Investigation and prediction of the extensional viscosity of okra mucilage using the Giesekus model.

BACKGROUND: Okra is a vegetable that is widely grown around the world. Okra mucilage contains a high mucus concentration that can be useful for supporting the swallowing process. Although the extensional rheology of okra mucilage is essential to its flow, its extensional viscosity has not received much attention. OBJECTIVE: Using a filament stretching rheometer, the extensional viscosity of the mucilage in okra was examined. The Giesekus model was used to predict this parameter. METHODS: The okra mucilage with different concentrations was extracted from fresh okra. The extensional viscosity was measured using a filament breakup apparatus. The diameter of the liquid bridge was measured by a laser micrometer and it was also observed by a high-speed camera. A rotational rheometer was used to measure the shear viscosity. In addition, the master curves for the shear viscosity were plotted to eliminate the influence of solvent and shear rate and evaluate the influence of concentration on the elasticity of okra mucilage. The okra mucilage shear and extensional viscosity were predicted using the Giesekus model. RESULTS: Every sample of okra mucilage exhibited shear thinning behavior. In addition to having a high extensional viscosity that is hundreds of times higher than its shear viscosity, okra mucilage also exhibited stretching phenomena. The master curves demonstrated that the pseudoplasticity of the okra mucilage increased along with the concentration. The rheological behavior of the mucilage in okra can be explained by the Giesekus model. CONCLUSIONS: Okra mucilage's shear viscosity exhibited shear thinning behavior and a strong extensional viscosity that was significantly higher than its shear viscosity. The shear and extensional viscosity of okra mucilage can be described and predicted using the Giesekus model.

Influence of Excess Potassium on Structural and Ferroelectric Properties of Lead-Free Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 Thin Films.

Lead-free Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 (BKT) ferroelectric films were synthesized on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates via the chemical solution deposition. The influence of the excess potassium on the microstructures and the ferroelectric properties of the films was investigated in detail. The results showed that the BKT films have reached the well-crystallized state in the single-phase perovskite structure with 20 mol.% excess amount of potassium. For this film, the ferroelectric properties of the films were significantly enhanced. The remnant polarization (Pr) and maximum polarization (Pm) reached the highest values of 9.4 µC/cm2 and 32.2 µC/cm2, respectively, under the electric field of 400 kV/cm.

Porcine bile viscosity is proportional to density.

BACKGROUND: The gallbladder filling and emptying cycle controls bile flow into the duodenum. Disruption of this emptying and refilling cycle leads to bile stasis and subsequent gallstone formation. The bile flow rate is inversely proportional to its viscosity. Moreover, bile is a complex material with varying density in different people because of its diverse components. These density changes alter the viscosity. Prediction of shear viscosity from density measurements may thus contribute to medical assessment and treatment of the patient. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the shear viscosity and density of bile. METHODS: Natural and filtered bile samples were prepared for density, viscosity and pressure drop measurements. The density and shear viscosity were measured by a density meter and viscometer, respectively, and a relationship was established between them. Measurements of the pressure drop in a glass tube were used to estimate the apparent viscosity and compared with shear viscosity obtained with the viscometer. RESULTS: The natural bile with higher density showed a greater shear viscosity than the filtered bile, especially at low shear rates. Bile viscosity was proportional to density. In addition, the pressure drop of the natural samples was greater than that of the filtered sample. The viscosity measured by the viscometer deviated from the results obtained using Poiseuille's law and the tube pressure drop measurements. The density difference between the natural and filtered bile samples was smaller than 1%. However, the viscosities of the natural and filtered bile samples varied by up to >30%. CONCLUSIONS: Porcine bile viscosity is proportional to density. Based on the bile density, one can easily evaluate the shear viscosity using a linear relationship. The density considerably influences the bile viscosity, with small density increases greatly increasing the shear viscosity.

Tensile behavior and extensional viscosity of bile.

BACKGROUND: Bile, which is secreted by the liver, is essential for digesting fat and maintaining homeostasis. Although the rheology of bile is very important to its flow, its extensional viscosity has not been studied. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the stretching of bile and evaluated its extensional viscosity using a filament-breakup device. METHODS: A liquid bridge formed between the endplates of the filament-breakup device. The midpoint diameter of the bridge was recorded by a laser micrometer. The filament self-thinning was captured by a high-resolution, high-speed camera. We used the liquid bridge diameter to evaluate the extensional viscosity of bile. RESULTS: All samples show shear-thinning and viscoelasticity. Bile sediment has much greater viscosity and stretches more than bile solution. Filament thinning takes a long time for bile sediment and a short time for solution. The global function for the mid-filament diameter can be used to predict the evolution of the filament diameter of the liquid bridge and the trend of the extensional viscosity of bile. CONCLUSIONS: The extensional viscosity of bile is much greater than its shear viscosity. Because mucus concentration makes bile sediment more viscous than the solution, bile viscosity can increase sharply, thereby increasing risks of such diseases as gallstones and sludge buildup in the biliary system.

Field Survey and Comparative Study of Pteris Vittata and Pityrogramma Calomelanos Grown on Arsenic Contaminated Lands with Different Soil pH.

In field survey, Pteris vittata and Pityrogramma calomelanos were only found in arsenic (As) contaminated areas with soil pH 7.2-8.8 and 2.3-4.2, respectively. In the first pot experiment, two fern species were grown on the soil amended with 300 mg kg-1 As at soil pH of 5.1, 7.2 and 9. P. calomelanos survived all pH treatments, and had the highest frond As concentration and soil As removal efficiency at soil pH 5.1. All P. vittata plants were dead at soil pH 5.1. P. vittata had higher frond As concentration, biomass and the amount of As removed from the soil than those of P. calomelanos at soil pH of 7.2 and 9. In the second pot experiment, P. vittata was demonstrated to have greater life time, biomass, As tolerance and accumulation than those of P. calomelanos as planted on alkaline soil (pH 7.8) spiked with various concentrations of As.

The impact of environmental and climatic variation on the spatiotemporal trends of hospitalized pediatric diarrhea in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

It is predicted that the integration of climate-based early warning systems into existing action plans will facilitate the timely provision of interventions to diarrheal disease epidemics in resource-poor settings. Diarrhea remains a considerable public health problem in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and we aimed to quantify variation in the impact of environmental conditions on diarrheal disease risk across the city. Using all inpatient diarrheal admissions data from three large hospitals within HCMC, we developed a mixed effects regression model to differentiate district-level variation in risk due to environmental conditions from the overarching seasonality of diarrheal disease hospitalization in HCMC. We identified considerable spatial heterogeneity in the risk of all-cause diarrhea across districts of HCMC with low elevation and differential responses to flooding, air temperature, and humidity driving further spatial heterogeneity in diarrheal disease risk. The incorporation of these results into predictive forecasting algorithms will provide a powerful resource to aid diarrheal disease prevention and control practices in HCMC and other similar settings.

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus subgenotypes and basal core promoter, precore variants in patients with acute hepatitis B in central Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been classified into 8 genotypes that have different geographic distributions. The clinical outcomes of acute hepatitis are dependent on genotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HBV subgenotypes and basal core promoter (BCP)/precore (PC) regions in acute hepatitis patients in Central Vietnam to clarify the distributions and the clinical and virological differences. METHODS: 27 patients with acute hepatitis B were studied. HBV subgenotypes and BCP/PC variants were determined by direct sequencing of the preS, BCP/PC regions, respectively. RESULTS: HBV subgenotypes B4/Ba (n = 22) and C1/Cs (n = 5) were detected. Of the 27 patients, 3 developed fulminant hepatic failure, and all were infected with B4/Ba. Three patients had a BCP mutation, and 10 patients had a PC mutation in subgenotype B4/Ba. Three patients with C1/Cs had a BCP mutation. Two of 3 patients who progressed to fulminant hepatic failure had T1762, A1764, and A1896 simultaneously. None of the patients with acute, self-limited hepatitis carried these triple mutations. CONCLUSION: The prevalent HBV subgenotypes in patients with acute hepatitis B in Central Vietnam were B4/Ba and C1/Cs. BCP/PC variants have an association with the development of fulminant hepatic failure in subgenotype B4/Ba.