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In the present work, monolithic LPS-SiC was fabricated by hot press method with the addition of Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃ and SiO₂ and annealed at different temperatures to observe microstructure evolution. Process temperature was varied from 1760°C to 1800°C. Process pressure and maturing time are 20MPa and 1h respectively. Hot pressed samples were cut into rectangular bars. Three-point flexural strength was measured at room temperature in air with a cross-head speed of 0.1 mm/min and a lower span of 18 mm. Flexural strength and elastic modulus measurement was performed using a universal test machine (INSTRON 5581, USA). The apparent density of the sintered body was measured by the Archimedes method. The specimen dimension of the heat treatments is 4W×25L×1.5T mm. The specimens used for weight-loss measurement were set into an open carbon crucible to avoid nonuniform temperature distribution within the furnace. Post-fabrication heat treatment was performed in vacuum atmosphere (PO2 ≈ 0.01 Pa). The temperature was increased at a rate of 20 K/min to the heat-treatment temperature and maintained for 10 hours, after which the specimens were furnace cooled. After heat-treatment, weight of heat-treated specimens was carefully measured by an electronic balance. In order to reveal the microstructural change in heat-treated specimen, X-ray diffractometry and microstructure observation were performed and compared with those of the as-fabricated one.

The smart wearable devices that can track the fitness activities are getting famous these days due to their easy-to-use features. The fitness trackers can work for an individual in a promising manner, provided that the user is well familiar with the device and is committed with the timelines. Several reports have provided evidence that these smart wearable devices have not showed promising results and in most of the cases, people have stopped using them, few weeks after the purchase. There are several reasons linked with this response. During this research, we have worked on the correlations of weight loss via smart device with the age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and ideal body weight (IBW), with the aid of gradient boosted decision trees (XGBoost) and support vector machine (SVM) learning tools. XGBoost and SVM are capable of dealing with complex datasets, with higher frequencies, and for data emerging from multiple sources. These machine learning tools use kernel functions for the clustering and other classification measures, and are thus better as compared to the logistic methods. Next, the time series forecasting tools are discussed with the Bayesian hyperparametric optimization. The time series of the weight loss monitoring of each individual, depicted in this manner, provided complex fractal patterns, with reduction in amplitude, with the passage of time.

The inhibitive characteristics of aqueous extracts from mangrove (Rhizophora apiculata) bark and leaf on the corrosion of mild steel (MS) coupon in 1 M HCl were examined by means of the gravimetric measurement (weight loss), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques. The MS surface morphologie were investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) at 120h in the presence and absence of green inhibitors in corrosive medium. Respective inhibition efficiencies of 68.1% and 59.0% were obtained when exposed to 10% v/v Rhizophora apiculata solution for 72h. Examination of the adsorption behavior of the solutions indicated the Langmuir isotherm model as being the most likely relevant adsorption mechanism. In addition, polarization measurements showed that both bark and leaves extract inhibitors act via mixed type inhibition.

The extraction of linseed oil (LO) was realized by refluxing method. The extracted oil was identified by gas chromatography method coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In order to contribute to the protection of the environment, one contemplates to try on LO as a green corrosion inhibitor. The corrosion inhibition of LO was studied by weight loss and electrochemical methods. The obtained results showed that the LO is an effective inhibitor of the carbon steel corrosion in 1M HCl solution, the inhibition efficiency increased with concentration to reach 88% at 200ppm. Furthermore, the adsorption of the inhibitor on the surface of metal in 1M HCl solution was found to obey Langmuir’s adsorption isotherm. The influences of temperature were also studied in the range from 298K to 328K. The kinetic and thermodynamic data of activation dissolution process were determined and discussed.

Canthium parviflorum leaf extract (CPLE) was utilized for corrosion prevention against mild steel (MS) in 0.5molL${}^{-1}$ H₂SO₄ test medium. Standard corrosion measurement techniques (gravimetric and electrochemical) were employed for this purpose. Gravimetric tests clearly confirmed that the prepared CPLE efficiently performs as corrosion inhibitor. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements (PPM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were performed in order to analyze the charge transfer process of CPLE. Polarization curves indicate that CPLE acts through mixed mode inhibition. Impedance study reveals that the CPLE additives enhances the charge transfer resistance values and conversely decreases values of double layer capacitance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy analysis and Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were done to confirm the Fe-CPLE complex formation on MS. The effect of temperature reveals that the inhibition efficiency increases with decrease in temperature and increase in concentration of CPLE (maximum of 4mgL${}^{-1}$). The adsorption of CPLE shows that it obeys Langmuir’s isotherm model with free energy of adsorption, $\mathrm{\Delta }{G}_{\mathrm{\text{ads}}}=-1.76$kJ mol${}^{-1}$. A suitable adsorption model is also proposed.

The corrosion inhibition performance of novel synthesized thiosemicarbazide derivative namely, 2-isonicotinoyl-N-phenylhydrazinecarbothioamide (IPC) on the mild steel coupon surface in 1M hydrochloric acid solution is investigated by weight loss measurements. The adsorption parameters of the IPC on the mild steel coupon surface have been evaluated and the surface morphology of the tested mild steel is studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique. The results of this study demonstrate a significant inhibitor (IPC) for mild steel and showed the highest inhibitive efficiency of 96.3% at 5mM as optimum studied inhibitor concentration. The adsorption of IPC molecules on a mild steel coupon surface is obeyed completely by the model of Langmuir adsorption isotherms. SEM has been applied to analyse the layer of IPC molecules which formed on a mild steel coupon surface as a protective layer. The inhibition efficiency (IE) of IPC from weight loss techniques and SEM analysis was harmonic with each other. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) computations have been applied to evaluate the adsorption sites of the IPC molecules and the quantum chemical calculations correlation of IPC molecules with methodological results are discussed. The energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO) shows a significant tendency of the IPC molecules to donate pairs of electrons to the iron atoms on the surface of mild steel. The energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) for IPS molecules reveals a high tendency to accept electrons from iron atoms on the surface of mild steel.

SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences English Edition Publishes Domestic Type 2 Diabetes Research Findings.

Omega-3 Therapy May Help Reverse Type 1 Diabetes.

New Plastic-Eating Fungus May Solve Garbage Problem.

Chinese Researchers Reveal How Cells Prevent Viral Invasion.

Scientists Unlock TCM Drug’s Role in Weight Loss.

Medical Reforms in Beijing.

East China’s Anhui Province Innovates Advanced Technology.

DeltaHealth and Harvard Global Health Institute Hold Symposium.

HONG KONG News – HKSTP Welcomes Maz World to Hong Kong’s Vibrant Ecosystem to Commercialise Revolutionary Ostrich Antibody Technology from Japan

Keep the weight off, keep diabetes at bay

Tackling obesity in ASEAN

ASIA – Scientists create successful mass production system for bioengineered livers

OCEANIA – Researcher looks to next generation antibody treatment for chronic kidney disease

AMERICAS – United States cancer drug costs increasing despite competition

AMERICAS – Eating yogurt may help reduce chronic inflammation in women

AMERICAS – Forget calorie counting

ASIA-PACIFIC — Weight change in middle-aged and elderly Singaporean Chinese linked to increased mortality risk.

ASIA-PACIFIC — A fully human system to cultivate skin cells for grafting.

ASIA-PACIFIC — Essential bridge for photosynthesis has been identified.

ASIA-PACIFIC — Addressing airborne biological threats with bioaerosol sampling.

ASIA-PACIFIC — Speeding up carbohydrate research.

REST OF THE WORLD — There is hope for anticancer vaccines.

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• AUM Biosciences obtains global rights to novel targeted cancer therapy
• Vitafoods Asia Conference to present top 5 APAC nutraceutical trends
• Weight Loss Made Simple – MyDoc Launches Medically supervised LivingLite™, in Singapore and the region
• Taiwan boosts development of biomedical industry through memorandums promoting a next-generation biomedical research ecosystem
• Mount Alvernia Hospital appoints ICON SOC to build new state-of-theart integrated cancer centre
• Healthy Hearts, Healthy Aging Asia Pacific report calls for specific policy actions and focus in managing cardiovascular disease
• Anticancer agent Halaven approved for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in China
• Advent Access receives CE Mark certificate for pioneering av-Guardian™ vascular access system
• ACT Genomics opens third laboratory in Asia at Hong Kong Science Park
• GSK opens new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Singapore
• Taiwan Protein Project successfully enhances Taiwan' biotechnology R&D industry
• S$6.4 million boost for NUHS to push Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare Efficiency and Outcome
• HKUST Researchers Co-Discover a Novel Function of an Enzyme Offering Insight into the Pathology of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

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• Asia-Pacific — Research team discovers new mechanism of light-regulated gene expression in plants
• Asia-Pacific — Improving radiotherapy treatment for nose cancer with artificial intelligence
• Asia-Pacific — Fifth anniversary celebration of Duke-NUS’ Centre for Regulatory excellence (CoRE)
• Asia-Pacific — Novel AI chip design platform to boost semiconductor industry
• Asia-Pacific — Blocking production of a protein to reduce weight
• Asia-Pacific — Simplification of Lithium-Sulfur battery production for future energy storage needs
• Rest of the World — PTSD amongst young adults linked to higher risk of stroke later in life
• Rest of the World — Exposure to blue light may cause accelerated ageing
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Corrosion protection of expired Atenolol drug on the Al in the 3M HCl was investigated through the weight loss, gasometric, Tafel plot, impedance, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), quantum chemical, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies. The addition of different concentrations of expired Atenolol drug enhances the protection efficiency. Gasometric technique was performed in order to study the variation in the amount of hydrogen gas in the presence and absence of the inhibitor. The potentiodynamic polarization plots show that the expired Atenolol drug acts as a mixed type. Data of impedance studies show that the charge transfer process controls the corrosion of Al in the 3M HCl medium. The SEM and AFM results explore that the expired Atenolol drug is a powerful corrosion inhibitor for the Al in HCl solution.