Search results for: relative biological effectiveness

Authors: Benjamin Glasner, Carlos Henriquez, Fernando Alfaro, Nicole Trefault, Santiago Andrade, Rodrigo De La Iglesia

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A central question in ecology refers to the relative importance that local-scale variables have over community composition, when compared with regional-scale variables. In coastal environments, strong seasonal abiotic influence dominates these systems, weakening the impact of other parameters like micronutrients. After the industrial revolution, micronutrients like trace metals have increased in ocean as pollutants, with strong effects upon biotic entities and biological processes in coastal regions. Coastal picoplankton communities had been characterized as a cyanobacterial dominated fraction, but in recent years the eukaryotic component of this size fraction has gained relevance due to their high influence in carbon cycle, although, diversity patterns and responses to disturbances are poorly understood. South Pacific upwelling coastal environments represent an excellent model to study seasonal changes due to a strong influence in the availability of macro- and micronutrients between seasons. In addition, some well constrained coastal bays of this region have been subjected to strong disturbances due to trace metal inputs. In this study, we aim to compare the influence of seasonality and trace metals concentrations, on the community structure of planktonic picoeukaryotes. To describe seasonal patterns in the study area, satellite data in a 6 years time series and in-situ measurements with a traditional oceanographic approach such as CTDO equipment were performed. In addition, trace metal concentrations were analyzed trough ICP-MS analysis, for the same region. For biological data collection, field campaigns were performed in 2011-2012 and the picoplankton community was described by flow cytometry and taxonomical characterization with next-generation sequencing of ribosomal genes. The relation between the abiotic and biotic components was finally determined by multivariate statistical analysis. Our data show strong seasonal fluctuations in abiotic parameters such as photosynthetic active radiation and superficial sea temperature, with a clear differentiation of seasons. However, trace metal analysis allows identifying strong differentiation within the study area, dividing it into two zones based on trace metals concentration. Biological data indicate that there are no major changes in diversity but a significant fluctuation in evenness and community structure. These changes are related mainly with regional parameters, like temperature, but by analyzing the metal influence in picoplankton community structure, we identify a differential response of some plankton taxa to metal pollution. We propose that some picoeukaryotic plankton groups respond differentially to metal inputs, by changing their nutritional status and/or requirements under disturbances as a derived outcome of toxic effects and tolerance.

Keywords: Picoeukaryotes, plankton communities, trace metals, seasonal patterns

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Authors: Zijian Zhang, Yangyang Dong

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Synchronization is of great importance to ensure the multi-arm robot to complete the task. Therefore, a synchronous controller is designed to coordinate task space motion of the multi-arm in the paper. The position error, the synchronous position error, and the coupling position error are all considered in the controller. Besides, an adaptive control method is used to adjust parameters of the controller to improve the effectiveness of coordinated control performance. Simulation in the Matlab shows the effectiveness of the method. At last, a robot experiment platform with two 7-DOF (Degree of Freedom) robot arms has been established and the synchronous controller simplified to control dual-arm robot has been validated on the experimental set-up. Experiment results show the position error decreased 10% and the corresponding frequency is also greatly improved.

Keywords: synchronous control, space robot, task space control, multi-arm robot

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Authors: Bassant Eyada, Hanan Atef Kamal Eldin

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Advertising has witnessed a diffusion and development in technology to promote products and services, increasingly relying on the interactivity between the consumer and the advertisement. Consumers seek, self-select, process, use and respond to the information provided, hence, providing the potential to increase consumers’ efficiency, involvement, trustworthiness, response, and satisfaction towards the advertised product or service. The power of interactive personalized messages shifts the focus of traditional advertising to more concentrated consumers, sending out tailored messages with more specific individual needs and preferences, defining the importance and relevance that consumers attach to the advertisement, therefore, enhancing the ability to persuade, and the quality of decision making. In this paper, the researchers seek to discuss and explore innovative interactive advertising, its’ effectiveness on consumers and the benefits the advertisements provide, through designing an interactive ad to be placed at the international airports promoting tourism in Egypt.

Keywords: advertising, effectiveness, interactivity, Egypt

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Authors: Abdelaziz Hussien

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This article reports investigations of a study into the effectiveness of a traits cooperative learning (TCL) on teacher candidates’ writing achievement, composition, and attitudes towards traits of writing approach and small group learning. Mixed methodologies were used with the participants in a repeated measures quasi-experimental design. Forty-two class teacher candidates, enrolled in the Bahrain Teachers College, completed the pre and post author-developed measures. The results suggest that TCL has a positive effect on the participants’ writing achievement, composition, and attitudes towards traits of writing approach, but not on the attitudes towards small group learning. Further implications to teacher education are presented.

Keywords: trait-based language education, cooperative learning, writing achievement, writing composition, traits of writing, teacher education

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Authors: R. G. Shemi, M. A. Abo Horish, Kh. M. A. Mekled

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The utilization of silicon (Si) sources is a crucial agricultural tool that requires optimization to promote sustainable practices. The application of Si provides the implementation of biological mechanisms of plant nutrition, growth promotion, and protection. The aims of this experiment were to investigate the relative efficacy of Si sources and levels on the growth, yield, and mineral content of wheat. The study examined the effects of silicon sulphate and silicic acid levels on growth, spike characteristics, yield parameters, and macro- and micronutrient concentrations of wheat during the 2-season. The entire above-indicated parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) increased with increasing levels of silicon sulphate and silicic acid compared to the control. Foliar application of silicon sulphate 150 ppm and silicic acid 60 ppm statistically (p < 0.05) enhanced grain N concentration and the grain yield by 136.14 and 77.85%, 43.49 and 34.52% in the 1st season, and by 78.62 and 54.40%, 43.53 and 33.18% in the 2nd season, respectively, as compared with control. Overall, foliar applications of silicon sulphate at 150 ppm and silicic acid at 60 ppm were greatly efficient amongst all Si levels and sources in improving growth and spike characters, increasing yield parameters, and elevating grain nutrients. Finally, the treatment of silicon sulfate at 150 ppm was more effective than the treatment of silicic acid at 60 ppm in increasing growth, grain nutrients, and productivity of wheat and attaining agricultural sustainability under experiment conditions.

Keywords: wheat, silicon sulphate, silicic acid, grain nutrients

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Authors: Nuran Bahar, Mehmet A. Akcayol

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In the aviation industry, many faults may occur frequently during the maintenance processes and assembly operations of complex structured aircrafts because of their high dependencies of components. These faults affect the quality of aircraft parts or developed modules adversely. Technical employee requires long time and high labor force while checking the correctness of each component. In addition, the person must be trained regularly because of the ever-growing and changing technology. Generally, the cost of this training is very high. Augmented Reality (AR) technology reduces the cost of training radically and improves the effectiveness of the training. In this study, the usage of AR technology in the aviation industry has been investigated and the effectiveness of AR with heads-up display glasses has been examined. An application has been developed for comparison of production process with AR and manual one.

Keywords: aerospace, assembly quality, augmented reality, heads-up display

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Authors: Doua AlSaad, Ahmed Awaisu, Samah Elsalem, Palli Valapila Abdulrouf, Binny Thomas, Moza AlHail

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Background: It has been suggested that pyridoxine has an anti-lactogenic effect. Studies of the efficacy of pyridoxine in suppressing lactation have reported conflicting results. The aim of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of high-dose pyridoxine in postpartum lactation inhibition. Methods: This systematic review included published trials that compared the efficacy and/or safety of pyridoxine to placebo or to other pharmacological agents for the inhibition of postpartum lactation. We searched PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, AMED, the Cochrane library, and the clinical trials registry to identify relevant literature. No limit was imposed on the year of publication of the studies, and the review included studies published until 15 January 2016. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Results: Seven studies were included, with a total of 1155 women, of which 471 women received pyridoxine. Three studies were randomized controlled trials, while the remaining four studies were non-randomized controlled trials. All of the included studies were relatively small (n = 18 – 482). The studies compared pyridoxine with placebo, bromocriptine, and/or stilboestrol. Pyridoxine was given orally, with a total daily dose of 450 – 600 mg for 5 to 7 days. Two trials (n = 349 participants) indicated that pyridoxine was effective in inhibiting lactation in approximately 95% of the enrolled patients. All other studies failed to demonstrate pyridoxine efficacy through either clinical assessment or prolactin level measurements. Pyridoxine safety was assessed by two trials in which no serious untoward side-effects were reported. Overall, the risk of bias for most of the studies was low to moderate. Conclusion: Current evidence supporting the effectiveness of high dose pyridoxine in the inhibition of postpartum lactation is inconsistent and insufficient. Larger randomized trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of pyridoxine in postpartum lactation inhibition. Acknowledgment: This review received a grant from the Medical Research Center of Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar (grant number: 15100/15).

Keywords: pyridoxine, safety, effectiveness, lactation inhibition

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Hassan Rasool

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There is limited research in the intervention domain of work family interaction. We identified that meditation could be effective in coping work family conflict and nurturing work family facilitation across domains. We conducted pretest posttest control group field experiment on a sample of sixty employees to test the effectiveness of meditation in a financial sector organization. Empirical evidence confirms that the intervention was effective in coping work family conflict & nurturing facilitation across work & home domains. The intervention, also positively affected a known outcome (i.e. satisfaction at work and home) of work family interaction. Future research perspectives on the use of unorthodox interventions in the domain of work family interaction are also discussed.

Keywords: work family interaction, meditation, satisfaction, experiment

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Authors: Khalid Kaddoura, Tarek Zayed

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Infrastructure assets are essential in urban cities; their purpose is to facilitate the public needs. As a result, their conditions and states shall always be monitored to avoid any sudden malfunction. Sewer systems, one of the assets, are an essential part of the underground infrastructure as they transfer sewer medium to designated areas. However, their conditions are subject to deterioration due to ageing. Therefore, it is of great significance to assess the conditions of pipelines to avoid sudden collapses. Current practices of sewer pipeline assessment rely on industrial protocols that consider distinct defects and grades to conclude the limited average or peak score of the assessed assets. This research aims to enhance the evaluation by integrating the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods in assessing the condition of sewer pipelines. The methodology shall study the cause and effect relationship of the systems’ defects to deduce the relative influence weights of each defect. Subsequently, the overall grade is calculated by aggregating the WHAT’s and HOW’s of the House of Quality (HOQ) using the computed relative weights. Thus, this study shall enhance the evaluation of the assets to conclude informative rehabilitation and maintenance plans for decision makers.

Keywords: condition assessment, DEMATEL, QFD, sewer pipelines

Procedia PDF Downloads 434

Authors: Bassant Eyada, Hanan Atef Kamal Eldin

Abstract:

Advertising has witnessed a diffusion and development in technology to promote products and services, increasingly relying on the interactivity between the consumer and the advertisement. Consumers seek, self-select, process, use and respond to the information provided, hence, providing the potential to increase consumers’ efficiency, involvement, trustworthiness, response and satisfaction towards the advertised product or service. The power of interactive personalized messages shifts the focus of traditional advertising to more concentrated consumers, sending out tailored messages with more specific individual needs and preferences, defining the importance and relevance that consumers attach to the advertisement, therefore, enhancing the ability to persuade, and the quality of decision making. In this paper, the researchers seek to discuss and explore innovative interactive advertising, its’ effectiveness on consumers and the benefits the advertisements provide, through designing an interactive ad to be placed at the international airports promoting tourism in Egypt.

Keywords: advertising, effectiveness, interactivity, Egypt

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: U.N. Emiri, E. Moroyei

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Mycoflora associated with the seed rot disease of Mucuna sloanei and their effects on nutrient and phytochemical composition of the seeds were investigated. The fungal pathogens implicated in the seed rot disease were Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium oxysporum. The fungal isolates were aseptically inoculated into healthy M. Sloanei seeds and incubated for 7 days at room temperature of 25 ± 30c. The results of the proximate and mineral analysis in mg/100g of fungal infected and non-infected (control) seeds that were carried out revealed that there was an increase in Moisture and Carbohydrate content of the fungal infected seeds relative to the non-infected seeds (control). However, there was a decrease in Ash, Fibre, Lipid, and Protein content of the fungal infected seeds relative to the non-infected (control). It was observed that moisture had increased from 10.50 ± 0.16 in the non-infected seeds to 17.60 ± 0.20 in the infected samples and Carbohydrate content had also increased from 49.6 ± 0.25 in the non-infected to 52.50 ± 0.29 in the infected seeds. The following parameters decreased in the infected than in the non-infected seeds. They include Ash 2.60 ± 0.12, Crude fibre 1.9 ± 0.08, Lipid 6.50 ± 0.16, and Protein content 18.50 ± 0.06. Similarly, Calcium 2.50 ± 0.12, Phosphorus 1.80 + 0.12 and Potassium 1.80 + 0.09 increased in the infected than in the non-infected seed, while iron 0.20 ± 0.05, Sodium 0.02 ± 0.01 and Magnesium 0.06 ± 0.02 decreased in the infected seeds. All phytochemical contents analyzed increased in the infected seeds viz Tannim 0.50 ± 0.12, Oxalate 1.60 ± 0.05, Hydrogen cyanide 1.82 ± 0.06, and Saponin 2.50+0.28. However, the nutrient compositions and Phytochemical between the infected and non-infected seeds are not significantly different (p > 0.05).

Keywords: Mycoflora, mucuna sloanei, seeds, phytochemical, nutrient composition

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Authors: Kazuma Okada, Tomoaki Hashimoto, Hirokazu Tahara

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Recently, the effectiveness of random dither quantization method for linear feedback control systems has been shown in several papers. However, the random dither quantization method has not yet been applied to nonlinear feedback control systems. The objective of this paper is to verify the effectiveness of random dither quantization method for nonlinear feedback control systems. For this purpose, we consider the attitude stabilization problem of satellites using discrete-level actuators. Namely, this paper provides a control method based on the random dither quantization method for stabilizing the attitude of satellites using discrete-level actuators.

Keywords: quantized control, nonlinear systems, random dither quantization

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Authors: Meriem Mansouri, Fatiha Bendali Saoudi, Noureddine Soltani

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Biological control presents a means of control for the protection of the environment. Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis Berliner 1915 is an inseticide of biological origin because it is a bacterium of the Bacillaceae family. This biocide has a biological importance, because of its specific larvicidal action against Culicidae, blood-sucking insects, responsible for several diseases to humans and animals through the world. As well as, its high specificity for these insects. Also, the freshwater mites, this necessarily parasitic group for aquatic species such as the Physidae, also have an effective biological control against the Culicidae, because of their voracious predation to the larvae of these insects. The present work aims to study the effects of the biocide Bacillus thuringiensis var israelinsis, against non-target adults of water mites Eylais hamata Koenike, 1897, as well as its associated host species Physa marmorata Fitzinger, 1833. After 12 days of oral treatment of adults with lethal concentration (LC50:0.08µg/ml), determined from essays on 4th instar larvae of Culex pipiens (hematophagous insects). No adverse effect has been recorded for adult individuals of Eylais hamata, contrary, snail Physa marmorata were sensitive for this dose of Bti. In parallel, after treatment at the Bti by LC50, the enzyme stress bio marker glutathione S-transferase, was measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours. The enzymatic activity of GST has increased after 24 and 48 hours following treatment.

Keywords: biological control, Bacillus thuringiensis var israelinsis, culicidae, hydrachnidia, enzymatic activity

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Authors: Bahram Siavashpor, Zeynab Haji Abdolhadi

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The issue of the worn out textures is one of the urban community challenges in which, undoubtedly, the intervention is impossible without the social involvement. Some believe that in the worn out areas the most important intervention challenge is the social issues, and the most important social issue, in the intervention in the worn out areas, is how to attract public participation. Participation by itself has a widespread literature and despite relative acceptance, it should be said that planners, managers and designers are not always successful in attracting public participation. If participation means the intervention of all the residents in the neighborhood, women’s community forms half of these residents, but they are neglected in the participatory planning. It is important to know that to what extent the presence of women’s community in the related participation to the worn out textures affects the success of the projects. The present study hypotheses emphasize the effectiveness of women than men in involvement of the renovation and reforming projects. A case study was selected to investigate this hypothesis in order to test it through doing a questionnaire and visiting the place. Tehran Helal Ahmar region located in district 11 has 2740 households in which 51% are men and 49% women. The statistical population consists of 150 men and women of this area selected randomly. In the present study, interview technique with the executives was used as well as questionnaire along collecting the related research. The hypothesis analysis was carried out through SPSS and Excel software, in which two tests ‘Man-Whitney’ and ‘chi-square’ were used. The results indicate that women are empowered in the participation and renovation of the area, but it is necessary to rectify men’s attitude towards women’s ability in terms of women participation.

Keywords: renovation, social involvement, women’s participation, worn out texture

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Authors: Karim Saeidi

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One of the most important pests in the warehouses is the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Col.: Tenebrionidae). Regarding the high degree of damage of stored product pests and dangerous effects of the chemical control using plant extracts and their components are some of the best approaches to control these pests. Antifeedant activity of plant extracts from Lavandula angustifolia Mill and Zataria multiflora Boiss using hydro-distillation were tested against the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val. The nutritional indices: relative growth rate (RGR), relative consumption rate (RCR), the efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and feeding deterrence index (FDI) were measured for adult insects. Treatments were evaluated using a flour disk bioassay in the dark; at 25±1ᵒC and 60±5% R. H. Concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, and 2 μl/disk were prepared from each essential oil. After 72 h, nutritional indices were calculated. L. angustifolia oils were more effective than Z. multiflora oils by significantly decreasing the RGR, RCR, and ECI. Feeding deterrence index (FDI) of L. angustifolia essential oil was increased significantly as essential oil concentration increased. The essential oil of L. angustifolia was more effective on FDI than Z. multiflora in some concentration.

Keywords: essential oil, nutritional indices, Tribolium confusum

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Authors: Raymond Li

Abstract:

In this project a web-based classroom response system (CRS) was used in the teaching an intermediate level economics course. This system allows the instructor to post a question on the screen and students to answer questions using their own electronic mobile devices. The questions and the results summarizing student responses can be shown to students simultaneously and the instructor can make timely feedback to students in class. CRS gives students a chance to respond to the instructor’s question privately, encouraging students who might not typically speak up in class to express their thoughts and opinions. There is a vast literature on the advantages and challenges of using CRS. However, empirical evidence on the student attributes that increase the effectiveness of CRS in improving student learning outcomes is sparse. The purpose of this project is to (1) find out if the use of CRS is beneficial to students taking economics, and (2) discover key student attributes that will likely make CRS more effective. Students’ performance in examinations and an end-of-semester questionnaire were used to assess the effectiveness of CRS in this project. Comparing the examination scores of the CRS treatment group and control group, the treatment group performed considerably better and statistically significant differences were found basing on paired t-tests on the differences. According to the questionnaire results, around 75% of the students in the treatment group generally agreed that CRS allowed them to express their views more freely. We also observed that students who prefer to use instant messaging rather than making conversations are generally more positive towards CRS. The use of CRS also benefits the instructor – students’ rating of the instructor in the teaching evaluation was significantly higher for the CRS treatment group.

Keywords: education technology, classroom response system, student attributes, economics education

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Nastaran Soltani

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Heavy metals such as Mercury are toxic elements that enter the environment through different ways and endanger the environment, plants, animals, and humans’ health. Microbial activities reduce the amount of heavy metals. Therefore, an effective mechanism to eliminate heavy metals in the nature and factory slops, is using bacteria living in polluted areas. Karun River in Khuzestan Province in Iran has been always polluted by heavy metals as it is located among different industries in the region. This study was performed based on the data from sampling water and sediments of four stations across the river during the four seasons of a year. The isolation of resistant bacteria was performed through enrichment and direct cultivation in a solid medium containing mercury. Various bacteria such as Pseudomonas sp., Serratia Marcescens, and E.coli were identified as mercury-resistant bacteria. The power of these bacteria to remove mercury varied from 28% to 86%, with strongest power belonging to Pseudomonas sp. isolated in spring making a good candidate to be used for mercury biological removal from factory slops.

Keywords: bacteria, Karun River, mercury, biological removal, mercury-resistant

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Authors: Shashank Patidar, Sumit Kumar, Atul Srivastava, Suneet Singh

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Present work is concerned with the numerical investigation of thermal response of biological tissues during laser-based photo-thermal therapy for destroying cancerous/abnormal cells with minimal damage to the surrounding normal cells. Light propagation through the biological sample is mathematically modelled by transient radiative transfer equation. In the present work, application of the Lattice Boltzmann Method is extended to analyze transport of short-pulse radiation in a participating medium.In order to determine the two-dimensional temperature distribution inside the tissue medium, the RTE has been coupled with Penne’s bio-heat transfer equation based on Fourier’s law by several researchers in last few years.

Keywords: lattice Boltzmann method, transient radiation transfer equation, dual phase lag model

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Authors: Pavel A. Strizhak, Geniy V. Kuznetsov, Ivan S. Voytkov, Dmitri V. Antonov

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This paper presents the results of experiments carried out at a specialized test site for establishing macroscopic patterns of heat and mass transfer processes at localizing model combustion sources of ground forest fires with the use of barrier lines in the form of a wetted lay of material in front of the zone of flame burning and thermal decomposition. The experiments were performed using needles, leaves, twigs, and mixtures thereof. The dimensions of the model combustion source and the ranges of heat release correspond well to the real conditions of ground forest fires. The main attention is paid to the complex analysis of the effect of dispersion of water aerosol (concentration and size of droplets) used to form the barrier line. It is shown that effective conditions for localization and subsequent suppression of flame combustion and thermal decomposition of forest fuel can be achieved by creating a group of barrier lines with different wetting width and depth of the material. Relative indicators of the effectiveness of one and combined barrier lines were established, taking into account all the main characteristics of the processes of suppressing burning and thermal decomposition of forest combustible materials. We performed the prediction of the necessary and sufficient parameters of barrier lines (water volume, width, and depth of the wetted lay of the material, specific irrigation density) for combustion sources with different dimensions, corresponding to the real fire extinguishing practice.

Keywords: forest fire, barrier water lines, pyrolysis front, flame front

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Authors: Ross Lee, Pritpal Singh, Andrew Jester

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As the world transitions to a more sustainable energy economy, the deployment of energy storage technologies is expected to increase to develop a more resilient grid system. However, current technologies are associated with various environmental and safety issues throughout their entire lifecycle; therefore, new battery technology is necessary for grid applications to curtail these risks. Biological cells, such as human neurons and electrolytes in the electric eel, can serve as a more sustainable design template for a new bio-inspired (i.e., biomimetic) battery. Within biological cells, an electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane forms the membrane potential, which serves as the driving force for ion transport into/out of the cell, akin to the charging/discharging of a battery cell. This work serves as the first step to developing such a biomimetic battery cell, starting with the fabrication and characterization of ion-selective membranes to facilitate ion transport through the cell. Performance characteristics (e.g., cell voltage, power density, specific energy, roundtrip efficiency) for the cell under investigation are compared to incumbent battery technologies and biological cells to assess the readiness level for this emerging technology. Using a Na⁺-Form Nafion-117 membrane, the cell in this work successfully demonstrated behavior similar to human neurons; these findings will inform how cell components can be re-engineered to enhance device performance.

Keywords: battery, biomimetic, electrolytes, human neurons, ion-selective membranes, membrane potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: K. Shimazaki, M. Mishina, A. Fujii

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In a previous study, we developed a hazard-perception training tool for drivers using a tablet device and verified its effectiveness. Accident movies recorded by drive recorders were separated into scenes before and after the collision. The scene before the collision is presented to the driver. The driver then touches the screen to point out where he/she feels danger. After the screen is touched, the tool presents the collision scene and tells the driver if what he/she pointed out is correct. Various effects were observed such as this tool increased the discovery rate of collision targets and reduced the reaction time. In this study, we optimized this tool for the smartphone and verified its effectiveness. Verifying in the same way as in the previous study on tablet devices clarified that the same effect can be obtained on the smartphone screen.

Keywords: hazard perception, smartphone, tablet devices, driver education

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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: Verónica Arredondo, Miguel Martínez-Panero, Teresa Peña, Victoriano Ramírez

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The Mexican Chamber of Deputies is composed of 500 representatives: 300 of them elected by relative majority and another 200 ones elected through proportional representation in five electoral clusters (constituencies) with 40 representatives each. In this mixed-member electoral system, the seats distribution of proportional representation is not independent of the election by relative majority, as it attempts to correct representation imbalances produced in single-member districts. This two-fold structure has been maintained in the successive electoral reforms carried out along the last three decades (eight from 1986 to 2014). In all of them, the election process of 200 seats becomes complex: Formulas in the Law are difficult to understand and to be interpreted. This paper analyzes the Mexican electoral system after the electoral reform of 2014, which was applied for the first time in 2015. The research focuses on contradictions and issues of applicability, in particular situations where seats allocation is affected by ambiguity in the law and where asymmetrical treatment of political parties arises. Due to these facts, a proposal of electoral reform will be presented. It is intended to be simpler, clearer, and more enduring than the current system. Furthermore, this model is more suitable for producing electoral outcomes free of contradictions and paradoxes. This approach would allow a fair treatment of political parties and as a result an improved opportunity to exercise democracy.

Keywords: electoral mathematics, electoral reform, Mexican electoral system, political asymmetry, proportional representation

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Dilay Akgun Giray

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Basic insuffiency spaces of ASD diagnosed individuals can be grouped as cognitive and academic characteristics, communicational characteristics, social characteristics and emotional characteristics. Referring to the features that children with ASD exhibit on social events, it is clear they have limitations for several social skills. One of the evidence based practices which has been developed and used for the limitations of definite social skills for individuals with autism is “Social Story Method”. Social stories was designed and applied for the first time in 1991, a special education teacher, in order to acquire social skills and improve the existing social skills for children with ASD. Many studies have revealed the effectiveness of social stories for teaching the social skills to individuals with ASD. In this study, three social skills that the child ,who was diagnosed ASD, is going to need primarily will be studied with smart board. This study is multiple probe across-behavior design which is one of the single subject research models.

Keywords: authism spectrum disorders, social skills, social story, smart board

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Authors: Cristina Munoz-Shuguli, Francisco Rodriguez, Julio Bruna, M. Jose Galotto, Abel Guarda

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The microbial contamination in fruits due to the presence of fungal is the most important cause of their deterioration and loss. The development of active food packaging materials with antifungal properties has been proposed as an innovative strategy in order to prevent this problem. In this way, natural compounds as the essential oils or their derivatives, also called volatile compounds (VC), can be incorporated in the food packaging materials to control the fungal growth during fruit packaging. However, if the VC is incorporated directly in the packaging material, it is released very fast due to VC high volatility. For this reason, the formation of inclusion complexes through the encapsulation of VC into beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and their incorporation in package materials is an alternative to maintain an antifungal atmosphere around the packaged fruits for longer times. In this context, the aim of this work was to develop inclusion complexes based in β-CD and VC (β-CD:VC) for further application in the antifungal food packaging materials development. β-CD:VC inclusion complexes were obtained with two different molar ratios 2:1 and 1:1, through co-precipitation method. The entrapment efficiency of β-CD:VC as well the release of antifungal compound from inclusion complexes exposed to different relative humidity (25, 50, and 97 %) to headspace were determined by gaseous chromatography (GC). Also, thermal and antimicrobial properties of β-CD:VC were determined through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and antifungal assays against Botrytis cinerea, respectively. GC results showed that β-CD:VC 2:1 had a higher entrapment efficiency than β-CD:VC 1:1, with values of 75.5 ± 3.71 % and 59.6 ± 1.51 %, respectively. It was probably because during the synthesis of β-CD:VC 1:1, there was less molecular space to the movement of VC molecules. Furthermore, the release of VC from β-CD:VC was directly related with the relative humidity. High amount of VC was released when the inclusion complexes were exposed to high humidity, possibly due to the interactions between the water molecules and the β-CD hydrophilic wall. On the other hand, a better thermal stability of VC in inclusion complexes allowed to verify its effective encapsulation into β-CD. Finally, antimicrobial assays showed that the inclusion complexes had a high antifungal activity at very low concentrations. Therefore, the results obtained in this work allow suggesting the β-CD:VC inclusion complexes as potential candidates to the development of fruit antifungal packaging materials, which activity is relative humidity dependent.

Keywords: Botrytis cinerea, fruit packaging, headspace release, volatile compounds

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Authors: A. S. Hakeem, B. Ahmed, M. Ehsan, A. Ibrahim, H. M. Irshad, T. Laoui

Abstract:

Alumina (Al2O3) - cubic boron nitride (cBN) ceramic composites were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using α-Al2O3 particle sizes; 150 µm, 150 nm and cBN particle size of 42 µm. Alumina-cBN composites containing 10, 20 and 30wt% cBN with and without Ni coated were sintering at an elevated temperature of 1400°C at a constant uniaxial pressure of 50 MPa. The effect of matrix particle size, cBN and Ni content on mechanical properties and thermal properties, i.e., thermal conductivity, diffusivity, expansion, densification, phase transformation, microstructure, hardness and toughness of the Al2O3-cBN/(Ni) composites under specific sintering conditions were investigated. The highest relative densification of 150 nm-Al2O3 containing 30wt% cBN (Ni coated) composite was 99% at TSPS = 1400°C. In case of 150 µm- Al2O3 compositions, the phase transformation of cBN to hBN were observed, and the relative densification decreased. Thermal conductivity depicts maximum value in case of 150 nm- Al2O3-30wt% cBN-Ni composition. The Vickers hardness of this composition at TSPS = 1400°C also showed the highest value of 29 GPa.

Keywords: alumina composite, cubic boron nitride, mechanical properties, phase transformation, Spark plasma sintering

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Berk Kılıç, Ömer Aydın, Kerem Mestani, Defne Uzun

Abstract:

In agriculture and farming, pesticides are frequently used to kill off or fend off any pests (bugs, bacteria, fungi, etc.). However, traditional pesticides have proven to have harmful effects on both the environment and the human body, such as hazards in the endocrine, neurodevelopmental, and reproductive systems. This experiment aims to test the effectiveness of organic/bio-pesticides (environmentally friendly pesticides) compared to traditional pesticides. Black pepper and garlic will be used as biopesticides in this experiment. The results support that organic farming applying organic pesticides operates through non-toxic mechanisms, offering minimal threats to human well-being and the environment. Consequently, consuming organic produce can significantly diminish the dangers associated with pesticide intake. In this study, method is introduced to reduce pesticide-related risks by promoting organic farming techniques within organic/bio-pesticide usage.

Keywords: pesticide, garlic, black pepper, bio-pesticide

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Esma Gizem Daskiran, Mehmet Mustafa Daskiran

Abstract:

This paper investigates the effectiveness of two natural zeolites in reducing expansion of concrete due to alkali-silica reaction. These natural zeolites have different reactive silica content. Three aggregates; two natural sand and one crushed stone aggregate were used while preparing mortar bars in accordance with accelerated mortar bar test method, ASTM C1260. Performance of natural zeolites are compared by examining the expansions due to alkali silica reaction. Natural zeolites added to the mixtures at %10 and %20 replacement levels by weight of cement. Natural zeolite with high reactive silica content had better performance on reducing expansions due to ASR. In this research, using high reactive zeolite at %20 replacement level was effective in mitigating expansions.

Keywords: alkali silica reaction, natural zeolite, durability, expansion

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Trung Le Thanh

Abstract:

Soil permeability coefficient is an important parameter that affects the effectiveness of mortar restoration work to reinforce soft soil. Currently, there are many methods to determine the permeability coefficient of ground through laboratory and field experiments. However, the value of the permeability coefficient is determined very differently depending on the geology in general and the sand base in particular. This article presents how to determine the permeability coefficient of sand foundation in Phu My Ward, Tan Uyen City, Binh Duong. The author analyzes and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of assessment methods based on the data and results obtained, and on that basis recommends a suitable method for determining the permeability coefficient for sand foundations. The research results serve the evaluation of the effectiveness of grouting to reinforce soft ground in general, and grouting of bored piles in particular.

Keywords: permeability coefficient, soft soil, shaft grouting, post grouting, jet grouting

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Neelu Raina, Parvez Singh Slathia, Deepali Bhagat, Preeti Sharma

Abstract:

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for generating suitable substrates (starch/ sugars) for conversion to bioethanol is the most crucial step. In present study waste from furniture industry i.e sawdust from softwood Cedrus deodara (deodar) and hardwood Shorea robusta (sal) was used as lignocellulosic biomass. Thermochemical pretreatment was given by autoclaving at 121°C temperature and 15 psi pressure. Acids (H2SO4,HCl,HNO3,H3PO4), alkali (NaOH,NH4OH,KOH,Ca(OH)2) and organic acids (C6H8O7,C2H2O4,C4H4O4) were used at 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% concentration without giving any residence time. 1% HCl gave maximum sugar yield of 3.6587g/L in deodar and 6.1539 g/L in sal. For biological pretreatment a fungi isolated from decaying wood was used , sawdust from deodar tree species was used as a lignocellulosic substrate and before thermochemical pretreatment sawdust was treated with fungal culture at 37°C under submerged conditions with a residence time of one week followed by a thermochemical pretreatment methodology. Higher sugar yields were obtained with sal tree species followed by deodar tree species, i.e., 6.0334g/L in deodar and 8.3605g/L in sal was obtained by a combined biological and thermochemical pretreatment. Use of acids along with biological pretreatment is a favourable factor for breaking the lignin seal and thus increasing the sugar yield. Sugar estimation was done using Dinitrosalicyclic assay method. Result validation is being done by statistical analysis.

Keywords: lignocellulosic biomass, bioethanol, pretreatment, sawdust

Procedia PDF Downloads 413