Search results for: inhibiting factor

Authors: Valentin Nickolai, Florian Pfeffel, Christian Louis Kühner

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In many industrialized nations, the demand for skilled workers rises, causing the current market for employees to be more candidate-driven than employer-driven. Therefore, losing highly skilled and experienced employees due to early or partial retirement negatively impacts firms. Therefore, finding new ways to incentivize older employees (Silver Workers) to stay longer with the company and in their job can be crucial for the success of a firm. This study analyzes how working remotely can be a valid incentive for experienced Silver Workers to stay in their job and instead work from home with more flexible working hours. An online survey with n = 684 respondents, who are employed in the service sector, has been conducted based on 13 constructs that influence job satisfaction. These have been further categorized into three groups “classic influencing factors,” “influencing factors changed by remote working,” and new remote working influencing factors,” and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Here, Cronbach’s alpha of the individual constructs was shown to be suitable. Furthermore, the construct validity of the constructs was confirmed by face validity, content validity, convergent validity (AVE > 0.5: CR > 0.7), and discriminant validity. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the model fit for the investigated sample (CMIN/DF: 2.567; CFI: 0.927; RMSEA: 0.048). It was shown in the SEM-analysis that the influencing factor on job satisfaction, “identification with the work,” is the most significant with β = 0.540, followed by “Appreciation” (β = 0.151), “Compensation” (β = 0.124), “Work-Life-Balance” (β = 0.116), and “Communication and Exchange of Information” (β = 0.105). While the significance of each factor can vary depending on the work model, the SEM-analysis also shows that the identification with the work is the most significant factor in all three work models mentioned above and, in the case of the traditional office work model, it is the only significant influencing factor. The study shows that employees between the ages of 56 and 65 years have the highest job satisfaction when working entirely from home or remotely. Furthermore, their job satisfaction score of 5.4 on a scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7 (very satisfied) is the highest amongst all age groups in any of the three work models. Due to the significantly higher job satisfaction, it can be argued that giving Silver Workers the offer to work from home or remotely can incentivize them not to opt for early retirement or partial retirement but to stay in their job full-time Furthermore, these findings can indicate that employees in the Silver Worker age are much more inclined to leave their job for early retirement if they have to entirely work in the office.

Keywords: home office, remote work instead of early or partial retirement, silver worker, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Hongmin Chun

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This paper examines corporate cash holdings and their effect on the cost of equity capital. In addition, this study examines the potentially different effects when the firm belongs to chaebol and non-chaebol groups. Chaebol is a South Korean form of business conglomerate. Chaebol is typically global multinationals and owns numerous international enterprises, controlled by a chairman with power over all the operations. The overall empirical result suggests that higher cash holdings are a risk increasing factor which holds for the chaebol group of firms. This result is valid in a battery of robustness tests and 2SLS regressions. In Korea, higher cash holdings represent a risk premium factor that is closely related to the overinvestment and agency problems between managers and shareholders.

Keywords: cash holdings, implied cost of equity capital, chaebol, agency problem

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Authors: Mardiati Zain, Jurnida Rahman, Khasrad, Erpomen

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The aim of this experiment was to study the use of palm oil by products (oil palm fronds (OPF), palm oil sludge (POS) and palm kernel cake (PKC)), that supplemented with growth factor rumen microbes (Sapindus rarak and Sacharomyces cerevisiae) on digestibility and fermentation in vitro. Oil Palm Fronds was previously treated with 3% urea. The treatments consist of 50% OPF+ 30% POS+ 20% PKC as a control diet (A), B = A + 4% Sapindus rarak, C = A + 0.5 % Sacharomyces cerevisiae and D = A + 4% Sapindus rarak + 0.5% Sacharomyces cerevisiae. Digestibility of DM, OM, ADF, NDF, cellulose and rumen parameters (NH3 and VFA) of all treatments were significantly different (P < 0.05). Fermentation and digestibility treatment A were significantly lower than treatments B, C, and D. The result indicated that supplementation Sapindus rarak and S. cerevisiae were able to improve fermentability and digestibility of palm oil by product.

Keywords: palm oil by product, Sapindus rarak, Sacharomyces rerevisiae, fermentability, OPF ammoniated

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Authors: Wei Xiao, Gangzhi Cai, Xingliang Qin, Hongyan Ren, Zaidong Hua, Zhe Zhu, Hongwei Xiao, Ximin Zheng, Jie Yao, Yanzhen Bi

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Myostatin (MSTN) is the master regulator of double muscling phenotype with overgrown muscle and decreased fatness in animals, but its action mode to regulate fat deposition remains to be elucidated. In this study a swin-specific pathway through which MSTN acts to regulate the fat deposition was deciphered. Deep sequenincing of the mRNA and miRNA of fat tissues of MSTN knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) pigs discovered the positive correlation of myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) and fat-inhibiting miR222 expression, and the inverse correlation of miR222 and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 5 (SCD5) expression. SCD5 is rodent-absent and expressed only in pig, sheep and cattle. Fatty acid spectrum of fat tissues revealed a lower percentage of oleoyl-CoA (18:1) and palmitoleyl CoA (16:1) in MSTN KO pigs, which are the catalyzing products of SCD5-mediated desaturation of steroyl CoA (18:0) and palmitoyl CoA (16:0). Blood metrics demonstrated a 45% decline of triglyceride (TG) content in MSTN KO pigs. In light of these observations we hypothesized that MSTN might act through MEF2C/miR222/SCD5 pathway to regulate desaturation of fatty acid as well as triglyceride synthesis in pigs. To this end, real-time PCR and Western blotting were carried out to detect the expression of the three genes stated above. These experiments showed that MEF2C expression was up-regulated by nearly 2-fold, miR222 up-regulated by nearly 3-fold and SCD5 down-regulated by nearly 50% in MSTN KO pigs. These data were consistent with the expression change in deep sequencing analysis. Dual luciferase reporter was then used to confirm the regulation of MEF2C upon the promoter of miR222. Ecotopic expression of MEF2C in preadipocyte cells enhanced miR222 expression by 3.48-fold. CHIP-PCR identified a putative binding site of MEF2C on -2077 to -2066 region of miR222 promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) demonstrated the interaction of MEF2C and miR222 promoter in vitro. These data indicated that MEF2C transcriptionally regulates the expression of miR222. Next, the regulation of miR222 on SCD5 mRNA as well as its physiological consequences were examined. Dual luciferase reporter testing revealed the translational inhibition of miR222 upon the 3´ UTR (untranslated region) of SCD5 in preadipocyte cells. Transfection of miR222 mimics and inhibitors resulted in the down-regulation and up-regulation of SCD5 in preadipocyte cells respectively, consistent with the results from reporter testing. RNA interference of SCD5 in preadipocyte cells caused 26.2% reduction of TG, in agreement with the results of TG content in MSTN KO pigs. In summary, the results above supported the existence of a molecular pathway that MSTN signals through MEF2C/miR222/SCD5 to regulate the fat deposition in pigs. This swine-specific pathway offers potential molecular markers for the development and breeding of a new pig line with optimised fatty acid composition. This would benefit human health by decreasing the takeup of saturated fatty acid.

Keywords: fat deposition, MEF2C, miR222, myostatin, SCD5, pig

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Hasan Ziari, Hassan Fazaeli, Seyed Javad Vaziri Kang Olyaei, Asma Sadat Dabiri

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The presence of cracks in concrete pavements is a place for the ingression of corrosive substances, acids, oils, and water into the pavement and reduces its long-term durability and level of service. One of the causes of early cracks in concrete pavements is the plastic shrinkage. This shrinkage occurs due to the formation of negative capillary pressures after the equilibrium of the bleeding and evaporation rates at the pavement surface. These cracks form if the tensile stresses caused by the restrained shrinkage exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. Different climate conditions change the rate of evaporation and thus change the balance time of the bleeding and evaporation, which changes the severity of cracking in concrete. The present study examined the relationship between the balance time of bleeding and evaporation and the area of cracking in the concrete slabs using the standard method ASTM C1579 in 27 different environmental conditions by using continuous video recording and digital image analyzing. The results showed that as the evaporation rate increased and the balance time decreased, the crack severity significantly increased so that by reducing the balance time from the maximum value to its minimum value, the cracking area increased more than four times. It was also observed that the cracking area- balance time curve could be interpreted in three sections. An examination of these three parts showed that the combination of climate conditions has a significant effect on increasing or decreasing these two variables. The criticality of a single factor cannot cause the critical conditions of plastic cracking. By combining two mild environmental factors with a severe climate factor (in terms of surface evaporation rate), a considerable reduction in balance time and a sharp increase in cracking severity can be prevented. The results of this study showed that balance time could be an essential factor in controlling and predicting plastic shrinkage cracking in concrete pavements. It is necessary to control this factor in the case of constructing concrete pavements in different climate conditions.

Keywords: bleeding and cracking severity, concrete pavements, climate conditions, plastic shrinkage

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Authors: Maibigue Nanglet, Arafat Ousman Béchir, Mahamat Hassan Béchir

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The economy of Central African countries is growing very fast, and the demand for energy is increasing every day. As a result, insufficient power generation is one of the major problems slowing down development. This paper explores the factors of degradation of the I-V curve of the PV Generator (GPV) in harsh environments, taking the case of two locals: Mongo and Abeche. Its objective is to quantify the voltage leaks due to the different GPV installation areas; after using the Newton-Raphson numerical method of the solar cell, a survey of several experimental measurement points was made. The results of the simulation in MATLAB/Simulink show a relative power loss factor of 11.8765% on the GPVs installed in Mongo and 8.5463% on those installed in Abeche; these results allow us to say that the supports on which the modules are installed have an average impact of 10.2114% on their efficiency.

Keywords: calculation, degradation, site, GPV, severe environment

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Authors: Elyria Kemp, Kelly Cowart, My Bui

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 31.9% of adolescents have had an anxiety disorder. Several environmental factors may help to contribute to high levels of anxiety and depression in young people (i.e., Generation Z, Millennials). However, as young people negotiate life on social media, they may begin to evaluate themselves using excessively high standards and adopt self-perfectionism tendencies. Broadly defined, self-perfectionism involves very critical evaluations of the self. Perfectionism may also come from others and may manifest as socially prescribed perfectionism, and young adults are reporting higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism than previous generations. This rising perfectionism is also associated with anxiety, greater physiological reactivity, and a sense of social disconnection. However, theories from psychology suggest that improvement in emotion regulation can contribute to enhanced psychological and emotional well-being. Emotion regulation refers to the ways people manage how and when they experience and express their emotions. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression are common emotion regulation strategies. Cognitive reappraisal involves changing the meaning of a stimulus that involves construing a potentially emotion-eliciting situation in a way that changes its emotional impact. By contrast, expressive suppression involves inhibiting the behavioral expression of emotion. The purpose of this research is to examine the efficacy of social marketing initiatives which promote emotion regulation strategies to help young adults regulate their emotions. In Study 1 a single factor (emotional regulation strategy: a cognitive reappraisal, expressive, control) between-subjects design was conducted using an online, non-student consumer panel (n=96). Sixty-eight percent of participants were male, and 32% were female. Study participants belonged to the Millennial and Gen Z cohort, ranging in age from 22 to 35 (M=27). Participants were first told to spend at least three minutes writing about a public speaking appearance which made them anxious. The purpose of this exercise was to induce anxiety. Next, participants viewed one of three advertisements (randomly assigned) which promoted an emotion regulation strategy—cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, or an advertisement non-emotional in nature. After being exposed to one of the ads, participants responded to a measure composed of two items to access their emotional state and the efficacy of the messages in fostering emotion management. Findings indicated that individuals in the cognitive reappraisal condition (M=3.91) exhibited the most positive feelings and more effective emotion regulation than the expressive suppression (M=3.39) and control conditions (M=3.72, F(1,92) = 3.3, p<.05). Results from this research can be used by institutions (e.g., schools) in taking a leadership role in attacking anxiety and other mental health issues. Social stigmas regarding mental health can be removed and a more proactive stance can be taken in promoting healthy coping behaviors and strategies to manage negative emotions.

Keywords: emotion regulation, anxiety, social marketing, generation z

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Authors: Ae Ra Han, Taek Hoo Lee, Sun Zoo Kim, Hwa Young Lee

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Introduction: Ovarian endometrioma is one of the important causes of poor ovarian reserve and up to half of them have recurred. However, the treatment for recurrence prevention has limited efficiency and repeated surgical management makes worsen the ovarian reserve. To find better management for recurrence prevention, we investigated risk factors and biomarkers for the recurrence of ovarian endometrioma. Methods: The medical records of women with the history of surgical dissection for ovarian endometrioma were collected. After exclusion of the cases with concurrent hysterectomy, been menopaused during follow-up, incomplete medical record, and loss of follow-up, a total of 134 women were enrolled. Immunohistochemical staining for progesterone receptor isoform B (PR-B) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) was done with the fixed tissue blocks of their endometriomas which were collected at the time of surgery. Results: Severity of dysmenorrhea and co-existence of adenomyosis had significant correlation with recurrence of endometrioma. Increased PR-B (P = .041) and decreased NFκB (P = .036) immunoreactivity were found in recurrent group. Serum CA-125 level at the time of recurrence was higher than the highest level of CA-125 during follow-up in unrecurred group (55.6 vs. 21.3 U/mL, P = .014). Conclusion: We found that the severity of dysmenorrhea and coexistence of adenomyosis are risk factors for recurrence of ovarian endometrioma, and serial follow-up of CA-125 is effective to detect and prevent the recurrence. However, to determine the possibility of immunoreactivity of PR-B and NFκB as biomarkers for ovarian endometrioma, further studies of various races and large numbers with prospective design are needed.

Keywords: endometriosis, recurrence, biomarker, risk factor

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Authors: Dana M. Ragab, Jasim A Ghaeb

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The Voltage Unbalance Factor (VUF) index is recommended to evaluate system performance under unbalanced operation. However, its calculation requires complex algebra which limits its use in the field. Furthermore, one system cycle is required at least to detect unbalance using the VUF. Ideally unbalance mitigation must be performed within 10 ms for 50 Hz systems. In this work, a linear relation for VUF evaluation in three-phase electrical power system using space vector (SV) is derived. It is proposed to determine the voltage unbalance quickly and accurately and to overcome the constraints associated with the traditional methods of VUF evaluation. Aqaba-Qatrana-South Amman (AQSA) power system is considered to study the system performance under unbalanced conditions. The results show that both the complexity of calculations and the time required to evaluate VUF are reduced significantly.

Keywords: power quality, space vector, unbalance evaluation, three-phase power system

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Authors: Gul Selin Erben

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Precariousness can be evaluated as the new employment climate of the neo-liberal employment markets. As the word refers to a new mode of employment experience and working practices, it was felt as a necessity to reveal the basic characteristics of this kind of employment experience. Furthermore, according to the literature, precarious employment practices have some negative outcomes such as alienation, sense of anger, and anomy. Thus, it has quite significant to reveal the conditions' characteristics and practices of precarious employment. This study has the purpose to develop an instrument which measures the precarious employment practices. In order to develop a precariousness scale, the relevant literature was examined, and 30 statements were established as a result of the literature review. The development and validation of the scale were done by a sample of 123 individuals who work in different sectors in İstanbul as a white color employee. Convenience sampling was used as a sampling methodology. Reliability and factor analysis were conducted. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, 3 dimensions were gathered.

Keywords: employment, employment experience, precariousness, scale development

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Authors: H. Elmsellem, A. Aouniti, S. Radi, A. Chetouani, B. Hammouti

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The synthesis of new organic molecules offers various molecular structures containing heteroatoms and substituents for corrosion protection in acid pickling of metals. The most synthesized compounds are the nitrogen heterocyclic compounds, which are known to be excellent complex or chelate forming substances with metals. The choice of the inhibitor is based on two considerations: first it could be synthesized conveniently from relatively cheap raw materials, secondly, it contains the electron cloud on the aromatic ring or, the electro negative atoms such as nitrogen and oxygen in the relatively long chain compounds. In the present study, (NE)‐2‐methyl‐N‐(thiophen‐2‐ylmethylidene) aniline(T) was synthesized and its inhibiting action on the corrosion of mild steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid was examined by different corrosion methods, such as weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The experimental results suggest that this compound is an efficient corrosion inhibitor and the inhibition efficiency increases with the increase in inhibitor concentration. Adsorption of this compound on mild steel surface obeys Langmuir’s isotherm. Correlation between quantum chemical calculations and inhibition efficiency of the investigated compound is discussed using the Density Functional Theory method (DFT).

Keywords: mild steel, Schiff base, inhibition, corrosion, HCl, quantum chemical

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Authors: Mukesh Ranjan, Varsha Nagargoje

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Applying the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Women Employment Participation Perception Index (WEPPI) has been made through 13 components. The basic purpose of the WEPPI is to develop an index or search for the latent factors which will capture the attitude or perception of the Mumbai’s slum women towards women’s employment participation in the job market through primary survey based on 160 observations. Majority of the response analyzed under various socio-economic and demographic characteristics falls in the strongly agree or agree category. It means whether it is age wise, marital status-wise, caste, religion or economic dimension-wise women responded that they should participate in employment in Mumbai. Value of KMO test was 0.544 and chronbac’s alpha value was between 0.5-0.6, so the index falls in poor category and can be improved upon by adding more number of items.

Keywords: WEPPI, exploratory factor analysis, KMO test, Chronbac alpha

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Authors: Thapa Sirjana, Clifton R. Emery

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This paper examines the family order and Informal Social Control (ISC) by the extended families as a protective factor against Child Maltreatment. The findings are discussed using the main effects and the interaction effects of family order and informal social control by the extended families. The findings suggest that IPV mothers are associated with child abuse and child neglect. The children are neglected in the home more and physical abuse occurs in the case, if mothers are abused by their husbands. The mother’s difficulties of being abused may lead them to neglect their children. The findings suggest that ‘family order’ is a significant protective factor against child maltreatment. The results suggest that if the family order is neither too high nor too low than that can play a role as a protective factor. Soft type of ISC is significantly associated with child maltreatment. This study suggests that the soft type of ISC by the extended families is a helpful approach to develop child protection in both the countries. This study is analyzed the data collected from Seoul and Kathmandu families and neighborhood study (SKFNS). Random probability cluster sample of married or partnered women in 20 Kathmandu wards and in Seoul 34 dongs were selected using probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling. Overall, the study is to make a comparative study of Korea and Nepal and examine how the cultural differences and similarities associate with the child maltreatment.

Keywords: child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, informal social control and family order Seoul, Kathmandu

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Authors: Oumaima Ben Abderrahim, Mohamed Houcine Elhedhili, Leila Saidane

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In this paper, we propose a trust management system based on clustering architecture for the social internet of things called TMBCO-SIOT. The proposed model integrates numerous factors such as direct and indirect trust; transaction factor; precaution factor; and social modeling of trust. The novelty of our approach can be summed up in two aspects. The first aspect concerns the architecture based on the community of interest (CoT) where each community is headed by an administrator (admin). However, the second aspect is the trust management system that tries to prevent On-Off attacks and mitigates dishonest recommendations using the k-means algorithm and guarantor things. The effectiveness of the proposed system is proved by simulation against malicious nodes.

Keywords: IoT, trust management system, attacks, trust, dishonest recommendations, K-means algorithm

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Authors: Efnie Indrianie

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Potential Intelligence constitutes one essential factor in every individual. This intelligence can be a provision for the development of Performance Intelligence if it is supported by surrounding environment. Fingerprint analysis is a method in recognizing this Potential Intelligence. This method is grounded on pattern and number of finger print outlines that are assumed symmetrical with the number of nerves in our brain, in which these areas have their own function among another. These brain’s functions are later being transposed into intelligence components in accordance with the Multiple Intelligences theory. This research tested the correlation between Potential Intelligence and the components of its Performance Intelligence. Statistical test results that used Pearson correlation showed that five components of Potential Intelligence correlated with Performance Intelligence. Those five components are Logic-Math, Logic, Linguistic, Music, Kinesthetic, and Intrapersonal. Also, this research indicated that cultural factor had a big role in shaping intelligence.

Keywords: potential intelligence, performance intelligence, multiple intelligences, fingerprint, environment, brain

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Authors: Mahya Naghipoor

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Purpose: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common lung cancer type. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is the main reason which causes NSCLC. Computed tomography (CT) is used for diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancers because of low price and little invasion. Semantic analyses of qualitative CT features are based on visual evaluation by radiologist. However, the naked eye ability may not assess all image features. On the other hand, radiomics provides the opportunity of quantitative analyses for CT images features. The aim of this review study was comparing accuracy of semantic and radiomics features in prognosis of EGFR mutation in NSCLC. Methods: For this purpose, the keywords including: non-small cell lung cancer, epidermal growth factor receptor mutation, semantic, radiomics, feature, receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) and area under curve (AUC) were searched in PubMed and Google Scholar. Totally 29 papers were reviewed and the AUC of ROC analyses for semantic and radiomics features were compared. Results: The results showed that the reported AUC amounts for semantic features (ground glass opacity, shape, margins, lesion density and presence or absence of air bronchogram, emphysema and pleural effusion) were %41-%79. For radiomics features (kurtosis, skewness, entropy, texture, standard deviation (SD) and wavelet) the AUC values were found %50-%86. Conclusions: In conclusion, the accuracy of radiomics analysis is a little higher than semantic in prognosis of EGFR mutation in NSCLC.

Keywords: lung cancer, radiomics, computer tomography, mutation

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Authors: N. A. Ahmad Zubairi, H. Takaijudin, K. W. Yusof

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Pesticides have been used widely over the world in agriculture to protect from pests and reduce crop losses. However, it affects the environment with toxic chemicals. Exceed of toxic constituents in the ecosystem will result in bad side effects. The hydrological cycle is related to the existence of pesticides and heavy metal which it can penetrate through varieties of sources into the soil or water bodies, especially runoff. Therefore, proper mechanisms of pesticide and heavy metal removal should be studied to improve the quality of ecosystem free or reduce from unwanted substances. This paper reviews the use of treatment train and its mechanisms to minimize pesticides and heavy metal from agricultural runoff. Organochlorine (OCL) is a common pesticide that was found in the agricultural runoff. OCL is one of the toxic chemicals that can disturb the ecosystem such as inhibiting plants' growth and harm human health by having symptoms as asthma, active cancer cell, vomit, diarrhea, etc. Thus, this unwanted contaminant gives disadvantages to the environment and needs treatment system. Hence, treatment train by bioretention system is suitable because removal efficiency achieves until 90% of pesticide removal with selected vegetated plant and additive.

Keywords: pesticides, heavy metal, agricultural runoff, bioretention, mechanism removal, treatment train

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Alexander A. Osmolovskiy, Anastasia V. Orekhova, Daria M. Bednenko, Yelyzaveta Boiko

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Micromycetes from Aspergillus genus can produce proteases capable of promoting proteolysis of hemostasis proteins or, along with hydrolytic activity, to show the ability to convert proenzymes of this system activating them into an active form. At the same time, practical medicine needs specific activators for quantitation of the level of some plasma enzymes, especially protein C and factor X, the lack of which leads to the development of thromboembolic diseases. Thus, some micromycetes of the genus Aspergillus were screened for the ability to synthesize extracellular proteases with promising activity for designing anti-thrombotic and diagnostic preparations. Such standard methods like salting out, electrophoresis, isoelectrofocusing were used for isolation, purification and study of physicochemical properties of proteases. Enzyme activity was measured spectrophotometrically fibrin as a substrate of the reaction and chromogenic peptide substrates of different proteases of the human hemostasis system. As a result of the screening, four active producers were selected: Aspergillus janus 301, A. flavus 1, A. terreus 2, and A. ochraceus L-1. The enzyme of A. janus 301 showed the greatest fibrinolytic activity (around 329.2 μmol Tyr/(ml × min)). The protease produced by A. terreus 2 had the highest plasmin-like activity (54.1 nmol pNA/(ml × min)), but fibrinolytic activity was lower than A. janus 301 demonstrated (25.2 μmol Tyr/(ml × min)). For extracellular protease of micromycete A. flavus a high plasmin-like activity was also shown (39.8 nmol pNA / (ml × min)). Moreover, according to our results proteases one of the fungi - A. terreus 2 were able to activate protein C of human plasma - the key factor of the human anticoagulant hemostasis system. This type of activity was 39.8 nmol pNA/(ml × min)). It was also shown that A. ochraceus L-1 could produce extracellular proteases with protein C and factor X activator activities (65.9 nmol pNA/(ml × min) and 34.6 nmol pNA/(ml × min) respectively). The maximum accumulation of the proteases falls on the 4th day of cultivation. Using isoelectrofocusing was demonstrated that the activation of both proenzymes might proceed via limited proteolysis induced by proteases of A. ochraceus L-1. The activatory activity of A. ochraceus L-1 proteases toward essential hemostatic proenzymes, protein C and X factor may be useful for practical needs. It is well known that similar enzymes, activators of protein C and X factor isolated from snake venom, South American copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix and Russell’s viper Daboia russelli russeli, respectively, are used for the in vitro diagnostics of the functional state of these proteins in blood plasma. Thus, the proteases of Aspergillus genus can be used as cheap components for enzyme thrombolytic preparations.

Keywords: anti-trombotic drugs, fibrinolysis, diagnostics, proteases, micromycetes

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Authors: Edwina G. Rodrigues, S. J. Bindhu, A. V. Rajesh

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This paper proposes a switched capacitor based driver circuit for high power light emitting diodes with a front end rectifier. LEDs are low-voltage light sources, requiring a constant DC voltage or current to operate optimally. LEDs, therefore, require a device that can convert incoming AC power to the proper DC voltage, and regulate the current flowing through the LED during operation. Proposed topology has a front end converter. It is an AC-DC rectifier that works on bridgeless boost topology which shapes the input current waveform. The front end converter is followed by a DC-DC converter which provides a constant DC voltage across the LEDs. A 12V AC input is given to the input of frontend converter which rectifies and boost the voltage to 24v DC and gives it to the DC-DC converter. The DC-DC converter converts the 24V DC and regulates this constant DC voltage across the LEDs.

Keywords: bridgeless rectifier, power factor correction(PFC), SC converter, total harmonic distortion (THD)

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Authors: Cristina Sá, Carlos Gomes, António Martins

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The reasons that explain different behaviors towards tax obligations in similar countries are not completely understood yet. The main purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the factors that influence tax morale levels in Portugal and Spain. We use data from European Values Study (EVS). Using a sample of 2,652 individuals, a factor analysis was used to extract the underlying dimensions of tax morale of Portuguese and Spanish taxpayers. Based on a factor analysis, the results of this paper show that sociological and behavioral factors, psychological factors and political factors are important for a good understanding of taxpayers’ behavior in Iberian Peninsula. This paper added value relies on the analyses of a wide range of variables and on the comparison between Portugal and Spain. Our conclusions provided insights that tax authorities and politicians can use to better focus their strategies and actions in order to increase compliance, reduce tax evasion, fight underground economy and increase country´s competitiveness.

Keywords: compliance, tax morale, Portugal, Spain

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Authors: Mnisi Blessing, Christopher Amoah

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Purpose: The usage of modern technology is widespread in industrialised nations. The issue still pertains to developing countries since they struggle to use technology in the building sector. The study aims to identify the barriers to technology usage in quantity surveying firms. Methodology: Quantity Surveyors were interviewed via Microsoft teams due to the dispersed nature of the participants. However, where the interview was not possible, the interview guide was emailed to the participants to fill in. In all, 12 participants were interviewed out of the 25 participants contacted. The data received were analysed using the content analysis process. Findings: The study's findings demonstrate that quantity surveyors have access to a wide range of technology that significantly enhances their project activities. However, quantity surveying companies are hesitant to use technology for several reasons, including the cost and maintenance associated with it. Other obstacles include a lack of knowledge, poor market acceptance, legal obstacles, and budgetary constraints. Implication: Despite the advantages associated with modern technology applications, quantity surveying firms are not using them, which may ultimately affect their work output. Therefore, firms need to re-examine these obstacles, inhibiting their adoption of technology in the work process to enhance their production. Value of the Paper: The study reveals the main hindrances to technology usage, which may help firms institute measures to address them.

Keywords: barriers, implementation, technology, quantity surveying

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Authors: G. Baraneedaran, Deepak Singh, Kollipara Tejesh

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The wireless sensors network has been an active research area over the y-ear passed. Due to the limited energy and communication ability of sensor nodes, it seems especially important to design a routing protocol for WSNs so that sensing data can be transmitted to the receiver effectively, an energy-balanced routing method based on forward-aware factor (FAF-EBRM) is proposed in this paper. In FAF-EBRM, the next-hop node is selected according to the awareness of link weight and forward energy density. A spontaneous reconstruction mechanism for Local topology is designed additionally. In this experiment, FAF-EBRM is compared with LEACH and EECU, experimental results show that FAF-EBRM outperforms LEACH and EECU, which balances the energy consumption, prolongs the function lifetime and guarantees high Qos of WSN.

Keywords: energy balance, forward-aware factor (FAF), forward energy density, link weight, network performance

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Authors: Bensaid Fatiha

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The objective of our present work is the description of the antagonistic capacities of one strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens and the nonpathogenic fungic isolate Fusarium oxysporum against phytopathogenic agent Fusarium oxysporum F. Sp. lycopersici. This work has been achieved in two main parts: the first is interested on the in vitro antagonistic activities; the second was interested to study the soil receptiveness of fusarium wilt tomato. The use of strain of fluorescent Pseudomonas and a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum in the different antagonism tests, has allowed assuring a certain bio-protection from the plants of tomatoes opposite to F. oxysporum F. Sp. lycopersici, agent of a wilt of tomato. These antagonistic have shown a substantial in vitro antagonistic activity on the three mediums (KB, PDA, KB+PDA) against F. oxysporum F. Sp. lycopersici, by inhibiting its growth mycelium with rate of inhibition going until 80 % with non-pathogen of Fusarium oxysporum and 60 % with strain of fluorescens Pseudomonas. Soil microbial balance, between the antagonistic population and that of pathogenic, can be modulated through microbiological variations or abiotic additives influencing directly or indirectly the metabolic behavior microbial. In this experiment, addition of glucose or EDTA, could increase or decrease the resistance of soil by activation of pathogenic or antagonists, as a result of modification and modulation in their metabolic activities.

Keywords: fluorescents, nonpathogenic, fusarium oxysporum, fusarium wilt, antagonism, biological control, soil receptivity

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Authors: Chua Bee Seok, Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Ferlis Bahari, Jasmine Adela Mutang, Lailawati Madlan, Rosnah Ismail, Asong Joseph

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Malaysia is a country famously known for its multiple unique cultural and ethnic diversities. Despite the diversity of culture, customs and beliefs, respectively, Malaysia still be able to stand as a harmonious country. However, if there is an attitude of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination among ethnic, it may seriously affect the solidarity between people in Malaysia. Thus, this study focuses on constructing a scale measuring the Malaysian experience, strategy and effect of ethnic discrimination. To develop a quantitative measure on ethnic discrimination directed against Malaysian, a three-step process is proposed: Exploratory factor analysis, validity analysis, and internal consistency reliability analysis. Results, limitations, and implications of the study are discussed.

Keywords: test development, Malaysian multi-ethnic discrimination scale, exploratory factor analysis, validity, multi-ethnic, reliability, psychometrics

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Authors: Mansur Abdulrasheed, Ibrahim I. Hussein, Ahmed M. Mubarak, Ahmed F. Umar

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This study was aimed at evaluating the phytochemical constituents and the antimicrobial activity of the seed oil of Moringa oleifera and garlic against some selected food-borne microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) using disc diffusion method. The results of the phytochemical screening revealed differences in the presence of the phytochemicals among the extracts. Saponins were detected in both Moringa oleifera and garlic seed oil, while alkaloid and tannins were observed in seed oil of garlic. Furthermore, the antibacterial assay results show that the seed oil of Moringa oleifera was inactive against all the tested organisms, even at 100 % concentration. In contrast, garlic oil was found to be active against all the tested organisms. The highest inhibition was observed in E. coli (12 mm) at 100 % concentration, while at 20 % concentration, Salmonella Sp and P. aeruginosa showed the least inhibiton (6 mm). The antimicrobial activity of the seed oil of garlic may be attributed to its phytochemicals components which were not detected in the seed oil of Moringa oleifera. The results of this study have shown the potentials of the seed oil of garlic as an antimicrobial agent more especially in foods, by inhibiting the growth of the test organisms, which range from food-borne pathogens to food spoilage organisms.

Keywords: antimicrobial, garlic, Moringa oleifera, food borne pathogens

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Authors: Ellen McClure

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It is generally well-known that a number of inmates suffer from some form of substance or alcohol use disorder. This study identifies, analyses, classifies and codifies the most recent Canadian criminal judgments involving an accused diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder specifically. From this research, patterns in judicial discourse and sentencing norms can be established, and these findings can be juxtaposed with existing relevant academic literature, particular attention will be given to this discussion at the sentencing stage, and the subsequent incarceration of those with alcohol use disorders. This topic will be explored with an overarching emphasis on the effects that a lack of conversation regarding a possible correlation between alcohol consumption and crime may have. Although comparisons may be made in order to clarify or highlight certain issues, particular attention will be paid to jurisdictions within Canada. This paper explores the existing judicial discourse in sentencing regarding the relationship between alcohol and crime, and how this might explain the higher incarceration rates of those suffering from alcohol use disorders in Canada. The research questions are as follows: (1) What are the existing judicial discourses in sentencing around the relationship between alcohol and crime? (2) To what extent has the current discourse on alcohol addiction among judges and legal academics contributed to the incarceration of alcoholics?The major findings of this research indicate a strong correlation between a lack of judicial discussion regarding the accused’s alcohol use disorder and an increased tendency to consider an alcohol use disorder as an aggravating factor. Furthermore, it was found that an 82% of judges who discussed the alcohol use disorder meaningfully referred to the disorder as a mitigating factor. This can be compared with 6.7% of judges who referred to the alcohol use disorder as a mitigating factor in cases where the disorder was not meaningfully discussed.

Keywords: alcohol use disorder, addiction, criminal justice, judicial discourse

Procedia PDF Downloads 251

Authors: G. C. Jadeja, M. A. Desai, D. R. Bhatt, J. K. Parikh

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Green extraction techniques are fast paving ways into various industrial sectors due to the stringent governmental regulations leading to the banning of toxic chemicals’ usage and also due to the increasing health/environmental awareness. The present work describes the ionic liquids based sonication method for selectively extracting patchoulol from the leaves of patchouli. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim]BF4) and N,N,N,N’,N’,N’-Hexaethyl-butane-1,4-diammonium dibromide (dicationic ionic liquid - DIL) were selected for extraction. Ultrasound assisted ionic liquid extraction was employed considering concentration of ionic liquid (4–8 %, w/w), ultrasound power (50–150 W for [Bmim]BF4 and 20–80 W for DIL), temperature (30–50 oC) and extraction time (30–50 min) as major parameters influencing the yield of patchoulol. Using the Taguchi method, the parameters were optimized and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to find the most influential factor in the selected extraction method. In case of [Bmim]BF4, the optimum conditions were found to be: 4 % (w/w) ionic liquid concentration, 50 W power, 30 oC temperature and extraction time of 30 min. The yield obtained under the optimum conditions was 3.99 mg/g. In case of DIL, the optimum conditions were obtained as 6 % (w/w) ionic liquid concentration, 80 W power, 30 oC temperature and extraction time of 40 min, for which the yield obtained was 4.03 mg/g. Temperature was found to be the most significant factor in both the cases. Extraction time was the insignificant parameter while extracting the product using [Bmim]BF4 and in case of DIL, power was found to be the least significant factor affecting the process. Thus, a green method of recovering patchoulol is proposed.

Keywords: green extraction, ultrasound, patchoulol, ionic liquids

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Authors: Pejman Taghibeikzadehbadr

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Muscle contraction stimulates a transient change of myogenic factors, partly related to the mode of contractions. Here, we assessed the response of Insulin-like growth factor 1Ea (IGF-1Ea), Insulin-like growth factor 1Eb (IGF-1Eb), Insulin-like growth factor 1Ec (IGF-1Ec), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α-1), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 4-alpha (PGC1α-4), and myostatin to the eccentric Vs the concentric contraction in human skeletal muscle. Ten healthy males were performed an acute eccentric and concentric exercise bout (n = 5 per group). For each contraction type, participants performed 12 sets of 10 repetitions knee extension by the dominant leg. Baseline and post-exercise muscle biopsy were taken 4 weeks before and immediately after experimental sessions from Vastus Lateralis muscle. Genes expression was measured by real-time PCR technique. There was a significant increase in PGC1α-1, PGC1α-4, IGF-1Ea and, IGF-1Eb mRNA after concentric contraction (p ≤ 0.05), while the PGC1α-4 and IGF-1Ec significantly increased after eccentric contraction (p ≤ 0.05). It is intriguing to highlight that; no significant differences between groups were evident for changes in any variables following exercise bouts (p ≥ 0.05). Our results found that concentric and eccentric contractions presented different responses in PGC1α-1, IGF-1Ea, IGF-1Eb, and IGF-1Ec mRNA. However, a similar significant increase in mRNA content was observed in PGC1α-4. Further, no apparent differences could be found between the response of genes to eccentric and concentric contraction.

Keywords: eccentric contraction, concentric contraction, gene expression, PGC-1 alpha, IGF-1 Myostatin

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Authors: Abdoulnabi Tavangari, Nasim Salehzadeh

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We presume a cylindrical medium that is under a uniform loading and there is a penny shaped crack located in the center of cylinder. In the crack growth analysis, the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) is a fundamental prerequisite. In the present study, according to the RITZ method and by considering a cylindrical coordinate system as the main coordinate and a local polar coordinate, the mode-I SIF of threedimensional penny-shaped crack is obtained. In this method the unknown coefficients will be obtained with minimizing the potential energy that is including the strain energy and the external force work. By using the hook's law, stress fields will be obtained and then by using the Irvine equations, the amount of SIF will be obtained near the edge of the crack. This question has been solved for extreme medium in the Tada handbook and the result of the present research has been compared with that.

Keywords: three-dimensional cracks, penny-shaped crack, stress intensity factor, fracture mechanics, Ritz method

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Authors: Noura Shehab-Eldeen, Mohamed Elsherbeeny, Hossam Elmetwally, Mohamed Salama, Ahmed Lotfy, Mohamed Elgamal, Hussein Sheashaa, Mohamed Sobh

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Mitochondrial toxins including papaverine may be implicated in the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. The aim was to detect the effect of papaverine on the proliferation and viability of neural stem cells. Rat neural progenitor cells were isolated from embryos (E14) brains. The dispersed tissues were allowed to settle, then, The supernatant was centrifuged at 1,000 g for 5 min. The pellet was placed in Hank’s solution cultured as free-floating neurospheres Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) and Hams F12 (3:1) supplemented with B27 (Invitrogen GmBH, Karlsruhe, Germany), 20 ng/mL epidermal growth factor (EGF; Biosource, Karlsruhe, Germany), 20 ng/mL recombinant human fibroblast growth factor (rhFGF; R&D Systems, Wiesbaden-Nordenstadt, Germany), and penicillin and streptomycin (1:100; Invitrogen) at 37°C with 7.5% CO2 . Differentiation was initiated by growth factor withdrawal and plating onto a poly-d-lysine/ laminin matrix. The neurospheres were fed every 2-3 days by replacing 50% of the culture media with fresh media. The culture suspension was transferred to a dish containing 16 wells. The wells were divided as follows: 4 wells received no papaverine (control), 4 wells 1 u, 4 wells 5 u and 4 wells 10 u of papaverine solution. In the next 2 weeks, photography (0,4,5,11days) and viability test were done. The photographs were analysed. Results : papaverine didn't affect proliferation of neurospheres, while it affected viability compared to control , this was dose related. Conclusion: This indicates the harmful effect of papaverine suggesting it to be a candidate neurotoxin causing Parkinsonism.

Keywords: neurospheres, neural stem cells, papaverine, Parkinsonism

Procedia PDF Downloads 641