Search results for: case study one

Authors: Shan Zhang, Peter Suechting

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Predicting trade patterns is critical to decision-making in public and private domains, especially in the current context of trade disputes among major economies. In the past, U.S. recycling has relied heavily on strong demand for recyclable materials overseas. However, starting in 2017, a series of new recycling policies (bans and higher inspection standards) was enacted by multiple countries that were the primary importers of recyclables from the U.S. prior to that point. As the global trade flow of recycling shifts, some new importers, mostly developing countries in South and Southeast Asia, have been overwhelmed by the sheer quantities of scrap materials they have received. As the leading exporter of recyclable materials, the U.S. now has a pressing need to build its recycling industry domestically. With respect to the global trade in scrap materials used for recycling, the interest in this paper is (1) predicting how the export of recyclable materials from the U.S. might vary over time, and (2) predicting how international trade flows for recyclables might change in the future. Focusing on three major recyclable materials with a history of trade, this study uses data-driven and machine learning (ML) algorithms---supervised (shrinkage and tree methods) and unsupervised (neural network method)---to decipher the international trade pattern of recycling. Forecasting the potential trade values of recyclables in the future could help importing countries, to which those materials will shift next, to prepare related trade policies. Such policies can assist policymakers in minimizing negative environmental externalities and in finding the optimal amount of recyclables needed by each country. Such forecasts can also help exporting countries, like the U.S understand the importance of healthy domestic recycling industry. The preliminary result suggests that gravity models---in addition to particular selection macroeconomic predictor variables--are appropriate predictors of the total export value of recyclables. With the inclusion of variables measuring aspects of the political conditions (trade tariffs and bans), predictions show that recyclable materials are shifting from more policy-restricted countries to less policy-restricted countries in international recycling trade. Those countries also tend to have high manufacturing activities as a percentage of their GDP.

Keywords: environmental economics, machine learning, recycling, international trade

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Authors: Ochuko K. Overen, Edson L. Meyer

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Uncontrolled heat transfer between the inner and outer space of low-cost housings through the thermal envelope result in indoor thermal discomfort. As a result, an excessive amount of energy is consumed for space heating and cooling. Thermo-optical properties are the ability of paints to reduce the rate of heat transfer through the thermal envelope. The aim of this study is to analyze the thermal performance of a low-cost house with its walls inner surface coated with transparent infrared reflective paint. The thermo-optical properties of the paint were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy/ Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and thermal photographic technique. Meteorological indoor and ambient parameters such as; air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction of a low-cost house in Golf-course settlement, South Africa were monitored. The monitoring period covers both winter and summer period before and after coating. The thermal performance of the coated walls was evaluated using time lag and decrement factor. The SEM image shows that the coat is transparent to light. The presence of Al as Al2O and other elements were revealed by the EDX spectrum. Before coating, the average decrement factor of the walls in summer was found to be 0.773 with a corresponding time lag of 1.3 hours. In winter, the average decrement factor and corresponding time lag were 0.467 and 1.6 hours, respectively. After coating, the average decrement factor and corresponding time lag were 0.533 and 2.3 hour, respectively in summer. In winter, an average decrement factor of 1.120 and corresponding time lag of 3 hours was observed. The findings show that the performance of the coats is influenced by the seasons. With a 74% reduction in decrement factor and 1.4 time lag increase in winter, it implies that the coatings have more ability to retain heat within the inner space of the house than preventing heat flow into the house. In conclusion, the results have shown that transparent infrared reflective paint has the ability to reduce the propagation of heat flux through building walls. Hence, it can serve as a remedy to the poor thermal performance of low-cost housings in South Africa.

Keywords: energy efficiency, decrement factor, low-cost housing, paints, rural development, thermal comfort, time lag

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Authors: Priyanka Sharma, Manoj Jais, Poonam Gupta, Suraiya K. Ansari, Ravinder Kaur

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Introduction: As much as the Health Care is necessary for the population, so is the management of the Biomedical waste produced. Biomedical waste is a wide terminology used for the waste material produced during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings and animals, in research or in the production or testing of biological products. Biomedical waste management is a chain of processes from the point of generation of Biomedical waste to its final disposal in the correct and proper way, assigned for that particular type of waste. Any deviation from the said processes leads to improper disposal of Biomedical waste which itself is a major health hazard. Proper segregation of Biomedical waste is the key for Biomedical Waste management. Improper disposal of BMW can cause sharp injuries which may lead to HIV, Hepatitis-B virus, Hepatitis-C virus infections. Therefore, proper disposal of BMW is of upmost importance. Health care establishments segregate the Biomedical waste and dispose it as per the Biomedical waste management rules in India. Objectives: This study was done to observe the current trends of Biomedical waste generated in a tertiary care Hospital in Delhi. Methodology: Biomedical waste management rounds were conducted in the hospital wards. Relevant details were collected and analysed and sites with maximum Biomedical waste generation were identified. All the data was cross checked with the commons collection site. Results: The total amount of waste generated in the hospital during January 2014 till December 2014 was 6,39,547 kg, of which 70.5% was General (non-hazardous) waste and the rest 29.5% was BMW which consisted highly infectious waste (12.2%), disposable plastic waste (16.3%) and sharps (1%). The maximum quantity of Biomedical waste producing sites were Obstetrics and Gynaecology wards with a total Biomedical waste production of 45.8%, followed by Paediatrics, Surgery and Medicine wards with 21.2 %, 4.6% and 4.3% respectively. The maximum average Biomedical waste generated was by Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward with 0.7 kg/bed/day, followed by Paediatrics, Surgery and Medicine wards with 0.29, 0.28 and 0.18 kg/bed/day respectively. Conclusions: Hospitals should pay attention to the sites which produce a large amount of BMW to avoid improper segregation of Biomedical waste. Also, induction and refresher training Program of Biomedical waste management should be conducted to avoid improper management of Biomedical waste. Healthcare workers should be made aware of risks of poor Biomedical waste management.

Keywords: biomedical waste, biomedical waste management, hospital-tertiary care, New Delhi

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Authors: Atlal El-Assaad

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Viruses change with time through mutations and result in new variants that may persist or disappear. A Mutation refers to an actual change in the virus genetic sequence, and a variant is a viral genome that may contain one or more mutations. Critical mutations may cause the virus to be more transmissible, with high disease severity, and more vulnerable to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Thus, variants carrying such mutations may increase the risk to human health and are considered variants of concern (VOC). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - the contagious in humans, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that caused coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - has been studied thoroughly, and several variants were revealed across the world with their corresponding mutations. SARS-CoV-2 has four structural proteins, known as the S (spike), E (envelope), M (membrane), and N (nucleocapsid) proteins, but prior study and vaccines development focused on genetic mutations in the S protein due to its vital role in allowing the virus to attach and fuse with the membrane of a host cell. Specifically, subunit S1 catalyzes attachment, whereas subunit S2 mediates fusion. In this perspective, we studied all charged amino acid mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 viral spike protein S1 when bound to Antibody CC12.1 in a crystal structure and assessed the effect of different mutations. We generated all missense mutants of SARS-CoV-2 protein amino acids (AAs) within the SARS-CoV-2:CC12.1 complex model. To generate the family of mutants in each complex, we mutated every charged amino acid with all other charged amino acids (Lysine (K), Arginine (R), Glutamic Acid (E), and Aspartic Acid (D)) and studied the new binding of the complex after each mutation. We applied Poisson-Boltzmann electrostatic calculations feeding into free energy calculations to determine the effect of each mutation on binding. After analyzing our data, we identified charged amino acids keys for binding. Furthermore, we validated those findings against published experimental genetic data. Our results are the first to propose in silico potential life-threatening mutations of SARS-CoV-2 beyond the present mutations found in the five common variants found worldwide.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, variant, ionic amino acid, protein-protein interactions, missense mutation, AESOP

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Authors: Babajide S. Adeokin, Oguntoyinbo O. Kazeem

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The not so pleasing state of the nation's quality of education has been a major area of research. Many researchers have looked into various aspects of the educational system and organizational structure in relation to the quality of service delivery of the staff members. However, there is paucity of research in areas relating to the sense of competence and commitment in relation to leadership styles. Against this backdrop, this study investigated the impact of leadership style and sense of competence on the performance of post-primary school teachers in Oyo state Nigeria. Data were generated across public secondary schools in the city using survey design method. Ibadan as a metropolis has eleven local government areas contained in it. A systematic random sampling technique of the eleven local government areas in Ibadan was done and five local government areas were selected. The selected local government areas are Akinyele, Ibadan North, Ibadan North-East, Ibadan South and Ibadan South-West. Data were obtained from a range of two – three public secondary schools selected in each of the local government areas mentioned above. Also, these secondary schools are a representation of the variations in the constructs under consideration across the Ibadan metropolis. Categorically, all secondary school teachers in Ibadan were clustered into selected schools in those found across the five local government areas. In all, a total of 272 questionnaires were administered to public secondary school teachers, while 241 were returned. Findings revealed that transformational leadership style makes room for job commitment when compared with transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles. Teachers with a high sense of competence are more likely to demonstrate more commitment to their job than others with low sense of competence. We recommend that, it is important an assessment is made of the leadership styles employed by principals and school administrators. This guides administrators and principals in to having a clear, comprehensive knowledge of the style they currently adopt in the management of the staff and the school as a whole; and know where to begin the adjustment process from. Also to make an impact on student achievement, being attentive to teachers’ levels of commitment may be an important aspect of leadership for school principals.

Keywords: Ibadan, leadership style, sense of competence, teachers, public secondary schools

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Authors: Badawia Ibrahim, Iman Hussein, Samar El Sheikh, Fatma Abou Elkasem, Hazem Abo Ismael

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Background: Response of breast carcinoma to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) varies regarding many factors including hormonal receptor status. Breast cancer is a heterogenous disease with different outcomes, hence a need arises for new markers predicting the outcome of NAC especially for the triple negative group when estrogen, progesterone receptors and Her2/neu are negative. FOXP3 is a promising target with unclear role. Aim: To examine the value of FOXP3 expression in locally advanced triple negative breast cancer tumoral cells as well as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and to elucidate its relation to the extent of NAC response. Material and Methods: Forty five cases of immunohistochemically confirmed to be triple negative breast carcinoma were evaluated for NAC (Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide AC x 4 cycles + Paclitaxel x 12 weeks, patients with ejection fraction less than 60% received Taxotere or Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, Fluorouracil CMF) response in both tumour and lymph nodes status according to Miller & Payne's and Sataloff's systems. FOXP3 expression in tumor as well as TILs evaluated in the pretherapy biopsies was correlated with NAC response in breast tumor and lymph nodes as well as other clinicopathological factors. Results: Breast tumour cells showed FOXP3 positive cytoplasmic expression in (42%) of cases. High FOXP3 expression percentage was detected in (47%) of cases. High infiltration by FOXP3+TILs was detected in (49%) of cases. Positive FOXP3 expression was associated with negative lymph node metastasis. High FOXP3 expression percentage and high infiltration by FOXP3+TILs were significantly associated with complete therapy response in axillary lymph nodes. High FOXP3 expression in tumour cells was associated with high infiltration by FOXP3+TILs. Conclusion: This result may provide evidence that FOXP3 marker is a good prognostic and predictive marker for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) indicated for neoadjuvant chemotherapy and can be used for stratifications of TNBC cases indicated for NAC. As well, this study confirmed the fact that the tumour cells and the surrounding microenvironment interact with each other and the tumour microenvironment can influence the treatment outcomes of TNBC.

Keywords: breast cancer, FOXP3 expression, prediction of neoadjuvant chemotherapy effect, triple negative

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Authors: Debasis Mondal, Chandan Datta, S. K. Sazim

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Quantum coherence is a key resource like entanglement and discord in quantum information theory. Wigner- Yanase skew information, which was shown to be the quantum part of the uncertainty, has recently been projected as an observable measure of quantum coherence. On the other hand, the quantum speed limit has been established as an important notion for developing the ultra-speed quantum computer and communication channel. Here, we show that both of these quantities are related. Thus, cast coherence as a resource to control the speed of quantum communication. In this work, we address three basic and fundamental questions. There have been rigorous attempts to achieve more and tighter evolution time bounds and to generalize them for mixed states. However, we are yet to know (i) what is the ultimate limit of quantum speed? (ii) Can we measure this speed of quantum evolution in the interferometry by measuring a physically realizable quantity? Most of the bounds in the literature are either not measurable in the interference experiments or not tight enough. As a result, cannot be effectively used in the experiments on quantum metrology, quantum thermodynamics, and quantum communication and especially in Unruh effect detection et cetera, where a small fluctuation in a parameter is needed to be detected. Therefore, a search for the tightest yet experimentally realisable bound is a need of the hour. It will be much more interesting if one can relate various properties of the states or operations, such as coherence, asymmetry, dimension, quantum correlations et cetera and QSL. Although, these understandings may help us to control and manipulate the speed of communication, apart from the particular cases like the Josephson junction and multipartite scenario, there has been a little advancement in this direction. Therefore, the third question we ask: (iii) Can we relate such quantities with QSL? In this paper, we address these fundamental questions and show that quantum coherence or asymmetry plays an important role in setting the QSL. An important question in the study of quantum speed limit may be how it behaves under classical mixing and partial elimination of states. This is because this may help us to choose properly a state or evolution operator to control the speed limit. In this paper, we try to address this question and show that the product of the time bound of the evolution and the quantum part of the uncertainty in energy or quantum coherence or asymmetry of the state with respect to the evolution operator decreases under classical mixing and partial elimination of states.

Keywords: completely positive trace preserving maps, quantum coherence, quantum speed limit, Wigner-Yanase Skew information

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Authors: Peter Park, Alfonso Ayala, Douglas Saeks, Jordan Miller, Carmen Flores, Karen Nelson

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Introduction Hip fractures account for more than 300,000 hospital admissions every year. Many present as fragility fractures in geriatric patients with multiple medical comorbidities. Standardized protocols for the multidisciplinary management of this patient population have been shown to improve patient outcomes. A hip fracture protocol was implemented at a Level I Trauma center with a focus on pre-operative medical optimization and early surgical care. This study evaluates the efficacy of that protocol, including the early transition period. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all patients ages 60 and older with isolated hip fractures who were managed surgically between 2020 and 2022. This included patients 1 year prior and 1 year following the implementation of a hip fracture protocol at a Level I Trauma center. Results 530 patients were identified: 249 patients were treated before, and 281 patients were treated after the protocol was instituted. There was no difference in mean age (p=0.35), gender (p=0.3), or Charlson Comorbidity Index (p=0.38) between the cohorts. Following the implementation of the protocol, there were observed increases in time to surgery (27.5h vs. 33.8h, p=0.01), hospital length of stay (6.3d vs. 9.7d, p<0.001), and ED LOS (5.1h vs. 6.2h, p<0.001). There were no differences in in-hospital mortality (2.01% pre vs. 3.20% post, p=0.39) and complication rates (25% pre vs 26% post, p=0.76). A trend towards improved outcomes was seen after the early transition period but failed to yield statistical significance. Conclusion Early medical management and surgical intervention are key determining factors affecting outcomes following fragility hip fractures. The implementation of a hip fracture protocol at this institution has not yet significantly affected these parameters. This could in part be due to the restrictions placed at this institution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the time to OR pre-and post-implementation was quicker than figures reported elsewhere in literature. Further longitudinal data will be collected to determine the final influence of this protocol. Significance/Clinical Relevance Given the increasing number of elderly people and the high morbidity and mortality associated with hip fractures in this population finding cost effective ways to improve outcomes in the management of these injuries has the potential to have enormous positive impact for both patients and hospital systems.

Keywords: hip fracture, geriatric, treatment algorithm, preoperative optimization

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Authors: Maria Lopez-Ibarra, Ana Velazquez-Wong, Lucelli Yañez-Gutierrez, Maria Araujo-Solis, Fabio Salamanca-Gomez, Alfonso Mendez-Tenorio, Haydeé Rosas-Vargas

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Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the most common congenital abnormalities. These conditions can occur as both an element of distinct chromosomal malformation syndromes or as non-syndromic forms. Their etiology is not fully understood. Genetic variants such copy number variants have been associated with CHD. The aim of our study was to analyze these genomic variants in peripheral blood from Mexican children diagnosed with non-syndromic CHD. We included 16 children with atrial and ventricular septal defects and 5 healthy subjects without heart malformations as controls. To exclude the most common heart disease-associated syndrome alteration, we performed a fluorescence in situ hybridization test to identify the 22q11.2, responsible for congenital heart abnormalities associated with Di-George Syndrome. Then, a microarray based comparative genomic hybridization was used to identify global copy number variants. The identification of copy number variants resulted from the comparison and analysis between our results and data from main genetic variation databases. We identified copy number variants gain in three chromosomes regions from pediatric patients, 4q13.2 (31.25%), 9q34.3 (25%) and 20q13.33 (50%), where several genes associated with cellular, biosynthetic, and metabolic processes are located, UGT2B15, UGT2B17, SNAPC4, SDCCAG3, PMPCA, INPP6E, C9orf163, NOTCH1, C20orf166, and SLCO4A1. In addition, after a hierarchical cluster analysis based on the fluorescence intensity ratios from the comparative genomic hybridization, two congenital heart disease groups were generated corresponding to children with atrial or ventricular septal defects. Further analysis with a larger sample size is needed to corroborate these copy number variants as possible biomarkers to differentiate between heart abnormalities. Interestingly, the 20q13.33 gain was present in 50% of children with these CHD which could suggest that alterations in both coding and non-coding elements within this chromosomal region may play an important role in distinct heart conditions.

Keywords: aCGH, bioinformatics, congenital heart diseases, copy number variants, fluorescence in situ hybridization

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Authors: Victoria G. Mountford-Brown

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The concept of the Entrepreneurial University and emphasis on higher education institutions as both hives of innovation and as producers of future innovators accord special significance to the role of academic researchers in future economic and social prosperity. Researcher development in the UK has embedded an emphasis or ‘enterprise lens’ on developing the capabilities of researchers to support a stable economy whilst providing solutions to societal challenges. However, the notion of the ‘entrepreneurial university’ and what that represents to many academics is met with tension and (dis)engagement in the premises of the ‘knowledge economy’ or ‘academic capitalism.’ Set in a landscape of UK higher education wherein the increasing emphasis on research impact, coupled with increasing competition for scarce funding, has created a ‘climate of performativity’. This research seeks to better understand the ways in which academic identities are (re)constructed in the everyday experiences of doctoral (PGR) and early career researchers (ECRs) as they navigate what is referred to by some as the ‘academic hunger games’. These daily pressures and high expectations of success are part of the identity work PGRs/ECRs undergo. This is often fraught with tension and struggles to adapt to the research environment suggesting a reason for imposter phenomenon to be rife in academia – particularly (but not exclusively) in the early stages of development. This pilot study involves qualitative semi-structured exploratory interviews with a mixed gendered sample of participants from a variety of subject disciplines who have taken part in an intensive 3-day innovation and enterprise program for PGR and ECRs premised on developing personal and research impact. The research seeks to better understand the processes of identity formation of becoming academic and offers a commentary on the notions of ‘imposter phenomenon’ and the exchange and development of resources or capital needed to ‘play the game’ in academia in the context of the ‘entrepreneurial university’. It explores ongoing (re)constructions of what it means to be an academic and the different ways in which social identities may embody and challenge the development of entrepreneurial academic identities. As such, it aims to contribute to our understanding of the innovation ecosystem of academia and the prosperity of academic researchers.

Keywords: entreprenruial development, higher education, identities, researcher development

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Authors: Gizachew Mulugeta Manahelohe, Khidmet Safarovich Shikhaliev

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There has been a significant surge in interest in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds that contain hydroquinoline fragments. This surge can be attributed to the broad range of pharmaceutical and industrial applications that these compounds possess. The present study provides a comprehensive account of the synthesis of both linear and fused heterocyclic systems that incorporate hydroquinoline fragments. Furthermore, the pharmacological activity spectra of the synthesized compounds were assessed using the in silico method, employing the prediction of activity spectra of substances (PASS) program. Hydroquinoline nitriles 7 and 8 were prepared through the reaction of the corresponding hydroquinolinecarbaldehyde using a hydroxylammonium chloride/pyridine/toluene system and iodine in aqueous ammonia under ambient conditions, respectively. 2-Phenyl-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-ones 9a,b and 10a,b were synthesized via the condensation of compounds 5a,b and 6a,b with hippuric acid in acetic acid in 30–60% yield. When activated, 7-methylazolopyrimidines 11a and b were reacted with N-alkyl-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline-6-carbaldehydes 6a and b, and triazolo/pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-6-yl carboxylic acids 12a and b were obtained in 60–70% yield. The condensation of 7-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline 3 h with dimethylacetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and ethyl acetoacetate afforded cyclic products 16 and 17, respectively. The condensation reaction of 6-formyl-7-hydroxy-1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline 5e with methylene-active compounds such as ethyl cyanoacetate/dimethyl-3-oxopentanedioate/ethyl acetoacetate/diethylmalonate/Meldrum’s acid afforded 3-substituted coumarins containing dihydroquinolines 19 and 21. Pentacyclic coumarin 22 was obtained via the random condensation of malononitrile with 5e in the presence of a catalytic amount of piperidine in ethanol. The biological activities of the synthesized compounds were assessed using the PASS program. Based on the prognosis, compounds 13a, b, and 14 exhibited a high likelihood of being active as inhibitors of gluconate 2-dehydrogenase, as well as possessing antiallergic, antiasthmatic, and antiarthritic properties, with a probability value (Pa) ranging from 0.849 to 0.870. Furthermore, it was discovered that hydroquinoline carbonitriles 7 and 8 tended to act as effective progesterone antagonists and displayed antiallergic, antiasthmatic, and antiarthritic effects (Pa = 0.276–0.827). Among the hydroquinolines containing coumarin moieties, compounds 17, 19a, and 19c were predicted to be potent progesterone antagonists, with Pa values of 0.710, 0.630, and 0.615, respectively.

Keywords: heterocyclic compound, hydroquinoline, Vilsmeier–Haack formulation, quinolone

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Authors: Ghebremedhin Tsegay, Weldu Tesfagaber, Yuanmao Zhu, Xijun He, Wan Wang, Zhenjiang Zhang, Encheng Sun, Jinya Zhang, Yuntao Guan, Fang Li, Renqiang Liu, Zhigao Bu, Dongming Zhao*

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African swine fever (ASF) is a highly infectious viral disease of pigs, resulting in significant economic loss worldwide. As there is no approved vaccines and treatments, the control of ASF entirely depends on early diagnosis and culling of infected pigs. Thus, highly specific and sensitive diagnostic assays are required for accurate and early diagnosis of ASF virus (ASFV). Currently, only a few recombinant proteins have been tested and validated for use as reagents in ASF diagnostic assays. The most promising ones for ASFV antibody detection were p72, p30, p54, and pp62. So far, three ELISA kits based on these recombinant proteins have been commercialized. Due to the complex nature of the virus and variety forms of the disease, robust serodiagnostic assays are still required. ASFV p22 protein, encoded by KP177R gene, is located in the inner membrane of viral particle and appeared transiently in the plasma membrane early after virus infection. The p22 protein interacts with numerous cellular proteins, involved in processes of phagocytosis and endocytosis through different cellular pathways. However, p22 does not seem to be involved in virus replication or swine pathogenicity. In this study, E.coli expressed recombinant p22 protein was used to generate a monoclonal antibody (mAb), and its potential use for the development of blocking ELISA (bELISA) was evaluated. A total of 806 pig serum samples were tested to evaluate the bELISA. Acording the ROC (Reciever operating chracteristic) analysis, 100% sensitivity and 98.10% of specificity was recorded when the PI cut-off value was set at 47%. The novel assay was able to detect the antibodies as early as 9 days post infection. Finaly, a highly sensitive, specific and rapid novel p22-mAb based bELISA assay was developed, and optimized for detection of antibodies against genotype I and II ASFVs. It is a promising candidate for an early and acurate detection of the antibodies and is highly expected to have a valuable role in the containment and prevention of ASF.

Keywords: ASFV, blocking ELISA, diagnosis, monoclonal antibodies, sensitivity, specificity

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Authors: Samira Mehrabi

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Geriatric depression is a common late-life mental health disorder that increases morbidity and mortality. It has been shown that exercise is effective in alleviating symptoms of geriatric depression. However, inconsistencies across studies and lack of optimal dose-response of exercise for improving geriatric depression have made it challenging to draw solid conclusions on the effectiveness of exercise in late-life depression. Purpose: To further investigate the moderators of the effectiveness of exercise on geriatric depression across the current body of evidence. Methods: Based on the Arksey and O’Malley framework, an extensive search strategy was performed by exploring PubMed, Scopus, Sport Discus, PsycInfo, ERIC, and IBSS without limitations in the time frame. Eight systematic reviews with empirical results that evaluated the effect of exercise on depression among people aged ≥ 60 years were identified and their individual studies were screened for inclusion. One additional study was found through the hand searching of reference lists. After full-text screening and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 studies were retained for inclusion. Results: The review revealed high variability in characteristics of the exercise interventions and outcome measures. Sample characteristics, nature of comparators, main outcome assessment, and baseline severity of depression also varied notably. Mind-body and aerobic exercises were found to significantly reduce geriatric depression. However, results on the relationship between resistance training and improvements in geriatric depression were inconsistent, and results of the intensity-related antidepressant effects of exercise interventions were mixed. Extensive use of self-reported questionnaires for the main outcome assessment and lack of evidence on the relationship between depression severity and observed effects were of the other important highlights of the review. Conclusion: Several literature gaps were found regarding the potential effect modifiers of exercise and geriatric depression. While acknowledging the complexity of establishing recommendations on the exercise variables and geriatric depression, future studies are required to understand the interplay and threshold effect of exercise for treating geriatric depression.

Keywords: exercise, geriatric depression, healthy aging, older adults, physical activity intervention, scoping review

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Authors: Nashaat Mazrui, Oarabile Mogobe, Barbara Ngwenya, Ketlhatlogile Mosepele, Mangaliso Gondwe

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Over the last several decades, the world has seen a rapid increase in activities such as deforestation, agriculture, and energy use. Subsequently, trace elements are being deposited into our water bodies, where they can accumulate to toxic levels in aquatic organisms and can be transferred to humans through fish consumption. Thus, though fish is a good source of essential minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, it can also be a source of toxic elements. Monitoring trace elements in fish is important for the proper management of aquatic systems and the protection of human health. The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of trace elements in sediment and muscle tissues of Clarias gariepinus at Lake Ngami, in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, during low floods. The fish were bought from local fishermen, and samples of muscle tissue were acid-digested and analyzed for iron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, chromium, cadmium, lead, and arsenic using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Sediment samples were also collected and analyzed for the elements and for organic matter content. Results show that in all samples, iron was found in the greatest amount while cadmium was below the detection limit. Generally, the concentrations of elements in sediment were higher than in fish except for zinc and arsenic. While the concentration of zinc was similar in the two media, arsenic was almost 3 times higher in fish than sediment. To evaluate the risk to human health from fish consumption, the target hazard quotient (THQ) and cancer risk for an average adult in Botswana, sub-Saharan Africa, and riparian communities in the Okavango Delta was calculated for each element. All elements were found to be well below regulatory limits and do not pose a threat to human health except arsenic. The results suggest that other benthic feeding fish species could potentially have high arsenic levels too. This has serious implications for human health, especially riparian households to whom fish is a key component of food and nutrition security.

Keywords: Arsenic, African sharp tooth cat fish, Okavango delta, trace elements

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Authors: Bruna P. De Souza, Ricardo C. De Almeida

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In some cities in the State of Parana – Brazil and in other countries atmospheric bromeliads (Tillandsia spp - Bromeliaceae) are considered weeds in trees, electric power lines, satellite dishes and other artificial supports. In this study, a numerical model was developed to simulate the seed dispersal of the Tillandsia recurvata species by wind with the objective of evaluating seeds displacement in the city of Ponta Grossa – PR, Brazil, since it is considered that the region is already infested. The model simulates the dispersal of each individual seed integrating parameters from the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and the local wind, simulated by the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale atmospheric model for the 2012 to 2015 period. The dispersal model also incorporates the approximate number of bromeliads and source height data collected from most infested electric power lines. The seeds terminal velocity, which is an important input data but was not available in the literature, was measured by an experiment with fifty-one seeds of Tillandsia recurvata. Wind is the main dispersal agent acting on plumed seeds whereas atmospheric turbulence is a determinant factor to transport the seeds to distances beyond 200 meters as well as to introduce random variability in the seed dispersal process. Such variability was added to the model through the application of an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform to wind velocity components energy spectra based on boundary-layer meteorology theory and estimated from micrometeorological parameters produced by the WRF model. Seasonal and annual wind means were obtained from the surface wind data simulated by WRF for Ponta Grossa. The mean wind direction is assumed to be the most probable direction of bromeliad seed trajectory. Moreover, the atmospheric turbulence effect and dispersal distances were analyzed in order to identify likely regions of infestation around Ponta Grossa urban area. It is important to mention that this model could be applied to any species and local as long as seed’s biological data and meteorological data for the region of interest are available.

Keywords: atmospheric turbulence, bromeliad, numerical model, seed dispersal, terminal velocity, wind

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Authors: Ellen Dahl Gundersen, Berit Johannessen

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Introduction: Dementia and depression are common mental disorders of nursing home residents. The care of these residents consists of providing both physical, social and mental care. Too often, the physical needs are given priority, and municipal health services are urged to focus more on the patients mental and social needs. The presence of dogs may have positive impact on the mental health of nursing home residents by improving mood, social interaction and enjoyment of the visits. The voluntary organization Red Cross, has given priority to this subject by training and certifying dogs and owners (equipages), committed for regular visits at local nursing homes. Focus of this study: How do the dog owners and employees experience the presence of a dog equipage concerning the mental health of nursing home residents? Method: Individual interviews with 8-10 certified dog owners who are volunteers from Red Cross, contributing with regular visits at local nursing homes. Focus group interviews with 10 employees working in two different nursing homes. Preliminary results: Five to seven residents and one or two employees attended weekly dog equipage visits during a period of six months. The presence of an equipage seems to have made the residents calm and more social orientated with a lighter mood and better verbal expression. Some of the residents with dementia remembered the name of the dog from one week to another. The informants also reported positive outcome for the residents by their opportunity to give and get close through physical contact with a dog. Further, the presence of an equipage affected the atmosphere at the nursing home positively by promoting joy and initiating conversations about dogs. A conscious approach by the dog owners towards the residents seems to be of significance to this matter. The positive attitude and support from employees also seem to be of crucial importance for the maintenance of these visits. Conclusion: The presence of trained dog equipages in nursing homes seems to have had an overall positive impact on the mental health of residents. A conscious approach from the dog owners as well as positive support from employees seems to have a crucial impact on the success and maintenance of the visits. These findings correspond well to former research and can thereby give implications for more extended use of dogs as a mental health promoting initiative towards geriatric consumers of municipal health care services. Further research through larger studies is needed.

Keywords: animal assisted intervention, geriatric mental health, nursing home, resident

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Beyza Sukran Isik, Gokce Altin, Ipek Yalcinkaya, Evren Demircan, Asli Can Karaca, Beraat Ozcelik

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), is used as a food additive (spice), preservative and coloring agent in Asian countries, including China and South East Asia. It is also considered as a medicinal plant. Traditional Indian medicine evaluates turmeric powder for the treatment of biliary disorders, rheumatism, and sinusitis. It has rich polyphenol content. Turmeric has yellow color mainly because of the presence of three major pigments; curcumin 1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1, 6-heptadiene-3,5-dione), demethoxy-curcumin and bis demothoxy-curcumin. These curcuminoids are recognized to have high antioxidant activities. Curcumin is the major constituent of Curcuma species. Method: To prepare turmeric tea, 0.5 gram of turmeric powder was brewed with 250 ml of water at 90°C, 10 minutes. 500 grams of fresh turmeric washed and shelled prior to squeezing. Both turmeric tea and turmeric juice pass through 45 lm filters and stored at -20°C in the dark for further analyses. Curcumin was extracted from 20 grams of turmeric powder by 70 ml ethanol solution (95:5 ethanol/water v/v) in a water bath at 80°C, 6 hours. Extraction was contributed for 2 hours at the end of 6 hours by addition of 30 ml ethanol. Ethanol was removed by rotary evaporator. Remained extract stored at -20°C in the dark. Total phenolic content and phenolic profile were determined by spectrophotometric analysis and ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UFLC), respectively. Results: The total phenolic content of ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea were determined 50.72, 31.76 and 29.68 ppt, respectively. The ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea have been injected into UFLC and analyzed for curcumin contents. The curcumin content in ethanolic extract of turmeric, turmeric juice, and turmeric tea were 4067.4, 156.7 ppm and 1.1 ppm, respectively. Significance: Turmeric is known as a good source of curcumin. According to the results, it can be stated that its tea is not sufficient way for curcumin consumption. Turmeric juice can be preferred to turmeric tea for higher curcumin content. Ethanolic extract of turmeric showed the highest content of turmeric in both spectrophotometric and chromatographic analyses. Nonpolar solvents and carriers which have polar binding sites have to be considered for curcumin consumption due to its nonpolar nature.

Keywords: phenolic compounds, spectrophotometry, turmeric, UFLC

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Stacy Jarvis

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Databases such as JSTOR, RILM and WorldCat have been the main source and storage of literature in the music orb. The Reference Index to Music Literature is a bibliographic database of over 2.6 million citations to writings about music from over 70 countries. The Research Institute produces RILM for the Study of Music at the University of Buffalo. JSTOR is an e-library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Database JSTOR helps scholars find, utilise, and build upon a vast range of literature through a powerful teaching and research platform. Another database, WorldCat, is the world's biggest library catalogue, assisting scholars in finding library materials online. An evaluation of these databases in the music sphere is conducted by looking into the description and intended use and finding similarities and differences among them. Through comparison, it is found that these aim to serve different purposes, though they have the same goal of providing and storing literature. Also, since each database has different parts of literature that it majors on, the intended use of the three databases is evaluated. This can be found in the description, scope, and intended uses section. These areas are crucial to the research as it addresses the functional or literature differences among the three databases. It is also found that these databases have different quantitative potentials. This is determined by addressing the year each database began collecting literature and the number of articles, periodicals, albums, conference proceedings, music, dissertations, digital media, essays collections, journal articles, monographs, online resources, reviews, and reference materials that can be found in each one of them. This can be found in the sections- description, scope and intended uses and the importance of the database in identifying literature on different topics. To compare the delivery of services to the users, the importance of databases in identifying literature on different topics is also addressed in the section -the importance of databases in identifying literature on different topics. Even though these databases are used in research, they all have disadvantages and advantages. This is addressed in the sections on advantages and disadvantages. This will be significant in determining which of the three is the best. Also, it will help address how the shortcomings of one database can be addressed by utilising two databases together while conducting research. It is addressed in the section- a combination of RILM and JSTOR. All this information revolves around the idea that a huge amount of quantitative and qualitative data can be found in the presented databases on music and digital content; however, each of the given databases has a different construction and material features contributing to the musical scholarship in its way.

Keywords: RILM, JSTOR, WorldCat, database, literature, research

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Annelyn Fatima Lopez, Ermenilda Avendano, Aileen Marie Vargas, Lara Baylon, Rorilee Angeles

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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 resulted in a public health emergency and quarantine measures which may negatively impact psychosocial and environmental aspects of vulnerable populations. OBJECTIVES: This study intended to determine the quality of life, situations and emerging concerns of parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. METHODOLOGY: Parents of patients seen in the PCMC Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics OPD clinic were recruited to fill out questionnaires on parent and child characteristics, survey on situations and emerging concerns during the coronavirus pandemic and WHOQOL-BREF (Filipino version) for parental quality of life. RESULTS: Data from 115 respondents showed a lower score in the environmental domain. The child characteristics that are statistically comparable with the QoL scores include sex, severity of ID and ADHD while the parent characteristics that are statistically comparable with the QoL scores include educational attainment, monthly family income, father’s employment status and family structure (P-value <0.05). Most respondents reported physical distancing (82.61%) and curfew (80.87%) as measures implemented due to the pandemic. Inability to access essential services (43.48-74.48%) were further compounded by limited financial resources (51.30%) and public transport (60%). Government responses received include quarantine pass (90.43%), food allowance or relief package (86.09%), disinfection (60.87%), DSWD-SAP (42.61%) and cash distribution (41.74%). Concerns encountered include socio-environmental issues (i.e. no available transportation, effect on the ability to earn, inadequate food/medicine rations, disruptions in basic social services) and patient concerns (i.e. access to education, medical, developmental and behavioral services, nutrition and sleep). RECOMMENDATIONS: Programs and policies should be planned accordingly to provide improvement of quality of life for both parents and the child with a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Keywords: covid-19, neurodevelopmental disorder, parental quality of life, whoqol-bref

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: M. Ali Mandegari, S. Farzad, J. F. Görgens

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Sugar is one of the main agricultural industries in South Africa and approximately livelihoods of one million South Africans are indirectly dependent on sugar industry which is economically struggling with some problems and should re-invent in order to ensure a long-term sustainability. Second generation bio-refinery is defined as a process to use waste fibrous for the production of bio-fuel, chemicals animal food, and electricity. Bio-ethanol is by far the most widely used bio-fuel for transportation worldwide and many challenges in front of bio-ethanol production were solved. Bio-refinery annexed to the existing sugar mill for production of bio-ethanol and electricity is proposed to sugar industry and is addressed in this study. Since flow-sheet development is the key element of the bio-ethanol process, in this work, a bio-refinery (bio-ethanol and electricity production) annexed to a typical South African sugar mill considering 65ton/h dry sugarcane bagasse and tops/trash as feedstock was simulated. Aspen PlusTM V8.6 was applied as simulator and realistic simulation development approach was followed to reflect the practical behavior of the plant. Latest results of other researches considering pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, enzyme production, bio-ethanol production and other supplementary units such as evaporation, water treatment, boiler, and steam/electricity generation units were adopted to establish a comprehensive bio-refinery simulation. Steam explosion with SO2 was selected for pretreatment due to minimum inhibitor production and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) configuration was adopted for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of cellulose and hydrolyze. Bio-ethanol purification was simulated by two distillation columns with side stream and fuel grade bio-ethanol (99.5%) was achieved using molecular sieve in order to minimize the capital and operating costs. Also boiler and steam/power generation were completed using industrial design data. Results indicates 256.6 kg bio ethanol per ton of feedstock and 31 MW surplus power were attained from bio-refinery while the process consumes 3.5, 3.38, and 0.164 (GJ/ton per ton of feedstock) hot utility, cold utility and electricity respectively. Developed simulation is a threshold of variety analyses and developments for further studies.

Keywords: bio-refinery, bagasse, tops, trash, bio-ethanol, electricity

Procedia PDF Downloads 521

Authors: Geetika Vajpayee, Sugandha Asthana, Pratibha Kumari, Shanthy Sundaram

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Pseudomonas species possess a variety of promising properties of antifungal and growth promoting activities in the wheat plant. In the present study, Pseudomonas fluorescens MTCC-9768 is tested against plant pathogenic fungus Tilletia indica, causing Karnal bunt, a quarantine disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) affecting kernels of wheat. It is one of the 1/A1 harmful diseases of wheat worldwide under EU legislation. This disease develops in the growth phase by the spreading of microscopically small spores of the fungus (teliospores) being dispersed by the wind. The present chemical fungicidal treatments were reported to reduce teliospores germination, but its effect is questionable since T. indica can survive up to four years in the soil. The fungal growth inhibition tests were performed using Dual Culture Technique, and the results showed inhibition by 82.5%. The interaction of antagonist bacteria-fungus causes changes in the morphology of hyphae, which was observed using Lactophenol cotton blue staining and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The rounded and swollen ends, called ‘theca’ were observed in interacted fungus as compared to control fungus (without bacterial interaction). This bacterium was tested for its antagonistic activity like protease, cellulose, HCN production, Chitinase, etc. The growth promoting activities showed increase production of IAA in bacteria. The bacterial secondary metabolites were extracted in different solvents for testing its growth inhibiting properties. The characterization and purification of the antifungal compound were done by Thin Layer Chromatography, and Rf value was calculated (Rf value = 0.54) and compared to the standard antifungal compound, 2, 4 DAPG (Rf value = 0.54). Further, the in vivo experiments showed a significant decrease in the severity of disease in the wheat plant due to direct injection method and seed treatment. Our results indicate that the extracted and purified compound from the antagonist bacteria, P. fluorescens MTCC-9768 may be used as a potential biocontrol agent against T. indica. This also concludes that the PGPR properties of the bacteria may be utilized by incorporating it into bio-fertilizers.

Keywords: antagonism, Karnal bunt, PGPR, Pseudomonas fluorescens

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Haitham Nabil Zaghlol Hasan

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This research aims to study of the surgery science and imaging in ancient Egypt and how to diagnose the surgical cases, whether due to injuries or disease that requires surgical intervention, Medical diagnosis and how to treat it. The ancient Egyptian physician tried to change over from magic and theological thinking to become a stand-alone experimental science, they were able to distinguish between diseases, and they divide them into internal and external diseases even though this division exists to date in modern medicine. There is no evidence to recognize the amount of human knowledge in the prehistoric knowledge of medicine and surgery except skeleton. It is not far from the human being in those times familiar with some means of treatment, Surgery in the Stone age was rudimentary, Flint stone was used after trimming in a certain way as a lancet to slit and open the skin. Wooden tree branches were used to make splints to treat bone fractures. Surgery developed further when copper was discovered, it led to the advancement of Egyptian civilization, then modern and advanced tools appeared in the operating theater, like a knife or a scalpel, there is evidence of surgery performed in ancient Egypt during the dynastic period (323 – 3200 BC). The climate and environmental conditions have preserved medical papyri and human remains that have confirmed their knowledge of surgical methods, including sedation. The ancient Egyptians reached great importance in surgery, evidenced by the scenes that depict the pathological image and the surgical process, but the image alone is not sufficient to prove the pathology, its presence in ancient Egypt and its treatment method. As there are a number of medical papyri, especially Edwin Smith and Ebris, which prove the ancient Egyptian surgeon's knowledge of the pathological condition that It requires surgical intervention, otherwise, its diagnosis and the method of treatment will not be described with such accuracy through these texts. Some surgeries are described in the department of surgery at Ebris papyrus (recipes from 863 to 877). The level of surgery in ancient Egypt was high, and they performed surgery such as hernias and Aneurysm, however, we have not received a lengthy explanation of the various surgeries, and the surgeon has usually only said: “treated surgically”. It is evident in the Ebris papyrus that they used sharp surgical tools and cautery in operations where bleeding is expected, such as hernias, arterial sacs and tumors.

Keywords: egypt, ancient_egypt, civilization, archaeology

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Salamatu Shaibu, Jan Hernning Sommer

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Integrating biodiversity conservation practices in mining landscapes ensures the continual provision of various ecosystem services to the dependent communities whilst serving as ecological insurance for corporate mining when purchasing reclamation security bonds. Climate hazards such as long dry seasons, erratic rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events contribute to biodiversity loss in addition to the impact due to mining. Both corporate mining and mine-fringe communities perceive the effect of climate on biodiversity from the context of the benefits they accrue, which motivate their conservation practices. In this study, pragmatic approaches including semi-structured interviews, field visual observation, and review were used to collect data on corporate mining employees and households of fringing communities in the southwestern mining hub. The perceived changes in the local climatic conditions and the consequences on environmental management practices that promote biodiversity conservation were examined. Using a thematic content analysis tool, the result shows that best practices such as concurrent land rehabilitation, reclamation ponds, artificial wetlands, land clearance, and topsoil management are directly affected by prolonging long dry seasons and erratic rainfall patterns. Excessive dust and noise generation directly affect both floral and faunal diversity coupled with excessive fire outbreaks in rehabilitated lands and nearby forest reserves. Proposed adaptive measures include engaging national conservation authorities to promote reforestation projects around forest reserves. National government to desist from using permit for mining concessions in forest reserves, engaging local communities through educational campaigns to control forest encroachment and burning, promoting community-based resource management to promote community ownership, and provision of stricter environmental legislation to compel corporate, artisanal, and small scale mining companies to promote biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, climate hazards, corporate mining, mining landscapes

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Avijit Dey, Shyam S. Paul, Satbir S. Dahiya, Balbir S. Punia, Luciano A. Gonzalez

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Methane emitted from ruminant livestock not only reduces the efficiency of feed energy utilization but also contributes to global warming. Vegetable oils, a source of poly unsaturated fatty acids, have potential to reduce methane production and increase conjugated linoleic acid in the rumen. However, characteristics of oils, level of inclusion and composition of basal diet influences their efficacy. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the effects of sunflower (SFL) and cottonseed (CSL) oils on methanogenesis, volatile fatty acids composition and feed fermentation pattern by in vitro gas production (IVGP) test. Four concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4ml /30ml buffered rumen fluid) of each oil were used. Fresh rumen fluid was collected before morning feeding from two rumen cannulated buffalo steers fed a mixed ration. In vitro incubation was carried out with sorghum hay (200 ± 5 mg) as substrate in 100 ml calibrated glass syringes following standard IVGP protocol. After 24h incubation, gas production was recorded by displacement of piston. Methane in the gas phase and volatile fatty acids in the fermentation medium were estimated by gas chromatography. Addition of oils resulted in increase (p<0.05) in total gas production and decrease (p<0.05) in methane production, irrespective of type and concentration. Although the increase in gas production was similar, methane production (ml/g DM) and its concentration (%) in head space gas was lower (p< 0.01) in CSL than in SFL at corresponding doses. Linear decrease (p<0.001) in degradability of DM was evident with increasing doses of oils (0.2ml onwards). However, these effects were more pronounced with SFL. Acetate production tended to decrease but propionate and butyrate production increased (p<0.05) with addition of oils, irrespective of type and doses. The ratio of acetate to propionate was reduced (p<0.01) with addition of oils but no difference between the oils was noted. It is concluded that both the oils can reduce methane production. However, feed degradability was also affected with higher doses. Cotton seed oil in small dose (0.1ml/30 ml buffered rumen fluid) exerted greater inhibitory effects on methane production without impeding dry matter degradability. Further in vivo studies need to be carried out for their practical application in animal ration.

Keywords: buffalo, methanogenesis, rumen fermentation, vegetable oils

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Ayanda Ndokwana, Stanley Fore

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Industrial prosperity and rapid expansion of human population in South Africa over the past two decades, have increased the use of conventional fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal and natural gas to meet the country’s energy demands. However, the inevitable depletion of fossil fuel reserves, global volatile oil price and large carbon footprint are some of the crucial reasons the South African Government needs to make a considerable investment in the development of the biofuel industry. In South Africa, this industry is still at the introductory stage with no large scale manufacturing plant that has been commissioned yet. Bioethanol is a potential replacement of gasoline which is a fossil fuel that is used in motor vehicles. Using bioethanol for the transport sector as a source of fuel will help Government to save heavy foreign exchange incurred during importation of oil and create many job opportunities in rural farming. In 2007, the South African Government developed the National Biofuels Industrial Strategy in an effort to make provision for support and attract investment in bioethanol production. However, capital investment in the production of bioethanol on a large scale, depends on the sound economic assessment of the available manufacturing technologies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the profitability of an advanced bioethanol manufacturing technology which uses maize as a feedstock in South Africa. The impact of fiber or bran fractionation in this technology causes it to possess a number of merits such as energy efficiency, low capital expenditure, and profitability compared to a conventional dry-mill bioethanol technology. Quantitative techniques will be used to collect and analyze numerical data from suitable organisations in South Africa. The dependence of three profitability indicators such as the Discounted Payback Period (DPP), Net Present Value (NPV) and Return On Investment (ROI) on plant capacity will be evaluated. Profitability analysis will be done on the following plant capacities: 100 000 ton/year, 150 000 ton/year and 200 000 ton/year. The plant capacity with the shortest Discounted Payback Period, positive Net Present Value and highest Return On Investment implies that a further consideration in terms of capital investment is warranted.

Keywords: bioethanol, economic evaluation, maize, profitability indicators

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Alina M. Udall, Judith de Groot, Simon de Jong, Avi Shankar

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There are many ways in which environmentally significant behavior can be explained. Dominant psychological theories, namely, the theory of planned behavior, the norm-activation theory, its extension, the value-belief-norm theory, and the theory of habit do not explain large parts of environmentally significant behaviors. A new and rapidly growing approach is to focus on how consumer’s identities predict environmentally significant behavior. Identity may be relevant because consumers have many identities that are assumed to guide their behavior. Therefore, we assume that many identities will guide environmentally significant behavior. Many identities can be relevant for environmentally significant behavior. In reviewing the literature, over 200 identities have been studied making it difficult to establish the key identities for explaining environmentally significant behavior. Therefore, this paper first aims to establish the key identities previously used for explaining environmentally significant behavior. Second, the aim is to test which key identities explain environmentally significant behavior. To address the aims, an online survey study (n = 578) is conducted. First, the exploratory factor analysis reveals 15 identity factors. The identity factors are namely, environmentally concerned identity, anti-environmental self-identity, environmental place identity, connectedness with nature identity, green space visitor identity, active ethical identity, carbon off-setter identity, thoughtful self-identity, close community identity, anti-carbon off-setter identity, environmental group member identity, national identity, identification with developed countries, cyclist identity, and thoughtful organisation identity. Furthermore, to help researchers understand and operationalize the identities, the article provides theoretical definitions for each of the identities, in line with identity theory, social identity theory, and place identity theory. Second, the hierarchical regression shows only 10 factors significantly uniquely explain the variance in environmentally significant behavior. In order of predictive power the identities are namely, environmentally concerned identity, anti-environmental self-identity, thoughtful self-identity, environmental group member identity, anti-carbon off-setter identity, carbon off-setter identity, connectedness with nature identity, national identity, and green space visitor identity. The identities explain over 60% of the variance in environmentally significant behavior, a large effect size. Based on this finding, the article reveals a new, theoretical framework showing the key identities explaining environmentally significant behavior, to help improve and align the field.

Keywords: environmentally significant behavior, factor analysis, place identity, social identity

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Authors: Mohd Ayyub Khan, Nadeem Akhtar

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Due to recent advances in wireless communication technologies and hand-held devices, there is a huge demand for video-based applications such as video surveillance, video conferencing, remote surgery, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), IPTV, online learning courses, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Interactive Video Games. However, the raw videos posses very high bandwidth which makes the compression a must before its transmission over the wireless channels. The High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) (also called H.265) is latest state-of-the-art video coding standard developed by the Joint effort of ITU-T and ISO/IEC teams. HEVC is targeted for high resolution videos such as 4K or 8K resolutions that can fulfil the recent demands for video services. The compression ratio achieved by the HEVC is twice as compared to its predecessor H.264/AVC for same quality level. The compression efficiency is generally increased by removing more correlation between the frames/pixels using complex techniques such as extensive intra and inter prediction techniques. As more correlation is removed, the chances of interdependency among coded bits increases. Thus, bit errors may have large effect on the reconstructed video. Sometimes even single bit error can lead to catastrophic failure of the reconstructed video. In this paper, we study the performance of HEVC bitstream over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Moreover, HEVC over Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) combined with forward error correction (FEC) schemes are also explored over the noisy channel. The video will be encoded using HEVC, and the coded bitstream is channel coded to provide some redundancies. The channel coded bitstream is then modulated using QAM and transmitted over AWGN channel. At the receiver, the symbols are demodulated and channel decoded to obtain the video bitstream. The bitstream is then used to reconstruct the video using HEVC decoder. It is observed that as the signal to noise ratio of channel is decreased the quality of the reconstructed video decreases drastically. Using proper FEC codes, the quality of the video can be restored up to certain extent. Thus, the performance analysis of HEVC presented in this paper may assist in designing the optimized code rate of FEC such that the quality of the reconstructed video is maximized over wireless channels.

Keywords: AWGN, forward error correction, HEVC, video coding, QAM

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Authors: Mateusz Hermyt, Pawel Kaczmarek, Weronika Rupik

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The egg tooth is a crucial structure during hatching of lizards and snakes. In contrast to birds, turtles, crocodiles, and monotremes, egg tooth of squamate reptiles is a true tooth sharing common features of structure and development with all the other teeth of vertebrates. The egg tooth; however, due to its function, exhibits structural differences in relation to regular teeth. External morphology seems to be important in the context of phylogenetic relationships within Squamata but up to date, there is scarce information concerning structure and development of the egg tooth at the submicroscopical level. In presented studies detailed analysis of the egg tooth development in grass snake has been performed with the usage of light (including fluorescent), transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Grass snake embryo’s heads have been used in our studies. Grass snake is common snake species occurring in most of Europe including Poland. The grass snake is characterized by the presence of single unpaired egg tooth (as in most squamates) in contrast to geckos and dibamids possessing paired egg teeth. Studies show changes occurring on the external morphology, tissue and cellular levels of differentiating egg tooth. The egg tooth during its development changes its curvature. Initially, faces directly downward and in the course of its differentiation, it gradually changes to rostro-ventral orientation. Additionally, it forms conical dentinal protrusions on the sides. Histological analysis showed that egg tooth development occurs in similar steps in relation to regular teeth. It undergoes initiation, bud, cap and bell morphological stages. Analyses focused on describing morphological changes in hard tissues (mainly dentin and predentin) of egg tooth and in cells which enamel organ consists of. It included: outer enamel epithelium, stratum intermedium, inner enamel epithelium, odontoblasts, and cells of dental pulp. All specimens used in the study were captured according to the Polish regulations concerning the protection of wild species. Permission was granted by the Local Ethics Commission in Katowice (41/2010; 87/2015) and the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Katowice (WPN.6401.257.2015.DC).

Keywords: hatching, organogenesis, reptile, Squamata

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Authors: S. Padma, D. H. Tejavathi

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Somatic embryogenesis is a remarkable illustration of the dictum of plant totipotency where developmental reconstruction of somatic cells takes place towards the embryogenic pathway. It recapitulates the morphological and developmental process that occurs in zygotic embryogenesis. S. androgynous commonly called as multivitamin plant. The leaves are consumed as green leafy vegetable by the Southeast Asian communities due to their rich nutritional profile. Despite being a good nutritional vegetable with proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, it is warned for excessive intake due to the presence of alkoloid called papaverine. Papaverine at higher concentrations is toxic and leads to a syndrome called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. In the present study, morphogenetic potential of shoot tip, leaf and nodal explants of Sauropus androgynous was investigated to develop and enhance the reliable plant regeneration protocol via somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryos were derived directly from the embryogenic callus derived from shoot tip, node and leaf cultures on Phillips and Collins (L2) medium supplemented with NAA at various concentrations ranging from 5.3 µM/l to 26.85 µM/l within two months of inoculation. Thus obtained embryos were sub cultured to modified L2 media supplemented with increased vitamin level for the further growth. Somatic embryos with well-developed cotyledons were transferred to normal and modified L2 basal medium for conversion. The plantlets thus obtained were subjected to brief acclimatization before transferring them to land. About 95% of survival rate was recorded. The augmentation process of culturing various explants through somatic embryogenesis using synthetic medium with various plant growth regulators under controlled conditions have aggrandized the commercial production of Sauropus making it easily available over the conventional propagation methods. In addition, regeneration process through somatic embryogenesis has ameliorated the development of desired character in Sauropus with low papaverine content thereby providing a valuable resource to the food and pharmaceutical industry. Based on this research, plant tissue culture techniques have shown promise for economical and convenient application in Sauropus androgynous breeding.

Keywords: L2 medium, multivitamin plant, NAA, papaverine

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Authors: Aparna Sengupta

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The paper seeks to find answers to the question as to why India’s disaster management policies have been unable to deliver the desired results. Are the shortcomings in policy formulation, effective policy implementation or timely prevention mechanisms? Or is there a fundamental issue of policy formulation which sparsely takes into account the cultural specificities and uniqueness, technological know-how, educational, religious and attitudinal capacities of the target population into consideration? India was slow in legislating disaster policies but more than that the reason for lesser success of disaster polices seems to be the gap between policy and the people. We not only keep hearing about the failure of governmental efforts but also how the local communities deal far more efficaciously with disasters utilizing their traditional knowledge. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 250,000 people (approx.) could not kill the tribal communities who saved themselves due to their age-old traditional knowledge. This large scale disaster, considered as a landmark event in history of disasters in the twenty-first century, can be attributed in bringing and confirming the importance of Traditional Environmental Knowledge in managing disasters. This brings forth the importance of cultural and traditional know-how in dealing with natural disasters and one is forced to question as to why shouldn’t traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) be taken into consideration while formulating India’s disaster resilience policies? Though at the international level, many scholars have explored the connectedness of disaster to cultural dimensions and several research examined how culture acts as a stimuli in perceiving disasters and their management (Clifford, 1956; Mcluckie, 1970; Koentjaraningrat, 1985; Peacock, 1997; Elliot et.al, 2006; Aruntoi, 2008; Kulatunga, 2010). But in the Indian context, this field of inquiry i.e. linking disaster policies with tradition and generational understanding has seldom received attention of the government, decision- making authorities, disaster managers and even in the academia. The present study attempts to fill this gap in research and scholarship by presenting an historical analysis of disaster and its cognition by cultural communities in India. The paper seeks to interlink the cultural comprehension of Indian tribal communities with scientific-technology towards more constructive disaster policies in India.

Keywords: culture, disasters, local communities, traditional knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 96