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Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an emerging ecofriendly microbial engineering technique that utilizes urease-producing microorganisms to enhance the mechanical properties of soils. Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) stands out among these microorganisms as an efficient urease producer. However, field trials often lead to less-than-optimal experimental outcomes due to the presence of native soil microbes. To evaluate the impact of indigenous microorganisms on the effectiveness of MICP at the site, bacteria isolated from natural soil, classified of on-site low-ureolysis and high-ureolysis bacteria (OSLUB and OSHUB, respectively), were combined with S. pasteurii to conduct MICP experiments both in microfluidic chips and sand columns. Analysis covered the bacterial population, urease activity, pH changes, calcium carbonate crystal count and volume, as well as the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of reinforced samples. Experimental results revealed that combining OSLUB with S. pasteurii led to a reduction in bacterial activity of 74% to 84% by 120 h, resulting in an approximately 60% decrease in the chemical conversion rate and the UCS of MICP-treated soils was 60% lower than the S. pasteurii. However, when OSHUB is mixed with S. pasteurii, although there is a reduction in bacterial activity by 49% to 54% by the 120-h mark, the decrease remains less pronounced than the activity decrease observed in S. pasteurii alone, which is 64%. Consequently, the rates of calcium carbonate chemical conversion were enhanced by 9% to 45%, and the UCS of the reinforced sand columns showed a slight improvement relative to the control group. This research highlights the distinct impacts of OSLUB and OSHUB on the efficiency of MICP on location. The main difference between OSLUB and OSHUB lies in their respective effects on pH levels following mixing. OSLUB tends to decrease the pH level gradually in the combined bacterial environment, while OSHUB, in contrast, increases the pH level over time in the same setting. The maintenance of both high bacterial activity and high precipitation rates is crucially dependent on pH levels, highlighting the importance of these findings for enhancing MICP efficiency in field applications. Strategies that either diminish the presence of OSLUB while augmenting that of OSHUB, or that sustain a relatively high pH level, could be valuable. These avenues promise significant improvements and merit further investigation in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the pharmacological agents employed in cancer therapy, doxorubicin holds a prominent place due to its widespread use and potent cytotoxic effects and doxorubicin offers considerable promise in combating cancer, its administration requires careful consideration of the delicate balance between therapeutic benefit and potential harm, highlighting the intricate landscape of cancer treatment. Molecular dynamics simulation was used in this research to evaluate the effect of pH on the transfer and release kinetics of doxorubicin via carbon nanotubes within the capillary network surrounding cancer tumors. Upon examination of the acquired data, it became evident that following a duration of 10 ns, the temperature of the scrutinized structure stabilized at 310 K. Additionally, the analysis revealed that over the same period, the potential energy of examined structure reached a convergence point of 5.68 kcal/mol. Moreover, as the pH level increased from 3 to 11, a notable reduction in the maximum velocity of particle motion was detected, diminishing from 0.0028 to 0.0021 Å/fs. This elevation in pH led to a decline in the interaction between the vessel and solute, decreasing from 0.57 to 0.42 kcal/mol. Similarly, the interaction between the vessel and tumor experienced a decline, escalating from 6.95 to 6.05 kcal/mol with the pH increased from 3 to 11. Lastly, the pH elevation resulted in a marked reduction in the rate of drug release, decreasing from 84 to 46 %. This work concluded that MD simulations greatly enhanced the progress of pH-responsive CNT-based drug delivery systems. By offering comprehensive understanding of their behavior in acidic tumor environments, these simulations optimized these systems for targeted cancer treatment.

Aim of study: To assess the impact of pH level on force decay and color stability of orthodontic elastomeric chains (EOC) after exposure to commonly used beverages. Materials and methods: A total of 120 chain cuts were prepared from 2 different manufacturers (GC Orthodontics Europe GmbH, Breckerfeld, Germany, and FORESTADENT® - Bernhard Foerster GmbH, Pforzheim, Germany). According to the distance between loops, two types of chains were selected from each manufacturer: short and medium ones. Chains were immersed into 10 commonly used beverages with different pH values. After 7 days, force degradation was evaluated with the universal machine for mechanical testing (Model 4411; Instron, Canton, USA) and color change using a VITA Easyshade® digital spectrophotometer. Kruskal-Wallis with post-hoc Dunn's test for intergroup comparison and Wilcoxon rank test for intragroup comparison. Results: Initial force varied among EOC brands, with GC short chains having the highest force and Forestadent medium chains the lowest. The most pronounced force decay occurred within 24 h, notably affecting Forestadent short chains the most, followed by Forestadent medium, GC short, and GC medium chains. Despite a higher force drop rate over seven days, short EOCs maintained higher forces than medium EOCs. GC EOCs consistently maintained higher forces after seven days compared to Forestadent EOCs. After the immersion of EOC in different solutions for 24 h, only Evian water, Soy milk, and Coconut water did not change color. After 7 days, the greatest color change was recorded in coffee. Conclusion: There is no correlation between pH value and force decay of polyurethane chains. Short chains showed more constant force delivery and greater value of remaining force in comparison to medium ones. Color stability was mostly affected by coffee, followed by matcha tea, soy milk, and apple juice.

To assess the impact of pH level on force decay and color stability of orthodontic elastomeric chains (EOC) after exposure to commonly used beverages. A total of 120 chain cuts were prepared from 2 different manufacturers (GC Orthodontics Europe GmbH, Breckerfeld, Germany, and FORESTADENT® - Bernhard Foerster GmbH, Pforzheim, Germany). According to the distance between loops, two types of chains were selected from each manufacturer: short and medium ones. Chains were immersed into 10 commonly used beverages with different pH values. After 7 days, force degradation was evaluated with the universal machine for mechanical testing (Model 4411; Instron, Canton, USA) and color change using a VITA Easyshade® digital spectrophotometer. Kruskal-Wallis with post-hoc Dunn's test for intergroup comparison and Wilcoxon rank test for intragroup comparison. Initial force varied among EOC brands, with GC short chains having the highest force and Forestadent medium chains the lowest. The most pronounced force decay occurred within 24 h, notably affecting Forestadent short chains the most, followed by Forestadent medium, GC short, and GC medium chains. Despite a higher force drop rate over seven days, short EOCs maintained higher forces than medium EOCs. GC EOCs consistently maintained higher forces after seven days compared to Forestadent EOCs. After the immersion of EOC in different solutions for 24 h, only Evian water, Soy milk, and Coconut water did not change color. After 7 days, the greatest color change was recorded in coffee. There is no correlation between pH value and force decay of polyurethane chains. Short chains showed more constant force delivery and greater value of remaining force in comparison to medium ones. Color stability was mostly affected by coffee, followed by matcha tea, soy milk, and apple juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirulina is considered to be the most nutritious whole food source in nature. It is promoted as a dietary supplement and an active ingredient in functional foods. Factors such as conflicts, supply chain disruptions, and economic fallout are driving food prices to unprecedented levels. Low- and middle-income populations are affected by these rising costs. The design and implementation of a compact Spirulina cultivation system to be used in the household is presented in this paper. The system contains light, temperature, pH, and turbidity sensors. All sensors are connected to microcontrollers which activate a heater, air pump, mixing pump, pool fall pump, and two LEDs according to the readings received to ensure proper and continuous growth of Spirulina. The proposed system is user-friendly, economical, and can be easily stored and operated at homes to stimulate and monitor the growth of Spirulina. The primary objective of the proposed compact cultivation system is to furnish the necessary tools for generating a nutritionally valuable food source on a smaller scale, specifically within households, at a relatively affordable cost.

This dataset is part of fundamental research to produce IoT monitoring in fishponds. The data consists of the results of measurements of pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), and water temperature obtained through manual sensor devices in several locations at different times. Additionally, this data also includes images taken by drones at consistent heights. These images are linked to the sensor data that has been collected. In this research, data will be used to monitor the health of fishponds through visual data. This data can be used for correlation analysis between visual data and sensor data. The hypothesis is the visual appearance of the pond (the colour) is affected by the number of mixed solid (mud and other organic material) in the water, which reflected in the TDS level of the water. In addition, the data can also be used for initial investigations into the development of machine learning models for pool condition recognition through image analysis.

This study assessed the safety of two herbal remedies, Agbo Iba and Agbo Jedi commonly sold in Ibadan metropolis. The samples were analyzed for phytochemical composition, microbial contamination, pH level, and elemental content. Phytochemical screening identified alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, steroids, tannins and glycosides. Elemental analysis revealed sodium concentration ranging from 186.67 ± 1.7 to 283.33 ± 4.41 mg/100 g in Agbo Iba and Agbo Jedi, respectively. Lead content ranged from 0.04 ± 0.01 to 0.10 ± 0.00 mg/100 g in Agbo Iba and 0.03 ± 0.00 to 0.05 ± 0.00 mg/100 g in Agbo Jedi, while cadmium content ranged from 0.01 ± 0.00 to 0.02 ± 0.00 mg/100 g in Agbo Iba, it was absent in Agbo Jedi. The pH of all samples was acidic ranging from 2.79 to 4.41. Bacterial counts in Agbo Iba and Agbo Jedi exceeded European pharmacopoeia contamination limits ranging from 2 x 108 to 88 x 108 cfu/mL and 2 x 108 to 126 x 108 cfu/mL respectively. These findings highlight potential health hazards associated with these herbal remedies despite their rich phytochemical content. Stringent quality assurance and standardization by government agencies are essential to ensure safety and efficacy of herbal remedies for public use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrients are essential to optimising plant growth. However, the introduction of fertiliser in a hydroponics setup influences the pH level of the nutrient solution. This, in turn, could affect plants' growth as many types of plants require a specific pH range to grow optimally. Conventional hydroponics cultivation performs pH adjustment manually -- a meticulous and error-prone process. Manual adjustment of pH solutions is prone to estimation errors, particularly when the pH levels change drastically due to the slow response of the solution to the addition of alkaline or acidic mixtures and sensitivity to minute errors in mixture delivery. For these reasons, a model to estimate the solution's pH would help improve the delivery accuracy of the alkaline and acidic mixtures. Past research offers minimal study to optimally construct the model from a System Identification (SI) perspective. This study represents a pH water neutralisation behaviour using the Nonlinear Autoregressive model with Exogeneous Inputs (NARX). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory decline and cognitive impairment. Research on biomarkers can aid in early diagnosis, monitoring disease progression, evaluating treatment efficacy, and advancing fundamental research. We conducted a cross-sectional longitudinal study to see if there is an association between AD patients and age-matched healthy controls for their physiologic skin characteristics, such as pH, hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), elasticity, microcirculation, and ApoE genotyping. The study used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of the Boxes (CDR-SB) scales as references to quantify the presence of disease, if any. Our findings demonstrate that AD patients have a dominantly neutral pH, greater skin hydration, and less elasticity compared to the control subjects. At baseline, the tortuous capillary percentage negatively correlated with MMSE scores in AD patients. However, AD patients who carry the ApoE E4 allele and exhibit a high percentage of tortuous capillaries and capillary tortuous numbers have shown better treatment outcomes at six months. Therefore, we believe that physiologic skin testing is a rapid and effective way to screen, monitor progression, and ultimately guide the most appropriate treatment for AD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium biodegradable alloys are a promising material for self-dissolving surgical implants. Magnesium is known to be sensitive to electrochemical corrosion due to the galvanic effect between the matrix and particles of secondary phases and inclusions. Another important factor is the pH level. The behavior of certain chemical reactions depends on the pH level, so one can assume that the pH level of a corrosive medium at the material surface is a factor determining what chemical reactions can occur there. Finally, there is evidence that variability of the crystallographic orientation of the grains may be a cause of anisotropy of corrosion properties. The purpose of this work is to reveal the influence of the electrode potential of the microstructural elements, the crystallographic orientation of the grains, and the pH level of the near-surface volume of the corrosion solution on the corrosion process. In the study, sections of 2×1.5 mm were marked on the ZX10 alloy samples, for which maps of the distribution of crystallographic orientations and chemical composition were drawn. To assess the influence of the electrode potential of the particles, the authors carried out a Kelvin probe mapping in the 90×90 µm area. Next, corrosion tests were carried out with video filming of the surface on the marked area. To determine the pH level influence, the solution circulation in the cell was varied. Upon completion of the tests, corrosion products and corrosion damage were examined in detail. According to the results, the pH level in the liquid near-surface micro-volumes has a greater influence than the electrode potential of the particles as it provokes the formation of corrosion products of a different composition, which leads to passivation of the surface areas around the particles. The authors identified two different types of filiform corrosion. For filiform corrosion, a correlation between the corrosion direction and the crystallographic orientation of the grains was established.

Research background In order to maintain good quality of platelet concentrate based on pH level and platelet count, it is necessary to store it at 22 ± 2°C for 3 - 5 days in vitro. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of the processing and shelf life of thrombocyte concentrate on pH levels and platelet counts. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of the processing and shelf life of platelet concentrate on pH levels and platelet counts. The research design was quasi-experiment pre and posttest group design. The first group is platelet concentrate which is processed through whole blood and the second group is platelet concentrate which is processed through thrombopheresis. Each group was stored for 0 days, 3 days and 5 days, after which each storage period was checked for pH levels and Platelet Count. The results showed that there was no significant decrease in the pH level of the thrombocyte concentrate which was processed from whole blood during a storage period of 0 days, a storage period of 3 days and a storage period of 5 days with a p value of 0.06, while the pH level of the thrombocyte concentrate which was processed from thrombopheresis experienced a significant increase in p value of 0.00. There was a significant increase in the number of platelets in the thrombocyte concentrate which was processed from whole blood during a storage period of 0 days, a storage period of 3 days and a storage period of 5 days with a p value of 0.00, whereas in the thrombocyte concentrate which was processed from thrombopheresis it decreased significantly with a p value of 0.00. It was concluded that the shelf life and the processing of platelet concentrates affect the pH level and the number of platelets [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) release from sediment poses a severe challenge for eutrophication management in the aquatic environment. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in riverine ecosystems have shown an increasing trend due to intensified climate change and anthropogenic activities, while their impact on sediment P cycling remains unclear. To investigate the effects of different DOC loads on sediment P release and the underlying mechanisms, we conducted a two-month experiment in 15 plexiglass tanks, with five gradient-increasing target DOC concentrations set according to reality: control (S 0), 5 mg/L (S 5), 10 mg/L (S 10), 15 mg/L (S 15), and 20 mg/L (S 20). The results demonstrated that: i) DOC enrichment promoted the sediment P mobilization and release, with the underlying mechanisms exhibited periodic characteristics. ii) reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and stimulated alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) were likely the primary and sustained facilitating mechanisms. While after the termination of DOC load, elevated pH level was also considered a contributing factor when chlorophyll a (Chl a) ranged between 5.9 μg/L and 7.7 μg/L iii) ultimate concentration of total P (TP) in the overlying water depended on DOC load. After DOC addition was terminated, decreased TP concentrations were observed when DOC concentration was in the range of 5–15 mg/L, which may be attributed to the direct uptake of P by phytoplankton counteracting the minor promotion of P release induced by anoxic conditions. However, when DOC concentrations exceeded 15–20 mg/L, there were notable increments in TP concentrations. Our findings provide further insight into the response mechanisms of sediment P release to the increasing organic C load in natural ecosystems. The impact of broader C forms or C loads on sediment P cycling needs to be fully elucidated and even quantified in future studies, especially through large-scale field investigations to further clarify the coupled roles between C and P. [Display omitted] • The mechanisms of DOC load promoting sediment P release are periodic. • P release was mainly and consistently facilitated by reduced DO and elevated APA. • Increased pH level promoted P release after the termination of DOC load. • The ultimate TP concentration in the water depended on DOC load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review delves into the reversible process of DNA compaction, vital for cellular functions like replication and transcription. The study highlights how various cations assist in the condensation of DNA chains, highlighting their specificity. The impact of the ionic environment on chromatin characteristics is discussed, emphasizing the roles of mono- and divalent cations in neutralizing DNA charge and promoting compaction. Trivalent ions induce significant compaction, while divalent ions also contribute, albeit less strongly. Charge inversion, facilitated by high concentrations of multivalent counterions, affects DNA condensation dynamics. Manipulating solution pH and dielectric constant can alter charge inversion bidirectionally. The hydrophobic effect driven by organic cations plays a crucial role in DNA compaction. The review underscores the implications of charge inversion, including macroscopic phase separation and DNA precipitation, driven by the binding of cationic micelles to DNA., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The article discusses and analyzes the construction of liquid-jet sulfitators used in the beet sugar industry. The importance of sulfitation treatment in the sugar beet processing and raw cane sugar technology is noted and the main advantages of its use at various technological stages are given, namely, preparation of extractant used for diffusion sucrose extraction out of beet cossettes, thin juice processing, thick juice with B- and C-remelts processing, as well as raw cane sugar remelt processing. The advantages and disadvantages of liquid-jet sulfitators in comparison with other constructions are noted and criteria for their improvement are given. It has been noted that the created ejection, which sucks in the sulphitation gas into the contacting chamber, and the fact that the absorption of sulfur dioxide occurs on a larger surface than in other types of structures the main advantages of liquid-jet sulphitators. The main disadvantages are the short length of the contacting chamber, which is insufficient for ensuring complete absorption of sulfur dioxide, as well as instability of the generated ejection when the productivity changes. This determines the criteria given in the article for the improvement of liquid-jet sulfitators. The description of the developed construction of the sulphitator centrifugal-jet nozzle of sugar production liquids is given, which provides: the stability of the sulphitation gas supply in a wide range of plant productivity; stability of the hydroaerodynamic regime of the system «treated liquid – sulphitation gas» inside the sulphitator; sufficient contact time for complete dissolution in the treated liquid of the sulfur anhydride contained in the sulphitation gas. The advantages of the developed centrifugal-jet sulfitators in comparison with typical liquid-jet sulfitators are noted: ensuring the operation range of 50-120% of the nominal capacity (plant production capacity); significant reduction in the technical sulfur consumption for the sulphur anhydride production, which is used as a reagent for the sulfitation treatment of liquids in beet sugar processing; reduction of harmful emissions into the atmosphere due to 100 % sulfur anhydride dissolution in the treated liquid.

Wearable sweat sensors can analyze the abundant composition of solutes and metabolites in sweat to reflect the health state of the wearers in real time. The realization of active motion control for sweat droplets is significant for a multifunctional sweat monitoring device with several analysis chambers. Here, a wearable droplet‐based human sweat monitoring platform (WSMP), by combining an electrowetting on dielectrics (EWOD) device and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), is demonstrated. It allows to collect and transport sweat droplets in different chambers by dielectric wetting effect and eventually merge and react with a pH indicator. The mechanical and electrical model of WSMP is introduced to describe the relationship between the open‐circuit voltage of the TENG and the voltage applied on the EWOD device. The high‐voltage electrical field generated by the TENG can change the wettability of solid–liquid interfaces and realize the controlling of droplet motion. The contact angle of electrolyte droplets changes over 30% with the triboelectric voltage of 5 kV. The driving, merging, and color reaction can be realized by actively controlling the motion of droplets. Finally, a wearable WSMP worn on the shank successfully demonstrates the preliminary detection of the pH level of human sweat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things has evolved as one of the most promising evolutional technologies, and it is gradually being recognized as a quotidian life necessity. It is based on the interconnection of several devices with the goal of simplifying everyday operations through monitoring, remote control, or the creation of smart environments with the goal of reducing the need for human interaction. This paper proposes the application of IoT concept with a savvy boat for monitoring and controlling the quality of swimming pools through a low-cost system based on wireless sensors and actuators which can minimize the number of people needed to maintain a swimming pool. This is very important issue since the improper use of fresh water in daily activities is nowadays a major concern, as well as the need to keep records of water quality in intended to notify the user about potential risk situations. The major goal of this system is to give financial and natural resource savings to the end user, resulting in a more sustainable environment. An Android mobile application was created to allow users to remotely monitor and manage the parameters of a swimming pool in real time, allowing for faster data analysis and the establishment of thresholds for each parameter so that the user is notified when the imposed limitations are exceeded. Some gadgets can be controlled remotely in one of two ways: manually or automatically. Moreover, this savvy boat has a net in front of it to clean the pool on the surface of the water from leaves and wastes and so on which is controlled through a remote control. The material used is a lightweight aluminum with mechanical and electric parts integrated with each other. In fact, this smart boat is qualified to serve as an assistant security guard for swimming pools because it has the characteristics that make it unique and smart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable sweat sensors provide an innovative detection method for analyzing human physiological and biochemical parameters and play an important role in detecting the potential risks of chronic diseases. Existing commercial wearable sensors (Apple iWatch, HUAWEI smart band) have problems such as single detection index (heart rate or blood pressure), and mainly focus on the physical information. This work studied an integrated microfluidic patch to simultaneously detect several biomarkers (pH, sodium ions, and uric acid) in sweat. We achieved the detection of pH level, sodium, and uric acid in linear ranges of 4–8, 0–160 mM, and 5–160 μM, respectively, covering well the clinically relevant ranges in the healthy human sweat. Laser engraving was chosen to prepare a microfluidic layer, and the sweat collection function was realized by combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic microfluidic synergy. It could efficiently collect the required sweat sample volume (80 μL) within 30 s while avoiding the contamination caused by directly contact with the skin. In addition, a wireless signal acquisition and transmission system was designed with the signal reading, processing, and wireless transmission functions, which can display the testing results in real time on Android phone-specific application software. We combined the wireless system with a microfluidic patch for on-body testing to verify the good wearability of the sweat sensor. This research realized the wireless data processing and transmission while improving sweat collection efficiency. In addition, it could detect various sweat physiological components in real-time, and provides a multiparameter, real-time, and portable sensing platform. [Display omitted] • An integrated microfluidic patch is designed to detect several biomarkers in sweat. • The microfluidics sweat patch can collect 80 μL samples within 30 s. • Wireless electrochemical system can send data to the user interfaces in real time. • The miniature and flexible sensing system can wear on body for sweat analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture mainly refers to cultivating aquatic organisms providing suitable environments for various purposes, including commercial, recreational, public purposes. This paper aims to enhance the production of fish and maintain the aquatic environment of aquaculture in Bangladesh. This paper presents the way of using Internet of Things (IoT) based devices to monitor aquaculture’s basic needs and help provide things needed for the fisheries. Using these devices, various parameters of water will be monitored for a better living environment for fish. These devices consist of some sensors that will detect the Potential of Hydrogen (pH) level, the water temperature, and there will be two extra sections where the measurement of dissolved oxygen level and ammonia level using the testing kits can be determined which are needed for proper fish farming in the right water. An android-based mobile application has also been developed. In this system, farmers, fishermen, and people related to aquaculture will be the users of an android application. Via that application and with the help of a device, users will be notified about the amount of dissolved oxygen, ammonia level, pH level, and water body temperature. This monitoring system will help fish farmers to take the necessary steps to prevent any disturbance in an aquatic environment. Though Bangladesh is a riverine country and fish farming has a huge impact on this country’s economy, it is necessary to keep in good health to produce more and more fish. But the fisheries of this country are not expert enough to understand how to provide necessary elements to fish and what to do. They might get help from this system and measure the parameters they can give necessary things to grow more fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrients are essential to optimise plant growth. However, adding fertiliser changes the pH of the nutrition solution. This would impact plant growth as each plant types requires a specific pH range to thrive. Due to the nonlinearity characteristics, pH neutralisation adjustment is difficult but essential. In addition, alkaline solutions are not completely dissociated due to the presence of acid. For these reasons, a mathematical model to estimate the solution's pH would help improve the alkaline and acidic delivery accuracy. This study represents a pH water neutralisation behaviour using Particle Swarm Optimisation algorithm (PSO). The project begins with input and output data acquisition leading to the development of the PSO model. The model fit and residual distribution have also been analysed for this model. The model's performance was accepted based on a correlation test because the lag signal exceeded 95% of the confidence interval. The model also recorded a very minimal error, and this proved that a good agreement is established between the predicted and actual pH values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal pollution in natural water bodies generally interacting with other environmental stressors produces toxic effects on aquatic organisms. However, toxicological studies exploring interactive effects of these stressors are still limited. Here, tadpoles of the Zhenhai brown frog (Rana zhenhaiensis) were exposed to a 3 × 3 factorial combination, with three cadmium (Cd) concentrations (0, 10 and 100 μg/L) and three pH levels (5.0, 7.23 and 9.0) throughout the developmental period to assess combined toxic effects of Cd × pH on tadpole growth, development and physiology. Nearly all measured traits [including survival, metamorphosis and abnormality rate, metamorphosis time, post-metamorphic size, hepatic metal content, locomotor performance, antioxidant enzyme activity, and erythrocytic nuclear abnormality (ENA) frequency] were affected by Cd exposure, indicating notable Cd-induced toxicity to R. zhenhaiensis tadpoles. The pH level and its interaction with Cd also had significant impacts on most measured traits, such as survival rate, metamorphosis time, froglet jumping distance, hepatic Cd content, ENA frequency. Acidic (or alkaline) environment itself was toxic to tadpoles. However, high pH (but not low pH) level appeared to exacerbate Cd-induced toxicity to tadpoles. Excess free hydrogen ions under acidic environments might inhibit Cd2+ ions binding to cell surface, which reduced Cd accumulation in tissues. Under alkaline environments, other forms of Cd complexes in the aqueous phase probably contributed to promoting Cd accumulation. Our results indicated that Cd exposure could interact with different pH levels, producing diverse combined toxicities to amphibian larvae.

Bacteria use K+-uptake transporters differentially for adaptation in varying growth conditions. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis , two K+-uptake systems, the Trk comprising the CeoB and CeoC proteins and the Kdp consisting of the two-component system (TCS), KdpDE and KdpFABC, have been characterized, but their selective utilization during bacterial growth has not been completely explored. In the current study, the roles of the M. tuberculosis KdpDE regulatory system alone and in association with the Trk transporters in bacterial growth were investigated by evaluating the growth of M. tuberculosis KdpDE-deletion and KdpDE/Trk (KT)-double knockout mutant strains in planktonic culture under standard growth conditions. The KT-double knockout mutant strain was first constructed using homologous recombination procedures and was evaluated together with the KdpDE-deletion mutant and the wild-type (WT) strains with respect to their rates of growth, K+-uptake efficiencies, and K+-transporter gene expression during planktonic growth. During growth at optimal K+ concentrations and pH levels, selective deletion of the TCS KdpDE (KdpDE-deletion mutant) led to attenuation of bacterial growth and an increase in bacterial K+-uptake efficiency, as well as dysregulated expression of the kdpFABC and trk genes. Deletion of both the KdpDE and the Trk systems (KT-double knockout) also led to severely attenuated bacterial growth, as well as an increase in bacterial K+-uptake efficiency. These results demonstrate that the KdpDE regulatory system plays a key role during bacterial growth by regulating K+ uptake via modulation of the expression and activities of both the KdpFABC and Trk systems and is important for bacterial growth possibly by preventing cytoplasmic K+ overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing a clean and high quality drinking water to both rural as well as urban areas is a great challenge by itself, adding to it the large volume requirements of such water at high population areas means a very high cost for such industry because mainly of the cost of expensive commercially available adsorbent used in this process. This led inhabitants of the remote and/or rural areas to use less quality water with all its risks and health challenges. In this study, a locally collected rice husk is tested to be used as an alternative adsorbent to the expensive common commercial ones. Parameters like adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of turbidity, and pH level were tested to investigate their effects on the process. Treatment of synthetic turbid water was done after changing these parameters to measure the effect of each parameter alone and the results showed a set of parameters that can be used to achieve high efficiency of turbidity removal. The study concluded that rice husk can be used as a well cheap alternative adsorbent to reduce the river water turbidity due to its availability and low cost with a decent removal efficiency approaching 95%.

The tribological performance and lubrication mechanism of graphene oxide (GO) aqueous lubricants with different pH levels on the strip surfaces during cold rolling were investigated. And triethanolamine (TEA) was used to adjust the pH levels of GO lubricants. The morphology of GO and physical characterization of GO lubricants were carried out. Four‐ball tribological tests and cold rolling experiments were conducted to obtain the tribological behaviors of GO lubricants on the strip surfaces. To figure out the lubrication mechanism, the surfaces of the rolled strips using GO lubricants were analyzed utilizing a series of experiments. The increase in the pH value of lubricants changed the intrinsic structure of GO, resulting in better dispersibility and wettability. The change of physical characteristics significantly improved the antifriction and antiwear properties of lubricants, and the alkaline lubricant (pH 9.0) exhibited the best lubrication performance. A diameter–height ratio (λd) applied by a calculation method was proposed to approximatively ascertain the lubrication regime during the cold rolling. The λd and the surface quality of the rolled strips indicated that the lubrication regime was the boundary lubrication when using the alkaline lubricant. Moreover, GO particles in the alkaline lubricant could repair the strip surface by mending effect and form the physically adsorbed layers. The layers prevented direct contact between rolled surfaces, further amending the surface quality of the rolled strips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cambuci (Campomanesia phaea) is a species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome with a low propagation rate and is under risk of extinction. This plant has ornamental value, and its fruits have numerous nutraceutical and medicinal properties. The objective of the present study was to apply plant tissue culture techniques in its propagation. Seeds were germinated in vitro using MS and WPM medium at three pH values (5.8, 5.2, and 4.5). It was demonstrated that this species needs a reduced concentration of salts and acidic pH for its development. From in vitro twinned plants, three explant types (nodal segment, hypocotyl, and root) were evaluated under the action of the cytokinins BAP, zeatin, and kinetin at concentrations 0.0, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg L−1. The nodal segments inoculated on WPM medium containing 3% sucrose, 0.2% Phytagel®, 1.0 mg L−1 BAP at 4.5 pH showed the best formation of shoots, while the other treatments showed susceptibility to oxidation. Regenerated rooted plants showed a survival rate of 94.4% after acclimatization. Key message: Cambuci is a Brazilian forest biome species with extinction risk. This study demonstrated that a low salt concentration and acidic pH for the shoot formation under BAP 1.0 mg L−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to emerging technologies, the improvization of products is a new trend. Spray drying is a new technology that transforms a product in liquid phase into a dry particulate powder. This study investigated the possibility of developing powder out of nipa vinegar with ideal physicochemical properties and high recovery percentage. A single process schedule design was applied in the nipa vinegar during spray drying. Three formulations of the added carrier were applied (F1- 50%, F2- 25% and F3-12.50%). The sensory characteristics of the spray-dried nipa vinegar in three formulations were analyzed and compared using organoleptic evaluation score card utilized by food experts. The pH level, total soluble solids (TSS) and solubility test of the three samples were also measured. Results showed that nipa vinegar with 12.50% of the added carrier is the preferred sample by the respondents and has the fastest solubility rate. However, it has the lowest recovery percentage. On the other hand, the nipa vinegar with 50% added carrier has the highest recovery percentage. The three samples have consistent pH value and changes were only observed in Nipa Vinegar with 50% added carrier. Further studies should be conducted to optimize the production quality of spray-dried nipa vinegar.

ABSTRAK Profil Kesehatan Dinas Kota Semarang tahun 2016 menunjukkan bahwa ABJ di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Halmahera 83,00% masih tergolong rendah yaitu masih di bawah target nasional ≥ 95%. Terdapat area dengan vegetasi pohon pisangg yang rapat pada wilayah tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara tingkat pH, volume air, kelembaban dan jenis pohon pisang dengan keberadaan jentik Aedes aegypti di wilayah kerja puskesmas Halmahera Kota Semarang tahun 2017. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode observasional analitik kuantitatif dengan pendekatan cross sectional, data primer dan data sekunder diolah dan dianalisis menggunakan uji statistik Chi Square. Sampel yang digunakan berjumlah 100 pelepah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan antara volume air (p=0,023) dan kelembaban (p=0,0001) dengan keberadaan jentik, serta tidak ada hubungan antara tingkat pH (p=0,153) dan jenis pohon pisang (p=0,493) dengan keberadaan jentik. Kata kunci : keberadaan jentik, tingkat pH, volume air, kelembaban udara, dan jenis perindukan pohon pisang. ABSTRACT Health Profile of Semarang City Office in 2016 told that ABJ (larvae presence free number) in work ​​Halmahera Health Center area was 83.00%. It was below the national target of ≥ 95%. This study purposed to know the relationship between pH level, water volume, humidity and banana tree species with the presence of Aedes aegypti larvae in ​​Halmahera Health Center area in 2017. This research used quantitative analytic observational method with cross sectional approach. Data were processed and analyzed using Chi Square test. The samples were 100 midribs. The results showed that there was correlation between water volume (p = 0,023) and humidity (p = 0.0001) with larvae presence, whereas there was no correlation between pH level (p = 0,153) and banana tree species (p = 0,493) larvae presence. Keywords: presence of larvae, pH level, water volume, humidity, and banana tree species

The article focuses on describing mathematical model of a multi-phase flow in antroduodenum and its application for predicting digestive process features, including pH level detection. The suggested sub-model representing antroduodenal area of gastrointestinal tract is being developed within the frameworks of mathematical multilevel model depicting evolution of damage to critical organs and systems under exposure to risk factors. We introduced damages as per three functions (motor, secretory and absorbing one) to several gastrointestinal tract zones (body of stomach, antrum, and duodenum) and to pancreas and liver, into the sub-model. Mathematical problem statement includes records of mass and impulse conservation equations for mixture of liquid incompressible phases; ratios for mass flow intensity vector due to diffusion processes; ratios for mass sources due to reactions, secretion and components absorption, food dissolution, initial and terminal conditions. We obtained numeric experiment results when drinks with various pH level (2.3; 3.5; 7) were consumed; they revealed that anomalous considerable increase in acidity occurred in pyloric opening zone and duodenal cap zone when a drink with pH level equal to 2.3 was consumed. The results presented in this work make a considerable contribution into mathematical modeling development used to describe multiphase flows in biological channels with variable form. We showed that obtained acidity levels in various antroduodenum zones correspond to experimental data given in the works of other researchers. In future the model can be applied to predict risks of duodenum damages evolvement together with detecting areas of their localization under exposure to negative factors.

Control charts, based on ranked set sampling schemes, had been proposed recently for efficient monitoring of process location. All the proposals in the literature are based on the ideal assumption of normally distributed quality characteristics. No study as of yet investigated the performance of location charts based on ranked set sampling for non‐normal processes. In this study, we investigated the location Y‾ chart based on simple random sampling (SRS) and three well‐known rank‐based schemes ie, ranked set sampling (RSS), median ranked set sampling (MRSS), and extreme ranked set sampling (ERSS), considering normal and a variety of non‐normal parent distributions. Both heavy‐tailed symmetric and skewed cases have been considered in this study. The performance of the charts is evaluated using average run length (ARL), extra quadratic loss (EQL), and relative ARL (RARL) measures. A real life example is also presented that details the monitoring of pH levels in water for an experiment conducted to study the reproduction of Mysids. The study will help quality practitioners to choose the Y‾ chart based on an efficient sampling scheme for normal and non‐normal processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to assess the changes of salivary pH level, salivary buffering capacity and salivary flow rate after consumption of tualang honey (TH). Fourty-four USIM dental students who fulfilled the inclusion criteria participated in this experimental blinded crossover study. Criteria for subject selection were: subjects with no active caries, no history of antibiotic usage for the past 6 months, no history of antimicrobial mouthwash usage for the past 6 months, no orthodontic appliance worn, and healthy. In phase 1, Group A did not consumed honey whereas Group B consumed honey. After 1 month washout period, subjects in Group A consumed honey and Group B stopped consuming honey. The mean salivary flow rate at baseline before honey consumption was 1.5 ± 0.52 mL/min. There was a significant decreased in salivary flow rate at Day 7 and baseline. At Day 14, the salivary flow rate increased significantly when compared to Day 7. After consumption of tualang honey, there was a significant increased in salivary flow rate at Day 14 when compared to Day 3 and Day 7. There was no significant changes in salivary pH level at control phase and after consumption of tualang honey. After 2 weeks of honey consumption, the percentage of subjects who had normal salivary buffering capacity slightly reduced (38.6%). It can be concluded that 2 weeks consumption of tualang honey did not give any obvious negative effects on the salivary flow rate, saliva pH level and its buffering capacity. However, further studies will be required to support these preliminary result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substrates are fundamental prerequisites for growing grafted seedlings. In this study, substrates with different pH levels (5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, and 8.0) were set up to elucidate the effect of pH on cadmium (Cd) uptake in grafted muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) plants. Bacterial diversity was also investigated. Results showed that pH and high Cd concentration greatly affected the growth of grafted plants. The chlorophyll content of the muskmelon leaves decreased at 100 μM Cd. The majority of the Cd ions accumulated in the rootstock rather than in the shoot tissue in all of the treatments. The shoots and roots showed the highest Cd content at pH 5.5 and the lowest Cd content at pH 8.0 regardless of the Cd concentration. The operational taxonomic units belonging to Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were significantly (p < 0.05) enriched at different substrate pH levels compared with those at pH 5.0. The operational taxonomic units belonging to the phyla Firmicutes , Acidobacteria , and Chloroflexi were significantly decreased. The available nitrogen, phosphorus, Cd, and pH were strongly linked to bacterial community compositions. On the contrary, the available potassium was weakly correlated with the bacterial structure. This study demonstrates that pH greatly affects Cd uptake in grafted muskmelon plants and predicts microbial community structures in breeding substrates with different pH levels. Our results suggest that Cd accumulation in grafted plants can be reduced by setting the appropriate substrate pH. This work can serve as a reference for growing high-quality grafted plants and ensuring food safety in the presence of Cd contamination. Image 1 • pH of substrates significantly affects Cd uptake in grafted muskmelon plants. • The majority of Cd accumulates in the rootstock rather than in the shoot tissue. • The highest and lowest Cd uptake in grafted plants are found at pH 5.5 and 8.0., respectively. • Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes are significantly enriched in substrates. • AN, AP, Cd, and pH are strongly linked to bacterial community compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aqueous sol–gel process of (TMOS) in conjunction with several natural amino acids (AAs) is employed for synthesis of amino acid/silica hybrid materials. These hybrid materials contain the amino acid physically bonded within the matrix. The sol–gel process occurs readily in unbuffered aqueous amino acid solution. The pH value during the processing is only determined by the dissolved amino acid. It ranges between pH 3–11 as function of the isoelectrical point (IEP) of the AAs. Systematic study of the influence of molecular structure of the AAs L-alanine, ε-aminocaproic acid, L-arginine, L-asparagine, L-aspartic acid, L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, glycine, L-histidine, L-hydroxyproline, L-leucine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-phenylalanine, L-proline, L-serine, L-threonine, L-tryptophan, and L-valine on the gelation time and dissolution behavior of TMOS in water is discussed. The IEP of the AA determines both dissolution and gelation of TMOS in water. Glycine was used as a model compound to investigate how concentration affects dissolution and gelation time of TMOS as well as porosity of resulting silica. As a result, the hydrolysis rate of TMOS in water and therewith dissolution is decelerated and gelation process is accelerated by increasing glycine concentration. Glycine-mediated sol–gel processes of TMOS were additionally examined by 1H NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a function of reaction time to support the visual observed results. Furthermore, various glycine derivatives such as N-acetylglycine, N-benzoylglycine, glycine ethylester, glycine ethylester·HCl, N-methylglycine, N,N-dimethylglycine, N,N-dimethylglycine methylester, and N-phenylglycine are used for studying the influence of amino acid structure functionalities on dissolution and gelation time of TMOS. The amino acid-mediated sol–gel process of tetramethoxysilane in aqueous solution is presented using 27 various AAs (derivatives). Hydrolysis of TMOS and condensation reactions to AA/silica hybrid materials are influenced in different ways by structure and concentration of the amino acid. The impact of molecular structure is examined with regard to reaction rate to produce monolithic amino acid/silica hybrid materials of type A. Highlights: Sol–gel process for the manufacture of amino acid/silica type A hybrid materials is presented. Simple sol–gel process of TMOS influenced by amino acids is developed. Impact of molecular structure of amino acid on sol–gel process is demonstrated. Relationships of the experimental parameters of sol–gel process and AA structure is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to determinate the effect of epicatechin and patulin on selected parameters of meat quality of rabbits. Adult female rabbits (n=25), maternal albinotic line (crossbreed Newzealand white, Buskat rabbit, French silver) and paternal acromalictic line (crossbreed Nitra's rabbit, Californian rabbit, Big light silver) were used in experiment. Animals were divided into five groups: control group (C) and experimental groups E1, E2, E3, and E4. Animals from experimental groups E1, E2, E3, E4 received patulin through intramuscular injection (10 µg.kg-1) twice a week and animals from groups E2, E3, E4 received epicatechin three times a week through intramuscular injection. After 30 days animals were slaughtered. For analysing of meat quality the samples of Musculus longissimus dorsi (50 g) were used. Application of epicatechin and patulin to rabbits had slight or no effect on the pH levels in stomach, small intestine, large intestine and urinary bladder contents, however differences among the groups were insignificant (p ˃0.05). Application of epicatechin and patulin to rabbits had slight or no effect on total water, protein, fat and differences among the groups were insignificant (p >0.05). The values of amino acids concentrations were not influenced after application of epicatechin and patulin. The fatty acid profiles in animals after application of different doses of epicatechin and 10 µg.kg-1 patulin were similar (p >0.05). Concentration of cholesterol increased in experimental groups in comparison with the control group, but differences were insignificant (p >0.05). pH levels of meat of rabbits in experimental group E3 was lower when compared with the control group, but differences was not significant (p >0.05). Electric conductivity parameter was increased in each experimental group (in E3 the highest) against the control but without significant differences (p >0.05). Colour L parameter was slightly decreased in experimental groups with comparison to the control group (in E3 the lowest). Generally we can conclude that intramuscular application of epicatechin or patulin did not affect parameters of meat quality as well as pH values of internal organs content. Further investigations are needed to prove the final answer concerning the health promoting effects of epicatechin and patulin.

This dataset is part of fundamental research to produce IoT monitoring in fishponds. The data consists of the results of measurements of pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), and water temperature obtained through manual sensor devices in several locations at different times. Additionally, this data also includes images taken by drones at consistent heights. These images are linked to the sensor data that has been collected. In this research, data will be used to monitor the health of fishponds through visual data. This data can be used for correlation analysis between visual data and sensor data. The hypothesis is the visual appearance of the pond (the colour) is affected by the number of mixed solid (mud and other organic material) in the water, which reflected in the TDS level of the water. In addition, the data can also be used for initial investigations into the development of machine learning models for pool condition recognition through image analysis., (© 2023 The Authors.)