Enhancement of the oxidative stability of some vegetable oils by blending with Moringa oleifera oil

Blends (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% w/w) of Moringa oleifera oil (MOO) with sunflower oil (SFO) and soybean oil (SBO) were prepared to evaluate the changes in fatty acid (FA) composition, oxidative and thermal stability of SFO and SBO. The blending of MOO with SFO and SBO in proportions of 0–80% resulted in the reduction of linoleic acid (C_18:2) content of SFO and SBO from 67.0% to 17.2% and 56.2% to 14.6% and increase in the contents of oleic acid (C_18:1) from 26.2% to 68.3% and 21.4% to 65.9%, factors of 0.72, 0.72 and 1.27, 1.33, respectively. A storage ability test (180 days; ambient conditions) showed an appreciable improvement in the oxidative stability of substrate oils with increase of MOO concentration, as depicted by the least oxidative alterations in PV, IV and highest increase in induction period, IP, of the MOO:SBO (80: 20 w/w) blend. Each 20% addition of MOO resulted in decreases of PV and IV by factors of 0.84, 0.85 and 0.89, 0.88, respectively, and increases in IP by factors of 1.45 and 1.37 of SFO and SBO, respectively.     

A modified POCS‐based reconstruction method for compressively sampled MR imaging

One of the challenging tasks in the application of compressed sensing to magnetic resonance imaging is the reconstruction algorithm that can faithfully recover the MR image from randomly undersampled k‐space data. The nonlinear recovery algorithms based on iterative shrinkage start with a single initial guess and use soft‐thresholding to recover the original MR image from the partial Fourier data. This article presents a novel method based on projection onto convex set (POCS) algorithm but it takes two images and then randomly combines them at each iteration to estimate the original MR image. The performance of the proposed method is validated using the original data taken from the MRI scanner at St. Mary's Hospital, London. The experimental results show that the proposed method can reconstruct the original MR image from variable density undersampling scheme in less number of iterations and exhibits better performance in terms of improved signal‐to‐noise ratio, artifact power, and correlation as compared to the reconstruction through low‐resolution and POCS algorithms. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 24, 203–207, 2014     

Energy consumption,CO2 emissions,and development in the UAE

This study investigated the impact of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions on the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s economic and financial development. The vector autoregressive (VAR) model was applied. The results obtained in the study show that energy consumption and CO₂ emissions had a long-run relationship with the economic and financial development indicators in the UAE. It was also found that there was a significant causal relationship between energy consumption and CO₂ emissions on both economic and financial development indicator variables. The UAE is well known for its high economic and financial development owing to the fact that this country has achieved a fast economic growth in the last three decades. However, it is important that this country needs to increase its consumption of green energy to reduce CO₂ emissions.     

Tensile Lap Splicing of Bundled CFRP Reinforcing Bars in Concrete

In the case of heavily reinforced concrete structural members, bundled bars are required rather than spaced bars. The use of spliced bundled bars is necessary when available bar lengths are limited. No design recommendations regarding the use of bundled or spliced bundled FRP bars are available. The results of four-point flexural testing of nine concrete beams reinforced with spliced bundled CFRP bars are presented herein. The effects of the type of bundle and splice length on the bond strength of bundled CFRP bars are investigated. Based on the experimental results, a procedure for determining the critical splice length of FRP bars is presented and the corresponding values of bond stresses can be predicted. Moreover, the ultimate strength analysis method is used to predict the maximum stress in spliced bundled CFRP bars. Finally, comparisons with the existing recommendations regarding the use of bundled steel bars and the recommended modifications for bundled CFRP bars are presented.     

Design and Evaluation of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bond-Type Anchorages and Ground Anchors

This paper presents laboratory tests on a bond-type anchorage system and a full-scale ground anchor with fiber-reinforced polymer 9-bar tendons. A cement-based mortar filled steel tube was used to simulate a rock mass environment. Resistance strain gauges, fiber optic sensors, embedded strain gauges, and linear variable displacement transducers were used to monitor the behavior of the anchor and to study load transfer mechanism of the tendon to surrounding rock mass. The test results show that the developed bond-type anchorage performs well for post-tensing applications with the tendons. The tested anchor presents an acceptable tensile behavior for each loading stage investigated (up to a load level of 0.6ffu, where ffu=guaranteed capacity of the tendon) in accordance with existing codes. The anchor is similar in strain distribution profile to conventional steel anchors, except giving a shorter load transfer length. It is expected that the anchor require a minimum anchor bonded length of 2,000?mm with plain cement grouts.     

Neuronal protection with superoxide dismutase in repetitive forebrain ischemia in gerbils

The work presents the computer system created by the author for automatic registration and analysing oculomotor response records evoked by the stimulation of the vestibular organ. The basis elements of the system had been described. It consists of microcomputer IBM PC/XT/AT, measurement and stimulatory apparatus, multimodular controlling and analytical software as well as the algorithm of system management.     

Neuroprotective effects of lamotrigine in global ischemia in gerbils. A histological, in vivo microdialysis and behavioral study

A sudden surge in the release of glutamate is currently believed to be an important initiating step in neuronal damage due to an ischemic insult. In this experiment, we tested the efficacy of neuroprotection with lamotrigine, a novel antiepileptic drug that blocks voltage gated sodium channels and inhibits the ischemia-induced release of glutamate in the gerbil forebrain model of cerebral ischemia. The medication was administered 30 min before and 30 min after the insult in two groups of animals. Histological assessment of neuronal damage was evaluated at 7 and 28 days after the ischemic insult. Animals evaluated at 28 days also underwent behavioral testing. Microdialysis was used in the same model to study the response of ischemia-induced glutamate in saline treated controls versus animals treated with lamotrigine 20 min before the insult. There was highly significant neuronal protection in animals who were treated with lamotrigine either before or after the insult. Protection was seen both at 7 and 28 days after the insult. Behavioral testing also showed significantly better recovery in both sets of animals in comparison to the saline-treated group. Microdialysis confirmed a significant attenuation of the ischemia-induced glutamate surge when compared to the saline-treated animals. Our morphological, behavioral and microdialysis experiments show that lamotrigine offers significant neuroprotection from the effects of transient forebrain ischemia in gerbils. Neuroprotection with post-ischemic therapy probably depends on preserving the capacity of the sodium/calcium exchanger to reduce intracellular calcium concentrations or persistent 'toxicity' of glutamate in the reperfusion period on the already 'primed' injured neurons. These concepts need further study.