Search results for: growth yield

Authors: Meysam Mousakhani, Reza Ziaie Moayed

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Considering the population growth and the needs of society, the improvement of problematic soils and the study of the application of different improvement methods have been considered. One of these methods is deep soil mixing, which has been developed in the past decade, especially in soft soils due to economic efficiency, simple implementation, and other benefits. The use of cement is criticized for its cost and the damaging environmental effects, so these factors lead us to use other additives along with cement in the deep soil mixing. Additives that are used today include fly ash, blast-furnace slag, glass powder, and potassium hydroxide. The present study provides a literature review on the application of different additives in deep soil mixing so that the best additives can be introduced from strength, economic, environmental and other perspectives. The results show that by replacing fly ash and slag with about 40 to 50% of cement, not only economic and environmental benefits but also a long-term strength comparable to cement would be achieved. The use of glass powder, especially in 3% mixing, results in desirable strength. In addition to the other benefits of these additives, potassium hydroxide can also be transported over longer distances, leading to wider soil improvement. Finally, this paper suggests further studies in terms of using other additives such as nanomaterials and zeolite, with different ratios, in different conditions and soils (silty sand, clayey sand, carbonate sand, sandy clay and etc.) in the deep mixing method.

Keywords: deep soil mix, soil stabilization, fly ash, ground improvement

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Authors: Kasi Viswanadh Matte, Abhisheh Kumar Mehata, M.S. Muthu

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Brest cancer, up-regulated with human epidermal growth factor receptor type-2 (HER-2) led to the concept of developing HER-2 targeted anticancer therapeutics. Docetaxel-loaded D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate 1000 conjugated chitosan (TPGS-g-chitosan) nanoparticles were prepared with or without Trastuzumab decoration. The particle size and entrapment efficiency of conventional, non-targeted and targeted nanoparticles were found to be in the range of 126-186 nm and 74-78% respectively. In-vitro, MDA-MB-231 cells showed that docetaxel-loaded non-targeted and HER-2 receptor targeted TPGS-g-chitosan nanoparticles have enhanced the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity with a promising bioadhesion property, in comparison to conventional nanoparticles. The IC50 values of non-targeted and targeted nanoparticles from cytotoxic assay were found to be 43 and 223 folds higher than DocelTM. The in-vivo pharmacokinetic study showed 2.33, and 2.82-fold enhancement in relative bioavailability of docetaxel for non-targeted and HER-2 receptor targeted nanoparticles, respectively than DocelTM, and after i.v administration, non-targeted and targeted nanoparticle achieved 3.48 and 5.94 times prolonged half-life in comparison to DocelTM. The area under the curve (AUC), relative bioavailability (FR) and mean residence time (MRT) were found to be higher for non-targeted and targeted nanoparticles compared to DocelTM. Further, histopathology results of non-targeted and targeted nanoparticles showed less toxicity on vital organs such as lungs, liver, and kidney compared to DocelTM.

Keywords: breast cancer, HER-2 receptor, targeted nanomedicine, chitosan, TPGS

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Authors: Paresh Patel, Priya Patel, Vaidehi Sorathiya, Navin Sheth

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The aim of present work was to fabricate Salmeterol Xinafoate (SX) metered dose inhaler (MDI) for asthma and to evaluate the SX loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) for pulmonary delivery. Solid lipid nanoparticles can be used to deliver particles to the lungs via MDI. A modified solvent emulsification diffusion technique was used to prepare Salmeterol Xinafoate loaded solid lipid nanoparticles by using compritol 888 ATO as lipid, tween 80 as surfactant, D-mannitol as cryoprotecting agent and L-leucine was used to improve aerosolization behaviour. Box-Behnken design was applied with 17 runs. 3-D surface response plots and contour plots were drawn and optimized formulation was selected based on minimum particle size and maximum % EE. % yield, in vitro diffusion study, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, DSC, FTIR also characterized. Particle size, zeta potential analyzed by Zetatrac particle size analyzer and aerodynamic properties was carried out by cascade impactor. Pre convulsion time was examined for control group, treatment group and compare with marketed group. MDI was evaluated for leakage test, flammability test, spray test and content per puff. By experimental design, particle size and % EE found to be in range between 119-337 nm and 62.04-76.77% by solvent emulsification diffusion technique. Morphologically, particles have spherical shape and uniform distribution. DSC & FTIR study showed that no interaction between drug and excipients. Zeta potential shows good stability of SLNs. % respirable fraction found to be 52.78% indicating reach to the deep part of lung such as alveoli. Animal study showed that fabricated MDI protect the lungs against histamine induced bronchospasm in guinea pigs. MDI showed sphericity of particle in spray pattern, 96.34% content per puff and non-flammable. SLNs prepared by Solvent emulsification diffusion technique provide desirable size for deposition into the alveoli. This delivery platform opens up a wide range of treatment application of pulmonary disease like asthma via solid lipid nanoparticles.

Keywords: salmeterol xinafoate, solid lipid nanoparticles, box-behnken design, solvent emulsification diffusion technique, pulmonary delivery

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Authors: Esa Abiso Godana, Qiya Yang, Kaili Wang, Zhang Hongyin, Xiaoyun Zhang, Lina Zhao

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Blue mold decay caused by Penicillium expansum is among the recent identified diseases of grapes (Vitis vinifera). The increasing concern about use of chemical substance and pesticide in postharvest fruit push the trends of research toward biocontrol strategies which are more sustainable and ecofriendly. In this study, we determined the biocontrol efficacy of Pichia anomala alone and supplemented with 1% chitosan in the grapefruit against blue mold disease caused by P. expansum. The result showed that 1% chitosan better enhances the biocontrol efficacy P. anomala. Chitosan (1% w/v) also improved the number of population of P. anomala in grape wounds, surface and on nutrient yeast dextrose broth (NYDB). P. anomala supplemented with 1% w/v chitosan significantly reduced the disease incidence, lesion diameter and natural decay of grapefruits without affecting the fruit quality as compared to the control. The scanned electron microscope (SEM) concisely illustrates how the high number of yeast cells on the wounds reduced the growth of P. expansum. P. anomala alone or P. anomala supplemented with 1% w/v chitosan are presented as a potential biocontrol alternative against the postharvest blue mold of grapefruit.

Keywords: biocontrol, Pichia anomala, chitosan, Penicillium expansum, grape

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Authors: Yonwaba Atyosi, Moses Cho, Abel Ramoelo, Nobuhle Majozi, Cecilia Masemola, Yoliswa Mkhize

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Spectroscopy has been widely used to understand the hyperspectral remote sensing of soils. Accurate and efficient measurement of soil moisture is essential for precision agriculture. The aim of this study was to understand the spectral behavior of soil at different soil water content levels and identify the significant spectral bands for soil moisture content retrieval at field-scale. The study consisted of 60 soil samples from a maize farm, divided into four different treatments representing different moisture levels. Spectral signatures were measured for each sample in laboratory under artificial light using an Analytical Spectral Device (ASD) spectrometer, covering a wavelength range from 350 nm to 2500 nm, with a spectral resolution of 1 nm. The results showed that the absorption features at 1450 nm, 1900 nm, and 2200 nm were particularly sensitive to soil moisture content and exhibited strong correlations with the water content levels. Continuum removal was developed in the R programming language to enhance the absorption features of soil moisture and to precisely understand its spectral behavior at different water content levels. Statistical analysis using partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were performed to quantify the correlation between the spectral bands and soil moisture content. This study provides insights into the spectral behavior of soil at different water content levels and identifies the significant spectral bands for soil moisture content retrieval. The findings highlight the potential of spectroscopy for non-destructive and rapid soil moisture measurement, which can be applied to various fields such as precision agriculture, hydrology, and environmental monitoring. However, it is important to note that the spectral behavior of soil can be influenced by various factors such as soil type, texture, and organic matter content, and caution should be taken when applying the results to other soil systems. The results of this study showed a good agreement between measured and predicted values of Soil Moisture Content with high R2 and low root mean square error (RMSE) values. Model validation using independent data was satisfactory for all the studied soil samples. The results has significant implications for developing high-resolution and precise field-scale soil moisture retrieval models. These models can be used to understand the spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture content in agricultural fields, which is essential for managing irrigation and optimizing crop yield.

Keywords: soil moisture content retrieval, precision agriculture, continuum removal, remote sensing, machine learning, spectroscopy

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Authors: Kejal Joshi Reddy, Sirimavo Nair

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Micronutrient malnutrition affects pregnant women and children extremely with reference to growth manifestations in gestation as well as after birth. Early fetal development affected by iodine and iron deficiency leads to poor life quality. Various researchers have found interesting interrelations between iron and iodine. A few studies on impact assessment of DFS supplementation during pregnancy have been reported in India. Aim To provide meaningful contribution by assessing the efficacy of DFS supplementation on iodine and iron status of pregnant women. Design An interventional study. Setting A semi government hospital of urban Vadodara. Subjects Pregnant women (n=150) enrolled during first trimester (< 12 weeks) and followed up till the end of gestation, n=75 were divided in experimental (DFS supplemented) and control (Non supplemented) group. Results Impact on iron and iodine status was assessed by Hb concentration and UIE respectively. Mean Hb improved significantly (p < 0.001) (+0.42 g/dl) in experimental group and reduced non significantly (-0.20 g/dl) in control group at the end, since DFS provided additional 93 mg of iron within 6 months. Median UIE improved non significantly (278.6 to 299.01µg/L) in experimental group and decreased significantly (p < 0.05) (376.59 to 288.66 µg/L) in control group. Conclusion DFS could improve iron and iodine status of experimental group compared to control group. It is an effective measure to control two essential micronutrient deficiencies together.

Keywords: DFS supplementation, anemia, pregnancy, iodine deficiency, iron

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Authors: Ibrahim M Hassan, Lorna Que, Michael Rutland

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Type I SOD is usually diagnosed by anatomical imaging such as ultrasound, CT and MRCP. However, the types II and III SOD yield negative results despite the presence of significant symptoms. In particular, the type III is difficult to diagnose due to the absence of significant biochemical or anatomical abnormalities. Nuclear Medicine can aid in this diagnostic dilemma by demonstrating functional changes in the bile flow. Low dose Morphine (0.04mg/Kg) stimulates the tone of the sphincter of Oddi (SO) and its usefulness has been shown in diagnosing SOD by causing a delay in bile flow when compared to a non morphine provoked - baseline scan. This work expands on that process by using sublingual GTN at 60 minutes post tracer and morphine injection to relax the SO and induce an improvement in bile outflow, and in some cases show immediate relief of morphine induced abdominal pain. The criteria for positive SOD are as follows: if during the first hour of the morphine provocation showed (1) delayed intrahepatic biliary ducts tracer accumulation; plus (2) delayed appearance but persistent retention of activity in the common bile duct, and (3) delayed bile flow into the duodenum. In addition, patients who required GTN within the first hour to relieve abdominal pain were regarded as highly supportive of the diagnosis. Retrospective analysis of 85 patients (pts) (78F and 6M) referred for suspected SOD (type III) who had been intensively investigated because of recurrent right upper quadrant or abdominal pain post cholecystectomy. 99mTc-HIDA scan with morphine-provocation is performed followed by GTN at 60 minutes post tracer injection and a further thirty minutes of dynamic imaging are acquired. 30 pts were negative. 55 pts were regarded as positive for SOD and 38/55 (60%) of these patients with an abnormal result were further evaluated with a baseline 99mTc-HIDA. As expected, all 38 pts showed better bile flow characteristics than during the morphine provocation. 20/55 (36%) patients were treated by ERCP sphincterotomy and the rest were managed conservatively by medical therapy. In all cases regarded as positive for SOD, the sublingual GTN at 60 minutes showed immediate improvement in bile flow. 11/55(20%) who developed severe post-morphine abdominal pain were relieved by GTN almost instantaneously. We propose that GTN is a useful agent in the diagnosis of SOD when performing 99mTc-HIDA scan and that the satisfactory response to the sublingual GTN could offer additional information in patients who have severe pain at the time the procedure or when presenting to the emergency unit because of biliary pain. And also in determining whether a trial of medical therapy may be used before considering surgery.

Keywords: GTN, HIDA, MORPHINE, SOD

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Authors: Yountaik Leem, Kwang Woo Nam, Sang Ho Lee, Tae Heon Moon

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As to the development of the capitalist economy, local governments put their focuses on economic growth and quality of life including the management of declined urban area. Together with the rapid advances in ICTs (information and communication technologies) Korean government tried to adapt ICTs to urban spaces to catch these two goals. Ubiquitous city, concept introduced by Mark Weiser in 1988, is a kind of ICTs based urban space which can provide IT services anytime and anywhere. This paper introduces the experience of developing ICTs-based urban planning and it’s implementation process and discusses the effect of the R&D based U-City test-bed project. For a community center of a residential zone in a newly developing city, spatial problems and citizen’s needs were identified to plan IT-based urban services. The paper also describes the structure and functions of Community O/S (COS) as an IT platform which controls data and urban devices such as media facades and U-poles. Not only one-way information but also Interactive services were included. Public creating activities using this platform also added –CO2 emission management and citizen making safety map, etc. The effects of the comprehensive U-City planning in S/W, H/W and human-ware were discussed on the case study of similar individual projects.

Keywords: ICTs-based urban planning, implementation, public IT service, U-City

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Authors: Stella Sten, Peter Hedström, Joakim Odqvist, Susanne Norgren

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Two functionally graded cemented carbide samples have been produced by local addition of Titanium carbide (TiC) to a pressed Tungsten carbide and Cobalt, WC-10 wt% Co, green body prior to sintering, with the aim of creating a gradient in both composition and grain size in the as-sintered component. The two samples differ only by the in-going WC particle size, where one sub-micron and one coarse WC particle size have been chosen for comparison. The produced sintered samples had a gradient, thus a non-homogenous structure. The Titanium (Ti), Cobalt (Co), and Carbon (C) concentration profiles have been investigated using SEM-EDS and WDS; in addition, the Vickers hardness profile has been measured. Moreover, the Ti concentration profile has been simulated using DICTRA software and compared with experimental results. The concentration and hardness profiles show a similar trend for both samples. Ti and C levels decrease, as expected from the area of TiC application, whereas Co increases towards the edge of the samples. The non-homogenous composition affects the number of stable phases and WC grain size evolution. The sample with finer in-going WC grain size shows a shorter gamma (γ) phase zone and a larger difference in WC grain size compared to the coarse-grained sample. Both samples show, independent of the composition, the presence of abnormally large grains.

Keywords: cemented carbide, functional gradient material, grain growth, sintering

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Authors: Ozgun Oktar, Sevilay Can, Cengiz V. Ekici

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The oil spill is a form of pollution caused by releasing of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the marine environment. Considering the growth of ship traffic, increasing of off-shore oil drilling and seaside refineries affect the risk of oil spill upward. The oil spill is easy to spread to large areas when occurs especially on the sea surface. Remote sensing technology offers the easiest way to control/monitor the area of the oil spill in a large region. It’s usually easy to detect pollution when occurs by the ship accidents, however monitoring non-accidental pollution could be possible by remote sensing. It is also needed to observe specific regions daily and continuously by satellite solutions. Remote sensing satellites mostly and effectively used for monitoring oil pollution are RADARSAT, ENVISAT and MODIS. Spectral coverage and transition period of these satellites are not proper to monitor Marmara Sea and Istanbul Strait continuously. In this study, RASAT and GOKTURK-2 are suggested to use for monitoring Marmara Sea and Istanbul Strait. RASAT, with spectral resolution 420 – 730 nm, is the first Turkish-built satellite. GOKTURK-2’s resolution can reach up to 2,5 meters. This study aims to analyze the images from both satellites and produce maps to show the regions which have potentially affected by spills from shipping traffic.

Keywords: Marmara Sea, monitoring, oil spill, satellite remote sensing

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Authors: Irina Alexandra Paun, Mona Mihailescu, Marian Zamfirescu, Catalin Romeo Luculescu, Adriana Maria Acasandrei, Cosmin Catalin Mustaciosu, Roxana Cristina Popescu, Maria Dinescu

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A major concern in bone tissue engineering is to develop complex 3D architectures that mimic the natural cells environment, facilitate the cells growth in a defined manner and allow the flow transport of nutrients and metabolic waste. In particular, porous structures of controlled pore size and positioning are indispensable for growing human-like bone structures. Another concern is to monitor both the structures and the seeded cells with high spatial resolution and without interfering with the cells natural environment. The present approach relies on laser-based technologies employed for fabricating porous biomimetic structures that support the growth of osteoblast-like cells and for their non-invasive 3D imaging. Specifically, the porous structures were built by two photon polymerization –direct writing (2PP_DW) of the commercially available photoresists IL-L780, using the Photonic Professional 3D lithography system. The structures consist of vertical tubes with micrometer-sized heights and diameters, in a honeycomb-like spatial arrangement. These were fabricated by irradiating the IP-L780 photoresist with focused laser pulses with wavelength centered at 780 nm, 120 fs pulse duration and 80 MHz repetition rate. The samples were precisely scanned in 3D by piezo stages. The coarse positioning was done by XY motorized stages. The scanning path was programmed through a writing language (GWL) script developed by Nanoscribe. Following laser irradiation, the unexposed regions of the photoresist were washed out by immersing the samples in the Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether Acetate (PGMEA). The porous structures were seeded with osteoblast like MG-63 cells and their osteogenic potential was tested in vitro. The cell-seeded structures were analyzed in 3D using the digital holographic microscopy technique (DHM). DHM is a marker free and high spatial resolution imaging tool, where the hologram acquisition is performed non-invasively i.e. without interfering with the cells natural environment. Following hologram recording, a digital algorithm provided a 3D image of the sample, as well as information about its refractive index, which is correlated with the intracellular content. The axial resolution of the images went down to the nanoscale, while the temporal scales ranged from milliseconds up to hours. The hologram did not involve sample scanning and the whole image was available in one frame recorded going over 200μm field of view. The digital holograms processing provided 3D quantitative information on the porous structures and allowed a quantitative analysis of the cellular response in respect to the porous architectures. The cellular shape and dimensions were found to be influenced by the underlying micro relief. Furthermore, the intracellular content gave evidence on the beneficial role of the porous structures in promoting osteoblast differentiation. In all, the proposed laser-based protocol emerges as a promising tool for the fabrication and non-invasive imaging of porous constructs for bone tissue engineering. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-2534 (contract 97 from 01/10/2015) and by UEFISCDI PN-II-PT-PCCA no. 6/2012. A part of this work was performed in the CETAL laser facility, supported by the National Program PN 16 47 - LAPLAS IV.

Keywords: biomimetic, holography, laser, osteoblast, two photon polymerization

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Authors: Manjinder Singh, Jasvinder Singh

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Existing theories of Titanic/Liberty ship, Sydney bridge accidents and practical experience generated an interest in developing weldments those has high toughness under sub-zero temperature conditions. The purpose was to protect the joint from undergoing DBT (Ductile to brittle transition), when ambient temperature reach sub-zero levels. Metallurgical improvement such as low carbonization or addition of deoxidization elements like Mn and Si was effective to prevent fracture in weldments (crack) at low temperature. In the present research, an attempt has been made to investigate the reason behind ductile to brittle transition of mild steel weldments when subjected to sub-zero temperatures and method of its mitigation. Nickel is added to weldments using manual metal arc welding (MMAW) preventing the DBT, but progressive reduction in charpy impact values as temperature is lowered. The variation in toughness with respect to nickel content being added to the weld pool is analyzed quantitatively to evaluate the rise in toughness value with increasing nickel amount. The impact performance of welded specimens was evaluated by Charpy V-notch impact tests at various temperatures (20 °C, 0 °C, -20 °C, -40 °C, -60 °C). Notch is made in the weldments, as notch sensitive failure is particularly likely to occur at zones of high stress concentration caused by a notch. Then the effect of nickel to weldments is investigated at various temperatures was studied by mechanical and metallurgical tests. It was noted that a large gain in impact toughness could be achieved by adding nickel content. The highest yield strength (462J) in combination with good impact toughness (over 220J at – 60 °C) was achieved with an alloying content of 16 wt. %nickel. Based on metallurgical behavior it was concluded that the weld metals solidify as austenite with increase in nickel. The microstructure was characterized using optical and high resolution SEM (scanning electron microscopy). At inter-dendritic regions mainly martensite was found. In dendrite core regions of the low carbon weld metals a mixture of upper bainite, lower bainite and a novel constituent coalesced bainite formed. Coalesced bainite was characterized by large bainitic ferrite grains with cementite precipitates and is believed to form when the bainite and martensite start temperatures are close to each other. Mechanical properties could be rationalized in terms of micro structural constituents as a function of nickel content.

Keywords: MMAW, Toughness, DBT, Notch, SEM, Coalesced bainite

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Authors: Indri Nilam Sari, Aris Subagiyo, Nindya Sari

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Malinau Regency border area is an area which is based on the RTRWN and the development priority. But, in real border area Malinau Regency placed as backyard from Indonesian area and caused development lag that is fairly large compared by town area in Malinau Regency. This research aimed to know the condition of the gap in the Malinau Regency border and its influence on the development of the border region as well as knowing the problems related to the economy development of society in the area of the border district of Malinau. Methods of analysis are used in namely descriptive analysis that represent analysis of land use and analysis of movement activities of the population, level analysis facility and infrastructure, economy analysis that represent top commodity determination analysis (LQ and Growth Share) and accessibility. The results of the study showed that the condition of the Malinau Regency border come within the gap as seen from the contributions of infrastructure repair facilities and accessibility advocates, communities, scattered seed commodities come within the borders and human resources with the condition of the most Upstream Bahau town in the backwaters of the town more. There are a few problems that cause the condition area of the border experiencing inequality, lack of human resources, poor infrastructure, lack of accessibility and low levels of security so that it brings development recommendations was the development of the flagship commodities and infrastructure as well as supporting community economic infrastructure, as well as human resources.

Keywords: border, economy, development, Malinau

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Authors: Yooseo Pang, Jongwoong Choi, Yong Cho, Yongchae Jeong

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Climate crisis, such as environmental problems related to energy supply, is getting emerged issues, so the use of renewable energy is essentially required to solve these problems, which are mainly managed by the Paris Agreement, the international treaty on climate change. The government of the Republic of Korea announced that the key long-term goal for a low-carbon strategy is “Carbon neutrality by 2050”. It is focused on the role of the internet data centers (IDC) in which large amounts of data, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data as an impact of the 4th industrial revolution, are managed. The demand for the cooling system market for IDC was about 9 billion US dollars in 2020, and 15.6% growth a year is expected in Korea. It is important to control the temperature in IDC with an efficient air conditioning system, so hydrothermal energy is one of the best options for saving energy in the cooling system. In order to save energy and optimize the operating conditions, it has been considered to apply ‘the dam deep water air conditioning system. Deep water at a specific level from the dam can supply constant water temperature year-round. It will be tested & analyzed the amount of energy saving with a pilot plant that has 100RT cooling capacity. Also, a target of this project is 1.2 PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) which is the key parameter to check the efficiency of the cooling system.

Keywords: hydrothermal energy, HVAC, internet data center, free-cooling

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Authors: Noor Shafifiyaz Mohd Yazid, Najihah Mohd Hashim, Hapipah Mohd Ali, Syam Mohan, Rosea Go

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Artocarpus kemando is a plant species from Moraceae family. This plant is used as household utensil by the local and the fruits are edible. The plants’ bark was used for the extraction process and yielded the chloroform crude extract which was used to screen for anticancer potential. The cytotoxic effect of the extract on CAOV-3 and WRL 68 cell lines were determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide or MTT assays. Qualitative AO/PI assay was performed to confirm the apoptosis and necrosis process. Meanwhile, the measurement of cell loss, nuclear morphology, DNA content, cell membrane permeability, mitochondrial membrane potential changes and cytochrome c release from mitochondria were detected through cytotoxicity 3 assay. In MTT assay, A. kemando inhibited 50% growth of CAOV-3 cells at 27.9 ± 0:03, 20.1± 0:03, 18.21± 0:04 µg/mL after 24, 48 and 72 hour, respectively. The morphology changes can be seen on CAOV-3 with a production of cell membrane blebbing, cromatin condensation and apoptotic bodies. Evaluation of cytotoxicity 3 on CAOV-3 cells after treated with extract resulting loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. The results demonstrated A. kemando has potentially anticancer agent, particularly on human ovarian cancer.

Keywords: anticancer, Artocarpus kemando, ovarian cancer, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Michael Louis Sunaris, Robby Yussac Tallar

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The concept of sustainable river is evolving in Indonesia today. Many rivers condition in Indonesia have decreased by quality and quantity. The degradation of this condition is caused by rapid land use change as a result of increased population growth and human activity. It brings the degradation of the existing watersheds including some types of land use that an important factor in determining the status of river sustainability. Therefore, an evaluation method is required to determine the sustainability status of waterbody within watershed. The purpose of this study is to analyze various types of land use in determining the status of river sustainability. This study takes the watersheds of Citarum Upstream as a study area. The results of the analysis prove the index of sustainability status of the river that changes from good to bad or average in the rivers in the study area. The rapid and uncontrolled changes of land use especially in the upper watersheds area are the main causes that happened over time. It was indicated that the cumulative runoff coefficients were increased significantly. These situations indicated that the damage of watersheds has an impact on the water surplus or deficit problem yearly. Therefore, the rivers in Indonesia should be protected and conserved. The sustainability index of the rivers is an index to indicate the condition of watersheds by defining status of rivers in order to achieve sustainable water resource management.

Keywords: land use change, runoff coefficient, a simple index, sustainable river

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Authors: Karla Lienau, Rafael Müller, René Moré, Debora Ressnig, Dan Cook, Richard Walton, Greta R. Patzke

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The increasing demand for renewable energy sources and storable fuels underscores the high potential of artificial photosynthesis. The four electron transfer process of water oxidation remains the bottleneck of water splitting, so that special emphasis is placed on the development of economic, stable and efficient water oxidation catalysts (WOCs). Our investigations introduced cobalt carbodiimide CoNCN and its transition metal analogues as WOC types, and further studies are focused on the interaction of different transition metals in the convenient all-nitrogen/carbon matrix. This provides further insights into the nature of the ‘true catalyst’ for cobalt centers in this non-oxide environment. Water oxidation activity is evaluated with complementary methods, namely photocatalytically using a Ru-dye sensitized standard setup as well as electrocatalytically, via immobilization of the WOCs on glassy carbon electrodes. To further explore the tuning potential of transition metal combinations, complementary investigations were carried out in oxidic spinel WOC matrices with more versatile host options than the carbodiimide framework. The influence of the preparative history on the WOC performance was evaluated with different synthetic methods (e.g. hydrothermally or microwave assisted). Moreover, the growth mechanism of nanoscale Co3O4-spinel as a benchmark WOC was investigated with in-situ PXRD techniques.

Keywords: carbodiimide, photocatalysis, spinels, water oxidation

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Authors: Ted Gournelos

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Marketing approaches in practice and academic literature usually foreground the importance of product and brand awareness in strategy. Decisions emphasize justifications and promotions of existing projects, which has the unintended consequence of pushing marketing, public relations, and other communications to secondary strategies and tactics rather than as inherent pieces of organizational development. In other words, marketers implement what others have already decided. This is a challenge not only for the communications field, but also for the organizations themselves, since integrated communications employees are often the primary, if not the only, touchpoints for client/customer/user research and interaction. Organizations thus become increasingly out of touch, raising the risk of public or human resources crisis and decreasing the focus on opportunities for development and growth. This paper will discuss the potential for social entrepreneurship to refocus marketing and communications professionals on primary strategy, and suggest best practices for developing initiatives not only to impact marketing efforts themselves, but also the guiding organizational approaches to project management, human resources, corporate social responsibility, and research. It will provide a comparative analysis of social media marketing efforts conducted by food security non-governmental organizations from several countries, pointing out both flaws and areas of opportunity for integration with for-profit organizational strategy, and discuss the implications of descriptive, proactive, and interactive messaging.

Keywords: social enterprise, strategy, innovation, social media

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Authors: Abdullah AlGhazali, Richard Fairchild, Yilmaz Guney

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We examine the effect of managerial overconfidence on UK firms’ payout policy for the period 2000 to 2012. The analysis incorporates, in addition to common firm-specific factors, a wide range of corporate governance factors and managerial characteristics that have been documented to affect the relationship between overconfidence and payout policy. Our results are robust to several estimation considerations. The findings show that the influence of overconfident CEOs on the amount of, and the propensity to pay, dividends is significant within the UK context. Specifically, we detect that there is a reduction in dividend payments in firms managed by overconfident managers compared to their non-overconfident counterparts. Moreover, we affirm that cash flows, firm size and profitability are positively correlated, while leverage, firm growth and investment are negatively correlated with the amount of and propensity to pay dividends. Interestingly, we demonstrate that firms with the potential for undervaluation reduce dividend payments. Some of the corporate governance factors are shown to motivate firms to pay more dividends while these factors seem to have no influence on the propensity to pay dividends. The results also show that in general higher overconfidence leads to more share repurchases but the lower total payout. Overall, managerial overconfidence should be considered as an important factor influencing payout policy in addition to other known factors.

Keywords: dividends, repurchases, UK firms, overconfidence, corporate governance, undervaluation

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Authors: Pui Shan Wong, Kosuke Tashiro, Satoru Kuhara, Sachiyo Aburatani

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Functional genomics and gene regulation inference has readily expanded our knowledge and understanding of gene interactions with regards to expression regulation. With the advancement of transcriptome sequencing in time-series comes the ability to study the sequential changes of the transcriptome. This method presented here works to augment existing regulation networks accumulated in literature with transcriptome data gathered from time-series experiments to construct a sequential representation of transcription factor activity. This method is applied on a time-series RNA-Seq data set from Escherichia coli as it transitions from growth to stationary phase over five hours. Investigations are conducted on the various metabolic activities in gene regulation processes by taking advantage of the correlation between regulatory gene pairs to examine their activity on a dynamic network. Especially, the changes in metabolic activity during phase transition are analyzed with focus on the pagP gene as well as other associated transcription factors. The visualization of the sequential transcriptional activity is used to describe the change in metabolic pathway activity originating from the pagP transcription factor, phoP. The results show a shift from amino acid and nucleic acid metabolism, to energy metabolism during the transition to stationary phase in E. coli.

Keywords: Escherichia coli, gene regulation, network, time-series

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Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková

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This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.

Keywords: controlling, information, risks, risk factor, crisis

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Authors: Selvaprakash Ramalingam, Rabi N. Sahoo, Dharmendra Saraswat, A. Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan, Joydeep Mukerjee, Viswanathan Chinnasamy, K. K. Chaturvedi, Sanjeev Kumar

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Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. Among the various diseases that affect rice crops, rice blast is particularly significant, causing crop yield and economic losses. While the plant has defense mechanisms in place, such as chemical indicators (proteins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and azelaic acid) and resistance genes in certain varieties that can protect against diseases, susceptible varieties remain vulnerable to these fungal diseases. Early prediction of rice blast (RB) disease is crucial, but conventional techniques for early prediction are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques hold the potential to predict RB disease at its asymptomatic stage. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the prediction of RB disease at the asymptomatic stage using non-imaging hyperspectral ASD spectroradiometer under controlled laboratory conditions. We applied statistical spectral discrimination theory to identify unknown spectra of M. Oryzae, the fungus responsible for rice blast disease. The infrared (IR) region was found to be significantly affected by RB disease. These changes may result in alterations in the absorption, reflection, or emission of infrared radiation by the affected plant tissues. Our research revealed that the protein spectrum in the IR region is impacted by RB disease. In our study, we identified strong correlations in the region (Amide group - I) around X 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm with the Lambda / Lambda derived spectra methods for protein detection. During the stages when the disease is developing, typically from day 3 to day 5, the plant's defense mechanisms are not as effective. This is especially true for the PB-1 variety of rice, which is highly susceptible to rice blast disease. Consequently, the proteins in the plant are adversely affected during this critical time. The spectral contour plot reveals the highly correlated spectral regions 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm associated with RB disease infection. Based on these spectral sensitivities, we developed new spectral disease indices for predicting different stages of disease emergence. The goal of this research is to lay the foundation for future UAV and satellite-based studies aimed at long-term monitoring of RB disease.

Keywords: rice blast, asymptomatic stage, spectral sensitivity, IR

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Authors: Nidhi Bansal, Upasna Agarwal

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Innovation is a key driver for economic growth and well-being of developed as well as emerging economies like India. Very few studies examined the relationship between IWB and work-family enrichment. Therefore, the present study examines the relationship between work-family enrichment (WFE) and innovative workplace behavior (IWB) and whether it is mediated by positive emotions. Social exchange theory and broaden and build theory explain the proposed relationships. Data were collected from 250 full time dual working parents in different Indian organizations through a survey questionnaire. Snowball technique was used for approaching respondents. Mediation analysis was assessed through PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2012) in SPSS. With correlational analysis, it was explored that all three variables were significantly and positively related. Analysis suggests that work-family enrichment is significantly related to innovative workplace behavior and this relationship is partially mediated by positive emotions. A cross-sectional design, use of self-reported questions and data collected only from dual working parents are few limitations of the study. This is one of the few studies to examine the innovative workplace behavior in response to work-family enrichment and first attempt to examine the mediation effect of emotions between these two variables.

Keywords: dual working parents, emotions, innovative workplace behavior, work-family enrichment

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Authors: Waode Nurmayani, Nikmatul Riswanda

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Broilers are chickens which are kept with the most efficient time and hoped get a good body weight. All things are done, for example with the improvement of feed and use antibiotics. Feed cost is the most cost to be spent. Nearly 80% of the cost is spent just for buy feed. Earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) is a good choice to reduce the cost of feed protein source. The Earthworm has a high crude protein content of about 48.5%-61.9%, rich with proline amino acid about 15% of the 62 amino acids. Not only about protein, this earthworm also has a role in disease prevention. Prevention of disease in livestock usual with use feed supplement. Earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) is one of the natural materials used as feed. In addition, several types of earthworms that have been known to contain active substances about antibacterial pathogens namely Lumbricus rubellus. The earthworm could be used as an antibiotic because it contain the antibody of Lumbricine active substance. So that, this animal feed from Lumbricus rubellus could improve the performance of broilers. Bioactive of anti-bacterial is called Lumbricine able to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal wall so that the population of pathogenic bacteria is reduced. The method of write in this scientific writing is divided into 3 techniques, namely data completion, data analysis, and thinking pan from various literature about earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) as broiler feed. It is expected that innovation of feed material of earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus) could reduce the cost of protein feed and the use of chemical antibiotics.

Keywords: earthworm, broiler, protein, antibiotic

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Tais Basaco, Stefanie Pektor, Josue A. Moreno, Matthias Miederer, Andreas Türler

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Radiopharmaceuticals based in monoclonal anti-body (mAb) via chemical linkers have become a potential tool in nuclear medicine because of their specificity and the large variability and availability of therapeutic radiometals. It is important to identify the conjugation sites and number of attached chelator to mAb to obtain radioimmunoconjugates with required immunoreactivity and radiostability. Girentuximab antibody (G250) is a potential candidate for radioimmunotherapy of clear cell carcinomas (RCCs) because it is reactive with CAIX antigen, a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed on the cell surface of most ( > 90%) (RCCs). G250 was conjugated with the bifunctional chelating agent DOTA (1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-N,N’,N’’,N’’’-tetraacetic acid) via a benzyl-thiocyano group as a linker (p-SCN-Bn-DOTA). DOTA-G250 conjugates were analyzed by size exclusion chromatography (SE-HPLC) and by electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The potential site-specific conjugation was identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) and the number of linkers per molecule of mAb was calculated using the molecular weight (MW) measured by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The average number obtained in the conjugates in non-reduced conditions was between 8-10 molecules of DOTA per molecule of mAb. The average number obtained in the conjugates in reduced conditions was between 1-2 and 3-4 molecules of DOTA per molecule of mAb in the light chain (LC) and heavy chain (HC) respectively. Potential DOTA modification sites of the chelator were identified in lysine residues. The biological activity of the conjugates was evaluated by flow cytometry (FACS) using CAIX negative (SKRC-18) and CAIX positive (SKRC-52). The DOTA-G250 conjugates were labelled with 177Lu with a radiochemical yield > 95% reaching specific activities of 12 MBq/µg. The stability in vitro of different types of radioconstructs was analyzed in human serum albumin (HSA). The radiostability of 177Lu-DOTA-G250 at high specific activity was increased by addition of sodium ascorbate after the labelling. The immunoreactivity was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Binding to CAIX positive cells (SK-RC-52) at different specific activities was higher for conjugates with less DOTA content. Protein dose was optimized in mice with subcutaneously growing SK-RC-52 tumors using different amounts of 177Lu- DOTA-G250.

Keywords: mass spectrometry, monoclonal antibody, radiopharmaceuticals, radioimmunotheray, renal cancer

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Authors: M. Linda Phooko, Phesheya E. Dlamini, Vusumuzi E. Mbanjwa, Rhandu Chauke

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The decline of yields as a consequence of miss-informed land-use decisions poses a threat to sustainable agriculture in South Africa. The non-uniform growth pattern of wheat crop and the yields below expectations has been one of the main concerns for Timatjatji community farmers. This study was then conducted to characterize, classify, and evaluate soils of the farm for sustainable land use planning. A detailed free survey guided by surface features was conducted on a 25 ha farm to check soil variation. It was revealed that Sepane (25%), Bonheim (21%), Rensburg (18%), Katspruit (15%), Arcadia (12%) and Dundee (9%) were the dominant soil forms found across the farm. Field soil description was done to determine morphological characteristics of the soils which were matched with slope percentage and climate to assess the potential of the soils. The land capability results showed that soils were generally shallow due to high clay content in the B horizon. When the climate of the area was factored in (i.e. land potential), it further revealed that the area has low cropping potential due to heat, moisture stress and shallow soils. This implies that the farm is not suitable for annual cropping but can be highly suitable for planted pastures.

Keywords: characterization, land capability, land evaluation, land potential

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Authors: Amir Hossein Hejazi, Nima Amjady

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In recent years, due to environmental issues traditional energy sources had been replaced by renewable ones. Wind energy as the fastest growing renewable energy shares a considerable percent of energy in power electricity markets. With this fast growth of wind energy worldwide, owners and operators of wind farms, transmission system operators, and energy traders need reliable and secure forecasts of wind energy production. In this paper, a new forecasting strategy is proposed for short-term wind power prediction based on Echo State Networks (ESN). The forecast engine utilizes state-of-the-art training process including dynamical reservoir with high capability to learn complex dynamics of wind power or wind vector signals. The study becomes more interesting by incorporating prediction of wind direction into forecast strategy. The Big Bang-Big Crunch (BB-BC) evolutionary optimization algorithm is adopted for adjusting free parameters of ESN-based forecaster. The proposed method is tested by real-world hourly data to show the efficiency of the forecasting engine for prediction of both wind vector and wind power output of aggregated wind power production.

Keywords: wind power forecasting, echo state network, big bang-big crunch, evolutionary optimization algorithm

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Authors: Osatuyi Kehinde Micheal

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There is much research that has contributed to an improved understanding of the future of food security, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pathway was developed by using a local community kitchen in Muizenberg in western cape province, cape town, south Africa, a case study to map out the future of food security in times of crisis. This kitchen aims to provide nutritious, affordable, plant-based meals to our community. It is also a place of diverse learning, sharing, empowering the volunteers, and growth to support the local economy and future resilience by sustaining our community kitchen for the community. This document contains an overview of the story of the community kitchen on how we create self-sustainability as a new pathway development to sustain the community and reduce Zero hunger in the regional food system. This paper describes the key elements of how we respond to covid-19 pandemic by sharing food parcels and creating 13 soup kitchens across the community to tackle the immediate response to covid-19 pandemic and agricultural systems by growing home food gardening in different homes, also having a consciousness Dry goods store to reduce Zero waste and a local currency as an innovation to reduce food crisis. Insights gained from our article and outreach and their value in how we create adaptation, transformation, and sustainability as a new development pathway to solve any future problem crisis in the food security system in our society.

Keywords: sustainability, food security, community development, adapatation, transformation

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Authors: Y. S. Mohamed, L. A. Ahmed, H. A. Salem, A. M. Agha

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Liver Fibrosis is one of the most serious conditions that affect the Egyptian society. In the present study, the effect of nicorandil was investigated in experimentally-induced liver fibrosis by bile duct ligation in rats. Nicorandil (3mg/kg/day) was given orally 24 h after bile duct ligation for 14 days till the end of the experiment. Nicorandil group showed a significant improvement in liver function tests (ALT and ALP) as well as a significant decrease in oxidative stress biomarkers (TBARS and GSH), area of fibrosis and activity of hepatic stellate cells as indicated by decreased expression of alpha smooth muscle actin.Moreover, nicorandil treatment decreased HSCs proliferation due to its inhibitory effects on protein kinase C(PKC) and Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) . Oral administration of either glibenclamide (10 mg/kg/day)(a KATP channel blocker) or L-NAME (30 mg/kg/day) (an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase) blocked the protective effects of nicorandil. However, nicorandil and L-NAME treated group showed more or less results similar to that of untreated bile duct ligated group. In conclusion, nicorandil was effective against the development of bile duct ligated-induced liver fibrosis in rats where activation of the NO pathway plays an important role in the protective effect nicorandil.

Keywords: hepatic stellate cells, nicorandil, nitric oxide donor, liver fibrosis

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Authors: Ghodhbani Salah, Jemili Farah

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With the growth of cyber attacks, information safety has become an important issue all over the world. Many firms rely on security technologies such as intrusion detection systems (IDSs) to manage information technology security risks. IDSs are considered to be the last line of defense to secure a network and play a very important role in detecting large number of attacks. However the main problem with today’s most popular commercial IDSs is generating high volume of alerts and huge number of false positives. This drawback has become the main motivation for many research papers in IDS area. Hence, in this paper we present a data mining technique to assist network administrators to analyze and reduce false positive alarms that are produced by an IDS and increase detection accuracy. Our data mining technique is unsupervised clustering method based on hybrid ANT algorithm. This algorithm discovers clusters of intruders’ behavior without prior knowledge of a possible number of classes, then we apply K-means algorithm to improve the convergence of the ANT clustering. Experimental results on real dataset show that our proposed approach is efficient with high detection rate and low false alarm rate.

Keywords: intrusion detection system, alarm filtering, ANT class, ant clustering, intruders’ behaviors, false alarms

Procedia PDF Downloads 404