Search results for: controlled cortical impact

Authors: Claus Bier, Dennis Binder, Alexander Gruenberger, Dagmar Drobietz, Dietrich Kohlheyer, Anita Loeschcke, Karl Erich Jaeger, Thomas Drepper, Joerg Pietruszka

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Light absorbing chromophoric systems are important optogenetic tools for biotechnical and biophysical investigations. Processes such as fluorescence or photolysis can be triggered by light-absorption of chromophores. These play a central role in life science. Photocaged compounds belong to such chromophoric systems. The photo-labile protecting groups enable them to release biologically active substances with high temporal and spatial resolution. The properties of photocaged compounds are specified by the characteristics of the caging group as well as the characteristics of the linked effector molecule. In our research, we work with different types of photo-labile protecting groups and various effector molecules giving us possible access to a large library of caged compounds. As a function of the caged effector molecule, a nearly limitless number of biological systems can be directed. Our main interest focusses on photocaging carbohydrates (e.g. arabinose) and their derivatives as effector molecules. Based on these resulting photocaged compounds a precisely controlled photoinduced gene expression will give us access to studies of numerous biotechnological and synthetic biological applications. It could be shown, that the regulation of gene expression via light is possible with photocaged carbohydrates achieving a higher-order control over this processes. With the one-step cleavable photocaged carbohydrate, a homogeneous expression was achieved in comparison to free carbohydrates.

Keywords: bacterial gene expression, biotechnology, caged compounds, carbohydrates, optogenetics, photo-removable protecting group

Procedia PDF Downloads 213

Authors: Sh. Arzani, H. Kazemi Esfeh, Y. Galeh Zadeh, V. Akbari

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Ethylene dichloride is a colorless liquid with a smell like chloroform. EDC is classified in the simple hydrocarbon group which is obtained from chlorinating ethylene gas. Its chemical formula is C2H2Cl2 which is used as the main mediator in VCM production. Therefore, the purification process of EDC is important in the petrochemical process. In this study, the purification unit of EDC was simulated, and then validation was performed. Finally, the impact of process parameter was studied for the degree of EDC purity. The results showed that by increasing the feed flow, the reflux impure combinations increase and result in an EDC purity decrease.

Keywords: ethylene dichloride, purification, edc, simulation

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Authors: F. Al-Sheikh, C. Moralejo, M. Pritzker, W. A. Anderson, A. Elkamel

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Ammonia in mining wastewater is a significant problem, and treatment can be especially difficult in cold climates where biological treatment is not feasible. An adsorption process is one of the alternative processes that can be used to reduce ammonia concentrations to acceptable limits, and therefore a LEWATIT resin strongly acidic H+ form ion exchange resin and a Bowie Chabazite Na form AZLB-Na zeolite were tested to assess their effectiveness. For these adsorption tests, two packed bed columns (a mini-column constructed from a 32-cm long x 1-cm diameter piece of glass tubing, and a 60-cm long x 2.5-cm diameter Ace Glass chromatography column) were used containing varying quantities of the adsorbents. A mining wastewater with ammonia concentrations of 22.7 mg/L was fed through the columns at controlled flowrates. In the experimental work, maximum capacities of the LEWATIT ion exchange resin were 0.438, 0.448, and 1.472 mg/g for 3, 6, and 9 g respectively in a mini column and 1.739 mg/g for 141.5 g in a larger Ace column while the capacities for the AZLB-Na zeolite were 0.424, and 0.784 mg/g for 3, and 6 g respectively in the mini column and 1.1636 mg/g for 38.5 g in the Ace column. In the theoretical work, Thomas, Adams-Bohart, and Yoon-Nelson models were constructed to describe a breakthrough curve of the adsorption process and find the constants of the above-mentioned models. In the regeneration tests, 5% hydrochloric acid, HCl (v/v) and 10% sodium hydroxide, NaOH (w/v) were used to regenerate the LEWATIT resin and AZLB-Na zeolite with 44 and 63.8% recovery, respectively. In conclusion, continuous flow adsorption using a LEWATIT ion exchange resin and an AZLB-Na zeolite is efficient when using a co-flow technique for removal of the ammonia from wastewater. Thomas, Adams-Bohart, and Yoon-Nelson models satisfactorily fit the data with R² closer to 1 in all cases.

Keywords: AZLB-Na zeolite, continuous adsorption, Lewatit resin, models, regeneration

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Authors: Loretta Ichim, Dan Popescu, Grigore Stamatescu

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The paper reports the collaboration between a top university from Romania and three companies for the implementation of a research project in a multidisciplinary domain, focusing on the impact and benefits both for the education and industry. The joint activities were developed under the Space Technology and Advanced Research Program (STAR), funded by the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) for a university-industry partnership. The context was defined by linking the European Space Agency optional programs, with the development and promotion national research, with the educational and industrial capabilities in the aeronautics, security and related areas by increasing the collaboration between academic and industrial entities as well as by realizing high-level scientific production. The project name is Multisensory Robotic System for Aerial Monitoring of Critical Infrastructure Systems (MUROS), which was carried 2013-2016. The project included the University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest (coordinator) and three companies, which manufacture and market unmanned aerial systems. The project had as main objective the development of an integrated system for combined ground wireless sensor networks and UAV monitoring in various application scenarios for critical infrastructure surveillance. This included specific activities related to fundamental and applied research, technology transfer, prototype implementation and result dissemination. The core area of the contributions laid in distributed data processing and communication mechanisms, advanced image processing and embedded system development. Special focus is given by the paper to analyzing the impact the project implementation in the educational process, directly or indirectly, through the faculty members (professors and students) involved in the research team. Three main directions are discussed: a) enabling students to carry out internships at the partner companies, b) handling advanced topics and industry requirements at the master's level, c) experiments and concept validation for doctoral thesis. The impact of the research work (as the educational component) developed by the faculty members on the increasing performances of the companies’ products is highlighted. The collaboration between university and companies was well balanced both for contributions and results. The paper also presents the outcomes of the project which reveals the efficient collaboration between high education and industry: master thesis, doctoral thesis, conference papers, journal papers, technical documentation for technology transfer, prototype, and patent. The experience can provide useful practices of blending research and education within an academia-industry cooperation framework while the lessons learned represent a starting point in debating the new role of advanced research and development performing companies in association with higher education. This partnership, promoted at UE level, has a broad impact beyond the constrained scope of a single project and can develop into long-lasting collaboration while benefiting all stakeholders: students, universities and the surrounding knowledge-based economic and industrial ecosystem. Due to the exchange of experiences between the university (UPB) and the manufacturing company (AFT Design), a new project, SIMUL, under the Bridge Grant Program (Romanian executive agency UEFISCDI) was started (2016 – 2017). This project will continue the educational research for innovation on master and doctoral studies in MUROS thematic (collaborative multi-UAV application for flood detection).

Keywords: education process, multisensory robotic system, research and innovation project, technology transfer, university-industry partnership

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Authors: Wang Qiaowei, Gao Yujiang

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With the economic growth and rapid urbanization after the reform and openness, some of China's fast-growing cities have demolished former dwellings and built modern residential quarters. The blind, incomplete reference to western modern cities and the one-off construction lacking feedback mechanism have intensified such phenomenon, causing the citizen gradually expanded their living scale with the popularization of car traffic, and the peer-to-peer lifestyle gradually settled. The construction of large-scale commercial centers has caused obstacles to small business around the residential areas, leading to space for residents' interaction has been compressed. At the same time, the advocated Central Business District (CBD) model even leads to the unsatisfactory reconstruction of many historical blocks such as the Hangzhou Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Street. However, the popularity of historical spaces such as Wuzhen and Hongcun also indicates the collective memory and needs of the street space for Chinese residents. The evolution of Shanghai TianZiFang also proves the importance of the motivation of space participants in space construction in the context of the “top-down” construction model in China. In fact, there are frequent occurrences of “reconstruction”, which may redefine the space, in various residential areas. If these activities can be selectively controlled and encouraged, it will be beneficial to activate the public space as well as the residents’ intercourse, so that the traditional Chinese street space can be reconstructed in the context of modern cities.

Keywords: rapid urbanization, traditional street space, space re-construction, bottom-up design

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Sujit Kumar Guchhait, Subir Paul

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One of the major research areas is to find an alternative source of energy to fulfill the energy crisis and environmental problems. The Fuel cell is such kind of energy producing unit. Use of fuel cell to produce renewable energy for commercial purpose is limited by the high cost of Pt based electrode material. Development of high energetic, as well as inexpensive fuel cell electrode materials, is needs of hour to produce clean energy using derive bio-fuel. In this present investigation, inexpensive Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode material has been synthesized by using pulse current. The surface morphology of the electrode materials is controlled by several deposition parameters to increase the rate of electrochemical oxidation of alcoholic fuel, ethanol. The electrochemical characterization of the developed material was done by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Chronoamperometry (CA) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy test. It is interesting to find that both these materials have shown high electrocatalytic properties in terms of high exchange current density (I0), low polarization resistance (Rp) and low impedance. It is seen that the addition of CeO2 to Ni-Cu has outperformed Pt as far as high electrocatalytic properties are concerned. The exchange current density on the Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode surface for ethanol oxidation is about eight times higher than the same on the Pt surface with much lower polarization resistance than the later. The surface morphology of the electrode materials has been revealed by Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). It is seen that grains are narrow and subspherical with 3D surface containing pores in between two elongated grains. XRD study exhibits the presence of Ni and CeO2 on the Cu surface.

Keywords: electro-catalyst, alcoholic fuel, cyclic voltammetry, potentiodynamic polarization, EIS, XRD, SEM

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Authors: M.Younus, M. Athar Khan, Asif Adrees

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The present research endeavour was made to investigate the Public Health impact of Salmonellosis through consuming the meat and eggs of the carrier’s birds and to see the prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium from poultry feed, poultry meat, and poultry eggs and their role in the chain of transmission of salmonellae to human beings and causing food poisoning. The ultimate objective was to generate data to improve the quality of poultry products and human health awareness. Salmonellosis is one of the most wide spread food borne zoonoses in all the continents of the world. The etiological agents Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium not only produce the disease but during the convalescent phase (after the recovery of disease) remain carriers for indefinite period of time. The carrier state was not only the source of spread of disease with in the poultry but also caused typhoid fever in humans. The chain of transmission started from poultry feed to poultry meat and ultimately to humans as dead end hosts. In this experiment a total number of 200 samples of human stool and blood were collected randomly (100 samples of human stool and 100 samples of human blood) of 100 patients suspected from food poisoning patients from different hospitals of Lahore area for the identification of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium through PCR method in order to see the public health impact of Salmonellosis through consuming the meat and eggs of the carrier birds. On the average 14 and 10 stool samples were found positive against Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium from each of the 25 patients from each hospital respectively in case of suspected food poisoning patients. Similarly on an average 5% and 6% blood samples were found positive from 25 patients of each hospital respectively. There was a significant difference (P< 0.05) in the sero positivity of stool and blood samples of suspected food poisoning patients as far as Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium was concerned. However there was no significant difference (P<0.05) between the hospitals.

Keywords: salmonella, zoonosis, food, transmission, eggs

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Authors: Jakub Kraus, Vladimír Plos, Peter Vittek

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This article deals with a new approach to the airport emergency plans, which are the basic documents and manuals for dealing with events with impact on safety or security. The article describes the identified parts in which the current airport emergency plans do not fulfill their role and which should therefore be considered in the creation of corrective measures. All these issues have been identified at airports in the Czech Republic and confirmed at airports in neighboring countries.

Keywords: airport emergency plan, aviation safety, aviation security, comprehensive management system

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Richard Mababu Mukiur

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Leadership is an important drive that plays a key role in the success and development of organizations, particularly in the current context of digital transformation, highly competitivity and globalization. Leaders are persons that hold a dominant and privileged position within an organization, field, or sector of activities and are able to manage, motivate and exercise a high degree of influence over other in order to achieve the institutional goals. They achieve commitment and engagement of others to embrace change, and to make good decisions. Leadership studies in higher education institutions have examined how effective leaders hold their organizations, and also to find approaches which fit best in the organizations context for its better management, transformation and improvement. Moreover, recent studies have highlighted the impact of leadership styles on organizational performance and innovation capacities, since some styles give better results than others. Effective leadership is part of learning process that take place through day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and experiences that influence the organizational performance, innovation and engagement of employees. The adoption of appropriate leadership styles can improve organization results and encourage learning process, team skills and performance, and employees' motivation and engagement. In the case of case of Information Technology sector, leadership styles are particularly crucial since this sector is leading relevant changes and transformations in the knowledge society. In this context, the main objective of this study is to analyze managers leadership styles with their relation to organizational performance and innovation that may be mediated by learning organization process and demographic variables. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the transformational and transactional leadership will be the main style adopted in Information Technology sector and will influence organizational performance and innovation capacity. A sample of 540 participants from Information technology sector has been determined in order to achieve the objective of this study. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was administered as the principal instrument, Scale of innovation and Learning Organization Questionnaire. Correlations and multiple regression analysis have been used as the main techniques of data analysis. The findings indicate that leadership styles have a relevant impact on organizational performance and innovation capacity. The transformational and transactional leadership are predominant styles in Information technology sector. The effective leadership style tend to be characterized by the capacity of generating and sharing knowledge that improve organization performance and innovation capacity. Managers are adopting and adapting their leadership styles that respond to the new organizational, social and cultural challenges and realities of contemporary society. Managers who encourage innovation, foster learning process, share experience are useful to the organization since they contribute to its development and transformation. Learning process capacity and demographic variables (age, gender, and job tenure) mediate the relationship between leadership styles, innovation capacity and organizational performance. The transformational and transactional leadership tend to enhance the organizational performance due to their significant impact on team-building, employees' engagement and satisfaction. Some practical implications and future lines of research have been proposed.

Keywords: leadership styles, tranformational leadership, organisational performance, organisational innovation

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Authors: Kristina Sutiene, Lina Dapkute

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The paper investigates the current demographic trends that exert the sustainability of pension systems in most EU regions. Several drivers usually compose the demographic challenge, coming from the structure and trends of population in the country. As the case of research, three main variables of demographic risk in Lithuania have been singled out and have been used in making up the analysis. Over the last two decades, the country has presented a peculiar demographic situation characterized by pessimistic fertility trends, negative net migration rate and rising life expectancy that make the significant changes in labor-age population. This study, therefore, sets out to assess the relative impact of these risk factors both individually and in aggregate, while assuming economic trends to evolve historically. The evidence is presented using data of pension funds that operate in Lithuania and are financed by defined-contribution plans. To achieve this goal, the discrete-time pension fund’s value model is developed that reflects main operational modalities: contribution income from current participants and new entrants, pension disbursement and administrative expenses; it also fluctuates based on returns from investment activity. Age-structured Leslie population dynamics model has been integrated into the main model to describe the dynamics of fertility, migration and mortality rates upon age. Validation has concluded that Leslie model adequately fits the current population trends in Lithuania. The elasticity of pension system is examined using Loimaranta efficiency as a measure for comparison of plausible long-term developments of demographic risks. With respect to the research question, it was found that demographic risks have different levels of influence on future value of aggregated pension funds: The fertility rates have the highest importance, while mortality rates give only a minor impact. Further studies regarding the role of trying out different economic scenarios in the integrated model would be worthwhile.

Keywords: asset liability modelling, Leslie model, pension funds, population dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Rim Ben Amor, Myriam Abidi, Moncef Gueddari

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The purpose of the present study is to assess the level and the distribution of CaO, SO3, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn incore sediments of Ghannouch-Gabes coast, Gulf of Gabes, Tunisian Mediterranean coast. The XRD analyses indicate that the sediments of Ghannouch-Gabes coast are mainly composed of quartz, calcite, gypsum and fluorine reflecting the impact of the phosphate fertilizer industrial waste. The vertical distribution of surface sediments shows for all the elements analyzed, that the area located between the commercial and the fishing port of Gabes, is the most polluted zone, where the two harbors acted as barriers and limited the dispersion of phosphogypsum discharge. The abundance order of metals was found to be Zn > Cd > Cu >Pb and that the highest levels of heavy metals were found in the uppermost segment of the sediment core compared to lower depth subsurface due to a continuous input of PG release and showed that the area between the two harbor suffered from several types of pollutants compared to reference core C1, collected from non-industrialized area. The level of pollution was evaluated using contamination factor (Cf), pollution load index (PLI) and the geoaccumulation index (Igeo). The obtained results of Igeo allowed us to distinguish that the area between the commercial harbor of Ghannouch and the fishing harbor of Gabes is the most polluted where sediments are strongly contaminated for Pb, Cu and Cd. The pollution load index (PLI) of all sediments collected classified them as "polluted". According to contamination factor (Cf), the sediments can be considered as ‘considerable’ to ‘very high’ contaminated for Pb, ‘very high to moderate’ for Cd, ‘ moderate’ for Zn, between ‘moderate’ and ‘considerable’ for Cu. Statistical analyses show that heavy metals, fluoride, calcium and sulphate are resulting from the same anthropogenic origin. The metallic pollution status of sediments of Ghanouch -Gabes coast is worrying and requires a serious intervention.

Keywords: trace metals, phosphogypsum, core sediments, accumulation factor, contamination factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Ahmed A. Lugard, Mohammed A. Aliyu

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This paper studied the influence of urban development and its accompanied land surface transformation on sediment concentration of a natural flowing Ginzo river across the city of Katsina. An opposite twin river known as Tille river, which is less urbanized, was used to compare the result of the sediment concentration of the Ginzo River in order to ascertain the consequences of the urban area on impacting the sediment concentration. An instrument called USP 61 point integrating cable way sampler described by Gregory and walling (1973), was used to collect the suspended sediment samples in the wet season months of June, July, August and September. The result obtained in the study shows that only the sample collected at the peripheral site of the city, which is mostly farmland areas resembles the results in the four sites of Tille river, which is the reference stream in the study. It was found to be only + 10% different from one another, while at the other three sites of the Ginzo which are highly urbanized the disparity ranges from 35-45% less than what are obtained at the four sites of Tille River. In the generalized assessment, the t-distribution result applied to the two set of data shows that there is a significant difference between the sediment concentration of urbanized River Ginzo and that of less urbanized River Tille. The study further discovered that the less sediment concentration found in urbanized River Ginzo is attributed to concretization of surfaced, tarred roads, concretized channeling of segments of the river including the river bed and reserved open grassland areas, all within the catchments. The study therefore concludes that urbanization affect not only the hydrology of an urbanized river basin, but also the sediment concentration which is a significant aspect of its geomorphology. This world certainly affects the flood plain of the basin at a certain point which might be a suitable land for cultivation. It is recommended here that further studies on the impact of urbanization on River Basins should focus on all elements of geomorphology as it has been on hydrology. This would make the work rather complete as the two disciplines are inseparable from each other. The authorities concern should also trigger a more proper environmental and land use management policies to arrest the menace of land degradation and related episodic events.

Keywords: environment, infiltration, river, urbanization

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Authors: Morteza Habibi

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As an alternative to D–T fuel, one can consider advanced fuels like D3-He and p-11B fuels, which have potential advantages concerning availability and/or environmental impact. Hot spots are micron-sized magnetically self-contained sources observed in pinched plasma devices. In hot spots, fusion power for 120 keV < Ti < 800 keV and 32 keV < Te < 129 keV exceeds bremsstrahlung loss and fraction of fusion power to bremsstrahlung loss reaches to 1.9. In this case, gain factor for a 150 kJ typical pulsed generator as a hot spot source will be 7.8 which is considerable for a commercial pinched plasma device.

Keywords: P-B fuel, hot spot, bremmsstrahlung loss, ion temperature

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Authors: Karima Oldyerou, B. Meddah, A. Tirtouil

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The food borne infections have a significant impact on public health. Salmonella is the first bacterial cause, especially because of its general availability in the intestinal tract of poultry, pigs and cattle. This bacteria and essential oil of Laurus nobilis subject in this article. In vitro evaluation of the antibacterial activity shows a sensitivity of Salmonella spp. with a MIC of 2.5 mg.ml -1 in vivo after infection of wistar rats and administered orally this essential oil, microbiological results fecal material shows the antibacterial effect of this oil on Salmonella spp.

Keywords: Laurus nobilis, essential oil, salmonella, antibacterial activity, fecal matte

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Kohkan Shamsi

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Background: MRI and PET are now extensively utilized in Alzheimer's disease (AD) trials for patient eligibility, efficacy assessment, and safety evaluations but including imaging in AD trials impacts site selection process, patient recruitment, and patient retention. Methods: PET/MRI are performed at baseline and at multiple follow-up timepoints. This requires prospective site imaging qualification, evaluation of phantom data, training and continuous monitoring of machines for acquisition of standardized and consistent data. This also requires prospective patient/caregiver training as patients must go to multiple facilities for imaging examinations. We will share our experience form one of the largest AD programs. Lesson learned: Many neurological diseases have a similar presentation as AD or could confound the assessment of drug therapy. The inclusion of wrong patients has ethical and legal issues, and data could be excluded from the analysis. Centralized eligibility evaluation read process will be discussed. Amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) were observed in amyloid-β trials. FDA recommended regular monitoring of ARIA. Our experience in ARIA evaluations in large phase III study at > 350 sites will be presented. Efficacy evaluation: MRI is utilized to evaluate various volumes of the brain. FDG PET or amyloid PET agents has been used in AD trials. We will share our experience about site and central independent reads. Imaging logistic issues that need to be handled in the planning phase will also be discussed as it can impact patient compliance thereby increasing missing data and affecting study results. Conclusion: imaging must be prospectively planned to include standardizing imaging methodologies, site selection process and selecting assessment criteria. Training should be transparently conducted and documented. Prospective patient/caregiver awareness of imaging requirement is essential for patient compliance and reduction in missing imaging data.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, ARIA, MRI, PET, patient recruitment, retention

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Martin Adlington, Boris Ceranic, Sally Shazhad

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In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, changes in UK regulations, such as Part L Conservation of heat and power, dictates improved thermal insulation and enhanced air tightness. These changes were a direct response to the UK Government being fully committed to achieving its carbon targets under the Climate Change Act 2008. The goal is to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050. Factors such as climate change are likely to exacerbate the problem of overheating, as this phenomenon expects to increase the frequency of extreme heat events exemplified by stagnant air masses and successive high minimum overnight temperatures. However, climate change is not the only concern relevant to overheating, as research signifies, location, design, and occupation; construction type and layout can also play a part. Because of this growing problem, research shows the possibility of health effects on occupants of buildings could be an issue. Increases in temperature can perhaps have a direct impact on the human body’s ability to retain thermoregulation and therefore the effects of heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and even death can be imminent. This review paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of the current literature on the causes and health effects of overheating in buildings and has examined the differing applied assessment approaches used to measure the concept. Firstly, an overview of the topic was presented followed by an examination of overheating research work from the last decade. These papers form the body of the article and are grouped into a framework matrix summarizing the source material identifying the differing methods of analysis of overheating. Cross case evaluation has identified systematic relationships between different variables within the matrix. Key areas focused on include, building types and country, occupants behavior, health effects, simulation tools, computational methods.

Keywords: overheating, climate change, thermal comfort, health

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Authors: Jolie M. Martin

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Running experiments while logging detailed user actions has become the standard way of testing product features at Pinterest, as at many other Internet companies. While this technique offers plenty of statistical power to assess the effects of product changes on behavioral metrics, it does not often give us much insight into why users respond the way they do. By combining at-scale experiments with smaller surveys of users in each experimental condition, we have developed a unique approach for measuring the impact of our product and communication treatments on user sentiment, attitudes, and comprehension.

Keywords: experiments, methodology, surveys, user experience

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Rachel Gough

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In 2014, Skellig Michael, an island off Ireland’s western seaboard and UNESCO world heritage site became a major setting in Disney’s Star Wars franchise. The subsequent influx of tourists to the site has proven to be a point of contention nationally. The increased visitor numbers have uplifted certain areas of the local economy, the mainland, but have caused irreparable damage to historic monuments and to endangered bird populations who breed on the island. Recent research carried out by a state body suggests far-reaching and longterm negative impacts on the island’s culture and environment, should the association with the Star Wars franchise persist. In spite of this, the film has been widely endorsed by the Irish government as providing a vital economic boost to historically marginalised rural areas through film tourism. This paper argues quite plainly that what is taking place on Skellig is neocolonialism. Skellig Michael’s unique resources, its aesthetic qualities, its ecosystem, and its cultural currency have been sold by the state to a multinational corporation, who profit from their use. Meanwhile, locals are left to do their best to turn a market trend into sustainable business at the expense of culture ecology and community. This paper intends to be the first dedicated study into the psychogeographic and cultural impact of Skellig Michael’s deterioration as a result of film tourism. It will discuss the projected impact of this incident on Irish culture more broadly and finally will attempt to lay out a roadmap for more collaborative filmmaking and touristic approach, which allows local cultures and ecosystem’s to thrive without drastically inhibiting cultural production. This paper will ultimately find that the consequences of this representation call for a requirement to read tourism as a split concept — namely into what we might loosely call “eco-tourism” and more capital-based “profit-bottom-line tourism.”

Keywords: ecology, film tourism, neocolonialism, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Nanh Lovanh, John Loughrin, Kimberly Cook, Phil Silva, Byung-Taek Oh

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In the era of sustainability, utilization of livestock wastes as soil amendment to provide micronutrients for crops is very economical and sustainable. It is well understood that livestock wastes are comparable, if not better, nutrient sources for crops as chemical fertilizers. However, the large concentrated volumes of animal manure produced from livestock operations and the limited amount of available nearby agricultural land areas necessitated the need for volume reduction of these animal wastes. Composting of these animal manures is a viable option for biomass and pathogenic reduction in the environment. Nevertheless, composting also increases the potential loss of available nutrients for crop production as well as unwanted emission of anthropogenic air pollutants due to the loss of ammonia and other compounds via volatilization. In this study, we examine the emission of ammonia and nitrous oxide from swine manure windrows to evaluate the benefit of biomass reduction in conjunction with the potential loss of available nutrients. The feedstock for the windrows was obtained from swine farm in Kentucky where swine manure was mixed with wood shaving as absorbent material. Static flux chambers along with photoacoustic gas analyzer were used to monitor ammonia and nitrous oxide concentrations during the composting process. The results show that ammonia and nitrous oxide fluxes were quite high during the initial composting process and after the turning of each compost pile. Over the period of roughly three months of composting, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) decreased by about 90%. Although composting of animal waste is quite beneficial for biomass reduction, composting may not be economically feasible from an agronomical point of view due to time, nutrient loss (N loss), and potential environmental pollution (ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions). Therefore, additional studies are needed to assess and validate the economics and environmental impact of animal (swine) manure composting (e.g., crop yield or impact on climate change).

Keywords: windrow, swine manure, ammonia, nitrous oxide, fluxes, management

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Authors: Anna Jesionek, Aleksandra Szreniawa-Sztajnert, Zbigniew Jaremicz, Adam Kokotkiewicz, Natalia Filipowicz, Renata Ochocka, Bozena Zabiegala, Maria Luczkiewicz

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Rhododendron tomentosum (formerly Ledum palustre), an evergreen shrub grows in peaty soils in northern Europe, Asia and North America. In Poland, it is classified as an endangered species not only due to the drainage of wetlands, but also to the excessive collection of this repellent plant by human. The other valuable biological properties of R. tomentosum, used for years in folk medicine, include anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-microbial activity, conditioned by the essential oil content. Taking into account the importance of biodiversity and the potential therapeutic application, it was decided to establish, for the first time, the micropropagation protocol for R. tomentosum, for ex-situ conservation of this endangered species as well as to obtain the continuous source of in vivo and in-vitro plant material for further studies. This object was achieved by the selection of the explant and the media, which were modified within the scope of mineral composition, sugar content, pH and the growth regulators. As a result, the four-stage micropropagation protocol for R. tomentosum was specified, including shoot multiplication, elongation, rooting and ex-vitro adaptation. The genetic identification of the examined species and the compatibility of progeny plants with maternal ones was tested with molecular biology methods. Moreover, during the research process, the chemical composition of initial and regenerated plant and in vitro shoots was controlled in terms of volatile fraction by phytochemical analysis (GC and TLC methods). The correctness of the micropropagation procedure was confirmed by both types of studies.

Keywords: ex situ conservation, Ledum palustre, micropropagation, Rhododendron tomentosum

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Authors: Pramod Jagtap, Kisan Jadhav, Neha Dand

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Risperidone (RISP) is an antipsychotic agent and has low water solubility and nontargeted delivery results in numerous side effects. Hence, an attempt was made to develop SLNs hydrogel for intranasal delivery of RISP to achieve maximum bioavailability and reduction of side effects. RISP loaded SLNs composed of 1.65% (w/v) lipid mass were produced by high shear homogenization (HSH) coupled ultrasound (US) method using glyceryl monostearate (GMS) or Imwitor 900K (solid lipid). The particles were loaded with 0.2% (w/v) of the RISP & surface-tailored with a 2.02% (w/v) non-ionic surfactant Tween® 80. Optimization was done using 32 factorial design using Design Expert® software. The prepared SLNs dispersion incorporated into Polycarbophil AA1 hydrogel (0.5% w/v). The final gel formulation was evaluated for entrapment efficiency, particle size, rheological properties, X ray diffraction, in vitro diffusion, ex vivo permeation using sheep nasal mucosa and histopathological studies for nasocilliary toxicity. The entrapment efficiency of optimized SLNs was found to be 76 ± 2 %, polydispersity index <0.3., particle size 278 ± 5 nm. This optimized batch was incorporated into hydrogel. The pH was found to be 6.4 ± 0.14. The rheological behaviour of hydrogel formulation revealed no thixotropic behaviour. In histopathology study, there was no nasocilliary toxicity observed in nasal mucosa after ex vivo permeation. X-ray diffraction data shows drug was in amorphous form. Ex vivo permeation study shows controlled release profile of drug.

Keywords: ex vivo, particle size, risperidone, solid lipid nanoparticles

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Authors: Asem Alhnity, Nicholas Pickett

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The leisure home industry is experiencing an increase in sales due to the rise in popularity of staycations. However, there is also a demand for improvements in thermal and structural behaviour from customers. Existing standards and codes of practice outline the requirements for leisure home design. However, there is a lack of expertise in applying Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to complex structures in this industry. As a result, manufacturers rely on standardized design approaches, which often lead to excessively engineered or inadequately designed products. This study aims to address this issue by investigating the impact of the habitation structure on chassis performance in leisure homes. The aim of this research is to comprehensively analyse the impact of the habitation structure on chassis performance in leisure homes. By employing FEA on the entire unit, including both the habitation structure and the chassis, this study seeks to develop a novel framework for designing and analysing leisure homes. The objectives include material reduction, enhancing structural stability, resolving existing design issues, and developing innovative modular and wooden chassis designs. The methodology used in this research is quantitative in nature. The study utilizes FEA to analyse the performance of leisure home chassis under various loads. The analysis procedures involve running the FEA simulations on the numerical model of the leisure home chassis. Different load scenarios are applied to assess the stress and deflection performance of the chassis under various conditions. FEA is a numerical method that allows for accurate analysis of complex systems. The research utilizes flexible mesh sizing to calculate small deflections around doors and windows, with large meshes used for macro deflections. This approach aims to minimize run-time while providing meaningful stresses and deflections. Moreover, it aims to investigate the limitations and drawbacks of the popular approach of applying FEA only to the chassis and replacing the habitation structure with a distributed load. The findings of this study indicate that the popular approach of applying FEA only to the chassis and replacing the habitation structure with a distributed load overlooks the strengthening generated from the habitation structure. By employing FEA on the entire unit, it is possible to optimize stress and deflection performance while achieving material reduction and enhanced structural stability. The study also introduces innovative modular and wooden chassis designs, which show promising weight reduction compared to the existing heavily fabricated lattice chassis. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights into the impact of the habitation structure on chassis performance in leisure homes. By employing FEA on the entire unit, the study demonstrates the importance of considering the strengthening generated from the habitation structure in chassis design. The research findings contribute to advancements in material reduction, structural stability, and overall performance optimization. The novel framework developed in this study promotes sustainability, cost-efficiency, and innovation in leisure home design.

Keywords: static homes, caravans, motor homes, holiday homes, finite element analysis (FEA)

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Authors: Samira Kilani-Morakchi, Amina Badi, Nadia Aribi

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German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is known to be an important pest due to its high reproductive potential and its ability to build up large infectious populations. The infestations were generally controlled by neurotoxic insecticides including organophosphates (OP), carbamate and pyrethroids. An alternative cockroach’s control approach is the use insect growth regulators (IGRs). The relative fewer effects of these chemicals on non-target insects and animals, and their favourable environmental fate, make them attractive insecticides for inclusion in integrated pest management programmes. The juvenoids and chitin synthesis inhibitors are two classes of IGRs that have received the most attention for useful chemicals to manage German cockroaches while ecdysone agonists were mostly used to control Lepidopteran species. In the present study, the sublethal effects of the non-sreroidal ecdysone agonist tebufenozide were evaluated topically on adults of the B. germanica. The effects on reproduction were observed in adults females of cockroaches that survived exposure to LD25 (146 µg/g of insect) of tebufenozide. Dissection of treated females showed a clear reduction in both the number of oocytes per paired ovaries and the size of basal oocytes, as compared to controls. In addition, tebufenozide significantly reduced the mating success of pairs and altered the fertility as shown through the reduction of ootheca development and total absence of viable nymph. Tebufenozide disrupted the German cockroach reproduction by interfering with homeostasis of the insect hormones. In conclusion, the overall results suggested that tebufenozide can be used as a biorational insecticide for controlling cockroaches.

Keywords: B. germanica, ecdysteroid agonist, tebufenozide, reproduction

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Authors: S. Malebary, W. Xu

Abstract:

Antennas are important components that enable transmitting and receiving signals in mid-air (wireless). The radiation pattern of omni-directional (i.e., dipole) antennas, reflects the variation of power radiated by an antenna as a function of direction when transmitting. As the performance of the antenna is the same in transmitting and receiving, it also reflects the sensitivity of the antenna in different directions when receiving. The main observation when dealing with omni-directional antennas, regardless the application, is they equally radiate power in all directions in reference to Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP). Disseminating radio frequency signals in an omni-directional manner form a doughnut-shape-field with a cone in the middle of the elevation plane (when mounted vertically). In this paper, we investigate the existence of this physical phenomena namely silence cone zone (the zone where radiated power is nulled). First, we overview antenna types and properties that have the major impact on the shape of the electromagnetic field. Then we model various off the shelf dipoles in Matlab based on antennas’ features (dimensions, gain, operating frequency, … etc.) and compare the resulting radiation patterns. After that, we validate the existence of the null zone in Omni-directional antennas by conducting experiments and generating waveforms (using USRP1 and USRP2) at various frequencies using different types of antennas and gains in indoor/outdoor. We capture the generated waveforms around antennas' null zone in the reactive, near, and far field with a spectrum analyzer mounted on a drone, using various off the shelf antennas. We analyze the captured signals in RF-Explorer and plot the impact on received power and signal amplitude inside and around the null zone. Finally, it is concluded from evaluation and measurements the existence of null zones in Omni-directional antennas which we plan on extending this work in the near future to investigate the usability of the null zone for various applications such as localization and path finding.

Keywords: antennas, amplitude, field regions, frequency, FSPL, omni-directional, radiation pattern, RSSI, silence zone cone

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Authors: Neda Safari, Jacob Petersen-Perlman

Abstract:

There are more than two million dams in the United States, and a considerable portion of them are either non-operational or approaching the end of their designed lifespan. However, this emerging trend is new, and the majority of dam sites have not undergone thorough research and assessments after their removal to determine the overall effectiveness of restoration initiatives, particularly in the case of large-scale dams that may significantly impact their surrounding areas. A crucial factor to consider is the lack of specific regulations pertaining to dam removal at the federal level. Consequently, other environmental regulations that were not originally designed with dam removal considerations are used to execute these projects. This can result in delays or challenges for dam removal initiatives. The process of removing dams is usually the most important first step to restore the ecological and biological health of the river, but often there is a lack of measurable indicators to assess if it has achieved its intended objectives. In addition, the majority of studies on dam removal are only short-term and focus on a particular measure of response. Therefore, it is essential to conduct extensive and continuous monitoring to analyze the river's response throughout every aspect. Our study is divided into two sections. The first section of my research will analyze the establishment and utilization of dam removal laws and regulations in the Condit Dam removal process. We will highlight the areas where the frameworks for policy and dam removal projects remain in need of improvement in order to facilitate successful dam removals in the future. In this part, We will review the policies and plans that affected the decision-making process to remove the Condit dam while also looking at how they impacted the physical changes to the river after the dam was removed. In the second section, we will look at the effects of the dam removal over a decade later and attempt to determine how the river's physical response has been impacted by this modification. Our study aims to investigate the Condit dam removal process and its impact on the ecological response of the river. We anticipate identifying areas for improvement in policies pertaining to dam removal projects and exploring ways to enhance them to ensure improved project outcomes in the future.

Keywords: dam removal, ecolocgical change, water related regulation, water resources

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Authors: Kamal Ameis

Abstract:

This study aims to further improve our understanding of the underlying mechanism of local injury that occurs after manual acupuncture needle manipulation, and that initiates the muscle regeneration process, which is essential for muscle maintenance and adaptation. Skeletal muscle is maintained by resident stem cells called muscle satellite cells. These cells are normally in quiescent state, but following muscle injury, they re-enter the cell cycle and execute a myogenic program resulting in muscle fiber regeneration. Our previous work in young rats demonstrated that acupuncture treatment induced injury that activated resident satellite (stem) cells, which leads to muscle regeneration. Skeletal muscle regeneration is an adaptive response to injury that requires a tightly orchestrated event between signaling pathways activated by growth factor and intrinsic regulatory program controlled by myogenic transcription factor. We identified several gene expressions uniquely important for muscle regeneration in response to acupuncture treatment at different time course using different biological techniques, including Immunocytochemistry, western blotting, and Real Time PCR. This study uses a novel but non-invasive model of injury induced by manual acupuncture to further our current understanding of regenerative mechanism of muscle stem cells. From a clinical perspective, this model of injury induced by manual acupuncture may be easily translatable into a clinical tool that can be used as an alternative to physical exercise for patients challenged by bed rest or forced inactivity. Finally, the knowledge gained from this research could be useful for studies of the local effects of various modalities of induced injury, such as the traditional method of healing by cupping (hijamah), which may enhanced muscle stem cells and muscle fiber regeneration.

Keywords: acupuncture, injury, regeneration, muscle stem cells

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: D. Farsi, G. Dokhtvasi, S. Abbasi, S. Shafiee Ardestani, E. Payani

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Background and aim:It has not been well studied whether fentanyl-thiopental (FT) is effective and safe for PSA in orthopedic procedures in Emergency Department (ED). The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous FTversusfentanyl-midazolam (FM)in patients who suffered from shoulder dislocation or distal radial fracture-dislocation. Methods:In this randomized double-blinded study, Seventy-six eligible patients were entered the study and randomly received intravenous FT or FM. The success rate, onset of action and recovery time, pain score, physicians’ satisfaction and adverse events were assessed and recorded by treating emergency physicians. The statistical analysis was intention to treat. Results: The success rate after administrating loading dose in FT group was significantly higher than FM group (71.7% vs. 48.9%, p=0.04); however, the ultimate unsuccess rate after 3 doses of drugs in the FT group was higher than the FM group (3 to 1) but it did not reach to significant level (p=0.61). Despite near equal onset of action time in two study group (P=0.464), the recovery period in patients receiving FT was markedly shorter than FM group (P<0.001). The occurrence of adverse effects was low in both groups (p=0.31). Conclusion: PSA using FT is effective and appears to be safe for orthopedic procedures in the ED. Therefore, regarding the prompt onset of action, short recovery period of thiopental, it seems that this combination can be considered more for performing PSA in orthopedic procedures in ED.

Keywords: procedural sedation and analgesia, thiopental, fentanyl, midazolam, orthopedic procedure, emergency department, pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: M. Lim Haslip

Abstract:

This quantitative study explores the correlation between child gender and father-child interactions. The author analyzes data from videotaped interactions between African-American fathers and their boy or girl toddler to explain how African-American fathers and toddlers interact with each other and whether these interactions differ by child gender. The purpose of this study is to investigate the research question: 'How, if at all, do fathers’ speech and gestures differ when interacting with their two-year-old sons versus daughters during free play?' The objectives of this study are to describe how child gender impacts African-American fathers’ verbal communication, examine how fathers gesture and speak to their toddler by gender, and to guide interventions for low-income African-American families and their children in early language development. This study involves a sample of 41 low-income African-American fathers and their 24-month-old toddlers. The videotape data will be used to observe 10-minute father-child interactions during free play. This study uses the already transcribed and coded data provided by Dr. Meredith Rowe, who did her study on the impact of African-American fathers’ verbal input on their children’s language development. The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES program), created to study conversational interactions, was used for transcription and coding of the videotape data. The findings focus on the quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech, and the quantity of gesture to inform the vocabulary usage, number of spoken words, length of speech, and the number of object pointings observed during father-toddler interactions in a free play setting. This study will help intervention and prevention scientists understand early language development in the African-American population. It will contribute to knowledge of the role of African-American fathers’ interactions on their children’s language development. It will guide interventions for the early language development of African-American children.

Keywords: parental engagement, early language development, African-American families, quantity of speech, diversity of speech, complexity of speech and the quantity of gesture

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Authors: Debjyoti Bhakat, Indranil Mondal, Asish K. Mukhopadayay, Nabendu S. Chatterjee

Abstract:

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is one of the leading causes of diarrhea in infants and travelers in developing countries. Colonization factors play an important role in pathogenesis and are one of the main targets for Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) vaccine development. However, ETEC vaccines had poorly performed in the past, as the prevalence of colonization factors is region-dependent. There are more than 25 classical colonization factors presently known to be expressed by ETEC, although all are not expressed together. Further, there are other multiple non-classical virulence factors that are also identified. Here the presence and expression of common classical and non-classical virulence factors were studied. Further studies were done on the expression of prevalent colonization factors in different strains. For the prevalence determination, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed, which was confirmed by simplex PCR. Quantitative RT-PCR was done to study the RNA expression of these virulence factors. Strains negative for colonization factors expression were confirmed by SDS-PAGE. Among the clinical isolates, the most prevalent toxin was est+elt, followed by est and elt, while the pattern was reversed in the control strains. There were 29% and 40% strains negative for any classical colonization factors (CF) or non-classical virulence factors (NCVF) among the clinical and control strains, respectively. Among CF positive ETEC strains, CS6 and CS21 were the prevalent ones in the clinical strains, whereas in control strains, CS6 was the predominant one. For NCVF genes, eatA was the most prevalent among the clinical isolates and etpA for control. CS6 was the most expressed CF, and eatA was the predominantly expressed NCVF for both clinical and controlled ETEC isolates. CS6 expression was more in strains having CS6 alone. Different strains express CS6 at different levels. Not all strains expressed their respective virulence factors. Understanding the prevalent colonization factor, CS6, and its nature of expression will contribute to designing an effective vaccine against ETEC in this region of the globe. The expression pattern of CS6 also will help in examining the relatedness between the ETEC subtypes.

Keywords: classical virulence factors, CS6, diarrhea, enterotoxigenic escherichia coli, expression, non-classical virulence factors

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Authors: Melanie Macgregor-Ramiasa, Isabel Hopp, Patricia Murray, Krasimir Vasilev

Abstract:

Stem cells based therapies are one of the greatest promises of new-age medicine due to their potential to help curing most dreaded conditions such as cancer, diabetes and even auto-immune disease. However, establishing suitable in vitro culture materials allowing to control the fate of stem cells remain a challenge. Amongst the factor influencing stem cell behavior, substrate chemistry and nanotopogaphy are particularly critical. In this work, we used plasma assisted surface modification methods to produce model substrates with tailored nanotopography and controlled chemistry. Three different sizes of gold nanoparticles were bound to amine rich plasma polymer layers to produce homogeneous and gradient surface nanotopographies. The outer chemistry of the substrate was kept constant for all substrates by depositing a thin layer of our patented biocompatible polyoxazoline plasma polymer on top of the nanofeatures. For the first time, protein adsorption and stem cell behaviour (mouse kidney stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells) were evaluated on nanorough plasma deposited polyoxazoline thin films. Compared to other nitrogen rich coatings, polyoxazoline plasma polymer supports the covalent binding of proteins. Moderate surface nanoroughness, in both size and density, triggers cell proliferation. In association with polyoxazoline coating, cell proliferation is further enhanced on nanorough substrates. Results are discussed in term of substrates wetting properties. These findings provide valuable insights on the mechanisms governing the interactions between stem cells and their growth support.

Keywords: nanotopography, stem cells, differentiation, plasma polymer, oxazoline, gold nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 271