Level Crossing Analysis of Growing surfaces

We investigate the average frequency of positive slope $\nu_{\alpha}^{+}$, crossing the height $\alpha = h- \bar h$ in the surface growing processes. The exact level crossing analysis of the random deposition model and the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in the strong coupling limit before creation of singularities are given.Comment: 5 pages, two column, latex, three figure

Study on Drying Process of Farmed Shrimp Meat in a Hot Air Convective Dryer and Variation of Some Related Parameters

IntroductionDrying shrimp is one of the storage methods that, while increasing the shelf life, leads to the production of a versatile product with various uses, from consumption as snacks to use as one of the main components of foods. Drying is preferred over other preservation methods because it offers numerous advantages, including extended shelf life, enhanced microbial stability, convenient consumption, reduced transportation costs, increased value, and product diversity.To accurately model these processes and thus obtain information on factors such as shelf life and energy consumption, it is necessary to determine the product’s initial and final temperatures, its geometry and dimensions, and its thermo-physical characteristics. Simulation of different drying processes requires accurate estimation of the effective moisture diffusion coefficient, which is highly dependent on temperature and humidity. Its dependence can be shown by an equation with an Arrhenius structure as an empirical function of humidity and temperature, or by considering the activation energy.It is necessary to have sufficient knowledge about heat and mass transfer characteristics, such as diffusion or penetration coefficient and the heat transfer coefficient to estimate the final temperature and drying time. This study investigated the drying process of peeled farmed shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) using a convective hot air dryer. Various parameters such as shrinkage and the effective moisture diffusion coefficient were examined.Materials and MethodsA drying device was built to conduct experimental studies on drying shrimp samples. The experiments were conducted on sliced shrimp meat samples at temperatures of 40, 50, and 60 degrees Celsius, with a constant air velocity of 1.5 m/s. The experimental drying models were based on diffusion theory. In these models, it is assumed that the resistance to moisture diffusion occurs from the outer layer of the food. In most cases, Fick's second law was used to describe the phenomenon of moisture penetration.The study used the standard method of immersion in toluene to measure volume changes in the samples. During the drying process, the volume of the samples was measured at 45-minute intervals, and their volume changes were calculated. To measure the moisture content of the samples, each test started by recording the initial weight of the samples using a digital scale with an accuracy of ±0.001 g. During the drying process, the samples were weighed each time their volume was measured.Shrinkage during the drying process is commonly modeled by finding a relationship between shrinkage and moisture, using linear and non-linear models. In most cases, effective permeability is defined as a function of humidity and temperature. For this purpose, curve-fitting methods were employed to analyze the data collected from experimental tests. The appropriate function was extracted by incorporating the Arrhenius equation, which is applicable to most food items.Results and DiscussionBased on the results of statistical indices, the linear model was the best model for depicting the relationship between shrinkage changes versus moisture ratio changes among the various experimental models evaluated for shrinkage and drying kinetics. Similarly, the Weibull distribution demonstrated superior performance in expressing variations in moisture ratio over time. A moisture dependent experimental model was used to express the variations in the apparent density of shrimp, resulting in a computed range of 1017-1117 kg m-3. Furthermore, an Arrhenius equation was derived to express the effect of moisture content and temperature on the effective diffusion coefficient of shrimp. According to the results, the effective diffusion coefficient of shrimp exhibited variations ranging from 0.08 ×10-9 m2 s-1 to 7.39×10-9 m2 s-1. When deriving the effective diffusion coefficient, the impact of the number of terms in Fick's second law on the variation of the moisture ratio was studied. The findings revealed that increasing the number of terms beyond 100 did not significantly affect the model’s outputs.ConclusionThe linear model had the highest coefficient of determination (R2) among the evaluated shrinkage models, as well as the lowest root mean square error and sum of square error (SSE). This makes it the most optimal model for interpreting shrinkage at the tested temperature levels. The Weibull distribution experimental model proved to be the most suitable for expressing changes in the moisture ratio of shrimp meat slices over time within the evaluated temperature range. The Arrhenius model accurately predicts changes in the effective diffusion coefficient of shrimp slices with respect to temperature and moisture content within the tested temperature range

Integrated healthcare and the dilemma of public health emergencies

Traditional healthcare services have demonstrated structural shortcomings in the delivery of patient care and enforced numerous elements of integration in the delivery of healthcare services. Integrated healthcare aims at providing all healthcare that makes humans healthy. However, with mainly chronically ill people and seniors, typically suffering from numerous comorbidities and diseases, being recruited for care, there is a need for a change in the healthcare service structure beyond direct-patient care to be compatible in peacetime and during public health emergencies. This article’s objective is to discuss the opportunities and obstacles for increasing the effectiveness of healthcare through improved integration. A rapid evidence review approach was used by performing a systematic followed by a non-systematic literature review and content analysis. The results confirmed that integrated healthcare systems play an increasingly important role in healthcare system reforms undertaken in European Union countries. The essence of these changes is the transition from the episodic treatment of acute diseases to the provision of coordinated medical services, focused on chronic cases, prevention, and ensuring patient continuity. However, integrated healthcare, at a level not yet fully defined, will be necessary if we are to both define and attain the integrated practice of both global health and global public health emergencies. This paper attains the necessary global challenges to integrate healthcare effectively at every level of society. There is a need for more knowledge to effectively develop, support, and disseminate initiatives related to coordinated healthcare in the individual healthcare systems

Neuroendocrine–immune disequilibrium and endometriosis: an interdisciplinary approach

Endometriosis, a chronic disease characterized by endometrial tissue located outside the uterine cavity, affects one fourth of young women and is associated with chronic pelvic pain and infertility. However, an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiology and effective treatment strategies of endometriosis is still largely elusive. Inadequate immune and neuroendocrine responses are significantly involved in the pathophysiology of endometriosis, and key findings are summarized in the present review. We discuss here the role of different immune mechanisms particularly adhesion molecules, protein–glycan interactions, and pro-angiogenic mediators in the development and progression of the disease. Finally, we introduce the concept of endometrial dissemination as result of a neuroendocrine-immune disequilibrium in response to high levels of perceived stress caused by cardinal clinical symptoms of endometriosis

Cortisol regulates the paracrine action of macrophages by inducing vasoactive gene expression in endometrial cells

The human endometrium undergoes inflammation and tissue repair during menstruation. We hypothesized that the local availability of bioactive glucocorticoids plays an important role in immune cell–vascular cell interactions in endometrium during tissue repair at menstruation, acting either directly or indirectly via tissue resident macrophages. We sought to determine whether endometrial macrophages are direct targets for glucocorticoids; whether cortisol-treated macrophages have a paracrine effect on angiogenic gene expression by endometrial endothelial cells; and whether endometrial macrophages express angiogenic factors. Human endometrium (n = 41) was collected with ethical approval and subject consent. Donor peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages were treated with estradiol, progesterone, or cortisol. The effect of peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophage secretory products on the expression of angiogenic RNAs by endothelial cells was examined. Immunofluorescence was used to examine localization in macrophages and other endometrial cell types across the menstrual cycle. Endometrial macrophages express the glucocorticoid receptor. In vitro culture with supernatants from cortisol-treated peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages resulted in altered endometrial endothelial cell expression of the angiogenic genes, CXCL2, CXCL8, CTGF, and VEGFC. These data highlight the importance of local cortisol in regulating paracrine actions of macrophages in the endometrium. CXCL2 and CXCL8 were detected in endometrial macrophages in situ. The expression of these factors was highest in the endometrium during the menstrual phase, consistent with these factors having a role in endometrial repair. Our data have indicated that activation of macrophages with glucocorticoids might have paracrine effects by increasing angiogenic factor expression by endometrial endothelial cells. This might reflect possible roles for macrophages in endometrial repair of the vascular bed after menstruation

The efficiency of unidirectionally patrolled machines

AbstractThis paper solves the problem of determining the efficiency of N (not identical) machines which are unidirectionally patrolled by one operative. Generally the machines will be equally spaced in a circular configuration so that the time to walk from one machine to the next will be a constant. However, the case of unequal spacing is just as easy to handle. It is assumed that breakdowns of machine j occur at random at average rate γj in running time, and that the time to repair this machine is a constant, cj. This situation could arise from a mix of new and old machines or, in a textile context, in a situation where different types of yarn are being processed on different machines