the simulated results from the corresponding field data under the steady speed operating condition for all freeway cycles on the supercharged air density is 3.7%. The relative error of the developed model of the supercharged air density is 4%. These values of relative error are in an order of magnitude of deviation that is less than that of widely recognized models in the field of vehicle powertrain modeling, such as the CMEM. These developed analytical models serve as widely valid models that follow entirely from the principles of physics and the results of these developed models have explainable mathematical trends. The fact that these developed models are dimensionally correct further supports the validity of these models. The present models can help in better analyzing the performance of diesel engines and in developing and assessing the performance of these engines.