106 research outputs found
Corrigendum To “Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 Activates C-Kit Progenitor Cells And Enhances Angiogenesis In The Infarcted Diabetic Heart” (Oxidative Medicine And Cellular Longevity (2018) 2018 (6985498) Doi: 10.1155/2016/5810908)
No full textIn the article titled “Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 Activates c-Kit Progenitor Cells and Enhances Angiogenesis in the Infarcted Diabetic Heart” [1], the name of the first author was given incorrectly as Dinender Singla. The author’s name should have been written as Dinender K. Singla. The revised authors’ list is shown above
Effect of processing on pinhão seeds and extrudabilty of pinhão flour
No full textPinhão is the seed of Brazilian Pine (Araucaria angustifolia), a conifer that grows in the south of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Pinhão seeds are very good source of carbohydrates but there is no wide scale consumption of these seeds hence a large quantity is lost at the end of each harvest. Due to high humidity, seeds can easily be contaminated by fungi during stockpiling, thus hindering its commercialization. The seeds are traditionally used as source of flour for baking or cooked in hot water, peeled, and consumed. The objectives of my research were: (1) To study the migration of polyphenols from hull to seed during atmospheric and pressure cooking of pinhão seeds and; (2) To test the extrudability of pinhão flour fortified with soy flour to make snack food. The hull of pinhão has ample amount of phenolics but hull forms the non-edible part of the whole nut. It has been proved by previous researchers that phenolics diffuse from the hull to the seed during atmospheric cooking. In this study we investigated the migration of phenolics during atmospheric and pressure cooking as a function of time. More migration of phenolics from hull to seed occured in a shorter time period during pressure cooking as compared to atmospheric cooking which proved that pressure cooking is an efficient cooking process as regards to polyphenolic content in cooked seeds. We also studied the single screw extrusion of pinhão flour fortified with soy flour using Response Surface Methodology. Box-Behnken (BBD) design was used to obtain the extrusion conditions to make extrudates. The process parameters during the extrusion were moisture content of the blended flour (17-24% w.b.), barrel temperature (120- 180°C), and ratio of pinhão flour to soy flour (1-3). The physical characteristics studied were sectional expansion index, bulk density, breaking strength, hue, chroma, water absorption index, and water solubility index. The total phenolic content of the blended flour and extrudates was also compared; it was found that there was substantial loss in polyphenols after extrusion cooking. For the expansion of the extrudates, maximum puffing of the samples was obtained at 17% moisture content of the blended flour, 150°C barrel temperature, and 3:1 ratio of pinhão flour to soy flour. Sensory testing of the selected extrudate samples was also conducted and results showed that sample extruded at low moisture content and high pinhão to soy flour ratio was perceived and liked by subjects the most.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Nidhi Singl
Prosthodontic rehabilitation of AIDS Patients: An Overview
No full textProcurement for high standard of oral hygiene is a cardinal requirement for any individual and dentists constantly aim to provide optimal treatment to their patients. However, when it comes to treat patients with immunocompromised diseases, particularly those attached with social stigma like AIDS/HIV, there remain doubts and hesitations. This may lead the dentists to break the ethical responsibility by abjuring or not providing adequate treatment to these patients. Such situations can easily be avoided with absolute knowledge and awareness among the oral health-care providers including prosthodontist regarding the disease process, its connotations and measures to be taken during their treatment. This article summarizes the fundamental points in the prosthodontic management of immunocompromised patients which in the opinion of the author may be easily consolidated in dental practice
Living apart together: Intimate Relationship across nations distance:Transnational Couples: Gender, Spirituality and Digitalisation
No full textIn the past decades the time honoured assumption that intimate couples stay under the same roof has been challenged, diverse forms of living arrangements are emerging where partners maintain separate residences, even across national borders. However, investigation of intimate relationship formation and maintenance across geographical borders is rather limited. This ongoing research project explores relationship among distant transnational couples, i.e. couples who are residing/ have resided in different countries (minimum one year), at least one of the partners in the Scandinavian context. Within a theoretical framework of gender related to emotional reflexivity (Holmes, 2014), spirituality and digital emotions, the history and dynamics of these relationships are explored, in the backdrop of transnationalism. In-depth interviews (face- to face and some online) dealing with the psycho- social aspects of togetherness and separation, visions about the future and suggestions to other distant couples are conducted with 20 couples/partners. The preliminary results show the challenges entailed in distant intimacy dynamics and their negotiations. The interactional state of being together and apart mutually enable and constrain each other in many ways. Quality time together, ‘fun’ memories construction, parting rituals, ‘systematic’ online contact, spiritual acceptance emerge as the resources. While the mobility costs (economic, temporal and affective), restrictive migration laws, pressure to have quality time, work/ life segmentation, social network related dilemmas emerge as burdens. However, being apart and together are intertwined for the transnational distant couples. The analysed ‘good practices’ will form the applied part for promoting the mental health and wellbeing of such couples. Abstract Text word count- 250 Submitted by Dr. Rashmi Singla (Presenter) & Ms. Ambika Varma co-author (independent researcher, Denmark
A different approach to things: A critical theoretical presentation of non-Western ethnic minority women's opportunity for medical pluralism in Denmark
No full textForfatter: Michelle Toftegaard, stud. cand. san. Institut for Mennesker og Teknologi. Roskilde Universitet.Vejleder: Dr. Rashmi Singla, Institut for Mennesker og Teknologi, Roskilde Universitet.Baggrund: Den øgede internationale udvikling, i anvendelsen af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer, og dens integration med de respektive landes traditionelle medicin, peger i retningen af, at der nu anerkendes et behov for, at udvikle en sammenhængende og integreret tilgang til sundhed. Alene i Danmark fastslår tal, fra 2017, at 1.298.000 af den samlede danske, voksne befolkning har anvendt én eller flere former for alternativ behandling, inden for det seneste år. Med en løbende assimilering, af tidligere betragtede komplementære mediciner - og behandlingsformer, der i dag sikrer et samarbejde mellem det danske sundhedsvæsen og den alternative praksis, er der behov for en definition af denne praksis for, at åbne op for muligheden for medicinsk pluralisme, med respekt for den enkeltes værdiunivers og livsbetingelser.Formål: Nærværende speciale har til formål at undersøge og beskrive, de ikke-vestlige etniske minoritetskvinders erfaringer med -, holdninger til og handlinger i relation til anvendelsen af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer. Med en forankring i den kritiske teoretiske forskningstradition har nærværende speciale desuden til formål at identificere de undertrykkende faktorer, der begrænser de ikke-vestlige etniske minoritetskvinders autonomi, herunder de barrierer, som de oplever for idealet, i fremmelsen af egen sundhed og for at forebygge - og behandle sygdom, i relation til anvendelsen af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer. Nærværende speciales analytiske fund kan således tjene som et bidrag, ved at supplere den eksisterende viden, beroende på kvantitative data, i den vidensbase, som WHO efterspørger.Materialer og metode: Med en mixed methods tilgang, kombinerer nærværende speciale, empirimateriale fra 4 semistrukturerede interviews med ikke-vestlige etniske minoritetskvinder i Danmark, med en dokumentanalyse af WHOs strategidokument WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023. For at opnå den kritiske teoretiske forskningstraditions dobbeltsidet perspektiv, inddrages såvel et oplevelses – og erfaringsperspektiv samt et betragtende perspektiv, som en strategisk tilgang i nærværende speciales analyse. Med en teoretisk referenceramme af Jürgen Habermas komplimenteres nærværende speciales analyse med hans teori om om begrebsparret systemverden/livsverden og dens karakteristika for handlings – og rationalitetstyper.Konklusion: Strategidokumentet, WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, forsøger at udvide sin formålsrationelle styringskapacitet, på bekostning af livsverdenens kommunikative rationalitet, og efterlader brugerne af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer, i hænderne på markedets logik. Ved at stille brugerne af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer til ansvar for deres egen sundhed, trues den lige adgang til sundhed. Blandt den største barriere for idealet tilhørende de, ikke-vestlige etniske minoritetskvinders oplevelse, i relation til anvendelsen af komplementær medicin og dens behandlingsformer, i fremmelsen af egen sundhed og for at forebygge - og behandle sygdom, er deres møde med det danske sundhedsvæsen og lægerne som repræsentant herfor. Alt imens forsøger de ikke-vestlige etniske minoritetskvinder at beskytte hinanden mod ”upålidelige” og ikke anvendelige behandlingsformer, som en strategi for fremmelsen af egen sundhed.Søgeord: Komplementær medicin og behandling, medicinsk pluralisme, sundhedsfremme, sundhedsfremmestrategi, barriere for humanisering. Author: Michelle Toftegaard, stud. cand. san. Department of People and Technology. Roskilde UniversityGuidance counselor: Dr. Rashmi Singla, Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University.Background: The increased international development in the use of complementary medicine and its therapies, as well as its integration with the respective countries' traditional medicine, point to the need to develop a coherent and integrated approach to health. In Denmark alone, figures from 2017 state that 1,288,000 citizens of the total Danish adult population have used one or more forms of alternative treatment in the past year. With an ongoing assimilation of previously considered complementary medicines and therapies, which today ensure collaboration between the Danish health service and the alternative medical practice, there is a need for a definition of this practice in order to open up the possibility of medical pluralism, with respect for the individual's concept of value and living conditions.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine what experiences, attitudes and actions non-Western ethnic minority women have in relation to the use of complementary medicine and its therapies. Rooted in the critical theoretical research tradition, this thesis also aims to identify the oppressive factors that limit the autonomy of non-Western ethnic minority women, including those barriers that they experience in regards to the ideal, in nurturing their own health and in preventing and treating illness, in relation to the use of complementary medicine and its therapies. The analytical findings of this thesis can thus serve as a contribution by supplementing the existing knowledge, building upon quantitative data, in the knowledge base requested by the WHO .Materials and method: With a mixed methods approach, this thesis combines empirical data from 4 semi-structured interviews with non-western ethnic minority women in Denmark, with a document analysis of WHO's strategy document ‘WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023’. To achieve the double-sided perspective of critical theoretical research tradition, it involves both an experience perspective as well as a considerate perspective, as a strategic approach in the analysis of this thesis. With a theoretical frame of reference by Jürgen Habermas, the present thesis's analysis is complemented with his theory of about the conceptual system world / life world and its characteristics investigating types of action and rationality.Conclusion: The strategy paper, WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, seek to expand its objective rational management capacity at the expense of the life world communicative rationality, leaving users of complementary medicine and its treatments in the hands of market forces. By equipping the users of complementary medicine and its therapies with responsibility for their own health threatens equal access to health. Investigating ideals of the non-Western ethnic minority women, they experience one of the greatest barriers in their encounter with the Danish health service and doctors as its representatives - Ideals based on the use of complementary medicine and its therapies, in promoting self-health and in preventing and treating disease. Meanwhile, the non-Western ethnic minority women are trying to protect each other from "unreliable" and inapplicable forms of treatment, as a strategy for nurturing their own health.Searchword: Complementary medicine and treatment, medical pluralism, health promotion, health promotion strategy, barrier to humanization.<br/
Closed-form solution for a rectangular stepped fin involving all variable thermal parameters and nonlinear boundary conditions
No full textIn this paper, the implementation of the Adomian decomposition method is demonstrated to solve a nonlinear heat transfer problem for a stepped fin involving all temperature-dependent means of heat transfer and nonlinear boundary conditions. Unlike conventional insulated tip assumption, to make the present problem more practical, the fin tip is assumed to disperse heat by convection and radiation. Thermal parameters such as the thermal conductivity, the surface heat transfer coefficient and the surface emissivity are considered to be temperature-dependent. Adomian polynomials are first obtained and then a set of Adomian decomposition method results is validated with pertinent results of the differential transformation method reported in the literature. Effects of different thermo-physical parameters on the temperature distribution and the efficiency have been exemplified. The study reveals that for a given set of conditions, the stepped fin may perform better than the straight fin
Tower characteristics correlation and parameter retrieval in wet-cooling tower with expanded wire mesh packing
No full textIn this work, an experimental investigation is performed on a counter flow forced draft cooling tower with expanded wire meshed fill as packing material. The effect of controlling parameters such as the air and water flow rates on the performance parameters such as the range, water evaporation rate, heat rejection/gain rates, Merkel number, effectiveness and global heat and mass transfer coefficient has been analyzed. A correlation is then subsequently developed for the Merkel number as a function of water and air flow rates. Next, an optimization problem is solved to simultaneously estimate the controlling parameters in order to satisfy a given Merkel number using differential evolution. It is found from the present study that many feasible combinations of controlling parameters satisfy a given value of the Merkel number, which may be useful to the operator for regulating desired conditions.IIT Ropa
A Well attended ‘Gender & Diversity Academy’ webinar:Structural discrimination & Minority Tax: The Danish Academic Context
No full textRashmi Singla, Associate Professor DPT & Sine Nørholm Just , Professor DAC Board members CKMM (CENTER FOR KØN, MAGT OG MANGFOLDIGHED) RUC On 7.4.2021 Center for gender, power and diversity arranged a webinar in which 55- 60 persons participated actively-- coincidentally, exactly ten months after 7June 2020 “Black lives matter” demonstrations in Denmark with approximately 40,000 participants. These demonstrations are interpreted as protests against domination and imperialism, leading to renewed exploration of colonialist and decoloniality processes, along with co-constructing and sharing knowledge in academia. Also for a need to find a balance between global sciences and local reality where social justice, sustainability, and inclusion find a central place in the play between unity and diversity. Zooming on these dynamics in the local reality, a team of mother- daughter scholars with doctoral research experiences in the field, Mira C. Skadegård and Tess Skadegård Thorsen from Aalborg University and Copenhagen University, were the guest speakers, with this author as discussant. Structural discrimination along with, benevolent discrimination, rather underresearched in the Danish context was the focus. Irrespective of intentions of the person discriminating, discrimination negatively affects target. Though benevolent means well-meaning and kind, and benevolent discrimination resides within positive gestures, yet it belies a charitable relational dynamic that rests on powered assumptions about difference informed by colonial dynamics and residue. There was further focus on the university context through the concept of ‘Minority Taxation’ pertaining to the extra tasks and duties imposed on the faculty members with ethnic minority background. It refers to the unique burdens ‘faculty of colour have to bear in order to fit into and survive in the US (Canton, 2012)*. Even in Denmark, this concept is presented as a useful analytical tool for understanding the everyday experiences of structural inequalities in Danish academia. In the discussion, the resonance in the RUC setting was confirmed, and the undersigned mentioned that 105 persons across all RUC departments had signed “Call for solidarity with anti- racist struggle across the world’ discrimination including racism, as a structural problem. The petition was submitted to the vice chancellor in August 2020 with a request for inclusive dialogue on the theme. The response is still awaited and there is an appeal for solidarity across the department and universities to initiate and develop ways to deal with discrimination constructively. I hope that this GDA is just a start for collaboration across borders in Danish academic context.<br/
Lattice Modelling of Moisture Transport in Uncracked and Cracked Concrete
No full textThe service life of concrete structures depend largely on the durability of concrete. The durability of concrete is influenced by mass transport mechanisms that can have severe deteriorating effects. Transport of water in concrete is of paramount importance as water can act as a carrier of ions such as chlorides which can corrode the reinforcement and reduce the service life of concrete structures. The main objective of this thesis is to study moisture transport through capillary absorption in concrete. Numerical simulation of moisture transport is performed through lattice elements with an irregular mesh configuration. New computational tools are developed and compared with the existing tools in terms of effectiveness to simulate moisture transport in homogeneous uncracked concrete. The existing numerical model uses approximate volume of transport elements to determine the volumetric capacity of elements. During discretization of the governing equation, the variation of diffusivity of the elements is approximated as a uniform mean distribution and an explicit time stepping scheme is implemented which has consequences on the flow equilibrium at each time step. In the proposed numerical model, exact volume of transport elements is considered and during the discretization of governing equations, exponential variation of diffusivity is considered along with an implicit time stepping scheme. Moisture transport is accurately simulated in uncracked homogeneous concrete even by using the existing model as validated through experimental results. Both the models are compared through error analysis by varying mesh size and time step. Moisture flow through different diffusivity coefficients is simulated using both the models and it is observed that the existing model suffers from oscillations in the saturation level during initial stages of flow due to inability of the existing model to maintain flow equilibrium at each time step. The proposed model on the other hand shows no such oscillations due to the flow equilibrium being maintained at each time step. Mesh size, magnitude of time step and diffusivity coefficient are shown to be the parameters limiting the effectiveness of either of the models. A single discrete crack is considered within the domain and its influence on moisture transport is observed. The nature of the crack is considered through two approaches. In the first approach, crack is considered as an additional porous phase in cement matrix and the entire volume occupied by the crack is considered to be a void. In the second approach, in addition to considering the porous nature of crack, moisture surface interaction between the water surface and crack walls is also considered. Horizontal moisture distribution around a planar crack is simulated using both the approaches which show similar results as in the experiment. The vertical moisture distribution is simulated within a wedge shaped crack and the results are compared with experimental observations. The first approach shows a slower rate of saturation of the crack as compared to the experiment. The second approach shows the vertical saturation of the crack similar to the experiment. A comparison between the Delaunay and Voronoi modelling techniques of moisture simulation in cracked domain is discussed. It is shown that the presence of a crack accelerates the moisture transport in concrete as it exposes additional surface of concrete from where water can penetrate in the material and also increases the diffusivity of the concrete material lying in the vicinity of the crack. Moisture transport is simulated in concrete considering its multi-phase nature. Concrete is considered to be composed of three phases i.e. cement paste, aggregates and ITZ around aggregates. Aggregates are considered to be impervious which do not allow the flow of moisture through them which slows down the flow in concrete. The ITZ around the aggregates have higher transport properties and accelerate the flow. A numerical framework is formulated in which spherical aggregates are projected on lattice elements which are assigned transport properties pertaining to the phase of concrete they represent. Moisture transport is simulated and compared with experimental results where an increase of volume fraction of aggregates leads to a decrease of cumulative saturation level. The influence of ITZ is observed on a local and global scale by varying the ITZ diffusivity coefficient. The moisture simulation is also modelled on a finer mesh to see the effect of mesh refinement. Finally, moisture transport is simulated in a numerical model that combines a planar crack along with heterogeneities and flow is observed at different time stages
Application of artificial bee colony algorithm for inverse modelling of a solar collector
No full textThis paper deals with the inverse analysis of a double-glazed flat-plate solar collector using the artificial bee colony (ABC) optimization algorithm. In domestic water heating, both low and high heat output from the solar collector is undesirable, so the solar collector is required to supply the hot water at a particular temperature only, which in turn requires a given distribution of heat loss factor. With this criterion, the present analysis is aimed at predicting feasible dimensions and configurations of a solar collector satisfying a prescribed distribution of heat loss factor using ABC algorithm. It is observed that many feasible alternatives of unknowns exist which satisfy a prescribed requirement, and using the ABC algorithm, the size of the solar collector can be minimised by 6–32% with reference to the existing records. The effects of changing ambient conditions are also studied. Furthermore, a comparative study of the ABC algorithm against other heuristic algorithms reveals its suitability and efficacy for the present estimation problem
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