Bacterial toxins are considered to be virulence factors due to the fact that they interfere with the normal processes of the host cell in which they are found. The interplay between the infectious processes of bacteria and the immune system is what causes this impact. In this discussion, we are going to focus on bacterial toxins that act in the extracellular environment, especially on those that impair the activity of macrophages and neutrophils. These toxins are of particular interest since they may be found in a wide variety of bacteria. We will be concentrating our efforts, in particular, on the toxins that are generated by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These toxins are able to interact with and have an effect on the many dif

In this work, a new development of predictive voltage-tracking control algorithm for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFCs) model, using a neural network technique based on-line auto-tuning intelligent algorithm was proposed. The aim of proposed robust feedback nonlinear neural predictive voltage controller is to find precisely and quickly the optimal hydrogen partial pressure action to control the stack terminal voltage of the (PEMFC) model for N-step ahead prediction. The Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) implemented as a stable and robust on-line auto-tune algorithm to find the optimal weights for the proposed predictive neural network controller to improve system performance in terms of fast-tracking de

Low oil extraction and early high water production are caused in part by reservoir heterogeneity. Huge quantities of water production are prevalent issues that happen in older reservoirs. Polyacrylamide polymer gel systems have been frequently employed as plugging agents in heterogeneous reservoirs to regulate water output and increase sweep efficiency. Polyacrylamide polymer gel systems are classified into three classes depending on their composition and application conditions, which are in-situ monomer gel, in-situ polymer gel, and preformed particle gel (PPG).

   This paper gives a comprehensive review of PPG’s status, preparation, and mechanisms. Many sorts of PPGs are categorized, for example, millimeter-sized preformed p

In recent years, the number of applications utilizing mobile wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has increased, with the intent of localization for the purposes of monitoring and obtaining data from hazardous areas. Location of the event is very critical in WSN, as sensing data is almost meaningless without the location information. In this paper, two Monte Carlo based localization schemes termed MCL and MSL* are studied. MCL obtains its location through anchor nodes whereas MSL* uses both anchor nodes and normal nodes. The use of normal nodes would increase accuracy and reduce dependency on anchor nodes, but increases communication costs. For this reason, we introduce a new approach called low communication cost schemes to reduce communication

This study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn²⁺) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm², time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis

This study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn2+) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm2, time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis of variance (ANO

Erratum for Organic acid concentration thresholds for ageing of carbonate minerals: Implications for CO2 trapping/storage.

The gas sensing properties of Co3O4and Co3O4:Y nano structures were investigated. The films were synthesized using the hydrothermal method on a seeded layer. The XRD, SEM analysis and gas sensing properties were investigated for Co3O4and Co3O4:Y thin films. XRD analysis shows that all films are polycrystalline in nature, having a cubic structure, and the crystallite size is (11.7)nm for cobalt oxide and (9.3)nm for the Co3O4:10%Y. The SEM analysis of thin films obviously indicates that Co3O4possesses a nanosphere-like structure and a flower-like structure for Co3O4:Y.The sensitivity, response time and recovery time to a H2S reducing gas were tested at different operating