Search results for: plant microbial fuel cell

Authors: Faraj M. Elkhatri, Hana Ellafi

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In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the potential of marine-based functional foods and combination therapies in promoting a healthy lifestyle and exploring their effectiveness in preventing or treating diseases. The combination of marine bioactive compounds or extracts offers synergistic or enhancement effects through various mechanisms, including multi-target actions, improved bioavailability, enhanced bioactivity, and mitigation of potential adverse effects. Both the green-lipped mussel (GLM) and fucoidan derived from brown seaweed are rich in bioactivities. These two, mussel and fucoidan, have not been previously formulated together. This study aims to combine GLM oil from Perna canaliculus with low molecular weight fucoidan (LMWF) extracted from Undaria pinnatifida to investigate the unique mixture’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The cytotoxicity of individual compounds and combinations was assessed using the MTT assay in (THP-1 and RAW264.7) cell lines. The anti-inflammatory activity of mussel-fucoidan was evaluated by treating LPS-stimulated human monocyte and macrophage (THP1-1) cells. Subsequently, the inflammatory cytokines released into the supernatant of these cell lines were quantified via ELISA. Antioxidant activity was determined by using the free radical scavenging assay (DPPH). DPPH assay demonstrated that the radical scavenging activity of the combinations, particularly at concentrations exceeding 1 mg/ml, showed a significantly higher percentage of inhibition when compared to the individual component. This suggests an enhancement effect when the two compounds are combined, leading to increased antioxidant activity. In terms of immunomodulatory activity, the individual compounds exhibited distinct behaviors. GLM oil displayed a higher ability to suppress the cytokine TNF- compared to LMWF. Interestingly, the LMWF fraction, when used individually, did not demonstrate TNF- suppression. However, when combined with GLM, the TNF- suppression (anti-inflammatory) activity of the combination was better than GLM or LWMF alone. This observation underscores the potential for enhancement interactions between the two components in terms of anti-inflammatory properties. This study revealed that each individual compound, LMWF, and GLM, possesses unique and notable bioactivity. The combination of these two individual compounds results in an enhancement effect, where the bioactivity of each is enhanced, creating a superior combination. This suggests that the combination of LMWF and GLM has the potential to offer a more potent and multifaceted therapeutic effect, particularly in the context of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. These findings hold promise for the development of novel therapeutic interventions or supplements that harness the enhancement effects.

Keywords: formation damage, porosity loses, pore throat, quartz cement

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Authors: Sasangka Prasetyawan, Anna Roosdiana, Diah Mardiana, Suratmo

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Pectinase are enzymes that hydrolyze pectin compounds. The use of this enzyme is primarily to reduce the viscosity of the beverage thus simplifying the purification process. Pectinase activity influenced by microbial sources . Exploration of two types of microbes that Aspergillus spp. and Bacillus spp. pectinase give different performance, but the use of local strain is still not widely studied. The aim of this research is exploration of pectinase from A. niger and B. firmus include production conditions and characterization. Bacillus firmus incubated and shaken at a speed of 200 rpm at pH variation (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), temperature (30, 35, 40, 45, 50) °C and incubation time (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 ) hours. Media was centrifuged at 3000 rpm, pectinase enzyme activity determined. Enzyme production by A. niger determined to variations in temperature and pH were similar to B. firmus, but the variation of the incubation time was 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 hours. Pectinase crude extract was further purified by precipitation using ammonium sulfate saturation in fraction 0-20 %, 20-40 %, 40-60 %, 60-80 %, then dialyzed. Determination of optimum conditions pectinase activity performed by measuring the variation of enzyme activity on pH (4, 6, 7, 8, 10), temperature (30, 35, 40, 45, 50) °C, and the incubation time (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) minutes . Determination of kinetic parameters of pectinase enzyme reaction carried out by measuring the rate of enzyme reactions at the optimum conditions, but the variation of the concentration of substrate (pectin 0.1 % , 0.2 % , 0.3 % , 0.4 % , 0.5 % ). The results showed that the optimum conditions of production of pectinase from B. firmus achieved at pH 7-8.0, 40-50 ⁰C temperature and fermentation time 18 hours. Purification of pectinase showed the highest purity in the 40-80 % ammonium sulfate fraction. Character pectinase obtained : the optimum working conditions of A. niger pectinase at pH 5 , while pectinase from B. firmus at pH 7, temperature and optimum incubation time showed the same value, namely the temperature of 50 ⁰C and incubation time of 30 minutes. The presence of metal ions can affect the activity of pectinase , the concentration of Zn 2 + , Pb 2 + , Ca 2 + and K + and 2 mM Mg 2 + above 6 mM inhibit the activity of pectinase .

Keywords: pectinase, Bacillus firmus, Aspergillus niger, green chemistry

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Authors: Pooja Rawat, Rakhi Tyagi

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Globally, almost 3 billion people rely on biomass (wood, charcoal, dung and crop residues) and coal as their primary source of domestic energy. Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open fire give rise to major pollutants. Women are primarily affected by these pollutants as they spend most of their time in the house. The WHO World Health Report 2002 estimates that indoor air pollution (IAP) is responsible for 2.7% of the loss of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide and 3.7% in high mortality developing countries. Indoor air pollution has the potential to not only impact health, but also impact the general economic well-being of the household. Exposure to high level of household pollution lead to acute and chronic respiratory conditions (e.g.: pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and cataract). There has been many strategies for reducing IAP like subsidize cleaner fuel technologies, for example use of kerosene rather than traditional biomass fuels. Another example is development, promotion of 'improved cooking stoves'. India, likely ranks second- distributing over 12 million improved stoves in the first seven years of a national program to develop. IAP should be reduced by understanding the welfare effects of reducing IAP within households and to understanding the most cost effective way to reduce it.

Keywords: open fire, indoor pollution, lung diseases, indoor air pollution

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Authors: Anita Khadka, Gregory Epiphaniou, Carsten Maple

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There is a dramatic surge in the adoption of machine learning (ML) techniques in many areas, including the nuclear industry (such as fault diagnosis and fuel management in nuclear power plants), autonomous systems (including self-driving vehicles), space systems (space debris recovery, for example), medical surgery, network intrusion detection, malware detection, to name a few. With the application of learning methods in such diverse domains, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of everyday modern human life. To date, the predominant focus has been on developing underpinning ML algorithms that can improve accuracy, while factors such as resiliency and robustness of algorithms have been largely overlooked. If an adversarial attack is able to compromise the learning method or data, the consequences can be fatal, especially but not exclusively in safety-critical applications. In this paper, we present an in-depth analysis of five adversarial attacks and three defence methods on a crack detection ML model. Our analysis shows that it can be dangerous to adopt machine learning techniques in security-critical areas such as the nuclear industry without rigorous testing since they may be vulnerable to adversarial attacks. While common defence methods can effectively defend against different attacks, none of the three considered can provide protection against all five adversarial attacks analysed.

Keywords: adversarial machine learning, attacks, defences, nuclear industry, crack detection

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Authors: Sunil Dehipawala, Aregama Sirisumana, stephan Smith, P. Schneider, G. Tremberger Jr, D. Lieberman, Todd Holden, T. Cheung

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The arsenic and iron environments in different growth stages have been studied with EXAFS and XANES using Brookhaven Synchrotron Light Source. Collard Greens plants were grown and tissue samples were harvested. The project studied the EXAFS and XANES of tissue samples using As and Fe K-edges. The Fe absorption and the Fourier transform bond length information were used as a control comparison. The Fourier transform of the XAFS data revealed the coexistence of As (III) and As (V) in the As bonding environment inside the studied plant tissue samples, although the soil only had As (III). The data suggests that Collard Greens has a novel pathway to handle arsenic absorption in soil.

Keywords: EXAFS, fourier transform, metalloproteins, XANES

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Authors: Khursheed Ahmad, Shaikh M. Mobin

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In this work, we have developed a highly stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a architecture (ITO/GO/PEDOT:PSS/MAPbI3/PCBM/Carbon tape). The PSCs was fabricated under air using GO/PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer while the carbon tape used as a back contact to complete the device. The fabricated PSCs device exhibited good stability and performance in terms of power conversion efficiency of 5.2%. The PSCs devices were exposed to ambient condition for 4 days which shows excellent stability confirmed by XRD analysis. We believed that the stability of the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cell may be due the presence of GO which inhibits the direct contact between PEDOT:PSS and MAPbI3.

Keywords: graphene oxide, perovskite solar cells, hole transport layer, PEDOT:PSS

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Authors: Flavio Araujo, Julio Lima, Paulo Scalize, Antonio Albuquerque

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Water treatment residues (WTR) are produced during water treatment and have recently been seen as a reusable material. The aim of this research was to perform characterizations of the residue generated in the Meia-Ponte Water Treatment Plant, in Goiania, Brazil, seeking to obtain normative parameters and consider sustainable alternatives for reincorporation of the residues in the productive chain for manufacturing various materials construction. In order to reduce the environmental liabilities generated by sanitation companies and discontinue unsustainable forms of disposal. The analyzes performed: Granulometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-Ray Diffraction demonstrated the potential application of residues to replace the soil and sand, because it has characteristics compatible with small aggregate and can be used as feed stock for the manufacture of materials as ceramic and soil-cement bricks, mortars, interlocking floors and concrete artifacts.

Keywords: residue, sustainable, water treatment plants, WTR

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Authors: Ghazala Hcini, Imen Jdey, Hela Ltifi

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Malaria disease should be considered and handled as a potential restorative catastrophe. One of the most challenging tasks in the field of microscopy image processing is due to differences in test design and vulnerability of cell classifications. In this article, we focused on applying deep learning to classify patients by identifying images of infected and uninfected cells. We performed multiple forms, counting a classification approach using the Hue, Saturation, Value (HSV) color space. HSV is used since of its superior ability to speak to image brightness; at long last, for classification, a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is created. Clusters of focus were used to deliver the classification. The highlights got to be forbidden, and a few more clamor sorts are included in the information. The suggested method has a precision of 99.79%, a recall value of 99.55%, and provides 99.96% accuracy.

Keywords: deep learning, convolutional neural network, image classification, color transformation, HSV color, malaria diagnosis, malaria cells images

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Authors: Sumay Bhojwani, Ashutosh Chandra, Mamita Devaburman, Akriti Bhogal

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This article uses the Material flow analysis for estimating e-wastes in the Delhi/NCR region. The Material flow analysis is based on sales data obtained from various sources. Much of the data available for the sales is unreliable because of the existence of a huge informal sector. The informal sector in India accounts for more than 90%. Therefore, the scope of this study is only limited to the formal one. Also, for projection of the sales data till 2030, we have used regression (linear) to avoid complexity. The actual sales in the years following 2015 may vary non-linearly but we have assumed a basic linear relation. The purpose of this study was to know an approximate quantity of desktop e-wastes that we will have by the year 2030 so that we start preparing ourselves for the ineluctable investment in the treatment of these ever-rising e-wastes. The results of this study can be used to install a treatment plant for e-wastes in Delhi.

Keywords: e-wastes, Delhi, desktops, estimation

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Authors: Manaranjan Pradhan, Shailaja Grover, U. Dinesh Kumar

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Farming community in India, as well as other parts of the world, is one of the highly stressed communities due to reasons such as increasing input costs (cost of seeds, fertilizers, pesticide), droughts, reduced revenue leading to farmer suicides. Lack of integrated farm advisory system in India adds to the farmers problems. Farmers need right information during the early stages of crop’s lifecycle to prevent damage and loss in revenue. In this paper, we use deep learning techniques to develop an early warning system for detection of crop diseases using images taken by farmers using their smart phone. The research work leads to building a smart assistant using analytics and big data which could help the farmers with early diagnosis of the crop diseases and corrective actions. The classical approach for crop disease management has been to identify diseases at crop level. Recently, ImageNet Classification using the convolutional neural network (CNN) has been successfully used to identify diseases at individual plant level. Our model uses convolution filters, max pooling, dense layers and dropouts (to avoid overfitting). The models are built for binary classification (healthy or not healthy) and multi class classification (identifying which disease). Transfer learning is used to modify the weights of parameters learnt through ImageNet dataset and apply them on crop diseases, which reduces number of epochs to learn. One shot learning is used to learn from very few images, while data augmentation techniques are used to improve accuracy with images taken from farms by using techniques such as rotation, zoom, shift and blurred images. Models built using combination of these techniques are more robust for deploying in the real world. Our model is validated using tomato crop. In India, tomato is affected by 10 different diseases. Our model achieves an accuracy of more than 95% in correctly classifying the diseases. The main contribution of our research is to create a personal assistant for farmers for managing plant disease, although the model was validated using tomato crop, it can be easily extended to other crops. The advancement of technology in computing and availability of large data has made possible the success of deep learning applications in computer vision, natural language processing, image recognition, etc. With these robust models and huge smartphone penetration, feasibility of implementation of these models is high resulting in timely advise to the farmers and thus increasing the farmers' income and reducing the input costs.

Keywords: analytics in agriculture, CNN, crop disease detection, data augmentation, image recognition, one shot learning, transfer learning

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Authors: Hameed Alshammari

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The decarbonisation of the energy sector beyond the 21ˢᵗ century is akin to establishing morally responsible mechanisms that can propagate sustainable livelihoods (Denina et al., 2021). It implies that Kuwait undertakes a re-evaluation of energy generation gaps so as to tap the potential to reduce overreliance on fossil fuel (Si et al., 2020) and align with global views on sustainable energy generation and consumption.(Herrero, Pineda, Villar, & Zambrano, 2020). Without the economic pressure to switch to alternative sources of energy, Kuwait requires a multi-dimensional analysis the energy policies andsources of energy other than fossil fuels (Alsaad, 2021).Currently, Kuwait has an energy system that is highly skewed towards fossil fuels (Alsaad, 2021); hence, the reliance on burning fossil fuels forms part of the core elements of the general inefficient energy systems that have negative consequences to global environmental and economic systems (Kang et al., 2020). This paper undertakes a detailed literature review on factors needed for the development of a framework for the multi-dimensional energy resource analysis in Kuwait. The framework aims aligning the current energy policies in Kuwait with the global decarbonisation drive, to promote sustainable energy strategies.

Keywords: decarbonisation, energy, fossil fuels, multi-dimensional analysis, sustainability

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Authors: Zulfikar Dinar Wahidayat Putra

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Water scarcity become a major challenge in an arid area. One of the arid areas is La Serena city in the Northern Chile which become a case study of this paper. Based on that, this paper tries to identify a sustainable water system by using urban harvest approach as a method to achieve water self-sufficiency for a neighborhood area in the La Serena city. By using the method, it is possible to create sustainable water system in the neighborhood area by reducing up to 38% of water demand and 94% of wastewater production even though water self-sufficient cannot be fully achieved, because of its dependency to the drinking water supply from water treatment plant of La Serena city.

Keywords: arid area, sustainable water system, urban harvest approach, self-sufficiency

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Authors: Tahira Hyder, Saima Quraeshi, Zohaib Akram

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Salvadora Persica (SP) is known to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-coagulant and anti-bacterial properties that may provide therapeutic benefits in the treatment of chronic periodontitis (CP). The current clinical trial was designed to investigate the clinical and anti-microbial effects of SP gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planning (SRP) in subjects with generalized CP. Sixty-six subjects with CP were randomized allocated into two groups: SRP + SP gel (test group) and SRP only (control group). Clinical parameters (periodontal pocket depth, gingival recession, clinical attachment level, bleeding score and plaque score) were recorded at baseline before SRP and at 6 weeks. At baseline and 6 weeks subgingival plaque samples were collected and periodontopathogen Porphyromonas Gingivalis (Pg) quantified using Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Both therapies reduced the mean periodontal pocket depth (PPD), plaque score (PS) and bleeding score (BOP) and improved the mean clinical attachment level (CAL) between baseline and 6 weeks. In subjects receiving adjunctive SP gel a statistically significant improvement was observed in BOP at follow-up compared to control group (15.01±3.47% and 22.81±6.81% respectively, p=0.001), while there was no statistically significant difference in periodontal pocket depth, gingival recession, clinical attachment level and plaque score between both groups. The test group displayed significantly greater Pg reduction compared to the control group after 6 weeks. The current study establishes that local delivery of SP gel into periodontal pocket in CP stimulated a significant reduction in bacteria Pg level and an improvement in gingival health, as evident from a reduced bleeding score, when used as an adjunct to SRP.

Keywords: miswak, scaling and root planing, porphyromonas gingivalis, chronic periodontitis

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Authors: Bourfaa Fouzia, Meryem Lamri Zeggar, Adjimi Amel, Mohammed Salah Aida, Nadir Attaf

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Semiconductor photocatalysts such as ZnO has attracted much attention in recent years due to their various applications for the degradation of organic pollutants in water, air and in dye sensitized photovoltaic solar cell. In the present work, ZnO thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis by using different precursors namely: Acetate, chloride and zinc nitrate in order to investigate their influence on ZnO photocatalytic activity. The films crystalline structure was studied by mean of X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD) and the films surface morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The films optical properties were studied by mean of UV–visible spectroscopy. The prepared films were tested for the degradation of the red reactive dye largely used in textile industry. As a result, we found that the zinc nitrate is the best precursor to prepare ZnO thin films suitable for a good photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: precursor, thins films, spray pyrolysis, zinc oxide

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Authors: Pinar Temocin

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Although the Akkuyu nuclear power project has been in the planning the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the Mersin Province of Southern Turkey, recent events have increased its visibility in the Turkish debate. The Fukushima accident, the 2010 nuclear deal with Russia followed by several consequent nuclear revelations of administrative deficiencies, and waste issues all spurted widespread protests across Turkey and have polarized the nation into two camps; supporters and detractors. Those who support a nuclear Turkey include energy entrepreneurs, local investors, and technical experts who are heavily involved in paving the way for the realization of a nuclear project. Civil society activists and environmentalists overwhelmingly oppose the nuclear program. This study focuses on the latter, analyzing how groups opposing nuclear power plants (NPPs) have framed the Akkuyu nuclear project as a dangerous, risky, disadvantageous, and irrational policy choice.

Keywords: nuclear energy, anti-nuclear movements, environmentalists, civil society, Turkey

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Authors: Mariyappan Shanmugam, Bin Yu

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Schottky-barrier solar cells are demonstrated employing 2D-layered MoS2 and WS2 semiconductor nanofilms as photo-active material candidates synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method. Large area MoS2 and WS2 nanofilms are stacked by layer transfer process to achieve thicker photo-active material studied by atomic force microscopy showing a thickness in the range of ~200 nm. Two major vibrational active modes associated with 2D-layered MoS2 and WS2 are studied by Raman spectroscopic technique to estimate the quality of the nanofilms. Schottky-barrier solar cells employed MoS2 and WS2 active materials exhibited photoconversion efficiency of 1.8 % and 1.7 % respectively. Fermi-level pinning at metal/semiconductor interface, electronic transport and possible recombination mechanisms are studied in the Schottky-barrier solar cells.

Keywords: two-dimensional nanosheet, graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, solar cell, Schottky barrier

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Authors: Min-Ah Woo, Min-Cheol Lim, Hyun-Joo Chang, Sung-Wook Choi

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We developed a paper-based colorimetric sensor utilizing magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with aptamers (MNP-Apts) against E. coli O157:H7. The MNP-Apts were applied to a test sample solution containing the target cells, and the solution was simply dropped onto PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) membrane. The membrane moves the sample radially to form the sample spots of different compounds as concentric rings, thus the MNP-Apts on the membrane enabled specific recognition of the target cells through a color ring generation by MNP-promoted colorimetric reaction of TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) and H₂O₂. This method could be applied to rapidly and visually detect various bacterial pathogens in less than 1 h without cell culturing.

Keywords: aptamer, colorimetric sensor, E. coli O157:H7, magnetic nanoparticle, polyvinylidene difluoride

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Authors: Shohel Ahmed, Md. Abdul Alim, Sumaiya Rahman

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Optimal control can be helpful to test and compare different vaccination strategies of a certain disease. The mathematical model of HIV we consider here is a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) describing the interactions of CD4+T cells of the immune system with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As an early treatment setting, we investigate an optimal chemotherapy strategy where control represents the percentage of effect the chemotherapy has on the system. The aim is to obtain a new optimal chemotherapeutic strategy where an isoperimetric constraint on the chemotherapy supply plays a crucial role. We outline the steps in formulating an optimal control problem, derive optimality conditions and demonstrate numerical results of an optimal control for the model. Numerical results illustrate how such a constraint alters the optimal vaccination schedule and its effect on cell-virus interactions.

Keywords: chemotherapy of HIV, optimal control involving ODEs, optimality conditions, Pontryagin’s maximum principle

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Authors: Marta Kwiatkowska, Paweł Jarosiewicz, Bożena Bukowska

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Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine) is a non-selected broad spectrum ingredient in the herbicide (Roundup) used for over 35 years for the protection of agricultural and horticultural crops. Glyphosate was believed to be environmentally friendly but recently, a large body of evidence has revealed that glyphosate can negatively affect on environment and humans. It has been found that glyphosate is present in the soil and groundwater. It can also enter human body which results in its occurrence in blood in low concentrations of 73.6 ± 28.2 ng/ml. Research conducted for potential genotoxicity and cytotoxicity can be an important element in determining the toxic effect of glyphosate. Due to regulation of European Parliament 1107/2009 it is important to assess genotoxicity and cytotoxicity not only for the parent substance but also its impurities, which are formed at different stages of production of major substance – glyphosate. Moreover verifying, which of these compounds are more toxic is required. Understanding of the molecular pathways of action is extremely important in the context of the environmental risk assessment. In 2002, the European Union has decided that glyphosate is not genotoxic. Unfortunately, recently performed studies around the world achieved results which contest decision taken by the committee of the European Union. World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2015 has decided to change the classification of glyphosate to category 2A, which means that the compound is considered to "probably carcinogenic to humans". This category relates to compounds for which there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity to humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity on experimental animals. That is why we have investigated genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects of the most commonly used pesticide: glyphosate and its impurities: N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (PMIDA) and bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), mostly lymphocytes. DNA damage (analysis of DNA strand-breaks) using the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) and ATP level were assessed. Cells were incubated with glyphosate and its impurities: PMIDA and bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine at concentrations from 0.01 to 10 mM for 24 hours. Evaluating genotoxicity using the comet assay showed a concentration-dependent increase in DNA damage for all compounds studied. ATP level was decreased to zero as a result of using the highest concentration of two investigated impurities, like bis-(phosphonomethyl)amine and PMIDA. Changes were observed using the highest concentration at which a person can be exposed as a result of acute intoxication. Our survey leads to a conclusion that the investigated compounds exhibited genotoxic and cytotoxic potential but only in high concentrations, to which people are not exposed environmentally. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre (Contract-2013/11/N/NZ7/00371), MSc Marta Kwiatkowska, project manager.

Keywords: cell viability, DNA damage, glyphosate, impurities, peripheral blood mononuclear cells

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Authors: Asma Salman, Brian Gabbitas, Peng Cao, Deliang Zhang

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The performance of a coating is strongly dependent upon its microstructure, which in turn is dependent on the characteristics of the feedstock powder. This study involves the evaluation and performance of a titanium-based composite coating produced by the HVOF (high-velocity oxygen fuel) spraying method. The feedstock for making the composite coating was produced using high energy mechanical milling of TiO2 and Al powders followed by a combustion reaction. The characteristics of the feedstock powder were improved by treating it with an organic binder. Two types of coatings were produced using treated and untreated feedstock powders. The microstructures and characteristics of both types of coatings were studied, and their thermal shock resistance was accessed by dipping into molten aluminum. The results of this study showed that feedstock treatment did not have a significant effect on the microstructure of the coatings. However, it did affect the uniformity, thickness and surface roughness of the coating on the steel substrate. A coating produced by an untreated feedstock showed better thermal shock resistance in molten aluminum compared with the one produced by PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) treatment.

Keywords: coating, feedstock, powder processing, thermal shock resistance, thermally spraying

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Authors: Gideon J. Bonthuys, Marco van Dijk, Jay N. Bhagwan

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Small scale hydropower used to play a very important role in the provision of energy to urban and rural areas of South Africa. The national electricity grid, however, expanded and offered cheap, coal generated electricity and a large number of hydropower systems were decommissioned. Unfortunately, large numbers of households and communities will not be connected to the national electricity grid for the foreseeable future due to high cost of transmission and distribution systems to remote communities due to the relatively low electricity demand within rural communities and the allocation of current expenditure on upgrading and constructing of new coal fired power stations. This necessitates the development of feasible alternative power generation technologies. A feasibility and implementation model was developed to assist in designing and financially evaluating small-scale hydropower (SSHP) plants. Several sites were identified using the model. The SSHP plants were designed for the selected sites and the designs for the different selected sites were priced using pricing models (civil, mechanical and electrical aspects). Following feasibility studies done on the designed and priced SSHP plants, a feasibility analysis was done and a design chart developed for future similar potential SSHP plant projects. The methodology followed in conducting the feasibility analysis for other potential sites consisted of developing cost and income/saving formulae, developing net present value (NPV) formulae, Capital Cost Comparison Ratio (CCCR) and levelised cost formulae for SSHP projects for the different types of plant installations. It included setting up a model for the development of a design chart for a SSHP, calculating the NPV, CCCR and levelised cost for the different scenarios within the model by varying different parameters within the developed formulae, setting up the design chart for the different scenarios within the model and analyzing and interpreting results. From the interpretation of the develop design charts for feasible SSHP in can be seen that turbine and distribution line cost are the major influences on the cost and feasibility of SSHP. High head, short transmission line and islanded mini-grid SSHP installations are the most feasible and that the levelised cost of SSHP is high for low power generation sites. The main conclusion from the study is that the levelised cost of SSHP projects indicate that the cost of SSHP for low energy generation is high compared to the levelised cost of grid connected electricity supply; however, the remoteness of SSHP for rural electrification and the cost of infrastructure to connect remote rural communities to the local or national electricity grid provides a low CCCR and renders SSHP for rural electrification feasible on this basis.

Keywords: cost, feasibility, rural electrification, small-scale hydropower

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Authors: Lahaina U. Dilangalen

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Using descriptive-experimental research methods, this study aimed to identify the main resources of water, assessed the water quality, sanitation and hygiene practices, and extent of implementation. Complete enumeration was done in 28 elementary public schools of Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality. Questionnaires were given to the school advisers. Water samples were obtained from the same schools and were submitted to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region XII for microbial analysis, specifically the presence of fecal coliform bacteria. Four water resources such as hand pump, faucet, deep well and spring were found being used in the 28 schools. Of water resources, the only treated was from the faucet. Most of the schools used the water for drinking and washing. Two schools strongly agreed, nine schools agreed and seventeen schools disagreed that they implemented DepEd Order no.56 s. 2009. In addition, two schools strongly agreed and twenty six agreed that they implemented DepEd Order No. 65 s. 2009. Five schools had water supply that were safe to drink while sixteen schools had water supply that were not safe to drink due to high fecal coliform count and did not undergo chemical treatment. The only safe for drinking were water resources that came from faucet because they were chemically treated. Seven out of 28 schools did not have water supply due to their location in mountainous areas. More than half of the schools did not comply with the DepEd Order No. 56 s. 2009 due to the lack of funds and support from the PTA and LGU. It is recommended that the Department of Education must have an urgent assessment of implementing both DepEd Orders No.56 and 65, to assure that the schoolchildren be protected from water and sanitation related ailments. Also, all water resources that are not treated must be used for washing only. Ideally, all the water resources must be treated to assure the safety of all school constituents. Moreover, the school administrators and teachers in the municipality must be provided copies of the results of this study for reference in implementing the said programs.

Keywords: assessment, drinking water, fecal coliform, groundwater

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Authors: Peace Nnadi

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This research was aimed at using seed extraction methods, soil media and planting density to enhance seed germination and seedling growth of Chrysophyllum albidum commonly known as star apple. The experiment was conducted in two stages, mature, healthy ripe fruits were used and the seeds were extracted from the fruits. The experiment involves the extraction of uniform number of seeds of pulpled and depulped, planted into the various soil media. Result on planting density also showed that Depulped seeds/ seedlings at (p=0.05), recorded significant increase in germination percentage and seedling growth. The finding shows that when seeds are depulped, they enhance germination percentage and addition of poultry manure to the soil media encourages plant growth.

Keywords: germination, seedling, soil media, extraction

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Authors: Zeinab Syed Abdel Rehim

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Water shortage is considered as one of the huge problems the world encounter now. Water desalination is considered as one of the more suitable methods governments can use to substitute the increased need for potable water. The humidification-dehumidification process for water desalination is viewed as a promising technique for small capacity production plants. The process has several attraction features which include the use of sustainable energy sources, low technology, and low-temperature dehumidification. A pilot experimental set-up plant was constructed with the conventional HVAC components such as air blower that supplies air to an air duct inside which air preheater, steam injector and cooling coil of a small refrigeration unit are placed. The present work evaluates the characteristics of humidification-dehumidification process for water desalination as a function of air flow rate, total power input and air inlet temperature in order to study the optimum conditions required to produce distilled water.

Keywords: condensation, dehumidification, evaporation, humidification, water desalination

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Authors: Raana Babadi Fathipour

Abstract:

Biofilms, those intricate structures of microbial aggregation that emerge as microorganisms adhere to animate or inanimate surfaces, possess an innate capacity to shield their inhabitants from adversities within the environment whilst fortifying their endurance against antimicrobial agents. This remarkable aspect facilitates the persistence and virulence of said microorganisms, establishing biofilm formation as an integral component of bacterial survival mechanisms. However, should foodborne pathogens adopt this mode of existence, the potentiality for foodborne disease infections becomes alarmingly intensified—an alarming prospect that harbors significant public health hazards and engenders deleterious economic ramifications. Thus, due to these consequences lurking on the horizon, extensive research concentrating upon comprehending biofilms and devising efficacious removal strategies assumes a position imbued with paramount importance within the realm of the food industry. The problem of food waste resulting from spoilage in the food industry continues to present a widespread challenge to both environmental sustainability and the security of our food supplies. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve into the formation of bacterial biofilms, highlighting the specific issues they pose within the realm of food production. Additionally, we provide an overview of various types of common foodborne pathogens that tend to thrive in these biofilms. Furthermore, we summarize existing strategies aimed at tackling or managing detrimental bacterial biofilm growth. We also introduce contemporary approaches that show promise in terms of controlling this issue and highlight their potential for further advancement. Ultimately, our focus lies on outlining prospects for future development as they pertain specifically to combatting bacterial biofilms within the field.

Keywords: foodborne pathogens, food safety, biofilm, resistance, quorum-sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Fahad Alamoudi, Yaser Miaji, Fawzy Jalalah

Abstract:

The growing popularity of swimming pools and other activities in the water for sport, fitness, therapy or just enjoyable relaxation have led to the increased use of swimming pools and the establishment of a variety of specific-use pools such as spa pools, Waterslides and more recently, hydrotherapy and wave pools. In this research a few simple equipments are used for test, Detect and alert for detection of water cleanness and pollution. YSI Photometer Systems, TDSTestr High model, rio 12HF, and Electrode A1. The researchers used electrolysis as a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them. The results which use 41 experiments show the higher the salt concentration, the more efficient the electrode and the smaller the gap between the plates and The lower the electrode voltage. Furthermore, it is proved that the larger the surface area, the lower the cell voltage and the higher current used the more chlorine produced.

Keywords: photometer, electrode, electrolysis, swimming pool chlorination

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Alloysius C. Ogodo, Ositadinma C. Ugbogu, Uzochukwu G. Ekeleme

Abstract:

Food poisoning and infection by bacteria are of public health significance to both developing and developed countries. Samples of ogi (akamu) prepared from white and yellow variety of maize sold in Uturu and Okigwe were analyzed together with the laboratory prepared ogi for microbial quality using the standard microbiological methods. The analyses showed that both white and yellow variety had total bacterial counts (cfu/g) of 4.0 ×107 and 3.9 x 107 for the laboratory prepared ogi while the commercial ogi had 5.2 x 107 and 4.9 x107, 4.9 x107 and 4.5 x107, 5.4 x107 and 5.0 x107 for Eke-Okigwe, Up-gate and Nkwo-Achara market respectively. The Staphylococcal counts ranged from 2.0 x 102 to 5.0 x102 and 1.0 x 102 to 4.0 x102 for the white and yellow variety from the different markets while Staphylococcal growth was not recorded on the laboratory prepared ogi. The laboratory prepared ogi had no Coliform growth while the commercially prepared ogi had counts of 0.5 x103 to 1.6 x 103 for white variety and 0.3 x 103 to 1.1 x103 for yellow variety respectively. The Lactic acid bacterial count of 3.5x106 and 3.0x106 was recorded for the laboratory ogi while the commercially prepared ogi ranged from 3.2x106 to 4.2x106 (white variety) and 3.0 x106 to 3.9 x106 (yellow). The presence of bacteria isolates from the commercial and laboratory fermented ogi showed that Lactobacillus sp, Leuconostoc sp and Citrobacter sp were present in all the samples, Micrococcus sp and Klebsiella sp were isolated from Eke-Okigwe and ABSU-up-gate markets varieties respectively, E. coli and Staphylococcus sp were present in Eke-Okigwe and Nkwo-Achara markets while Salmonella sp were isolated from the three markets. Hence, there are chances of contracting food borne diseases from commercially prepared ogi. Therefore, there is the need for sanitary measures in the production of fermented cereals so as to minimize the rate of food borne pathogens during processing and storage.

Keywords: ogi, fermentation, bacterial quality, lactic acid bacteria, maize

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Mudasir Ahmad Syed, Raashid Ahmd Wani, Mashooq Ahmad Dar, Uneeb Urwat, Riaz Ahmad Shah, Nazir Ahmad Ganai

Abstract:

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (Salmonella Typhimurium) is a primary avian pathogen responsible for severe intestinal pathology in younger chickens and economic losses. However, the Salmonella Typhimurium is also able to cause infection in humans, described by typhoid fever and acute gastro-intestinal disease. A study was conducted at days to investigate pathological, histopathological, haemato-biochemical, immunological and expression kinetics of NRAMP (natural resistance associated macrophage protein) gene family (NRAMP1 and NRAMP2) in broiler chickens following experimental infection of Salmonella Typhimurium at 0,1,3,5,7,9,11,13 and 15 days respectively. Infection was developed in birds through oral route at 2×108 CFU/ml. Clinical symptoms appeared 4 days post infection (dpi) and after one-week birds showed progressive weakness, anorexia, diarrhea and lowering of head. On postmortem examination, liver showed congestion, hemorrhage and necrotic foci on surface, while as spleen, lungs and intestines revealed congestion and hemorrhages. Histopathological alterations were principally observed in liver in second week post infection. Changes in liver comprised of congestion, areas of necrosis, reticular endothelial hyperplasia in association with mononuclear cell and heterophilic infiltration. Hematological studies confirm a significant decrease (P<0.05) in RBC count, Hb concentration and PCV. White blood cell count showed significant increase throughout the experimental study. An increase in heterophils was found up to 7dpi and a decreased pattern was observed afterwards. Initial lymphopenia followed by lymphocytosis was found in infected chicks. Biochemical studies showed a significant increase in glucose, AST and ALT concentration and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in total protein and albumin level in the infected group. Immunological studies showed higher titers of IgG in infected group as compared to control group. The real time gene expression of NRAMPI and NRAMP2 genes increased significantly (P<0.05) in infected group as compared to controls. The peak expression of NRAMP1 gene was seen in liver, spleen and caecum of infected birds at 3dpi, 5dpi and 7dpi respectively, while as peak expression of NRAMP2 gene in liver, spleen and caecum of infected chicken was seen at 9dpi, 5dpi and 9dpi respectively. This study has role in diagnostics and prognostics in the poultry industry for the detection of salmonella infections at early stages of poultry development.

Keywords: biochemistry, histopathology, NRAMP, poultry, real time expression, Salmonella Typhimurium

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: T. Angeline Priyanka, R. Ganesan

Abstract:

Recent trends in microelectronics technology have gradually changed the strategies used in very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits. Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology has been the industry standard for implementing VLSI device for the past two decades, but due to scale-down issues of ultra-low dimension achievement is not achieved so far. Hence it paved a way for Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA). It is only one of the many alternative technologies proposed as a replacement solution to the fundamental limit problem that CMOS technology will impose in the years to come. In this brief, presented a new adder that possesses high speed of operation occupying less area is proposed. This adder is designed especially for error tolerant application. Hence in the proposed adder, the overall area (cell count) and simulation time are reduced by 88 and 73 percent respectively. Various results of the proposed adder are shown and described.

Keywords: quantum cellular automata, carry look ahead adder, ripple carry adder, lossy application, majority gate, crossover

Procedia PDF Downloads 541

Authors: Ibtissem Hosni, Lilia Bennaceur Farah, Saber Mohamed Naceur

Abstract:

In order to assess the water availability in the soil, it is crucial to have information about soil distributed moisture content; this parameter helps to understand the effect of humidity on the exchange between soil, plant cover and atmosphere in addition to fully understanding the surface processes and the hydrological cycle. On the other hand, aerodynamic roughness length is a surface parameter that scales the vertical profile of the horizontal component of the wind speed and characterizes the surface ability to absorb the momentum of the airflow. In numerous applications of the surface hydrology and meteorology, aerodynamic roughness length is an important parameter for estimating momentum, heat and mass exchange between the soil surface and atmosphere. It is important on this side, to consider the atmosphere factors impact in general, and the natural erosion in particular, in the process of soil evolution and its characterization and prediction of its physical parameters. The study of the induced movements by the wind over soil vegetated surface, either spaced plants or plant cover, is motivated by significant research efforts in agronomy and biology. The known major problem in this side concerns crop damage by wind, which presents a booming field of research. Obviously, most models of soil surface require information about the aerodynamic roughness length and its temporal and spatial variability. We have used a bi-dimensional multi-scale (2D MLS) roughness description where the surface is considered as a superposition of a finite number of one-dimensional Gaussian processes each one having a spatial scale using the wavelet transform and the Mallat algorithm to describe natural surface roughness. We have introduced multi-layer aspect of the humidity of the soil surface, to take into account a volume component in the problem of backscattering radar signal. As humidity increases, the dielectric constant of the soil-water mixture increases and this change is detected by microwave sensors. Nevertheless, many existing models in the field of radar imagery, cannot be applied directly on areas covered with vegetation due to the vegetation backscattering. Thus, the radar response corresponds to the combined signature of the vegetation layer and the layer of soil surface. Therefore, the key issue of the numerical estimation of soil moisture is to separate the two contributions and calculate both scattering behaviors of the two layers by defining the scattering of the vegetation and the soil blow. This paper presents a synergistic methodology, and it is for estimating roughness and soil moisture from C-band radar measurements. The methodology adequately represents a microwave/optical model which has been used to calculate the scattering behavior of the aerodynamic vegetation-covered area by defining the scattering of the vegetation and the soil below.

Keywords: aerodynamic, bi-dimensional, vegetation, synergistic

Procedia PDF Downloads 258