Synthesis of wide band gap nanocrystalline NiO powder via a sonochemical method

A sonochemistry-based synthesis method was used to produce nanocrystalline nickel oxide powder with ≈ 20 nm average crystallite diameter from Ni(OH)(2) precursor. Ultrasound waves were applied to the primary solution to intensify the Ni(OH)(2) precipitation. Dried precipitates were calcined at 320°C to form nanocrystalline NiO particles. The morphology of the produced powder was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Using sonochemical waves resulted in lowering of the size of the nickel oxide crystallites. FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed high purity well-crystallized structure of the synthesized powder. Photoluminescence spectroscopy confirmed production of a wide band-gap structure.

Effect of interactions of polymorphisms in the Melanocortin-4 receptor gene with dietary factors on the risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes: a systematic review

AIM

To perform a systematic review of the effect of interaction between Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) single nucleotide polymorphisms and diet on the development of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND

Environmental factors, such as nutrient intakes or feeding behaviours, can modulate the association of polymorphism in the MC4R gene with obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases, with a combination of the following keywords: Diet*, nutr*, melanocortin receptor, melanocortin 4 receptor and MC4R. To assess the quality of observational studies, we used a 12-item quality checklist, derived from the STREGA statement.

RESULTS

A total of 14 articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Consumption of highly salty foods and adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern can modulate the association between MC4R polymorphisms and the risk of obesity or Type 2 diabetes. Despite the highly contradictory results of intervention studies, after short-term lifestyle interventions, children with variant alleles of MC4R single nucleotide polymorphisms can lose more body weight, compared with non-carriers, although they may have difficulty in maintaining this weight loss in the long-term. To interpret the results of studies on adults, we need further studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The interaction between MC4R genes with dietary factors plays a significant role in the development of obesity or Type 2 diabetes phenotypes. Early detection of MC4R risk alleles in individuals and modification of their diet based on these results could be an efficient strategy to prevent obesity or diabetes in these subgroups.

Stability of the lattice kinetic scheme and choice of the free relaxation parameter

The lattice kinetic scheme (LKS), a modified version of the classical single relaxation time (SRT) lattice Boltzmann method, was initially developed as a suitable numerical approach for non-Newtonian flow simulations and a way to reduce memory consumption of the original SRT approach. The better performances observed for non-Newtonian flows are mainly due to the additional degree of freedom allowing an independent control over the relaxation of higher-order moments, independently from the fluid viscosity. Although widely applied to fluid flow simulations, no theoretical analysis of LKS has been performed. The present work focuses on a systematic von Neumann analysis of the linearized collision operator. Thanks to this analysis, the effects of the modified collision operator on the stability domain and spectral behavior of the scheme are clarified. Results obtained in this study show that correct choices of the "second relaxation coefficient" lead, to a certain extent, to a more consistent dispersion and dissipation for large values of the first relaxation coefficient. Furthermore, appropriate values of this parameter can lead to a larger linear stability domain. At moderate and low values of viscosity, larger values of the free parameter are observed to increase dissipation of kinetic modes, while leaving the acoustic modes untouched and having a less pronounced effect on the convective mode. This increased dissipation leads in general to less pronounced sources of nonlinear instability, thus improving the stability of the LKS.

The impact of mental practice on stroke patients' postural balance

INTRODUCTION

The most common problem in stroke patients is reduced balance and derangements of postural control that lead to increase the chance of falling and instability during walking. Since physical practice improves balance and postural control, it is assumed also that the application of mental practice would be useful in enhancing such balance. Mental practice is defined as the cognitive rehearsal of a physical skill in the absence of overt physical movements. Factors such as similar time between actual execution and mental performance of a task, the increase of regional cerebral blood flow and also the vegetative activation, all suggest that mental practice imitates physical performance of a task. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of such mental practice on postural balance among stroke survivors.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

This study was implemented as an experimental (interventional), case-control, double blind and randomized trial design. A total of 30 subjects (16 males and 14 females) with necessary arousal, attention and memory functions as their major components of mental practice, participated. Subjects' mean ages were 48.1 ± 10.5 years. They were divided randomly in two control and experimental groups. Timed Get up and Go (TUG) test was used to evaluate the balance of all participants. They were assessed before-after treatment and two weeks post-treatment as research's follow up. The two groups received the same method of occupational therapy services, but the experimental group in addition to aforementioned occupational therapy, was requested to participate in mental practice sessions.

RESULTS

Mental practice had a significant effect on postural balance in stroke survivors (P=<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Mental practice may improve postural balance in stroke patients and can be considered for them as a beneficial rehabilitative technique.

A prospective randomized controlled trial of controlled passive mobilization vs. place and active hold exercises after zone 2 flexor tendon repair

PURPOSE

The rehabilitation program after flexor tendon repair of zone II laceration varies. We designed a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of controlled passive mobilization (modified Kleinert) vs. Place and active hold exercises after zone 2-flexor tendon repair by two-strand suture (Modified kessler).

METHODS

Sixty-four fingers in 54 patients with zone 2 flexor tendon modified Kessler repairs were enrolled in a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing place and active hold exercises to controlled passive mobilization (modified Kleinert). The primary outcome measure was total active motion eight weeks after repair as measured by an independent and blinded therapist.

RESULTS

Patients treated with place and active hold exercises had significantly greater total active motion (146) eight weeks after surgery than patients treated with controlled passive mobilization (114) (modified Klinert). There were no ruptures in either group.

CONCLUSIONS

Place and hold achieves greater motion than controlled passive mobilization after a two-strand repair for zone 2 flexor tendon repairs.

Mutation spectrum of the PAH gene in the PKU patients from Khorasan Razavi province of Iran

BACKGROUND

Characterization of the molecular basis of phenylketonuria (PKU) in North-east of Iran has been accomplished through the analysis of 62 unrelated chromosomes from 31 Iranian PKU patients.

METHODS

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene mutations have been analyzed by direct DNA sequencing exons 6, 7, 10 and 11.

RESULTS

A mutation detection rate of 74% was achieved. Eleven different mutations were found, with the most frequent mutation, IVS10-11G>A, accounting for 19% of Khorasan-Razavi PKU alleles. Ten mutations (R176X, E280K, IVS11+1G>C, S231P, Q383X, R243X, I224T, E390G, R252W and P281L) represent the rest PKU chromosomes. One novel mutation, Q383X in the homozygote form was identified which is located in the catalytic domain (residues143-410).

CONCLUSION

With this high detection rate of mutations in North-east of Iran, new strategy for carrier testing could be DNA sequencing of these four exons. The other exons and boundaries will be studied only when either one or no mutations are detected in the initial screen.

Extensive analysis of the lattice Boltzmann method on shifted stencils

Standard lattice Boltzmann methods (LBMs) are based on a symmetric discretization of the phase space, which amounts to study the evolution of particle distribution functions (PDFs) in a reference frame at rest. This choice induces a number of limitations when the simulated flow speed gets closer to the sound speed, such as velocity-dependent transport coefficients. The latter issue is usually referred to as a Galilean invariance defect. To restore the Galilean invariance of LBMs, it was proposed to study the evolution of PDFs in a comoving reference frame by relying on asymmetric shifted lattices [N. Frapolli, S. S. Chikatamarla, and I. V. Karlin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 010604 (2016)].PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.117.010604 From the numerical viewpoint, this corresponds to overcoming the rather restrictive Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy conditions on standard LBMs and modeling compressible flows while keeping memory consumption and processing costs to a minimum (therefore using the standard first-neighbor stencils). In the present work systematic physical error evaluations and stability analyses are conducted for different discrete equilibrium distribution functions (EDFs) and collision models. Thanks to them, it is possible to (1) better understand the effect of this solution on both physics and stability, (2) assess its viability as a way to extend the validity range of LBMs, and (3) quantify the importance of the reference state as compared to other parameters such as the equilibrium state and equilibration path. The results clearly show that, in theory, the concept of shifted lattices allows the scheme to deal with arbitrarily high values of the nondimensional velocity. Furthermore, just like the zero-Mach flow for the standard stencils, it is observed that setting the shift velocity to the fluid velocity results in optimal physical and numerical properties. In addition, a detailed analysis of the obtained results shows that the properties of different collision models and EDFs remain unchanged under the shift of stencil. In other words, by introducing a velocity shift in the stencil, the optimal operating point, in terms of physics and numerics, will also be shifted by the same vector regardless of the EDF or collision model considered. Eventually, while limited to the D2Q9 stencil with the nine possible first-neighbor shifts, the present study and corresponding conclusions can be extended to other stencils and velocity shifts in a straightforward manner.

Theoretical and numerical analysis of the lattice kinetic scheme for complex-flow simulations

The lattice kinetic scheme (LKS) is a modified version of the classical single relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method. Although used for many applications, especially when large variations in viscosity are involved, a thorough analysis of the scheme has not been provided yet. In the context of this work, the macroscopic behavior of this scheme is evaluated through the Chapman-Enskog analysis. It is shown that the additional degree of freedom provided in the scheme allows for an independent control of higher-order moments. These results are further corroborated by numerical simulations. The behavior of this numerical scheme is studied for selected external and internal flows to clarify the effect of the free parameter on the different moments of the distribution function. It is shown that it is more stable than SRT (single relaxation time) when confronted to fully periodic under-resolved simulations (especially for λ≈1). It can also help minimize the error coming from the viscosity-dependence of the wall position when combined with the bounce-back approach; although still present, viscosity-dependence of the wall position is reduced. Furthermore, as shown through the multiscale analysis, specific choices of the free parameter can cancel out the leading-order error. Overall, the LKS is shown to be a useful and efficient alternative to the SRT method for simulating numerically complex flows.

A web-based daily care training to improve the quality of life of mothers of children with cerebral palsy: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Mothers of moderately to severely affected children with cerebral palsy (CP) have to spend a long time to take care of their children. This time-consuming responsibility affects their physical and psychosocial health. Therefore, mothers as caregivers are required to receive special training to take care of their children.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a developed web-based intervention for daily care training of children with CP on their mothers' quality of life (QOL), anxiety, depression, stress, and their musculoskeletal pain.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

This study was a single blind randomized controlled trial. 91 mothers of children with CP with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels III, IѴ, and Ѵ, who aged from 4 to 12 years were assigned to the intervention and control groups using block randomization. Mothers in the control group received their routine face to face occupational therapy intervention and mothers in the intervention group received 12 weeks web-based intervention. QOL, depression, anxiety, stress, and pain were measured before and after the intervention in both groups.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The results of analysis of covariance showed that after controlling the mean score of pretest of pain, the mean score of post-tests in the intervention and control groups was significantly different (P < 0.05). The mean scores of physical health and total QOL scores of post-tests in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group with controlling pretest scores.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Designed web-based intervention affects the caregivers' QOL and pain significantly. This intervention can be used to provide daily care training for mothers of children with CP.

Effect of high-dose phytase and citric acid, alone or in combination, on growth performance of broilers given diets severely limited in available phosphorus

1. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of high-dose phytase alone or in combination with citric acid (CA) in the diet severely limited in available phosphorus (P) on performance, plasma P and plasma Ca of broilers from 22 to 42 d of age. 2. In Trial 1, 297 21-d-old female chicks were placed into 27 pens and allocated to 9 maize-soybean meal-based dietary treatments, which were a positive control [PC, 4.23 g/kg non-phytate P (NPP)] and 8 negative control (NC, 1.35 g/kg NPP) groups consisting of two concentrations of CA (0 and 20 g/kg) and 4 concentrations of phytase (0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 U/kg) in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. In Trial 2, 192 21-d-old male chicks were placed into 24 pens and allocated to 6 wheat-canola meal-based dietary treatments, which were a PC (4.2 g/kg NPP), a NC (1.68 g/kg NPP) and 4 NC groups consisting of two concentrations of CA (0 and 20 g/kg) and two concentrations of phytase (2000 and 4000 U/kg) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. 3. In both trials, birds fed on the PC had significantly higher average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), plasma P and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) and plasma Ca than those of birds fed on the NC. CA supplementation significantly increased ADG and ADFI. There was a significant interaction between CA and phytase on plasma P where CA improved the effect of phytase on plasma P. In Trial 1, phytase addition improved ADG, ADFI, FCR and plasma Ca linearly. 4. Briefly, this research showed the interaction effect between CA and phytase on plasma P when broilers were fed on diets based on maize-soybean meal or wheat-canola meal. The results showed that CA supplementation lowered the concentration of phytase that is needed in low NPP diets to increase plasma P.

Developing a conceptual framework and a tool for measuring access to, and use of, medicines at household level (HH-ATM tool)

OBJECTIVE

To develop a valid and reliable tool to evaluate access to, and use of, medicines at household level (HH-ATM tool).

STUDY DESIGN

The Behavioral Model of Health Services Use was adapted and used as the conceptual framework for developing the HH-ATM tool. Questionnaires were designed (individual and household) based on the conceptual framework and existing tools, including items that captured the characteristics of predisposing, enabling and need factors; health care behaviours; outcomes and impacts.

METHODS

Face validity, content validity and test-retest reliability were assessed using inter-rater agreement, item and scale content validity indices, comprehensiveness indices, and intra-class correlation, kappa and weighted-kappa coefficients.

RESULTS

The household and individual questionnaires demonstrated appropriate validity and reliability. The content validity of household questionnaire was favourable, with inter-rater agreement of 86% and 91% for relevance and clarity, respectively. Scale content validity indices for relevance and clarity were 89% and 91%, respectively, and comprehensiveness was scored at 100%. These indices were also favourable for the individual questionnaire, all scoring 94% or higher.

CONCLUSION

The questionnaires showed excellent validity and reliability for use in Iran. The HH-ATM tool can be implemented to evaluate access to, and use of, medicines in Farsi-speaking communities, and may be useful in other communities if adapted appropriately.

Comparative study of dietary soy phytoestrogens genistein and equol effects on growth parameters and ovarian development in farmed female beluga sturgeon, Huso huso

Oocyte maturation in fish is a hormonally regulated process. In the light of long-term oocyte maturation in beluga, the aim of this research was to study the estrogenic effects of different concentrations of soy dietary genistein (GE) and equol (EQ) on the growth performance and ovary development in farmed female Huso huso. Fish were fed with concentrations 0 (control), 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 g of EQ and GE per kg of isoproteic (CP 45 %) and isoenergetic (19.5 MJ/kg) diets during a year. Blood samples and ovary biopsies were collected from each fish seasonally. The main results of the present experimentation are that growth performance was not affected significantly both in GE and EQ (P > 0.05). EQ at concentration 0.4 g/kg had more estrogenic effects than other concentrations of EQ and GE in beluga so that 64 % of fish were matured sexually. Some reproductive indices such as oocyte diameter, testosterone (T) and 17β-estradiol (E₂) increased significantly at EQ 0.4 g/kg at the end of experiment (P < 0.05), while 17α-hydroxy progesterone level (17α-OHP) showed no significant changes at all concentrations. Biochemical indices such as calcium, phosphorous and cholesterol increased at GE concentrations, but decreased at EQ concentrations similarly at the end of experiment. There was a negative relationship between plasma phosphorous and alkaline phosphatase enzyme levels. Based on results, EQ at concentration 0.4 g/kg improved oocyte development more than the other concentrations of GE and EQ, and therefore, it can be used as an additive to diets for inducing ovary development in this species.

Cryptococcus and cryptococcosis in Iran during 1969-2019: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Limited data are available on the epidemiology and etiology of cryptococcal infections in the Middle East. We aimed to conduct the systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the epidemiological data on prevalence of Cryptococcus species complexes in trees and their surroundings, bird guano and secretions, animals, and highlight the reported episodes of cryptococcosis in Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Proquest, Google Scholar, Embase, and the ISI Web of Science, as well as the national databases, from January 1969 to October 2019 were searched. Furthermore, gray literature (e.g., thesis, congress abstracts) was evaluated using Iran Doc and www.thesis.

RESEARCH

ac.ir. Search process was accomplished on English or Persian language articles using the following keywords: "Cryptococcus", "Cryptococcosis", "invasive fungal infection", "Humans", "Birds", "Pigeon", "Animals", "Tree", "Eucalyptus", and "Iran", both alone and in combination.

RESULTS

Overall 36 studies were eligible regarding Cryptococcus and cryptococcosis in Iran. The total prevalence rates of Cryptococcus species in the tree was 4.7% (95% CI: 2.3-7.8), and in bird guano was 20.4% (95% CI: 10.7-32.2). Cryptococcosis in animal, and human were 1.7% (95% CI: 0.01-5.1), and 2.8% (95% CI: 0.7v6.1), respectively. The highest prevalence of Cryptococcus in the trees (14.6%), and bird guano (89.4%) in Khorasan, animals (8.9%) in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and human (4.4%) in Mazandaran provinces were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the significant risk of Cryptococcus species for susceptible humans, mainly HIV-infected patients, it seems quite necessary to adopt concrete preventive strategies to pinpoint the environmental habitats of this yeast.

Porous shape memory dental implant by reactive sintering of TiH2-Ni-Urea mixture

We produced bifurcated bone-like shape memory implant (BL-SMI) with desirable tooth-root fixation capability by compact-sintering of TiH₂-Ni-urea mixture. The primary constituents of the porous product were Ni and Ti. We could adjust the pores' shape, size, and interconnectivity for favorite bone ingrowth by using urea as a space holder. Without urea, we obtained an average porosity of 0.30, and a mean void size of 100 μm. With 70 vol % urea, we got 62% interconnected pores of 400 μm average size. Aging allowed us to tune the austenite-martensite transformation temperatures towards the needed body tissue arouse. Differential scanning calorimetry measured the transformation temperatures. Their austenite start, austenite peak, and austenite finish values were A_s = 4, A_p = 22, and A_f = 34 °C, respectively. They retained functional shape recovery and superelastic effect at the body temperature. Mechanical properties, including Young's modulus of the specimens, matched well to maxilla and mandible bone tissue. The measured Young's modulus of the NiTi specimens was as low as 3.5 GPa, which decreased to ∼2.1 GPa with further porosity increase at higher space holder percentages. Superelasticity regime and low Young's modulus of the implant could potentially prevent stress-shielding from the surrounding bone tissues and give rise to secure fixation of the implant into the bone socket. Bending tests showed 0.9 mm recoverable deflection for specimens which assisted immediate self-fixation of the implant into the jaw bone cavity.

Dual polarized near-field focusing plate for near-field optical focusing in two dimensions

We introduce a dual polarized near-field focusing plate (DP-NFFP) with focusing in two dimensions, designed to operate at the near infrared frequency of 193 THz (λ(0) = 1550 nm). Subwavelength focusing in two dimensions, for both incident polarizations, is achieved at a distance of a quarter wavelength from the DP-NFFP. The design procedure is described in detail and the proposed design could be easily scaled to other working frequencies, from microwave to optics. We show that the use of ideal lossless (i.e., perfect electric conductor) or real lossy (i.e., silver) metals provide with subwavelength focusing at 193 THz, indicating that metal losses do not significantly affect the DP-NFFP performance, and thus confirming the design feasibility at the near-infrared frequency. Results are validated by using two distinct full-wave simulators.

The influence of variations in the DNA repair (XRCC1) gene on HIV-1/AIDS among Indian population

Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes may influence individual variations in the DNA repair capacity. Polymorphisms in the XRCC1 gene that cause amino acid substitutions may impair the interaction of its proteins (XRCC1) with the other enzymatic proteins and consequently alter DNA repair function, which may be associated with the risk of HIV-1/AIDS disease. In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of polymorphisms in XRCC1 codon 399 in a sample of Indian population with HIV-1/AIDS to evaluate its association with the disease. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to analyse XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms in 300 positively diagnosed cases with HIV-1/AIDS and an equal number of negatively diagnosed controls of the matched age. The XRCC1 homozygous variant genotype Gln399Gln was associated with an increased risk of HIV-1/AIDS disease (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.10-2.94), while no association was found with the Arg399Gln genotype. Polymorphisms in the XRCC1 homozygous variant genotype for the 399Gln allele were associated with the risk of HIV-1/AIDS disease in a sample of North Indian population.

Entropic equilibrium for the lattice Boltzmann method: Hydrodynamics and numerical properties

The entropic lattice Boltzmann framework proposed the construction of the equilibrium by taking into consideration minimization of a discrete entropy functional. The effect of this entropic equilibrium on properties of the resulting solver has been the topic of discussions in the literature. Here we present a rigorous analysis of the hydrodynamics and numerics of the entropic equilibrium. We demonstrate that the entropic equilibrium features unconditional linear stability, in contrast to the conventional polynomial equilibrium. We reveal the mechanisms through which unconditional linear stability is maintained, most notable of which are adaptive propagation velocity of normal modes and the positive-definite nature of the dissipation rates of hydrodynamic eigenmodes. We further present a simple local correction to considerably reduce the deviations in the effective bulk viscosity.

Diversity and species composition of mosquitoes (Culicidae: Diptera) in Noor County, northern Iran

Mosquitoes are highly important as public health problem due to their blood sucking habits and transmitting malaria, arboviruses and other diseases to humans. The present research was undertaken to determine the fauna, abundance, monthly distribution and activity of Culicidae mosquito larvae and adults in Noor County, northern Iran. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted from August 2012 to November 2013 in the rural and urban outskirts of Noor. In each area, natural larval breeding places such as river beds, shallow wells, pits, sewer, marsh, small holes, tracks of animals as well as man-made breeding places like pools and rice paddy fields have been visited monthly for larval collection. To collect adult mosquitoes, human and animal dwellings including bedrooms, store rooms, toilets, barns, stables and pen were surveyed using WHO standard methods. A total of 844 larvae and 1484 adult mosquitoes were caught. Of the 665 Culicinae larvae, 501 were Cx. pipiens (75.3%), 108 Cx. mimeticus (16.2%) and 56 Cx. theileri (8.4%). Of the 179 Anophelinae larvae, 96 were An. hyrcanus (53.6%) and 83 An. maculipennis s.l. (46.4%). Among 889 adult Culicinae, 495 were Cx. pipiens (55.7%), 238 Cx. mimeticus (26.8%), 156 Cx. theileri (17.6%), and from 595 adult Anophelinae 371 were An. hyrcanus (62.4%) and 224 An. maculipennis (37.7%). Anopheles hyrcanus with 96 larvae (53.6%) and 371 adults (62.4%) and Cx. pipiens with 501 larvae (75.3%) and 495 adults (55.7%) showed the highest abundance and distribution in the county calling for more studies on their population, ecology, behavior and probable roles as vectors of various diseases.

Asymptotic freedom in the lattice Boltzmann theory

Asymptotic freedom is a feature of quantum chromodynamics that guarantees its well posedness. We derive an analog of asymptotic freedom enabling unconditional linear stability of lattice Boltzmann simulation of hydrodynamics. We further demonstrate the validity of the derived conditions via the special case of the equilibrium based on entropy maximization, which is shown to be uniquely renormalizable.

Evaluation of metabolizable energy values of some feeding stuffs

In a trail the Apparent Metabolizable Energy (AME), Apparent Metabolizable Energy corrected to Nitrogen retention (AMEn), True Metabolizable Energy (TME) and True Metabolizable Energy corrected to Nitrogen retention (TMEn) content of some feeding stuffs for poultry were determined with cockerels. The test materials consisted of feed grade Oak (Quercusfaginea), Fig (Ficus carica), Olive (Olea europea) pulp with nucleolus and without nucleolus. The result showed that Oak, Fig, Olive pulp with nucleolus and without nucleolus according to their component can be noticed as an energy sources. Their crude protein was low. The nitrogen- corrected Apparent Metabolizable Energy (AMEn) values for Oak, Fig and Olive pulp with nucleolus and without nucleolus were 2775.04 +/- 29, 2558.7 +/- 35, 1347.05 +/- 64 and 3052.33 +/- 122 Kcal kg(-1) dry matter, respectively. The nitrogen-corrected True Metabolizable Energy (TMEn) value for the respective feeding stuffs were 3177.99 +/- 30, 2999.06 +/- 33, 1537.02 +/- 59 and 3243.34 +/- 126 Kcal kg(-1) dry matter.

Probing double-distribution-function models in discrete-velocity Boltzmann methods for highly compressible flows: Particles-on-demand realization

The double distribution function approach is an efficient route toward an extension of kinetic solvers to compressible flows. With a number of realizations available, an overview and comparative study in the context of high-speed compressible flows is presented. We discuss the different variants of the energy partition, analyses of hydrodynamic limits, and a numerical study of accuracy and performance with the particles on demand realization. Out of three considered energy partition strategies, it is shown that the nontranslational energy split requires a higher-order quadrature for proper recovery of the Navier-Stokes-Fourier equations. The internal energy split, on the other hand, while recovering the correct hydrodynamic limit with fourth-order quadrature, comes with a nonlocal-both in space and time-source term that contributes to higher computational cost and memory overhead. Based on our analysis, the total energy split demonstrates the optimal overall performance.