Modelling and simulation have now become standard methods that serve to cut the economic costs of R&D for novel advanced systems. This paper introduces the study of modelling and simulation of the infrared thermography process to detect defects in the hydroelectric penstock. A 3-D penstock model was built in ANSYS version 19.2.0. Flat bottom holes of different sizes and depths were created on the inner surface of the model as an optimal scenario to represent the subsurface defect in the penstock. The FEM was applied to mimic the heat transfer in the proposed model. The model’s outer surface was excited at multiple excitation frequencies by a sinusoidal heat flux, and the thermal response of the model was presented in the form of thermal images to show the temperature contrast due to the presence of defects. The harmonic approximation method was applied to calculate the phase angle, and its relationship with respect to defect depth and defect size was also studied. The results confirmed that the FEM model has led to a better understanding of lock-in infrared thermography and can be used to detect subsurface defects in the hydroelectric penstock.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer is among the most common cancers worldwide. Most of the anticancer agents have been showing a variety of side effects. Recently, bacterial proteins have been investigated as promising anticancer agents. Azurin is a bacterial cupredoxin protein secreted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and has been reported as a potent multi-targeting anticancer agent, which makes it an appropriate candidate for drug delivery. Azurin may be delivered to cancer cells using different carriers like polymeric micro and nanoparticles. In the present study, azurin was extracted from the bacterial host and loaded into chitosan particles. Then its effect on MCF-7 cell line was investigated. Chitosan-azurin particles were made using the ion gelation method. Results showed that chitosan-azurin particles are about 200 nm, and the loading of the protein in particles did not affect its integrity. The MTT assay showed a significant reduction in cell viability in azurin and chitosan-azurin-treated cells. The toxicity level after 5 days was 63.78% and 82.53% for free azurin and chitosan-azurin-treated cells, respectively. It seems using an appropriate carrier system for anticancer proteins like azurin is a promising tool for developing low side effect anticancer agents.

Definitive diagnosis of Craniosynostosis (CS) with computed tomography (CT) is readily available, however, exposure to ionizing radiation is often a hard stop for parents and practitioners. Lowering head CT radiation exposure helps mitigate risks and improves diagnostic utilization. The purpose of the study is to quantify radiation exposure from head CT in patients with CS using a ‘new’ (ultra-low dose) protocol; compare prior standard CT protocol; summarize published reports on cumulative radiation doses from pediatric head CT scans utilizing other low-dose protocols. A retrospective study was conducted on patients undergoing surgical correction of CS, aged less than 2 years, between August 2014 and February 2022. Cumulative effective dose (CED) in mSv was calculated, descriptive statistics were performed, and mean ± SD was reported. A literature search was conducted describing cumulative radiation exposure from head CT in pediatric patients and analyzed for ionizing radiation measurements. Forty-four patients met inclusion criteria: 17 females and 27 males. Patients who obtained head CT using the ‘New’ protocol resulted in lower CED exposure of 0.32 mSv ± 0.07 compared to the prior standard protocol at 5.25 mSv ± 2.79 (p < 0.0001). Five studies specifically investigated the reduction of ionizing radiation from CT scans in patients with CS via the utilization of low-dose CT protocols. These studies displayed overall CED values ranging from 0.015 mSv to 0.77 mSv. Our new CT protocol resulted in 94% reduction of ionizing radiation. Ultra-low dose CT protocols provide similar diagnostic data without loss of bone differentiation in CS and can be easily incorporated into the workflow of a children’s hospital.

Objective: To evaluate the imaging features of spondyloarthritis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the sacroiliac (SI) joints in terms of topography (in thirds) and affected margin, since this aspect is rarely addressed in the literature. Methods: Cross-sectional study with MRI (1.5 T) evaluation of the SI in 16 patients with diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis regarding the presence of acute (subchondral bone edema, enthesitis, synovitis and capsulitis) and chronic changes (erosions, subchondral bone sclerosis, bone bridging and fatty replacement), performed by two radiologists, blinded to clinical data. MRI findings were correlated with clinical data including age, disease duration, medications, HLA-B27, BASDAI, ASDAS-VHS and ASDAS-PCR, BASMI, BASFI, and mSASSS. Results: Bone edema pattern and erosions showed predominance in the upper third of SI (p = 0.050, p = 0.0014, respectively). There was a correlation between the time of disease and structural changes by affected third (p = 0.028-0.037), as well as the presence of bone bridges with BASMI (p = 0.028) and mSASSS (p = 0.014). Patients with osteitis of the lower third had higher ASDAS values (ESRV: p = 0.011 and CRP: p = 0.017). Conclusion: Chronic inflammatory changes and the pattern of bone edema predominated in the upper third of the SI, but there was also concomitant involvement of the middle or lower thirds of the joint. The localization of involvement in the upper third of the SI was insufficient to differentiate between degeneration and inflammation.

Carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials have become one of the hot areas for research and development of hollow structured nanomaterials due to their unique structure, excellent physicochemical properties and promising applications. The design and synthesis of novel carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials are of great scientific significance and wide application value. The recent research on the synthesis, structure and functionalization of carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials and their related applications are reviewed. The basic synthetic strategies of carbon-based hollow structure nanomaterials are briefly introduced, and the structural design, material functionalization and main applications of carbon-based hollow structure nanomaterials are described in detail. Finally, the current challenges and opportunities in the synthesis and application of carbon-based hollow structured nanomaterials are discussed.

This work shows the results of the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using the microalga Chlorella sp, using growth media with different concentrations of glycerol, between 5%–20%, and different light and temperature conditions. The synthesis of nanoparticles was studied using supernatants and pellets from autotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultures of the microalga. The presence of nanoparticles was verified by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and the samples showing the highest concentration of nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The mixotrophic growth conditions favored the excretion of exopolymers that enhanced the reduction of silver and thus the formation of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles obtained presented predominantly ellipsoidal shape with dimensions of 108 nm × 156 nm and 87 nm × 123 nm for the reductions carried out with the supernatants of the mixotrophic cultures with 5% and 10% glycerol, respectively.