Search results for: blood components

Authors: K. Ismail, A. Ali, R. C. Hasan, I. Khalil, Z. Bachok, N. M. Said, A. M. Muslim, M. S. Che Din, W. S. Chong

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The marine ecosystem in Malaysia holds invaluable potential in terms of economics, food security, pharmaceuticals components and protection from natural hazards. Although exploration of oil and gas industry and fisheries are active within Malaysian waters, knowledge of the seascape and ecological functioning of benthic habitats is still extremely poor in the marine parks around Malaysia due to the lack of detailed seafloor information. Consequently, it is difficult to manage marine resources effectively, protect ecologically important areas and set legislation to safeguard the marine parks. The limited baseline data hinders scientific linkage to support effective marine spatial management in Malaysia. This became the main driver behind the first seabed mapping effort at the national level. Taman Laut Labuan (TLL) is located to the west coast of Sabah and to the east of South China Sea. The total area of TLL is approximately 158.15 km2, comprises of three islands namely Pulau Kuraman, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil and is characterised by shallow fringing reef with few submerged shallow reef. The unfamiliar rocky shorelines limit the survey of multibeam echosounder to area with depth more than 10 m. Whereas, singlebeam and side scan sonar systems were used to acquire the data for area with depth less than 10 m. By integrating data from multibeam bathymetry and backscatter with singlebeam bathymetry and side sonar images, we produce a substrate map and coral coverage map for the TLL using i) marine landscape mapping technique and ii) RSOBIA ArcGIS toolbar (developed by T. Le Bas). We take the initiative to explore the ability of aerial drone and satellite image (WorldView-3) to derive the depths and substrate type within the intertidal and subtidal zone where it is not accessible via acoustic mapping. Although the coverage was limited, the outcome showed a promising technique to be incorporated towards establishing a guideline to facilitate a standard practice for efficient marine spatial management in Malaysia.

Keywords: habitat mapping, marine spatial management, South China Sea, National seabed mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Megan L. Srinivas

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Individuals with underlying rheumatologic diseases such as dermatomyositis may not adequately respond to tuberculin (PPD) skin tests, creating false negative results. These illnesses are frequently treated with immunosuppressive therapy making proper identification of TB infection imperative. A 59-year-old Filipino man was diagnosed with dermatomyositis on the basis of rash, electromyography, and muscle biopsy. He was initially treated with IVIG infusions and transitioned to oral prednisone and mycophenolate. The patient’s symptoms improved on this regimen. Six months after starting mycophenolate, the patient began having fevers, night sweats, and productive cough without hemoptysis. He moved from the Philippines 5 years prior to dermatomyositis diagnosis, denied sick contacts, and was PPD negative both at immigration and immediately prior to starting mycophenolate treatment. A third PPD was negative following the onset of these new symptoms. He was treated for community-acquired pneumonia, but symptoms worsened over 10 days and he developed watery diarrhea and a growing non-tender, non-mobile mass on the left side of his neck. A chest x-ray demonstrated a cavitary lesion in right upper lobe suspicious for TB that had not been present one month earlier. Chest CT corroborated this finding also exhibiting necrotic hilar and paratracheal lymphadenopathy. Neck CT demonstrated the left-sided mass as cervical chain lymphadenopathy. Expectorated sputum and stool samples contained acid-fast bacilli (AFB), cultures showing TB bacteria. Fine-needle biopsy of the neck mass (scrofula) also exhibited AFB. An MRI brain showed nodular enhancement suspected to be a tuberculoma. Mycophenolate was discontinued and dermatomyositis treatment was switched to oral prednisone with a 3-day course of IVIG. The patient’s infection showed sensitivity to standard RIPE (rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol) treatment. Within a week of starting RIPE, the patient’s diarrhea subsided, scrofula diminished, and symptoms significantly improved. By the end of treatment week 3, the patient’s sputum no longer contained AFB; he was removed from isolation, and was discharged to continue RIPE at home. He was discharged on oral prednisone, which effectively addressed his dermatomyositis. This case illustrates the unreliability of PPD tests in patients with long-term inflammatory diseases such as dermatomyositis. Other immunosuppressive therapies (adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab) have been affiliated with conversion of latent TB to disseminated TB. Mycophenolate is another immunosuppressive agent with similar mechanistic properties. Thus, it is imperative that patients with long-term inflammatory diseases and high-risk TB factors initiating immunosuppressive therapy receive a TB blood test (such as a quantiferon gold assay) prior to the initiation of therapy to ensure that latent TB is unmasked before it can evolve into a disseminated form of the disease.

Keywords: dermatomyositis, immunosuppressant medications, mycophenolate, disseminated tuberculosis

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Authors: Emanuela Chiarella, Clelia Nisticò, Nicola Lombardo, Giovanna Lucia Piazzetta, Nadia Lobello, Maria Mesuraca

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Killian’s Antrochoanal Polyp is a benign lesion of the maxillary sinus characterized by unilateral nasal obstruction, pus discharge, and headache. It affects, more commonly children and young adults. Although its etiology still remains unclear, chronic inflammation, autoreactivity, allergies, and viral infections are strongly associated with its formation and development, resulting in nasal tissue remodeling. We aimed to investigate the stem cells components which reside in this pathological tissue. In particular, we adopted a protocol for the isolation and culturing of mesenchymal stem cells from surgical biopsies of three Killian nasal polyp patients (KNP-MSCs) as well as from their healthy nasal tissue (HNT-MSCs) that were used as controls. The immunophenotype profile of HNT-MSCs and KNP-MSCs was more similar, with a marked positivity for CD73, CD90, and CD105 expression, while being negative for CD34 and CD14 haematopoietic genes. Cell proliferation assay showed that KNP-MSCs had a replicative disadvantage compared to HNT-MSCs, as evidenced by the significantly lower number of cells in the S-phase of the cell cycle. KNP-MSCs also took longer to close a wound than HNT-MSCs, indicating a partial epithelial phenotype in which low levels of ICAM-1 mRNA and a significant increase in E-CAD transcript were detectable. Subsequently, the differentiation potential of both MSCs populations was analyzed by inducing osteoblastic or adipocyte differentiation for up to 20 days. KNP-MSCs showed the ability to differentiate into osteoblasts, although ALP activity as well as the number and size of calcium deposits were lower than osteogenic induced-HNT-MSCs. Also, mRNA levels of osteoblastic marker genes (OCN, OPN, OSX, RUNX2) resulted lower compared to control cell population. Instead, the analysis of the adipogenic differentiation potential showed a similar behavior between KNP-MSCs and HNT-MSCs considering that the amount of lipid droplets, the expression of adipocyte-specific genes (FABP4, AdipoQ, PPARγ2, LPL) and the content of triacylglycerols were almost overlapping. Taken together, these results first demonstrated that Killian's nasal polyp is a source of mesenchymal stem cells with self-renewal and multi-differentiative capabilities.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells, adipogenic differentiation, osteogenic differentiation, EMT

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Authors: Naeimehsadat Hosseininam, Rui Wang, Dishita Shah

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In recent years, new experimental approaches with the help of the new technology have bridged the gaps between the application of natural materials and creating unconventional forms. Clay has been one of the oldest building materials in all ancient civilizations. The availability and workability of clay have contributed to the widespread application of this material around the world. The aim of this experimental research is to apply the Clay 3D printing technology to create a load bearing and visually dynamic and undulating façade. Creation of different unique pieces is the most significant goal of this research which justifies the application of 3D printing technology instead of the conventional mass industrial production. This study provides an abbreviated overview of the similar cases which have used the Clay 3D printing to generate the corresponding prototypes. The study of these cases also helps in understanding the potential and flexibility of the material and 3D printing machine in developing different forms. In the next step, experimental research carried out by 3D printing of six various options which designed considering the properties of clay as well as the methodology of them being 3D printed. Here, the ratio of water to clay (W/C) has a significant role in the consistency of the material and the workability of the clay. Also, the size of the selected nozzle impacts the shape and the smoothness of the final surface. Moreover, the results of these experiments show the limitations of clay toward forming various slopes. The most notable consequence of having steep slopes in the prototype is an unpredicted collapse which is the result of internal tension in the material. From the six initial design ideas, the final prototype selected with the aim of creating a self-supported component with unique blocks that provides a possibility of installing the insulation system within the component. Apart from being an undulated façade, the presented prototype has the potential to be used as a fence and an interior partition (double-sided). The central shaft also provides a space to run services or insulation in different parts of the wall. In parallel to present the capability and potential of the clay 3D printing technology, this study illustrates the limitations of this system in some certain areas. There are inevitable parameters such as printing speed, temperature, drying speed that need to be considered while printing each piece. Clay 3D printing technology provides the opportunity to create variations and design parametric building components with the application of the most practiced material in the world.

Keywords: clay 3D printing, material capability, undulating facade, load bearing facade

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Authors: Melek Göregenli, Işık Gürşimşek

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There has been a great deal of research in the past few decades examining attitudes toward homosexuals.Theoretic research has demonstrated that antihomosexual attitudes are expressed in cognitive, affective, behavioral and cultural components. Homophobia is generally defined as hostility towards or fear of LGBTI people, but can also refer to social and cultural ideologies which stigmatize homosexuality. Negative feelings or attitudes towards non-heterosexual behavior, identity, relationships and community can lead to homophobic behavior and is the root of the discrimination experienced by many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTI) people. Since the increase in number of hate crimes during the last decade, there has been a sense of urgency to respond to the problem of hate violence in Turkey. The LGBTI Rights Association KAOS-GL indicated that the most of lesbian, gay, bisexual, travesty and transsexuals reported some form of victimization in their lifetimes based on their sexual orientation in Turkey. This study explored the relations between homophobia, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and just world belief attitudes towards LGBTI individuals in a sample of 393 Turkish college students from Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. Data were collected with a questionnaire including the Homosexism Scale, the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Social Dominance Orientation Scale and Just World Belief Scale. Participants completed a questionnaire containing the attitude measures and other several questions related with the socio-demographic variables. Consistent with the previous finding males were more homophobic than females. Contrary to this finding the main effects of other demographic variables (age, income, place of birth, class) were not statistically significant except the department of participants. These findings imply that efforts to garner wide-ranging support for policies designed to change negative attitudes to LGBT people and to enhance the given awareness on homophobia. The results of the study were discussed in cross-cultural and social psychological perspective considering cultural and social values of Turkey and current political circumstances of the country.

Keywords: homophobia, just world belief, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, Turkey

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: R. F. Vieira, D. Lopes, I. Baptista, S. A. Figueiredo, V. F. Domingues, R. Jorge, C. Delerue-matos, O. M. Freitas

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Odours are generated in municipal solid wastes management plants as a result of decomposition of organic matter, especially when anaerobic degradation occurs. Information was collected about the substances and respective concentration in the surrounding atmosphere of some management plants. The main components which are associated with these unpleasant odours were identified: ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. The first is the most common and the one that presents the highest concentrations, reaching values of 700 mg/m3. Biofiltration, which involves simultaneously biodegradation, absorption and adsorption processes, is a sustainable technology for the treatment of these odour emissions when a natural packing material is used. The packing material should ideally be cheap, durable, and allow the maximum microbiological activity and adsorption/absorption. The presence of nutrients and water is required for biodegradation processes. Adsorption and absorption are enhanced by high specific surface area, high porosity and low density. The main purpose of this work is the exploitation of natural waste materials, locally available, as packing media: heather (Erica lusitanica), chestnut bur (from Castanea sativa), peach pits (from Prunus persica) and eucalyptus bark (from Eucalyptus globulus). Preliminary batch tests of ammonia removal were performed in order to select the most interesting materials for biofiltration, which were then characterized. The following physical and chemical parameters were evaluated: density, moisture, pH, buffer and water retention capacity. The determination of equilibrium isotherms and the adjustment to Langmuir and Freundlich models was also performed. Both models can fit the experimental results. Based both in the material performance as adsorbent and in its physical and chemical characteristics, eucalyptus bark was considered the best material. It presents a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.78±0.45 mol/kg for ammonia. The results from its characterization are: 121 kg/m3 density, 9.8% moisture, pH equal to 5.7, buffer capacity of 0.370 mmol H+/kg of dry matter and water retention capacity of 1.4 g H2O/g of dry matter. The application of natural materials locally available, with little processing, in biofiltration is an economic and sustainable alternative that should be explored.

Keywords: ammonia removal, biofiltration, natural materials, odour control

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Pornthep Rachnavy

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The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we believe that there are a significant relationship between sculling angle and sculling style among adaptive rowing. Second, we introduce a methodology used for adaptive rowing, namely simulation, to identify effectiveness of adaptive rowing. For our study we simulate the arms only single scull of adaptive rowing. The method for rowing fastest under the 1000 meter was investigated by study sculling angle using the simulation modeling. A simulation model of a rowing system was developed using the Matlab software package base on equations of motion consist of many variation for moving the boat such as oars length, blade velocity and sculling style. The boat speed, power and energy consumption on the system were compute. This simulation modeling can predict the force acting on the boat. The optimum sculling angle was performing by computer simulation for compute the solution. Input to the model are sculling style of each rower and sculling angle. Outputs of the model are boat velocity at 1000 meter. The present study suggests that the optimum sculling angle exist depends on sculling styles. The optimum angle for blade entry and release with respect to the perpendicular through the pin of the first style is -57.00 and 22.0 degree. The optimum angle for blade entry and release with respect to the perpendicular through the pin of the second style is -57.00 and 22.0 degree. The optimum angle for blade entry and release with respect to the perpendicular through the pin of the third style is -51.57 and 28.65 degree. The optimum angle for blade entry and release with respect to the perpendicular through the pin of the fourth style is -45.84 and 34.38 degree. A theoretical simulation for rowing has been developed and presented. The results suggest that it may be advantageous for the rowers to select the sculling angles proper to sculling styles. The optimum sculling angles of the rower depends on the sculling styles made by each rower. The investigated of this paper can be concludes in three directions: 1;. There is the optimum sculling angle in arms only single scull of adaptive rowing. 2. The optimum sculling angles depend on the sculling styles. 3. Computer simulation of rowing can identify opportunities for improving rowing performance by utilizing the kinematic description of rowing. The freedom to explore alternatives in speed, thrust and timing with the computer simulation will provide the coach with a tool for systematic assessments of rowing technique In addition, the ability to use the computer to examine the very complex movements during rowing will help both the rower and the coach to conceptualize the components of movements that may have been previously unclear or even undefined.

Keywords: simulation, sculling, adaptive, rowing

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Authors: Luvindran Sugumaran, Mohd Nashrul Mohd Zubir, Kazi Md Salim Newaz, Tuan Zaharinie Tuan Zahari, Suazlan Mt Aznam, Aiman Mohd Halil

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With the fast growth of integrated circuits and the trend towards making electronic devices smaller, the heat dissipation load of electronic devices has continued to go over the limit. The high heat flux element would not only harm the operation and lifetime of the equipment but would also impede the performance upgrade brought about by the iteration of technological updates, which would have a direct negative impact on the economic and production cost benefits of rising industries. Hence, in high-tech industries like radar, information and communication, electromagnetic power, and aerospace, the development and implementation of effective heat dissipation technologies were urgently required. Pool boiling is favored over other cooling methods because of its capacity to dissipate a high heat flux at a low wall superheat without the usage of mechanical components. Enhancing the pool boiling performance by increasing the heat transfer coefficient via surface modification techniques has received a lot of attention. There are several surface modification methods feasible today, but the stability and durability of surface modification are the greatest priority. Thus, laser machining is an interesting choice for surface modification due to its low production cost, high scalability, and repeatability. In this study, different patterns of laser-processed copper surfaces are fabricated to investigate the nucleate pool boiling heat transfer performance of distilled water. The investigation showed that there is a significant enhancement in the pool boiling heat transfer performance of the laser-processed surface compared to the reference surface due to the notable increase in nucleation frequency and nucleation site density. It was discovered that the heat transfer coefficients increased when both the surface area ratio and the ratio of peak-to-valley height of the microstructure were raised. It is believed that the development of microstructures on the surface as a result of laser processing is the primary factor in the enhancement of heat transfer performance.

Keywords: heat transfer coefficient, laser processing, micro structured surface, pool boiling

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Mohamed Moustafa, Medhat Abdallah, Ramy Magdy, Ahmed Abdrabou, Mohamed Badr

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The scribe box under study dates back to the old kingdom. It was excavated by the Italian expedition in Qena (1935-1937). The box consists of 2pieces, the lid and the body. The inner side of the lid is decorated with ancient Egyptian inscriptions written with a black pigment. The box was made using several panels assembled together by wooden dowels and secured with plant ropes. The entire box is covered with a red pigment. This study aims to use analytical techniques in order to identify and have deep understanding for the box components. Moreover, the authors were significantly interested in using infrared reflectance transmission imaging (RTI-IR) to improve the hidden inscriptions on the lid. The identification of wood species included in this study. The visual observation and assessment were done to understand the condition of this box. 3Ddimensions and 2D programs were used to illustrate wood joints techniques. Optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence portable (XRF) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used in this study in order to identify wood species, remains of insects bodies, red pigment, fibers plant and previous conservation adhesives, also RTI-IR technique was very effective to improve hidden inscriptions. The analysis results proved that wooden panels and dowels were identified as Acacia nilotica, wooden rail was Salix sp. the insects were identified as Lasioderma serricorne and Gibbium psylloids, the red pigment was Hematite, while the fiber plants were linen, previous adhesive was identified as cellulose nitrates. The historical study for the inscriptions proved that it’s a Hieratic writings of a funerary Text. After its transportation from the Egyptian museum storage to the wood conservation laboratory of the Grand Egyptian museum –conservation center (GEM-CC), conservation techniques were applied with high accuracy in order to restore the object including cleaning , consolidating of friable pigments and writings, removal of previous adhesive and reassembly, finally the conservation process that were applied were extremely effective for this box which became ready for display or storage in the grand Egyptian museum.

Keywords: scribe box, hieratic, 3D program, Acacia nilotica, XRD, cellulose nitrate, conservation

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Maria Consuelo Doble

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For decades, basic public education in the Philippines has been beleaguered by a governance scenario of multi-layered decision-making and the lack of collaboration between sectors in addressing issues on poor access to schools, high dropout rates, low survival rates, and poor student performance. These chronic problems persisted despite multiple efforts making it appear that the education system is incapable of reforming itself. In the mountainous rural towns of La Trinidad and Tuba, in the province of Benguet in Northern Philippines, collaborative education governance was catalyzed by the intervention of Synergeia Foundation, a coalition made up of individuals, institutions and organizations that aim to improve the quality of education in the Philippines. Its major thrust is to empower the major stakeholders at the community level to make education work by building the capacities of School Governing Councils (SGCs). Although mandated by the Department of Education in 2006, the SGCs in Philippine public elementary schools remained dysfunctional. After one year of capacity-building by Synergeia Foundation, some SGCs are already exhibiting active community-based multi-sectoral collaboration, while there are many that are not. With the myriad of factors hindering collaboration, Synergeia Foundation is now confronted with the pressing question: What are the factors that promote collaborative governance in the SGCs so that they can address the education-related issues that they are facing? Using Emerson’s (2011) framework on collaborative governance, this study analyzes the application of collaborative governance by highly-functioning SGCs in the public elementary schools of Tuba and La Trinidad. Findings of this action research indicate how the dynamics of collaboration composed of three interactive and iterative components – principled engagement, shared motivation and capacity for joint action – have resulted in meaningful short-term impact such as stakeholder engagement and decreased a number of dropouts. The change in the behavior of stakeholders is indicative of adaptation to a more collaborative approach in governing education in Benguet highland settings such as Tuba and La Trinidad.

Keywords: basic public education, Benguet highlands, collaborative governance, School Governing Council

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Authors: A. Moghadasein, M. Ghasemi, S. Fazelifar

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Aim: Chemerin is a novel adipokine that play an important role in regulating lipid metabolism and abiogenesis. Chemerin is dependent on autocrine and paracrine signals for the differentiation and maturation of fat cells; it also regulates glucose uptake in fat cells and stimulates lipolysis. It has been reported that in adipocytes, chemerin enhances the insulin-stimulated glucose and causes the phosphorylation of tyrosine in Insulin receptor substrate. According to the studies, Chemerin may increase insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue and is largely associated with Body mass index, triglycerides, and blood pressure in those with normal glucose tolerance. There is limited information available regarding the effect of exercise training on serum chemerin concentrations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of endurance training on serum chemerin levels and lipids of plasma in overweight women. Methodology: This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pre-post test design. After required examination and verification of high pressure by the physician, 22 obese subjects (age: 35.64±5.55 yr, weight: 75.62±9.30 kg, body mass index: 32.4±1.6 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to aerobic training (n= 12) and control (n= 12) groups. Participants completed a questionnaire indicating the lack of sports history during the past six months, the lack of anti-hypertension drugs use, hormone therapy, cardiovascular problems, and complete stoppage of menstrual cycle. Aerobic training was performed 3 times weekly for 8 weeks. Resting levels of chemerin plasma, metabolic parameters were measured prior to and after the intervention. The control group did not participate in any training program. In this study, ethical considerations included the complete description of the objectives to the study participants, ensuring the confidentiality of their information. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levin test were used for determining the normal distribution of data and homogeneity of variances, respectively. Analyze of variance with repeated measure were used to investigate the changes in the intra-group and the differences in inter-group of variables. Statistical operations were performed using SPSS 16 and the significance level of the tests was considered at P < 0.05. Results: After an 8 week aerobic training, levels of chemerin plasma were significantly decreased in aerobic trained group when compared with their control groups (p < 0.05).Concurrently, levels of HDL-c were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) whereas, levels of cholesterol, TG and LDL-c, showed no significant changes (p > 0.05). No significant correlations between chemerin levels and weight loss were observed in subjects with overweight women. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated, 8 weeks aerobic training, reduced serum chemerin concentrations in overweight women. Whereas, aerobic training exercise programmers affected the lipid profile response of obese subjects differently. However further research is warranted in order to unravel the molecular mechanism for the range of responses and the role of serum chemerin.

Keywords: chemerin, aerobic training, lipid profile, obese women

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Authors: X. King, E. Nazarzadeh, J. Reboud, J. Cooper

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Pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, are generally treated by the inhalation of aerosols that has the advantage of reducing the off-target (e.g., toxicity) effects associated with systemic delivery in blood. Effective respiratory drug delivery requires a droplet size distribution between 1 and 5 µm. Inhalation of aerosols with wide droplet size distribution, out of this range, results in deposition of drug in not-targeted area of the respiratory tract, introducing undesired side effects on the patient. In order to solely deliver the drug in the lower branches of the lungs and release it in a targeted manner, a control mechanism to produce the aerosolized droplets is required. To regulate the drug release and to facilitate the uptake from cells, drugs are often encapsulated into protective liposomes. However, a multistep process is required for their formation, often performed at the formulation step, therefore limiting the range of available drugs or their shelf life. Using surface acoustic waves (SAWs), a pulmonary drug delivery platform was produced, which enabled the formation of defined size aerosols and the formation of liposomes in situ. SAWs are mechanical waves, propagating along the surface of a piezoelectric substrate. They were generated using an interdigital transducer on lithium niobate with an excitation frequency of 9.6 MHz at a power of 1W. Disposable silicon superstrates were etched using photolithography and dry etch processes to create an array of cylindrical through-holes with different diameters and pitches. Superstrates were coupled with the SAW substrate through water-based gel. As the SAW propagates on the superstrate, it enables nebulisation of a lipid solution deposited onto it. The cylindrical cavities restricted the formation of large drops in the aerosol, while at the same time unilamellar liposomes were created. SAW formed liposomes showed a higher monodispersity compared to the control sample, as well as displayed, a faster production rate. To test the aerosol’s size, dynamic light scattering and laser diffraction methods were used, both showing the size control of the aerosolised particles. The use of silicon superstate with cavity size of 100-200 µm, produced an aerosol with a mean droplet size within the optimum range for pulmonary drug delivery, containing the liposomes in which the medicine could be loaded. Additionally, analysis of liposomes with Cryo-TEM showed formation of vesicles with narrow size distribution between 80-100 nm and optimal morphology in order to be used for drug delivery. Encapsulation of nucleic acids in liposomes through the developed SAW platform was also investigated. In vitro delivery of siRNA and DNA Luciferase were achieved using A549 cell line, lung carcinoma from human. In conclusion, SAW pulmonary drug delivery platform was engineered, in order to combine multiple time consuming steps (formation of liposomes, drug loading, nebulisation) into a unique platform with the aim of specifically delivering the medicament in a targeted area, reducing the drug’s side effects.

Keywords: acoustics, drug delivery, liposomes, surface acoustic waves

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Authors: Seyedeh Bahar Hashemi, Alireza Rahimi, Mehdi Arjmand

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Food is the source of energy and growth through the breakdown of its vital components and plays a vital role in human health and nutrition. Many natural compounds found in plant and animal materials play a special role in biological systems and the origin of many such compounds directly or indirectly is algae. Algae is an enormous source of polysaccharides and have gained much interest in human flourishing. In this study, algae biomass extraction is conducted using deep eutectic-based solvents (NADES) and Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The aim of this research is to extract bioactive compounds including total carotenoid, antioxidant activity, and polyphenolic contents. For this purpose, the influence of three important extraction parameters namely, biomass-to-solvent ratio, temperature, and time are studied with respect to their impact on the recovery of carotenoids, and phenolics, and on the extracts’ antioxidant activity. Here we employ the Response Surface Methodology for the process optimization. The influence of the independent parameters on each dependent is determined through Analysis of Variance. Our results show that Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for 50 min is the best extraction condition, and proline:lactic acid (1:1) and choline chloride:urea (1:2) extracts show the highest total phenolic contents (50.00 ± 0.70 mgGAE/gdw) and antioxidant activity [60.00 ± 1.70 mgTE/gdw, 70.00 ± 0.90 mgTE/gdw in 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2.2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)]. Our results confirm that the combination of UAE and NADES provides an excellent alternative to organic solvents for sustainable and green extraction and has huge potential for use in industrial applications involving the extraction of bioactive compounds from algae. This study is among the first attempts to optimize the effects of ultrasonic-assisted extraction, ultrasonic devices, and deep natural eutectic point and investigate their application in bioactive compounds extraction from algae. We also study the future perspective of ultrasound technology which helps to understand the complex mechanism of ultrasonic-assisted extraction and further guide its application in algae.

Keywords: natural deep eutectic solvents, ultrasound-assisted extraction, algae, antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, carotenoids

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Authors: Yousif M. Makeen

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This study presents the results of the sedimentological and petrographical analyses on the cored samples from the Bentiu Formation. The cored intervals consist of thick beds of sandstone, which are sometimes intercalated with beds of fine-grained sandstone and, in a minor case, with a siltstone bed. Detailed sedimentological facies analysis revealed the presence of six facies types, which can be clarified in order of their great percentage occurrences as follows: (i) Massive sandstone, (ii) Planar cross-bedded sandstone, (iii) Trough cross-bedded sandstone, (iv) Fine laminated sandstone (v) Fine laminated siltstone and (vi) Horizontally parted sandstone. The petrographical analyses under the plane polarized microscope and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the sandstone lithofacies types that exist within the cored intervals allowed classifying these lithofacies into Kaolinitic Subfeldspathic Arenites. Among the detrital components, quartz grains are the most abundant (mainly monocrystalline quartz), followed by feldspars, micas, detrital and authigenic clays, and carbonaceous debris. However, traces of lithic fragments, iron oxides and heavy minerals were observed in some of the analyzed samples, where they occur in minor amounts. Kaolinite is present mainly as an authigenic component in most of the analyzed samples, while quartz overgrowths occur in variable amounts in most of the investigated samples. Carbonates (calcite & siderite) are present in considerable amounts. The grain roundness in most of the investigated sandstone samples ranges from well-rounded to round, and, in fewer samples, is sub-angular to angular. Most of the sandstone samples are moderately compacted and display point, concavo-convex and long grain contacts, whereas the sutured grain contacts, which reflect a higher degree of compaction, are relatively observed in lesser amounts, while the float grain contact has also been observed in minor quantity. Pore types in the analyzed samples are dominantly primary and secondary interparticle forms. Point-counted porosity values range from 19.6% to 30%. Average pore sizes are highly variable and range from 20 to 350 microns. Pore interconnectivity ranges from good to very good.

Keywords: sandstone, sedimentological facies, porosity, quartz overgrowths

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Authors: Riddhiman Sherlekar, Umang Paladia, Rachit Desai, Yash Patel

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The competitive scenario of the oil and gas market is a challenge for today’s plant designers to achieve designs that meet client expectations with shrinking budgets, safety requirements, and operating flexibility. Natural Gas Liquids have three main industrial uses. They can be used as fuels, or as petrochemical feedstock or as refinery blends that can be further processed and sold as straight run cuts, such as naphtha, kerosene and gas oil. NGL extraction is not a chemical reaction. It involves the separation of heavier hydrocarbons from the main gas stream through pressure as temperature reduction, which depending upon the degree of NGL extraction may involve cryogenic process. Previous technologies i.e. short cycle dry desiccant absorption, Joule-Thompson or Low temperature refrigeration, lean oil absorption have been giving results of only 40 to 45% ethane recoveries, which were unsatisfying depending upon the current scenario of down turn market. Here new technology has been suggested for boosting up the recoveries of ethane+ up to 95% and up to 99% for propane+ components. Cryogenic plants provide reboiling to demethanizers by using part of inlet feed gas, or inlet feed split. If the two stream temperatures are not similar, there is lost work in the mixing operation unless the designer has access to some proprietary design. The concept introduced in this process consists of reboiling the demethanizer with the residue gas, or residue gas split. The innovation of this process is that it does not use the typical inlet gas feed split type of flow arrangement to reboil the demethanizer or deethanizer column, but instead uses an open heat pump scheme to that effect. The residue gas compressor provides the heat pump effect. The heat pump stream is then further cooled and entered in the top section of the column as a cold reflux. Because of the nature of this design, this process offers the opportunity to operate at full ethane rejection or recovery. The scheme is also very adaptable to revamp existing facilities. This advancement can be proven not only in enhancing the results but also provides operational flexibility, optimize heat exchange, introduces equipment cost reduction, opens a future for the innovative designs while keeping execution costs low.

Keywords: deethanizer, demethanizer, residue gas, NGL

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Authors: Abeer Heider

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This paper explores and classifies the different kinds of avoidances that students commonly make in the acquisition of Arabic as a second/foreign language, and suggests specific strategies to help students lessen their avoidance trends in hopes of streamlining the learning process. Students most commonly use avoidance strategies in grammar, and word choice. These different types of strategies have different implications and naturally require different approaches. Thus the question remains as to the most effective way to help students improve their Arabic, and how teachers can efficiently utilize these techniques. It is hoped that this research will contribute to understand the role of avoidance in the field of the second language acquisition in general, and as a type of input. Yet some researchers also note that similarity between L1 and L2 may be problematic as well since the learner may doubt that such similarity indeed exists and consequently avoid the identical constructions or elements (Jordens, 1977; Kellermann, 1977, 1978, 1986). In an effort to resolve this issue, a case study is being conducted. The present case study attempts to provide a broader analysis of what is acquired than is usually the case, analyzing the learners ‘accomplishments in terms of three –part framework of the components of communicative competence suggested by Michele Canale: grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and discourse competence. The subjects of this study are 15 students’ 22th year who came to study Arabic at Qatar University of Cairo. The 15 students are in the advanced level. They were complete intermediate level in Arabic when they arrive in Qatar for the first time. The study used discourse analytic method to examine how the first language affects students’ production and output in the second language, and how and when students use avoidance methods in their learning. The study will be conducted through Fall 2015 through analyzing audio recordings that are recorded throughout the entire semester. The recordings will be around 30 clips. The students are using supplementary listening and speaking materials. The group will be tested at the end of the term to assess any measurable difference between the techniques. Questionnaires will be administered to teachers and students before and after the semester to assess any change in attitude toward avoidance and selectivity methods. Responses to these questionnaires are analyzed and discussed to assess the relative merits of the aforementioned strategies to avoidance and selectivity to further support on. Implications and recommendations for teacher training are proposed.

Keywords: the second language acquisition, learning languages, selectivity, avoidance

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Authors: Ribeiro A., Vilarinho C., Luisa A., Carvalho J

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The pig meat industry generates large volumes of by- and co-products like blood, bones, skin, trimmings, organs, viscera, and skulls, among others, during slaughtering and meat processing and must be treated and disposed of ecologically. The yield of these by-products has been reported to account for about 10% to 15% of the value of the live animal in developed countries, although animal by-products account for about two-thirds of the animal after slaughter. It was selected for further valorization of the principal wastes produced throughout the value chain of pig meat production: Pig Manure, Pig Bones, Fats, Skins, Pig Hair, Wastewater, Wastewater sludges, and other animal subproducts type III. According to the potential valorization options, these wastes will be converted into Biomethane, Fertilizers (phosphorus and digestate), Hydroxyapatite, and protein hydrolysates (Keratin and Collagen). This work includes comprehensive technical and economic analyses (TEA) for each valorization route or applied technology. Metrics such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and payback periods were used to evaluate economic feasibility. From this analysis, it can be concluded that, for Biogas Production, the scenarios using pig manure, wastewater sludges and mixed grass and leguminous wastes presented a remarkably high economic feasibility. Scenarios showed high economic feasibility with a positive payback period, NPV, and IRR. The optimal scenario combining pig manure with mixed grass and leguminous wastes had a payback period of 1.2 years and produced 427,6269 m³ of biomethane annually. Regarding the Chemical Extraction of Phosphorous and Nitrogen, results proved that the process is economically unviable due to negative cash flows despite high recovery rates. The TEA of Hydrolysis and Extraction of Keratin Hydrolysates indicate that a unit processing and valorizing 10 tons of pig hair per year for the production of keratin hydrolysate has an NPV of 907,940 €, an IRR of 13.07%, and a Payback period of 5.41 years. All of these indicators suggest a highly potential project to explore in the future. On the opposite, the results of Hydrolysis and Extraction of Collagen Hydrolysates showed a process economically unviable with negative cash flows in all scenarios due to the high-fat content in raw materials. In fact, the results from the valorization of 10 tons of pig skin had a negative cash flow of 453 743,88 €. TEA results of Extraction and purification of Hydroxyapatite from Pig Bones with Pyrolysis indicate that unit processing and valorizing 10 tons of pig bones per year for the production of hydroxyapatite has an NPV of 1 274 819,00 €, an IRR of 65.43%, and a Payback period of 1,5 years over a timeline of 10 years with a discount rate of 10%. These valorization routes, circular economy and bio-refinery approach offer significant contributions to sustainable bio-based operations within the agri-food industry. This approach transforms waste into valuable resources, enhancing both environmental and economic outcomes and contributing to a more sustainable and circular bioeconomy.

Keywords: techno-economic analysis (TEA), pig meat processing wastes, circular economy, bio-refinery

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Authors: Norica Godja, Andreas Schindel, Luka Payrits, Zsolt Pasztor, Bálint Hegedüs, Petr Homola, Jan Horňas, Jiří Běhal, Roman Ruzek, Martin Holzleitner, Sascha Senck

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In order to reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions in the aviation sector, innovative solutions are being sought to reduce the weight of aircraft, including additive manufacturing (AM). Of particular importance are the excellent mechanical properties that are required for aircraft structures. Ti6Al4V alloys, with their high mechanical properties in relation to weight, can reduce the weight of aircraft structures compared to structures made of steel and aluminium. Currently, conventional processes such as casting and CNC machining are used to obtain the desired structures, resulting in high raw material removal, which in turn leads to higher costs and impacts the environment. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers advantages in terms of weight, lead time, design, and functionality and enables the realisation of alternative geometric shapes with high mechanical properties. However, there are currently technological shortcomings that have led to AM not being approved for structural components with high safety requirements. An assessment of damage tolerance for AM parts is required, and quality control needs to be improved. Pores and other defects cannot be completely avoided at present, but they should be kept to a minimum during manufacture. The mechanical properties of the manufactured parts can be further improved by various treatments. The influence of different treatment methods (heat treatment, CNC milling, electropolishing, chemical polishing) and operating parameters were investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and measurements with a focused ion beam (FIB), taking into account surface roughness, possible anomalies in the chemical composition of the surface and possible cracks. The results of the characterisation of the constructed and treated samples are discussed and presented in this paper. These results were generated within the framework of the 3TANIUM project, which is financed by EU with the contract number 101007830.

Keywords: Ti6Al4V alloys, laser powder bed fusion, damage tolerance, heat treatment, electropolishing, potential cracking

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Authors: Rajesh Karki, Safal Bhattarai, Saket Adhikari

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Reliable and economic operation of power systems are becoming extremely challenging with large scale integration of renewable energy sources due to the intermittency and uncertainty associated with renewable power generation. It is, therefore, important to make a quantitative risk assessment and explore the potential resources to mitigate such risks. Probabilistic models for different energy storage systems (ESS), such as the flywheel energy storage system (FESS) and the compressed air energy storage (CAES) incorporating specific charge/discharge performance and failure characteristics suitable for probabilistic risk assessment in power system operation and planning are presented in this paper. The proposed methodology used in FESS modelling offers flexibility to accommodate different configurations of plant topology. It is perceived that CAES has a high potential for grid-scale application, and a hybrid approach is proposed, which embeds a Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) method in an analytical technique to develop a suitable reliability model of the CAES. The proposed ESS models are applied to a test system to investigate the economic and reliability benefits of the energy storage technologies in system operation and planning, as well as to assess their contributions in facilitating wind integration during different operating scenarios. A comparative study considering various storage system topologies are also presented. The impacts of failure rates of the critical components of ESS on the expected state of charge (SOC) and the performance of the different types of ESS during operation are illustrated with selected studies on the test system. The paper also applies the proposed models on the test system to investigate the economic and reliability benefits of the different ESS technologies and to evaluate their contributions in facilitating wind integration during different operating scenarios and system configurations. The conclusions drawn from the study results provide valuable information to help policymakers, system planners, and operators in arriving at effective and efficient policies, investment decisions, and operating strategies for planning and operation of power systems with large penetrations of renewable energy sources.

Keywords: flywheel energy storage, compressed air energy storage, power system reliability, renewable energy, system planning, system operation

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Yen Ling Liu, Shu-Fen Wu, Chen-Fuh Lam, I-Ling Tsai, Chia-Yu Chen

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Purpose: Nurse anesthetists are confronting extraordinarily high job stress in their daily practice, deriving from the fast-track anesthesia care, risk of perioperative complications, routine rotating shifts, teaching programs and interactions with the surgical team in the operating room. This study investigated the influence of work stress on the burnout and turnover intention of nurse anesthetists in a regional general hospital in Southern Taiwan. Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study carried out in 66 full-time nurse anesthetists. Data was collected from March 2017 to June 2017 by in-person interview, and a self-administered structured questionnaire was completed by the interviewee. Outcome measurements included the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and nursing staff turnover intention. Numerical data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent t test, or one-way ANOVA. Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test (x²). Datasets were computed with Pearson product-moment correlation and linear regression. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 20.0 software. Results: The average score for job burnout was 68.7916.67 (out of 100). The three major components of burnout, including emotional depletion (mean score of 26.32), depersonalization (mean score of 13.65), and personal(mean score of 24.48). These average scores suggested that these nurse anesthetists were at high risk of burnout and inversely correlated with turnover intention (t = -4.048, P < 0.05). Using linear regression model, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were the two independent factors that predicted turnover intention in the nurse anesthetists (19.1% in total variance). Conclusion/Implications for Practice: The study identifies that the high risk of job burnout in the nurse anesthetists is not simply derived from physical overload, but most likely resulted from the additional emotional and psychological stress. The occurrence of job burnout may affect the quality of nursing work, and also influence family harmony, in turn, may increase the turnover rate. Multimodal approach is warranted to reduce work stress and job burnout in nurse anesthetists to enhance their willingness to contribute in anesthesia care.

Keywords: anesthesia nurses, burnout, job, turnover intention

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Authors: Philip Friedlander, John Rutledge, Jason Suh

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Inhibition of programmed death-1 (PD-1) or its ligand PD-L1 confers therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of solid tumor malignancies. Primary or acquired resistance can develop through activation of immunosuppressive immune cells such as tumor-associated macrophages. The renin angiotensin system (RAS) systemically regulates fluid and sodium hemodynamics, but components are expressed on and regulate the activity of immune cells, particularly of myeloid lineage. We hypothesized that inhibition of RAS would improve the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L-1 treatment. A retrospective analysis was performed through a chart review of patients with solid metastatic malignancies treated with a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor between 1/2013 and 6/2019 at Valley Hospital, a community hospital in New Jersey, USA. Efficacy was determined by medical oncologist documentation of clinical benefit in visit notes and by the duration of time on immunotherapy treatment. The primary endpoint was the determination of efficacy differences in patients treated with an inhibitor of RAS ( ace inhibitor, ACEi, or angiotensin blocker, ARB) compared to patients not treated with these inhibitors. To control for broader antihypertensive effects, efficacy as a function of treatment with beta blockers was assessed. 173 patients treated with PD-1/PD-L-1 inhibitors were identified of whom 52 were also treated with an ACEi or ARB. Chi-square testing revealed a statistically significant relationship between being on an ACEi or ARB and efficacy to PD-1/PD-L-1 therapy (p=0.001). No statistically significant relationship was seen between patients taking or not taking beta blocker antihypertensives (p= 0.33). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed statistically significant improvement in the duration of therapy favoring patients concomitantly treated with ACEi or ARB compared to patients not exposed to antihypertensives and to those treated with beta blockers. Logistic regression analysis revealed that age, gender, and cancer type did not have significant effects on the odds of experiencing clinical benefit (p=0.74, p=0.75, and p=0.81, respectively). We conclude that retrospective analysis of the treatment of patients with solid metastatic tumors with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 in a community setting demonstrates greater clinical benefit in the context of concomitant ACEi or ARB inhibition, irrespective of gender or age. This data supports the development of prospective assessment through randomized clinical trials.

Keywords: angiotensin, cancer, immunotherapy, PD-1, efficacy

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Authors: Mathieu Imbert, Sebastien Comas-Cardona, Emmanuelle Abisset-Chavanne, David Prono

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Short cycle time Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) applications appear to be of great interest for the mass production of automotive or aeronautical lightweight structural parts. During the RTM process, the two components of a resin are mixed on-line and injected into the cavity of a mold where a fibrous preform has been placed. Injection and polymerization occur simultaneously in the preform inducing evolutions of temperature, degree of cure and viscosity that furthermore affect flow and curing. In order to adjust the processing conditions to reduce the cycle time, it is, therefore, essential to understand and quantify the physical mechanisms occurring in the part during injection. In a previous study, a dual-scale simulation tool has been developed to help determining the optimum injection parameters. This tool allows tracking finely the repartition of the resin and the evolution of its properties during reactive injections with on-line mixing. Tows and channels of the fibrous material are considered separately to deal with the consequences of the dual-scale morphology of the continuous fiber textiles. The simulation tool reproduces the unsaturated area at the flow front, generated by the tow/channel difference of permeability. Resin “storage” in the tows after saturation is also taken into account as it may significantly affect the repartition and evolution of the temperature, degree of cure and viscosity in the part during reactive injections. The aim of the current study is, thanks to experiments, to understand and quantify the “storage” evolution in the tows to adjust and validate the numerical tool. The presented study is based on four experimental repeats conducted on three different types of textiles: a unidirectional Non Crimp Fabric (NCF), a triaxial NCF and a satin weave. Model fluids, dyes and image analysis, are used to study quantitatively, the resin flow in the saturated area of the samples. Also, textiles characteristics affecting the resin “storage” evolution in the tows are analyzed. Finally, fully coupled on-line mixing reactive injections are conducted to validate the numerical model.

Keywords: experimental, on-line mixing, high-speed RTM process, dual-scale flow

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Authors: Sk Ajim Ali

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The present study is an attempt to overview on the major environmental and health impacts due to hazardous waste generation and poor management. In present scenario, not only hazardous waste, but as a common term ‘Waste’ is one of the acceptable and thinkable environmental issues. With excessive increasing population, industrialization and standardization of human’s life style heap in extra waste generation which is directly or indirectly related with hazardous waste generation. Urbanization and population growth are solely responsible for establishing industrial sector and generating various Hazardous Waste (HW) and concomitantly poor management practice arising adverse effect on environment and human health. As compare to other Indian state, West Bengal is not too much former in HW generation. West Bengal makes a rank of 7th in HW generation followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, U.P, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. During the last 30 years, the industrial sectors in W.B have quadrupled in size, during 1995 there were only 440 HW generating Units in West Bengal which produced 129826 MTA hazardous waste but in 2011, it rose up into 609 units and it produced about 259777 MTA hazardous waste. So, the notable thing is that during a 15 year interval there increased 169 waste generating units but it produced about 129951 MTA of hazardous waste. Major chemical industries are the main sources of HW and causes of adverse effect on the environment and human health. HW from industrial sectors contains heavy metals, cyanides, pesticides, complex aromatic compounds (i.e. PCB) and other chemical which are toxic, flammable, reactive, and corrosive and have explosive properties which highly affect the surrounding environment and human health in and around he disposal sites. The main objective of present study is to highlight on the sources and components of hazardous waste in West Bengal and impacts of improper HW management on health and environment. This study is carried out based on a secondary source of data and qualitative method of research. The secondary data has been collected annual report of WBPCB, WHO’s report, research paper, article, books and so on. It has been found that excessive HW generation from various sources and communities has serious health hazards that lead to the spreading of infectious disease and environmental change.

Keywords: environmental impacts, existing HW generation and management practice, hazardous waste (HW), health impacts, recommendation and planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: A. Saghatelyan, Sh. Asmaryan, G. Tepanosyan, V. Muradyan

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One of major concern to Armenia has been soil degradation emerged as a result of unsustainable management and use of grasslands, this in turn largely impacting environment, agriculture and finally human health. Hence, assessment of soil degradation is an essential and urgent objective set out to measure its possible consequences and develop a potential management strategy. Since recently, an essential tool for assessing pasture degradation has been remote sensing (RS) technologies. This research was done with an intention to measure preciseness of Linear spectral unmixing (LSU) and NDVI-SMA methods to estimate soil surface components related to degradation (fractional vegetation cover-FVC, bare soils fractions, surface rock cover) and determine appropriateness of these methods for mapping man-induced soil degradation in high mountain pastures. Taking into consideration a spatially complex and heterogeneous biogeophysical structure of the studied site, we used high resolution multispectral QuickBird imagery of a pasture site in one of Armenia’s rural communities - Nerkin Sasoonashen. The accuracy assessment was done by comparing between the land cover abundance data derived through RS methods and the ground truth land cover abundance data. A significant regression was established between ground truth FVC estimate and both NDVI-LSU and LSU - produced vegetation abundance data (R2=0.636, R2=0.625, respectively). For bare soil fractions linear regression produced a general coefficient of determination R2=0.708. Because of poor spectral resolution of the QuickBird imagery LSU failed with assessment of surface rock abundance (R2=0.015). It has been well documented by this particular research, that reduction in vegetation cover runs in parallel with increase in man-induced soil degradation, whereas in the absence of man-induced soil degradation a bare soil fraction does not exceed a certain level. The outcomes show that the proposed method of man-induced soil degradation assessment through FVC, bare soil fractions and field data adequately reflects the current status of soil degradation throughout the studied pasture site and may be employed as an alternate of more complicated models for soil degradation assessment.

Keywords: Armenia, linear spectral unmixing, remote sensing, soil degradation

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Authors: Vinod Kumar Tewari, Mazhar Husain, Hari Kishan Das Gupta

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Background: Primary or secondary brain death is also accompanied with vasospasm of the perforators other than tissue disruption & further exaggerates the anoxic damage, in the form of neuropraxia. In normal conditions the excitatory impulse propagates as anterograde neurotransmission (ANT) and at the level of synapse, glutamate activates NMDA receptors on postsynaptic membrane. Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by Nitric oxide Synthetase (NOS) in postsynaptic dendride or cell body and travels backwards across a chemical synapse to bind to the axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron for regulation of ANT this process is called as the retrograde neurotransmission (RNT). Thus the primary function of NO is RNT and the purpose of RNT is regulation of chemical neurotransmission at synapse. For this reason, RNT allows neural circuits to create feedback loops. The haem is the ligand binding site of NO receptor (sGC) at presynaptic membrane. The affinity of haem exhibits > 10,000-fold excess for NO than Oxygen (THE 10,000 FOLD EFFECT). In pathological conditions ANT, normal synaptic activity including RNT is absent. NO donors like sodium nitroprusside (SNP) releases NO by activating NOS at the level of postsynaptic area. NO now travels backwards across a chemical synapse to bind to the haem of NO receptor at axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron as in normal condition. NO now acts as impulse generator (at presynaptic membrane) thus bypasses the normal ANT. Also the arteriolar perforators are having Nitric Oxide Synthetase (NOS) at the adventitial side (outer border) on which sodium nitroprusside (SNP) acts; causing release of Nitric Oxide (NO) which vasodilates the perforators causing gush of blood in brain’s tissue and reversal of brain death. Objective: In brain death cases we only think for various transplantations but this study being a pilot study reverses some criteria of brain death by vasodilating the arteriolar perforators. To study the effect of intrathecal sodium nitroprusside (IT SNP) in cases of brain death in which: 1. Retrograde transmission = assessed by the hyperacute timings of reversal 2. The arteriolar perforator vasodilatation caused by NO and the maintenance of reversal of brain death reversal. Methods: 35 year old male, who became brain death after head injury and has not shown any signs of improvement after every maneuver for 6 hours, a single superfusion done by SNP via transoptic canal route for quadrigeminal cistern and cisternal puncture for IV ventricular with SNP done. Results: He showed spontaneous respiration (7 bouts) with TCD studies showing start of pulsations of various branches of common carotid arteries. Conclusions: In future we can give this SNP via transoptic canal route and in IV ventricle before declaring the body to be utilized for transplantations or dead or in broader way we can say that in near future it is possible to revert back from brain death or we have to modify our criterion.

Keywords: brain death, intrathecal sodium nitroprusside, TCD studies, perforators, vasodilatations, retrograde transmission, 10, 000 fold effect

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Authors: Kiran Nawaz, Ahmad Ali Shahid, Sehrish Iftikhar, Waheed Anwar, Muhammad Nasir Subhani

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Chili (Solanum annum L.) attacks by many fungal pathogens, including members of Oomycetes which are responsible for root rot in different chili growing areas of the world. Oomycetes pathogens cause economic losses in different regions of the Pakistan. Most of the plant tissues, including roots, crowns, fruit, and leaves, are vulnerable to Phytophthora capsici. It is very difficult to manage the Phytophthora root rot of chili as many commercial varieties are tremendously vulnerable to P. capsici. The causal agent of the disease was isolated on corn meal agar (CMA) and identified on a morphological basis by using available taxonomic keys. The pathogen was also confirmed on the molecular basis through internal transcribed spacer region and with other molecular markers.The Blastn results showed 100% homology with already reported sequences of P. capsici in NCBI database. Most of the farmers have conventionally relied on foliar fungicide applications to control Phytophthora root rot in spite of their incomplete effectiveness. In this study, in vitro plate assay, seed soaking and foliar applications of 6 fungicides were evaluated against root rot of chili. In vitro assay revealed that significant inhibition of linear growth was obtained with Triflumizole at 7.0%, followed by Thiophanate methyl (8.9%), Etridiazole (6.0%), Propamocarb (5.9%) and 7.5% with Mefenoxam and Iprodione for P. capsici. The promising treatments of in vitro plate bioassay were evaluated in pot experiments under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. All fungicides were applied after at 6-day intervals. Results of pot experiment showed that all treatments considerably inhibited the percentage of P. capsici root rot incidence. In addition, application of seed soaking with all six fungicides combined with the foliar spray of the same components showed the significant reduction in root rot incidence. The combine treatments of all fungicides as in vitro bioassay, seed soaking followed by foliar spray is considered non-harmful control methods which have advantages and limitation. Hence, these applications proved effective and harmless for the management of soil-borne plant pathogens.

Keywords: blastn, bioassay, corn meal agar(CMA), oomycetes

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Jayanta Kumar Mahato, Partha Sarathi De, Amrita Kundu, P. C. Chakraborti

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Ratcheting is one of the most important phenomena to be considered for design and safety assessment of structural components subjected to stress controlled asymmetric cyclic loading in the elasto-plastic domain. In the present study uniaxial ratcheting behavior of commercially pure annealed OFHC copper and aluminium with two different grain sizes has been investigated. Stress-controlled tests have been conducted at various combinations of stress amplitude and mean stress. These stresses were selected in such a way that the ratio of equivalent stress amplitude (σₐeq) to ultimate tensile strength (σUTS) of the selected materials remains constant. It is found that irrespective of grain size the ratcheting fatigue lives decrease with the increase of both stress amplitude and mean stress following power relationships. However, the effect of stress amplitude on ratcheting lives is observed higher as compared to mean stress for both the FCC metals. It is also found that for both FCC metals ratcheting fatigue lives at a constant ratio of equivalent stress amplitude (σ ₐeq) to ultimate tensile strength (σUTS) are more in case fine grain size. So far ratcheting strain rate is concerned, it decreases rapidly within first few cycles and then a steady state is reached. Finally, the ratcheting strain rate increases up to the complete failure of the specimens due to a very large increase of true stress for a substantial reduction in cross-sectional area. The steady state ratcheting strain rate increases with the increase in both stress amplitude and mean stress. Interestingly, a unique perfectly power relationship between steady state ratcheting strain rate and cycles to failure has been found irrespective of stress combination for both FCC metals. Similar to ratcheting strain rate, the strain energy density decreases rapidly within first few cycles followed by steady state and then increases up to a failure of the specimens irrespective of stress combinations for both FCC metals; but strain energy density at steady state decreases with increase in mean stress and increases with the increase of stress amplitude. From the fractography study, it is found that the void density increases with the increase of maximum stress, but the void size and void density are almost same for any combination of stress parameters considering constant maximum stress.

Keywords: ratcheting phenomena, grain size, stress parameter, ratcheting lives, ratcheting strain rate

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Authors: Lucia Ceccherini Nelli, Alessandra Donato

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The ABITA Master course of the University of Florence offered by the Department of Architecture covers nearly all the energy-relevant issues that can arise in public and private companies and sectors. The main purpose of the Master course, active since 2003, is to analyse the energy consumption of building technologies, components, and structures at the conceptual design stage, so it could be very helpful, for designers, when making decisions related to the selection of the most suitable design alternatives and for the materials choice that will be used in an energy-efficient building. The training course provides a solid basis for increasing the knowledge and skills of energy managers and is developed with an emphasis on practical experiences related to the knowledge through case studies, measurements, and verification of energy-efficient solutions in buildings, in the industry and in the cities. The main objectives are: i)To raise the professional standards of those engaged in energy auditing, ii) To improve the practice of energy auditors by encouraging energy auditing professionals in a continuing education program of professional development, iii) Implement in the use of instrumentations for the typical measurements, iv) To propose an integrated methodology that links energy analysis tools with green building certification systems. This methodology will be applied at the early design stage of a project’s life. The final output of the practical training is to achieve an elevated professionalism in the study of environmental design and Energy management in buildings. The results are the redaction of line guides instruction for the energy refurbishment of Public schools in Florence. The school heritage of the Municipality of Florence requires interventions for the control of energy performance, as old construction buildings are often made without taking into account the necessary envelope performance. For this reason, every year, the Master's course aims to study groups of public schools to enable the Municipality to carry out energy redevelopment interventions on the existing building heritage. The future challenges of the education and training program are related to follow-up activities, the development of interactive tools and the curriculum's customization to meet the constantly growing needs of energy experts from industry.

Keywords: expert in energy, energy auditing, public buildings, thermal analysis

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Authors: Zakaria Kharbouch, Mustapha Bouchaara, F. Elkouihen, A. Habbal, A. Ratnani, A. Faik

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Solid-state lithium-ion batteries have garnered increasing interest in modern energy research due to their potential for safer, more efficient, and sustainable energy storage systems. Among the critical components of these batteries, the electrolyte plays a pivotal role, with LLZO garnet-based electrolytes showing significant promise. Garnet materials offer intrinsic advantages such as high Li-ion conductivity, wide electrochemical stability, and excellent compatibility with lithium metal anodes. However, optimizing ionic conductivity in garnet structures poses a complex challenge, primarily due to the multitude of potential dopants that can be incorporated into the LLZO crystal lattice. The complexity of material design, influenced by numerous dopant options, requires a systematic method to find the most effective combinations. This study highlights the utility of machine learning (ML) techniques in the materials discovery process to navigate the complex range of factors in garnet-based electrolytes. Collaborators from the materials science and ML fields worked with a comprehensive dataset previously employed in a similar study and collected from various literature sources. This dataset served as the foundation for an extensive data refinement phase, where meticulous error identification, correction, outlier removal, and garnet-specific feature engineering were conducted. This rigorous process substantially improved the dataset's quality, ensuring it accurately captured the underlying physical and chemical principles governing garnet ionic conductivity. The data refinement effort resulted in a significant improvement in the predictive performance of the machine learning model. Originally starting at an accuracy of 0.32, the model underwent substantial refinement, ultimately achieving an accuracy of 0.88. This enhancement highlights the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary approach and underscores the substantial potential of machine learning techniques in materials science research.

Keywords: lithium batteries, all-solid-state batteries, machine learning, solid state electrolytes

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Authors: Kalyan Sundar Som, Ghanshyam Prasad Jhariya

Abstract:

Population growth is an important pervasive phenomenon in the world. Its survival depends upon many daily needs and food is one of them. Population factors play a decisive role in the human endeavor to attain food. Nutrition and health status compose integral part of human development and progress of a society. Therefore, the neglect any one of these components may leads to the deterioration of the quality of life. Food is also intimately related with economic growth and social progress as well as with political stability and peace. It refers to the availability of food and its access to it. It can be observed from global to local level. Food scarcity has emerged as a matter of great concern all over the world due to uncontrolled and unregulated growth of population .For this purpose this study try to find out the deficit or surplus production of food availability in terms of their total population in the study area. It also ascertains the population pressure, demand and supply of food stuff and demarcation of insecure areas.The data base of the study under discussion includes government published data regarding agriculture production, yield and cropped area in 2005-06 to 2011-12 available at commissioner land record Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior. It also includes the census of India for population data. For measuring food security or insecurity regions is based on the consumption of net food available in terms caloric value minus the consumption by the weighted total population. This approach has been adopted because the direct estimate of production and consumption is the only reliable way to ascertain food security in a unit area and to compare one area with another (Noor Mohammad, dec. 2002). The scenario in 2005-06 is 57.78 percent district has food insufficient in terms of their population. On the other hand after 5 years, there are only 22 % districts are deficit in term of food availability where Burhanpur is the most deficit (56 percent) district. While 20% district are highly surplus district in the state where Harda and Hoshangabad districts are very high surplus district (5 times and 3.95 times) in term of food availability(2011). The drastic change (agriculture transformation) is happen due government good intervention in the agricultural sector.

Keywords: agriculture transformation, caloric value method, deficit or surplus region, population pressure

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