Search results for: mobile agent

Authors: G. Magalhães-Mota, C. Magro, S. Sério, E. Mateus, P. A. Ribeiro, A. B. Ribeiro, M. Raposo

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Triclosan [5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenol], belonging to the class of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent and bactericide. Because of its antimicrobial efficacy, it is widely used in personal health and skin care products, such as soaps, detergents, hand cleansers, cosmetics, toothpastes, etc. However, it has been considered to disrupt the endocrine system, for instance, thyroid hormone homeostasis and possibly the reproductive system. Considering the widespread use of triclosan, it is expected that environmental and food safety problems regarding triclosan will increase dramatically. Triclosan has been found in river water samples in both North America and Europe and is likely widely distributed wherever triclosan-containing products are used. Although significant amounts are removed in sewage plants, considerable quantities remain in the sewage effluent, initiating widespread environmental contamination. Triclosan undergoes bioconversion to methyl-triclosan, which has been demonstrated to bio accumulate in fish. In addition, triclosan has been found in human urine samples from persons with no known industrial exposure and in significant amounts in samples of mother's milk, demonstrating its presence in humans. The action of sunlight in river water is known to turn triclosan into dioxin derivatives and raises the possibility of pharmacological dangers not envisioned when the compound was originally utilized. The aim of this work is to detect low concentrations of triclosan in an aqueous complex matrix through the use of a sensor array system, following the electronic tongue concept based on impedance spectroscopy. To achieve this goal, we selected the appropriate molecules to the sensor so that there is a high affinity for triclosan and whose sensitivity ensures the detection of concentrations of at least nano-molar. Thin films of organic molecules and oxides have been produced by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique and sputtered onto glass solid supports already covered by gold interdigitated electrodes. By submerging the films in complex aqueous solutions with different concentrations of triclosan, resistance and capacitance values were obtained at different frequencies. The preliminary results showed that an array of interdigitated electrodes sensor coated or uncoated with different LbL and films, can be used to detect TCS traces in aqueous solutions in a wide range concentration, from 10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁶ M. The PCA method was applied to the measured data, in order to differentiate the solutions with different concentrations of TCS. Moreover, was also possible to trace a curve, the plot of the logarithm of resistance versus the logarithm of concentration, which allowed us to fit the plotted data points with a decreasing straight line with a slope of 0.022 ± 0.006 which corresponds to the best sensitivity of our sensor. To find the sensor resolution near of the smallest concentration (Cs) used, 1pM, the minimum measured value which can be measured with resolution is 0.006, so the ∆logC =0.006/0.022=0.273, and, therefore, C-Cs~0.9 pM. This leads to a sensor resolution of 0.9 pM for the smallest concentration used, 1pM. This attained detection limit is lower than the values obtained in the literature.

Keywords: triclosan, layer-by-layer, impedance spectroscopy, electronic tongue

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Amita Rana

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From the ancient to modern times, the nature of fitness activities has varied. We can choose any form of exercise that is suitable for our particular need. Watchers of fitness trends say that the road to better health is paved with new possibilities along with some old ones that are poised to make a comeback. Educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals; strength training; fitness programmes for older adults; exercise and weight loss; children and obesity; personal training; core training; group personal training; Zumba and other dance workouts; functional fitness; yoga; comprehensive health promotion programmes at worksite; boot-camp; outdoor activities; reaching new markets; spinning; sport-specific training; worker incentive programmes; wellness coaching; and physician referrals are among the fitness trends included in worldwide surveys. However, trends related to fitness in India could be the same or different. Hence, the present paper makes an attempt to analyze the latest fitness trends in India. A total of eighteen (18) surveys were shortlisted on the basis of their relevance to the present topic of study and were arranged in descending order of their chronology. Content analysis was done after the preliminary set of data collection, which formed the basis of a group of data. Further, frequency and percentage were used to statistically represent the data. It can be concluded from the analysis of data regarding recent fitness trends in India that yoga dominates the fitness activity list, followed by numerous other activities including running, Zumba and sh’bam, boot camp, boxing, kickboxing, cycling, swimming, TRX, ass-pocalypse, ballet, biking, bokwa fitness, dance-iso-bic, masala bhangra, outdoor activities, pilates, planks, push-ups, sofa workouts, stairs Workouts, tabata training, and twerking. The body weight/ gym-specified/ strength training as well as high intensity interval training dominate the preferred workouts; followed by mixed work-outs, cross training work-outs, express work-outs, functional fitness, natural body movements, personalized training, and stay-at-home workouts. General areas that featured in the latest fitness trends in India demonstrates that the fitness is making an impact on all sections of the society be it children, women, older adults, senior citizens, worksite fitness. Fitness is becoming the lifestyle of the masses. People are doing exercise for weight-loss, combining diet with exercising; prefer sweating, making groups participate in fitness activities and wellness programmes. Technology is another area which has a high impact on the lives of people. They are using wearable technology for workout tracking and following numerous mobile friendly apps.

Keywords: fitness, India, survey, trend

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Mihaela Beregoi, Horia Iovu, Cristina Busuioc, Alexandru Evanghelidis, Elena Matei, Monica Enculescu, Ionut Enculescu

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Nanomaterials field is very attractive for all researchers who are attempting to develop new devices with the same or improved properties than the micro-sized ones, while reducing the reagents and power consumptions. In this way, a wide range of nanomaterials were fabricated and integrated in applications for electronics, optoelectronics, solar cells, tissue reconstruction and drug delivery. Obviously, the most appealing ones are those dedicated to the medical domain. Different types of nano-sized materials, such as particles, fibers, films etc., can be synthesized by using physical, chemical or electrochemical methods. One of these techniques is electrospinning, which enable the production of fibers with nanometric dimensions by pumping a polymeric solution in a high electric field; due to the electrostatic charging and solvent evaporation, the precursor mixture is converted into nonwoven meshes with different fiber densities and mechanical properties. Moreover, polyaniline is a conducting polymer with interesting optical properties, suitable for displays and electrochromic windows. Otherwise, polyaniline is an electroactive polymer that can contract/expand by applying electric stimuli, due to the oxidation/reduction reactions which take place in the polymer chains. These two main properties can be exploited in order to synthesize smart materials that change their dimensions, exhibiting in the same time good electrochromic properties. In the context aforesaid, a poly(methyl metacrylate) solution was spun to get webs composed of fibers with diameter values between 500 nm and 1 µm. Further, the polymer meshes were covered with a gold layer in order to make them conductive and also appropriate as working electrode in an electrochemical cell. The gold shell was deposited by DC sputtering. Such metalized fibers can be transformed into smart materials by covering them with a thin layer of conductive polymer. Thus, the webs were coated with a polyaniline film by the electrochemical route, starting from and aqueous solution of aniline and sulfuric acid, where sulfuric acid acts as oxidant agent. For the polymerization of aniline, a saturated calomel electrode was employed as reference, a platinum plate as counter electrode and the gold covered webs as working electrode. Chronoamperometry was selected as deposition method for polyaniline, by modifying the deposition time. Metalized meshes with different fiber densities were used, the transmission ranging between 70 and 80 %. The morphological investigation showed that polyaniline layer has a granular structure for all deposition experiments. As well, some preliminary optical tests were done by using sulfuric acid as electrolyte, which revealed the modification of polyaniline colour from green to dark blue when applying a voltage. In conclusion, new multilayered materials were obtained by a simple approach: the merge of the electrospinning method benefits with polyaniline chemistry. This synthesis method allows the fabrication of structures with reproducible characteristics, suitable for display or tissue substituents.

Keywords: electrospinning, fibers, smart materials, polyaniline

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Saba Vahedi, Qiuyan Yuan

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A vast majority of small municipalities and First Nations communities in Manitoba operate facultative or aerated lagoons for wastewater treatment, and most of them use Ferric Chloride (FeCl3) or alum (usually in the form of Al2(SO4)3 ·18H2O) as coagulant for phosphorous removal. The insoluble particles that form during the coagulation process result in a massive volume of sludge which is typically left in the lagoons. Therefore, phosphorous, which is a valuable nutrient, is lost in the process. In this project, the complete recovery of phosphorous from the sludge that is produced in the process of phosphorous removal from wastewater lagoons by using a controlled composting process is investigated. Objective The main objective of this project is to compost alum precipitated sludge that is produced in the process of phosphorous removal in wastewater treatment lagoons in Manitoba. The ultimate goal is to have a product that will meet the characteristics of Class A biosolids in Canada. A number of parameters, including the bioavailability of nutrients in the composted sludge and the toxicity of the sludge, will be evaluated Investigating the bioavailability of phosphorous in the final compost product. The compost will be used as a source of P compared to a commercial fertilizer (monoammonium phosphate MAP) Experimental setup Three different batches of composts piles have been run using the Alum sludge and Ferric sludge. The alum phosphate sludge was collected from an innovative phosphorous removal system at the RM of Taché . The collected sludge was sent to ALS laboratory to analyze the C/N ratio, TP, TN, TC, TAl, moisture contents, pH, and metals concentrations. Wood chips as the bulking agent were collected at the RM of Taché landfill The sludge in the three piles were mixed with 3x dry woodchips. The mixture was turned every week manually. The temperature, the moisture content, and pH were monitored twice a week. The temperature of the mixtures was remained above 55 °C for two weeks. Each pile was kept for ten weeks to get mature. The final products have been applied to two different plants to investigate the bioavailability of P in the compost product as well as the toxicity of the product. The two types of plants were selected based on their sensitivity, growth time, and their compatibility with the Manitoba climate, which are Canola, and switchgrass. The pots are weighed and watered every day to replenish moisture lost by evapotranspiration. A control experiment is also conducted by using topsoil soil and chemical fertilizers (MAP). The experiment will be carried out in a growth room maintained at a day/night temperature regime of 25/15°C, a relative humidity of 60%, and a corresponding photoperiod of 16 h. A total of three cropping (seeding to harvest) cycles need be completed, with each cycle at 50 d in duration. Harvested biomass must be weighed and oven-dried for 72 h at 60°C. The first cycle of growth Canola and Switchgrasses in the alum sludge compost, harvested at the day 50, oven dried, chopped into bits and fine ground in a mill grinder (< 0.2mm), and digested using the wet oxidation method in which plant tissue samples were digested with H2SO4 (99.7%) and H2O2 (30%) in an acid block digester. The digested plant samples need to be analyzed to measure the amount of total phosphorus.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, phosphorus removal, composting alum sludge, bioavailibility of pohosphorus

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Dorottya Guban, Irina Borbath, Istvan Bakos, Peter Nemeth, Andras Tompos

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One of the greatest challenges of the implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is to find active and durable electrocatalysts. The cell performance is always limited by the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode since it is at least 6 orders of magnitude slower than the hydrogen oxidation on the anode. Therefore high loading of Pt is required. Catalyst corrosion is also more significant on the cathode, especially in case of mobile applications, where rapid changes of loading have to be tolerated. Pt-Sn bulk alloys and SnO2-decorated Pt3Sn nanostructures are among the most studied bimetallic systems for fuel cell applications. Exclusive formation of supported Sn-Pt alloy phases with different Pt/Sn ratios can be achieved by using controlled surface reactions (CSRs) between hydrogen adsorbed on Pt sites and tetraethyl tin. In this contribution our results for commercial and a home-made 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts modified by tin anchoring via CSRs are presented. The parent Pt/C catalysts were synthesized by modified NaBH4-assisted ethylene-glycol reduction method using ethanol as a solvent, which resulted either in dispersed and highly stable Pt nanoparticles or evenly distributed raspberry-like agglomerates according to the chosen synthesis parameters. The 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts prepared that way showed improved electrocatalytic performance in the ORR and stability in comparison to the commercial 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts. Then, in order to obtain Sn-Pt/C catalysts with Pt/Sn= 3 ratio, the Pt/C catalysts were modified with tetraethyl tin (SnEt4) using three and five consecutive tin anchoring periods. According to in situ XPS studies in case of catalysts with highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles, pre-treatment in hydrogen even at 170°C resulted in complete reduction of the ionic tin to Sn0. No evidence of the presence of SnO2 phase was found by means of the XRD and EDS analysis. These results demonstrate that the method of CSRs is a powerful tool to create Pt-Sn bimetallic nanoparticles exclusively, without tin deposition onto the carbon support. On the contrary, the XPS results revealed that the tin-modified catalysts with raspberry-like Pt agglomerates always contained a fraction of non-reducible tin oxide. At the same time, they showed increased activity and long-term stability in the ORR than Pt/C, which was assigned to the presence of SnO2 in close proximity/contact with Pt-Sn alloy phase. It has been demonstrated that the content and dispersion of the fcc Pt3Sn phase within the electrocatalysts can be controlled by tuning the reaction conditions of CSRs. The bimetallic catalysts displayed an outstanding performance in the ORR. The preparation of a highly dispersed 20Pt/C catalyst permits to decrease the Pt content without relevant decline in the electrocatalytic performance of the catalysts.

Keywords: anode catalyst, cathode catalyst, controlled surface reactions, oxygen reduction reaction, PtSn/C electrocatalyst

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Authors: Haytam Kasem

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The problem of quick and easy reversible attachment has become of great importance in different fields of technology. For the reason, during the last decade, a new emerging field of adhesion science has been developed. Essentially inspired by some animals and insects, which during their natural evolution have developed fantastic biological attachment systems allowing them to adhere and run on walls and ceilings of uneven surfaces. Potential applications of engineering bio-inspired solutions include climbing robots, handling systems for wafers in nanofabrication facilities, and mobile sensor platforms, to name a few. However, despite the efforts provided to apply bio-inspired patterned adhesive-surfaces to the biomedical field, they are still in the early stages compared with their conventional uses in other industries mentioned above. In fact, there are some critical issues that still need to be addressed for the wide usage of the bio-inspired patterned surfaces as advanced biomedical platforms. For example, surface durability and long-term stability of surfaces with high adhesive capacity should be improved, but also the friction and adhesion capacities of these bio-inspired microstructures when contacting rough surfaces. One of the well-known prototypes for bio-inspired attachment systems is biomimetic wall-shaped hierarchical microstructure for gecko-like attachments. Although physical background of these attachment systems is widely understood, the influence of counter-face roughness and its relationship with the friction force generated when sliding against wall-shaped hierarchical microstructure have yet to be fully analyzed and understood. To elucidate the effect of the counter-face roughness on the friction of biomimetic wall-shaped hierarchical microstructure we have replicated the isotropic topography of 12 different surfaces using replicas made of the same epoxy material. The different counter-faces were fully characterized under 3D optical profilometer to measure roughness parameters. The friction forces generated by spatula-shaped microstructure in contact with the tested counter-faces were measured on a home-made tribometer and compared with the friction forces generated by the spatulae in contact with a smooth reference. It was found that classical roughness parameters, such as average roughness Ra and others, could not be utilized to explain topography-related variation in friction force. This has led us to the development of an integrated roughness parameter obtained by combining different parameters which are the mean asperity radius of curvature (R), the asperity density (η), the deviation of asperities high (σ) and the mean asperities angle (SDQ). This new integrated parameter is capable of explaining the variation of results of friction measurements. Based on the experimental results, we developed and validated an analytical model to predict the variation of the friction force as a function of roughness parameters of the counter-face and the applied normal load, as well.

Keywords: friction, bio-mimetic micro-structure, counter-face roughness, analytical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Suzanne Zazycki, Bamidele Osamika, Heather Craska, Kaelyn Conaway, Reena Murphy, Stephanie Spence

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Invasive Plant Species (IPS) are an important component of effective preservation and conservation of natural lands management. IPS are non-native plants which can aggressively encroach upon native species and pose a significant threat to the ecology, public health, and social welfare of a community. The presence of IPS in U.S. nature preserves has caused economic costs, which has estimated to exceed $26 billion a year. While different methods have been identified to control IPS, few methods have been recognized for early detection of IPS. This study examined identified methods for early detection of IPS in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. Mixed methods research design was adopted in this four-phased study. The first phase entailed data gathering, the phase described the characteristics and qualities of IPS and the importance of early detection (ED). The second phase explored ED methods, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Citizen Science were discovered as ED methods for IPS. The third phase of the study involved the creation of hotspot maps to identify likely areas for IPS growth. While the fourth phase involved testing and evaluating mobile applications that can support the efforts of citizen scientists in IPS detection. Literature reviews were conducted on IPS and ED methods, and four regional experts from ODNR and Miami University were interviewed. A questionnaire was used to gather information about ED methods used across the state. The findings revealed that geospatial methods, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Multispectral Satellites (MSS), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), are not feasible for early detection of IPS, as they require GIS expertise, are still an emerging technology, and are not suitable for every habitat for the ED of IPS. Therefore, Other ED methods options were explored, which include predicting areas where IPS will grow, which can be done through monitoring areas that are like the species’ native habitat. Through literature review and interviews, IPS are known to grow in frequently disturbed areas such as along trails, shorelines, and streambanks. The research team called these areas “hotspots” and created maps of these hotspots specifically for HW NP to support and narrow the efforts of citizen scientists and staff in the ED of IPS. The results further showed that utilizing citizen scientists in the ED of IPS is feasible, especially through single day events or passive monitoring challenges. The study concluded that the creation of hotspot maps to direct the efforts of citizen scientists are effective for the early detection of IPS. Several recommendations were made, among which is the creation of hotspot maps to narrow the ED efforts as citizen scientists continues to work in the preserves and utilize citizen science volunteers to identify and record emerging IPS.

Keywords: early detection, hueston woods state nature preserve, invasive plant species, hotspots

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: J. Waita, S. Wamuhu, J. Makoyo, M. Rachel, T. Ngangari, W. Christine, M. Zipporah

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Contraceptive use is one of the key global strategies to alleviate maternal mortality. Global efforts through advocating for contraceptive uptake and service provision has led improved contraceptive prevalence. In Kenya maternal mortality rate has remained a challenged despites efforts by government and non-governmental organizations. Objective: To describe the uptake of contraceptives among women in Tunza Clinics, Kenya. Design and Methods: Ps Kenya through health care marketing fund is implementing a family planning program among its 350 Tunza fractional franchise facilities. Through private partnership, private owned facilities in low socio-economic areas are recruited and trained on contraceptive technology update. The providers are supported through facilitative supervision through a mobile based application Health Network Quality Improvement System (HNQIS) and interpersonal communication through 150 community based volunteers. The data analyzed in this paper was collected between January to July 2017 to show the uptake of modern Contraceptives among women in the Tunza franchise, method mix, age and distribution among the age bracket. Further analysis compares two different service delivery strategies; outreach and walk ins. Supportive supervision HNQIS scores was analyzed. Results: During the time period, a total of 132121 family planning clients were attended in 350 facilities. The average age of clients was 29.6 years. The average number of clients attended in the facilities per month was 18874. 73.7 %( n=132121) of the clients attended in the Tunza facilities were aged above 25 years while 22.1% 20-24 years and 4.2% 15-19 years. On contraceptive method mix, intra uterine device insertions clients contributed to 7.5%, implant insertions 15.3%, pills 11.2%, injections 62.7% while condoms and emergency pills had 2.7% and 0.6% respectively. Analysis of service delivery strategy indicated more than 79% of the clients were walk ins while 21% were attended to during outreaches. Uptake of long term contraceptive methods during outreaches was 73% of the clients while short term modern methods were 27%. Health Network Quality Improvement system assessment scores indicated 51% of the facilities scored over 90%, 25% scoring 80-89% while 21% scored below 80%. Conclusion: Preference for short term methods by women is possibly associated to cost as they are cheaper and easy to administer. When the cost of intra uterine device Implants is meant affordable during outreaches, the uptake is observed to increase. Making intra uterine device and implants affordable to women is a key strategy in increasing contraceptive prevalence hence averting maternal mortality.

Keywords: contraceptives, contraceptive uptake, low socio economic, supportive supervision

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Yi Li, Rui Lu, Lianjun Wang

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With the rapid development of chemical industry, the consumption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has increased extensively. In the process of VOCs production and application, plenty of them have been transferred to environment. As a result, it has led to pollution problems not only in soil and ground water but also to human beings. Thus, it is important to develop a sensitive and cost-effective analytical method for trace VOCs detection in environment. Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), as one of the most sensitive optical analytical technique with rapid response, pinpoint accuracy and noninvasive detection, has been widely used for ultratrace analysis. Based on the plasmon resonance on the nanoscale metallic surface, SERS technology can even detect single molecule due to abundant nanogaps (i.e. 'hot spots') on the nanosubstrate. In this work, a self-supported flexible silver nitrate (AgNO3)/ethylene-propylene copolymer (EPM) hybrid nanofibers was fabricated by electrospinning. After an in-situ chemical reduction using ice-cold sodium borohydride as reduction agent, numerous silver nanoparticles were formed on the nanofiber surface. By adjusting the reduction time and AgNO3 content, the morphology and dimension of silver nanoparticles could be controlled. According to the principles of solid-phase extraction, the hydrophobic substance is more likely to partition into the hydrophobic EPM membrane in an aqueous environment while water and other polar components are excluded from the analytes. By the enrichment of EPM fibers, the number of hydrophobic molecules located on the 'hot spots' generated from criss-crossed nanofibers is greatly increased, which further enhances SERS signal intensity. The as-prepared Ag/EPM hybrid nanofibers were first employed to detect common SERS probe molecule (p-aminothiophenol) with the detection limit down to 10-12 M, which demonstrated an excellent SERS performance. To further study the application of the fabricated substrate for monitoring hydrophobic substance in water, several typical VOCs, such as benzene, toluene and p-xylene, were selected as model compounds. The results showed that the characteristic peaks of these target analytes in the mixed aqueous solution could be distinguished even at a concentration of 10-6 M after multi-peaks gaussian fitting process, including C-H bending (850 cm-1), C-C ring stretching (1581 cm-1, 1600 cm-1) of benzene, C-H bending (844 cm-1 ,1151 cm-1), C-C ring stretching (1001 cm-1), CH3 bending vibration (1377 cm-1) of toluene, C-H bending (829 cm-1), C-C stretching (1614 cm-1) of p-xylene. The SERS substrate has remarkable advantages which combine the enrichment capacity from EPM and the Raman enhancement of Ag nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the huge specific surface area resulted from electrospinning is benificial to increase the number of adsoption sites and promotes 'hot spots' formation. In summary, this work provides powerful potential in rapid, on-site and accurate detection of trace VOCs using a portable Raman.

Keywords: electrospinning, ethylene-propylene copolymer, silver nanoparticles, SERS, VOCs

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Bernard Polednik, Adam Piotrowicz, Lukasz Guz, Marzenna Dudzinska

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Transportation is considered to be responsible for increased exposure of road users – i.e., drivers, car passengers, and pedestrians as well as inhabitants of houses located near roads - to pollutants emitted from vehicles. Accurate estimates are, however, difficult as exposure depends on many factors such as traffic intensity or type of fuel as well as the topography and the built-up area around the individual routes. The season and weather conditions are also of importance. In the case of inhabitants of houses located near roads, their exposure depends on the distance from the road, window tightness and other factors that decrease pollutant infiltration. This work reports the variations of particle concentrations along a selected road in Lublin, Poland. Their impact on the exposure for road users as well as for inhabitants of houses located near the road is also presented. Mobile and fixed-site measurements were carried out in peak (around 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.) and off-peak (12 a.m., 4 a.m., and 12 p.m.) traffic times in all 4 seasons. Fixed-site measurements were performed in 12 measurement points along the route. The number and mass concentration of particles was determined with the use of P-Trak model 8525, OPS 3330, DustTrak DRX model 8533 (TSI Inc. USA) and Grimm Aerosol Spectrometer 1.109 with Nano Sizer 1.321 (Grimm Aerosol Germany). The obtained results indicated that the highest concentrations of traffic-related pollution were measured near 4-way traffic intersections during peak hours in the autumn and winter. The highest average number concentration of ultrafine particles (PN0.1), and mass concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) in fixed-site measurements were obtained in the autumn and amounted to 23.6 ± 9.2×10³ pt/cm³ and 135.1 ± 11.3 µg/m³, respectively. The highest average number concentration of submicrometer particles (PN1) was measured in the winter and amounted to 68 ± 26.8×10³ pt/cm³. The estimated doses of particles deposited in the commuters’ and pedestrians’ lungs within an hour near 4-way TIs in peak hours in the summer amounted to 4.3 ± 3.3×10⁹ pt/h (PN0.1) and 2.9 ± 1.4 µg/h (PM2.5) and 3.9 ± 1.1×10⁹ pt/h (PN0.1) or 2.5 ± 0.4 µg/h (PM2.5), respectively. While estimating the doses inhaled by the inhabitants of premises located near the road one should take into account different fractional penetration of particles from outdoors to indoors. Such doses assessed for the autumn and winter are up to twice as high as the doses inhaled by commuters and pedestrians in the summer. In the winter traffic-related ultrafine particles account for over 70% of all ultrafine particles deposited in the pedestrians’ lungs. The share of traffic-related PM10 particles was estimated at approximately 33.5%. Concluding, the results of the particle concentration measurements along a road in Lublin indicated that the concentration is mainly affected by the traffic intensity and weather conditions. Further detailed research should focus on how the season and the metrological conditions affect concentration levels of traffic-related pollutants and the exposure of commuters and pedestrians as well as the inhabitants of houses located near traffic routes.

Keywords: air quality, deposition dose, health effects, vehicle emissions

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Vijay Kumar, G. K. Grewal, Prasad S. Burange

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India is one of the largest cultivators of cotton in the world. Among the various constraints, insect pests are posing a major hurdle to the success of cotton cultivation. Various bollworms, including the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), cause serious losses in India, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Brazil, tropical America, and Africa, etc. Bt cotton cultivars having Cry genes were introduced in India in 2002 (Cry1Ac) and 2006 (Cry1Ac+ Cry2Ab) for control of American, spotted, and pink bollworms. Pink bollworm (PBW) larvae infest flowers, squares, and bolls. Larva burrows into flowers and bolls to feed on pollen and seeds, respectively. It has a shorter lifecycle and more generations per year, so it develops resistance more quickly than other bollworms. Further, it has cryptic feeding sites, i.e., flowers and bolls/seeds, so it is not exposed to harsh environmental fluctuations and insecticidal applications. The cry toxin concentration is low in its feeding sites, i.e., seeds and flowers of cotton. The use of insecticide and Bt cotton is the primary control measure that has been successful in limiting the damage of PBW. But with the passage of time, it has developed resistance against insecticides and Bt cotton. However, the use of insecticides increases chemical control costs while causing secondary pest problems and environmental pollution. Extensive research has indicated that monitoring and control measures such as biological, cultural, chemical, and host plant resistance methods can be integrated for effective PBW management. The potential of various biological control organisms needs to be explored. The impact of transgenic cotton on non-target organisms, particularly natural enemies, which play an important role in pest control, is still being debated. According to some authors, Bt crops have a negative impact on natural enemies, particularly parasitoids. An experiment was carried out in the Integrated Pest Management Laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, to study the natural parasitization of PBW on Bt cotton in 2022. A large population of larvae of PBW were kept individually in plastic containers and fed with cotton bolls until the emergence of a parasitoid cocoon. The first cocoon of the parasitoid was observed on October 25, 2022. Symptoms of parasitization were never seen on larvae. Larvae stopped feeding and became inactive before the emergence of parasitoids for pupation. Grub makes its way out of larvae by making a hole in the integument, and immediately after coming out, it spins the cocoon. The adult parasitoid emerged from the cocoon after eight days. The parasitoids that emerged from the cocoon were identified as Cotesia (Braconidae: Hymenoptera) based on the features of the adult. Out of 475 larvae of PBW, 87 were parasitized, with 18.31% of parasitization. Out of these, 6.73% were first instar, 10.52% were second instar, and 1.05% were third instar larvae of PBW. No parasitization was observed in fourth instar larvae. Parasitoids were observed during the fag end of cropping season and mostly on the earlier instars. It is concluded that the potential of Cotesia may be explored as a biological control agent against PBW, which is safer to human beings, environment and non-taraltoget organisms.

Keywords: biocontrol, Bt cotton, Cotesia, Pectinophora gossypiella

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Authors: G. Kontochristopoulos, T. Spiliopoulos, V. Markantoni, E. Platsidaki, A. Kouris, E. Balamoti, C. Bokotas, G. Haidemenos

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Introduction: There is a high patient demand for periorbital rejuvenation since the facial area is often the first to show visible signs of aging. With advancing age, there are sometimes marked changes that occur in the skin, fat, muscle and bone of the periorbital region, resulting to wrinkles and skin laxity. These changes are among the easiest areas to correct using several minimally invasive techniques, which have become increasingly popular over the last decade. Lasers, radiofrequency, botulinum toxin, fat grafting and fillers are available treatments sometimes in combination to traditional blepharoplasty. This study attempts to show the benefits of a minimally invasive approach to periorbital wrinkles and skin laxity that combine microneedling and 10% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) peels. Method: Eleven female patients aged 34-72 enrolled in the study. They all gave informed consent after receiving detailed information regarding the treatment procedure. Exclusion criteria in the study were previous treatment for the same condition in the past six months, pregnancy, allergy or hypersensitivity to the components, infection, inflammation and photosensitivity on the affected region. All patients had diffuse periorbital wrinkles and mild to moderate upper or lower eyelid skin laxity. They were treated with Automatic Microneedle Therapy System-Handhold and topical application of 10% trichloroacetic acid solution to each periorbital area for five minutes. Needling at a 0,25 mm depth was performed in both latelar (x-y) directions. Subsequently, the peeling agent was applied to each periorbital area for five minutes. Patients were subjected to the above combination every two weeks for a series of four treatments. Subsequently they were followed up regularly every month for two months. The effect was photo-documented. A Physician's and a Patient's Global Assessment Scale was used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment (0-25% indicated poor response, 25%-50% fair, 50%-75% good and 75%-100% excellent response). Safety was assessed by monitoring early and delayed adverse events. Results: At the end of the study, almost all patients demonstrated significant aesthetic improvement. Physicians assessed a fair and a good improvement in 9(81.8% of patients) and 2(18.1% of patients) participants respectively. Patients Global Assessment rated a fair and a good response in 6 (54.5%) and 5 (45.4%) participants respectively. The procedure was well tolerated and all patients were satisfied. Mild discomfort and transient erythema were quite common during or immediately after the procedure, however only temporary. During the monthly follow up, no complications or scars were observed. Conclusions: Microneedling is known as a simple, office–based collagen induction therapy. Low concentration TCA solution applied to the epidermis that has been more permeable by microneedling, can reach the dermis more effectively. In the present study, chemical peels with 10% TCA acted as an adjuvant to microneedling, as it causes controlled skin damage, promoting regeneration and rejuvenation of tissues. This combined therapy improved periorbital fine lines, wrinkles, and overall appearance of the skin. Thus it constitutes an alternative treatment of periorbital skin aging, with encouraging results and minor side-effects.

Keywords: chemical peels, microneedling, periorbital wrinkles, skin laxity

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Authors: Samart Porncharoen, Nisa Pakvilai

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The elevated levels of air pollutants in regional atmospheric environments is a significant problem that affects human health in Thailand, particularly in the Chao Phraya River Basin. Of concern are issues surrounding ambient air pollution such as particulate matter, gaseous pollutants and more specifically concerning air pollution along the river. Therefore, the spatio-temporal study of air pollution in this real environment can gain more accurate air quality data for making formalized environmental policy in river basins. In order to inform such a policy, a study was conducted over a period of January –December, 2015 to continually collect measurements of various pollutants in both urban and regional locations in the Chao Phraya River Basin. This study investigated the air pollutants in many diverse environments along the Chao Phraya River Basin, Thailand in 2015. Multivariate Analysis Techniques such as Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and Path analysis were utilised to classify air pollution in the surveyed location. Measurements were collected in both urban and rural areas to see if significant differences existed between the two locations in terms of air pollution levels. The meteorological parameters of various particulates were collected continually from a Thai pollution control department monitoring station over a period of January –December, 2015. Of interest to this study were the readings of SO2, CO, NOx, O3, and PM10. Results showed a daily arithmetic mean concentration of SO2, CO, NOx, O3, PM10 reading at 3±1 ppb, 0.5± 0.5 ppm, 30±21 ppb, 19±16 ppb, and 40±20 ug/m3 in urban locations (Bangkok). During the same time period, the readings for the same measurements in rural areas, Ayutthaya (were 1±0.5 ppb, 0.1± 0.05 ppm, 25±17 ppb, 30±21 ppb, and 35±10 ug/m3respectively. This show that Bangkok were located in highly polluted environments that are dominated source emitted from vehicles. Further, results were analysed to ascertain if significant seasonal variation existed in the measurements. It was found that levels of both gaseous pollutants and particle matter in dry season were higher than the wet season. More broadly, the results show that levels of pollutants were measured highest in locations along the Chao Phraya. River Basin known to have a large number of vehicles and biomass burning. This correlation suggests that the principle pollutants were from these anthropogenic sources. This study contributes to the body of knowledge surrounding ambient air pollution such as particulate matter, gaseous pollutants and more specifically concerning air pollution along the Chao Phraya River Basin. Further, this study is one of the first to utilise continuous mobile monitoring along a river in order to gain accurate measurements during a data collection period. Overall, the results of this study can be used for making formalized environmental policy in river basins in order to reduce the physical effects on human health.

Keywords: air pollution, Chao Phraya river basin, meteorology, seasonal variation, principal component analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Rafia S. Al-lamki, Jun Wang, Simon Pacey, Jordan Pober, John R. Bradley

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Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), signaling through TNFR2, may act an autocrine growth factor for renal tubular epithelial cells. Clear cell renal carcinomas (ccRCC) contain cancer stem cells (CSCs) that give rise to progeny which form the bulk of the tumor. CSCs are rarely in cell cycle and, as non-proliferating cells, resist most chemotherapeutic agents. Thus, recurrence after chemotherapy may result from the survival of CSCs. Therapeutic targeting of both CSCs and the more differentiated bulk tumor populations may provide a more effective strategy for treatment of RCC. In this study, we hypothesized that TNFR2 signaling will induce CSCs in ccRCC to enter cell cycle so that treatment with ligands that engage TNFR2 will render CSCs susceptible to chemotherapy. To test this hypothesis, we have utilized wild-type TNF (wtTNF) or specific muteins selective for TNFR1 (R1TNF) or TNFR2 (R2TNF) to treat either short-term organ cultures of ccRCC and adjacent normal kidney (NK) tissue or cultures of CD133+ cells isolated from ccRCC and adjacent NK, hereafter referred to as stem cell-like cells (SCLCs). The effect of cyclophosphamide (CP), currently an effective anticancer agent, was tested on CD133+SCLCs from ccRCC and NK before and after R2TNF treatment. Responses to TNF were assessed by flow cytometry (FACS), immunofluorescence, and quantitative real-time PCR, TUNEL, and cell viability assays. Cytotoxic effect of CP was analyzed by Annexin V and propidium iodide staining with FACS. In addition, we assessed the effect of TNF on isolated SCLCs differentiation using a three-dimensional (3D) culture system. Clinical samples of ccRCC contain a greater number SCLCs compared to NK and the number of SCSC increases with higher tumor grade. Isolated SCLCs show expression of stemness markers (oct4, Nanog, Sox2, Lin28) but not differentiation markers (cytokeratin, CD31, CD45, and EpCAM). In ccRCC organ cultures, wtTNF and R2TNF increase CD133 and TNFR2 expression and promote cell cycle entry whereas wtTNF and R1TNF increase TNFR1 expression and promote cell death of SCLCs. Similar findings are observed in SCLCs isolated from NK but the effect was greater in SCLCs isolated from ccRCC. Application of CP distinctly triggered apoptotic and necrotic cell death in SLCSs pre-treatment with R2TNF as compared to CP treatment alone, with SCLCs from ccRCC more sensitive to CP compared to SLCS from NK. Furthermore, TNF promotes differentiation of SCLCs to an epithelial phenotype in 3D cultures, confirmed by cytokeratin expression and loss of stemness markers Nanog and Sox2. The differentiated cells show positive expression of TNF and TNFR2. These findings provide evidence that selective engagement of TNFR2 drive CSCs to cell proliferation/differentiation, and targeting of cycling cells with TNFR2 agonist in combination with anti-cancer agents may be a potential therapy for RCC.

Keywords: cancer stem cells, ccRCC, cell cycle, cell death, TNF, TNFR1, TNFR2, CD133

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Michele Gattullo, Vito M. Manghisi, Alessandro Evangelista, Enricoandrea Laviola

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In this work, we explored the use of Augmented Reality (AR) to support students in laboratory lectures in Distance Learning (DL), designing an application that proved to be ready for use next semester. AR could help students in the understanding of complex concepts as well as increase their motivation in the learning process. However, despite many prototypes in the literature, it is still less used in schools and universities. This is mainly due to the perceived limited advantages to the investment costs, especially regarding changes needed in the teaching modalities. However, with the spread of epidemiological emergency due to SARS-CoV-2, schools and universities were forced to a very rapid redefinition of consolidated processes towards forms of Distance Learning. Despite its many advantages, it suffers from the impossibility to carry out practical activities that are of crucial importance in STEM ("Science, Technology, Engineering e Math") didactics. In this context, AR perceived advantages increased a lot since teachers are more prepared for new teaching modalities, exploiting AR that allows students to carry on practical activities on their own instead of being physically present in laboratories. In this work, we designed an AR application for the support of engineering students in the understanding of assembly drawings of complex machines. Traditionally, this skill is acquired in the first years of the bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, through laboratory activities where the teacher shows the corresponding components (e.g., bearings, screws, shafts) in a real machine and their representation in the assembly drawing. This research aims to explore the effectiveness of AR to allow students to acquire this skill on their own without physically being in the laboratory. In a preliminary phase, we interviewed students to understand the main issues in the learning of this subject. This survey revealed that students had difficulty identifying machine components in an assembly drawing, matching between the 2D representation of a component and its real shape, and understanding the functionality of a component within the machine. We developed a mobile application using Unity3D, aiming to solve the mentioned issues. We designed the application in collaboration with the course professors. Natural feature tracking was used to associate the 2D printed assembly drawing with the corresponding 3D virtual model. The application can be displayed on students’ tablets or smartphones. Users could interact with selecting a component from a part list on the device. Then, 3D representations of components appear on the printed drawing, coupled with 3D virtual labels for their location and identification. Users could also interact with watching a 3D animation to learn how components are assembled. Students evaluated the application through a questionnaire based on the System Usability Scale (SUS). The survey was provided to 15 students selected among those we participated in the preliminary interview. The mean SUS score was 83 (SD 12.9) over a maximum of 100, allowing teachers to use the AR application in their courses. Another important finding is that almost all the students revealed that this application would provide significant power for comprehension on their own.

Keywords: augmented reality, distance learning, STEM didactics, technology in education

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Serap Durkut, A. Eser Elcin, Y. Murat Elcin

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Stimuli-sensitive polymeric hydrogels have received extensive attention in the biomedical field due to their sensitivity to physical and chemical stimuli (temperature, pH, ionic strength, light, etc.). This study describes the rheological properties of a novel thermoresponsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen hydrogel. In the study, we first synthesized a facile and novel synthetic carboxyl group-terminated thermo-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-COOH (PNVCL-COOH) via free radical polymerization. Further, this compound was effectively grafted with native collagen, by utilizing the covalent bond between the carboxylic acid groups at the end of the chains and amine groups of the collagen using cross-linking agent (EDC/NHS), forming PNVCL-g-Col. Newly-formed hybrid hydrogel displayed novel properties, such as increased mechanical strength and thermoresponsive characteristics. PNVCL-g-Col showed low critical solution temperature (LCST) at 38ºC, which is very close to the body temperature. Rheological studies determine structural–mechanical properties of the materials and serve as a valuable tool for characterizing. The rheological properties of hydrogels are described in terms of two dynamic mechanical properties: the elastic modulus G′ (also known as dynamic rigidity) representing the reversible stored energy of the system, and the viscous modulus G″, representing the irreversible energy loss. In order to characterize the PNVCL-g-Col, the rheological properties were measured in terms of the function of temperature and time during phase transition. Below the LCST, favorable interactions allowed the dissolution of the polymer in water via hydrogen bonding. At temperatures above the LCST, PNVCL molecules within PNVCL-g-Col aggregated due to dehydration, causing the hydrogel structure to become dense. When the temperature reached ~36ºC, both the G′ and G″ values crossed over. This indicates that PNVCL-g-Col underwent a sol-gel transition, forming an elastic network. Following temperature plateau at 38ºC, near human body temperature the sample displayed stable elastic network characteristics. The G′ and G″ values of the PNVCL-g-Col solutions sharply increased at 6-9 minute interval, due to rapid transformation into gel-like state and formation of elastic networks. Copolymerization with collagen leads to an increase in G′, as collagen structure contains a flexible polymer chain, which bestows its elastic properties. Elasticity of the proposed structure correlates with the number of intermolecular cross-links in the hydrogel network, increasing viscosity. However, at 8 minutes, G′ and G″ values sharply decreased for pure collagen solutions due to the decomposition of the elastic and viscose network. Complex viscosity is related to the mechanical performance and resistance opposing deformation of the hydrogel. Complex viscosity of PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel was drastically changed with temperature and the mechanical performance of PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel network increased, exhibiting lesser deformation. Rheological assessment of the novel thermo-responsive PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel, exhibited that the network has stronger mechanical properties due to both permanent stable covalent bonds and physical interactions, such as hydrogen- and hydrophobic bonds depending on temperature.

Keywords: poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen, thermoresponsive polymer, rheology, elastic modulus, stimuli-sensitive

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Authors: A. Matiushkina, A. Bazhenova, I. Litvinov, E. Kornilova, A. Dubavik, A. Orlova

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Magnetic-luminescent complexes based on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been recognized as a new class of materials that have high potential in modern medicine. These materials can serve for theranostics of oncological diseases, and also as a target agent for drug delivery. They combine the qualities characteristic of magnetic nanoparticles, that is, magneto-controllability and the ability to local heating under the influence of an external magnetic field, as well as phosphors, due to luminescence of which, for example, early tumor imaging is possible. The complexity of creating complexes is the energy transfer between particles, which quenches the luminescence of QDs in complexes with SPIONs. In this regard, a relatively new type of alloyed (CdₓZn₁₋ₓSeᵧS₁₋ᵧ)-ZnS QDs is used in our work. The presence of a sufficiently thick gradient semiconductor shell in alloyed QDs makes it possible to reduce the probability of energy transfer from QDs to SPIONs in complexes. At the same time, Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a perfect instrument to confirm the formation of complexes based on QDs and different-type energy acceptors. The formation of complexes in the aprotic bipolar solvent dimethyl sulfoxide is ensured by the coordination of the carboxyl group of the stabilizing QD molecule (L-cysteine) on the surface iron atoms of the SPIONs. An analysis of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra has shown that a sequential increase in the SPIONs concentration in the samples is accompanied by effective quenching of the luminescence of QDs. However, it has not confirmed the formation of complexes yet, because of a decrease in the PL intensity of QDs due to reabsorption of light by SPIONs. Therefore, a study of the PL kinetics of QDs at different SPIONs concentrations was made, which demonstrates that an increase in the SPIONs concentration is accompanied by a symbatic reduction in all characteristic PL decay times. It confirms the FRET from QDs to SPIONs, which indicates the QDs/SPIONs complex formation, rather than a spontaneous aggregation of QDs, which is usually accompanied by a sharp increase in the percentage of the QD fraction with the shortest characteristic PL decay time. The complexes have been studied by the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy that allows one to estimate the response of magnetic material to the applied magnetic field and also can be useful to check SPIONs aggregation. An analysis of the MCD spectra has shown that the complexes have zero residual magnetization, which is an important factor for using in biomedical applications, and don't contain SPIONs aggregates. Cell penetration, biocompatibility, and stability of QDs/SPIONs complexes in cancer cells have been studied using HeLa cell line. We have found that the complexes penetrate in HeLa cell and don't demonstrate cytotoxic effect up to 25 nM concentration. Our results clearly demonstrate that alloyed (CdₓZn₁₋ₓSeᵧS₁₋ᵧ)-ZnS QDs can be successfully used in complexes with SPIONs reached new hybrid nanostructures, which combine bright luminescence for tumor imaging and magnetic properties for targeted drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia of tumors. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation, goszadanie no. 2019-1080 and was financially supported by Government of Russian Federation, Grant 08-08.

Keywords: alloyed quantum dots, magnetic circular dichroism, magneto-luminescent complexes, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

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Authors: Glauco M. M. M. Lustosa, João Paulo C. Costa, Leinig Antônio Perazolli, Maria Aparecida Zaghete

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SnO2 has electrical conductivity due to the excess of electrons and structural defects, being its electrical behavior highly dependent on sintering temperature and chemical composition. The addition of metals modifiers into the crystalline structure can improve and controlling the behavior of some semiconductor oxides that can therefore develop different applications such as varistors (ceramic with non-ohmic behavior between current and voltage, i.e. conductive during normal operation and resistive during overvoltage). The polymeric precursor method, based on the complexation reaction between metal ion and policarboxylic acid and then polymerized with ethylene glycol, was used to obtain nanopowders ceramic. The metal immobilization reduces its segregation during the decomposition of the polyester resulting in a crystalline oxide with high chemical homogeneity. The preparation of films from ceramics nanoparticles using electrophoretic deposition method (EPD) brings prospects for a new generation of smaller size devices with easy integration technology. EPD allows to control time and current and therefore it can have control of the thickness, surface roughness and the film density, quickly and with low production costs. The sintering process is key to control size and grain boundary density of the film. In this step, there is the diffusion of metals that promote densification and control of intrinsic defects or change these defects which will form and modify the potential barrier in the grain boundary. The use of microwave oven for sintering is an advantageous process due to the fast and homogeneous heating rate, promoting the diffusion and densification without irregular grain growth. This research was done a comparative study of sintering temperature by use of zinc as modifier agent to verify the influence on sintering step aiming to promote densification and grain growth, which influences the potential barrier formation and then changed the electrical behavior. SnO2-nanoparticles were obtained with 1 %mol of ZnO + 0.05 %mol of Nb2O5 (SZN), deposited as film through EPD (voltage 2 kV, time of 10 min) on Si/Pt substrate. Sintering was made in a microwave oven at 800, 900 and 1000 °C. For complete coverage of the substrate by nanoparticles with low surface roughness and uniform thickness was added 0.02 g of solid iodine in alcoholic suspension SnO2 to increase particle surface charge. They were also used magneto in EPD system that improved the deposition rate forming a compact film. Using a scanning electron microscope of high resolution (SEM_FEG) it was observed nanoparticles with average size between 10-20 nm, after sintering the average size was 150 to 200 nm and thickness of 5 µm. Also, it was verified that the temperature at 1000 °C was the most efficient in sintering. The best sintering time was also recorded and determined as 40 minutes. After sintering, the films were recovered with Cr3+ ions layer by EPD, then the films were again thermally treated. The electrical characterizations (nonlinear coefficient of 11.4, voltage rupture of ~60 V and leakage current = 4.8x10−6 A), allow considering the new methodology suitable for prepare SnO2-based varistor applied for development of electrical protection devices for low voltage.

Keywords: chemical synthesis, electrophoretic deposition, microwave sintering, tin dioxide

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Authors: Chuanqiao Zheng, Wei Zeng, Haozhen Lin

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As of March 2020, the number of Chinese netizens has reached 904 million. The proportion of Internet users accessing the Internet through mobile phones is as high as 99.3%. Under the background of 'Internet +', tourists have a stronger sense of independence in the choice of tourism destinations and tourism products. Tourists are more inclined to learn about the relevant information on tourism destinations and other tourists' evaluations of tourist products through the Internet. The search engine, as an integrated platform that contains a wealth of information, is highly valuable to the analysis of the characteristics of the Internet attention given to various tourism destinations, through big data mining and analysis. This article uses the Baidu Index as the data source, which is one of the products of Baidu Search. The Baidu Index is based on big data, which collects and shares the search results of a large number of Internet users on the Baidu search engine. The big data used in this article includes search index, demand map, population profile, etc. The main research methods used are: (1) based on the search index, analyzing the Internet attention given to the tourism in five cities in Northeast Sichuan at different times, so as to obtain the overall trend and individual characteristics of tourism development in the region; (2) based on the demand map and the population profile, analyzing the demographic characteristics and market positioning of the tourist groups in these cities to understand the characteristics and needs of the target groups; (3) correlating the Internet attention data with the permanent population of each province in China in the corresponding to construct the Boston matrix of the Internet attention rate of the Northeast Sichuan tourism, obtain the tourism target markets, and then propose development strategies for different markets. The study has found that: a) the Internet attention given to the tourism in the region can be categorized into tourist off-season and peak season; the Internet attention given to tourism in different cities is quite different. b) tourists look for information including tour guide information, ticket information, traffic information, weather information, and information on the competing tourism cities; with regard to the population profile, the main group of potential tourists searching for the keywords of tourism in the five prefecture-level cities in Northeast Sichuan are youth. The male to female ratio is about 6 to 4, with males being predominant. c) through the construction of the Boston matrix, it is concluded that the star market for tourism in the Northeast Sichuan Economic Zone includes Sichuan and Shaanxi; the cash cows market includes Hainan and Ningxia; the question market includes Jiangsu and Shanghai; the dog market includes Hubei and Jiangxi. The study concludes with the following planning strategies and recommendations: i) creating a diversified business format that integrates cultural and tourism; ii) creating a brand image of niche tourism; iii) focusing on the development of tourism products; iv) innovating composite three-dimensional marketing channels.

Keywords: Baidu Index, big data, internet attention, tourism

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Authors: Heikki Ruohomaa, Vesa Salminen

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Regions are facing huge competition to attract companies, businesses, inhabitants, students, etc. This way to improve living and business environment, which is rapidly changing due to digitalization. On the other hand, from the industry's point of view, the availability of a skilled labor force and an innovative environment are crucial factors. In this context, qualified staff has been seen to utilize the opportunities of digitalization and respond to the needs of future skills. World Manufacturing Forum has stated in the year 2019- report that in next five years, 40% of workers have to change their core competencies. Through digital transformation, new technologies like cloud, mobile, big data, 5G- infrastructure, platform- technology, data- analysis, and social networks with increasing intelligence and automation, enterprises can capitalize on new opportunities and optimize existing operations to achieve significant business improvement. Digitalization will be an important part of the everyday life of citizens and present in the working day of the average citizen and employee in the future. For that reason, the education system and education programs on all levels of education from diaper age to doctorate have been directed to fulfill this ecosystem strategy. Goal: The Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring unprecedented change to societies, education organizations and business environments. This article aims to identify how education, education content, the way education has proceeded, and overall whole the education business is changing. Most important is how we should respond to this inevitable co- evolution. Methodology: The study aims to verify how the learning process is boosted by new digital content, new learning software and tools, and customer-oriented learning environments. The change of education programs and individual education modules can be supported by applied research projects. You can use them in making proof- of- the concept of new technology, new ways to teach and train, and through the experiences gathered change education content, way to educate and finally education business as a whole. Major findings: Applied research projects can prove the concept- phases on real environment field labs to test technology opportunities and new tools for training purposes. Customer-oriented applied research projects are also excellent for students to make assignments and use new knowledge and content and teachers to test new tools and create new ways to educate. New content and problem-based learning are used in future education modules. This article introduces some case study experiences on customer-oriented digital transformation projects and how gathered knowledge on new digital content and a new way to educate has influenced education. The case study is related to experiences of research projects, customer-oriented field labs/learning environments and education programs of Häme University of Applied Sciences.

Keywords: education process, digitalization content, digital tools for education, learning environments, transdisciplinary co-operation

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Authors: Roberto Pili, Alessandro Romagnoli, Hartmut Spliethoff, Christoph Wieland

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Internal combustion engines (ICE) are today the most common energy system to drive vehicles and transportation systems. Numerous studies state that 50-60% of the fuel energy content is lost to the ambient as sensible heat. ORC offers a valuable alternative to recover such waste heat from ICE, leading to fuel energy savings and reduced emissions. In contrast, the additional weight of the ORC affects the net energy balance of the overall system and the ORC occupies additional volume that competes with vehicle transportation capacity. Consequently, a lower income from delivered freight or passenger tickets can be achieved. The economic feasibility of integrating an ORC into an ICE and the resulting economic impact of weight and volume have not been analyzed in open literature yet. This work intends to define such a benchmark for ORC applications in the transportation sector and investigates the current situation on the market. The applied methodology refers to the freight market, but it can be extended to passenger transportation as well. The economic parameter X is defined as the ratio between the variation of the freight revenues and the variation of fuel costs when an ORC is installed as a bottoming cycle for an ICE with respect to a reference case without ORC. A good economic situation is obtained when the reduction in fuel costs is higher than the reduction of revenues for the delivered freight, i.e. X<1. Through this constraint, a maximum allowable change of transport capacity for a given relative reduction in fuel consumption is determined. The specific fuel consumption is influenced by the ORC in two ways. Firstly because the transportable freight is reduced and secondly because the total weight of the vehicle is increased. Note, that the generated electricity of the ORC influences the size of the ICE and the fuel consumption as well. Taking the above dependencies into account, the limiting condition X = 1 results in a second order equation for the relative change in transported cargo. The described procedure is carried out for a typical city bus, a truck of 24-40 t of payload capacity, a middle-size freight train (1000 t), an inland water vessel (Va RoRo, 2500 t) and handysize-like vessel (25000 t). The maximum allowable mass and volume of the ORC are calculated in dependence of its efficiency in order to satisfy X < 1. Subsequently, these values are compared with weight and volume of commercial ORC products. For ships of any size, the situation appears already highly favorable. A different result is obtained for road and rail vehicles. For trains, the mass and the volume of common ORC products have to be reduced at least by 50%. For trucks and buses, the situation looks even worse. The findings of the present study show a theoretical and practical approach for the economic application of ORC in the transportation sector. In future works, the potential for volume and mass reduction of the ORC will be addressed, together with the integration of an economic assessment for the ORC.

Keywords: ORC, transportation, volume, weight

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Authors: Priyanka Verma, Vijaya Dixit, Rishabh Bajpai

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This research paper is aimed at selecting appropriate material handling equipment among the given choices so that the automation level in material handling can be enhanced. This work is a practical case scenario of material handling systems in consumer electronic appliances manufacturing organization. The choices of material handling equipment among which the decision has to be made are Automated Guided Vehicle’s (AGV), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), Overhead Conveyer’s (OC) and Battery Operated Trucks/Vehicle’s (BOT). There is a need of attaining a certain level of automation in order to reduce human interventions in the organization. This requirement of achieving certain degree of automation can be attained by material handling equipment’s mentioned above. The main motive for selecting above equipment’s for study was solely based on corporate financial strategy of investment and return obtained through that investment made in stipulated time framework. Since the low cost automation with respect to material handling devices has to be achieved hence these equipment’s were selected. Investment to be done on each unit of this equipment is less than 20 lakh rupees (INR) and the recovery period is less than that of five years. Fuzzy analytic hierarchic process (FAHP) is applied here for selecting equipment where the four choices are evaluated on basis of four major criteria’s and 13 sub criteria’s, and are prioritized on the basis of weight obtained. The FAHP used here make use of triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN). The inability of the traditional AHP in order to deal with the subjectiveness and impreciseness in the pair-wise comparison process has been improved in the FAHP. The range of values for general rating purposes for all decision making parameters is kept between 0 and 1 on the basis of expert opinions captured on shop floor. These experts were familiar with operating environment and shop floor activity control. Instead of generating exact value the FAHP generates the ranges of values to accommodate the uncertainty in decision-making process. The four major criteria’s selected for the evaluation of choices of material handling equipment’s available are materials, technical capabilities, cost and other features. The thirteen sub criteria’s listed under these following four major criteria’s are weighing capacity, load per hour, material compatibility, capital cost, operating cost and maintenance cost, speed, distance moved, space required, frequency of trips, control required, safety and reliability issues. The key finding shows that among the four major criteria selected, cost is emerged as the most important criteria and is one of the key decision making aspect on the basis of which material equipment selection is based on. While further evaluating the choices of equipment available for each sub criteria it is found that AGV scores the highest weight in most of the sub-criteria’s. On carrying out complete analysis the research shows that AGV is the best material handling equipment suiting all decision criteria’s selected in FAHP and therefore it is beneficial for the organization to carry out automated material handling in the facility using AGV’s.

Keywords: fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), material handling equipment, subjectiveness, triangular fuzzy number (TFN)

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Authors: Siba Soren, Purnendu Parhi

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Today, the world is facing a severe challenge due to depletion of traditional fossil fuels. Scientists across the globe are working for a solution that involves a dramatic shift to practical and environmentally sustainable energy sources. High-capacity energy systems, such as metal-air batteries, fuel cells, are highly desirable to meet the urgent requirement of sustainable energies. Among the fuel cells, Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are recognized as an ideal power source for mobile applications and have received considerable attention in recent past. In this advanced electrochemical energy conversion technologies, Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) is of utmost importance. However, the poor kinetics of cathodic ORR in DMFCs significantly hampers their possibilities of commercialization. The oxygen is reduced in alkaline medium either through a 4-electron (equation i) or a 2-electron (equation ii) reduction pathway at the cathode ((i) O₂ + 2H₂O + 4e⁻ → 4OH⁻, (ii) O₂ + H₂O + 2e⁻ → OH⁻ + HO₂⁻ ). Due to sluggish ORR kinetics the ability to control the reduction of molecular oxygen electrocatalytically is still limited. The electrocatalytic ORR starts with adsorption of O₂ on the electrode surface followed by O–O bond activation/cleavage and oxide removal. The reaction further involves transfer of 4 electrons and 4 protons. The sluggish kinetics of ORR, on the one hand, demands high loading of precious metal-containing catalysts (e.g., Pt), which unfavorably increases the cost of these electrochemical energy conversion devices. Therefore, synthesis of active electrocatalyst with an increase in ORR performance is need of the hour. In the recent literature, there are many reports on transition metal oxide (TMO) based ORR catalysts for their high activity TMOs are also having drawbacks like low electrical conductivity, which seriously affects the electron transfer process during ORR. It was found that 2D graphene layer is having high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and excellent chemical stability, appeared to be an ultimate choice as support material to enhance the catalytic performance of bare metal oxide. g-C₃N₄ is also another candidate that has been used by the researcher for improving the ORR performance of metal oxides. This material provides more active reaction sites than other N containing carbon materials. Rare earth oxide like CeO₂ is also a good candidate for studying the ORR activity as the metal oxide not only possess unique electronic properties but also possess catalytically active sites. Here we will discuss the ORR performance (in alkaline medium) of N-rGO/C₃N₄ supported nano Cerium Oxides hybrid synthesized by microwave assisted Solvothermal method. These materials exhibit superior electrochemical stability and methanol tolerance capability to that of commercial Pt/C.

Keywords: oxygen reduction reaction, electrocatalyst, cerium oxide, graphene

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Authors: Sanjay Ranade

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Traditional film theory assumes the cinema audience in a darkened room where cinema is projected on to a white screen, and the audience suspends their sense of reality. Shifts in audiences due to changes in cultural tastes or trends have been studied for decades. In the past two decades, however, the audience, especially the youth, has shifted to digital media for the consumption of cinema. As a result, not only are audiences watching cinema on different devices, they are also consuming cinema in places and ways never imagined before. Public transport often crowded to the brim with a lot of ambient content, and a variety of workplaces have become sites for cinema viewing. Cinema is watched piecemeal and at different times of the day. Audiences use devices such as mobile phones and tablets to watch cinema. The cinema viewing experience is getting redesigned by the user. The emerging design allows the spectator to not only consume images and narratives but also produce, reproduce, and manipulate existing images and narratives, thereby participating in the process and influencing it. Spectatorship studies stress on the importance of subjectivity when dealing with the structure of the film text and the cultural and psychological implications in the engagement between the spectator and the film text. Indian cinema has been booming and contributing to global movie production significantly. In 2005 film production was 1000 films a year and doubled to 2000 by 2016. Digital technology helped push this growth in 2012. Film studies in India have had a decided Euro-American bias. The studies have chiefly analysed the content for ideological leanings or myth or as reflections of society, societal changes, or articulation of identity or presented retrospectives of directors, actors, music directors, etc. The one factor relegated to the background has been the spectator. If they have been addressed, they are treated as a collective of class or gender. India has a performative tradition going back several centuries. How Indians receive cinema is an important aspect to study with respect to film studies. This exploratory and descriptive study looked at 162 young media students studying cinema at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The students, speaking as many as 20 languages amongst them, were drawn from across the country’s media schools. The study looked at nine film societies registered with the Federation of Film Societies of India. A structured questionnaire was made and distributed online through media teachers for the students. The film societies were approached through the regional office of the FFSI in Mumbai. Lastly, group discussions were held in Mumbai with students and teachers of media. A group consisted of between five and twelve student participants, along with one or two teachers. All the respondents looked at themselves as spectators and shared their experiences of spectators of cinema, providing a very rich insight into Indian conditions of viewing cinema and challenges for cinema ahead.

Keywords: audience, digital, film studies, reception, reception spectatorship

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Authors: Anas Hallak, Latifa Seblini, Juergen Wilde

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In mechatronics or sensor technology, plastic housings are used to protect sensitive components from harmful environmental influences, such as moisture, media, or reactive substances. Connections, preferably in the form of metallic lead-frame structures, through the housing wall are required for their electrical supply or control. In this system, an insufficient connection between the plastic component, e.g., Polyamide66, and the metal surface, e.g., copper, due to the incompatibility is dominating. As a result, leakage paths can occur along with the plastic-metal interface. Since adhesive bonding has been established as one of the most important joining processes and its use has expanded significantly, driven by the development of improved high-performance adhesives and bonding techniques, this technology has been involved in metal-plastic hybrid structures. In this study, an epoxy bonding agent from DELO (DUALBOND LT2266) has been used to improve the mechanical and chemical binding between the metal and the polymer. It is an adhesion promoter with two reaction stages. In these, the first stage provides fixation to the lead frame directly after the coating step, which can be done by UV-Exposure for a few seconds. In the second stage, the material will be thermally hardened during injection molding. To analyze the two reaction stages of the primer, dynamic DSC experiments were carried out and correlated with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements. Furthermore, the number of crosslinking bonds formed in the system in each reaction stage has also been estimated by a rheological characterization. Those investigations have been performed with different times of UV exposure: 12, 96 s and in an industrial preferred temperature range from -20 to 175°C. The shear viscosity values of primer have been measured as a function of temperature and exposure times. For further interpretation, the storage modulus values have been calculated, and the so-called Booij–Palmen plot has been sketched. The next approach in this study is the self-healing mechanisms in the hydride system in which the primer should flow into micro-damage such as interface, cracks, inhibit them from growing, and close them. The ability of the primer to flow in and penetrate defined capillaries made in Ultramid was investigated. Holes with a diameter of 0.3 mm were produced in injection-molded A3EG7 plates with 4 mm thickness. A copper substrate coated with the DUALBOND was placed on the A3EG7 plate and pressed with a certain force. Metallographic analyses were carried out to verify the filling grade, which showed an almost 95% filling ratio of the capillaries. Finally, to estimate the self-healing mechanism in metal-plastic hybrid systems, characterizations have been done on a simple geometry with a metal inlay developed by the Institute of Polymer Technology in Friedrich-Alexander-University. The specimens have been modified with tungsten wire which was to be pulled out after the injection molding to create a micro-hole in the specimen at the interface between the primer and the polymer. The capability of the primer to heal those micro-cracks upon heating, pressing, and thermal aging has been characterized through metallographic analyses.

Keywords: hybrid structures, self-healing, thermoplastic housing, adhesive

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Authors: Soma Ghosh, Balaram Mohapatra, Pinaki Sar, Abhijeet Mukherjee

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Microbial role in arsenic (As) mobilization in the groundwater aquifers of Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) in India, severely threatened by high concentrations of As, remains largely unknown. The present study, therefore, is a molecular and ecophysiological characterization of an indigenous bacterium strain IIIJ3-1 isolated from As contaminated groundwater of BRB and application of this strain in several microcosm set ups differing in their organic carbon (OC) source and terminal electron acceptors (TEA), to understand its role in As dissolution under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Strain IIIJ3-1 was found to be a new facultative anaerobic, gram-positive, endospore-forming strain capable of arsenite (As3+) oxidation and dissimilatory arsenate (As5+) reduction. The bacterium exhibited low genomic (G+C)% content (45 mol%). Although, its 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed a maximum similarity of 99% with Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579(T) but the DNA-DNA relatedness of their genomic DNAs was only 49.9%, which remains well below the value recommended to delimit different species. Abundance of fatty acids iC17:0, iC15:0 and menaquinone (MK) 7 though corroborates its taxonomic affiliation with B. cereus sensu-lato group, presence of hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs), C18:2, MK5 and MK6 marked its uniqueness. Besides being highly As resistant (MTC=10mM As3+, 350mM As5+), metabolically diverse, efficient aerobic As3+ oxidizer; it exhibited near complete dissimilatory reduction of As5+ (1 mM). Utilization of various carbon sources with As5+ as TEA revealed lactate to serve as the best electron donor. Aerobic biotransformation assay yielded a lower Km for As3+ oxidation than As5+ reduction. Arsenic homeostasis was found to be conferred by the presence of arr, arsB, aioB, and acr3(1) genes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of this bacterium revealed reduction in cell size upon exposure to As and formation of As-rich electron opaque dots following growth with As3+. Incubation of this strain with sediment (sterilised) collected from BRB aquifers under varying OC, TEA and redox conditions revealed that the strain caused highest As mobilization from solid to aqueous phase under anaerobic condition with lactate and nitrate as electron donor and acceptor, respectively. Co-release of highest concentrations of oxalic acid, a well known bioweathering agent, considerable fold increase in viable cell counts and SEM-EDX and X-ray diffraction analysis of the sediment after incubation under this condition indicated that As release is consequent to microbial bioweathering of the minerals. Co-release of other elements statistically proves decoupled release of As with Fe and Zn. Principle component analysis also revealed prominent role of nitrate under aerobic and/or anaerobic condition in As release by strain IIIJ3-1. This study, therefore, is the first to isolate, characterize and reveal As mobilization property of a strain belonging to the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group isolated from highly As contaminated aquifers of Brahmaputra River Basin.

Keywords: anaerobic microcosm, arsenic rich electron opaque dots, Arsenic release, Bacillus strain IIIJ3-1

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Authors: Steven Sam, Ximena Schmidt, Hugh Dickinson, Jens Jensen

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The goal of this study is to explore the potential of data science and citizen science approaches to develop an interactive, digital, open infrastructure that pulls together African indigenous agriculture and food systems data from multiple sources, making it accessible and reusable for policy, research and practice in modern food production efforts. The World Bank has recognised that African Indigenous Knowledge (AIK) is innovative and unique among local and subsistent smallholder farmers, and it is central to sustainable food production and enhancing biodiversity and natural resources in many poor, rural societies. AIK refers to tacit knowledge held in different languages, cultures and skills passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. AIK is a key driver of food production, preservation, and consumption for more than 80% of citizens in Africa, and can therefore assist modern efforts of reducing food insecurity and hunger. However, the documentation and dissemination of AIK remain a big challenge confronting librarians and other information professionals in Africa, and there is a risk of losing AIK owing to urban migration, modernisation, land grabbing, and the emergence of relatively small-scale commercial farming businesses. There is also a clear disconnect between the AIK and scientific knowledge and modern efforts for sustainable food production. The study combines data science and citizen science approaches through active community participation to generate and share AIK for facilitating learning and promoting knowledge that is relevant for policy intervention and sustainable food production through a curated digital platform based on FAIR principles. The study adopts key informant interviews along with participatory photo and video elicitation approach, where farmers are given digital devices (mobile phones) to record and document their every practice involving agriculture, food production, processing, and consumption by traditional means. Data collected are analysed using the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s proven methodology of citizen science (Zooniverse) and data science. Outcomes are presented in participatory stakeholder workshops, where the researchers outline plans for creating the platform and developing the knowledge sharing standard framework and copyrights agreement. Overall, the study shows that learning from AIK, by investigating what local communities know and have, can improve understanding of food production and consumption, in particular in times of stress or shocks affecting the food systems and communities. Thus, the platform can be useful for local populations, research, and policy-makers, and it could lead to transformative innovation in the food system, creating a fundamental shift in the way the North supports sustainable, modern food production efforts in Africa.

Keywords: Africa indigenous agriculture knowledge, citizen science, data science, sustainable food production, traditional food system

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Authors: Noury Bakrim

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When dealing with motivation/arbitrariness, forming form (Forma Formans) and morphodynamics are to be grasped as relevant implications of enunciation/enactment, schematization within the specificity of language as sound/meaning articulation. Thus, the fact that a language is a form does not contradict stasis/dynamic enunciation (reflexivity vs double articulation). Moreover, some languages exemplify the role of the forming form, uttering, and schematization (roots in Semitic languages, the Chinese case). Beyond the evolutionary biosemiotic process (form/substance bifurcation, the split between realization/representation), non-isomorphism/asymmetry between linguistic form/norm and linguistic realization (phonetics for instance) opens up a new horizon problematizing the role of Brain – sensorimotor contribution in the continuous forming form. Therefore, we hypothesize biotization as both process/trace co-constructing motivation/forming form. Henceforth, referring to our findings concerning distribution and motivation patterns within Berber written texts (pulse based obstruents and nasal-lateral levels in poetry) and oral storytelling (consonant intensity clustering in quantitative and semantic/prosodic motivation), we understand consonant clustering, motivation and schematization as a complex phenomenon partaking in patterns of oral/written iconic prosody and reflexive metalinguistic representation opening the stable form. We focus our inquiry on both Amazigh and English clusters (/spl/, /spr/) and iconic consonant iteration in [gnunnuy] (to roll/tumble), [smummuy] (to moan sadly or crankily). For instance, the syllabic structures of /splaeʃ/ and /splaet/ imply an anamorphic representation of the state of the world: splash, impact on aquatic surfaces/splat impact on the ground. The pair has stridency and distribution as distinctive features which specify its phonetic realization (and a part of its meaning) /ʃ/ is [+ strident] and /t/ is [+ distributed] on the vocal tract. Schematization is then a process relating both physiology/code as an arthron vocal/bodily, vocal/practical shaping of the motor-articulatory system, leading to syntactic/semantic thematization (agent/patient roles in /spl/, /sm/ and other clusters or the tense uvular /qq/ at the initial position in Berber). Furthermore, the productivity of serial syllable sequencing in Berber points out different expressivity forms. We postulate two Components of motivated formalization: i) the process of memory paradigmatization relating to sequence modeling under sensorimotor/verbal specific categories (production/perception), ii) the process of phonotactic selection - prosodic unconscious/subconscious distribution by virtue of iconicity. Basing on multiple tests including a questionnaire, phonotactic/visual recognition and oral/written reproduction, we aim at patterning/conceptualizing consonant schematization and motivation among EFL and Amazigh (Berber) learners and speakers integrating biolinguistic hypotheses.

Keywords: consonant motivation and prosody, language and order of life, anamorphic representation, represented representation, biotization, sensori-motor and brain representation, form, formalization and schematization

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Authors: Jiri Nepereny, Vladimir Vrzal

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Staphylococcus intermedius/pseudintermedius bacteria are commonly found on the skin of healthy dogs and can cause pruritic skin diseases under certain circumstances (trauma, allergy, immunodeficiency, ectoparasitosis, endocrinological diseases, glucocorticoid therapy, etc.). These can develop into complicated superficial or deep pyoderma, which represent a large group of problematic skin diseases in dogs. These are predominantly inflammations of a secondary nature, associated with the occurrence of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. A major problem is increased itching, which greatly complicates the healing process. The aim of this work is to verify the efficacy of the developed preparation Bacteriophage SI (Staphylococcus intermedius). The tested preparation contains a lysate of bacterial cells of S. intermedius host culture including culture medium and live virions of specific phage. Sodium Merthiolate is added as a preservative in a safe concentration. Validation of the efficacy of the product was demonstrated by monitoring the therapeutic effect after application to indicated cases from clinical practice. The indication for inclusion of the patient into the trial was an adequate history and clinical examination accompanied by sample collection for bacteriological examination and isolation of the specific causative agent. Isolate identification was performed by API BioMérieux identification system (API ID 32 STAPH) and rep-PCR typing. The suitability of therapy for a specific case was confirmed by in vitro testing of the lytic ability of the bacteriophage to lyse the specific isolate = formation of specific plaques on the culture isolate on the surface of the solid culture medium. So far, a total of 32 dogs of different sexes, ages and breed affiliations with different symptoms of staphylococcal dermatitis have been included in the testing. Their previous therapy consisted of more or less successful systemic or local application of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The presence of S. intermedius/pseudintermedius has been demonstrated in 26 cases. The isolates were identified as a S. pseudintermedius, in all cases. Contaminant bacterial microflora was always present in the examined samples. The test product was applied subcutaneously in gradually increasing doses over a period of 1 month. After improvement in health status, maintenance therapy was followed by application of the product once a week for 3 months. Adverse effects associated with the administration of the product (swelling at the site of application) occurred in only 2 cases. In all cases, there was a significant reduction in clinical signs (healing of skin lesions and reduction of inflammation) after therapy and an improvement in the well-being of the treated animals. A major problem in the treatment of pyoderma is the frequent resistance of the causative agents to antibiotics, especially the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) strains. Specific phagolysate using for the therapy of these diseases could solve this problem and to some extent replace or reduce the use of antibiotics, whose frequent and widespread application often leads to the emergence of resistance. The advantage of the therapeutic use of bacteriophages is their bactericidal effect, high specificity and safety. This work was supported by Project FV40213 from Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic.

Keywords: bacteriophage, pyoderma, staphylococcus spp, therapy

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Authors: Heichia Wang, Yalan Chao

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Social inequality is a persistent problem. One of the ways to solve this problem is through education. At present, vulnerable groups are often less geographically accessible to educational resources. However, compared with educational resources, communication equipment is easier for vulnerable groups. Now that information and communication technology (ICT) has entered the field of education, today we can accept the convenience that ICT provides in education, and the mobility that it brings makes learning independent of time and place. With mobile learning, teachers and students can start discussions in an online chat room without the limitations of time or place. However, because liquidity learning is quite convenient, people tend to solve problems in short online texts with lack of detailed information in a lack of convenient online environment to express ideas. Therefore, the ICT education environment may cause misunderstanding between teachers and students. Therefore, in order to better understand each other's views between teachers and students, this study aims to clarify the essays of the analysts and classify the students into several types of learning questions to clarify the views of teachers and students. In addition, this study attempts to extend the description of possible omissions in short texts by using external resources prior to classification. In short, by applying a short text classification, this study can point out each student's learning problems and inform the instructor where the main focus of the future course is, thus improving the ICT education environment. In order to achieve the goals, this research uses convolutional neural network (CNN) method to analyze short discussion content between teachers and students in an ICT education environment. Divide students into several main types of learning problem groups to facilitate answering student problems. In addition, this study will further cluster sub-categories of each major learning type to indicate specific problems for each student. Unlike most neural network programs, this study attempts to extend short texts with external resources before classifying them to improve classification performance. In short, by applying the classification of short texts, we can point out the learning problems of each student and inform the instructors where the main focus of future courses will improve the ICT education environment. The data of the empirical process will be used to pre-process the chat records between teachers and students and the course materials. An action system will be set up to compare the most similar parts of the teaching material with each student's chat history to improve future classification performance. Later, the function of short text classification uses CNN to classify rich chat records into several major learning problems based on theory-driven titles. By applying these modules, this research hopes to clarify the main learning problems of students and inform teachers that they should focus on future teaching.

Keywords: ICT education improvement, social equality, short text analysis, convolutional neural network

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