Search results for: analysis and real time information about liquefaction

Authors: Isalira Peroba Ramos, Cherley Borba Vieira de Andrade, Grazielle Suhett, Camila Salata, Paulo Cesar Canary, Guilherme Visconde Brasil, Antonio Carlos Campos de Carvalho, Regina Coeli dos Santos Goldenberg

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Background: The therapeutic options for patients with cancer now include increasingly complex combinations of medications, radiation therapy (RT), and surgical intervention. Many of these treatments have important potential adverse cardiac effects and are likely to have significant effects on patient outcomes. Cell therapy appears to be promising for the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases, including cardiomyopathy induced by RT, as the current therapeutic options are insufficient. Aims: To evaluate the potential of bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMMCs) in radioinduced cardiac damage Methods: Female Wistar rats, 3 months old (Ethics Committee 054/14), were divided into 2 groups, non-treated irradiated group (IR n=15) and irradiated and BMMC treated (IRT n=10). Echocardiography was performed to evaluate heart function. After euthanasia, 3 months post treatment; the left ventricle was removed and prepared for RT-qPCR (VEGF and Pro Collagen I) and histological (picrosirius) analysis. Results: In both groups, 45 days after irradiation, ejection fraction (EF) was in the normal range for these animals (> 70%). However, the BMMC treated group had EF (83.1%±2.6) while the non-treated IR group showed a significant reduction (76.1%±2.6) in relation to the treated group. In addition, we observed an increase in VEGF gene expression and a decrease in Pro Collagen I in IRT when compared to IR group. We also observed by histology that the collagen deposition was reduced in IRT (10.26%±0.83) when compared to IR group (25.29%±0.96). Conclusions: Treatment with BMMCs was able to prevent ejection fraction reduction and collagen deposition in irradiated animals. The increase of VEGF and the decrease of pro collagen I gene expression might explain, at least in part, the cell therapy benefits. All authors disclose no financial or personal relationships with individuals or organizations that could be perceived to bias their work. Sources of funding: FAPERJ, CAPES, CNPq, MCT.

Keywords: mesenchymal cells, radioation, cardiotoxicity, bone marrow

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Authors: Ahmed Elaksher, Islam Omar

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For many years, Mars surface has been a mystery for scientists. Lately with the help of geospatial data and photogrammetric procedures researchers were able to capture some insights about this planet. Two of the most imperative data sources to explore Mars are the The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). HiRISE is one of six science instruments carried by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched August 12, 2005, and managed by NASA. The MOLA sensor is a laser altimeter carried by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and launched on November 7, 1996. In this project, we used MOLA-based DEMs to orthorectify HiRISE optical images for generating a more accurate and trustful surface of Mars. The MOLA data was interpolated using the kriging interpolation technique. Corresponding tie points were digitized from both datasets. These points were employed in co-registering both datasets using GIS analysis tools. In this project, we employed three different 3D to 2D transformation models. These are the parallel projection (3D affine) transformation model; the extended parallel projection transformation model; the Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) model. A set of tie-points was digitized from both datasets. These points were split into two sets: Ground Control Points (GCPs), used to evaluate the transformation parameters using least squares adjustment techniques, and check points (ChkPs) to evaluate the computed transformation parameters. Results were evaluated using the RMSEs between the precise horizontal coordinates of the digitized check points and those estimated through the transformation models using the computed transformation parameters. For each set of GCPs, three different configurations of GCPs and check points were tested, and average RMSEs are reported. It was found that for the 2D transformation models, average RMSEs were in the range of five meters. Increasing the number of GCPs from six to ten points improve the accuracy of the results with about two and half meters. Further increasing the number of GCPs didn’t improve the results significantly. Using the 3D to 2D transformation parameters provided three to two meters accuracy. Best results were reported using the DLT transformation model. However, increasing the number of GCPS didn’t have substantial effect. The results support the use of the DLT model as it provides the required accuracy for ASPRS large scale mapping standards. However, well distributed sets of GCPs is a key to provide such accuracy. The model is simple to apply and doesn’t need substantial computations.

Keywords: mars, photogrammetry, MOLA, HiRISE

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Authors: Piumi L. Denagamage, Vibusha Madanayake

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At the end of a 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) played a prominent role in post-war development and peacebuilding. Women were a major “beneficiary” of NGO activities on socio-economic empowerment, capacity building for advocacy, and grassroots participation in activism. Undoubtedly, their contribution to Sri Lanka’s post-war transition is tremendous. As development practitioners and researchers who have worked closely with several international and national NGOs in Sri Lanka’s post-war setting, the authors, while practicing self-reflexivity, intend to theorize the grey literature prepared by NGOs against the theoretical frameworks of Transnational and Third World feminisms. Using examples of the grassroots activities conducted by the NGOs with war-affected women, the paper questions whether Colombo-based feminism represents the lived realities of grassroots women at the transnational level. It argues that Colombo-based feminists use their power and exposure to Western feminist approaches to portray diverse forms of oppression women face at grassroots levels, their needs for advocacy, and different modes of resistance on the ground. Many NGOs depend on international donor funding for their grassroots work, which also contributes to their utilization of Western-led knowledge. Despite their efforts to “save marginalized women from oppression,” these modes of intervention are often rejected by the public, including women at local levels. This has also resulted in the rejection of feminism entirely as a culturally root-less alien Western ideology. The analysis connects with the Transnational and Third World theoretical feminist perspectives to problematize the power relations between Western knowledge systems and the lived experiences of grassroots women in the peacebuilding process through NGO activism in Sri Lanka. It also emphasizes that the infiltration of Western knowledge through NGOs has led to the participation of grassroots women only through adjustments of their lived experiences to match the alien knowledge rather than theorizing based on their own lived realities. While sharing a concern that NGOs’ power to adopt Western knowledge systems is often unchecked and unmitigated, the paper signifies the importance of adopting the methods of alternative theorizing to ensure meaningful participation of Third World women in peacebuilding.

Keywords: alternative theorizing, colombo-based feminism, grassroots women in peacebuilding, NGO activism, transnational and third world feminisms

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Authors: Hamada Ahmed, Mervat A. Abdel-Latif, Alaa. A. Ghoraba, Samah A. Ganna

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An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of microbial phytase (Quantum Blue®) supplementation on layer chickens fed diets with required or low phosphorous level in corn-soybean based diets. One hundred and sixteen 23-week-old Lohman brown laying hens were used in 8-week feeding trial. Hens were randomly allotted into four treatments where the group (1) (control group) was fed basal diet without phytase, group (2) fed basal diet supplemented with phytase, group (3) fed diet supplemented with phytase as a replacement of 25% of monocalcium phosphate and group (4) fed diet supplemented with phytase as a replacement of 50% of monocalcium phosphate. Records on daily egg production, egg mass, egg weight and body weight of hens at the end of experimental period were recorded. Results revealed no significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences were observed among the other dietary treatments in BW, egg production, egg mass, feed intake or feed conversion when these parameters were evaluated over the duration of the experiment while egg weight showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in all phytase supplemented groups. There was no significant (p ≥ 0.05) differences in egg quality including egg length, egg width, egg shape index, yolk height, yolk width, yolk index, yolk weight and yolk albumin ratio while egg albumin was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in group (2) and group (3). Egg shell weight increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group also shell thickness increased significantly (p < 0.05) in both group (2 &3). No significant (P ≥ 0.05) difference was observed in serum Ca, P level while alkaline phosphatase was significantly (P ˂ 0.05) increased in group (3). Egg shell analysis showed increase in egg shell ash% in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group, egg shell calcium % was higher in group (3) and group (4) than the control group while group (2) showed lower egg shell calcium% than the other experimental groups, egg shell phosphorous% was higher in all phytase supplemented groups than the control group. Phosphorous digestability was significantly (P ˂ 0.05) increased in all phytase supplemented groups than the control group and the highest p digestability was in group (4). Calcium digestability showed significant (P ˂ 0.05) increase in all phytase supplemented groups when compared with the control group and the highest digetability was in group (4).

Keywords: layers, microbial phytase, Ca and P availability, egg production, egg characteristics

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Authors: Joulié Aurélien, Jourdain Elsa, Bailly Xavier, Gasqui Patrick, Yang Elise, Leblond Agnès, Rousset Elodie, Sidi-Boumedine Karim

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Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by the gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Following the recent outbreaks in the Netherlands, a hyper virulent clone was found to be the cause of severe human cases of Q fever. In livestock, Q fever clinical manifestations are mainly abortions. Although the abortion rates differ between ruminant species, C. burnetii’s virulence remains understudied, especially in enzootic areas. In this study, the infectious potential of three C. burnetii isolates collected from French farms of small ruminants were compared to the reference strain Nine Mile (in phase II and in an intermediate phase) using an in vivo (CD1 mice) model. Mice were challenged with 105 live bacteria discriminated by propidium monoazide-qPCR targeting the icd-gene. After footpad inoculation, spleen and popliteal lymph node were harvested at 10 days post-inoculation (p.i). The strain invasiveness in spleen and popliteal nodes was assessed by qPCR assays targeting the icd-gene. Preliminary results showed that the avirulent strains (in phase 2) failed to pass the popliteal barrier and then to colonize the spleen. This model allowed a significant differentiation between strain’s invasiveness on biological host and therefore identifying distinct virulence profiles. In view of these results, we plan to go further by testing fifteen additional C. burnetii isolates from French farms of sheep, goat and cattle by using the above-mentioned in vivo model. All 15 strains display distant MLVA (multiple-locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis) genotypic profiles. Five of the fifteen isolates will bee also tested in vitro on ovine and bovine macrophage cells. Cells and supernatants will be harvested at day1, day2, day3 and day6 p.i to assess in vitro multiplication kinetics of strains. In conclusion, our findings might help the implementation of surveillance of virulent strains and ultimately allow adapting prophylaxis measures in livestock farms.

Keywords: Q fever, invasiveness, ruminant, virulence

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Authors: Afees Adebayo Salam

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This paper attempts an in-depth analysis of the economic impact of Ogbomoso migrant community in the Jos metropolis. It discusses the factors that motivated a sizeable number of Ogbomoso people (from southwestern Nigeria) to leave their hometown for a new place/space in Jos (northern Nigeria). It examines the historical antecedent of Ogbomoso migrants in northern Nigeria with emphasis on Jos metropolis. The movement of Ogbomoso migrants to Jos was dictated by the economic and social challenges of colonial and post-colonial periods. The political crisis of the 1960s was a contributory factor to the process of Ogbomoso migration to other parts of Nigeria. In the aftermath, many people migrated from Ogbomoso to different parts of the country and beyond to seek for better economic opportunities. The establishment of Ogbomoso migrant community in Jos was dated back to the colonial era when taxation was introduced by the British. Many people could not pay these taxes from their peasant farming activities, while some embarked on migration to places such as Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Keffi and Bauchi due to the harsh economic situation at home. Their settlement in Jos brought about success in several spheres of human endeavours. Ogbomoso migrants dominated both paid jobs and private business sector such as textile merchants, food stuff sellers, herbalists, printers, transporters, and religious missionaries, as well as clerical officers in the government establishments. Their remittances were invested in different sectors of Ogbomoso economy. The migrants had in one way or the other contributed to the socio-economic development of their host community in Jos as entrepreneurs. Branches of such industries were located in their hometown of Ogbomoso as a clear demonstration of community development. The remittance pattern of the migrants has transformed Ogbomoso to enviable position. Moreover, the economic success of Ogbomoso migrants over the period under review indicates the process of nation building due to peaceful nature of inter-ethnic engagements between Ogbomoso migrants and their host community in Jos. Therefore, the paper makes use of oral, archival and secondary sources to analyse the processes of migration and its economic impact. Oral interviews were conducted in Ogbomoso town with veteran migrants and their family members. Interviews were also conducted in Jos with the indigenous host community as well as other urban residents. Archival materials were obtained from Arewa House Archives and the National Archives, Kaduna and the National Archives, Ibadan.

Keywords: Ogbomoso migrants, Jos metropolis, community development, economic impact

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Authors: Seema Paul, Jesper Oppelstrup, Roger Thunvik, Vladimir Cvetkovic

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Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water body in the world, located in East Africa with a catchment area of 250,000 km², of which 68,800 km² is the actual lake surface. The hydrodynamic processes of the shallow (40–80 m deep) water system are unique due to its location at the equator, which makes Coriolis effects weak. The paper describes a St.Venant shallow water model of Lake Victoria developed in COMSOL Multiphysics software, a general purpose finite element tool for solving partial differential equations. Depth soundings taken in smaller parts of the lake were combined with recent more extensive data to resolve the discrepancies of the lake shore coordinates. The topography model must have continuous gradients, and Delaunay triangulation with Gaussian smoothing was used to produce the lake depth model. The model shows large-scale flow patterns, passive tracer concentration and water level variations in response to river and tracer inflow, rain and evaporation, and wind stress. Actual data of precipitation, evaporation, in- and outflows were applied in a fifty-year simulation model. It should be noted that the water balance is dominated by rain and evaporation and model simulations are validated by Matlab and COMSOL. The model conserves water volume, the celerity gradients are very small, and the volume flow is very slow and irrotational except at river mouths. Numerical experiments show that the single outflow can be modelled by a simple linear control law responding only to mean water level, except for a few instances. Experiments with tracer input in rivers show very slow dispersion of the tracer, a result of the slow mean velocities, in turn, caused by the near-balance of rain with evaporation. The numerical and hydrodynamical model can evaluate the effects of wind stress which is exerted by the wind on the lake surface that will impact on lake water level. Also, model can evaluate the effects of the expected climate change, as manifest in changes to rainfall over the catchment area of Lake Victoria in the future.

Keywords: bathymetry, lake flow and steady state analysis, water level validation and concentration, wind stress

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Authors: A. Mostaani, M. P. Pereira, B. F. Rolfe

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The increasing application of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) in the automotive industry to fulfill crash requirements has introduced higher levels of wear in stamping dies and parts. Therefore, understanding wear behaviour in sheet metal forming is of great importance as it can help to reduce the high costs currently associated with tool wear. At the contact between the die and the sheet, the tips of hard tool asperities interact with the softer sheet material. Understanding the deformation that occurs during this interaction is important for our overall understanding of the wear mechanisms. For these reasons, the scratching of a perfectly plastic material by a rigid indenter has been widely examined in the literature; with finite element modelling (FEM) used in recent years to further understand the behaviour. The ‘wear mode diagram’ has been commonly used to classify the deformation regime of the soft work-piece during scratching, into three modes: ploughing, wedge formation, and cutting. This diagram, which is based on 2D slip line theory and upper bound method for perfectly plastic work-piece and rigid indenter, relates different wear modes to attack angle and interfacial strength. This diagram has been the basis for many wear studies and wear models to date. Additionally, it has been concluded that galling is most likely to occur during the wedge formation mode. However, there has been little analysis in the literature of how the material behaviour and deformation conditions associated with metal forming processes influence the wear behaviour. Therefore, the first aim of this work is first to use a commercial FEM package (Abaqus/Explicit) to build a 3D model to capture wear modes during scratching with indenters with different attack angles and different interfacial strengths. The second goal is to utilise the developed model to understand how wear modes might change in the presence of bulk deformation of the work-piece material as a result of the metal forming operation. Finally, the effect of the work-piece material properties, including strain hardening, will be examined to understand how these influence the wear modes and wear behaviour. The results show that both strain hardening and substrate deformation can change the critical attack angle at which the wedge formation regime is activated.

Keywords: finite element, pile-up, scratch test, wear mode

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Authors: Kateryna Nykytchenko

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Modern fiction and non-fiction writers commonly use their own lexical and stylistic devices to capture a reader’s attention and bring certain thoughts and feelings to his reader. Among such devices is the appearance of one of the neologic notions – individual author’s formations: occasionalisms or nonce words. To a significant extent, the host of examples of new words occurs in chick lit genre which has experienced exponential growth in recent years. Chick Lit is a new-millennial postfeminist fiction which focuses primarily on twenty- to thirtysomething middle-class women. It brings into focus the image of 'a new woman' of the 21st century who is always fallible, funny. This paper aims to investigate different types of occasional word-formation which reflect cognitive mechanisms of conveying women’s perception of the world. Chick lit novels of Irish author Marian Keyes present genuinely innovative mixture of forms, both literary and nonliterary which is displayed in different types of occasional word-formation processes such as blending, compounding, creative respelling, etc. Crossing existing mental and linguistic boundaries, adopting herself to new and overlapping linguistic spaces, chick lit author creates new words which demonstrate the result of development and progress of language and the relationship between language, thought and new reality, ultimately resulting in hybrid word-formation (e.g. affixation or pseudoborrowing). Moreover, this article attempts to present the main characteristics of chick-lit fiction genre with the help of the Marian Keyes’s novels and their influence on occasionalisms. There has been a lack of research concerning cognitive nature of occasionalisms. The current paper intends to account for occasional word-formation as a set of interconnected cognitive mechanisms, operations and procedures meld together to create a new word. The results of the generalized analysis solidify arguments that the kind of new knowledge an occasionalism manifests is inextricably linked with cognitive procedure underlying it, which results in corresponding type of word-formation processes. In addition, the findings of the study reveal that the necessity of creating occasionalisms in postmodern fiction novels arises from the need to write in a new way keeping up with a perpetually developing world, and thus the evolution of the speaker herself and her perception of the world.

Keywords: Chick Lit, occasionalism, occasional word-formation, cognitive linguistics

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Authors: Fernando M. Soto, Gaetano Di Mino

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The design of an unmodified bituminous mixture and three rubber-aggregate mixtures containing rubber-aggregate by a dry process (RUMAC) was evaluated, using an empirical-analytical approach based on experimental findings obtained in the laboratory with the volumetric mix design by gyratory compaction. A reference dense-graded bituminous sub-ballast mixture (3% of air voids and a bitumen 4% over the total weight of the mix), and three rubberized mixtures by dry process (1,5 to 3% of rubber by total weight and 5-7% of binder) were used applying the Superpave mix-design for a level 3 (high-traffic) design rail lines. The railway trackbed section analyzed was a granular layer of 19 cm compacted, while for the sub-ballast a thickness of 12 cm has been used. In order to evaluate the effect of increasing the specimen density (as a percent of its theoretical maximum specific gravity), in this article, are illustrated the results obtained after different comparative analysis into the influence of varying the binder-rubber percentages under the sub-ballast layer mix-design. This work demonstrates that rubberized blends containing crumb and ground rubber in bituminous asphalt mixtures behave at least similar or better than conventional asphalt materials. By using the same methodology of volumetric compaction, the densification curves resulting from each mixture have been studied. The purpose is to obtain an optimum empirical parameter multiplier of the number of gyrations necessary to reach the same compaction energy as in conventional mixtures. It has provided some experimental parameters adopting an empirical-analytical method, evaluating the results obtained from the gyratory-compaction of bituminous mixtures with an HMA and rubber-aggregate blends. An extensive integrated research has been carried out to assess the suitability of rubber-modified hot mix asphalt mixtures as a sub-ballast layer in railway underlayment trackbed. Design optimization of the mixture was conducted for each mixture and the volumetric properties analyzed. Also, an improved and complete manufacturing process, compaction and curing of these blends are provided. By adopting this increase-parameters of compaction, called 'beta' factor, mixtures modified with rubber with uniform densification and workability are obtained that in the conventional mixtures. It is found that considering the usual bearing capacity requirements in rail track, the optimal rubber content is 2% (by weight) or 3.95% (by volumetric substitution) and a binder content of 6%.

Keywords: empirical approach, rubber-asphalt, sub-ballast, superpave mix-design

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Authors: Matej Komanec, Jan Bohata, Stanislav Zvanovec, Tomas Nemecek, Jan Broucek, Josef Beran

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With the exponential growth of social networks, video streaming and increasing demands on data rates, the number of newly built data centers rises proportionately. The data centers, however, have to adjust to the rapidly increased amount of data that has to be processed. For this purpose, multi-mode (MM) fiber based infrastructures are often employed. It stems from the fact, the connections in data centers are typically realized within a short distance, and the application of MM fibers and components considerably reduces costs. On the other hand, the usage of MM components brings specific requirements for installation service conditions. Moreover, it has to be taken into account that MM fiber components have a higher production tolerance for parameters like core and cladding diameters, eccentricity, etc. Due to the high demands for the reliability of data center components, the determination of properly excited optical field inside the MM fiber core belongs to the key parameters while designing such an MM optical system architecture. Appropriately excited mode field of the MM fiber provides optimal power budget in connections, leads to the decrease of insertion losses (IL) and achieves effective modal bandwidth (EMB). The main parameter, in this case, is the encircled flux (EF), which should be properly defined for variable optical sources and consequent different mode-field distribution. In this paper, we present detailed investigation and measurements of the mode field distribution for short MM links purposed in particular for data centers with the emphasis on reliability and safety. These measurements are essential for large MM network design. The various scenarios, containing different fibers and connectors, were tested in terms of IL and mode-field distribution to reveal potential challenges. Furthermore, we focused on estimation of particular defects and errors, which can realistically occur like eccentricity, connector shifting or dust, were simulated and measured, and their dependence to EF statistics and functionality of data center infrastructure was evaluated. The experimental tests were performed at two wavelengths, commonly used in MM networks, of 850 nm and 1310 nm to verify EF statistics. Finally, we provide recommendations for data center systems and networks, using OM3 and OM4 MM fiber connections.

Keywords: optical fiber, multi-mode, data centers, encircled flux

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Authors: Todd H. Buxton, Yong G. Lai

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Temperature management in regulated rivers can involve significant expenditures of water to meet the cold-water requirements of species in summer. For this purpose, flows released from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River in Northern California are 12.7 cms with temperatures around 11oC in July through September to provide adult spring Chinook cold water to hold in deep pools and mature until spawning in fall. The releases are more than double the flow and 10oC colder temperatures than the natural conditions before the dam was built. The high, cold releases provide springers the habitat they require but may suppress the stream food base and limit future populations of salmon by reducing the juvenile fish size and survival to adults via the positive relationship between the two. Field and modeling research was undertaken to explore whether lowering summer releases from Lewiston Dam may promote thermal stratification in river pools so that both the cold-water needs of adult salmon and warmer water requirements of other organisms in the stream biome may be met. For this investigation, a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed and validated with field measurements in two deep pools on the Trinity River. Modeling and field observations were then used to identify the flows and temperatures that may form and maintain thermal stratification under different meteorologic conditions. Under low flows, a pool was found to be well mixed and thermally homogenous until temperatures began to stratify shortly after sunrise. Stratification then strengthened through the day until shading from trees and mountains cooled the inlet flow and decayed the thermal gradient, which collapsed shortly before sunset and returned the pool to a well-mixed state. This diurnal process of stratification formation and destruction was closely predicted by the 3D CFD model. Both the model and field observations indicate that thermal stratification maintained the coldest temperatures of the day at ≥2m depth in a pool and provided water that was around 8oC warmer in the upper 2m of the pool. Results further indicate that the stratified pool under low flows provided almost the same daily average temperatures as when flows were an order of magnitude higher and stratification was prevented, indicating significant water savings may be realized in regulated streams while also providing a diversity in water temperatures the ecosystem requires. With confidence in the 3D CFD model, the model is now being applied to a dozen pools in the Trinity River to understand how pool bathymetry influences thermal stratification under variable flows and diurnal temperature variations. This knowledge will be used to expand the results to 52 pools in a 64 km reach below Lewiston Dam that meet the depth criteria (≥2 m) for spring Chinook holding. From this, rating curves will be developed to relate discharge to the volume of pool habitat that provides springers the temperature (<15.6oC daily average), velocity (0.15 to 0.4 m/s) and depths that accommodate the escapement target for spring Chinook (6,000 adults) under maximum fish densities measured in other streams (3.1 m3/fish) during the holding time of year (May through August). Flow releases that meet these goals will be evaluated for water savings relative to the current flow regime and their influence on indicator species, including the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog, and aspects of the stream biome that support salmon populations, including macroinvertebrate production and juvenile Chinook growth rates.

Keywords: 3D CFD modeling, flow regulation, thermal stratification, chinook salmon, foothill yellow-legged frogs, water managment

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Authors: Hanbyul Kim, Hye-Jin Kin, Taehun Park, Woo Jun Sul, Susun An

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Skin is the largest organ of the human body and can provide the diverse habitat for various microorganisms. The ecology of the skin surface selects distinctive sets of microorganisms and is influenced by both endogenous intrinsic factors and exogenous environmental factors. The diversity of the bacterial community in the skin also depends on multiple host factors: gender, age, health status, location. Among them, age-related changes in skin structure and function are attributable to combinations of endogenous intrinsic factors and exogenous environmental factors. Skin aging is characterized by a decrease in sweat, sebum and the immune functions thus resulting in significant alterations in skin surface physiology including pH, lipid composition, and sebum secretion. The present study gives a comprehensive clue on the variation of skin microbiota and the correlations between ages by analyzing and comparing the metagenome of skin microbiome using Next Generation Sequencing method. Skin bacterial diversity and composition were characterized and compared between two different age groups: younger (20 – 30y) and older (60 - 70y) Xian, Chinese women. A total of 73 healthy women meet two conditions: (I) living in Xian, China; (II) maintaining healthy skin status during the period of this study. Based on Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) database, skin samples of 73 participants were enclosed with ten most abundant genera: Chryseobacterium, Propionibacterium, Enhydrobacter, Staphylococcus and so on. Although these genera are the most predominant genus overall, each genus showed different proportion in each group. The most dominant genus, Chryseobacterium was more present relatively in Young group than in an old group. Similarly, Propionibacterium and Enhydrobacter occupied a higher proportion of skin bacterial composition of the young group. Staphylococcus, in contrast, inhabited more in the old group. The beta diversity that represents the ratio between regional and local species diversity showed significantly different between two age groups. Likewise, The Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) values representing each phylogenetic distance in the two-dimensional framework using the OTU (Operational taxonomic unit) values of the samples also showed differences between the two groups. Thus, our data suggested that the composition and diversification of skin microbiomes in adult women were largely affected by chronological and physiological skin aging.

Keywords: next generation sequencing, age, Xian, skin microbiome

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Authors: A. P. Pashkov

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The number of environmental factors that adversely affect children's health is growing every year; their combination in each territory is different. The contribution of socio-economic factors to the health status of the younger generation is increasing. It is the child’s body that is most sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, responding to this with a deterioration in health. Over the past years, scientists have determined the influence of environmental factors and the incidence of children. Currently, there is a tendency to study regional characteristics of the interaction of a combination of environmental factors with the child's body. The aim of the work was to identify trends in the primary non-infectious morbidity of the children of the Altai Territory as a unique region that combines territories with different levels of environmental quality indicators, as well as to assess the effect of atmospheric air, drinking water and socio-economic indicators on the incidence of children in the region. An unfavorable tendency has been revealed in the region for incidence of such nosological groups as neoplasms, including malignant ones, diseases of the endocrine system, including obesity and thyroid disease, diseases of the circulatory system, digestive diseases, diseases of the genitourinary system, congenital anomalies, and respiratory diseases. Between some groups of diseases revealed a pattern of geographical distribution during mapping and a significant correlation. Some nosologies have a relationship with socio-economic indicators for an integrated assessment: circulatory system diseases, respiratory diseases (direct connection), endocrine system diseases, eating disorders, and metabolic disorders (feedback). The analysis of associations of the incidence of children with average annual concentrations of substances that pollute the air and drinking water showed the existence of reliable correlation in areas of critical and intense degree of environmental quality. This fact confirms that the population living in contaminated areas is subject to the negative influence of environmental factors, which immediately affects the health status of children. The results obtained indicate the need for a detailed assessment of the influence of environmental factors on the incidence of children in the regional aspect, the formation of a database, and the development of automated programs that can predict the incidence in each specific territory. This will increase the effectiveness, including economic of preventive measures.

Keywords: incidence of children, regional features, socio-economic factors, environmental factors

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Authors: Alana E. Jansen

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With such a large proportion of organisations relying on the use of team-based structures, it is surprising that so few teams would be classified as high-performance teams. While the impact of team composition on performance has been researched frequently, there have been conflicting findings as to the effects, particularly when examined alongside other team factors. To broaden the theoretical perspectives on this topic and potentially explain some of the inconsistencies in research findings left open by other various models of team effectiveness and high-performing teams, the present study aims to use the Job-Demands-Resources model, typically applied to burnout and engagement, as a framework to examine how team composition factors (particularly diversity in team member characteristics) can facilitate or hamper team effectiveness. This study used a virtual interview design where participants were asked to both rate and describe their experiences, in one high-performing and one low-performing team, over several factors relating to demands, resources, team composition, and team effectiveness. A semi-structured interview protocol was developed, which combined the use of the Likert style and exploratory questions. A semi-targeted sampling approach was used to invite participants ranging in age, gender, and ethnic appearance (common surface-level diversity characteristics) and those from different specialties, roles, educational and industry backgrounds (deep-level diversity characteristics). While the final stages of data analyses are still underway, thematic analysis using a grounded theory approach was conducted concurrently with data collection to identify the point of thematic saturation, resulting in 35 interviews being completed. Analyses examine differences in perceptions of demands and resources as they relate to perceived team diversity. Preliminary results suggest that high-performing and low-performing teams differ in perceptions of the type and range of both demands and resources. The current research is likely to offer contributions to both theory and practice. The preliminary findings suggest there is a range of demands and resources which vary between high and low-performing teams, factors which may play an important role in team effectiveness research going forward. Findings may assist in explaining some of the more complex interactions between factors experienced in the team environment, making further progress towards understanding the intricacies of why only some teams achieve high-performance status.

Keywords: diversity, high-performing teams, job demands and resources, team effectiveness

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Authors: Huzaifa Bilal

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Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia, Kurdjumov) is considered an economically important wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) pest worldwide and in South Africa. The RWA damages wheat plants and reduces annual yields by more than 10%. Even though pest management by pesticides and resistance breeding is an attractive option, chemicals can cause harm to the environment. Furthermore, the evolution of resistance-breaking aphid biotypes has out-paced the release of resistant cultivars. An alternative strategy to reduce the impact of aphid damage on plants, such as priming, which sensitizes plants to respond effectively to subsequent attacks, is necessary. In this study, wheat plants at the seedling and flag leaf stages were primed by salicylic acid and isolate representative of two races of the leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina Eriks. (Pt), before RWA (South African RWA biotypes 1 and 4) infestation. Randomized complete block design experiments were conducted in the greenhouse to study plant-pest interaction in primed and non-primed plants. Analysis of induced aphid damage indicated salicylic acid differentially primed wheat cultivars for increased resistance to the RWASA biotypes. At the seedling stage, all cultivars were primed for enhanced resistance to RWASA1, while at the flag leaf stage, only PAN 3111, SST 356 and Makalote were primed for increased resistance. The Puccinia triticina efficaciously primed wheat cultivars for excellent resistance to RWASA1 at the seedling and flag leaf stages. However, Pt failed to enhance the four Lesotho cultivars' resistance to RWASA4 at the seedling stage and PAN 3118 at the flag leaf stage. The induced responses at the seedling and flag leaf stages were positively correlated in all the treatments. Primed plants induced high activity of antioxidant enzymes like peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. High antioxidant activity indicates activation of resistant responses in primed plants (primed by salicylic acid and Puccina triticina). Isolates of avirulent Pt races can be a worthy priming agent for improved resistance to RWA infestation. Further confirmation of the priming effects needs to be evaluated at the field trials to investigate its application efficiency.

Keywords: Russian wheat aphis, salicylic acid, puccina triticina, priming

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Tewodros Abate Alemayehu, Abebe Getahun, Akewake Geremew, Dawit Solomon Demeke, John Recha, Dawit Solomon, Gebremedihin Ambaw, Fasil Dawit Moges

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of supplementation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) on growth performance, feed utilization, fatty acid profiles, hematology, and intestinal morphology of Chamo strain Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) fry reared at optimal temperature (28.62 ± 0.11 ⁰C). Nile tilapia fry (initial weight 1.45 ± 0.01g) were fed basal diet/control diet (Diet-T1), 6 g kg-¹ MOS supplemented diet (Diet-T2), 4 mg ZnO-NPs supplemented diet (Diet-T3), 4 mg ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet (Diet-T4), a combination of 6 g kg-¹ MOS and 4 mg ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet (Diet-T5) and combination of 6 g kg-¹ MOS and 4 mg ZnO-NPs supplemented diet (Diet-T6). Randomly, duplicate aquariums for each diet were assigned and hand-fed to apparent satiation three times daily (08:00, 12:00, and 16:00) for 12 weeks. Fish fed MOS, ZnO-NPs, and a combination of MOS and ZnO-Bulk supplemented diet had higher weight gain, Daily Growth Rate (DGR), and Specific Growth Rate (SGR) than fish fed the basal diet and other feeding groups, although the effect was not significant. According to the GC analysis, Nile tilapia was supplemented with 6 g kg-¹ MOS, 4 mg ZnO-NPs, or a combination of ZnO-NPs, and MOS showed the highest content of EPA, DHA, and higher ratios of PUFA/SFA than other feeding groups. Mean villi length in the proximal and middle portion of the Nile tilapia intestine was affected significantly (p<0.05) by diet. Fish fed Diet-T2 and Diet-T3 had significantly higher villi lengths in the proximal and middle portions of the intestine compared to other feeding groups. The inclusion of additives significantly improved goblet numbers at the proximal, middle, and distal portions of the intestine. Supplementation of additives had also improved some hematological parameters compared with control groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of additives MOS and ZnO-NPs could confer benefits on growth performance, fatty acid profiles, hematology, and intestinal morphology of Chamo strain Nile tilapia.

Keywords: chamo strain nile tilapia, fatty acid profile, hematology, intestinal morphology, MOS, ZnO-Bulk, ZnO-NPs

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Juergen Orasche, Vesta Kohlmeier, George C. Dragan, Gert Jakobi, Patricia Forbes, Ralf Zimmermann

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Underground mining poses a difficult environment for both man and machines. At more than 1000 meters underneath the surface of the earth, ores and other mineral resources are still gained by conventional and motorised mining. Adding to the hazards caused by blasting and stone-chipping, the working conditions are best described by the high temperatures of 35-40°C and high humidity, at low air exchange rates. Separate ventilation shafts lead fresh air into a mine and others lead expended air back to the surface. This is essential for humans and machines working deep underground. Nevertheless, mines are widely ramified. Thus the air flow rate at the far end of a tunnel is sensed to be close to zero. In recent years, conventional mining was supplemented by mining with heavy diesel machines. These very flat machines called Load Haul Dump (LHD) vehicles accelerate and ease work in areas favourable for heavy machines. On the other hand, they emit non-filtered diesel exhaust, which constitutes an occupational hazard for the miners. Combined with a low air exchange, high humidity and inorganic dust from the mining it leads to 'black smog' underneath the earth. This work focuses on the air quality in mines employing LHDs. Therefore we performed personal sampling (samplers worn by miners during their work), stationary sampling and aethalometer (Microaeth MA200, Aethlabs) measurements in a platinum mine in around 1000 meters under the earth’s surface. We compared areas of high diesel exhaust emission with areas of conventional mining where no diesel machines were operated. For a better assessment of health risks caused by air pollution we applied a separated gas-/particle-sampling tool (or system), with first denuder section collecting intermediate VOCs. These multi-channel silicone rubber denuders are able to trap IVOCs while allowing particles ranged from 10 nm to 1 µm in diameter to be transmitted with an efficiency of nearly 100%. The second section is represented by a quartz fibre filter collecting particles and adsorbed semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC). The third part is a graphitized carbon black adsorber – collecting the SVOCs that evaporate from the filter. The compounds collected on these three sections were analyzed in our labs with different thermal desorption techniques coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). VOCs and IVOCs were measured with a Shimadzu Thermal Desorption Unit (TD20, Shimadzu, Japan) coupled to a GCMS-System QP 2010 Ultra with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Shimadzu). The GC was equipped with a 30m, BP-20 wax column (0.25mm ID, 0.25µm film) from SGE (Australia). Filters were analyzed with In-situ derivatization thermal desorption gas chromatography time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (IDTD-GC-TOF-MS). The IDTD unit is a modified GL sciences Optic 3 system (GL Sciences, Netherlands). The results showed black carbon concentrations measured with the portable aethalometers up to several mg per m³. The organic chemistry was dominated by very high concentrations of alkanes. Typical diesel engine exhaust markers like alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected as well as typical lubrication oil markers like hopanes.

Keywords: diesel emission, personal sampling, aethalometer, mining

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Authors: Newton Muhury, Armando A. Apan, Tek Maraseni

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This study modelled the relationships between vegetation response and available water below the soil surface using the Terra’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) generated Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and soil water content (SWC) data. The Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) interface known as ArcSWAT was used in ArcGIS for the groundwater analysis. The SWAT model was calibrated and validated in SWAT-CUP software using 10 years (2001-2010) of monthly streamflow data. The average Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency during the calibration and validation was 0.54 and 0.51, respectively, indicating that the model performances were good. Twenty years (2001-2020) of monthly MODIS NDVI data for three different types of vegetation (forest, shrub, and grass) and soil water content for 43 sub-basins were analysed using the WEKA, machine learning tool with a selection of two supervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). The modelling results show that different types of vegetation response and soil water content vary in the dry and wet season. For example, the model generated high positive relationships (r=0.76, 0.73, and 0.81) between the measured and predicted NDVI values of all vegetation in the study area against the groundwater flow (GW), soil water content (SWC), and the combination of these two variables, respectively, during the dry season. However, these relationships were reduced by 36.8% (r=0.48) and 13.6% (r=0.63) against GW and SWC, respectively, in the wet season. On the other hand, the model predicted a moderate positive relationship (r=0.63) between shrub vegetation type and soil water content during the dry season, which was reduced by 31.7% (r=0.43) during the wet season. Our models also predicted that vegetation in the top location (upper part) of the sub-basin is highly responsive to GW and SWC (r=0.78, and 0.70) during the dry season. The results of this study indicate the study region is suitable for seasonal crop production in dry season. Moreover, the results predicted that the growth of vegetation in the top-point location is highly dependent on groundwater flow in both dry and wet seasons, and any instability or long-term drought can negatively affect these floodplain vegetation communities. This study has enriched our knowledge of vegetation responses to groundwater in each season, which will facilitate better floodplain vegetation management.

Keywords: ArcSWAT, machine learning, floodplain vegetation, MODIS NDVI, groundwater

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian

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COVID-19, which began in December 2019, uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter and spread through the cells. ACE2 mRNA is present in almost every organ, including nasopharynx, lung, as well as the brain. Ports of entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the central nervous system (CNS) may include arterial circulation, while viremia is remarkable. However, it is imperious to develop neurological symptoms evaluation CSF analysis in patients with COVID-19, but theoretically, ACE2 receptors are expressed in cerebellar cells and may be a target for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain. Recent evidence agrees that SARS-CoV-2 can impact the brain through direct and indirect injury. Two biomarkers for CNS injury, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light chain (NFL) detected in the plasma of patients with COVID-19. NFL, an axonal protein expressed in neurons, is related to axonal neurodegeneration, and GFAP is over-expressed in CNS inflammation. GFAP cytoplasmic accumulation causes Schwan cells to misfunction, so affects myelin generation, reduces neuroskeletal support over NfLs during CNS inflammation, and leads to axonal degeneration. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which extensively over-express due to interleukin storm during COVID-19 inflammation, regulates gene expression, as well as GFAP through STAT molecular pathway. IL-6 also impresses the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/STAT/smads pathway. The PI3K/ protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is the main modulator upstream of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and alterations in this pathway are common in neurodegenerative diseases. Most neurodegenerative diseases show a disruption of autophagic function and display an abnormal increase in protein aggregation that promotes cellular death. Therefore, induction of autophagy has been recommended as a rational approach to help neurons clear abnormal protein aggregates and survive. The mTOR is a major regulator of the autophagic process and is regulated by cellular stressors. The mTORC1 pathway and mTORC2, as complementary and important elements in mTORC1 signaling, have become relevant in the regulation of the autophagic process and cellular survival through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway.

Keywords: mTORC1, COVID-19, PI3K, autophagy, neurodegeneration

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: T. Sarat Chandra, M. Maneesh Kumar, S. N. Mudliar, V. S. Chauhan, S. Mukherji, R. Sarada

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The life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel production from freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus cultivated in open raceway pond is performed. Various scenarios for biodiesel production were simulated using primary and secondary data. The parameters varied in the modelled scenarios were related to biomass productivity, mode of culture mixing and type of energy source. The process steps included algae cultivation in open raceway ponds, harvesting by chemical flocculation, dewatering by mechanical drying option (MDO) followed by extraction, reaction and purification. Anaerobic digestion of defatted algal biomass (DAB) for biogas generation is considered as a co-product allocation and the energy derived from DAB was thereby used in the upstream of the process. The scenarios were analysed for energy demand, emissions and environmental impacts within the boundary conditions grounded on "cradle to gate" inventory. Across all the Scenarios, cultivation via raceway pond was observed to be energy intensive process. The mode of culture mixing and biomass productivity determined the energy requirements of the cultivation step. Emissions to Freshwater were found to be maximum contributing to 93-97% of total emissions in all the scenarios. Global warming potential (GWP) was the found to be major environmental impact accounting to about 99% of total environmental impacts in all the modelled scenarios. It was noticed that overall emissions and impacts were directly related to energy demand and an inverse relationship was observed with biomass productivity. The geographic location of an energy source affected the environmental impact of a given process. The integration of defatted algal remnants derived electricity with the cultivation system resulted in a 2% reduction in overall energy demand. Direct biogas generation from microalgae post harvesting is also analysed. Energy surplus was observed after using part of the energy in upstream for biomass production. Results suggest biogas production from microalgae post harvesting as an environmentally viable and sustainable option compared to biodiesel production.

Keywords: biomass productivity, energy demand, energy source, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), microalgae, open raceway pond

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Wilfred Emmannuel Dzasu, Sani Usman Kunya, Inuwa Yusuf Mohammed, Moses Jonathan Gambo

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The research aimed at investigating and identifying the strategies for enhancing access to microfinance for housing provision in the informal sector of North East Nigeria, with a focus on addressing the critical issue of housing poverty and lack of access to affordable housing finance among low-income households in the informal sector. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed method design, combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. In the qualitative phase, 12 participants from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four selected states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba) were interviewed. The interviews were conducted using an interview guide with open-ended questions and were recorded with the consent of the respondents. In the quantitative phase, a survey strategy was adopted to collect data from 500 questionnaires distributed to informal sector workers (ISWs) in the study area. A total of 350 questionnaires were returned, representing a 70.0% response rate. The most preferred strategy for improving access to housing microfinance among ISWs is aggressive awareness of housing financing options by MFIs, with a mean score of 4.213; the most important strategy for improving access to housing microfinance among MFIs is close monitoring and adequate supervision of housing loan beneficiaries by MFIs, with a mean score of 4.675. The study identified several government-related strategies that are necessary for enhancing access to housing microfinance, including the provision of grants and subsidized intervention funds for housing, improvement in infrastructures to aid housing developments, and adequate measures for checking inflation/price fluctuation of building materials. The study also identified several MFI-related strategies that are necessary for enhancing access to housing microfinance, including deliberate expansion in the capital bases of MFIs, adequate training and capacity development of MFIs staff on relevant skills in housing micro-financing, and introduction of loan products that suit the incremental building needs of informal sector workers. Overall, the study highlights the need for a combination of government-related and MFI-related strategies to enhance access to microfinance for housing provision in the informal sector of North East Nigeria.

Keywords: finanace, microfinance, housing, North East Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 26

Authors: Alexander Zotov, Ilkin Osmanov, Emil Sakharov, Oleg Shelest, Aleksander Troitskiy, Robert Khabazov

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Objective: Thoracoscopic surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) includes two technologies in performing of operation. 1st strategy used is the AtriCure device (bipolar, nonirrigated, non clamping), 2nd strategy is- the Medtronic device (bipolar, irrigated, clamping). The study presents a comparative analysis of clinical outcomes of two strategies in thoracoscopic ablation of AF using AtriCure vs. Medtronic devices. Methods: In 2 center study, 123 patients underwent thoracoscopic ablation of AF for the period from 2016 to 2020. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group is represented by patients who applied the AtriCure device (N=63), and the second group is - the Medtronic device (N=60), respectively. Patients were comparable in age, gender, and initial severity of the condition. Among the patients, in group 1 were 65% males with a median age of 57 years, while in group 2 – 75% and 60 years, respectively. Group 1 included patients with paroxysmal form -14,3%, persistent form - 68,3%, long-standing persistent form – 17,5%, group 2 – 13,3%, 13,3% and 73,3% respectively. Median ejection fraction and indexed left atrial volume amounted in group 1 – 63% and 40,6 ml/m2, in group 2 - 56% and 40,5 ml/m2. In addition, group 1 consisted of 39,7% patients with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class II) and 4,8% with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class III), when in group 2 – 45% and 6,7%, respectively. Follow-up consisted of laboratory tests, chest Х-ray, ECG, 24-hour Holter monitor, and cardiopulmonary exercise test. Duration of freedom from AF, distant mortality rate, and prevalence of cerebrovascular events were compared between the two groups. Results: Exit block was achieved in all patients. According to the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications fraction of adverse events was 14,3% and 16,7% (1st group and 2nd group, respectively). Mean follow-up period in the 1st group was 50,4 (31,8; 64,8) months, in 2nd group - 30,5 (14,1; 37,5) months (P=0,0001). In group 1 - total freedom of AF was in 73,3% of patients, among which 25% had additional antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) therapy or catheter ablation (CA), in group 2 – 90% and 18,3%, respectively (for total freedom of AF P<0,02). At follow-up, the distant mortality rate in the 1st group was – 4,8%, and in the 2nd – no fatal events. Prevalence of cerebrovascular events was higher in the 1st group than in the 2nd (6,7% vs. 1,7% respectively). Conclusions: Despite the relatively shorter follow-up of the 2nd group in the study, applying the strategy using the Medtronic device showed quite encouraging results. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy in the long-term period.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, clamping, ablation, thoracoscopic surgery

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Reiko Yamamoto

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This paper reports on a joint research project in which a researcher in applied linguistics and elementary school teachers in Japan explored new ways to realize emotional synchrony in a classroom in childhood education. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a cross-curriculum of the first language (L1) and second language (L2) based on the concept of plurilingualism. This concept is common in Europe, and can-do statements are used in forming the standard of linguistic proficiency in any language; these are attributed to the action-oriented approach in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). CEFR has a basic tenet of language education: improving communicative competence. Can-do statements are classified into five categories based on the tenet: reading, writing, listening, speaking/ interaction, and speaking/ speech. The first approach of this research was to specify the linguistic proficiency of the children, who are still developing their L1. Elementary school teachers brainstormed and specified the linguistic proficiency of the children as the competency needed to synchronize with others – teachers or peers – physically and mentally. The teachers formed original can-do statements in language proficiency on the basis of the idea that emotional synchrony leads to understanding others in communication. The research objectives are to determine the effect of language education based on the newly developed curriculum and can-do statements. The participants of the experiment were 72 third-graders in Uji Elementary School, Japan. For the experiment, 17 items were developed from the can-do statements formed by the teachers and divided into the same five categories as those of CEFR. A can-do checklist consisting of the items was created. The experiment consisted of three steps: first, the students evaluated themselves using the can-do checklist at the beginning of the school year. Second, one year of instruction was given to the students in Japanese and English classes (six periods a week). Third, the students evaluated themselves using the same can-do checklist at the end of the school year. The results of statistical analysis showed an enhancement of linguistic proficiency of the students. The average results of the post-check exceeded that of the pre-check in 12 out of the 17 items. Moreover, significant differences were shown in four items, three of which belonged to the same category: speaking/ interaction. It is concluded that children can get to understand others’ minds through physical and emotional synchrony. In particular, emotional synchrony is what teachers should aim at in childhood education.

Keywords: elementary school education, emotional synchrony, language proficiency, sympathy with others

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Fatimah Abd Elghani, Raymonde Szargel, Vered Shani, Hazem Safory, Haya Hamza, Mor Savyon, Ruth Rott, Rina Bandopadhyay, Simone Engelender

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Background: PINK1 is a mitochondrial kinase mutated in some familial cases of Parkinson’s disease. Down regulation of PINK1 results in abnormal mitochondrial morphology and altered membrane potential. Although PINK1 has a predicted mitochondrial import sequence, it’s cellular, and submitochondrial localization remains unclear, in part because it is rapidly degraded. In this work, we investigated the mechanisms involved in PINK1 degradation and how this may affect PINK1 stability and function, with implications for mitochondrial function in PD. In addition, pharmacological inhibition of proteasome activity was shown to lead to PINK1 accumulation, indicating that PINK1 degradation depends on the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Methods: Using co-immunoprecipitation assays, we identified E3 ubiquitin ligase SIAH1 as a PINK1-interacting protein in HEK293 cells as well as on rat brain tissues. In addition, we determined the effect of SIAH 1, SIAH2 and Parkin on PINK1 steady-state levels by Western blot analysis, and checked their possibility to ubiquitinate and mediate PINK1 degradation through the proteasome carried out in vivo ubiquitination experiments. Results: We have obtained results showing that SIAH-1 interacts with and ubiquitinates PINK1. The ubiquitination promoted by SIAH-1 leads to the proteasomal degradation of PINK1. We confirmed these findings by knocking down SIAH-1 and observing important accumulation of PINK1 in cells. Besides, we found that SIAH-1 decreases PINK1 steady-state levels but not the E3 ligase Parkin. We also investigated the interaction of SIAH-1 with PINK1 disease mutants and its ability to promote their ubiquitination and degradation. Although, no clear difference in the ability of SIAH-1 to promote the degradation of PINK1 disease mutants was observed. It is possible that dysfunction of proteasomal activity in the disease may lead to the accumulation and aggregation of ubiquitinated PINK1 in patients with PINK1 mutations, with possible implications to the pathogenesis of PD. Conclusions: Here, we demonstrated that SIAH-1 ubiquitinates and promotes the degradation of PINK1. In addition, SIAH-1 represents now a target that may help the improvement of mitophagy in PD. Further investigations needed to understand how mitophagy is regulated by PINK1-SIAH-1 axis to provide targets for future therapeutics.

Keywords: PD, Parkinson's disease, PINK1, PTEN-induced kinase1, SIAH, seven in absentia homolog, SN, substantia nigra

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Beloulou Mohamed Lamine, Bouhouf Attef, Meliani Walid, Sellami Dalila, Lamara Abdelhak

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Introduction: Post-surgical chronic pain (PSCP) is a pathological condition with a rather complex etiopathogenesis that extensively involves sensitization processes and neuronal damage. The neuropathic component of these pains is almost always present, with variable expression depending on the type of surgery. Objective: To assess the presumed beneficial effect of Regional Anesthesia-Analgesia Techniques (RAAT) on the development of post-surgical chronic neuropathic pain (PSCNP) in various surgical procedures. Patients and Methods: A comparative study involving 510 patients distributed across five surgical models (mastectomy, thoracotomy, hernioplasty, cholecystectomy, and major abdominal-pelvic surgery) and randomized into two groups: Group A (240) receiving conventional postoperative analgesia and Group B (270) receiving balanced analgesia, including the implementation of a Regional Anesthesia-Analgesia Technique (RAAT). These patients were longitudinally followed over a 6-month period, with post-surgical chronic neuropathic pain (PSCNP) defined by a Neuropathic Pain Score DN2≥ 3. Comparative measurements through univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify associations between the development of PSCNP and certain predictive factors, including the presumed preventive impact (protective effect) of RAAT. Results: At the 6th month post-surgery, 419 patients were analyzed (Group A= 196 and Group B= 223). The incidence of PSCNP was 32.2% (n=135). Among these patients with chronic pain, the prevalence of neuropathic pain was 37.8% (95% CI: [29.6; 46.5]), with n=51/135. It was significantly lower in Group B compared to Group A, with respective percentages of 31.4% vs. 48.8% (p-value = 0.035). The most significant differences were observed in breast and thoracopulmonary surgeries. In a multiple regression analysis, two predictors of PSCNP were identified: the presence of preoperative pain at the surgical site as a risk factor (OR: 3.198; 95% CI [1.326; 7.714]) and RAAT as a protective factor (OR: 0.408; 95% CI [0.173; 0.961]). Conclusion: The neuropathic component of PSCNP can be observed in different types of surgeries. Regional analgesia included in a multimodal approach to postoperative pain management has proven to be effective for acute pain and seems to have a preventive impact on the development of PSCNP and its neuropathic nature or component, particularly in surgeries that are more prone to chronicization.

Keywords: chronic postsurgical pain, postsurgical chronic neuropathic pain, regional anesthesia and analgesia techniques (RAAT), neuropathic pain score dn2, preventive impact

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Authors: Siriwan Chatmaneerungcharoen

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An emerging body of ‘21st century skills’-such as adaptability, complex communication skills, technology skills and the ability to solve non-routine problems--are valuable across a wide range of jobs in the national economy. Within the Thai context, a focus on the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is integrated into Science Education. Thai science education has advocated infusing 21st century skills and Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into the school curriculum and several educational levels have launched such efforts. Therefore, developing science teachers to have proper knowledge is the most important factor to success of the goals. The purposes of this study were to develop 40 Cooperative Science teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and to develop Professional Development Model integrated with Co-teaching Model and Coaching System (Co-TPACK). TPACK is essential to career development for teachers. Forty volunteer In-service teachers who were science cooperative teachers participated in this study for 2 years. Data sources throughout the research project consisted of teacher refection, classroom observations, Semi-structure interviews, Situation interview, questionnaires and document analysis. Interpretivist framework was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that at the beginning, the teachers understood only the meaning of Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy but they did not know how to integrate the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into their science classrooms. Mostly, they preferred to use lecture based teaching and experimental teaching styles. While the Co- TPACK was progressing, the teachers had blended their teaching styles and learning evaluation methods. Co-TPACK consists of 3 cycles (Student Teachers’ Preparation Cycle, Cooperative Science Teachers Cycle, Collaboration cycle (Co-teaching, Co-planning, and Co-Evaluating and Coaching System)).The Co-TPACK enhances the 40 cooperative science teachers, student teachers and university supervisor to exchange their knowledge and experience on teaching science. There are many channels that they used for communication including online. They have used more Phuket context-integrated lessons, technology-integrated teaching and Learning that can explicit Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. Their sustained development is shown in their lesson plans and teaching practices.

Keywords: technological pedagogical content knowledge, philosophy of sufficiency economy, professional development, coaching system

Procedia PDF Downloads 464

Authors: B. Nair, S. Singh

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Oral health behaviors such as dietary preferences and tooth brushing are acquired during a child’s primary socialization period yet many oral health promotion interventions are implemented without taking into account the role and impact of parental influence in supporting healthy oral health behaviors. The aim and objective of this study was to determine the relationship between parental income and level of education with knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of oral health care practices. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional and exploratory, and data collection occurred in two phases. Phase 1 comprised of a self-administered questionnaire. The sample consisted of parents of 313 Grade 1 learners aged between 5-6 years old attending one of twelve selected public primary schools in the Chatsworth Circuit, Durban, South Africa. Phase 2 comprised of focus group discussions held at 5 purposively selected schools. Data collection comprised of a semi-structured face-to-face group interview with the objective of obtaining a deeper understanding of parental knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of dental caries. Results and Discussion: Almost 56% of participants earned a monthly income of less than R6000 (600 US dollars). Nearly three quarters (77.5%) of participants indicated that they did not have medical aid/insurance scheme. More than three-quarters of the participants (76.6%) identified diet as being the primary cause of decayed teeth. More than half of the study sample (56.1%) indicated that milk teeth were important and that rotten teeth (74.6%) could affect the child’s health. Almost half (49.8%) of participants reported that “bad teeth” were inherited. With more than two-thirds of the participants (77.7%), having at most a high school education, there was a correlation between the level of the caregiver’s education and the oral health care of the child. The analysis of the correlation between a child having decayed teeth and income (p=.007); and the manner in which the income is received (p=.003) was statistically significant. The results indicate that more effort needs to be placed in understanding parental knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards dental caries. Parental level of education, income and oral health literacy is shown to be related to attitudes, and perceptions towards dental caries and its subsequent preventive measures. These findings have important implications for oral health planning at community and facility-based levels.

Keywords: oral health prevention, parental education, dental caries, attitudes and perceptions

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: Natalia Kalinowska

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The adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation, (GDPR) finished the four-year work of the European Commission in this area in the European Union. Considering far-reaching changes, which will be applied by GDPR, the European legislator envisaged two-year transitional period. Member states and companies have to prepare for a new regulation until 25 of May 2018. The idea, which becomes a new look at an attitude to data protection in the European Union is risk-based approach. So far, as a result of implementation of Directive 95/46/WE, in many European countries (including Poland) there have been adopted very particular regulations, specifying technical and organisational security measures e.g. Polish implementing rules indicate even how long password should be. According to the new approach from May 2018, controllers and processors will be obliged to apply security measures adequate to level of risk associated with specific data processing. The risk in GDPR should be interpreted as the likelihood of a breach of the rights and freedoms of the data subject. According to Recital 76, the likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject should be determined by reference to the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing. GDPR does not indicate security measures which should be applied – in recitals there are only examples such as anonymization or encryption. It depends on a controller’s decision what type of security measures controller considered as sufficient and he will be responsible if these measures are not sufficient or if his identification of risk level is incorrect. Data protection regulation indicates few levels of risk. Recital 76 indicates risk and high risk, but some lawyers think, that there is one more category – low risk/now risk. Low risk/now risk data processing is a situation when it is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. GDPR mentions types of data processing when a controller does not have to evaluate level of risk because it has been classified as „high risk” processing e.g. processing on a large scale of special categories of data, processing with using new technologies. The methodology will include analysis of legal regulations e.g. GDPR, the Polish Act on the Protection of personal data. Moreover: ICO Guidelines and articles concerning risk based approach in GDPR. The main conclusion is that an appropriate risk assessment is a key to keeping data safe and avoiding financial penalties. On the one hand, this approach seems to be more equitable, not only for controllers or processors but also for data subjects, but on the other hand, it increases controllers’ uncertainties in the assessment which could have a direct impact on incorrect data protection and potential responsibility for infringement of regulation.

Keywords: general data protection regulation, personal data protection, privacy protection, risk based approach

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Authors: Xiaoyu Sun

Abstract:

In recent years, the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has extensively promoted medicine, pharmaceutical, and other related fields. The medical research and development of artificial intelligence by scientific and commercial organizations are on the fast track. The ethics review is one of the critical procedures of registration to get the products approved and launched. However, the SOPs for ethics review is not enough to guide the healthy and rapid development of artificial intelligence in healthcare in China. Ethical Review Measures for Biomedical Research Involving Human Beings was enacted by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (NHC) on December 1st, 2016. However, from a legislative design perspective, it was neither updated timely nor in line with the trends of AI international development. Therefore, it was great that NHC published a consultation paper on the updated version on March 16th, 2021. Based on the most updated laws and regulations in the States and EU, and in-depth-interviewed 11 subject matter experts in China, including lawmakers, regulators, and key members of ethics review committees, heads of Regulatory Affairs in SaMD industry, and data scientists, several suggestions were proposed on top of the updated version. Although the new version indicated that the Ethics Review Committees need to be created by National, Provincial and individual institute levels, the review authorities of different levels were not clarified. The suggestion is that the precise scope of review authorities for each level should be identified based on Risk Analysis and Management Model, such as the complicated leading technology, gene editing, should be reviewed by National Ethics Review Committees, it will be the job of individual institute Ethics Review Committees to review and approve the clinical study with less risk such as an innovative cream to treat acne. Furthermore, to standardize the research and development of artificial intelligence in healthcare in the age of AI, more clear guidance should be given to data security in the layers of data, algorithm, and application in the process of ethics review. In addition, transparency and responsibility, as two of six principles in the Rome Call for AI Ethics, could be further strengthened in the updated version. It is the shared goal among all countries to manage well and develop AI to benefit human beings. Learned from the other countries who have more learning and experience, China could be one of the most advanced countries in artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Keywords: biomedical research involving human beings, data security, ethics committees, ethical review, medical artificial intelligence

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