Search results for: combined surgery

Authors: Geraldine Molina, Malou Allagnat

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Entry through meteorological and climatic phenomena, technical knowledge and engineering sciences has long been favored by the research and local public action to analyze the urban climate, develop strategies to reduce its changes and adapt their spaces. However, in their daily practices and sensitive experiences, city dwellers are confronted with the climate and constantly deal with its fluctuations. In this way, these actors develop knowledge, skills and tactics to regulate their comfort and adapt to climatic variations. Therefore, the empirical observation and analysis of these living experiences represent major scientific and social challenges. This contribution proposes to question these relationships of the inhabitants to urban climate. It tackles the construction of inhabitants’ climatic experiences to answer a central question: how do city dwellers’ deal with the urban climate and adapt to its different variations? Indeed, the city raises the question of how populations adapt to different spatial and temporal climatic variations. Local impacts of global climate change are combined with the urban heat island phenomenon and other microclimatic effects, as well as seasonal, daytime and night-time fluctuations. To provide answers, the presentation will be focused on the results of a CNRS research project (Géraldine Molina), part of which is linked to the European project Nature For Cities (H2020, Marjorie Musy, Scientific Director). From a theoretical point of view, the contribution is based on a renewed definition of adaptation centered on the capacity of individuals and social groups, a recently opened entry from a theoretical point of view by social scientists. The research adopts a "radical interdisciplinary" approach to shed light on the links between social dynamics of climate (inhabitants’ perceptions, representations and practices) and physical processes that characterize urban climate. To do so, it relied on a methodological combination of different survey techniques borrowed from the social sciences (geography, anthropology, sociology) and linked to the work, methodologies and results of the engineering sciences. From 2016 to 2019, a survey was carried out in two districts of Lyon whose morphological, micro-climatic and social characteristics differ greatly, namely the 6th arrondissement and the Guillotière district. To explore the construction of climate experiences over the long term by putting it into perspective with the life trajectories of individuals, 70 semi-directive interviews were conducted with inhabitants. In order to also punctually survey the climate experiments as they unfold in a given time and moment, observation and measurement campaigns of physical phenomena and questionnaires have been conducted in public spaces by an interdisciplinary research team1. The contribution at the ICUC 2020 will mainly focus on the presentation of the presentation of the qualitative survey conducted thanks to the inhabitants’ interviews.

Keywords: sensitive experiences, ways of life, thermal comfort, radical interdisciplinarity

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Authors: Nynne Nørup, Julie Helles Eriksen, Rikke M. Moalem, Else Skjold

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Despite a growing focus on the high environmental impact of textiles, textile waste is only recently considered as part of the waste field. Consequently, there is a general lack of knowledge and data within this field. Particularly the lack of a common perception of textiles generates several problems e.g., to recognize the full material potential the fraction contains, which is cruel if the textile must enter the circular economy. This study aims to qualify a method to make the resources in textile waste visible in a way that makes it possible to move them as high up in the waste hierarchy as possible. Textiles are complex and cover many different types of products, fibers and combinations of fibers and production methods. In garments alone, there is a great variety, even when narrowing it to only undergarments. However, textile waste is often reduced to one fraction, assessed solely by quantity, and compared to quantities of other waste fractions. Disregarding the complexity and reducing textiles to a single fraction that covers everything made of textiles increase the risk of neglecting the value of the materials, both with regards to their properties and economical. Instead of trying to fit textile waste into the current primarily linear waste system where volume is a key part of the business models, this study focused on integrating textile waste as a resource in the design and production phase. The study combined interdisciplinary methods for determining replacement rates used in Life Cycle Assessments and Mass Flow Analysis methods with the designer’s toolbox to hereby activate the properties of textile waste in a way that can unleash its potential optimally. It was hypothesized that by activating Denmark's tradition for design and high level of craftsmanship, it is possible to find solutions that can be used today and create circular resource models that reduce the use of virgin fibers. Through waste samples, case studies, and testing of various design approaches, this study explored how to functionalize the method so that the product after the end-use is kept as a material and only then processed at fiber level to obtain the best environmental utilization. The study showed that the designers' ability to decode the properties of the materials and understanding of craftsmanship were decisive for how well the materials could be utilized today. The later in the life cycle the textiles appeared as waste, the more demanding the description of the materials to be sufficient, especially if to achieve the best possible use of the resources and thus a higher replacement rate. In addition, it also required adaptation in relation to the current production because the materials often varied more. The study found good indications that part of the solution is to use geodata i.e., where in the life cycle the materials were discarded. An important conclusion is that a fully developed method can help support better utilization of textile resources. However, it stills requires a better understanding of materials by the designers, as well as structural changes in business and society.

Keywords: circular economy, development of sustainable processes, environmental impacts, environmental management of textiles, environmental sustainability through textile recycling, interdisciplinary method development, resource optimization, recycled textile materials and the evaluation of recycling, sustainability and recycling opportunities in the textile and apparel sector

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Authors: Sigal Portnoy, Yael Kaufman-Cohen, Yafa Levanon

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Introduction: Rehabilitation following wrist fractures often includes exercising flexion-extension movements with a dynamic splint. However, during daily activities, we combine most of our wrist movements with radial and ulnar deviations. Also, the multi-plane wrist motion, named the ‘dart throw motion’ (DTM), was found to be a more stable motion in healthy individuals, in term of the motion of the proximal carpal bones, compared with sagittal wrist motion. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the pathomechanics of the wrist in a common multi-plane movement pattern (DTM) and design a novel splint for rehabilitation following distal radius fractures. Methods: First, a multi-axis electro-goniometer was used to quantify the plane angle of motion of the dominant and non-dominant wrists during various activities, e.g. drinking from a glass of water and answering a phone in 43 healthy individuals. The following protocols were then implemented with a population following distal radius fracture. Two dynamic scans were performed, one of the sagittal wrist motion and DTM, in a 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, bilaterally. The scaphoid and lunate carpal bones, as well as the surface of the distal radius, were manually-segmented in SolidWorks and the angles of motion of the scaphoid and lunate bones were calculated. Subsequently, a patient-specific splint was designed using 3D scans of the hand. The brace design comprises of a proximal attachment to the arm and a distal envelope of the palm. An axle with two wheels is attached to the proximal part. Two wires attach the proximal part with the medial-palmar and lateral-ventral aspects of the distal part: when the wrist extends, the first wire is released and the second wire is strained towards the radius. The opposite occurs when the wrist flexes. The splint was attached to the wrist using Velcro and constrained the wrist movement to the desired calculated multi-plane of motion. Results: No significant differences were found between the multi-plane angles of the dominant and non-dominant wrists. The most common daily activities occurred at a plane angle of approximately 20° to 45° from the sagittal plane and the MRI studies show individual angles of the plane of motion. The printed splint fitted the wrist of the subjects and constricted movement to the desired multi-plane of motion. Hooks were inserted on each part to allow the addition of springs or rubber bands for resistance training towards muscle strengthening in the rehabilitation setting. Conclusions: It has been hypothesized that activation of the wrist in a multi-plane movement pattern following distal radius fractures will accelerate the recovery of the patient. Our results show that this motion can be determined from either the dominant or non-dominant wrists. The design of the patient-specific dynamic splint is the first step towards assessing whether splinting to induce combined movement is beneficial to the rehabilitation process, compared to conventional treatment. The evaluation of the clinical benefits of this method, compared to conventional rehabilitation methods following wrist fracture, are a part of a PhD work, currently conducted by an occupational therapist.

Keywords: distal radius fracture, rehabilitation, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, dart throw motion

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Authors: Chenyao Shen, Jie Shen

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The rating system provides an effective framework for assessing building environmental performance and integrating sustainable development into building and construction processes; as it can be used as a design tool by developing appropriate sustainable design strategies and determining performance measures to guide the sustainable design and decision-making processes. Healthcare buildings are resource (water, energy, etc.) intensive. To maintain high-cost operations and complex medical facilities, they require a great deal of hazardous and non-hazardous materials, stringent control of environmental parameters, and are responsible for producing polluting emission. Compared with other types of buildings, the impact of healthcare buildings on the full cycle of the environment is particularly large. With broad recognition among designers and operators that energy use can be reduced substantially, many countries have set up their own green rating systems for healthcare buildings. There are four main green healthcare building evaluation systems widely acknowledged in the world - Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC), which was jointly organized by the United States HCWH and CMPBS in 2003; BREEAM Healthcare, issued by the British Academy of Building Research (BRE) in 2008; the Green Star-Healthcare v1 tool, released by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) in 2009; and LEED Healthcare 2009, released by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2011. In addition, the German Association of Sustainable Building (DGNB) has also been developing the German Sustainable Building Evaluation Criteria (DGNB HC). In China, more and more scholars and policy makers have recognized the importance of assessment of sustainable development, and have adapted some tools and frameworks. China’s first comprehensive assessment standard for green building (the GBTs) was issued in 2006 (lately updated in 2014), promoting sustainability in the built-environment and raise awareness of environmental issues among architects, engineers, contractors as well as the public. However, healthcare building was not involved in the evaluation system of GBTs because of its complex medical procedures, strict requirements of indoor/outdoor environment and energy consumption of various functional rooms. Learn from advanced experience of GGHC, BREEAM, and LEED HC above, China’s first assessment criteria for green hospital/healthcare buildings was finally released in December 2015. Combined with both quantitative and qualitative assessment criteria, the standard highlight the differences between healthcare and other public buildings in meeting the functional needs for medical facilities and special groups. This paper has focused on the assessment criteria framework for sustainable healthcare buildings, for which the comparison of different rating systems is rather essential. Descriptive analysis is conducted together with the cross-matrix analysis to reveal rich information on green assessment criteria in a coherent manner. The research intends to know whether the green elements for healthcare buildings in China are different from those conducted in other countries, and how to improve its assessment criteria framework.

Keywords: assessment criteria framework, green building design, healthcare building, building performance rating tool

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Authors: Omair Anas

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The Persian Gulf has been in turmoil for a long time since the colonial administration has handed over the role to the small and weak kings and emirs who were assured of protection in return of many economic and security promises to them. The regional order, Saudi Arabia evolved was a rentier regional order secured by an expansion of rentier economy and taking responsibility for much of the expenses of the regional order on behalf of relatively poor countries. The two oil booms helped the Saudi state to expand the 'rentier order' driven stability and bring the countries like Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine under its tutelage. The disruptive misadventure, however, came with Iran's proclamation of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 which it wanted to be exported to its 'un-Islamic and American puppet' Arab neighbours. For Saudi Arabia, even the challenge presented by the socialist-nationalist Arab dictators like Gamal Abdul Nasser and Hafez Al-Assad was not that much threatening to the Saudi Arabia’s then-defensive realism. In the Arab uprisings, the Gulf monarchies saw a wave of insecurity and Iran found it an opportune time to complete the revolutionary process it could not complete after 1979. An alliance of convenience and ideology between Iran and Islamist groups had the real potential to challenge both Saudi Arabia’s own security and its leadership in the region. The disruptive threat appeared at a time when the Saudi state had already sensed an impending crisis originating from the shifts in the energy markets. Low energy prices, declining global demands, and huge investments in alternative energy resources required Saudi Arabia to rationalize its economy according to changing the global political economy. The domestic Saudi reforms remained gradual until the death of King Abdullah in 2015. What is happening now in the region, the Qatar crisis, the Lebanon crisis and the Saudi-Iranian proxy war in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen has combined three immediate objectives, rationalising Saudi economy and most importantly, the resetting the Saudi royal power for Saudi Arabia’s longest-serving future King Mohammad bin Salman. The Saudi King perhaps has no time to wait and watch the power vacuum appearing because of Iran’s expansionist foreign policy. The Saudis appear to be employing an offensive realism by advancing a pro-active regional policy to counter Iran’s threatening influence amid disappearing Western security from the region. As the Syrian civil war is coming to a compromised end with ceding much ground to Iran-controlled militias, Hezbollah and Al-Hashad, the Saudi state has lost much ground in these years and the threat from Iranian proxies is more than a reality, more clearly in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This paper attempts to analyse the changing Saudi behaviour in the region, which, the author understands, is shaped by an offensive-realist approach towards finding a favourable security environment for the Saudi-led regional order, a post-rentier order perhaps.

Keywords: terrorism, Saudi Arabia, Rentier State, gulf crisis

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Authors: Kiran Datta, Daniella Holland-Hart, Anthony Byrne

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Introduction: Oesophago-gastric (OG) cancers are the fifth commonest in the UK, accounting for over 12,000 deaths each year. Most patients will present at later stages of the disease, with only 21% of patients with stage 4 disease surviving longer than a year. As a result, many patients are unsuitable for curative surgery and instead receive palliative treatment to improve prognosis and symptom burden. However, palliative chemotherapy can result in significant toxicity: almost half of the patients are unable to complete their chemotherapy regimen, with this proportion rising significantly in older and frailer patients. In addition, clinical trials often exclude older and frailer patients due to strict inclusion criteria, meaning there is limited evidence to guide which patients are most likely to benefit from palliative chemotherapy. Inappropriate chemotherapy administration is at odds with the goals of palliative treatment and care, which are to improve quality of life, and this also represents a significant resource expenditure. This literature review aimed to examine and appraise evidence regarding treatment resilience in order to guide clinicians in identifying the most suitable candidates for palliative chemotherapy. Factors influencing treatment resilience were assessed, as measured by completion rates, dose reductions, and toxicities. Methods: This literature review was conducted using rapid review methodology, utilising modified systematic methods. A literature search was performed across the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, with results limited to papers within the last 15 years and available in English. Key inclusion criteria included: 1) participants with either oesophageal, gastro-oesophageal junction, or gastric cancers; 2) patients treated with palliative chemotherapy; 3) available data evaluating the association between baseline participant characteristics and treatment resilience. Results: Of the 2326 papers returned, 11 reports of 10 studies were included in this review after excluding duplicates and irrelevant papers. Treatment resilience factors that were assessed included: age, performance status, frailty, inflammatory markers, and sarcopenia. Age was generally a poor predictor for how well patients would tolerate chemotherapy, while poor performance status was a better indicator of the need for dose reduction and treatment non-completion. Frailty was assessed across one cohort using multiple screening tools and was an effective marker of the risk of toxicity and the requirement for dose reduction. Inflammatory markers included lymphopenia and the Glasgow Prognostic Score, which assessed inflammation and hypoalbuminaemia. Although quick to obtain and interpret, these findings appeared less reliable due to the inclusion of patients treated with palliative radiotherapy. Sarcopenia and body composition were often associated with chemotherapy toxicity but not the rate of regimen completion. Conclusion: This review demonstrates that there are numerous measures that can estimate the ability of patients with oesophago-gastric cancer to tolerate palliative chemotherapy, and these should be incorporated into clinical assessments to promote personalised decision-making around treatment. Age should not be a barrier to receiving chemotherapy and older and frailer patients should be included in future clinical trials to better represent typical patients with oesophago-gastric cancers. Decisions regarding palliative treatment should be guided by these factors identified as well as patient preference.

Keywords: frailty, oesophago-gastric cancer, palliative chemotherapy, treatment resilience

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Authors: Kusno Kamil, Andi Asni, Sungkono

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According to a report of the World Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO): the post-harvest fish losses in Indonesia reaches 30 percent from 170 trillion rupiahs of marine fisheries reserves, then the potential loss reaches 51 trillion rupiahs (end of 2016 data). This condition is caused by traditionally vulnerable fish catches damaged due to disruption of the cold chain of preservation. The physical and chemical changes in fish flesh increase rapidly, especially if exposed to the scorching heat in the middle of the sea, exacerbated by the low awareness of catch hygiene; many unclean catches which contain blood are often treated without special attention and mixed with freshly caught fish, thereby increasing the potential for faster fish spoilage. This background encourages research on traditional fisherman catch preservation methods that aim to find the best and most affordable methods and/or combinations of fish preservation methods so that they can help fishermen increase their fishing duration without worrying that their catch will be damaged, thereby reducing their economic value when returning to the beach to sell their catches. This goal is expected to be achieved through experimental methods of treatment of fresh fish catches in containers with the addition of anti-bacterial copper, liquid smoke solution, and the use of vacuum containers. The other three treatments combined the three previous treatment variables with an electrically powered cooler (temperature 0~4 ᵒC). As a control specimen, the untreated fresh fish (placed in the open air and in the refrigerator) were also prepared for comparison for 1, 3, and 6 days. To test the level of freshness of fish for each treatment, physical observations were used, which were complemented by tests for bacterial content in a trusted laboratory. The content of copper (Cu) in fish meat (which is suspected of having a negative impact on consumers) was also part of the examination on the 6th day of experimentation. The results of physical observations on the test specimens (organoleptic method) showed that preservation assisted by the use of coolers was still better for all treatment variables. The specimens, without cooling, sequentially showed that the best preservation effectiveness was the addition of copper plates, the use of vacuum containers, and then liquid smoke immersion. Especially for liquid smoke, soaking for 6 days of preservation makes the fish meat soft and easy to crumble, even though it doesn't have a bad odor. The visual observation was then complemented by the results of testing the amount of growth (or retardation) of putrefactive bacteria in each treatment of test specimens within similar observation periods. Laboratory measurements report that the minimum amount of putrefactive bacteria achieved by preservation treatment combining cooler with liquid smoke (sample A+), then cooler only (D+), copper layer inside cooler (B+), vacuum container inside cooler (C+), respectively. Other treatments in open air produced a hundred times more putrefactive bacteria. In addition, treatment of the copper layer contaminated the preserved fresh fish more than a thousand times bigger compared to the initial amount, from 0.69 to 1241.68 µg/g.

Keywords: fish, preservation, traditional, fishermen, boat

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Authors: José Antonio Donaire Benito, Konstantina Zerva

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Historically, cities have been places where people from many nations and cultures have met and settled together, while population flows and density have had a significant impact on urban dynamics. Cities' high density of social, cultural, business offerings, everyday services, and other amenities not intended for tourists draw not only tourists but a wide range of city users as well. With the coordination of city rhythms and the porosity of the community, city users order and frame their urban experience. From one side, recent literature focuses on the shift in urban tourist experience from 'having' a holiday through 'doing' activities to 'becoming' a local by experiencing a part of daily life. On the other hand, there is a debate on the 'touristification of everyday life', where middle and upper class urban dwellers display attitudes and behaviors that are virtually undistinguishable from those of visitors. With the advent of globalization and technological advances, modern society has undergone a radical transformation that has altered mobility patterns within it, blurring the boundaries between tourism and everyday life, work and leisure, and "hosts" and "guests". Additionally, the presence of other 'temporary city' users, such as commuters, digital nomads, second home owners, and migrants, contributes to a more complex transformation of tourist cities. Moving away from this traditional clear distinction between 'hosts' and 'guests', which represents a more static view of tourism, and moving towards a more liquid narrative of mobility, academics on tourism development are embracing the New Mobilities Paradigm. The latter moves beyond the static structures of the modern world and focuses on the ways in which social entities are made up of people, machines, information, and images in a moving system. In light of this fluid interdependence between tourists and guests, a question arises as to whether overtourism, which is considered as the underlying cause of citizens' perception of a lower urban quality of life, is a fair representation of perceived mobility excessiveness, place consumption disruptiveness, and residents displacement. As a representative example of an overtourism narrative, Barcelona was chosen as a study area for this purpose, focusing on the incoming city users to reflect in depth the variety of people who contribute to mobility flows beyond those residents already have. Several statistical data have been analyzed to determine the number of national and international visitors to Barcelona at some point during the day in 2019. Specifically, tracking data gathered from mobile phone users within the city are combined with tourist surveys, urban mobility data, zenithal data capture, and information about the city's attractions. The paper shows that tourists are only a small part of the different incoming city users that daily enter Barcelona; excursionists, commuters, and metropolitans also contribute to a high mobility flow. Based on the diversity of incoming city users and their place consumption, it seems that the city's urban experience is more likely to be impacted by over-mobility tan over-tourism.

Keywords: city users, density, new mobilities paradigm, over-tourism.

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Authors: Zihan Geng, L. Quentin Dixon

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It has been proposed that early bilingual experience confers a number of advantages in the development of executive control mechanisms. Although the literature provides empirical evidence for bilingual benefits, some studies also reported null or mixed results. To make sense of these contradictory findings, the current review synthesize recent empirical studies investigating bilingual effects on children’s executive function and attention control. The publication time of the studies included in the review ranges from 2010 to 2017. The key searching terms are bilingual, bilingualism, children, executive control, executive function, and attention. The key terms were combined within each of the following databases: ERIC (EBSCO), Education Source, PsycINFO, and Social Science Citation Index. Studies involving both children and adults were also included but the analysis was based on the data generated only by the children group. The initial search yielded 137 distinct articles. Twenty-eight studies from 27 articles with a total of 3367 participants were finally included based on the selection criteria. The selective studies were then coded in terms of (a) the setting (i.e., the country where the data was collected), (b) the participants (i.e., age and languages), (c) sample size (i.e., the number of children in each group), (d) cognitive outcomes measured, (e) data collection instruments (i.e., cognitive tasks and tests), and (f) statistic analysis models (e.g., t-test, ANOVA). The results show that the majority of the studies were undertaken in western countries, mainly in the U.S., Canada, and the UK. A variety of languages such as Arabic, French, Dutch, Welsh, German, Spanish, Korean, and Cantonese were involved. In relation to cognitive outcomes, the studies examined children’s overall planning and problem-solving abilities, inhibition, cognitive complexity, working memory (WM), and sustained and selective attention. The results indicate that though bilingualism is associated with several cognitive benefits, the advantages seem to be weak, at least, for children. Additionally, the nature of the cognitive measures was found to greatly moderate the results. No significant differences are observed between bilinguals and monolinguals in overall planning and problem-solving ability, indicating that there is no bilingual benefit in the cooperation of executive function components at an early age. In terms of inhibition, the mixed results suggest that bilingual children, especially young children, may have better conceptual inhibition measured in conflict tasks, but not better response inhibition measured by delay tasks. Further, bilingual children showed better inhibitory control to bivalent displays, which resembles the process of maintaining two language systems. The null results were obtained for both cognitive complexity and WM, suggesting no bilingual advantage in these two cognitive components. Finally, findings on children’s attention system associate bilingualism with heightened attention control. Together, these findings support the hypothesis of cognitive benefits for bilingual children. Nevertheless, whether these advantages are observable appears to highly depend on the cognitive assessments. Therefore, future research should be more specific about the cognitive outcomes (e.g., the type of inhibition) and should report the validity of the cognitive measures consistently.

Keywords: attention, bilingual advantage, children, executive function

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Authors: Andreas Latz, Daniela Heinz, Fatima Hashemi, Melek Baygül

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Introduction: Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline coronavirus (FCoV) are serious infectious diseases affecting cats worldwide. Transmission of these viruses occurs primarily through close contact with infected cats (via saliva, nasal secretions, faeces, etc.). FeLV, FIV, and FCoV infections can occur in combination and are expressed in similar clinical symptoms. Diagnosis can therefore be challenging: Symptoms are variable and often non-specific. Sick cats show very similar clinical symptoms: apathy, anorexia, fever, immunodeficiency syndrome, anemia, etc. Sample volume for small companion animals for diagnostic purposes can be challenging to collect. In addition, multiplex diagnosis of diseases can contribute to an easier, cheaper, and faster workflow in the lab as well as to the better differential diagnosis of diseases. For this reason, we wanted to develop a new diagnostic tool that utilizes less sample volume, reagents, and consumables than multiplesingleplex ELISA assays Methods: The Multiplier from Dynextechonogies (USA) has been used as platform to develop a Multiplex diagnostic tool for the detection of antibodies against FIV and FCoV/FIP and antigens for FeLV. Multiplex diagnostics. The Dynex®Multiplier®is a fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer that significantly simplifies laboratory workflow. The Multiplier®ease-of-use reduces pre-analytical steps by combining the power of efficiently multiplexing multiple assays with the simplicity of automated microplate processing. Plastic beads have been coated with antigens for FIV and FCoV/FIP, as well as antibodies for FeLV. Feline blood samples are incubated with the beads. Read out of results is performed via chemiluminescence Results: Bead coating was optimized for each individual antigen or capture antibody and then combined in the multiplex diagnostic tool. HRP: Antibody conjugates for FIV and FCoV antibodies, as well as detection antibodies for FeLV antigen, have been adjusted and mixed. 3 individual prototyple batches of the assay have been produced. We analyzed for each disease 50 well defined positive and negative samples. Results show an excellent diagnostic performance of the simultaneous detection of antibodies or antigens against these feline diseases in a fully automated system. A 100% concordance with singleplex methods like ELISA or IFA can be observed. Intra- and Inter-Assays showed a high precision of the test with CV values below 10% for each individual bead. Accelerated stability testing indicate a shelf life of at least 1 year. Conclusion: The new tool can be used for multiplex diagnostics of the most important feline infectious diseases. Only a very small sample volume is required. Fully automation results in a very convenient and fast method for diagnosing animal diseases.With its large specimen capacity to process over 576 samples per 8-hours shift and provide up to 3,456 results, very high laboratory productivity and reagent savings can be achieved.

Keywords: Multiplex, FIV, FeLV, FCoV, FIP

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Authors: Andrés Durán, Brian Castellanos, Marta Quicazán, Carlos Zuluaga-Domínguez

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Bee-pollen is an apicultural-derived food product, with a growing appreciation among consumers given the remarkable nutritional and functional composition, in particular, protein (24%), dietary fiber (15%), phenols (15 – 20 GAE/g) and carotenoids (600 – 900 µg/g). These properties are given by the geographical and climatic characteristics of the region where it is collected. There are several countries recognized by their pollen production, e.g. China, United States, Japan, Spain, among others. Beekeepers use traps in the entrance of the hive where bee-pollen is collected. After the removal of foreign particles and drying, this product is ready to be marketed. However, in countries located along the equator, the absence of seasons and a constant tropical climate throughout the year favors a more rapid spoilage condition for foods with elevated water activity. The climatic conditions also trigger the proliferation of microorganisms and insects. This, added to the factor that beekeepers usually do not have adequate processing systems for bee-pollen, leads to deficiencies in the quality and safety of the product. In contrast, the Andean region of South America, lying on equator, typically has a high production of bee-pollen of up to 36 kg/year/hive, being four times higher than in countries with marked seasons. This region is also located in altitudes superior to 2500 meters above sea level, having extremes sun ultraviolet radiation all year long. As a mechanism of defense of radiation, plants produce more secondary metabolites acting as antioxidant agents, hence, plant products such as bee-pollen contain remarkable more phenolics and carotenoids than collected in other places. Considering this, the improvement of bee-pollen processing facilities by technical modifications and the implementation of an integrated cleaning and drying system for the product in an apiary in the area was proposed. The beehives were modified through the installation of alternative bee-pollen traps to avoid sources of contamination. The processing facility was modified according to considerations of Good Manufacturing Practices, implementing the combined use of a cabin dryer with temperature control and forced airflow and a greenhouse-type solar drying system. Additionally, for the separation of impurities, a cyclone type system was implemented, complementary to a screening equipment. With these modifications, a decrease in the content of impurities and the microbiological load of bee-pollen was seen from the first stages, principally with a reduction of the presence of molds and yeasts and in the number of foreign animal origin impurities. The use of the greenhouse solar dryer integrated to the cabin dryer allowed the processing of larger quantities of product with shorter waiting times in storage, reaching a moisture content of about 6% and a water activity lower than 0.6, being appropriate for the conservation of bee-pollen. Additionally, the contents of functional or nutritional compounds were not affected, even observing an increase of up to 25% in phenols content and a non-significant decrease in carotenoids content and antioxidant activity.

Keywords: beekeeping, drying, food processing, food safety

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Authors: Georges F. Hatoum, Thomas H. Temple, Silvio Garcia, Xiaodong Wu

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Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) represent a diverse group of malignancies with heterogeneous clinical and pathological features. The treatment of extremity STS aims to achieve optimal local tumor control, improved survival, and preservation of limb function. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, based on the cumulated clinical data, recommend radiation therapy (RT) in conjunction with limb-sparing surgery for large, high-grade STS measuring greater than 5 cm in size. Such treatment strategy can offer a cure for patients. However, when recurrence occurs (in nearly half of patients), the prognosis is poor, with a median survival of 12 to 15 months and with only palliative treatment options available. The spatially-fractionated-radiotherapy (SFRT), with a long history of treating bulky tumors as a non-mainstream technique, has gained new attention in recent years due to its unconventional therapeutic effects, such as bystander/abscopal effects. Combining single fraction of GRID, the original form of SFRT, with conventional RT was shown to have marginally increased the rate of pathological necrosis, which has been recognized to have a positive correlation to overall survival. In an effort to consistently increase the pathological necrosis rate over 90%, multiple fractions of Lattice RT (LRT), a newer form of 3D SFRT, interdigitated with the standard RT as neoadjuvant therapy was conducted in a preliminary clinical setting. With favorable results of over 95% of necrosis rate in a small cohort of patients, a Phase I/II clinical study was proposed to exam the safety and feasibility of this new strategy. Herein the design of the clinical study is presented. In this single-arm, two-stage phase I/II clinical trial, the primary objectives are >80% of the patients achieving >90% tumor necrosis and to evaluation the toxicity; the secondary objectives are to evaluate the local control, disease free survival and overall survival (OS), as well as the correlation between clinical response and the relevant biomarkers. The study plans to accrue patients over a span of two years. All patient will be treated with the new neoadjuvant RT regimen, in which one of every five fractions of conventional RT is replaced by a LRT fraction with vertices receiving dose ≥10Gy while keeping the tumor periphery at or close to 2 Gy per fraction. Surgical removal of the tumor is planned to occur 6 to 8 weeks following the completion of radiation therapy. The study will employ a Pocock-style early stopping boundary to ensure patient safety. The patients will be followed and monitored for a period of five years. Despite much effort, the rarity of the disease has resulted in limited novel therapeutic breakthroughs. Although a higher rate of treatment-induced tumor necrosis has been associated with improved OS, with the current techniques, only 20% of patients with large, high-grade tumors achieve a tumor necrosis rate exceeding 50%. If this new neoadjuvant strategy is proven effective, an appreciable improvement in clinical outcome without added toxicity can be anticipated. Due to the rarity of the disease, it is hoped that such study could be orchestrated in a multi-institutional setting.

Keywords: lattice RT, necrosis, SFRT, soft tissue sarcoma

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Authors: Amy Heaps, Amy Burns, Una McMahon-Beattie

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Shock and fear tactics have been used to encourage consumer behaviour change within the UK regarding lifestyle choices such as smoking and alcohol abuse, yet such measures have not been applied to food labels to encourage healthier purchasing decisions. Obesity levels are continuing to rise within the UK, despite efforts made by government and charitable bodies to encourage consumer behavioural changes, which will have a positive influence on their fat, salt, and sugar intake. We know that taking extreme measures to shock consumers into behavioural changes has worked previously; for example, the anti-smoking television adverts and new standardised cigarette and tobacco packaging have reduced the numbers of the UK adult population who smoke or encouraged those who are currently trying to quit. The USA has also introduced new front-of-pack labelling, which is clear, easy to read, and includes concise health warnings on products high in fat, salt, or sugar. This model has been successful, with consumers reducing purchases of products with these warning labels present. Therefore, investigating if shock labels would have an impact on UK consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions would help to fill the gap within this research field. This study aims to develop an understanding of consumer’s initial responses to shock advertising with an interest in the perceived impact of long-term effect shock advertising on consumer food purchasing decisions, behaviour, and attitudes and will achieve this through a mixed methodological approach taken with a sample size of 25 participants ages ranging from 22 and 60. Within this research, shock mock labels were developed, including a graphic image, health warning, and get-help information. These labels were made for products (available within the UK) with large market shares which were high in either fat, salt, or sugar. The use of online focus groups and mouse-tracking experiments results helped to develop an understanding of consumer’s initial responses to shock advertising with interest in the perceived impact of long-term effect shock advertising on consumer food purchasing decisions, behaviour, and attitudes. Preliminary results have shown that consumers believe that the use of graphic images, combined with a health warning, would encourage consumer behaviour change and influence their purchasing decisions regarding those products which are high in fat, salt and sugar. Preliminary main findings show that graphic mock shock labels may have an impact on consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions, which will, in turn, encourage healthier lifestyles. Focus group results show that 72% of participants indicated that these shock labels would have an impact on their purchasing decisions. During the mouse tracking trials, this increased to 80% of participants, showing that more exposure to shock labels may have a bigger impact on potential consumer behaviour and purchasing decision change. In conclusion, preliminary results indicate that graphic shock labels will impact consumer purchasing decisions. Findings allow for a deeper understanding of initial emotional responses to these graphic labels. However, more research is needed to test the longevity of these labels on consumer purchasing decisions, but this research exercise is demonstrably the foundation for future detailed work.

Keywords: consumer behavior, decision making, labelling legislation, purchasing decisions, shock advertising, shock labelling

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Authors: Elvin P. Chizenga, Heidi Abrahamse

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Cancer cell resistance to therapy is the main cause of treatment failures and the poor prognosis of cancer convalescence. The progression of cervical cancer to other parts of the genitourinary system and the reported recurrence rates are overwhelming. Current treatments, including surgery, chemo and radiation have been inefficient in eradicating the tumor cells. These treatments are also associated with poor prognosis and reduced quality of life, including fertility loss. This has inspired the need for the development of new treatment modalities to eradicate cervical cancer successfully. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a modern treatment modality that induces cell death by photochemical interactions of light and a photosensitizer, which in the presence of molecular oxygen, yields a set of chemical reactions that generate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and other free radical species causing cell damage. Enhancing PDT using modified drug delivery can increase the concentration of the photosensitizer in the tumor cells, and this has the potential to maximize its therapeutic efficacy. In cervical cancer, all infected cells constitutively express genes of the E6 and E7 HPV viral oncoproteins, resulting in high concentrations of E6 and E7 in the cytoplasm. This provides an opportunity for active targeting of cervical cancer cells using immune-mediated drug delivery to maximize therapeutic efficacy. The use of nanoparticles in PDT has also proven effective in enhancing therapeutic efficacy. Gold nanoparticles (AuNps) in particular, are explored for their use in biomedicine due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and enhancement of drug uptake by tumor cells. In this present study, a biomolecule comprising of AuNPs, anti-E6 monoclonal antibodies, and Aluminium Phthalocyanine photosensitizer was synthesized for use in targeted PDT of cervical cancer. The AuNp-Anti-E6-Sulfonated Aluminium Phthalocyanine mix (AlPcSmix) photosensitizing biomolecule was synthesized by coupling AuNps and anti-E6 monoclonal antibodies to the AlPcSmix via Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) chemical links. The final product was characterized using Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Zeta Potential, Uv-Vis Spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to confirm its chemical structure and functionality. To observe its therapeutic role in treating cervical cancer, cervical cancer cells, HeLa cells were seeded in 3.4 cm² diameter culture dishes at a concentration of 5x10⁵ cells/ml, in vitro. The cells were treated with varying concentrations of the photosensitizing biomolecule and irradiated using a 673.2 nm wavelength of laser light. Post irradiation cellular responses were performed to observe changes in morphology, viability, proliferation, cytotoxicity, and cell death pathways induced. Dose-Dependent response of the cells to treatment was demonstrated as significant morphologic changes, increased cytotoxicity, and decreased cell viability and proliferation This study presented a synthetic biomolecule for targeted PDT of cervical cancer. The study suggested that PDT using this AuNp- Anti-E6- AlPcSmix photosensitizing biomolecule is a very effective treatment method for the eradication of cervical cancer cells, in vitro. Further studies in vivo need to be conducted to support the use of this biomolecule in treating cervical cancer in clinical settings.

Keywords: anti-E6 monoclonal antibody, cervical cancer, gold nanoparticles, photodynamic therapy

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Authors: Hannah Edwards, Femke T. A. Buisman-Pijlman, Adrian Esterman, Craig Phillips, Sandra Orgeig, Andrea Gordon

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Mother-infant bonding is a term which refers to the early emotional connectedness between a mother and her infant. Strong mother-infant bonding promotes higher quality mother and infant interactions including prolonged breastfeeding, secure attachment and increased sensitive parenting and maternal responsiveness. Strengthening of all such interactions leads to improved social behavior, and emotional and cognitive development throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The positive outcomes observed following strong mother-infant bonding emphasize the need to screen new mothers for disrupted mother-infant bonding, and in turn the need for a robust, valid tool to assess mother-infant bonding. A recent scoping review conducted by the research team identified four tools to assess mother-infant bonding, all of which employed self-rating scales. Thus, whilst these tools demonstrated both adequate validity and reliability, they rely on self-reported information from the mother. As such this may reflect a mother’s perception of bonding with their infant, rather than their actual behavior. Therefore, a new tool to assess mother-infant bonding has been developed. The Recorded Interaction Task (RIT) addresses shortcomings of previous tools by employing observational methods to assess bonding. The RIT focusses on the common interaction between mother and infant of changing a nappy, at the target age of 2-6 months, which is visually recorded and then later assessed. Thirteen maternal and seven infant behaviors are scored on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet, and a final combined score of mother-infant bonding is determined. The aim of the current study was to assess the content validity and inter-rater reliability of the RIT. A panel of six experts with specialized expertise in bonding and infant behavior were consulted. Experts were provided with the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet, a visual recording of a nappy change interaction, and a feedback form. Experts scored the mother and infant interaction on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet and completed the feedback form which collected their opinions on the validity of each item on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet and the RIT as a whole. Twelve of the 20 items on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet were scored ‘Valid’ by all (n=6) or most (n=5) experts. Two items received a ‘Not valid’ score from one expert. The remainder of the items received a mixture of ‘Valid’ and ‘Potentially Valid’ scores. Few changes were made to the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet following expert feedback, including rewording of items for clarity and the exclusion of an item focusing on behavior deemed not relevant for the target infant age. The overall ICC for single rater absolute agreement was 0.48 (95% CI 0.28 – 0.71). Experts (n=6) ratings were less consistent for infant behavior (ICC 0.27 (-0.01 – 0.82)) compared to mother behavior (ICC 0.55 (0.28 – 0.80)). Whilst previous tools employ self-report methods to assess mother-infant bonding, the RIT utilizes observational methods. The current study highlights adequate content validity and moderate inter-rater reliability of the RIT, supporting its use in future research. A convergent validity study comparing the RIT against an existing tool is currently being undertaken to confirm these results.

Keywords: content validity, inter-rater reliability, mother-infant bonding, observational tool, recorded interaction task

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Authors: Alena Cejkova, Martina Paldrychova, Jana Michailidu, Olga Matatkova, Jan Masak

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Increasing the resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to many antibiotics is a serious threat to the treatment of infectious diseases and cleaning medical instruments. It should be added that the resistance of microbial populations growing in biofilms is often up to 1000 times higher compared to planktonic cells. Biofilm formation in a number of microorganisms is largely influenced by the quorum sensing regulatory mechanism. Finding external factors such as natural substances or physical processes that can interfere effectively with quorum sensing signal molecules should reduce the ability of the cell population to form biofilm and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. The present work is devoted to the effect of chitosan as a representative of natural substances with anti-biofilm activity and non- thermal plasma (NTP) alone or in combination with polymyxin B on biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Particular attention was paid to the influence of these agents on the level of quorum sensing signal molecules (acyl-homoserine lactones) during planktonic and biofilm cultivations. Opportunistic pathogenic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DBM 3081, DBM 3777, ATCC 10145, ATCC 15442) were used as model microorganisms. Cultivations of planktonic and biofilm populations in 96-well microtiter plates on horizontal shaker were used for determination of antibiotic and anti-biofilm activity of chitosan and polymyxin B. Biofilm-growing cells on titanium alloy, which is used for preparation of joint replacement, were exposed to non-thermal plasma generated by cometary corona with a metallic grid for 15 and 30 minutes. Cultivation followed in fresh LB medium with or without chitosan or polymyxin B for next 24 h. Biofilms were quantified by crystal violet assay. Metabolic activity of the cells in biofilm was measured using MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) colorimetric test based on the reduction of MTT into formazan by the dehydrogenase system of living cells. Activity of N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) compounds involved in the regulation of biofilm formation was determined using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain harboring a traG::lacZ/traR reporter gene responsive to AHLs. The experiments showed that both chitosan and non-thermal plasma reduce the AHLs level and thus the biofilm formation and stability. The effectiveness of both agents was somewhat strain dependent. During the eradication of P. aeruginosa DBM 3081 biofilm on titanium alloy induced by chitosan (45 mg / l) there was an 80% decrease in AHLs. Applying chitosan or NTP on the P. aeruginosa DBM 3777 biofilm did not cause a significant decrease in AHLs, however, in combination with both (chitosan 55 mg / l and NTP 30 min), resulted in a 70% decrease in AHLs. Combined application of NTP and polymyxin B allowed reduce antibiotic concentration to achieve the same level of AHLs inhibition in P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442. The results shown that non-thermal plasma and chitosan have considerable potential for the eradication of highly resistant P. aeruginosa biofilms, for example on medical instruments or joint implants.

Keywords: anti-biofilm activity, chitosan, non-thermal plasma, opportunistic pathogens

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Authors: B. Sudhakara Reddy

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This study provides a snapshot of the sustainability of selected Indian cities by employing 70 indicators in four dimensions to develop an overall city sustainability index. In recent years, the concept of ‘urban sustainability’ has become prominent due to its complexity. Urban areas propel growth and at the same time poses a lot of ecological, social and infrastructural problems and risks. In case of developing countries, the high population density of and the continuous in-migration run the highest risk in natural and man-made disasters. These issues combined with the inability of policy makers in providing basic services makes the cities unsustainable. To assess whether any given policy is moving towards or against urban sustainability it is necessary to consider the relationships among its various dimensions. Hence, in recent years, while preparing the sustainability index, an integral approach involving indicators of different dimensions such as ‘economic’, ‘environmental’ and 'social' is being used. It is also important for urban planners, social analysts and other related institutions to identify and understand the relationships in this complex system. The objective of the paper is to develop a city performance index (CPI) to measure and evaluate the urban regions in terms of sustainable performances. The objectives include: i) Objective assessment of a city’s performance, ii) setting achievable goals iii) prioritise relevant indicators for improvement, iv) learning from leaders, iv) assessment of the effectiveness of programmes that results in achieving high indicator values, v) Strengthening of stakeholder participation. Using the benchmark approach, a conceptual framework is developed for evaluating 25 Indian cities. We develop City Sustainability index (CSI) in order to rank cities according to their level of sustainability. The CSI is composed of four dimensions: Economic, Environment, Social, and Institutional. Each dimension is further composed of multiple indicators: (1) Economic that considers growth, access to electricity, and telephone availability; (2) environmental that includes waste water treatment, carbon emissions, (3) social that includes, equity, infant mortality, and 4) institutional that includes, voting share of population, urban regeneration policies. The CSI, consisting of four dimensions disaggregate into 12 categories and ultimately into 70 indicators. The data are obtained from public and non-governmental organizations, and also from city officials and experts. By ranking a sample of diverse cities on a set of specific dimensions the study can serve as a baseline of current conditions and a marker for referencing future results. The benchmarks and indices presented in the study provide a unique resource for the government and the city authorities to learn about the positive and negative attributes of a city and prepare plans for a sustainable urban development. As a result of our conceptual framework, the set of criteria we suggest is somewhat different to any already in the literature. The scope of our analysis is intended to be broad. Although illustrated with specific examples, it should be apparent that the principles identified are relevant to any monitoring that is used to inform decisions involving decision variables. These indicators are policy-relevant and, hence they are useful tool for decision-makers and researchers.

Keywords: benchmark, city, indicator, performance, sustainability

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Authors: Rami Hashish, Manon Limousis-Gayda, Caitlin H. McCleery

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Introduction: A leading cause of emergency room visits among youth (in the United States), is sports-related traumatic brain injuries. Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), also called concussions, are caused by linear and/or angular acceleration experienced at the head and represent an increasing societal burden. Due to the developing nature of the brain in youth, there is a great risk for long-term neuropsychological deficiencies following a concussion. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate incidence rates of concussion across gender for the five most common youth sports in the United States. These include basketball, track and field, soccer, baseball (boys), softball (girls), football (boys), and volleyball (girls). Methods: A PubMed search was performed for four search themes combined. The first theme identified the outcomes (concussion, brain injuries, mild traumatic brain injury, etc.). The second theme identified the sport (American football, soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, track, and field, etc.). The third theme identified the population (adolescence, children, youth, boys, girls). The last theme identified the study design (prevalence, frequency, incidence, prospective). Ultimately, 473 studies were surveyed, with 15 fulfilling the criteria: prospective study presenting original data and incidence of concussion in the relevant youth sport. The following data were extracted from the selected studies: population age, total study population, total athletic exposures (AE) and incidence rate per 1000 athletic exposures (IR/1000). Two One-Way ANOVA and a Tukey’s post hoc test were conducted using SPSS. Results: From the 15 selected studies, statistical analysis revealed the incidence of concussion per 1000 AEs across the considered sports ranged from 0.014 (girl’s track and field) to 0.780 (boy’s football). Average IR/1000 across all sports was 0.483 and 0.268 for boys and girls, respectively; this difference in IR was found to be statistically significant (p=0.013). Tukey’s post hoc test showed that football had significantly higher IR/1000 than boys’ basketball (p=0.022), soccer (p=0.033) and track and field (p=0.026). No statistical difference was found for concussion incidence between girls’ sports. Removal of football was found to lower the IR/1000 for boys without a statistical difference (p=0.101) compared to girls. Discussion: Football was the only sport showing a statistically significant difference in concussion incidence rate relative to other sports (within gender). Males were overall more likely to be concussed than females when football was included (1.8x), whereas concussion was more likely for females when football was excluded. While the significantly higher rate of concussion in football is not surprising because of the nature and rules of the sport, it is concerning that research has shown higher incidence of concussion in practices than games. Interestingly, findings indicate that girls’ sports are more concussive overall when football is removed. This appears to counter the common notion that boys’ sports are more physically taxing and dangerous. Future research should focus on understanding the concussive mechanisms of injury in each sport to enable effective rule changes.

Keywords: gender, football, soccer, traumatic brain injury

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Authors: Shrestha Sharma, Jasjeet K. Sahni, Javed Ali, Sanjula Baboota

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Introduction: Rutin is a naturally occurring strong antioxidant molecule belonging to bioflavonoid category. Due to its free radical scavenging properties, it has been found to be beneficial in the treatment of various diseases including inflammation, cancer, diabetes, allergy, cardiovascular disorders and various types of microbial infections. Despite its beneficial effects, it suffers from the problem of low aqueous solubility which is responsible for low oral bioavailability. The aim of our study was to optimize and characterize self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) of rutin using Box-Behnken design (BBD) combined with a desirability function. Further various antioxidant, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies were performed for the optimized rutin SNEDDS formulation. Methodologies: Selection of oil, surfactant and co-surfactant was done on the basis of solubility/miscibility studies. Sefsol+ Vitamin E, Solutol HS 15 and Transcutol P were selected as oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant respectively. Optimization of SNEDDS formulations was done by a three-factor, three-level (33)BBD. The independent factors were Sefsol+ Vitamin E, Solutol HS15, and Transcutol P. The dependent variables were globule size, self emulsification time (SEF), % transmittance and cumulative percentage drug released. Various response surface graphs and contour plots were constructed to understand the effect of different factor, their levels and combinations on the responses. The optimized Rutin SNEDDS formulation was characterized for various parameters such as globule size, zeta potential, viscosity, refractive index , % Transmittance and in vitro drug release. Ex vivo permeation studies and pharmacokinetic studies were performed for optimized formulation. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH and reducing power assays. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by using carrageenan induced rat paw oedema method. Permeation of rutin across small intestine was assessed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Major findings:The optimized SNEDDS formulation consisting of Sefsol+ Vitamin E - Solutol HS15 -Transcutol HP at proportions of 25:35:17.5 (w/w) was prepared and a comparison of the predicted values and experimental values were found to be in close agreement. The globule size and PDI of optimized SNEDDS formulation was found to be 16.08 ± 0.02 nm and 0.124±0.01 respectively. Significant (p˂0.05) increase in percentage drug release was achieved in the case of optimized SNEDDS formulation (98.8 %) as compared to rutin suspension. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic study showed a 2.3-fold increase in relative oral bioavailability compared with that of the suspension. Antioxidant assay results indicated better efficacy of the developed formulation than the pure drug and it was found to be comparable with ascorbic acid. The results of anti-inflammatory studies showed 72.93 % inhibition for the SNEDDS formulation which was significantly higher than the drug suspension 46.56%. The results of CLSM indicated that the absorption of SNEDDS formulation was considerably higher than that from rutin suspension. Conclusion: Rutin SNEDDS have been successfully prepared and they can serve as an effective tool in enhancing oral bioavailability and efficacy of Rutin.

Keywords: rutin, oral bioavilability, pharamacokinetics, pharmacodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 484

Authors: Nitza Davidovitch, Yael Yossel-Eisenbach

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The purpose of the study was to inquire whether there was a change in the shaping of undergraduate students’ digitally-oriented study pattern in the pre-Covid (2016-2017) versus post-Covid period (2022-2023), as affected by three factors: social background characteristics, high school, and academic background characteristics. These two-time points were cauterized by dramatic changes in teaching and learning at institutions of higher education. The data were collected via cross-sectional surveys at two-time points, in the 2016-2017 academic school year (N=443) and in the 2022-2023 school year (N=326). The questionnaire was distributed on social media and it includes questions on demographic background characteristics, previous studies in high school and present academic studies, and questions on learning and reading habits. Method of analysis: A. Statistical descriptive analysis, B. Mean comparison tests were conducted to analyze the variations in the mean score for the digitally-oriented learning pattern variable at two-time points (pre- and post-Covid) in relation to each of the independent variables. C. Analysis of variance was performed to test the main effects and the interactions. D. Applying linear regression, the research aimed to examine the combined effect of the independent variables on shaping students' digitally-oriented learning habits. The analysis includes four models. In all four models, the dependent variable is students’ perception of digitally oriented learning. The first model included social background variables; the second model included scholastic background as well. In the third model, the academic background variables were added, and the fourth model includes all the independent variables together with the variable of period (pre- and post-COVID). E. Factor analysis confirms using the principal component method with varimax rotation; the variables were constructed by a weighted mean of all the relevant statements merged to form a single variable denoting a shared content world. The research findings indicate a significant rise in students’ perceptions of digitally-oriented learning in the post-COVID period. From a gender perspective, the impact of COVID on shaping a digital learning pattern was much more significant for female students. The socioeconomic status perspective is eliminated when controlling for the period, and the student’s job is affected - more than all other variables. It may be assumed that the student’s work pattern mediates effects related to the convenience offered by digital learning regarding distance and time. The significant effect of scholastic background on shaping students’ digital learning patterns remained stable, even when controlling for all explanatory variables. The advantage that universities had over colleges in shaping a digital learning pattern in the pre-COVID period dissipated. Therefore, it can be said that after COVID, there was a change in how colleges shape students’ digital learning patterns in such a way that no institutional differences are evident with regard to shaping the digital learning pattern. The study shows that period has a significant independent effect on shaping students’ digital learning patterns when controlling for the explanatory variables.

Keywords: learning pattern, COVID, socioeconomic status, digital learning

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Authors: Theophilus Asante, Comfort Nyarko, Daniel Antwi

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Drug-resistant tuberculosis, together with the associated comorbidities like pulmonary fibrosis and silicosis, has been one of the most serious global public health threats that requires immediate action to curb or mitigate it. This prolongs hospital stays, increases the cost of medication, and increases the death toll recorded annually. Crinum asiaticum bulb (CAE) and betulin (BET) are known for their biological and pharmacological effects. Pharmacological effects reported on CAE include antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-analgesic, and anti-cancer effects. Betulin has exhibited a multitude of powerful pharmacological properties ranging from antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, anti-microbial, and anti-viral activities. This work sought to investigate the anti-tuberculosis and resistant modulatory effects and also assess their effects on mitigating pulmonary fibrosis and silicosis. In the anti-tuberculosis and resistant modulatory effects, both CAE and BET showed strong antimicrobial activities (31.25 ≤ MIC ≤ 500) µg/ml against the studied microorganisms and also produced significant anti-efflux pump and biofilm inhibitory effects (ρ < 0.0001) as well as exhibiting resistance modulatory and synergistic effects when combined with standard antibiotics. Crinum asiaticum bulbs extract and betulin were shown to possess anti-pulmonary fibrosis effects. There was an increased survival rate in the CAE and BET treatment groups compared to the BLM-induced group. There was a marked decrease in the levels of hydroxyproline and collagen I and III in the CAE and BET treatment groups compared to the BLM-treated group. The treatment groups of CAE and BET significantly downregulated the levels of pro-fibrotic and pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations such as TGF-β1, MMP9, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-alpha compared to an increase in the BLM-treated groups. The histological findings of the lungs suggested the curative effects of CAE and BET following BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. The study showed improved lung functions with a wide focal area of viable alveolar spaces and few collagen fibers deposition on the lungs of the treatment groups. In the anti-silicosis and pulmonoprotective effects of CAE and BET, the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and hydroxyproline, collagen types I and III were significantly reduced by CAE and BET (ρ < 0.0001). Both CAE and BET significantly (ρ < 0.0001) inhibited the levels of hydroxyproline, collagen I and III when compared with the negative control group. On BALF biomarkers such as macrophages, lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils, CAE and BET were able to reduce their levels significantly (ρ < 0.0001). The CAE and BET were examined for anti-oxidant activity and shown to raise the levels of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) while lowering the level of malondialdehyde (MDA). There was an improvement in lung function when lung tissues were examined histologically. Crinum asiaticum bulbs extract and betulin were discovered to exhibit anti-tubercular and resistance-modulatory properties, as well as the capacity to minimize TB comorbidities such as pulmonary fibrosis and silicosis. In addition, CAE and BET may act as protective mechanisms, facilitating the preservation of the lung's physiological integrity. The outcomes of this study might pave the way for the development of leads for producing single medications for the management of drug-resistant tuberculosis and its accompanying comorbidities.

Keywords: fibrosis, crinum, tuberculosis, antiinflammation, drug resistant

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Authors: T. Ghatauray, J. Ingram, P. Holborn

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The transition from a ‘carbon rich’ fossil fuel dependent to a ‘sustainable’ and ‘renewable’ hydrogen based society will see the deployment of hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) in transport applications and in the generation of heat and power for buildings, as part of a decentralised power network. Many deployments will be low power HFCs for domestic combined heat and power (CHP) and commercial ‘transportable’ HFCs for environmental situations, such as lighting and telephone towers. For broad commercialisation of small fuel cells to be achieved there needs to be significant confidence in their safety in both domestic and environmental applications. Low power HFCs are housed in protective steel enclosures. Standard enclosures have plain rectangular ventilation openings intended for thermal management of electronics and not the dispersion of a buoyant gas. Degradation of the HFC or supply pipework in use could lead to a low-level leak and a build-up of hydrogen gas in the enclosure. Hydrogen’s wide flammable range (4-75%) is a significant safety concern, with ineffective enclosure ventilation having the potential to cause flammable mixtures to develop with the risk of explosion. Mechanical ventilation is effective at managing enclosure hydrogen concentrations, but drains HFC power and is vulnerable to failure. This is undesirable in low power and remote installations and reliable passive ventilation systems are preferred. Passive ventilation depends upon buoyancy driven flow, with the size, shape and position of ventilation openings critical for producing predictable flows and maintaining low buoyant gas concentrations. With environmentally sited enclosures, ventilation openings with pressed horizontal and angled louvres are preferred to protect the HFC and electronics inside. There is an economic cost to adding louvres, but also a safety concern. A question arises over whether the use of pressed louvre vents impairs enclosure passive ventilation performance, when compared to same opening area plain vents. Comparison small enclosure (0.144m³) tests of same opening area pressed louvre and plain vents were undertaken. A displacement ventilation arrangement was incorporated into the enclosure with opposing upper and lower ventilation openings. A range of vent areas were tested. Helium (used as a safe analogue for hydrogen) was released from a 4mm nozzle at the base of the enclosure to simulate a hydrogen leak at leak rates from 1 to 10 lpm. Helium sensors were used to record concentrations at eight heights in the enclosure. The enclosure was otherwise empty. These tests determined that the use of pressed and angled louvre ventilation openings on the enclosure impaired the passive ventilation flow and increased helium concentrations in the enclosure. High-level stratified buoyant gas layers were also found to be deeper than with plain vent openings and were within the flammable range. The presence of gas within the flammable range is of concern, particularly as the addition of the fuel cell and electronics in the enclosure would further reduce the available volume and increase concentrations. The opening area of louvre vents would need to be greater than equivalent plain vents to achieve comparable ventilation flows or alternative schemes would need to be considered.

Keywords: enclosure, fuel cell, helium, hydrogen safety, louvre vent, passive ventilation

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Authors: Hirseland Andreas, Kerschbaumer Lukas

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In the case of Germany, there are about one million long-term unemployed – a figure that did not vary much during the past years. These long-term unemployed did not benefit from the prospering labor market while most short-term unemployed did. Instead, they are continuously dependent on welfare and sometimes precarious short-term employment, experiencing work poverty. Long-term unemployment thus turns into a main obstacle to become employed again, especially if it is accompanied by other impediments such as low-level education (school/vocational), poor health (especially chronical illness), advanced age (older than fifty), immigrant status, motherhood or engagement in care for other relatives. As can be shown by this current research project, in these cases the chance to regain employment decreases to near nil. Almost two-thirds of all welfare recipients have multiple impediments which hinder a successful transition from welfare back to sustainable and sufficient employment. Prospective employers are unlikely to hire long-term unemployed with additional impediments because they evaluate potential employees on their negative signaling (e.g. low-level education) and the implicit assumption of unproductiveness (e.g. poor health, age). Some findings of the panel survey “Labor market and social security” (PASS) carried out by the Institute of Employment Research (the research institute of the German Federal Labor Agency) spread a ray of hope, showing that unlikely does not necessarily mean impossible. The presentation reports on current research on these very scarce “success stories” of unlikely transitions from long-term unemployment to work and how these cases were able to perform this switch against all odds. The study is based on a mixed-method design. Within the panel survey (~15,000 respondents in ~10,000 households), only 66 cases of such unlikely transitions were observed. These cases have been explored by qualitative inquiry – in depth-interviews and qualitative network techniques. There is strong evidence that sustainable transitions are influenced by certain biographical resources like habits of network use, a set of informal skills and particularly a resilient way of dealing with obstacles, combined with contextual factors rather than by job-placement procedures promoted by Job-Centers according to activation rules or by following formal paths of application. On the employer’s side small and medium-sized enterprises are often found to give job opportunities to a wider variety of applicants, often based on a slow but steadily increasing relationship leading to employment. According to these results it is possible to show and discuss some limitations of (German) activation policies targeting the labor market and their impact on welfare dependency and long-term unemployment. Based on these findings, indications for more supportive small-scale measures in the field of labor-market policies are suggested to help long-term unemployed with multiple impediments to overcome their situation (e.g. organizing small-scale-structures and low-threshold services to encounter possible employers on a more informal basis like “meet and greet”).

Keywords: against-all-odds, mixed-methods, Welfare State, long-term unemployment

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Authors: Sonia Butalia, Huong Luu, Alexis Guigue, Karen J. B. Martins, Khanh Vu, Scott W. Klarenbach

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Obesity is associated with significant personal impacts on health and has a substantial economic burden on payers due to increased healthcare use. A contemporary estimate of the healthcare costs associated with obesity at the population level are lacking. This evidence may provide further rationale for weight management strategies. Methods: Adults who underwent a medical procedure between 2012 and 2019 in Alberta, Canada were categorized into the investigational cohort (had body mass index [BMI]-defined class 2 or 3 obesity based on a procedure-associated code) and the control cohort (did not have the BMI procedure-associated code); those who had bariatric surgery were excluded. Characteristics were presented and healthcare costs ($CDN) determined over a 1-year observation period (2019/2020). Logistic regression and a generalized linear model with log link and gamma distribution were used to assess total healthcare costs (comprised of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, ambulatory care visits, physician visits, and outpatient prescription drugs); potential confounders included age, sex, region of residence, and whether the medical procedure was performed within 6-months before the observation period in the partial adjustment, and also the type of procedure performed, socioeconomic status, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and seven obesity-related health conditions in the full adjustment. Cost ratios and estimated cost differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported; incremental cost differences within the adjusted models represent referent cases. Results: The investigational cohort (n=220,190) was older (mean age: 53 standard deviation [SD]±17 vs 50 SD±17 years), had more females (71% vs 57%), lived in rural areas to a greater extent (20% vs 14%), experienced a higher overall burden of disease (CCI: 0.6 SD±1.3 vs 0.3 SD±0.9), and were less socioeconomically well-off (material/social deprivation was lower [14%/14%] in the most well-off quintile vs 20%/19%) compared with controls (n=1,955,548). Unadjusted total healthcare costs were estimated to be 1.77-times (95% CI: 1.76, 1.78) higher in the investigational versus control cohort; each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. After adjusting for potential confounders, the total healthcare cost ratio decreased, but remained higher in the investigational versus control cohort (partial adjustment: 1.57 [95% CI: 1.57, 1.58]; full adjustment: 1.21 [95% CI: 1.20, 1.21]); each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. Among urban-dwelling 50-year old females who previously had non-operative procedures, no procedures performed within 6-months before the observation period, a social deprivation index score of 3, a CCI score of 0.32, and no history of select obesity-related health conditions, the predicted cost difference between those living with and without obesity was $386 (95% CI: $376, $397). Conclusions: If these findings hold for the Canadian population, one would expect an estimated additional $3.0 billion per year in healthcare costs nationally related to BMI-defined obesity (based on an adult obesity rate of 26% and an estimated annual incremental cost of $386 [21%]); incremental costs are higher when obesity-related health conditions are not adjusted for. Results of this study provide additional rationale for investment in interventions that are effective in preventing and treating obesity and its complications.

Keywords: administrative data, body mass index-defined obesity, healthcare cost, real world evidence

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Authors: Hilal Turkoglu Sasmazel, Ozan Ozkan, Seda Surucu

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Tissue engineering is the field of treating defects caused by injuries, trauma or acute/chronic diseases by using artificial scaffolds that mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM), the natural biological support for the tissues and cells within the body. The main aspects of a successful artificial scaffold are (i) large surface area in order to provide multiple anchorage points for cells to attach, (ii) suitable porosity in order to achieve 3 dimensional growth of the cells within the scaffold as well as proper transport of nutrition, biosignals and waste and (iii) physical, chemical and biological compatibility of the material in order to obtain viability throughout the healing process. By hybrid scaffolds where two or more different materials were combined with advanced fabrication techniques into complex structures, it is possible to combine the advantages of individual materials into one single structure while eliminating the disadvantages of each. Adding this to the complex structure provided by advanced fabrication techniques enables obtaining the desired aspects of a successful artificial tissue scaffold. In this study, fibroblast compatibility of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/chitosan core-shell electrospun hybrid scaffolds with proper mechanical, chemical and physical properties successfully developed in our previous study was investigated. Standard 7-day cell culture was carried out with L929 fibroblast cell line. The viability of the cells cultured with the scaffolds was monitored with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability assay for every 48 h starting with 24 h after the initial seeding. In this assay, blank commercial tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) Petri dishes, single electrospun PCL and single electrospun chitosan mats were used as control in order to compare and contrast the performance of the hybrid scaffolds. The adhesion, proliferation, spread and growth of the cells on/within the scaffolds were observed visually on the 3rd and the 7th days of the culture period with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CSLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The viability assay showed that the hybrid scaffolds caused no toxicity for fibroblast cells and provided a steady increase in cell viability, effectively doubling the cell density for every 48 h for the course of 7 days, as compared to TCPS, single electrospun PCL or chitosan mats. The cell viability on the hybrid scaffold was ~2 fold better compared to TCPS because of its 3D ECM-like structure compared to 2D flat surface of commercially cell compatible TCPS, and the performance was ~2 fold and ~10 fold better compared to single PCL and single chitosan mats, respectively, even though both fabricated similarly with electrospinning as non-woven fibrous structures, because single PCL and chitosan mats were either too hydrophobic or too hydrophilic to maintain cell attachment points. The viability results were verified with visual images obtained with CSLM and SEM, in which cells found to achieve characteristic spindle-like fibroblast shape and spread on the surface as well within the pores successfully at high densities.

Keywords: chitosan, core-shell, fibroblast, electrospinning, PCL

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Authors: Hazel James P. Agngarayngay, Arnold R. Elepaño

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Mango is the third most important export fruit in the Philippines. Despite the expanding mango trade in world market, problems on postharvest losses caused by pests and diseases are still prevalent. Many disease control and pest disinfestation methods have been studied and adopted. Heat treatment is necessary to eliminate pests and diseases to be able to pass the quarantine requirements of importing countries. During heat treatments, temperature and time are critical because fruits can easily be damaged by over-exposure to heat. Modeling the process enables researchers and engineers to study the behaviour of temperature distribution within the fruit over time. Understanding physical processes through modeling and simulation also saves time and resources because of reduced experimentation. This research aimed to simulate the heat transfer mechanism and predict the temperature distribution in ‘Carabao' mangoes during hot water treatment (HWT) and extended hot water treatment (EHWT). The simulation was performed in ANSYS CFD Software, using ANSYS CFX Solver. The simulation process involved model creation, mesh generation, defining the physics of the model, solving the problem, and visualizing the results. Boundary conditions consisted of the convective heat transfer coefficient and a constant free stream temperature. The three-dimensional energy equation for transient conditions was numerically solved to obtain heat flux and transient temperature values. The solver utilized finite volume method of discretization. To validate the simulation, actual data were obtained through experiment. The goodness of fit was evaluated using mean temperature difference (MTD). Also, t-test was used to detect significant differences between the data sets. Results showed that the simulations were able to estimate temperatures accurately with MTD of 0.50 and 0.69 °C for the HWT and EHWT, respectively. This indicates good agreement between the simulated and actual temperature values. The data included in the analysis were taken at different locations of probe punctures within the fruit. Moreover, t-tests showed no significant differences between the two data sets. Maximum heat fluxes obtained at the beginning of the treatments were 394.15 and 262.77 J.s-1 for HWT and EHWT, respectively. These values decreased abruptly at the first 10 seconds and gradual decrease was observed thereafter. Data on heat flux is necessary in the design of heaters. If underestimated, the heating component of a certain machine will not be able to provide enough heat required by certain operations. Otherwise, over-estimation will result in wasting of energy and resources. This study demonstrated that the simulation was able to estimate temperatures accurately. Thus, it can be used to evaluate the influence of various treatment conditions on the temperature-time history in mangoes. When combined with information on insect mortality and quality degradation kinetics, it could predict the efficacy of a particular treatment and guide appropriate selection of treatment conditions. The effect of various parameters on heat transfer rates, such as the boundary and initial conditions as well as the thermal properties of the material, can be systematically studied without performing experiments. Furthermore, the use of ANSYS software in modeling and simulation can be explored in modeling various systems and processes.

Keywords: heat transfer, heat treatment, mango, modeling and simulation

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Authors: Daniel Rowe, Christopher R. Vogel, Richard H. J. Willden

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The University of Oxford’s recirculating water flume is a combined wave and current test tank with a 1 m depth, 1.1 m width, and 10 m long working section, and is capable of flow speeds up to 1 ms−1 . This study documents the hydrodynamic characteristics of the facility in preparation for experimental testing of horizontal axis tidal stream turbine models. The turbine to be tested has a rotor diameter of 0.6 m and is a modified version of one of two model-scale turbines tested in previous experimental campaigns. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the flow at high temporal resolution at various locations throughout the flume, enabling the spatial uniformity and turbulence flow parameters to be investigated. The mean velocity profiles exhibited high levels of spatial uniformity at the design speed of the flume, 0.6 ms−1 , with variations in the three-dimensional velocity components on the order of ±1% at the 95% confidence level, along with a modest streamwise acceleration through the measurement domain, a target 5 m working section of the flume. A high degree of uniformity was also apparent for the turbulence intensity, with values ranging between 1-2% across the intended swept area of the turbine rotor. The integral scales of turbulence exhibited a far higher degree of variation throughout the water column, particularly in the streamwise and vertical scales. This behaviour is believed to be due to the high signal noise content leading to decorrelation in the sampling records. To achieve more realistic levels of vertical velocity shear in the flume, a simple procedure to practically generate target vertical shear profiles in open-channel flows is described. Here, the authors arranged a series of non-uniformly spaced parallel bars placed across the width of the flume and normal to the onset flow. By adjusting the resistance grading across the height of the working section, the downstream profiles could be modified accordingly, characterised by changes in the velocity profile power law exponent, 1/n. Considering the significant temporal variation in a tidal channel, the choice of the exponent denominator, n = 6 and n = 9, effectively provides an achievable range around the much-cited value of n = 7 observed at many tidal sites. The resulting flow profiles, which we intend to use in future turbine tests, have been characterised in detail. The results indicate non-uniform vertical shear across the survey area and reveal substantial corner flows, arising from the differential shear between the target vertical and cross-stream shear profiles throughout the measurement domain. In vertically sheared flow, the rotor-equivalent turbulence intensity ranges between 3.0-3.8% throughout the measurement domain for both bar arrangements, while the streamwise integral length scale grows from a characteristic dimension on the order of the bar width, similar to the flow downstream of a turbulence-generating grid. The experimental tests are well-defined and repeatable and serve as a reference for other researchers who wish to undertake similar investigations.

Keywords: acoustic doppler Velocimeter, experimental hydrodynamics, open-channel flow, shear profiles, tidal stream turbines

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Authors: Julian Iliev

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The recent release of The Matrix Resurrections persuaded many film scholars that The Matrix trilogy had lost its appeal and its concepts were largely outdated. This study examines the human pods and growing fields in the trilogy. Their functionality is compared to Michel Foucault’s concept of docile bodies: linking fictional and contemporary worlds. This paradigm is scrutinized through surveillance literature. The analogy brings to light common elements of hidden surveillance practices in technologies. The comparison illustrates the effects of body manipulation portrayed in the movies and their relevance with contemporary surveillance practices. Many scholars have utilized a close reading methodology in film studies (J.Bizzocchi, J.Tanenbaum, P.Larsen, S. Herbrechter, and Deacon et al.). The use of a particular lens through which media text is examined is an indispensable factor that needs to be incorporated into the methodology. The study spotlights both scenes from the trilogy depicting the human pods and growing fields. The functionality of the pods and the fields compare directly with Foucault’s concept of docile bodies. By utilizing Foucault’s study as a lens, the research will unearth hidden components and insights into the films. Foucault recognizes three disciplines that produce docile bodies: 1) manipulation and the interchangeability of individual bodies, 2) elimination of unnecessary movements and management of time, and 3) command system guaranteeing constant supervision and continuity protection. These disciplines can be found in the pods and growing fields. Each body occupies a single pod aiding easier manipulation and fast interchangeability. The movement of the bodies in the pods is reduced to the absolute minimum. Thus, the body is transformed into the ultimate object of control – minimum movement correlates to maximum energy generation. Supervision is exercised by wiring the body with numerous types of cables. This ultimate supervision of body activity reduces the body’s purpose to mere functioning. If a body does not function as an energy source, then it’s unplugged, ejected, and liquefied. The command system secures the constant supervision and continuity of the process. To Foucault, the disciplines are distinctly different from slavery because they stop short of a total takeover of the bodies. This is a clear difference from the slave system implemented in the films. Even though their system might lack sophistication, it makes up for it in the elevation of functionality. Further, surveillance literature illustrates the connection between the generation of body energy in The Matrix trilogy to the generation of individual data in contemporary society. This study found that the three disciplines producing docile bodies were present in the portrayal of the pods and fields in The Matrix trilogy. The above comparison combined with surveillance literature yields insights into analogous processes and contemporary surveillance practices. Thus, the constant generation of energy in The Matrix trilogy can be equated to the consistent data generation in contemporary society. This essay shows the relevance of the body manipulation concept in the Matrix films with contemporary surveillance practices.

Keywords: docile bodies, film trilogies, matrix movies, michel foucault, privacy loss, surveillance

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Authors: Asma Ben Hmidene, Mizuho Hanaki, Kazuma Murakami, Kazuhiro Irie, Hiroko Isoda, Hideyuki Shigemori

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are characterized as a peripheral metabolic disorder and a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, respectively. It is now widely recognized that T2DM and AD share many pathophysiological features including glucose metabolism, increased oxidative stress and amyloid aggregation. Amyloid beta (Aβ) is the components of the amyloid deposits in the AD brain and while the component of the amyloidogenic peptide deposit in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans is identified as human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP). These two proteins are originated from the amyloid precursor protein and have a high sequence similarity. Although the amino acid sequences of amyloidogenic proteins are diverse, they all adopt a similar structure in aggregates called cross-beta-spine. Add at that, extensive studies in the past years have found that like Aβ1-42, IAPP forms early intermediate assemblies as spherical oligomers, implicating that these oligomers possess a common folding pattern or conformation. These similarities can be used in the search for effective pharmacotherapy for DM, since potent therapeutic agents such as antioxidants with a catechol moiety, proved to inhibit Aβ aggregation, may play a key role in the inhibit the aggregation of hIAPP treatment of patients with DM. Tamarix gallica is one of the halophyte species having a powerful antioxidant system. Although it was traditionally used for the treatment of various liver metabolic disorders, there is no report about the use of this plant for the treatment or prevention of T2DM and AD. Therefore, the aim of this work is to investigate their protective effect towards T2DM and AD by isolation and identification of α-glucosidase inhibitors, with antioxidant potential, that play an important role in the glucose metabolism in diabetic patient, as well as, the polymerization of hIAPP and Aβ aggregation inhibitors. Structure-activity relationship study was conducted for both assays. And as for α-glucosidase inhibitors, their mechanism of action and their synergistic potential when applied with a very low concentration of acarbose were also suggesting that they can be used not only as α-glucosidase inhibitors but also be combined with established α-glucosidase inhibitors to reduce their adverse effect. The antioxidant potential of the purified substances was evaluated by DPPH and SOD assays. Th-T assay using 42-mer amyloid β-protein (Aβ42) for AD and hIAPP which is a 37-residue peptide secreted by the pancreatic β –cells for T2DM and Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) were conducted to evaluate the amyloid aggragation of the actives substances. For α-glucosidase, p-NPG and glucose oxidase assays were performed for determining the inhibition potential and structure-activity relationship study. The Enzyme kinetic protocol was used to study the mechanism of action. From this research, it was concluded that polyphenols playing a role in the glucose metabolism and oxidative stress can also inhibit the amyloid aggregation, and that substances with a catechol and glucuronide moieties inhibiting amyloid-β aggregation, might be used to inhibit the aggregation of hIAPP.

Keywords: α-glucosidase inhibitors, amyloid aggregation inhibition, mechanism of action, polyphenols, structure activity relationship, synergistic potential, tamarix gallica

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Authors: Bai-Chen Xie, Xian-Peng Chen

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China has become the world's largest energy producer and consumer, and its development of renewable energy is of great significance to global energy governance and the fight against climate change. The rapid growth of solar power in China could help achieve its ambitious carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets early. However, the non-technical costs of solar power in China are much higher than at international levels, meaning that inefficiencies are rooted in poor management and improper policy design and that efficiency distortions have become a serious challenge to the sustainable development of the renewable energy industry. Unlike fossil energy generation technologies, the output of solar power is closely related to the volatile solar resource, and the spatial unevenness of solar resource distribution leads to potential efficiency spatial distribution differences. It is necessary to develop an efficiency evaluation method that considers the volatility of solar resources and explores the mechanism of the influence of natural geography and social environment on the spatially varying characteristics of efficiency distribution to uncover the root causes of managing inefficiencies. The study sets solar resources as stochastic inputs, introduces a chance-constrained data envelopment analysis model combined with the directional distance function, and measures the solar resource utilization efficiency of 222 solar power plants in representative photovoltaic bases in northwestern China. By the meta-frontier analysis, we measured the characteristics of different power plant clusters and compared the differences among groups, discussed the mechanism of environmental factors influencing inefficiencies, and performed statistical tests through the system generalized method of moments. Rational localization of power plants is a systematic project that requires careful consideration of the full utilization of solar resources, low transmission costs, and power consumption guarantee. Suitable temperature, precipitation, and wind speed can improve the working performance of photovoltaic modules, reasonable terrain inclination can reduce land cost, and the proximity to cities strongly guarantees the consumption of electricity. The density of electricity demand and high-tech industries is more important than resource abundance because they trigger the clustering of power plants to result in a good demonstration and competitive effect. To ensure renewable energy consumption, increased support for rural grids and encouraging direct trading between generators and neighboring users will provide solutions. The study will provide proposals for improving the full life-cycle operational activities of solar power plants in China to reduce high non-technical costs and improve competitiveness against fossil energy sources.

Keywords: solar power plants, environmental factors, data envelopment analysis, efficiency evaluation

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