Search results for: fish bypass ladder

Authors: Joseph E. Cobbinah, Abigail A. Aryeh-Adjei

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Over the years, entry into the academia in any Ghanaian university requires an advanced research degree, more preferably traditional doctorate (PhD or DPhil). It is however argued that PhD is more research intensive, so since university teaching involves a lot of research, those having traditional doctorate have good research background to teach in a university and are thus recruited as lecturers. However, in the last ten years, a reasonable number of academics enter Ghanaian universities with professional doctorate degrees, which hitherto was considered to be only suitable for industry, because it gives individuals with just basic research skills needed for professional practice, unlike the traditional PhD which is research intensive degree. Currently, there are a reasonable number of professional doctorate degree holders with qualifications like DBA, EdD, PsychD, DPharm, EngD, among others in various departments in many Ghanaian universities. Maybe, because such degree holders also use the title Dr, some university authorities put them at par with their counterparts with traditional doctorate, although some lecturers with PhD seem to look down upon those with traditional doctorate degrees and this has created some tension amongst those academics. This makes their promotions and holding of university academic positions very problematic in some ways. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the types of professional doctorate degree holders working as lecturers in some selected universities in Ghana and the challenges associated with their recruitment, acceptability and proper integration into universities’ teaching and learning. The paper adopted qualitative research methodology. In all, respondents from three state-owned and privately owned universities were involved in the study. Administrators, lecturers, heads of departments and deans of faculty were interviewed to assess the challenges associated with the recruitment of professional doctorate degree holders and any problems they face in the departments they work. It became evident that, although some lecturers enter the academia with professional doctorate degrees, their counterparts seem not to give them the recognition and respect they deserve. Although there is little or no evidence that professional doctorate degree holders are under performing, recruiting professional doctorate degree holders does not only become a challenge, but also their progression into the university’s promotion ladder become very slow compared to their counterparts with traditional PhD degrees.

Keywords: professional doctorate, academia, lecturers, Ghanaian universities, orate

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Authors: Rasoul Eslami, Reza Gharakhanlou

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NT-4/5 and TrkB have been proposed to be involved in the coordinated adaptations of the neuromuscular system to elevated level of activity. Despite the persistence of this neurotrophin and its receptor expression in adult skeletal muscle, little attention has been paid to the functional significance of this complex in the mature neuromuscular system. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the effect of one session of resistance exercise on mRNA expression of NT4/5 and TrkB proteins in slow and fast muscles of Wistar Rats. Male Wistar rats (10 mo of age, preparation of Pasteur Institute) were housed under similar living conditions in cages (in groups of four) at room temperature under a controlled light/dark (12-h) cycle with ad libitum access to food and water. A number of sixteen rats were randomly divided to two groups (resistance exercise (T) and control (C); n=8 for each group). The resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a 1-meter–long ladder, with a weight attached to a tail sleeve. Twenty-four hours following the main training session, rats of T and C groups were anaesthetized and the right soleus and flexor hallucis longus (FHL) muscles were removed under sterile conditions via an incision on the dorsolateral aspect of the hind limb. For NT-4/5 and TrkB expression, quantitative real time RT-PCR was used. SPSS software and independent-samples t-test were used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Data indicate that resistance training significantly (P<0.05) decreased mRNA expression of NT4/5 in soleus muscle. However, no significant alteration was detected in FHL muscle (P>0.05). Our results also indicate that no significant alterations were detected for TrkB mRNA expression in soleus and FHL muscles (P>0.05). Decrease in mRNA expression of NT4/5 in soleus muscle may be as result of post-translation regulation following resistance training. Also, non-alteration in TrkB mRNA expression was indicated in probable roll of P75 receptor.

Keywords: neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), TrkB receptor, resistance training, slow and fast muscles

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Authors: Hai Zeng, Yisheng Li, Jincheng Huang, Chenghui Huang, Ying Zhang

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Children are strong; the country strong, the development of children Basketball is a strategic advantage. Common forms of basketball equipment has been difficult to meet the needs of young children teaching the game of basketball, basketball development for 3-6 years old children in the form of appropriate teaching aids is a breakthrough basketball game teaching children bottlenecks, improve teaching critical path pleasure, but also the development of early childhood basketball a necessary requirement. In this study, literature, questionnaires, focus group interviews, comparative analysis, for domestic and foreign use of 12 kinds of basketball teaching aids (cloud computing MINI basketball, adjustable basketball MINI, MINI basketball court, shooting assist paw print ball, dribble goggles, dribbling machine, machine cartoon shooting, rebounding machine, against the mat, elastic belt, ladder, fitness ball), from fun and improve early childhood shooting technique, dribbling technology, as well as offensive and defensive rebounding against technology conduct research on conversion technology. The results show that by using appropriate forms of teaching children basketball aids, can effectively improve children's fun basketball game, targeted to improve a technology, different types of aids from different perspectives enrich the connotation of children basketball game. Recommended for children of color psychology, cartoon and environmentally friendly material production aids, and increase research efforts basketball aids children, encourage children to sports teachers aids applications.

Keywords: health and physical education field of curriculum outline, health fitness, sports and health curriculum reform, Taiwan, twelve years basic education

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Authors: Rabab Makki, Deputy Chief Dietitian

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Malnutrition is commonly seen in Liver Disease patients. Prevalence of malnutrition in cirrhosis, is as high as 65-90%. Protein depletion and reduced muscle function are common. There are many mechanisms of malnutrition in liver cirrhosis e.g. insulin resistance, low respiratory quotient, increased glucogenesis etc. Nutrition support improves outcome in patients unable to maintain an intake of 35-40 Kcal/kg and 1.2-1.5 gm/kg/day. Simple methods of assessment such as subjective global assessment, calorie counting, MMC are useful. The value of BCAAs remains uncertain despite a considerable number of studies. Normal protein diets have been given safely to patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Restriction of protein not more than 48 hours pre- and pro-biotic, glutamine, fish oil etc are all part of the latest advanced techniques used.

Keywords: liver cirrhosis, omega 3 for liver disease, nutrition management, malnutrition

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Authors: Todd H. Buxton, Yong G. Lai

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Temperature management in regulated rivers can involve significant expenditures of water to meet the cold-water requirements of species in summer. For this purpose, flows released from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River in Northern California are 12.7 cms with temperatures around 11oC in July through September to provide adult spring Chinook cold water to hold in deep pools and mature until spawning in fall. The releases are more than double the flow and 10oC colder temperatures than the natural conditions before the dam was built. The high, cold releases provide springers the habitat they require but may suppress the stream food base and limit future populations of salmon by reducing the juvenile fish size and survival to adults via the positive relationship between the two. Field and modeling research was undertaken to explore whether lowering summer releases from Lewiston Dam may promote thermal stratification in river pools so that both the cold-water needs of adult salmon and warmer water requirements of other organisms in the stream biome may be met. For this investigation, a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed and validated with field measurements in two deep pools on the Trinity River. Modeling and field observations were then used to identify the flows and temperatures that may form and maintain thermal stratification under different meteorologic conditions. Under low flows, a pool was found to be well mixed and thermally homogenous until temperatures began to stratify shortly after sunrise. Stratification then strengthened through the day until shading from trees and mountains cooled the inlet flow and decayed the thermal gradient, which collapsed shortly before sunset and returned the pool to a well-mixed state. This diurnal process of stratification formation and destruction was closely predicted by the 3D CFD model. Both the model and field observations indicate that thermal stratification maintained the coldest temperatures of the day at ≥2m depth in a pool and provided water that was around 8oC warmer in the upper 2m of the pool. Results further indicate that the stratified pool under low flows provided almost the same daily average temperatures as when flows were an order of magnitude higher and stratification was prevented, indicating significant water savings may be realized in regulated streams while also providing a diversity in water temperatures the ecosystem requires. With confidence in the 3D CFD model, the model is now being applied to a dozen pools in the Trinity River to understand how pool bathymetry influences thermal stratification under variable flows and diurnal temperature variations. This knowledge will be used to expand the results to 52 pools in a 64 km reach below Lewiston Dam that meet the depth criteria (≥2 m) for spring Chinook holding. From this, rating curves will be developed to relate discharge to the volume of pool habitat that provides springers the temperature (<15.6oC daily average), velocity (0.15 to 0.4 m/s) and depths that accommodate the escapement target for spring Chinook (6,000 adults) under maximum fish densities measured in other streams (3.1 m3/fish) during the holding time of year (May through August). Flow releases that meet these goals will be evaluated for water savings relative to the current flow regime and their influence on indicator species, including the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog, and aspects of the stream biome that support salmon populations, including macroinvertebrate production and juvenile Chinook growth rates.

Keywords: 3D CFD modeling, flow regulation, thermal stratification, chinook salmon, foothill yellow-legged frogs, water managment

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Authors: Santosh Sharma Parajuli, Diwas Manandhar

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Background: Perioperative pain management plays an integral part in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We studied the effect of Erector Spinae Plane block on acute postoperative pain reduction and 24 hours opioid consumption in adult cardiac surgical patients. Methods: Twenty-five adult cardiac surgical patients who underwent cardiac surgery with sternotomy in whom ESP catheters were placed preoperatively were kept in group E, and the other 25 patients who had undergone cardiac surgery without ESP catheter and pain management done with conventional opioid injection were placed in group C. Fentanyl was used for pain management. The primary study endpoint was to compare the consumption of fentanyl and to assess the numeric rating scale in the postoperative period in the first 24 hours in both groups. Results: The 24 hours fentanyl consumption was 43.00±51.29 micrograms in the Erector Spinae Plane catheter group and 147.00±60.94 micrograms in the control group postoperatively which was statistically significant (p <0.001). The numeric rating scale was also significantly reduced in the Erector Spinae Plane group compared to the control group in the first 24 hours postoperatively. Conclusion: Erector Spinae Plane block is superior to the conventional opioid injection method for postoperative pain management in CABG patients. Erector Spinae Plane block not only decreases the overall opioid consumption but also the NRS score in these patients.

Keywords: erector, spinae, plane, numerical rating scale

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Authors: Esmaeil Kouhgardi, Elaheh Shakerdargah

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The mangrove ecosystem is a complex of various inter-related elements in the land-sea interface zone which is linked with other natural systems of the coastal region such as corals, sea-grass, coastal fisheries and beach vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem consists of water, muddy soil, trees, shrubs, and their associated flora, fauna and microbes. It is a very productive ecosystem sustaining various forms of life. Its waters are nursery grounds for fish, crustacean, and mollusk and also provide habitat for a wide range of aquatic life, while the land supports a rich and diverse flora and fauna, but pollutions may affect these characteristics. Iran has the lowest share of Persian Gulf pollution among the eight littoral states; environmental experts are still deeply concerned about the serious consequences of the pollution in the oil-rich gulf. Prolongation of critical conditions in the Persian Gulf has endangered its aquatic ecosystem. Water purification equipment, refineries, wastewater emitted by onshore installations, especially petrochemical plans, urban sewage, population density and extensive oil operations of Arab states are factors contaminating the Persian Gulf waters. Population density has been the major cause of pollution and environmental degradation in the Persian Gulf. Persian Gulf is a closed marine environment which is connected to open waterways only from one way. It usually takes between three and four years for the gulf's water to be completely replaced. Therefore, any pollution entering the water will remain there for a relatively long time. Presently, the high temperature and excessive salt level in the water have exposed the marine creatures to extra threats, which mean they have to survive very tough conditions. The natural environment of the Persian Gulf is very rich with good fish grounds, extensive coral reefs and pearl oysters in abundance, but has become increasingly under pressure due to the heavy industrialization and in particular the repeated major oil spillages associated with the various recent wars fought in the region. Pollution may cause the mortality of mangrove forests by effect on root, leaf and soil of the area. Study was showed the high correlation between industrial pollution and mangrove forests health in south of Iran and increase of population, coupled with economic growth, inevitably caused the use of mangrove lands for various purposes such as construction of roads, ports and harbors, industries and urbanization.

Keywords: Mangrove forest, pollution, Persian Gulf, population, environment

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Authors: Yangyang Zhang

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Martin Eden tells about the tragedy of the protagonist Martin Eden’s suicide after his disillusion about American dream. The author Jack London presents various spatial routines of Martin Eden and reveals the involvement of space in realizing American dream: on the one hand, the Berkeley and Oakland cities contribute to Martin’s material success, making his American dream practical, and on the other hand, the two cities involve in the oppression of bourgeoisie ideology to Martin, promoting the domestic imperialization of bourgeoisie ideology represented by American dream. Molded by bourgeoisie ideology in the city, Martin constructed the oriental South Sea, revealing the oversea imperialization of bourgeoisie ideology behind American dream. By exploring the social, historical and political aspects of space, Martin Eden tries to demonstrate the mere material success and imperialism represented by American dream, revealing the fact of the involvement of American dreamin ideological oppression. When Jack London wrote Martin Eden, he had become a famous writer and realized his personal "American dream". He integrated his struggle experience into the protagonist Martin Eden, and also put his critique of the nature of "American dream" in the novel. The concept of the "American Dream" made the United States the land of dreams, and it also made many Americans believe that through personal struggle, they could climb the social ladder. Under the context of rapid growth in economy in the late 19 th century, American dream was reduced to the satisfaction on a material level. When material wealth was fulfilled, many people felt shattered for a variety of reasons, and such a phenomenon was reflected in the literature of disillusionment in 19th-century America.Martin Eden is such a work about disillusion, in which the geographical space becomes the witness of the realization and disillusionment of the protagonist Martin's "American dream". By analyzing the spatial narrative in Martin Eden, this paper reveals that the "American dream" only represents material success for individuals and the imperialization of capitalist ideology, and exposes the ideological nature of the "American Dream".

Keywords: Martin Eden, space, American dream, ideology of imperialism

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Authors: Supatchalee Sirichokworrakit

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Fishbone of Nile tilapia (Tilapia nilotica), waste from the frozen Nile tilapia fillet factory, is one of calcium sources. In order to increase fish bone powder value, this study aimed to investigate the effect of tilapia bone flour (TBF) addition (5, 10, 15% by flour weight) on cooking quality, texture and sensory attributes of noodles. The results indicated that tensile strength, color value (a*) and water absorption of noodles significantly decreased (p≤0.05) as the levels of TBF increased from 0-15%. While cooking loss, cooking time and color values (L* and b*) of noodles significantly increased (p≤0.05). Sensory evaluation indicated that noodles with 5% TBF received the highest overall acceptability score.

Keywords: tilapia bone flour, noodles, cooking quality, calcium

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Authors: G. A. Oladosu1, P. O. Ogbodogbo, C. I. Makinde1, M. O. Tijani, O. A. Adegboyega

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Saprolegniasis is a major pathogenic infection that contributes significantly to poor hatching rates in incubated fish eggs in the Africa catfish hatchery in Nigeria. Malachite green known to be very effective against this condition has been banned because it is carcinogenic. There is, therefore, the need for other effective yet safer methods of controlling saprolegniasis in incubated fish eggs. A total of 50 ml crude, chloroform extract of pyocyanin from which solvent was removed to attain 30 ml, having a concentration of 12.16 ug/ml was produced from 700 ml broth culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a previous study. In-vitro susceptibility of the fungus was investigated by exposing fungal infected eggs to two different time-concentration ratios of pyocyanin; 0.275 ug/ml and 2.75 ug/ml for 1 and 24 hours, and 5 mg/L malachite green as positive control while normal saline was the control. The efficacy of pyocyanin was evaluated using the degree of mycelial growth inhibition in different treatments. Fertilized Clarias gariepinus eggs (between 45 to 64 eggs) were then incubated in 20 ml of medium containing similar concentrations of pyocyanin and malachite green, with freshwater as a control for 24 hours. Hatching rates of the incubated eggs were observed. Three samples of un-hatched eggs were taken from each medium and observed for the presence of fungal pathogens using microscopy. Another batch of three samples of un-hatched eggs from each treatment was also inoculated on Sabourand dextrose agar (SDA) using Egg-Agar Transfer Technique to observe for fungal growth. Mycelial growth was inhibited in fungal infected eggs treated with 2.75 ug/ml for 24 hrs and the 5 mg/L malachite green for both 1 hr and 24 hrs. The mortality rate was 100% in fertilized C. gariepinus eggs exposed for 24 hrs to 0.275 and 2.75 ug/ml of pyocyanin. The mortality rate was least in malachite green followed by the control treatment. Embryonic development was observed to be arrested in the eggs treated with the two pyocyanin concentrations as they maintain their colour but showed no development beyond the gastrula stage, whereas viable eggs in the control and malachite green treatments developed fully into healthy hatchlings. Furthermore, microscopy of the un-hatched eggs revealed the presence of a protozoan ciliate; Colpidium sp, (Tetrahymenidae), as well as a pathogenic fungus; Saprolegnia sp. in the control but not in the malachite green and pyocyanin treatments. Growth of Saprolegnia sp was also observed in SDA culture of un-hatched eggs from the control, but not from pyocyanin and malachite green treated eggs. Pyocyanin treatment of incubated eggs of Clarias gariepinus effectively prevented fungal infection in the eggs, but also arrested the development of the embryo. Therefore, crude chloroform extract of pyocyanin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa cannot be used in the control of Saprolegniasis in incubated Clarias gariepinus eggs at the concentration and duration tested in this study.

Keywords: African catfish, bioprophylaxis, catfish embryo, Saprolegniasis

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Authors: Afaf Manzoor, Abdul Hameed

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Children with hearing impairment face several challenges in accessing primary and secondary education in general and higher education in particular in Pakistan. A large number of these children are excluded from formal education system through segregated special institutions. The enrollment rate of these children at school level is very low and it continues decreasing as they move on the ladder of education. Negligible number of students with hearing impairment gets any chance to be enrolled at tertiary or higher education institutes. The segregated system of education at primary and secondary level makes it even more difficult to adjust in an inclusive classroom at a higher level not only for students with hearing impairment but for their teachers and peers as well. A false belief of teachers and parents about low academic profile of students with hearing impairment is one of the major challenges to overcome for their participation at higher education. This case study was conducted to document an innovative step taken by the Department of Special Education Needs, University of Management & Technology, Lahore Pakistan. The prime objective of this study was to assess the satisfaction level of students with hearing impairment in BS 4 Years and MA Special Education programs at Lahore campus. Structured interviews were of 40 students with hearing impairment to assess the satisfaction on service delivery (admission process, classroom pedagogy, content, assessment/results, access to other services centers i.e. library, cafeteria, hostel, co-curricular activities) and campus life. Their peers without disabilities were also interviewed to assess their acceptance level. The findings of the study revealed positive results about their educational as well as social inclusion in the university. The students also shared their fears at the time of admission and how fear eventually faded out with the passage of time due to the proper academic support system. The findings of the study will be shared in detail with the audience during the presentation.

Keywords: students with hearing impairment, higher education, inclusive education, marginalization

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Authors: Senthil Rajan Dharmalingam, Shamala Nadaraju, Srinivasan Ramamurthy

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Doxorubicin is the most widely used anticancer drugs in chemotherapy treatment. However, problems related to the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) and acute cardiotoxicity have led researchers to investigate alternative forms of administering doxorubicin for cancer therapy. Several methods have been attempted to overcome MDR, including the co-administration of a chemosensitizer inhibiting the efflux caused by ATP binding cassette transporters with anticancer drugs, and the bypass of the efflux mechanism. Co encapsulation of doxorubicin (Dox) and cyclosporine A (CSA) into poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles was emulsification-solvent evaporation method using polyvinyl alcohol as emulsion stabilizers. The Dox-CSA loaded nanoparticles were evaluated for particle size, zeta potential and PDI by light scattering analysis and thermal characterizations by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Loading efficiency (LE %) and in-vitro dissolution samples were evaluated by developed and validated HPLC method. The optimum particle size obtained is 298.6.8±39.4 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) is 0.098±0.092. Zeta potential is found to be -29.9±4.23. Optimum pH to increase Dox LE% was found 7.1 which gave 42.5% and 58.9% increase of LE% for pH 6.6 and pH 8.6 compared respectively. LE% achieved for Dox is 0.07±0.01 % and CSA is 0.09±0.03%. Increased volume of PVA and weight of PLGA shows increase in size of nanoparticles. DSC thermograms showed shift in the melting peak for the nanoparticles compared to Dox and CSA indicating encapsulation of drugs. In conclusion, these preliminary studies showed the feasibility of PLGA nanoparticles to entrap Dox and CSA and require future in-vivo studies to be performed to establish its potential.

Keywords: doxorubicin, cyclosporine, PLGA, nanoparticles

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Authors: Paula K. Novelli, Margarida M. Barros, Luciana F. Flueri

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Utilization of agricultural by-products, wheat ban and soybean bran, as substrate for solid state fermentation (SSF) was studied, aiming the achievement of different enzymes from Aspergillus sp. with distinct biological characteristics and its application and improvement on animal nutrition. Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzea were studied as they showed very high yield of phytase and protease production, respectively. Phytase activity was measure using p-nitrophenilphosphate as substrate and a standard curve of p-nitrophenol, as the enzymatic activity unit was the quantity of enzyme necessary to release one μmol of p-nitrophenol. Protease activity was measure using azocasein as substrate. Activity for phytase and protease substantially increased when the different biochemical characteristics were considered in the study. Optimum pH and stability of the phytase produced by A. niger with wheat bran as substrate was between 4.0 - 5.0 and optimum temperature of activity was 37oC. Phytase fermented in soybean bran showed constant values at all pHs studied, for optimal and stability, but low production. Phytase with both substrates showed stable activity for temperatures higher than 80oC. Protease from A. niger showed very distinct behavior of optimum pH, acid for wheat bran and basic for soybean bran, respectively and optimal values of temperature and stability at 50oC. Phytase produced by A. oryzae in wheat bran had optimum pH and temperature of 9 and 37oC, respectively, but it was very unstable. On the other hand, proteases were stable at high temperatures, all pH’s studied and showed very high yield when fermented in wheat bran, however when it was fermented in soybean bran the production was very low. Subsequently the upscale production of phytase from A. niger and proteases from A. oryzae were applied as an enzyme additive in fish fed for digestibility studies. Phytases and proteases were produced with stable enzyme activity of 7,000 U.g-1 and 2,500 U.g-1, respectively. When those enzymes were applied in a plant protein based fish diet for digestibility studies, they increased protein, mineral, energy and lipids availability, showing that these new enzymes can improve animal production and performance. In conclusion, the substrate, as well as, the microorganism species can affect the biochemical character of the enzyme produced. Moreover, the production of these enzymes by SSF can be up to 90% cheaper than commercial ones produced with the same fungi species but submerged fermentation. Add to that these cheap enzymes can be easily applied as animal diet additives to improve production and performance.

Keywords: agricultural by-products, animal nutrition, enzymes production, solid state fermentation

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Authors: Ali Mashayekh, Mahdiye Khorasani, Thomas Weyh

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The tendency to use the Battery-Electric vehicle (BEV) for the low and medium driving range or even high driving range has been growing more and more. As a result, higher safety, reliability, and durability of the battery pack as a component of electric vehicles, which has a great share of cost and weight of the final product, are the topics to be considered and investigated. Battery aging can be considered as the predominant factor regarding the reliability and durability of BEV. To better understand the aging process, offline battery characterization has been widely used, which is time-consuming and needs very expensive infrastructures. This paper presents the substitute method for the conventional battery characterization methods, which is based on battery Modular Multilevel Management (BM3). According to this Topology, the battery cells can be drained and charged concerning their capacity, which allows varying battery pack structures. Due to the integration of the power electronics, the output voltage of the battery pack is no longer fixed but can be dynamically adjusted in small steps. In other words, each cell can have three different states, namely series, parallel, and bypass in connection with the neighbor cells. With the help of MATLAB/Simulink and by using the BM3 modules, the battery string model is created. This model allows us to switch two cells with the different SoC as parallel, which results in the internal balancing of the cells. But if the parallel switching lasts just for a couple of ms, we can have a perturbation pulse which can stimulate the cells out of the relaxation phase. With the help of modeling the voltage response pulse of the battery, it would be possible to characterize the cell. The Online EIS method, which is discussed in this paper, can be a robust substitute for the conventional battery characterization methods.

Keywords: battery characterization, SoH estimation, RLS, BEV

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Authors: Xavier Louis, Madhava Soma Sundaram

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The Palk Bay, a narrow strip of water, separates the state of Tamil Nadu in India from north Sri Lanka. The bay, which is 137 km in length and varies from 64 to 137 kilometers in width and is home to more than 580 fish species and chunks of shrimp’s resources, is divided by the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The bay, bordering it are five Tamil Nadu districts of India and three Sri Lankan districts and assumes importance as it is one of the areas presenting permanent and serious challenges to both India and Sri Lanka with respect to the fishing rights in the Bay. Fishermen from both sides were enjoying fishing with hormones for centuries. Katchchadeevu is a tiny Island located in the Bay, which was a part of India. After the Katchchadeevu agreement 1974 it became a part of Sri Lanka and a fishing conflict arose between the two countries' fishermen. Fuelling the dispute over Katchatheevu is the overfishing of Indian mechanized trawlers in Palk Bay and the damaging environmental and economic effects of trawling. Since 2008, more than 300 Indian fishermen have been killed by firing by Sri Lankan Navy, nearly 100 fishermen have gone missing and more than 3000 fishermen were arrested and later released after the trials for trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. Currently, more than 120 fishing boats and 29 fishermen are in Sri Lankan custody. This paper attempts to find out the causes of fishing conflict and who has the fishing rights in the mentioned waters, how the international treaties are complied with at the time of arrest and trials, how the arrested fishermen are treated by them and how they suffer from fishermen families without a breadwinner. A Semi-structured interview schedule tool was prepared by the researcher, which is suitable for measuring quantitative and qualitative aspects of the above-mentioned theme. One hundred arrested fishermen were interviewed and recorded their prison experiences in Sri Lanka. The research found that the majority of the fishermen believe that they have the right to fish in the historical water and that the Sri Lankan Naval personnel have brutally attacked the Indian fishermen at the time of the arrest. The majority of the fishermen accepted that they had limited fishing grounds. As a result, they entered Sri Lankan waters for their livelihood. The majority of the fishermen expected that they would also get their belongings back at the time of release, primarily the boats. Most of the arrested fishermen's families face financial crises in the absence of their breadwinners and this situation has created conditions for child labor among the affected families and some fishers migrate to different places for different occupations. The majority of the fishers have trauma about their victimization and face uncertainty in the future of their occupation. We can discuss more the causes and nature of the fishing conflict and the financial and psychological victimization of Indian fishermen in relation to the conflict.

Keywords: palk bay, historical water, fishing conflict, arrested fishermen, victimization

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Authors: Vandana Dave, Neelam Kumari

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India, a fast growing global power, is climbing the ladder of success very swiftly and has been attracting the world’s attention in recent decades. But unfortunately in the modern society, women who constitute half the population of our country have been the victims of violence in different fields of life both physically, socially, mentally and economically. Women face a lot of societal pressure, gender based violence – including rape, domestic violence, dowry death, murder and sexual abuse. But none the less, it is not considered as a problem of serious concern. Among the issues related to women, domestic violence is one of the major issue in our society which is occurring within the safe confines of home at the hands of close family members and cuts across line of race, nationality, language, culture, economics, sexual orientation, physical ability and religion to affect women from all walks of life. It is not to be perceived as a law and order problem alone but it is a socio- cultural problem and it is directly affecting the family life, health of women and life of children. Structural imbalance of power, systematic gender based discrimination; inequality between women and men and other kind of subordination are the context and cause of violence against women. Understanding it as a major problem of our society, the present study was conducted to assess the status of women of Rohtak, district of Haryana. The present study is based on primary and secondary data, adopting feminist research methodology. Case study method was incorporated during the research. It was observed that violence varied according to different age groups of women, marital status, education status, economic status and sociodemography factors. The case studies depicted the inadequate justice system for the victims of domestic violence. The study also revealed that the victims failed to understand the judiciary system and considered themselves helpless and hopeless. The study indicates the need of women friendly justice system for the upliftment of the society.

Keywords: domestic violence, women, victim, justice

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Authors: Hunmin Jung, Michael Hawkins, Seongmin Lee

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The exocyclic amines of nucleobases can undergo deamination by various DNA damaging agents such as reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and water. The deamination of guanine and adenine generates the promutagenic xanthine and hypoxanthine, respectively. The exocyclic amines of bases in DNA are hydrogen bond donors, while the carbonyl moiety generated by the base deamination acts as hydrogen bond acceptors, which can alter base pairing properties of the purines. Xanthine is known to base pair with both cytosine and thymine, while hypoxanthine predominantly pairs with cytosine to promote A to G mutations. Despite the known promutagenicity of the major deaminated purines, structures of DNA polymerase bypassing these lesions have not been reported. To gain insights into the deaminated-induced mutagenesis, we solved crystal structures of human DNA polymerase η (polη) catalyzing across xanthine and hypoxanthine. In the catalytic site of polη, the deaminated guanine (i.e., xanthine) forms three Watson-Crick-like hydrogen bonds with an incoming dCTP, indicating the O2-enol tautomer of xanthine involves in the base pairing. The formation of the enol tautomer appears to be promoted by the minor groove contact by Gln38 of polη. When hypoxanthine is at the templating position, the deaminated adenine uses its O6-keto tautomer to form two Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds with an incoming dCTP, providing the structural basis for the high promutagenicity of hypoxanthine.

Keywords: DNA damage, DNA polymerase, deamination, mutagenesis, tautomerization, translesion synthesis

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Authors: Eduardo P. Wiechmann, Jorge A. Henríquez, Pablo E. Aqueveque, Luis G. Muñoz

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PV energy prices are declining rapidly. To take advantage of the benefits of those prices and lower the carbon footprint, operational practices must be modified. Undoubtedly, it challenges the electrowinning practice to operate at constant current throughout the day. This work presents a technology that contributes in providing modulation capacity to the electrode current distribution system. This is to raise the day time dc current and lower it at night. The system is a triple intercell bar that operates in current-source mode. The design is a capping board free dogbone type of bar that ensures an operation free of short circuits, hot swapability repairs and improved current balance. This current-source system eliminates the resetting currents circulating in equipotential bars. Twin auxiliary connectors are added to the main connectors providing secure current paths to bypass faulty or impaired contacts. All system conductive elements are positioned over a baseboard offering a large heat sink area to the ventilation of a facility. The system works with lower temperature than a conventional busbar. Of these attributes, the cathode current balance property stands out and is paramount for day/night modulation and the use of photovoltaic energy. A design based on a 3D finite element method model predicting electric and thermal performance under various industrial scenarios is presented. Preliminary results obtained in an electrowinning facility with industrial prototypes are included.

Keywords: electrowinning, intercell bars, PV energy, current modulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Chouahda Salima, Soltani Noureddine

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The present study is a part of biological control against mosquitoes. It aims to assess the impact of a selective insect growth regulator: halofenozide in mosquitofish: Gambusia affinis. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH) used in assessing of environmental stress were measured in juveniles and adults males and females. The response of these biomarkers reveals an inhibition of AChE specific activity, an induction of GST activity, and decrease of GSH rates in juveniles in the end of experiment and during chronic treatment adult males and females. The effect of these biomarkers is more pronounced in females compared to males and juveniles. These different biomarkers have a similar profile for the duration of exposure.

Keywords: biomarkers, chronic toxicity, insecticide, halofenozide, Gambusia affinis, pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Ivana Yuniarti, Iwan Ridwansyah

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This paper delivers a review of various methodologies for habitat assessment and a proposed methodology to assess an endemic fish species habitat in Lake Maninjau, Indonesia as a part of a Ph.D. project. This application is mainly aimed to assess the trade-off between the economic value of aquaculture and the fisheries. The proposed methodology is a generalized linear model (GLM) combined with GIS to assess presence-absence data or habitat suitability index (HSI) combined with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Further, a cost of habitat replacement approach is planned to be used to calculate the habitat value as well as its trade-off with the economic value of aquaculture. The result of the study is expected to be a scientific consideration in local decision making and to provide a reference for other areas in the country.

Keywords: AHP, habitat, GLM, HSI, Maninjau

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Authors: Jitendra Jain, Cassandra Hidajat, Hansraj Riteesh Bookun

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Graft patency underpins long-term prognosis after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). The benefits of the combined use of only the left internal mammary artery and radial artery, referred to as total arterial revascularisation (TAR), on long-term clinical outcomes and quality of life are relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to identify whether there were differences in long term clinical outcomes between recipients of TAR compared to a cohort of mostly arterial revascularization involving the left internal mammary, at least one radial artery and at least one saphenous vein graft. A retrospective analysis was performed on all patients who underwent TAR or were re-vascularized with supplementary saphenous vein graft from February 1996 to December 2004. Telephone surveys were conducted to obtain clinical outcome parameters including major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and Short Form (SF-36v2) Health Survey responses. A total of 176 patients were successfully contacted to obtain postop follow up results. The mean follow-up length from time of surgery in our study was TAR 12.4±1.8 years and conventional 12.6±2.1. PCS score was TAR 45.9±8.8 vs LIMA/Rad/ SVG 44.9±9.2 (p=0.468) and MCS score was TAR 52.0±8.9 vs LIMA/Rad/SVG 52.5±9.3 (p=0.723). There were no significant differences between groups for NYHA class 3+ TAR 9.4% vs. LIMA/Rad/SVG 6.6%; or CCS 3+ TAR 2.35% vs. LIMA/Rad/SVG 0%.

Keywords: CABG; MACCEs; quality of life; total arterial revascularisation

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Authors: Sandipika Gupta

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Objective: Due to admirably low 30-day mortality rates for paediatric cardiac surgery, it is now pertinent to turn towards more intermediate-length outcomes such as morbidities closely associated with these surgeries. One such morbidity, major adverse events (MAE) comprises a group of adverse outcomes associated with paediatric cardiac surgery (e.g. cardiac arrest, major haemorrhage). Methods: This is a retrospective study that analysed the incidence and impact of MAE which was the primary outcome in the UK population. The data was collected in 5 centres between October 2015 and June 2017, amassing 3090 surgical episodes. The incidence and risk factors for MAE, were assessed through descriptive statistical analyses and multivariate logistic regression. The secondary outcomes of life status at 6 months and the length of hospital stay were also evaluated to understand the impact of MAE on patients. Results: Out of 3090 episodes, 134 (4.3%) had a postoperative MAE. The majority of the episodes were in: neonates (47%, P<0.001), high-risk cardiac diagnosis groups (20.1%, P<0.001), episodes with longer 5mes on the bypass (72.4%, P<0.001) and urgent surgeries (57.9%, P<0.001). Episodes reporting MAE also reported longer lengths of stay in hospital (29 days vs 9 days, P<0.001). Furthermore, patients experiencing MAE were at a higher risk of mortality at the 6-month life status check (mortality rates: 29.2% vs 2%, P<0.001).Conclusions: Key risk factors were identified. An important negative impact of MAE was found for patients. The identified risk factors could be used to profile and flag at-risk patients. Monitoring of MAE rates and closer investigation into the care pathway before and after individual MAEs in children’s heart units may lead to a reduction in these terrible events.

Keywords:

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Zahra Ali Lawan, Ali Abdulhakim

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The stomach contents of 100 Oreochromis niloticus, sampled between April and August, 2011 in Alau Lake, northeastern Nigeria, were examined. Herbs and algae were the main contents representing 40.15%, 23.36% followed by some mud / sand components, insect parts and fish remains representing 14.60%, 13.87% and 8.03% respectively. Oreochromis niloticus was affirmed as an herbivore and a benthic feeder due to the presence of both herbs and mud/sand among its stomach content. The mean stomach fullness percentage was 70.94% and stomach emptiness was 29.06%. The average condition factor of the fishes was 1.69 with the best conditions recorded in the dry months of April and May at 1.74 and 1.94 respectively. The general trend in the condition factor for this species in this study is that relatively higher condition factors were recorded for relatively higher lengths.

Keywords: stomach contents, oreochromis niloticus, herbivores, Lake Alau

Procedia PDF Downloads 360

Authors: Farah Islam, Md. Monirul Islam, Mosammat Salma Akter, Goutam Kumar Kundu

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The continuous variability of climate and the risk associated with it have a significant impact on the fisheries leading to a global concern for about half a billion fishery-based livelihoods. Though in the context of Bangladesh mounting evidence on the impacts of climate change on fishery-based livelihoods or their socioeconomic conditions are present, the country’s inland fisheries sector remains in a negligible corner as compared to the coastal areas which are spotted on the highlight due to its higher vulnerability to climatic hazards. The available research on inland fisheries, particularly river fisheries, has focussed mainly on fish production, pollution, fishing gear, fish biodiversity and livelihoods of the fishers. This study assesses the impacts of climate variability and changes on the Jamuna (a transboundary river called Brahmaputra in India) River fishing communities and their coping and adaptation strategies. This study has used primary data collected from Kalitola Ghat and Debdanga fishing communities of the Jamuna River during May, August and December 2015 using semi-structured interviews, oral history interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and impact matrix as well as secondary data. This study has found that both communities are exposed to storms, floods and land erosions which impact on fishery-based livelihood assets, strategies, and outcomes. The impact matrix shows that human and physical capitals are more affected by climate hazards which in turn affect financial capital. Both communities have been responding to these exposures through multiple coping and adaptation strategies. The coping strategies include making dam with soil, putting jute sac on the yard, taking shelter on boat or embankment, making raised platform or ‘Kheua’ and involving with temporary jobs. While, adaptation strategies include permanent migration, change of livelihood activities and strategies, changing fishing practices and making robust houses. The study shows that migration is the most common adaptation strategy for the fishers which resulted in mostly positive outcomes for the migrants. However, this migration has impacted negatively on the livelihoods of existing fishers in the communities. In sum, the Jamuna river fishing communities have been impacted by several climatic hazards and they have traditionally coped with or adapted to the impacts which are not sufficient to maintain sustainable livelihoods and fisheries. In coming decades, this situation may become worse as predicted by latest scientific research and an enhanced level of response would be needed.

Keywords: climatic hazards, impacts and adaptation, fisherfolk, the Jamuna River

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Authors: Boshra Mozaffar, Iskandar Idris

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Taste change is a common complication after Bariatric surgery (BS). However, the cause of this is still not clear. Since zinc is important fortaste perception, zinc deficiency, which is common after BS, may play an important role for taste change after BS. In this review, we aimto collate evidence relating to taste change and zinc deficiencyin relation to BS; effects of zinc replacement on taste perception in general and thereafter discuss the possible role of zinc deficiency to induce taste change after BS. A literature search was conducted, using four electronic bibliographical databases—EMBASE, PubMed, AMED and MEDLINE. We identified all available and relevant articles published before 30th February 2021.In total, 33 studies were included. The total number of participants analysed was N= 3264. We showed that taste change is a frequent complication after BS, especially after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass RYGBP comparing to other types of procedures. Patients' taste sensitivity differs among studies, but the most important decline in taste preference was observed for sweet food. Twelve studies investigating zinc deficiency following BS showed a significant decrease in zinc levels at six months after surgery. Supplementation with 45–50 mg of zinc sulphate was effective in improving taste, except in cancer patients, who showed no improvement in taste following zinc supplementation. Zinc deficiency appears to be associated with taste change after BS. Supplementation with much higher levels of zinc, at 45–50 mg, was effective in taste change treatment for many cases of taste disorder. The currently recommended levels of zinc replacements currently prescribed to patients following BS were not effective for avoiding zinc deficiency after BS—and thus not effective for averting taste change. It is therefore suggested that taste change following BS is closely related to zinc deficiency induced by the surgery.

Keywords: taste change, taste disorder, bariatric surgery, zinc, zinc sulphate or Zn, deficiency, supplementation, and micro-nutrient deficiencies

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Reza Behtash, Enayat Enayati

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The pool condenser is in principal a horizontal reactor, containing a bundle of U-tubes for heat exchange, coupling to low pressure steam drum. Condensation of gas takes place in a condensed pool around the tubes of the condenser. The heat of condensation is removed by the generation of low pressure steam on the inner tube side of the bundle. A circulation pump transfers ample boiler feed water to these tubes. The pressure of the steam generated influenced the heat flux. Changing the steam pressure means changing the steam condensate temperature and therefore the temperature difference between the tube side and the shell side. 2NH3 + CO2 ↔ NH2COONH4 + Heat. This reaction is exothermic and according to Le Chatelier's Principle if the heat is not removed enough, it will come back to left side and generate of the gas and so the Urea synthesis pressure will rise. The most principal reasons for high Urea synthesis pressure are non proportional of Ammonia/Dioxide Carbon ratio and too high a pressure in low pressure steam drum. Proportional of Ammonia/Dioxide Carbon ratio is 3.0 and normal pressure for low pressure steam drum is 4.5 bar. As regards these conditions were proportional but we could not control the synthesis pressure the plant endangered, therefore we had to control the steam drum pressure at about 3.5 bar. While we opened the pool condenser, we found the partition plate used to divide inlet and outlet boiler feed water to tubes, was broken partially and so amount of boiler feed water bypass the tubes and the heat was not removed totally and it resulted in the generation of gases and high pressure in synthesis.

Keywords: boiler, pressure, pool condenser, partition plate

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: S. D. N. K. Bathige, G. I. Godahewa, Navaneethaiyer Umasuthan, Jehee Lee

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Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors (KTIs) are identified in various organisms including animals, plants and microbes. These proteins shared single or multiple Kunitz inhibitory domains link together or associated with other types of domains. Characteristic Kunitz type domain composed of around 60 amino acid residues with six conserved cysteine residues to stabilize by three disulfide bridges. KTIs are involved in various physiological processes, such as ion channel blocking, blood coagulation, fibrinolysis and inflammation. In this study, two Kunitz-type domain containing protein was identified from rock bream database and designated as RbKunitz. The coding sequence of RbKunitz encoded for 507 amino acids with 56.2 kDa theoretical molecular mass and 5.7 isoelectric point (pI). There are several functional domains including MANEC superfamily domain, PKD superfamily domain, and LDLa domain were predicted in addition to the two characteristic Kunitz domain. Moreover, trypsin interaction sites were also identified in Kunitz domain. Homology analysis revealed that RbKunitz shared highest identity (77.6%) with Takifugu rubripes. Completely conserved 28 cysteine residues were recognized, when comparison of RbKunitz with other orthologs from different taxonomical groups. These structural evidences indicate the rigidity of RbKunitz folding structure to achieve the proper function. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using neighbor-joining method and exhibited that the KTIs from fish and non-fish has been evolved in separately. Rock bream was clustered with Takifugu rubripes. The SYBR Green qPCR was performed to quantify the RbKunitz transcripts in different tissues and challenged tissues. The mRNA transcripts of RbKunitz were detected in all tissues (muscle, spleen, head kidney, blood, heart, skin, liver, intestine, kidney and gills) analyzed and highest transcripts level was detected in gill tissues. Temporal transcription profile of RbKunitz in rock bream blood tissues was analyzed upon LPS (lipopolysaccharide), Poly I:C (Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid) and Edwardsiella tarda challenge to understand the immune responses of this gene. Compare to the unchallenged control RbKunitz exhibited strong up-regulation at 24 h post injection (p.i.) after LPS and E. tarda injection. Comparatively robust expression of RbKunits was observed at 3 h p.i. upon Poly I:C challenge. Taken together all these data indicate that RbKunitz may involve into to immune responses upon pathogenic stress, in order to protect the rock bream.

Keywords: Kunitz-type, rock bream, immune response, serine protease inhibitor

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Anish Desai, Reshmi Pillai, Nilesh Mahajan, Hitesh Chopra, Vishal Mahajan, Ajay Grover, Ashish Kohli

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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is hospital acquired infection of growing concern. This study presents the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of triclosan-coated suture, in reducing the burden of SSI in India. Methodology: A systematic literature search was conducted for economic burden (1998-2018) of SSI and efficacy of triclosan-coated sutures (TCS) vs. non-coated sutures (NCS) (2000-2018). PubMed Medline and EMBASE indexed articles were searched using Mesh terms or Emtree. Decision tree analysis was used to calculate, the cost difference between TCS and NCS at private and public hospitals, respectively for 7 surgical procedures. Results: The SSI range from low to high for Caesarean section (C-section), Laparoscopic hysterectomy (L-hysterectomy), Open Hernia (O-Hernia), Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (L-Cholecystectomy), Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), Total knee replacement (TKR), and Mastectomy were (3.77 to 24.2%), (2.28 to 11.7%), (1.75 to 60%), (1.71 to 25.58%), (1.6 to 18.86%), (1.74 to 12.5%), and (5.56 to 25%), respectively. The incremental cost (%) of TCS ranged 0.1%-0.01% in private and from 0.9%-0.09% at public hospitals across all surgical procedures. Cost savings at median efficacy & SSI risk was 6.52%, 5.07 %, 11.39%, 9.63%, 3.62%, 2.71%, 9.41% for C-section, L-hysterectomy, O-Hernia, L-Cholecystectomy, CABG, TKR, and Mastectomy in private and 8.79%, 4.99%, 12.67%, 10.58%, 3.32%, 2.35%, 11.83% in public hospital, respectively. Efficacy of TCS and SSI incidence in a particular surgical procedure were important determinants of cost savings using one-way sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: TCS suture led to cost savings across all 7 surgeries in both private and public hospitals in India.

Keywords: cost Savings, non-coated sutures, surgical site infection, triclosan-coated sutures

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: Hans Tjio, Wee Meng Seng

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The interaction of contract and property has always been a concern in corporate and commercial law, where there are internal structures created that may not match the externally perceived image generated by the labels attached to those structures. We will focus, in particular, on the priority structures created by affirmative asset partitioning, which have increasingly come under challenge by those attempting to negotiate around them. The most prominent has been the AT1 bonds issued by Credit Suisse which were wiped out before its equity when the troubled bank was acquired by UBS. However, this should not have come as a surprise to those whose “bonds” had similarly been “redeemed” upon the occurrence of certain reference events in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan during their Minibond crisis linked to US sub-prime defaults. These were derivatives classified as debentures and sold as such. At the same time, we are again witnessing “liabilities” seemingly ranking higher up the balance sheet ladder, finding themselves lowered in events of default. We will examine the mechanisms holders of perpetual securities or preference shares have tried to use to protect themselves. This is happening against a backdrop that sees a rise in the strength of private credit and inter-creditor conflicts. The restructuring regime of the hybrid scheme in Singapore now, while adopting the absolute priority rule in Chapter 11 as the quid pro quo for creditor cramdown, does not apply to shareholders and so exempts them from cramdown. Complicating the picture further, shareholders are not exempted from cramdown in the Dutch scheme, but it adopts a relative priority rule. At the same time, the important UK Supreme Court decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana [2022] UKSC 25 has held that directors’ duties to take account of creditor interests are activated only when a company is almost insolvent. All this has been complicated by digital assets created by businesses. Investors are quite happy to have them classified as property (like a thing) when it comes to their transferability, but then when the issuer defaults to have them seen as a claim on the business (as a choice in action), that puts them at the level of a creditor. But these hidden interests will not show themselves on an issuer’s balance sheet until it is too late to be considered and yet if accepted, may also prevent any meaningful restructuring.

Keywords: asset partitioning, creditor priority, restructuring, BTI v Sequana, digital assets

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Authors: Salma Aboussalam, Karima Khalil, Khalid Elkalay

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The Ecopath model was utilized to evaluate the trophic structure, function, and current status of the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea ecosystem. The model incorporated 31 functional groups, including fish species, invertebrates, primary producers, and detritus. Through the analysis of trophic interactions among these groups, an average trophic transfer efficiency of 23% was found. The findings revealed that the ecosystem produced more energy than it consumed, with high respiration and consumption rates. Indicators of stability and development were low, indicating that the ecosystem is disturbed by a linear trophic structure. Additionally, keystone species were identified through the use of the keystone index and mixed trophic impact analysis, with demersal invertebrates, zooplankton, and cephalopods found to have a significant impact on other groups.

Keywords: ecopath, food web, trophic flux, Moroccan Mediterranean Sea

Procedia PDF Downloads 79