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Differentiation among major algal groups is important for the ecological and biogeochemical characterization of water bodies, and for practical management of water resources. It helps to discern the taxonomic groups that are beneficial to aquatic life from the organisms causing harmful algal blooms. An LED-induced fluorescence (LEDIF) instrument capable of fluorescence, absorbance, and scattering measurements; is used for in vivo and in vitro identification and quantification of four algal groups found in freshwater and marine environments. Aqueous solutions of individual and mixed dissolved biological pigments relevant to different algal groups were measured to demonstrate the LEDIF’s capabilities in measuring extracted pigments. Different genera of algae were cultivated and the cell counts of the samples were quantified with a hemacytometer and/or cellometer. Dry weight of different algae cells was also measured to determine the cell counts-to-dry weight correlations. Finally, in vivo measurements of different genus of algae at different cell concentrations and mixed algal group in the presence of humic acid were performed with the LEDIF. A field sample from a local reservoir was measured with the LEDIF and the results were verified using hemacytometer, cellometer, and microscope. The results demonstrated the LEDIF’s capabilities in classifying and quantifying different groups of live algae.

Air pollution exposure causes seven million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. Possessing knowledge of air quality and sources of air pollution is crucial for managing air pollution and providing early warning so that a swift counteractive response can be carried out. An optical prototype sensor (AtmOptic) capable of scattering and absorbance measurements has been developed to target in situ sensing of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). For particulate matter testing, a test chamber was constructed and the emission of PM2.5 from incense burning inside the chamber was measured using the AtmOptic. The weight of PM2.5 particles was collected and measured with a filter to determine their concentration and the sensor signal-to-concentration correlation. The results of the AtmOptic were also compared and found to trend well with the Dylos DC 1100 Pro air quality monitor. The absorbance spectrum of VOCs emitted from various laboratory chemicals and household products as well as a two chemical mixtures were recorded. The quantification was demonstrated, using toluene as an example, by calibrating the AtmOptic with compressed gas standards containing VOCs at different concentrations. The results demonstrated the sensor capabilities in measuring PM2.5 and volatile organic compounds.

The LEDIF (LED-induced fluorescence) is an in situ optical instrument that utilizes fluorescence, absorbance, and scattering to identify and quantify substances in water bodies. In this study, matrix effects on fluorescence signals caused by inner filtering, temperature, intramolecular deactivation, turbidity, and pH were investigated, and compensation equations developed to correct measured values and improve accuracy. Multiple simultaneous matrix effect corrections were demonstrated with a laboratory sample subjected to known interferences and physical conditions. In general, compensation was found to be important to improve the accuracy of fluorescence measurements.

Scope and method of study. An experimental and computational research is performed to study the deformation and breakup of round nonturbulent liquid jets in uniform gaseous crossflow. Pulsed photography and shadow[special characters omitted]graphy in conjunction with high-speed imaging were used to study the wave phenomena and the droplets properties/transport dynamics of a nonturbulent liquid jet injected into a uniform crossflow within the bag breakup regime. The computational study extended the previous two-dimensional study by adding the third dimension, allowing the wave properties to be modeled. The computational simulation employed the Volume of Fluid (VOF) formulation of FLUENT, and was run on a 3-processors parallel Linux cluster and P4 desktops. The validated, time-accurate, CFD simulation analyzes the surface properties of the liquid jets within the column, bag, and shear breakup regimes by considering the effects of surface tension, liquid viscosity, and crossflow Weber number at large liquid/gas density ratios (>500) and small Ohnesorge numbers (<0.1). Findings and conclusions. Present experimental results show that the column waves along the liquid jet are attributed to Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and the nodes layout per bag affected the breakup mechanisms of the bags. Three distinctive sizes of droplets were produced in the bag breakup regime. The size of bag-droplets normalized by the nozzle exit diameter was constant. The different trajectories for bag- and node-droplets suggested that separation of bag- and node-droplets is possible. The computational results included jet deformations, jet cross-sectional area, jet velocity, wake velocity defect, wake width, and wavelengths of column and surface waves. Present computational results yielded a similarity solution for the inner wake region. In bag breakup, the lower pressure along the sides of the jet pulled the liquid away from both the upwind and downwind surfaces of the liquid cross-section. In shear breakup, the flattened upwind surface pushed the liquid towards the two sides of the jet. In bag breakup, the flow field inside the liquid jet consisted of a counter-rotating vortex pair that was not observed in column and shear breakup. Finally, phenomenological analyses were effective to understand the conditions for breakup regime transitions.

Background Available data on influenza burden across Southeast Asia are largely limited to pediatric populations, with inconsistent findings. Methods We conducted a multicenter, hospital-based active surveillance study of adults in Malaysia with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and acute exacerbation of asthma (AEBA), who had influenza-like illness ≤10 days before hospitalization. We estimated the rate of laboratory-confirmed influenza and associated complications over 13 months (July 2018–August 2019) and described the distribution of causative influenza strains. We evaluated predictors of laboratory-confirmed influenza and severe clinical outcomes using multivariate analysis. Results Of 1106 included patients, 114 (10.3%) were influenza-positive; most were influenza A (85.1%), with A/H1N1pdm09 being the predominant circulating strain during the study following a shift from A/H3N2 from January–February 2019 onwards. In multivariate analyses, an absence of comorbidities (none versus any comorbidity [OR (95%CI), 0.565 (0.329–0.970)], p  = 0.038) and of dyspnea (0.544 (0.341–0.868)], p  = 0.011) were associated with increased risk of influenza positivity. Overall, 184/1106 (16.6%) patients were admitted to intensive care or high-dependency units (ICU/HDU) (13.2% were influenza positive) and 26/1106 (2.4%) died (2.6% were influenza positive). Males were more likely to have a severe outcome (ICU/HDU admission or death). Conclusions Influenza was a significant contributor to hospitalizations associated with CAP, AECOPD and AEBA. However, it was not associated with ICU/HDU admission in this population. Study registration, NMRR ID: NMRR-17-889-35,174.

Alterations in the three chemosensory modalities—smell, taste, and chemesthesis—have been implicated in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet emerging data suggest a wide geographic and ethnic variation in the prevalence of these symptoms. Studies on chemosensory disorders in COVID-19 have predominantly focused on Caucasian populations whereas Asians remain understudied. We conducted a nationwide, multicentre cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire on a cohort of RT-PCR-confirmed adult COVID-19 patients in Malaysia between 6 June and 30 November 2020. The aim of our study was to investigate their presenting symptoms and assess their chemosensory function using self-ratings of perceived smell, taste, chemesthesis, and nasal blockage. In this cohort of 498 patients, 41.4% reported smell and/or taste loss when diagnosed with COVID-19, which was the commonest symptom. Blocked nose, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal disturbances were independent predictors of smell and/or taste loss on multivariate analysis. Self-ratings of chemosensory function revealed a reduction in smell, taste, and chemesthesis across the entire cohort of patients that was more profound among those reporting smell and/or taste loss as their presenting symptom. Perceived nasal obstruction accounted for only a small proportion of changes in smell and taste, but not for chemesthesis, supporting viral disruption of sensorineural mechanisms as the dominant aetiology of chemosensory dysfunction. Our study suggests that chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 is more widespread than previously reported among Asians and may be related to the infectivity of viral strains. Study Registration: NMRR-20-934-54803 and NCT04390165.