Search results for: continuous graphene oxide fiber

Authors: Caroline Provost, Francois Dumont

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Production of insects for human and animal consumption is an increasingly important activity in Canada. Protein production is more efficient and less harmful to the environment using insect rearing compared to the impact of traditional livestock, poultry and fish farms. Insects are rich in essential amino acids, essential fatty acids and trace elements. Thus, insect-based products could be used as a food supplement for livestock and domestic animals and may even find their way into the diets of high performing athletes or fine dining. Nevertheless, several parameters remain to be determined to ensure efficient and profitable production that meet the potential of these sectors. This project proposes to improve the production processes, rearing diets and processing methods for three species with valuable gastronomic and nutritional potential: the common mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), the small mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), and the giant mealworm (Zophobas morio). The general objective of the project is to acquire specific knowledge for mass rearing of insects dedicated to animal and human consumption in order to respond to current market opportunities and meet a growing demand for these products. Mass rearing of the three species of mealworm was produced to provide the individuals needed for the experiments. Mealworms eat flour from different cereals (e.g. wheat, barley, buckwheat). These cereals vary in their composition (protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, antioxidant, etc.), but also in their purchase cost. Seven different diets were compared to optimize the yield of the rearing. Diets were composed of cereal flour (e.g. wheat, barley) and were either mixed or left alone. Female fecundity, larvae mortality and growing curves were observed. Some flour diets have positive effects on female fecundity and larvae performance while each mealworm was found to have specific diet requirements. Trade-offs between mealworm performance and costs need to be considered. Experiments on the effect of flour composition on several parameters related to performance and nutritional and gastronomic value led to the identification of a more appropriate diet for each mealworm.

Keywords: mass rearing, mealworm, human consumption, diet

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Authors: Hossein Motaghedi, Siavash Salamatpoor, Abbas Mokhtari

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Noor costal city which is located in Mazandaran province, Iran, regularly visited by many tourists. Accordingly, many tall building and heavy structures are going to be constructed over this coastal area. This region is overlaid by poorly graded clean sand and because of high water level, is susceptible to liquefaction. In this study, undrained triaxial tests under isotropic consolidation were conducted on the reconstituted samples of Noor sand, which underlies a densely populated, seismic region of southern bank of Caspian Sea. When the strain level is large enough, soil samples under shearing tend to be in a state of continuous deformation under constant shear and normal stresses. There exists a correlation between the void ratio and mean effective principal stress, which is referred to as the ultimate steady state line (USSL). Soil behavior can be achieved by expressing the state of effective confining stress and defining the location of this point relative to the steady state line. Therefore, one can say that sand behavior not only is dependent to relative density but also a description of stress state has to be defined. The current study tries to investigate behavior of this sand under different conditions such as confining effective stress and relative density using undrained monotonic triaxial compression tests. As expected, the analyzed results show that the sand behavior varies from dilative to contractive state while initial isotropic effective stress increases. Therefore, confining effective stress level will directly affect the overall behavior of sand. The observed behavior obtained from the conducted tests is then compared with some previously tested sands including Yamuna, Ganga, and Toyoura.

Keywords: noor sand, liquefaction, undrained test, steady state

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Authors: Bassem Nassar, Wessam Hussein, Medhat Mokhtar

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The crucial concern of satellite operations is to ensure the health and safety of satellites. The worst case in this perspective is probably the loss of a mission but the more common interruption of satellite functionality can result in compromised mission objectives. All the data acquiring from the spacecraft are known as Telemetry (TM), which contains the wealth information related to the health of all its subsystems. Each single item of information is contained in a telemetry parameter, which represents a time-variant property (i.e. a status or a measurement) to be checked. As a consequence, there is a continuous improvement of TM monitoring systems in order to reduce the time required to respond to changes in a satellite's state of health. A fast conception of the current state of the satellite is thus very important in order to respond to occurring failures. Statistical multivariate latent techniques are one of the vital learning tools that are used to tackle the aforementioned problem coherently. Information extraction from such rich data sources using advanced statistical methodologies is a challenging task due to the massive volume of data. To solve this problem, in this paper, we present a proposed unsupervised learning algorithm based on Principle Component Analysis (PCA) technique. The algorithm is particularly applied on an actual remote sensing spacecraft. Data from the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) was acquired under two operation conditions: normal and faulty states. The models were built and tested under these conditions and the results shows that the algorithm could successfully differentiate between these operations conditions. Furthermore, the algorithm provides competent information in prediction as well as adding more insight and physical interpretation to the ADCS operation.

Keywords: space telemetry monitoring, multivariate analysis, PCA algorithm, space operations

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Authors: Meghan Biallas, Amanda Hoffman, Tamara Miller, Kimmy Schnibben, Janaina Siegler

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This paper assesses Walmart’s supply chain resiliency amidst continuous supply chain disruptions. It aims to evaluate how Walmart can use supply chain resiliency theory to retain its status as a global supply chain leader. The Bloomberg terminal was used to organize Walmart’s 754 Tier-1 suppliers by the size of their relationship to Walmart. Additional data from IBISWorld and Statista was also used in the analysis. This research focused on the top ten Tier-1 suppliers, with the greatest percentage of their revenue attributed to Walmart. This paper also applied the firm’s information to the Supply Chain Resilience Assessment and Management (SCRAM) framework for supply chain resiliency to evaluate the firm’s capabilities, vulnerabilities, and gaps. A rubric was created to quantify Walmart’s risks using four pillars: flexibility, velocity, visibility, and collaboration. Information and examples were reported from Walmart’s 10k filing. For each example, a rating of 1 indicated “high” resiliency, 0 indicated “medium” resiliency, and -1 indicated “low” resiliency. Findings from this study include the following: (1) Walmart has maintained its leadership through its ability to remain resilient with regard to visibility, efficiency, capacity, and collaboration. (2) Walmart is experiencing increases in supply chain costs due to internal factors affecting the company and external factors affecting its suppliers. (3) There are a number of emerging supply chain risks with Walmart’s suppliers, which could cause issues for Walmart to remain a supply chain leader in the future. Using the SCRAM framework, this paper assesses how Walmart measures up to the Supply Chain Resiliency Theory, identifying areas of strength as well as areas where Walmart can improve in order to remain a global supply chain leader.

Keywords: supply chain resiliency, zone of balanced resilience, supply chain resilience assessment and management, supply chain theory.

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Opeyemi Atiba-Oyewo, Maurice S. Onya, Christian Wolkersdorfer

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Nanostructure formation and characterization of eco-friendly banana peels nanosorbent are thoroughly described in this paper. The transformation of material during mechanical milling to enhance certain properties such as changes in microstructure and surface area to solve the current problems involving water pollution and water quality were studied. The mechanical milling was employed using planetary continuous milling machine and ethanol as process control agent, the sample were taken at time interval between 10 h to 30 h to examine the structural changes. The samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer Emmett and teller (BET). Results revealed that the three typical structures with different grain-size, lattice strain and shapes were observed, and the deformation mechanisms in these structures were found to be different, further particles fracturing results to surface area increment which was confirmed by Brunauer Emmett and teller (BET) analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows high densities of dislocations in large crystallites, implying that dislocation slip is the dominant deformation mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the morphological properties of the materials at different milling time, nanostructure of the particles and fibres were confirmed by Transmission electron microscopy and FT-IR identified the functional groups responsible for its capacity to coordinate and remove metal ions, such as the carboxylic and amine groups at absorption bands of 1730 and 889 cm-1, respectively. However, the choice of this sorbent material for the sorption of any contaminants will depend on the composition of the effluent to be treated.

Keywords: banana peels, eco-friendly, mechanical milling, nanosorbent, nanostructure water quality

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Authors: Aneek Kuila, Yaron Paz

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MIP 177 LT and HT are two-phase transformable metal organic frameworks consisting of a Ti12O15 oxocluster and a tetracarboxylate ligand that exhibits robust chemical stability and improved photoactivity. LT to HT only shows the changes in dimensionality from 0D to 1D without any change in the overall chemical structure. In terms of chemical and photoactivity MIP 177 LT is found to perform better than the MIP 177HT. Step-scan Fourier transform absorption difference time-resolved spectroscopy has been used to collect mid-IR time-resolved infrared spectra of the transient electronic excited states of a nano-porous metal–organic framework MIP 177-LT and HT with 2.5 ns time resolution. Analyzing the time-resolved vibrational data after 355nm LASER excitation reveals the presence of the temporal changes of ν (O-Ti-O) of Ti-O metal cluster and ν (-COO) of the ligand concluding the fact that these moieties are the ultimate acceptors of the excited charges which are localized over those regions on the nanosecond timescale. A direct negative correlation between the differential absorbance (Δ Absorbance) reveals the charge transfer relation among these two moieties. A longer-lived transient signal up to 180ns for MIP 177 LT compared to the 100 ns of MIP 177 HT shows the extended lifetime of the reactive charges over the surface that exerts in their effectivity. An ultrafast change of bidentate to monodentate bridging in the -COO-Ti-O ligand-metal coordination environment was observed after the photoexcitation of MIP 177 LT which remains and lives with for seconds after photoexcitation is halted. This phenomenon is very unique to MIP 177 LT but not observed with HT. This in-situ change in the coordination denticity during the photoexcitation was not observed previously which can rationalize the reason behind the ability of MIP 177 LT to accumulate electrons during continuous photoexcitation leading to a superior photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: time resolved FTIR, metal organic framework, denticity, photoacatalysis

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Authors: Amit Kumar, Rajdeep Chakrabarty, Ganesh Gupta

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This paper illustrates the detailed accreditation process of Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) for accrediting engineering and Technology programs. ABET is a non-governmental agency that accredits engineering and technology, applied and natural sciences, and computing sciences programs. ABET was founded on 10th May 1932 and was founded by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. International industries accept ABET accredited institutes having the highest standards in their academic programs. In this accreditation, there are eight criteria in general; criterion 1 describes the student outcome evaluations, criteria 2 measures the program's educational objectives, criteria 3 is the student outcome calculated from the marks obtained by students, criteria 4 establishes continuous improvement, criteria 5 focus on curriculum of the institute, criteria 6 is about faculties of this institute, criteria 7 measures the facilities provided by the institute and finally, criteria 8 focus on institutional support towards staff of the institute. In this paper, we focused on the calculative part of each criterion with equations and suitable examples, the files and documentation required for each criterion, and the total workflow of the process. The references and the values used to illustrate the calculations are all taken from the samples provided at ABET's official website. In the final section, we also discuss the criterion-wise score weightage followed by evaluation with timeframe and deadlines.

Keywords: Engineering Accreditation Committee, Computing Accreditation Committee, performance indicator, Program Educational Objective, ABET Criterion 1 to 7, IEEE, National Board of Accreditation, MOOCS, Board of Studies, stakeholders, course objective, program outcome, articulation, attainment, CO-PO mapping, CO-PO-SO mapping, PDCA cycle, degree certificates, course files, course catalogue

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Authors: Suman

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In the continuous interaction between the past and the present that historiography is, each time when history gets re/written, a new representation emerges. This new representation is a reflection of the earlier archives and their interpretations, fragmented remembrances of the past, as well as the reactions to the present. Memory, or lack thereof, and stereotyping generally play a major role in this representation. William Dalrymple’s Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India (2009) is one such written account that sets out to narrate the representations of religion and culture of India and contemporary reactions to it. Dalrymple’s nine saints belong to different castes, sects, religions, and regions. By dealing with their religions and expressions of those religions, and through the lived mysticism of these nine individuals, the book engages with some important issues like class, caste and gender in the contexts provided by historical as well as present India. The paper studies the development of religion and accompanied feeling of religiosity in modern as well as historical contexts through a study of these elements in the book. Since, the language used in creation of texts and the literary texts thus produced create a new reality that questions the stereotypes of the past, and in turn often end up creating new stereotypes or stereotypical representations at times, the paper seeks to actively engage with the text in order to identify and study such stereotypes, along with their changing representations. Through a detailed examination of the book, the paper seeks to unravel whether some socio-cultural stereotypes existed earlier, and whether there is development of new stereotypes from Dalrymple’s point of view as an outsider writing on issues that are deeply rooted in the cultural milieu of the country. For this analysis, the paper takes help from the psycho-literary theories of stereotyping and representation.

Keywords: stereotyping, representation, William Dalrymple, religion

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Authors: Shahan Waheed, Muhammad Waqas, Asher Feroz

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Objectives: To determine the utility of base deficit in traumatic brain injury in assessing the severity and to correlate with the conventional computed tomography scales in grading the severity of head injury. Methodology: Observational cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care facility from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2012. All patients with isolated traumatic brain injury presenting within 24 hours of the injury to the emergency department were included in the study. Initial Glasgow Coma Scale and base deficit values were taken at presentation, the patients were followed during their hospital stay and CT scan brain findings were recorded and graded as per the Rotterdam scale, the findings were cross-checked by a radiologist, Glasgow Outcome Scale was taken on last follow up. Outcomes were dichotomized into favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Continuous variables with normal and non-normal distributions are reported as mean ± SD. Categorical variables are presented as frequencies and percentages. Relationship of the base deficit with GCS, GOS, CT scan brain and length of stay was calculated using Spearman`s correlation. Results: 154 patients were enrolled in the study. Mean age of the patients were 30 years and 137 were males. The severity of brain injuries as per the GCS was 34 moderate and 109 severe respectively. 34 percent of the total has an unfavorable outcome with a mean of 18±14. The correlation was significant at the 0.01 level with GCS on presentation and the base deficit 0.004. The correlation was not significant between the Rotterdam CT scan brain findings, length of stay and the base deficit. Conclusion: The base deficit was found to be a good predictor of severity of brain injury. There was no association of the severity of injuries on the CT scan brain as per the Rotterdam scale and the base deficit. Further studies with large sample size are needed to further evaluate the associations.

Keywords: base deficit, traumatic brain injury, Rotterdam, GCS

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Authors: Kong Wing Man

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The purpose of this paper is to review the waste generation and management in different parts of the world. It is undeniable that waste generation and management has become an alarming environmental issue. Solid waste generation links inextricably to the degree of industrialization and economic development. Urbanization increases with the economic wealth of the countries. As the income of people and standard of living enhances, so does their consumption of goods and services, leading to a corresponding increase in waste generation. Based on the latest statistics from What A Waste Report published by World Bank (2012), it is estimated that the current global Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation levels are about 1.3 billion tonnes per year (1.2 kg per capita per day). By 2050, it is projected that the waste generation will be doubled. Although many waste collection practices have been implemented in various countries, the amount of waste generation keeps increasing. An integrated solid waste management is needed in order to reduce the continuous significant increase in waste generation rates. Although many countries have introduced and implemented the 3Rs strategy and landfill, however, these are only the ways to diverse waste, but cannot reduce the volume. Instead, the advanced thermal treatment technology, incineration, can reduce up to 90% volume of disposed waste prior to dispose at landfills is discussed. Sweden and Tokyo were chosen as case studies, which provide an overview of the municipal solid waste management system. With the condition of escalating amount of wastes generated, it is crucial to build incinerators to relief pressing needs of landfill. Two solutions are proposed to minimize waste generation, including one incineration in one city and several small incinerators in different cities. While taking into consideration of a sustainable model and the perspectives of all stakeholders, building several incinerators at different cities and different sizes would be the best option to reduce waste. Overall, the solution to the global solid waste management should be a holistic approach with the involvement of both government and citizens.

Keywords: Incineration, Municipal Solid Waste, Thermal Treatment, Waste generation

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Authors: Yu-Wen Lin, Chin-Sheng Tang, Wan-Yi Chen

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Various biological specimens, drugs, and chemicals exist in the hospital. The medical staffs and hypersensitive inpatients expose might expose to multiple hazards while they work or stay in the hospital. Therefore, the indoor air quality (IAQ) of the hospital should be paid more attention. Respiratory care wards (RCW) are responsible for caring the patients who cannot spontaneously breathe without the ventilators. The patients in RCW are easy to be infected. Compared to the bacteria concentrations of other hospital units, RCW came with higher values in other studies. This research monitored the IAQ of the RCW and checked the compliances of the indoor air quality standards of Taiwan Indoor Air Quality Act. Meanwhile, the influential factors of IAQ and the impacts of ventilator modules, with humidifier or with filter, were investigated. The IAQ of two five-bed wards and one nurse station of a RCW in a regional hospital were monitored. The monitoring was proceeded for 16 hours or 24 hours during the sampling days with a sampling frequency of 20 minutes per hour. The monitoring was performed for two days in a row and the AIQ of the RCW were measured for eight days in total. The concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxide (NOₓ), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), relative humidity (RH) and temperature were measured by direct reading instruments. The bioaerosol samples were taken hourly. The hourly air change rate (ACH) was calculated by measuring the air ventilation volume. Human activities were recorded during the sampling period. The linear mixed model (LMM) was applied to illustrate the impact factors of IAQ. The concentrations of CO, CO₂, PM, bacterial and fungi exceeded the Taiwan IAQ standards. The major factors affecting the concentrations of CO, PM₁ and PM₂.₅ were location and the number of inpatients. The significant factors to alter the CO₂ and TVOC concentrations were location and the numbers of in-and-out staff and inpatients. The number of in-and-out staff and the level of activity affected the PM₁₀ concentrations statistically. The level of activity and the numbers of in-and-out staff and inpatients are the significant factors in changing the bacteria and fungi concentrations. Different models of the patients’ ventilators did not affect the IAQ significantly. The results of LMM can be utilized to predict the pollutant concentrations under various environmental conditions. The results of this study would be a valuable reference for air quality management of RCW.

Keywords: respiratory care ward, indoor air quality, linear mixed model, bioaerosol

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Authors: Jose Daniel Giraldo Arias, Camilo Rojas Gomez, David Villegas Delgado, Gullermo Idarraga Alarcon, Juan Meza Meza

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The reverse engineering processes are widely used in the industry with the main goal to determine the materials and the manufacture used to produce a component. There are a lot of characterization techniques and computational tools that are used in order to get this information. A study case of a reverse engineering applied to a secondary sandwich- hybrid type structure used in a helicopter is presented. The methodology used consists of five main steps, which can be applied to any other similar component: Collect information about the service conditions of the part, disassembly and dimensional characterization, functional characterization, material properties characterization and manufacturing processes characterization, allowing to obtain all the supports of the traceability of the materials and processes of the aeronautical products that ensure their airworthiness. A detailed explanation of each step is covered. Criticality and comprehend the functionalities of each part, information of the state of the art and information obtained from interviews with the technical groups of the helicopter’s operators were analyzed,3D optical scanning technique, standard and advanced materials characterization techniques and finite element simulation allow to obtain all the characteristics of the materials used in the manufacture of the component. It was found that most of the materials are quite common in the aeronautical industry, including Kevlar, carbon, and glass fibers, aluminum honeycomb core, epoxy resin and epoxy adhesive. The stacking sequence and volumetric fiber fraction are a critical issue for the mechanical behavior; a digestion acid method was used for this purpose. This also helps in the determination of the manufacture technique which for this case was Vacuum Bagging. Samples of the material were manufactured and submitted to mechanical and environmental tests. These results were compared with those obtained during reverse engineering, which allows concluding that the materials and manufacture were correctly determined. Tooling for the manufacture was designed and manufactured according to the geometry and manufacture process requisites. The part was manufactured and the mechanical, and environmental tests required were also performed. Finally, a geometric characterization and non-destructive techniques allow verifying the quality of the part.

Keywords: reverse engineering, sandwich-structured composite parts, helicopter, mechanical properties, prototype

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Raya Kathreen T. Fuentes, Christian Owen P. Domingo, Kaisha V. Durana, Kristine Chelsea Shynne M. Evangelista, Nicole A. Feliciano, Kathleen Patricia Q. Ferido, Christianna Joy J. Ferrer

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Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a global public health concern. The foot ulcer is one of the most serious and costly complications of DM. Among the components of diabetes self-management (DSM), foot self-care was found to be one of the best preventive measures for foot ulcers yet is seldom performed. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine how adequate foot self-care practices (FSP) are among Filipino adults with DM with the following objectives: 1) determine their DSM, 2) describe their FSP, 3) determine the relationship between FSP and DSM, and 4) determine the relationship of FSP to sociodemographic characteristics, disease-related characteristics, social support, and knowledge. A descriptive correlational design was utilized. 114 respondents aged 19-65 were selected through purposive sampling from diabetes clinics. A self-administered questionnaire regarding FSP, DSM, sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics, social support, and knowledge on diabetes were used. Pearson's correlation was utilized to determine the relationship between FSP and DSM while simple linear regression was used to determine the relationship of FSP to the factors aforementioned. Results showed that majority of the respondents have desirable DSM but inadequate FSP. FSP and DSM were shown to be positively correlated but not statistically significant (p = 0.8). Disparity among the two suggests that there is less emphasis on foot self-care compared to other components of DSM. Findings further revealed that patients diagnosed with DM for < 5 years demonstrated more adequate FSP compared to patients diagnosed for > 5 years which may suggest that newly diagnosed patients are more receptive to new information about DSM. Health education on DSM should place more emphasis on FSP. Reiteration of health education and continuous motivation should be done to all DM patients, not just to newly diagnosed patients, to improve compliance to FSP and enhance patient empowerment regarding self-care.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, diabetes self-management, foot self-care practices, foot ulcer

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Authors: Takuro Kida, Yuichi Kida

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We show a base of the new trend of algorithm mathematically that treats a historical reason of continuous discrimination in the world as well as its solution by introducing new concepts of parallel world that includes an invisible set of errors as its companion. With respect to a matrix operator-filter bank that the matrix operator-analysis-filter bank H and the matrix operator-sampling-filter bank S are given, firstly, we introduce the detailed algorithm to derive the optimum matrix operator-synthesis-filter bank Z that minimizes all the worst-case measures of the matrix operator-error-signals E(ω) = F(ω) − Y(ω) between the matrix operator-input-signals F(ω) and the matrix operator-output signals Y(ω) of the matrix operator-filter bank at the same time. Further, feedback is introduced to the above approximation theory and it is indicated that introducing conversations with feedback does not superior automatically to the accumulation of existing knowledge of signal prediction. Secondly, the concept of category in the field of mathematics is applied to the above optimum signal approximation and is indicated that the category-based approximation theory is applied to the set-theoretic consideration of the recognition of humans. Based on this discussion, it is shown naturally why the narrow perception that tends to create isolation shows an apparent advantage in the short term and, often, why such narrow thinking becomes intimate with discriminatory action in a human group. Throughout these considerations, it is presented that, in order to abolish easy and intimate discriminatory behavior, it is important to create a parallel world of conception where we share the set of invisible error signals, including the words and the consciousness of both worlds.

Keywords: signal prediction, pseudo inverse matrix, artificial intelligence, conditional optimization

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Authors: Chun Hsien Wu, Guan Xuan Wu, Hsia Ying Cheng, Shyh Ming Kuo

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Articular cartilage is composed of chondrocytes and extracellular matrix, such as collagen fibers, glycosaminoglycans, etc., which play an important role in lubricating and cushion joint activities. The phenotypic expression and metabolic activity of chondrocytes are extremely important in maintaining the functions of articular cartilage. In in vitro passaged culture of chondrocytes, chondrocytes gradually lose their original cell phenotype and morphology, which is called dedifferentiation. After continuous passaged culture of chondrocytes or induction by inflammatory factor IL-1, chondrocytes changed their phenotype and morphology. Also, the extracellular matrix type II collagen and GAG secretion were significantly reduced, while type I and X collagen were synthesized. Farnesol is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant sesquiterpene compound that has the specific property of promoting collagen production. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether farnesol could restore the original type II collagen synthesis and, furthermore, the mechanisms of farnesol on the synthesis of type II collagen from the de-differentiated chondrocytes. The obtained results showed that the de-differentiated chondrocytes significantly restored to secret type II collagen and GAG (2.5-folds increases), and the secretion of collagen I and X and PGE2 synthesis were also significantly reduced after being treated with farnesol, indicating that farnesol had a restoration/re-differentiation effect on de-differentiated chondrocytes. The de-differentiated chondrocytes exhibited decreased expression of PPAR-γ and upregulated TGF-β expression to increase the MMP-13 expression. Higher expression of MMP-13 caused chondrocytes to secret type X collagen. On the contrary, increasing the expression of PPAR-γ would benefit the production of type II collagen. As shown, the PPAR-γ expression increased, and MMP-13 expression decreased after being treated with farnesol, indicating a possible signal pathway of farnesol to restore the production of type II collagen. However, more detailed mechanisms still need to evaluate.

Keywords: chondrocytes, de-differentiation, farnesol, re-differentiation

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Authors: Muhammad Hakim Bin Mat Tasir, Erwan Shahfizad Hasidan, Hamidah Makmor Bakry, M. Hafiz B. Izhar

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Every key performance indicator used to monitor a project’s construction progress emphasizes trade productivity or specific commodity run-down curves. Examples include the productivity of welding by the number of joints completed per day, quantity of NDT (Non-Destructive Tests) inspection per day, etc. This perspective is based on progress and productivity; however, it does not enable a system perspective of how we produce. This paper uses a project production system perspective by which projects are a collection of production systems comprising the interconnected network of processes and operations that represent all the work activities to execute a project from start to finish. Furthermore, it also uses the 5 Levels of production system optimization as a frame. The goal of the paper is to describe the application of Project Production Control (PPC) to control and improve the performance of several production processes associated with the fabrication and assembly of a Central Processing Platform (CPP) Jacket, part of an offshore mega project. More specifically, the fabrication and assembly of buoyancy tanks as they were identified as part of the critical path and required the highest demand for capacity. In total, seven buoyancy tanks were built, with a total estimated weight of 2,200 metric tons. These huge buoyancy tanks were designed to be reversed launching and self-upending of the jacket, easily retractable, and reusable for the next project, ensuring sustainability. Results showed that an effective application of PPC not only positively impacted construction progress and productivity but also exposed sources of detrimental variability as the focus of continuous improvement practices. This approach augmented conventional project management practices, and the results had a high impact on construction scheduling, planning, and control.

Keywords: offshore, construction, project management, sustainability

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Authors: Eric Sitorus, Septian Prahastudhi, Turgod Nainggolan, Erwin Riyanto

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Mining by block or panel caving is a mining method that takes advantage of fractures within an ore body, coupled with gravity, to extract material from a predetermined column of ore. The caving column is weakened from beneath through the use of undercutting, after which the ore breaks up and is extracted from below in a continuous cycle. The nature of this method induces cyclical stresses on the pillars of excavations as stress is built up and released over time, which has a detrimental effect on both the installed ground support and the rock mass itself. Ground support capacity, especially on the production where excavation void ratio is highest, is subjected to heavy loading. Strain above threshold of the elongation of support capacity can yield resulting in damage to excavations. Geotechnical engineers must evaluate not only the remnant capacity of ground support systems but also investigate depth of rock mass yield within pillars, backs and floors. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that has the ability to evaluate rock mass damage using electromagnetic waves. This paper illustrates a case study from the Grasberg mining complex where non-invasive information on the depth of damage and condition of the remaining rock mass was required. GPR with 100 MHz antenna resolution was used to obtain images of the subsurface to determine rehabilitation requirements prior to recommencing production activities. The GPR surveys were used to calibrate the reflection coefficient response of varying rock mass conditions to known Rock Quality Designation (RQD) parameters observed at the mine. The calibrated GPR survey allowed site engineers to map subsurface conditions and plan rehabilitation accordingly.

Keywords: block caving, ground penetrating radar, reflectivity, RQD

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Authors: Medina Kadiri

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Blue-green otherwise called cyanobacteria, produce an array of biotoxins grouped into five categories notably hapatotoxins, neurotoxins, cytotoxins, dermatotoxins, and irritant toxins. Microcystins which are examples of hepatotoxins produced by blue-green algae Microcystins comprise the most common group of the cyanobacterial toxins. Blue-green algae flourish in aquatic environments, whether marine, brackish or freshwater, producing blooms in different forms such as microscopic, mats, or unsightly odoriferous scums. Microcystins biotoxins cause a plethora of animal and human hazards such as liver damage/cirrhosis and cancer, kidney damage, dermatitis, tinnitus, gastroenteritis, sore throat, nausea, myalgia, neurological problems, respiratory irritation and death. Water samples were collected from coastal regions of Nigeria in March 2014, June 2014, October 2014 and January 2015 and analyzed with Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Microcystin biotoxin was recorded in all sites both during dry and wet seasons. The range of microcystins found was 0.000041-There was a seasonal trend of increasing microcystin concentrations from March till Octobers and a decrease thereafter. Generally in the oceanic waters, microcystin levels were highest at Cross Rivers in March and January, Barbeach in June and Lekki in October. In the adjoining riverine ecosystems, on the other hand, the highest concentrations of microcystin were observed at Akwa Ibom in March, June and October and in Bayelsa in January. Continuous monitoring and screening of coastal water bodies is suggested to minimize the health risks of cyanobacterial biotoxins to coastal communities of Nigeria.

Keywords: biotoxins, harmful algae, marine, microcystin, Nigeria

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Authors: Fasil Wagnew, Kefyalew Addis Alene, Setegn Eshetie, Tom Wingfield, Matthew Kelly, Darren Gray

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Introduction: Undernutrition is a major and under-appreciated risk factor for TB, which is estimated to be responsible for 1.9 million TB cases per year globally. The effectiveness of micronutrient supplementation on TB treatment outcomes and its prognostic markers such as sputum conversion and serum zinc, retinol, and hemoglobin levels has been poorly understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the association between zinc and vitamin A supplementation and TB treatment outcomes and its prognostic markers. Methods: A systematic literature search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases. Meta-analysis with a random effect model was performed to estimate risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD), with a 95% confidence interval (CI), for dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. Results: Our search identified 2,195 records. Of these, nine RCTs consisting of 1,375 participants were included in the final analyses. Among adults with pulmonary TB, zinc (RR: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.86, 1.03), vitamin A (RR: 0.90, 95%CI: 0.80, 1.01), and combined zinc and vitamin A (RR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.89, 1.08) supplementation were not significantly associated with TB treatment success. Combined zinc and vitamin A supplementation was significantly associated with increased sputum smear conversion at 2 months (RR: 1.16, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.32), serum zinc levels at 2 months (MD of 0.86umol/l, 95% CI: 0.14, 1.57), serum retinol levels at 2 months (MD: 0.06umol/l, 95 % CI: 0.04, 0.08) and 6 months (MD: 0.12umol/l, 95 % CI: 0.10, 0.14), and serum hemoglobin level at 6 months (MD: 0.29 ug/dl, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.51), among adults with TB. Conclusions: Providing zinc and vitamin A supplementation to adults with pulmonary TB during treatment may increase early sputum smear conversion, serum zinc, retinol, and hemoglobin levels. However, the use of zinc, vitamin A, or both were not associated with TB treatment success.

Keywords: zinc and vitamin A supplementation, tuberculosis, treatment outcomes, meta-analysis, RCT

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Authors: Yixin Yan, Miao Yan, Irini Angelidaki, Ioannis Fotidis

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Ammonia, which derives from the degradation of urea and protein-substrates, is the major toxicant of the commercial anaerobic digestion reactors causing loses of up to 1/3 of their practical biogas production, which reflects directly on the overall revenue of the plants. The current experimental work is aiming to alleviate the ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion (AD) process by developing an innovative bioaugmentation method of ammonia tolerant methanogenic consortia. The ammonia tolerant consortia were cultured in batch reactors and immobilized together with biochar in agar (customized inocula). Three continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTR), fed with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste at a hydraulic retention time of 15 days and operated at thermophilic (55°C) conditions were assessed. After an ammonia shock of 4 g NH4+-N L-1, the customized inocula were bioaugmented into the CSTR reactors to alleviate ammonia toxicity effect on AD process. Recovery rate of methane production and methanogenic activity will be assessed to evaluate the bioaugmentation performance, while 16s rRNA gene sequence will be used to reveal the difference of microbial community changes through bioaugmentation. At the microbial level, the microbial community structures of the four reactors will be analysed to find the mechanism of bioaugmentation. Changes in hydrogen formation potential will be used to predict direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between ammonia tolerant methanogens and syntrophic bacteria. This experimental work is expected to create bioaugmentation inocula that will be easy to obtain, transport, handled and bioaugment in AD reactors to efficiently alleviate the ammonia toxicity, without alternating any of the other operational parameters including the ammonia-rich feedstocks.

Keywords: artisanal fishing waste, acidogenesis, volatile fatty acids, pH, inoculum/substrate ratio

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Authors: Bulcha Belay Etana, Benny Malengier, Janarthanan Krishnamoorthy, Timothy Kwa, Lieva VanLangenhove

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Electromyography measures the electrical activity of muscles using surface electrodes or needle electrodes to monitor various disease conditions. Recent developments in the signal acquisition of electromyograms using textile electrodes facilitate wearable devices, enabling patients to monitor and control their health status outside of healthcare facilities. Here, we have developed and tested wearable textile electrodes to acquire electromyography signals from patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and incorporated a feedback-control system to relieve muscle cramping through thermal stimulus. In brief, the textile electrodes made of stainless steel was knitted into a textile fabric as a sleeve, and their electrical characteristic, such as signal-to-noise ratio, was compared with traditional electrodes. To relieve muscle cramping, a heating element made of stainless-steel conductive yarn sewn onto cotton fabric, coupled with a vibration system, was developed. The system integrated a microcontroller and a Myoware muscle sensor to activate the heating element as well as the vibration motor when cramping occurs, and at the same time, the element gets deactivated when the muscle cramping subsides. An optimum therapeutic temperature of 35.5 °C is regulated by continuous temperature monitoring to deactivate the heating system when this threshold value is reached. The textile electrode exhibited a signal-to-noise ratio of 6.38dB, comparable to that of the traditional electrode’s value of 7.05 dB. For a given 9 V power supply, the rise time was about 6 minutes for the developed heating element to reach an optimum temperature.

Keywords: smart textile system, wearable electronic textile, electromyography, heating textile, vibration therapy, Parkinson’s disease

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Authors: Maria Luiza D. Ramiento, Maria Lissette D. Lucas

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Electricity is said to serve as the backbone of modern technology. Considering this, electricity consumption has dynamically grown due to the continuous demand. An alternative producer of energy concerning electricity must therefore be given focus. Microbial fuel cell wholly characterizes a new method of renewable energy recovery: the direct conversion of organic matter to electricity using bacteria. Electricity is produced as fuel or new food is given to the bacteria. The study concentrated in determining the feasibility of electricity production from local benthic zones. Microbial fuel cells were constructed to harvest the possible electricity and to test the presence of electricity producing microorganisms. Soil samples were gathered from Calumpang River, Palawan Mangrove Forest, Rosario River and Batangas Port. Eleven modules were constructed for the different trials of the soil samples. These modules were made of cathode and anode chambers connected by a salt bridge. For 85 days, the harvested voltage was measured daily. No parameter is added for the first 24 days. For the next 61 days, acetic acid was included in the first and second trials of the modules. Each of the trials of the soil samples gave a positive result in electricity production.There were electricity producing microbes in local benthic zones. It is observed that the higher the organic content of the soil sample, the higher the electricity harvested from it. It is recommended to identify the specific species of the electricity-producing microorganism present in the local benthic zone. Complement experiments are encouraged like determining the kind of soil particles to test its effect on the amount electricity that can be harvested. To pursue the development of microbial fuel cells by building a closed circuit in it is also suggested.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell, benthic zone, electricity, reduction-oxidation reaction, bacteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Oksana Razina, Shakeel Ahmad, Jessie Qun Ren, Olufemi Isiaq

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The modern life of businesses is categorically reliant on their established position online, where digital (and particularly website) content plays a significant role as the first point of information. Digital content, therefore, becomes essential – from making the first impression to the building and development of client relationships. Despite a number of valuable papers suggesting a strategic approach when dealing with digital data, other sources often do not view or accept the approach to digital content as a holistic or continuous process. Associations are frequently made with merely a one-off marketing campaign or similar. The challenge is to establish an agreed definition for the notion of Digital Content Strategy, which currently does not exist, as DCS is viewed from an excessive number of different angles. A strategic approach to content, nonetheless, is required, both practically and contextually. The researchers, therefore, aimed at attempting to identify the key content components comprising a digital content strategy to ensure all the aspects were covered and strategically applied – from the company’s understanding of the content value to the ability to display flexibility of content and advances in technology. This conceptual project evaluated existing literature on the topic of Digital Content Strategy (DCS) and related aspects, using the PRISMA Systematic Review Method, Document Analysis, Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria, Scoping Review, Snow-Balling Technique and Thematic Analysis. The data was collected from academic and statistical sources, government and relevant trade publications. Based on the suggestions from academics and trading sources related to the issues discussed, the researchers revealed the key actions for content creation and attempted to define the notion of DCS. The major finding of the study presented Key Content Components of Digital Content Strategy and can be considered for implementation in a business retail setting.

Keywords: digital content strategy, key content components, websites, digital marketing strategy

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Authors: V. N. Chebotkevich, E. E. Schetinkina, V. V. Burylev, E. I. Kaytandzhan, N. P. Stizhak

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Objective: Blood stream infections (BSI) are severe, life-threatening illness for immuno compromised patients with hematological malignancies. We report the trend in blood-stream infections in this group of patients in the period 1991-2013. Methods: A total of 4742 blood samples investigated. All blood cultures were incubated in a continuous monitoring system for 7 days before discarding negative. On signaled positive, organism was identified by conventional methods. The Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the indication of human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6), Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Results: Between 1991 and 2001 the incidence of Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus) being the most common germs isolated (70,9%) were as Gram-negative rods (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp.) – 29,1%. In next decade 2002-2012 the number of Gram-negative bacteria was increased up to 40.2%. It is shown that the incidence of bacteremia was significantly more frequent at the background of detectable Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus-specific DNA in blood. Over recent years, an increased frequency of micro mycetes was registered in blood of the patients with hematological malignancies (Candida spp. was predominant). Conclusion: Accurate and timely detection of BSI is important in determining appropriate treatment of infectious complications in patients with hematological malignancies. The isolation of Staphylococcus epidermidis from blood cultures remains a clinical dilemma for physicians and microbiologists. But in many cases this agent is of the clinical significance in immunocompromised patients with hematological malignancies. The role of CMV and EBV in development of bacteremia was demonstrated.

Keywords: infectious complications, blood stream infections, bacteremia, hemoblastosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Vibeke Sorensen, Nagaraju Thummanapalli, J. Stephen Lansing

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Inspired by the indigenous people of Borneo, Indonesia and their traditional bark cloth, artist and professor Vibeke Sorensen executed a “digital unwrapping” of several trees in Southeast Asia using a digital panorama camera and digitally “stitched” them together for printing onto sustainable silk and fashioning into the “Tree Dress”. This dress is a symbolic “un-wrapping” and “re-wrapping” of the tree’s bark onto a person as a second skin. The “digital bark” is directly responsive to the real tree through embedded and networked electronics that connect in real-time to sensors at the physical site of the living tree. LEDs and circuits inserted into the dress display the continuous measurement of the O2 / CO2, temperature, humidity, and light conditions at the tree. It is an “Internet of Living Things” (IOLT) textile that can be worn to track and interact with it. The computer system connecting the dress and the tree converts the gas emission data at the site of the real tree into sound and music as sonification. This communicates not only the scientific data but also translates it into a poetic representation. The wearer of the garment can symbolically identify with the tree, or “become one” with it by adorning its “skin.” In this way, the wearer also becomes a human agent for the tree, bringing its actual condition to direct perception of the wearer and others who may engage it. This project is an attempt to bring greater awareness to issues of deforestation by providing a direct access to living things separated by physical distance, and hopefully, to increase empathy for them by providing a way to sense individual trees and their daily existential condition through remote monitoring of data. Further extensions to this project and related issues of sustainability include the use of recycled and alternative plant materials such as bamboo and air plants, among others.

Keywords: IOLT, sonification, sustainability, tree, wearable technology

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Authors: Othman Maklouf, Abdunnaser Tresh

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Land vehicle navigation is subject of great interest today. Global Positioning System (GPS) is the main navigation system for positioning in such systems. GPS alone is incapable of providing continuous and reliable positioning, because of its inherent dependency on external electromagnetic signals. Inertial Navigation (INS) is the implementation of inertial sensors to determine the position and orientation of a vehicle. The availability of low-cost Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) inertial sensors is now making it feasible to develop INS using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). INS has unbounded error growth since the error accumulates at each step. Usually, GPS and INS are integrated with a loosely coupled scheme. With the development of low-cost, MEMS inertial sensors and GPS technology, integrated INS/GPS systems are beginning to meet the growing demands of lower cost, smaller size, and seamless navigation solutions for land vehicles. Although MEMS inertial sensors are very inexpensive compared to conventional sensors, their cost (especially MEMS gyros) is still not acceptable for many low-end civilian applications (for example, commercial car navigation or personal location systems). An efficient way to reduce the expense of these systems is to reduce the number of gyros and accelerometers, therefore, to use a partial IMU (ParIMU) configuration. For land vehicular use, the most important gyroscope is the vertical gyro that senses the heading of the vehicle and two horizontal accelerometers for determining the velocity of the vehicle. This paper presents a field experiment for a low-cost strap down (ParIMU)\GPS combination, with data post processing for the determination of 2-D components of position (trajectory), velocity and heading. In the present approach, we have neglected earth rotation and gravity variations, because of the poor gyroscope sensitivities of our low-cost IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and because of the relatively small area of the trajectory.

Keywords: GPS, IMU, Kalman filter, materials engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Daniel Asiamah Ameyaw

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This research attempts to investigate how lecturer evaluation makes a difference in enhancing higher education teaching and learning processes. The research questions to guide this research work states first as, “What are the perspectives on the difference made by evaluating academic teachers in order to enhance higher education teaching and learning processes?” and second, “What are the implications of the findings for Policy and Practice?” Data for this research was collected mainly through interviewing and partly documents review. Data analysis was conducted under the framework of grounded theory. The findings showed that for individual lecturer level, lecturer evaluation provides a continuous improvement of teaching strategies, and serves as source of data for research on teaching. At the individual student level, it enhances students learning process; serving as source of information for course selection by students; and by making students feel recognised in the educational process. At the institutional level, it noted that lecturer evaluation is useful in personnel and management decision making; it assures stakeholders of quality teaching and learning by setting up standards for lecturers; and it enables institutions to identify skill requirement and needs as a basis for organising workshops. Lecturer evaluation is useful at national level in terms of guaranteeing the competencies of graduates who then provide the needed manpower requirement of the nation. Besides, it mentioned that resource allocation to higher educational institution is based largely on quality of the programmes being run by the institution. The researcher concluded, that the findings have implications for policy and practice, therefore, higher education managers are expected to ensure that policy is implemented as planned by policy-makers so that the objectives can successfully be achieved.

Keywords: academic quality, higher education, lecturer evaluation, teaching and learning processes

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Nadzeya Marozkina, Joe Zein, Benjamin Gaston

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Introduction: We have observed that many patients with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) benefit from asthma medications. In healthy airways, the ciliary function is normal. Antigens and irritants are rapidly cleared, and NO enters the gas phase normally to be exhaled. In the PCD airways, however, antigens, such as Dermatophagoides, are not as well cleared. This defect leads to oxidative stress, marked by increased DUOX1 expression and decreased superoxide dismutase [SOD] activity (manuscript under revision). H₂O₂, in high concentrations in the PCD airway, injures the airway. NO is oxidized rather than being exhaled, forming cytotoxic peroxynitrous acid. Thus, antigen stasis on PCD airway epithelium leads to airway injury and may predispose PCD patients to asthma. Indeed, recent population genetics suggest that PCD genes may be associated with asthma. We therefore hypothesized that PCD patients would be predisposed to having asthma. Methods. We analyzed our database of 18 million individual electronic medical records (EMRs) in the Indiana Network for Patient Care research database (INPCR). There is not an ICD10 code for PCD itself; code Q34.8 is most commonly used clinically. To validate analysis of this code, we queried patients who had an ICD10 code for both bronchiectasis and situs inversus totalis in INPCR. We also studied a validation cohort using the IBM Explorys® database (over 80 million individuals). Analyses were adjusted for age, sex and race using a 1 PCD: 3 controls matching method in INPCR and multivariable logistic regression in the IBM Explorys® database. Results. The prevalence of asthma ICD10 codes in subjects with a code Q34.8 was 67% vs 19% in controls (P < 0.0001) (Regenstrief Institute). Similarly, in IBM*Explorys, the OR [95% CI] for having asthma if a patient also had ICD10 code 34.8, relative to controls, was =4.04 [3.99; 4.09]. For situs inversus alone the OR [95% CI] was 4.42 [4.14; 4.71]; and bronchiectasis alone the OR [95% CI] =10.68 (10.56; 10.79). For both bronchiectasis and situs inversus together, the OR [95% CI] =28.80 (23.17; 35.81). Conclusions: PCD causes antigen stasis in the human airway (under review), likely predisposing to asthma in addition to oxidative and nitrosative stress and to airway injury. Here, we show that, by several different population-based metrics, and using two large databases, patients with PCD appear to have between a three- and 28-fold increased risk of having asthma. These data suggest that additional studies should be undertaken to understand the role of ciliary dysfunction in the pathogenesis and genetics of asthma. Decreased antigen clearance caused by ciliary dysfunction may be a risk factor for asthma development.

Keywords: antigen, PCD, asthma, nitric oxide

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Authors: Marco Furinghetti, Alberto Pavese, Michele Rinaldi

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Concave Surface Slider devices have been more and more used in real applications for seismic protection of both bridge and building structures. Several research activities have been carried out, in order to investigate the lateral response of such a typology of devices, and a reasonably high level of knowledge has been reached. If radial analysis is performed, the frictional force is always aligned with respect to the restoring force, whereas under bidirectional seismic events, a bi-axial interaction of the directions of motion occurs, due to the step-wise projection of the main frictional force, which is assumed to be aligned to the trajectory of the isolator. Nonetheless, if non-linear time history analyses have to be performed, standard codes provide precise rules for the definition of an averagely spectrum-compatible set of accelerograms in radial conditions, whereas for bidirectional motions different combinations of the single components spectra can be found. Moreover, nowadays software for the adjustment of natural accelerograms are available, which lead to a higher quality of spectrum-compatibility and to a smaller dispersion of results for radial motions. In this endeavor a simplified design procedure is defined, for building structures, base-isolated by means of Concave Surface Slider devices. Different case study structures have been analyzed. In a first stage, the capacity curve has been computed, by means of non-linear static analyses on the fixed-base structures: inelastic fiber elements have been adopted and different direction angles of lateral forces have been studied. Thanks to these results, a linear elastic Finite Element Model has been defined, characterized by the same global stiffness of the linear elastic branch of the non-linear capacity curve. Then, non-linear time history analyses have been performed on the base-isolated structures, by applying seven bidirectional seismic events. The spectrum-compatibility of bidirectional earthquakes has been studied, by considering different combinations of single components and adjusting single records: thanks to the proposed procedure, results have shown a small dispersion and a good agreement in comparison to the assumed design values.

Keywords: concave surface slider, spectrum-compatibility, bidirectional earthquake, base isolation

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Authors: Imad Abdelhamid El-Haci, Wissame Mazari, Fayçal Hassani, Fawzia Atik Bekkara

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Much attention has been paid to the antioxidants, which are expected to prevent food and living systems from peroxidative damage. Incorporation of synthetic antioxidants in food products is under strict regulation due to the potential health hazards caused by such compounds. The use of plants as traditional health remedies is very popular and important for 80% of the world’s population in African, Asian, Latin America and Middle Eastern Countries. Their use is reported to have minimal side effects. In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have spent considerable time and money in developing therapeutics based upon natural products extracted from plants. In other part, due to the continuous emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains there is continual demand for new antibiotics. Chemical compounds from medicinal plant especially are targeted by many researches. In this light, genus Polygonum (Polygonaceae), comprising about 45 genera (300 species), is distributed worldwide, mostly in north temperate regions. They have been reported to have uses in traditional medicine, such as anti-inflammation, promoting blood circulation, dysentery, diuretic, haemorrhage and many other uses. In our study, Polygonum maritimum (from Algerian coast) was extracted with 80% methanol to obtain a crude extract. P. maritimum extract (PME) had a very high content of total phenol, which was 352.49 ± 18.03 mg/g dry weight, expressed as gallic acid equivalent. PME exhibited excellent antioxidant activity, as measured using DPPH and H2O2 scavenging assays. It also showed a high antibacterial activity against gram positive bacterial strains: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus with an MIC 0,12 mg/mL.

Keywords: Polygonum maritimum, crude extract, antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity

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